The house sold in a couple of weeks, which had been the norm in the Bay Area for the past few years. Regardless of what a home looked like, someone was going to buy it - and fast.
In this case, there was never a doubt - the property was move-in ready, in a quiet neighborhood, and close to a commercial street. A rare find.
Patty wondered who her new neighbors were going to be. The wealthy progeny of a successful start-up founder? At the astronomical price of real estate, that's pretty much what it took to move in now.
In her early forties, she'd lived next to the now-empty house for the past decade. She'd been raised only a couple of hours east of the city, which might as well be the middle of nowhere. Hell, thirty minutes outside of the wealthiest city in America and one could wonder if they were not in the middle of the country. Years in the pits of the golden state meant that she'd dealt with the best and worst, along with the development of a healthy disregard for authority, primadonnas, or showboaters.
Cute as a teenager, Patty could still pull it off if she wanted to but she wasn't trying much anymore: jeans and shirts had become the predominant attire. Less was more. Less, as in less husband too, which meant less problems.
Nonetheless, she was still proud of her body. Sure, she was showing the signs of a few decades on the planet without much exercise, but she'd been on the receiving end of good genes and had kept a decent body. What she lost in muscle, she gained in sensuality and forms. Or so she told herself.
She'd gotten a divorce a couple of years after they bought the house. At the time, she thought it was mainly because they were incompatible. That ended up being true once she found lust with a handful of women and realized that she'd been playing for the wrong team. Maybe Mitch wasn't an asshole after all - she was just butch and he had the wrong body parts.
Patty then discovered that she was a hunting butch: if she saw someone she liked, she had no problem going after it - even if it meant getting rejected - that was part of the process, and it was fair to say that flirting with other women were much easier in this part of the country.
She'd slowed down the partying as she grew older, but she still had the Saturday night fling here and there.
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Stephanie signed the papers and put the pen down, still annoyed over the fact that she couldn't sign them digitally. Her husband, Albert, had already laid his autograph and smiled brightly at her, his happiness winning her over - as usual. And why not? They'd just purchased a new house, which was a reason to celebrate.
They'd have a little more room for all their stuff and the neighborhood seemed nice. This was one of the few places that had detached homes, even if they were only separated from their neighbors by a few feet.
She was still shocked by the astronomical sum of money they were paying for little more than a bungalow in the foggy part of town. Jesus, was this what they'd been working so hard for?
Albert got up, his lanky figure towering over her comparatively petite frame. She pulled her chair, aided by her husband, and followed him outside. She was stunning to look at. Brunette with shoulder-length hair and light brown eyes, perfect teeth, and full lips. Stephanie was a universally beautiful woman. Drop her anywhere, anytime and men would look at her with desire.
Her body was toned, not overly muscular, but fit, likely from a deep passion to exercise that she'd kept since she hit puberty. She carried herself with great pride, bordering on arrogance at times. Nonetheless, she could illuminate half the room with her smile and impress the other half with her leadership.
Both were career-oriented individuals - although perhaps more her than him - likely due to her competitiveness. She had climbed the ladder to become a senior exec for a prominent company and he managed a non-profit for the arts.
He was a strict nine to five, while she was usually five to nine. Early on, she'd been charmed by his easy-going attitude, where you could throw everything and the kitchen sink at him and he would never get agitated. That calm behavior was a nice balance to her own personality.
Six weeks after signing, they moved into the house, too busy to change anything in it. They brought in their furniture but kept every other thing as-is. They didn't even bother adding curtains to their dining room window, the one that opened to their neighbor's own dining room. The space was used more like a hallway between the living room and the kitchen anyways and they rarely spent time in the formal dining room. The windows were enormous, letting as much light as possible through the side of the house.
The days when neighbors welcomed newcomers were long gone. A nod and a wave were more likely to happen. Perhaps a cordial hello and a chat at the grocery store.
Stephanie had met a handful of them - especially if they were single men or in a couple, husbands always seemed more interested in finding out as much as they could about her while the wives were either pleasant or cold as ice depending upon their own self-esteem.
Patty was always up at odd hours and it wasn't rare for her to pace the house in near-total darkness as a way to empty her mind before going back to bed. She had never been able to do this while married since the sound of hardwood floors creaking would keep him up and she was now thoroughly enjoying the perks of living alone. One early morning, as she walked back and forth, her neighbors' light shun through the dining room window.
She casually glanced towards their house and saw Stephanie gearing up for a workout, changing from her pajamas to a gym outfit, standing naked for a few seconds, her tight body and abs showing along with her perky breasts.
Patty immediately moved back in surprise - why the hell was she changing in her dining room? Did she know that Patty was here? But no, it was impossible - she stood in the dark while her neighbor had turned on her light and couldn’t possibly see her. Glancing at the clock in the kitchen, Patty saw that it was 4:45 in the morning. "Quite the early riser we have here," she thought.
The whole thing happened too quickly to enjoy in detail but she had enough time to see her perfect breasts with small aureolas and a groomed landing strip. Nice images to spend the day with, she thought, as Stephanie finished dressing up.
A routine established itself rapidly afterward. Almost by luck, Patty would end up strolling the floors before five in the morning, waiting for the light to shine. She would then peep for a minute or two, always too briefly it seemed.
This carried on for a couple of weeks, three times a week on the dot.
Patty was having fun imagining how she'd pursue her precious neighbor who dressed in tight skirts and high heels during the day. She'd get wet thinking about it, eventually giving in and masturbating until she got some release. Soon enough, her fantasies turned into corporate domination sessions where an angry client got her neighbor to service her. She had no idea what Stephanie did for a living, only that she had long hours, was rarely outside, and dressed very well every day.
One early morning, Patty noticed a dimmer light coming from the window and peeked through the darkness. Her neighbor stood naked underneath an open robe, glancing towards the back of the house. Seemingly reassured, she moved closer to the dining room table and pressed herself against it.
Patty thought that she was simply standing there and only realized after a few moments that her neighbor was moving her hips in a steady rhythm. There was no light in the dining room but a faint lamp from the kitchen provided just enough luminosity to see what she was doing.
"What the hell...?" Patty said out loud, moving closer while making sure to stay partially hidden behind a half wall. Her neighbor had her eyes closed anyways and her fingers were pulling her vulva upward, freeing her clit from its hood and squeezing it against the wood under her own weight.
Patty could see most of the action. The houses were so close to each other that she couldn't have been more than fifteen feet away. She thought she could see wet marks on the table and the increased movement of her pelvis.
Split between staring or capturing this for prosperity, Patty moved quickly, grabbed her phone, and wrapped it to prevent the screen light from betraying her. Once back in place, she started filming the scene in front of her.
By now, Stephanie was humping the side of the table in a way that almost seemed painful. She'd switched her up-and-down movement to a slow grind, letting go of her pussy as she crossed her arms behind her back.
"Oh, you... naughty, naughty... " breathed Patty.
Within a minute of grinding, Stephanie moved one leg on the table and continued pleasuring herself, aligning her slit perfectly with the table's edge until her chest finally heaved in a way that clearly showed she'd achieved orgasm.
Standing up straight again with two feet on the ground, she was catching her breath, slumping with her arms on the table.
Patty moved carefully out of the way, worried that she may be seen once her neighbor came to. She went back to bed and replayed the video a few times as she masturbated. The image quality was not great, but you could see what and who was doing the deed.
"Time to meet the neighbor face to face," Patty thought as she stayed awake, too horny to fall asleep.
A couple of days passed until Patty thought the timing was right: working from home as a marketing consultant gave her all the freedom to snoop and pick the most opportune moment. She had noticed that Stephanie seemed to always be home early on Tuesday while her husband returned later. Climbing the few steps, Patty rang the bell and introduced herself as soon as Stephanie opened the door, wearing a light floral dress that came down to her knees and a simple sweater that managed to look sexy as it was tightly wrapped around her chest. Patty, on the other hand, was wearing her classic jeans and flannel shirt - she figured she'd go with a heavy stereotype to help Stephanie catch on. Still, she looked good with her hair in a bun held by a pencil.
"Hi, I'm Patty, your next-door neighbor. Figured it was time for me to be polite," she said extending her hand with a warm smile.
"Oh, hi Patty, great to meet you, I'm Stephanie," she said looking genuinely pleased and shaking her hand. "Thanks for coming over to introduce yourself, we've been too busy to be courteous on our side as well." And after a moment, she added: "Would you like to come in?"
"I can't stay long, but sure, thanks," Patti replied while walking in front of Stephanie directly into the house.
Stephanie pointed out the window and asked "You live in this house?" She asked, pointing towards Patty's, who answered that she did.
"I was looking forward to meeting you: a couple of the neighbors were telling me all about the street's homeowners and made it sounds as if you were the matriarch." She laughed as she said it.
"Oh I hope not, I always thought of the matriarch as the elder of a tribe," Patty replied.
"Of course... I'm... I'm sorry, that's not what I meant."
"I’m teasing...," Patty said with a smile.
And to change the subject, she exclaimed, "Oh, this looks so great, I didn't see the house after the remodel."
"Thank you, although I must admit we did very little to it. The previous owners left it in great shape; did you know them?"
"Oh sure, they had regular parties and invited the direct neighbors so we became pretty close."
"Well, if you haven't seen the house lately, I think they completely updated the kitchen; would you like a quick tour?"
"I'd love to," and with that Patty took the lead and walked through the dining room, glancing at her own house as she did. She casually mentioned how much she liked the dining table while letting her hand glide over where she knew Stephanie had pressed her cunt.
"Thank you; we enjoy it very much" she added with a moment of hesitation.
They stepped into the kitchen and Patty casually grabbed a bottle of wine that was on the counter to look at the label more closely.
Stephanie was surprised by her manners but decided to indulge this new neighbor - after all, she couldn't go around and start being unfriendly on the first day. She smiled and figured that Patty probably wanted a glass. "Well, we were looking to open this at some point, do you care to taste it with me?"
Patty looked at the clock on the wall and appeared to be hesitating, making Stephanie feel as if she was hitting the bottle earlier than she should. With a smile, she said, "Oh, what the hell, sure..." And as she looked a the bottle, added "Mmm... I'm not so much into Pinot's; do you have something else."
"Er, sure, let me see what else I have." And she opened the pantry... "Merlot... Bordeaux..."
"Ah! Say no more."
And has Stephanie moved towards a drawer, Patty moved closer, lightly brushing against her "Allow me."
She went to open the bottle and poured a generous glass for Stephanie, less so for her.
They both stood in the kitchen and chatted about the neighborhood, their atypical situation of not having kids at their age, and what they did for work.
After a few minutes, Patty summarized: "So you're the big wig at your office and get to tell a whole lot of people what to do... That must be exciting.” she smiled, looking at the picture of innocence.
"Oh no, I'm just lucky enough to be working for a great company and a great team. It really is a privilege."
"Yeah... That's exactly what the big wig would say," said Patty with a smirk, prompting both to laugh. "But I bet it's tough to always be the boss and have to be the one in charge. Once in a while, it must be nice to let someone else take control."
"Sure, but there are many people making decisions, I just try and help steer the ship."
"Is that right? Some people like it. I don't mind telling people what to do," Patty said with a smile, pouring some more wines into both their glasses.
"Are you effective?" Stephanie thought she could sense a certain flirtation and even if she had never really experimented, it was nice to be on the receiving end. Today was especially nice, after the stressful past few weeks...
"Oh yes. Almost always..." Patty answered confidently.
"You'll have to tell me your secret someday. I sure could use it with some of my team. "
"Oh, there's no big secret. You just need to have something on them."
Stephanie almost spit her wine as she was taking a sip from the glass. "Ah! So... blackmail?" she giggled.
"Well... More of an "accelerator"... the result is going to be the same, it just makes it faster for everyone," Patty stated confidently.
"I don't follow..."
"Well, I probably shouldn't tell you this on our first meeting," Patty smiled... "But what the hell, I think you'll be mature enough to get it."
That sentence was only meant to guarantee that Stephanie would act maturely. Patty continued. "I had a fling with a woman at one point. Gorgeous lady and very self-assured in public. In private, she only wanted to receive spankings. It was the oddest thing. She came to my house, immediately bent on the table, and begged to receive a spanking. Daddy issues, I guess."
Stephanie was surprised by the turn in the conversation and how Patty willingly offered that she was a lesbian.
"Oh, I didn't know you were..."
"Yeah, it's ok, it's only contagious if we sleep together..."
Stephanie laughed again "You're funny... But I'm not sure I get the point: how does it work if you don't find someone interested in getting spanked? Do you still get them to do what you want?" A hint of sarcasm could be detected.
Patty replied "Oh, the point is simply that I know how to read people and what they desire. Or, as you said, I can always blackmail," she added with a smile.
Both chuckled with a sense that she was telling the truth.
"Have you read me yet?"
Stephanie didn't know why she was asking. It's not that she should care what the new neighbor thought of her, but there was something charismatic about her... perhaps that same "don't give a shit" attitude that she found so appealing in her husband years ago. Most people were uncomfortable around Stephanie or at least watched what they said... She clearly didn't.
Patty was swirling her glass, staring at the crimson liquid intently. She looked up with a smile and said "I think so..."
Stephanie chose to act excited, saying "Oh good. Do tell!"
"I don't know if it makes sense... I'm a guest in your house and we just met..."
"Well, that doesn't sound very promising. Don't worry, I swear I won't get offended," she said lifting her hand as if she was a girl scout.
"You are a very successful and very beautiful woman, Stephanie."
"Oh stop..." she waved her off with a coy smile.
Patty carried on. "Very beautiful and I'm guessing very lonely because you always feel like you have to prove that you're more than a pretty face. You've earned your way up and you're trying to balance being a top executive while not looking like a bitch."
"Ok... But you could say that all the other female executives..."
"Perhaps... but let me go on without interruption,” Patty added with a tone that showed that she too, was used to giving directions that were followed.
"Sorry," Stephanie murmured.
“You have so much power in the office that you really can't trust anyone anymore. Everyone kisses your ass and bends to you. And while I assume, you married a wonderful husband, you didn't pick a domineering type. So he also gives you tons of rope and usually agrees with you - either because of your strong personality or because he doesn't see the point in arguing."
"Ouch."
"Don't feel bad. As you said, it applies to many. People ultimately lose the ability to feel much in the real world, so they start practicing on their own." Patty had used the third person purposely, not pointing any fingers – just stating.
"Practicing? Like how?"
"Mm... Are you sure you want to go there? I think there's no turning back after that."
Stephanie was intrigued and a bit confused. What could Patty possibly mean? Unsure and prideful, she acquiesced.
"Practicing like being naughty on a dining room table while putting your arms behind your back. In submission. For example...”
She let the sentence sink in. She could see Stephanie’s mouth open as she added “Sometimes, someone can even record the event... you know... to keep a vivid memory of it. And with today's technology, well..." Patty decided that letting Stephanie imagine the worst was the best path. And it seemed to work.
The silence was thick.
"I see..." Stephanie stated casually, not wanting to show her inner turmoil but she couldn’t believe she’d been so stupid as to pleasure herself in the dining room without curtains. My god, was she trying to destroy her reputation?
Patty looked unashamed of what she just said, comfortable in the room as if they were talking about the weather.
“And what... er.... what do you think this "someone" would be looking for in this instance – presumably not money?”
“Oh no, Stephanie... That would be too petty. No, I think she’d want to be able to test the merchandise herself... Direct the action even.”
“I see..." she repeated, wondering how much trouble she got herself into. "And after that, presumably, the video would be deleted?”
Stephanie was expecting Patty to answer yes immediately and to jump at the possibility of playing with her. Instead, her neighbor said “Perhaps... But it could be that the video doesn’t really matter anymore because there is no need for blackmail once someone discovers something they enjoy.”
"Right," Stephanie answered with sarcasm.
Patty put her glass on the counter and with a smile said “Thank you for the wine, Stephanie, it was very nice to meet you.” She turned around and walked herself back to the door.
Stephanie panicked, wondering what would happen to the video or the gossip in the neighborhood if this bitch decided to tell everyone what she saw.
“Wait,” Stephanie called out.
Patty opened the door and without glancing back took a step outside.
“Wait... PLEASE,” Stephanie said louder.
Patty broke her step and turned around. It was time to seal the deal. “Are you going to be a corporate bitch or a good girl?” she hissed.
Stephanie had been ready to chase her neighbor down the street if she had to, just to make sure that she was going to keep her mouth shut. Her options seemed very limited and Patty's abrupt decision to leave had shaken her. She had no time to think and was behaving heretically. Being talked to as a child was not part of her daily routine, but it made the point bluntly.
