Neighbors Sneeze Game

[Inducer]

My job is mostly remote, since Covid, and I decided to sell my condo and buy a place a little further outside the city.  I found a house, in a small town, about an hour from my office.  It was perfect, since there was still public transportation into the city, but it was quaint enough to feel more laid back and friendly.

Being a small town, with older homes that had been added to over the years, each one was unique and had its quirks.  One of the features of my house, that I wasn’t overly excited about, was that most of my windows faced my neighbors house to the left.  There was a wide driveway between them, but from my kitchen and living room, all my windows face that house.

The day I moved in was rainy and cool, which is typical for fall around here.  The movers made quick work of moving my belongings into my new place, and I was left with the task of unpacking the boxes that were stacked in the living room.  I was busy unpacking, and hadn’t really noticed that it was starting to get dark.  I looked out my window and saw the lights on in my neighbors house and my neighbor standing there in front of a small window.  I guess it was probably a window over his kitchen sink and he seemed to be looking down and moving things.  He looked up and saw me, and I embarrassingly gave a little wave.  He waved back and I quickly turned around and grabbed a box from the counter and hurried out of the room.  A little while later, I noticed that the lights in his house were still on, but he was no longer at the window.

My condo had blinds, and I hadn’t thought to put anything up on these windows today.  With the lights on in my house, anyone could see right in.  Damn.  But, by this point, it was too late to do much about it.  So, I settled on dealing with it first thing in the morning. 

I was trying to get the kitchen fully unpacked, so I grabbed another box.  As soon as I opened it, I realized that something had spilled.  I was hit with a mix of scents that instantly told me this was a pantry box with some food and my spices.  As I carefully pulled items from the box, trying not to make a mess, I could feel the grainy texture of the spices covering the contents.  Despite not having a sensitive nose, the combination of aromas made me aware of a very slight tickle. Without thinking, I brought my hand up to my nose to rub it and I sniffled, trying to dull the tickle.  However, as my hand was covered in the offending particles, I accidentally found more of them ended up directly in front of my nose as I sniffed.  The tickle intensified and I just stood there, eyes closed waiting for the sneeze to build enough to come out. It felt like it took forever, but probably was only a few seconds before one quick breath in and ITChoo.

Being alone, I hadn’t thought to cover my sneeze which turned out to be a bit of a problem.  I had sneezed right into the box, the force of my sneeze sending even more of the dust into the air in front of me. “Oh n no!  Tickles s so muh uh UTCHoo.  AHTchoo!  Wow.”  I wasn’t really a sneezy person, so those sneezes felt strong and unexpected.  As I reached to my right to grab a paper towel, I noticed movement and glanced out the window.  There was my neighbor, standing in his window staring at me.  As soon as he saw me notice him, he quickly disappeared and I saw the lights go off.  I was slightly embarrassed that he had most likely seen me sneeze, which made me even more aware of my need to put up curtains first thing in the morning.

A week had passed and I was mostly unpacked and settled in. I’m home most days, since I work remotely, and I noticed that my neighbor seemed to be home most of the time too.  He would leave for short periods of time and return, like clockwork every day.  I wasn’t trying to be nosy, but my office windows were right on the front corner of the house so I could see the street and his driveway.  It had been an exceptionally cool, rainy week and I had the curtains open, trying to let in as much natural light as possible.  True to his predictable pattern, my neighbor returned, and I saw him step out of the car.  I hadn’t ever really paid much attention to his looks, but he looked to be middle age,around 6’ with an average body and short brown hair. He walked to the back of the car and opened the trunk.  As he was reaching in, he froze.  For a minute, I couldn’t figure out why he was just standing there, until I saw his face. He was breathing heavily, and even from this distance, could tell what was about to happen.  I don’t know why I didn’t look away.  I mean, why would I actually watch someone sneeze?  But, something kept me stuck there, staring at this man in the throws of a sneeze.  His head reared back and I could see that his eyes were squeezed shut.  I saw his breath catch, a small shudder and then he was propelled forward.  “HURushhh!” He let out an uncovered sneeze loud enough that I heard it clearly with my windows closed. He wasn’t done.  Within seconds, a second powerful sneeze and then a third gripped him.  I waited to see if there would be more, but was slightly disappointed as he grabbed his bags and closed the trunk.  Suddenly I felt like a creep-why was I sitting here watching my neighbor sneeze?  And, why was I disappointed he stopped? 

I tried to get back to work, but my mind kept wandering back to my neighbor.  I guess I shouldn’t feel too bad…after all, he saw me sneeze on the very first night I was here.  We’re even.  That settles it.

The next day was a truly beautiful fall day.  Warm enough to finally get to doing a few things in the yard, but a crisp breeze that reminded you that winter wasn’t far off.  I had music on low and a fire going in the fire pit as I did some light yard work.  My house sits between most of my yard and the neighbors, so it’s fairly private. I was busy working away when I thought I heard someone talking.  I stopped and looked around, but didn’t see anyone.  A second later, I heard “HUH HURshoo! HRAshoo!”  I recognized the sneeze, even though I couldn’t see the man who let them out.  I cautiously made my way to the part of my yard that has some view of my neighbors property, and sure enough, there he was.  In his yard, back to me, cleaning out his flower beds and prepping for the approaching frost.  Without warning, his head reared back and he instantly pitched forward with another forceful sneeze, this one sounding more desperate and itchy.  He stopped what he was doing and was still for a minute. I again started feeling weird watching, but my feet were glued in place.  Time seemed to stand still as he was frozen in a pre-sneeze trance.  His sneeze must have been teasing him, because I could see his purposeful breaths as he tried to either coax it out or will it away.  A few seconds more and it was evident that it was finally tickly enough as his head tilted back, I heard him gasp “oh gaACHOO! Hachew! HAATCHHew!  Another gasping breath as he continued “HUTSHEW, HUUTSHOOO”  

The last one was the loudest, most powerful sneeze I had ever seen and I was in awe.  I stood there, not even thinking until I saw him stand up and turn around towards me.  My face flushed scarlet as he smiled as he gave me a little wave.

Not knowing what to do, I called out “Bless you” hoping my voice didn’t sound as shaky as it felt, and I quickly began raking the grass around me, even though there were no leaves to be seen.  “Thanks, and sorry about that!  Never really had allergies until I moved here” he called as he headed into his house.

Again, I stood in my yard feeling like a creep and wondering why I was so enthralled by this man’s sneezes.  Such an odd thing to notice about someone!  And, then a glint of light caught my eye.  In the corner of his garden was one of those round mirror things.  Oh no!  Had he seen me standing there?  Did he know I purposefully watched him?  Great, now I have to move, I thought to myself, completely mortified.

Several days passed without any uncomfortable encounters.  That was until Thursday evening.  I was just finishing up work when my doorbell rang.  When I opened the door, standing there just a couple feet in front of me was my neighbor.  He was more handsome than he appeared from afar, and had piercing green eyes. A gorgeous, earnest smile spread across his face when I said hello.

“Hi, so, um, I hope this isn’t awkward, but I’m Sam.  We hadn’t really met yet, and I felt weird about that.  I just wanted to say welcome to the neighborhood…” as he raised his hands that I noticed were holding a small basket of items from local businesses.  I took the basket from him and smiled.

“Aww, thank you!  I’m Katie,” I said.  “I’m from Boston.  Are you from around here?” I asked, suddenly remembering his comment about his allergies and feeling super awkward.

“No, I moved here 2 years ago.  It’s a lovely town-safe, friendly…not much of a social scene, I’m afraid.  But, really beautiful and lots of privacy, I mean, not that you need privacy, I mean, just nature and not many people around.  Not that that’s a bad thing, um, never mind.  Do you work from home? I noticed that you don’t seem to leave in the morning…not that I’m watching, it’s just that your car is here and um…ok, I’m going to shut up now.”

I giggled at his awkward stream of consciousness, “I work from home.  And, yes, it seems like a great town-I lived in the city before here-definitely more privacy here not having people around all the time. Not that I mind people,  I haven’t had a chance to get out much lately..” I stammered as awkwardly as he had.

“Well, if you are around this weekend and feel like company, my number is there, “ he pointed to a note on the basket.  “If you want to grab a drink at The Nook or something.”

I glanced down and saw the handwritten note.  “I’d like that.  Thanks for stopping by, Sam!” I said, genuinely happy that this handsome man had gone out of his way to welcome me.

“Hope to see you soon, Katie!”, he said and turned to walk away.  Before I could close the door, I saw him come to an abrupt stop on the sidewalk.  The setting sun was hitting his face and I immediately saw the sneezy expression take over him.  He exploded forward with one powerful HURShoo before he kept walking.  I thought I saw him glance back out of the corner of his eye before I got the door closed.

I took the basket to the kitchen and looked at it closer.  There was a jar of jam from a local farm, cracked pepper crackers, a couple fresh flowers, and a few packets of various spices.  What a strange collection of items, I thought.  I brought one of the flowers up to my nose and sniffed it.  It was lovely and very fragrant, but I suddenly felt a persistent tickle in my nose.  I’ve never been allergic to flowers before, but my nose was clearly agitated by the beautiful blossoms.  “Hitchew!”  Suddenly, I shot a look out my kitchen window and sure enough…Sam was standing in his window looking at me.  My heart raced and I didn’t know what to do.  I tried to act like I hadn’t noticed and grabbed a small glass with some water to put the stems in.  Did he want to see me sneeze, the same way I had been fascinated by watching him?  I don’t know why, but I glanced back out my window.  He was still there, standing in the window, but I could see he was holding something up to his face.  A flower!  Just like the one he had given me.  I saw him sniffing the flower and the unmistakable lurch forward of a sneeze.  WTF is going on?!?  This is definitely weird now….somehow we’re playing some unspoken sneezing game.

But, yet, when the weekend rolled around, I couldn’t get the note out of my mind.  I could text him.  I knew he was home, I saw the car.  What was the harm in one drink?  I grabbed my phone and sent him a message asking if he wanted to grab a drink later.  He immediately replied, and we quickly made plans to meet in an hour.

The Nook was only a couple blocks from our houses, so we agreed to just walk into town.  I got dressed, still casual but in a low cut blouse that showed just the right amount of cleavage, without being slutty. As a last minute decision, I anointed my cleavage with a liberal spritz of my favorite perfume before I walked out the door.  What’s the worst that could happen?
 

[sneezey2023]

15 minutes ago, Inducer said:

What’s the worst that could happen?

😂 - Ooh this is going to be good.

Love how Sam and Katie are together.

Excited to see what happens next.

 

 

[orange]

oh intresting ! thank you

[Mr. Black Cherry Berry Tea]

Thanks for writing this! A really intriguing premise and great sneezes. Love how you’ve described the sneezes in this. Looking forward to reading more!

[jc475]

Such a lovely story. I look forward to what happens next. Thank You!

[Blackcat182]

Can't wait for part 2

[Catsgotyourtounge]

Excited for next part!

[anna]

Omggg

[Its All Sternutation]

Wow, I have to admit, I wasn't really expecting anything special but this is so nice and cute. Please let us know when you write more of this bc I'm digging this cute sneezy love story ❤️🤧

[prismaticpollen]

this looks like a really cool concept so far!