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He surprises her and shows off his boat to her, which makes her very happy, something he likes to see. Unfortunately, all is not well at home.\n\n[url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3336160]Part 1[/url] | [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3336168]Part 2[/url] | >[b][u]Part 3[/u][/b]< | [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3336171]Part 4[/url] | [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3336174]Part 5[/url] | [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3336175]Part 6[/url] | [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3336177]Part 7[/url] | [url=https://inkbunny.net/s/3336183]Part 8[/url]\n\n- - - - -\n\nA massive thank you to my top tier subscribers:\n[fa]booleangemini352[/fa] | Sedyna | [fa]Kaden22[/fa] | [fa]jafferroshak[/fa] | RoleplayCentral | [fa]Tierr[/fa] | [fa]akinkyyfox[/fa]\n\nIf you would like early access to my stories, polls, monthly commission raffles, weekly previews and updates, behind the scenes talks, and other bonus content, please consider subscribing to my [url=https://subscribestar.adult/xp_author]SubscribeStar[/url]", "description_bbcode_parsed": "As the two get closer, he learns of the girl's desire to see the ocean. He surprises her and shows off his boat to her, which makes her very happy, something he likes to see. Unfortunately, all is not well at home.

Part 1 | Part 2 | >Part 3< | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8

- - - - -

A massive thank you to my top tier subscribers:
\n\t\t\t\t\tbooleangemini352 | Sedyna | \n\t\t\t\t\tKaden22 | \n\t\t\t\t\tjafferroshak | RoleplayCentral | \n\t\t\t\t\tTierr | \n\t\t\t\t\takinkyyfox

If you would like early access to my stories, polls, monthly commission raffles, weekly previews and updates, behind the scenes talks, and other bonus content, please consider subscribing to my SubscribeStar", "writing": "[center][b]The Good Neighbor[/b][/center]\n[center][u]Part 3[/u][/center]\n[center]By XP Author[/center]\n\nThe next morning, Arin was actually waiting for him this time. He smiled as he stepped outside. \"Hey, kiddo. I'm not late, am I?\"\n\nShe shook her head. \"N-no... I just... didn't want to be inside...\"\n\nHe frowned a little. \"You mean after that tirade your mother went on last night?\" She nodded slowly. \"Well, I don't blame you.\" He again helped her into the truck.\n\n\"She was... drinking all night, so she's still out right now...\" She actually smiled just a little. \"I like it when she doesn't wake up... She doesn't yell.\"\n\nHe frowned again. \"I'm really sorry that you have to deal with her.\" He took a breath, then let it out slowly. \"But like I said, if you ever want to just get away, you can knock on my door any time, okay?\" She nodded slowly. He pulled out of the driveway and started off in the direction of the school again. She didn't say anything else during the trip, and he wasn't really sure what to say to cheer her up. When they got there, she quietly slid out of the seat and grabbed her bag. \"I'll see you this afternoon.\" She did give him a very slight smile and nod, and walked off to join the other kids walking inside.\n\nHe shook his head, wishing he could do more. He pulled out and headed back home, since he had nothing else to do today, and had no reason to bother Zinda more right now. He might as well get some reading done. He hadn't gotten very far in the book he was reading in a while, so a quiet day would be nice.\n\nThough quiet did not last nearly long enough. Just before 11:00, he heard Veronica calling out, though whatever she was saying was impossible to figure out. It sounded more like some kind of whale call. Then a pounding on his front door nearly made him jump out of his fur. He set his tablet down and went to answer. He barely had it open before Veronica was yelling at him. \"Where'sh that fuck'n useless lil cunt!?\" Her words were... very heavily slurred, and she reeked of alcohol and... a lot of things. Her dress was also very dirty, and it looked like she had spilled something all over herself. Though for the first time since he had moved in, she was devoid of a cigarette in her mouth.\n\nHe stared at the woman. \"What? Who?\"\n\nShe scowled at him. \"ARIN! Who th'fuck else!?\"\n\nJay frowned. \"She's at school.\"\n\nVeronica blinked up at him, taking several seconds to focus on him. \"Wha...? Why th'fuck is she there? She needzz ta clean thi'shit up!\" She motioned as if at something, only to blink when she realized she was pointing at the recently trimmed lawn.\n\n\"Um... it's Wednesday. She's at school because it's the middle of the week.\"\n\n\"Oh...\" She swayed back and forth a little, giving him a blank look. \"Hey, so yer alone now right? Wanna have sum fun?\"\n\nHe sighed heavily. \"I'm perfectly fine. You should head back inside and go lay down.\"\n\nHe flinched back as she leaned forward, trying to grab at him. She nearly fell over when she missed. \"But I'd rather lay din with a big fuzzy man like you!\" She let out a hoarse laugh. \"If ye know what I man! Mean.\"\n\nJay shook his head. \"Yes, I know what you mean, and my answer is no.\" He nudged her shoulder gently to get her back out of the doorway. She nearly fell backwards this time as she stumbled back. \"Now please, go home and lay down. You're drunk. Go sleep it off. Arin will be home this afternoon after school.\"\n\nShe scoffed at him, though it was more like spitting. \"Pfeh. Fine. Yer prob'bly a faggot anyway. Ya got that look.\" He tensed up. Even if he wasn't gay, he didn't like that term. But she was stumbling away back to her own door, so he wasn't going to start an argument that would keep her there longer. Though she did still mutter to herself. \"Fuck'n useless pansy shits. Every man's just a fuck'n piece of shit...\" She slammed her door shut behind her, hard enough the windows rattled a little.\n\nHe took a deep breath now that the air was clear of her foul stench. \"What a lovely woman.\" He shook his head and went back inside. He had the thought to call the cops about her, but he knew there wasn't much they could do without some kind of evidence of something. The most she would get was a slap on the wrist and a stern talking to. Though knowing her, she'd probably proposition the officers while they tried. That might be an amusing enough sight for him to do it, but he still decided not to.\n\nThankfully, the rest of the day was quiet. When the afternoon came, he hopped into his truck and went to go pick up Arin from school. This time, when she came out, she seemed at least a little more upbeat than the last few times. She opened the door and smiled at him. \"Hello, Mr. McGavin.\" She set her bag down on the floor and climbed in.\n\n\"You have a good day?\" She just kind of made a noise, but at least she was smiling. The thought of his recent interaction with Veronica made him frown, though. He really didn't want to bring her back to that and ruin whatever good mood she was in. They were rare enough as it was. Then an idea came to him. \"Hey, Arin... do you want to go see my boat?\"\n\nThat got her attention. \"R-really!? B-but...\"\n\nHe already knew what she was going to say. \"It's fine. I'll tell your mom that I was held up at work and was late picking you up, so it'll be all my fault.\" He frowned a little. \"Besides, she was... pretty drunk earlier, so she's probably still sleeping it off.\"\n\nThe girl's ears fell back a little. \"Oh... was she bad?\"\n\nHe nodded. \"Yeah. Won't lie, it was pretty bad. Slurring her words, stumbling, very confused. Was looking for you for some reason.\"\n\nArin nodded slowly. \"She probably took the pills, too...\"\n\nHe blinked. \"Pills?\"\n\n\"Yeah... she takes painkillers... sometimes too much. It makes her confused and... angry... especially if she drinks, too.\" That explained a lot, actually.\n\nHe grunted. \"Well then. In that case, we won't have to rush. So, how about it? You want to see The Azure Seam?\"\n\nShe thought about it for a long moment, then nodded quickly. \"Yeah. I do!\"\n\nHe smiled. \"Alright. Next stop: the pier.\"\n\n[center]* * *[/center]\n\nThe truck pulled down the winding road, moving past several large buildings behind a gated wall. Arin looked at the gate as they passed it. \"What's behind there?\"\n\n\"Shipping docks. Not as busy these days as they were back 20 or 30 years ago. Still get big boats from time to time, though.\" He nodded ahead. \"Restricted of course. I don't have access, even if I wanted to. But we're close to the private piers. Just around this next turn.\" Sure enough, once past the high walls of the shipping docks, a long row of large buildings came into view. Each was a matte red and metal, with a black roof. They looked like rows of bland suburban houses that stuck out onto the water, each indistinct from one another save for a single number emblazoned at the very top. \"Mine is number 5.\"\n\nHe pulled into the parking spot right on the other side of the road from the building. \"Alright. Let's head on over.\" He got out, and smiled when Arin also excitedly exited the car, almost forgetting to close the door behind her. They walked across the way, and stopped in front of a small door. There was a keypad lock on it, with squishy push buttons. He punched in the code. \"4, 1, 1, 8, 9.\" There was an audible click and a soft, electronic buzz to signal it was unlocked. He grabbed the handle and looked at the young chipmunk. \"You ready?\" She nodded quickly, clearly excited. He chuckled and turned the handle, pushing the door open and stepping inside and flicking the lights on.\n\n\"Whoa...\" Arin followed, staring at the sight before her. The Azure Seam bobbed gently in the water, flanked by short, wooden piers on either side. The boat was more of a small yacht... or large house boat, depending how you defined things. The hull was a soft eggshell white, but the deck was smooth wood, stained reddish as a cherrywood, and sealed to resist the water. There was a small ramp that led up from one of the piers up to the deck. The wheelhouse was up near the front. \"There's no sails.\"\n\nHe chuckled. \"Yeah, I'm not much of a sail boat guy. She's got a pair of turbines down below the water. Nothing super powerful, but she can get some decent speed if she needs to.\" He moved over to the ramp. \"C'mon aboard. I'll show you the inside. Just watch your step up the ramp.\" He held out a hand to help her up the ramp. She giggled a little as she felt the bobbing the moment she was on the metal, but she kept her balance with his help.\n\nOnce she was on the deck itself, she looked around. \"This is so cool!\" There wasn't much to see, since he didn't leave anything sitting around above deck, but there was room for chairs. There were also several slots along the aft where he could rest a fishing pole once cast and waiting for a bite. The only thing that was around were coils of thick rope. One such coil was hanging over the other side of the hull, keeping the thing tied in place to the pier. \"I can barely feel it moving...\"\n\nHe smirked. \"You'd feel it if we were out of the dock. You don't get much waves inside the boat house.\"\n\n\"Yeah, um... how do you get it out of here, anyway?\" She looked past the fore, at the plain metal wall in front of the prow.\n\nJay pointed back in the direction of the door they came in. \"There's a set of controls over there, just next to the lights. They open the front, kind of like a garage door. Then you just sail right on out. Getting it in is a bit harder, since you need to back it into the port, which takes a bit of practice.\" He pointed to the rope hanging off the edge. \"Then you just tie her down, and she's set.\"\n\n\"Oh... that's pretty cool!\" She smiled at him again, and he couldn't help but smile back. Her excitement was infectious.\n\n\"You want to see the inside?\"\n\nShe gasped, nodding quickly. \"Yeah! I've never been in a boat like this before! Or... any kind of boat.\"\n\nHe shrugged. \"Well, this is more of a yacht, I guess. Though some people are really picky about how you classify different ships. I'm not really a stickler for details like that.\" He nodded at a set of stairs. \"Anyway, just down here. Watch your step, they can be a bit steep.\" He led her down below deck. Just at the bottom of the stairs was what looked like a combination dining room and kitchen. There was a small stove, a microwave, and a table bolted to the floor, though only one chair at the table. \"This is the kitchen. A little small, but you make do with the space you have.\" He pointed to something next to the microwave. \"Still made sure to make room for a coffee maker, of course. Can't go without that.\"\n\n\"Oh, this is so cool!\" She looked around with stars in her eyes. \"Is there a fridge, too?\"\n\nHe nodded. \"Yup.\" Moving over to the cabinet with the microwave, he opened one of the doors to show it was actually a minifridge. Though it was lacking much more than a supply of bottle water. \"I usually stock her up with a few days worth of food before I take her out. Though mostly I just cook any fish I catch.\" He shrugged.\n\n\"Days?\" She looked around. \"Where do you sleep?\"\n\n\"Oh.\" The squirrel pointed to a small doorway next to the stairs they came down. \"The bunk is back there. Further back from there is the engine room. I usually drop anchor and kill the engines when I'm going to sleep, otherwise they'd keep me up.\" He ducked down so he could step through the doorway. \"C'mon.\"\n\nShe followed him, and gasped again. \"Whao! An actual bed!?\" Sure enough, she was staring at a bed, mattress and sheets and everything. Though it did look like it was attached to the wall, or at least the frame it was sitting on was. \"I thought it would be like... a cot or something.\"\n\nHe laughed. \"Some boats have those, but I prefer to actually sleep on a bed, even when out to sea. You only need to have cots if there's a bunch of people on the ship, but it's pretty much just me most times, so I don't need to worry about that.\" He tapped a wooden door, which popped open to show an empty closet. \"Even got a place to store a few days worth of clothes. No washing machine on board, though, so laundry gets done when I come back to port.\" He motioned to another doorway, though this one was sealed with a bulkhead. \"Engine room is just back there.\"\n\n\"Can I see!?\" She was practically bouncing beside him.\n\nHe nodded. \"Sure. Just be careful. Even with everything off, it can be dangerous to poke at it.\" He turned the crank on the bulkhead and pulled it open, stepping inside. The engine itself was not super huge, but did take up most of the aft of the ship. It was a mass of metal machinery that the young girl could barely make much sense of, but she still stared at the whole thing with awe as she followed him inside. He pointed to either side near the bottom. \"You can just see where the turbines are connected if you look. Though that's just part of it, since they're actually under the water. There's also a bunch of batteries hooked up through this that make all the electrical systems work. When the engine is going, it charges up the batteries, so they can keep working while the engine is off.\"\n\n\"Awesome!\" She giggled and turned to give him a big smile. \"This is the coolest thing I've ever seen!\" She suddenly gave him a big hug, her thin arms wrapping around his middle. \"Thanks for this, Mr. McGavin!\"\n\nHe tensed up slightly, but did gently pat her back. \"Not a problem, kiddo.\" He was thankful she kept the hug brief, bounding back to the kitchen to poke around that. He took a breath and let it out slowly, forcing himself to keep calm and, most importantly, well behaved. Much as he would love to shove her down on the bed and have a go at her, he forced those thoughts out of his head... for now. He was just showing his neat toy off to a neighbor, nothing else.\n\nJust as he was about to join her, his cellphone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, frowning as he saw the time. He checked the text. It was from Zinda. \"[i]Your... package has arrived. I set it aside for you.[/i]\"\n\nHe smiled, sending a quick reply. \"[i]Thanks. I'll pick it up in the morning.[/i]\" With that, he stuffed his phone back into the pocket of his jeans and joined the girl in the kitchen. She was looking through every cabinet she could reach, finding his set of mugs, some plates, supply of coffee, tea, and powdered cocoa, along with all the spices he used for cooking. She was just peering into the cabinet with all the pots and pans inside. \"Alright, Arin. I think we should probably get going. Don't want to give your mother too many reasons to be angry with either of us.\"\n\nShe frowned as she closed the cabinet door. \"Yeah... you're probably right.\" She still managed a smile, though. \"But this was really cool! Thanks again for showing me all of this stuff!\"\n\n\"Not a problem.\" He nodded to the stairs. \"C'mon, let's get going.\" He led her back up to the deck, then down to the pier itself. After turning the lights off, he closed the door to the boat house, which made another audible click as it locked again. As they returned to the truck, he spoke up again. \"One of these days, I'll try and get you out onto the water with me.\"\n\n\"Man, I'd love that...\" There was a slight sadness to her voice, just knowing her mother would never allow something like that. \"Someday...\"\n\nHe nodded as he got into the truck. \"Yeah.\" With that, he pulled out and started the short trip home, both of them wishing for that 'someday' was soon, but for very different reasons.\n\n[center]* * *[/center]\n\nJay's night was filled with dreams of Arin on his boat. Though a lot were somewhat wholesome in nature. The two of them out at sea, him teaching her how to fish, watching her excitement as he made the boat go much faster than it actually could. All while they were both completely in the nude, of course. There were a few that led to much more lewd places, sharing his bed, out on the deck, and one where they were fucking while floating in the water, with fish just kind of cheering him on. It was no surprise that he woke to find himself rock hard. A quick stroke in the bathroom helped to solve that issue.\n\nThe thoughts stuck with him as he drove Arin to the school, but he was pretty sure he kept those thoughts from showing. He was also happy to hear that Veronica was still passed out when he got the girl home the previous afternoon, so the older chipmunk was oblivious to their little field trip after school. Arin was still smiling from it, too. He'd have to take her back there some time, when her mother was mixing pills and booze again. He dropped her off and wished her well, and was happy to see her give him a big smile and wave as she walked away from the truck. All the lewd thoughts aside, he genuinely liked seeing the girl happy for a change.\n\nSpeaking of making her happy, he made his way to the office to get the parts for her bike. He was surprised to see Zinda's car already there when he pulled in. He peaked out to the store front and found her just sitting behind the counter, reading something on her phone. \"You're here early.\"\n\nShe gave him a smile. \"Yeah. Had to get Theresa to the airport at like, 6 this morning. She's heading back home for her mother's 60th birthday. Figured I might as well get an early start instead of sitting around at home for an hour.\"\n\nHe nodded. \"Well, hope her mother has a lovely birthday.\" He turned and made his way to the stock room across from his office. \"Holy crap.\"\n\nZinda laughed, joining him a moment later. \"Yeah, I said the same thing when I saw it.\" Now he knew why she said his package came the way she did. The box was huge. He could understand why it was so wide, since there were a pair of wheels in there, but it was also almost just as tall. \"Thought you were just ordering parts. Did you end up buying a whole new bike in pieces?\"\n\nHe chuckled. \"I guess? Should just be a few things with the wheels.\" He crouched down to lift the box, which thankfully was not nearly as heavy as he was worried. Though it still had quite a bit of weight to it. \"Can you get the door for me?\"\n\n\"Sure.\" The zebra moved past him and opened the back door so he could carry the box out and put it into the back of his truck. \"With all of that, you might as well have bought the kid a new bike.\"\n\nHe laughed. \"I thought about it. But the frame and handles will all be the same.\" He shrugged. \"Besides, you know I like tinkering with stuff like this. Be the first time I've done this kind of maintenance on a bike since I was about her age.\"\n\nThe woman chuckled at him. \"Yeah, we used to ride all over town back then. Remember that time we ended up just going and going and ended up in the next town over?\"\n\n\"How could I forget?\" He rubbed the back of his head, his fluffy tail twitching a little. \"Mom was furious when I called and said how late we'd be, and Dad had to smooth things over.\"\n\nThe zebra just grinned. \"Yeah, he had to talk to my dad to keep him cool, too. He always was good at playing peacekeeper.\" Her smile turned a little wistful. \"I miss the old codger.\"\n\nHe nodded solemnly. \"Yeah, me, too... I miss them both.\" Not long after giving the business to Jay, his father had died of a heart attack. His mother had only died two years ago from a stroke. He didn't let himself say sad for long. \"But, I still have you. You're the closest thing I've got to family now.\"\n\nShe nodded, then nudged him in the chest with her elbow. \"And that's why you need to find a nice woman and get yourself some kids. Gotta pass this business to someone, right?\"\n\nHe chuckled, rubbing his chest where she nudged him. \"I swear, you're worse than my mother was about that.\"\n\nShe just laughed at him. \"Well, someone has to be. I know first hand you're not gay.\"\n\n\"Not that there's anything wrong with that.\" He said in a slightly sarcastic tone. She just rolled her eyes, having heard that for years now from all over. \"If you're so big on kids, why don't you and Theresa adopt one?\"\n\n\"We've talked about it. She's hesitant, but I think she's coming around to the idea. Slowly.\"\n\nHe pulled the door to his truck open. \"Well, I'm going to head home and start working on the bike. If I'm lucky, it'll be done by the time I have to get Arin from school later.\" He gave her a wave as he got into the truck, and she waved back before heading back into the store. The drive back was quick enough, and soon, he hefted the box into his living room. He also went and retrieved the bike in question, also moving it into his living room. It looked very out of place leaning against the back of his couch, especially with how pink it was compared to the plethora of browns in the room.\n\nOpening the box, he saw why it was so big. The parts were all packed in layers, each with a square piece of packing foam separating them and keeping everything neatly secure for shipping. He was used to getting boxes filled top to bottom with products for sale, not packed for just one person like this. On top was all the smaller pieces, like the breaks and the lines to connect them, the bike chain, and the new seat. Under that was all the tools. Mostly a set of wrenches and allen wrenches, and a bag of different nuts, bolts, and screws. The gears were also here. Under that was the wheels, bare of the tires themselves. Those were in individual boxes tucked into two of the corners. There was even a little pump to fill them with air.\n\nHe set it all aside, then flattened the box so he could lay the bike atop that, to keep any of the grease from getting all over his carpet. Then he went to work. Getting the tires off was easy enough, but he struggled a little bit trying to figure out how the gears were attached. He finally figured it out when he realized he had to take the pedals off first. Then everything separated easily enough. He worked for most of the day, finding an odd satisfaction in the task. As he started to reassemble the thing, he realized he just upgraded her bike from a 10 speed to a 21, since there were a few extra gears more than the ones he was replacing.\n\nPutting it back together was somehow faster than taking it apart was. While it wasn't the most difficult part, using the pump to fill the tires was the most exhausting. He was thankful the seat was an easy replacement. When all was said and done, it didn't look like a brand new bike, but it did look just a touch nicer than it had. He tested the tires to make sure they were full enough by bouncing it a little, happy to that he didn't need to use the pump more. Though he also needed a shower once he was done. He had expected to get the grease on his hands, but somehow it had gotten all along his arms, in his tail, and on his face.\n\nOnce he was out of the shower and dressed again, he looked at the clock, then cursed. \"Shit. I'm going to be late.\" It was a bit later than he would have liked to leave to pick Arin up. He hastily finished with his clothes and headed out the door. The drive there was quick enough, but he had to wait in the line of cars to pull into the school. When he did finally get up close, he saw Arin standing and waiting for him. He smiled as she opened the door and set her bag on the floor. \"Hey, sorry I'm a bit late.\"\n\nShe gave him a smile as she climbed in. \"It's okay. I wasn't waiting long.\" He heard a trilling giggle from outside just before she closed the door. Her ears folded back a little when she heard it. Looking out, he saw the source was a trio of girls nearby, two cats and a coyote.\n\nHe nodded. \"Are those the... potholes?\" She nodded. \"Hmm.\" The three kept glancing over at his truck, muttering something to each other. \"Well, whatever gossip they're trying to spread, don't let it get to you, okay?\"\n\nShe nodded. \"O-okay...\"\n\nHe was about to pull out, but a black sedan suddenly swerved over to cut him off and park directly in front of him. \"What the... c'mon in!\" He frowned. \"Some people.\" The driver of the car was an older coyote, about his age.\n\nArin looked up, then back down again. \"Oh, that's Kathy's dad.\" Well, he now knew which of the trio was Kathy, at least.\n\n\"Well, now I know where she gets the dickish behavior from.\" He heard a slight giggle from beside him. Once the car was out of the way, he pulled out and started home. \"Got something for you when we get back home.\"\n\nShe looked up at him with a little excitement. \"Oh? W-what?\"\n\nHe smirked. \"You'll see when we get there.\" She frowned, but still did nothing to hide her anticipation the whole short trip. Once they were back, he held up a finger. \"Wait out here for just a second.\"\n\n\"O-okay...\" She watched him head into his own side of the house. When he came back, pushing her finished bike, she gasped, her eyes wide. \"WHOA!\" She rushed over, grabbing the handles and looking at it all over. \"Y-you did so much!\" She pressed her hand against the new seat. \"Ooo, it's... softer than the old one.\"\n\n\"Yup. Got more speeds than before, too.\" He stepped to the side. \"Give it a spin.\" She happily dropped her backpack on the grass and hopped up onto the thing. He was happy to see he had guessed the seat height at least close enough.\n\nShe grunted a little, not quite getting it going, then clicked the gears to change them down and tried again. This time, she was off much easier, riding down the street and back again a few times, testing the different new speeds. She squeaked when she squeezed the break, surprised how well it worked. \"Ooo... wow, stops a lot faster, too.\"\n\n\"Yeah, your old breaks were pretty worn down, too. Whole new breaks, new gears, new wheels. How's everything feel? Not too stiff or loose?\"\n\nShe flipped out the kickstand and got off of the bike. \"It's great! Seat might need to be brought down just a little, and I need to get used to the new gear speeds, but...\" She smiled at him. \"This is... just...\" He saw her suddenly fighting tears. The next thing she knew, her arms were around his middle again as she gave him a huge hug. \"Thank you so much, Mr. McGavin!\"\n\nHe chuckled, gently patting the girl's back. \"You're very welcome, Arin.\"\n\n\"Alright, that's enough sucking up to the man.\" Both he and the girl flinched as they heard Veronica's voice from the doorway. Arin quickly pulled away from him, her ears back a little. \"Stop bugging him and get your ass inside. And put that thing away.\"\n\n\"O-okay, Mom.\" She slung her backpack over her shoulder before moved her bike over to the side of the house where she normally kept it. She still gave him a slight smile. \"Thank you again.\"\n\n\"Of course.\" He watched as she slipped past her mother and headed inside.\n\nVeronica gave him a scornful scowl. \"So, no more rides to school for her.\" It was not said as a question, more of a statement.\n\nHe shrugged. \"I can still take her if the weather's bad.\" She just grunted at him, then turned and followed her daughter inside. He shook his head, making his way to his own side. \"You're welcome for fixing your daughter's bike for her? For free, no less...\" He sighed as he closed the door. \"Well, at least she didn't try and proposition me again.\"\n\n[center]* * *[/center]", "writing_bbcode_parsed": "
The Good Neighbor

Part 3

By XP Author


The next morning, Arin was actually waiting for him this time. He smiled as he stepped outside. "Hey, kiddo. I'm not late, am I?"

She shook her head. "N-no... I just... didn't want to be inside..."

He frowned a little. "You mean after that tirade your mother went on last night?" She nodded slowly. "Well, I don't blame you." He again helped her into the truck.

"She was... drinking all night, so she's still out right now..." She actually smiled just a little. "I like it when she doesn't wake up... She doesn't yell."

He frowned again. "I'm really sorry that you have to deal with her." He took a breath, then let it out slowly. "But like I said, if you ever want to just get away, you can knock on my door any time, okay?" She nodded slowly. He pulled out of the driveway and started off in the direction of the school again. She didn't say anything else during the trip, and he wasn't really sure what to say to cheer her up. When they got there, she quietly slid out of the seat and grabbed her bag. "I'll see you this afternoon." She did give him a very slight smile and nod, and walked off to join the other kids walking inside.

He shook his head, wishing he could do more. He pulled out and headed back home, since he had nothing else to do today, and had no reason to bother Zinda more right now. He might as well get some reading done. He hadn't gotten very far in the book he was reading in a while, so a quiet day would be nice.

Though quiet did not last nearly long enough. Just before 11:00, he heard Veronica calling out, though whatever she was saying was impossible to figure out. It sounded more like some kind of whale call. Then a pounding on his front door nearly made him jump out of his fur. He set his tablet down and went to answer. He barely had it open before Veronica was yelling at him. "Where'sh that fuck'n useless lil cunt!?" Her words were... very heavily slurred, and she reeked of alcohol and... a lot of things. Her dress was also very dirty, and it looked like she had spilled something all over herself. Though for the first time since he had moved in, she was devoid of a cigarette in her mouth.

He stared at the woman. "What? Who?"

She scowled at him. "ARIN! Who th'fuck else!?"

Jay frowned. "She's at school."

Veronica blinked up at him, taking several seconds to focus on him. "Wha...? Why th'fuck is she there? She needzz ta clean thi'shit up!" She motioned as if at something, only to blink when she realized she was pointing at the recently trimmed lawn.

"Um... it's Wednesday. She's at school because it's the middle of the week."

"Oh..." She swayed back and forth a little, giving him a blank look. "Hey, so yer alone now right? Wanna have sum fun?"

He sighed heavily. "I'm perfectly fine. You should head back inside and go lay down."

He flinched back as she leaned forward, trying to grab at him. She nearly fell over when she missed. "But I'd rather lay din with a big fuzzy man like you!" She let out a hoarse laugh. "If ye know what I man! Mean."

Jay shook his head. "Yes, I know what you mean, and my answer is no." He nudged her shoulder gently to get her back out of the doorway. She nearly fell backwards this time as she stumbled back. "Now please, go home and lay down. You're drunk. Go sleep it off. Arin will be home this afternoon after school."

She scoffed at him, though it was more like spitting. "Pfeh. Fine. Yer prob'bly a faggot anyway. Ya got that look." He tensed up. Even if he wasn't gay, he didn't like that term. But she was stumbling away back to her own door, so he wasn't going to start an argument that would keep her there longer. Though she did still mutter to herself. "Fuck'n useless pansy shits. Every man's just a fuck'n piece of shit..." She slammed her door shut behind her, hard enough the windows rattled a little.

He took a deep breath now that the air was clear of her foul stench. "What a lovely woman." He shook his head and went back inside. He had the thought to call the cops about her, but he knew there wasn't much they could do without some kind of evidence of something. The most she would get was a slap on the wrist and a stern talking to. Though knowing her, she'd probably proposition the officers while they tried. That might be an amusing enough sight for him to do it, but he still decided not to.

Thankfully, the rest of the day was quiet. When the afternoon came, he hopped into his truck and went to go pick up Arin from school. This time, when she came out, she seemed at least a little more upbeat than the last few times. She opened the door and smiled at him. "Hello, Mr. McGavin." She set her bag down on the floor and climbed in.

"You have a good day?" She just kind of made a noise, but at least she was smiling. The thought of his recent interaction with Veronica made him frown, though. He really didn't want to bring her back to that and ruin whatever good mood she was in. They were rare enough as it was. Then an idea came to him. "Hey, Arin... do you want to go see my boat?"

That got her attention. "R-really!? B-but..."

He already knew what she was going to say. "It's fine. I'll tell your mom that I was held up at work and was late picking you up, so it'll be all my fault." He frowned a little. "Besides, she was... pretty drunk earlier, so she's probably still sleeping it off."

The girl's ears fell back a little. "Oh... was she bad?"

He nodded. "Yeah. Won't lie, it was pretty bad. Slurring her words, stumbling, very confused. Was looking for you for some reason."

Arin nodded slowly. "She probably took the pills, too..."

He blinked. "Pills?"

"Yeah... she takes painkillers... sometimes too much. It makes her confused and... angry... especially if she drinks, too." That explained a lot, actually.

He grunted. "Well then. In that case, we won't have to rush. So, how about it? You want to see The Azure Seam?"

She thought about it for a long moment, then nodded quickly. "Yeah. I do!"

He smiled. "Alright. Next stop: the pier."

*     *     *


The truck pulled down the winding road, moving past several large buildings behind a gated wall. Arin looked at the gate as they passed it. "What's behind there?"

"Shipping docks. Not as busy these days as they were back 20 or 30 years ago. Still get big boats from time to time, though." He nodded ahead. "Restricted of course. I don't have access, even if I wanted to. But we're close to the private piers. Just around this next turn." Sure enough, once past the high walls of the shipping docks, a long row of large buildings came into view. Each was a matte red and metal, with a black roof. They looked like rows of bland suburban houses that stuck out onto the water, each indistinct from one another save for a single number emblazoned at the very top. "Mine is number 5."

He pulled into the parking spot right on the other side of the road from the building. "Alright. Let's head on over." He got out, and smiled when Arin also excitedly exited the car, almost forgetting to close the door behind her. They walked across the way, and stopped in front of a small door. There was a keypad lock on it, with squishy push buttons. He punched in the code. "4, 1, 1, 8, 9." There was an audible click and a soft, electronic buzz to signal it was unlocked. He grabbed the handle and looked at the young chipmunk. "You ready?" She nodded quickly, clearly excited. He chuckled and turned the handle, pushing the door open and stepping inside and flicking the lights on.

"Whoa..." Arin followed, staring at the sight before her. The Azure Seam bobbed gently in the water, flanked by short, wooden piers on either side. The boat was more of a small yacht... or large house boat, depending how you defined things. The hull was a soft eggshell white, but the deck was smooth wood, stained reddish as a cherrywood, and sealed to resist the water. There was a small ramp that led up from one of the piers up to the deck. The wheelhouse was up near the front. "There's no sails."

He chuckled. "Yeah, I'm not much of a sail boat guy. She's got a pair of turbines down below the water. Nothing super powerful, but she can get some decent speed if she needs to." He moved over to the ramp. "C'mon aboard. I'll show you the inside. Just watch your step up the ramp." He held out a hand to help her up the ramp. She giggled a little as she felt the bobbing the moment she was on the metal, but she kept her balance with his help.

Once she was on the deck itself, she looked around. "This is so cool!" There wasn't much to see, since he didn't leave anything sitting around above deck, but there was room for chairs. There were also several slots along the aft where he could rest a fishing pole once cast and waiting for a bite. The only thing that was around were coils of thick rope. One such coil was hanging over the other side of the hull, keeping the thing tied in place to the pier. "I can barely feel it moving..."

He smirked. "You'd feel it if we were out of the dock. You don't get much waves inside the boat house."

"Yeah, um... how do you get it out of here, anyway?" She looked past the fore, at the plain metal wall in front of the prow.

Jay pointed back in the direction of the door they came in. "There's a set of controls over there, just next to the lights. They open the front, kind of like a garage door. Then you just sail right on out. Getting it in is a bit harder, since you need to back it into the port, which takes a bit of practice." He pointed to the rope hanging off the edge. "Then you just tie her down, and she's set."

"Oh... that's pretty cool!" She smiled at him again, and he couldn't help but smile back. Her excitement was infectious.

"You want to see the inside?"

She gasped, nodding quickly. "Yeah! I've never been in a boat like this before! Or... any kind of boat."

He shrugged. "Well, this is more of a yacht, I guess. Though some people are really picky about how you classify different ships. I'm not really a stickler for details like that." He nodded at a set of stairs. "Anyway, just down here. Watch your step, they can be a bit steep." He led her down below deck. Just at the bottom of the stairs was what looked like a combination dining room and kitchen. There was a small stove, a microwave, and a table bolted to the floor, though only one chair at the table. "This is the kitchen. A little small, but you make do with the space you have." He pointed to something next to the microwave. "Still made sure to make room for a coffee maker, of course. Can't go without that."

"Oh, this is so cool!" She looked around with stars in her eyes. "Is there a fridge, too?"

He nodded. "Yup." Moving over to the cabinet with the microwave, he opened one of the doors to show it was actually a minifridge. Though it was lacking much more than a supply of bottle water. "I usually stock her up with a few days worth of food before I take her out. Though mostly I just cook any fish I catch." He shrugged.

"Days?" She looked around. "Where do you sleep?"

"Oh." The squirrel pointed to a small doorway next to the stairs they came down. "The bunk is back there. Further back from there is the engine room. I usually drop anchor and kill the engines when I'm going to sleep, otherwise they'd keep me up." He ducked down so he could step through the doorway. "C'mon."

She followed him, and gasped again. "Whao! An actual bed!?" Sure enough, she was staring at a bed, mattress and sheets and everything. Though it did look like it was attached to the wall, or at least the frame it was sitting on was. "I thought it would be like... a cot or something."

He laughed. "Some boats have those, but I prefer to actually sleep on a bed, even when out to sea. You only need to have cots if there's a bunch of people on the ship, but it's pretty much just me most times, so I don't need to worry about that." He tapped a wooden door, which popped open to show an empty closet. "Even got a place to store a few days worth of clothes. No washing machine on board, though, so laundry gets done when I come back to port." He motioned to another doorway, though this one was sealed with a bulkhead. "Engine room is just back there."

"Can I see!?" She was practically bouncing beside him.

He nodded. "Sure. Just be careful. Even with everything off, it can be dangerous to poke at it." He turned the crank on the bulkhead and pulled it open, stepping inside. The engine itself was not super huge, but did take up most of the aft of the ship. It was a mass of metal machinery that the young girl could barely make much sense of, but she still stared at the whole thing with awe as she followed him inside. He pointed to either side near the bottom. "You can just see where the turbines are connected if you look. Though that's just part of it, since they're actually under the water. There's also a bunch of batteries hooked up through this that make all the electrical systems work. When the engine is going, it charges up the batteries, so they can keep working while the engine is off."

"Awesome!" She giggled and turned to give him a big smile. "This is the coolest thing I've ever seen!" She suddenly gave him a big hug, her thin arms wrapping around his middle. "Thanks for this, Mr. McGavin!"

He tensed up slightly, but did gently pat her back. "Not a problem, kiddo." He was thankful she kept the hug brief, bounding back to the kitchen to poke around that. He took a breath and let it out slowly, forcing himself to keep calm and, most importantly, well behaved. Much as he would love to shove her down on the bed and have a go at her, he forced those thoughts out of his head... for now. He was just showing his neat toy off to a neighbor, nothing else.

Just as he was about to join her, his cellphone buzzed in his pocket. He pulled it out, frowning as he saw the time. He checked the text. It was from Zinda. "Your... package has arrived. I set it aside for you."

He smiled, sending a quick reply. "Thanks. I'll pick it up in the morning." With that, he stuffed his phone back into the pocket of his jeans and joined the girl in the kitchen. She was looking through every cabinet she could reach, finding his set of mugs, some plates, supply of coffee, tea, and powdered cocoa, along with all the spices he used for cooking. She was just peering into the cabinet with all the pots and pans inside. "Alright, Arin. I think we should probably get going. Don't want to give your mother too many reasons to be angry with either of us."

She frowned as she closed the cabinet door. "Yeah... you're probably right." She still managed a smile, though. "But this was really cool! Thanks again for showing me all of this stuff!"

"Not a problem." He nodded to the stairs. "C'mon, let's get going." He led her back up to the deck, then down to the pier itself. After turning the lights off, he closed the door to the boat house, which made another audible click as it locked again. As they returned to the truck, he spoke up again. "One of these days, I'll try and get you out onto the water with me."

"Man, I'd love that..." There was a slight sadness to her voice, just knowing her mother would never allow something like that. "Someday..."

He nodded as he got into the truck. "Yeah." With that, he pulled out and started the short trip home, both of them wishing for that 'someday' was soon, but for very different reasons.

*     *     *


Jay's night was filled with dreams of Arin on his boat. Though a lot were somewhat wholesome in nature. The two of them out at sea, him teaching her how to fish, watching her excitement as he made the boat go much faster than it actually could. All while they were both completely in the nude, of course. There were a few that led to much more lewd places, sharing his bed, out on the deck, and one where they were fucking while floating in the water, with fish just kind of cheering him on. It was no surprise that he woke to find himself rock hard. A quick stroke in the bathroom helped to solve that issue.

The thoughts stuck with him as he drove Arin to the school, but he was pretty sure he kept those thoughts from showing. He was also happy to hear that Veronica was still passed out when he got the girl home the previous afternoon, so the older chipmunk was oblivious to their little field trip after school. Arin was still smiling from it, too. He'd have to take her back there some time, when her mother was mixing pills and booze again. He dropped her off and wished her well, and was happy to see her give him a big smile and wave as she walked away from the truck. All the lewd thoughts aside, he genuinely liked seeing the girl happy for a change.

Speaking of making her happy, he made his way to the office to get the parts for her bike. He was surprised to see Zinda's car already there when he pulled in. He peaked out to the store front and found her just sitting behind the counter, reading something on her phone. "You're here early."

She gave him a smile. "Yeah. Had to get Theresa to the airport at like, 6 this morning. She's heading back home for her mother's 60th birthday. Figured I might as well get an early start instead of sitting around at home for an hour."

He nodded. "Well, hope her mother has a lovely birthday." He turned and made his way to the stock room across from his office. "Holy crap."

Zinda laughed, joining him a moment later. "Yeah, I said the same thing when I saw it." Now he knew why she said his package came the way she did. The box was huge. He could understand why it was so wide, since there were a pair of wheels in there, but it was also almost just as tall. "Thought you were just ordering parts. Did you end up buying a whole new bike in pieces?"

He chuckled. "I guess? Should just be a few things with the wheels." He crouched down to lift the box, which thankfully was not nearly as heavy as he was worried. Though it still had quite a bit of weight to it. "Can you get the door for me?"

"Sure." The zebra moved past him and opened the back door so he could carry the box out and put it into the back of his truck. "With all of that, you might as well have bought the kid a new bike."

He laughed. "I thought about it. But the frame and handles will all be the same." He shrugged. "Besides, you know I like tinkering with stuff like this. Be the first time I've done this kind of maintenance on a bike since I was about her age."

The woman chuckled at him. "Yeah, we used to ride all over town back then. Remember that time we ended up just going and going and ended up in the next town over?"

"How could I forget?" He rubbed the back of his head, his fluffy tail twitching a little. "Mom was furious when I called and said how late we'd be, and Dad had to smooth things over."

The zebra just grinned. "Yeah, he had to talk to my dad to keep him cool, too. He always was good at playing peacekeeper." Her smile turned a little wistful. "I miss the old codger."

He nodded solemnly. "Yeah, me, too... I miss them both." Not long after giving the business to Jay, his father had died of a heart attack. His mother had only died two years ago from a stroke. He didn't let himself say sad for long. "But, I still have you. You're the closest thing I've got to family now."

She nodded, then nudged him in the chest with her elbow. "And that's why you need to find a nice woman and get yourself some kids. Gotta pass this business to someone, right?"

He chuckled, rubbing his chest where she nudged him. "I swear, you're worse than my mother was about that."

She just laughed at him. "Well, someone has to be. I know first hand you're not gay."

"Not that there's anything wrong with that." He said in a slightly sarcastic tone. She just rolled her eyes, having heard that for years now from all over. "If you're so big on kids, why don't you and Theresa adopt one?"

"We've talked about it. She's hesitant, but I think she's coming around to the idea. Slowly."

He pulled the door to his truck open. "Well, I'm going to head home and start working on the bike. If I'm lucky, it'll be done by the time I have to get Arin from school later." He gave her a wave as he got into the truck, and she waved back before heading back into the store. The drive back was quick enough, and soon, he hefted the box into his living room. He also went and retrieved the bike in question, also moving it into his living room. It looked very out of place leaning against the back of his couch, especially with how pink it was compared to the plethora of browns in the room.

Opening the box, he saw why it was so big. The parts were all packed in layers, each with a square piece of packing foam separating them and keeping everything neatly secure for shipping. He was used to getting boxes filled top to bottom with products for sale, not packed for just one person like this. On top was all the smaller pieces, like the breaks and the lines to connect them, the bike chain, and the new seat. Under that was all the tools. Mostly a set of wrenches and allen wrenches, and a bag of different nuts, bolts, and screws. The gears were also here. Under that was the wheels, bare of the tires themselves. Those were in individual boxes tucked into two of the corners. There was even a little pump to fill them with air.

He set it all aside, then flattened the box so he could lay the bike atop that, to keep any of the grease from getting all over his carpet. Then he went to work. Getting the tires off was easy enough, but he struggled a little bit trying to figure out how the gears were attached. He finally figured it out when he realized he had to take the pedals off first. Then everything separated easily enough. He worked for most of the day, finding an odd satisfaction in the task. As he started to reassemble the thing, he realized he just upgraded her bike from a 10 speed to a 21, since there were a few extra gears more than the ones he was replacing.

Putting it back together was somehow faster than taking it apart was. While it wasn't the most difficult part, using the pump to fill the tires was the most exhausting. He was thankful the seat was an easy replacement. When all was said and done, it didn't look like a brand new bike, but it did look just a touch nicer than it had. He tested the tires to make sure they were full enough by bouncing it a little, happy to that he didn't need to use the pump more. Though he also needed a shower once he was done. He had expected to get the grease on his hands, but somehow it had gotten all along his arms, in his tail, and on his face.

Once he was out of the shower and dressed again, he looked at the clock, then cursed. "Shit. I'm going to be late." It was a bit later than he would have liked to leave to pick Arin up. He hastily finished with his clothes and headed out the door. The drive there was quick enough, but he had to wait in the line of cars to pull into the school. When he did finally get up close, he saw Arin standing and waiting for him. He smiled as she opened the door and set her bag on the floor. "Hey, sorry I'm a bit late."

She gave him a smile as she climbed in. "It's okay. I wasn't waiting long." He heard a trilling giggle from outside just before she closed the door. Her ears folded back a little when she heard it. Looking out, he saw the source was a trio of girls nearby, two cats and a coyote.

He nodded. "Are those the... potholes?" She nodded. "Hmm." The three kept glancing over at his truck, muttering something to each other. "Well, whatever gossip they're trying to spread, don't let it get to you, okay?"

She nodded. "O-okay..."

He was about to pull out, but a black sedan suddenly swerved over to cut him off and park directly in front of him. "What the... c'mon in!" He frowned. "Some people." The driver of the car was an older coyote, about his age.

Arin looked up, then back down again. "Oh, that's Kathy's dad." Well, he now knew which of the trio was Kathy, at least.

"Well, now I know where she gets the dickish behavior from." He heard a slight giggle from beside him. Once the car was out of the way, he pulled out and started home. "Got something for you when we get back home."

She looked up at him with a little excitement. "Oh? W-what?"

He smirked. "You'll see when we get there." She frowned, but still did nothing to hide her anticipation the whole short trip. Once they were back, he held up a finger. "Wait out here for just a second."

"O-okay..." She watched him head into his own side of the house. When he came back, pushing her finished bike, she gasped, her eyes wide. "WHOA!" She rushed over, grabbing the handles and looking at it all over. "Y-you did so much!" She pressed her hand against the new seat. "Ooo, it's... softer than the old one."

"Yup. Got more speeds than before, too." He stepped to the side. "Give it a spin." She happily dropped her backpack on the grass and hopped up onto the thing. He was happy to see he had guessed the seat height at least close enough.

She grunted a little, not quite getting it going, then clicked the gears to change them down and tried again. This time, she was off much easier, riding down the street and back again a few times, testing the different new speeds. She squeaked when she squeezed the break, surprised how well it worked. "Ooo... wow, stops a lot faster, too."

"Yeah, your old breaks were pretty worn down, too. Whole new breaks, new gears, new wheels. How's everything feel? Not too stiff or loose?"

She flipped out the kickstand and got off of the bike. "It's great! Seat might need to be brought down just a little, and I need to get used to the new gear speeds, but..." She smiled at him. "This is... just..." He saw her suddenly fighting tears. The next thing she knew, her arms were around his middle again as she gave him a huge hug. "Thank you so much, Mr. McGavin!"

He chuckled, gently patting the girl's back. "You're very welcome, Arin."

"Alright, that's enough sucking up to the man." Both he and the girl flinched as they heard Veronica's voice from the doorway. Arin quickly pulled away from him, her ears back a little. "Stop bugging him and get your ass inside. And put that thing away."

"O-okay, Mom." She slung her backpack over her shoulder before moved her bike over to the side of the house where she normally kept it. She still gave him a slight smile. "Thank you again."

"Of course." He watched as she slipped past her mother and headed inside.

Veronica gave him a scornful scowl. "So, no more rides to school for her." It was not said as a question, more of a statement.

He shrugged. "I can still take her if the weather's bad." She just grunted at him, then turned and followed her daughter inside. He shook his head, making his way to his own side. "You're welcome for fixing your daughter's bike for her? For free, no less..." He sighed as he closed the door. "Well, at least she didn't try and proposition me again."

*     *     *
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