Girl Next Door - The Complete Series (4 page)

I was holding a very sexy blue bikini and trying to imagine it on me, when Cat spoke.

“Have you seen Mr. Yummy this week?”

My eyes cut to her, my mental image of how hot that bikini would look on me destroyed. “No, Cat. I’ve been working twelve hour days all week. I haven’t been home except to sleep.”

She stared at me for a moment, then, in her typical straight-up way, stated, “You gonna screw him, or what?”

I looked back at the bikini, shrugged, and threw it in the cart. It was hot and it was on sale so it was going home with me. Then I stared at Cat.

“I don’t think so, Catwoman. You know I can’t keep distance from people. I’d end up trying to turn my fuck buddy into Mr. Right and end up with my heart splattered on the pavement.”

She cocked her head and returned my stare. I could tell she was thinking, but, as usual, I would never be able to follow the twisted workings of her brain. I loved her to death, had been friends with her forever, but the girl had some strange things going on in her head.

“Okay.” She threw a pink and white, hibiscus print bikini in the cart.

I waited a beat and she said nothing else. “Okay then, let’s get what we need and go home. I’m dead on my feet.”

The rest of our shopping was done at warp speed and we were back at my house within an hour. Cat and I spent the rest of the evening having Man Candy Movie Night. Any movie featuring a sexy man, especially if he was half naked through most of the movie, was fair game. Tonight, we were watching
The Transporter III
and
Casino Royale
. Cat and I both had a thing for men that seemed to exude testosterone. Though Cat disagreed that Daniel Craig was hot, I thought he was all man, and that was with all caps. Grudgingly, Cat agreed. He was definitely blessed with an abundance of testosterone. Jason Statham, well, enough said.

Anyway, we spent the evening drinking sangria, eating popcorn, and drooling over some very sexy actors. Not to mention the characters they played in these movies were all alpha male. Neither Cat nor I regularly dated men who were prone to bossiness. Cat couldn’t abide a bossy man, and I hadn’t found one I trusted enough to let boss me around. Well, at least boss me around in the bedroom. Outside the bedroom, any man who tried to tell me what to do or control me would need testicle retrieval surgery.

After a wonderful girls’ night in, Cat crashed in my guest room and I stretched out in my bed. The week had been long and exhausting. I was looking forward to cutting loose tomorrow at the party. Maybe Mr. Yummy Neighbor would bring his girlfriend tomorrow. I told Cat tonight I had decided not to pursue anything with Aidan, even if he was interested, but I didn’t know if my resolve would hold up under any kind of persistence. I reminded myself that Aidan had not exactly beaten a path to my door with some lame excuse to see me during the week. I was assuming a lot, even with Cat’s buffet comment. Yeah, maybe he would bring a date and prevent me from making a fool of myself. Though the thought made my stomach tight, I told myself it would be better that way. I just wish I had believed me.

By three the next afternoon, my friend, Michael, and his partner, Wyatt, were manning the grill. My girlfriend, Amy, had brought her man-of-the-moment. Like Cat, she was a bit of a commitment-phobe. Cat’s new potential “friend”, Sam, had cancelled at the last minute due to work. According to Cat, he was a firefighter and so hot he could start his own inferno. Too bad he wouldn’t make it. I always loved having eye candy at my parties, just for a nicer view. Aidan had yet to make an appearance. At three-thirty, I figured he wasn’t coming and focused on enjoying my time with my friends. At least I didn’t have to worry about seeing him with a date. I was wet from a dip in the pool, sipping a margarita, and gossiping with Michael, when he glanced over my shoulder and his eyes widened. Knowing that look, I guessed, correctly, that Aidan had showed after all. Leaning back on my lounger, I turned my head. Cat was chatting with Aidan, who was wearing board shorts and a tight white tank. The man was a god, no doubt about it. Even in mandals, shorts and a tank, he revved my engine, big time.

“Who is that?” Michael breathed. His body quivered.

“That is my new neighbor, Aidan. He moved in last month.”

“If he’s gay, I may leave Wyatt. If not, I’m gonna cry.”

I giggled. Michael and Wyatt had been inseparable for years. They were so committed to each other, it was sickening and sweet at the same time. No way would Michael leave his man.

“I don’t know if he’s gay or not. Want me to ask him?”

Even with sunglasses covering his eyes, Michael’s glare penetrated. “Don’t you dare. Just feel him out and let me know later.”

I threw my head back and laughed. Michael always cracked me up. If he were straight, he would have been perfect for me. Oh, well, that’s the way of the world. I was still smiling at Michael, when a shadow came over my chair. I tipped my head back and saw Aidan standing over me. I was thankful I was wearing my aviators with mirrored lenses, so he couldn’t see me staring openly at his body. I also lamented that he was wearing dark Oakleys, which made it impossible for me to read his expression.

Still, I forced myself to keep smiling and greeted him.

“Hi, Aidan. I’m so glad you could make it.” I gestured toward Michael. “This is my friend, Michael.”

Michael jumped up and shook Aidan’s hand enthusiastically. “Great to meet you.”

Aidan nodded and released Michael’s hand. “You, too.”

Oh-kay. I looked between the two men, one on each side of my lounger. Whatever. “Aidan, did Cat introduce you around?”

His head angled back toward me and he gave it a small shake. I smiled brightly, determined to be a good hostess and not a fawning idiot. I stood. “I’ll introduce you to everyone.”

I nodded at Michael, who headed back to Wyatt, probably to spread the word that my new neighbor was insanely gorgeous. I rolled my eyes behind my glasses. I loved my boys, but they could drive me absolutely nuts. Aidan and I walked over to Amy and her new man.

I introduced him and saw Amy regarding him with the same open-mouthed stare as Cat and Michael had given him upon introduction. Her flavor-of-the-month seemed less than happy about this. I had a feeling he wouldn’t last long. We wandered over to the grill next, where Michael and Wyatt stopped whispering as soon as they saw us closing in. Michael introduced Wyatt as his “boy toy” and Aidan grinned for the first time since he arrived and shook Wyatt’s hand.

After the introductions were complete, the party settled and it was a blast. Rock music played on my radio at a loud but not obnoxious volume and we drank and snacked. I found myself relaxing and being my usual exuberant self. I told jokes, stories, and laughed often and loud. Aidan was not as talkative as Cat, Michael, Amy, and I, but he wasn’t aloof either. He listened, laughed a couple of times, and had a dry sense of humor.

The party moved indoors at dusk. Amy and her new man left, but the rest of us sat in the kitchen playing cards and talking. By nine, the day of swimming, sun, food, and alcohol had taken its toll. Mike and Wyatt headed home, too.

This left Cat, Aidan, and I sitting at the kitchen table, still chatting a little, but obviously winding down for the night. Cat was staying the night with me again since she had drunk her share of margaritas, plus part of mine and Michael’s. Cat, the traitor, stood up. “It was great to see you today, Aidan. I’m glad you made it to the party.” She paused and glanced at me. “I’m gonna go upstairs, clean up, and go to bed. I think I got too much sun today.”

I widened my eyes at her, silently promising retribution for her thinly veiled effort to leave me alone with Aidan. She smirked at me, and when she knew Aidan wasn’t looking, stuck out her tongue as she left the room. I rolled my eyes at her. I turned back to Aidan to find him studying me intently. The kitchen table suddenly seemed to shrink. I told myself to remain calm and act cool. He was my neighbor, we’d had fun today, and that would be it.

I tried for a small smile. “Glad you could make it today. You’re welcome to come any time we have a shindig.” There, I was friendly but not overly so.

Aidan gave me his half-smile. “Shindig?”

I waved my hand. “Party, gathering, hoe-down, whatever.”

His half-smile became a full grin and he stood. “Walk me to the door.”

Say what? Okay, so I was right. I was totally not his type. He wasn’t going to flirt, hit on me, or even just hang. Now that everyone else was gone, he was bailing. He probably wanted Cat’s number. I gritted my teeth and decided I would not, absolutely not, give him a fake number, though I really, really wanted to. I did not question why I felt this way, as I was still in denial about the crush I had definitely developed on my new neighbor that afternoon.

We walked to the front door. Aidan opened it, stepped out on the porch, and grabbed my hand to pull me out with him. The front door shut behind us, leaving us on my dim front porch, with Aidan standing close to me. As in, he was way in my space, so much that my breasts touched his front every time I took a breath. Frozen, I stared up at him. In the shadows of my porch, all I could see was the angle of his jaw and his eyes glittering down at me. Suddenly, I felt his big, hot hand on the small of my back, and I jumped. He chuckled. Then, I shivered, goosebumps racing up my arms. Slowly, he used his hand to pull me closer to his front, until I was practically plastered to him. I wasn’t sure if it was the pressure of his hand that made this happen or the fact that my legs became jelly and my head was suddenly light.

I licked my lips and, I swear, he must have been able to see in the dark, because I heard him take a quick breath. Then, he kissed me. It did not feel like a first kiss. It didn’t even feel like a second or third kiss. There was no hesitation or building of heat. One second, I was looking up at his shadowed face and the next his tongue was in my mouth, and his arm was clamped around my waist, lifting me up to his mouth. This was how a man kissed a woman he was fucking, not a woman he had just met. Just like his hand shake, I felt the touch of his lips everywhere, only a hundred times more intense.

When Aidan lifted his head, and I returned to reality, I realized I had tried to climb him like a tree. He had both hands on my ass, supporting most of my weight, while I had both legs tight around his hips. My hands were cupped around the back of his head, gripping him tightly. He used his hands on my ass to pull me in tighter to his groin and I whimpered a little. Holy shit, he was really hard and I was really turned on. He shifted me again, and my clit rubbed against him. My hips twitched involuntarily.

He stared at me for a moment then whispered, “Fuck.” It was not a happy word.

The foggy, lust-filled thoughts in my mind disappeared instantly, and I unwrapped myself from his body and pushed at his shoulders. Aidan lowered me to my feet, but kept his hands tight on my ass. I tried to push again, but he was definitely Wall o’ Muscle and he was determined I was going to stay where I was.

I opened my mouth to ask him what in the hell he thought he was doing, when the front door flew open. Cat saw us in a clinch.

“Oh, shit, sorry, sorry. I was just looking for Nat. I was never here.”

With that she slammed the door and left us in the shadows again. Shit, damn, hell, and every other curse word known to man. I was fucked, and, if the dick poking me in the belly was any indication, it was going to be literally and figuratively. I looked back up at Aidan.

“That was a mistake. We’re neighbors. If we start something, one, or both of us, is gonna be miserable and probably pissed when it ends. I love my house and do not want to move, which means you would have to move.”

Aidan shook his head. “Why would I have to move if we started and then ended?”

My eyes narrowed. “Because.”

“Babe, we’ve been living next door to each other a month and I’ve only seen you twice. Once because we were both mowing our yards, and the other because your dickhead ex was keeping me up. If one of us gets sick of the other, I doubt we’d run into each other often.”

He had a point. Still, that was not the end of it. “I just broke up with a guy a few weeks ago. The last thing I need to do is start a relationship with somebody else.”

“Who said anything about a relationship?”

Oh, now I was pissed. He just kissed me like he was planning on ripping my clothes off, but jumping back from the R-word. How? How in the hell did these guys find me? I must send out some kind of beacon, like a lighthouse. If you are a dickhead, asshat, or douchebag, see Natalie York.

This time, when I shoved at his shoulders, he let me go. “Exactly my point.” I fumed. “I get not every guy wants a relationship, and I respect men who are honest about it from the get-go. However, I’m gonna be honest with you. I’m thirty years old. I’m not exactly looking to settle down, but I want more than a fuck buddy. I’m independent and I like to party. I know fucking someone doesn’t automatically mean hearts, flowers, and forever, but it does mean
something
. At least to me. If you want a booty call, you’d better look elsewhere.”