Girl Next Door: The Complete Series Read online

  “Thanks again, Aidan. Have a good night.”

  “You, too.” he said.

  I shut the door and locked it. I didn’t hear Aidan walk away until I threw the deadbolt.

  Great. I lived next door to a major hunk and he’s already seen me with messy hair, sans make-up, and dealt with my screaming asshole of an ex. Maybe it had been too dark for him to see me clearly, but nothing could cover up an asshole ex shouting drunkenly on your front porch. Way to make a first impression, I thought. Then I sighed, shut off the TV and headed to bed.

  The next morning I woke up to a bright sunny Sunday. Ugh. I really wanted to just stay in bed all day, but I had shit to do, mainly mowing my lawn. While I did not exactly enjoy the chore, I refused to spend money on a lawn service when I could do the job just fine by myself. Also the money I saved in lawn care could go toward more fun things, like shoes, clothes, or my vacation fund.

  By ten, I had showered, dried my hair, and put on light make-up. Yes, even when I was just going out front to mow my lawn, I liked a little powder and mascara because you never knew who might drop by. Also, I had just discovered that my new neighbor was super hot and I didn’t want him seeing me as unattractive as I’m sure I looked had last night. I grabbed my comfiest cut off shorts, which also made my legs look lean and long. At five-four, my legs weren’t all that long, so I would take what I could get. A fuchsia camisole-style top with a built in bra came out of the closet next. I slipped on my nastiest Converse. No way was I ruining good shoes to mow my lawn. After a quick cup of coffee, I donned a kick ass pair of aviator sunglasses with mirrored lenses and commenced to dragging the lawnmower out of my garage.

  While I am definitely all girl, I also believed a single woman should be able to take care of herself. Since my dad owned a lawnmower shop well before my time, he taught me a little about the care of lawnmowers. He also taught me how to change a flat, check my oil, and air up my tires. Now, I definitely would never be able to rebuild an engine, but I knew enough to handle the basics of car and lawnmower care. So, I gassed up my push mower and pulled it out of the garage.

  I started it up and commenced to mowing the hell out of my lawn. Thankfully, it was pretty small and I took fairly good care of the grass, so it was thick and lush. I was just about to finish the last swath when I saw Aidan pulling his mower out as well. I guess I wasn’t the only one with that particular chore today. Oh my God, he was shirtless! I realized last night he was in good shape, but in the bright light of day, I realized he was cut. His muscles had baby muscles. I felt drool pool in my mouth.

  Realizing I was staring at him like an idiot, I smiled and waved, trying very hard to act casual. Thank goodness I was wearing sunglasses and he couldn’t see my eyes trying to devour every inch of exposed skin. He returned my wave with a chin lift and started up his mower. I forced myself to stop watching him. He was my neighbor. I would probably see him in passing on a regular basis. I might as well try to be friendly, especially since he’d helped me out last night, but I could not start staring at him like a moron every time I saw him. He would think I was weird or desperate, or both.

  I shut my mower down and hauled it back to the garage. I was about to lower the door when I saw Cat’s awesome new black Camaro pull up to the curb. Leaving the garage door up, I walked down the driveway. Cat hopped out of the car and waved at me, grinning broadly. As usual, she looked hot. Though Cat was even shorter than me, the girl was built like a 1950’s pin-up, or as my dad says, “a brick shithouse.” I never understood what that phrase meant. I glanced at my neighbor’s yard, wondering if Aidan had seen Cat yet. Men usually began drooling and lost twenty IQ points at their first glimpse of my bestie. Strangely, the thought of my new neighbor ogling my best friend didn’t make me feel like smiling. It actually made my stomach twist a little. Crap. Not good. I could not develop a screaming crush on my neighbor. Firmly, I put those thoughts out of my mind. I looked back at my friend, ready to disappear into my house and maybe mix up some margaritas. Who the hell cared if it was barely noon on a Sunday?

  Cat had stopped dead on my front walk, staring open mouthed at my new neighbor. God, I hoped my face hadn’t looked like that when he was standing in front of me last night. Suddenly, Cat grinned hugely and waved, staring behind me. I glanced back to see Aidan standing at the door of his garage, looking between me and Cat.

  Cat sauntered past me toward Aidan. Oh no, she was going to go talk to him. I stared at her back, hoping my mental pleas for her to cease and desist would get through to her. No such luck. Either Cat was too blinded by Aidan’s hotness to sense my panic or she was ignoring it. Knowing her, it was probably the latter. She’d always been a bit of a troublemaker and full of mischief. I think it was compensation for her slight stature, as she was almost three inches shorter than me.

  “Hey.” she said. I hurried next to her, hoping to drag her away quickly before she embarrassed the hell out of me, well, more than Jack had last night.

  I decided introductions were the quickest way to get this over with. “Cat, this is Aidan. He moved in a few weeks ago. There was a bit of a problem at my house last night. He helped me out.”

  Cat looked Aidan up and down, licked her lips, and then turned dancing eyes to me. “I’ll bet he did.”

  I froze. I recognized that tone. Cat was about to meddle, and claim it was for my own good. I suspected that most of her meddling was less about my well-being and more about her own entertainment.

  She held out her hand. “Hi, Aidan. I’m Catherine Johnson, Nat’s best friend. Everyone calls me Cat.”

  Aidan took her hand, released it, looking between the two of us. A strange expression crossed his face. It was almost pained.

  “Cat and Nat?” he asked, sounding a little choked.

  Then he grinned. Cat and I both made a little noise in the back of our throats. Damn, he was gorgeous when he gave a half smile, but when he out-and-out grinned, I thought my panties were going to go up in a puff of smoke.

  I realized he looked and sounded funny a moment ago because he was trying not to laugh. I wrinkled my nose and frowned at him. His grin got even wider. I turned my eyes to Cat and narrowed them. Sensing I was two seconds from a meltdown, Cat smirked at me.

  “It was lovely to meet you, Aidan. Nat and I have some stuff to take care of today.”

  I blew out a relieved breath and waved good-bye to Aidan. He smiled again, like I was funny. Why he thought my wave was funny, I don’t know. Cat and I were almost to my front porch when she looked back. I followed her gaze and saw Aidan watching us walk away.

  Cat’s eyes cut quickly to me and I got that bad feeling again. I started to speak, but she ran right over my words.

  “Aidan, Nat is having a pool party next Saturday. It’s gonna be great food and great company. You should come. It starts at three o’clock.”

  Before I could even gather my thoughts to respond, she grabbed my arm in an iron grip and dragged me into the garage. I put down the garage door, followed Cat into the kitchen and then rounded on her.

  “What in the hell was THAT?”

  By the time I reached the end of my question, I was almost yelling.

  Cat smirked at me. Friggin’ smirked at me. Seriously.

  “Nat, hon, that gorgeous hunk of beefcake out there was lookin’ at you like you were a buffet after he’d been on a three day fast. If you don’t hook that, and ride until both of you are done, I’ll take him on.”

  I gaped at her. Then I realized what she had said.

  “He was looking at me like a buffet?”

  Suddenly, we were both giggling madly.

  “I need a drink.” I moaned heading toward the fridge.

  My kitchen was one of my favorite rooms of the house. The walls were creamy, pale yellow and the cabinets had a golden maple stain. The overall effect was warm and cozy. The previous owners had installed gorgeous granite countertops and a beautiful tile mosaic backsplash behind the gas stove.

  I opened the refrigerator
and pulled out margarita mix. Cat automatically went into the pantry for tequila. While I mixed up skinny margaritas, I decided to lay it out for Cat.

  “Babe, I realize my neighbor is hot enough to melt iron, but I’m pretty sure he’s a player. Also, I’m pretty sure he’s way out of my league.”

  Cat scoffed. “He’s not out of your league. You are out of his. But, you’re right, he may be a player. Still, if you know that going in, and keep it strictly physical, it might be just what you need to get over this Jack crap.”

  I sipped my margarita and mulled over her words. I’d never had a fuck buddy before. Aidan was smokin’ and, for all I knew, he could be boring as hell outside of bed. Or maybe he would be bad in bed. Sometimes good looking guys didn’t think they had to make an effort. I wrinkled my nose.

  Cat, as usual, read my mind. “I doubt he’ll suck in the sack.”

  I laughed. “You’re probably right.”

  She leaned forward. “Seriously, honey, that man’s body isn’t a wonderland, it’s a jungle gym. You need to climb on and play for a while.”

  I snorted and erupted into deep belly laughs.

  I raised my glass to her. “All right. I’ll think about it. Besides, this is all hypothetical. I’m probably not even his type.”

  It was Cat’s turn to roll her eyes.

  The next week flew by. The accounting firm where I worked was swamped. I worked ten to twelve hour days all week. I did manage to meet Cat for Zumba or yoga several times. It wouldn’t do for me to quit working out the week before my first pool party of the year.

  Friday night I had just gotten home and kicked off my heels when my cell rang. It was Cat because only she was assigned “I Love Rock n’ Roll” as a ringtone. I really wanted to ignore it because I was bone tired, but I knew Cat would not give up.

  “Hey, Catwoman.” I knew this would annoy her. She hated that nickname.

  Cat’s response was loud and happy, not irritated as I thought it would be. “Nat! We gotta stock up for tomorrow. By my count, there will be eight of us, including you, me, and Mr. Yummy Neighbor.”

  I flopped down on my sofa. It was just past eight on a Friday evening, and I had been in the office by seven a.m.

  “Cat, I just worked twelve hours. I’m exhausted. Can we go in the morning?”

  “Nope.”

  “Cat…”

  She interrupted me. “I’ll be there in twenty. We’ll do a grocery dash, then we’ll do girls’ night in. I’ll go get the liquor in the morning.”

  I sighed. Cat was stubborn. Even if I told her no, she would show up on my doorstep anyway. “Okay, I’ll be ready.”

  I groaned as I hauled myself off the couch and grabbed my heels. I headed upstairs to change. As I hung my black pencil skirt, my thoughts drifted to Aidan, which it had done frequently during the week. My conversation with Cat about fuck buddies stayed on my mind, even with all the craziness in the office that week. I honestly didn’t know if I could handle a purely physical relationship with a man. I mean, I’d had boyfriends who ended up being more friends than lovers, but I had still cared deeply about them, and our relationships had been exclusive. I didn’t know if I could handle sharing, even if I wasn’t emotionally attached. I shook my head at my thoughts. I knew myself better than that. There was no way I could remain emotionally detached if I spent any time at all with Aidan, whether we spent much of it talking or not. I was a nurturer by nature. I always wanted to take care of people. If I got involved with Aidan, I’d probably want to take care of him, too.

  I took off my sheer green blouse, with its pretty tailored pleats and cap sleeves, and the silky green camisole I wore underneath. Though I had to dress professionally for work, I would not sacrifice looking good. No way would I stick to neutrals. Yuck.

  My hot peep toe pumps with their four inch heels were placed in a protective plastic box. They were one of the items purchased in a shoe lust fog, and since they were worth more than my monthly car payments, I intended to take care of them.

  I pulled on a snug pair of faded jeans and a T-shirt that read, “I’m a Pepper.” The works were surrounded on each side by red and green jalapenos.

  Another thought that had crossed my mind that week was Aidan’s neighbor status. If he sucked in the sack, but wanted more, he could be annoying. Or if was a bedroom god and decided once was enough, I could be left wanting more. I thought I could prevent myself from being annoying, but if he was incredible in bed and left me wanting more, I might take him hostage. Okay, so maybe that would be annoying to him, but I would be happy for a while. Hmmm.

  My thoughts were interrupted by the doorbell. After the incident with Jack, I couldn’t be too cautious. I went to my office, which was at the front of the house on the second story, and looked out the window. Cat’s sleek black Camaro sat at the curb.

  I went back to my closet to grab some flip flops and dashed downstairs. Purse in hand, I opened the door and headed down the front walk. Cat smirked when she saw my shirt. She was with me when I bought it and teased me about wanting to tell the world I was hot. Honestly, that was the least of my concerns. The shirt was super cute, and I didn’t care about anyone else’s thoughts on it.

  We climbed into her car and headed to Super Target. Of course, in Super Target, one cannot just pick up groceries. Cat and I wandered into the women’s clothing department to browse. First, we headed straight to the bathing suits. I collected new suits and always managed to ruin them, therefore, I refused to spend too much money on a bikini that probably wouldn’t last through the summer.

  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 for
ward 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.