by Riley, Alexa
THICK
Alexa Riley
Contents
THICK
HEA on the go
Chapter 1
Chapter 2
Chapter 3
Chapter 4
Chapter 5
Chapter 6
Chapter 7
Chapter 8
Chapter 9
Chapter 10
Epilogue
Epilogue
Holding His Forever
Chapter 1
Stalk the Author
Copyright © 2018 by Author Alexa Riley LLC. All rights reserved.
No part of this publication may be reproduced, distributed or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the publisher, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews and certain other noncommercial uses permitted by copyright law. For permission requests, email to [email protected]
http://alexariley.com/
Publisher’s Note: This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are a product of the author’s imagination. Locales and public names are sometimes used for atmospheric purposes. Any resemblance to actual people, living or dead, or to businesses, companies, events, institutions, or locales is completely coincidental.
Edited by Aquila Editing
Cover Designer: Perfect Pear Creative Covers
Photographer: Sara Eirew Photographer and Design
THICK
by Alexa Riley
Teeny has just moved into a brand new place and curiosity has gotten the better of her. When she meets her new neighbor she’s not prepared for how big or how hot he is. The gentle giant has her fantasies running wild and she’s learning what it means to love thy neighbor.
Bull has always been the biggest in the room and it’s annoying. He’s a former security guard who now does online consulting to stay away from the stares. But when his young little neighbor wants to make friends he can’t help himself. He’s tearing down all his walls and breaking the rules just to have a shot at what he never thought was possible.
Warning: Will Bull be too big to make Teeny his? Will it somehow work anyway? You betcha! Find out what happens when this bull meets his china shop…because it’s wild!
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Chapter One
Teeny
“Can you put that on there?” I point to where I want the next batch of boxes to go before I trip right into one and almost fall over it.
My phone slips out of my hand and goes flying into the air. One of the movers grabs me by my shirt right before I face plant onto the ground for the second time this afternoon.
“Jesus, kid,” the guy says as he gives my shirt a good yank and puts me back on my feet.
“Thanks,” I tell the older man, who looks like my great uncle John on my dad’s side.
His name tag reads Paul and tells me he’s the owner. He lets go of my shirt when he sees I’ve got my feet back under me.
“Thank me by parking yourself in a chair until we’re done here.” He points to my daybed that’s set up in the living room. It can work as both a bed and sofa since the one bedroom I have is going to be my office. I don’t need a lot of space, but somehow I have a lot of things. Maybe I should have let some stuff go. It doesn’t help matters that my parents are downsizing and let me have my pick of a lot of stuff before they move.
“I can help,” I try again but catch my foot on one of the boxes. It tips over and one of the movers grabs it before it hits him in the head. I cringe and my face heats. I almost nailed the guy right in the face. “Sorry.”
“What’s in that box, air?” Paul laughs from beside me.
“Stuffed animals.” I say and sigh.
“You’re eighteen, right?” Paul looks me up and down. “Never thought to ask someone’s age before I moved them.” His eyebrows pull together and worry etches his face.
“Yes, I’m eighteen.” I roll my eyes. I get that a lot. I’m small and my cheeks are round. Those two things together and people always think I’m younger than I am.
“They’re not my stuffed animals.” I know having boxes of stuffed animals doesn’t help with the age thing.
“You stole them?” Paul gives me a teasing smile.
“No.” I scrunch my nose. “They’re mine for work,” I hurriedly add.
“For work?” Now he doesn’t fight the laugh trying to escape when he teases me about having them, and a few of the other guys join in.
“Yes for work. See? It says ‘office’ on it.” I point to the words scrawled on the box in pink marker. I know they’ll want to know what I do for a living next, but I don’t offer to tell them.
“Glad we cleared that up.” Paul shakes his head when he sees I’m not going to give them any more information. “How about you sit.” He motions towards the daybed again.
I don’t want to sit, I want to unpack. I’m too excited to be still right now. I’ve never had a place all to myself. It’s scary but I don’t care. I’m ready for this.
“I don’t need a lawsuit because you hurt yourself.” This time Paul’s tone is serious and he’s not really asking.
“Fine.” I walk over to the daybed and sit down. I know I’m clumsy.
I get it, I just don’t care anymore. If it were up to me, of course, I wouldn’t be clumsy, but I’ve learned to accept it for what it is. I can’t sit in one spot for the rest of my life. I kick off my shoes and tuck my feet under me. I’ll stay out of their way because they’re just trying to do their jobs. I don’t need to add to the chaos of three men in my tiny apartment. With my luck I’d end up flattened.
They all go back to working since they’re almost finished. I sit and watch and try to direct from my seat. There’s really no point because my place is so small they might as well put everything in one big pile.
After a few minutes I give up because they’re not really listening to me. It’s another problem with being small and people taking me for a kid. You can go unnoticed even when you’re talking someone, which is more annoying than being clumsy.
“Fine,” I mumble as I pick up my phone to play with.
My laptop is on the other side of the room, but Paul can cut me a look better than my dad. They’re almost done anyway, so I’ll wait.
I pull up my emails and see if I’ve gotten anything new in the last few hours. I’m ahead on my work projects so I have some wiggle room. I’m debating on letting them know to toss a few more my way, but I’m not sure how my move will go or what I’ll be doing now that I live in the city. At least I’m calling it the city. Mom corrects me every time that it’s more of a suburb, but compared to where we live this is the city if you ask me.
As if she knows I’m thinking of her, my phone rings.
“Hey Mom,” I answer.
“How’s it going, sweetheart?” I can hear a touch of annoyance in her voice and it’s clear she still isn’t happy with me about this.
I planned my move on the same day they were set to take off on their trip. They’re going on a year-long cruise around the world where they end up back in Florida where they plan to live. With my move the same day it’s physically impossible for them to be in both locations at the same time.
“Great.” I chirp, pretending not to see Paul watching me. “The movers are almost done and I can
start unpacking.”
“That’s good. I wish we could have helped.” She sighs into the phone. She wishes she would have hovered. It would have been sweet but annoying.
“Mom, I’ve got this. You’ve already helped enough.”
I was a late-in-life surprise for my parents. They’d always planned to retire early, so I knew when I turned eighteen and graduated it was off to college or move to Florida with them.
I chose neither and instead moved to the city not far from our small town. Maybe I could go to college; it’s still an option. But living out in the middle of nowhere, I’d gotten a jumpstart on my passion and it took off when I’d only been fifteen. The Love Toy Company was surprised by my age when they signed me up but they still took a chance on me anyway.
At this point I’m riding the wave, but maybe I should look into college. I could go for something like business maybe? Right now I don't want to think about that. I’m enjoying my first taste of being on my own. Even if I don't look old enough to be doing it, I’m doing it anyway.
My parents are older and they should be out seeing the world. They’ve done right by me and I want them to enjoy this time. I don’t want them to be worrying about everything I’m doing. I might be clumsy, but I think I can take care of myself. I bounce back better than most and I can handle this.
“I know, but I want to see what your place looks like when it’s all done.”
I laugh because I’m sure she can picture it already. She helped me find this apartment and we packed up my childhood home together. Their stuff went into storage and mine was boxed and tagged for the movers, who came the day after they flew out.
“I’ll send lots of pictures.”
“I know, but don’t photoshop me into them!” She uses her mom tone on me and I laugh.
“But it will be like you’re here with me,” I say.
“You pick the worst pictures.” I laugh harder when I hear my dad in the background laughing with me. A second later I hear a loud horn.
“We’re setting sail, honey,” I hear my dad say to Mom.
“I’ll email them.” I know they won’t have the best service out at sea. Mom has told me this five million times since she realized I wasn't actually going to move down to Florida and stay at the new place.
“You be careful,” she adds. “Don’t get too worked up.”
“I’m not.” It’s not a lie because I’m not worked up right now.
I’m sitting on my sofa bed not moving. Mom says I only get clumsy when I get worked up. What she really means is when I get excited, and I get excited easily. I can’t help it. My parents didn't try and keep me in a cage when I was growing up, but living so far from everything, I didn't get to see much unless we were traveling. Now there’s excitement at every turn here.
“I love you,” I hear Dad say.
“Love you both,” I tell them before ending the call.
When I look up I see Paul standing by the door writing on a clipboard.
“All done?” I ask as I stand up and make sure to walk carefully to the door so I don’t fall again. I take the clipboard and sign where he points. “Thanks,” I say as he leaves with his guys and I close my door.
I’m finally all alone in my new place and I turn around to take it all in. When I do, I catch sight of one of the movers’ hats sitting on top of a box. I grab it and open my door to call for Paul. I remember a second later I forgot my phone and I promised my mom I wouldn’t step outside my place without it. Quickly I turn to grab it and run right into my closed front door.
“Ouch!” I yelp when as I rub my head. “Of course,” I mumble to myself as I reach for the knob.
I pause when I hear something behind me and turn around to look to the door across from mine. Am I supposed to introduce myself to the neighbor, or are they supposed to introduce themselves to me? Maybe you wait until you run into each other?
“Oh, you found it.” I see one of the movers making his way back towards me with his hand held out for his hat.
“Yeah, it was on top of one of the boxes,” I say, handing it to him. He glances at my forehead and fights a laugh.
“Thanks.” He walks away and I hear him laugh as he goes.
I look back at the door across from mine and something pulls my attention to it. I stand there for a long moment with the urge to knock.
So I do.
Chapter Two
Bull
I watch through the peephole as the girl across the hall gets moved in. I caught a few glimpses of her while they were bringing in boxes. But now all the movers are gone and there she stands in the hallway looking at my door.
I moved here about six years ago and don’t get out much. With the internet and delivery services, I don’t really need to. My place is really two apartments combined. It’s part of the reason I got the place so quickly. I could live anywhere, but I didn’t want to live in the city and this was close enough to all the things I needed.
Some people might think it’s hard to be inside all the time, but I like it. When you look like I do, going outside sucks, so staying in my home and being alone is better than getting stared at like a freak.
My mom named me Bull the first time she laid eyes on me. She said the whole time she was pregnant I was kicking up a storm, and then when I came out I was twice the size of all the other babies in the nursery. I set a record in the state for the largest baby delivered that year, and then I kept on setting records until I quit going to the doctor. I didn’t like how everyone watched me like I was about to Hulk smash the building or something.
Sure, I have to duck to go through doors and bend my knees to get under the shower spray, but I’m not a monster. The problem is that I’m not just tall, I really am built like a bull. I’ve got a wide body with thick arms and legs and I’m probably the strongest man in the world. I lift weights but nothing too crazy. My body just wants to be big, so I could pick up a bag of flour and gain muscle.
It’s the reason I stay indoors and the reason I don’t have any sort of relationships. It’s not worth all the questions and looks, and my life is easier when it’s just me. My mom died when I was young and I never knew my dad. As I stare at the pretty girl I wonder if she’s got any family looking out for her. Is she alone, too?
When I first saw her I thought she was someone’s kid sister they brought along for the move. But then I realized she was telling people where to put stuff, so it must be her place. She’s so small that I bet she gets asked about it all the time. I know me being so big gets attention, but I’m sure her being so small does too.
Her dark hair is piled up in a messy bun and some hair has escaped down her neck. Her eyes are dark, but her features are so soft that she looks like a cherub. I can tell even from here that she’d smell sweet and feel delicate all over. How can something so innocent be real?
To my utter shock she takes a step towards my door and raises her hand. I jerk back as her knuckles make contact and then I put my hand over my mouth.
I stare in stunned silence at the door and I can hear the beating of my heart in my ears. How long do I have to stand here before she goes away? I don’t dare look through the peephole again just in case she can see a shadow. If I move from this spot she might hear the floor creak, so I stand there hoping she’ll just go away.
“Hi there,” she says in a sing-song voice. “I’m your new neighbor Teeny.”
I hold my breath as she knocks again and curse myself for being so fucking nosy to begin with. Why did I stand there for so long watching her? I try to reason that it’s because she’s new and lives across from me, but really it was one glimpse and I couldn’t look away.
“Well, my real name is Louise, but everybody just calls me Teeny because of my size.”
I’m dying to see her, so I take a chance and move just a bit closer to the door. The floor creaks and I curse under my breath.
“I think I heard you on the other side of the door,” she says, and I see her squint as she looks into the p
eephole. “Sorry, I’ve been called nosy more than a few times. I just wanted to introduce myself and say hello.”
I open my mouth to say something, but I lose my nerve and clamp my mouth shut.
“Okay, sorry to bother you. Have you a good night.”
For just a second I can see her look crestfallen as she turns to walk away.
“Wait,” I call out in my deep and unused voice. I clear my throat and watch her stop and look at my door once more. “Sorry, I’m, um—” I look around for an excuse and glance down at my bare chest. “I’m not dressed.”
Her cheeks pinken and she brings her hand to her mouth to smother her smile. “I’m so sorry.”
It’s not unusual that I’m not wearing clothes. Being as big as I am, it’s hard to find things that fit and most of the time I’m more comfortable in boxer briefs.
“It’s okay,” I hear myself saying, because I want to make her feel better. “You moved in?”
Why am I talking through the door like an idiot? I rest my forehead on the wood and close my eyes. I wish I could open the door and get a good look at her, but I know the second she sees me she’ll probably ask to get a new place. She won’t want to live across the hall from Frankenstein’s monster.
“Yeah, I’ve got lots of boxes and unpacking to do, but I’m kind of excited about it.” She gets a dreamy look in her eyes for a second as she smiles to herself. “Anyway, I should probably go do that.”
I wait to see if she’s going to say anything else, but she just looks up and down the hall before her eyes come back to my door.