by C L Walker
Copyright @2020 C.L. Walker
All rights Reserved.
This is a work of fiction.
Names, characters, businesses, places, events, locales, and incidents are either the products of the author's imagination or used in a fictitious manner. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.
Chapter 1
Darling, you look positively criminal!
As the saying goes it doesn't hurt to look unless of course it's a crime because you are looking without permission. Which was in fact exactly what we were doing.
A week ago, a new neighbor moved in right next door, and I didn't know anything about him other than the fact that he was gorgeous in a way I had never seen outside of the movies. He was tall, had black hair styled in an undercut, lovely almond shaped brown eyes, and a plump bottom lip that would make a prude swoon.
“Finally, he has arrived!” I shouted so loud you'd think I had spotted a celebrity and not the boy next door.
“Where?” my friend asked as she stepped on my foot while she tried to get a better look through the small space in my blinds.
I answered with a yelp before I said, “Get off my poor foot woman!”
I nudged her over so I could slide my foot out from under hers and in the process I had given myself more room to see through my blinds to get a better look at my neighbor even though I had seen him numerous times prior.
“Kyla,” she said, “you've seen him in all his glory how many times now? Why don't you move your butt out of my-” She didn't continue because right at that moment my neighbor removed his shirt.
After she gathered her wits once more, she said, “Oh my, he has abs. That's completely unreasonable when coupled with a face like that!”
I laughed at her reaction as I watched him toss his shirt aside and begin to work on removing his black skinny jeans before he tossed all his clothes in a hamper.
Without his clothes on his chest piece along with his sleeve tattoos were revealed and I thought it was rather impressive how well he pulled off a clean-cut look despite what he looked like underneath his clothes. He was the best of both worlds, seemingly perfect, which made me even more curious about what he was like on the inside and what flaws he carried around.
Once the show was over, we both sighed as we let go of my blinds and slumped to the floor.
I'd been talking about him for days and my best friend Amber had finally come over to see what all my fuss was about. So, there we were, two teenage girls giggling over a handsome boy like we were thirteen years old and not almost adults.
“I told you, he's like a gift from God. Remember what I said last year huh?” I nudged her with my elbow. “I told you last year I was sick of all the same boys we've grown up with and then look what happened!" I gestured towards my window to imply that he had been sent there just for me. "Fate my friend, fate!”
She shook her head as her golden-brown eyes filled with merriment. “Don't even think about it. He's too old for you.”
She was never one to show me any kind of mercy and it was part of why I loved her so much. She was as honest and genuine as they came.
I nodded my head once in determination, even if it was all for show because I didn't really believe it was fate. Your life is what you make it, or what others do to it. So, he was some hot guy who happened to move next door. Nothing more.
“He can't be that much older,” I said as he didn't look like it anyway.
Amber looked at me with disbelief. “He owns a house Kyla, and without roommates I might add. That says a lot. He's either a spoiled rich boy or he's worked hard for what he has and is definitely older.” She stopped to think for a second, as she tapped her fingers on her thigh, it was her telltale sign of deep thinking. “I'm going to guess maybe twenty-six.”
“Twenty-six! No don’t guess that high!” Twenty-six was a bit older than me, a bit too much older.
I stood up and straightened out the skirt of my school uniform which consisted of a black skirt with a white button up shirt and a black tie. I hated it because like many other girls I had a passion for clothing and going to a private school was a huge drag for me due to the uniforms. Thankfully, there were no rules about shoes, hair or make up etc. So, I still managed to put across my style with my long dark purple hair and array of colored lipsticks.
I enjoyed standing out a little, but I was also aware that there were a million other girls who looked similar to me. No one was entirely original unless, in my humble opinion, you looked like my stunning best friend.
I couldn't think of a single person who was as unique looking as Amber. She was devastating with her brown skin, bright eyes, and wild curly black hair, she glowed no matter the setting.
“Sorry, it’s already said and done,” she said.
“You don't know that for sure. We will have to wait and see.” I knew she was most likely right, but I wanted to live in my fantasy a little longer. “Tomorrow after school I'm going to introduce myself and find out.” I said in a firm voice that ended up sounding manly.
We started cracking up, and Amber shook her head at me as she said, “Sure babe, whatever you say. Let me know all about it tomorrow. I have to get home.”
I appreciated that she allowed me to be stubborn and find things out for myself.
Tomorrow was the first day of our senior year and we were both equally dreading it and excited for it. Dreading it because it was school but excited because it was our last year.
“Bye honey.” I waved to her as she slipped out of my bedroom.
I took off my uniform I only tried on because I needed to make sure it would still fit since I had put on fifteen lbs. sitting on my ass all summer and had purchased it at the end of last year.
I was tempted to peek out my window to see if I could catch my neighbor once more before I went to bed. I knew someday I would get caught, but it was too thrilling to stop.
It wasn’t as if he ever did anything controversial anyways, he pulled down his blinds when he went to bed and was only in his room to change in the evenings from what I had gathered.
He must have been a little slow not to realize people could see him through his window though, and because of that I could hardly be blamed for taking advantage…right?
The next morning I awoke to a sun that was far too bright, for so early in the morning.
"What in the hell!?" I said aloud as I flung my rainbow comforter off my body and flew out of my bed.
Once I was fully coherent, I looked at the time on my phone and promptly had another freak out. It was the first day of school and I had slept through my alarm and I only had a half hour to get ready.
I showered in a rush and tied my hair into a neat bun at the top of my head. Then I managed to get on the bare minimum of makeup, mascara and soft purple lipstick and headed out the door. I ran back in when I realized I forgot a coat and grabbed my leather jacket that was hanging by the door.
I got in my purple Jetta and glanced over at my neighbor's house to see if he was still home. But he wasn't. His black Mazda wasn't in the driveway and he rarely parked it in the garage.
Wow, I sounded like a psycho. I made a mental note to stop taking so many mental notes about him before it got weird.
I tried to imagine where he might work based off his looks, he looked like he'd be a music producer for a rock band or a writer of graphic novels.
Either way I couldn't recall the last time I had been so attracted to someone and I hadn't even heard his voice or seen his face up close and I was already drooling over him.
I mentally shook myself again because honestly, thirsty didn't look good on anyone.
I needed to keep my focus on more important things than boys because my last year of hi
gh school was about to begin.
I cleared my mind and plugged in my phone and put on "Tortured," by Cobble, because music was a must in every situation it was allowed whether I had time for it or not.
Before I left, I dug through my book bag one last time to be sure I had everything I needed.
I was about to pull out when something hit my window and made me jump in my seat. I turned to see Amber with a panicked look on her face, both of her hands were on my window and a piece of bread hung out of her mouth.
Without a word she whipped around my car and got inside as I glanced over and frowned at her for making my heart work so hard at seven in the morning.
“Man am I glad you are still here,” she said, behind her soggy looking bread as she buckled her seat belt. “I Couldn't find my keys.”
She was always losing everything. “Of course, you can’t,” I said, and followed with a snicker.
I finally pulled out of our neighborhood with its identical houses that screamed lower middle class. We lived in a town with not nearly enough people, everyone knew everybody else which meant rumors went full circle in a few days' time. There was no getting away with anything.
The most exciting thing that happened in town was our strawberry festival during the summer and parties out in an abandoned barn by the lake.
I had lived there my whole life so it was all I knew, and I couldn't wait to get out and experience what else the world had to offer.
Because of this I decided I wasn't going to college right after high school much to my parent's dismay. The first thing I planned on doing was going on an adventure with no clear destination in sight. I wanted to see the world, fall in love, and hopefully find myself. Whatever that meant.
Amber finished her toast quickly and brushed out her newly colored caramel curls before she threw them into a bun at the nape of her neck.
“Your hair looks amazing!” I said.
“Thank you, it was a last-minute decision. I used a high lift dye.” She patted her hair self-consciously while she examined her image in the mirror. “Are you sure it looks okay? It's not too light?"
“Really woman, what do you mean too light? As if anything could be.” I sighed and put my hand on her thigh and gave her a pat as I did my best to comfort her without looking away from the road. “You could rock damn near anything girl, and you know it.”
She smiled at herself in the mirror and I knew she liked her hair and that's all that mattered. "Ugh, I know I can but it's scary trying new things. Thanks Ky, as always you're the best.”
“I try,” I said.
A minute later she asked, "Did you bring your makeup bag?" And of course, she dug around my backseat looking for it before I could even answer.
“Yeah, it's in my purse.”
She found it quickly and put on mascara and my favorite lipstick, it was the hottest pink I had ever seen. It popped in the perfect way.
I glanced over at her and started laughing. It was funny how often we failed in the same moments. Of course, we both ran late on the first day of school of our long-awaited senior year.
“You didn't bring a jacket, did you?” It was only the beginning of September, but the mornings were chilly, and it was raining.
She shook her head as she examined her face and made a few last adjustments to her make up. “Dang, no I forgot.”
I sighed dramatically at her failure and she shoved me lightly before she put all my things away.
“I have a cardigan in my trunk, it will have to do.” I offered, as I pulled into the student parking lot. “Oh, you're welcome by the way for saving your ass this morning, you’re lucky I was running late as well because otherwise you would have been walking."
She grabbed my arm and looked at me as if we were in a dire situation and I had just saved her life. "You've saved me once again. How will I ever begin to repay you my lady?"
I rolled my eyes at her theatrics and didn't bother to answer because we always saved each other's asses, that was just how things rolled with us.
Chapter 2
Kyla
The first day of school wasn’t bad, but it wasn’t good either and it was made worse during lunch at a time when I should have been able to relax. The reason for that was that Rachel wasted no time in gossiping, and with a new year there was always new drama.
“Did you see what Lindsay is wearing?" She asked us, as we sat down at a table in the lunchroom next to a big bay window that overlooked the tennis court.
Amber and I both looked at each other, she looked to be as confused as I was.
I had been too busy scrambling around all day trying to find my classes like I hadn't been going to the same high school for four years. I hadn't paid attention to anyone and it's not like I hadn't seen their faces already and more often than I wanted to.
“A uniform?” I asked in a bored tone, because I wasn't in the mood to hear her gossip, or breathe, and even her existence was an inconvenience.
I didn't get enough sleep to deal with ridiculous females.
I wanted to ask her whether she had the capability to keep her mouth shut but I tried my best to be a nice person, it just wasn’t easy with people like her around.
She looked at me like I was an idiot which was funny because she was the one who didn't comprehend sarcasm.
“Obviously, she is wearing a uniform,” she muttered, and she tilted her curly blonde head in towards us as if she was about to share a life or death secret.
I rolled my eyes at her and she ignored me as she said, "She is also wearing high heels. Like high ass heels with fish net stockings."
Scandalous!
I shrugged my shoulders because I didn’t care.
Lindsay was well known with the guys, so it came as no surprise to hear she amped up her game for senior year. But I didn't care what she did with her body, and I didn't understand why other girls did. Besides, she was doing us all a favor as she made it easy for us to see who was just trying to get laid.
“Did she get in trouble?” Amber asked, before she took another bite of her cheese pizza. To her credit she looked genuinely interested even though I knew she felt the same way about Lindsay as I did.
“Nope I don't think so, she's still wearing them anyways,” Rachel said, as she leaned back with a sour look on her face.
Everyone knew she hated Lindsay because the year before Lindsay had slept with her boyfriend the day before he broke up with her. He told everyone he had to go to Lindsay because Rachel wouldn't put out. It was a nasty thing to do but it was mostly his fault as we found out later, he had lied to Lindsay and said he and Rachel had already broken up.
Rachel obviously wasn't over it, and I got that it hurt, but constantly dogging Lindsay for a mistake instead of her ex-boyfriend didn’t make sense to me.
“I don't understand why we have to wear these stupid uniforms if it's free reign on shoes, jackets, makeup and such. Why not let us be ourselves entirely?” I said, as I was subtly trying to veer the conversation away from talking about other people.
I had been so mad at my parents when they first told me I would be going to a private school. We weren't those sorts of people and being restricted to a schoolgirl outfit damn near crushed my soul. But then Amber begged her family to go as well and all the negatives no longer mattered.
Having finished hers, Amber took my pizza from my hand, and took a big bite before putting it back on my tray, and as she did so she seemed oblivious to the death glare I sent her way.
“Ah come on, get over it already Ky, at least you're allowed some expression. Don't question it,” she said.
But I felt the need to question everything! High heels were a go, but I couldn't wear jeans?
I punched her in her arm, and she jumped away. “Don't touch my dang pizza. Go get another slice of your own!”
She stood up, grabbed her tray, and leaned over me and said, "Going to see Jake before his lunch.” Then she leaned even further over my shoulder and snagged another bite of my pi
zza.
I stood up as well and stomped the floor with my blue pleather flat. “Hey thief!” I yelled loud enough to garner the attention of a few people at the tables near ours. But Amber didn't care, she laughed as she walked away, and I cursed her retreating form.
After ten more minutes of listening to Rachel ramble on about slutty girls and the swim teams' packages, I got up and headed to my creative writing class.
When I walked in, I spotted a seat in the back corner and walked towards it after I glanced at the board.
It said Mr. Tanaka in neat handwriting. I knew who all the teachers were, so he had to be new. Which sucked because I figured he'd more than likely be a stick in the mud in order to make a good impression. They always were.
I sighed and looked at the clock, I had a few minutes before second bell, so I got up and went to the bathroom.
Of course, the second bell rang while I was washing my hands because I had absolutely no concept of time.
“Shit. Shit. Shit,” I chanted, as I ran out of the bathroom and back to my classroom.
I opened the door and tried to casually walk to the back of the room as I avoided looking at the teacher in hopes that he would let me slide in without saying a word to me about it.
I’m just you know… being casual… this is fine.
“You're late,” he said.
Who me?
I froze about a foot from my desk before I turned around slowly as I mentally crafted my response until, I looked up to the teacher's desk and died a little inside when my eyes met his. Oh God! No!
Sexy neighbor was sexy teacher. What was life? Why? Not only was Amber probably right about his age but he was my teacher!
“I'm not late my stuff was already here, so technically I had been here on time. But you see as fate would have it, I had to use the restroom which shouldn't be considered a tardy offense as holding it would have been harmful to my wellbeing.”
What a load of garbage.
He stood there as he looked at me as if I were full of it, but his smirk also suggested that he was amused by my explanation.