by Sam Crescent
“You got a problem with my music?”
“Yeah, it’s too loud, and it’s awful. This is not music, it’s noise. Can’t you have any consideration for other people?” She took a deep breath and completely regretted her outburst.
He held his hands up. “Whatever the princess wants, right?”
“No, don’t be like that. I just want it to be a little quieter.” She didn’t want to start an argument with her neighbor.
She’d seen television shows devoted to how dangerous it could be. This wasn’t supposed to be a bad experience, but a very enjoyable one.
“Party’s over. Everyone out!”
She watched as Zane ran through his place, and she stood on her doorstep as one by one he kicked everyone out, calling the party to an end.
The music turned off, and she wrapped her arms around herself as guilt rushed through her.
His guests, or friends, or both, all glared at her, calling her names.
“Prissy bitch.”
“Stick in the mud.”
“Boring bitch.”
She’d heard a lot of things in her time, but thirty minutes later, she stood on her very quiet doorstep, and Zane came toward her.
She felt awful and for good reason. She’d totally lashed out.
“Look, princess, I don’t know if you understand this, but if you’ve got a problem with someone, you don’t have to go to the police. You can just come right over to my place and tell me. Was it so hard to just knock and ask to turn the music down?” Zane asked.
“I don’t mind the music, but you had it on all week, and I was tired.”
“You could have enjoyed the party.”
She shook her head, wishing the guilt would disappear. This wasn’t what she wanted, not by a long shot.
Turning on her heel, she stepped over her threshold and glanced back. “My name’s Wynter, not princess.”
“Yeah, I’ll remember that, princess. I’ll be sure to.”
She closed the door, and leaned against it, slumping a little. In the back of her mind, she heard her mom berate her, and she gritted her teeth.
“Shut up, this is my house, and if I want to slump, I’ll damn well slump.”
Moving away from her door, she went up to her bedroom, stripping down and changing into bed shorts and shirt, she brushed her hair, looking out over the garden. She saw Zane in his, and she couldn’t resist watching him as he picked up the trash. He hadn’t put on a shirt, and with each movement his muscles seemed to ripple. Biting her lip, she wondered what it would be like to run her hands down his back, to hold him as he drove deep inside her.
She gasped, pressing her thighs together as the erotic thought rushed through her mind, sending fire into her body.
****
“I can’t believe she got you to break up the party,” Jones said.
“Yeah, and I can’t believe how unlucky you’ve gotten to be put next to a bitch,” Riot said.
Zane stared at his friends, who’d stopped by to help him. It was Saturday morning, and he had most of the outside cleaned up.
His friends were his rock, and they’d helped him move in and to put a real stamp on the place. He hated feeling like he was in a moving place, so getting everything set up meant a great deal to him.
His home was his comfort zone, and he’d fallen in love with this place the moment he saw it. Cassie, the woman who owned it before him, had kept the walls a plain magnolia and the ceilings white, all very neutral colors.
“It’s fine. She had a point,” Zane said, sticking up for his princess next door. Wynter. He liked the name.
“What point was that?” Silas asked. “To ruin your party?”
“We’d been partying for a week straight. I’m not defending her, but I’m sure if she’d been playing some of that shitty pop music and having lame-ass girly parties, I’d complain.”
Jones, Riot, and Silas stared at each other. “A bunch of chicks throwing pillows, bikinis, and parties, nah, you wouldn’t have complained. You’d be the filling in any sandwiches.”
Zane thought about his blonde-haired, blue-eyed neighbor. He wouldn’t mind seeing her in a bikini. Her hot, curvaceous body would fill one out beautifully. He’d always been a sucker for a woman with curves, never seeing the appeal of the slender woman. He was always put off by their bony hips showing with a bikini, always hard, and it was kind of painful screwing them.
He liked a bit of cushion for his fucking. In that moment he imagined Princess spread out on his bed, her legs open, begging for him to fuck her.
He’d been hoping she’d knock on his door, introducing herself. He hadn’t for a second thought that it would be to hit him with a warning, and looking half-crazed while she did it. Still, he thought she looked hot even when angry.
“What do you know about her then?” Riot asked.
“Know about her?”
“Come on, Zane. You’ve lived next door to her. You’ve got to know something. Is she a natural blonde?”
“I have no idea.”
“Maybe I should take her out for a test drive. I can let you know if she’s a natural or not,” Riot said.
Jealousy struck him hard, and Zane shook his head. “You’re going to leave her alone.” He felt all of his friends’ gazes on him, and he didn’t give a shit. There was no way any of them were going to be dating or even screwing his neighbor.
“Are you calling dibs?” Silas asked.
“Okay, right now I don’t know if you’re doing this to just piss me off or if you have a genuine interest in her.”
Riot shrugged. “Now I’m curious as to why you don’t want me testing her out.”
“She’s my neighbor, Riot. I’m not having you break her heart. I live right next door. You’ve heard of a woman scorned and all that shit, right?”
“Nah,” Silas said. “He likes her. Like really, really likes her.”
Zane ignored them as he grabbed his vacuum and began to clean up the mess. He loved throwing parties, but the cleaning up afterward was always a fucking nightmare. He hated doing it and had no choice, seeing as he didn’t like anyone else going through his stuff, so professional cleaners were out of the question, or at least for him they were. He couldn’t stand them.
He bet Princess loved to clean and keep everything tidy. Opening up his curtains and window to let some fresh air inside, he paused when he caught sight of that very neighbor in a pair of shorts and tank top, mowing her front lawn. Their lawns weren’t much, but she pushed a tiny mower back and forth. When she spun around, he saw her breasts moving with each back and forth motion. Just the sight of her made his dick ache to see what other temptations she hid underneath.
“I’m going to throw this into the trash.” Without waiting for confirmation from his friends, he left his home and stood near his trash bin.
She stopped mowing the moment he appeared.
“Hey,” he said.
“Would you like me to do yours as well?” she asked.
He watched as she wiped her brow. It was really hot out, and he wished she’d forgone the shorts and shirt. “Sure, if it’s not too much trouble.”
She shook her head. “It’s fine. I didn’t know if I should do it or not.”
He waited as she turned the mower back on and started to work on his patch.
Heading inside, he saw his three friends in the corridor watching him.
“Admit it, you like her,” Jones said.
“Are you guys ever going to grow up?” he asked, shaking his head.
“If you like her, you should totally take her out a cool drink,” Silas said.
He glanced toward Riot, who stayed silent. “Do you have any advice?”
“If you like her, you’ve got to put your mark on her now, as otherwise you’re totally going to be watching guys pick her up and leave.”
Rolling his eyes, Zane made his way to the fridge. “Would you look at that? Two sodas. You guys will have to find yourself something else to drink.”
<
br /> As he made his way toward the front of the house, he heard the noise stop. Opening his door, he was tempted to close it, but figured his friends would prank him and lock it, making him look like a complete clown.
“Cold soda?” he asked, holding up one hand.
“Would love it.” She reached out, taking one can from him and smiling. He liked her smile. It was warm, and made him think of long summer nights, along with a lot of other dirty thoughts. The long summer nights thought must only be because it was so warm. There wasn’t any connection between her smile and the feelings she was stirring up inside him.
“Thank you for doing this.”
“No problem. I don’t want it to overgrow and look a mess.” She pointed at the rest of the street. “When I moved in the guy who owned it before me said that the neighbors may be a little picky if it looks a mess. I like this neighborhood.”
“Yeah, I can’t do the whole apartment thing. I know there were a few good places, but I’ve had bad experiences with them.”
“What kind?” she asked.
“Let’s see. A handsy landlord.”
She chuckled. “Really?”
“Yep. He didn’t care who you were, he wanted a piece of the action.”
“Oh, my, that’s just awful,” she said.
“Yep, and then you’ve got the druggies on the top floor. That was a really bad experience if ever I remember one. Then of course I had the leaky roof.”
“Leaky roof?”
“I’ve found apartments are great providing you with lots of people who like their apartment and are not hunting for the next place.”
“Gotcha.”
He nodded. “What about you?”
“Erm, I lived with my parents up until moving here. We’re a big kind of family who believe in staying together.”
Zane figured there was more to the tale but she didn’t let on anything else, and he didn’t pressure her to tell him more.
“This is your first big place?”
“Yes.”
“How old are you?” she asked. “If you don’t mind me asking, of course.”
He laughed. “I’m thirty years old. You?”
“Twenty-five.”
He wouldn’t put his foot in his mouth and tell her she was a little old to still be living with her parents. She wasn’t still living with them, but still, he stayed silent.
“I’m really sorry about last night,” she said. “It had been a long week, and you play rock music so loud that my home was vibrating with it, and I just wanted to get some sleep, but the way I behaved last night, there’s no excuse. I’m sorry.”
“It’s fine.”
“More than fine, lovely,” Jones said.
He glanced behind him to see his three friends standing in his doorway.
“Hello,” she said.
“Don’t worry, sweet thing, we don’t all live here. We’re just buddies of this guy here, not that he deserves us,” Silas said.
She chuckled. “Well, it’s nice to meet you all.”
“How about you introduce us, Zane? Stop looking like the grumpy guy you are,” Riot said.
Again, she chuckled, and he didn’t want her to stop. He loved the sound.
“These are my friends. Jones is the big guy at the back, there’s Riot, and that one is Silas. They helped me move in.”
She offered a little wave. “Wynter Griffin.”
All three of his friends came out, taking her hand and kissing her knuckles.
“You’re a delight,” Silas said.
“You wouldn’t have thought that last night,” she said.
“Which has me wondering what keeps you busy all week?” Jones asked, and Zane didn’t like that any of them were taking an interest.
“I’m a school assistant. Young children eight and nine years old.”
His friends were impressed. Her gaze turned to his. “What do you do?”
“I work in a bar, and on the weekends, we like to pretend we’re a rock band.”
“Really?” she asked.
“We play a couple of gigs, not a big real rock band, but we get by,” he said. He didn’t want to brag.
“Maybe one day I’ll see you guys perform.”
And one day I’ll sing for you naked, just the two of us.
End of sample chapter
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