The Girl Across the Hall

by Thayer King

  Avery sighed. She filled the coffee cups. “I wasn’t in love with him. I thought I might have been, but I was wrong.”

  “Oh.” Now he was really confused. He ran his fingers through his hair.

  She flicked a glance over him before doctoring their coffees with sugar and cream. “You need a haircut.”

  Damn. Maybe he should have let Sharon cut his hair before he broke up with her. She was an excellent hair stylist. He picked up his cup and joined Avery at his kitchen table. “Hey, we’re both single now.”

  She arched her brows. “And?”

  “You could go out with me tonight. Check out the pickings,” he suggested though he really had no interest in trolling bars and clubs. Unbidden, an image of his neighbor across the hall came to mind. There was no reason he couldn’t pursue her now.

  Groaning, Avery rolled her eyes. “No, thank you. I’d like some time to myself. And you should really consider taking a moment for some self-reflection as well.” She lifted her mug and took a long drink.

  “No, thank you,” he said with a smile. “I’m happy with my life as it is.”

  “With a different girl every week?”

  Noah drank his coffee. “Are you about to slut-shame me?” Because though Ty always joked that Avery was the female version of him, there was a difference. She was a serial monogamist. She wanted to fall in love with every man she dated, but it never worked out.

  “No.”

  “Good because I’m not ashamed,” he said with a big grin.

  Avery put down her mug. “I should get going.”

  He couldn’t help but feel that he’d said something to piss her off, but he couldn’t imagine what. “What’d I do?”

  “Nothing, but…I’ve got some stuff to do.” She rose and took her cup to the sink and rinsed it out before placing it inside his overloaded dishwasher. It had been a week since he’d last run it. With only his dishes to clean, it took a long time to fill the dishwasher. It was a shame because he actually liked to cook.

  His coffee was largely untouched. He kept the supplies around mostly for friends and family. He didn’t really like coffee. “Okay, well, don’t be a stranger.” He stood to walk her to the door.

  Waving him off, Avery said, “Don’t get up. Enjoy your coffee.” She smiled. “I’ll see you soon.” She leaned down to kiss him on the cheek. She ran a thumb over her jaw. “Might want to shave,” she whispered. Her eyes locked with his for an instant before she cleared her throat and straightened. “See you around.”

  Noah ran his hand over the stubble. “Yeah,” he agreed. She was acting weird. Sad, but weird as well. He chalked it up to the recent break up. She had to be disappointed at another failed relationship. He knew she’d had dreams of having a big family one day. Avery was twenty-nine, same as him. Maybe she was doing that thing women did, worrying about fertility and shit. Noah sighed. He hoped she got over it soon. He missed his friend.

  When she was gone, he dumped his coffee and rinsed out his cup. He put in the dishwasher. He searched his cabinet for dishwasher soap and came up empty. Right, that was the other reason why he hadn’t run the machine.

  He wondered if Zoe had dishwasher soap. She seemed the efficient sort who wouldn’t run out of household supplies. With a grin, he checked the time on the clock on his oven. It was too early, but that was fine. He needed to shower and shave anyway.

  He rubbed his hands together in anticipation.

  ***

  Zoe took a bite out of her toast and then sipped her orange juice. In her other hand, she held her phone. She thumbed through the news, occasionally glancing over the countertop that separated the kitchen from the den so that she could see the television. One of her favorite episodes of Teen Titans Go! was airing. “Waffles,” she mumbled with a giggle.

  A knock on her door had her placing her phone on the countertop. It was only nine, but she knew it could only be her cousin Felicia. The two of them had been raised practically like sisters. After Zoe’s parents had died in a car crash, her Aunt Amanda had taken her in. She’d been ten and Felicia had been twelve. The situation hadn’t been completely ideal since Felicia was an only child and she hadn’t been thrilled to have a younger kid come in and usurp some of her mother’s attention. Up until Zoe joined them, it had just been the two of them.

  A year ago, Aunt Amanda had retired from nursing and moved out of the city and to a small coastal town. Felicia was the only family she had in town. Zoe only had a few friends at work but they’d never been to her apartment.

  So certain was she that it was Felicia that Zoe didn’t even use the peephole before opening the door. “Good morn…” It wasn’t Felicia. It was The Pervert. Zoe gulped for air.

  For a pervert, he was damned gorgeous. The impossibly thick, dark chocolate waves of his hair shone in the dim overhead lighting provided in the hallway. His eyebrows were dark slashes over vivid aqua blue eyes framed with the sort of luscious lashes she only achieved when using that expensive special microfiber mascara Felicia insisted that she needed. Enough couldn’t be said about his eyes. They slanted at the corners, giving him a sleepy sensual appearance. His nose was straight and pretty but broad enough to look masculine. His lips were the full sort that made her question when white boys started being born with mouths like that. It was the kind of mouth that gave a woman ideas—ideas about what his lips would feel like pressed against her own or trailing over sensitive parts of her body. A plain gray t-shirt strained at the seams over his broad shoulders and chest. His jeans were faded and worn soft in all the right places.

  Zoe snatched her gaze away from the distractingly substantial bulge at his crotch and gripped the door in chase she needed to slam it in his face. “Um…”

  “Morning, Zoe.” He grinned. “I was wondering if you had any of those dishwashing packets.”

  She closed her mouth. Okay. So not only were they on a first name basis in his world; they were also close enough to mooch off one another. “C-come in,” she invited reluctantly. She made a point of leaving the door open behind him.

  He stepped over the threshold and immediately shivered. “It’s like a meat locker in here.”

  Zoe wrapped her sweater closer around her body. She preferred shivering over sweating. “I hear it’s supposed to be almost ninety degrees outside today.” Shifting so that her back wasn’t to him, she searched the cabinet beneath her sink. She had two bags of dishwashing packs. The open container had only two of the squares left. She grabbed the almost empty bag and stood up.

  And then blinked in surprise. He’d moved while she wasn’t paying attention and was now so close she could smell his soap and aftershave. He smelled amazing. And she so didn’t. She hadn’t showered or brushed her teeth. Or done her hair! A self-conscious hand flew up to touch her hair. She hadn’t felt like doing anything more than putting her hair in a ponytail last night which meant her face was surrounded by flyaway frizzy curls.

  She pressed the bag of dishwasher packs to his chest. “You can have these.”

  He covered her hand and removed the proffered bag in a caressing manner, his palm warming her before he withdrew. “Thank you so much, Zoe. I forgot to buy more when I was out.”

  “No problem,” she said.

  “Let me pay you back. I’ll take you out for coffee.”

  She shook her head. “You don’t have to do that. And I don’t drink coffee.” She crossed to the door so that he would understand that this conversation was over and it was his cue to leave.

  “Zoe, please, let me pay you back. I really appreciate what you’re doing for me.”

  Frowning, she asked, “How do you know my name?”

  “I overheard your friend say it. My name is Noah, by the way.”

  He must mean Felicia. She was the only one who came over and Zoe was beginning to wish that she didn’t. “Nice to meet you, Noah,” she said automatically. Social graces weren’t her forte. In fact, if he didn’t leave soon, she would be out of things to say and then she’d st
art to sweat even though she had the thermostat set on seventy degrees.

  “We could go to lunch,” he suggested.

  Was he asking her out? She wasn’t good at reading people. She thought of the mistakes she’d made with Henry Thomas, one of the partners at the investment firm where she worked. Had that been her fault? She kept analyzing it afterward and she didn’t think so. His motives had seemed so clear. But she must have been mistaken. He wasn’t interested in her. And Noah wasn’t either. She’d seen the type of woman he dated and it definitely wasn’t her. He liked outgoing, confident women. Not women like herself who had to psych themselves up for any social interaction.

  When she didn’t reply, he continued, “What are you doing later?”

  Absolutely nothing. And she liked those plans. She intended to have a quiet day in, surfing the internet and maybe catch a movie marathon. “Um,” she faltered, trying to come up with a lie so that he’d leave her alone. She wasn’t interested in have a friendly lunch with a guy she was pretty sure was a pervert. She could give him the benefit of the doubt and assume that he didn’t sleep with all the women she’d seen him with. But just because she was shy didn’t mean she was naïve or ignorant. So that meant he probably just wanted an introduction to Felicia. It was what most guys wanted.

  “I-I’ve got a thing…so-so, I can’t today. But thanks for the invite. You really, really don’t have to pay me back.”

  He frowned and tilted his head to the side like a confused puppy. “Okay. Maybe we can do it some other time.”

  Never, she thought. But she gave him a false smile. “Sure.” When he still didn’t seem to take the hint and get out, she said, “Well, I need to do a bit of cleaning up before…my thing.”

  “Yeah, sure.” He held up the dishwasher detergent. “Thanks again.”

  “Anytime,” she said, not meaning it for a second. Hopefully this would be the last time he invaded her personal space. If he wanted to hook up with Felicia, he’d do it without any assistance from her. Besides Felicia had a man. She and Henry were all but engaged.

  Zoe sighed in relief as she locked the door behind him. That would teach her to open the door without checking the peephole first. Then she grimaced. Now she’d have to go out so that he wouldn’t know she’d lied about having a “thing.” Well, she’d better get showered and changed for her pretend errand. This is what came of befriending neighbors, she thought grumpily.

  ***

  Noah frowned at Zoe’s closed door in confusion. What the fuck had just happened in there? Had he just been…rejected? That wasn’t possible. That hadn’t happened to him since his voice changed. Women loved him. He wasn’t vain, but he knew he was handsome. Hell, the word gorgeous was often bandied about when discussing his looks. Yet Zoe had acted as though she couldn’t wait to be rid of him. Which was odd since he could’ve sworn she’d been checking him out. He’d even seen her gaze drop to his dick.

  Almost in a daze, he’d wandered back to his apartment before boredom got to him. He just barely remembered to start the dishwasher before he headed out again with no destination in mind. He couldn’t stop himself from glancing in the direction of Zoe’s place again. Not that there was anything to see. After stopping for breakfast, he found himself walking through the doors of Lillian’s Bookstore. Lillian, his mother, stood behind the counter waiting on a customer and her child. He waved to her as he walked by. There was a nook in the back with comfy couches where people could go to read. Since it was early, there were relatively few customers in the store.

  His parents had opened the bookstore when they were first married. Technically, his parents were retired. They’d transferred ownership over to him and his older brother Warren two years ago. But they still liked to come in and work on the weekends. Since neither he nor Warren wanted to come in on the weekends that worked out well.

  He found his dad lounging on the couch eating a scone and reading the newspaper. Noah dropped down beside him. “Hi, Dad.” His father made a big deal out of doing a double take. “Ha, ha.”

  William Granger laughed. “What are you doing here on the weekend?”

  He shrugged. “Had nothing else to do.”

  His father’s gray eyebrows rose. “Really? What are you doing up this early in the morning?”

  “Avery dropped by.”

  “How’s she doing?”

  “She looked good. She broke up with Patrick.”

  “And another one bites the dust. Though this one lasted longer than most,” he said folding his newspaper and setting it aside.

  Noah wanted to argue Avery’s case, but his father was only telling the truth. “She’s searching for something.”

  His father grunted. “Well, I hope she finds it. At least she’s searching. Your mother and I would like some grandchildren before we’re too old to babysit.”

  “Talk to Warren,” he exclaimed with raised brows. Warren and Kelsey had been married for five years. It was past time for the two of them to take the pressure off of him.

  “Believe me, your mother and I have. At this point, we’re more worried about you.”

  He didn’t come here to hear this again. “Any of those scones left?” he asked, hoping to change the subject before his father could go into his spiel on the virtues of love, commitment, and marriage.

  “Son, don’t you get tired of going home to an empty apartment? Don’t you want someone to share your life with? Someone to support you when-”

  Noah groaned and roughly ran his fingers through his hair. “Please, Dad, don’t do this to me.”

  His mother joined them. She kissed Noah’s cheek and then dropped down next to him on the sofa. “Hi, baby. What are you doing to him Bill to get him so upset?”

  “Mission Grandkids.”

  “Ah,” his mother said with a smile. She rumpled Noah’s hair. “For this one, we should call it Mission Marriage. I’d even settle for Mission Girlfriend at this point.”

  Noah rolled his eyes and stood. “Well, I gotta go.”

  “But you just got here,” his mother complained. “Why did you stop by?”

  “Nothing better to do,” said his father around a bite of scone. “Avery’s single again.” He picked up his newspaper and shook it out.

  “Avery’s single?” His mother turned to him with a light in her eyes.

  “No, Mom, no. Avery and I are only friends.”

  “I married my best friend,” she said with a fond look at William. “And the two of you have always been so close.”

  “She’s like a sister to me.” This wasn’t the first time his parents brought up the possibility of Avery. He thought they were grasping at straws. Even supposing he was interested, it was unlikely that Avery would be. Avery wanted someone special and was always complaining and nitpicking about the men she chose. She actually broke up with one guy because she said he was a mouth-breather and he always had his mouth open in photos. It was true and funny as fuck when she pointed it out. Still, Noah didn’t think it was reason enough to dump the poor guy.

  If anything was going to happen between him and Avery, it would have happened years ago. He’d considered it briefly after she came home from college. He’d stayed at home and taken some business courses through a community college while Avery had attended an all-girls college. He’d been surprised by how lovely she was when she came home. Ty was quick to nip the idea in the bud and Noah was grateful to him for doing so. Following the lead of his dick would have ruined The Three Musketeers forever. In a couple of weeks, he got over his crush or whatever it was when Avery started dating a banker. Maybe he’d just been missing her while she was at college because the urge to fuck her had disappeared and never returned.

  “But she isn’t your sister,” his mother pointed out in a patient tone like he was slow of learning.

  He gave her a wicked grin. “That’s true, but little Noah doesn’t know that. You want grandchildren, don’t you?”

  His mother gasped and pretended to be scandalized, but she’d
said more embarrassing things to him in the past. He knew way more about his parents still ongoing sex life than he needed to know. His mom believed in open communication with her children. No topic was off limits. Including sex.

  “I’ll see you guys later,” he said. He bent to give his mom a kiss on the cheek.

  She patted his cheek. “I love you. I want you to keep something in mind: Avery is a very attractive girl. She won’t be on the market forever. This may be your last chance.”

  He rolled his eyes. “All right, Mom,” he said, just to get away and to end the discussion. He had no intention of pursuing Avery. If he did, he’d feel forced to commit because he wouldn’t be able to break up with her even when he wanted to.

  Chapter Three

  Monday morning Zoe settled down at her desk between her co-workers Luke and Justin. The three of them comprised the IT department for Frederick, Thomas & Zimmer, an up and coming investment firm in Charlotte. She set her hot cup of cinnamon tea down on her desk and turned on her computer. “Morning, guys.” She received grunts in return. That was fine with her. She wasn’t in the mood for conversation. None of them were Monday morning people. She turned on her computer.

  “Aaronson needs someone to debug his computer again,” said Luke.

  “Not it,” Zoe replied quickly. Aaronson’s computer was full of viruses because he kept visiting porn sites despite constant warnings from them and HR. Besides, when last she fixed his computer, he’d tried to chat her up. She figured it was some sort of ego trip because she didn’t dress up for work. Their offices were kept at a frigid sixty-eight degrees year round so she always wore a bulky sweater over baggy clothes. She didn’t wear makeup and she mostly pulled her long hair back into a bun.

  Justin sighed. “I’ll do it, but if that fucker hits on me again, I’m punching his daylights out.”

  Zoe choked on a laugh. “He hit on you, too?”

  Luke rolled his eyes. “He flirts with everyone.”