Lust Thy Neighbor
Authors: Emily Snow
Dedication
To Andy, who inspired Beck.
Thank you for always having my back.
You rock my knee socks.
Bonus Content: Read the first 3 chapters of Second Verse!
Standalone
:
Tidal
Savor You
Wrecked
Uncovered
Lust thy Neighbor
The Devoured Series:
All Over You (Book 0.5)
Devoured (Book 1.0)
Absorbed (Book 1.5)
Consumed (Book 2.0)
Completed (Book 2.5)
The Second Verse Duology:
First Verse (Book 0.5)
Second Verse (Book 1) –
Coming Soon
Copyright © 2016 Emily Snow
All Rights Reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission from the publisher in writing.
This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, places, and incidents are the product of the author’s imagination, and any resemblance to any actual persons, living or dead, events, or locales is entirely coincidental.
(Click here to listen to the
Lust Thy Neighbor
playlist on Spotify)
- "Over It" by Katherine McPhee
- "The Only Exception" by Paramore
- "Quiet" by John Mayer
- "Irresistible" by Fall Out Boy ft. Demi Lovato
- "California Kids" by Weezer
- "Ain't It Fun" by Paramore
- "Hollow" by Tori Kelly
- "Genius Next Door" by Regina Spektor
- “When I Was Your Man” by Bruno Mars
- “Love Song” by Sara Bareilles
- "Thanks for the Memories" by Fall Out Boy
- “Just Give Me a Reason” by Pink & Nate Ruess
- “Since U Been Gone” by Kelly Clarkson
- “No Air” by Jordin Sparks (Boyce Avenue cover)
- "Only One" by Yellowcard
- "Lay It All On Me" by Rudimental ft. Ed Sheeran
- "La la la" by Naughty Boy (Jasmine Thompson cover)
- "Outside" by Ellie Goulding & Calvin Harris
- "Everlong" by Foo Fighters
- “Are You Happy Now?” by Michelle Branch
- “What Kind of Man” by Florence + The Machine
- “Two Is Better Than One” by Boys Like Girls
- “Stay With Me” by Sam Smith
- “Pillow Talk” by Zayn Malik
"A
re you going to give the ring back?"
Swallowing the tightness that constricted the back of her throat, Violet dropped her gaze to the 3.5 carat solitaire. Goddamn monstrosity. It sparkled in its expensive platinum setting—so big it nearly swallowed her left ring finger, making the digit look much tinier on her already small hand.
"No.” She refused to cry again in front of her best friend, so she squeezed her blue eyes shut and let out a harsh breath before she met Beck’s sympathetic gaze. “I'm not giving it back.”
"Isn't that the rule though, gorgeous?"
"And who exactly gives a damn about the rules?" She shoved a frilly pink blouse, hanger and all, into the open cardboard box at her feet. Sucking in her bottom lip, she pushed her long, dark hair away from her face. "Besides, I think there's also something in the rule book about not dumping your fiancée seventy-two hours before the wedding. Or not being a cheating rat bastard. If he can break those rules, and probably a few more I don’t even know about yet, I don't mind breaking this one. I’m keeping the ring."
"There’s my girl.” Beck flashed her a straight, gleaming smile and offered her an appreciative nod as he stretched out on the white leather couch Violet had always hated. “Sell it on eBay. Get some money out of that beast."
Violet looked at the beast in question, feeling her hand shudder beneath its heavy weight. In all honesty, she wanted nothing more than to get rid of her engagement ring, but she just couldn't bring herself to do it. She wasn’t over Henry. And then there was the anger. She was pissed off. At Henry. At herself for being too stupid, too naïve, too head-over-heels-idiotic-in-love-with-the-idea-of-
being
-in-love to realize he was cheating on her.
“Yeah, maybe I will just sell it,” she said numbly.
Someday
.
Beck shifted his position on the couch and when he realized there was no getting comfortable, he sat back up and released a heavy breath."I mean, I knew something was up when I saw him with Twatty McFakeTits at the party. They never made eye contact, never spoke,
nothing
. They made so much effort to
not
attract attention they might as well have announced what they were doing on a billboard.” At Violet’s broken sigh, Beck cringed and rubbed his large hand over his smooth face. “Ahhh, Christ. I'm sorry for being an insensitive ass, Vi.”
"No, you're right.” And she hated that he was. “The thing is, he said he tried. Tried not to be attracted to her. Tried not to love her. Tried to stay away from her, even when he realized how crazy he was about her.” She sucked in a breath that hurt her lungs then stood and began taping the box closed. It was easier than sitting down and letting the sting of failure absolutely consume her. “But he just couldn't help it. He said that if I could understand that kind of attraction, then I wouldn't blame him."
Beck’s nostrils flared in outrage. “What a dick and a half!"
Tossing the roll of packing tape on the couch, she smiled sadly and looked over her shoulder at her impeccably dressed friend. Tall and blond, Beckett was the quintessential “golden boy,” with chiseled features, perfect cheekbones Violet coveted, and dark green bedroom eyes that had made her heart skip a beat or two the first time she laid eyes on him. They'd met in middle school and everyone who knew them swore up and down they should be married with 2.5 kids by now if not for one thing:
They both preferred men.
"No, I think Henry’s right." At her statement, Beck narrowed his eyes sharply and she rushed to explain herself. "I don't think I've ever been attracted to someone like he is to Natalie. But—” Violet plopped down on the couch next to Beck, her shoulders sagging forward, her breath coming out in uneven puffs. God, she was a mess. "—I'm definitely not over him yet. That makes me insane, doesn’t it?” Because she sure did feel that way for still wanting the man who'd hurt her.
"No, it doesn't." He wrapped his long arms around her, placing a kiss on the top of her head when she curled into the soft, clean linen-scented fabric of his button-down. "It's perfectly normal, I promise. Come on.” Standing them both up, he released her and smacked her lightly on her butt, to which she let out a little squeal. "Let’s finish packing your stuff, go to my place and get shitty wasted on beer and vodka. What was that saying? Beer after liquor....”
“Liquor before beer and you're in the clear,” Violet sighed, deciding not to remind him that any combination of the two meant disaster for her. She straightened her spine as she walked to grab the rest of her shirts out of the closet. The closet she’d shared with Henry. Defeat swelled through her body but she cast Beck a tiny smile, not wanting her friend to worry about her. "Okay, shitty wasted. Sounds like a good plan."
V
iolet walked up her wide driveway with a stack of mail tucked under one arm and her oversized designer purse—a twenty-ninth birthday present from her grandmother—dangling from her other arm. Today had been exhausting and nothing had gone right. She was less than two weeks into the new school year, and her freshman class had been uncontrollable. She had practically had to resort to bribery in order to get them to participate in reading chunks of
Romeo and Juliet
aloud and even then they'd snickered or complained through the whole thing. She also had piles of papers to grade from her seniors and assignments to prepare for all her classes for Monday.
“TGIF,” she muttered, trudging up the steps to the cottage she had bought several months ago following her break-up with Henry. She bent to pick up a few stray leaves that had blown into the flower bed by her front door and crumbled them into a piece of junk mail from a local car dealership. “TGI-freakin’-F.”
A frantic clawing on the other side of her front door instantly soothed her frayed nerves. A moment later, a sharp bark filled the silence and a furry black head popped up between the front window and the sheer curtain. Violet beamed at the sight of her loyal Yorkshire terrier, Bear. She had adopted him shortly after buying her house and she loved him to distraction. By the shrill barking and the small, stubby tail that she knew would be wagging as she unlocked the door, Bear adored her right back.
"Hey, sugar bear. Momma’s home."
He jumped up and down as she crossed the threshold. Before she could bend down to pet his tiny head, he bounded away and ran around the coffee table, hopped up on the cushy microsuede couch and then right back off and then raced into the kitchen, his nails clicking on the tiles, before he returned to sit at her feet.
"How was your day today?"
As if in response, Bear bounded out of the room once more and came back a moment later, a ratty white gym sock between his teeth. His tail wagged back and forth and he cocked his head when Violet didn't reach for the gift as if saying,
I brought you a present, Short-SmallBoobed-Human-Who-Feeds-Me. Take it! Take it!
She laughed and knelt down to retrieve the dingy sock, wrinkling her nose when her fingers brushed over a patch of dog drool that was layered over yet another suspicious stain. "Thanks, sir." Holding the sock between her thumb and forefinger to examine it in the light, she turned it over and her brows furrowed. "Where did you get this?” It looked like a man’s sock, and right now, Bear was the only male in her life with access to her house.
When he barked again, she tossed it back to him and he happily trotted at her heels as she went into the kitchen. Dropping her keys into the wooden bowl on the counter, she sanitized her hands and then started to sort through her mail. Bill, a monthly newsletter from her alma mater, another bill, and some sort of formal looking invitation from her grandmother, complete with calligraphy and printed on expensive mint green linen paper. Violet scowled and dropped it on top of the bills without even opening it.
"Wonderful, yet another Alexandra Clarkson event where she attempts to play matchmaker. Ugh. Hard pass."
Bear yapped in solidarity and she glanced down at him. "Glad to hear you agree.” She grabbed his leash from its spot by the back door and clipped it on his collar. “Alright, little guy, walk first and then home for dinner."
When she started out of the kitchen, Bear paused and collected his new treasure and went to the door, waiting with the dirty sock in his mouth. "So this is going to be your new best friend, huh?” Since he refused to drop the sock, she nodded in understanding. “Okay, let's get going. I have to come back and make spaghetti and the sauce. Oh, and meatballs." Maybe she had spent too much time living alone with a yorkie as company because she could have sworn Bear's ears pricked at the sound of meatballs.
Closing the front door behind them, she noticed that the house next door had a large red pickup truck parked in the driveway. Mrs. Holloway had been Violet's neighbor since she had moved in but she'd passed away a couple months ago. The house had been emptied by the family and sold, and Violet had a feeling the owner of the pickup truck with its doors ajar was her brand new neighbor. As Bear obediently ran by her side, she made a mental note to stop by and say hello tomorrow.
They walked down to the small park at the end of the street, the one adjacent to the elementary school around the corner. Violet took Bear to his favorite tree and after he finished his business, she cleaned up with one of the little baggies she had brought along before they continued their walk.
She and Bear took their time walking back home, pausing to admire the new flowers someone had planted on the hill leading up to the elementary school and the new fence that their neighbor had put up across the street. Violet had thought about putting one in her own front lawn for a while now so that Bear could roam around safely in both the front and the back yard. Maybe tomorrow, after she introduced herself to the new neighbor, she could go across the street and ask Mr. Hart about the fence. She already had the cute little cottage; she might as well get the picturesque picket fence to go along with it.