The Boy Next Door (37 page)

Amber’s head spun back around to look at Victoria and she silently mouthed a quick “Oh. My. God.” before taking a long swig of her wine.

The heat welled up inside Victoria’s body as she surreptitiously glanced his way again, and she nibbled her lower lip as dozens of terribly inappropriate thoughts raced through her head.

Chapter Two

Eventually Victoria ran out of energy to fight off the wine-induced sleepiness, and she crawled into the unfamiliar bed of Amber’s guest room.  As she drifted off to sleep, the image of her neighbor drifted through her mind, and her pulse throbbed hotly through her body.  She was too far into her drowsiness to do anything about it but she smiled when she realized how pleasant her dreams would be.

The next morning, her head throbbed in that unpleasant way and she stumbled to the kitchen for some coffee.

“Now I remember why I don’t do that anymore,” she groaned.

Amber whimpered, “No kidding.  We are way too old for that much wine in one night.”

They sipped their hot, dark coffee together and let it chase away the sharpest edges of their hangovers.

“Are you going to work today?” Victoria asked.

“Nah, I called in too.  What shall we do?”

“I guess I can unpack a little.  I don’t know how long I’ll be here, but it would seem sadder if I live out of my suitcases.”

Amber rested her hand on Victoria’s.  “Happy to help,” she murmured.

Still schlepping around in their tee shirts and yoga pants, they hung up her work suits, carefully folded her weekend clothes and underwear into the drawers of the dresser, and stashed the toiletries in the spare bathroom.  The two cardboard boxes stacked easily into a corner of the bedroom.  Victoria flopped down on her stomach on the bed and sighed.

“Is this what my life has come to?  Homeless and living at my best friend’s house?  Hiding out from the asshole who stole all my money and gave me this black eye?”

Amber lay down next to her and grasped her hand tightly.  “You can stay as long as you need to.”

“As long as it takes to seduce that hunk next door?” Victoria grinned wryly.

“If that’s what it takes,” Amber laughed.

“The last thing I need is someone like him.  I know who he is.  He tosses away girls like used Kleenex after he seduces them with his motorcycle.  He’ll bed anything with a pussy.”

Amber nodded, “I’ve seen more than a few girls go in and out of there since he’s lived next door, and none of them twice.”

“Yeesh, really?  That’s all I need.”

“Maybe if you know the facts going in, you won’t expect more,” Amber offered hopefully.

Victoria shook her head, “While I might need a good hard pounding, all it would give me is a pounding in the head.”

Amber squeezed her eyes shut.

“What are you doing?” Victoria wondered.

“Trying not to imagine him naked and on top of me,” Amber giggled.

Victoria pulled her hand away from Amber’s and smacked her arm firmly, “Stop that!”

“I can’t help it!  I haven’t had a boyfriend in forever!”

“Let me tell you, there are worse things than being single.”

Amber smiled softly, “I know.  I’m just saying…”

“But you are right, he’s flipping hot!  With that dark hair and those blue eyes.  And the muscles…”

The women grinned at each other; there were worse things than having a hot neighbor.

Amber toed the line gently, “So… do you want to talk about it?”

Victoria sighed, “Not really.  It’s not that I… I know you’ll listen and everything, but I’m tired of giving him all of my everything.  My energy, my money, my body, my tears.  He doesn’t deserve any of it.  Not one more piece.”

Amber patted her back, “Good for you.”

Eventually they dragged themselves back to the kitchen and made an early lunch out of the leftovers.  The cheese and sausage and crackers went nicely with the pitcher of lemonade from the refrigerator, and they curled back up on the couch to watch bad daytime television.  Watching those talk shows could make anyone feel better about their life, and these two women were no exception.

After a couple of episodes, the two stepped back onto the patio for a smoke break, and found their neighbor sunning himself, shirtless and in swim trunks.  They gaped silently at him and then back at each other and bit back fits of nervous giggles.  They tried to smoke silently and then fled back inside, safe from the temptations of hormones.

“So what shall we do with the rest of our Friday off?” Amber mused aloud.

“Want to hit up a happy hour?  Good way to start off a weekend…”

“Ugh, more wine?”

Victoria laughed, “Fine, you can have Coke.  I’m having something more potent.”

Amber closed her eyes and rested her head on the back of the couch, “Sure, sounds good.”

“Where do we want to go?” Victoria asked.

They looked at each other and grinned.  Simultaneously they both burst out “El Corazon!”

It had been one of their favorite hangouts before Victoria met Michael, and it was a good place to start her new chapter.  The margaritas were just strong enough and the queso was unbeatable.  They headed to their respective bathrooms to get ready.

The hot shower melted away the rest of Victoria’s melancholy and she emerged revitalized and ready for a night of fun with her friend.  She even pulled out the cobalt blue dress that Michael had forbidden her to wear.  It was cut just low enough to accentuate her generous cleavage, and hugged her hips perfectly until it stopped a couple of inches above her knees.  Amber let out a wolf whistle when she saw her, and Victoria winked.  It promised to be a fun night.

Chapter Three

Since Amber and Victoria arrived just before five o’clock, the restaurant was not busy quite yet.  They easily got a table in the bar area, and ordered up a plate of guacamole and a bowl of queso to start, plus one margarita each.

Instead of ordering meals, they decided to just split the giant appetizer sampler.  Within moments, the dips and the platter arrived.  They dug in hungrily, savoring each bite of the nachos and quesadillas and fried jalapeño strips.  Amber switched to Coke and Victoria ordered up another margarita.

By the time the food was finished, Victoria was on her third drink and Amber was just trying to make sure her friend stayed respectable in their favorite Mexican restaurant.

“Do you need something else to eat?” she offered, trying to balance out the tequila flowing through her friend.

“Maybe,” Victoria giggled, “do we want more queso or more guacamole?”

“How about something a little more substantial?”

“Like what?” Victoria was only half paying attention as the cute waiter bent over at the table next to them.

Amber snapped her fingers loudly, “Stop that!  Let’s get some more nachos, okay?”

“Sure, whatever,” Victoria waved her hand dismissively as she eyed the waiter.

Amber leaned across the table, “Seriously?  When’s the last time you got laid?”

“Voluntarily?  Over a year, since before I moved in with Michael,” she said with her lips twisted in a grimace.

Amber’s eyes widened in surprise, “What do you mean?”

“I mean, he took it whenever the mood struck him, regardless of what I said.”

“Well, shit,” Amber swore.

“Yeah, something like that.  And I don’t know if you’ve noticed, but he put on a bunch of weight after I moved in and started paying all the bills.  I need a little hot fun.”

“Okay, how about we cancel the nachos and head home?” Amber was starting to worry that Victoria would do something she could not protect her from.

“Shtop raining on my parade,” Victoria slurred.

Amber laughed, “Okay, that’s it.  I’m taking you home.”

“Pervert,” Victoria giggled.

“Not like that and you know it!  Now come on.”  Amber paid the tab in cash and dragged Victoria into the car.

They stopped for more cigarettes on the way home, and planted themselves on the patio at the apartment, Amber praying that the neighbor did not show up to witness Victoria’s hormones going wild with the tequila.

Eventually Amber felt she could leave Victoria alone, and she headed to bed.  Victoria stayed on the patio, enjoying her smokes in the night air.  She did pop open a Coke to take the edge off, but it might have been too late.

When she heard the glass door next to her open, she smoothed her chestnut curls and licked her lips expectantly.  Sure enough, as she turned to face the neighbor’s patio, he emerged from his apartment wearing the low-slung jeans again and a tight white tank top.  She grinned to herself and the tequila told her there was no harm in chatting with the sexy, muscled man.

“Hey there,” she said softly.

“Hey yourself,” he answered distractedly.

She stood up, and managed an alluring swaying walk in her dress and heels.  When she got to the wrought iron railing, he did a double-take when he finally noticed her.

“Oh. Hey,” his grin told her everything.

She could feel his gaze flow over her full ripe cleavage, past her trim waist, and around the curve of her hips.  She popped one hip to the side and perched on the ledge of the railing.

“I’m Victoria,” she offered.

He stepped towards her like a wolf approaches a bunny.  “Damian,” he replied.

“Of course that’s your name,” she chuckled, letting the sound drift warmly from her lips.

He was standing right in front of her now and she looked up into his deep blue eyes, startled by the grey storm clouds that swirled deep inside.  He grazed her arm with the tip of one finger and grinned as the goosebumps trickled over her skin.

She inhaled sharply and felt a tender ache bloom in her belly.  It had been ages since she had felt a welcome touch from a man, and this player seemed to know exactly what he was doing.

She cocked her head to the side, exposing her throat to the moonlight.  His eyes landed on the pulse that vibrated in her neck and he felt a strong desire to taste her skin.  He fought the urge with every ounce of strength and stepped back out of arm’s reach.

“Nice to meet you,” his deep voice rumbled.

To her disappointment and relief, Victoria watched his tight ass disappear back into his apartment.  She drug herself back into Amber’s apartment and locked the patio door behind her.

She kicked her heels into the corner of her bedroom and dropped her dress to the floor.  She fell into the bed with Damian’s touch singed into her skin, and this time the throbbing would not leave her in peace.

She pulled the sheets tightly to her chin, and let her fingers drift lightly over the damp lace of her panties.  As her own touch found the source of her ache, she exhaled softly and slipped her fingers underneath the material.  She moaned as she pressed tight circles against herself.  As her mind filled with the sensations of Damien’s rough fingers exploring her silky skin, her tummy trembled and she shivered.  When her climax hit, she gasped loudly and let the thoughts explode.  Her body quaked as she imagined him plunging deeply inside her.  She was vaguely embarrassed by her fantasies but she drifted off to a satisfied sleep nonetheless