The Neighbor (The Neighbor #1) (2 page)

“Hello. Is the home owner here?” I asked one of the
movers.

“No mam. He will not be here for hours. If you have
something for him, you can leave it in the kitchen. You can leave the door open
when you leave. We will be in and out for a few hours.”

“All right.
Thanks.”

I walked into a chaotic mess. Boxes
were piled
high. My mother was not kidding about the
electronics. He had all of the usual audio and video equipment and what seemed
to be a gaming console. There were several things, which she had seen in the
big box stores. Some of the stuff looked like it
was
purchased
from
Brookstone
or an in-flight catalogue.

Scattered on the countertop were a bevy of amber
pill bottles. I was tempted to pick one up and read the label but I resisted.
People took a wide range of pills and supplements for various reasons. My
mother mentioned a set of golf clubs.

The man could run a fucking pro-shop.

There were a ton of bags loaded with clubs. Some had
the familiar
swoosh
but he did not
seem to have a favorite. There were logos on everything from Ping, Callaway,
MacGregor
,
TaylorMade
and others.
He had some framed golf shirts and hats that
were signed
.
I assumed famous people had signed the items but they appeared as scribbles.

I never considered myself snoopy but this was fun. I
walked to a box filled with books. It would tell me a great deal about the
stranger. Oops. I wished I had not stolen a look at his mini-library. The dude
was into sex – a lot of sex. There was the stuff like “The Joy of Sex”, which I
had found in her dad’s drawer when I was nine. He had volumes of stuff on
STD’s, books on the psychology of sex and a whole book on fellatio. Who used
that term?

Of course, I opened the book.

It was full of tasteful sketches of women and men.
The person receiving the blowjob
was drawn
with no
emotion. It was as if they were receiving a receipt at the grocery store. Some
stuff bordered on soft porn but
nothing illegal
.

There were several boxes labelled SC Room. I
wondered what SC meant.
Sex Consultation?

I looked in his fridge. It
was not
plugged in
yet so as Sherlock Holmes I hit a dead end. If I found random
body parts or something else bizarre I would have had a great story. I glanced
at my watch. It was almost time to meet Ryder at Magnolia. I left the
semi-homemade pie on the counter.
After one last glance at
the fellatio manual.
I left.

Chapter
Three

I looked in the full-length mirror before departing.
Not Bad. I wore a black pair of shorts and a pink polo shirt. My body
was toned
after an active summer. I accented my look with
silver earrings and bangles around my wrist. My hair appeared blonder than
usual because of the sun. It fell to my shoulders so I scooped it up in a messy
ponytail. I had tried short hair earlier in the year. I was following trend a
la Jennifer Lawrence. My best friend Sayler encouraged me. I saw the look of
horror when my first chunk of foot long hair fell to the ground. I cried for a
week and vowed never to go short again. I smeared on some “Dazzle” lip color
and the look was complete. I was country club chic.

I drove my
Sol
to the country club. It was not a fancy set of wheels, but I worked hard as a
waitress for three years to buy the thing.

“I hardly recognized you without the nametag. Are
you ready for the LPGA?” Ryder said and whistled as I got out of my car.

“Stop.
Everyone is looking,” I whispered. “So I didn’t bring clubs or anything. I
figured they would have everything I need to rent.”

“They will supply you with clubs and balls. I have
taken care of everything,” Ryder said.

“I am sure you have the latter – at least I hope
so,” I joked.

“Yeah I have my own. They could use some cleaning.
Can you take care of that?”

“Ryder!”

“I am referring to my clubs Jenna,” Ryder shot back.

“Oh yeah sure.
I will handle the shaft gently.”

We chuckled in unison.

We walked onto the driving range. The natural dunes
and the undulating greens made a spectacular view. The salt grass in the
distance was swaying wildly indicating breezy conditions.

“I hate to cover up such a sexy outfit, but you should
throw on a sweatshirt.” He grabbed a red sweatshirt from his bag. It was from
Stanford
.
He’s educated. And on the
other side of the United States

“Good school. Did you go?” I asked.

“Yes, I am a Cardinal. I wanted to be just like
Tiger.”

“When did you graduate?” I thought I was so sly. I
had figured out a way to find out his age.

“A while ago.”
Ryder smiled. He was too smart for my game.

“I suppose if you like golf, Tiger is a good person
to emulate,” I said.

“He’s a good golfer but have you seen the chicks he
lands. Now that is something to emulate. The first wife was stunning and now he
is hooking up with Lindsey
Vonn
. The man prefers
blonde-haired women. Like me.” Ryder looked at me and winked. I felt my face
heat up. “Well, enough chat. I am ready to see what you’ve got. Grab a club,”
Ryder said. I stared at him quizzically.
“Yeah.
I’m
sure you want to know which one. I had them set you up with a few. It is like
asking a person to grab a fork at a five star restaurant. Begin with a 5-iron.
It
’s labeled
. We will try the 3-wood next and switch
to the putter eventually. I had them include a pitching wedge but I don’t think
we will get to that.”

“This must be the one.” I grabbed the club with a 5
engraved on the head. “Wow, it is lighter than I expected.” I swung it around
like a baseball bat and nearly hit Ryder in the head.

“Careful with that thing.
The last thing I need is a smack in the head,” Ryder said loudly. His stern
demeanor startled me.

Ryder had me get comfortable holding the club. He
demonstrated the proper stance and showed me some ways not to position my body.
I was paying attention to the power and grace with which he moved. He was using
terms like torque, trajectory and follow thru. I would look up that stuff on my
tablet when I got a chance. His movement mesmerized me too much and I had no
interest in his technical jargon.

When I finally got to the tee, it became obvious I
was a novice. I was hitting the balls all over the place. The fact that I was
new to the game combined with the presence of a sexy man caused me to suck.

“God Jenna.
I would complement you on your swing but I can’t come up with anything to say.
You mentioned that you had golfed before. I am starting to believe you lied.”

“Then
teach
me. You said you were able to teach Samantha.” He was surprised that I
remembered the mention of her name.

“I said Sammy. I will give you a manual assist and
see how that goes.”

Ryder came up behind me. His 6’2” frame eclipsed my
petite 5’3” body. My hands began to sweat. It was something that happened when
I was nervous – or horny. At that moment, I didn’t know which one it was.

“We will need to begin with the fundamentals. I am
ay good instructor if you pay close attention. I have been teaching for years.”

“You are a teacher?” I asked.

“Enough with the twenty questions.”
He smirked. “We will begin with the grip. You are holding the club too tightly.
Relax.”

Ryder rearranged my fingers as he covered his large
hands over mine. I thought for a moment about my manicure. Shit, I had not been
to the nail salon all summer and my self-applied color was a mess.

“Think fingers when you are applying a grip. If you
rely on your palm, the club will risk slipping out. Keep your thumb pointed
downwards. This is supposed to feel unnatural at first. Soon you will be able
to do it without thinking.”

The lesson was confusing but oddly sensual. Ryder’s
breath was warm and it smelled as a combination of coffee and
breath
mints. It was pleasant and it made the hair on the
back of my neck stand straight.

“You are getting the hang of it. Am I making you
uncomfortable?” Ryder asked. Our bodies could not get any closer.

“Not at all.
I can see that I am in good hands.” I was running low on clever quips.

“You are doing great. Let’s take a break. I would
suggest a beer. You look 21 but I don’t want to embarrass you or me.”

“I would love an iced tea. We can share a glass of
wine another time,” I said. I should not have assumed there would be a next
time. I was hoping he would ignore the comment.

“Sounds excellent.
I will hold you to it after our next visit to the driving range. I would
suggest today but I have a million things to do. I am actually avoiding the
tasks by being here with you.
It is one of the times golf
comes in handy.
It offers the opportunity to escape.”

“What are you escaping from today?” I asked, hoping
that he would give me some insight into
who
the hell
he was.

“Don’t get me wrong Jenna. I would choose to be here
with you regardless of what else was happening. I moved recently. I am
upgrading from a condominium to a house. I hate unpacking because it makes me
realize how much shit I have. I was planning to get rid of a bunch of things. I
save it incase…someone wants it someday. I guess I’m sentimental.”

“Maybe we can get you featured on an episode of
Hoarders.” I laughed.

“Seriously, it’s that bad.”

I snickered. “Well, most people could be on that
show. What’s with the watch?”

“My grandfather always wore a watch. I wear one in
his honor.”

“That hardly looks like your Grandfather’s watch.”

“I upgraded to the 21
^st
century. It keeps
all of my stats handy like blood pressure, pulse and heart rate. It keeps track
of the steps I take and a load of other stuff. I have a couple of them.”

“Oh, I have a watch too. Mine keeps time,” I jested.

“You are a smartass,” he announced and a grin formed
in the corner of his mouth.

“And so are you.” I giggled. “Why do you need a
couple of watches?”

“They are always upgrading the design. I get them in
every color available. I like to coordinate them with my outfit.”

“Okay Anna
Wintour
.”

“Who the fuck is Ann Winter?”
Ryder asked.

“It’s
Wintour
. Does Vogue
Magazine ring a bell or perhaps you have seen the movie The Devil Wears Prada?”

“Don’t get all girly on me. You don’t strike me as
the Vogue type of woman,” Ryder commented.

“I bet you think I skip reading entirely. You
probably think I head right to
Twitter
for news and hop on
Facebook
to see
what’s trending. You will be surprised to know that I read
The New York Times
. I throw in an occasional
People Magazine
.” I crossed my arms.

“Don’t get defensive.
I
Tweet
and keep
my
Facebook
page current. It is obvious you
are a well-read woman.”

I made a mental note to check out his
Facebook
page when I got to my tablet.
All mysteries
would be solved
.

“I am ready for round two, unless you need to get to
your new home.”

“Nope.
Let’s hit another bucket of balls. Just to be sure, I will assist you again,”
Ryder was behind me as if he had never left. I was beginning to think he
enjoyed it as much as me.

“Time flies by out here. I can see how golfing
relaxes you.” I said. By this time, the game of golf was secondary to getting
to know Ryder.

“Yeah.
I had some difficulties recently. It provided a good outlet. I tried meditation
and that worked a little. I relied on golf the most though,” Ryder explained.

“What type of challenges were you facing?”

Ryder looked directly at me as though he was about
to say something important.

“It is a very long story. I don’t want to
be defined
by the bullshit in my past. I choose to deal with
a lot on my own. I’m outgoing but I am also private.”

“Okay. You are only my golf teacher for a day. You
don’t have to open up to me – It’s cool.” Naturally, I was curious.

“About this being our only lesson – how about we hit
the ball around again? I’m free the day after tomorrow,” Ryder asked as he
double checked his schedule on his phone. He reached into his back pocket and
pulled out a second phone.