The Neighbor (The Neighbor #1) (9 page)

“So Max, what have you heard about the professor
teaching sex
ed
?” I asked.

“He was on sabbatical last year. He apparently
travelled to Europe. He is a young guy so he is supposed to be relatable. It
would be weird to
be lectured
about sex from an old
man. We lucked out in that we are in the same class. Many freshman girls were
interested in his class because they say he is hot.”

“Sounds promising.
Maybe this professor will be able to hold our attention,” I said.

I made plans to meet Max in the morning. I unpacked
my things. As many freshman did I brought too much stuff for the small space I
was given. I had not met my roommate yet. She was from out of state and would
not arrive until the following day.

I was placing clothes in the closet when I came
across a golf hat from Magnolia Country Club. It seemed to be never ending.
There were reminders of my night with Ryder everywhere. I needed them to stop.

Chapter
Ten

Sayler decided not to stay the night. My things were
somewhat unpacked and I was looking forward to a quiet night. My phone began
playing. I was always changing the ringtone so I almost didn’t recognize it.

“Hey Max. Miss me already? What’s up?”

“Tomorrow we begin classes and things will get
crazy. Why don’t you hit the bar with me? We can grab something to eat. Sayler
wolfed down more than her share of the pizza and I’m still hungry,” Max said.

“Not tonight Max. I’m exhausted. One drink will put
me to sleep.”

“Please Jenna – for old time’s sake,” Max pleaded.

“Come and get me because I don’t know where your
dorm is and this place is like a maze. I‘ll get lost.”

“I’ll be there in 10-minutes.” Ryder hung up.

Ugh. I was not looking forward to spending time
alone with Max. I could tell that he didn’t like me with another guy. Falling
back into old habits with him was a dangerous prospect.

I guess hanging out with him was a good opportunity
to assure there were no hurt feelings after the discussion about Ryder and the
blowjob. There was his name again. I couldn’t get Ryder off my mind.

Before I knew it, Max knocked on my door.

“You look great Jenna,” Max said as soon as I opened
the door.

“Max, I haven’t changed in the two-hours since you
saw me last. I put on some lip gloss and took my ponytail down.”

“That must be it. You always look great. That never
changes.” Max smiled.

I ignored the comment. I thought we were good
friends but he seemed to be hitting on me. Maybe he was only interested in
having sex with me.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“We are going to a spot named The Spot. They have
good bar food and inexpensive beers.
Just our style.
They have dancing too. We owned the dance floor back home. We did quite a bit
of bumping and grinding. It got R-rated…remember?”

I did not want to remember those days. I wanted to
just be college buddies and nothing more.

“I do remember Max. That was a long time ago though.
Let’s just worry about right now and not the past.”

“If that’s what you want Jenna.”

I grinned and nodded my head before we walked into
The Spot. The party was raging but we were lucky enough to find a booth.

“How about
a domestic
ale.
I usually get whatever they have on tap.” Max flagged down the server.

“I will have what he has to drink. No food for me.”
Skipping the food would make the evening move more quickly.

“Are you sure? I’m
gonna
have some fried shrimp. It has been frozen but
I like it,” Max said.

Ryder again came to mind. It was fresh shrimp and
fine wine at his house. Max offered something entirely different.

Our food and beer came. After we ate, I assumed the
evening would be over. We discussed our history together as children, deleting
the times we hated each other. It was a nice walk down memory lane. He popped
the last shrimp in his mouth and wiped his hands on his pants.

“Man. That shit was greasy. Are you ready to show
the people of Columbia how we dance?”

“Do I have a choice?” I asked.

“No. It will be a blast. This DJ knows how to spin
tunes. We will have to come here when there is a home football game. If we can
get in that is because there is usually a line around the corner.”

I chugged the remainder of my beer. I was definitely
beginning to feel the effects of the alcohol. Max grabbed my hand and pulled me
onto the dance floor. We immediately fell into a rhythm. The moves were
familiar and almost comforting. He smashed his groin into my backside. I
was thrown
off balance but he saved me. When I turned I
found his face inches from mine. He was staring at me intensely, just as he
once did.

“You okay? I got a little carried away.”

“I’m fine Ryder – Uh, I mean Max.” Shit.

Max didn’t respond. Instead he pulled me in close.
Beneath his jeans, I could feel his dick growing. It was an old feeling with
Max that didn’t feel right.

“Let’s get out of here Jenna. I want to show you my
room,” he whispered in my ear.

He turned his back to me and led me off the dance
floor with his hand. I didn’t know why I didn’t just say no at that point. I
took his hand and followed. A part of me wanted to see Max’s room. It felt
natural because we had done it so often in the past.

“Whew. It was hot in that place. What are you
thinking about?” Max asked as we reached the sidewalk.

“I don’t really have anything profound to say. I am
tired and I just hope we are not making a mistake. This feels safe, right?”

“Safe is good. We’re not making a mistake.”

If I was with anyone else it would have seemed like
I was trying to forget Ryder. In the recess of my mind perhaps I was. It was
unfair to Max but I still followed him back to the college and climbed the
stairs to his low-rise dormitory.

Max had a single room because it was his second year
on the floor. It was organized and clean. I felt as if he was expecting
company. The Max I knew was a slob. A queen futon was set in the bed position.
It
was turned down,
which I viewed as a bit much.
Since it was the only place to sit in the room, I sat down on the edge of the
cushion.

“This is Chez Max. It is a step up from last year. I
can get things done in this space that I could never do with a roommate.”

I looked at Max and laughed.

“I mean studying and shit. I can see that dirty mind
of yours at work.”

Max sat next to me.
I was a little tipsy and I felt like I was in one of those bad sit-coms that
show the angel on one shoulder and the devil on the other. Max leaned in to
kiss me. His lips and tongue waited for reciprocation. I tried, but I pulled
back.

“Sorry Max. I am just not ready for this to happen.
I need to be alone for a while so I can get used to being away from home.” I
stood up from the futon and stepped back

“Jenna, I don’t think it’s about being away from
home. You and Sayler joked about this Ryder guy but I think there’s more to it.
I think he hurt you and you can’t admit it.”

“When did you get so enlightened?” I laughed.
“Maybe someday Max.”

“I’ll walk back to your room with you. You are still
planning to sit next to me in sex
ed
,
right?” Max said.

“Of course Max.” I laughed.

Max took me home. We were both silent the entire way
and when we reached my dormitory he hugged me and quickly said goodbye.

****

I didn’t sleep well that night. I had not been
expecting the Max drama and I was worried things would be tense between us. In
addition, I had a splitting headache from the beer.

I managed to roll out of bed in the morning. There
was not time for a shower so in went the ponytail.

 
“Good Morning
Max,” I said to him in front of the dining common.

“Hey Jenna.
Are you ready to learn all about sex? Not as if you need the help.” Max smiled.

“Please Max. Let’s not make my sex life a running
joke. I also want to make sure that we are cool after last night.”

“My ego was slightly bruised but I will be fine. I
will not mention last night or Ryder again.”

“I thought I could go one day without hearing the
man’s name.
Perhaps tomorrow.”

“Sorry Jenna. Today is the last day you’ll hear his
name.”

I sighed.

With my heavy bag of books in tow, I walked into the
cavernous Tobin lecture hall. The scene was intimidating. It
was
packed
to capacity because it was a requirement to take it. I thought it
was a way to control the spread of STD’s on campus. It was not a bad idea since
there were also new one’s cropping up.

When I
got settled
in my
chair, I heard the door close. My first college lecture was set to begin.

I was still retrieving my things from my bag when I
heard the professor state, “Welcome to Freshman Human Sexuality.”

The familiar voice stunned me.

“I am Ryder Curran. I will be your instructor this
semester.”

My hands were too slick to hold a pen. My palms were
soaked in nervous sweat and I began trembling. My sex education instructor
stood at the lectern. The man I had given a blowjob. The man whose mind I blew.
The man who blew all over me.

I grabbed the syllabus, which confirmed my fears. It
was Ryder. The man I tried to forget and now had to see three times per week in
Tobin Hall. Do I approach him after class? If I do what the hell do I say –
Hi, remember me I’m the 18 year old who
sucked your cock last week.
Do I tell Max or anyone else? Do I attempt to
crawl under my chair? Maybe I should transfer to a school in another state or a
different country.

I turned a vibrant shade of red. I could feel the
heat spread across my face. I gazed at my watch and hoped I could get through
class without him noticing me. It would provide me the time I needed to figure
out what to do. I watched the second hand slowly sweep
by
.

Max was wrong. Today wasn’t going to be the last day
I would hear Ryder’s name.

Follow
the passionate story of Jenna and Ryder in
The
Neighbor—Book 2
on October 22
^nd

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Once complete The Neighbor series
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The
Neighbor -
Release schedule:

Book
1: October 8th

Book
2: October 22nd

Book
3: November 5th

Book
4: November 19th

This
book is a work of fiction. The names, characters, places and incidents are
products of the writer's imagination or
have been used
fictitiously and are not to be construed as real. Any resemblance to persons,
living or dead, actual events, locales or organizations is entirely
coincidental.

Copyright
© 2014 Claire Adams