Holly and I walked back downstairs to the living room, and my hand grazed against hers when we got to the bottom of the steps. I don’t know if it was intentional—but I saw a flicker in her eyes and a grin on the edge of her lips before she looked away. I was out of reasons to delay her departure, even though I didn’t want her to leave. I really wasn’t sure if I was reading too much into things because I was just lonely, or if she was trying to find a reason to stay too. The attraction did seem to be mutual, but I wasn’t sure—I didn’t even know if I would ever see her again after she left. Our lives were headed in two completely different directions.
“If you ever do get your own practice one day, maybe I can be your first patient.” She turned towards me, and that beautiful smile returned.
“You’re going to come all the way back here from Arizona if you get a cold?” I chuckled under my breath.
“Maybe—it depends on your bedside manner.” She bit down on her bottom lip, and her eyes lit up.
“I’m very thorough…” I took a step closer. “I have to make sure my patients get the very best care.”
“It has been a long time since my last checkup…” Her lips were begging for a kiss, but I hesitated—too long—because her cell phone started buzzing, and it seemed to snap her back to whatever reality we were trying to forget. “It’s my mom—I guess I should go.”
“Thank you for the cookies.” I nodded and felt frustration sweep through my entire body as I realized the opportunity was gone.
I’ll think about you every time I eat one of them…
“Hey mom!” Holly pressed the cell phone to her ear and started walking towards the door. “Yes, I’m all packed up!”
I watched through the window as Holly walked to her house and disappeared inside—it was probably the last time I would ever see those gorgeous curves. I could have kicked myself for not making a move when the opportunity was right in front of me. That was why my love life was literally a dumpster fire of mental spreadsheets and wasted chances. Instead of just kissing Holly, I was thinking about why it would be a mistake—analyzing the fact that she was too young and about to leave for college. I truly didn’t know how to live in the moment because I was always thinking about the future. I made things way more complicated than they ever had to be—the look in her eyes wasn’t that complex—she didn’t just bring me cookies because she wanted to be a good neighbor.
Why couldn’t I wrap my head around that before it was too late?
The next day
I woke up fairly early and decided that a morning run was going to become part of my daily ritual in suburbia. Being able to run with a breeze on my face and fresh air in my lungs was a lot better than running on a treadmill like I had to do when I lived in the city. I waved to a few neighbors that were working in their yards, and a couple of them even said good morning. I circled the block a couple of times and slowed to a walk as I approached my house. I hoped that I would see Holly—even if she was just walking to her car because she had to go somewhere. I walked a little slower as I passed by her house, but I didn’t see any signs of her. For all I knew, she was using one of the last days of her summer vacation to sleep late—I probably would have done that if I wasn’t hardwired to leap out of bed with my eyes wide open at the first hint of dawn—regardless of how much sleep I had.
I guess I should go make sure the wine is chilled before my sister shows up—she’ll complain if I don’t.
Chapter Three
Holly
I don’t know what I was looking for when I walked over to Everette’s house with a plate of freshly baked chocolate chip cookies in my hands. Maybe I had watched too many romantic movies over the summer and started to believe that real life could imitate them. Everette was hot-as-sin and so tempting that I forgot I was a virgin who didn’t really even know how to flirt with a guy until we were standing in front of each other. I actually thought he was going to kiss me—and I wanted him to more than I wanted to draw my next breath—but then a phone call from my mother shook the fantasy out of my head. She had the worst timing, but maybe it was for the best. A kiss wasn’t going to change the trajectory of my life. I wasn’t staying in Los Angeles, and the last thing I needed to do was lose my virginity to my new neighbor—that would make every trip home extremely awkward.
His gorgeous body will probably stay seared in my mind—until I meet someone new that makes me forget all about the doctor next door.
I woke up pretty late, and I already had a text message from Amelia when I woke up. I responded to her, took a quick shower, and then went downstairs to wait for my best friend to arrive at my house. I had an emotional moment when I heard her car in the driveway—it was going to be the last time I saw her walking towards my house—the last time we got to hang out before I left for Arizona and she left on a much longer journey to the so-called Peach State. I didn’t cry when we packed up our stuff, but I felt like I was on the verge of tears when I walked to the door. I took a deep breath and fought them off when she knocked.
“Your new neighbor already has a visitor—I think he has a girlfriend.” Amelia motioned to Everette’s house.
“Really?” I raised an eyebrow.
“Yeah, she’s blonde and gorgeous—the kind of woman you’d expect a doctor to date.” Amelia walked into my house and put her purse down next to the door.
He didn’t mention a girlfriend—not that I asked. Thank god he didn’t actually kiss me!
“Oh well, all of the good ones are taken.” I sighed, partially out of disappointment, but it was sort of a relief to know there was never a chance for us.
“I’m sure there will be plenty of good ones in Arizona.” Amelia turned towards me and smiled. “Meanwhile, I’m going to be falling in love with a southern gentleman.”
“Or a redneck,” I laughed under my breath.
“I wouldn’t mind a blue-collar guy that’s good with his hands.” She shrugged, and her smile spread into a devious grin.
“I bet you wouldn’t.” I gave her a nudge. “Okay, what are we going to do today? We need to make one more memory to hold us over until Thanksgiving.”
“Well, I’m out of weed, so we can’t get high…” Amelia raised her eyebrows. “What about your dad’s liquor cabinet?”
“Not that kind of memory.” I shook my head and laughed. “Something we’ll actually remember…”
“We could go to the beach.” Amelia looked out the window. “It doesn’t look like it’s going to rain…”
“When was the last time it rained in Los Angeles during the summer?” I rolled my eyes. “The beach could be fun. Let’s do it.”
Amelia and I were almost the same size, so I loaned her one of my swimsuits, and then we were on our way. It was supposed to be fun, but as soon as my toes hit the sand, I was filled with a sense of melancholy. There was plenty of sand in Arizona, but no beaches with an ocean as far as the eyes could see. I was going to miss that sight—just like I was going to miss Amelia. Luckily, the hint of sadness passed once we made it to the ocean and started letting the waves carry us around while we stayed afloat. There was no reason for our last day together to be miserable. I wanted to have fun with my best friend.
There will be plenty of time to be miserable once I’m all alone in Arizona.
Later that day
“That was fun.” Amelia looked over at me and smiled as I parked my car in the driveway at my house.
“Yes, it was.” I nodded quickly. “Can you stay for dinner, or do you have to meet up with your parents again?’
“They’ve got something planned.” She sighed. “I don’t even know what it is—mom said it’s a surprise.”
“Sounds like fun.” I turned off the ignition and opened my door. “At least come inside so that you can change out of my bathing suit—otherwise I’ll never get it back.”
“Okay.” She nodded. “It looks like your neighbor’s girlfriend is already gone—she must not be the type that stays the night.”
“Who knows.” I shrugged and stepped out of my car.
She might not even be the only one if he was about to kiss me yesterday…
Our bathing suits were mostly dry after laying on the beach for a couple of hours after our swim in the ocean, so I tossed both of them in the dirty clothes hamper after we changed. Amelia and I said our last goodbye, and then I watched her drive away. I was glad that she didn’t cry—there’s no way I would have been able to hold back my tears if she did. I watched some television until it was dark outside and decided to make dinner. We had a snack at the beach, but it wasn’t going to be enough to hold me over for the entire night. My options were pretty limited, and I didn’t want another frozen pizza, so I settled for a TV dinner—that I ate alone at the dining room table—just like I would be doing every night once I got to Arizona.
Maybe I should have gone with the cheaper dorm room—having a roommate might not be that bad…
It was dark outside by the time I finished eating dinner. I started cleaning up the kitchen and noticed that Amelia had never picked up her pack of Camel Crush cigarettes from the counter. Apparently, she was serious about quitting—I hadn’t seen her light up at all since she stayed over at my house. I definitely couldn’t leave them there if my parents were coming home, and I couldn’t just toss them in the garbage can in the kitchen—especially since the roach from our joint was still in the pack. My parents would probably believe me if I told them the cigarettes weren’t mine, but I preferred to avoid the conversation completely if possible. I didn’t need one more lecture from them before I left for college, which I was sure to get if they found cigarettes in the trash—they might even call Amelia’s parents if they opened the pack and saw the roach.
I definitely won’t miss those lectures once I’m finally on my own…
I decided to take the pack of cigarettes outside and put it in one of the bags that were already in the trash can. That’s how I always got rid of stuff I wanted to throw away without them knowing it was in the house, to begin with. I walked outside, opened the big trash can sitting next to the driveway, and leaned over so that I could grab the bag that I took out that morning. The smell was fairly unpleasant, but I held my breath and jerked it free so I could start untying the top—while silently cursing myself for tying the knot so tight, to begin with. That was almost impossible with one hand, and I dropped the pack of cigarettes while I was trying, so I had to practically climb into the trash can to retrieve the evidence of my weekend debauchery—another shower was definitely in my future.
“Are you dumpster diving?” A voice interrupted me, and I immediately hopped back from the trash can.
“Everette! Hey!” I looked down at the ground. “No, I’m just—sorting through the trash.”
Well that sounded stupid…
“Interesting.” He raised an eyebrow and then he looked down at the pack of cigarettes I was holding. “Those things will kill you…”
“Yes, that’s why I’m throwing them away.” I nodded quickly and dropped them into the trash can. “My friend left them at my house.”
Now I’ll have to make another trip out here to make sure they’re hidden, but I’m not going to do that while he’s staring at me.
“Ah, hiding them in the trash can so that your parents won’t see them?” He chuckled under his breath. “I remember those days…”
“Yeah…” I grimaced.
“Here, let me help.” Everette walked over and easily reached into the trash can to retrieve them—he was tall enough to do it without going in headfirst. “There’s still a few in here. Are you sure you want to throw them away?”
“They really aren’t mine; I swear.” I shook my head back and forth. “I just don’t want to get lectured if my parents see them.”
“Understandable.” He opened a trash bag that was further down than I could have reached on my own and stuffed the pack of cigarettes in it. “There—they’ll have to do some serious dumpster diving to get them now.”
“Thank you.” I looked down and smiled.
“I was actually coming over to see you—I just didn’t expect to find you digging through the trash.” He chuckled under his breath.
“You were coming to see me?” I lifted my head and my eyebrows at the same time.
“Yeah, I have this plate of amazing cookies at my house, and despite my best efforts, I’m pretty sure I won’t be able to finish them on my own.” He tilted his head and smiled.
“Oh.” The smile disappeared from my face. “Your girlfriend doesn’t mind?”
“Girlfriend?” His face twisted into a look of confusion. “The woman that was here earlier? No, that was my sister. She was giving me some tips on interior design—I don’t have a girlfriend.”
He really is single…
“Okay, maybe I could be tempted to eat a couple of cookies.” I looked down at my hands. “Although I feel like I need a shower after digging in the trash.”
“I’ve got soap. You don’t have to shower—I’ll show you how to scrub in like a doctor.” He motioned for me to follow him.
Everette didn’t have a girlfriend. I was still trying to process that as I followed him to his house. I pushed him to the back of my mind the second that Amelia told me there was a beautiful blonde woman at his house—and she turned out to be his sister. My heart started beating hard in my chest as I walked up the steps and entered his house—the spot where he almost kissed me—the spot where I wanted him to so bad. It didn’t make sense. It wasn’t like a kiss would ever lead to anything. I couldn’t even go on a date with him if he asked since I was about to leave for college. A kiss would be nothing more than a tease for something that could never happen between us. He was sinfully gorgeous with a stupidly sexy smile that made my panties try to melt off my hips, but there was no way I was going to let a guy that I just met take my virginity—I just wasn’t that kind of girl.
That’s an amazing fantasy, but it’s not reality…
“Start with your hands.” Everette led me to the sink and squeezed some soap out of a bottle. “Then work your way up to your arms—like this.”
“I’ve seen this on Grey’s Anatomy.” I smiled and leaned forward to squeeze some soap into my hands.
“They probably skip over the part where you have to do this for five minutes.” He looked at me and raised an eyebrow.
“Five minutes? Seriously?” I blinked in surprise. “Yeah, I think they fast-forward through that.”
“If I was actually going to perform surgery, I would have a pick for my nails and a brush to scrub my skin.” He moved his hands along his forearms—god, they were so muscular and thick.
“They definitely leave that part out…” I stared at his hands as he continued to scrub his arms.
“Need some help?” He looked down at the soap, still sitting in my hand.
Everette didn’t give me a chance to respond. He put his finger in the center of my palm, rubbed the soap into a lather, then started moving his hands against mine. His touch made me tingle from head-to-toe and practically sucked the oxygen out of my lungs. It was sensual and soft, even though I could feel a couple of callouses—especially when he started to caress my arms and spread the soap to my elbows. I got a head rush that was almost as strong as the one I got when I was high—but it was a totally different kind of intoxication. Five minutes was a really, really long time. I’m not even sure he was timing it. He just kept his hands moving against my skin while our eyes slowly met. I was still struggling to breathe, and when I finally drew a full breath, I heard a light squeak in my throat. I broke away from his stare and immediately pulled my hands towards the water.
“That should be good enough. It’s not like I’m going to actually be taking care of a patient or anything.” I pushed my hands underneath the water and started rinsing the soap off.
“You missed a spot.” Everette cupped his hand and let some water run along the back of my elbow.
“Thank you.” I smiled and reached for a pa
per towel while he rinsed his hands and arms.
“You might not be clean enough to perform surgery, but I think you’re good enough for a cookie or two.” Everette grabbed a paper towel. “Want some milk to go with them?”
“Yeah, that would be nice.” I nodded.
My head was still spinning when we sat down at the table and started eating our cookies. His touch did something to me that I didn’t quite understand—it was certainly different from anything I felt when I was clumsily experimenting with the Henderson brothers in the tree house. We started talking as we ate our cookies, but the words just seemed to blend together—and the ones coming out of my mouth didn’t match what was in my head, but I kept the conversation moving without drawing attention to the confusion that was swirling around inside me like a cyclone. My taste buds didn’t even seem to register the cookie when I ate it. All I could think about was how his hands felt when they were on my skin.
“Thank you for inviting me over again.” I looked up at Everette and smiled. “I wish I could stay a little longer, but I’ve got some more cleaning I need to do before my parents get back tomorrow.”
“Ah, did you do a lot of partying while they were away?” He raised an eyebrow.
“No, but I still want to tidy the place up some.” I shook my head and laughed.
“I’ll walk you to your door.” Everette pushed his chair back and stood. “I would hate for you to get distracted by the trash can again.”
“Okay.” I nodded and laughed a little harder. “I’ll try to avoid the urge to dumpster dive on the way.”
I followed Everette out of his house, and we started walking across the lawn—so close that I could almost feel the heat resonating from his skin. It wasn’t much of a walk, but each step felt heavier than the one before it. I didn’t know if Everette would try to kiss me or if some twist of fate would keep our lips apart—and I wasn’t sure which option I was leaning towards. It seemed like there was something between us—something shared—yet we both had to understand it was nothing short of impossible for there to be more than a spark. I walked up to my door, and he followed me—until we had reached the last step we could take together.
Obsessed with a Daddy Page 3
