HER BIG NEIGHBOR

by Penny Wylder

  Finally, it’s close enough to the time I need to leave that I can get ready. I go downstairs and find my mother working on some paperwork in the living room. “I’m still not feeling the greatest, so I’m going to call it an early night,” I say. “Hopefully the extra sleep will help.”

  She looks up and smiles. “All right, sweetie. Feel better.”

  I lock my bedroom door when I get inside, just in case she decides to look in on me later. I do a quick refresh of my make-up, put on my clothes, and swing out the window. It’s been a decent amount of time since I’ve done this, and I’m not entirely sure how Edward made it look so easy in a suit. I’m lucky that I don’t fall and break my neck or make enough noise that my mom thinks that there’s someone trying to break in.

  “That was graceful,” Edward says behind me. Even before I turn around I can hear in his voice that he’s teasing.

  “I don’t have a lot off practice. But if we keep doing this, I imagine I’ll get better. Just don’t ask me to do it in a dress.”

  He smiles and helps me hop over the fence. “I’ll install a rope ladder for you.”

  “You’re joking, but—” Edward cuts me off with a kiss, and I forget what I was going to say entirely. When he pulls back my mind is muddled and foggy. My body is warm and I’m remembering what happened this morning between my legs, already growing wet. I need to calm down and at least make it through dinner. Then maybe I can think about that kind of dessert. “Hi.”

  “Hello,” he says, smiling. “Ready?”

  “Hell yes.”

  Edward opens the door to his car and I slip down into the passenger seat. When he gets in, I turn to him. “So where are we going?”

  “Ken’s. I thought it might be fun.”

  “Oh my God I haven’t been to Ken’s in ages.” Ken’s is a retro burger joint on the other side of town. It’s got an insane arcade attached to it and was the place that all the kids in high school hung out. It was one of the places that I saw Edward fairly often—even if we didn’t really interact. And their food is delicious. “That’s a great choice.”

  “I’m glad you think so.” He reaches across the car and takes my hand in his, and it’s a simple gesture that makes butterflies start fluttering in my gut. It feels like what could have been when were both younger. A first date at Ken’s was something a lot of people took for granted. I’m glad that we can have that together, even if we skipped a few steps first.

  It doesn’t look like it’s changed all that much. Ken’s is bright and vibrant and there’s a bunch of people inside eating and playing games. It occurs to me that I’ve barely been out since I got home. All of my friends are still in school or have moved to other cities for jobs and internships. We text sometimes, but they’re busy. So I don’t have a reason to get out of the house unless it’s for something mundane like grocery shopping.

  So seeing Ken’s is like a breath of fresh air. It’s easy to fall into something like that, just going on without even realizing that you’ve kind of isolated yourself. “I haven’t been out in a while. Hadn’t even noticed, really.”

  Edward gets out, walks around the car, and opens the door for me. “I thought that might have been the case. That’s why I didn’t want to take you somewhere fancy. At least not tonight. I want you to have fun and I want us to get to know each other better without being around stuffy waiters.” He wraps his arm around my waist and pulls me close as we walk toward the doors. “Though I’m very much looking forward to seeing you in a dress that I can peel off.”

  “We don’t even need the stuffy waiters for that,” I say.

  He laughs and opens the door to Ken’s. It’s not a place where you have to wait to be seated, so we slip into one of the only open booths together. “The last time I came here was after graduation,” I say. “We had our party here.”

  “Good place for it.”

  We look at the menu, and when the waitress comes over, I’m ready. My stomach is already growling. “I’ll take the double cheeseburger, please.”

  “Same,” Edward says. “And a Pepsi, please.”

  “So tell me,” I say. “What’s actually happening with you. You know that I’m out of school for now, and the glittering parade that is my current life of cleaning, but I don’t know about you.”

  He stretches, and looks uncomfortable for a moment. “It’s sometimes strange to talk about, because people often think that I don’t deserve it or that I didn’t want it, or even that I don’t work hard. But I took over at Werlin Venture. My parents decided they wanted to see as much of the world as they could, and being CEO didn’t exactly factor into those plans. So he gave it to me.”

  My eyebrows rise into my hairline. I hadn’t realized that happened. “When?”

  “Pretty shortly after you left for school.”

  “Holy shit. Edward, that’s amazing.”

  He smiles. “Thanks.”

  “Do you like it?”

  “I love it. We get to choose who to work with, and we get to support projects that I’m passionate about, and that other people at the company are passionate about. It’s the best of both worlds, really.

  “And speaking of, I really do think your mom’s charity is a great idea. I would like to hear more about it at the gala. I’m sure we can come to some kind of arrangement.”

  “I’m sure she’d like that,” I say.

  “And what would you like?”

  I stare at him. “What do you mean?”

  “You said you wanted to maybe be involved in the creative part of business, but not what. Do you have any ideas for what you might want to do? There’s no pressure, I’m just curious.”

  That same niggling anxiety rises in my gut. “I’m honestly not sure at the moment. When Mom asked me to move back and help, I said yes because I wasn’t happy, and it was the perfect opportunity. It is a good idea, and I’m happy to help with it. But now that I’m here...I know that it isn’t what I really want. So I’m trying to figure out what exactly it is that I want while also helping Mom and figuring out a way to tell her that I don’t want to stay with the charity long term. And don’t even get me started on telling her about you.” I stop talking, suddenly realizing that that all slipped out at once. That was unintentional, but it had all been building up and it’s good to have it out there to someone.

  “Okay,” Edward says. “Let’s frame it differently. What does your ideal day look like to you? Like if you wake up tomorrow and you could design your day to be perfect, how would it look?”

  I smirk at him. “It would look a lot like this morning.”

  “Julia,” he says, but he’s laughing. “Okay, I’m on a business trip and physically can’t come fuck you senseless. What does your perfect day look like?”

  I take a moment to imagine, but there’s honestly not much there. It feels blank. When I picture a perfect day there’s a vague shape of happiness and satisfaction, but no details. “I don’t know,” I say. “It’s not something that I think about that often.”

  “Well do me a favor and keep thinking about it.”

  “Okay.”

  The waitress appears with our food and holy fuck, I think this might be the best burger that I’ve eaten in my whole life. It’s the perfect combo of cooked and greasy and I don’t even care that it’s messy. “This is so good.”

  “Yes,” Edward says. “I didn’t realize how much I was craving a burger until just now.”

  “The fries are good too.”

  Honestly, it just shows how good the food really is, since neither of us talk much while we’re actually eating. But after, we do. Classic first date questions that we never bothered to get to know when we were younger. Middle names and favorite colors. Childhood memories and secret cravings. It feels natural too. Not a stretch in the slightest.

  Which is a relief. We have such amazing chemistry with each other physically, that not having any other kind of chemistry would be awful. But that’s not the case. If anything, his answers make me like hi
m more. Want him more in every way.

  Edward tells me about the current charity projects that Werlin Venture supports and how he thinks that Mom’s charity will fit right in. He also tells me about some of the amazing projects that they’re supporting across the country. They’re all over the place in terms of scope, but they all focus on innovation and betterment. It’s not hard to believe at all that Edward both loves and deserves his job. The passion he holds for it seeps from every word.

  We talk a little more about what I want to do too, and he helps me put into words exactly what I’m looking for. Something with enough creativity to keep me from being bored, but with enough structure that allows me to use the things I love about business.

  Finally, when we’re both finished and stuffed full of burger, he reaches across the table and takes my hand. “Can I kick your ass at some video games?”

  “If you think that I’m just going to let you win, then you’re crazy.”

  He laughs as he pulls me up from my seat. “Oh you’re not going to have to let me do anything. I’ve got this all on my own.”

  “That’s some big talk, Edward.”

  He grins. “You know me. I never say something of mine is big without being able to back it up.” Then leaning in and whispering in my ear. “I thought my cock would have shown you that for sure.” I blush bright red and he laughs, pulling me into the arcade. “Come on. I’ll even be a gentleman and let you pick the first game.”

  11

  Edward

  Julia is so incredibly beautiful. That’s the thought that keeps entering my mind as we weave through the arcade. It’s darker in here than in the restaurant, and with the neon lights of the games reflecting off every surface, she’s painted in a riot of color. And I keep getting distracted by how damn beautiful she is.

  I like her spirit, and the way her mind works. And everything she said during dinner only makes me gravitate toward her. I’m being pulled in by her energy, and I don’t want to stop. I’ve never felt that way about anyone else. This pull that tells me that this could be real, and permanent, and deep.

  And I finally got the answers to my question of why she’s looked sad and lost. That’s because she is. She’s not where she wants to be and she knows it. I understand. I’ve been there, and if I’m able to help her figure anything out, I’ll do it.

  For our first game, Julia picks Skee-ball. “I’m the champion of this, you know.”

  She rolls her eyes. “You are not.”

  “I am, actually. In high school we held a competition and I won.”

  “When I get home I’m fact checking that statement.”

  I step away to the machine that gives us quarters for the game. “You can fact check it right now on your phone if you want, it won’t stop it from being true.” I did actually win. It was a stupid bet made by a couple of high school seniors, but I took them all down one by one. It even got put in the yearbook. Skee-ball. What every young man wants to be known for in high school.

  Julia pulls out her phone and does a quick google search. “Oh my God, you actually are.”

  “Told you,” I smirk.

  “Fine,” she says, holding her hands out for the quarters. “I picked this because I thought it might be an even playing field. But next game I’ll be sure to pick something that I can win.”

  “Good luck,” I tell her. “I’m not going easy on you.”

  “I wouldn’t want you to.”

  And I love that about her. Julia isn’t so fragile that she needs someone to diminish themselves or their efforts so that she can feel good about herself. That being said, if she doesn’t win any games, I might ease up a little anyway. I don’t want her to win nothing.

  But she’s not too bad. And it’s been a while since I actually played. “You’re actually making me work for it,” I say as she lands one of her balls in the high-scoring hole.

  Julia lifts an eyebrow and coyly looks over her shoulder. “Well, I’m not making you work to fuck me, so I have to make you work for something.”

  I choke on a laugh, and nearly miss my next shot. But I don’t. It’s a close game, but I still win. “Well, since you’re not making me work for it, and I’m winning, I’ll make sure the next time is very good for you.”

  Julia lifts up on her toes to press a kiss to my lips, and I love that she feels comfortable enough to do that. That we’re not hiding despite the fact that she snuck out of her bedroom window to be here. “I thought your goal was to make it good for me every time.”

  “That’s true,” I say, catching her behind her neck and keeping her close. “You caught me.” I kiss her deeply, invading her mouth with my tongue, dancing with hers and making her think of all the things I can do with it. I’m nearly dizzy when I pull away, and I know that she is too, but I pretend not to be. “Your turn.”

  She shakes her head a little, and completely misses her next shot. I perfectly land the final throw, and the machine rings the bells that declare me the winner. Julia glares at me. “You kissed me like that so you would win.”

  “I never said that I would play fair,” I say, smirking.

  Julia smirks back. “Game on, Eddie.”

  “Eddie?”

  “Until I decide otherwise, yeah. Eddie.” She heads off through the arcade in search of another game, and I nearly groan when I see her choice. There’s already a crowd gathered around it, with people going at it. It’s the dance game that was—and still is—popular. I’m a decent dancer, but not when there are arrows on a screen shouting at me.

  “Really?”

  “Bet your ass. This is something I think I can win.”

  I laugh, and pull her against me so we can wait in line. “I’m not going to argue with that.”

  The two people currently going head-to-head are insane. There’s so many arrows and double arrows on the screen that I can barely interpret them, but they’re moving so smoothly that it looks almost like they’ve memorized the routine. I suppose it’s possible that they have, if they’re that good. “Please tell me you’re not going to make me play at that difficulty,” I whisper in Julia’s ear.

  “God no. That would be mortifying for both of us. We can play on a healthy easy.”

  “Thank fuck,” I say, pressing my lips to her cheek. She shivers against me, and I don’t think that I’ll ever get tired of that feeling. She wants me, and I want her. Even though I already had her this morning, I’m growing hard just thinking about it, and feeling her ass nestled against my cock. I’m glad that she’s in front of me because there’s no way to hide this erection, and she can definitely feel it.

  “Trying to get out of playing the game?”

  “No,” I say. “But your ass is very tempting.” Julia tilts her hips back, pressing back into me which only makes me harder. “You’re not helping.”

  “I think I’m helping a lot.”

  I start solving math problems in my head because the people in front of us have stepped up to the game, and I’ve only got a couple of minutes to get my body under control. But damn it, Julia keeps wiggling. “Dammit, Julia.”

  She giggles, and it’s the best sound in the whole fucking world. And I do more math problems in my head because I want to dance with her and make her laugh again. That’s definitely going to happen, the way my coordination is.

  Reluctantly, my cock calms down. Partially on my own mental promise that I’ll let him be happy later. And the people in front of us finish a routine that was way faster than the first one I saw but still way too complex for me. I let Julia take care of this game, and she navigates the interface like she has it memorized. This is something I didn’t know about her.

  “You were one of the ones that played this all the time in high school, weren’t you?”

  She grins as she selects an upbeat pop song. “I have a championship of my own.”

  For me, she selects easy, but for her she sets it to hard, and it’s hard to keep my eyes on my own screen when my steps are so simple compared to hers. Every
time I look over she’s in fluid motion, never missing one of the amazingly complicated steps. She’s a hurricane of light and beauty.

  I manage to keep up, and we win, but I feel like I won way more than that. This game gave me a glimpse into something deeper for Julia—an untapped joy that I haven’t seen in forever. Taking her hand, I guide her away from the game into a darkened corner and I kiss the hell out of her. There’s nothing that will stop me from tasting her lips right now. “I want to take you dancing,” I say when we both can breathe again.

  “When?”

  “Any time.” I love that she doesn’t hesitate, ready to jump in.

  The hope in her voice kills me. “This weekend?”

  I nod. “Done.”

  “And what about right now,” she asks. “Do you want to play more games?”

  “That depends on what kind of games,” I say, smiling.

  Her breath catches. “I think I can feel what kind of games you’re thinking of.”

  It’s true, pressed into the corner like this my cock is misbehaving once again. I kiss her. “I’ll play whatever kind of games you want to play.”

  She smiles in the dark. “Take me to the point.”

  I laugh softly.

  “If I want to make out with you like a horny teenager that’s the place to do it, right?”

  “Very true.”

  We weave our way out of the arcade, dodging the crowd that’s growing thicker as it gets later, and jump into my car. The point is a scenic overlook of the valley that holds the city, and it’s not a far drive from Ken’s. It was the spot you went in high school if you wanted to fool around. Lord knows I’ve been there enough times, and I’m sure that Julia has as well.

  There are a few cars when we pull up to the point, windows fogged in the cooling evening. I laugh as I look over, but I’ve barely put the car in park before Julia is climbing into my lap. I manage to send my seat back so we have more room as I catch her around the waist.