The Outlaw Next Door

by Lacey Legend

  “What? You didn’t tell me someone moved in next door. And you invited him for dinner with you?”

  “I did. The two of us … well, we’ve been sort of seeing each other.”

  “Jasmine Harris! Why am I only hearing about this now?” her mother demanded.

  Jasmine giggled. “Sorry mom. I wanted to see if it was going anywhere first.”

  “And is it?”

  “Well … I think so. He’s lovely. He’s good-looking and funny and, most of all – he’s really good to me. Oh, but I must warn you – he’s full of tattoos. He’s like a walking art board.”

  “Oh, I don’t care about that. As long as he’s good to you and makes you happy, that’s all I care about.”

  “Really? I thought you’d hate the tattoos.”

  “Well, as we learned the hard way, just because a man looks a certain way doesn’t mean he’s actually like that.”

  Jasmine smiled at that. “Speaking of which, I saw Brendan today.”

  “What? You did?”

  “I literally bumped into him at the park. The same park where I caught him cheating, can you believe that?”

  “Argh. Scumbag. I hope you didn’t give him the time of day.”

  “He asked me out again. And it was wonderful to be able to tell him that I had met someone else and that I was happy. He walked away with his tail between his legs. It felt so good, Mom.”

  “Jasmine! I’m so happy to hear this. This is the best news I’ve heard all day. Now, enough about Brendan. I’m sick of that boy. Tell me about this Eric guy. What does he do for a living?”

  “He’s a photographer.”

  “A photographer! Wow. Have you seen his work?”

  “I haven’t, actually. He’s quite shy about it.”

  “Doesn’t he have a website? All photographers have websites.”

  “I don’t know. I must ask him.”

  “What sort of photography does he do?”

  “He just takes photos and sells them.”

  “Oh, then he must have a website. Unless he sells them at certain shops?”

  “Uh … actually, I have no idea.”

  “You must ask him. I’d love to see his photos. And why did he move? Where was he before?”

  Jasmine’s mother continued with the questioning until Jasmine realized that she actually knew very little about Eric. She’d thought that she knew a lot – and in some ways she did – but there was still so much that he hadn’t told her. She didn’t know anything about his photography. She didn’t know why he had moved to a new area. He never spoke about any old friends or work colleagues or really anything to do with his past. And it had just never occurred to her up until that moment.

  “Like I said, Mom, I really don’t know much about him. We’ve only just met. So all the discoveries are still to happen,” Jasmine told her mother. Her voice remained light while she tried to mask all the concerns she suddenly had.

  “Well, that’s the fun part. The discoveries. And those will come. He still sounds lovely, Jasmine. And I cannot wait to meet him. I’ll give you a call early this week, and we can decide on which day works for lunch. Any chance you girls can make it a longer lunch? I feel like an hour won’t be enough – especially since there’s so much going on with both of you.”

  “I’m sure that can be arranged. See you then, Mom. Thanks for calling. I love you.”

  “I love you, too, Jasmine. I’m going to go to sleep a very happy lady tonight. So much good news,” her mother said.

  She laughed and put down the phone. She knew that her mother had been dying to see her move on from Brendan and she was glad that she could finally make her happy. But she had a niggling bit of frustration gnawing away at her after that conversation. Why didn’t she know more about Eric? He knew all about her. And why had things ended so badly with his father? Why hadn’t she asked to know more? She decided that the next time she saw him, she would find out more. If they were going to be more serious, then she had to know.

  Chapter8

  Eric spent the day fixing up his house, and he felt more domestic than he had his whole life. If his father could see him now, he knew that he would be proud of him. He’d gone out shopping that morning and filled his car with things for the house. He’d even bought a few potted plants. And he had gone to the printer to get one of his tree photos enlarged. He’d fetched it later that day and mounted it on the living room wall. The photo, along with the potted plants, completely transformed the room. He couldn’t wait to show Jasmine. She’d been the one to inspire this whole shopping spree. He’d been slightly embarrassed at how little he had in the house when she had come over that day unannounced. Not that she had said anything – but still, for the first time in his life, he wanted to do something that he was proud to show off. When he received the photos, he’d spent forever just looking through them. Trees and Jasmine – the two most beautiful things in the world. He’d only taken a few photos of her, four of her sitting on the couch and one later on when she wasn’t watching. The fifth one was after the two of them had made love. She was wrapped in a blanket and was in the kitchen making them a cup of coffee. She was so involved in what she was doing that she hadn’t noticed him. She’d looked so beautiful like that – natural. No airs and or graces about her. A part of the blanket had fallen down to reveal her bare shoulder. He couldn’t wait to show her the photos, even though he knew they would make her embarrassed. But he was proud of them. They were photos that he would keep forever. He tucked them safely into the box where he kept his grandfather’s camera.

  Another thing that Eric had invested in was a bookshelf, and for once, he displayed all of his books instead of keeping them in a box. He ran his fingers along the spines and wondered what book he was going to read next. He hadn’t been able to read for a long time – his mind just couldn’t seem to focus long enough on a story. But finally, he found himself sitting on his living room couch with a coffee in one hand and book in the other. He spent the rest of the night reading.

  Hey, you. Hope you’re having a good night. I’m visiting Allie and her mom tonight. Miss you.

  The phone beside him beeped, and he smiled at the message that he received from Jasmine. She had told him all about Allie and her mother’s divorce, and he was glad that she was going to spend time with them. He wondered what it was like having a best friend. He’d had a few good friends when he was younger, but he’d deserted them, just as he had deserted his father. He’d pretended like they had meant nothing to him. And then, when he had tried to get them back, he realized that it was too late. After that, he had just floated from group to group – having lots of acquaintances and no real friends. He’d pretended that it didn’t matter to him. He’d ignored those that he saw and told himself that he was better off. A free man. A nomad. A traveler. But he was jealous. Of course he was. Jasmine felt like his best friend now – and it felt good.

  Hey, you, back. I’m having a good night. You’ll have to come over for dinner soon – my house looks a little different than the last time you were here. You inspired me. Send my love to Allie and her mom. I miss you.

  Her reply was immediate.

  Ooh, that sounds interesting. And dinner sounds great. How about this – dinner at your place next, and then after that, takeout pizza at mine? But sex in both?

  He laughed at that. He knew that it took a lot of confidence for her to say the last part. But she seemed to be opening up to him a lot more. He grinned and suddenly wished that she was there with him.

  Yes, yes, and hell YES!

  He smiled and continued to read. How was it possible that his life could change so quickly in such a short space of time? But here he was, reading his book, drinking coffee, and sending messages to a girl that might be his girlfriend. And he was content.

  For the first time in his life, Eric felt as if nothing could go wrong.

  *

  “It’s so good to see you girls,” Jasmine’s mother was saying as they all sat down for lunc
h together.

  “It’s so good to see you, too, Mrs. H.”

  “Mrs. H! That name still makes me laugh after all these years. Allie, I hear there’s a congratulations in order?”

  Jasmine could see that Allie was both pleased and embarrassed by this. Her lily white skin started to glow, and she began to fan her face with the menu in front of her.

  “Yep, I finally found the man of my dreams. I tell you what, for a while I thought it might never happen.”

  “Oh, come on. Look at you. Look at both of you. You’re both beautiful girls, and you’re both very intelligent – there’s no way you wouldn’t find love. I’m just glad you found it with Marc. I’ve always liked that boy.”

  “Thank you. I like him, too.”

  “And it’s going well?”

  “It’s going so well.”

  “What a pity this is your work lunch hour, otherwise we could’ve ordered champagne. Excuse me, sir,” Jasmine’s mother called out to the waiter who came rushing over to help her.

  Jasmine’s mother was beautiful – even more so as she got older. Now, along with that beauty, she held a certain confidence that made heads turn.

  “Yes, can I get you anything?”

  “You don’t by any chance have any non-alcoholic champagne, do you?”

  “We sure do. Three glasses?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “And what can I get you to eat?”

  “Girls? What do you normally have?” her mother asked them.

  The waiter smiled at them. “Same as usual, girls? Three of those?”

  “Yes, please.”

  “Oh, wow,” her mother said when the waiter left. “He knew your order. What am I getting?”

  “Trust me, Mrs. H, only the best sandwich you’ll ever have in your life.”

  When the champagne arrived, they all lifted their glasses. “To Allie and Marc finally getting together!”

  “And how about you, dear? Should we be doing a cheer for you, too?” her mother asked cheekily.

  “Yeah, I think we can officially say that I’m in a relationship.”

  “You are? That’s news to me,” Allie said.

  “Well, it’s only just something we’ve discussed. We just like each other too much. It seems silly not to be together.”

  Allie squealed. “I knew that would happen.”

  “You’ve met him?” Jasmine’s mother asked Allie.

  “I have. And I completely approve. He’s absolutely gorgeous. You know he’s full of tattoos, though, right? Did Jasmine tell you?”

  “You girls act like I’ll have a problem with that. Like I said to Jasmine, I don’t care what he looks like. All I care about is that he takes care of Jasmine and that he makes her happy.”

  “He does,” Jasmine said, grinning, and they all raised another toast.

  After lunch, which Jasmine’s mother declared as ‘the best sandwich in the world with the best girls in the world with the best news in the world,’ they all hugged their goodbyes.

  “I wish we didn’t have to go back to work,” Allie groaned. “Thanks for coming to see us, Mrs. H. It’s been too long.”

  “It’s been far too long. Send my love to your mother. Next time, she must come along.”

  “Great idea. Or maybe a dinner, just the girls? Forty-five minutes is just not enough time to really catch up.”

  “And we’ll have proper champagne this time.”

  Jasmine felt excited for the rest of the day. She was going over to Eric’s place for dinner. He wanted to show her what his house looked like now that he’d spent some time fixing it up, and he wanted to cook for her. He said he was going all out – a starter, main course, and dessert. Jasmine was always going to use the time as an opportunity to really get to know him better. She already had a list of questions going around in her head. She wanted to know more about his photography and find out where he sold his work. She wanted to know where he was living before he was her neighbor and what made him move. She wanted to know why things had ended so badly with his father when it was clear that at one point, they’d had a good relationship. She wanted to know everything. She’d spoken to her boss and managed to get the next day off. That meant she could spend all evening with him and not have to worry about getting up early for work the next day.

  After work, she went to get her hair done. She hadn’t been to the hairdresser in ages, something that the hairdresser picked up on immediately.

  “Oh, dear. Look at this. From the look of this mess, you haven’t been to the hairdresser in a long time. Am I right?”

  Jasmine looked at herself in the mirror. There was no point lying. “I haven’t been in probably a year.”

  “A year!”

  “I know. It’s crazy. I found out that my boyfriend was cheating on me. So we broke up, and I’ve spent the last year just not caring about anything. I lost myself, I guess.”

  “I’m sorry to hear that. I’ve been in that position before. Well, does the fact that you are here mean that you have found yourself again?”

  “It sure does. I’m looking after myself again. And I’ve met the most amazing man.”

  The hairdresser was delighted by this news. “Wonderful! Look at you – there’s no way you wouldn’t have found another man. Maybe it’s good that you took a full year off from it all. Sometimes it’s good to just recharge like that. And now, here you are. Well, I’m about to make you even more beautiful. Do you trust me to do my thing?”

  “I trust you.”

  When Jasmine came out of the hairdresser, she felt like a whole new person. She couldn’t believe what a haircut could do to someone, and she wasn’t sure why it had taken her so long to do this. Thankfully, the hairdresser hadn’t berated her for cutting her own hair, and had instead just done her thing, as she’d said she would. Jasmine’s hair felt softer and fresher, and that instantly made her happier. She couldn’t wait to show it off that evening.

  She got home and saw that she still had another hour before she was due to go over. So she decided that she’d have a bath. But just as she was about to head off to the bathroom, she heard noises coming from the direction of Eric’s house. She peered out the window and saw two men standing in front of Eric’s door. The one was a bulky-looking man, short but stocky in a way that you wouldn’t want to mess with. The other was tall and well-built. Jasmine couldn’t make out their faces because they were both turned to face the door, but she could tell by the way they were standing that they weren’t there for a cup of tea.

  “We know you’re in there!” she heard the stocky one shout.

  She quickly went over to switch off her light and then ran back to look outside again. Her window was open, so she could hear most of what they were saying. She couldn’t hear too much when they spoke softly to one another, but most of the time, they were screaming into Eric’s door.

  “Come on, Eric. Your car is outside, and we doubt you’ve gone for a walk this late. You can’t hide forever, you know. Well, at least we know where you live!”

  Then after a shouting a few more times, the two men looked at each other, and Jasmine heard the stocky one say, “Are we sure that he lives here? I mean, that’s not even his car.”

  “You don’t think he’d get another car? I doubt he would’ve kept the old one.”

  “Yeah, but maybe we got this wrong.”

  “Then why is the person not coming out? If it wasn’t Eric they would come out and tell us.”

  “That’s true.”

  Jasmine listened to this whole exchange with fear and fascination. Her face was up against the window as she strained to hear it all. When her phone buzzed beside her, she jumped up in fright and almost banged her head. She reached for her phone. The message was from Eric, and she frowned when she saw his name.

  Jasmine, if two men come to your door looking for me, please tell them that I don’t live there. Say that I was only there for a week but I moved out. Tell them I moved out in a hurry. Please, Jasmine.


  With shaking hands, Jasmine quickly typed back.

  Why? Why should I lie for you? What is going on? Eric, what is going on?

  A reply.

  Please. Please, just do this for me, Jasmine.

  Jasmine prayed that the men wouldn’t come to her door. She could still hear them debating outside. She finally heard them decide to go with the tall man admitting that Eric might not actually be home. She breathed a sigh of relief as she thought she heard them drive off. But she must’ve heard the wrong car because suddenly there was a knock on the door. She hoped that it was Eric, but she knew instantly that it wasn’t. She took a deep breath and opened the door.

  “Uh… hello? Can I help you?” she asked, trying to keep her voice as steady as possible.

  “We’re looking for Eric Storm. Do you know him?” stocky man asked.

  “Who?”

  “Eric Storm.”

  “Uh… I think you have the wrong house. Sorry, I have no idea who that is.”

  “Let me start again, we’re looking for the man that lives in that house next to you.”

  “Oh, sorry, I didn’t know his name was Eric. He moved here a few weeks ago and then moved out after staying for like a week or something. I’ve been dying to know what happened. He moved out in such a hurry, like he was running from something. Some new person moved in, but he’s always out at his girlfriend’s, apparently.”

  The two men stared at her, and she was impressed by how well she had articulated that lie. But she needed them to leave soon because otherwise, she was going to crack. She could already feel the sweat start to form on her forehead, and her hands were now shaking even more.

  “Do you know where he went to? Or what car he was driving?”

  “Oh no, I’m sorry, he was only here for a week. I have no idea where he went. All I know is that he went very quickly. The car was red. I’m not good with cars, so I don’t know much more than that. It looked quite small and rounded.” Jasmine attempted to laugh at her description. “Sorry, that’s all I saw.”

  “Well, okay then, we’re sorry for troubling you. Thank you for your time.”