Vampire Next Door

by Angela Snyder

  She nodded. "I was going to ask if you wanted to go."

  He smiled. "We'll go after we eat some of this delicious food."

  "Okay," she agreed.

  Breakfast tasted as good as it smelled. Jane was used to smoothies or toast and coffee in the morning, so Don's cooking was a real treat. When they were finished eating, Matt asked, "Are you ready to go?"

  Jane stood. "Yep."

  "Be careful and be back in time for lunch!" Margaret called after them as they left the house.

  There were numerous trails in the woods, some more arduous than others. Matt picked one of the most difficult ones that had a steep climb to the top of the mountain. The trail was worth the effort, however, because the view at the top was extraordinary.

  After walking for at least a half an hour, they took a break near the top of the mountain. "It's beautiful up here," Jane commented, looking beyond the trees at the view.

  "It's even better up there," Matt said. "Race you to the top!" he yelled, running up the rocky trail.

  Jane smiled and chased after him. Matt was fast, and he made it to the top way before she did. When she was almost to the crest of the mountain, she tripped on a rock and fell backwards. She struck the ground with such force on her back that the wind was knocked out of her, and she struggled to breathe.

  Matt rushed down to her. "Are you okay?"

  When she finally caught her breath, she could feel the pain in her lower leg. "I think I did something to my ankle."

  Matt carefully propped her leg in his lap. His fingers tenderly touched her skin, and she yelped in pain. "I'm sorry," he said quickly. "I think you might have sprained it."

  "Oh, great!" she exclaimed. They were over a mile from the house. "How am I going to get back?"

  "I'll carry you," he suggested.

  "Like hell you will," she said sternly. She put her hands on her hips, standing her ground.

  He tried to suppress a chuckle, but wasn't very successful. "I forgot about your temper," he mumbled. He stood and extended his hand. "Let's see if you can put any weight on it."

  Jane put her hand in his and allowed him to pull her up. He hooked his arm around her waist, and she gingerly put her foot down to the ground. The pressure sent a shooting pain up her leg. "Ouch!" she cried.

  "Okay. Since you won't let me carry you, you'll just have to hop the rest of the way." He chuckled. "Like a little bunny," he added.

  Jane glared at him.

  He clasped his hand across his mouth. Then he said, "Sorry."

  With a strong arm around her, Jane hopped along as he walked. "Well, I did want to enjoy the scenery. I guess I can do that a little bit slower now."

  Matt laughed, and Jane poked him in the ribs, which only made him laugh harder.

  It took them over an hour to make it back to the house. When they finally reached the back patio, Matt helped Jane into a chair. The moment she sat down, Margaret came rushing out of the house. "What happened?"

  "Jane hurt her ankle. Mom, can you get an ice pack, please?"

  "Sure." Margaret went back into the house and emerged a few minutes later with an ice pack and a thin washcloth wrapped around it. She pulled over a small ottoman and said, "Put your foot up here, Jane."

  Jane raised her leg, and Margaret placed the ice pack under her ankle as Jane rested her foot on the ottoman. "Thank you, Margaret."

  "No problem, dear. Would you like some lemonade?"

  "That would be great."

  "I'll be right back." Margaret walked into the house once more.

  Matt kneeled down beside Jane and looked over her ankle. "You know I did finish a few semesters of medical college."

  "I don't think you ever told me why you quit."

  His fingers gently probed her skin. "It was Jack's thing. I thought it was my thing too, but I quickly learned it wasn't. I was trying to please our old man, but it wasn't making me happy, so I quit and pursued law enforcement." He assessed her ankle. "I think with some ice and rest you'll be fine by tomorrow. I don't think you did any real damage."

  She sighed with relief. "Good. Thank you, doctor," she said with a smile.

  He grinned. "You're welcome." He sat down on the chair beside her.

  Margaret returned with two glasses of lemonade, and she set them down on the small table between Jane and Matt. "Stacy and I are making sandwiches for lunch. We'll bring them out when they're done."

  "Thank you, Margaret." When she was gone, Jane turned to Matt. "Your mom is so nice. You're lucky to have her."

  Matt nodded in agreement.

  Jane stared off into the distance. "I wonder what my mom was like."

  Matt reached over and took her hand in his. His thumb tenderly skated over her knuckles. "Maybe someday you will remember and find her."

  "Yeah. Maybe." His words were comforting, but it had been over two years since the accident, and Jane hadn't had even a shred of memory come back to her. The possibility of her memory returning at any point was beginning to seem less and less probable.

  * * *

  After dinner, Don suggested that everyone play charades. Jane was more of a spectator because of her ankle, but she had fun nonetheless. Don stood in front of the fireplace and acted out a word that looked like he was having a seizure. "Elephant!" his wife called out.

  Don pointed to her and said, "Bingo!"

  Matt stared at them with his mouth agape. "Wait. How did she even guess that?" he asked, flabbergasted.

  "Twenty-six years of marriage," Don said, winking at Matt.

  Everyone laughed. "Okay. Okay." Matt stood. "My turn." He took a look at the piece of paper with a word written on it. He held up one finger.

  "One word," Jane said.

  Then he tapped two fingers against his arm. Don said, "Two syllables."

  Matt's fingers made the figure of a heart.

  "Love!" Jane said.

  Matt smiled and nodded. He began to gesture for the second part of the word, but Jane blurted out, "Lovebirds!"

  "Bingo," Matt said.

  "Wait. How did she even guess that?" Don asked, mimicking Matt from earlier.

  Matt shrugged and Jane blushed. "Lucky guess," she said.

  "Okay. Enough of this game," Don said. "Let's have a drink and a toast to a wonderful weekend."

  The corks popped on the wine bottles frequently throughout the rest of the night. Don had brought enough wine to last four weekends let alone just one, and he intended for everyone to drink the majority of it.

  It was getting late, and Margaret announced she was going to bed. Don stood and said, "Well, Stacy, we better get to bed and let these little lovebirds have their time alone."

  Jane flushed at his words.

  "Don, I think you've had too much to drink," she scolded. Sorry, she mouthed to Jane as they walked past her.

  Matt turned to Jane when they were alone. "How does your ankle feel?"

  She took another sip of wine and said, "I can't feel a thing."

  He chuckled. "I'm sure Uncle Don's expensive wine has something to do with that."

  She set the glass down and yawned. It had been a long day, and she was tired. "Will you help me up to bed?" she asked.

  "Of course."

  He stood and scooped her up into his arms. Jane began to protest, but Matt whispered, "Shh! You'll wake everyone."

  Jane rolled her eyes and allowed him to carry her up the stairs and into her bedroom. They crashed on the bed together with him on top of her. Jane giggled loudly and then clasped her hand over her mouth, afraid of making too much noise and waking everyone up.

  Matt stared down at her, smiling. "I don't think I've ever seen you drunk before."

  She grinned. "I haven't been drunk in a long time."

  Matt's fingertips traced her jaw line. "Jane," he whispered.

  Before she could say anything, his lips were crushing down on hers. The kiss was deep and full of need. Jane suddenly put her hands on his chest and pushed him away. "We can't do this."

&nbs
p; "Why?"

  Her head was fuzzy, and she couldn't think. She wanted to tell him a million things, but she couldn't pull just one complete thought to the surface.

  "You can pretend with me, Jane. You can pretend that I'm him."

  His words made her heart hammer against her ribcage. She could very easily pretend that Matt was Jack and that Jack had never died, but it was wrong. Before she could protest, his lips were on her neck, her face and her lips. He kissed away the tears that spilled down over her cheeks.

  The smell of his cologne, his lips, the way he touched her — it was all the same. It was Jack. Her mind could trick her so easily into thinking that.

  His fingers swept over her breasts and then began to fumble with the zipper of her jacket. "Stop. No," Jane protested.

  But he continued until her jacket was unzipped. His hand went under her tank top and felt her breasts. She moaned softly, her body betraying her mind. "Matt, wait," she said. His mouth covered hers, silencing her pleas.

  His fingertips dipped down between her legs and rubbed her through her pants. She wiggled under him, trying to get him to stop, but he pressed his weight on top of her and held her there. "I want you so bad," he whispered. Then his mouth was on hers again.

  Finally, breaking free of his kiss, she cried loudly, "Matt, stop!"

  He stared down at her as he sat up. "I'm sorry," he said. "I’m so sorry, Jane."

  He reached for her, but she moved away from him. She dashed away the tears from her eyes. "We both had too much to drink," she said, although she didn't know if she could completely blame the alcohol. She swallowed hard. "It's okay."

  Matt stood and walked out of the room, leaving her alone in the dark. Her shallow breaths filled the quiet room. There were a few minutes that she thought Matt wasn't going to stop. He had really scared her. After her breathing finally calmed, she curled up on the bed and went to sleep.

  CHAPTER 20

  THE DRIVE HOME Sunday afternoon was awkward, and Matt and Jane barely talked the entire way back to her house. Her ankle had slowly started to feel better, and she was able to put weight on it without it hurting too much.

  Matt pulled the car into her driveway and parked it. He jumped out and grabbed her bag from the trunk.

  Jane climbed out of the car and saw that Sebastian was swimming in his pool. His strong, muscular arms paddled through the water, and Jane couldn't help but stare.

  "You have a new neighbor already?" Matt asked.

  Jane nodded, quickly averting her gaze from the pool. "His name is Sebastian Alexander."

  He glanced around the yard. "No family?" he asked.

  "No. Just him."

  Matt huffed. "Why would he move in a house like that by himself?"

  Jane could tell Matt was jealous, and she chose to ignore it. "I don't know." She took her bag from him. "I can take it from here. Thanks, Matt."

  "Listen, Jane, about last night —."

  She put her hand up to stop him. " We both drank way too much. Let's just forget it even happened."

  He smiled weakly. "Consider it forgotten then." He pulled her in for an embrace. "I'll talk to you soon," he whispered in her hair.

  Jane broke the hug and said, "Okay. Talk to you soon."

  She watched Matt leave and waved as he beeped before disappearing down the street. She felt a heavy burden being lifted off of her when he left.

  "Hey, Jane!" Sebastian called.

  She turned to see him climbing out of the pool. His entire body was soaking wet, and his black shorts clung to him in such a way that made her blush. His muscular chest was bare, and she had to force her jaw to keep from dropping to the ground. "Hi, Sebastian."

  "How was your weekend?"

  Jane considered the question. It had had its ups and downs. She closed her eyes and thought about the night before with Matt. "It was all right," she said quietly.

  He frowned. "I see."

  They stared at each other, and finally Jane had to break the gaze. "Well, I'm tired, so I'm going to head in."

  "Yeah. Sure. I'll talk to you later."

  * * *

  Jane spent the rest of the evening cleaning the house. Cleaning helped to take her mind off of what had happened with Matt. At ten o'clock, she took a long hot bath, which helped to ease the remaining pain in her ankle.

  After the bath, she put on a pair of frumpy sweatpants that were a size too big and a short-sleeve t-shirt that had seen better days. Yawning, she crossed the bedroom. She closed the curtains of two of the windows. She paused when she got to third window by her bed, which faced Sebastian's house. His curtains were open, and she could see right into his bedroom. Within a few seconds, the lights turned on, and he walked into the room. He too was getting ready for bed. He was wearing silk pajama bottoms and a tight white t-shirt that showed off his muscular physique.

  He went to the window to pull the curtains, but stopped short of drawing them closed. He smiled and waved.

  She waved back.

  Goodnight, he mouthed.

  Goodnight, she mouthed back.

  They both drew the curtains. Jane glanced down at her outfit with disgust. She hadn't had a reason to look good for bed for a while. A smile crept across her face. Perhaps she would go shopping the next day and pick out some new sleepwear.

  * * *

  On Monday, Jane walked into the bookstore carrying a few shopping bags from a boutique in town. Ashley watched Jane carefully. "What are you so happy about?"

  Jane looked at her. "What do you mean?"

  "You're smiling. You know, come to think of it, you've been smiling almost nonstop for about a week." She raised a brow. "It's starting to creep me out a little," she joked.

  Jane laughed. "Sorry. I just…I feel happy."

  She grinned. "Could your incredibly hot next-door neighbor be the cause of that?" Jane started to protest, but Ashley quickly said, "You've been acting like this ever since he came into town." She stared at the bags. "Shopping trip?"

  Jane nodded. She explained what had happened the night before with Sebastian seeing her in the frumpiest pajamas ever. "I want to be prepared in case it happens again."

  "So you like him," Ashley stated.

  "No," Jane said quickly. "I just don't want him seeing me dressed like an old maid." She paused and thought about it. Maybe subconsciously she did want Sebastian to think she was sexy.

  "Oh," Ashley said. She opened a bag and held up a satin cami with black lace and matching boy shorts. "Whoa! That is hot!"

  Jane quickly grabbed the items, returned them to the bag and made sure there were no customers around.

  "Well, if you want to make an impression, I'd say that will do it," Ashley said.

  Jane laughed. "Like I said, I just wanted to have something nice to wear in case he does see me."

  "So how was your weekend?" Ashley asked.

  Jane shrugged. "Okay I guess." She quickly changed the subject and asked, "How did everything go with the store?"

  "Good. It got busy, but I managed."

  "I really appreciate your help, Ashley."

  "No problem."

  The bell above the door rang, and a young man walked in. "I'll go see if he needs any help," Ashley said with a wink.

  Jane smiled and shook her head. She decided to put her focus on the sales and inventory from over the weekend. As she went through the numbers and book titles, her mind kept wandering to Sebastian. She glanced at the clock and couldn't wait for the day to be over so she could see him again.

  * * *

  That night, Jane got ready for bed. She pulled on a dark red cami and matching boy shorts. She walked to the window to draw the curtains. A few seconds later, Sebastian was at his window. He stopped and stared at her. His mouth fell open slightly, and he quickly closed it shut and smirked.

  A smile crept across her face. "Goodnight," she said, giving him a little wave and drawing the curtains closed.

  She giggled and leapt into the bed, drawing the covers over her. She felt
a sense of satisfaction by knowing that he found her sexy.

  For the first time since Jack had died, she felt butterflies in her stomach over another guy. She pulled the covers up farther and caught a glimpse of her wedding ring. Her mood instantly darkened. In a way, she felt like she was betraying Jack, and suddenly the butterflies disappeared. She felt awful.

  Feeling torn, her mind swam with doubt. Sebastian knew absolutely nothing about her. He didn't realize all the baggage she brought to the table. How can you get to know someone when they don’t even know their real name?

  She decided at that moment to stop the flirting altogether. Getting close to Sebastian would only bring her pain, and that was something she needed less of in her life. Satisfied with her decision, she closed her eyes and dozed off.

  CHAPTER 21

  OVER THE NEXT few days, Jane went to all costs to avoid seeing Sebastian, and she broke the routine of saying goodnight to him before bedtime. Each morning, she left the curtains closed, blocking out the light and also any chance of Sebastian catching a glimpse of her at night. The thought of seeing him made her uncomfortable. For all she knew, he had a hot model girlfriend…or several, and he probably had no interest in her whatsoever.

  She spent as much time as she could in the bookstore to take her mind off of him. She went in early and stayed late, and her plan had worked flawlessly until that day. She was stocking a bookshelf when the bell rang above the door.

  "Hello, Jane," Sebastian said. His voice was cool and smooth and sent a shiver up her spine.

  "Hi," she managed to say. She continued stocking the shelf, not able to force herself to look at him. She tried to convince herself that it was better this way. It would be easier to end things now than try to develop a relationship and have things end later when emotions and feelings were involved.

  He walked over to her and stood inches away, leaning a hand against the bookcase. "I haven't seen you around lately. I wanted to make sure everything was all right."

  "Uh, yeah. I've just been…busy. A lot's been going on with the store, you know," she lied.

  "Sure," he said, unconvinced.