by Oliva Lucas
DEAR NEIGHBOR
Olivia Lucas
Copyright © 2020 Olivia Lucas
All rights reserved
The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarity to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author.
No part of this book may be reproduced, or stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without express written permission of the publisher.
ISBN-13: 9781234567890
ISBN-10: 1477123456
Cover design by: Art Painter
Library of Congress Control Number: 2018675309
Printed in the United States of America
Contents
Title Page
Copyright
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY
CHAPTER THIRTY ONE
EPILOGUE
About The Author
Books By This Author
CHAPTER ONE
“You really need to get out of your boxy apartment.”
“What for?” Bella threw her hands up in the air. She happened to like her little box with four walls. It was cozy, and cutesy, and all hers.
“Life!” Abbie protested, and pointed to the door. “Life exists outside those walls, you know. Women live out there. I don’t see any hiding under your bed.”
“Abbie, I am not a hundred years old. I still have time up my sleeve. I am not some old spinster.”
“Okay, so where are they all?” Abbie started opening cupboards, and peering behind doors. “Hello, sexy ladies?” She called out, before standing still. “Because I don’t see any.”
Bella grunted, and rolled her eyes in Abbie’s direction.
“You’re practically middle-aged Bella, and life is flying you by!”
“For god’s sake, I am twenty-nine.”
Abbie ran both her hands over her hair, and threw her head back like she was dealing with the end of the world. Abbie was prone to be overly dramatic. Just like her overly dramatic platinum blonde tips. “Exactly my point!”
Bella watched her friend and smiled at her theatrics. She looked like a barbie doll, perfectly preened and manicured, but that was to be expected given her role as a beauty editor. She was slightly older at thirty five, but could easily pass for being in her twenties. Her straight blonde hair was cut into a perfect bob with fashionable bangs complementing her look.
Bella could never have such a radical hairstyle. Her head was too big, and she wasn’t overtly cool. Not a trendsetter like Abbie.
They had also become friends at the apartment complex when Abbie was living there. Bella had found her crying by the pool one night, and did her best to console her. They bonded over a few beers and a few D&M’s.
Three years later, they were still thick as thieves and Bella couldn’t imagine her life without the whirlwind Abbie by her side.
“You spend most of your time cooped up in here, spying on the neighbors, looking after Leah’s cat, and hanging out with the resident toy boy. I mean seriously, your life is this apartment complex.”
“I still don’t get your point,” Bella replied flatly.
“It’s been five years since your last relationship. I mean, I know Lisa hurt you, but seriously, you need to get out there. You’re attractive, smart, funny, and no one gets to see it. Except me. And the cat. And these people. Here.”
Bella laughed. “Okay stop it Abs. I go out. I shop.”
Abbie crossed her arms and tapped her foot. “For food.”
“I exercise!” Bella exclaimed. She put her hands up in the air and waved them around in an exaggerated manner. “Every day!”
Abbie widened her eyes. “Up and down the street.”
She walked over behind Bella, and shook her by the shoulders. “Do you not see a pattern? I want you to meet some amazing woman, or women, plural, and have amazing sex. I want you to call me with a saucy story about you. Not about Leah, or Leah’s cat!”
“Okay, okay. I get it.” Abbie had a valid point. Her love life, or lack thereof, resembled a deflated balloon. Flat, lifeless and going nowhere.
“When was the last time you had action of any sort? And I don’t mean action on your own.”
Bella spun around in her chair, and faced Abbie. Her words were becoming rather hostile. “Abbie, I am not some sort of desperado, you know.”
“Why don’t you come with me Saturday night to Les Girls then? You know, the monthly gay meetup in the city. We can have a few drinks, mingle.” Abbie started wriggling in front of her. “You might even…” Abbie gasped. “Have fun?!”
Bella snorted a laugh. “On a scale of one to ten, you are a ten for being the world’s most annoying person. So yes. If it means you will stop annoying me, I will go with you.”
“YES! YES! YES!” Abbie yelled at the top of her voice as she started to do a little dance.
Bella began giggling and put her finger to her lips. “Sshh. People will think we are having sex.”
CHAPTER TWO
Bella sipped at her coffee, and nibbled at her toast, as she peered through the blinds of her window. Looked like Jack’s latest hook up was leaving. Bella looked down at her watch. 630am on a Saturday morning. Probably no morning sex, then. That would bring Jack’s tally to eight for the month. Must’ve been a spontaneous overnighter. Possibly after Friday night work drinks.
Bella strained her eyes trying to determine her age. Possibly a cougar? Oh, how she loved to piece together these puzzles.
The woman in question was wearing a little black dress, her hemline barely covering her coochie, and a pair of ridiculous heels that made her wince. Hardly appropriate daytime wear. Unless you were a hooker. Gee, she could be such a harsh, opinionated voyeur at times.
She liked Jack. Sorry, Jack Lee Hunter. And a hunter he was. He was twenty six, lived on the ground floor, and was the resident lothario. He was ruggedly handsome, rarely shaven, and decidedly masculine. She liked his no-nonsense style.
They had regularly shared beers down by the pool, which was in the courtyard of the complex. Initially, he had flirted with her, but Bella, who was reasonably perceptive, made it clear she bat for the other team, so now she had become his confidante, and regular consul on matters concerning the fairer species.
She knew that Bessie, who lived above Jack in number seven, had a brief fling with him a few months ago, when her fiancé was away in Vegas for work. She saw them canoodling by the window in Jack’s apartment.
She didn’t like Bessie, or her taste in skimpy lingerie. She was barely twenty, and looked like a bit of an upstart. She was blonde, leggy, and caked on the makeup to levels bordering on the obscene. She had never spoken to her, only in passing, but Jack had told her that she was hard work, and that was enough for her to make up her mind.
She enjoy
ed keeping tabs on the neighbors, or ‘spying’ as Abbie put it. Some days the complex resembled the 90’s sitcom Melrose Place. The stories she could tell. Luckily, she was very good at keeping secrets.
There were only eight apartments in the complex and she could comfortably see into the four opposite her. For some reason, those on that side did not seem to close their blinds. Maybe they were attention seekers. Or, maybe they simply didn’t have blinds.
Jack certainly liked the attention. One night recently, and with his back turned to the window, he was cheeky enough to wave to Bella, while he was making out with his latest conquest. She had told him to close his blinds on previous occasions because she was seeing too much skin, but he just laughed and told her to enjoy the show.
And now he was mocking her with waves. The gall of that guy.
Well, she wasn’t like her neighbors. As soon as the sun went down, her blinds were drawn shut. Not that she had any visitors, but it was nice to keep them guessing.
Her voyeuristic behavior was becoming quite common place, particularly late at night when she was usually positioned by the window with a glass of white wine and her laptop. At times it was far more entertaining than television.
In a previous lifetime when she had a serious career, she had been a journalist and had been writing for the San Diego Times. Her life took a three sixty turn when she had broken up with Lisa. At that time, she had been ahead of the game and was one of the lead reporters at the paper. These days she was moonlighting as a part time reporter within her own apartment complex, regularly relaying her sightings to Jack and Leah, who lived below her.
Bella had been in a relationship with Lisa for five years, and had just put down a deposit on an apartment when she found out that Lisa was cheating with some floozy at her work.
Apparently, purchasing a place together pushed her over the edge and forced her into the arms of another. How incredibly stressful. Lisa had tried to get back together, but the trust, and her heart, had been shattered into a million pieces and there was no way of putting anything back together.
Fast forward three years, and she had a place of her own and was freelancing from home. She was lucky enough to get regular work, thanks in part to her credentials, and life was easy. No headaches, no stress. Her existence was cruisy, yet uneventful.
Bella looked across to the mirror, which was ten feet from the table and hanging off the opposing wall. She studied her reflection intently. Yes, her long, wavy golden-brown hair could probably use a trendy cut like Abbie’s, and she could probably wear a bit of make up when she went out, but she wasn’t completely down and out.
She still had a smidge of inner confidence, and felt reasonably attractive on her best days. That’s why Jack had flirted with her after all, right? Actually, Jack would flirt with any woman that had a pulse so that was poor validation. Well, the only other lesbian in the complex, Leah, had tried to kiss her one night. Granted they had drunk two bottles of wine and were consoling each other over girls. She may or may not have been wearing her beer goggles at the time. She never followed up.
Bella stood up and took her plate to the kitchen. It was time for her daily exercise, and just because Abbie teased her, she was going to make a point of not only going up and down the street, but she would wrap around the local park as well. That would show her.
As this was a scheduled daily activity, she had already changed into her workout clothes prior to breakfast. It was the standard white singlet, and black adidas tights. In theory, she should just go to sleep in this outfit so she wouldn’t have to change in the morning.
It’s not like she was getting hot and sweaty with anyone lately, or having spontaneous sex. Not even with Leah, who was always generously offering her services.
She loosely tied her hair back into a ponytail and slipped on her bright orange adidas trainers. She felt like a bit of a fraud wearing those shoes. They were meant for someone serious about exercise, and she was seriously trying to avoid it most days.
As she opened the front door, she looked down and George was sitting on her door mat.
“Morning George, my spunky little love rat. Aren’t you looking handsome today?” She bent over and patted his gray fur. He was wearing a little bow tie today, and looked quite regal.
Leah was funny. She always had him kitted out in something. Each week was different. Poor George. Last week it was an ill-fitted hat that half covered his eyes. At least today, he could see. And he was fluffy and freshly washed. He would definitely be a hit with the ladies this week.
“Have a good day George.” Bella walked down the stairs and out of the complex, making her way through the parking lot out to the sidewalk. She noticed a woman struggling with bags in one arm, and a big plant in the other. She was standing by an open trunk of a little red Audi coupe and she was unable to close it.
Bella had the urge to look down and keep moving, but her mouth automatically started moving. “You need a hand?”
The blonde woman turned her head, which pushed her off balance, and one of the bags fell to the ground. She swore out loud as groceries spilled out, and apples rolled through the parking lot.
Bella ran over and started running after the apples. She scooped them up, one by one, and walked over.
“Sorry, hope I didn’t make you drop your bag.”
The woman looked up, but she wasn’t smiling. Her eyes were obscured by large, dark sunglasses. A pair of fashionable Gucci’s no less. Her blonde hair was hanging loosely over her face, but her face lacked expression and she looked cranky.
Bella handed her the apples. “Here… I think a couple rolled under your car, but I couldn’t reach them.”
“Thanks.”
“Do you need a hand?”
“No thanks, I’ll manage. I’ll just make a few trips to my apartment.”
“Moving in?”
“Yes.”
Okay Bella was going to give up. This was like draining blood from a stone.
“Well I’m Bella. I live in apartment four if you need anything.”
“Cool thanks.”
Bella turned on her heels and rolled her eyes. Wow, frosty. This is why she didn’t venture out in public anymore. Why did she have to engage? Blabbermouth. And great, now they were going to be neighbors.
Under that cold exterior, there was probably an attractive woman lurking somewhere, but frankly, she gave her the chills. She would make a point of telling Jack to steer clear of the newcomer.
Definitely hard work.
CHAPTER THREE
It was 4pm, and Bella spotted Jack curling his biceps scooping out leaves from the pool with the net. Of course, he needed to take his shirt off to complete this task. It was serious, heavy labor.
Bella rolled her eyes and walked over to the fridge. It was beer o’clock, and Jack never said no. She pulled out two beers, popping off the caps on the side of the bench with her hand. Possibly the only life skill she drew from growing up in an all boy household.
“Hey Jack!” Bella called down over the balcony and waved the beers in the air. Jack smiled and gave her a thumbs up, and she headed down the stairs.
“You’re not cold with your shirt off?” Bella smiled and handed Jack a beer.
“I have to work on my tan when I can.”
Bella looked up to the sky. “It’s not sunny today.”
Jack grinned. “You’re lucky I have pants on. So, what’s the latest?” He put down the net and tapped her bottle, as they both sat down by the side of the pool.
“Who was that girl this morning?”
Jack laughed. “You don’t miss a beat, do you? I thought she could sneak out early and I’d get away with this one.”
“No chance. You know my surveillance is water tight.”
“Ugh.” He ran his hand over his dark unruly locks. “A night to forget. I slept with my boss. We hate each other. Not sure what happened there. Too many tequilas. She didn’t speak to me today. And pretty sure most people at work saw us getti
ng it on at the bar, so had to do the walk of shame this morning. Lots of whispering going on. Her boyfriend manages the department next door, so he would know about our make out session. Hopefully not about the sleep over.”
“Dirt bag.” Bella swatted his arm. “Don’t worry it will blow over at some point. People get bored with idle gossip and will move onto something else. Something juicier.”
“Mmm… yeah guess you are right.”
“Oh, looks like we have a new neighbor moving in. Must be number three, next door to me. Female.”
Jack lifted his head. She knew how to pique his interest. “Really? Do tell.”
“Well it wasn’t a pleasant experience. She was in the parking lot and had overloaded herself with bags. She dropped a bag and apples went flying everywhere. Who eats so many apples anyway? So, I did my best to get them all and brought them over to her. And what did I get? Barely a thanks. She had this mean face.” Bella did her best impression of a monster.
Jack laughed. “Thanks for the run down. How did she look?”
“You are so predictable. Well, I am not going to give you her dimensions. But you would say she was attractive physically. Blonde, slim, mid-twenties. Too bad about the personality.”
Jack took a swig of his beer. “I’ll look into it.”
Funny how Jack thought he had a rite of passage to all women.
“Jack, beware. Apples or whatever her name is, didn’t look particularly neighborly. Possibly hard work as you’d say.”
There was a rustling of bags behind them, and they both turned their heads. It was Apples. The lady from the parking lot.
She gave a small, curt smile as she passed them and walked up the stairs to her apartment.
Bella closed her eyes and tipped her head back. I need to die right now.
Jack nudged her with her shoulder, before leaning in and whispering. “How much do you think she heard?”
Bella wanted to drown herself in the pool. She would’ve heard enough. Enough that they would never ever have friendly neighborly relations.
