Her Big Neighbor

by Wylder, Penny

  “I love Julia,” I say, letting it hang in the air. “I don’t want her hurt by this. Jane has had enough problems without you making it worse, and she already distrusts me because of you.”

  It’s dead silent for a few more moments, and then Kevin starts laughing. So hard that his face goes red and it looks like he’s having trouble breathing. “That’s hilarious. You fell in love with the little girl next door! I never thought that you were that desperate. I mean, you’re the biggest douche I’ve ever met but even I can admit that you’re good looking enough to get your dick wet, you know?”

  “You’re on dangerous ground, Kevin.”

  “You can’t do shit, asshole,” he yells at me. “I know that Mom and Dad make you let me stay here, and that’s not going to change. And I know that you won’t do anything to piss off the dear old ball-and-chain. I wonder how they would feel if they knew that you were fucking the neighbor’s daughter. It’s a match made in heaven, really. A spineless girl for a spineless boy. You could do so much better. But I suppose she’s cute enough. Hell, if she’s interested, maybe I’ll give her a spin too. I’ve always wanted to compare a mother and a daughter.”

  I’ve always heard about people seeing red, but until this moment I’ve never experienced it. But that’s what does it. I swear the world turns crimson, and I grab Kevin. I don’t even realize we’re out of the house until I’m pushing him through the door and out onto the lawn. “Get the fuck out of here. You are not welcome in my home. Do not come back.”

  “Mom and Dad might have some things to say about that,” he says from the ground, looking up and smiling.

  “When I lay out the entire situation in detail, I’m sure they’ll side with me.” I’m sure they will. I’ve been lenient on Kevin because he’s family, but no more. He needs to take responsibility for his life and his words. Actions have consequences.

  Kevin stands and casually pulls out of his phone. He calls a number, and I roll my eyes. He’s probably calling our parents right now. “Hey Jane, thanks for picking up.”

  My entire body goes cold. “What the fuck are you doing?”

  “Yeah,” he says into the phone. “I just wanted to tell you all the things that Edward has been saying about Julia. Really filthy stuff. No one should be saying that about someone’s daughter, you know?”

  The world turns crimson again, and his phone is in my hand. And then it’s on the concrete under my feet, and I bring my heel down on it repeatedly. Kevin is staring at me in shock, and I grab him by the collar. “Let me make myself perfectly fucking clear. You are not welcome on my property. The next time you set foot here, I will call the police and have you forcibly removed. I will not allow you in my life, Julia’s life, or Jane’s life anymore. Now leave.”

  He doesn’t move, but he’s gone pale, staring at me like I’m a completely different person.

  I shove him away from me and stalk inside the house and grab his keys and throw them at his feet. “Leave. Now. Don’t come back.”

  For once in his life, Kevin doesn’t have anything to say. And it’s about time. He picks up the keys off the ground, and it feels like he’s moving in slow motion. He grabs the phone off the ground too but doesn’t say anything. I’m almost shocked that he doesn’t try anything, or that he doesn’t speak. He just gets in his car, not even looking angry, and drives away.

  When he’s out of sight, I feel like a weight has been lifted off of my shoulders. It’s been a long time since I’ve had that kind of relief. And I think that it’s been a long time coming with Kevin and me. I should probably call my parents and give them a heads up about everything before he has a chance to himself.

  Turning back toward the house, I see Jane. She’s in the window of their living room, watching me. How much did she see? How much did she hear? Will any of that make a difference? I can’t make out her face, because the light is coming from behind her.

  I lift a hand in greeting, and she closes the blinds. That’s that, I guess. I don’t blame her. If I had known that it was her Kevin was calling, I would have stopped him. How much damage did his words do? In the state she’s in, there’s no telling. Especially since I have no idea how Julia’s talk with her went or if it even happened.

  But I refuse to let Kevin control this narrative any longer. I’m going to show Jane that I’m not like my brother, and that I’m worthy of her daughter. It’s the only thing that I can do, and I hope that it’s enough. I walk into my house and grab my cellphone. Before I call my parents, I need to make a call to Patrick.

  20

  Julia

  When I wake up in the morning—later than I’ve slept in a long time—my eyes are swollen from the crying I did last night. Because what the fuck?

  How in the hell am I supposed to choose?

  Never in a million years did I think that she would give me that kind of ultimatum. I don’t want to talk to anyone, especially her. I don’t want to talk to Edward, because I won’t be able to not tell him. And he’s such a gentleman, that he’d step back. Completely. And I don’t want that either.

  I don’t know what to do.

  It’s not an easy thing. I love my mom, even if things have been hard. And I love Edward.

  Mom is banking on the fact that I love her more than ‘some guy.’ Which is again her projecting her feelings about men and their worthlessness on me. But I don’t feel that way.

  Everything about this sucks. Complete and utter shit.

  Glancing out the window, I see that Mom’s car isn’t here. That’s good. That means I can go downstairs without picking up where we left off last night. There are a couple of texts from Edward asking how it went, but I ignore them. Even looking at them and thinking about answering hurts my heart.

  I grab some food, and I see there’s a note on the counter. It makes my stomach flip when I see it, but all it says is that she went out to take care of some things and if I could return some phone calls following up from the party. I sigh. Yeah, I can do that. Especially if it keeps me away from everyone and busy. There’s a list next to the note, and I take it back upstairs to my room with me.

  For the next couple of hours, I make phone calls on behalf of the charity, answering questions that Mom was too busy to outline the night before, and for more than a few people, giving them the details on how to donate and the process for getting receipts for their donations. It’s good to know that the drama that happened last night hasn’t effected people’s willingness to donate. Our personal drama shouldn’t affect kids in need.

  I’m thankful that it takes a long time. But Mom still isn’t back from where she is, so I don’t feel a huge amount of pressure. I shower when I’m finished, and take the time to dry my hair. Put on clothes that make me feel good and comfortable. When I come out, I’m feeling better physically, though nothing could possibly make me feel better mentally right now.

  My phone chirps, and I look down and see Mom’s name. I don’t like the way my heart starts to pound and my stomach seizes up when I see the message, but I look and see what she wants.

  Can you come to Grove High with the pamphlets from last night please? I ran out and I’m pretty desperate here.

  I want to say no, that I’m not going to do anything for her until we get this worked out. But I literally just said to myself that our drama shouldn’t affect the kids that we’re trying to help. And if she’s at the school right now that means she’s trying to get the teachers—the ones who weren’t here last night—on board. And that’s important.

  Sending a quick text that tells her I’m on my way, I pull on my shoes and grab the stack of handouts that are left over from the party. We haven’t even moved them from where they were sitting. Grove High is close, and it only takes me about ten minutes to get there. But I don’t at all expect the sight that I see.

  The entire parking lot is crowded with people even though it’s summer break. There’s construction equipment and several long tables covered with food. There are more people here than are teache
rs at this school, that’s for sure. I do see both principals who were at the party last night in the crowd.

  What on earth is going on?

  I pull into an empty parking space and grab the flyers before getting out of the car. Everyone seems happy and in good spirits. But I don’t see my mom anywhere. Is this some kind of before school gathering of teachers? I’m about to ask when I hear my name behind me. “Julia!”

  My mother comes running out of the crowd, and she looks…radiant. Happier than I’ve seen her in forever. I can’t even explain the change, just that I can tell it’s there. She barely slows down when she reaches me, barreling into me and wrapping me up into a hug.

  “I’m sorry,” she says. “I’m so, so sorry. You were right, I’ve been terrible to you about everything.”

  I’m so shocked that I think my mouth is hanging open. My mom rarely admits when she’s wrong, because she only admits to things that she truly believes. So whatever got to her must have really impacted her. “What happened to you?”

  She smiles down at me. “Actually, Edward did.”

  “What?” I stare at her. “I’m confused. Did I get in a car accident and am actually in a coma?”

  “You’re awake,” she says, pulling me further away from the crowd of people so that we’re out of earshot. “It actually started last night.”

  And then she tells me about what she saw outside, where Edward threw Kevin out of his house. That alone had gotten her thinking, because she had assumed that Edward was on Kevin’s side completely. “But that wasn’t what woke me up,” she says. “This morning I got a call from someone here at the school. They said that they’d heard about the charity getting going, and all that we were willing to do with the school along with Werlin Venture, and that he hoped that I would come and present what are plans were to all the teachers. I had no idea what he was talking about, but I figured it wouldn’t hurt to present our case to teachers. I wanted to do that anyway.

  “But when I got here, the auditorium was filled with teachers from all over the county, and the person sitting on the stage with me was Edward. He set this up. Werlin Venture is building an after-school center for Grove High to support under-privileged teens, and Edward asked if it could be run by us. He wants to make centers starting in the county and expanding. On top of that, he’s pulling in more donors to get us started, and he pitched it so effectively that I barely had to speak.”

  My mouth is still open in shock. “That’s amazing.”

  “I know,” she says. “And I don’t want you to think that I’m suddenly changing my mind because he’s helping with money for the charity. It’s not only that. Rather it’s that I never considered the fact that he would be that type of person. He did this, and you didn’t even know. You didn’t put him up to it.”

  “No, I had no idea.”

  “I’m sorry,” she says again, shaking her head. “Everything you said was right. I was projecting everything onto you. I should have been paying more attention to what was going on with you, and it absolutely wasn’t fair of me to try to put those kinds of restrictions on you.”

  Tears flood my eyes because I’m so relieved. “I had no idea how I was going to make that decision,” I say.

  “I never should have asked you to make it.” She hugs me again, but I see her blinking back her own tears. “I hope you can forgive me.”

  “Yes,” I say. “Absolutely.” There was never a question.

  She takes the pile of flyers out of my hand. “Give me those.”

  “Did you actually need them?”

  “No,” she smiles. “I just wanted you to see this. Everything that he did.”

  “He’s still here?”

  Mom points through the crowd, and I can see him near one of the tables of food, talking with someone. He’s in one of those sharp suits that I love, and the way the sun is falling across his face makes him look like something out of a dream. And he is my dream. “Go,” my mom says, but I’m basically already moving.

  Edward sees me coming through the crowd, and he looks surprised, but pleased. “What are you doing here?”

  “My mom called me.” That’s all I can tell him before my arms are wrapped around his neck and I’m kissing him in a way that’s not quite appropriate in public. And Edward knows it. “Is this okay?” he asks.

  “I’ll tell you everything later,” I say, pulling his mouth down to mine. “But yes. It’s great. Everything is perfect. You’re perfect. I love you and we’re not going to hide it anymore.”

  He laughs. “I’m far from perfect.”

  “Perfect enough for me. And by some miracle you actually got my mom to like you. So if that doesn’t indicate some level of perfection, I don’t know what does.”

  Edward strokes a hand through my hair. “All I wanted to do was show her that I’m not like him.”

  “You did a lot more than that.”

  He does kiss me now, and I let myself get lost in it. Perfectly, beautifully lost.

  “I know that we have an audience right now,” he says, and I turn to see my mom watching us from a distance—miraculously smiling while she’s talking to someone.

  “But?”

  “But later, when we’re in a more…private venue, I plan on fucking you so hard that you don’t remember your own name.” His voice is low enough that I’m the only one that will be able to hear it, but I blush a fiery red.

  “How soon can we leave?”

  He laughs and wraps my hand in his. “As soon as you like. My part here is done.”

  “Then let’s go. I’m suddenly starving.” We barely wave goodbye before we’re gone.

  * * *

  The remnants of an Asian feast are scattered across Edward’s coffee table, and I’m delightfully full. It seems weird that things were so different a few hours ago. I can’t believe it.

  “How did you do it?” I ask. “You managed to put that together in less than a day. That’s insane.”

  Edward smirks. “Patrick. And I have a lot of contacts. People who are always looking for philanthropic opportunities. Some because they want the tax write-offs, and some because they genuinely want to help people. That’s a good combination to have when you want to set things up quickly. Plus, as previously noted, Patrick is good at what he does.”

  “I think Patrick deserves a promotion.”

  “He’ll be offered one, come Monday.”

  I smile. “Good.”

  “And speaking of jobs,” Edward says, reaching for his wallet, “I have something for you.” He pulls out a business card and hands it to me. “That’s the info for Susan Hastings. She’s the director of a marketing firm that Werlin Venture works with. I talked to her about you and your interests, and she’s willing to talk to you in more detail about what you want and maybe set you up with a paid internship. If it doesn’t work, we’ll find something else. But I want you to be happy with what you’re doing.”

  “You did this for me?”

  “Of course,” he says without hesitating. “I’d do anything for you.”

  I only take a second to put the card down before I pounce on him. We were barely holding ourselves back through dinner anyway, and I’m done waiting. I consume his mouth in a kiss and straddle his lap, but that’s not enough. Edward lifts me like I’m nothing, carrying me up the stairs and into the dark haven of his bedroom.

  “There’s one more thing I forgot to tell you,” I say between kisses. I fill him in on what actually happened with my mom last night, and I’m glad that he didn’t know before he decided to set everything up. Who knows if everything would have shaken out differently.

  “And there’s something else,” I add at the end.

  “What’s that?”

  “I decided that I’m leaving.”

  He freezes, and I feel him trying to process and connect the dots. “What do you mean?”

  “Even though my mom and I are fine, and we’ll continue to be fine, I need my own life. I’m going to move out, but I’m going to
try to stay nearby.”

  A slow smile creeps across Edward’s face. “I happen to know of a place that has plenty of room that would be happy to have you.”

  My breath catches in my chest, and nerves swirl in my gut. “I might be thinking of the same place, but I’m also worried that it’s really soon.”

  “Move in with me,” Edward says, laying me back on his bed in one smooth motion. “I want to wake up with you every day for the rest of my life. Move in here.”

  “Hmm…” I say. “I suppose that would be easier than having to look for an apartment.”

  “If you like I can create some criteria and let you apply.”

  He’s kissing my neck and I’m distracted by the feeling of his lips and how he pulls my shirt over my head. “What would the criteria be?”

  “Having the most delicious pussy I’ve ever tasted and ever plan to taste.”

  A flush rolls across my body. Shit. But he doesn’t stop there.

  “Having a gorgeous smile that I’m addicted to, and being fucking brilliant.” He leans up and whispers in my ear giving me goosebumps. “And having an ass that is truly a work of art.”

  Edward strips off his clothes, and I genuinely think that I’ll never get tired of looking at him. He’s all mine, a sculpted piece of art in his own right, and it’s been too long since I had that cock inside me. “I’m not sure I fit that criteria.”

  He nearly growls as he tugs off my pants. “You’re the only person that could ever meet it.”

  I’m wet enough that he can slip inside without trouble, and I swear my eyes roll back in my head. Fuck, this feels like coming home in a way that I never knew it could, and I can’t keep up the game. “Yes,” I say, voice strained. “I’ll move in with you.”

  Edward takes my mouth hard. “I wasn’t going to take no for an answer. Now tell me your name.”