Princess Next Door(3)

“What do you know about her then?” Riot asked.

“Know about her?”

“Come on, Zane. You’ve lived next door to her. You’ve got to know something. Is she a natural blonde?”

“I have no idea.”

“Maybe I should take her out for a test drive. I can let you know if she’s a natural or not,” Riot said.

Jealousy struck him hard, and Zane shook his head. “You’re going to leave her alone.” He felt all of his friends’ gazes on him, and he didn’t give a shit. There was no way any of them were going to be dating or even screwing his neighbor.

“Are you calling dibs?” Silas asked.

“Okay, right now I don’t know if you’re doing this to just piss me off or if you have a genuine interest in her.”

Riot shrugged. “Now I’m curious as to why you don’t want me testing her out.”

“She’s my neighbor, Riot. I’m not having you break her heart. I live right next door. You’ve heard of a woman scorned and all that shit, right?”

“Nah,” Silas said. “He likes her. Like really, really likes her.”

Zane ignored them as he grabbed his vacuum and began to clean up the mess. He loved throwing parties, but the cleaning up afterward was always a fucking nightmare. He hated doing it and had no choice, seeing as he didn’t like anyone else going through his stuff, so professional cleaners were out of the question, or at least for him they were. He couldn’t stand them.

He bet Princess loved to clean and keep everything tidy. Opening up his curtains and window to let some fresh air inside, he paused when he caught sight of that very neighbor in a pair of shorts and tank top, mowing her front lawn. Their lawns weren’t much, but she pushed a tiny mower back and forth. When she spun around, he saw her breasts moving with each back and forth motion. Just the sight of her made his dick ache to see what other temptations she hid underneath.

“I’m going to throw this into the trash.” Without waiting for confirmation from his friends, he left his home and stood near his trash bin.

She stopped mowing the moment he appeared.

“Hey,” he said.

“Would you like me to do yours as well?” she asked.

He watched as she wiped her brow. It was really hot out, and he wished she’d forgone the shorts and shirt. “Sure, if it’s not too much trouble.”

She shook her head. “It’s fine. I didn’t know if I should do it or not.”

He waited as she turned the mower back on and started to work on his patch.

Heading inside, he saw his three friends in the corridor watching him.

“Admit it, you like her,” Jones said.

“Are you guys ever going to grow up?” he asked, shaking his head.

“If you like her, you should totally take her out a cool drink,” Silas said.

He glanced toward Riot, who stayed silent. “Do you have any advice?”

“If you like her, you’ve got to put your mark on her now, as otherwise you’re totally going to be watching guys pick her up and leave.”

Rolling his eyes, Zane made his way to the fridge. “Would you look at that? Two sodas. You guys will have to find yourself something else to drink.”

As he made his way toward the front of the house, he heard the noise stop. Opening his door, he was tempted to close it, but figured his friends would prank him and lock it, making him look like a complete clown.

“Cold soda?” he asked, holding up one hand.

“Would love it.” She reached out, taking one can from him and smiling. He liked her smile. It was warm, and made him think of long summer nights, along with a lot of other dirty thoughts. The long summer nights thought must only be because it was so warm. There wasn’t any connection between her smile and the feelings she was stirring up inside him.

“Thank you for doing this.”

“No problem. I don’t want it to overgrow and look a mess.” She pointed at the rest of the street. “When I moved in the guy who owned it before me said that the neighbors may be a little picky if it looks a mess. I like this neighborhood.”

“Yeah, I can’t do the whole apartment thing. I know there were a few good places, but I’ve had bad experiences with them.”

“What kind?” she asked.

“Let’s see. A handsy landlord.”

She chuckled. “Really?”

“Yep. He didn’t care who you were, he wanted a piece of the action.”

“Oh, my, that’s just awful,” she said.

“Yep, and then you’ve got the druggies on the top floor. That was a really bad experience if ever I remember one. Then of course I had the leaky roof.”

“Leaky roof?”

“I’ve found apartments are great providing you with lots of people who like their apartment and are not hunting for the next place.”

“Gotcha.”

He nodded. “What about you?”

“Erm, I lived with my parents up until moving here. We’re a big kind of family who believe in staying together.”

Zane figured there was more to the tale but she didn’t let on anything else, and he didn’t pressure her to tell him more.

“This is your first big place?”