“You’re going to have to wait.”
She turned off her lamp and stepped out of the spare bedroom.
Walking downstairs, she paused as she looked at the sitting room. She had so many pictures and books. Some crafting, some for cooking, reading books. This was her life.
At twenty years old, most of her possessions were her mother’s.
Just thinking about her mother, she couldn’t help but rub her chest as the pain filled her. The loss too great for her to bear.
She pushed it aside as she heard Nate return.
Her very sexy and completely off-limits neighbor.
He was much older than her, twenty years older, but damn it, she had a crush. A pathetic one at that.
Nate was always so nice to her. It sickened her. All her life, she had avoided men. It had been so easy to do. Guys her own age were nothing more than adult babies. She never dated where she worked. Relationships were not her strong suit.
She also didn’t make friends all that easy either. After six months of working at the supermarket, she had zero friends. No one sat with her at lunch. No one talked to her.
Unfortunately, this was how she liked it. Her mother had often tried to get her to mingle with kids her own age, but it hadn’t worked. She was happy in her own company. Not that she was a bad person. People just didn’t get her or what she liked.
At the fridge, she poured out two mugs of milk, then tipped it into the saucepan before placing it on the stove.
This was what her mother used to do with her every night she had a bad dream. Nice hot cocoa.
Damn it.
She needed to stop thinking about her mother.
Her doorbell rang, and her heart started to race. Or maybe she needed to think about her mother, rather than the hot, good-looking guy about to enter her presence.
Sometimes she felt like she babbled in front of him, looking more like a child than a responsible twenty-year-old woman.
She forced a smile to her lips as she opened the door, cringing internally when she realized she still wore her comfy heart pants.
It wasn’t the first time Nate had seen her faux pas when it came to fashion. She imagined he preferred more sophisticated women. The kind that had lots of money and the power of seduction rather than a large ass and tits, with massive hips. Yep, she had been blessed to be on the curvier side of things. It made creating clothes for herself even more enjoyable. Rather than wearing the frumpy outfits fashion lines seemed to think was appropriate, she got to wear her own creations that made her feel fabulous.
“Is that hot chocolate still on offer?” he asked.
“Of course.” She’d pulled her long brown hair into a ponytail that settled over one shoulder. She kept meaning to get it cut, but each time she tried to, she just couldn’t bring herself to do it.
Her mother had once said her hair was beautiful. The longer, the better.
After closing the door, she flicked the lock into place, and her mind raced with all the dirty thoughts of what Nate could do to her.
The books she read were a bad influence. She shouldn’t be thinking naughty things. Her mother had a love of erotic romance, and well, alone in this house, it would seem she had certainly found a love of them as well.
It was laughable, a virgin wanting to be fucked in every single corner of the house, to know what it felt like to be craved, desired, ravished. Nate could do what he wanted to her any day of the week.
“So, hot chocolate. If my memory serves, you like it sweet, don’t you?” she asked.
Her face was on fire. She had to be blushing.
Was he laughing?
Did he know what she was thinking?
“Can you read minds?” she asked.
He frowned. “No, I cannot.”
“Oh, well, that would be an awesome skill, wouldn’t it? I was just thinking about what would be an amazing superpower, and mind-reading had to be right up there.” She brushed past him, going to the stove. She’d put the heat on low so no milk bubbled over.
“Superpowers. You wouldn’t want to move things with your mind?” he asked.
“Nah, so lame. I am more of the knowing people’s innermost secrets.” She thought back to learning the truth about her dad. How humiliated she was and upset. “Believe me, it would have come in handy. What about you? What is your superpower?”
Nate chuckled. “I don’t have one.”
“This isn’t real. It is all make-believe. You know that, right?” she asked.
“I get that. Why are we talking about superpowers?”
“No reason. Just thinking. Babbling. You know the drill. Did you have a good time running errands?” she asked.
“It was smooth and efficient.”
She had no idea what that meant.
Returning her attention to the hot chocolate, she added some actual chopped chocolate into the mix, along with a sprinkle of cinnamon and a dash of vanilla.