Her Big Neighbor

It’s going to be a struggle not to be checking my phone every five minutes for his text about where we’re going later. And I have to figure out how to get out of the house without arousing suspicion. But that comes later. For now, it’s mid-morning and it’s way later than I usually get out of bed. I’m hungry.

Mom is in the kitchen when I come down, and she looks at me and then looks at the clock like she didn’t even notice the time. “Are you feeling all right? I got wrapped up in the dining room. I could have come to wake you up.”

Thank God that you didn’t. Right there is my opportunity. “I might be coming down with something. I’m feeling a little under the weather.”

“That’s too bad,” she says. “Let me know if you need a sick set-up on the couch or something.”

When I was younger and I was sick, I would stay home from school and Mom would plant me on the couch with hot tea and hot soup and I would watch movies—and mostly fall asleep—all day. I smile at her. “I don’t think it’s that bad yet, but thanks for the offer. I’ll keep an eye on it.”

We don’t talk about our little discussion yesterday about the fact that she doesn’t want me dating. I don’t particularly want to hide Edward from her, but I don’t know how to go about telling her without her being furious or trying to get me to stop. And I don’t want to spend my date tonight worried that she’s at home and angry at me.

I do want to tell her, but I need a little bit of time to figure out how. So we finish the dining room. There’s a huge number of cookbooks that are going to the charity that we box up and put aside to be taken to the school, and lots of little things that have somehow just ‘ended up’ in the dining room over the years that need to be gone through. It takes some time, but by mid-afternoon we’ve finished that room, and I’m glad. Every room finished lessens my anxiety about the whole thing. I like the progress we’re making.

I grab my phone, and my heart skips a beat when I see that I have a text from Edward.

Eight. Dress casual.

No hints? I ask.

Not a huge surprise or anything, but no.

I laugh softly. Fair enough.

I need to figure out what to wear. I can do casual, and it’s certainly going to make climbing out of the window easier. Running up to my room, I rummage through my closet. I’ve still got a few hours, but I want to be ready. All I’m going to do if I don’t choose my clothes is think about my clothes, so I might as well.

I end up just picking a pair of skinny jeans and a silvery tank top. I love this top because it’s easy to dress up or down. I’ll wear my favorite pair of sneakers too. God, I’ve got so much time to kill. Mom and I are done for the day, so I try to keep myself busy. I do a few loads of laundry, clean my bathroom, and vacuum the upstairs. I need a hobby, or a job. After we’re done with this gala and the charity is kicked off, I’m not going to have much to do.

Finally, it’s close enough to the time I need to leave that I can get ready. I go downstairs and find my mother working on some paperwork in the living room. “I’m still not feeling the greatest, so I’m going to call it an early night,” I say. “Hopefully the extra sleep will help.”

She looks up and smiles. “All right, sweetie. Feel better.”

I lock my bedroom door when I get inside, just in case she decides to look in on me later. I do a quick refresh of my make-up, put on my clothes, and swing out the window. It’s been a decent amount of time since I’ve done this, and I’m not entirely sure how Edward made it look so easy in a suit. I’m lucky that I don’t fall and break my neck or make enough noise that my mom thinks that there’s someone trying to break in.

“That was graceful,” Edward says behind me. Even before I turn around I can hear in his voice that he’s teasing.

“I don’t have a lot off practice. But if we keep doing this, I imagine I’ll get better. Just don’t ask me to do it in a dress.”

He smiles and helps me hop over the fence. “I’ll install a rope ladder for you.”

“You’re joking, but—” Edward cuts me off with a kiss, and I forget what I was going to say entirely. When he pulls back my mind is muddled and foggy. My body is warm and I’m remembering what happened this morning between my legs, already growing wet. I need to calm down and at least make it through dinner. Then maybe I can think about that kind of dessert. “Hi.”