The Promise (Neighbor from Hell 10)

“What do you need at Walmart?” he asked, noting the yellow piece of paper in her hand as he sat down on the floor next to her.

“Nothing,” she mumbled quickly.

“So, you’re just going to Walmart for the hell of it?” he asked as he leaned down and kissed her forehead, noting that she didn’t feel warm.

“It’s my idea of a good time,” she said as he noted how pale she looked and wondered if she’d caught that stomach bug that’s been going around school.

“That does sound like a good time,” he murmured in agreement.

“It really is,” she said, looking adorably miserable as he took the slip of paper from her hand.

“I know you have your heart set on a trip to Walmart,” he began only to feel his lips twitch when she murmured with a little sniffle, “I really do.”

“Why don’t I run to Walmart and get everything you need and pick up Chinese food on the way home and then we can spend the rest of the night curled up in bed watching historical documentaries,” he suggested as he looked down at the list and realized that he was about to do something that he never would have done for another woman.

“I do love a good historical documentary,” she said even as she curled more tightly into herself.

“I know you do, baby,” he said, leaning down so that he could kiss her cheek even as he had to wonder what the difference between “Ultra” and “Super Plus” was.

“I’ll be right back,” he promised her as he stood up and headed for the door, grabbing his clothes and cellphone along the way.

“Okay,” she mumbled sadly from the bathroom as he told himself that he was only doing this because he’d promised to look after her.

There was no other reason, he told himself as he pulled his shirt on and headed downstairs. She was his best friend’s little sister and it was his job to take care of her, he reminded himself as he pulled out the list she’d made and decided to add Dr. Pepper since he knew how much she liked it. That of course, led him to add ice cream to the list and-

“Where are you going?” Matt asked, walking into the foyer as he devoured a party sized bag of Doritos.

“The store,” Reed said, trying to figure out where he was going to find all this shit.

“What do you need?” Matt asked, popping a chip in his mouth.

“Joey needs a few things,” he said, grabbing his wallet and keys off the side table.

“Then I should be the one to get them since I called dibs and all,” Matt said, sounding smug as he plucked the note out of his hand and-

Cleared his throat as he handed the list back to Reed with a mumbled, “I’ll just be going back to work then.”

*-*-*-*

“Are you ever going to look at me again?”

“No,” she said, even as she snuggled closer to him and couldn’t help but notice that his chest made the perfect pillow for watching historical documentaries.

“Is this the reason why you avoided me all day?” he asked as he continued to run his fingertips up and down her arm.

“We do not speak of it,” she whispered, making him chuckle.

“Does that mean that you don’t want your flowers?”

“Touch my flowers and I’ll kill you,” she said, because she really would.

“I take it that you like them,” he said, chuckling even as she couldn’t help but notice that he sounded quite pleased.

“I love them,” Joey admitted with a heartfelt sigh as she glanced at the beautiful white roses that he’d placed on the nightstand next to the pile of books that she’d planned on reading this week.

“Good,” he murmured, giving her a gentle squeeze as they fell into a comfortable silence and watched the Fall of Rome.

Right when she was about to suggest the documentary on the dark ages next, he said the words that she’d been dreading all night. “I think we should call it a night.”

“That’s probably a good idea,” she said, although she personally felt that it was a bad idea since that meant that it was time for her to go back to her room. She’d slept with him every night for the past few weeks and really wasn’t looking forward to sleeping by herself tonight, but she didn’t have much of a choice. This was only supposed to be about sex and since they couldn’t have sex for a few days…

“Goodnight,” she said, sending him a hopeful look only to find him already checking his email for any last-minute emergencies before calling it a night.

“Goodnight, Joey,” he murmured absently as she reluctantly crawled off the bed and headed for the bathroom.

When he didn’t say anything, she bit back a disappointed sigh and resigned herself to sleeping alone. Not really in a rush to find out how uncomfortable her bed was without him, she took her time getting everything ready, selecting a tampon from the huge selection that he’d bought for her, brushed her teeth, and took a shower all while sending hopeful looks at the bathroom door only to reluctantly accept the fact that he wasn’t coming.

That was fine, she told herself as she turned the water off and stepped out of the shower. For a moment, she stood there, worrying her bottom lip as she glanced at his closed bathroom door until she inwardly berated herself for being an idiot and got dressed in one of Reed’s old tee shirts and a pair of panties. Doing her best not to think about the man in the other room, she opened her bathroom door, stepped out of the way as her baby kitten came racing inside and-

“You’re killing me here, Joey,” he said, sighing heavily as she found herself thrown over his shoulder and heading back to his room where he glared at her until she curled back up in his arms.

Chapter 30

“Do you even care that I’m not talking to you?”

“Not even a little bit,” Reed said while he watched Joey from the incredibly uncomfortable couch in the living room as the soft material of her jeans pulled tightly across the generous ass that he’d made plans for this weekend as she leaned over and began sorting through the boxes filling his foyer.

“You know, at some point you’re going to have to stop glaring at her,” Matt said with a pitying sigh as he leaned forward in his chair, tilted his head slightly to the right so that he could get a better look at-

“Don’t make me kill you,” Reed said while he ignored his brother as the little bastard rubbed the back of his head with a muttered, “Mean bastard.”

“You’re taking this a little too seriously,” Matt grumbled with a pout as he reluctantly returned his attention back to the magazine that he’d been pretending to read while Reed sat there ignoring the pile of work in front of him as he watched Joey search through the boxes that had been delivered earlier.

“What exactly am I taking too seriously?” Reed asked as he sat there, watching the woman that he couldn’t wait to get alone again as she picked up one of the smaller boxes that he’d been wondering about and headed upstairs.

“Besides everything?” Matt said, sighing heavily as he leaned back in his chair. “How about your promise?”

“What about it?” he asked as he reluctantly shifted his attention back to the financial reports that he was hoping to get through tonight so that he had the weekend free to spend with Joey.

“At some point, you’re going to have to give up your obsession with glaring at her,” Matt said with a sad shake of his head.

“I’m not obsessed,” Reed said although he had a bad feeling that he was.

“You really are,” Matt said, sighing heavily.

“I’m really not,” he said, rubbing his hands down his face as he tried to figure out how he was going to swing twenty new computers for the library with less than five hundred dollars in the budget.

“Really? Then how would you explain the murderous glares that you’re always shooting her?”

“She’s only been here for a month,” he pointed out, deciding that it would probably be for the best if he didn’t share the reason that he couldn’t keep his eyes off Joey.

He couldn’t seem to get enough of

her.

Every night for the past month he’d fallen asleep with her in his arms and started most mornings by making her moan his name. During the day, when he wasn’t with her, he found himself thinking about her and when he was near her all he could think about was touching her again. But it wasn’t just the incredible sex that drew him. He liked her, which still amazed him. But then again, maybe that was because he was finally able to spend time with her without worrying if she was about to blow something up. She was smart, funny as hell, kind, and-

“She probably hates you,” Matt said, sounding bored as he added, “Not that you could really blame her.”

“She doesn’t hate me,” Reed said, only to glare at the little bastard when he snorted in disbelief.

“You made her life a living hell,” Matt said, turning another page.

“I looked out for her,” he bit out, wondering why he was having this conversation again.