Off Limits Neighbor

Amanda is still standing there, mouth slightly open as she looks between the two of us.

She went to school with us too, and she was the person that everyone wanted to be. The gorgeous, popular cheerleader that every guy wanted. Prom Queen. Literally everything that’s the opposite of me.

“Um,” I say. “I should go.”

“Klara,” Rey says.

“No, that’s okay. I understand. Thank you for the help, it won’t be necessary.” I brush past Amanda without saying anything. What would I say? I can’t even look her in the eye. And if I did, I’m pretty sure that I would find a look that would kill, since I’m pretty sure that she just caught me with her boyfriend.

Jesus. When did I become the other woman?

I can still taste Rey on my tongue. Smokey and whiskey, just like his kisses tasted last night. And even under the mortification, I’m still aroused, though that’s fading now.

How could I be this stupid? My skin is prickling with embarrassment. At this rate, if Amanda is still as popular as she was, after I’m finished here, I’ll never be able to set foot in Affliction Creek again.

I let myself into my childhood home and lean against the door. “Fuck.”

I’m barely standing there five minutes before there’s pounding on the door. “Klara.”

My stomach drops at the sound of his voice. “Go away, Rey.”

“Not until you let me in to fucking talk to you, because whatever you’re thinking is wrong.”

Against my better judgement, I open the door. “Really? I didn’t just get caught as the other woman? Your girlfriend didn’t just see me on my knees sucking you off?”

“No. And if you’d waited five seconds before running, we could have pushed past the awkwardness and I would have explained. Amanda and I are nothing more than friends. Have never been anything more than friends, even in high school. Trust me, I’m not her type.”

I scoff. “You’re everyone’s type.”

Rey smirks. “Not hers. She gave me permission to tell you this, just so you know. Amanda is a lesbian. So, when I tell you that she doesn’t give a shit who sucks my cock, it’s true.”

My face flames with an even deeper embarrassment, if that’s even possible. “Okay,” I tell him. “I need to go die now. You can go home.”

I try to shut the door, and just like that first day, he catches it with his shoe. “I don’t think so.”

“I thought on the way over here that I would never be able to set foot in this town again because everyone would know I was a home wrecker. Now I’ll never be able to because I’ll just perish of embarrassment.”

Rey laughs, and I let him push past me and into the house. As he does, I hear a meow. “Seems your friend is back.”

I roll my eyes. “That’s exactly what I need right now.”

“He’s kind of cute.” He looks behind me. “Have you thought about feeding him?”

“If I feed him, he’ll stick around even more than he already is, and I don’t even live here. I can’t adopt a pet.”

Rey smirks. “Maybe I’ll feed him then.”

“Feel free but do it at your house.”

I turn away and he catches me around the waist, pulling my back to his chest. “Hold on a second.”

The way he feels against me is amazing, and I’m having visceral memories of last night and when he woke me up in the middle of the night with drugged kisses and whispered words. But my heart is still beating too fast, and the instinct to hide is overwhelming.

“You still planning on running away?”

“Maybe,” I admit.

He kisses the skin below my ear. “I know it was a touch awkward, but the desk blocked almost everything. All she saw was the back of your head.”

“I’m not exactly sure how that makes it better,” I mutter under my breath.

“You’re embarrassed,” he says. “But you don’t have to be.”

I shudder against my will. “Yeah, but—”

“But what? Shit happens. And Amanda doesn’t care.”

Swallowing, I try to dig deeper into the feeling. What is the source of the embarrassment? Why do I feel like I need to bury myself in blankets and never come up for air?

I pull away from him slowly and lean against the railing of the stairs. “Amanda, no matter her preferences, was who everyone wanted to be in high school. And it was just…the idea that I hadn’t even asked if you were involved…” I shake my head. “This still seems too good to be true. You’re Reynard Mast. You’ve always been hot as fuck, and never in a million years did I ever think that you would want me. Getting caught like that and thinking that you were together, it made too much sense. You’re the kind of people that go together.”

Rey looks at me, and there’s no humor in his eyes, and he approaches me slowly. “You know what I’ve been wondering the past two days?”