I was her first and I'll damn well be her last.Mia Stanbury is the quintessential girl next door. Smart, beautiful, and determined. She’s got it all going on. Is it any wonder that she’s been on my radar for as long as I can remember? Fine, I’ll admit that I’ve made a few boneheaded mistakes as far as she’s concerned, but what can I say? I’m a dude. Sometimes I think with the wrong head. We’ll just chalk it up to one of the hazards of having a Y chromosome and leave it at that. But I’m older now.More mature.Sort of. Mia has spent all of high school and college keeping me at a distance. If she didn’t melt in my arms every time I put my hands on her, I’d almost think she was immune to my charms. This is our last year at Wesley before we go our separate ways. Me to the NFL, her to law school. It’s now or never.I’m done playing games and allowing her to push me away.The Girl Next Door was created by Jennifer Sucevic, an EGlobal Creative Publishing signed author.
View MoreThe spiral I throw lands perfectly in Colton's hands. Whatever problem he had been struggling with earlier in the season seems to have worked itself out.Thank fuck, because that's the last thing we need right now. We have four games under our belt and eight more to go. It's still early, but we have an undefeated record.When Coach blows his whistle, signaling the end of practice, I unsnap the chin strap and pull off my helmet, letting it dangle from my fingers. Colton jogs toward me, meeting me as we head off the field.Grinning from ear-to-ear, he holds out his hand for a fist bump."Looking good out there," I tell him. "Nice to see you got your groove back.""Damn right I did, baby!" He flashes a grin as relief oozes from every pore of his body. "And not a moment too soon with the Alabama game coming up."Already I know it'll be a tough one. Both mentally and physically. We're neck and neck with Alabama. After next Saturday, one of us will be first in the conference, and I
"You really said that?" Alyssa gapes before shoveling the last of my enchilada into her mouth. It's been sitting untouched in the refrigerator for days. "To Dr. H?" she mumbles around a mouthful of tortilla, cheese, and chicken.I swing away from her as she sits on the couch in our living room. "Yup.""Damn, girl!" she hoots, slapping her thigh. "You are seriously my hero!"I tunnel my fingers through my hair and groan. Days later and I'm still reeling from the encounter in the bathroom at El Toro."No, I'm not." I spin toward her again as I continue to pace. A mixture of nerves and nausea makes it impossible to sit still.My bestie shakes her head. "Are you kidding me? Everyone on campus has heard the rumors about Hayes. It's about time someone called her out on her bullshit.""I've heard the gossip, too," I admit, "but I never suspected there was any truth behind it." I blow out a slow breath. "If I hadn't seen it happen with my own eyes, I still wouldn't believe it." Wh
The waitress returns with my Diet Coke and Mom's margarita. "Just in the nick of time," she mutters, swallowing down half of it in one thirsty gulp. "Have you spoken to him yet?"I shake my head. Like Beck, he's reached out. And like Beck, I've avoided his calls and texts. There is nothing he can say or do that will change the disgust and disappointment coursing through me. If he wasn't happy in his marriage, he should have done something about it instead of sneaking around behind Mom's back."As furious as I am with him," she says, "I don't want to cause a wedge in your relationship. No matter what happens between us, he is your father, and he loves you."It's almost a relief when our lunch arrives. Mom needs something solid in her stomach to counteract the tequila. She's been snacking on the chips and salsa, but it's not enough.I use my fork to push around the beans and rice on my plate. "I'm not ready to talk to him right now. He didn't only walk out on you, he walked o
I hop out of my Jeep and smooth down my skirt before hurrying into El Toro, a popular Mexican restaurant in town. Under normal circumstances, this is one of my favorite places to eat. The chicken enchiladas are to die for.But today?I don't really have much of an appetite.Mom drove down so we could have lunch together. It's been a couple of days since Dad dropped his bomb, and I've been checking in to make sure she's doing all right.So far, so good.As I arrive at the hostess stand, I see Mom has already been seated at the back of the restaurant near the window. There's a huge margarita sitting in front of her. When the hostess leads me to the table, I give Mom a quick hug before settling on the chair across from her."Hi, sweetie," she says. Her gaze drifts over my floral-colored blouse and red skirt. "You look nice.""Thanks. You do, too." I'm relieved to see that she hasn't fallen apart. I was worried she would be dressed in sweats. Not that I would blame her. Instead
A small knot of tension sits at the bottom of my belly as I rap my knuckles against Dr. Hayes' partially open office door. She glances up from her computer screen and smiles before waving me in."Thanks for stopping by." She pulls off her glasses and sets them on the desk next to her coffee cup. "I read over your latest draft and have a few suggestions." She leans back in her chair. "I thought it would be easier for us to discuss them in person rather than emailing back and forth."Sure, no problem.""Great. Want to get started?"I nod.As I take a step toward the desk, she waves to the tiny loveseat. "Let's sit on the couch, it'll be more comfortable."Comfortable for who?Certainly not me.My step falters as I clear my throat and search for an excuse. I'm trying to keep as much distance between us as possible. "My computer is kind of heavy. It might be better to set it on the desk while we work." I'm grasping at straws. My computer weighs a pound or two at the most.Her l
"I can't believe you didn't tell me what was going on!" Alyssa shoves me in the shoulder, and the force sends me careening into a random guy on the walking path.My hands grasp his chest for purchase as he holds my upper arms to steady me. Heat fills my cheeks. "I am so sorry!" The guy grins, making no attempt to release me. "It's not a problem."Alyssa grabs my arm and yanks me free. "Sorry, bud, she's taken."He shrugs. "That's too bad."Alyssa snorts before dragging me down the path."I'm going to kill you," I mutter through clenched teeth."No, you're not." She doesn't sound the least bit concerned by the threat. "You love me too much to do that.""Hmmm," I scrunch my face and contemplate the statement, "do I?""Yup." She links her arm through mine as we continue walking. "Anyway, back to the original convo we were having before you rather clumsily threw yourself at that guy."When I glare, she grins and keeps yapping. "I can't believe you kept this from me!""It wasn't
"You don't need to say anything.""Is your mother aware of what's going on?"I shake my head. "No, we haven't told anyone yet."Tentatively, he steps toward me. "As much as I like Beck," there's a pause, and I steel myself for what will come next, "he's not the right guy for you."I echo with disbelief, "He's not the right guy for me?"His frown deepens into a scowl. "Come on, you know exactly what I mean. Beck doesn't have a serious bone in his body. His life is football. Other than that, he parties and sleeps around. I don't understand why you would be interested in someone like that."My mouth falls open. "Dad! That's not true!"He closes the distance between us. "That kid has always been a troublemaker. I used to feel bad for Archie and Caroline, always having to clean up his messes.""That was in high school," I grit out. "He's changed. People are capable of it.""Has he really changed that much?" Dad snorts and rolls his eyes. "Because I find that difficult to beli
"Not really." Once we slid between the sheets last night and Beck wrapped his arms around me, I fell into a deep sleep. "If you were me, what would you do?"He blows out a steady breath as his face grows serious. "I don't know," he admits. "We have different relationships with our fathers." His voice softens. "And your family has been through a lot more than mine."Thoughts of my sister swirl through my head. Nothing has been the same since Brianna died. Most of the time, it seems like my parents are going through the motions of living their lives.Although, the man I saw last night looked nothing like the Dad I know. He looked happier than I've seen him in a long time. Ten years younger, at least. Instead of having his face buried in his phone, he was actually paying attention to the person sitting across from him."Is it possible your mom is aware of the relationship?"That thought never occurred to me."I don't know." It's difficult to imagine that my mother would knowin
My sleep is deep and filled with dreams. Most, I can't hang on to. The one I find myself immersed in before waking is filled with Beck.The sexy neighbor I've crushed on forever.The guy I've avoided for the past seven years out of self-preservation.Dreams and memories intertwine until they become one. I can't remember if he touched me last night or if it was all part of a delicious fantasy. Once I'm able to shake the last dregs of sleep, I stretch my limbs as the memories from last night crash down on me.Beck climbing through the window.Running a bath and stripping me bare.Making me a cup of tea.Orgasming.Drying me off and carrying me to bed.And then falling asleep in his arms.I roll to my side only to find the space next to me vacant. Not only is the bed empty, but the sheets are also cold to the touch, which means Beck snuck out a while ago. Disappointment surges through me, threatening to swallow me whole. I flop onto my back and stare at the ceiling before tugging t
Welcome to GoodNovel world of fiction. If you like this novel, or you are an idealist hoping to explore a perfect world, and also want to become an original novel author online to increase income, you can join our family to read or create various types of books, such as romance novel, epic reading, werewolf novel, fantasy novel, history novel and so on. If you are a reader, high quality novels can be selected here. If you are an author, you can obtain more inspiration from others to create more brilliant works, what's more, your works on our platform will catch more attention and win more admiration from readers.