Page 4 of Rebel

Movement to the left drew my gaze to the neighbor’s backyard. The fence was tall but not tall enough to keep me from seeing a large chunk of their yard. Not to mention the gorgeous guy lounging by their pool.

As I drank my water, I helped myself to an eyeful of my new neighbor. And did a double take. Dark brown hair with a blonde streak in front. Loads of tattoos covered his shirtless body. No fucking way. What kind of sick joke was fate playing on me here?

“Storm?” Mom’s tone sounded annoyed, like she’d repeated herself.

I spun around to face her. “What?”

“Can you please make sure to bring in the electronics from the back of my car? I don’t trust Chase to be as careful with those things.”

“Oh, yeah, sure, I’ll get them.” I couldn’t help but take another glance out the window.

Rebel stared at his phone while absently drinking from a frosty beer. I wondered if he went to Wintervale University. Not that it mattered when he lived right next door. How long could I possibly avoid him?

Chase and I were starting classes tomorrow. An upgrade from our former school across town. Not that there was a whole lot of town in Winter Grove. There was the good side, the bad side, and the fine line in the middle.

When I went out to Mom’s SUV to grab the laptops and stuff, I found Larry pulling the remaining boxes from the moving truck. As much as I hated to admit it, she’d scored a good one this time. Although anyone was better than my father. He’d bailed a few years after I was born. I barely knew him. Good riddance.

Larry had even offered to let Chase and me take the entire finished basement for ourselves. Since I’d rather sleep outside than share a space with my brother if I didn’t have to, I’d opted for one of the bedrooms upstairs. It was a huge room with its own bathroom and a balcony. So much better than listening to my brother entertain himself with fart jokes and video games.

Sweat broke out on my brow. The inside of the SUV was hot as hell. It wasn’t usually so hot this early into spring, although we’d had a mild winter. Being this close to Canada’s west coast meant all four seasons with some really great springs and summers.

After depositing my mom’s computer stuff in the living room, I escaped to my new bedroom upstairs. Lucky me. The balcony window looked out into the backyard and right into Rebel’s yard as well.

What were the odds of me living here and him not noticing? I guess if I stayed inside all the time and tried to avoid him out front. Our driveways were side by side.

I flopped down on my queen size bed, staring at the ceiling fan overhead. This wouldn’t be so bad if Rebel weren’t next door. A large room with a nice bed, a desk in the corner, and a walk in closet with more room than I even had clothes to fill. My personal goal was to move out on my own by the time I finished classes. Maybe sooner now that I knew who my neighbor was.

Feeling like I deserved a little reward for my hard work, I rolled off the bed and went to the closet. I dug through my shoulder bag until I found the small tin filled with perfectly rolled joints. Now the balcony would really come in handy.

Tucking a joint between my lips, I grabbed my lighter and let myself out onto the balcony. I was taking a risk here. A potentially stupid risk. Yet I couldn’t squash the excitement that zinged through me.

If Rebel looked up, he would see me. Did part of me want that? Was I seeking out trouble here? Surely he wouldn’t do something drastic to his own neighbor. The breeze caught my deep red hair, tossing it about my face. I shoved it back, tucking a lock behind my ear.

I leaned over the railing, finding the deck below me. A lattice panel covered in vines and flowers stretched up the side of the house next to my balcony. Pretty. If I’d been younger, it would have been perfect for sneaking out.

As I lit up my joint, I couldn’t help but sneak another peek at Rebel. Leaning on the balcony railing, I savored the tangy marijuana. Laying on the bed bingeing Netflix felt like a good way to wrap up this day.

Rebel set his phone down and stood up. He stretched his arms above his head, twisting from side to side. My mind flashed back to last night at the bar. To the way his hand felt around my throat.Ugh, don’t do that.

Wearing only basketball shorts, he rounded his pool, approaching the diving board. Puffing away, I watched him climb the stairs to the board. He walked out to the end of the board and paused.

That’s when he looked up, right at me. Our eyes locked across the distance. Fuck. After a long moment, Rebel raised a hand and flipped me the middle finger before diving into the water.

CHAPTER THREE

REBEL

The look on her face was priceless. I had to keep myself from laughing when I dove so I wouldn’t inhale an ass ton of water. She’d gone from curiously staring in my direction to scowling in disgust. I would definitely have some fun with this.

I’d seen Larry’s girlfriend around here and there. This girl had to be her daughter. The moving van out front indicated that she’d be here a while. It was important for her to know right from the start that she was in for a world of hurt. After that punch in the face, she’d practically begged me to chew her up and spit her out. That wine red hair and the scowl she’d shot me only made me want it that much more.

I emerged from the water, climbing out of the pool and flopping back onto my lounge chair. She still stood on her balcony smoking weed but she’d averted her gaze. That gave me the opportunity to ogle her.

Her long red hair, likely dyed, tumbled down her back. It shone brighter in the light of day. A pair of cut offs revealed a shapely ass and legs that I’d love to have wrapped around my head while I dove between them. She was too far away for me to see her eyes, but I knew they were bluer than mine. My cock stirred as I remembered the fear flashing within them.

The fates had smiled on me today, delivering her right to me. No doubt she had to be nervous as hell now that she knew we were neighbors. She probably hadn’t expected to see me again. I was definitely going to take advantage of this situation. This girl would have regrets.

“Hey, assface. I thought we were supposed to meet for lunch. I waited for you.” Auryn strolled into my backyard, a takeout bag clutched in one hand. He dragged another lounge chair over next to mine, pausing to slap me upside the head before sitting down.

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