Page 3 of A Very Grumpy Neighbor

TWO

Meyer

I peek out the window,ensuring my new curvy neighbor isn’t outside before taking the trash out. It’s a week since she moved in, and she’s already driving me crazy.

She’s always outside. Always humming or fussing with her garden. I don’t think she’d even unpacked before she was outside, planting stuff. She even dropped off a rose bush on my front porch with a note offering to help me care for it.

I head back inside, ignoring the rose bush on the kitchen counter as I fill a glass with water. I down half of it in one gulp.

What the hell am I going to do about her?

I moved to Wolf Valley three months ago after leaving the Marines. I liked being all alone out here. I didn’t have to see anyone unless I wanted to or had to go to town for supplies. Now, my bubbly, beautiful neighbor is ruining my solitude.

She’s driving me crazy. She’s too sweet, too enthusiastic, too...

Everything I’m not,I think with a sigh.

I’ve avoided her because I can’t deny my feelings when I see her.

I want her.

I’ve never wanted anyone before, but fuck, do I want her.

She’s been living rent-free in my head for the past week. I’m always looking for her, half hoping and half dreading I’ll see her. She even follows me into my dreams. I’ve woken up with a hard-on every single day this week. I’ve jerked off in the shower thinking about her so much that I’m afraid I’m getting carpal tunnel.

Something needs to change.

I’m just not sure what or how.

My phone rings, and I know who it is without looking. “Yes, I’m still alive.”

Camden sighs dramatically. “Oh, thank God! I was so worried about you. I almost called in a welfare check on you.”

I roll my eyes and head into my office, sinking into the chair.

Camden and I were in the Marines together, and he’s the reason I ended up in Wolf Valley. He grew up here, and listening to him talk about it, the place sounded like paradise. I had no desire to go back to New Jersey after I was shot and medically discharged from the Marines, so I decided to see what it was all about.

So far, I love it here.

Then I think about my new neighbor and grit my teeth.

I tell myself I need to forget about her,but I know it’s useless. I’ve tried to ignore her every day since I met her, and it hasn’t worked.

All I can think about is her smile, her stormy blue eyes, and her curves.

Focus.

“What’s up?” I ask Camden.

“Just seeing what you’re up to.”

“Not much.”

“You never are.”

“Isn’t that the bright side of being retired?” Even I can hear the bitterness in my voice.

I loved being a Marine. I loved all of it: the training, the deployments, my brothers. And I was damn good at it.

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