Accidental Neighbor by Sharon Woods

Chapter 21

Thomas

“Let’s get into the car girls; we don’t have much time before the boys are coming over.”

I’m taking the girls to the park to play. As we leave the house, I can hear people talking next door. I look over toward Jennifer’s and my heart stops. It’s her, standing with a young guy. Her eyes are focused on me as the young guy is talking, oblivious to her lack of interest. At first glance I was jealous, but with the way she is staring at me, I know I have nothing to worry about. I smirk and walk to my car.

An hour later we arrive back home, and the boys start arriving individually. James arrives first, bringing beer, and we start prepping the sports room as Joshua arrives. The girls’ table is set up for toys and drawing, and the coffee table is cleaned and ready for snacks.

“Hello.”

“Come in,” I call out to Joshua.

I leave the room to meet him in the hallway. He’s carrying a bottle of scotch, which he thrusts in my direction. I take it from him and laugh. “The hard stuff.”

“Damn straight,” he replies.

We move to the kitchen, and I put the scotch away for later. It has been quite a few weeks since we have caught up for a football game; usually, we meet at a sports bar or restaurant. I start gathering up the snacks I bought.

“Let me help you,” Joshua says.

“Thanks. Where is Ben?” I say. We drop the snacks in the living room where the girls are playing and talking to James.

“He has a game.” I nod. He may have told me but I’m preoccupied with a few things on my plate at the moment.

“Let’s go, boys. The game is about to start,” James calls out.

I hand James and Joshua each a beer, and everyone takes a seat. As soon as the game starts, I remember that less than twenty-four hours ago, I was on this very same couch with Jennifer cuddled up beside me. I had the best night, having her in my arms, wrapped around me in bed. The intimacy and sex were better than I could have ever anticipated. Her body is so responsive to me; I want to hear her moan and feel her writhe under my body again. I can’t wait to have another night with her.

“Come on, man; that was a shit pass!” James takes a seat on the edge of the couch, screaming at the television.

“Bullshit,” Joshua spits.

“Little ears.” I point down to the girls in front of us who are drawing on the table.

“Sorry, girls.” Joshua winces.

I check the time, knowing it’s close to the girls' dinnertime. “I’ll order the pizza. Does anyone have any preferences?” I ask.

“I’m easy. I’ll eat anything,” James replies.

Looking over in the direction of Joshua, who is staring at the TV, not listening, I shrug. I get up before halftime is over and order a few types of pizzas.

The pizzas arrive and we eat a lot of it, the girls picking at a slice each. After the game is over, I get the girls bathed and in bed, then rejoin the boys back in the living room. They are now watching a basketball game but not as engrossed as football.

“They have gone to sleep, so are you boys ready to play some cards?” I ask.

“Yeah, let’s go. I’m ready to win some money.” James rubs his hands together and grins.

Joshua rolls his eyes. “Sure, but you will need to beat Tom first.”

James raises his eyebrow, a smug grin on his face.

“I will get the cards. I can grab another round of beers too,” I say.

“I’ll come help.” James jumps up.

I pull open my kitchen drawer to find a deck of cards while James walks to the fridge to pull out three cold beers.

We wander back and sit around the table. James sets the beers down.

I hand James the deck, knowing full well the control freak needs to deal. “Thanks. Poker?” He pops a brow. I nod, watching as he shuffles the pack an even number of times. Control freak—like I said.

He deals out the cards and we begin. “So Jen stayed over last night.”

Joshua spits out his beer in a cough. “Give some warning before you blurt that shit out.”

I chuckle at Joshua’s reaction. “It’s not that exciting.”

“You said Jen stayed over and I'm assuming you two slept in the same room and did more than talk all night?” James’s smug grin and accusing eyes stare at me.

Actually, I can feel both sets of eyes staring at me.

Feeling my skin tingle and my face go hot, I say, “Yes, we did more than talk.”

James whistles. “Good on you; you deserve to be happy.”

“I agree,” Joshua says.

“How did the girls take it?” James asks, thankfully steering the conversation away from sex.

It’s my turn, and I put my cards down on the pack and sit back. “Lily was shocked but happy and Rose was ecstatic. She was hugging Jen, and it was adorable. But they didn’t know she stayed over; they thought she came for breakfast.”

“They’re good kids, Tom. I’m sure if you're happy they are happy,” James says.

I sit up and absorb what he said. I’m hopeful it wasn’t a one-off. I know I couldn’t keep going forward with the relationship if the girls didn’t accept her.

“Speaking of women, I need help.” Our eyes bulge out of the sockets as we look across at Joshua.

“Calm down; it’s not like that.” He scoffs, turning his head.

“I just need help dealing with Ava.”

“You can’t get rid of her; she is my assistant and I like her. What’s your issue?” I question angrily.

Joshua sighs. “She has no respect, and her attitude is disgusting.”

“Only to you.” I wink.

He rolls his eyes. “Her outfits are highly inappropriate—”

“If I have an issue with her outfit, I will let her know,” I cut him off.

“Boys, let’s change the subject. Clearly, we are wasting our time talking about this woman. I can tell you who was under me last night if you all want,” says James.

I shake my head. “Who isn’t under you is more like it.”

We all laugh out loud. I have a big shit-eating grin on my face. The boys know there is a slow progression between Jennifer and me, but I want to keep some aspects—like intimacy—private.

For the next hour, we play cards and drink way too much alcohol, and I win the money again, then I walk them out. “We can’t let it go so long next time. I missed this,” I tell them.

I clean up before I crawl into bed. As soon as my head hits the pillow, her scent hits me like a bus. The rich vanilla scent is becoming my favorite smell in the world. I sigh, missing her and knowing I can’t do anything about it right now, so I roll over and go to sleep.