The Hot Guy Next Door

I stare in front of my house and, holding my box of books, raise my eyes once again to the Phoenix sun as if I am saying goodbye to it and I am. My mother shouts from the car:

''Let's go, honey!''

I look at her standing there at the wheel looking back at me, as the wind whips her hair into her face. Even the wind from here I'm going to miss. But it's not only because of that that I'm not so excited about leaving here.

We are going to New York City for my mom's new job. A friend called a few weeks ago asking if she was still interested in fulfilling a dream they had since they were teenagers, which was to open their law firm.

My mother is a public defender in Phoenix, but that was never really her life's dream. She wanted to have her own office and with the help of her friend Jenna, now we are heading to New York and leaving everything behind.

Not that we have that many things, it's just me and my mother, my father divorced her when I was five, I am now seventeen and remember very little about him except that he always gives me presents on my birthday and that he always calls me on special dates.

I won't blame him and say that I grew up a little girl without love and affection because my mother knew how to provide all this very well, so we are inseparable and it's even worth all this sacrifice of leaving everyone I've known since I was a little girl, to move to a new school and a city where I know absolutely nobody.

...

Jenna greets us as soon as we arrive at the airport. She looks at me, hugs me, and says:

''Samantha, you have grown up!''

I like Jenna; she is always upbeat. We head toward the house she has arranged for us to rent while we settle in.

She keeps talking to my mom and helping with the bags; I grab mine and head for the stairs, where Jenna says the bedrooms are. She warns me that the first room after the stairs is mine, that's all I need to hear.

The house is all furnished and I see it has a very cute garden. Maybe I will like it here. The first thing I do as soon as I unpack my bags is to send a message to Haylie:

"It's not as bad as I thought, but I miss you."

"XO."

Haylie is my best friend, and we cried rivers when we said goodbye, but a promise remained that she will come to visit us on vacation and that makes me feel better. She quickly answers me:

"I miss you too!"

''I hope you have fun, even without me ;). ''

"XO"

I end up laughing as I read that Haylie is so silly. I hear a car approaching the house next door and I look out the window. The car enters the garage and I can only see flashes of what seems to be a man, I can't see much when I try to get closer to the window so I can see better, my mother appears at my bedroom door is half open and smiles saying:

''Would you like something to eat, Sam?''

I end up going towards him, forgetting all about before.

...

We are sitting at the kitchen table, while Jenna and my mom make plans for Monday. Since it's vacation time, I won't be worrying about classes for a while, but Jenna has already talked to the principal of a school here, and then we'll go there to finish my registration.

The school, according to Jenna, is not too far from our neighborhood and I can go by a school bus if I want, or my mom can drive me when I go to the office, but I don't want to think about that right now.

Jenna says goodbye and I end up going to my room right after dinner. Our trip was tiring and I just want to sleep.

...

As I enter my room, I notice that in front of my window there is a light on in the neighboring house. It must be someone's room. When I come back from the bathroom after brushing my teeth, I notice that someone is coming out the back door of that house. It is a man, the one I saw earlier today, arriving by car.

He leaves with his back turned and I see he is talking on the phone. Even with his back to me, he looks cat-like. I strategically position myself so as not to be caught looking, and then he turns around and faces me. And Oh My God! He is hot. I end up smiling to myself. At least I will have a privileged view.

Minutes later, when he has driven back to the house and I am getting ready to close the window and go to bed, I see he is driving away. The car stops for a moment and I instinctively lean out the window. But the car drives on, I concentrate again on my tiredness and close the windows to get into bed as quickly as possible.

...

It is Saturday morning; I wake up and have breakfast with my mom. Jenna again comes to our house and the two of them go to an office that is next to the living room, to sort out some work papers. I prefer to go to the backyard and sunbathe by the pool.

Not that the sun here is strong, but it is better than staying indoors all day.

...

I prepare something for our lunch which Jenna compliments, making me happy. They return once more to the home office and then decide to see the place where the office where they will work will be.

My mom asks me to stay home and lock all the doors because they will be gone all afternoon. Jenna says that the neighborhood is quiet, and she lives only a few houses away, but my mom wants me to be okay, anyway. I tell her not to worry and spend the rest of the afternoon watching TV shows on the TV in the living room.

...

She arrives in the evening all excited about the place where she is going to work; I am happy that she is enjoying it; I am bored with it here. Right after dinner, I go to my room. I put on my pajamas and turn on the TV, I'm not paying much attention to the movie that is playing, because I have a cell phone in my hands in the meantime. I wake up and look at the cell phone clock, it's two o'clock in the morning.

I decide to open the window, because it is kind of hot in here, or maybe it is just the fact that I still think I am in Arizona.

After a while, I go downstairs to get some water in the kitchen. When I return I see that there is a light in the next room and the window is half open. Just as I am about to close my window I see... That guy standing holding a girl and they are...

Without clothes? Is that right? No! They are not only without clothes, but they are also...

Having sex?

I stand paralyzed at the window because even if his back is turned, I blush immediately and don't know what to do. So I just watch. Suddenly, he turns around and I almost have a heart attack.

I quickly get down and close the window. I am screwed!

I don't know how I could sleep after that. I don't know if he saw me; I pray to heaven he didn't. My mother is already in the living room when I go downstairs for breakfast. I'm still in my pajamas, some short black shorts, and a ladybug print t-shirt. Okay, I know it's childish, but it was a gift from my mother and I think it's cute. The doorbell rings and she asks me to answer it:

''That must be Jenna, I'm waiting for her.''

I go to the door, but when I open it, it is not Jenna who is there but him, our neighbor. Do you know that feeling that the world is going to fall apart in your head? Well, I'm feeling that way right now. And if it wasn't because he is going to break up with me now, I would even say that he is one of the cutest guys I have ever seen in my life. He looks at me while I am staring at him with my fear stamped on my face.

He runs his eyes down my body and I swear I saw a very sexy half smile at the corner of his mouth. He then asks:

''Is your mother here?''

I am...

Definitely...

In trouble.

He came to talk about my indiscretion last night. I close my eyes and swear I am already thinking of several ways to stop him from talking to my mother. Then I realize she approaches him and says:

''What is taking you guys so long...?''

She can't finish the question, because she sees that it's not Jenna who is standing there smiling in a way that makes my stomach chill, right there at the front door. She looks at him and then at me and just as he is about to say something, Jenna comes in and says:

''Stan?''

She greets him with a hug and a kiss on the cheek and apologizes for being late. She turns to my mother and says:

''This is Jeremy Stan.''

He greets my mother, while Jenna says that his company wants to hire their service. My mother gives him a big smile when she hears this and asks him to come in. I'm still standing here as they walk past me. He looks at me once more with that half smile in disguise and my mom looks at me who is paralyzed and says:

''Go change your clothes, Samantha!''

Then I realize how I am dressing and climb the steps as fast as I can. I change, begging heaven that he doesn't even realize what I saw yesterday, that he's just here to talk business.

...

I don't care if they are in the home office; I need to eat something. I go downstairs with as little noise as possible and go to the kitchen. Minutes later I have finished my coffee and they are leaving the office with some papers in hand. They are talking about things that I am not interested in.

Then I realize, that maybe he didn't see me yesterday. My mother goes back to the office because she forgot something and Jenna goes to the kitchen to get a glass of water. She walks past me and turns to Stan and says:

''Oh, this is Samantha, Lauren's daughter.''

He smiles and holds out his hand, which I hold loosely. He is still looking at me and I am doing the same. My mother calls Jenna over to help her look for a piece of paper that she doesn't know where it is. Jenna asks him to wait for a second, she'll be right back. He smiles and I'm sure he accomplishes a lot with that smile.

I am still standing by the island, while he just looks at me like that again and I can only think of the image of him as he looked yesterday: naked. I hold my breath and he laughs. It's as if he can read my mind. But he says nothing. He certainly didn't see me and I felt less apprehensive. I follow his gaze as he looks around the house. He seems to like the decor. After a while he says:

''Your eyes.''

I am startled by the random comment, so I question it:

''What about them?''

He comes closer, standing very close to me. He comes around my body and stands behind me. I can tell I'm holding my breath again. He moves even closer, getting close to my ear, and says:

''It's almost as if you were awake at dawn.''

He knows! Damn it, he knows it was me! He's going to tell her, he's going to tell my mom, I'm in the hands of this guy I don't even know. He walks away slowly still looking me in the eye, biting back that smile of second thoughts again. I hear my mom and Jenna coming back into the room and breathe a sigh of relief again.

Jenna calls him to accompany her and my mother comes over, kisses me, and says that she is going to the new office headquarters and will be right back. So I finally breathe a sigh of relief.

But what was that?

That's the only thing I can think of after they leave.