The Neighbor

Chapter 1

 I...screwed...up. And all for a guy. A stupid...sexy...HORRIBLE...guy! I mean how can I live through this? How did I end up here? It's like I forgot everything I stood for. Who am I? I deserve everything I get, because that's what you get for falling in love with a handsome devil.

-One year earlier-

 Life. Is. Good. Everything is just perfect right now! Not only am I two semesters away from my senior year of college, but I, Isabella Adams, am FINALLY on my own. I am out of my parent's house and in my own apartment right off campus. You would not believe how long it took for me to finally convince them that I need an apartment of my own. I mean I am almost twenty-two for crying out loud! But I guess that's what you get when you are raised up in a Christian household like my own. My parents are the types that would chaperone my dates...if I even had one, which was very rarely, and they were the ones that always sent me to Christian private schools, all the way from preschool through high school. It took me almost the whole summer leading up to my freshman year of college, just to convince them to let me go to a university of my choice. I mean what could possibly go wrong? I was never the party, sex, drugs, and alcohol type of girl anyways, and I don't plan on ever being that type. I mean why get high on weed, when you can get high on Jesus? Am I right?!

 But really, that whole party scene is not for me. I guess my parents taught me well to know that all that partying is bad, and if you have sex before marriage, well, you will end up with unwanted babies, or an STD. And that is one word that would probably make any sex addict want to become a virgin again. And a virgin is what I shall stay until I marry the man of my dreams, wherever he may be.

 On the bright side, I am now out from under my parent's wings and on my own; free to make my own choices, while still sticking true to my values.

"...And that, ladies and gentlemen, is what happens when liquid nitrogen is at its boiling point, negative two hundred degrees Celsius!" explained my professor, Mr. Latler.

 He had just finished showing an awesome demonstration in my physics class when I got a text from my mom, again, checking in on me for the ten thousandth time. I sighed and texted her back the same thing I have been the past few hundred times; "I am doing well. Classes are fine. Apartment life is fine. God is still in my life." And sometimes to ease their worry I throw in the "I'm still a virgin" card. I may be on my own now, but it's like they are still right over my shoulder, watching my every move wherever I go. I love them, but sometimes they have got to take a chill pill!

"Hey Bell!" I looked up from my phone and saw my friend, and roommate, Marilyn, waving at me frantically from the end of the hall.

"Hey Mari," I replied when I approached her, "What's up?"

"You will NOT believe the news I am about to tell you!" She answered, jumping up and down like a little kid at a candy store. I took her hand and walked her over to a nearby bench.

"What is it?" I asked. Even sitting she was bouncing up and down.

"We have a new neighbor!" She said with excitement. I wondered how she could possibly be excited about a new neighbor; unless...

I shook my head and held on to that thought, waiting for her to tell me about it herself.

"And?" I asked her, starting to get antsy myself.

"Bell, you are going to DIE when I tell you this! I mean just wait 'til you...AHHH! Okay so..." She went on with her story of how during her three hour break between classes, she went back to the apartment to chill and work on some homework, when she saw from across the balcony a tall, dark and handsome...her word there was "sexy"...guy moving in next door.

"...He just has the hottest body ever! And his abs...mmmm! I would bake cookies on those things!" Her drooling over an apparent hot stranger went on for about five minutes.

"And his eyes...! Gosh! They are so beautiful! Like an ocean blue color, mixed with a hint of green!" she said, ending her little rant of our new neighbor.

"How exactly do you know what color his eyes are?" I asked.

"Well, I uhh...I kind of got caught looking at him, and when he looked up at me I was able to see them. They look so pretty in the sun! OH! And when he caught me staring, he didn't seem creeped out at all. He actually smiled at me, like the crooked, sexy smile."

I rolled my eyes at her. "You are too boy crazy. How I am able to put up with you like this, I will never know." I replied to her, jokingly.

"It's because you love me, and you know your life would be completely boring without me in it." She answered back with a wide grin.

"Haha, okay...whatever you say." I said, rolling my eyes.

"I'm being for reals though Bells! Once you take one look at him, you will want to be all over that boy! Your hormones will be going crazy!" I shushed her and pushed her arm playfully as I felt my face turn tomato red. I had never laid eyes on someone that attractive before, but if she says so, then I trust her. She has never let me down before about anything.

 I snapped out of my thoughts and entered back into the world of reality. Looking down at my phone to check the time, I stood up and stretched.

"Come on crazy," I said, holding my hand out to Marilyn, "We have class to attend to."

 It felt like this class dragged on forever. Marilyn was back to her normal, calm self, but I on the other hand was getting impatient. I just wanted to go home already. Ever since she told me about our new neighbor, I wanted to see him for myself. I checked my phone to see the time; just ten more minutes, ten more minutes left of a teacher droning on and on about something off topic. Ten more minutes until I got to see the attractive-sounding guy from next door.

 As soon as we got back to the apartment, I quickly walked into my room to put my stuff up, not wanting to seem like what Marilyn told me earlier interested me too much. In truth though, I was very interested. I may be a Christian, but I am still a girl; still human, still have needs, but would this be the boy to fulfill them?

 I casually walked over to the balcony door and peered out the window. I scanned the building that our new neighbor dwelled, and caught movement on the second floor balcony, right across from ours. Out stepped one of the most attractive men I had ever laid eyes on. He was like a god, if gods ever existed. His buff, muscular body and washboard abs made me weak at the knees. His dark, clean-cut, neck-length hair seemed to shine in the sun. And as if he felt eyes on him, he peered over at me looking through the blinds. My eyes widened and before I got a chance to see the color of his eyes, I quickly backed away from the window. Slowly turning towards the awaiting Marilyn, I couldn't even utter out a word. It's like this beautiful stranger paralyzed me, without actual physical contact.

 Marilyn was smirking and had her 'I told you so' face on. "Was I right or what?" She asked me. Still without speaking, I slowly nodded my head.

 Satisfied with herself, she turned and skipped away to her room, leaving me, speechless and unmoving, to hang out with my own thoughts.

 How could a guy look like that? It should be illegal to look that handsome...no...SEXY! But would a guy like him, fall for a girl like me? Do I even want to date someone right now, especially someone my parents may not approve of? Absolutely. He could either be good for me, or not. Either way, I want to at least try. Just in that one look, I felt some sort of connection. As long as I don't change myself, or forget who I am, it can't hurt...right?

 After a few minutes of pondering and thinking about what—or who—I want, I headed to my room to get started on my homework. If I can't find out a solution to this problem, I might as well help Math find its 'x.'