The Man Next Door

Chapter Two

The sun beat down on your face as you stretched out on the sand. It was so good to finally be at the beach.

The sound of waves crashing and seagulls ahead lulled you in and out of sleep, until Sara eventually nudged you, begging you to join her in the water.

You got up, brushing sand from your legs, when Joel caught your eye. He reclined back in a beach chair with his hands rested on his stomach. His bare torso had only gotten darker in the few hours you had been on the beach. His shorts sat low on his hips, and his stomach muscles peeked out in the shape of a v.

You were staring at him again.

You forced your gaze away from him and joined Sara in the water. The cold waves enveloped your body, cooling your skin off immediately. You half-listened to Sara tell you the latest drama with her and some boy she'd met at school, occasionally adding a "mhh" or "oh my god". You watched your father talk to Joel for a moment before he made his way into the water, joining you shortly after.

"Sorry Sara, your daddy is one stubborn man. Can't get him in the water."

She shrugged and let out a small laugh. "It's okay. If he doesn't want to, nobody on earth could make him." The three of you laughed and your dad wandered off to a nearby sandbar, leaving you and Sara alone again.

After being in the water for a while, you told Sara you were going up to the room to use the bathroom and asked if she needed anything while you were gone. "Ouu, can you make us one of those little square pizzas? That can be our lunch!" You nodded and gave her a thumbs up before heading back to the sand to dry off.

You grabbed a towel from your bag and wrapped it around yourself. Joel sat two chairs down from yours, and your couldn't help but feel like he was watching you. His sunglasses hid his eyes, so you couldn't tell anyways.

You made the journey up the pathway to your condo, and you finally made it inside, joining a few other people in an elevator. You pressed number 18, and the doors lurched closed.

You pulled out your phone for the first time today and scowled at the top notification.

Thomas
"You can't ignore me forever."

Anger rose in your chest, but you decided to do exactly that- ignore him.

The breakup was more than six months ago, and he refused to stop trying to get you back. It was easier to ignore him than to argue with him over and over again.

The elevator stopped on the eighteenth floor, and you stepped out, tossing your phone back into your bag.

You pushed the door open and draped the towel over one of the kitchen chairs. Kicking your flip flops off, you turned the oven on and waited for it to heat up.

Still a little wet, you decided to lean against the counter while you scrolled through your phone. You clicked on Tinder for the first time in weeks, just out of pure boredom.

And maybe to get Joel off your mind.

After a few minutes of mindless swiping, the oven beeped to signal it was ready. After you put a timer on your phone and shut the pizza in the oven, you made your way to the bathroom.

You looked at your appearance in the mirror. Your skin was sunkissed, and your cheeks and forehead were slightly colored pink. You grabbed the bottle of sunscreen that sat on the counter and rubbed your face and body with the cold lotion. Your hair was a curly mess from being wet, so you tied it into a bun on the top of your head, not really caring that it wasn't perfect. You flicked the light off and made your way to check on the pizza.

Just as you rounded the corner, your heart stopped when you saw a man standing in the kitchen with his back facing you.

Joel.

Your heart pounded so hard that you were sure Joel could've heard it. He was washing something in the sink, so he didn't hear you until you cleared your throat. His head jerked up, and his eyes instantly seared into your skin. He looked at you for what seemed like an eternity, and you for a moment you felt naked.

It wasn't a super provocative bikini, but you definitely looked good in it. You were suddenly very aware of how little clothing you were wearing.

"Wanted some lunch. Didn't want to bother you." His voice was gruff, strained almost. His Texan accent was thicker than molasses.

"Oh, um, ok. Im making a pizza if you want some."

He waved a hand at you dismissively. "No, you girls can have it." He'd put his shirt back on before he came up from the beach, and you found yourself wishing he'd kept it off.

He started cutting the fruit he washed and without looking up, he mumbled, gesturing towards you. "Like that bathing suit."

Again, your heart hammered in your chest. Unsure of what to say, you just stared at him. His eyes went wide and he stopped cutting the strawberries. "Not- didn't mean it like that. Just- like the colors 'n all."

You had to remind yourself to breathe. "Oh, thanks." Why couldn't you compose a sentence around him?

To your relief, the timer on your phone went off, and you jumped, happy to have an excuse to do something besides awkwardly stand in front of him.

You pulled the pizza from the oven and set it on the counter. You searched for a knife, and just like he could read your mind, Joel pointed to the drawer next to the fridge. "In there."

You mumbled a thank you, and cut the pizza up while he grabbed a beer from the refrigerator. "Want one?" You nodded. "Sure, thank you." You'd been alone with Joel plenty of times. But this, this felt different.

He handed you a bottle after taking the cap off for you, his eyes not leaving you once. His fingers brushed against yours, and you couldn't help but feel like it was intentional. You sipped the beer, hoping it would calm your nerves.

"So," he cleared his throat, "how you been?"

Another sip of beer. "Good. Happy to be done with school. I missed my dad, so it's nice to be home."

Joel nodded. "What you study again?"

"Veterinary science."

The smallest hint of a smile crept up on his face. "'s right. You always did love animals."

You took a long sip, watching his hands as he looked out the window onto the beach. After a moment, he got up and walked over to you. You stood, frozen, unsure of what to do.

"'Scuse me darlin." He motioned to the cabinet behind you, and you jumped out of the way. "Sorry." He tossed his beer in the trash.

"I'm goin back down. See you."

You couldn't blame what you did next on the beer- one beer wasn't enough to make you make crazy decisions. You just knew you wanted to act on this impulse.

"Wait!" You exclaimed just as he touched the handle. He turned around with a puzzled look on his face. Your pulse raced, knowing what you were about to do. You rushed towards him, grabbing his face in your hands.

Your lips crashed, and his body softened, grabbing you back. Your skin was on fire. The kiss was rough, pleading almost. Your hands excitedly explored his chest and-

The telltale sound of a key being inserted into the door made you jump apart, heart racing, but this time in fear.

You jumped back from him and pretended to busy yourself with something. Joel, however, barley moved. Instead he casually grabbed another beer from the refrigerator just as his daughter walked in.

"There you two are!" She looked at you. "Hurry up slowpoke! I'm starving."

Relieved for not getting caught, you started to catch your breath. You quickly gathered up your belongings and the pizza, and you and Sara went to leave.

Sara stopped before opening the door. "You coming dad?"

He shook his head. "In a minute. You girls go ahead." She shrugged and dragged you back out to the beach.

She had no clue you'd just kissed her father.