Smokin' Hot

Chapter 1: Goodbyes

Aloha y'all!  I started this story last year on Quizilla (vintage222), but I realized I like Wattpad better.  So I'm going to try my best to finish the story on here!  Enjoy.

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“I’m gonna miss you guys so much” I wailed through sobs.

“I know! Me too!” Brooke sniffled.

“And me. Jenny it’s gonna be so hard without you there to keep the peace between me and Brooke.” Miles joked. He was too ‘macho’ to cry, but Brooke and I knew that he was hurting inside as much as we were.

I mean after all, I’ve been best friends with these two ever since they became my next-door neighbors 12 years ago. We went through so much together, Brooke, Miles and I. We were like the three musketeers, inseparable from the get-go.

And now the fact that they’re moving to Rhode Island because their dad who is in the Army got re-stationed is total bull. I mean this is the beginning of our senior year! Who moves to the other end of the country at the beginning of their senior year!?!

“You know guys,” Ben my brother came walking up to us, “even though you aren’t my best friends in the world, you were still like my family. Miles, you were the brother I never had, and Brooke, you were the sister I wish I had.”

That’s when I lost it. I started bawling uncontrollably and pulled them all into a massive group hug. I mean, even Ben was going to miss them like crazy, and Ben is the most emotionless being on the planet!

“Okay, okay, okay.” Brooke managed to choke out after five solid minutes of group hugging. “The longer we take to say our goodbyes the harder it’ll be for us to leave.”

“You’re *sniff* right *sniff* Brooke.” I agreed.

“But we’ll call you and text you and IM you every single day” Miles added as we walked to their car.

“You better!”

“Yeah, she’ll be an emotional wreck if you don’t, and I do NOT want to have to deal with that” Ben chuckled lightheartedly.

“We’re really gonna miss you Jenny” Brooke and Miles said in unison. That’s one thing that drove me nuts about those two. I know they’re twins and all, but did they really have to do the cliché ‘saying things in unison’ thing?

Then they hopped into their car while their parents loaded the last of the boxes. Mr. and Mrs. Carpenter came up to Ben and me and gave each of us a big fat bear hug, said their goodbyes to their ‘second set of children’ as they like to call us, and drove off.

I just stood there in our driveway, my vision foggy with tears, watching that silver Honda CRV disappear down the corner with a massive neon green moving truck following it.

I suddenly felt a hand on my shoulder. “C’mon Jenny, let’s go inside have a scary movie marathon” Ben said comfortingly. I just let him guide me inside silently, too depressed to say anything.

I must’ve fallen asleep some time during Saw IV because when I woke up I was still on the couch, surrounded with blankets, pillows, and Hershey’s Kiss wrappers (my favorite candy). I glanced at the clock and noticed it was already 2:15pm, holy crap I had slept in for half the day!

Just then, I was startled by the loud, high-pitched *beep, beep, beep* of a truck reversing, and the low growl of a hefty engine. “COME ON JEN, OUR NEW NEIGHBORS ARE HERE!” Ben shouted running past me.

I flinched when he said that, not because of the volume of his voice (although I thought they taught the difference between ‘indoor’ and ‘outdoor’ voice in like 1st grade) but because it really hurt to think that Brooke and Miles have been replaced so fast.

I mean, it hasn’t even been 24 hours, and we already have new neighbors.

I sighed and made my way outside where I was immediately met by the warm Oregon sun and the smell of my mother’s garden, freshly watered because I know for a fact that she waters them at 2pm every day.

Watering the garden used to be Brooke and my job when we were younger. We would be fascinated by all the types of plants and flowers my mom grew (she has quite the green thumb), while Miles and Ben were in charge of mowing the lawns.

I hadn’t noticed how much I was spacing out, but I was immediately snapped out of my moment of reminiscing when a car door slammed next to me.

I looked over and saw a tall boy walk around to the front door. I couldn’t quite see his face because he was carrying two huge moving boxes, but I did notice some nice tan biceps peeking out from underneath his white t-shirt.

My gaze traveled upward and I noticed his silky looking chocolate brown hair sweeping down and messily tousled, but very nice. He grunted as he managed to open the front door with his elbow (since he was carrying the moving boxes) and I couldn’t help but notice how deep and sexy his voice was. Which is kind of weird considering all he did was grunt, but hey I’m a teenage girl, majority of my population is just as boy-crazy.

I watched the boy disappear into the house. Brooke and Miles Carpenter’s house…...now officially his house. I sighed and sat down on the cute little porch swing my mother decorated to match her garden.

I found myself spacing out again as I swung back and forth, when that deep, sexy voice woke me up from my ‘trance’ again. “Jennifer?” I heard.

I stood up and whipped around to face the hottie, only when I saw him, I froze. It couldn’t be him. He left town four years ago! It couldn’t be. Then how does he know my name? Maybe he just got a lucky guess. Yeah, this couldn’t be him. He would never come back to this town, let alone talk to me. Plus, this guy is totally hot, has a kickin body, gorgeous face, and sexy voice, and he was the nerd of the school, scrawny, pale, and a total metal-mouth. This could NOT be the same boy.

I just kept standing there staring like that with a billion thoughts running through my head, and at a complete loss for words. Suddenly Ben comes up from behind me and stops short just like I did, staring at the new hottie. But I wish Ben hadn’t said what he said next, because those words were the last ones I wanted to hear right now.

“Matt! DUDE!” he exclaimed. “I can’t believe you’re back!” then he ran over to his old best friend, and they did their ‘guy handshake thing’ and walked back toward the moving van.

I stayed there completely frozen, mouth agape, eyes wide as saucers, staring at him while he walked away. I was so beyond screwed, because just then the realization hit me. I was neighbors with Matthew McClure, the one boy who I thought I’d never see again, who I prayed I’d never have to face again after what I’d done to him.

And to make matters even worse, he’s HOT AS HELL! As he walked away, he quickly gave me a glance back and a weak little smile, then turned back to the conversation he was having with Ben.

Oh God, what now.