Becoming Jace (Rooter's side of the story)

The Beginning

Don't look, man. Just don't look.

Do. Not. Look.

Shit, I looked.

My heart races and I forget how to breathe. Mother of God, is this a gift or a punishment?

Sophie Holt hasn't a clue of the danger she's in. Lounging around in a skimpy neon yellow bikini in my presence is a bad, bad idea. I've done my best to keep my distance, but I'm hanging by a thread here.

Look away, Rooter.

Look. Away.

Now.

I squeeze my eyes shut, but the damage is done. The image is scorched into my memory. I'll never survive another summer of this torment.

I remove my helmet and climb off my Harley. With my eyes pinned to my back door, I hurry to my house. I open the back door and Dopey, my pit-bull, bounds out of the house and sprints for the overgrown tree in the backyard.

The urge to look Sophie's way is intense.

I could sneak a peek. She'd never know with my sunglasses on.

But getting caught isn't the problem. My utter lack of self-control is. I've only a scant amount of restraint as it is. Every time I look at her, a little more crumbles away.

But I'm weak. With my body facing the street I glance at her through the corner of my eye. I'm instantly consumed by desire to be near her, to touch her. Her long brown hair is pulled into a ponytail, revealing a slender, elongated neck. She has strong, feminine shoulders, and those legs... so long and lean.

What would it feel like to have them wrapped...

Dopey jumps on me breaking my trance. I stumble sideways with a laugh as he nudges his ball into my hand. As I throw the ball, I see Sophie smiling in my peripheral.

That damn smile... those dimples make me weak in the knees.

It's legendary.

She is legendary.

I want Sophie.

So. Very. Bad.

More than I've ever wanted anything.

Typically, I'm not one to deny myself anything. If I want something, I make it mine.

But I'm also the kind of guy who tries to do the right thing.

It's a tale as old as time. Bad boy meets good girl. Bad boy tries to be better for good girl. Bad boy fails and ruins good girl's life. Bad boy loses good girl and becomes the worst version of himself. Except this isn't fiction. This is real life. Nothing good ever comes of a bad boy, good girl relationship. The odds of us riding off into the sunset living happily ever after are nil. I'd surely ruin Sophie's life. That knowledge is the only thing keeping me away.

But her presence calls to me in a way I've never experienced with any other girl. Sophie emanates a sweet, serene, pure energy that draws me to her. I've felt it since the moment I first laid eyes on her three years ago. It's only gotten stronger. I fear I won't be able to fight it much longer.

The problem is, she's my next door neighbor. I see her almost every day. Over the past three years, I've spent countless hours watching her from my windows. And she watches me. If I'm outside when she's home, I almost always catch her checking me out from her bedroom or dining room window. When she sits on her bed studying at night, she spends more time looking at my bedroom window than at her books.