The Girl Next Door > jariana (COMPLETED)

nineteen

The house, if you wanted to call it that, was a set piece. It was something out of one of those decorator magazines plantation style with dark hues and green leafy plants everywhere. The beamed ceilings were at least 14 feet high and the floor plan was wide open. Justin led the way to a room that was as big as a 3-car garage. It had a pool table and a small movie theater like sitting area with an actual movie screen. Growing up in this town, I'd seen my share of nice homes, but this home was definitely the most impressive of them all.

I leaned against the pool table and Justin stepped over standing directly in front of me. He moved in closer to where his hips pressed against mine and he wrapped his hands around my waist. "Let's walk to the beach."

His eyes were tender and penetrating, they made my blood rush. "Um, I'd feel weird leaving the girls here." I hedged, my inner baby started to fuss. I glanced around not knowing what to do with myself. I changed the subject. "So, who lives here?"

Justin nodded slowly at me, conscious of my detour. I was thankful he didn't call me out on it. "Alright, let's warm up this pool table then," he said kindly, slapping it. "And as for who lives here, Brandon and Sarah Miller do. Brandon's a senior volley guy and Sarah is in Nadine's class."

He moved away from me, running his hand along the emerald green felt of the pool table as he walked to the other side. He bent down gathering the brightly colored balls. I decided to look for pool cues. At least I knew how to play pool and wouldn't embarrass myself. My eyes swept the room, spotting Rachel and Mike and the rest of their crew coming toward us, and my stomach fell to my ass. They looked like the cast of some TV show. Perfect, flawless and arrogant. Shit, where were Nadine and Nicole? - I frantically looked around for them. Nadine was the only one I saw and she was all the way on the other side of the room, enjoying her own spot light. I turned looking in the other direction and my eyeballs slammed into Rachel, standing next to me.

"Hi, so, you're Ariana, Justin's next door neighbor right?" She asked in a callous tone like she'd forgotten she'd met me earlier at Justin's house.

She held her hand out in some lame gesture, which prompted me to take it in mine. I looked her straight in the eyes, giving her limp, clammy hand a firm squeeze. "Yeah, nice to see you again."

I thought Rachel was pretty. It made me boil inside admitting it to myself. She had deep blue eyes and fair skin. She wore the same bright red lipstick that her friend, Sienna, wore. Rachel was drunk too and hung all over Mike. Mike wore a perturbed expression and kept pushing her away - I didn't think she noticed. He gave me a crooked smile, shrugging his shoulders. An apologetic expression stitched across his face. Rachel looked back and forth between the two of us, giving him an unexpected firm push, shoving him away.

"What the fuck man, are you making fun of me?" She swung at him and missed. She looked back at me swaying a bit, shaking her head. "The nerve. So where's Justy? Oh there he is." She paused, giving him a long stare. I could see her brain churning. "So you play pool? We should play teamsies. Mike and I against you and Justin, come on whad'ya say?"

Did I really have a choice? She strode away toward Justin, weaving like the snake that she was. This had to be the most insane moment of my life. Mike moved in uncomfortably closer to me. "You look different," he said in a low voice, smiling approvingly. "I like it."

I was shocked at his compliment. The only thing I'd ever heard come out of his mouth was derogatory remarks about Justin wanting to do me because I was a virgin.

"Thanks," I said looking up at him, checking out the scruff sprouting from his jawline. He was definitely good looking in his own scrappy-badass way.

"So, you and Justin official."

"What do you mean? Is that a question?"

"Not really. I guess it's more of a statement, but I want to hear it from you. You know a heart's been broken because of this," he informed quietly, not looking at me.