A Thanksgiving Dilemma (Excerpt Only) - BWWM Romance

Chapter 2 - Brian

Brian felt a bit guilty about his obsession with his neighbor's place. He wondered if that was what kept him up past midnight now—his obsession or the guilt over his sudden fixation.

Either way, he'd pay for it soon—he'll have to start getting ready for work in about six hours, and lack of sleep wouldn't bide well for the day. He'd have to hit the caffeine hard.

He tossed again, shifting from his side to his back, hands behind his head as he stared at the ceiling in the dark, his mind still racing while he tried and failed to count sheep, his thoughts returning to the house next door.

He even went so far as to question his worldview, because he'd never been so intensely curious about what other people were doing before.

Still, he had noticed a few odd things about the place next to his, and that was reason enough; no one would blame him for being nosy.

First of all, instead of the girl who used to smile at him rather flirtatiously every now and then when they happened to run into each other, he was seeing another woman coming and going.

He hadn't seen the younger girl—what had she introduced herself as again? Tamara?—move out. Then again, she probably could've done it during the day when he was at work—the process would have only taken a few hours.

But he couldn't actually believe she'd just take off without saying anything to him, considering the way she used to look at him—she'd make sure to say goodbye, just as she'd insisted on saying hello.

Plus, he didn't feel like she was gone for good—something in his gut told him she still lived there.

In that case, were the two ladies related? Was he being racist in thinking so? Both women were brown-skinned, and he thought he saw a slight resemblance, but the glimpse he'd gotten of the new girl had been too quick to really see her features, and he hadn't seen her from up close.

He eventually realized that his curiosity about the place next door had skyrocketed once the new woman suddenly appeared. Something about the way she moved caught his interest, and even though he hadn't seen her much, her presence called to him in a way that had never happened with Tamara.

But was that all there was to his sudden obsession? Some sort of carnal interest? Or was it something else? Something less pleasant?

Come on, Brian—it's not like you suspect something shady is happening.

But wasn't he? He'd been wondering what the second girl's business was there.

Still, wasn't he just being a good neighbor? An alert neighbor? Had the situation been reversed, wouldn't he have expected Tamara to do the same and at least notice if strangers were at his place without him being there? Of course she would've—who wouldn't take note of such a thing?

Brian figured he might not even have paid so much attention to the goings-on at the place next door if Tamara hadn't made him notice her to begin with. It made all the difference in the world that she had made her presence known to him; she'd invited him into her life with her smile.

She'd made her comings-and-goings part of his consciousness by not just being open and neighborly, but flirty too, though she'd never gone further than her initial introduction to him. All they'd done was exchange names and small talk once, and since then, they'd only exchanged friendly smiles.

He enjoyed those innocent mini-moments of human connection, but Tamara never fired up his imagination in the way she probably wanted with that look in her eyes, despite being quite pretty.

Her bright smile was usually a welcome part of his long day, yet he was relieved she didn't try to make more of their interactions, that she hadn't attempted to take things a step further—not yet, anyway. Tamara just wasn't his type—all she brought out in him was a benign, warm feeling of acquaintance.