13. Bad Neighbor

Chapter 13

Bad Neighbor

Noah

I couldn’t remember the last time I’d slept so well with another person in bed with me. As a rule, I didn’t do sleepovers unless a lot of alcohol was involved, but after the amazing date and sex with Jade, I threw that rule out the window.

The warmth of her body against mine and the way she fit so perfectly in my arms felt right. Plus, we’d started watching a movie, and it had been too comfortable with her curled up against me to even think about leaving. And she hadn’t asked me to.

A heaviness across my chest and stomach pulled me out of my post-sex coma. Jade’s hair brushed across my skin, and I smiled, loving the feel of her silky strands. This was domestic bliss, and I found myself craving more of it .

Domestic bliss? What the fuck? The sex must have scrambled my brains.

I cracked my eyes open, expecting to see Jade’s brown hair fanned across my chest, but instead, found Captain staring back at me. I startled, but he didn’t move an inch besides his fluffy tail swishing a little too close to where no cat tail should swish.

The damn cat almost violating my manhood was not the way I wanted to start my morning.

“Um... hi?” I turned my head to find Jade, so she could get her beast of a cat off me, but the bed was empty. “Do you mind, buddy?”

Captain lifted a front paw, licking it as if he were saying, “Nope, not at all.”

“This is quite the intimidation tactic.” I reached up to scratch behind his ear, and his eyes closed. He was kind of growing on me. “I guess I should feel honored that you deem me worthy of being your throne.”

Captain purred, leaning into my touch. I glanced around the room, noticing the bathroom door was shut. As much as I didn’t want to admit it to myself, it was a little disheartening to wake up to a cat instead of Jade.

I carefully shifted the cat off my chest so I could sit up. “I don’t suppose you have any advice on how to navigate the morning after with your mom, do you?”

Captain meowed in response before walking to the end of the bed and sitting at attention. I had no clue why he’d chosen to sit on me when he could have perched anywhere else on the bed while waiting for Jade to come out of the bathroom .

Was I just supposed to wait in bed for her? Maybe she’d just woken up before me and was taking care of business.

As if on cue, the bathroom door opened, and Jade stepped out, fully dressed in a tank top and jean shorts. Her hair was in some kind of fancy braid that fell over her shoulder, and her face was devoid of any makeup. How was it possible for someone to be so beautiful without even trying?

Jesus, I was so far gone for this woman.

“Morning.” I couldn’t quite tell how she was feeling as she walked to the end of the bed and picked up Captain, hugging him against her chest. “How’d you sleep?”

Really, Noah? Might as well talk about the weather.

“Fine. I hope Captain didn’t wake you. He can be quite demanding in the mornings.” She rubbed her cheek against the top of his head.

Was I jealous of a cat? Maybe.

Okay, definitely jealous of the cat. This was getting pathetic.

“He almost swished my dick with his tail, and I’m pretty sure my abs now smell like cat ass.” I swung my legs over the side of the bed and stood, stretching.

Captain meowed, and Jade put him back on the bed, barely sparing me a glance despite my nakedness. She seemed aloof, like she’d rather be anywhere else. Had I misread the entire situation? Had something changed since last night? Or was I just being paranoid?

“So…” I picked my boxers and basketball shorts up off the floor and pulled them out of the tangle they were in. “Are we just going to pretend last night didn’t happen?”

She finally looked at me with a guarded expression. “We don’t need to make a big deal out of it. It was just a bit of fun, right?”

Ouch. Her words stung more than I cared to admit. Was this what all of my one-night stands and flings felt like when I turned them away the morning after?

“Right.” I forced a smile, stepping into my shorts. “Just a bit of fun.”

An awkward silence fell between us, and Captain hopped off the bed and strolled out of the room. Great, now even the cat could sense the shift in the mood.

I sat down on the edge of the bed and patted the space beside me. “Come here.”

She hesitated for a moment before joining me, tucking a leg in front of her and sitting sideways to face me. Since she seemed at a complete loss for what to say, I was going to have to be the one to talk. I needed to know where her head was at.

I put my hand on her bare ankle, turning to face her. “Last night was amazing. I’m not such a bad neighbor, am I?”

Jade let out a small laugh, shaking her head. “No.”

Despite her smile, her eyes held a hint of uncertainty. Had I imagined her saying she liked me too? I knew she’d wanted to go slow, but she’d been the one to invite me over.

I tilted her chin up to meet my gaze. “What’s wrong?”

She sighed, her shoulders slumping. “It’s nothing. A lot on my mind, I guess.”

Taking her hand in mine, I studied her face, searching for any clues as to what was truly going on inside her head. “I like you; you like me. No need to overthink things.” Please don’t push me away.

“This was not taking things slow, and that’s entirely my fault.” She bit her lip, looking down at our joined hands. “I don’t know if I’m ready for something more than just casual.”

This weird pit opened up in my stomach. Apparently, we weren’t on the same page. “So, what? You just want to…”

“I think it’s best if we stay friends, but I wouldn’t be opposed to more... you know, sex.” Her words hit me like a punch to the gut. Wasn’t this what she’d been afraid of? That I would only want her for her body, nothing more?

“Hold on.” I tried to keep my voice even, despite the hurt welling up inside me. “Weren’t you scared of me doing this to you?”

Friends with benefits was a messy situation, and with the way I already was feeling, I didn’t know if I could do it. I must have been the first man in the history of men to consider saying no to such a proposal. But if I agreed, I’d be setting myself up for heartbreak. No matter how amazing the sex was, it would never be enough. I wanted all of her.

“This is different.”

My frustration growing, I shook my head, not buying it for a second. “I don’t see how. You can’t have it both ways, Jade.”

“Both ways?”

“Fake dating and friends with benefits? Maybe I don’t want that.” I stood, running a hand through my hair. My heart was getting too invested, and I needed to create some distance before I said something I regretted. “I need to think about this. I can’t just pretend like last night didn’t mean anything to me.”

Jade’s eyes widened, a flicker of regret crossing her features. “I’m sorry, I?—”

“Never apologize for expressing what you want. I respect your honesty, even if it’s not what I wanted to hear.” I was a fool to think someone of her caliber would want me for more than just sex.

It figured the first time I actually wanted to be serious with a woman, she’d give me a taste of my own medicine.

I headed into the bathroom, needing a minute to process everything. Closing the door behind me, I leaned against it, running my hands over my face. How had things gone so wrong so fast? Just last night, we were basking in the afterglow, and now it felt like she was slipping through my fingers.

I pushed off the door and went to the sink to splash some water on my face, trying to clear my head. Part of me wanted to march right back out there and lay all my cards on the table. But the other part knew that would be a mistake. She had made her stance clear; she wanted casual, and pushing for more would likely push her away completely.

With a heavy sigh, I accepted that, for now, I’d have to settle for whatever she was willing to give me. Being friends with benefits was better than losing her entirely. Even if it did end up shredding my heart into pieces.

Me: Hey, stranger. I’m having my brothers over on Labor Day. You should come by. I’m cooking ribs and we’ll be swimming.

Jade: I don’t know if that’s a good idea.

Me: Sure it is. My ribs are amazing.

Jade: I meant me coming over with your brothers there.

Me: Gabe is bringing his girlfriend. You two will get along great, given your chosen professions.

Jade: What do you mean?

Me: You’ll see. I can’t reveal others’ secrets. *smirking face emoji*

Jade: I’ll think about it.

After reading the texts from a few days ago for the hundredth time, I set my phone back down on my patio table. I was still unsure if I should text her to see if she was coming. I’d left her alone the entire week, until Lex had convinced me on Friday to invite her over.

Her noncommittal response stung, but I tried not to read too much into it. Following our awkward morning after, and my indecision about whether I wanted to be friends with benefits, I could understand her hesitation.

Man, rejection sucked.

A bark came from the side of my house, and then my brother’s dog, Honeybun, appeared. I got to my feet, surprised as the dog headed straight for the pool, with the leash dragging behind her, and jumped right in.

“Honeybun!” my niece, Delaney, squealed as she ran after her dog, stopping a few feet from the water. “Come here!”

The change in the five-year-old was still shocking, since just a few months earlier, she’d been anxious to leave her house, and when she did, it was always clinging to her dad. Seeing her come out of her shell filled me with pride.

“I guess that answers the question if the dog can swim.” Gabriel stepped onto the patio, his girlfriend, Josie, at his side. “Where is Lex?”

“You’re super early. I said around four.” I squatted down as Delaney ran over for a hug, a dripping wet dog right behind her.”How’s my favorite niece?”

She giggled as I tickled her. “Uncle Noah! I’m your only niece!”

Gabriel grumbled about three-thirty being around four, and Josie playfully bumped him with her elbow, making him smile. I still couldn’t believe Mister Oh-My-God-There’s-a-Wrinkle-On-My-Shirt had gone and fallen for his nanny. Who would’ve thought my stuffy brother had it in him? But it wasn’t surprising, since Josie was one hell of a woman.

“Is there somewhere that Laney and I can change?” Josie held up a giant tote bag.

“Yeah, there’s a spare bedroom down the hall. Laney knows where it is.” I grabbed onto the dog’s leash, which was still attached, so she wouldn’t follow them inside.

Josie and Laney headed into the house, leaving me alone with Gabriel.

He raised an eyebrow at me. “What’s wrong? You look like that time Lex broke your Lego car that took you days to build.”

That was kind of what it felt like. “Are you in CEO mode or brother mode?”

Gabriel grabbed the leash from me and unhooked the dog. She took off back to the pool, cannonballing in, like she was born to be in the water. “I’m always in CEO mode, but I’ll make an exception, since I haven’t met my weekend fun quota yet. What’s going on?”

I put my hands on my hips and started to pace. “I went on a date with Jade. Like, a real one. Now she’s done a complete one-eighty and wants to friend-zone me with benefits.”

He went to my grill and lifted the lid to peek inside at the ribs. “Maybe she’s just not interested.”

“That’s not it. We had an amazing time together, and I know she felt it too. The next morning, she said it was ‘just a bit of fun,’ and she’s not ready for anything more than casual. The kicker is, she told me at dinner that she feared casual was all I wanted.”

Gabriel’s expression softened. He was definitely in brother mode and ignoring the fact that I hadn’t told Jade we should part ways after the football game. “I know it sucks when someone you like doesn’t want the same thing, but if you really care about her, you might need to be patient.”

“I’ve been nothing but patient with her.”

“I get it, but sometimes people have their reasons for holding back. Josie had all the reasons in the world to decide I wasn’t worth it, but she stuck it out. If Jade’s worth it to you, then give her some space and see what happens. Don’t push too hard, or you might push her away completely.” When had my brother gotten so wise when it came to women?

After considering his words, I knew he had a point. Jade had been through a lot in her past relationship and interactions with men, and I didn’t want to pressure her into something she wasn’t ready for .

I exhaled slowly, hating that he was right. Pushing Jade before she was ready could backfire spectacularly. “Thanks, man. I appreciate the advice.”

“Anytime.” Gabriel grinned and gave my shoulder a firm squeeze. “Now, let’s get this party started before Lex shows up and drinks all the beer.”

I managed a small smile, deciding to follow my brother’s advice for now. But if things didn’t progress with Jade, I might need to reevaluate the situation. I couldn’t stay in limbo forever.