JC inwardly cringed at the sight of his annoying neighbor.  It was like the devil and the angel.  One right next door and one right across the street.  Of course, he realized instantly it was a bad analogy.  Ellie surely wasn’t that good.  And he wouldn’t want her to be.  Gabby, on the other hand, she might as well be Lucifer himself.  In the female form, no doubt.

Today she-Satan was dressed provocatively as usual—skin tight jeans and a clingy red v-neck, it’s neckline plunging ridiculously low.  Funny as it might sound, she was wearing more clothes than usual.  He was guessing she was on her way out. 

When she got close enough she started to whisper, discreetly—but not really—looking past him towards Ellie’s house.  “I found out some dirt,” she said, raising her overly tweezed brow.  “Guess who her husband is.  Or should I say, was?”

He opened his mouth, the words ‘I don’t want to hear it’ stuck at the back of his throat before he had a chance to vocalize them.

“AND, from what I’ve heard, he’s got quite a rap sheet with the ladies… if you know what I mean.  I can’t imagine a man like that could ever be faithful.”  JC didn’t stick around to hear another word.  He continued the short walk to his house, hoping to God she didn’t follow.  “I’ll tell you more later!” she shouted instead.

Subtly he shook his head as he slid back into the driver side of his Porsche, pulling it into the garage, shutting the door and rushing into the house for no reason whatsoever other than to be rid of his pesky neighbor.

Unfortunately, he couldn’t exactly get her words out of his head.  James Sanderson could have absolutely any woman he wanted.  Obviously that woman had been Ellie, but not now.  Was he having an affair?  Did she know if he was?  What kind of relationship did they have?  So many questions that were none of his business.  And all the sudden one thing popped into his head more than anything.

Did she ever pull her car in the garage?

He looked out the front window and noticed she hadn’t.  Then he pulled the piece of notepaper out of his pocket and dialed her number.  For some reason as soon as he heard her soft “hello?” through the phone, he was instantly smiling.

Damn it.  He liked her more than he should.

“Don’t forget to pull your car in.” 

Giggling, she said, “Thanks JC.”

He liked her giggle and he liked the sound of his name along with it.

Damn it.  “I figure you’re probably used to a little bit more security than you’ve got now.”  He didn’t really want to say all that, even though surely it was the truth.  He just hated it when people made assumptions about his life.  He was sure she didn’t like it either.  Didn’t matter though.  Again, his words were coming out faster than he could think them through.

“That’s probably true, but aside from forgetting to pull my car in the garage occasionally… I think I’m doing okay.”

He was smiling, not that she could see it.  “What are your plans for dinner?”  That came out before he could think about it too.  Oh well!

“Honestly, I hadn’t really thought that far ahead.”

He’d brought it up now, he had to follow through.  “Well, I order a mean take-out.”

She laughed at that.  Good, it was supposed to be funny.  At least, a little bit. 

“Unless, of course, you want to be alone, which, I totally understand if you do.”

“No.  Not really.  You’re more than welcome to come back by later if you want… and if you bring food, I’m sure I won’t turn it down.”

He smirked at how casual, yet inviting, she’d turned his offer.  It sounded sort of open-ended, and he liked that. 

The sun had set and the Santa Ana winds were blowing like crazy.  When Ellie found JC knocking on her front door the strong gusts practically pushed him right inside, along with the two paper bags he was holding.  She rushed him inside quickly, through the open entry hall and towards the kitchen.  He set both bags on the counter.

“I come bearing beverages,” he said, “and take-out menus.”  Then he pulled out a six-pack of Corona, two bottles of wine (Merlot and Chardonnay) and an array of paper menus.  “I figured after the day you had, you probably needed a drink,” he continued, “and I have no idea what your preference is so I chose a few and figured that if you wanted something different I’d go get it.  I also have a fully stocked bar at home, if necessary.”

There was something about him that screamed irresistibility.  He was so casual—a far cry from the former love of her life who had always been all business.  He was put together nicely in dark denim jeans and a pressed black t-shirt that hugged him in all the right spots.  JC wasn’t what you’d call a big guy, but she definitely spotted some very nice muscle definition going on underneath that 100 percent cotton.  His dark hair was cut short, sort of GQ meets preppy rocker?  She wasn’t sure exactly how to describe it other than she liked it and had the strongest desire to touch it.

Stepping up to him, she flattened a palm into the counter top and leaned in just a little.  “What exactly is this?” she asked, using her free hand to motion back and forth between the two of them.

Tight-lipped, he shrugged.

For a second she just stared at him, trying hard not to focus on his lips and be reminded of the kiss they’d shared just a few nights earlier.

“I just thought you might want some company, that’s all.”

“So just the neighborly welcoming committee?” she asked with a sly smile.

He smirked.  “No.  Not exactly.”

There they were.  Those lips.  And damn did she want to kiss them.  This was so completely bad.  She was going through a divorce, for chrissake!  The last thing she needed was to get involved. 

Although, she’d be lying if she said that the prospect of sex didn’t sound nice.  It had been too long.  Another sign her marriage had been failing months ago.

“You don’t bring drinks and take-out menus to all the new neighbors?” she asked, shifting her feet so she was just a smidgen closer.

“No.  Although I’m sure Gabby would be more than happy if I did.”

Ellie smirked.  “She’s got the hots for you.”

“She’s got the hots for a lot of people,” he shot back, inching closer.  His lips were too close.  She could hardly stand it.

“I’m sure there’s plenty of guys out there that would take her.”

“I’m sure there’s plenty that do,” he said, closer still, “but not me.”

His hand was next to hers on the counter.  The tip of his finger touching hers ever-so-slightly.  Ellie couldn’t take it any longer.  She had to know.  She had to feel what she felt before, again.  So she did it.  She pressed her mouth to his softly and slowly, breathing him in and basking in the electricity of his warm, moist lips against her.  Her eyes fluttered closed and his hand slipped over hers on top of the counter.  That cabinet was about the only thing holding her up at the moment.  Without it she’d be completely limp.  And she was realizing very quickly that his kiss was much better this time around, being that they were both completely sober.

Feathery soft, his lips brushed over hers again and again before finally she pulled back, ending it as quickly as she’d started it.  Grinning widely, she looked him right in the eye.  “I just wanted to know if it was as good sober as it was when we were drunk.”

The smile that spread across his face carried up to his eyes.  “I thought you said you barely remembered.”

“I lied.”

His next movements were swift and fluid as he braced a hand to the side of her neck and got her caught up in another whirlwind kiss.  This one not near as gentle as before, which was just fine by her.

She pulled away just long enough to mumble, “You’re a great kisser.”

“I heard you thought that.”  He barely let her see his cocky grin, but she caught a glimpse of it in between kisses.  It was probably the sexiest damn thing she’d ever seen.

“Let me guess—”  from Jill, she was going to say, but he pressed a thumb into her lips and didn’t let her finish.  She’d couldn’t ever remember feeling quite so turned on.  Her body was on the brink of sensory overload.  His lips were just about to touch hers again when his cell phone started buzzing on the counter.

Instantly she took a step backwards and turned away.  Talk about a major alarm going off!

“Shit,” he sighed, “I’m just gonna step outside for a sec.” 

His greeting to the phone call barely registered through the fog of her brain, along with the creak of the front door as he went out.  “What the hell am I doing?” she heard herself asking.  This was just crazy, kissing some strange guy she barely even knew!  So what if it felt really good?  Not only did she not know him at all, she was still technically married!  This was completely and totally out of character for her.  “Damn it.  Damn it.  Damn it.”

“You alright?”

She mouthed a silent curse before turning to face him, as she’d had no idea he’d come back inside and he’d clearly heard her venting to herself.  Spinning slowly on her heels, she smiled guiltily.  “This is just totally not like me.”

“Is that a bad thing?”  He was leaning against the door frame that separated the kitchen from the living room, both of his arms crossed over his chest, one foot crossed in front of the other. 

“I was just served divorce papers today and I’m kissing my neighbor that I barely know.  Bad or good, I don’t really know, but it’s definitely not something I would ever think I’d do.”

Half smiling, he relaxed his stance and moved deeper into the kitchen.  His sight focusing in on the menus he’d brought over, he slid the stack across the counter her direction.  “So, I’m kind of partial to Chinese food, but all of these places are really good, so you choose.”

Almost two hours later they were both sitting on a plushy, curved, sectional couch in the casual room right off the kitchen, watching reruns of Cops—of all things—and eating Chinese food directly out of the carton.  She was the first girl JC had ever encountered that didn’t mind doing that.  They always insisted on plates… always.  Ellie was cool, and different.  He liked that.

The word real was running through his mind again, but he didn’t let it stick around for long.  That always turned out to be a bad assumption on his part.  Been there, done that.  Besides, she’d been married to a gazillionaire.  There was no way anyone could stay real through that.

His eyes dropped down to her bare toes as they curled against the edge of the square chest that was being substituted as a coffee table; still neatly groomed, but the polish was even darker, almost black.  Why did he have this weird fascination with her feet?  Every time he got a look at them crazy thoughts started shooting through his head—crazy bedroom thoughts.

JC never had a problem sealing the deal.  Clearly that was not the direction he wanted to take things with Ellie.  He realized where things were headed earlier, after he’d first got there.  He had never expected for her to be so bold and just outright kiss him.  Even if he had been leaning in suggestively close.  Okay.  Maybe he had been just a little curious… Maybe that’s why he’d been throwing cosmic hints her way, but still, he’d never expected for her to do that. 

Not that he’d never been unexpectedly kissed in someone’s kitchen before.  No, much worse things had happened.  Well, technically, he wouldn’t exactly say those things were worse, meaning he didn’t like those things that had happened.  He had definitely liked them at the time.  It’s just that he’d been trying to clean up his act a little bit over the recent course of time.  It had been a whole three weeks, now, and for him, that was pretty damn good.

“This has got to be the catchiest theme song in TV history,” she remarked, another episode beginning and the unmistakable “Bad boys, bad boys, what’cha gonna do…” playing through the speakers. 

JC smirked softly before using his chopsticks to scoop another bite of chow mien noodles into his mouth.

“It’s hard not to sing along with it,” she continued.

“Feel free,” he told her with a sideways glance as he swallowed his mouthful.

She leaned forward and set her carton and chopsticks on the round tray that was setting on top of the chest.  “I’m too full.  Why’d you let me eat so much?” She looked back at him over her shoulder, still leaning forward a bit.

“I didn’t know I was supposed to tell you when to stop,” he replied.  He couldn’t help but be amused by her, but for some reason he didn’t let it show.  Sometimes she said the most off the wall things to him, like they’d been best friends forever.  It was so weird.

“You weren’t,” she answered casually and fell back against the sofa.  Discreetly he eyed the bottom half of her, fearing that eyeing the top half would be too obvious.  She was sitting fairly close.  Not touching close, but close enough that another person couldn’t really fit in between them.  She was wearing jeans for the first time around him, they were dark, dark blue and, no doubt, designer.  They also fit extremely well, as if they were tailored specifically for her figure, especially in the butt.  Not that he had a good look at it now, but he’d made sure to check it out earlier when he’d had the chance.  The image was still fresh, along with the taste of her lips on his mouth.  Although, he was trying his best not to think about that. 

“Should we open one of the bottles of wine that you brought?” she asked, her head turning his direction questioningly.  They’d managed to refrain up until that point.  He wasn’t exactly sure why.  Still, he almost felt the need to remind her of what happened last time they’d been drinking and within touching distance.  Of course, he was the one that had brought the alcohol in the first place so that wouldn’t make much sense.

So instead of voicing all that shit going through his head, he simply replied with a “sure.”

She stood, grabbing the tray with her half-empty carton and moseyed into the kitchen.  He could see her from the corner of his eye, but he tried his best not to watch her too noticeably.  She emptied the tray, tucked one of the bottles of wine under her arm and headed back towards him.

When she leaned down directly in front of him to place the tray on the chest he had a direct view down the center of her cleavage.  He didn’t want to look, but he definitely was.

It was nice… to say the least.

She stood back up straight, not noticing what he’d done in the slightest.  “Glasses?” he asked automatically, since there were none.

“In the bar,” she said simply, moving around and behind him.  He desperately wanted to turn around and watch her, but he managed to control the urge.  She had this sexy little bounce to her step that he found himself thoroughly enjoying.  More and more he was beginning to think that alcohol was the last thing the two of them needed.

But, again, that was not going to stop him in the slightest. 

He took a quick second to remind himself about his 3 weeks of celibacy, just as she returned, sitting down beside him.  “You do it,” she stated simply.

Grabbing the bottle of merlot and the corkscrew, he gladly opened the bottle and set it back on the tray situated in the center of the old chest—old, but surely expensive.  Not that he had an eye for it or anything, but it looked probably antique. 

Ellie watched as JC stood, walking his empty food carton into the kitchen.  “You mind if I use your restroom?” he called out to her.

“No.  Go ahead,” she told him.  It was obvious where it was located—right through the doorway—so she didn’t feel the need to show him, knowing he’d already passed by it three or four times.

He nodded and turned, disappearing to use the facility.

Alone, she sucked in a deep breath.  “What the hell am I doing?” she whispered quietly, her eyes glued to the doorway so she’d know when he came back.  Then she shook her head lightly, amazed at her behavior. 

First off, kissing the guy in the kitchen earlier, that was completely out of character for her.  Completely!  Not that she didn’t like it.  Not that she hadn’t relived the memory several times since it had happened.  But still!  It was just plain crazy.  And here she was, sharing a meal, and now a glass of wine, pretending that they’d been buddies for decades and knew each others deepest, darkest secrets.

Is this what divorce does to a person?

But she didn’t feel like she was doing anything wrong.  It wasn’t as if she’d offered to sleep with the guy or anything.  And hanging out with JC definitely took her mind off of all the terrible things going on in her life at the moment.  So, with that thought, she was going to stop worrying about how crazy it might be and just keep letting it flow.  At this point, that’s all she could do.

When he stepped back out, their eyes locked almost immediately.  Direct eye contact was something they’d both been avoiding as much as possible since the kiss.  Ellie had studied every part of him at every moment possible, but the eyes were deadly and she was trying not to focus on them unless absolutely necessary.  Luckily he broke from her line of sight first, with an innocent survey of the kitchen.  “You know, the other side of the street has a better view.”  His side of the street, he should have said.

Oh, dear.  Did she need to say it?  She did.  “I didn’t pick this house.”

He looked somewhat perplexed.  “What do you mean?” he asked, sitting down in the same spot he’d been before and finally pouring the wine.

“James did.”

“Oh.”  He handed her the wide goblet, almost half full.  Then it was like realization hit, one side of his face scrunching in confusion.  “Wait.  I don’t get it.”

“You don’t really want to hear all the details of my separation and soon-to-be divorce, do you?” she asked, half peering over her glass as she was about to take that first sip.

He sat the bottle back on the tray and fingered his own glass.  “Well, I guess not if you don’t want to tell.”

“He has a lot of money, JC.”

The look he shot her then could only be described as what she’d call—duh.  “Well, no shit,” he remarked.

“Not just money, but power and control,” Ellie continued, taking another long, slow sip, her eyes still bravely peering at him over the top of her glass.

“So, because he has money and power and control you couldn’t decide where you wanted to live?  Not that I’m complaining or anything,” he quickly added.  “You seem like an okay neighbor so far.”  There was a twinkle in his eye that hadn’t been there seconds before and she realized instantly that he was teasing her.  It made her breath stop for just a short second.

“Ha ha, thanks,” she shot back, before explaining.  “I’m pretty sure you’ve already gathered what a surprise the divorce papers were to me.  I was going along with what he wanted in hopes to reconcile.”

“Oh.”

“So what were the people like that lived here before?” she asked, deciding a change of subject would be good at this point.

“You mean you didn’t hear?”  He set his glass down and leaned in towards her just a smidgen.

“Hear what?” she asked.

“Oh no… If you don’t already know, I’m not going to be the one to tell you.”

“Tell me what?  You can just say something like that and then not tell.”

The look on his face was completely serious and it was really starting to freak her out.  What the hell had happened in this house? 

“Please don’t tell me someone died here,” she said, a trace of fear creeping into her tone.  He just sat there stiff, this stone grimace across his face.  Meanwhile Ellie was really starting to panic.  Setting her glass down, she reached for his arm, not even thinking twice, and shook him, hoping to get an answer.  “JC,” she was practically squealing.  “Tell me.  How bad is it?  It wasn’t murder, was it?”

Finally his features broke and he laughed.  Laughed and laughed and laughed.  Ellie fell back against the couch.  Damn she was gullible.

“That was way too easy,” he said, still chuckling.  “You fell into that so easy.”

JC watched with amusement as Ellie began softly cursing herself under her breath.  For a girl who seemed so “nice” and “straight”, she voiced some rather nasty profanities, even if they were barely audible.  If it were someone else it might have been a turn off, but with her it was quite the opposite.  “Potty mouth…” he finally said, interrupting her silent rant. 

She stopped, completely still, and stared at him blankly.  “You’re probably starting to think I have Tourette or something.” 

He wasn’t sure if he should smile or be serious.  “You don’t.  Do you?”

“Oh, hell no.”  Reaching for her glass from the table, she took a rather large gulp.

Letting a smile creep over his lips, he raised his glass.  “To new beginnings with crazy neighbors,” he said, hoping she’d laugh and not get offended.

Neither exactly happened.  With a slight tip of her glass, she took another generous drink of her wine and then looked him over.  “I’m beginning to think that’s true,” she said, with a raise of her brow.  “About myself.”

JC smirked.  “I was trying to be funny.”

“Oh, I know that, JC.”  She was taking another drink already.

He’d thought about asking if she wanted more—she seemed to need it—but the doorbell rang and interrupted the strange moment they were having.  He was kind of glad because their conversation had gone to a weird place, for sure.  It only reminded him that she was going through a lot of shit and probably not the most stable person at the moment, which both made him want to help her and run and hide, all at the same time.

With a huff she took the little bit of wine in her glass with her and went off toward the front door.  It was only a few steps away and clearly in sight, so he took the opportunity to let his eyes follow her. 

That damn sexy walk… The alcohol didn’t do a damn thing to it.  It was definitely still there.  The fact that she was so obviously NOT doing it on purpose, only made it that much more intriguing.

“Shit.” She turned her back to the door and completely caught him ogling her.  Although, it seemed the last thing on her mind at the moment. 

Of course, JC immediately thought the worst.  “Is it your ex?” he asked, the encounter already playing out in his head.

She shook her head no vigorously.  “Worse,” she said in a frightened whisper.  “It’s Gabby.”

At that he was cussing too.  “Shit is right.”  He could only imagine the jealous gossip she’d spread.  “That’s worse than Star magazine knocking at your door,” he added, shaking his head somewhat disgruntled.

“Just go hide and I’ll try and get rid of her,” Ellie decided.

He nodded in agreement.  Taking his wine and scrambling out of the room.

JC wasn’t quite sure where to go.  This was the deepest he’d been inside of her house.  It was probably one of the smallest houses on the block.  He ducked into the first open door he could find and tried his best to listen, but for some reason he couldn’t hear a thing.

Leaning his shoulders against the wall, he finished off the rest of the wine.  His eyes now adjusting to the dark, he realized he was in a bedroom.  Was it her bedroom?  He thought it might be.  If only it wasn’t dark outside he’d be able to get a better look. 

Of course, the thought did surface that he shouldn’t be quite so damn curious about it in the first place.  He realized he was standing close to a nightstand or table and set his glass down, reminding himself not to take with him when he left.

Two voices came in to ear shot and he frowned at the realization that Gabby was actually inside of the house.  The woman was hard to get rid of once she passed over that first threshold.  Damn.

It sounded like they were talking about muffins or cupcakes or something.  Jesus… she brought food?  What did she think?  She’d get in the woman’s good graces by offering up some sweets?  Well, no shit, of course she did.  Flaunting her sex obviously hadn’t worked…

“JC?”

By the time Ellie’s whisper registered, he realized she was directly in front of him.  “Right here,” he whispered back.

“Where are you?  I can’t see.”

He smirked softly realizing he had the total advantage since her eyes had yet to adjust to the darkness.  He could see her perfectly.

“She won’t leave,” Ellie continued, still whispering but with a bit of urgency mixed in her tone.  “What do I do?”

He didn’t care.  He had this desperate urge to kiss her again and before he could even second guess himself, he’d grabbed her waist, pulled her into him and captured her mouth in another fiery kiss. 

© BrandyRae 2008