Chapter 1

Lilli

“There’s a guy looking at your ass from that window.” Anna laughed as she pulled me back into the Uber. “You should give him a little show.”

Anna was the kind of friend that could convince anyone to do something crazy. She was fun, carefree, and wild beyond her years. I had only recently connected with her, but she had really spiced up my partying life.

“He’s probably already getting a pretty damn good show. I don’t have on any panties,” I said with a giggle.

For fun, I wiggled my ass back and forth while I continued to lean into the car window and talk to my girlfriends. My legs were wobbly from our evening of drinking and dancing, and I used the time to gather my focus before I had to walk into my house.

“Oh, you’re naughty. Let’s give him a real show,” Anna said as she jumped out of the vehicle and wrapped her arms around me to give me a giant hug.

I had lost my balance as she swung the door open and was barely standing when she wrapped her arms around me. Anna was shorter than me, but she still managed to lift me off the ground. Her arms stayed locked around my waist, and my skirt pressed up toward the crest of my ass. I glanced up at the window as she spun me around and saw my handsome neighbor standing shirtless in his bedroom, watching us. I could only imagine what he was thinking as he looked down at our silly group of girls making so much noise after our night of partying on a weeknight.

He wasn’t even hiding the fact that he was watching us. The light in his bedroom was on, and the curtains were wide open as he stood there with a mischievous smirk on his face. I’d only been back home for a couple of weeks, but a handsome neighbor was certainly one of the perks of being back under my parents’ roof. He was mysterious and much better looking than any of the men I normally hung out with. I estimated he was a few years older than me; okay, actually he was probably ten years older than me, but that didn’t matter for the flirting we were doing.

“He’s still there,” I said to Anna as she sat me down. “But I’m too drunk to stay out here any longer. I’ll see you girls later. I need to get to my bed.”

“Bye Lilli,” Amy yelled from the other side of the vehicle. “Be good, or don’t be good and just go over to that hot guy’s house.”

“See you when I see you,” Rebecca added.

“Are you sure you don’t want to make out and really drive that guy crazy?” Anna asked. “I bet he’s already ragging hard just looking at your ass.”

“No Anna.” I laughed. “I think I’ll pass. I’m not into torturing the poor guy. Plus, I don’t really want to kiss you. No offense.” I giggled as I tried to steady myself against the car.

“Okay, but don’t say I never offered.”

“I promise I won’t say that.”

“Goodnight super-hot neighbor dude,” Anna yelled out as she blew him a kiss.

I reluctantly turned toward the window and waved apologetically as I shook my head at how loud Anna had been. It was three o’clock in the morning. She wasn’t just going to get the hot neighbors attention; she was going to get the attention of the whole damn neighborhood. My upper-class Chicago neighborhood wasn’t exactly a hot spot for late night party girls. Most of my neighbors worked and had families, and one had even mentioned that I seemed to be ‘having a lot of fun’ when they ran into my mother at the grocery store.

My neighbor’s slight grin turned into a full blown smile as he closed his curtains and turned the light off in his room after I waved at him. He didn’t seem like the type of guy who got upset about the noise my friends and I made when coming home from our nights in the town. Over the last few weeks he hadn’t come to the window very often, but occasionally I’d seen him glancing out the window to see what the commotion was. He almost never had a shirt on, which was really how he got his nickname “Hot Neighbor”. I appreciated the ripples of his abs every time I saw him.

He had a scruffy shadow of a beard and a deep olive skin tone. His short brown hair was always messed up like he didn’t have a care at all. I had no idea what he did for work, but from what I heard from my parents, he traveled a lot and had some unusual hours. My hot neighbor was definitely older than I was, but I couldn’t really tell by how many years, and I liked that mystery. I had never actually met the man, only flirted from a distance with quick glances through our windows. He was the perfect fantasy guy.

From what I could figure, my neighbor was gone for long periods of time, and I assumed he was doing top-secret work, or at least that’s what I thought about when I fantasized about him. I’d asked my mother about him, and she said he never had people over, and she’d seen him loading up a single suitcase on several occasions. I’d seen him go out jogging before but never at the same time of the day, so his schedule wasn’t something I could figure out in the short time I had been home. He did tend to stay up late, though, and I’d seen his lights on at all hours of the night, but I hadn’t had the opportunity to talk to him yet.

“Okay get going,” I said to the girls as I tapped on the roof of the car.

The car slowly took off, and I turned to walk inside. I could barely keep myself upright as my heels wobbled in the cobblestone of my parents’ driveway. My mother had insisted on putting the rocky stone into our driveway instead of a regular cement slab. She obviously hadn’t been thinking about how hard it would be for me to walk in at three o’clock in the morning with my 4-inch heels and a plethora of alcohol in my system.

The five martinis I’d been sipping on all night long were rushing through my blood stream as I tried to unlock my front door. The key flopped around in my hand, slipped through my fingers, and was decidedly uncooperative as I spent at least five minutes trying to get into my house. It was a good thing my parents were heavy sleepers, or I’d surely have heard an earful from them with all the noise I was making.

As the key finally slipped into the lock, I looked up at the neighbor’s window just to make sure he hadn’t seen that debacle. There were no lights on so I couldn’t tell if he had seen me or not, but I hoped he had not. The last thing I wanted him to see was me fumbling and nearly falling as I’d tried to make it into my house; that wasn’t a very ladylike picture at all.

I slipped my heels off as I ascended the wooden stairs of our grand foyer and then walked down the hallway toward my room. Our house was much larger than it needed to be. My parents had their master bedroom on the main floor and never even came upstairs now that all of us kids were older. The upstairs consisted of four very large bedrooms, all with their own bathrooms and walk-in closets. Mine was on the east side of the home and faced the hot neighbor’s house.

I flipped the light on as I walked into my room and then quickly turned it back off so my neighbor couldn’t see into my room as easily. I wasn’t sure if he was still up or if he even cared to look in my room that night, but to give myself the upper hand, I left the light off. My fingers slipped around the smooth blue curtain that covered my window as I pushed it open. In the dark of my bedroom, I had a clear view into the master suite of the hot guy’s house. It was dark also, so I assumed he had gone off to bed.

I didn’t bother to slide my dress off and instead fell right onto my bed as I closed my eyes and gave in to the exhaustion that I felt in every muscle of my body. The morning would be there sooner than I wanted it to be. With my curtains left open, I’d be able to wake up as the sun rose and hopefully get a nice breakfast and run before it warmed up too much.

***

“We are leaving Lillian, grunt if you are still alive up there,” my father yelled from the bottom of the stairs.

I heard his words and rolled over in bed as I tried to gather my voice to respond. I had clearly slept past the sunrise and well into the early morning hours if my parents were already on their way out for the day.

“I’m alive,” I said without opening my eyes.

I didn’t feel all that lively, though, and every inch of my body ached with a hangover. Since moving home, my parents gave me the freedom to come and go as I pleased, although they still worried about me, and they certainly didn’t like it if I came home late and woke them up. My father probably worried just as much now as he had when I was in high school, but at least he wasn’t sitting in the old recliner waiting up for me every night.

“Dinner at Romeo’s tonight if you’re home at six. Otherwise, we will bring you some leftovers. Love you, sweetheart,” my mother said, and then I heard the front door close behind them as they didn’t wait for me to respond.

My eyes were practically glued shut, and my lips were so dry that I felt them crack as I opened my mouth. A late night of partying always had a morning of suffering attached to it for me. I couldn’t understand how Anna never seemed to have a hangover. She wasn’t even legally old enough to drink, yet she was much better at it than I was. Drinking and partying weren’t always my thing, but since breaking up with my boyfriend and moving back in with my parents, drinking felt like the right thing to do at this particular moment in my life. I was trying to find myself. Trying to find the next big thing in my life, and there was no hurry as I navigated the fun of the moment.

My phone alarm went off, and I listened to Aerosmith for a whole minute before I reached for my phone and turned it off. It was 10 o’clock, and I had set my alarm to ensure I wouldn’t sleep in too much because I wanted to work out. As I rolled out of the bed, the dehydration from my alcohol was evident by the tightness in my legs and my lips as they stuck together. My muscles cramped up in pain at the slightest of movement, and I winced at the idea of exercising. It was going to be a tough run with this level of alcohol aftermath, but all I had to look forward to right now was partying and building up my running so I could do a marathon.

I glanced out my window to see what the day looked like and was met with the warmth of the morning sun. It was June in Chicago, and I couldn’t have asked for a better day. The sky was clear of all clouds with brilliant blue ricocheting from one side of the horizon to the other. I slipped into my favorite red sports bra and black running tights and made my way downstairs.

After drinking more water, I headed out the door at a slow enough pace to warm up and let my muscles adjust to their current condition. It was my opinion that even a slow short run was better than not going for a run at all. But only two blocks from my house my phone started ringing, so I slowed to a walk and answered it. I’d already conquered a big hurdle in actually getting out the door to go for a run; a short walk wouldn’t hinder my workout all that much.

“Hey Monica, what’s up?” I said to my friend from work.

“I really need you to take my shift today. Please, please, please,” she said as I heard one of her kids in the background vomiting.

Monica was one of the most responsible girls I’d ever met. If she was calling me to work for her, there was going to be a good reason. We worked with a lot of flakes and people who hardly ever showed up on time for work. Unfortunately, our facility just didn’t pay enough to keep the high-end nurses and assistants working there. But Monica was responsible, and I was a close second behind her. I worked second shift purely so I could go out partying and not have to worry about being late for work. It was my way of being responsible while also getting to be a little wild for a change.

“Oh, man, who’s that?”

“It’s Chance, but Elizabeth has a fever too. I think it’s just a matter of time before she gets to the puking. I hope I don’t end up sick as well. I can’t afford to take more than one day off from work.”

“Aww, I’m sorry Monica. Sure, I can work instead of you. Can I go in at noon?”

“You can go in anytime you’d like. They will just be so happy to have someone there. I know they were already short staffed, so when I called in sick, they weren’t very happy. I’ll call them back right away and tell Jackson you’ll be in at noon.”

“I can use the money. I spend more drinking than I’m saving at this point. I know my parents don’t mind me staying here, but I’d like to get my own apartment sometime before the year is up.”

“Thanks so much, I owe you big time.”

I started to jog in place as we wrapped up our conversation. If I had to get to work, I needed to finish my workout faster than I had planned, which meant I was going to have to pick up the pace. My leg muscles were still wobbly, but at least they weren’t cramping up like they had done when I first woke up.

“When the kids get better, come out some night with me and the girls. You really need a night on the town.”

“Sure, that sounds fun,” Monica said totally unconvincingly. She always said she would come out with us, but the reality of married life and her children always took precedence, which was understandable.

As I hung up the phone, I tried to put it back in my armband carrier while I kept jogging around a tight sidewalk corner. I didn’t see him coming at all as my body rammed right into another runner as he was coming around the corner the opposite direction. My hands pressed up against the rock hard muscles of his chest, and I was stunned into silence and stood there wobbly and unbalanced as I looked up at the man.

“Woah there little lady,” he said as he reached out and grabbed me before I fell to the ground.

His large hand wrapped around my forearm, but then his other arm reached behind me and supported my back all in one swift motion. I was thrown off by the collision, and it took me a moment to figure out who it was I had just run into. My chest heaved as I tried to catch my breath, and my brain started to register who he was.

“Oh, it’s you,” I said as I found my balance and looked up at the hot neighbor who was standing in front of me.

“It’s me,” he said calmly and pulled his hands away while he took a step backward to give me some space. “I’m Devin, by the way.”

My heart fluttered as I looked up at him. Something was different about him, and I couldn’t quite put my finger on it. His hair was tussled like every other time I’d seen him through the window. His facial hair was just past the five-o’clock shadow range, similar to how it normally was. He smiled at me, and I smiled back at him still unable to put my finger on what was different.

The buzz of my heart filled my ears, and I wasn’t sure if he had actually said something to me or not. So I just stood there looking at him and trying to figure out what I should say. What does a girl say to the hottest man she’s ever been face to face with? I searched my mind for a witty remark but couldn’t think of a thing to say.

“You are wearing a shirt,” I said suddenly before I could stop the words from leaving my mouth. That was what was different about him from all those times I’d seen him through his window.

He burst into laughter as he nodded his head in agreement. His smile was perfection with brilliant white teeth that looked like they were perfectly shaped for his mouth. His lips pulled back and curled up, and the lines near his eyes gave me a clue that he was at least ten years older than I was. I guessed that he was in his mid-thirties.

“But you don’t,” he said with a wink.

“I don’t what?” I asked in total confusion.

My brain clearly wasn’t working in full force as his witty humor flew right over me. Instead, I stood there looking puzzled at what he thought I didn’t have.

“You don’t have a shirt on.”

I suddenly looked down as if I was actually out running without a shirt on. But he was making a joke about my sports bra as a top. My face flushed red at his comment, and I tried to respond without sounding too childish.

“Oh my gosh.” I laughed. “I guess that’s technically right … well … I better keep moving,” I said as I started to walk away. “Enjoy your run. Oh, and sorry for all the noise last night.”

I didn’t want to keep running or stop talking to him, but I couldn’t just stand there and let him flirt with me and not be able to respond in a decent manner. My only option was to get away as quickly as possible and try to save a little bit of mystery. He was throwing me off my game. My mind was a jumbled mess, and I spoke to him like a little girl talking to a man she had a crush on. Nothing about that conversation was going to make him think I was a woman, and he probably thought I was some teenage girl or something like that.

“No problem. Enjoy your run too,” he said as he returned to running.

I couldn’t help turning and watching as he ran back toward our houses. His body was clearly his temple. Every inch of the man was covered with muscle. Devin held his arms in tight next to him with his head up in a focused sprint down the block. I’d lost this interaction battle though; he had clearly had the upper hand.

Instead of running, I walked as I replayed the conversation in my head. He had told me his name, but I hadn’t told him my name. Instead, I’d acted like a love-struck teenager who didn’t know how to talk to a man. He was older than me, more mature, more controlled and calmer than I could ever be. Devin had flirted with me, and I’d barely been able to look him in the eyes. As much as I wanted to tease and flirt with this guy, I was just better at doing it with a window between us.

I started to pick up the pace and jog as the disaster of my interaction kept running through my head over and over again. Soon I was in a full on sprint as I ran farther than I had intended to run and turned around and kept running all the way back home. This had been my chance to wow my hot neighbor guy, Devin. But instead of a wow, I’d given a flaming fizzle of a performance.

My chest heaved as I made it to my lawn and collapsed in exhaustion. There was no cool down, just an all-out sprint and collapse when I made it home. The day had warmed up to nearly 80 degrees which was perfect as I lay there and let myself catch my breath before heading inside. I pulled one leg toward me to stretch and then the other, while I looked up at the sky and tried to think of any possible way I could win back the balance of my liaison with my hot neighbor Devin.

When I felt the strength return to my legs, I gingerly made it into my house and climbed upstairs to my room. I stripped off my sweaty clothes and looked for my work outfit so I could take a shower. My curtains were still open, and I walked over to close them before Devin got too much of a show. But there he was, standing right in the middle of his bedroom with a towel wrapped around after finishing his shower.

I quickly grabbed the corner of my curtain and pulled it in front of me. The quick movement of the curtains got the attention of Devin, and he turned toward the window and walked my way. My breath quickened as I thought of what to do next. If I just hid behind the curtain after he clearly had seen me, then I was continuing to play the little girl role. I was twenty-one years old. Devin needed to know that I wasn’t a little girl. Plus, I was much better at flirting when words weren’t involved.

We were in the midst of a little cat and mouse game as I quickly turned away from the window and took a step deeper into my room, but I held onto the curtain, and he stayed at his window watching. I smiled at the thought of him standing there looking for me to turn back around, but I didn’t want to turn around and just stood there like some weirdo.

I reached over and grabbed my bright red lipstick from my makeup table. Then, I turned back toward Devin’s house and used the lipstick to write on the window. Slowly, I thought about how to write my name so that he could read it. With my left hand, I held the curtain in front of me and looked up at Devin as his eyes kept an intense stare in my direction.

I didn’t look up to see if he was still there; instead, I concentrated on writing the letters large and clear so he could see them. When I was finished with the last ‘I’, I looked up and saw Devin standing there still in his towel and waiting for me to finish. He cocked his head to the side slightly and squinted his eyes as he read my writing from his window.

He mouthed the words, “Hi, Lilli,” and I giggled.

“Hi,” I mouthed back to him and gave a short single wave.

His gaze stayed focused on mine with a sexual power I’d never known before. I felt the dirty thoughts running through his mind as my whole body warmed. His eyes narrowed, and the intensity of his stare made my center warm.

Now we were stuck with nothing else to say. With a burst of adrenaline running through me, I let the curtain drop from my hand and blew Devin a kiss. I stood there for only ten seconds, but it was a confident ten seconds, and then I turned and walked into my bathroom. For the one gleaming moment, I was filled with confidence as I let him get a peek at my body and then just as quickly disappeared away from the window.

When I pushed the bathroom door, I started jumping up and down with excitement at what had just happened. This was a whole new level of flirting between the two of us. No longer were we strangers who just got a peek at our naked neighbor, and we now knew each other’s names, and I had just flashed him in the middle of the day. I couldn’t even say that it was the alcohol that made me do it; clearly, I was utterly sober at that moment.

My heart continued to pound with excitement as I showered and got dressed for work. I planned a quick getaway so I wouldn’t have to run into Devin now that I’d given him the ultimate flirting. I simply walked out of my bedroom, down the stairs to my car and drove away. I didn’t look up to see if he was looking through his window nor did I look at his front door to see if he was there. I didn’t want to know if he was there because I couldn’t be distracted by him at that moment.

My willpower did me good as I made it to the end of my block and turned toward the interstate. I wasn’t sure how any further run-ins were going to go with Devin, but I had made it out of my house and off to work successfully, so that was enough for the time being. I’d have all night at work to think about my next strategic interaction with the hot guy from next door.