Chapter Six

Cameron

I couldn’t shake the feeling I’d had ever since I’d seen Scarlett crying yesterday. I knew domestic abuse situations could be tough. I was usually the guy that had to go out on the calls at two in the morning because some guy was in a rage because his wife or girlfriend had burned the meatloaf. I had seen firsthand how ugly the situations could get.

For some reason, Scarlett didn’t fit my idea of what an abused woman looked like. Obviously, they came in all shapes and sizes and were from all economic backgrounds, but what man could ever hurt a woman like Scarlett? She was so small and fragile-looking. It was beyond my understanding how a man could treat her like shit.

I was thinking about her when I should have been focused on mowing the lawn and doing my part to keep up with the neighborhood standards. It was my day off, and with Ella at school, I had no excuse not to get caught up on the chores that were being neglected.

I went outside and pulled the lawnmower out of the garage. As I was checking the gas level, I heard a sound. It was my pretty little neighbor wearing a pair of short shorts that showed off a pair of shapely, tanned legs.

Before I could stop myself or think twice about it, I stopped my work on the lawnmower and walked up to the shrubs that divided our properties.

“Hey,” I said, grabbing her attention.

She looked at me and smiled. “Hi.”

Damn, she was gorgeous. Maybe it was the shorts, or maybe it was that it had been a while since I’d gotten laid, but she was a beautiful, sexy woman.

“I’m sorry about being a shitty neighbor. Would you like to come over for pizza tonight?” I blurted out.

I sounded like a lunatic. First, I was a dick to her about her moving truck, then I brushed off her claim of being harassed, and then, for my final act, I laughed at her getting flowers from the guy. I wasn’t really scoring a lot of points. I was hoping a few slices of pizza would smooth things over. I wasn’t looking for a girlfriend, but I didn’t need to start fights with the neighbors—especially neighbors who looked like her.

She hesitated. “Oh, I don’t know.”

“No problem. That’s cool. Your boyfriend would probably not appreciate me asking you over for pizza. My daughter will be home,” I added, feeling like an even bigger idiot.

She smiled. “I don’t have a boyfriend. I have a crazy ex. I would love to come over for pizza,” she said, quickly changing her mind.

I had a feeling she felt safer knowing my daughter was going to be there. It wasn’t like I’d asked her over for a quickie.

“Good. Let’s say six? Does that work for you?”

She giggled. “I don’t exactly have a busy schedule at the moment. Six is fine. Can I bring anything?”

“Nope. Just yourself.”

I managed to curb my train of thought and avoided saying “bring your hot body.” I hoped to god she put on some pants before she came over. I was struggling to keep my eyes off those perfect legs that ran into a tiny waist. From the waist up, there was nothing tiny about her.

“Thank you. I’ll see you then. I have to run to the store. Are you sure there’s nothing I can bring?” she asked before getting into her car.

I shook my head. “Nope.”

She waved and left, and I had to take several deep breaths to knock down the boner that was threatening to rise to the occasion. It was just pizza, nothing else.

The day flew by, and before I knew it, the doorbell rang. I wasn’t sure if it was the pizza or Scarlett. Ella was buzzing about the idea of having company for dinner and jumped up and down while she waited for me to check the door. It was the pizza delivery man.

I had barely closed the door when Scarlett rang the bell.

“That’s her!” Ella cried out, excited to have company other than Noah or Grandma and Grandpa.

I opened the door. “Come in. Forgive Ella. She’s a little excited to have a guest over. We don’t entertain often, as you can probably guess,” I said with a friendly smile.

It felt a little strange to smile, but once I got the hang of it, it came easily.

“Hi, Ella,” Scarlett said with a warm smile. “Thank you for letting me eat dinner with you and your dad tonight. I’m not a very good cook,” she said, chuckling as she did.

Ella giggled. “Neither is my dad. We eat a lot of pizza.”

“Hey, now. I try. I can make a mean box of mac and cheese,” I said, defending myself.

Scarlett laughed. “Then you’re a step ahead of me. I can make scrambled eggs and toast.”

Ella smiled. “I can make that.”

“I bet you can, and I bet it tastes really good.”

Ella beamed. “I’ll make you breakfast.”

The tone in the room changed in an instant. Scarlett looked up at me, and I wasn’t sure if I was blushing or if I had paled.

“Maybe we’ll have eggs and toast for dinner one of these nights,” I said to Ella. Then to Scarlett, I said, “This way.” I led them into the kitchen and dining area.

“You have a beautiful home,” Scarlett said.

I looked around at the furnishings and shrugged. “Thank you.”

She laughed. “I moved into that house from a tiny one-bedroom apartment. It feels like a cold mansion to me.”

“Where’d you move from?” I asked, grabbing three plates out of the cupboard and carrying them to the table.

“Careywood.”

“Oh, up north?” I asked, vaguely familiar with the town.

She nodded. “Yep.”

“What brought—” I stopped talking, remembering the call the other night. I knew what had brought her here, and it wasn’t a topic I wanted to discuss in front of Ella.

Scarlett nodded, understanding it was off-limits.

“Are we going to sit at the table?” Scarlett asked Ella.

“Yes. Dad says pizza is too messy for the couch.”

“I think your dad is right. I’m not supposed to eat pizza on the couch either.”

“How come?” Ella asked.

“Because my dad says I’m too messy. When I was little, I accidentally spilled red juice on his new couch.”

Ella’s eyes widened. “You did? Did you get in trouble?”

Scarlett laughed. “The first three times I did it, no. But then my dad got angry and said no more drinks or red stuff in the living room.”

That sent Ella into a fit of laughter. The three of us sat down at the table and dug into our pizza.

“Would you like water or milk?” I asked Scarlett before realizing that was a little childish. “I have cold beer if you prefer that.”

“I’ll take a beer if you’re having one,” she said in a somewhat shy voice.

I grabbed two and handed her one. It was strange to be sitting at the kitchen table with Ella and a woman. Strange in a good way. Ella was peppering her with questions about her family and what she did. I realized then how great Ella was for a first date. She was asking all the questions without sounding too nosy.

“Music, huh?” I asked. “You know the competition is fierce, right?”

She laughed. “Well, I don’t want to be a singer. That would never work out well. I want to produce music.”

I had no idea what that was. I shrugged a shoulder. “I wish you luck.”

“I wish me luck too. I applied for a lot of jobs yesterday and one internship.”

“What’s an internship?” Ella asked.

I listened as she explained it to Ella in a way she could understand. It was sweet and maternal. I could tell Ella was already very fond of Scarlett.

She was my neighbor. This wasn’t a relationship. It was okay for Ella and Scarlett to be friends, I told myself.

“Hey, little lady, it’s late and time for you to brush your teeth and get ready for bed,” I said, noticing it was already eight.

“Oh, I should go. I didn’t realize it was so late,” Scarlett said, standing from her seat at the table.

“I’ve got more beer,” I blurted out. “I’ll put her to bed and we can hang out a little longer if you’d like?”

I wasn’t sure why I said it. I didn’t want her to go. I liked having adult conversation, and she was so easy to talk to. I had a feeling she didn’t really want to be alone either.

“Sure. That’d be nice. I’ll clean up in here while you take care of Ella.”

Ella walked over and threw her arms around Scarlett’s waist. “Good night, Scarlett.”

Scarlett bent over and hugged her. “Good night, Ella. I hope you have fun and get to learn something at school tomorrow.”

“Me too,” Ella replied in all seriousness.

I quickly went through the nighttime routine with Ella. She chatted a mile a minute about our guest and how much she liked her. When I returned to the kitchen, Scarlett had cleared the table and put the leftover pizza in the fridge.

I grabbed a couple beers and opened the patio doors, leading her outside.

“It’s a nice night,” I commented, noticing the bright stars in the sky and the warm weather.

“It is.”

She took a seat on one of the lounge chairs, and I took the other.

“So, the boyfriend situation—did you report those flowers?” I asked.

She didn’t look at me. “No.”

“You still can.”

“It’s okay. It won’t do any good.”

“Well, I’m here if you need me. I can be big and scary when needed,” I joked.

She laughed softly. “Thank you. I did tell my parents I lived next door to a cop. I wouldn’t be surprised if they purposely picked this house because of that fact.”

We talked a while longer about the city, our pasts, and what we liked to eat. I loved talking with her. It was so easy. She was smart and didn’t work hard to impress me by saying what she thought I wanted to hear.

“I should probably get going,” she murmured, sitting up in the chair and turning to face me.

I sat up in my own. We sat less than a foot apart, facing each other in the moonlight. I stood up, reached down to help her up, and found myself standing close to her. I wasn’t sure what came over me, but I leaned down and kissed her.

Her lips parted a fraction as my lips moved over hers. She hesitated at first, but then something sparked and ignited between us. The kiss started out as a simple good-night kiss and then ramped up to something so passionate, I could literally feel the heat emanating from our bodies. My hands moved to her waist. I held on tight as I thrust my tongue inside over and over, wanting our bodies joined. I couldn’t seem to get enough of her, and she was clearly in the same frame of mind.

Her hands were on my shoulders, holding me close to her.

“Do you want to go inside?” I asked, taking a second to regain my composure.

“Yes,” she breathed out.

My heart raced with excitement jumbled with nerves. I led her inside, stopping to lock the doors before leading her down the hall and to my room. This was not something I’d ever done. Sure, I’d had women over, but never while Ella was in the next room.

I quietly closed the bedroom door behind me and looked down at Scarlett. I cupped her face and kissed her again, letting myself enjoy every second of it.