Page 12 of Working For Her Attention

“We’re neighbors and…”

“Is it my age?” I asked and watched as she opened then shut her mouth before simply shaking her head.

“No.”

“Then?”

“It’s me,” she blurted, and I blinked. Her hand on my chest pushed me away slightly, and it cost me everything to give her that. I have to give her the space she’s quietly asking for. I stepped away and watched her hop off the counter only to stand right in front of me. “Trust me, you’re better off. I’m just… you could do better. Like, a lot better.” She gave me a small smile then moved to the kitchen and directly to the front door.

And just like that, I guessed our night was over. Fuck.

“Thanks again for everything, and tonight was fun.”

“Sure.” I shoved my hands into the front pockets of my jeans because if I didn’t, I might do something crazy. Insane, really. Something like toss her over my shoulder in a fireman hold and jog across to my street, where I would lock her up in my room, tie her to my bed, and bury my head between her legs until she agreed to giving me a chance. “Thanks for dinner.”

“Thanks for breakfast and saving me this morning.” I nodded, ignoring the growing ache of dread at the thought of leaving her side. I was nowhere ready to walk away from her. Dinner had been the best, then me and my stupid big mouth had fucked it up.

“Great second date, baby girl.” I gave her a smile. “You know, until you kicked me out,” I teased, but she gasped my name like a prayer. I was fucking lucky the shirt I wore was on the longer side to cover up just how hard I was.

“It’s not like that.” She shook her head, eyes sad. “Trust me, Sam, if…” She looked like the most adorable goldfish I’d ever laid eyes on as she tried to find the right words. I took her hand and squeezed it.

“It’s okay, princess,” I reassured her.

I was not giving up.

This wasn’t the end.

I just had to come up with another approach, a way to work for her attention, because at the end of the day, I knew where I belonged. And that was at her side.

“Sam—“

“If you change your mind… ever… you know where to find me.” I pointed at my house. There was something about the sad, almost melancholic, way she looked at the house across the street then back at me. She wanted this, that much was fucking clear, and it was not me with some wounded male ego thinking that. It was in the way she stared at me, like it was all she could possibly want. “I’ll see you later.” I lifted her hand and kissed the top of it before forcing myself to return home. I didn’t turn around until I reached my door because I knew if I did before that, I’d rush towards her and kiss her until she agreed to give this unmistakable attraction a chance.

But when I touched my doorknob and turned around, it didn’t make it any easier when she was still standing at her door, staring right back at me. I lifted my hand, and for some reason, daddy blew her a kiss. And it wasn’t until her laughter rang in the night air that a little of the tension that had built up at my shoulders loosened.

CHAPTER 5

AVERY

“Hold up! All that, and you just… said no?” the girl with expressive light brown eyes asked as the scent of cinnamon and sugar wafted into my nose. “But I thought you said your neighbor was hot?”

“He is,” I answered sadly, cutting off another piece of the giant cinnamon roll that I swore was bigger than my head. God, this was literally the food of the gods! I popped the piece into my mouth.

“And you said he was sweet?” the other girl asked.

I wasn’t not sure if they were related or how this whole conversation at the bakery in the middle of the downtown area of Forge Creek really started, but they looked pretty similar, like they could be sisters or at the very least cousins. Or maybe best friends that somehow grew up together and started to look like one another.

“He is.” I covered my mouth as I chewed.

“And didn’t he, like, give you his hoodie? Get you coffee and carry you to your door because you were barefoot?” the first girl asked. I nodded, completely unhappy.

“He did.” I sighed.

“But yet, you gave him the whole ‘it’s not you, it’s me’ speech?” The girl with darker eyes asked and I nodded.

“You think I’m an idiot, don’t you?” I wouldn’t blame her. I thought I was the biggest moron on the face of the earth!

“No, but… why didn’t you want to give him a chance?” the other girl asked as they both leaned forward, obviously intrigued. “Wait, do you want to join us?” She pointed to their table, and I nodded.