Two Weeks Later

Two weeks. It had been two weeks since I first met my neighbor. Two weeks since I watched him from my bedroom window as he walked over to my yard, dosing the fire with water. And two weeks since I had seen him last.

I wasn't sure if he was upset because I blew him off that he was purposely ignoring me. I couldn't dwell on it for long though because I ended up getting a job as an Interior Designer. With my new job, I had been working almost everyday for the past two weeks. There was a house that needed to be shown by the end of the week and I was finally able to get in there and stage it; which is where I had spend most of the day today.

As I pulled into my driveway later that night, the clock on the dashboard flashed 4:43 p.m. As I climbed out of my car, I let a yawn leave my blood stained lips and walked down my driveway over towards my mailbox. Casually looking the the stack of bills, my heels scrapped against the pavement, paying no mind to the eyes that were staring at me.

"You look nice."

"Christ!" I yelped while clutching my chest, dropping my mail in the process.

My eyes landed on Colby who was leaning against my car, proudly wearing a smirk. His eyes looked me up and down, biting his lip. Squinting my eyes at him, I looked myself over and mentally smacking myself for choosing this dress to wear.

"Didn't your mother ever teach you not to sneak up on people," I asked while bending down to pick up my mail.

Colby beat me, however, gently handing them to me. "Once or twice," he joked.

Smiling a quick thanks to him, I turned my back to him and started walking towards my house. "What are you doing tonight?"

Turning swiftly on my feet, I faced him again, getting sight of the gym bag slung over his shoulder for the first time. I had to force myself to not gawk at his broad chest underneath his black shirt.

"Goodbye, Colby." I said, ignoring his question.

My back was to him again and I felt my body freeze when my hand gripped the doorknob.

"See ya around, Reign."

Throwing the pen and my glasses down on the desk, I rubbed my tired eyes before glancing over to the clock on the wall in my office. After Colby had found out my name, I drove myself into my work, designing a new layout for one of the house, trying to ease the looming fear.

8:54 p.m.

Another sigh left my lips as I stood from my desk and looked around my office, trying to figure out what I should do with the rest of my night.

I could hear voices outside, most likely Colby and his friends, and couldn't help but feel a tad jealous that I didn't have anyone here to hang out with. As I made my way down the spiral staircase, I decided on heading to bed early, already wearing my typical black booty shorts and a see through loose tank top, showing my bright green sports bra with my hair was tied on top of my head in a bun.

Turning the corner to head down the hall towards my bedroom, my feet froze in place when my eyes landed on a furry rodent sitting on top of the kitchen counter. A scream erupted from my throat and without thinking twice, ran out of the patio door, into my backyard.

"Reign?"

Looking to my left, I saw Colby and his friends walk over. "Everything alright?" The bigger one asked.

Pointing to my house, my finger trembled. "Chipmunk."

The blonde stranger laughed. "A little creature scared you out of your house?"

My eyes sliced into him. "Yes." I looked over to Colby. "Can you please?"

He nodded while the strangers followed him inside my house to get the intruder. My foot tapped in patiently for the few minutes it took them and breathed a sigh of relief when they all walked out of the house, the blonde stranger holding his arms behind his back.

"Did you get it?" I asked Colby, who was fixing his hair in a low bun.

"Yeah. You're safe," he laughed.

My eyes, however, landed on the blonde who was walking slowly towards me. "What are you doing?"

He stayed silent, pulling the chipmunk from his back. "Stay away from me," I yelped running around my backyard as he chased me, Colby and his other friend laughing.

I went to run past Colby to get into the safety of my home but felt his strong arms grab me, blocking me between my house and his body. Our breathing matched in sync as our eyes locked. Colby slowly licked his lips when he looked me over, hands placed on the side of my head.

My heart thumped against the cage in my chest as I clasped my shaking hands together, my voice came out with a noticeable treble. "What are you doing?"

"You're beautiful," his breath felt warm against my lips.

I struggled to find my voice, my hands shaking as I moved a strand of hair from my face. We both stared at each other, getting lost in the moment, as Colby started to lean in closer to my face.

Cough.

Snapping into reality, I looked over to Colby's friends, watching us intently. I looked back at Colby before shaking my head, ducking underneath is arms. My body shook as I slipped inside my house, calling over my shoulder, "Goodnight, Colby."

"Goodnight, beautiful." His low, rough voice called back.