A few readers have asked what my update schedule will be. There is a hurricane headed our way so until we're out of the danger zone I plan on winging it. Like always I've prewritten everything so the story itself is finished.

You'll notice that the POV changes every other chapter. Our Hermit is always a negative number, and Hunk will be positive.

2

The Hunk

Emmett is still trying to decipher the complex instructions for the simple kitchen table when Edward returns.

"Is she hot?" his brother-in-law asks without looking up from his project.

"Who?"

"The chick next door? She sounded pissed. Pissed means feisty." Emmett wiggles his eyebrows. "Feisty means sexy. So, is she hot?"

"I'm not sure. She barely opened her door. All I could see were her brown eyes." Edward rubs his throbbing temple. "Her eyes were beautiful though."

If he closes his eyes, he can still see the dark, chocolate brown eyes hidden in the shadows behind the door. She mostly talked to the ground, but when she did look up, all he could do was get lost in them. The moment didn't last long, but when it happened, he could feel the anxiety rolling off her in waves.

Emmett gives a disappointed shrug and turns his attention back to the table.

That's the end of the discussion about Edward's new neighbor, but it doesn't mean she isn't in his thoughts.

As he makes his way from the moving truck back up the small walkway that leads to their houses, he hopes to catch a glimpse of her.

They fight the mattress up the stairs and manage to squeeze Edward's loveseat through the narrow front door before it starts raining.

The landlord told him he could paint if he wanted, but Edward decided that the off-white walls would suit him just fine.

It's not like he has much need to decorate.

He doesn't have anyone to impress.

Edward's new to town and hasn't had a chance to meet anyone yet.

His thoughts stray to his mysterious neighbor with big brown eyes, but he shakes it off and drops a box of toiletries in the bathroom.

They're almost done when Emmett injures his hand trying to hang the TV on the wall, and Edward loses his help. He calls his sister to come pick up her accident-prone husband and take him to the hospital.

Rosalie doesn't sound surprised.

She does let out a colorful string of curse words before telling her brother that she's on her way and shows up with a trash bag that she wraps around the injury. Rosalie threatens Emmett that he's dead if he gets any blood on her upholstery before they jet off.

Edward turns on the radio and sets about making his new house a home.

He unpacks his DVD collection first and throws a couple on the coffee table so he can watch them later.

After hanging up all of his shirts and chef jackets and putting the rest of his clothes in his dresser, he decides to take a shower to wash off the sweat and grime of moving.

Edward curses loudly when he's soaking wet and realizes he hasn't come across the box with the towels yet. He's left slipping and sliding along the hardwood floor into his bedroom where he finds an extra fitted sheet.

It's better than nothing, so he uses it to dry off the best he can before pulling on a pair of sweatpants.

He's microwaving a frozen dinner when he smells warm peanut butter wafting in through his open kitchen window.

Edward fucking loves peanut butter.

His stomach growls.

Beautiful eyes and she can bake.

He sits at the kitchen table and scarfs down the microwaved macaroni and cheese. The pasta is gummy, and it tastes nothing like cheese, but his choices are limited until he can get to a grocery store.

Edward's halfway through his second movie when he hears a small, almost indiscernible tap at the front door.

He pauses the movie and opens the door just as Bella's slides shut with a soft click. He can hear the locks engaging and looks down to find a plate of muffins sitting precariously on the little partition that separates his stoop from his neighbor's.

Carrying the plate inside, he sets it on the coffee table.

Edward contemplates whether he should eat them. They look edible, but he knows nothing about his neighbor except for her first name and that she has pretty eyes.

She could be crazy.

The landlord never divulged the fate of the last tenant.

They could have been poisoned by delicious-looking baked goods.

He takes a sniff.

They don't smell poisonous, and that's good enough for him.

Edward takes a giant bite out of one of the muffins and throws his head back, groaning with pleasure.

Before he knows it, he's gobbled up all four and chuckles at the handwritten note scribbled on the paper plate.

Welcome to the neighborhood. These muffins aren't poisoned or anything, so I hope you didn't throw them away. I mean, it's okay if you did, it's not like you know me or anything. I hope you liked them if you didn't toss them. -Bella

She's intriguing, that much is true.

If there's one thing Edward Cullen loves more than peanut butter, it's a good mystery.

Please keep everyone in Dorian's path in your thoughts.

Till next time, XOXO Ashley