It had been a week since Punk had moved in next door to AJ and her husband. Everything was as normal as expected between the houses. In fact, there was no need to even look for anything abnormal, because it wasn't expected. AJ and Jamie kept to their selves, and so did Punk.

There was occasional conversation in the morning when AJ and Punk left for work at the same time. Depending on if AJ had the car or not, sometimes Punk would drop her off, but everything was casual.

Punk was sinking deep into the cases he was looking at. He supposed he didn't have time to worry about his neighbour, who he had to admit, looked pretty good when collecting the mail in the morning. Not that he was looking or stalking her, but normally when he was opening up the curtains he would see her, dress robe hugging her body, showing off her curves that hinted to him that there was nothing underneath. If she didn't have a husband, his thirst would have been quenched the minute he moved in, but he was fine with the way things were going along. AJ and her husband were sweet people, and he thanked himself lucky they had been so welcoming.

AJ was mad at herself for the way her face lit up whenever he asked her if she wanted a ride. Or when she'd spot him taking out the trash or collected the mail from the box outside. He was smooth and had a certain aura about him that made her stomach do butterflies. But she was perfectly happy. She knew she was. She loved her husband. Jamie was the only man she wanted to be with. The only man she loved. And every time she seen Punk, and those weird gusts of feelings sprang through her body, she had to remind herself that. Which did worry her on some level. It was like she was trying to convince herself that she was in love with her husband. She was in love with her husband. Jamie was her everything. Phil was just her neighbour.

"Are you working late again tonight?" AJ asked Jamie, the weekend upon them finally, a long hard week at rest, for her anyway. With the teaching job, came getting every weekend off, along with school holidays, which was always a plus.

"Yeah." Jamie nodded, sitting at the kitchen table as AJ cooked up dinner. They had gotten into the habit of having frozen meals, so she wanted to get back into cooking home cooked meals, especially for Jamie who was doing a lot of night shifts at the moment.

"I really hate all these night shifts you are doing. Can't someone else do them?" She asked, folding her arms and looking over at him as he read the paper.

"I don't make up the rota, April. And with your pitiful income, I have to do overtime too." He said, without even thinking about the words he said, suddenly realising how horrible that was, "Sorry." He apologised, "I didn't mean it like..."

"It's fine." AJ said bluntly, looking across at him with a scowl, "You want dinner before you go?" She asked, assuming he would say yes, obviously.

"No, I'm not that hungry." He said, slipping up from the table, tucking the chair in as he folded up the now read paper, sitting it on the counter.

"But I made this full pot of..."

"Then freeze it and I'll have it tomorrow." He looked at her like she was a clueless child, "I'm going to get showered and changed." He said, disappearing out of the kitchen as she rolled her eyes. She'd made a huge pot of chilli, there was no way she was going to eat it all by herself, and her husband apparently wasn't hungry. She supposed it'd be a kind gesture to offer Phil some. He seemed to have been busy this week, not coming home until late on at night. Maybe it would put a smile on the frowning face of his.

Once Jamie had left for work, without much word, AJ made up a pot of some left over chilli, a recipe her mother had taught her that had a secret ingredient no one knew about, not even Jamie. She didn't want Punk to think she was giving him charity food, but she didn't want it to go to waste, and he seemed like a guy with an appetite. She would give it a go.

She knocked on his door, waiting out in the cold with the pot of food still warm, the night dark and quiet, bitter cold. He took a few minutes to answer the door. She watched and heard as he unlocked it, opening it up, revealing himself to her.

He was wearing a pair of basketball shorts and a black Ramones t-shirt. His slicked hair was falling to the side a little, but he quickly tried to slick it back with his hand once he noticed it was her. Why he felt the need to look good for her frazzled him.

"Hi." AJ smiled as Punk nodded.

"Hey, you ok?" He asked, a little confused as to why she was at his door, so late, with a pot of what he assumed was food. He looked around, from habit of his police officer ways, staring on at the dark and quiet street.

"I made too much chilli." She lifted the pot to present him to it, "I thought you'd like some." She said hesitantly as a smile, a gorgeous smile appeared on his face.

"Damn, if I was told I'd be getting cooked for over here I would have moved a while ago." He smiled as she laughed, his eyes glued to her as his stomach turned at that wonderful laugh that he had heard a few times, and all few times seemed like angels were singing, "Come in." He waved her forward, opening the door wider for her as she was surprised.

"Oh, you don't have to invite me in. I was just going to drop it off." She said as he shook his head.

"No, come in. I'll give you some feedback on the chilli." He told her as she smiled with a nod. She knew Jamie would be livid if he found out she was in Punks house as late on as it was, he was the jealous type, but her and Phil were just friends, that was all.

She accepted his request and headed on into the house. It was warm and homely to her surprise. She was expecting it to be cold and empty, like a museum, but he'd made the house look great. The fire was crackling away whilst the TV lit up the room. He had some paper work spread across the couch like he had been doing some work before she came in.

He led her through to the kitchen, which was very nicely fitted, she had to admit. He definitely could pass for a home designer, unless a mom or sister had helped him out.

"Alright, lets try this then." He pulled out a fork as she took a seat on the stool across from his standing frame, smiling as he tried the food. She knew he'd love it.

"Damn." He nodded in rhythm of his tasting, "Where'd you learn how to cook like that?" He smiled.

"My mom." AJ smiled, glad he liked it, "She'd teach me and my sister all different types of dishes. They'd be mostly Spanish." She said, "Maybe I'll make you something Spanish next time." She said. She did feel a little guilty as there was some back and forth flirting, but she would never let anything happen. She knew he was a womaniser and wouldn't care to prey on a married woman or not, but she would never betray Jamie like that. They were just good friends. That was all.

"So you're Spanish?" He asked.

"Puerto Rican. I was born there, but when my parents split up my mom moved here to start over with me and my big sister." She explained. She still wasn't sure if she trusted him entirely, but her heart was trying to tell her that she could tell him anything. He looked genuinely interested in her, unlike Jamie who sometimes wouldn't even listen to her.

"You aren't alone on the parents splitting up thing." He smiled to her sweetly, it was always good to find someone who was similar to him. He always felt like if he met someone who related to him, even in the slightest of ways, they'd get on just fine, "Me and my little brother just lived with our mom. I can't even remember my dad." He laughed. Something about him felt comfortable talking about this with AJ, he trusted her, and she listened. It was always such a touchy subject, but her presence seemed to comfort him. The woman was doing something to him and he wished she would stop it.

"Dads huh? What are they good for?" She said as he chuckled, "I take it your mom gave you some tips on how to decorate. It looks great in here." She complimented as he scratched the back of his neck awkwardly.

"Yeah..." He chuckled, "My mom passed away a few years ago." He told her as her smile faded into a frown of condolence.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I had no idea." She gasped, annoyed at herself for being so careless, but she didn't know, how could she have?

"Don't worry about it." He shook his head, "So why aren't you at home with Jamie?" He asked her, trying to quickly change the subject, not just for him, but for her too, she seemed to have felt bad for bringing up his mother without thought. But she couldn't have known.

"He's on night shift for the next few nights." She said, "I hate being alone in the house at night, but I guess with a cop next door now, makes me feel a lot better." She said.

She got the impression that they could have sat and spoke all day, and sometimes, she felt like her and Jamie couldn't actually do that. She was of course downgrading their relationship, only because it was in her head, she knew they were most definitely in love, but Phil was opening up a lot of new light she had yet to see.

"You got a problem, you know where to come." He winked to her, taking the food she had sweetly given him, wrapping it up and placing it over on the cooker away from them, turning his back to her as she watched him closely.

He was so nice, so genuine and sweet. Even though he'd had a different girl come home with him every night this week no doubt, there was still something sincere and genuine she seen in him. Not to mention his every movement left her breathless. His wink to her let alone nearly had her panties dropping. She hated this. If she felt this way for him, she should be doing her best to get as far away as possible from him, but something wouldn't let herself leave. She was too intrigued in him to leave him alone. She hated herself. She loved her husband. That was all she tried to repeat in her head over and over, but it alarmed her that she had to convince herself.

"Your mom would be proud of you, you know." She smiled, watching him, back facing her, head down as he nodded to himself, "You're really strong, and all the work you're doing. I mean… I don't really know what it is. But it looks like you've been working hard. I see you come home at 11pm at night and leave early in the morning." She smiled, panicking inside that she had maybe went too far. Was it really her place to tell him he was strong? She'd only known him for two weeks, and even at that, she barely knew him.

He turned around with a small smile on his face. She wasn't just beautiful on the outside. It was clear to see that. Like he had said before, he sensed some sort of sadness from her that he couldn't find out what. He knew she was in a commited and 'loving' relationship, and he did believe her, but she was just such a wonderful woman. Inside and out. He hated that his 'feelings' for her, felt different from the feelings he would express for any other women. His mind already knew she was special, and a marriage wasn't going to get in his way.

AJ watched him, moving round the table round to her, looking down at her as she sat looking up. She could have thought of many places she'd love to look up at him… She was absolutely appalled by her train of thought. But it was what he done to her. She'd never acted like this before, and now, with him standing so close, not even the thought of her husband could resist him. Maybe their love wasn't as strong as she thought.

He leaned down, tilting her chin up, looking into those big brown, chocolate eyes, capturing his lips with hers as he indulged in what he could only describe as one of the heavenliest kisses he'd ever had. Her mouth was like soft velvet, warm and inviting. It wasn't just a peck. It was a kiss, a side touching, face cupping kiss, where her mind turned to mush and she drowned in him.

She'd never felt anything like it. She felt drowsy believe it or not. That was how magical his lips felt and his touch, but a part of her knew she was being so disloyal to her husband. She loved Jamie. She did. She just found Phil attractive, and sweet… and kind, and passionate, and loving, and caring… She could have gone on forever. He was everything, but she had everything, and that was the only thing that was strong enough to push him away, even though she didn't want to leave his lips, not now she'd had a taste of them.

Punk had never been so disappointed to be pushed away from a kiss. It was one of the most passionate, hottest kisses he'd ever had. Lacing his fingers through her soft hair whilst she cupped his stubbly cheeks. It was something heavenly that he wanted more of, now that he'd had a taste. He was smart enough to know, that if she was willing enough to kiss him, that her relationship with her husband wasn't what she made it out to be.

"I… I need to go." She looked up at him, briskly walking away out of the kitchen and through the living room with so much guilt as he followed.

"April… April, wait." He asked, but she practically sprinted out of the house, slamming the door shut behind her as he paused in the middle of the living room.

Maybe it wasn't good of him to kiss a married woman, but it was going to happen sooner or later. She was stunning, inside and out, and he could only guarantee that her husband who she loved, wasn't good enough for a woman like her.

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