The Girl Across the Hall Read online

  The Girl Across the Hall

  Copyright © 2016 Thayer King

  Cover designed by maxcovers www.fiverr.com/maxcovers

  All rights reserved. This book or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the publisher except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.

  Contents

  Chapter One

  Chapter Two

  Chapter Three

  Chapter Four

  Chapter Five

  Chapter Six

  Chapter Seven

  Chapter

  Chapter Nine

  Chapter Ten

  Chapter Eleven

  Chapter Twelve

  Chapter Thirteen

  Chapter Fourteen

  Chapter Fifteen

  Epilogue

  Coming Soon: I Want You Back

  Keep Up With Me

  Chapter One

  Zoe Browning hugged her bag of Chinese takeout to her chest as she slid into the slightly crowded elevator. Noting that the button for the seventh floor had already been pressed, she leaned back against the side wall. Her gaze was immediately snagged by the man lounging on the opposite wall with his arm draped around a scantily clad girl in a small tank top and even smaller mini skirt. In spite of his arm candy, his eyes locked with hers and refused to let go. Drat! Zoe would have hopped off the elevator and caught the next one up, but the doors were already closing.

  She didn’t know his name. Well, she didn’t know the names of any of her neighbors. She liked her privacy and her personal space. In the absence of real names, she gave the neighbors that she ran into with regular frequency nicknames. There was the old man who lingered in the lobby whose mailbox was near hers who coughed and smelled like cabbage. She’d given him the moniker of Mr. Veggie Soup. Then there was the Cat Lady and the Gossip whose names were self-explanatory.

  By far, her worse neighbor was the man that stood across her giving her a thorough examination. She called him The Pervert. Each time she ran into him he had a different girl on his arm, but that didn’t stop him for giving her the x-ray treatment. Zoe found it to be especially perturbing since she didn’t dress in a manner that should attract male attention. She didn’t want to be noticed. At the moment, she wore a rayon jumpsuit that was two sizes too large and hung off her frame like a sack. Did that stop The Pervert from staring? Nope.

  She dropped her eyes and took a deep breath. She shifted her feet and adjusted her package. The food was so hot, it was beginning to scald her but she refused to hold it by the plastic handles. It was a small shield between her and The Pervert’s eyes, but aside from her purse, it was all she possessed at the moment.

  The elevator stopped and everyone except The Pervert and his group exited. The Pervert was accompanied by another man with a pretty lady snuggled up to his side. Zoe bit her lip. When her eyes collided with The Pervert’s again, he was still giving her that intense stare from blue eyes that seemed to see too much. Diverting her attention to his friends, she saw the other man glance at The Pervert before smirking at her.

  Zoe quickly looked away. Finally, the elevator stopped on their floor. She was the first to exit. She walked/ran to her door with The Pervert strolling casually behind. Zoe whipped her keys out of her pocket and got her door open just as he arrived at his apartment directly across from hers.

  “Have a good evening, Zoe,” a deep male voice murmured.

  Zoe whirled around to see that he had his door open and had let his friends inside. Heart pounding, she nodded then let herself into her place and shut and locked the door almost in one motion. “How does he know my name?” she whispered, afraid that he might still be lingering in the hallway.

  With some effort, she shook off the sensation of being pursued. This was the first time he’d spoken to her. She didn’t view it as a good sign.

  She put her food and purse down on the small table in her kitchen where she ate most of her meals. A sense of relief that the weekend was here soothed her. She probably wouldn’t leave her apartment again until Monday. She didn’t have any plans other than playing games on her computer and maybe a little reading.

  She went to her bedroom and changed into a large t-shirt and oversized pajama bottoms. Her favorite cardigan, a rather worn beige cotton weave that was also too large, lay across the end of her bed. She pulled it on as well and then ensconced her feet in a warm, fuzzy pair of boucle socks.

  She got a bottle of water from the fridge before sitting down to eat. She moved her purse to the back of a chair. The carton of fried rice was still steaming when she removed the paper carton from the bag. She got up to get a fork and a bowl. She’d begun eating when the quiet in the apartment seemed to close in on her. So she got up again and turned on the television in the den. Lately, she’d been watching a lot of cooking shows. She’d love to experiment with some of the recipes, but there didn’t seem to be much point as she’d have to consume the entire meal herself. She did like her quiet, but there were moments when she wished she had someone.

  Zoe sighed and took a gulp of water. From past experience, she knew the swamping feeling of loneliness would pass. She’d immerse herself in a game or a book. Maybe she’d call her aunt. Or maybe she should get a cat. Just one though. She didn’t want to be the second cat lady in the building.

  ***

  Noah Granger smiled as Zoe scurried away from him. She didn’t realize that running would only excite him more. She was such a shy, little thing, always burying her body in baggy clothing. But Noah had his suspicions about what lay beneath the dowdy clothing and he wanted to see, touch and lick every inch of it.

  “Noah, babe, are you coming in or what?” Sharon called.

  “Sure,” he said, just barely hiding a scowl at her use of the endearment. He was no one’s “babe.” It was a sign that he and Sharon had hit that point where it was time for him to end their fling. He’d made it clear to Sharon from the start that he wasn’t interested in anything serious. But they had been seeing each other for almost a month. Last Friday, she’d wanted him to stay over at her place. Noah didn’t do sleepovers. So, yeah, it was definitely time to part ways with Sharon. He didn’t want to lead her on and make her think that he’d changed his mind about being in a relationship.

  He headed for the kitchen where his friends were gathered. Ty was already raiding his fridge for beer. Sharon and Ty’s girlfriend Julie sat at the table. “We were thinking about ordering pizza,” Julie said.

  “Sounds great,” Noah agreed. They spent the next few minutes discussing toppings. Sharon was proving to be difficult since she didn’t want anything but cheese on her side, not even sauce. They finally decided to order two pizzas. Noah and Ty went downstairs to wait for the pizza so that the delivery guy wouldn’t have to ride the elevator up.

  “What’s with you and your neighbor?” Ty asked.

  “Nothing—yet.”

  Ty laughed. “I’m not sure why you want the mousy little thing, but you’re terrifying the poor girl.”

  Noah silently acknowledged that this could be true, but he didn’t care. Whenever she was around, he couldn’t help looking his fill. He shrugged. “She’ll come around. And she’s not mousy. She’s beautiful.” Ty was a fool if he couldn’t appreciate her beauty. She had smooth caramel skin, big dark brown eyes, and a plump mouth that made his dick hard. But lately, Ty was absorbed in Julie. That was fine with Noah. That meant no competition for him.

  Ty grunted. “She might come around faster if you didn’t already have a girl on your arm. And I wasn’t referring to her looks so much as her behavior.”

  Noah spotted the pizza delivery guy and pulled out his wallet. “I won’t have a g
irl on my arm for long.” He extracted a couple of twenties and paid for the pizza and included a tip.

  “And you don’t think nailing your neighbor is a bad idea?” Ty asked, pressing the button for the elevator. The doors immediately slid open.

  “Why should it be? We’ll keep it casual. No feelings involved.”

  Ty shook his head. He leaned against the elevator railing and crossed his feet in front of him. “It’s too close to home,” he advised. “If it goes wrong, there’s no escaping it. Unless you’re willing to move?”

  Noah pressed the button for the seventh floor. “No, but it won’t come to that. Think of the convenience,” he said with a lascivious grin.

  Ty chuckled. “And what will you do when you’re in the mood for a different flavor?” It was no secret that Noah didn’t have a preference when it came to women. He loved them all—tall, short, blonde, brunette, skinny, voluptuous, dark, light. It didn’t matter.

  He shrugged. “I guess I can be gentlemanly enough to sample other flavors elsewhere.”

  Ty choked. “You want her so bad you’d be willing to never bring another girl home again?”

  Noah rolled his eyes. “You act like that’s a big deal. I don’t like bringing girls to my place. It encourages the surprise pop in.” He shuddered. It had only happened to him once, but, damn, it had been ugly. It was an experience he did not care to repeat.

  “Whatever. Julie really likes Sharon. Sure you don’t want to hang onto her a bit longer?”

  “Julie likes Sharon because she did her hair for free.” For him, it was another red flag. Sharon was trying to weave her way into his social circle. He had to give it to her. The girl worked fast.

  Sharon straddled his lap and sealed her mouth to his. Noah let her have her way for a moment before gripping her waist and moving her off him. She landed beside him on the sofa with a small bounce. He’d debated a goodbye fuck but decided it wasn’t worth the possible fallout. Besides, it would be a dick move to fuck her and then dump her.

  Sharon licked her lips. “Did you want to take this to your bedroom?”

  “No. Look, we need to talk.”

  Her thinly plucked eyebrows rose. “Really?”

  He nodded. “We’ve been seeing each other for a while now and we both know that we weren’t looking for anything long term.”

  “That’s true,” she said slowly. “But I thought things were going well.”

  Noah faltered. He couldn’t argue that. There was nothing wrong with Sharon, but for him, it was just physical. He didn’t miss her or think about her when she wasn’t around. Not knowing what else to say, he told her what he would have wanted to hear—the truth. “I still don’t want a relationship and if we keep seeing each other, I’m afraid someone might get hurt.”

  “By someone, you mean me, don’t you?” She tugged the hem of her shirt, a wasted effort as the tank was so short it barely reached her midriff. When he didn’t answer, she stood and glared down at him. “You don’t give a damn about me, do you?”

  Damn, he thought. This had the possibility of turning ugly. This is what he got for being too lazy to find someone new instead of continuing to call on a sure thing. Noah hated ugly scenes. It was another reason he avoided relationships. Too damn much work. “Sharon, I like you.”

  Her eyes narrowed. “You mean you like fucking me. But now you’re ready to move on to someone new. Is this about that weird neighbor of yours?”

  “Don’t call her weird,” Noah snapped. “She’s shy not weird.” Zoe didn’t deserve to be maligned just because Sharon was jealous. The more Sharon talked, the more he realized he was right to stop seeing her.

  “So it is about her?”

  “No, I’ve never even held a conversation with her.”

  “What does that even mean? We didn’t talk until after we fucked.”

  “Shit.” Standing, Noah ran his fingers through his hair. He was frustrated and getting irritated. “This is why I don’t do commitments. I don’t need the fifth degree from you, Sharon. You don’t own me.”

  “Fine.” She bent and retrieved her shoes from beneath his coffee table. She hopped on one foot as she struggled to do up the strap. “I wish you’d told me earlier. I could have caught a ride with Ty and Julie.”

  “I’ll pay for your cab,” Noah offered.

  “Don’t do me any favors. I’ll call my roommate.” Sighing, he walked her to the door. She turned back to him just as he was pushing the door closed. She smirked at him. “You know, I almost feel sorry for you. Guys like you go through life stomping on women’s hearts until you get your comeuppance. In your case, it just may come in the form of your neighbor. I only wish I could be here to see her do it.” She cast a glance over her shoulder. “She’s far too smart to fall for a manwhore like you.”

  His jaw tightened. “Sharon, you knew what this was going in. Don’t act like this was a one-sided thing. Or were you lying to me all along? Did you think I’d change my mind?”

  “Go to hell, Noah.” She tossed her hair as she whipped around and sauntered to the elevator. Rolling his eyes, Noah shut his door and locked it, glad that he’d followed his instincts and avoided one last fuck. He could only imagine how much worse that scene could have gone if they’d been naked and in his bedroom.

  Chapter Two

  Noah groaned as his phone rang at six on a Saturday morning. Without bothering to roll over or sit up, he reached a hand from beneath the covers to fumble around for his cell. Barely cracking open an eyelid, he thumbed the phone icon across the touchscreen to answer the call. The brightness of the lit up screen in the otherwise dark room hurt his eyes. “You must have a death wish,” he grumbled into the receiver as he disconnected his phone from its charger.

  “Noah,” said a slightly breathless female voice. “Are you alone?”

  “Avery? Is that you?” He grinned. He hadn’t heard from her in months.

  She coughed. “Uh, yeah. Could you open your door? I’m outside your apartment.”

  “Really? Why?” He rolled over and tossed back the covers. He made a single step before glancing down at himself. He wore only boxer briefs.

  “Just come open the door.”

  “Okay, give me a second.” He disconnected the call and tossed his phone onto his bed. Rubbing his hands over his face, he went to his closet and grabbed a pair of jeans. He pulled them and worked up the zipper on his way to the door. He also checked his hair as he passed a mirror. Though his hair was a little wild it was mostly under control.

  “Avery!” He hugged her tight until she stiffened and pulled away. She never did like displays of affection. But he’d been unable to resist. He closed the door behind her. “You look good.” And she did. Her long blonde hair flowed over her shoulders in silky shining waves. She wore no makeup, but Avery had a girl-next-door type of beauty that was fresh and clean. She had big, baby blue eyes that could fool a less savvy person into believing that she was a total innocent. Ty had jokingly called her Noah’s female twin because of the way she went through men. But of late, there had been only one man for Avery.

  “Yeah, you, too.” She glanced at him and away again. “Do you think you could put on a shirt?”

  Noah smirked. “Too distracting?”

  “Do get over yourself.”

  Laughing, he retreated to his bedroom and grabbed the first t-shirt he came across. He came out to find Avery poking around in his kitchen. He leaned against the wall and watched her make coffee. “What’s it been now? Three months?”

  “Four,” she said with a frown as she concentrated on making coffee.

  “So, to what do I owe this honor? And why are you here so early in the morning?”

  “I broke up with Patrick.” Her voice was flat and emotionless.

  Noah jolted. “What? Why?” Last he’d heard, they were practically engaged.

  “I was tired of him dictating who I could and couldn’t see.”

  He winced. This was his fault. He didn’t have a permanent relat
ionship because he didn’t want one. It wasn’t because he didn’t believe in love and he certainly didn’t begrudge his friends their happiness. He’d understood why Patrick didn’t want Avery hanging out with him. The fact that he and Avery had been nothing but platonic friends since high school didn’t convince Patrick that Noah wouldn’t eventually make a move on her. Noah had taken it all in stride. It wasn’t the first time one of Avery’s boyfriends had been jealous of him. Noah tried to keep a low profile if he was causing his friend a problem. For Patrick, Avery had cut Noah completely out of her life. He didn’t like it, but he’d understood.

  “I’m really sorry, Avery. I can talk to him if you want.”

  She sighed. “Don’t bother. I’ve missed hanging out with you and Ty.”

  In high school, his mom had called them the Three Musketeers. Those times were long gone now. “Well, as you know, Ty is attached at the hip to Julie.”

  “Ty told me you were seeing someone. She’s not here, is she?”

  “No. You know I don’t do sleepovers and I broke up with Sharon last night.”

  “Why?”

  He shrugged. “It was time.”

  She got two coffee mugs out of his cabinet. “Noah…do you ever want to fall in love?”

  “Not you, too,” he groaned. “I get this enough from my family.” His brother and his parents were always badgering him to settle down. They were all happily married and thought that he should be starting a family as well.

  “This isn’t about you. It’s about me. Well, me and Patrick.”

  “So your question is purely hypothetical?”

  “Yeah.”

  He nodded. “I don’t know. There are times when I think it might not be so bad. I see happy couples and I wonder what that would be like. Listen, if you broke up with Patrick because of me-”

  “What do you mean?” she asked sharply.

  Noah frowned. She sounded panicked and it really made him think that this was his fault. “Because he didn’t want you around me. I understood. He might eventually come around.”