The Neighbor #3 (The Neighbor #3) (6 page)

I gave away nothing. “Many thirty-three year
old people have kids. By now, it is understandable that you would have an
ex-wife. You are not unique. Why keep Sam a secret? It was apparent you are
fond of him.”

“I love Sammy, and once I get started talking
about him, I won’t stop. I have turned to secrets because I want an authentic
relationship. If women know I have cancer, they tend to take pity on me. When
they find out I have a kid, they run for the hills.”

“Why do you think that is?” I asked.

He released my hands and started pacing.

“I have heard it all. I have been accused of
being a bad father, used up, or old.”

“I don’t think you are used up and you are
clearly not a bad father. You get points for creativity with the Frisbee golf
course,” I said.

Ryder laughed. “So you saw that? Okay, what
about old?”

I was starting to relax. “You are older, but
that’s just math. I suck at math—remember.”

“Yeah.
You’re no Einstein when it comes to numbers.”

I stood up and punched him in the arm.

“You were going to get your hit in
eventually.”

“You deserved it. I don’t know if I can trust
you again...”

Ryder put his hands on my shoulders and looked
at me intensely.

“I have never lied to you about the way I
feel. I was just so damn scared of losing you. There is just something
happening here that I don’t think I have ever felt before.
How
about another try, without the deception?”

I had heard about taking a leap of faith. I
felt that I was about to take one.

“I will try my best to believe in you if you
try just as hard to be honest. I don’t really have a choice in the matter since
you are my golf instructor, professor and you live next-door to my mother.”

“What if I was none of those things? What if I
were just Ryder?”

“Hmm.
I guess just Ryder would be fine.” I pretended to be disappointed.

“Get over here smart ass and give me a kiss.”
Ryder pulled me in tight and took me to the ground.

We kissed in the sand, but it was not like the
scene in
From Here to Eternity
. We
shared a lingering kiss, but sand got in the places I feared. Despite the
discomfort, I was transported by Ryder’s touch.

“We need to work on your putting this week.
Can it be arranged?”

“This is meant to be a romantic reunion and
you are talking to me about golf?”

“We need to keep up appearances, and I am your
instructor.
Your
putting sucks. Let’s go to the local
putt-putt joint. You claim to be good at miniature golf.”

“Okay coach. Call me tonight and we will set
something up.” I pulled myself together and started to leave.

“I missed you, Walsh.”

I laughed.

Chapter
Seven

Driving back to school, I felt as if I had
dropped fifty pounds. I was light again. I guess I didn’t know how much Ryder
had seeped into my everyday life. It affected how I got along with my mother,
my BFF, Max, and everyone I met. Kelly from Kansas must have thought I was a
real piece of work. I didn’t know if it was a good thing or a bad thing that a
man had such influence on me. The scariest part was I didn’t have a choice.
Ryder was becoming an important part of my life, if not the most important
part.

I arrived at Leach hall. Before I went to my
room and tried to convince Kelly that I was normal, I checked my phone. I had
received six messages from Ryder, each one sweeter than the last. I grabbed my
gear and ran into the dorm.

“Hey,
Kel
.
Did you have a good weekend?” I bounded into
the room.

“It wasn’t bad. How was home?” Kelly asked.

“It just dawned on me that I went home for the
long weekend you were sitting here in Leach Hall. You’re two-thousand miles
from home. I should have brought you home with me.” I felt like a terrible
friend. “To answer your question, my weekend went from bad to horrid to
spectacular.”

“At least it ended on a positive note."
Her tone was optimistic.

“Yeah, Kelly, it ended very positive. Will you
help me unpack some of this shit I grabbed from my mom’s house? She could be on
an episode of
Hoarders
. I went
through her medicine chest and got all sorts of stuff including this mouthwash.
She had a couple so I snagged one. You are welcome to everything.” It was my
last resort to drop hints to Kelly about her breath.

“Thanks, but my
folks
travel so much that they have loaded me up with samples. I am exhausted from a
packed weekend. They had a foreign film festival on campus. I must have watched
20 films. I am putting in my buds and checking out. The light won’t be a
problem.”

“Okay. We will catch up another time.”

I had not slept well all weekend, so I was
asleep as soon as my head hit the pillow.

****

“Morning, Ryder. I will see you in class later
this morning. I wish I had something exciting to say but I’m half asleep,” I
mumbled.

“I’m on my way to campus. I went online and I
have options for putt-putt this afternoon,” Ryder said in a voice that was far
too jovial for 7AM.

“I want to be pink.”

“Color choice is easy, Walsh. We have to
choose a course and each one has its own theme. The one off the highway has the
Seven Wonders of the World. I hear the hole featuring the Pyramids is crazy
impossible. There is the African Safari course close to campus that has a
petting zoo attached. They also have a pop music miniature golf place. I don’t
know about you, but I don’t want to go into Justin Bieber’s hole. The options
are vast,” Ryder said.

I laughed. “Wow. You have really done your
research. If they cover the Seven Wonders of the World, then what do they do
with the other holes?”

“You are the history student.”

“I am a little behind in history, Ryder, and
all I learn from your class is the history of sex.”

“That would make a cool miniature golf course.
I wonder what they would say if I proposed it on Shark Tank. I could franchise
the thing. I could set up all kinds of holes both male and female. Of course, I
would include one that looks like a mouth. With you as my model, I could craft
a spectacular mouth.”

We both laughed. “Well, if dating a student
won’t get you fired, that idea will do the trick.”

His voice changed. “You don’t seem as
enthusiastic as I am about our golf adventure. Is there something up?”

“It’s still early, Ryder, and I’m still in my
jammies. It takes me a while to get used to the day,” I said.

“Jammies?
I can’t wait to wake up next to you again. We can linger in bed all
day but you must know one thing…”

“Yes?”

“I have a strict no jammies policy in my
bedroom.”

“What if it’s cold?”

“I’ll keep you warm, and I still owe you a new
pair of panties. And again, I’m sorry about destroying the last ones.”

“Don’t be sorry. You can take me shopping.”

“Will you model them for me?”

Now I was starting to feel awake.
“Would love to.”

“That’s what I like to hear. Anyway, I‘m
driving down the highway and I’m hard as a rock. I miss your warm pussy. I
almost tore your clothes off on the beach the other day. Can you talk me
through this little problem? I can’t teach a class like this.”

“Ryder, you aren’t getting phone sex when I am
still waiting for the real thing.” I hung up the phone. I laughed as I imagined
Ryder driving down I-26 with a hard-on.

****

My first class was human sexuality with Ryder,
which necessitated a shower. I had become accustomed to smelling like my
mother’s bathroom. I picked out some peach scented shampoo and vanilla body
wash. I would smell like a candy factory, but it was better than nothing. As I
tuned on the warm water, I heard a familiar voice.

“Hey, Jenna.
It’s Eric and I’m here without Diane. She
sent me in with no shampoo. Any chance you have some I can borrow?”

Bizarre, I thought. Even more bizarre that I
came to think of hairy armed Eric as my shower buddy. It was a girl’s bathroom
after all.

“Yeah, no problem.
I have some Orchard Peach Desire. It works,
and if you like peaches you will love it,” I said as I passed the bottle under
the divider.

“Thanks, Jenna. Do chicks dig this scented
shit?” Eric asked.

“Some do. I have some vanilla body wash as
well. You can rub this on Diane. She may be into it.”

“I will give it a try. Um—her skin down there
is sensitive. She is always getting some sort of infection. Do you know if this
stuff is gentle?”

Awkward.

“I can’t say for sure. I have not used it
internally, if that is what you’re talking about. FYI—they make oils and
lotions especially for that area.”

“Any ones in particular that you recommend?”
Eric asked.

“I will have to get back to you on that Eric.”

“Cool. Diane’s birthday is coming up and I
think it will be a nice treat.”

I toweled off as I thought about my encounter
with Eric. I would ask Max if he had made a visit to an adult store recently.
My other option was to do my own research and I could take Ryder along. It
would be the neighborly thing to do, helping Eric.
Nothing
wrong with helping a brother out.
I walked back to my room.

“Hey, Kelly.
Good morning. What
ya
reading?” I asked my roommate as she lounged on her bed.

“Not cramming for my mid-terms. I picked up
some travel guides on France. Many of the films I recently watched were French
and I am mulling over a visit. I might look into the foreign exchange program.
Who knows? But it’s a dream,” Kelly said.

“It’s a worthy dream. I dream I won’t flunk
out of school.” I laughed.

I figured I would change things up a little.
I
was tiring of neon and I thought it was a trend that was
on the way out. I pulled on a red and white patterned skirt and a white sweater
with a deep V-neck. The skirt was short with a dangerously high slit. I figured
it wouldn’t work for a trip to Magnolia but it would be perfect for putt-putt.
It would be perfect for Ryder—easy access. I threw on my signature silver
bangles and my red Toms. I was overdressed for an early morning class but I
didn’t care.

I met Max before class. We took our usual
seats behind Rozi, Rosemary, and now the ever-present Valerie.

“What’s the deal with Valerie?” I whispered.

Max rolled his eyes.

“How was your long weekend at home?” Max
asked.

“Fine.
I’m sure you had a crazy weekend. I can’t wait to hear the details.”

“I didn’t hit The Spot or anything like that.
I am pursuing other interests. I’m not as old as
you know who
, but I am maturing. I can’t burn the candle on both
ends and expect to keep it up.”

It was a herculean task to keep from laughing.
Max went through phases. It was part of his charm and I expected him to hit the
party circuit again soon.

“What are these other interests you are
pursuing, Max?” I asked.

“Foreign films.
French films in particular. It’s a beautiful
language and those French know how to handle a love story.”

I was about to mention to Max that my roommate
Kelly had a similar interest, when Ryder walked into the room. The look he gave
me directly was mischievous. He had been playful since our morning
conversation. It was a side of him I liked.

“Today, we will begin our third unit, which
deals with the history of sex. I think you will be surprised how it all
started.”

Ryder was delivering a lecture, which was a
departure from the way he usually conducted class. There was no Q&A. He
roamed among us as he spoke of Eve to Cleopatra. He talked of Helen of Troy as
if he knew her, and famous Hollywood couples, such as Bogie and Bacall, Hepburn
and Tracy, Jolie and Pitt, etcetera.

He walked down the aisle behind mine. He was
babbling on about the history of love and of sex, and how one could not exist
without the other. He faked dropping his pen. When he reached down to pick it
up, he dropped an envelope on my desk. I waited until he was further away
before I opened it.

You got me going this morning, Walsh. I hope
you’re planning to pick up where we left off. I always repay my debts. I
believe this is your size.

There was a black lace thong neatly folded in
the envelope. Ryder looked in my direction and winked. I began to sweat. I took
off the jacket I was wearing over my plunging white sweater giving Ryder a
clear view of my breasts as they rose and fell with my quickened breaths. Ryder
paused to clear his throat. I shoved the envelope in my purse and Ryder
continued his lecture. I didn’t take notes or listen for the remainder of the
class.