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He was still trying to figure out how a man as corrupt as Mitch ended up a happily married bastard. He really hadn't seen that one coming. Not to mention the man's wife left him a little confused. She was nothing like the women Mitch usually went for. Instead of the curvy hot little numbers Mitch used to screw around with, Mary was tall, a bit thin and kind of pretty, but more plain than anything, but Mitch couldn't seem to get enough of her.

Thank god he had absolutely no plans on marrying for love. There was no way he was going to allow himself to become as pathetic as these three.

"Well?" he asked, snagging the beer away from Mitch. The man paused in mid-text to send Trevor a glare, but smartly kept his mouth shut and grabbed another beer only to have it stolen away from him by Jason.

"Thanks," Jason said, also ignoring Mitch's sad little glare. After a few seconds the man gave up and returned his attention to his phone. When he smiled like a love sick bastard, Trevor had to look away. It was either that or lose his lunch.

"Since when do I need an invite?" Jason asked, sounding truly confused as he popped the top off his beer.

"Whatever," Trevor said, in no mood to argue. He was f**king starving. The three bags of chips he'd devoured had barely taken the edge off his hunger. He would have had more if his cousin hadn't eaten him out of house and home.

"Maybe we should order some food," Zack, one of the new guys from work, suggested.

Jason snorted at that. "No one will deliver here."

"Why not?" Henry, another guy from work, asked as he looked inside an empty chip bag and frowned.

"Because we're banned," Trevor snapped, wishing they'd all shut the hell up so he could watch the game.

"How-" Zack started to ask only to get cut off by Brad.

"You really don't want to know," Brad stressed.

"But-"

"I'm serious."

"I've never heard-"

"Just let it go," Brad said.

"But, I don't understand how-"

"And you really never will. Trust me," Brad stressed.

After a short pause Zack shrugged his curiosity off, which Trevor appreciated. He was starving and in no mood to explain how the fast food industry had shunned them over a few minor misunderstandings.

"Hey, I thought you said that fat chick that works in the office lived next door and was going to order us some food," Henry said, sounding irritated.

Trevor just barely stopped himself from defending Zoe. He didn't think she was fat. Curvy? Hell yeah, but he knew better than to open his mouth to defend her. He had to deal with enough of the high school drama bullshit at work, he wasn't about to deal with it at home.

Jason snorted. "Haley will kick your ass if she hears you talking about her friend," he pointed out as he doubled checked the empty potato chip bags.

That kind of surprised Trevor, not that Haley would try and kick someone's ass since he'd heard plenty of amusing stories about her fighting skills, but that Haley considered Zoe a friend. Then again there was still a lot about Zoe that he didn't know about. Something that shouldn't bother him since she was really just a tenant and an employee of sorts, but it did.

"Why don't one of us order?" Zack said, pulling his cell phone out of his pocket.

"Won't work," Mitch said absently, never looking up from his phone.

"Why not?"

"Because they won't deliver here if a guy calls up," Brad said, leaning further back so Jason could reach past him to check the empty bowls on the end tables. "It has to be a woman."

"Look, you either go ask Zoe to order food or I'm going to start getting cranky," Jason snapped.

"Getting?" Brad repeated, chuckling.

"Shut up, damn it! I need food!"

"Anything to get you to stop whining," Trevor said, getting to his feet. Truth be told he was getting a little cranky. Zoe knew he was having the guys over and should have already ordered them food a couple of hours ago. She was usually on top of these things. He knew she hadn't forgotten that he was having the guys over since she'd filled his counters with junk food and his fridge with beer and soda.

Speaking of junk food....

After she ordered them food she was going to have to run out and grab some more junk food and maybe after that he'd have her run out and hit the barbeque place over on Fourth Street and get them a couple buckets of ribs. His stomach growled at the idea even as he gave himself another pat on the back. Hiring Zoe really was the best thing he'd ever done.

Too bad she didn't cook, otherwise he'd have her cook him breakfast in bed. That would have made this arrangement perfect, but he'd settle for her running out tomorrow morning and picking him up a fresh coffee cake from Mary Lou's. Of course she'd have to head over there before seven otherwise they'd sell out quickly. He hadn't had Mary Lou's coffee cake in three years since they started making it only on Saturday morning and he was usually too damn exhausted and lazy to get his ass out of bed and go get it, but he no longer had to worry about that problem thanks to his little tenant.

He walked out into the hallway, not bothering to close his door and rapt once on her door before opening it only to find his entrance suddenly blocked.

"Hi, Trevor," Zoe said brightly as she tried to close the door another inch.

"What's going on?" he asked, curious since she never denied him entrance. Since they set up their little arrangement neither one of them bothered locking their doors. Leaving the doors unlocked made it easier for him when he needed a favor or grab his lunch and for her to clean his apartment and run his errands.

"Nothing," Zoe said even as she tried to close the door a little more. With a tired sigh he reached out and placed his hand on her door, easily stopping her. "Is there something I can help you with?" she asked with a nervous smile, he noted. She shifted to block his view into her apartment, well she tried, but since he towered over her she kind of failed.

"Well," he said, looking past her into her tidy apartment, "I was wondering if you could order us some food."

She suddenly looked over her shoulder and noticeably started.

"Is something wrong?" he asked, frowning as he leaned in to see what was going on only to find himself shoved back as Zoe swiftly stepped out of her apartment and closed the door before he could see what the hell was going on.

"No, no, nothing is wrong," she said brightly, a little too brightly for his comfort, but he was willing to let it go as long as the house wasn't burning down and she got his damn food.


Tags: R.L. Mathewson Neighbor from Hell Young Adult