I released him and paced with my hands on my head. “I shouldn’t have done that.” Fuck. I just attacked my boss. I was losing it.
“It’s cool. But you better find a way to deal. I can’t have you assaulting my employees or patrons.”
I stopped and glowered at him.
“Nik, if Rita’s who you want, go after her. Do right by her. Maybe she’s special and that’s why you can’t get it up for any other woman.”
He had a point. What was it about Rita that kept me from fucking anything with long legs and big tits? This had never happened to me before.
“Yeah. I’ll think about it. We done here?” I needed to get out of this small, suffocating room.
“Sure. Let me know if you need anything.”
“Yeah.”
I left Derek’s office feeling like I was going to come out of my skin. Women eyed me, flashing big, beautiful smiles.
Nothing stirred inside me. All I could see was Rita’s pretty hazel-green eyes. And I kept walking.
Tomorrow would be different. I’ll talk to Rita, be neighborly… her friend.
Friend. I shook my head.
I was totally screwed up. I didn’t have women as friends. But if I wanted to do right by Rita and make Nana happy, I had to try to be a better man—not the manwhore, the one-and-done guy I’d been since high school.
I needed to be boyfriend material and worthy of Rita Rocha.
5
Rita
SEVEN DAYS HAD passed since that sunny SoCal day when Nik Tevez moved in across the street and stared at me with his penetrating black eyes at my dinner table. No man had ever affected me quite like Nik. All my senses were at a heightened level. And my emotions? They were so out of this world, they were floating around in orbit near Venus.
Granny had bugged me about asking Nik to Sunday dinner as if it were a regular thing. She said she enjoyed the company of someone other than me. Of course, I tried not to let her statement hurt my feelings. I knew she missed Bea something awful, so I didn’t dwell on Granny’s words.
To my relief, Nik and his girlfriend couldn’t make it to dinner. He’d made an excuse about having other plans through a small crack in his door when I’d gone over to ask if they’d be over. It was strange, but I’d accepted his reply and quickly left.
Granny had refused to accept his reply, but I’d managed to distract her with a trip to Target. She loved to shop. I, on the other hand, hated shopping. But I would do it if it meant not seeing Nik.
Our shopping trip turned out to be fun. Granny had the best time strolling down every aisle and savored the mocha frappuccino I bought her on the way home.
Monday, while I mowed the grass, Nik had waltzed out of his house shirtless and mowed his lawn as well. He didn’t acknowledge me as a neighbor would with a wave or nod. But then I didn’t do those things either, so we were even in my book.
Each time we had faced each other, my heart rumbled louder than the sound of the lawnmower. I felt Nik’s eyes on me, though I couldn’t see them behind his aviator sunglasses.
We’d finished around the same time and both retreated into our individual homes.
That night, I had touched myself while thinking of Nik. I came harder than ever before while getting myself off. I’d imagined his lips around my clit, his teeth biting down on it when I pinched my little ball of nerves. It was so phenomenal, I did it again the next morning.
Wednesday afternoon, I had tested Nik. It was another triple-digit day, perfect for washing my white Ford Fiesta. I put on my shortest pair of shorts and a red bikini top that showed lots of side boob. I’d tied my hair up in a messy bun, brought my wireless Bluetooth speaker out as I always did, and put on my dance playlist—the one full of songs I couldn’t help but shake my ass to.
I’d barely gotten my bucket filled with water and car soap when Nik’s garage door opened. He tinkered on his Harley while I lathered up my car to the rhythm of The Weeknd’s “Blinding Lights.”
In the hour it had taken to wash and dry my Fiesta, I’d made sure to bend over frequently. Mrs. Lopez, from next door, had stopped to chat when she got her mail. She was a loud talker and laughed even louder. Making a show of things was her specialty. I’d gone along with it purely to tease Nik and make him want me.
Again, neither of us had acknowledged the other. It was the strangest thing if you asked me, ignoring your neighbor. But each time Nik was breathing the same air as me, my body started to buzz and hum. And like before, Nik had gone inside his house not long after I had retreated into mine.
I’d taken an hour-long shower yesterday, letting my mind run wild, imagining what Nik would do to me if he’d joined me.