The Neighbor #4 (The Neighbor Romance Series - Book #4) (8 page)

“Democrat or Republican,” I asked.

“No religion or politics, just like my mama taught
me. Try again.”

“Favorite animal?”

“It sure as hell isn’t a dog like Potato. I like
hippos.”

“Well, that’s original. I like horses.
Favorite food?”

“I like a good Italian meal, like lasagna,” Ryder
answered.

“Too cheesy.
I like doughnuts a lot. Dream vacation?”

“Anywhere with you, Jenna.”

“How sweet…Mines a mountain hideaway. No phone or
electronics for miles.”

“I don’t think I could unplug for more than
twenty-four hours. Even that would be a stretch.”

I grinned.
“Favorite book?”

“
Moby Dick
.
What’s yours?”

“You have all of those great sex books and you
choose
Moby Dick
.”

“I like the classics. You haven’t told me your
favorite book.”

“I’m so busy with school that I have no time to read
for pleasure.”

“That sounds twisted...You aren’t in school at the
moment.
I
think you have a favorite book and you’re
afraid to tell me. You’re a 50 questions cheat.”

“We seem to be out of time Ryder. We can play more
later
and I’m not a cheat. Make the next left,” I directed
Ryder.

“We are heading towards the lake, Jenna. It’s 3 AM,
why the
hell are
we at the lake?”

“Park the car and no more questions.”

“Bossy…It is a trait that I’m starting to see more
of. I
kinda
like it.”

Ryder was puzzled as I got out of the vehicle and
started to strip. Ryder looked on as I shed my clothes stood before him in my
new bra and panties. I gave him the full, lingering view before I stripped them
off as well. I threw my black lace bra at Ryder, which landed on his head.

“You are absolutely crazy. Look at that body. The
cold air agrees with you! Your nipples are rock hard.” Ryder stared at me in
amazement.

“I love the cold air. This is what it’s like to be
alive—to feel everything.”

I splashed into the water and waded up to my knees.
I doused my head in the water and screamed.

“It’s fantastic, Ryder! Come feel what it’s like to
be alive.”

“Uh, I just received a clean bill of health. Are you
trying to make me sick again?”

“Absolutely not, Ryder.
Yesterday you were dying, now it’s time to live. Come join me.”

“Perhaps I’m crazy…but I guess I’m coming in.”

Ryder raced across the sand and dove under the
water. He surfaced and after letting out a shrill scream and he grabbed me in
his arms. I was the coldest I had ever been and in his arms, I was hot.

Ryder kissed me gently, beginning on my chest and
travelling up to my ears, cheeks and eventually my mouth.

“Thank you, Jenna—I think. If this was my jolt back
into life, it worked. I have never felt as alive as
I’m
right now in your arms.”

We continued to kiss in the water that rose up to
our knees. We eventually moved on shore where we snuggled under the blankets
until the sun came up. We fell into a twilight sleep that
was
interrupted
abruptly.

“Excuse me sir. There is no trespassing on state
property between dusk and dawn except for areas designated for overnight
camping,” the man in uniform said.

“Sorry, it was my idea to take a little dip in the
lake last night and we must have dozed,” I said as I smiled bashfully.

“In addition, mam, there is no drinking alcohol on
the premises.” The park ranger pointed at the bottle of champagne.

“Sorry, are you going to give us a ticket? Cause we
were just celebrating the fact that my friend here is cancer free.”

I realized that I had no pants on and my hair was
still wet.

“I’m going to let you off with a verbal warning.
Congratulations on the cancer thing. That is a good one. I will remember that
one if I’m ever pulled over for speeding.”

The park ranger walked away and Ryder shook his
head.

“It’s always an adventure with you, Jenna.” Ryder
smiled and kissed me.

“I guess we should head home. I’ll pick up our
crap,” I said.

“I will check my messages. It sure feels good to
only have one phone.” Ryder smiled.

We began the drive home and Ryder was still hoping
for his hand job. I was willing, until Sammy called. It made me think about
Ryder’s priorities while we were driving. Sammy was always going to be number
one, as I thought he should be. Regardless of where our relationship went, I
always had to keep that in mind.

Slowly, I fell back asleep for the remainder of the
ride home.

“Jenna, wake up sleepy head. We’re home. I mean
you’re at your house and I’m at mine. That is going to get confusing. I have a
surprise for you.”

I was sleepy and I looked like a drowned rat.

“What is my surprise?” I asked

“I got a message from the Dean’s office. The
investigation into our lascivious behavior at the putt- putt course—I can’t
even say that with a straight face—is complete. He wants to meet with us this
afternoon. Are you available?”

“Sure. Shit, this is all happening so fast. What are
we going to do with without all of this drama?”

“I don’t know – breathe? Hopefully not make some
more. But anyway, the meeting is at 4 PM. We should take separate cars.”

“Sounds good.
I hope my mother’s friends at the consignment shop can hook me up.”

“Ask if they have a black pleather cat suit. That
would impress the dean.”

“Right?
I will follow you in my car. I’ll be out front at 2 PM.”

“Bye, Sweetie.”

****

“Mom, I’m home!” I called out as I entered the
house. “I’m finding out my fate today. The dean has called a meeting.”

As I reached the top of the stairs, I caught a naked
Claude running out of my mother’s bedroom. Life was heading in the right
direction for me. Ryder was cancer free and we had just spent a fun adventurous
night together.
My
view of a sixty-year-old man’s ass wasn’t
a welcome part of my day. I shook my head and rubbed my eyes to erase the
picture in my head.

“Oh, hi, Jenna.
We didn’t expect you home so early. Claude said you went to Ryder’s house and I
just assumed you would sleep in.”

“Yeah, long story. Did you hear my news? Dean
Meadows has summoned us to his office. I was going to run down to your favorite
consignment store but I think I can put something together.”

“Are we going to take your car or my sedan?” my
mother asked.

“We?”
I asked. “I don’t believe you were invited Mom. We’ve got it from here.”

“I just assumed that we would be a united front. I
expected to be in this until the end.”

“I don’t mean to hurt your feelings, Mom.”

“I suppose I can remain here with my sweetie. You
will have to call us the instant you receive news though. I bet the dean will
miss me in my Chanel suit, though.”

“Yeah, Mom.
You were quite the powerhouse in that suit.
I
’m sure he’ll
never forget you. Ryder and I are driving separately but we will be caravanning
down. If things don’t go my way, he’ll make sure I don’t drive off a bridge.”

“Not funny, Jenna…Good luck.”

“Thanks, Mom. Love you.”

Chapter
Nine

I pulled off Lewis Ave. with Ryder following behind
me in his Lexus. If one considered gender roles, Ryder would’ve driven first,
but
my
lead foot prevailed. Maybe he was thinking
ladies first. Regardless, Ryder noticed my speed of about seventy miles per
hour and called me. I answered with my car’s Bluetooth.

“Before you say a word, I’m aware of my speed. I
can’t help it.”

“Bad excuse. It is simple mechanics. Just lighten up
on the gas. This isn’t the Indy 500 and
I
don’t want
to lose you this way. I would have to go face the dean alone and it’s not
something I feel like doing.”

“I misspoke. I
can
help it, but I don’t want to. I have a need for speed.
I
think that’s a quote from some movie. It looks like I will
get to campus first; see you there, slow-poke.”

I peeled away from Ryder’s vehicle and turned off
the phone. Instead of listening to Ryder critique my driving, I preferred to
relive our night together at the lake. The invigorating water and Ryder’s warm
body strengthened me for whatever the day had in store. I knew it was
psychological, but Ryder seemed more alive after his appointment with Dr.
Borski. I thought I was free to love him completely because now he was going to
be around for a while. While I was thinking of Dr. Borski, I remembered
something he said, and I had to ask Ryder. I turned my phone back on.

“Hello? I hate when you turn your phone off because
I worry about you.”

“Don’t worry about me. I picked up a hitchhiker and
he was a nice man. He got out at the next rest stop. But seriously, Ryder, I
didn’t know you put on a golf clinic for kids with cancer. Your doctor
mentioned it, so care to elaborate?”

“It’s not one of those things that I talk about too
much. I feel as if I should give back a great deal more. I have some friends at
Magnolia who I have known for years. We started taking a few kids out to hit
the ball and realized that it was something that many kids could benefit from.
You can’t imagine how isolating cancer can be. As an adult, it was hell.
Multiply it 10-fold for kids. Between the others and me, we had the connections
to throw together a free clinic and it has become an annual thing. One guy owns
a clothing company, so he provides the t-shirts and his wife is a graphic
artist and makes up the flyers and name badges. Riko from the club drives the
beverage and snack cart. I even have Sammy helping. He is the senior advisor—he
loves the title. He lets us know what types of things kids like so we can keep
everything relative.”

“I’m impressed. Does your tournament have a name?” I
asked as I pulled in front of Pratt Hall.

“Yeah, but it’s not catchy or anything. We made the
mistake of letting the kids name it. They called it the T-Rex Invitational. It
’s not really named
for the dinosaur but for a ten foot
alligator named T-Rex. He lives in a lagoon on Pelican Island and
is often found
sunning himself on the course. The wildlife
folks tried to corral him, but he’s a sneaky bugger. The kids love the fact
that he eludes capture as they escape cancer. If you listen to their stories,
the gator is twenty-five feet long and he’s eaten at least five people. I don’t
think the kids have ever seen him, but they swear they have.”

There was a long pause. The story of the mythical
alligator made me weepy.

“Hello? Jenna?”

“Hey, I’m here on campus,” I said.

“I know. I’m here too.
I
’m
parked on the other side. I have just been watching you. I could do this all
day long. It’s cool to watch you when you don’t know you’re being watched.”

“
Ew
, Ryder. That’s a
little creepy.”

“You should talk. You have made it a hobby to sit on
the john and watch me sleep.”

“You got me there. I suppose we should go in and
face the music. I will see you in the office. The dean probably has a hidden
camera on us to read our body language so we should go in separately.”

****

Going into the office was routine for me. I walked
in confidently wearing a pair of cords and a golf shirt. I was tired of
dressing up as if I were entering a court of law. A decision
had
been made
and my attire would not have mattered.
I
walked up to the desk where I was greeted by the fat chick. By then, I knew her
well, and she appeared grandmotherly to me.

“Hello, Jenna. You know the drill. The dean will be
out in a moment.” The woman smiled.

Ryder arrived behind me and took a seat next to me
on the leather couch. He had on a blue oxford and a yellow tie with a tack in
the shape of a golf club.

“Hello, Jenna, how
are
you?” Ryder asked.

I wanted to grab his face in my hands and start
making out with him so we could go out in a blaze of glory.

“I’m fine, thanks, Professor Curran.”

Dean Meadows appeared at his office door and nodded
at us to enter his office. He was sporting the gray suit again. I was aware
that men often wore the same suit but changed the tie and shirt. He always wore
a white shirt and the tie had never been anything snazzy.