The Girl Next Door
Chapter 23

August of senior year of college...

I pull my Jeep over to the curb and hit the hazards before jumping out. A burst of hot air hits me as I search the thick crowd of people flowing in and out of the airport.

The moment I see her blond head, I shout at the top of my lungs, "Alyssa!" There is so much noise and people that it takes a few minutes for her to notice me. "Over here!" I wave my arms like a crazy person to grab her attention. A bright smile lights up her face as she drags a pile of suitcases behind her. Alyssa doesn't understand what the concept of traveling light entails. Actually, for her, this is traveling light.

I race toward her, maneuvering around weary passengers. As soon as she's within striking distance, I throw my arms around her, pulling her close and squeezing her tight. For a solid minute, we jump up and down with excitement. "It's so freaking good to see you!" Unable to contain my giddiness, I hop from one foot to the other.

"It's good to be seen," she laughs, embracing me again. "I missed your face!"

"I missed yours more!" Tears of joy prick my eyes. My parents bought me a plane ticket for my birthday last year, and I flew over to visit during Christmas break. We had an amazing time. I met all her new friends, and we visited museums and Buckingham Palace. We drank pints at the local pub and flirted with cute footballers.

Who knew that soccer players were so sexy?

My trip to England gave me a whole new appreciation for the sport.

I pull away, holding her at arm's length, before giving her a quick once-over. "You look fantastic!" Alyssa has always been tall and muscular from years of dance, but she looks sleeker. In the shorts and T-shirt she's wearing, her muscles appear both longer and leaner.

She grins and does a little twirl on the sidewalk. "Thanks, babe. You're not looking so shabby yourself."

A shrill whistle rents the air, and we both turn toward the cop loitering near a squad car. He points a finger at us. "Breakup the love fest, ladies, and move it along before I write you a ticket."

I give him an apologetic wave before grabbing the largest suitcase and dragging it toward the Jeep. "Holy hell," I grunt, "what do you have in here? A dead body?"

"Surprise!" she laughs, "I brought you one of those cute footballers we met."

"Ha! I wish." Those accents alone were enough to dampen my panties.

Gathering my strength, I hoist the bag into my Jeep. It takes another ten minutes to jam all of her suitcases into the trunk and backseat. It's like an impromptu game of Tetris. By the time we slide onto the front seats, I'm a sweaty mess, and officer friendly is glaring

at us.

"Too bad he had a massive stick wedged up his a*s, he was kind of cute." Alyssa blows him a kiss as we roll past and merge into traffic.

Once we hit the freeway and are barreling toward campus, I reach over and squeeze her hand. "I know I said it before, but I'm really glad you're back." Junior year wasn't the same without her. "I was kind of afraid you might become an ex-pat."

With a soft sigh, Alyssa leans her head against the cushion. "I had an amazing time in London, and I did consider extending my visa," she rolls her head toward me, "but I wasn't about to leave you here all by yourself. It's senior year, baby! We have to spend it together!"

I flash her a grin, relieved that my bestie is home where she belongs.

Alyssa and I chatter about everything that happened during our time apart. She tells me about all the cool people she met and her dance classes. Once a month, she took amazing weekend trips and traveled all over Europe. The more she chatters, the more envious I become, wishing I'd done something like that, too. It sounds like an incredible experience.

"How did you leave things with Jack?"

Jack is the British guy Alyssa started dating a few months ago. When I visited over Christmas break, they had been just friends. He was definitely smoking hot. And that accent...

Yeah.

Alyssa huffs out a weary breath and closes her eyes. "It wasn't serious. We both knew I'd be leaving in August, so we kept it light."

"Smart. No broken heart to deal with on top of jetlag."

"Definitely not," she snorts. "I refuse to be in that kind of situation again."

The situation she's referring to is Colton Montgomery.

Neither of us say anything more on the topic.

I nibble my lower lip as we swing into the apartment parking lot.

Freshman and sophomore year, Alyssa and I shared a dorm room. Wesley has a strict policy about first-and-second-year students living on campus. Junior year, I rented a house with a bunch of girls I met in the dorms. It worked out well and was fun. Although there were always people coming and going, and that got old after a while.

When Alyssa confirmed that she would return for senior year, I found us a two-bedroom apartment a few blocks from campus. It's on the third floor and has a tiny balcony. The building is centrally located, so we can easily walk to a few restaurants and a small grocery store. I moved my stuff in on the first of August and have been living there for a couple of weeks. Alyssa's parents brought over her bedroom set, and we were able to piece together enough furniture to fill the apartment.

Alyssa beams as we pull into a parking space near the front entrance of the building. "I love this place! I'm so pumped you could get us an apartment here!"

"Yeah, it's super convenient. We can walk to campus and the parties..." my voice trails off. There's only one tiny problem, and I'm kind of afraid of how she'll react when she replaces out.

So, I put it off.

And then off some more.

And now I've run out of time. I have to come clean before it's too late.

"Um," I clear my throat and turn off the engine, "there's something I need-"

Before I can force out the sentence, Alyssa jumps out of the Jeep and walks around to the back. Reluctantly, I follow, knowing I need to get this over with. Maybe it would be better if I wait until we're inside the apartment. Once she sees how awesome it looks, she'll fall in love with it. Then, hopefully, what I have to tell her won't be such a big deal.

We grab the smaller suitcases and set them on the sidewalk before pulling out the behemoth that feels like it weighs at least two hundred pounds.

Seriously, what's in here?

As we drag her luggage to the lobby door, it swings open, and two guys stroll out.

Alyssa grinds to a halt and grabs my arm. Her nails bite into my flesh. "What the hell is he doing here?"

Crap.

I glance at Colton and Beck, who return our stare with interest. "Right. I, ah, meant to tell you about that."

Her eyes narrow to slits as she frowns. "About what?"

"They also live here."

"I really hope you're joking," she says flatly, clearly displeased by the news.

It would be so much easier if I were. By the steam coming out of Alyssa's ears, she's more pissed off than I imagined she would be.

"Sorry, Lys. When I signed the rental agreement, I had no idea they lived here or that we're neighbors."

"What?" she growls.

I wince. Maybe I should have held off on the whole neighbor's part.

"Hey, Lys," Colton murmurs, swallowing up the distance between them. If he knew what was good for him, he'd give his ex a wide berth. Alyssa looks like a rabid dog who could attack at any moment.

Instead of biting his head off the way I expect, she pointedly ignores him. "Did you hear that?" With wide eyes, she makes a big production about glancing around as if looking for something. "It almost sounds like a ghost from boyfriends' past." This isn't good.

After more than a year and countless relationships, I had assumed Alyssa moved on, but her reaction is proving that's not the case. During the year she was away, she gave me a play-by-play on the boy situation in London. She definitely got a taste of what England had to offer in the guy department. Every time I spoke with her, she was talking about someone new.

And then there was Jack.

Not once did she mention Colton. And since she wasn't asking questions or digging for information, I avoided the topic of her ex as well. I knew she wouldn't be pleased about this, but I didn't expect her to go off the deep end.

Big mistake on my part.

Beck glances at me, and I shrug in response.

Not dissuaded by Alyssa's cold demeanor, Colton tries again. "It's really good to see you, Lys." When she continues to avoid eye contact, he pulls her in for a hug.

She bares her teeth and growls before fighting her way out of his arms.

Alyssa dismisses him by turning her attention to Beck. "Hello, Beckett. It's lovely to see you." She flashes a mega-watt smile at him. "Did Mia happen to mention the welcome home party I'm having this Saturday at Bang Bang? If you're free, definitely stop by." Beck's lips quirk upward. "Nope, she didn't mention it." I hear the humor simmering in his voice. He knows there is no damn way I would invite him to a party.

I wince when Alyssa gives me a bit of side-eye.

"Hmm. That's strange. She must have forgotten to mention the party to you the same way she forgot to mention that a certain someone who shall remain nameless is my new neighbor."

I narrow my eyes.

You know what? I was feeling like a shitty friend for not telling her about our living situation, but now?

Not so much.

"Hey, what about me?" Colton interrupts, "Don't I get an invite?" When her glare intensifies, he adds, "How about for old times' sake?"

Alyssa tilts her head and glances around again. "It's so strange the way I keep hearing something."

"Really, Lys?" Colton's voice drops. "You're acting like a child."

Oh, boy.

I sigh.

If Colton wanted her attention, he's got it now.

With a scowl, Alyssa spins toward him. Two steps bring her close enough to drill her finger into his chest. Anger vibrates off her in heavy waves. "I'm the child? That's rich! You dumped my a*s because you couldn't keep your d**k in your pants! Don't you dare turn this around on me!" Her voice escalates. People passing by stop and stare. "You and I are not friends. We will never be friends! I was an i***t for thinking you were anything other than a manwhore!"

Even though I'm pissed that Alyssa invited Beck to her welcome home party, I wrap my arm around her shoulders and drag her away from Colton before the situation can spiral any further out of control.

Tears prick her eyes as she blinks back the moisture and glances around, only now realizing that she's drawn an audience. A dull red color floods her cheeks. My guess is that the jetlag has caught up with her.

Not one to shrink away, she meets the inquisitive looks from the surrounding people with a scowl. "Move it along! Show's over, there's nothing to see here."

Maybe I should talk to the building manager and see if there's a way to break our rental agreement. If this episode has proven anything, it's that Alyssa isn't over Colton as much as she led me to believe. And living in this close of contact with her ex won't end well for any of us.