“Oh my god, you make it sound like there’s a bunch of porn on there or something. They’re not all bad.”
“There’s a reason why you’re not showing them to me,” I pointed out.
Pen held her phone to her chest. “Maybe I don’t want you to steal him away,” she laughed.
“Ha, as if. You know I’d never do that.” Poking her in the side, I demanded she show me a picture. This was so unlike Pen that I was dying to know what this mystery guy looked like.
“Fine,” she rolled her eyes but had a smile on her face. “Give me a minute to find a good picture.”
“Damn girl, how many nudes do you have on there?” I was only sort of joking because why else wouldn’t she show me? And I knew my friend, she liked to take trophy photos of the men she slept with.
“Not nearly enough.” She bit her bottom lip as she looked down at her phone. “Okay, here he is.” Slowly she turned her phone my way, but once it was facing me, I grabbed it out of her hand so I could get a good look. “No, what are you doing?” She laughed while she tried to take it back.
“I’m not going to go to any other pictures. I don’t want to see your man naked. Well, maybe now that I’ve got a good look of him.” My eyes devoured the image in front of me. Her guy was shirtless with tattoos all over his finely sculpted chest and arms. His eyebrows were a dark slash over broody eyes and long hair that hung almost to his shoulders. I knew the man I was staring at had all the college girls swooning, as well as my best friend, and I didn’t blame them.
“What are you thinking?” I heard her say quietly as if she was afraid I wouldn’t approve.
“I think I see why you’re willing to lose your job over him. He’s hot.” I was tempted to swipe to the left to see what I’d find, but I handed her back her phone. “I wish you wouldn’t have hidden him from me.”
Moving to sit right beside me, Pen leaned her head against mine. “It killed me, and I’m sorry. Now that you know, I can finally breathe fully. I swear it’s been a weight on my chest that I was dying to get rid of.”
“Now, when do I get to meet him,” I prodded. Seeing his pictures wasn’t enough. I couldn’t wait to see them together.
“Once you get your edits turned in or,” she drew the word out, and I knew I wouldn’t like what she was going to say next, “maybe it should be your reward once your book finally publishes.”
My eyes narrowed at her. “You know that’s out of my control and totally not fair.”
“Well, maybe I should give you a deadline. If you don’t get your edits done by a certain date, then you have to wait until your book publishes. That should get your ass in gear.”
Since this was my first book, I was having a problem trying to change a few things the publisher wanted once they read through my first draft. There were days I sat in front of my computer and stared at it all day while I tried to figure out a way to incorporate what they wanted.
“You don’t play fair, but it might be the push I need to finish.” I took a long draw of my drink. I needed it from just thinking about my deadline.
“Wow,” Pen stood and ran to the window. “Have you seen your neighbor? He looks like a fucking supermodel.”
Oh, I had seen him and drooled over him when I thought no one could see me. He was by far the hottest guy I’d ever seen with the most perfect body and blondish-brown hair. I hadn’t gotten a chance to see what color his eyes were yet. “No, I haven’t met him yet, or his wife or girlfriend or whoever she is. I’m not sure which, but she’s gorgeous with blue hair and tattoos. They have a blonde little girl that’s adorable or who I assume is their daughter. They spend a lot of time in that pool.”
“Their house is sick.” She let out a dreamy sigh. “I don’t doubt he’s got a gorgeous woman. Let me know when you meet them because I want all the deets.”
I came to stand next to her and shrugged. “Maybe, or maybe I’ll tell you in a few months.”
Pen glanced at me for only a moment before her attention went back to my new neighbors. “You’re never going to let me live it down, are you?”
“It’s possible when we’re old and gray. I’ll think about it, but not likely.” I hip-checked her to let her know I was only joking.
“Oh my god, they’re getting it on in their pool, and she is gorgeous.” Pen squealed with wide eyes.
“I told you they spend a lot of time in their pool.”
“But you didn’t say you watch them have sex!”
No, I hadn’t mentioned what activities they got up to when they were in the pool. It happened day or night. I’d gotten a little show my first night in my new home. It was a wonderful welcome gift, even if they didn’t know it.
“We should go back to the couch and finish our drinks and give them their privacy.”
“Why? They obviously don’t care if they’re doing it in broad daylight.”
“They probably haven’t realized their neighbor has a prime spot to see what they’re up to.”
It wasn’t like you could see much of anything. Maybe a boob, but their lower halves were always underwater. Still, I felt bad about being a Peeping Tom.
“Fine,” Pen huffed and slowly turned away from the window. “Maybe you should go over there and
