The Ice Next Door

Chapter 7

Kavinsky rises me from my slumber at five thirty the next morning for another installment of watching my hot neighbor take off for his daily run, so I get up and throw open my window to let the breeze and sunlight in as I post at my usual spot to see him.

But he's not there.

So I wait.

A minute.

Five minutes.

Fifteen.

He doesn't show. And his bedroom light across the way is still off. Could he still be sleeping? Did he have a late night study session? He did grab that math book from the hockey rink. Maybe he passed out while doing problems.

No Sebastian this morning, I guess.

My heart falls a little bit as I turn away from the window and head out of my bedroom, flipping the light switch on my way out. Stopping to grab a big, fluffy towel from the linen closet outside the bathroom door, I walk inside for a shower.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

SEBASTIAN

I'm lying in bed when I see the glow of Hadley's bedroom light appear across from me, drawing a faint beam from me to her. I don't know why it wakes me up. It's not bright or blinding or intense enough to notice to the naked eye. Maybe it didn't wake me up. Maybe it's just a coincidence that my eyes opened up as soon as her light spilled through the space between the curtains on my window.

I glance over at my cellphone and look at the time. Almost six o'clock. I missed my run. A smile crosses my lips. No doubt that Hadley was up waiting for me to leave my house, hoping to catch a glimpse as I took off towards the woods. But I didn't do that today because I didn't understand how to do f*****g Pythagorean theorems until well past midnight and was too tired to get up when my alarm screamed at me this morning.

The smile on my face turns upwards when I picture the disappointment on hers as she realized I wouldn't show.

Sitting up, I notice that her window is wide open again, blue curtains flapping in the wind like a perfect invitation. As I get closer to my window, I see that her bedroom is empty.

So I move fast. I walk over to my dresser and pull a brown t-shirt on, then shove some grey sweatpants up my legs before I'm out of there.

I climb through Hadley's window moments later, letting myself in her room again like I own the place. I practically do. She'd never tell me to leave.

I hear the sound of a shower somewhere down the hall. It stops me in my tracks and my mind starts to wander.

Hadley is somewhere naked just a few feet away from me judging by the intensity of the sound of the spray. My ears prickle as I listen to the shower rain down over her, drenching her naked body in water that's probably way too hot.

My thighs tense. My legs harden with an impulse to stalk down the hall, enter the steamy bathroom and slide in behind her. I've never seen Hadley Berry naked before. I've seen bits and pieces of bras and underwear as she walked about her bedroom, but never anything to write home about. Even though her body is definitely something you write home about. The girl has the perfect hourglass shape, wide hips, a slim stomach, thighs that are on the meatier side that make my fingers twitch to latch onto as I lifted her off the floor. Plus, she fills a bra out, a nice large C cup, from what I've noticed, the perfect size to cup in my hands. She's got a nice ass too, all plump and perky, and it comes with it's own siren call.

Its time to face the music, here. The girl is gorgeous. I don't know how I haven't noticed this before. Or why I never paid her much attention.

In the stalker department, I lucked out. The smartest girl in the senior class could have been a plain Jane. I could have been forced to make this deal with someone else. A girl who didn't fascinate me or leave me with this nagging itch to play, to get inside her head and find out what makes her tick, dig out all her dirty little secrets, get her to slip-up and stutter. I like that. I like that I have the power to render a certified yapper like her speechless.

But joining her in the shower isn't a good idea. We've barely begun hanging out. Plus, we haven't even gotten through the first day as lab partners. That happens in just a few hours.

I decide to pull out her computer chair and wait by her desk. Laying open on-top, is a notebook, open wide to a page that has my name jotted down in pretty handwriting along with what looks to be a short list of leaves.

The insect in my stomach takes flight inside my stomach again, only this time the wings are wider and harder to ignore.

She wrote my name.

All that's missing is the heart around it. I laugh and turn the page. The next page has more leaves listed, but this time pencil traces accompany them. I'm brushing my finger over the pencil when I'm caught.

"Sebastian?!" Hadley appears behind me, her voice tight with shock.

I spin around to find her standing there, a blue towel wrapped around her, drops of water still dripping off from her naked body.

My jaw tenses. I swallow. Hard. Her short red hair is a wet mess and hits her shoulders, droplets hang off her long lashes as her green eyes find me. Her little fingers curl around the towel as if she's trying to hold on for dear life. She's nervous again. Is she afraid of being naked and alone with me?

A command slips free before I can stop it. "Drop the towel, stalker."

Her eyes blow wider, her irises sparkling like emeralds in the pale sunlight. "Wh-what?"

Yeah, Sebastian, what?

Shaking my head and excusing my subconscious, I repeat the command, my c**k stirring awake with an uncomfortable ache at the possibility of her submission. "You heard me. Show yourself to me, Hadley."

The girl is known for her gumption. But how daring and carefree is she really? How far will her little crush on me take her? Just how far can I f*****g push her? It's time to find out.

Her eyes harden like she's thinking about it, her little fingers twitching.

"I'm going to see you eventually, right? Why not now? Why not show me just how far you're willing to go for me?" I pop a brow in challenge, my heart rate skyrocketing through my body as I extend my long legs. My blood feels like fire through my veins. "You got down in the mud for me, but will you get naked for me, or is it all just a facade? Have you dreamed of this before? Of having me here alone in your bedroom like this? Well, here I am. I'm asking you to strip, so what are you going to do? Now is the time to prove that you're more than just talk, stalker. Are you action, too?"

Her body moves with an exhale. Her eyes meet the challenge in mine, "I'm not just talk, Sebastian." Her bold promise fills the air with thick heat.

And then she unwraps the towel and let's it fall to the hardwood floor, her stare never once wavering from me as she posts her hands on her hips and allows me to f*****g drink her in.

I suck in a groan at the mouthwatering site of her. I'd caught glimpses of the body she has before, little snippets here and there that teased of delicious perfection, but I didn't expect this. I didn't expect to be blown away by the smooth dips, sharp lines, and perfect curves of her slim body. And those t**s. f**k, they're something else. Even more impressive up close and bared to me. Bared only to me.

At first glance, I realize I was right. Sort of. Those perky breasts would fit in my hands, but not easily like I'd initially thought. They're too big to contain fully, even with the size of my hands, and want burns from my fingertips. How I'd love to feel the heavy weight of them in my palms, brush my thumbs over her berry purple n*****s that are already are puckering and probably begging for attention. Take one into my mouth and suck a bruise into the delicate flesh, make her whimper my name as if it belonged to her.

"Damn." A sound comes out of my mouth before I realize I'm no longer thinking to myself, making her cheeks bloom the hottest shade of red as her body starts to tremble. "Those are nice." I nod to indicate her glorious chest, my eyes blown wide and devouring every inch. Her n*****s harden further beneath my heavy and invasive perusal of her body, and my gut twists as a soft breath pushes past her lips.

"It's all nice. Spectacular, even." Another groan gets lost in my throat the lower my gaze goes, finding the crease of her legs and the tantalizing patch of manicured pubic hair that leads to the nice slit of her p***y, still sparkling with tiny beads of water from her shower. "Christ, Hadley..."

Fuck what I wouldn't give to reach between her legs and feel her soft skin and hear that gasp of relief as I finally touched her and felt her from the inside.

My c**k throbs. She's probably already wet with desire for me.

Maybe I should check for myself.

Another jerk below my waist and I'm out of the chair before I know it and slowly encroaching on her.

Her gaze snaps to mine when I reach her, her body shaking as she breathes, the smell of coconut and flowers wafting off her freshly bathed skin to entice my senses. "What are you doing?" She asks softly, barely a breath between us.

I don't know what I'm doing. I'm not exactly thinking with the head above my waist right now.

I move in silence, holding her eyes as my hand reaches down between us. I hover there. She gasps and holds her breath, emeralds blazing with hope and awe as she awaits my touch like she'll faint if she doesn't get it.

"Would you let me?" I drawl, another c**k of my brow to further test her.

"Yes." She answers without hesitation, wordlessly begging, teetering closer as if under a spell.

I bet she would.

Too bad for the both of us, I won't.

Not yet.

I chuckle at her endearing willingness, then with gentle intention, I allow the tips of my fingers to graze up her thigh, scraping her sensitive skin with my nails to assault her with a shower of goosebumps that I watch explode all over. "I bet you would." I lean in to whisper against her neck.

She gasps again, louder this time, her hands darting down to wrap her long fingers around my wrist to direct me where she needs me most because I'm taking too long. "You wouldn't?" She breathes, putting me on the spot.

I don't have to answer, I know she sees my c**k growing with each passing second, so I say nothing as I graze her skin again, moving closer towards the warm apex of her legs drawing me in, sending her eyes to the back of her head momentarily by another teasing touch.

The girl is so responsive to me.

It's a big f*****g turn on.

And a bigger f*****g problem.

Because I want to see her eyes roll back again. Want to hear more f*****g gasps of pleasure shoot out of her mouth. And then I want to steal one, swallow it down as I kiss her, bury my face between those amazing t**s and suck on her, spread her thighs and—

"Can I touch you?" She asks, her gaze swimming.

My stomach ripples. I wasn't expecting that. Lust curls hot and sharp in my gut. My c**k swells and urges me to agree to her request. Swallowing down a groan, I debate it. "Touch me where?"

"Can I touch your stomach?" She tilts her head slightly as she removes her hands from my wrist, leaving my hand alone dormant on her thigh.

My chest tightens. Without a second thought, I grip and lift the bottom of my shirt up and expose my chiseled torso for her to explore, compelled by the broken, needy little shallow breaths that leave her mouth as she stares at me with a plea in her dreamy eyes. The girl's probably been waiting so long to touch me, to be this close to me, to be able to move her hands freely all over my hot body. She's probably had dreams about it, stuck her hand between her legs and rubbed herself raw trying to manifest it, will an accessible me into existence.

Time slows and the world narrows as she nibbles on her lip and tries to processes the new reality between us, her eyes flittering all over my face for a fleeting moment before her eager hands shoot up and press against my abs, wonder growing bright in her eyes as she works her hands all over my rippled stomach and up the hard ridges of my pectoral muscles.

Everything starts to fade away—Hadley’s room, the birds chirping outside her window and the sounds of life carrying on beyond these walls. It all dissolves until there’s only her. The soft rise and fall of her breathing, her little sighs of elation, the throaty moans trying to break free from her mouth. And the frantic thud of my pulse roaring in my ears as heat rushes through me, fast and relentless.

Fuck. The girl isn't just responsive to my touch, touching me turns her on, too. Her body swells more with every inch of my stomach she traverses, her skin flushed in that decadent scarlet, the scent of her arousal drifting up in the small space between us as her n*****s pucker further and beg for stimulation. It's hot. It's so goddamn hot.

"My god. It's so hard." She presses her fingertips to my skin harder as if to test the strength she finds there, as if she can't believe it's real. That I'm real. That I'm here with her. "Wow."

I chuckle. Oh, it's hard, all right. My c**k stiffens and tries to stand at attention in my pants, blood coursing like lava through my veins. I suck in a tight breath, my body tensing beneath her fingertips. My teeth clench as the hand I still have on her thigh slowly inches closer to the center of her like it has a mind of it's own, heat wafting out like a f*****g welcome mat.

"How long have you been waiting for this, Hadley?" I ask, my voice sounding foreign with how wrecked it is. I don't know if I've ever been this horny. "How long have you wanted to touch me, baby?"

Her eyelashes flutter. "Since forever." She breathes as her hands pass over my n*****s, her touch firing sparks off in my balls that further erect my d**k.

Oh, f**k, that feels good.

I bite back a growl in my throat as I continue to slide my hand up the inside of her thigh, cutting the distance between the tip of my pinky finger and her pretty slit. I want to toy with her a little bit, coax more admissions out of her, but, f**k, it feels like I'm being tortured more than she is. My stomach flexes non-stop beneath her palms. Living in limbo like is hell. "How long have you wanted me to touch you?" I graze the sensitive crease where her leg meets her groin, forcing her to gasp and shudder as she realizes just how close I am to breaching her waiting p***y. She bites her lip hard to prepare, her hands trying to ball into fists against my chest as she teases lower, and I all but snarl when I feel her fingers skim the waistband of my pants, my impatient c**k twitching in my underwear, demanding to be touched. Stroked. Jerked. f*****g sucked. Bending my lips to the top of her ear, I drop my voice low, and hiss as desire gets the better of me, "To feel my fingers on your—"

"There's something inside you. It's hard to explain. They're talking about you, boy. But you're still the same..."

Music plays on her phone and completely douses the heady tension in the air, raining down like ice water to jolt us both backwards.

"That's my alarm!" Her eyes blink free of the trance I've got her in and she jerks away from ms to silence it.

I drop my shirt back down, my hands falling at my sides in disappointment. I groan as my d**k protests. But I know it's for the best. I don't know how long my self-restraint would have held up against her and now isn't the time to find out. Her touch felt too good to not want it everywhere else. To not want her fingers wrapped around my d**k. If her music hadn't gone off to interrupt us, I'm not sure what would have happened. Would I have let her expand her area of exploration on my body? Would I have conquered more of hers? Would I have attempted to taste her? Let her taste me?

With the way my c**k aches, I'm going to say there was a high probability of all that—and more—going down if the world hadn't intervened.

And, f**k, how much fun that would have been.

When she turns around again, her arms are folded over her chest and her face is lit up with a fresh blush of rosy red. "So..." She says, sensing the awkwardness between us.

Stuffing my hands in my pockets, I shrug. "So... that happened."

She giggles. "Yeah."

It wasn't much. It was barely a touch between the two of us. But something shifted inside her bedroom. I don't know what it was. I don't know what it means. All I know is that I felt it.

I wonder if she did too?

"Why don't you get dressed. I'll wait for you outside. We don't want to be late for school." I give her a smile, silently snapping photos of her in my memory so that I can stash her amazing body away for another time.

Like my next shower.

She matches my smile and nods. "Okay. See you down there, Sebastian. "

"I'll see you down there, stalker."