Those Emerald Eyes

Chapter 5 - Colton's P.O.V.

My laughter echoed as she clenched her fists at her sides after I revealed that I overheard her impromptu karaoke performance.

A few hours ago, I left my house looking for coffee when the empty condo across from me suddenly played The Police’s melody. A woman singing. Entertained, I moved closer. A shiver ran down my spine in response to her raspy vocals.

The sound faded away as she serenaded another room, moving away from the door. My feet moved on their own, and the toes of my shoes touched the bottom of her door.

Staring at the peephole, it darkened under my gaze, and the creak of the floorboards sounded from behind the other side. My cover blown, I held my breath until a playful idea struck me. Giddy tingles of mischief coursed through my veins.

Staring straight into the peephole, I hoped she was watching as I let loose my mischievous side. I clapped, and a tiny thump and feminine squeak from the other side sent a smile spreading across my face.

As I walked down the hall, I couldn’t help but feel a surge of pride.

****

I wanted to be anywhere but where I was at that moment. Leah. Again. You go on one date with someone, and they cling like barnacles on a boat. Never start anything romantic with a neighbor.

This is a nightmare. It’s like she sat by the front doors, waiting until I came or went into the building to make contact with me. We never even kissed, but she wanted a piece of me.

She attempted to close the space between us, which forced my back against a door jam. I crossed my arms as a barrier to convey that I wasn’t interested. She paused for a moment and then peered over my shoulder.

My subtle body language didn’t seem to faze her; it was something behind me that caught her attention. A flicker of annoyance crossed her eyes before she went back to shamelessly flirting.

Hmmm. With deliberate nonchalance, I glanced over my shoulder. Holy hell! Be cool. Be cool. A raven-haired, green-eyed goddess smiled at us. Leah scowled. I smirked. Green Eyes tensed.

Is this the mystery singer living next door to me? God, I hope so. I take back my resolution about not dating neighbors. I think I might be powerless to stop myself even if I wanted to.

As she stopped in front of the mailboxes, my eyes swept up and down her flawless figure. Her legs were hidden beneath the baggy jeans she wore, but they hugged her marvelous cheeks.

The snug V-neck of her top contrasted with the looseness of her pants, highlighting those tantalizing, firm breasts.

Her hair, pulled back into a high ponytail, grazed her creamy neck whenever she turned her head or shifted her weight. A surge of desire washed over me, leaving me spellbound.

Leah kept going, and her frustration grew as I didn’t give her my full attention. With a sigh, she asked if I was listening.

“Not as a general rule, Leah,” I replied and moved toward green eyes. My feet once again propelled forward without my conscious awareness. A faint sound of scorn echoed in my ear, followed by disappearing stomps. Oops, I guess her name was Lacy.

Her emerald eyes sparkled, and her onyx hair shimmered. Biting her lip in concentration gave rise to the temptation to grab her and suck that abused lip between mine.

Hypnotized, no words slipped from me as I drank her in. The attention I showered her with annoyed her, as evidenced by the stiffness in her shoulders.

She knew I was studying her, and she focused on ignoring me. Adorable. My jeans tightened behind the zipper as goosebumps rose on the back of her neck when I took a step closer before leaning on the boxes next to her, hovering over her.

I finally broke my silence with my signature come-on lines, irritating her further, yet her pupils dilated. Green eyes wasn’t as immune to me as she tried to make me believe. She’s feisty, intelligent, and stunningly beautiful.

I craved more. She shot me never-in-hell vibes, which deflated me a bit. However, her pulse fluttered on her neck, encouraging me further.

After she made a snide remark, she mimicked how I inspected her from top to bottom, unimpressed. She sauntered away, but her comment revealed a lot about her possible identity. I couldn’t help but aggravate her further and test my theory.

“Oh, before I forget, Green Eyes, when is the next concert? I can’t wait for the encore,” I chuckled. “I love ‘The Police’.”

Most of the time, I know I’m acting like an ass, putting up a wall between me and most people. I value my freedom.

If I did meet someone, it would usually be a one-time thing. My goal of getting my business up and running took priority over that, so I avoided time-consuming relationships.

The truth, however, is my past, as is true of most people. My mother bailed on my dad and me when I was just a kid, so avoiding that kind of hurt was psych 101.

However, I won’t lie, the brief interaction with the new resident sparked something in me I hadn’t felt before. She definitely doesn’t seem like the type to accept just one night, and I’m not even sure one night with her would satisfy me.

What would it be like to kiss those full, soft lips? Would her skin be just as silky? What noises would she make writhing below me? I shook off these thoughts. What’s wrong with me?

Swinging the door open to the third-floor walkway, I caught sight of her perfect ass disappearing into her entryway. Light streamed onto the blue carpet as she vanished behind the slamming door. I shoved my hands into my pockets and strolled back to my condo.

My face broke into a huge grin. I chuckled, wondering if she knew how close I lived. We’d find out soon enough.

I was pretty sure she wouldn’t be thrilled. I’d bet on it. I shook my head and hurried inside to get ready and save the surprise for later.

Glancing at my wristwatch, I muttered under my breath. I didn’t want to be late for my evening plans with Zach. Running into Leann after coming back from the gym delayed me.

I haven’t had time to clean my place in over a week, and I wanted to do some light shopping before my much-needed night out with my childhood friend, Zach. He begged me for this night out and asked me to be his wingman.

Over the past few years, my Saturdays have been filled with late nights at the gym or unexpected dates.

Regret washed over me for neglecting Zach more often than not. Not anymore—tonight, we make up for lost time instead of prioritizing my fitness center over the man who was practically my brother.

He was my rock after my mother left and I spent many nights at his place while my dad worked graveyard shifts at his second job. Guilt joined the regret.

Single and a hopeful romantic, Zach searched various places to meet women. He also bought any book that caught his attention to help him meet these ladies. He put the average romantic to shame with his unwavering belief in true love.

My buddy kept using online dating apps, churches, grocery stores, fixups, bars, and everything in between. As his search continued, he remained motivated and hopeful. Envy ran through my veins, wishing I thought like him.

When we planned our night, I tried to convince him that bars offered decent hookups, not wives. He tutted at me over the phone and called me a robot or a tin man; I’m not sure, but I think I preferred DiCaprio.

With contrition, I hung my head for a moment or two. Then, as always, I rounded my shoulders and got to work, pushing the thoughts aside.

***

With the apartment cleaned and groceries put away, I finally stumbled toward the bathroom, stripping in a frenzied race. The clothes scattered about in a messy pile on the tiled floor, I hopped into the shower.

In the quiet of the waterfall of hot water, Miss 311, aka green eyes, came rushing back. Time to take my mind off Miss 311. And it wasn’t long before those thoughts turned to s*x. Ugh! I glanced down at my hard, angry c**k.

A fleeting thought of her, and my body reacted. My hand drifted down and dragged across the velvet skin of my shaft, giving it a light squeeze, and I groaned. f**k!

The swollen head of my c**k leaked while images of the raven-haired beauty lying beneath me flashed through my mind. The thought of plunging balls deep into her wet p***y had my c**k twitching in my palm.

If I were going to be Zach’s wingman, I needed to get this out of my system. The splayed fingers of my free hand pressed against the tiled wall as I stroked up and down my length, rubbing a thumb over the head.

I hissed as the pleasure coursed through me, and more images of her pouty, full lips wrapped around my d**k slammed into me, and my pace increased.

The volume of my moans increased as I imagined hitting the back of her throat as she gripped my thighs tightly, bobbing her head, her wet mouth wrapped around my shaft.

A pleasurable sensation raced up my back as my balls tightened right before I came hard, growling out the only name I had for her, “f**k! green eyes!” I slumped further into the wall, panting as rope after rope splashed into the tub, washing down immediately with the water.

Her apparent disdain for me piqued my interest, and I grinned to myself. Challenge accepted, green eyes. Let’s see how resistant you really are to my advances. Tonight, let’s get Zach a number, a girlfriend, laid, or whatever.

He’s a fantastic guy and good-looking; he just wore his heart on his sleeve, which scared women off. He needed new books. I rinsed off and got dressed after the shower.

The outfit I wore highlighted the firm body I worked hard to achieve. Starting with football in high school and college, and then continuing with my gym routines. I not only participated but also used it daily.

Wearing a button-down shirt, dark blue pants, and brown leather cap-toe shoes, I accessorized with a russet-toned belt and grabbed my wallet. As I applied my favorite cologne, my anticipation began to fade.

Why am I not more excited about this? I couldn’t shake green eyes and her defiant, challenging posture. It clawed at me to peel back those layers and hopefully her clothes.