Page 75 of The Man Next Door
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It was a bright end-of-spring afternoon, and I was on my way to the convenience store to grab a Kit Kat when Simon nearly crashed into me with his new bike. He liked to come up behind people and turn his wheel at the last second and scare the shit out of us.
“Simon,” I scoffed
“What’s up?”
“Nothing. Stop doing that to me.” I glared at him as I walked. He hopped off his bike and walked with me. He was holding a pillow case full of what I thought were packs of cigarettes.
He was all smiles, his golden hair shining under the sun, his bright blue eyes full of mischief. “How’s it going?”
“What have you got there?” I asked, curious.
“Some CDs. I’ve got a bunch.” He opened the bag and let me rummage. He did have a great selection. Eminem, nSync, Britney Spears…
“Coldplay… I already have that one,” I told him.
“You like those wusses?”
“What if I do? What do you care?”
“I have the new Madonna.”
“The new Madonna sucks, but I’ll take the Eminem.”
“You like that weirdo,” he teased
I didn’t care where he got the CDs. I didn’t need to ask. I knew he often hopped the bus, went to the mall, and got the five finger special. He was quite good at it. The kid had some serious skills. Everyone has a talent and this was his. Nothing wrong with that.
“How much?”
“Five bucks. But for you, I’ll give you two for one.”
I smiled. “I have some money at home. I’ll owe you. I’ll take Britney Spears too.”
“You want a ride?”
“Here, put these back in the bag.” I handed him the CDs, and hopped on his handle bars.
When we got to the store, I was surprised to see Izzie sitting on the porch.
“Hey, moron.” Izzie didn’t usually greet Simon at all. This was a step forward.
“Hey, Izzie. You want to buy some CDs?”
“What have you got?”
“Take a look for yourself. Five bucks.”
“Rip-off.” She didn’t even bother looking.
“Well, see you gals later,” Simon waved and swerved off.
It was still chilly outside, but she wore very short frayed jeans shorts and a bright pink tank top. Although she did have a long sleeve button cardigan on. “What’s up, Abby? Haven’t seen you for a while.”
I nodded quietly. Yes, I had been missing in action. “Well, you know me. When it’s cold out, I like to stay in.”Stay in with my sexy older neighbor.I really wished I could confide in her, but I was smart enough to know that would be a bad idea. Izzie could be vengeful, and I couldn’t quite trust her to keep my secret.
I hated that I couldn’t tell her what was going on in my life. If the circumstances had been different, I would have confessed that I’d just spent two hours after school the day before at the doctor’s office to get the pill. I would have told her that I had to hide it at the bottom of my toiletry bag and be extra careful to not leave it in the bathroom for my brothers and dad to discover. I would have admitted that I was scared shitless about having sex for the first time. Scared but excited. I hated that I couldn’t ask her for advice about my first time, because I really needed it.
