4. My New Neighbor

ELLIE

This had to be a dream, right? Somebody up there was fucking with me. Because how on earth could Beck be checking out the house next door? Hopefully there was another explanation for all this, because I wouldn't know how to react if he moved in next door.

I should have run back inside and pretended I never saw him. But something about him made me just stand there, frozen like a deer in headlights and watching him as he smiled at something the realtor said. Even in a plain white t-shirt and some grey sweatpants, he looked so perfect. His hair was slightly wet, and I just wanted to run my fingers through it all day long.

'Jesus, Ellie, get a fucking grip.'

What were the odds that right after I decided to make it my mission for him to take my virginity, he would suddenly move in next door? Definitely astronomical, and I got a feeling that the universe was doing this to taunt me. Dangling him right in front of me was a way of reminding me what was at stake, and I had to figure out a way to not make this blow up in my face.

As the realtor headed towards the entrance, Beck slowly looked up, like he'd sensed someone was watching him. Our eyes met, and my heart nearly exploded from my chest. I just stood there with the paper clutched in my hands, looking up at him and wondering why I couldn't get my feet to obey me. No matter how badly I willed myself to run, I was just stuck in one place, staring at him like the lunatic-next-door.

But then, he lifted his hand and waved at me.

And I nearly fainted.

Without even thinking, I waved back. That was the right thing to do, right? If someone waves at you, you don't even think. You wave back automatically, and pray that they were actually waving at you so you don’t look like a lunatic.

The realtor must have called him in just then, as he hurried up the short flight of stairs and into the house. Only after he disappeared from my sight did I finally force my legs to move. I hurried back into the house, dumped the paper on the kitchen counter for Aunt Carol, then ran all the way up to my room and shut the door before collapsing onto the bed.

This could not be happening. This could not be happening. I must have imagined everything that just happened. That was the only logical explanation. Beck couldn’t be moving in next door, right? He was far too loud and bougie for Mangrove street. From what I’d heard about him, he loved to throw the most outrageous and insane parties ever. One time, he threw a party that nearly burned down an entire frat house because someone showed up with a blowtorch. I couldn’t imagine something like that happening here, where Sully from there house down walked his daughters to school each morning, where Cindy Tatum went around on Sundays after church to share the cupcakes she made to every house. Mangrove street was the exact opposite of who Beck Ryder always appeared to be.

He wasn’t going to move here. It was all just a phase that would pass. He probably didn’t realize what he was getting himself into. But once he did, he would tell the realtor to find him a more suitable place. One where topless girls could dance on the rooftop all night and nobody would say a word.

But then, a few hours later, a moving truck showed up on the street. And when I peeked out of my window, Beck and a couple of his friends were carrying several boxes into the house.

“Shit!” I groaned, immediately sitting up and sprinting to the other window. It was the one directly facing the master bedroom at Mrs. Hendricks, but now I could see Beck walking into the room with a guy who I only knew as Tyler. They set down the boxes in the middle of the room, and they seemed to be teasing each other as Tyler punched Beck on the shoulder, who didn’t even flinch.

I felt like a Russian spy, watching Beck live his life while was standing on the outskirts. It felt so strange seeing him so happy, and so… human. College would have you believe that he was this sort of untouchable, A-list celebrity who was so famous that the universe must revolve around him. You’d never guess that he was just a chill, normal guy who joked around with his friends, wore a baseball cap backwards and carried a box of what looked like picture frames. He seemed so casual, and I couldn’t shake this nervous feeling in the pit of my stomach.

Maybe it wasn’t too late to back down. This was a stupid plan, anyway. As if someone like that would take a look at me and think, ‘Yeah, she’s definitely my type.’ If I told him that I wanted him to take my virginity, he would probably laugh and tell all his friends about the crazy girl who’d just said the stupidest thing to him. Then they would tell the whole school, and I would become a laughing stock in all of Maplewood Hills.

Or maybe I was just overthinking this. Maybe if I told him what I wanted, he would smile, tuck my hair behind my ears, and kiss me. Then he would arrange a romantic evening where he would treat me like a princess before he invited me back to his place.

I know, I sound like a loser. But I blame it on my overactive imagination, which has gotten me in trouble more often than not.

Anyway, now I had to accept the fact that Beck Ryder was moving in next door. Long story short, this could either turn out amazingly, or it could blow up in my face and become the greatest disaster in the history of mankind. Either way, there was no turning back now. I just had to figure out what my new strategy was going to be, then figure out what to do after that.

The doorbell suddenly rang, and I dragged myself out of my room and headed downstairs. Aunt Carol had probably forgotten her keys again, and she needed me to let her in. Maybe we should just get one of those high-tech doors which unlock with your thumbprint. At least she would never forget that, right?

But when I opened the door, my heart nearly leaped out of my throat. I could have sworn that for a moment, time seemed to stand still as I looked into this grey eyes, a wave of electricity coursing through my veins as I looked up at Beck Ryder, standing right there on the porch and staring at me with a smile on his face.

“Hi, Buzzkill,” he said.

And I nearly fainted just from hearing that.