Then it hit me.
I had abandoned it during my crawl of shame last night. Opening the door slowly, I peeked my head out the door just in case anyone was out there. The coast was clear. I grabbed my things, sprinting back to my room and locking the balcony door. Sliding my phone in my pocket, I put my album back in the drawer. Now I just needed to get this day over with.
MY BODY completely stopped when I walked out the front door. My lack of sleep was playing juju tricks with my mind because what was in front of me couldn't be real.
The guy from the balcony last night was standing in our driveway having an animated conversation with my uncle. My eyes shut suddenly, and then reopened to double check that I wasn't hallucinating. Nope, he was definitely there, but now his attention wasn't directed at my uncle. He was looking straight at me. The muscles in my chest tightened but I forced my legs to continue moving. If I had stood there with a blank stare on my face any longer, everyone would know something was up. The closer I got to him, the bigger his smile grew.
"Oh hey Daisy," my uncle said when I reached them. "This is our neighbor, Keegan. You two will be going to school together.”
Great, now I would be going to school with my porn star wannabe neighbor. Why was he even in school when he already had a great career choice in the making? I was incapable of forming coherent sentences, so I opted to raise my hand in the air and give him a lame wave.
He was hot I would definitely give him that. The eyes that were burning into mine looked straight at me, making me nervous. They had a slight slant to them but it was the color that intrigued me. They were a jaded green with a few grey spots that jolted straight through me. His hair was dark and cut short but I noticed a slight cowlick on the left side of his hairline. My eyes followed south, down his body, taking in the tight, black V-neck t-shirt covering his broad chest, clearly showing he worked out but also giving me a tiny peek of some sort of tattoo script.
This guy was the absolute epitome of a bad boy.
"Keeganator!" Sophia yelled out, running up to him. He lifted her up into his strong arms. Thank you for the save, little cousin. I wanted to give her a hug for saving me again from impending awkwardness. Was it possible to stick her in my pocket and take her to school with me?
"Good morning, princess," he greeted her, setting her back down on her feet.
"This is my cousin, Daisy," she told him, pointing at me. "I want to look just like her when I grow up. Isn't she pretty? She looks just like one of the Barbies that mommy got me," she rambled. I gave myself a quick mental note to inform her to quit referring to me as looking like a damn Barbie.
"You're absolutely right," he answered her, his eyes twinkling with interest as he dragged his fingers across his mouth. "She is very pretty. I especially like those dark eyes of hers." He overly stressed the word, confirming that he indeed did see me watching him. His hand moved away from his mouth, giving me a full view of the smug smile he was still sporting. Another flush crept across my cheeks and I thanked the genetic gods that my olive complexion helped conceal my humiliation.
"Daisy," it sounded so sensual coming out of his full lips, "If you're on your way to school, I can give you a ride."
Every pair of eyes shot my way awaiting my answer. The last thing I ever wanted to do was be in a car alone with him. I had just watched another girl give him a ride last night so it would be entirely too weird to catch one with him.
"Sure, that's fine," I answered, nodding my head and hating the fact I was too chickenshit to say no.
"I'll see you later," he told Sophia and Tommy before turning around towards his driveway. I waved to them, hoisting my bag over my shoulder and trailing behind him until we both reached a black Range Rover. He stepped in front of me, reached out and opened the passenger side door.
"Nice wheels," I complimented, sliding in between him and moving into the seat before he shut the door behind me.
He nodded his head and circled around the car to get into the driver's side. The ignition turned on and we started down the street, letting an uncomfortable silence take over the air. When the silence was finally broken, I wanted to punch the asshole in his pretty, perfect face.
"So have you always been into voyeurism or is it a new hobby you've recently picked up?" Embarrassment and anger shot through my body and I was surprised I didn't catch whiplash from how fast I twisted my head around to glare at him.
"I am not a voyeur," I hissed, shifting around in the leather seat to look at him. "Have you always been into exhibitionism or did you just happen to pick it up recently?"