The New Neighbor

*Note from the author*

Hello, I'm sorry for such a long delay between Chapters 1 and 2. I am trying to stretch my skills as a writer so any constructive feedback is appreciated (I am still looking for an editor). This series starts slow, and as such, this chapter features no sex, and very little explicit content. If that is what you're here for, I do not want to waste your time, but if you like the story, maybe consider coming back for Chapter 3. Thank you.

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Chapter 2 - The Girl Next Door

Molly didn't even know what to expect, but it wasn't this. She took in as much as she could. Tara was wearing almost all black, from her skin tight jeans, to her leather jacket, to her jet-black hair. The only thing that wasn't black was her white top. She stood about eye level with Molly, and everything about her seemed sharp, her stance, her stare, and the way she held her hand on her hip as if that was where it always belonged. "Hi, I-I'm Molly."

Tara smiled, "I'm so glad we have another girl on this floor! Total sausage fest." And with that, everything about her softened. The features were all the same, everything about her seemed like it could cut whoever dared get to close, but the message was natural from Tara, and it oddly put Molly at ease. "Do you mind if I come in?

"No, not at all, come right in." Molly stepped further inside to let Tara past. As Tara walked, no, strutted, no, glided, across the entryway, Molly became very aware of the mess that remained. "I'm sorry about all the boxes, I've still got a long way to -" Molly's eyes fell to the floor of the living room. There, strewn about, were her clothes from her earlier escapade. She looked over at Tara, who was clearly inspecting the spoils of war with a friendly smirk. "Oh I'm so sorry that's -" she bent down to pick up her bra. "One of the boxes broke open, I guess I forgot to grab this stuff." She hurriedly snatched up the remaining jeans and shirt, and went to throw them in her bedroom.

"Oh, that's what all that noise was earlier!" the soft alto voice called after her. "You and that boy you have were just 'breaking boxes.'" Molly's face flushed with embarrassment as she turned to see her new neighbor. "Trust me, it's fine!" She laughed, and for a small breath, Molly actually believed it was fine. "Oh, geeze, don't be embarrassed! Here, I've got an idea, I'll be right back." She took a step out into the hall and out of the doorframe, only to lean back in to see a stock-still Molly. "There's more than one way to break in a new apartment!" She winked, and dashed away.

Molly stared at the empty doorway in disbelief. Tara seemed friendly, if just a bit wild, and the new tenant couldn't deny that there was something electric about the way she carried herself. She might be on the back foot, but she already knew one thing: Tara was going to be the most interesting neighbor she could ever hope for.

Tara burst back into view, spinning quickly through the doorway. She was holding a glass bottle in one hand and a pair of wine glasses in the other. The glasses sparkled and the liquid in the bottle gleamed in the fading sun as she spun. The unorthodox entrance ended as she planted her feet on the dull beige carpet, although her hair didn't seem to get the message, as it continued to whip around and drape over her face.

"I hope you like-" she stopped and pursed her lips. "Pffffft." The girl blew her hair out of her eyes and flicked her head back. "I hope you like Moscato, it's all I had left after last weekend." She took a step inside and kicked the door closed with her back foot. Without any hesitation, she moved into the living room and sat on the floor with her back to the love seat, unscrewed the fresh bottle, and began to pour. After the first glass was topped off, she looked up at Molly, wide-eyed, and motioned to the space in front of the couch.

Molly stayed upright. "I've never had Moscato before, actually."

Tara's face lit up. "Perfect! A new drink for a new apartment." She took note of Molly's hesitation. "Here, sit down and try some of mine first. Then, you can tell me if you want more." Her voice was soothing, confident, but it did not push. Molly felt the tension in her neck ease away as she took her place on the floor.

"Alright, one sip can't hurt." Molly took the glass from her new acquaintance. As she did, her hand brushed over Tara's. The involuntary shiver of an unexpected touch crawled up Molly's arm and pulled on her eyes, drawing the new renter's attention to the startling exchange. Her skin was soft and smooth, and as Molly watched the glass move into her own hand, she couldn't help but admire the contrast between Tara's olive tone and her own porcelain skin.

"Well, are you going to drink it or not?" Tara chided her new friend.

Molly came back to the drink her hand, then locked eyes with Tara. "Bottoms up!" she joked, as she took the tiniest of sips. The drink fizzed against her lips, catching her completely off guard. She pulled back quickly, but the sweet liquid stained the tip of her tongue, and the sweet scent of new adventure in alcoholic form hung under her nose. She paused for a moment to process how she felt about the taste. "It's delicious!"

Tara squealed, "I knew you'd like it!" Molly handed back the glass, careful not to spill anything on the rug on her first day. The handoff was a clean one, and the absence of touch left a feeling of anti-climax in the air around the two. Now, Molly held the new glass as Tara poured. "Say when!" Tara's cheerful tone perked Molly's ears and she snuck a glance up from the glass, only to find Tara was already looking at her.

"Uh, when!" Molly had almost forgotten about the glass, which was now surprisingly full.

"Wow, you must've really liked that little sip!" Tara leaned back with a wry smile. Molly blushed.

Tara raised her glass. "To new friends!" Molly raised hers in turn and brought the sweet drink to her lips. "And good sex!" Molly coughed her Moscato back into her glass and looked over at Tara. "What?" Tara was incredulous. "Thought I would forget already?" her grin reminded Molly of the cat who caught the canary. Tara began to drink, and Molly joined her. They sat in silence for a minute. Tara, waiting for Molly to say something, and Molly not knowing what to say. Finally, after a few generous gulps of wine from each party, Tara broke the silence.

"At least it sounded like a good time."

"Excuse me?" Molly wasn't biting at her new friend, she only wanted to her to explain.

"My bedroom and your bedroom share a wall, the wall I'm guessing you put your bed up against." The last part of her sentence was more of a question.

"Well, no, my bed is on this side" Molly said shyly, indicating the bed shared a wall with the living room.

"Oh, so you were just against the-"

Molly cut her off with a quick "Mhm" and a nod.

"Damn girl, good for you!" Tara was genuine, so much so that her compliment turned Molly's next swig of wine into a victory sip. Tara continued, "If you don't mind me asking -" Molly let out an audible laugh.

"I think we're past that already, aren't we?" Confidence filled Molly now as she realized that Tara, this whirlwind of girl, was impressed with her.

"Right, yea, I guess we are. Sorry, I don't mean to pry." Tara started to backtrack. Molly reached out and put a hand on Tara's knee.

"Go ahead and ask." Molly assured her as her eyes danced around Tara's figure.

"Well, anyway," Tara regained her composure as she scanned Molly's long legs in turn. "I was wondering, who you were with?"

"That's all?" Molly blurted out. "It was just my boyfriend."

Tara nodded slowly. "Okay. Yea, that would make sense." She shook her head at her own thoughts and smiled. "What does he look like? I think I might've seen him on his way out."

Molly decided she would let Tara's odd pause go for now. "Well, he's a little taller than me, he has dirty blonde hair -"

"Is he a bit more muscular? Big chin?"

Molly blinked. "Uh, ya."

"I totally saw him earlier! He was coming up the stairs with Al. He's a real cutie!"

"Al or my boyfriend?"

Tara paused. "Well, both, I guess. But I was talking about your boyfriend. What's his name?"

Molly had emptied her glass. "His name's James." She said, as Tara took her glass and filled it again before filling her own.

Tara took a fresh gulp of Moscato. "That's a nice name." There was a comfortable silence between the two women that were strangers to each other mere hours ago. Tara's eyes kept returning to Molly, looking past the brim of her glass as she took another gulp of the sweet wine. The new girl was already taking the final sips of her second glass, her chin high in the air, exposing her slender neck, draped by her long hair. Tara's glances began to roll down Molly's tiny frame, shamelessly admiring all of her doll like qualities, despite the fact that Molly was so obviously not trying to show anything off. How could Tara have known that only moments before she had answered the door, Molly had scrambled to find a tee shirt that hung off her shoulder, and shorts that barely covered anything, acting as pajama bottoms? Tara stared down into her nearly empty glass.

Molly spoke up, "It's getting dark." She stood up and wobbled slightly. She laughed as she fell back on the couch. "Guess I drank just a little too fast. Is there any left?"

"Umm... just a little." Tara indicated the almost empty bottle. "Wanna split it?"

"Sure!" Molly popped up, steadier this time. "Just gonna hit the lights first." Tara looked up at Molly as she moved across the room to the light switch. She was surprised that such a petite girl could have an ass that would hang out of shorts like that. When the lights came on, she quickly redirected her attention to splitting what was left of the bottle between the two glasses.

Molly turned and leaned against the wall by the light switch, steeling herself against the buzz in her brain. She liked Tara, she knew that much, but she was a lot to handle, and was she checking out her boyfriend? Molly pushed off the wall and successfully kept her legs under her as she crossed to her spot on the floor. She took her glass and decided to dig a little deeper. Tara seemed like an open girl, if a little high energy, so she probably wouldn't be offended.

"So, you think my boyfriend's cute?" Molly retreated from her blunt question by taking a sip of her drink.

"Yea, sure!" Tara was quick to answer, she wasn't going to shy away. "I think you did very well for yourself." Her voice dipped into a sultry low note as her confidence flowed through her sentence.

"Well, thanks," Molly was immediately at ease. She raised her glass to her lips as Tara thought of a question of her own.

"Did you meet Al yet?"

"What?"

"You asked me if I meant 'Al or your boyfriend' earlier, just, wondering if you met him." Tara said flippantly.

"I did, he actually helped me move all of these boxes in. He's really nice." Molly's eyes drifted back to the kitchen.

Tara wasn't surprised. "Do you think he's hot?"

Molly continued to stare at the kitchen where Al was stood earlier. She knew the answer, she just didn't know if she wanted to say it out loud. "I don't know, I only met him once," she sidestepped the question. "Do you?"

"Oh yea. Just wait until you catch him after a workout." Tara said, dead serious, as if she knew how Molly really felt.

"How well do you know him?" Molly couldn't hide her curiosity about the handsome stranger across the hall, and it was obvious that Tara had her hooked.

"Well, I've known him since he helped me move in about three months ago," Tara stopped to decide how much she wanted to tell Molly while she finished her wine. "And every few weekends we either go out to the bars or hang out a bit."

"So are you two are dating, or are you just friends?" Molly was confused.

"No, we're kind of friends with benefits. We've just hooked up a few times, nothing too serious. We definitely aren't exclusive."

"Like, 'had sex?' hook up?" Molly shamelessly wanted to know more.

Tara let out a slow laugh at Molly's obvious interest. "Just once, actually." She took a pause and leaned toward Molly for dramatic affect. "On the day I moved in."

"No way!" Molly's eyes went wide.

"That's why I was wondering who I was hearing earlier. I figured with all that noise, maybe he was helping the next girl 'move in.'" She put finger quotes around the last two words and let out a genuine laugh at herself and let the wine talk for her. "There's a reason I call him 'Big Al,' and it isn't just because he's so tall."

Molly felt the hairs on the back of her neck stand up. "Really?" She stretched the single word when she asked.

"Oh yeah." Tara began staring off into the middle distance, lost in a memory.

Molly bit her lip, but her own memory was interrupted by her next question. "So why not see him more often?"

Tara snapped back to reality. "I don't know. When we do see each other, there's always booze involved. He gets nervous too though, I can tell. He's not an asshole, things just kind of happened, you know?" As she spoke, her head swayed from one side to the other to show her uncertainty.

Molly felt sorry for her new friend. "Well, why not ask him out on a date?" she proposed.

Tara shook her head. "I don't want to risk it, if he wants to take me out sometime, he can ask.

An idea overtook Molly. "What about a double date?"

"What?"

"Ya! You and Al should come over sometime, we'll get pizza or something!" Molly was enthralled with her new plan. "There's no pressure there!"

"You'd do that for me?" Tara cocked her head to the side.

"Of course I would! Besides, it'd be like a little apartment-warming party for me." The new tenant was all smiles.

Tara nodded her head slowly, then stopped abruptly, "Would I have to ask him to come?"

"Of course not, I'll set it all up!"

"Hmm," Tara stood up. "Maybe it's the wine talking, but I think I'm in."

Molly joined her, "Good, it's gonna be fun." Molly took a quick glance around the room. "But it might be a week or two before it happens because I am not hosting any kind of party in this mess!"

Tara laughed until she snorted. As she calmed down, she placed her hand on Molly's shoulder, only to have static give them both a jolt. The friends recoiled and giggled at each other. "I was trying to say thank you!" Tara pulled Molly in for a hug, and their two bodies collapsed into each other in warm embrace. Molly inhaled and was intoxicated by the smell of Tara's hair. Or maybe it was the taste of Tara's wine. She couldn't be sure.

"You're welcome." They let go of their hug, and Tara headed for the door. "So I'll see you around?" Molly called after her.

"You know where to find me!" Tara teased over her shoulder as she opened the door.

"Goodnight!"

"Night!" and Tara shut the door behind her.

Molly was alone in her apartment once again. She looked at the remaining boxes strewn about the kitchen, then to her bedroom door. To the boxes, and then back to her bedroom once more. "Fuck it," she whispered to herself with a yawn. It was a long day and it was time for bed. She stumbled through her door; a bit more drunk than she originally thought.

There is something about being alone in a new apartment that feels dauntingly empty, and Molly was not immune to that combination of loneliness and dread that comes from being the only person behind a locked door. She tossed and turned in her bed for what felt like hours, surprised and frustrated that sleep would not come as easy as when James was next to her.

James!

She rolled over and reached for the phone on her nightstand. Three missed texts, all from James:

"Hey hun, just finished up with dinner. Think I might have some time to come bye if you still want help unpacking!"

"Getting a little late, all good?"

"Alright hun, I'm guessing you're too busy to check your phone. No problem! Let me know if I'm seeing you tomorrow or not. Love you!"

Molly's heart sank. She sent a text back. "Sorry baby, my new neighbor came over and we were so busy getting to know each other and I thought it would be rude to text." Molly looked at the message for a moment after she sent it. Her eyes went wide as she made a follow-up text: "Not the new neighbor you saw, that's Al. I met my next-door neighbor. Her name is Tara. I think you'd like her." Molly closed her messages. James sent his last text hours ago, so he was probably asleep by now. Molly flipped over to Twitter, then to Facebook, then Instagram. Sleep still would not come. She opened her browser. "Well," she thought to herself, "I guess I could always..." her thoughts drifted as she clicked on the search bar. Her fingers paused over the touchscreen from only a moment before she finally typed.

"P-"

"o-"

"r-"

Autofill took care of the rest. Her go-to site for her late nights alone filled the screen with thumbnails of dirty videos. She decided to scan the selection for a change. Video 1: "Bratty stepsister-" "Incest is a no. Is that incest?" She thought, "If I have to ask it doesn't really matter. Next. Video thumbnail number two featured an extreme close-up of vagina. "Nope!" Molly scrolled until the thumbnail was offscreen. The third option, however, caught her eye. "White college girl hooks up with basketball player." She looked at the thumbnail. The picture gave the profile a girl on all fours with a buff, dark man behind her, and the quality was clearly amateur.

"Might as well..." Molly thought to herself as she clicked on the video.

Fifteen minutes later, she was sound asleep.