Touch Me, Daddy

BOOK THREE: DADDY NEXT DOOR.

My name is Tessa Hayes, and I have a confession to make.

I have a thing for the older man who just moved in next to mine.

Mr. Hampton, my bulky, sexy, blue-eyed, charming neighbor has set my world her world ablaze ever since he came into town five years ago. I've touched myself to thoughts of him blowing my back every night. I never get tired. The crush doesn't fade as the days pass by but instead grows into an unhealthy obsession.

The stumbling block? My best friend and colleague, Kya. Mr. Hampton adores her. I've seen the way he looks at her. The way he swoons over her. He's even asked me for help in winning her over.

And I agreed. Stupid me.

Kya doesn't like him. Well, not as much as I do, and I'm done holding back anymore.

Mr. Hampton is mine. And I'll show my big bad daddy just how much of a good girl I'm willing to be for him.

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1 - Tessa.

I will always remember the day I saw Mr. Gregory Hampton for the first time.

It's permanently seared into my brain. He rode right through the center of town as dusk fell, his vintage motorbike rumbling between his strong thighs and desert dust clinging to his leathers. With that barrel chest and his sandy red beard, those crinkly blue eyes and windburned cheeks, it was like seeing a Norse god on vacation. All the town residents of Woodstock stopped and stared.

He came right into Sofi Latte Cafe where I worked, and the buzz of conversation intensified with his entrance. High school girls who dropped by for a cold drink whispered, and undressed him with their eyes. Men scrutinized him from head to toe. The Café turning into a noisy hive.

Behind the barista counter, my best friend Kya and I stood, frozen.

"Damn," Kya managed. I watched her swallow her through my peripheral vision. "He's freaking hot!"

I couldn't agree more.

"Hello, girls," he drawled in an accent I couldn't quite place immediately back then. "One cappuccino, strawberry-flavored with foam, please."

"Y-Y-Yes..."

"Coming right up!" Kya said, beating me to it. I watched, a sinking feeling in my chest as she nudged me out of the way to make his order. Mr. Hampton's gaze swept over her, curiousity and admiration brimming in his blue eyes. I curled my fist against the edge of my apron.

Fuck.

"Here you go, Sir," she said as she placed the cappuccino before him. "Did you recently move to town? Or you're just passing by?"

"Well actually, I moved in late last night. Fairly new. You know Elm Street?" he asked, tilting his head to the side and squinting his eyes at Kya who stripped her apron off in one smooth move, revealing her t**s which were visible through the slit on her shirt.

Mr. Hampton's eyes lingers there a little too long.

The sinking feeling in my chest intensifies.

"Elm Street?" I said, breaking the intense eye-fuckery they had going on. "I stay there."

"Oh, really?" He sounded so disinterested, his eyes right back on Kya.

"Yeah, number 16."

At the mention of my house number, he looked back at me instantly. "Really?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"That means we're neighbors! I stay at number 17."

"Oh, how wonderful!" Kya gushed, stealing his attention again as she leaned against the counter so he could get a better view of her t**s. "Tessa is my best friend. She's super cool, anyways, so I have no doubt you two will get along quite well."

"Same thoughts here."

I left them at that point to go stew in the kitchen. Thankfully, no new customers were trooping in, so I could stay away for a while. Burying my face in my hands, I tried to calm my racing heart, and the pang of jealousy that was threatening to consume me. Why on earth was I so unlucky? Yes, Kya was prettier and all, but why couldn't I bag a nice man at twenty? Why did they always prefer my best friend to me?

This all happened five years ago. Five years since everyone's jaws collectively dropped, and since my best friend stole the potential love of my life. I got home late that night, aching and tired from another long, busy shift, my heels throbbing in my ballet pumps, and practically levitated off the sidewalk when I spotted his bike glinting in the moonlight

I didn't know if it was okay for me to go over and say hi again, given the way he'd responded sullenly to me at the cafe. A part of me still believes in miracles. And the fact that we lived so close to each other fueled the idea that maybe, this time, this universe would be in my favor.

Surely my new neighbor would feel something too if he speaks to me without Kya hanging around.

Surely his soul would recognize mine. Would scream out to him that I was the better one for him, huh?

That was how this worked, right?

Those sappy love movies I still watch on my nights off... yeah. They have a lot to answer for.

Because even though Mr Hampton accepted my welcome gift of cookies the next day with a bemused smile, muttering his thanks in a deep, gravelly voice, he still didn't think of me while he pounded into Kya that very night.

While her screams tore through the night's calm, the edge of the bed hitting the wall, keeping me up, he didn't think of me.

Hearing Kya losing herself in his arms was pure torture. It bruised me somewhere deep inside. Sent a painful throb through my chest, even till this very moment.

It wasn't even up to a week after when they got together publicly.

And Kya told me about it, her eyes shinning with happiness.

I love her with everything in me.

But I love Mr. Hampton more.

And that, might just be my undoing.