Neighbor Dearest

by Penelope Ward

“You little fucking perv.”

“No, Chelsea. I’ve always wanted you, from the moment you knocked on my door and called me the devil. But tonight… it’s finally making me insane. I’m not thinking straight. Right now… I just need to taste your lips, feel you moan over my tongue again.

You know why it didn’t work out with him?” “Why?” “Because God made you for me.”

“It’s Christmas. I’m kissing you under the camel toe.” Shaking with laughter, I said, “I thought it was the mistletoe.” “Not anymore.”

“I had a thousand things memorized to say to you in this moment, but I can’t think of a single one. What you mean to me, Chelsea, defies language. It can’t be summed up in words or reduced to a minute recitation. Just know that I love you with all of my heart and soul and that it’s limitless. As long as my heart is beating, it will only beat for you.”

“He changed the story.”