1. All characters are 18+
2. No characters resemble real people
3. Enjoy the fiction
*
I shouldn't have said what I said. I didn't have much of an excuse, other than I'd had a bad day. That's still no excuse to ever yell at a girl.
Let me back up and explain.
My name is Grant, and I'm a graphic designer. I have an office, but my home office is just as equipped, so I do plenty of work from home. I'm also an avid gardener. That's been most of my life recently. I have a few friends, but not much of an outgoing social life.
Linda and I split up about a year ago, after 5 years of marriage. She met some other guy and divorced me to run off with him. Good riddance. I kept the house, so she took half my money. I haven't heard from her since she moved out, but her sleazy lawyer keeps calling me, trying to get more of my money. Fuck her and fuck that guy too.
I also kept Bob, my bulldog. He never listened to Linda anyway. He follows me around the house and garden, follows my commands, and naps anywhere he likes. He's good-natured and he never barks at anyone. He's lazy but lovable.
About six months ago, Olivia Tenner moved in next door. It was uncouthe to ask a woman's age, but I guessed she was in her late 30's, and she was a divorcee herself. Her husband had cheated on her several years back, and she'd appropriately kicked him out.
Olivia came with her teenage daughter Anna. The spitting image of her mom. Both were blonde, tall, and slim with long legs. A killer combination.
I'd gotten to know Olivia somewhat. She worked as a nurse, so her hours were crazy sometimes, but Anna was old enough to take care of herself if Olivia ever had to work overnight 12-hour shifts. Even despite her work schedule, Olivia managed to take care of her house and lawn, which I think is a good quality to have in a neighbor.
On the other hand, I didn't really know Anna. That's okay. I'm 32, so I get it that a teenage girl wouldn't have much in common with me. Now that it was summer, and school was out, I'd see Anna outside more and more. And, as it got warmer, she started wearing less and less, as young women tend to do.
So today, a hot Tuesday in early June, I was working at home. I had been working on a design project for weeks for a big company. If they liked my designs, it would mean big bucks and more work coming my way.
My phone rang as I was putting on the final touches. "Hello?"
"Hi, Grant, it's Bill," came the voice of my boss.
"What's up?"
"I have some bad news. Gintronics is going with another design."
My jaw dropped. "What? I've been slaving away at that project! The due date wasn't until Friday!" My voice was loud enough to wake Bob from his slumber on the floor nearby.
"I know," he told me, "but it looks like they went with someone else, ahead of the due date. I just wanted you to hear it from me."
I shook my head in disbelief. "So all that work is a waste."
"Well, hold onto it, I guess, in case they change their minds. But I'll get you another assignment soon, Grant."
"Okay. Thanks Bill."
I'd just hung up when I saw the mail truck out the window. Now seemed like a good time to get away from work anyway, so I left my office and went to check the mail. Bob followed goofily behind me.
I shuffled through the junk and found a legal-looking envelope. Inside was a court summons, for two weeks from today. That bitch Linda and her attorney were trying to get more alimony from me. I rolled my eyes, though nobody was around to see it.
I tossed the mail on the kitchen counter, and headed out to the backyard. This was my paradise. I had the best lawn on the street, a nice patio, and flowers of all kinds planted all around. I even had a small plot of vegetables in the back. When I wasn't maintaining the plant life out here, I usually sat and read a book on the patio. It was the best place I knew to calm myself on a day like this.
I looked to the side and saw Anna, laying out in the sun, wearing only a bikini. It was a good, cloudless day, so I didn't begrudge her for wanting to take advantage of it. She didn't look at me. If she'd heard me come out, she was ignoring me.
I spotted a few errant branches on a bush, so I grabbed my pruning shears. To my shock, they broke in my hands on the first snip. I grumbled as one of the metal pieces slipped from my hands and fell to the ground. What a lousy day. I tried to look on the bright side, that it gave me an excuse to go buy new garden tools, but that wasn't making my mood any better.
As I walked back towards the house, I looked at Anna again. I thought how lucky she was to still be young, and not to have to deal with grown-up crap yet. As I looked, she sat up and locked eyes with me. "Get a good look, you perv?" she called out.
I hadn't been perving on her, but now my brain got a glimpse of her teenage figure. Her bikini was bright pink. Not much to speak of on her chest. Her flat stomach and long legs made up the difference.
What I should have said was, "I wasn't staring at you. I'm going inside now."
But I was in a bad mood. The project getting cancelled, and the letter from Linda and her lawyer, and my tool breaking, and now this.
So I yelled at her. "Why would I want to look at you? What the hell would a grown man do with a flat-chested 17-year-old child?"
She clearly wasn't expecting the foaming rage that exploded from my mouth, as her eyes got wide. The only thing she could think to say in response was, "I'm 18."
"Whatever, like it makes a difference," I shouted, storming off, slamming the door as I entered the house.
Once I'd cooled down, I realized I should apologize for my unexpected tongue-lashing. I also made a mental note to apologize to Olivia when she got home from work. I had no excuse to yell at her daughter like that. But when I looked back outside, Anna was gone.
----
I'd realize later that what I'd just done, very unknowingly, was negging. Negging is when someone says something to put you down, whether explicitly or implicitly, to shake your self-confidence. I'd pointed out something Anna was already self-conscious about - her breast size. I'd also called her a child, when she probably thought she was grown-up at 18. She'd thought she was hot stuff, since I'm sure she was a popular girl in her high school. I broke her esteem just enough to make her suddenly think otherwise.
And, since I was the one who did it, I was the one she needed to impress in order to redeem herself.
----
It was later that evening when I saw Olivia arrive home, and I was able to catch her before she went into her house. "What's up, Grant?" she asked.
"I wanted to apologize to you and to Anna. I kind of yelled at her today," I said, then explained all my frustrations that I took out on her.
When I'd finished, Olivia put her comforting hand on my shoulder. "I'm glad you told me, and apologized," she said. "I'll talk to Anna."
I was relieved she understood. I didn't want to make enemies with my next-door neighbors. "Thank you. Please let her know I didn't mean anything I said."
"I will," she assured me, stepping through her door. "Have a good night."
In the morning, I didn't have any work to do, since my project was still either on hold or cancelled. So I made a quick trip to the hardware store to get new pruning shears, and a few other gardening supplies I had been thinking about. When I got home, it was almost noon. I made myself a sandwich and took it outside to the patio, along with a glass of lemonade. Like yesterday, it was a beautiful day to be outside. Bob trotted over to his corner of the lawn to do his business, then came back to the patio and curled up in the sun.
I was halfway through my sandwich when I saw Anna come outside. She didn't come over. I half-hoped that she would, so I could apologize and we could be friends, but the other half of me was glad she stayed in her own yard, so I didn't have to have that awkward talk.
Either way, I put extra effort into not staring at her. That was more difficult today. I had noticed her cute teenage body yesterday, and today she was out again in another bikini.
I focused on my yard, my sleepy dog, and my sandwich. I gave the occasional glances in Anna's direction. At one point I realized her chair was closer to my yard than it had been yesterday. But maybe I was imagining that. Another glance made me think she was watching me, but maybe that was natural after my outburst yesterday.
She sighed audibly, and I turned my head towards her. It was clear that sigh was meant to attract my attention. She smiled at me from her chair. I smiled back and gave a nod of acknowledgement. She wiggled on her chair, like she was adjusting her position, but it also seemed like she was wiggling her body for me.
If that was her intent, I was uncomfortable with it. I was also done with my sandwich. I downed the last of my lemonade, grabbed my dishes, and went inside with Bob without looking back. I spent the rest of my Wednesday afternoon doing inside chores, trying not to think of Anna's bikini body.
----
Thursday came, and I called into my office, but I still had no new assignment. At least the weather was nice. I thought briefly about Anna, but I threw those thoughts away. I had gardening work to do, and I had done all my inside chores yesterday.
Bob trotted out the door happily as I went out. I glanced next door. No sign of Anna or Olivia. I grabbed my gloves and a bucket and set about to pull weeds. I knew other people hated weed-pulling, but it was somewhat therapeutic for me. Ridding the world of evil, one weed at a time.
I heard the door open and shut next door, but I was facing away from it, so I didn't look up. I did look up as footsteps in the grass came closer. Anna stood there. Thankfully, not in a bikini this time, but a tank top and short shorts. Still not much left to the imagination, but at least her midriff was covered.
"Need any help?" she offered.
No one has ever helped me pull weeds. Why would anyone want to? But I didn't want to be mean or suspicious, so I simply nodded. "Sure," I said. "Want to start right there?" I pointed at a cluster about ten feet away. "Make sure to get the roots too, or they come back. Do you have gloves?"
She shook her head. I got up and headed to the garage, and was amused when both Anna and Bob followed me. I chuckled as I rooted in a drawer. "Usually I only have one loyal follower," I remarked.
Anna looked down at Bob. "He's a pretty dog."
"If by pretty you mean lazy, then yes he's gorgeous." I found an older left-hand glove, then found its mate a second later. "These will be big on you, but they'll keep your hands clean."
