Page 22 of Coerced

Even if I didn’t land a job today, I couldn’t say it was a total loss. My interaction with Paxton this morning had given me just one more thing to love about this new life I was attempting to build.

SIX

Paxton

I’d always prided myself on being the guy others could depend on to get the job done. I liked feeling useful, like I was doing something to contribute. I didn’t need to make some drastic change in the world, but I wanted to believe I was positively impacting the lives of those around me.

So, it was no surprise I was a bit disappointed with myself as I walked from my house over to Aria’s place. I’d gotten home from work a little while ago, and after taking care of my animals, I decided to admit defeat. Despite hoping for the best, I hadn’t been successful in the one thing I’d set out to do today.

What a way to welcome my new neighbor to town.

Wishing I had better news to deliver, I walked up to Aria’s front door and rang the doorbell. A few seconds passed before the door swung open.

Instantly, she beamed at me, her gorgeous smile lighting up her entire face. “Hi, Paxton.”

Now I felt even worse than I already had.

Because Aria was a breath of fresh air, and seeing her there with a smile on her face was nice. Much nicer than the last person who had lived in the house next to me—a crotchety old man named Hank who was set in his ways and miserable all the time. I didn’t know what caused his misery, but it wasn’t exactly what I would have considered fun having him right next door to me. If there was anything for him to complain about, he did it. Even when there was nothing to complain about, Hank found a way.

Not Aria.

She was sweet, undeniably pleasant, and simply beautiful. Aria was just a few inches shorter than me, with what could be best described as a tall, athletic build. There wasn’t a single feature on her body that was overstated or disproportionate. But just because she had a slender build didn’t mean she was lacking entirely in the areas that mattered. Her breasts and ass could fill the palms of my hands, and from where I stood, that was always enough.

Aria had slightly wavy blonde hair that fell to the base of her shoulder blades. Her smile was the first thing I noticed about her, a single dimple popping out on her right cheek whenever she sent that smile my way. Next to that smile and dimple, her green eyes were my favorite.

The simple greeting mixed with the sight of her was enough to have me forgetting I was so disappointed with myself. I smiled back at her. “Hi, Aria. I hope I’m not interrupting your dinner.”

She shook her head. “Not at all. Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine. I just wanted to see how the job hunt went for you today,” I answered.

Understanding dawned, and if it was possible, her grin grew. “It was fantastic. Would you like to come inside for a bit? I hate trying to air condition the outdoors.”

Laughing, I stepped forward into her house as she took a step back to allow me to come inside. “I know what you mean. I struggle with that every time I try to get my dogs to come back inside. It’s the worst.”

Aria closed the door behind me before she led me into her living room. We’d barely stepped into the room when her cat came in our direction.

“Is this Sasha?” I asked, bending at the waist as I held out my hand for her to sniff me.

“You remembered her name.”

My eyes shot to Aria’s. Did she think I would have forgotten a detail as important as the name of her cat? After our interaction with one another this morning, I kept seeing Aria’s face flash in my mind, and I couldn’t stop recalling the conversation we’d had. I liked that she seemed to be amused by the names of my dogs.

But since I didn’t want to appear creepy, I decided not to share any of that with her. Instead, I shrugged off her observation and noted, “Well, you only have one cat whose name I need to remember. If anything, I’d be more impressed if you could remember the names of my dogs.”

She shot me a look that indicated I made a good point. “Brutus, Patty, and Tiny, two of whom I’m still looking forward to meeting. Plus, the cats. I definitely want to meet the cats. And if I’m meeting all of them, I guess I should add in the bird, too.”

Okay.

So, I didn’t just like the way she laughed at the things I said or did.

I liked the fact that she made me laugh and that the conversation I’d had with her had stuck in her mind to the point she hadn’t lost track of all the animals I had.

“We’ll have to make that happen soon,” I returned.

Her eyes sparked with interest. “Great. I’ll look forward to that. So, yes, this is Sasha. I think it’ll be interesting to see how she responds to smelling your pets on you,” Aria declared.

Sasha took her time, evidently not interested in rushing the process, but eventually—and much to my relief—she made up her mind that I was worthy enough to pet her.