Chapter 6

*Ember*

I came outside with just a sports bra and a pair of shorts on. I sat down in one of the deck chairs beside our pool. It was already hot outside and I had decided to take the day as it was and enjoy the sun. I couldn't stop thinking about last night when Damian had kissed me. His lips were so soft on mine as his tongue infiltrated my mouth. I could still taste him! He tasted like every bit of my favorite flavor wrapped into one! Don't judge me people, I never had a kiss like this before! Meow! I look over and see my cat beside me. His big green eyes were staring up at me. MROW!

"Aw Binx, up up." I make some kissy noises. "Come on, Binx, come on up." Binx finally jumps up to my lap, rubbing his head on my thighs. He purrs softly as I give him head scratches. He lays down, putting his head on my stomach. As I pet him, I close my eyes, enjoying the sun. A few minutes after I begin to relax, I feel a presence and it's within my comfort zone. The presence is made clear when I hear someone clear their throat. I open my eyes and turn my head quickly to see the same guy from the other day.

"Sorry I didn't mean to scare you. Uh…" He rubs the back of his neck. "Wow this is awkward. Let me start by introducing myself. My name is Axel, Axel Kahn. What's your name?" He asks.

"E… Ember. Ember Mayflower." I didn't know how to talk to him. He just appeared out of nowhere.

"Nice to meet you Ember. I just saw you relaxing out here and thought I'd come say hi. Since we're now neighbors and all." He looks over and chuckles. "He's cute, what's his name?"

"Binx. He may be a black cat but he doesn't bite, I promise." I laugh. As soon as Axel goes to pet him, Binx lets out a hiss and a deep growl. His fur poofs as his ears lay back. He runs back into the house. "Binx!" I call after him, ready to get up to go after him.

"He's fine. He probably just smells my dog on me. He's a German Shepherd and Rottweiler mix. You'll have to meet him sometime."

"Oh nice."

Axel sits down on one of the other deck chairs. "Why don't we get to know each other better since we're neighbors now?"

"Yeah. That would be a good idea." I chuckle.

Axel and I talked about random stuff for a few hours. From our favorite food to different movies we like to even what our pets are like. "And then Binx fell out of the window onto the floor." Axel laughs.

"Guess that taught him not to sleep in windows anymore."

"He prefers watching the outside from his cat trees or other objects that he won't fall off of now." I hear the back door open and turn to see my mom coming out.

"What is up with Binx? He's being such a bitch all of a sudden. Growling and hissing at me. Did he take a nap on the wrong side of the couch or somet…" My mom stops her sentence when she sees Axel sitting beside me. "Oh hi. Pardon my French. I'm Ember's mom, Crystal. And you are?"

"Axel. Axel Kahn, ma'am." Axel gets up and shakes my mom's hand. "I'm part of the family that moved in next door the other day. I thought it was about time to introduce myself to my new neighbors."

"Oh! I completely forgot that you guys had moved in! I didn't even make you a welcome to the neighborhood basket or dish!"

"Mom!" I groan in annoyance. She usually makes me go over to any new neighbors house's with her to drop off a gift and it ends up being super awkward because we show up unannounced and end up getting invited to stay for dinner!

"What? It's called being nice to your neighbors, Ember."

"As much as we would appreciate the gift, my parents actually want to be left alone right now to adjust to the new house and all that. No offense to your welcoming gifts though ma'am."

"None taken, Axel. Why don't you stay and swim a bit? It is a hot day out. You can even have dinner with us if you would like. And stop it with the ma'am thing. You're making me feel old. Crystal is just fine."

"I would love to. Thank you Crystal. I'll be back in a few minutes." Axel heads towards the gate, unhooking it. He shuts it behind him and vanishes out of sight.

My mother's eyes lock on me as she sits down on the chair. Oh shit. What did I do!? "So Ember. You two seemed to be getting along really well. Possible new love interest?"

"Actually mom, I already have a new love interest. His name is Damian and before you pull 20 questions on me, I'll tell you more about him later on." I get up and head up to my room to change. I quickly put on my bikini before slipping a pair of gym shorts on. Yowl! I turn my head to see Binx sitting in the window, his tail swishing in annoyance. "Hey buddy, what's wrong?" I walk over to him and scratch his head. Mrow. His gaze turns back towards Axel's house, his eyes narrowing as his tail thumps against the frame. I watch his gaze seeing that it's locked onto Axel's body. A low growl emits from his throat. "Binx Mayflower, what has gotten into you?" Binx looks at me for a brief second before turning his attention back to Axel who's walking down the sidewalk. "You and I are having a talk later, young mister." I shake my finger at Binx who just huffs in annoyance.

I head downstairs, grabbing a beach towel along the way. I slip outside and see my mom tanning herself on the deck chair. Ever since her and dad divorced a few years ago, I noticed a change in her. She's a lot happier, more confident in herself and does more than she did while dad was in our life. There was a time when we were a family but that's a story for another time. I smile at my mom and head over to the pool, dropping my towel on a chair. I dip my feet in, slowly acclimating to the temperature change. I close my eyes and lean my head back, soaking up the sun. My peace is interrupted though when I go face first into the cold water. I let out a shriek as I went under the water. I resurface quickly and look around for who pushed me in. My mom is still sitting on the chair laughing. The only other one who could have done it was… Axel. He's standing right where I was just sitting laughing his ass off. Well too bad he isn't paying attention. I swim over and grab him by the legs, quickly pulling them out from under him. The loss of balance creates a chain reaction of him trying to regain his balance and failing miserably. He falls face first into the pool, making a big splash. I quickly climb out and stand away from the edge.

"At least your father and I taught you right. You never let anyone walk over you without you biting back in one way or another." My mom laughs.

"That you did." I look over at my work. Axel looks like a soaked rat. I stifle my laughter, trying to contain it.

"Touché." Axel starts to swim around the pool. "The water ain't gonna get any warmer though. That's why I figured I'd just toss you in to let you get used to it all at once."

"Yeah. True." I hop back in the pool. We swim and play around for a bit, my mom joining us at some point. We all enjoy ourselves for the rest of the night. My mom vanishes inside at one point to start on dinner. I light a fire in the firepit, helping to dry myself off. I couldn't help but look at Axel's body when we dried off. He was definitely one of those people that went to the gym every day. His shoulders were very broad, his arms were large and he had some bit of abs on him. Clearly he wasn't as muscular as Damian though, he was way bigger tall wise and body weight. I bet Axel could have been 150 lbs at most but Damian possibly 250! I sit down on one of the chairs, pulling my knees up to my chest. I wrap the towel around me, staring at the fire.

"Hey um Ember?" Axel sits down next to me.

"Yeah?" I look over at him.

"I know we've only known each other for a few hours but I feel like I've known you forever." He looks into my eyes. "I've got feelings for you, Ember. And I want you to be my girlfriend."

Axel catches me off guard. "Oh… um… Axel…"

"Sorry if it's too soon. I just wanted to let you know how I really feel."

"Axel I…" I'm cut off by Damian walking in through the back gate.

"Hey Ember." He looks at Axel. "Who's this?" Oh no clash of the titans here we come!