Hate Thy Neighbor

This is for my wife, a single mother who I met twenty one years ago.

Be forewarned, there isn't much sex, so enjoy it

for what it is, a fictional romance.

Chapter 1

***Carson***

I have come to love the first day of every month, and June is always the best of them all. It's the beginning of summer which means new tenants, many of them single women, move into the apartment complex I call home.

The main reason I chose this location was the tenants are predominantly young single professionals or students. This year to make it even better, my single male neighbors moved out, which means less competition for the ladies.

I have a little less than two years left on my self imposed deadline. Once I hit thirty, I will settle down, get married and start a family. Until then I'm going to party hard and date as many women as I can.

I finished work for the day and just piddled around in the kitchen listening for signs of movement in the hallway or next door. Soon, my patience paid off when I heard the sounds of furniture being lugged around.

I decided to head down to the pool for my afternoon swim, hoping to run into my new neighbor. I timed it so that when I heard movement in the hall I walked out of my apartment door. When I stepped out, I was happy to see movers, which means my new neighbors probably aren't men.

To my satisfaction, a beautiful young woman brought up the rear wheeling along a cart full of boxes. She was smoking hot, a beautiful brunette, with her hair tied back in a ponytail. She was wearing a sports bra and yoga pants showing off a nice slim body along with a firm flat stomach, my achilles heel.

Please be single, I thought to myself.

"Hey, are you my new neighbor?"

She looked at me and gave me a million dollar smile.

"Yes. Hi I'm Tina."

I stopped and shook her hand, happy to notice there was no wedding ring on her finger when she rested her left arm on the cart.

"Hi, I'm Carson, nice to meet you."

"You as well."

"Looks like you have an army moving you in."

"I only have them for another hour, they're just moving in the heavy stuff for me."

"Well, I was just heading down to the pool for a swim, but if you need some help I'm free for a while."

"I would really owe you if you would be willing, there are a ton of boxes I have to move by myself."

By herself? That's odd since it's a two bedroom apartment. Maybe she's using the other bedroom as an office like I am.

"Lead the way."

I helped her carry up a few loads of boxes, making small talk as we went. I quickly found out that as hot as she is, she has a great personality as well. The movers left as soon as the furniture was all in the respective rooms. We were in the U-Haul loading up another round of boxes when I asked the important question.

"So, do you have a roommate that's going to be joining you?"

"No, the other room's for my two little girls."

"Girls?"

"Yeah, my two daughters Emily and Lily."

My hopes were dashed, a single mother is moving in next to me. I decided to execute my emergency escape plan.

We were halfway back to the apartment when I pulled out my phone and pretended to take a call.

"This is Carson."

"Um I'm just walking up my stairs, can I call you back in about five minutes?"

"Okay, thanks."

I pretended to hang up.

"Sorry, I have to make a work call."

As soon as we got back up to her apartment, I dumped my load of boxes and made a beeline out of there. Disaster averted.

I wallowed in my misery, a beautiful sexy woman is moving in next to me and she's a single mother. FUCK!!!!!

I hid in my apartment for an hour until the sounds of moving and slamming doors stopped. I resumed my trip down to the pool and started doing laps. It was a rare day when I didn't get at least fifty laps in. It was my time to just swim and not think about anything. Plus it kept me in great shape.

My foster father introduced me to swimming when I was in high school. The Hagerman's took me in when I was a freshman. I lost track of how many different schools I had been in over the previous eight years, never starting and finishing a grade in the same school.

The Hagermans were different though, they didn't host foster kids just for the monthly paycheck, they did it out of the kindness of their heart. Melvin could see right away that learning was a struggle for me. I was just so far behind all the other students from jumping from school to school, and not having a parent who cared enough to help.

Every night, Melvin or his wife Linda would sit at the kitchen table and help me with my homework. They were both high school teachers and loved a student who was willing to learn. It didn't take long for my grades to improve to the point where I was eligible to join school sports. Since Melvin was the swim coach, he naturally offered to teach me how to swim.

That was one of the things I learned to love about the Hagermans, they never made me do anything, they always gave me a choice. I often wonder how bad my life would have turned out if they hadn't taken me in for the last four years of school.

After finishing my fifty laps, I showered and took a little nap before it was time to head down the pub. Another reason I chose this complex, it had its own sports pub where I could drink, meet women and not have to worry about driving home.

Ah, life is good.

***Tina***

After Carson left, I shut the door and had a good cry. Not because I gave a shit that some asshole went from a nice charming guy to a douchebag the minute he found out I had kids.

When he faked a phone call I almost laughed in his face.

No, I cried because I felt alone and trapped. I discovered that every once in a while, a good cry helps wash away the stress.

I've been alone since the asshole father of the girls left us for his home in Spain almost six years ago. Sure, I had my mom, but she has driven me so crazy for the last year. I swear I would have taken a job in Enid Oklahoma if it was offered to me.

I felt trapped because I can't and won't make time to find and date a man, so I'm destined to be alone until God knows when. I love my girls to death, and can't imagine my life without them, but giving them the time they deserve makes it impossible to have a love life.

I've never done anything so bold in my life. I've worked my ass off for years to support the girls and me while climbing the corporate ladder. I was shocked when the company offered me a huge promotion, the catch was I had to relocate to Denver ASAP.

I didn't even hesitate, the money was fabulous, and I could get away from my mother. I loved her dearly, but the incessant harping on finding a husband was driving me absolutely nuts.

So a week later, I rented an apartment sight unseen. It was close to the convention center, and was in a great school district. The girls were excited and upset at the same time. Excited for a new adventure, but upset at leaving their friends and grandparents, and the only home they have ever known.

Hilton gave me a $5,000 moving allowance. The U-Haul, car trailer, and gas cost me a grand, the two movers were $300 for two hours. Plane tickets for me to bring the girls back chewed up the rest.

I was a little scared to lose my security blanket. Mom was my de facto babysitter, my best friend, my rock. But I needed to spread my wings and fly, hopefully I won't crash and burn.

I returned the U-Haul to the closest dealership and took an Uber to the airport to catch my flight back to San Jose. After a quick turn around, lots of hugs and tears, the girls and I made it back to Denver and our new home. The girls loved the new apartment complex, our rooms overlooked the courtyard, which was surrounded by ten apartment buildings.

I have to say I couldn't have picked a better place for the girls. There is a swimming pool, a playground for kids, even an indoor play area for kids during the long Colorado winters that I'm not looking forward to. The girls however are excited at the thought of seeing snow for the first time and making a snowman.

I have two days to get unpacked before starting my new job, but I could see the girls really wanted to start exploring their new home.

"Do you girls want to walk around or go swimming before we start unpacking?"

They both swam like fish, so I wasn't surprised when they both wanted to hit the water.

We changed into our swimsuits and made our way down to the pool. I was surprised how busy it was for a Wednesday afternoon, but then again school's out for the summer. It made me relax a little when I saw how many young children and other moms were using the pool.

I found us a couple chairs by the shallow end, and of course the girls decided to be shy and not go in right away. Thankfully another mom showed up with a boy and a girl about the same age as my girls. The boy took off screaming looking for his friends. I could tell the mother had an outgoing personality. As soon as she sat down in the chair next to me she started talking.

"Hi, are you new here?"

"Yeah, we haven't even unpacked yet. The girls wanted to get out a little before we started so I thought we would check out the pool."

"Hi girls, this is Mandy."

Both my girls' eyes lit up at the possibility of making a new friend so quickly.

"Hi Mandy, this is Emily and Lily."

"Hi."

The little girl was as outgoing as her mom. She took a hand from each of my girls.

"Come on, let's go in."

Just like that, all three were off, jumping into the shallow end.

"I'm Linda, nice to meet you. You'll love it here."

"Nice to meet you too, I'm Tina."

"Are you married?"

"No, it's just the girls and I."

"Well, if you're looking, this is definitely the place. Half the guys here are single, and most of them are pretty decent."

"I'm not sure I'll have time for dating for a while. How about you, married?"

"Yeah, my husbands at work. I'm a stay at home mom. I like to come down here and relax in the afternoons."

My heart jumped. A stay at home mom, maybe she would be willing to look in on the girls once in a while, or at least be a backup in case anything came up.

"Which building do you live in?"

She pointed across the courtyard to a building that was farthest from mine. Oh well it was a thought.

The sounds of laughter brought my attention to the pool. To my surprise, Carson was giving kids a ride on his back like a dolphin. He would swim under water from one side of the pool to the other with a kid on his back. Once to the side, the next kid would hop on. There was a line of kids waiting for their turn on both sides of the pool.

I have to admit Carson's kinda hot. He's fairly tall, good looking with an amazingly hard body. Too bad he's such a complete douchebag.

"That's Carson."

"Yeah, he's my new next door neighbor."

"He's great with kids, they all love him to death."

"That's surprising."

"Really, why?"

"He was nice and charming until I told him that I had two little girls. When he found out about them he couldn't run away fast enough."

"That's odd, maybe a strong single mother intimidated him."

"I doubt it."

Chapter 2

***Carson***

So far summer's starting out great, just as I hoped. I already had a date with a beautiful blonde on Friday night. By date, I mean she is coming over to my place for drinks and Netflix.

The pool has been a ton of fun. I think seeing me interact with kids makes me even more attractive to women who might be having maternal instincts themselves. I don't plan on having kids anytime soon, but I don't mind practicing how to make them as much as I can.

Thankfully my two little neighbor kids are delightful little girls, and most importantly, quiet. I had given them several rides on Wednesday and then again Thursday. I didn't even realize they were my neighbors until I saw them with their mother. I was a little disappointed when they didn't show up on Friday afternoon, but there were several other kids to throw around and give rides to.

My date Friday night went well, really well. Saturday morning before she left we both agreed that we would do it again sometime soon.

I decided to get my laps in early so I could just lounge around the pool and have some drinks. The weekend brings a whole new group of women to the pool, those who had jobs during the week and were ready to blow off some steam and show some skin.

After my laps, I started to head back up to my apartment to grab a small cooler of drinks and maybe a book to pretend to read. Walking up the stairs I met the girls and Tina.

"Hey girls, I missed throwing you around yesterday."

Lily the youngest piped right up.

"Mom had to work, so we couldn't go to the pool."

Immediately I understood. Single working mother keeps the kids in the apartment while she is away. Not that I really blame her too much, there are a ton of sick people out there, and she doesn't know anyone here yet. I must have had a funny look on my face that Tina took the wrong way.

"I don't need your judgment!"

I was surprised by the venom in her voice.

"I wasn't, but go ahead and think whatever you want."

I didn't need any attitude from her. I went into my apartment, grabbed a cooler full of beer, a book and went back down. Unfortunately one of the only lounge chairs open was only a few feet from where she had set up.

Ignoring her, I took a seat, opened a beer and relaxed, eyeing my opportunities for the day. I was besieged by kids until I finally gave in and spent ten minutes throwing them as fast and far as I could. They all loved it and it was a good quick workout.

When I returned to my chair, I was surprised to see Tina was packing everything up since it was only 12:30. The girls were begging to stay longer, they had already made new friends and wanted to spend some time with them.

"Girls, you know I have to get ready for work."

I felt bad for the girls having to be cooped up inside on such a beautiful Saturday.

"Hey Tina."

She glared at me, almost daring me to insult her.

"I would be happy to watch the girls while you get ready for work. You can text me five minutes before you leave and I will walk them up."

"Why?"

"Why what?"

"Why do you want to watch them?"

"I don't really want to, but I know they are having a good time and I hate to see them have to say goodbye to their new friends already."

Immediately the girls started saying please please please please.

"Trust me Tina, they will never leave my sight, and you can get ready for work in peace."

"Ok, but so help me if anything happens to them, you won't live to regret it."

I laughed at her.

"Ok, deal."

I gave her my cell number and sent her on her way. The girls of course decided that meant I was their personal play toy and tried getting me into the water.

"I can't, I have to listen for your mom to text me and tell me she's ready."

They were thrilled to be able to spend more time with their friends. After forty five minutes passed, I started wondering if she wrote my number down wrong, hell how long does it take to get ready for work? Finally at 1:40, she texted me she was leaving in five minutes.

"Come on girls, we have to go."

Thankfully they listened to me right away, happy for the extra hour they had. Within a few minutes the girls were knocking on their door. When Tina answered I almost forgot to say something.

She was dressed business casual, with her hair pulled up. I was really attracted to her the day I met her wearing yoga pants. Today I was speechless at how amazing she looked dressed up for work. I decided she had to be the most beautiful woman in the entire complex by far.

"Here you go, alive and unharmed."

For the first time in days, she actually smiled at me.

"Thanks, it was a luxury getting ready in peace, and I'm sure they enjoyed it."

"No problem, have a good day at work."

I returned to my pool chair, and closed my eyes, trying to get the image of Tina out of my mind. Not many women leave me speechless, but she sure did today. I wish I could have met her before she had children, a woman like that would make me think about moving up my timetable.

***Tina***

"Did you have fun girls?"

"Yeah, but Carson wouldn't come in the pool. He said he had to wait for you to text him."

"I see, welI I have a snack laid out for you, dinner's in the fridge. Lily, listen to your sister and be good. I will tuck you in when I get home."

"Bye mommy, love you."

"Love you too."

Even though it was hard to leave the girls home alone, I knew they would be fine. Emily is ten going on sixteen and extremely helpful with her little sister. Thankfully they get along fine and are very well behaved.

Driving the five minutes to the hotel, I couldn't help smiling. I was excited for day two of my new job. Even though I'm only twenty eight, I have spent almost half my life working in hotels. I started in house cleaning when I was only fifteen and have been in the business ever since. I was the Convention Service Manager for Hilton in San Jose the last two years, now I'm the Assistant Food & Beverage Director for the entire convention center in downtown Denver.

So far everyone's been great to me, other than the cold welcome from the Human Resources Manager. She almost seemed to have something against me, even though I've never met her.

I continued familiarizing myself with the hotel. It's massive with three bars, two restaurants, a Starbucks as well as the convention center catering department and room service. It's a little overwhelming knowing I'm the second in command of it all. Thankfully my new boss took me under his wing and showed me around, pointing out the employees that we can trust, and those we have to always keep an eye on.

When I came home, I found both the girls in their own beds sound asleep. I had called them at eight to make sure everything was fine and to say goodnight. They jabbered on about how much fun they were having and how they were being good.

I looked out of my bedroom at the courtyard below. It looked like the pub was going full swing and I felt a twinge of jealousy. I hadn't been out on the town in forever. Although I had never been much of a partier I still missed adult company sometimes.

I noticed a couple leaving the pub and starting walking towards our building. As they got closer I realized it was Carson and a pretty blonde. The way they were acting I knew exactly what was in store for them. I guess he will be happy with another notch in his bedpost.

It's too bad he's such a douchebag, because he is super hot and great with kids. I could tell he would be a great father, not like my ex, may he rot in hell. Watching him interact with other women, I can tell he's a player, in it to just have as much meaningless sex as he can.

The next morning I was woken by the girls sliding into bed and snuggling up to me. I held them both tightly to me as we all fell asleep for a little longer. Sundays I always make them french toast, and just because we are in a new apartment doesn't mean traditions should stop.

We were sitting in our pj's eating our french toast when Emily's phone chimed. My motherly instincts kicked in wondering who would be texting my young daughter on a Sunday morning.

"Hand me your phone."

Emily looked at me confused and handed it right over.

I saw there was a message from someone named Nadia.

Nadia: 'Did you ask her yet?'

Emily: 'No'

"Who's Nadia and what are you supposed to ask me?"

"She's my new friend. She's having an ice cream party tonight at the playground and asked if Lily and I could come."

"Why haven't you asked me?"