Next Door Tension

The problem with having an attractive neighbor was that it made life unnecessarily complicated.

For two years, Ava had lived next door to Jake Sullivan. Two years of casual waves in the hallway, shared elevator rides filled with loaded silence, and late-night run-ins at the mailbox that left her head spinning.

Jake wasn’t just attractive—he was dangerously attractive. Dark hair that always looked perfectly messy, broad shoulders that made every T-shirt he wore a crime, and that easy, knowing smirk that told her he was fully aware of the effect he had on people.

On her.

Ava hated that smirk.

Mostly because she liked it too much.

Tonight, she had no choice but to deal with him. A storm had knocked out the power in their building, and she’d stupidly left her phone charger at work. Which meant she had to do the unthinkable: knock on Jake’s door and ask for help.

She took a deep breath and knocked.

Seconds later, the door swung open, and there he was—shirtless, grey sweatpants hanging way too low, hair damp like he’d just stepped out of a shower.

Ava’s brain short-circuited.

Jake leaned against the doorframe, arms crossed. “Didn’t expect to see you tonight, neighbor.”

Ava cleared her throat, forcing herself to look him in the eye. “Yeah, well. The power’s out. My phone’s dead. I was hoping you had a charger I could borrow.”

His lips quirked. “So, you came knocking in the dark, desperate for help?”

She scowled. “I wouldn’t say desperate.”

He chuckled, stepping back. “Come in.”

Ava hesitated. This was a terrible idea. But standing in the hallway with nothing but the dim emergency lighting and Jake looking like that was even worse.

She stepped inside.

His apartment was eerily similar to hers—same layout, same fixtures—but somehow, it felt different. Warmer. More lived-in. Or maybe it was just the fact that he was in it.

Jake moved to a drawer and pulled out a charger, holding it up. “This what you need?”

Ava reached for it, but instead of handing it over, he kept hold of it, forcing her to step closer. Their fingers brushed. A jolt of heat shot up her arm.

She looked up, and damn it, he was already watching her, his expression unreadable.

“Ava,” he murmured.

Her breath hitched. “Yeah?”

His gaze flickered to her lips. Just for a second. But it was enough.

Her stomach flipped. This is a bad idea.

But God, did she want to make it?

Jake exhaled, his voice lower now. “How long are we going to do this?”

Ava swallowed. “Do what?”

His lips twitched. “Pretend there’s nothing here.”

Her pulse hammered. She could deny it, pretend she hadn’t spent two years wondering what it would feel like to finally close this space between them.

Or—

She reached forward, fingers curling around the charger. But instead of taking it, she let her hand linger, her skin pressing against his.