Tamed by the Bad Boy Next Door

The Guard Dog

After she too had decided to move out of the dorms before the new academic year started, her dad not only earmarked one of the two second-floor studio units for her but also kept the other one unoccupied.

That had already dashed whatever hope she had of getting a cute neighbor, and now this.

George also knew his daughter well. Even if he allowed only another girl to move into that unit, it would be a problem if that girl happened to have a boyfriend or male friends who were just Ainsley’s type. Knowing she was living alone, if someone had the wrong idea about her…

Unfortunately, this measure didn’t appear to be enough. He had recently received a worrying report from the building’s caretaker that his daughter seemed to have been followed home on more than one occasion.

True, the building had a number of CCTVs, but mere cameras wouldn’t be able to physically stop a person who had already gotten it into their head to commit a crime.

From Sibyll’s stories and lamentations about her son, Sebastian appeared to be a straight-laced and serious young man who had no interest in romance or any other association with the opposite s*x. Now that George had met him, he had confirmed from his attitude that all of it was true.

Best of all, this young man was not his daughter’s type.

Far from getting along, in fact, the two young people seemed more in danger of hating each other to the core.

Well, that didn’t matter. What’s important was that, if only out of gratitude and obligation, Sebastian would make the ideal guard dog for his daughter.

George didn’t bring up all of his conditions during this lunch meeting. And as the two youngsters both had class next period, he offered to drive them back to campus.

The short car ride was mostly quiet, with the girl in the front seat staring out her right-facing window and the boy in the back likewise staring out his left-facing one.

After they both got out at the building where Ainsley’s next class was, they said their goodbyes and thanks to George and found themselves alone.

“Welp,” said Ainsley, already walking away. “That’s that. Bye, Sebastian.”

Behind her, the guy replied, “It’s Seb.” Just as Ainsley stopped and was turning around to acknowledge this, it was Seb who started to walk away. “And you’re right. That’s that.”

Ainsley made a face at his retreating back and continued on her way.

How annoying, she thought. Just because her dad wanted to score some points with the woman he was dating, she’d have to put up with a charmless guy as her neighbor. Given what that same guy had said to his friend about her, she couldn’t even hope that he would invite them over for her to enjoy.

What a bad deal she got.

On his side, Seb was mostly thinking along those same lines.

He’d thought that if he did move out of the dorms, he would have to put up with living in an apartment that was too far away from campus. At such a late time, all the ideal accommodations nearby would already be fully occupied, or else would only accept female tenants.

Lucky for him, his mother’s new lover seemed eager to get on Seb’s good side. The only real downside was that he’d have to live in the same building as That Girl—but that, he could deal with, at least temporarily.

He’d just take advantage of this arrangement for as long as their parents’ relationship would last. It wasn’t going to be forever, and it shouldn’t be difficult to avoid interacting with That Girl more than necessary in what would surely be a short time they’d technically be living under the same roof.

All he had to really worry about was keeping his friends away from her sticky eyes. They already couldn’t avoid those on campus. It would make him a truly bad friend if he subjected them to that outside as well.

This thought of his was only cemented when, on his moving day, he discovered that avoiding interactions with Ainsley might prove to be more difficult than he’d thought.

They were literally going to be next-door neighbors. Even sneakily, he really couldn’t invite his friends here.

But that aside, the unit itself was…

“Mom,” Seb whispered to Sibyll when George left them to talk to the caretaker. “Can we afford this?”

Even though it was a studio apartment, the space was not cramped. The walls were perfectly repainted, the bathroom was modern, and the rest of the unit was fully furnished.

A bed frame, a twin-sized mattress, a couple of dressers, a couch, a coffee table, an electric stove, and even a personal refrigerator—it had everything.

Seb and his mother weren’t exactly poor, but all of this still seemed more than an ordinary student would be able to afford.

After he asked her that question, Sibyll hesitated before admitting, “Actually… George is letting you stay here for free.”

“What?” Seb shook his head. “I can’t do that. What did you say?”

“Obviously, I tried to decline too. But he said it was fine. He explained that this unit had been destined to go to waste anyway. He didn’t want strangers living next door to his daughter, and since you are not a total stranger, this arrangement works out.”

Seb frowned. “That seems careless of him… He hardly knows me.”

“That’s true,” his mother answered, looking at him with uncharacteristic seriousness. “But I know you. I’m vouching for you, and it’s my word he trusts. Do you understand what I’m saying?”

Seb did understand. He nodded.

“But still…” he then said. “He’s being a little too generous for nothing in return.”

Did George actually like Seb’s mother that much?

“Well, it’s not for nothing,” Sibyll replied. “You’ll be looking out for Ainsley. It’s what you should do anyway, even if you were a paying tenant.” She reached up to pinch her taller son’s cheek and smiled. “I sometimes wonder, you know? How differently would you have turned out if I had given you a sister? You’ve always been too harsh on girls, you silly boy. It’s so worrying.”

Hearing footsteps as George seemed to be coming back, Sibyll patted Seb’s cheek and turned to the door to greet the man with a bright smile.

When he saw that, Seb thought, ‘I don’t know about George, but it seems Mom really does like the guy.’

For the first time, as his mother thanked George again for doing this for them, Seb found himself hoping that this relationship of hers wouldn’t end in tears like the previous ones.

***

Though it wasn’t exactly because of George and his mother, Seb’s budding hope that relationships might sometimes end well was dashed by the developments of the following week.

To be fair to Ainsley, even if she was the one who had instigated it, the rest of what happened wasn’t any of her doing.

Ever since that day she bumped into Seb while he was with Jay and Lewis, she had made it a point not to look at his friends again.

Seb wasn’t exactly sure what finally made her stop.

Was it because Jay had asked her to?

Was it because she felt shy and awkward knowing Lewis also had an interest in her?

Or was it because Seb was always with them, staring coldly at her as soon as he spotted her in any crowd?