Next Door: An insta love sweet contemporary: Love-in-Quarantine, #1

By Hannah Altagracia

A chance meeting with the handsome stranger next door turns into an unexpected love affair.

Dating is the last thing on internet vlogger Jade Garcia's mind during the quarantine. But when Mr. Doug's drop-dead gorgeous grandson, Trey, moves in with him next door, Jade soon finds herself swooning over the new tenant through her bedroom window.

Weird? Yes.
Stalkerish? Maybe.
Possibility of stripping Trey naked? Slim to none!

At Mr. Doug's old age, he is immune-compromised, and Trey is keeping them both in self-isolation with little, to no, worldly contact. But as much as Jade tries to snuff out the growing spark, each chance encounter with Trey only seems to strengthen it. Jade knows that she and Trey could have something special, but will they ever be able to find out for sure?

• Language: English
• Publisher: Hannah Altagracia
• Release date: Nov 7, 2022
• ISBN: 9798215901502

Book preview

1

Hey guys, it’s Jade, and welcome back to my channel. Today we’ll be doing a day in the life. I stared into the camera lens for a brief second. This is where I would insert my theme song, but for now, my brief pause would act as a placeholder. After the awkward moment was over, I continued, Before we get started, be sure to hit that subscribe button below so that you’re notified every time I upload a new video. Did you do it? Alright, let’s go!

I set my camera down, looking around my room for the perfect b-roll footage—a shot of my new bonsai tree that sat on my desk, maybe a pan shot of my bedroom window, and of course, the classic shot of putting my feet into my slippers.

I peeked out the window before doing any of this. It was another sunny, cloudless day, but if it was as sticky as it had been these past couple days, I sure as hell wouldn’t be doing any outdoor activities. I crossed through my open concept living room, past the kitchen to crack the front door and check the humidity. My chihuahua, hearing the chime of the front door alarm ding, squeezed past my ankles to run out into the yard. Toby immediately drained his bladder on one of the large bushes in the front.

Good morning, Jade. Mr. Doug’s voice creaked from the porch next door. He waved a fragile hand in my direction.

I waved back, then stepped through my door to better supervise Toby. Mr. Doug was already dressed and ready for the day. I was not. A normal person may have been mortified to have their elderly neighbor waving at them while still in their pajamas, but this was a part of my daily routine. More than once, I’d even been spotted walking my dog while still in pajamas. I wasn’t a morning person. Changing before drinking coffee and letting my dog pee took too much brainpower.

Today’s pajamas were a pink short and tank top set made of the softest cotton I’d ever owned. My hair was still wrapped under my silk cheetah print hair wrap, so at least Mr. Doug didn’t have to look at my bedhead. Figuring out what hairstyle to wear my bush of curls in each day was the other reason I usually avoided getting dressed until after breakfast.

Good morning, Mr. Doug, how are you today? Under the morning sun, I noticed that my skin was looking pale. Not that my natural complexion was much darker than this, I was on the lighter-skinned side despite my Puerto Rican blood, but maybe I should spend some time outside today. Since the safer-at-home policy had been put into place, the introvert in me took it quite literally as an excuse not to leave my house except for essentials.

It’s all good. Mr. Doug raised his large coffee mug in my direction before taking a long sip.

Do you need anything? I offered. I’m going to head to the store to pick up a grocery order I placed last night, but I have until eleven to add or change anything.

You’re so sweet, but I think I’ve got it covered from here on out. My grandson is moving in with me. I think he felt guilty about an old man like me being on his own during a worldwide pandemic. Mr. Doug chuckled.

He always seemed to be in high spirits. Even though he must be over seventy, when he spoke, Mr. Doug had the vivacity of a twenty-year-old. At times though, I’d seen him trying to get around his back yard, his movements slowly paced as though he were conserving his physical strength. I worried about him falling and had often wondered why he lived alone. Our good morning greeting had become my way of checking in with him to make sure everything was still okay.

I’m happy to hear that! What took him so long? I joked.

That’s exactly what I said. He chuckled again. Now, you don’t have to worry about the old man living next door to you.

You’re the closest thing I have to family around here, so don’t expect me not to worry about you that easily. My dog ran back up the front stairs, pawing at my leg to go back inside. He was not a fan of this Tennessee summer heat.

Mr. Doug smiled warmly. I know you are. I’m sure my grandson will take you up on the help too, he’s not familiar with this side of town.

Of course. I smiled. I can’t wait to meet him.

Toby pawed at my leg again. Looks like someone is ready for his breakfast. Mr. Doug clucked his tongue down to Toby. Don’t poop on mommy’s floor today.

Toby panted in his direction proudly. I sighed. That’s a confirmation that he most definitely will.

* * *

I got a few b-roll shots for today’s vlog before settling down on the couch with my coffee thermos and bagel.

I pulled out my camera. "Right now I’m going to eat my breakfast while I respond to a few comments. Thank you all so much for the support on last week’s video. I’m happy to announce that I did finally find a store that had toilet paper... never thought I’d be saying that... though there is a limit of one pack per day... also never thought I’d be saying that. No worries, it totally makes sense with all that is going on. Plus, with it only being Toby and me in the house, I’m not too worried."

With the camera still recording, I set it down on the small side table by my plush blue couch to film footage of me eating while on my laptop. Shots like this were always hella awkward, but it was what most vlog watchers expected from a ‘Day in the Life vlog.’ I would speed up this footage later, for now, I just had to ‘act natural.’

I opened my laptop and scrolled through my channel’s dashboard. I tried to respond to all the comments; even the ones from older videos. My fans were the reason I could make a living simply by recording my life, the least I could do if I had the time was respond to their comments.

There were the usual remarks like: 

So happy for you!

Your dog is too cute!

What hair products do you use?

And then there were the less agreeable responses like:

You really shouldn’t be using cream cheese on your bagels, no offense, but I’ve noticed your weight has increased.

Unsubscribing!

Hey hun, I’m looking for five people to join my team. DM me for details.

I’d had my vlog for four years, though it’d just recently taken off this past spring when I was laid off from my job at the bookstore. The lack of a job plus a global pandemic keeping me home resulted in daily vlogs out of pure boredom. I hadn’t expected it to take off like it did, but, for whatever reason, the algorithm was in my favor and I wasn’t going to complain. With the increased audience, I had strayed away from my small, primarily supportive following, and opened myself up to the world of trolls who didn’t always approve of how I lived my life. Most days,