The first thing Jaya ever learned from life was to work hard and never get attached to someone else. So what's a woman to do when she ends up living next door to a male supermodel who's looking for a connection that goes beyond skin-deep?
At twenty...
Two weeks later, Noah hosted Nico and Elena's engagement party, so Jaya spent the evening at her house, finishing up the small bedroom. She was in the middle of attaching the baseboards when laughter and music filtered through the open window, which overlooked both her backyard and Noah's.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
Curious, Jaya walked up to the window, pretending to do stretches in case someone spotted her.
There were about twenty people with drinks in their hands. Among them were Noah, Gus, Felicity, and the newly engaged couple. She didn't recognize the others, except... Beautiful Brigitte. Jaya wouldn't have even noticed her, but the woman plopped down on the two-seater next to Noah, cozied up to him with her arm looped around his, and pecked him on the cheek.
Jaya stood rooted by the window, watching in astonishment. Two minutes later, Brigitte was still glued to her boyfriend, and he didn't move away!
Maybe if she hadn't been under the influence of those damn pregnancy hormones, she would've stayed where she was, but there weren't any paparazzi around. Noah and Brigitte didn't have to act as if they were dating.
Jaya grabbed her oversized flannel, which incidentally had been advertised as Ex-Boyfriend Shirt in Romana Plaid, and made her way over to Noah's.
Three things happened at once. Penelope started barking and came running toward her. Noah stood abruptly, which spilled Brigitte's drink. Gus stalked over to her while everyone watched like she was the evil team captain of the Space Jam Monstars. For a moment, she considered speed-dialing Gus's phone, so it would play "Hit 'Em High" as she marched toward them.
Muhuhuhuh.
Too bad Gus managed to intercept her before she could get too close.
"Jaya," he said in warning, "what are you doing?"
Through gritted teeth, she muttered, "C'mon, Gus, she was draped around him like a freaking mink collar!"
He put an arm around her shoulders and walked her back to her house. "They're just friends. If you can't trust him, it's never going to work. There will always be people touching him. You were one of those people."
Gus had a point, but it didn't stop her from spying on them for another hour before the party moved back inside.
Because it was getting late, and she'd started feeling sleepy, Jaya opted to stay at her house for the night. She still loved her mattress and her sleeping bag, but now that she was used to sleeping in a real bed, it didn't feel as comfortable—or comforting—as it used to.
She woke early the next morning, primed the walls for another two hours, then went back to Noah's house to take a shower and eat breakfast.
Noah had left his patio door unlocked, so she let herself in. And there he was, asleep on the couch. She covered him with a blanket before she padded into the shower.
![Beneath Your Beautiful: A Neighbors to Lovers Romance [COMPLETED]](https://img.wattpad.com/cover/122326334-64-k163252.jpg)