Total pages in book: 80
Estimated words: 78357 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78357 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 392(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
After a few minutes of enjoying that mental imagery, something miraculous happened as I stared at the empty page on my computer. I started to type. Deep down, I knew why my writer’s block had gone away. This place, as much as I’d knocked Josie in the past, was a warm and welcoming environment that relaxed me. And because I was able to calm my mind, ideas started to move freely within it. The words flowed as I began to write about my experience tonight. The title of the piece was: Change Your Environment, Change Your Productivity.
I got more than a thousand words down in a matter of twenty minutes.
When I paused, I took in a deep whiff of the scented candles mixed with the lingering smell of cookies in the air. Was it really this place? Or was it her—knowing she was right upstairs and that for the first time in a long time, I wasn’t alone. My chest constricted, and my body tightened defensively.
Don’t get too comfortable, Cole.
Footsteps registered behind me, and then Josie appeared, wearing a long shirt that had snowflakes all over it. It went down almost to her knees, but most notably, it was thin enough to display the outline of her ample breasts much more clearly than her shirt had earlier. God, she was beautiful. I didn’t want to like her. But I did.
Josie moved a piece of her dark hair behind her ear. “I, uh, wanted to say goodnight. Stay as long as you like.” She handed me a key. “Just lock the door from the outside with this. It’s a spare. You can give it back to me tomorrow.”
“Thank you. I can’t tell you how much I appreciate this.”
She walked over to the counter before returning with a plate of cookies.
“Just in case you need some middle-of-the-night fuel.”
Her eyes glimmered in the candlelight. As good as the cookies smelled, there was nothing I wanted more than a taste of her. I shook my head. I needed to get my mind out of this fantasyland and focus. No way could I let myself fall for someone who looked so much like Jessica. I’d never be able to rid myself of the association, and it would end badly. It had to—I’d never allow myself to get hurt like that again. And that meant my defense mechanisms would end up hurting Josie. She didn’t deserve that.
After she went upstairs, my writing streak continued. In fact, I was so into my writing that at some point, my body completely shut down.
I didn’t realize it until Josie tapped me on my shoulder the next morning.
Josie
“Good morning, sleepyhead.” I smiled. It had been a while since a man had slept over. “I’m sorry to wake you. I have to go out to East Hampton to put my grades in the computer for report cards since the Wi-Fi isn’t working yet. I didn’t want you to wake up and the house be empty.”
Cole sat up and dragged a hand through his hair. “Shit. What time is it? I must’ve fallen asleep on the couch while I was working last night. Sorry about that.”
“No problem. And it’s almost nine. You were really out cold. I came downstairs and made coffee, took a shower, and even unloaded the dishwasher. You didn’t move a muscle.”
I shook my head. “Nine o’clock? Wow. I can’t remember the last time I slept past six.”
“How late did you work last night?”
“I’m not sure. But I got a lot done.”
“I’m glad. Would you like a cup of coffee?”
Cole stood. He lifted his hands over his head to stretch, and his sweater rode up, revealing some pretty impressive abs and a sexy line of hair that ran from his navel down into his pants. Damn, he wasn’t just a pretty face; he had a body to match. I thought he might’ve caught me ogling him, so I pretended I’d been looking down at my shoe and quickly knelt to tie my sneaker, even though it wasn’t untied.
“No, I’m good,” he said. “I don’t want to trouble you. I’ve already put you out enough. I’ll make a pot when I get home.”
“Umm…no, you won’t. We still don’t have any power.”
“Shit…right.” He looked around. “I forgot since it’s light out now, and you have a generator. I’ll run out and grab some at Dunkin’ Donuts. I don’t want to make you late.”
I waved him off. “It’s fine. I can show up anytime today to enter my grades. I’m not in a rush.”
“Alright. Well, if you have it made, I’ll take a cup, please.”
In the kitchen, I poured two mugs of coffee. I added a little half and half to mine and held up the carton to Cole. “Do you take cream or sugar?”
“No. Just black, please.”
I passed him his coffee. “You know, I could have guessed that. You seem like a black coffee kind of guy.”