Total pages in book: 114
Estimated words: 106346 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 532(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 106346 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 532(@200wpm)___ 425(@250wpm)___ 354(@300wpm)
“Yeah, just hot,” I say. I’m suddenly embarrassed and feel silly about how I practically threw myself at him.
“I should get going,” he says, and I just nod. When I walk him to the door, he turns and takes me in his arms. Before I can say anything, he wraps his arm around my waist and picks me up off my feet, then kisses me on the lips. “Lock up, sweetheart.”
He gives me one more small kiss when he sets me down and then walks out of the apartment. I close the door after him and quietly turn the lock. My forehead hits the door, and I close my eyes, my lips still tingling from his kiss. I swear I smell him all around me.
“Don’t go down that path, Caroline,” I tell myself. Pushing off from the door, I take a deep breath, but it’s the wrong thing to do since his smell is still all over me. His sweater is on the table, so I sniff my T-shirt and realize his smell is all over me. My hands, my bare arms, everything around me smells like him. I walk to the bathroom and undress after turning on the shower and adjusting the temperature to cold. It never really gets cool, or maybe my body is scorching hot just thinking about him. I stand under the water, letting it cascade all around me. The whole time, I’m having this conversation with myself about how stupid it would be to get involved with him. How he is so out of my league and there is nothing I can do to catch up to him.
I use the white towel hanging on the towel rack to dry off and then slip into my shorts and a tank top. When I open the door, it’s still not cooler. I open the windows a touch more, but there isn’t even a breeze outside tonight. It’s just stale hot air. The sounds of crickets in the distance and someone arguing somewhere. I look out at the courtyard and see a group of guys hanging by the front door. Off to the side, some teenage kids are shooting basketball.
I don’t know how long I stand here when the ringing starts. I turn to look around, confused as to where it’s coming from, when I finally find it under Justin’s sweater on the kitchen table. I turn it over and see it’s his cell phone, and that someone is calling him. I look down at the phone not sure what to do and then the ringing stops. I don’t have time to think again when the phone starts ringing again, and this time, I slide the button right and answer it. “Hello,” I say, my voice low.
“Hey there,” Justin says.
“Justin?” I say, confused. “I think you forgot your phone here.”
He laughs now, and I hear him walking around. “I guess you can say I forgot it.”
“You didn’t forget it.” I walk to the futon and sit down, folding my legs under me. “You left it here.”
“I did,” he says. I hear covers in the background and wonder if he’s sliding into his bed. I wonder what his house looks like. I know from just the lobby that it must be gorgeous and also worth a fortune.
“Why?” I ask. Getting up, I walk to the table to get his sweater and bring it back to the futon with me, putting it beside me.
“Would you have taken it if I had handed it to you?” he asks, and I don’t have to answer. “Exactly.”
“So you just left your phone here?” I ask, shaking my head.
“Yup, the passcode is one, two, three, four,” he says without skipping a beat. “I want to have you and Dylan over at my house.”
“What?” I whisper.
“I want you and Dylan to come and hang out here tomorrow after work,” he says. “I can throw a couple of steaks on the grill, and we can watch a movie.” My stomach does this weird thing where it feels like it’s sinking but then flutters. “Or we can go out. It’s up to you.”
“Justin, I—” I start to form the words.
“Caroline, there is something here,” he says softly. “You can pretend it’s not, but tonight when I kissed you.” His voice goes even lower. “It was everything.”
“I just don’t think …” All these reasons are there, practically written on the wall, yet nothing comes out of my mouth.
“Stop thinking,” he says. “Tomorrow, I’ll come get you guys. We can go out for breakfast before work, and then you let me spoil you by making you dinner and taking care of you for once. Come over and sit down. I’ll get you some wine if that will help,” he says, chuckling, and I laugh also just a little. “Come on, sweetheart, say yes,” he whispers. “Take a chance on me. I promise you won’t regret it.”