Josie Mills is a precocious and straitlaced young woman who is pursuing a career in architecture. The field is very difficult to get a foot into and Josie has been working nonstop to make her dream come true. She's so focused on her slowly growing c...
Twenty-seven minutes have passed since I promised Josie I would meet her at her apartment.
I've been standing just down the road from it, close enough to see the peeling pink paint on the outside but far enough that she wouldn't spot me if she glanced out a window. My hands dig further into my pockets, watching the sun go slowly down behind the building as evening approaches.
All day long I've been thinking about this, about whether I would actually come to her home. I wonder if that's how she felt last night when I gave her my hotel room key. If she's acting in any way similar to how I had last night, she's pacing around, making sure everything is perfect, and stealing sips of alcohol to ease her nerves. Every sound from outside will make her stop and wonder if it's me approaching.
I know I should make up my mind, will I walk to the door or will I walk away?
There are just so many thoughts going through my head, like a whirlwind is spinning out of control between my ears.
What in the world am I really doing here?
Am I truly willing to risk my friendship with Ben over a girl that I only just met? There's no way that we'll be able to keep this secret forever. At some point, it's going to come out just what's going on between Josie and myself, and Ben is not going to be cool with it.
So what is it about Josie that makes me want to take that gamble?
Is it like Ben said, that she's special in some way? I've never felt as magnetically attracted to anyone as I am to her, but is it just her outward beauty that's drawn me in? Am I that shallow?
No... there's something else to her. There's something in the way she laughs, the way her smile crinkles her eyes, the way she says my name. It just makes me feel alive, like a fire has been lit inside me after being extinguished all my life, a fire I'm not ready to let be blown out just yet.
It would be easy to walk away.
Or should I say, the motion of moving would be easy, because it would be the hardest thing I've ever done to actually convince myself to take that first step. I could turn around and forget Josie's address and delete her number from my phone and try and clear her face from my memory, but I know that would never be truly possible.
It's like I'm addicted to her now, like I'm dying to get my next fix.
So, instead of doing what is probably the smart and right thing to do, I hesitantly approach her apartment and ring the doorbell. The sound echoes inside, cheery and light. A bird stops its own song to listen.
There's a flurry of movement inside as the bolt is drawn and the door swings open.
Josie stands there, dressed in a simple tee and a pair of pajama shorts. Her outfit is adorably mismatched, but her shy smile seems to tie it all together.
"I didn't think you were coming," she says shyly.
She gazes up at me through her long lashes, my heart swelling at just the sight. How is it possible that this woman has such an effect on me? Why does she have to be my best friend's little sister?
Why can't this be easy?
All my life I waited for the one woman who would make me feel a sense of wholeness like this, and when I didn't find her, I gave up. I didn't think she was out there. But with Josie, all I want is to spend every second at her side, talking and kissing and laughing. But, as long as I value my friendship with Ben, that can never be.
"I'm sorry I'm late."
She just shrugs, her smile twitching slightly larger as she steps back and welcomes me into her modest apartment.
It's decorated simply, with an assortment of floral paintings on the wall and fresh cleaned hardwood floors. She lingers to the side, watching me take it in.
"It's very you," I have to chuckle, arms folding over my chest.
She scoffs, locking the door behind me, "What's that supposed to mean?"
I glance around, taking in the white leather couch and the lilies in a vase on a small round table.
"Delicate, sweet, lovely..." I take a step towards her with every word, until I stand only inches away.
She trembles just slightly, her chin tipped up towards me, her eyes half closed as though she's basking in the warmth of my body.
"What happened to having to work late?" I ask, the air crackling between us as though a field of electricity has formed inside her living room.
"I told him no," she says simply, "I said I wasn't going to let him boss me around, that I wouldn't be demoted to an errand girl. I'm an architect, and I'm good."
"And your boss accepted that?"
She laughs, taking her own step forward and closing the distance between us.
"No. He told me if I didn't stay tonight that I'd get in trouble. But the trouble just seems worth it, I guess."
Her arms slowly loop around my neck, drawing me down towards her.
Before my lips can drink in one of her delicious kisses, however, the doorbell rings.
"Ignore it," she breathes, leaning up on her tiptoes to capture my mouth.
We slide backwards, hitting the wall behind her. My hands cup around her thighs, dragging her up my body so that I can press my hips to hers. She gives a quiet moan, nibbling lower lip as the doorbell rings again.
Her fingers tangle in my hair as my mouth suckles at her collarbone.
"Josie!" Ben's muffled voice calls from beyond the door, trying to locked knob, "Open up. I know you're in there!"
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