JUST PUBLISHED!
Nicholas sat on the bed and listened to her sweet voice humming, resonating from inside the bathroom. With the door ajar, temptation drew him inside the steamy blue-and-white room bearing a pedestal sink and old-fashioned porcelain tub. He could see her nude body, well‑rounded and provocative, silhouetted against the white shower curtain. Beads of sweat beginning to form on his brow, Nicholas pulled a blue towel from the metal rings, which caused the circular hook to clank against the wall. Callie moved the curtain slightly aside and poked her head around it.
“Nicholas,” she said with pleasant surprise, her pouty, voluptuous mouth broadening with a smile. “Coming to join me?”
“N-n-no. I just—”
She reached out with one hand, her body still hidden behind the curtain. It was an invitation he found himself hard pressed to resist.
“Please.”
Her fingers caught his arm, and she tugged him gently towards the shower. Fully clothed in shirt, pants, and socks, Nicholas stepped inside the tub as Callie rotated to face him. Water streamed down her slender frame as she pressed close to kiss him, teasing and tempting, pulling off his sweater and unbuckling his pants. Passion erupted in her provocative kissing and licking, working her way up his torso until she met his lips in burning desire. The water’s vapor encircled them in an erotic, humid mist that began to overpower Nicholas’s conscience.
“I shouldn’t—we shouldn’t,” he said, opening his eyes as his subconscious screamed I should! We should! Stop thinking man and just go with your heart!
Excerpt:
“How romantic,” Nick said with understated displeasure. “Nice of him to give you five minutes time.”
“It’s not his fault. It’s just the circumstances,” Callie groaned.
“The circumstances are deplorable—you here; him there.” He sliced a small tab of butter and spread it over the waffle, the butter melting into the square crevices. “Why waste your time?”
“I could change the circumstances. I could move.”
Nick reached for his coffee cup.
“Don’t be foolish, Callie. You don’t leave a great life to start another one—not for a man.”
“I think I love him.”
“Of course, you love him. That’s why you’re not thinking clearly.”
Callie opened her mouth to defend herself but Nick waved her to silence.
“Let me tell you about love, Callie. Love is a matter of choice. You choose who you fall in love with and—”
She didn’t know if that statement was true.
“Nick, I don’t think—”
“Hush, girl, let me finish.” He made a zipper gesture to quiet her. “Love is a choice, and it’s gonna be your choice to willfully walk away from an extraordinary life you’ve created for yourself, say goodbye to your family, turn your back on your friends, all for sweaty palms and a pounding heart.”
“God, Nick, you make it sound so cheesy, childish.”
“Sorry, but I’m just more practical-minded about these things.”
He took a bite of the waffle, and Callie seized the opportunity to speak.
“Then practically-speaking, isn’t love—true love rare, against the odds? The bars, the personals in the newspaper, the matchmaking websites are all full of people still searching for it, and it’s found me. Shouldn’t I be hanging onto that brass ring with both hands? And he’s an amazing man, good to the core, who completely loves me for me. I can’t say I’ve ever had that before. And you want me to walk away from that?”
“Maybe you should deplete your options here before leaving the state.
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