“Why don’t you get Cole since you haven’t met him yet?” she said mischievously. “His jaw is going to drop when he sees you. He’s a bit of a playboy though. I’m warning you right now.” She leaned over and whispered, “He’s gotten to second base with like three girls from school already.”
I laughed and was suddenly curious to see this Cole character. I walked to the room she pointed at—right next to the bathroom and diagonal to ours. I lightly knocked once. Becky started to laugh and told me I had to pound the door down in order to wake Cole up if he was sleeping. I knocked harder and then twice more. Still no answer. I pressed my ear to the door to see if I could hear anything.
Finally, after three more loud knocks, I opened the door a little and peeked in. I looked over my shoulder and saw Aubry’s door open. Becky must’ve still been in there. I opened Cole’s door wider.
“Cole?” I called out tentatively. His room was dark. The light of the television and hallway helped me see him lying on his bed. I made my way around and got a closer look at him. He looked so peaceful. He had brown hair and really long eyelashes. I could barely make out his features in the dim light but that half of his face looked very cute.
“Cole?” I said in a hushed whisper. Nothing. My heart started racing, and I felt the blood draining from my body. Why isn’t he answering? Why isn’t he waking up? I started to shove him roughly.
“Cole,” I said loudly as I shoved him. “Wake up, Cole!” I was practically panting when he groggily opened his eyes and looked at me like I was crazy. Becky walked into the room and switched the lights on before walking away laughing. I looked into Cole’s deep green eyes, and I felt the air swoosh out of my body as my heart dropped to my feet.
I was terrified. A little less so now that he was awake, and I knew he wasn’t dead. He sat up and turned his body toward me in one swift quick move. He looked as terrified as I felt.
“Do I know you?” he asked, wiping his face with both hands roughly.
“Umm...no. I’m Blake,” I replied slowly.
He got up and put his hands on his hips. He was much taller than me. Why are these guys so tall? Or is it that I’m so short? I looked at his naked chest and saw the defined lines on his abs. Cole was thin—not lanky like Aubry and not muscular like Greg—just average. He was tall like them though. He was wearing basketball shorts, and I was horrified to see that there was a tent in them. I looked back to his face quickly and saw him smirking at me. He looked down at his awakened crotch and looked at me with a sheepish grin.
“Morning wood,” he explained with a shrug.
I crinkled my nose. “Eww,” I replied completely disgusted. “I just came to tell you that the food is on the table. I’ll be downstairs.”
I turned to leave and heard him blow out a low whistling sound. I turned back around and saw his eyes staring at my butt. I shook my head and rolled my eyes. Unbelievable.
Chapter 5
Present
I’m leaving work early to meet with Veronica, Mark’s assistant, about the letter they sent me. I’m making it a point to get there ten minutes before 12:00 in hopes of catching Mr. Lewis before he goes to lunch. I’m interning in a law firm for the summer, and it’s a block away from Lewis, Smith, and Morris. So far, all I’ve done is file papers and answer phone calls, but I’ll take what I can to get my foot in the door. I call my boss, Gina, ten minutes before clocking out to remind her that I’m leaving early. At 11:30, I grab my purse from the bottom drawer of my desk, get up, and clock out. I run to the elevator and catch it right before it closes.
“Hey, Blake, you look rushed.”
I look back and see Martin, a new attorney that started working here recently. He’s one of those guys that won’t shut up once he starts talking. I made the mistake of starting a conversation over the coffee pot in the break room last week. My entire lunch hour was spent with him yapping away about bad coffee and his break-up with an ex that refused to drink coffee. I ended up having a granola bar for lunch that day. Needless to say, I was grouchy and have since decided to keep my discussions with Martin to a minimum.
“Yup, I have somewhere to be,” I reply in a rush before turning around and facing the doors in front of me. Maybe he won’t talk too much since this elevator is jam packed.