Chapter 28
Scarlett
After Jake points out where I’ll be staying, I grab my bag and rush past him into the bedroom.
The carpet on the floor is well worn, the fact that the bed has never changed positions is evident.
The nightstand next to the bed is sturdy, made of real wood instead of the particle board of stuff nowadays.
Same as the dresser. Other than the bed, nightstand, and dresser, the only other piece of furniture is a chair in the corner.
The room is spotless, no underwear strewn across the floor, no dirty clothes hanging off the chair.
All the clothes are tucked neatly into the dresser and I won’t lie, the urge to snoop inside is strong.
I refrain though, the exhaustion from the lack of sleep last night and the strangeness of the day beginning to take hold.
After brushing my teeth in the connecting bathroom I crawl into the neatly made bed and groan.
The sheets on the bed are made of the softest green flannel.
My head lays on the pillow, a pillow that feels like a cloud mind you, and I take a deep inhale.
The scent that fills my nose is one that transports me back in time ten minutes ago to when I was seconds away from shoving my tongue down Jake’s throat.
The smell of cedar and ash fills my nose and as much as I want to wish it didn’t do something to me, it does.
What is it with this guy? Is it just the proximity of living next door that intrigues me?
The sort of forbidden danger with starting a relationship so close to home?
Is it the lack of options in this town? Or the fact that it’s been that long since I’ve been on a date, let alone had sex?
That has to be it. This is just simply my hormones raging because it’s been so long since I’ve had someone else take care of that…
need. I think back to the last hook up I had.
It was hot out because I wore a yellow sundress on the date.
And by the end of the night the dress was ruined because I spilled my red wine on it and couldn’t get it out.
That was probably back in July. No wonder I’m wound up like a top.
Maybe, if I just take this time to…take care of the problem, I won’t feel this desperate desire to hook up with my grumpy turned not so grumpy neighbor and implode my brand new life.
The idea of getting myself off inside the bed of the aforementioned grumpy neighbor really revs the engine if you know what I mean.
I reach down in between my legs and lightly touch where my body has begun to ache.
Closing my eyes I grant myself one more moment of possibility and allow myself to imagine that it’s Jake touching me like this.
I picture his large frame over top of my body, his eyes lingering over my naked skin.
I hear his gruff voice whisper in my ear, “you’re so fucking wet for me,” as he plays with my clit.
I slide my fingers in and out of my soaking wet heat, wet from the idea of him naked in this bed with me and it doesn’t take long before I feel that overwhelming sense of pressure.
In my mind Jake whispers, “be a good girl and come for me,” and that does me in.
The pressure builds to an extraordinary level, my muscles tense and my body shivers.
My mind reeling still with the dream of Jake on top of me, the heat of his body warming mine.
And just as the wave of pleasure crests over me a small, uncontrollable whimper escapes my mouth.
Fuck. I hope that was quieter than it felt.
Before I can spiral into my anxiety over whether or not Jake could have possibly heard I get myself cleaned up and back into the sheets that unfortunately, still smell like heaven.
Instead of my normal toss and turn before falling asleep, I simply sink farther down into the soft comfort of a well worn bed and fall into a deep sleep.
I awake the next morning to the sound of pots and pans in the kitchen and when I take my head out of the blankets I see that the overhead fan is spinning.
That means either one of two things has happened, either the power is back on, or Jake has found it necessary to use the back up generator for something.
If the power is back on, it also means my stay here is over.
I try to ignore the pull in my chest when I realize that.
Obviously, I knew that I wasn’t going to stay here forever.
In fact, I had hoped before I packed my bag that the power would be back on before bedtime last night so that I could sleep in the comfort of my own bed.
Little did I know that Jake’s is ten times as comfortable.
Before I can procrastinate any longer, I roll out of the soft flannel sheets and immediately wish I could crawl back in. Inside the bathroom I change my clothes, brush my teeth and splash some water on my face. It isn’t much effort but I feel renewed when I walk out into the kitchen.
The smell of sausage hits me and my stomach answers with a growl. “Hmmm it smells amazing out here,” I say.
“Got some sausage gravy and biscuits almost ready,” Jake says. Watching this man tower over the stove and cook a meal for me, is undeniably hot. Something about a man cooking apparently does it for me. I try to think back if I’ve ever experienced it before but I come up empty.
“Is the power back on?” I ask as I take a seat at the island to watch the show.
“Nah, I just turned on the back up generator for a few hours to run the fans in the heating ducts to warm up the whole house. It was pretty chilly this morning when I woke up.” I thought I was particularly cuddled up in the blankets this morning.
Usually I’m all spread out on the bed, using as much of it as I can but today I was curled up into a ball, the blankets up over my head.
Jake turns around and sets a plate down in front of me.
It has a heaping portion of food on it, more than I can possibly eat but when I look up at his eyes, I can’t focus on the food anymore.
A flush creeps up over my skin and I pray he can’t see it, just like I had hoped he couldn’t hear me last night.
The memory of what I did inside his bed came rushing back.
The visions I had of him on top of me. His wide, bare chest hovering over top of me as I envisioned his hand working like it was mine.
I clear my throat and somehow manage a pathetic, “thank you.”
I look up and the smile on his face sends another shockwave of I don’t even know what. Embarrassment? Desire? Need? Whatever it is, I feel the urge to get rid of it as soon as possible.