Page 46 of The Proximity Factor

I spun, leaving the man slack jawed. I liked Ethan, but he was too full of himself and needed to grow up. All the way to my room, I laughed to myself. Men.

I settled on my bed with dinner and my laptop. The thought occurred to me I should probably do my weekly video diary before I got lost in social media. It had been a most unexpected week, just as I had predicted in last week’s diary. The researchers were probably getting whiplash from my mood swings from entry to entry. It was like a soap opera, except no one was sleeping together.

I scarfed down my slice of pizza before logging in for my weekly date with the busybodies. They’d for sure be extra nosy this week because with the expo running late into the night, Parker and I had to ask for permission to stay the night in Atlanta on Friday. As part of the experiment, we had agreed to come home to the cottage every day, and each night had to be spent here unless something catastrophic happened, like a death in the family. The research team granted us permission as long as we stayed at the same hotel. Oddly, they even offered to pay for our accommodations. Separate hotel rooms, of course. They obviously were very weird about making sure Parker and I didn’t get too far apart from each other. The question was, why? Regardless, it was an expense we didn’t want to incur, so we took them up on it. Especially since it was a much nicer hotel than what we could have afforded, and it was right across the street from the convention center. Total score.

Comfortable against my pillows, I downloaded the newest questionnaire and clicked record.

“Question one: Rate your comfort level with Parker, ten being the highest level of comfort and one being the lowest level of comfort. How much has it changed since the start of this experiment?” That was easy. “Ten,” I said simply. “I’ve always felt comfortable around him, even when he was being, let’s say, not so friendly. Parker just exudes this feeling of safety—I feel safe around him. I mean, I should hope you made sure of that since you chose him.”

“Question two: Is Parker someone you would have noticed in passing? Oh yeah,” I dreamily sighed.

“Question three: If you met Parker in passing, is he someone you would have approached?” I shook my head. “Not because he didn’t attract me,” I explained. “But I’ve learned my lesson about smart guys and me. Or maybe not,” I giggled. “But I don’t think I would have braved approaching him in the wild.”

“Question four: How would you explain the current mood in the house?” I laughed, thinking about the mood swings that had occurred over the last seven weeks. “Well, if the house was a weather forecast, I would say this week has been sunny with clear skies and temperatures rising.” Meaning my rising body temperature every time I was near Parker. “Temperatures rising in a good way,” I added, just in case they took it to mean we were upset with each other.

“Question five: How would you describe your communication? A. In depth. B. Polite. C. Combative. D. Not communicating. I would say A right now, although we’ve gone through all the ABCs during our time together.”

“Question six: Are you satisfied with your level of communication?” I thought for a moment. “Yes, but there is still so much more I want to know about Parker.” I hoped I wasn’t giving too much information. But it was true. Parker and I had so much more to explore about each other, including discussions about his ex-wife.

“By the way, I’m liking this new line of questions. Did you get some new researchers over there?”

Dang it, I spoke too soon. “Question seven: Rate your level of intimacy with Parker in each of the following categories: emotional, mental, spiritual, and physical, ten being the highest and one being the lowest. I should have known this question was coming back in some form. I guess I should be grateful you’re not asking for specific acts. Not to say there are any,” I taunted the pervs.

“Here it goes,” I muttered. “Emotional, I would say seven.” I hoped we would get to a ten. But Parker was cautious with his feelings. I didn’t blame him. I would be, too, if my wife and best friend cheated on me. “Mental intimacy, I’m going with a ten,” I said proudly. This week had proved we work well together, and I loved how well we bounced ideas off each other. I was super excited about the expo and felt like we could rock it. Parker actually made me feel smart. That I was more than I gave myself credit for. “Spiritual intimacy. Hmm. This is hard to explain. I mean, I think we both feel like we have a higher purpose in life, and we aren’t afraid to share those thoughts. So, I guess I’ll go with an eight.” I saved the one I thought the researchers wanted to know the most for last. “Physical,” I said, trying to keep a poker face. I knew this type of intimacy didn’t just mean sex or even romantic acts. Parker was definitely holding back in this category, which again, I understood. I appreciated he didn’t just want to dive right in, even though the sexual tension between us was off the charts amazing and made me want to show him all my Starburst unwrapping skills. But there was something very wonderful to be said about lining up all the other types of intimacy before the physical kind. For that, I adored Parker. I just hoped he didn’t wait too long to kiss me. The man was killing me. “Five.” I sighed a happy sigh. I had a feeling the best was yet to come.

“Question eight: How would you rate your experience so far? I think an eleven.”

I LIGHTLY RAPPED ON LANIE’S door, feeling bad about how late it was, but my friends had just left. It had been a good night. I finally felt confident about releasing the latest version of Ruptured Worlds, even if a part of me feared it was all for naught. It was still going to take a miracle for me to save this dream. Somehow, Lanie gave me hope it was possible.

“Lanie,” I whispered. “Are you still awake?” When she didn’t answer, I turned to go, disappointed. But I’d promised her I would say good night, and I wanted nothing more than to see her beautiful face and keep my word. My every thought seemed to revolve around her. I’m not sure any woman had ever captured my attention like she did.

I turned back around, and this time I knocked a little louder. “Lanie, can I come in?” I’d never been in her room before. I felt it best not to tempt fate more than I already had. Keeping my hands off her was proving to be a monumental task. But I wanted to be who she deserved before we took the next step.

When she didn’t answer, I carefully opened the door just a crack. “Lanie,” I spoke through the opening. “Can I come in?”

Still no response.

I braved peeking in, hoping I wasn’t invading her privacy or triggering the need for another cold shower. To my relief, I found her curled up on the bed, sleeping in the soft glow of her laptop, still dressed. She was a vision.

Quietly, I approached her sleeping figure and noticed the notepad next to her filled with hashtags and captions she’d written and then reworked. They were brilliant, as was she. It made me wonder if she’d made the wrong career choice. She should have gone into marketing. Maybe cheer coach was synonymous with marketer. Lanie was certainly the cheerleader I needed at this very moment. Perhaps longer, if I could get my life together.

I knelt on the floor next to her bed and gently swiped a loose tendril of hair off her face. I let my finger trail down her cheek before outlining her pouty pink lips. The urge to kiss her ... to do so much more ... was building up inside of me.

Her gorgeous baby blues fluttered open, a sleepy smile appearing on her lips.

“Sorry to wake you,” I whispered. “But I promised I would say good night.”

“I’m glad you did. What time is it?” She stretched her lithe body and yawned, giving me a small peek of her tautly curved bare abdomen.

I swallowed down as much of my desire as I could. “It’s late. Almost eleven.”

“How did the testing go?” she was eager to know.

“I think she’s ready.”

She reached out for me. “I’m so glad.”

As I took her hand and held it against my chest, I could feel her gradually capturing every fragment of my heart. I had no idea how to thank her for what she had done for me this past week. Not just for the expo, but for giving me hope that maybe I wasn’t a loser. If Lanie saw the good in me, it had to exist.

---