Page 20 of Fever

I’ve thought about you also, Josiah. If you’d like, I can bring you a few things that may help bust that cold.

I sucked my lips in and waited for a response as my eyes darted across the supermarket once again. After a few minutes, I pushed forward, deciding that I needed to get this over with. As I moseyed along the aisle, I grabbed items I’d run out of like milk, cheese, and eggs. It wasn’t until after I’d grabbed the package of noodles did I realize I picked a few things for some homemade chicken noodle soup. I like to think of myself as fearless. I couldn’t be shaken by much, and because of that, I led my life on the wild side sometimes. I guess that’s why I made the best damn investigative reporter. However, I had to admit when it came to Josiah, there was a bit of fear there. I tried to shake my crazy mood and forged on to the checkout line.

Since I only had a few items, I took them through the self-checkout and pushed my cart back with the others. As I got in my car, a fast melody played, and I recognized it instantly as my default ringtone. I reached in my purse and accepted the call immediately.

“I would love for you to come by,” Josiah’s smooth voice said. “How soon can you get here?”

“I’m on my way home now. I’ll make some soup and bring it over.”

“Or you can just come now and make the soup over here,” he suggested. “I would’ve called sooner, but I was in the sauna.”

I swallowed thickly. “What’s your address?”

“Seven forty-one Park Place.”

“I’ll see you in about thirty minutes.”

“See you then,” he said.

I ended the call and tried to discern the ruckus my heartbeat was kicking up. Moments later, I’d realized I was still sitting in the parking lot of the grocery store with thoughts of wet heat glistening on Josiah from a hot sauna.

“Jesus,” I whispered then backed out of the lot and pulled onto the street. As I drove, my thoughts went back to Jamaica. After the wedding, Josiah and I had found our way back in Ocho Rios.

“What are we doing back here?” I asked.

“We didn’t get to do everything I had planned.”

“Planned?”

He smiled. “Yeah…”

I let him lead the way, and we ended up having the time of our lives. I’d never rode a tube down a waterfall before until that day. I squealed as the tube flew down the river, over a waterfall into a bank of water. It was like nothing I’d ever done. I felt like a kid in a candy store. Needless to say, we rode those tubs a couple of times before moving on to Dolphin Cove. The beautiful sea creatures loved to perform and were so friendly. Watching the fish play and sing was delightful in so many ways. It’s something you would truly have to experience. We practically spent the day sightseeing and carrying on as a couple would.

And I wondered why Josiah was doing all of this with me. But he quickly answered that question in conversation saying how he’d wanted to get back to those exact destinations since he’d visited when he was a kid. There was a brief disappointment that slid over me, but I was good being the friend he wanted to revisit with. I really liked Josiah, and I was hoping we could have a friendship that would last for all time. I cleared my throat and settled my thoughts on how great this new friendship was. But I didn’t ignore the inside voice that begged to differ. No matter how much I wanted to turn it off.

“Don’t even get yourself worked up, Santana. You’re not in this friendship for anything more than that.” As I talked to myself, I drove across town to Josiah’s condo following the GPS. “We will never be anything more than that. It’s just Desiree’s and Claudia’s weddings that have you thinking all swoonish. Get over it. Now is not the time to go off into la-la land thinking about what ifs. Stranger things have happened.”

I pulled in front of the high-rise and allowed the valet to park my vehicle. I continued to talk to myself as I sent a text to Josiah’s phone.

I’m downstairs. What’s your apartment number?

I hit the elevator button, and it dinged, allowing me entrance.

Seven forty-one.

“Duh,” I said to myself. He told me that on the phone. “If you get your head out of the clouds, maybe you could focus.” The compact car rose to the seventh floor without stopping and opened upon resting. “Besides,” I continued, “girl he is too young and probably still wet behind the ears. Look at him as an adolescent.” I hit his doorbell and exhaled, absentmindedly taking my fingers through my hair and rearranging my clothes.

The door swung open, and my eyes traveled over Josiah, shirtless with a towel barely hanging onto his chiseled waistline. His legs revealed thin hair that tapered off at his ankles. His pedicured feet were three times the size of mine, and his full body was drenched in steam. A splinter of heat drove through my body. If I were to stick to my guns and imagine him as an adolescent, I was officially a pervert. I took in a deep breath and smiled.

“I apologize for my nakedness,” his voice thundered. “After I hung up with you, I took a quick shower. Come on in.”

He opened the door wider, but my feet wouldn’t move. This was probably a mistake, but hey, I live my life on the edge. So, with a warning alarm officially triggered, I took a step inside.

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