Page 29 of Follow Your Bliss

“Unless you’re someone with a high sex drive, then it might make your focus and mood worse,” she said, carefully spooning up a ridge inside the top of the carton.

“Huh.” That would explain a lot, actually.

“There are so many health benefits to orgasms. Putting the A in abstinence is in direct conflict with T.” She picked up the paper again. “‘Take care of yourself.’ The oxytocin and endorphins released during sex help battle depression. And did you know that a study found that men who have more orgasms when they’re younger are better protected against prostate cancer when they’re older?”

“Really?”

“That one needs more research, but masturbation has been associated with improved sleep and mood. Not to mention stress relief. And you’re still determined?”

“I mean I’m already celibate. In for an inch, in for a mile, right? I only have four weeks left, anyway.”

“Well, I don’t have to get it to respect it. But thanks for coming to visit. I was just sitting here stewing before you got here.” She finished off the ice cream on her spoon, but it dripped down her hand. She ran her tongue up her finger and sucked the tip of it with a smack and a satisfied sigh.

I let out a held breath and averted my gaze, rubbing my beard like I hadn’t just been staring at her like a starving man.

“Welp, the ice cream’s all gone, and I’m exhausted. I’m gonna go wash all this crap off my face and go to sleep.” She stood up and turned toward the trash can with the carton. The two perfect curves of her ass stuck out below the torn hems of her Daisy Dukes.

Jesus Christ, she was making my abstinence ten times harder. As she washed her hands, I closed my eyes and wracked my blood-deprived brain. What did I want to talk to her about?

Oh right—the storm.

“Have you been watching the latest track for Tropical Storm Oscar?”

“Shit. No. What’s it doing?”

“Yeah. Welcome home.” I opened up my weather app. “We probably ought to be a little worried about it. If it jogs any more east, we could be hit pretty hard. I was planning to leave for Florida on Thursday, but I’m gonna watch the news overnight and reevaluate in the morning. I might have to leave early, and you might want to evacuate.”

“Has the church flooded before?”

“No, but the electricity could be out for a few weeks, and I wouldn’t want to stay around for that.”

“Hmmm.” She pushed her chair in and leaned forward. I kept my gaze on her eyes, but my peripheral vision was deep in her cleavage.

“Why don’t you use your magical celibate bits to ask God to send this storm somewhere else?”

“Bits?” I balked while she cackled. “They’re not ‘bits,’ thank you very much. What’s the opposite of a bit?” I scrounged around in my brain. “Lots. They’relots.”

She nodded with her eyes closed. “Yeah. Sure. Okay. Goodnight, Jason.”

“Night!” I called after her. “Hey, mind if I take a shower when you’re done?” A cold one.

She popped her head back in. “Nope. I’ll text you when I’m out.”

“Sorry I never thought about having to walk through your bedroom at night. I have content lined up for a few weeks now and I just knocked out a custom, so I’ll make that bathroom in the church my priority starting tomorrow.”

She smiled. “I don’t mind. It makes me feel less alone.” She walked off humming down the hallway, completely unaware that she’d turned my whole evening around.

Chapter 6

Looking for a Sign

Jason

My alarm plucked me out of an apocalyptic dream about a supermarket run by alien overlords. I fumbled for the noise, my brain still in the frozen food aisle of renegades until my phone hit the floor.

I grabbed it from under the bed and tapped the screen. What were all these missed calls and texts?

The storm.

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