Page 24 of Sold to the Highest Bidder
"It was fun. A little bit stressful but fun.A man named Louis came with an apple pie he baked himself. He kept on insisting that everyone should taste it. When they did eventually, your mom said that it was salty. What apple pie is salty? You should have seen their faces. They looked like they were about to burst. They didn’t tell him because his feelings are easily hurt. And he obviously spent a lot of time on that salty pie. The funniest thing was that Louis didn’t see anything wrong with it. He was eating it like nothing was wrong with it. It was the running joke of the day. I think your mum is done with salt for a long time.”
Joshua and Nazalie laughed together. It was easier to talk to him now. Sitting together and chatting felt natural. He was becoming more and more like the Joshua of that first night.
They talked and laughed almost all night. It was two in the morning when Nazalie realized that Joshua had to go to work. She led him to bed with pure intentions, but it led to them in a tangle.
Long after Joshua fell asleep, Nazalie lay awake, thinking. Running her hands through Joshu’s hair felt like the most natural thing to do.
When had she grown so attached to him? Many times, while he was away, she caught herself smiling while thinking about him. These thoughts confused Nazalie. She had to remind herself more frequently now that their companionship would end soon. She already had feelings for this man.
She watched him, the seemingly perfect Joshua. Whatever feelings she was developing seemed to be one-sided. Their lovemaking felt different like he actually cared for her, but Nazalie didn't want to read into things. It would do her no good to assume.
Nazalie realized she had precious little other than Wikipedia information on Joshua. Okay, she knew he had a mother, but he was oddly tight-lipped about his father.
He barely spoke about work. Nazalie still wasn’t sure what exactly it was that he did for a living. During their conversations, he gave little away.
The mystery made him seem sexier. That wasn't healthy. Nazalie wondered why she was even curious. She had little time left to spend with him. They'd be out of each other's lives soon. She had to remind herself several times that it was only for a while. If she wanted to move forward with her life, she needed to quit drooling over the guy’s body and start seriously looking at the man underneath.
Nazalie sighed, letting his warm breath brush over her.
The rise and fall of his chest seemed to lull her to sleep.
She decided she was going to set her worries aside for tonight and face them when dawn came.
Joshua
Joshua was almost late for work. This would be the first time he'd get to work a few minutes after eight. It was thrilling. He felt like a student playing hooky. No one would care anyway, (except Shane). He was the boss.
He and Nazalie had stayed up chatting and laughing. He enjoyed that intimacy of their interaction.
He was watching her now. She was sleeping and cuddling the pillow close to her. Joshua would like to imagine that she thought that the pillow was him.
He was ready to leave, but he stood there watching her sleep. Joshua tested a lock of her hair between his fingers, so long and soft. Joshua took in every curve draped in a cotton sheet, a deep green, like her eyes. She looked damn good in that color. Emeralds were among the rarest. Like her.
Joshua suddenly felt the urge to kiss her. And he did. The kiss was brief but passionate; he tried to convey his feelings through that one kiss.
"I'll be back by seven."
Joshua was out of the room before she could ask him what that was about.Kissing her felt like the most normal thing to do, but still, why did he do it?
That was the question that plagued his mind as he was driving, when he got to the office, at meetings and when he was driving home. He still did not find the answer.
There was a strange woman on Joshua's couch. She was holding a blanket, placing it on the woman. They didn't seem to notice him standing there.
Nazalie looked worried. The woman she was tending to was so drunk, the smell of alcohol wafted up to him.
Nazalie was trying to help her up with much difficulty. She was taking her to the guest room. Joshua forgot all his questions and stepped up to help.
He could see the dread in Nazalie’s eyes when she spotted him. Was she that scared of him? He ignored her and helped the woman into the room.
Joshua looked closely at her while she was sleeping. There was a resemblance between her and Nazalie. She looked like an older version of her. This must be her mother, he thought.
"Joshua, can I talk to you? Please?" Nazalie asked, gesturing towards the door.
"Sure."
Joshua followed her out into the living room. They sat on the couch, staring at each other. Nazalie seemed to be at a loss for words as he waited patiently for her to gather her thoughts.
"I don’t know where to start."
