“I knew times would get tough for writers, but you take it to a whole other level,” Ariel says as she puts her Coach coat on the rack by the front door and refills my coffee cup while pouring her own. “I take it the book isn’t coming along?”
“No. No it is not,” I say slowly as I try to remember why in the hell I thought I could write a novel and actually make money.
Luckily Ariel understands my job situation and she’s letting me pay half the rent for as long as I need. Money is never a problem for her and she’s been so generous with it since my first day here. It’s been around two months since I’ve moved here and we clicked the very first night. She had just been dumped by her boyfriend so we drank lots of wine and watched chick-flicks while sharing our boy horror stories. She makes me laugh almost every day, even though I like to think I’m the funny one. I never really understood why she needed a roommate so quickly if money wasn’t an issue.
I would like to say Ariel is my best friend, though I don’t think I’ve ever had one. Not in my adult life anyway. Here I am, 25 years old and the only real relationships I’ve had were with my parents and maybe my older brother. I’ve always jumped into relationships from guy to guy and never had time for friends between work and school. My last relationship with Darek (aka: cheater) lasted about six months before I realized he was cheating on me with his “summer fling.” He never said “I love you” or used the term “girlfriend,” which I prefer. I never saw myself having a life-long relationship. Long-term, maybe. Married for life? I haven’t been proved otherwise that men could handle such commitment.
“Alright, it’s time to take a break.” Ariel snaps my chain of thought.
“But I promised myself I would get chapter one done today!”
“Well ‘today’ ended three hours ago honey, so come sit with me and let's pour some whiskey in this bitch.” Ariel pours a little too much whiskey in my drink but I don’t mind, she’s right. It’s break time.
I shut off both my brain and my laptop. I never understood why Ariel put so much expensive furniture in this apartment. I still feel a bit uncomfortable using it. Luckily the last roommate left all her old furnishings so I didn’t have to buy anything major.
As I get up, I notice a cop car in front of the building. I guess it’s true what they say about cops and donuts.
“I feel like there is always a cop car at Joe’s. Don’t they have anywhere else to be besides eating donuts all day?” I ask Ariel as she gets some leftovers from the fridge.
“Don’t remind me. I hate cops. I don’t trust my life in the hands of those morons.”
I never understood Ariel’s hatred for cops, maybe she had a bad relationship with one or something. As I close the blinds, one of the cops leaving Joe’s looks up at me. I instantly feel guilty and start to blush a crimson red. He keeps his stare, almost as if he can see inside me, watching for my next move. He’s handsome. Very handsome. I don’t know if I’ve slept with a real man yet. He fucking carries a gun for his job. He looks like he would be amazing in bed. He seems disciplined and sure of himself. I imagine running my fingers through his iron black hair and the stubble on his face tickling my cheeks as he kisses me. Wait, what? I need to write this down. Not for me of course, but for the book. I fumble as I close the blinds and write this in my notebook. I wasn’t able to see the colors of his eyes- what color should they be? What should his name be?
“Hey,” Ariel breaks my trance, “have you ever thought about writing something other than romance?”
Thrown off by her question as I’m writing the rest of my thoughts down, it takes me a minute to reply.
“Yeah I have, but romance is all I’ve known. The sex part anyway. The rest is just what I see on tv.” I flop onto the couch, beat by another unproductive day. At least I have some new inspiration.
“The sex part is the greatest. Trust me, I’m a stripper. I would know.”
We both glance at each other and laugh, the whiskey hitting faster than expected.
She braids my long brown hair as we watch The Proposal and finish off our last bottle of whiskey- reminding me I need to go to the store today, because she’s always the one purchasing the booze- and for the first time I feel like I truly belong here. I fall asleep before she’s done braiding my hair. When I wake up the movie is stuck on the start screen and the repeat of the intro music is very annoying.
I see that Ariel is already in her room, so I shut off the TV and go to bed. Praying the next day, which is just later today, that I will finish chapter one... which now features a very handsome cop.
Tomorrow: Kingsley series book 1 Page 21
