Despite his raging hangover, Aiden got on the phone soon after and I showed myself out. Aiden has a lot of work to take care of, and no longer plagued by insecurities about where we stood in our relationship, I felt inspired and excited to get back to my own writing. I sat down in front of my laptop as soon as I got home, without even bothering to change into something more comfortable. When I was little, my mom taught me to change into my comfy home clothes as soon as I got home. It was mainly to keep my outside clothes looking nice, but I kept up the tradition when I got older. That’s why, even now, you’d never find me in a pair of skinny jeans or boots or even a bra at home. No, when I’m home, I’m always in my pajamas. They aren’t the fancy matching kind like the ones they sell at Victoria’s Secret. No, they’re just a pair of sweats or yoga pants or elephant pants and a loose fitting long-sleeve shirt, since I’m almost always cold. Oh, yeah, and I always take off my bra and shoes whenever I get home.

That is except for today. I pull off my boots under the table while my laptop boots up, take a sip from the bottle of water I left on my desk the last time I was here, and open up my book. I scan the last bit, and then quickly type up a paragraph of what’s going to happen in the next chapter. Then I set a timer on my phone and start typing.

The timer is something I read about in a book by Rachel Abbott, From 2k to 10k. It includes a number of strategies that she uses to start writing more words during the day. When I was in college, the idea of writing two thousand words in a day seemed like a lot. But Rachel regularly clears eight to ten thousand! Her results are nothing if not inspiring and, ever since I’ve read that book, I’ve been implementing her approach to great success.

Timing your writing is one of her strong points. Just set the timer and write as much as you can in a particular interval of time. Twenty minutes is my favorite. It’s short enough to summon a burst of energy, but long enough to actually produce real word count. Well, as soon as I start the timer, I lose myself in the story and the twenty minutes flies by. Since I’m in the middle of an exciting chapter, I restart it again and continue to type furiously. Six sessions or two hours later, I go through my session and am pleasantly shocked by my productivity. I have averaged about seven hundred words per session and come up with forty-five hundred words toward my final manuscript!

“Holy shit!” I exclaim. Fueled by some mystical combination of coffee, momentum, and excitement, I press on. The story is just getting good, meaning that I’m about to write a very juicy sex scene and I don't want to put it off.

The rest of the day proceeds at the same frantic pace. I lose myself in my writing, in a manner that was previously unfamiliar to me. I’m so excited by what I’m writing and, to tell you the truth, aroused as well, that the words just appear on the page without much effort. It seems like as long as I keep my butt in my seat, the story keeps telling itself without much input from me. It helps a lot that it’s something that I’ve just experienced and lived through. Though I do take the opportunity to embellish it somewhat. How does that saying go again? Never let the truth get in the way of a good story. Well, I believe in that wholeheartedly.

When twilight closes in on my window and the city lights up for the night, I type The End. I stare at the cursor for a while, lost in thought. Wow, I actually finished it. I have completed a novel. This might not be a big deal for many people, but for me, it is revolutionary. I’m the person who struggled to write a two-thousand-word short story. So, the idea that I actually completed a fifty-seven-thousand-word novel is breathtaking. I don’t think I’ve ever been so proud of myself before.

There is, of course, still a lot of work to do. I need to re-read it and edit it for mistakes and typos and better word choices. But now is not the time for that. Now, is the time to celebrate the fact that I’m done with my first draft!

I save my manuscript three times, to both my desktop and iCloud, to make sure that nothing is going to happen to it, and head to the kitchen. Suddenly, it occurs to me that I’ve written for hours without taking a break or having a bite to eat. As I pour myself a generous glass of red wine, some fancy brand that Caroline probably paid way too much money for in one of those little boutique grocery stores that she loves to patronize, I change into my favorite pair of elephant pants. They are those harem pants with elastic on the bottom of each ankle, but they are incredibly soft and comfortable and have bright elephants on them. How I managed to get all that writing done without wearing these is beyond me. I take a big gulp of wine, without bothering to smell it first, and embrace the tartness as it runs down the back of my throat.

Somewhere between my first and second glass of wine while mindlessly flipping through the DVR recordings and trying to decide what I should watch, the title for my book pops into my head.

Auctioned Off.

Yes, perfect. That’s what I’m going to call it.

I scroll through the Amazon romance section on my phone, looking at the covers and the authors. Ever since I decided to write this book, I’ve read a number of the titles and some of the authors have come out with additional books. Wow, these women write fast. I look at the publication dates of one of my favorite ones and see that she publishes a book every month. And I thought I was productive, I think to myself, shaking my head.

Okay, in addition to the title, I also need a new name. I can’t very well publish this under my own since I’m still on the fence about whether I want my mom to read it, let alone my other less understandable family members. A pseudonym will give me privacy and with privacy I will have the freedom to write more books like this without worrying about Tom or my old colleagues at BuzzPost or even Caroline, for that matter, disapproving. Not that I really care what they think. Except that I do. This book is full of truth and full of sex, and it’s not something that I necessarily want everyone I went to high school with to know about me.

Okay, I got it. Ella because it’s pretty close to Ellie, but not exactly the same. And for my last name? How about Montgomery? Yes, that’s it! Ella Montgomery. I’ve always loved the way these long Southern last names just roll off the tongue. Well, maybe this is my opportunity to give myself a little bit of that.

With a title and an author name, I’m nearly halfway there. Now, all I need is a cover. Of course, that’s a bit more complicated. I scroll through the covers on Amazon with an eye for details. A photo of a really hot guy with an amazing body seems to be a necessity. But everything else? Hmm, maybe it’s something I can do myself as well. I mean, I did take a Photoshop class that one summer in college. I can always hire someone, but maybe I should at least sketch it up first so I have some idea of what I want.

A few hours later, long after I finish the bottle of wine, I am done with a good mockup of the cover for Auctioned Off, Ella Montgomery’s first novel. The stock image of the guy with amazing pectoral muscles and a ripped six pack is definitely the selling point, but my manipulations and combinations of different fonts for the title and the author name are definitely eye-pleasing. I guess that Photoshop class wasn’t a waste of time after all.

Okay, that’s enough for tonight, I decide. But before turning off the computer, I go into various romance book groups that I’ve joined and ask for recommendations for editors. Tomorrow, with a less alcohol-induced outlook, I will re-read my book and review the cover. My only hope is that they will both live up to the opinion that I have of them tonight.

As I climb into bed, my phone vibrates. I look at the screen.

I love you, Aiden texts. My heart immediately skips a beat and gives me butterflies.

I love you, too. I text back.

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The End for Now

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Author’s Note: I hope you enjoyed the book. The rest of Ellie’s and Aiden’s story will continue in Auctioned to Him 4, which will be available within the month.