Chapter Twelve
What Jo Wore
Post #1254: Apartment Reveal!
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Hello you beautiful people! Many of you have asked for an apartment reveal ever since I moved to New York a few weeks ago. I’ve been mulling over whether or not I wanted to do one because well…I’ll be honest. My life in New York is not quite as glamorous as most of you probably believe. I don’t even let the takeout guy in.
The rent here is insane (no really, I could sell all of my organs and still not come close to making next month’s rent), but I think it’s important for you all to see the honest side of my life. 98% of the time, I’m not standing in front of some adorable street mural wearing a cute outfit, posing for the camera.
My life is filled with bugs, tiny closets, Ramen Noodle dinners, and wacko neighbors. So, in an effort to be transparent, I’ve uploaded a few photos of my apartment.
Yes, the kitchen and bathroom and living room are essentially all combined, but as you can see, I’ve tried my best to decorate it as best as possible.
Let me know what you think!
Until tomorrow,
XOJO
…
Josephine
About once or twice a month, the voice inside my head convinces me that I need to get off my lazy bum and do some form of exercise. It turns out that Nike shorts and leggings were originally intended for cardio, not Ubering to the cupcake shop.
It was during one of these half-assed attempts at working out that I stumbled upon a rental space that would be perfect for the new Lorena Lefray headquarters. I’d been walking along, trying to decide if I’d burned enough calories for a donut yet, when I saw it. The storefront had sidewalk access, and when I pressed my face to the glass, it looked like the space went on for miles. We’d have plenty of room to set up a clothing shop for Lorena’s designs in the front and then build out offices in the back for her team.
I kept my face pressed to the glass as I dialed Julian’s number.
“Hello?” a sleepy Julian murmured into the phone. I glanced down to read the time. Oops. It was 6:45 AM on a Sunday and we’d been up late the night before at Dean’s opening.
“Oh god, sorry to wake you. I didn’t realize how early it is.”
He groaned.
“But, now you’re awake anyway. Get dressed and meet me at the address I’m about to text you.”
He groaned again, louder this time, and then I heard something hitting wood.
“6:45? Do you realize I only went to sleep four hours ago?”
“Four hours ago?” I contested.
We’d both stayed at Provisions until closing and then Julian had hailed a cab for me. I’d assumed he had headed back to his hotel after that, but apparently he hadn’t called it a night when I had.
“What exactly did you do after I left in the cab? It was already really late.”
Oh god.
I knew the answer to that question. Dumb, dumb, dumb. There was definitely a girl lying next to him in bed, probably sliding down his body at this very moment. Oh, gross.
“Wait. Don’t answer that. That’s a breach of privacy. Just wake the girl up, get her some coffee, and get your butt down here. I found a good property I want you to look at.”
I heard him shuffling around his hotel room through the phone. Cabinets opened and closed and then I heard the distant sound of his bathroom sink.
“There’s no girl. Dean wanted to go to this diner for some food after you left.”
I scrunched my brows. “But we ate at Provisions. You had a giant burger and then wolfed down half of my fries too.”
“Yeah, but Dean and I were both hungry again by the time the restaurant closed. Don’t you have guy friends? You should know that we require constant feeding.”
I mulled over the question. I had Lily, and sometimes she had a mouth like a sailor. That was pretty much it.
“Nope. Just you,” I answered.
Silence hung between us for a beat too long and I wondered if maybe I’d done something wrong by calling him my friend. Weren’t we friends? Or did he only see me as his employee? I mean he’d licked salt off my hand the night before. Clearly, we weren’t just acquaintances.
“Just give me a second to shower and then I’ll meet you at there.”
“Okay.” I smiled.
“You owe me breakfast though,” he added with a grumpy tone.
I laughed. “Fine.”
I hung up, texted him the address, and then realized I was standing there, smiling down at my phone. Weirdo.
It wouldn’t take him long to get to the building, but I still had some time to kill before he arrived. I wandered around the block in search of a street vendor serving hot pretzels, but the area was all but deserted. People were sleeping in and enjoying their Sunday morning. Meanwhile, I was walking around with a grumbling stomach and a yearning for warm dough.
I looped back around to the building and plopped down on the sidewalk, using the brick wall as a back support.
The city was quiet, leaving me far too much freedom with my thoughts. Usually I loved sleeping in on the weekends, but I’d woken up early with excitement settled in the pit of my stomach. Thoughts of Julian had lingered in the back of my mind as I’d fought to fall back asleep. I’d enjoyed hanging out with him and his friends the night before. I had no clue what Dean thought of me, but I thought he was really nice, and freaking gorgeous. He and Julian made quite the pair. Dean was a bit intimidating, with his own set of striking features to contend with. His dirty blond hair was cropped short, framing his sharp features and dark brown eyes. He was successful and driven. He’d given me a tour of his restaurant and I’d hung on to every word.
I wondered if Dean and Julian were best friends because they were both excruciatingly good-looking or if it was just a happy coincidence.
Speaking of best friends… I stared down at my cell phone and pulled up my text conversation with Lily.
Josephine: Are you awake?
I hadn’t talked to her in two days and I knew she was probably going stir crazy back in Texas. Or maybe I was the one going stir crazy without her?
Josephine: Wake up. Wake up.
She wasn’t texting me back, the whore. Then, finally, my phone buzzed in my hand.
Lily: Are you kidding me?! Are. You. Kidding. Me? You’re an hour ahead of me and it’s ungodly early, even for NYC!!
Josephine: Lil, I was just watching the sunrise over the Hudson and it reminded me of how beautiful you are.
Lily: Enough with your false flattery, Slutilda. If you keep texting me, I will straight up kill you. LET ME SLEEP.
Josephine: Last night was fun.
Lily: Last night? It still IS night. Don’t care. Don’t care. ZZZZZzzzzzzz…
I rolled my eyes.
Lily: Fine… Did you bang your boss or are you guys still pretending to be friends?
I narrowed my eyes at her text message. I hadn’t told her much about Julian. I mean, I’d had her google him so she knew what I was forced to sit across from every day, but I hadn’t told her that I had an itty bitty crush on him. Really, it was just a silly schoolgirl thing. I had no intentions of acting on it.
Josephine: There’s no pretending. We ARE friends.
Lily: All right, then I’m going back to sleep.
“Waking the whole city up?” a voice asked from the corner of the street. “Y’know some people actually enjoy sleeping in.”
I glanced up to find Julian strolling toward me with two cups of coffee, one clutched in each hand. Friends. Yup, just friends all right. He was dressed down in Nikes, workout shorts, and an old college t-shirt. I smiled at the sight; I’d won the bet with myself (the one where I’d put a million dollars on the fact that Julian would look sexy in anything).
I glanced over his legs. They were toned, long, and tan with the same dark hair that was sprinkled on his chest.
Just friends.
“Josephine?”
“Oh!” I glanced away. “Yeah. I thought it was only fair that I wake up my friend in Texas too.”
He reached my spot on the sidewalk and I stood up to greet him.
“Coffee?” I asked, hopeful.
He nodded and handed it over. The cup was warm against my palm and the steam rising up around it smelled divine.
“The first shop I went to didn’t have almond milk,” he said. The morning light played up his hazel eyes and for a moment I was caught in his allure. The dark brows, the dark hair, the tan skin. A weaker woman would have thrown herself at him a long time ago. Me? I had goals. Goals that didn’t include seducing Julian Lefray, my one and only friend in New York City.
“That’s okay, I drink it black sometimes,” I said before taking my first sip. I’d prepared myself for the bitter taste, but was surprised to find the coffee slightly sweetened.
“I found it somewhere else,” he clarified with a little smile.
Warmth spread from my belly, up around my chest, holding my heart in a tight grip. He’d gone to that much trouble for me?
“Is this the building?” he asked, peering over my shoulder.
“Yes! Just look at it!” I exclaimed, waving my hand toward the storefront.
He stepped closer, peering through the glass and studying the square footage just as I’d done a few minutes earlier. The tree-lined sidewalk was already getting busier as the rest of the city woke up. People were trickling out of their apartments, heading out for breakfast. I knew that by midmorning, it’d be a lively street. Perfect for a clothing shop.
“The location is great,” Julian nodded, pulling his face away from the glass.
I nodded.
“We could build out the front of the space for Lorena’s shop and then keep that entire back section open for offices,” I said, pointing toward the rear. Without the lights on, it was hard to see into the distance, but it seemed like there was plenty of space.
“I like it a lot,” he affirmed. “How’d you find it?”
“I was on a morning jog and I happened to wander by.”
Julian arched a brow. “You’ve never mentioned you’re a runner.”
I smiled. “‘Runner’ is a strong word. On occasion, I’ve been known to move slightly faster than a walking pace, but it’s not very often.”
The side of his mouth hitched up. “I usually run over at Central Park. Have you ever done that trail?”
I laughed. “You’d have to carry me for most of that.”
He smiled. “Nah, you could do it. We could walk for parts of it. Think of it as a team building exercise.”
Was I willing to run just to spend time with him? I chose not to read into that fact.
He nodded toward the subway entrance a few yards away. “C’mon, let’s head over there before breakfast.”
My face fell. “What about the property?”
“I’ll have my agent set up a time to view it,” he promised, walking backward toward the subway entrance.
When I didn’t immediately follow him, he paused.
“That’s it? I feel bad for waking you up,” I said, moving to join him. “Your response wasn’t as awesome as I’d hoped it would be.”
“I like it,” he said with a reassuring nod.
“That doesn’t sound very convincing.”
He laughed and came to stand in front of me. “Jo, I love it. Thanks for waking me up at the ass-crack of dawn to see it. I don’t know what I would do without an employee as dedicated as you are.”
The bastard was patronizing me.
“I hate you,” I said, hitting his shoulder playfully.
“No.” He smiled, pretending to massage where I’d just hit him. “You can’t hate your only friend in New York.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Pfft. I have way more friends than you.”
He arched a brow; he clearly didn’t believe me.
“Like Dean,” I said with a triumphant smile. I’d only met him last night but that didn’t mean we weren’t friends.
He rolled his eyes. “Right.”
“He’s pretty cute.”
I’d said it as a joke—partly—but Julian obviously didn’t take it as one. His laughter died and his gaze sliced over to me.
“Dean has a new girlfriend every week. He’s not the settling down type.”
I held up my free hand. “Whoa. It’s not like I want to date him.”
He didn’t seem convinced, so I pushed further. “Besides, I don’t date. Ever.”
There. Julian had the truth and he could do with it what he wanted.
I brushed past him and headed toward the subway entrance, ignoring my flaming cheeks. He jogged to catch up with me and I could feel him studying me, clearly struggling with what he wanted to say. We walked down the stairs in silence. I swiped my subway card, pushed through the metal barrier, and headed toward the blue line track, all the while keenly aware of Julian’s presence beside me.
“Why not?” he finally asked as we took our seats beside each other on the subway.
I tilted my head. “Why not what?”
“Why don’t you date?”
His voice was gentle, and where I’d assumed there would be hints of judgment, there was only curiosity.
“Do I need an excuse?” I laughed.
He chuckled. “You make it sound like it’s worse than pulling teeth.”
For me, it was.
“The last time I went on a good date, I was in the seventh grade and Hunter Buchanan invited me over to play Mario Kart with him for three hours.”
Julian started to crack up. “You’re kidding me.”
I shrugged. “I wish.”
“Are you a virgin?” he asked. Just like that. Point blank.
I gaped so wide my jaw practically came unhinged. Jesus. Good thing the subway car was fairly empty.
“No!” I said, glaring over at him. “I’m not a freaking virgin. How lame do you think I am?”
He held up his hands in defense.
“What? You made it seem like that was the case. I thought I was going to have to do you a favor.”
My cheeks were on fire. I knew I was blushing so hard that the astronauts on the space station would be able to detect it.
“By deflowering me?! Oh my god, Julian, you’re verging on asshole territory right now.”
“No! No,” he said, reaching for my arm so that I couldn’t move away from him. “That’s not what I meant.”
He tried to catch my eye, but I held my gaze steady at the top of the subway car. There was an ad about an apartment finder service stretched across the edge of the ceiling; I focused on it like my life depended on it. I knew he was kidding, but the whole conversation was beyond embarrassing. My self-confidence was lying in a pool on the ground, and my ego was mixed in there with it. I didn’t need Julian to make it any worse.
“Jo—”
I shook my head. This conversation needed to end. Now.
“You know what? None of this even matters anyway because I have a date.” I forced myself to look at him as I continued, “Tomorrow night in fact.”
His grip loosened on my arm until he let it slide completely away.
“Really?”
His brows were drawn together, but I did nothing to relieve his confusion.
“Really.” I nodded as an elaborate lie started to play out in my mind. “A friend of Dean’s asked me to get drinks during the restaurant opening and I told him I’d think about it.”
Hmm, that seems fairly logical. Even if I’d been with Julian most of last night, that didn’t mean I hadn’t had a few moments to myself, a few minutes for someone to hypothetically hit on me.
“And you’re going to go?” he asked with a sharp tone.
I nodded, smug and annoyed by his line of questioning. “Yup. I think it’s time to finally push myself out of my comfort zone, make some other friends in New York besides you.”