Josie rolled the waistband of her green plaid skirt over to make it slightly shorter and made sure her white shirt was straight. The buttons were straining a little over her large breasts. She caught a view of the bow on her bra and smiled at its cuteness. Her short legs climbed up the three big concrete steps to the front door as she pulled at her long brown hair, tightening her ponytail. Standing on the grassy welcome mat, she nervously grasped the box of cookies she had to sell tightly in her delicate hand. The wooden door was huge and it had a brass knocker in the shape of a lion's head. Josie was rather excited that she would get to use it. It was stiff and heavier than she thought, but she managed to lift it, then bring it down again with two loud thuds. Josie held her breath as she heard someone coming toward the door. She exhaled as it opened and looked up at the very tall man standing in front of her. He was wearing a grey shirt and black trousers. He was well-groomed with a beard and moustache. His face was kind and his eyes were smiling down at her. She felt her cheeks blush as she noticed how good-looking he was.
"Hello, I'm Josie and I'm fundraising for my club's trip. Would you like to buy some cookies Sir, they are only $5 a packet," Josie blurted out in one breath.
The man smiled wider, which made him even more attractive to Josie. She was sure he would notice her reddening cheeks, and that thought caused the heat in her face to get more intense. She looked down at the box of cookies and felt her cheeks flush again as her gaze lingered a moment too long on the noticeable bulge in the man's pants.
"I would love to help out with your club's trip, Josie," the man said in a soft, deep voice that forced Josie to look up at him. She hadn't noticed how green his eyes were until just then.
"Why don't you step inside, while I fetch my wallet," he suggested as he left the doorway and headed off down the hallway, out of Josie's sight.
Josie thought for a moment; she thought she shouldn't - that it might not be safe. Then, almost by magic, she was inside the house, standing in the hallway. It was bright, felt fresh and there were paintings of the countryside on the walls. The rug was luxurious and ran the entire length of the floor. There was a wooden table with a beautiful blue glass bowl and a few interesting brass trinkets on it. It was incredibly clean, with not a trace of dust. Josie caught a glimpse of herself in a small, round mirror and saw her big, blue eyes, pink cheeks, and the hint of lip gloss she'd applied earlier. She was pleased to see that she looked as pretty as she'd thought she had, and it gave her more confidence as she stepped further into the house. Josie slowly walked past three doorways and noted that all the doors were closed. At the very end, the long hall opened up into a wider space with huge windows. Through them, she could see out to the back garden.
"Help yourself to a drink of water," she heard the man's smooth voice shout out.
Once she arrived at the opening, she could see that to the right was a small sitting area and to the left was the kitchen. It was very modern, with large appliances. She instantly loved the huge island bench and the blue tiles of the splash-back.
Someone must have impeccable taste, she thought to herself as she noticed all the glassware in a cupboard and took a small glass to the sink. The sink was so big. She filled the glass, took it toward the bench where she had placed the box of cookies, and took a sip of water from her glass.
"Okay," the man asked, "so before I buy these cookies, can you tell me what they taste like?" He'd suddenly appeared in the doorway from the other side of the sitting room, and walked toward Josie in the kitchen as he spoke.
"I've never actually had one before," Josie replied truthfully.
"Well, well, well, we will have to fix that straight away," the man said with a laugh, and he put a $20 note on the bench in front of the box.
Josie was surprised and excited as she took a packet from the box and began to open it.
"A good salesperson should always know their product well," advised the man.
Josie offered him the packet, and he promptly took a cookie from it. Then he nodded toward her, giving her permission to get one herself. She did, and took a bite. It was delicious. Chocolate was her favourite flavour, and the cookie did not disappoint.
"Yum," the man said through a mouthful of cookies. "Do you like them, Josie?"
"Yes, very much," she said.
"Good! Let's take the rest to the sitting room, and you can tell me all about this trip while we eat more." The man talked while he headed toward the sofa, and Josie felt she had no choice but to follow him.