Page 25 of ‘Til You Came Along

“Wait, you don’t have to go!” I jump up and chase after him, and I catch his arm before I walk him to the door.

“No, it’s fine. I don’t want to impose,” He says curtly.

“You’re not imposing! I’m insisting! Stay! You don’t have a choice anymore. I’m too involved now,” I say with a serious face on. But then I smile at him to let him know I am half-kidding. His eyes soften considerably and he looks a little uncomfortable, but not as much as he used to.

“Honestly, I need to finish up a few assignments. Do you…have classes tomorrow?” He asks.

“No, I tutor at the library but that’s not until noon,” I reply.

He furrows his brows and looks down. “Can I…take you out for breakfast?”

“Absolutely, you can,” I say right away with a smile. His face lights up and he truly looks like an entirely different person.

He slowly reaches his hand up and brushes his fingers from my temple to my jaw. I stare up at him, probably looking like an idiot with my mouth open in awe. I feel tingles all the way down to my toes.

He whispers “goodnight” and I manage to mumble something close to it back to him. But I’m not sure what exactly because it’s hard to think straight. His mouth turns up on the side in what I know is a smile before he opens the door and walks to his car. I stand there in a dreamy daze for way too long, even after his car turns the corner and is out of sight. Ana comes over, wraps an arm around my shoulders to pull me back inside, and closes the door.

“Okay,” Ana says with a mouth full of pizza. “So…you have had an eventful week,” She mocks as I walk over to the couch and dramatically collapse into it.

“Oh, mi hermosa mejor amiga. You have no idea.”

“Start at the beginning.” She sits down next to me, still holding a half eaten slice of pizza.

“I wish I knew when that was…I don’t even know anymore,” I admit. She looks at me, understanding across her features.

“What changed from yesterday to today?” She asks. I sigh.

“I don’t know, maybe it was that stupid gun in my face because let’s be real, I still haven’t fully processed that,” I groan. “But that’s the most scared I’ve ever been in my life. And then there he was, stepping in front of me—protecting me.”

I look up at the ceiling looking for the words. Ana waits patiently, watching me.

“Even in that fear, I felt safe with him there,” I say softly. “And then the moments that came after where he was so kind and caring…when he went back to being cold, I just knew I couldn’t deal with that again, especially after seeing that tiny piece of his heart he showed me tonight. I need to get to know him better.”

I turn my head to look at Ana, her dark eyes warm and encouraging. “I knew it,” She says with a smile.

“You knew what?” I demand.

“I just knew.” She leans over and kisses my cheek before getting up and walking to the kitchen. “You better get to bed because you have a breakfast date, amor.”

“Oh my God, we never agreed on a time!” I yell, jumping up. “When the heck is he coming?”

Ana laughs as I run to my room to panic pace because I don’t know enough of tomorrow’s information to properly prepare. I’m not going to sleep tonight.

Just as I expected, I barely sleep and I am already wide awake when my alarm goes off at 8. I jump out of bed and skip into the kitchen to start a pot of coffee. I immediately freeze when I see a dark figure standing by the front door.

I scream at the top of my lungs and jump into a fighting stance because it’s the only thing I can think of to do. It takes a second for me to realize I’m not in danger. It’s just Decker, although I don’t know how he’s inside.

“Holy crap,” I say as I slowly bend forward to put my hands on my knees.

“I’m so sorry.” Elliot looks absolutely terrified and embarrassed. He moves a few feet in my direction but doesn’t close the distance between us. He looks up at the ceiling. “Ana was leaving when I got here a few minutes ago. She forced me to wait inside and I didn’t know what to do. She said she would call you or text you. Once I was alone….in here, I realized I didn’t have…any way of letting you know I was here…I didn’t want to wait around and scare you…like a psychopath. But I didn’t know what time to pick you up. So, as I was deciding what to do, you walked out of your room and I scared the shit out of you. I’m so sorry.” I’m still learning to read his different emotions, but I know I’ve never seen him look so terribly embarrassed. Or say so many words at one time before.

I start laughing, really realizing just how ridiculous this situation is. I’m full blown cackling, doubled over with my hands on my knees, when I look up and realize Elliot is quietly chuckling. It’s not a full laugh, but it’s beautiful and it’s progress and that’s what counts. He keeps darting his eyes away from me though. It takes me a moment to realize I am only wearing a long shirt and underwear. The shirt is pretty long, but definitely not long enough. Well…damn me. I can feel my cheeks heat, embarrassed.

I shoot up straight, very ungracefully, and sprint back into my room. I turn once I’m inside my room and stick my head out, “Oh my God, I’m sorry! Don’t leave! Please don’t leave—I’ll be right out!” And then I close my door. I quickly throw some pajama pants on and brush my teeth in the bathroom before going back out.

He is standing by the front door again, and he looks like he is debating on whether he should sneak out or not.

“Don’t do it. I’m serious. I’ll come after you. It’s too late to change your mind. I told you, we’re too involved now,” I say as I walk into the kitchen to start making coffee. I definitely need it this morning.

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