Page 117 of The Sound Of Us

I’m not sure if dogs are allowed in Eli’s office building, so I ask at the front desk after the Uber drops us off.

Wiping my hands down my coat, I try to get rid of some creases that may have been caused by my seated position during the flight.

“You’re here to see Mr. Saxon?” the woman at the front desk asks, eying Pepper.

“Uh, yes, please?” She doesn’t answer about Pepper.

“Do you have an appointment?” she asks. I think she disapproves of me if the several once-overs are anything to go by.

“Uh, he’s expecting me,” I reply, hoping that qualifies as an appointment.

The woman gives me another once over, then leaves her desk. Pepper and I watch her from the front as she talks to the security guard softly. I don’t know what she’s saying, but I’m a little worried. I don’t think they’re going to let me or Pepper in. I consider calling Eli, but what if he’s in his meeting?

The security guard leaves through the elevator. I sit on a chair in the fancy waiting area nearby while the woman returns to her desk and talks on the phone. She casts several looks in my direction.

Suddenly, everything in her face changes. The security guard comes rushing out of the elevator and talks to the woman at the desk.

I’m sweating blood. A thousand thoughts race through my head. Did they find out about Frank? Maybe Frank is here. He found his way to Louisville, and he’s going to kill me.

The elevator doors click open again and—

I’m sitting down, but I still feel like I’ve been knocked off my feet.

Eli exits the elevator. To his left, the woman at the desk apologizes in sign. She repeats the sign several times, her eyes darting to me every now and then. Eli gives her a hard look and searches the expanse of the lobby. He spots me about the same time Pepper spots him.

I rise from my seat and Pepper bolts across the lobby, barking and wagging her tail. People at the front desk, security guards and employees stop to stare as Eli bends to grab Pepper. I’m a little embarrassed that she’s so shameless, but also a little jealous. I wish I could have rushed into Eli’s arms like that.

A small distance separates us. Eli lifts his eyes to mine. A lump forms in my throat. I can’t move. He’s so beautiful.

As he walks toward me, I take all of him in.

The sweatpants and sweatshirts I’d become accustomed to seeing him in have been replaced with black pants that fit him like a glove. A white shirt tugs at his biceps and stretches across his chest as it competes with the muscles there.

My mouth dries and my heartbeat flies up to the heavens.

His eyes are worried as he walks toward me, Pepper trotting happily next to him.

I wipe my hands on the sides of my coat, acutely aware that we have an audience. And it dawns on me that these are Eli’s employees. He’s their boss.

Feelings of shame and doubt beat down heavily in my heart. I try hard to ignore them, but it’s almost impossible. It’s easy to forget everything when you live in a town like River Valley and everyone is the same as you.

But this? This world is the one people like me get to watch on T.V. I don’t belong in this world. Frank said that Eli had a lot of boyfriends, and none of them were like me. Inadequacy finds its way into my blood.

Eli reaches me and, right there in front of all the people who work for him, he gathers me in his arms.

My shoulders shake with traitorous tears. I didn’t want to cry. I wanted to be strong, like him. Not this spineless nobody.

He pulls back to inspect my face. I’m okay, I sign.

He takes my hand in his and walks us across the lobby. My face burns with the stares, but Eli doesn’t seem to notice.

Inside the elevator, Pepper sits quietly next to Eli. I look up at him, devouring his face, hardly able to believe I’m actually here.

He pulls me to him, enveloping me in his arms. I go so willingly. Lifting my face to his, I part my lips for his mouth, sighing into his kiss when his lips meet mine. Soft and beautiful, I sink into him, moving my lips against his. Eli deepens the kiss. His scent, his touch, all of him permeate my senses, filling me, fluttering over me like a gentle wind. And I hold on to it. God, do I hold on.

The ding of the elevator pulls us out of this moment. Eli takes my hand and walks us across another lobby, smaller than the one downstairs.

A framed photo of an older man is flanked by a frame of a woman on the right and Eli on the left. His parents? There is a resemblance to the older man.

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