Page 52 of Perfect Imperfections

Wrapping his arms around her waist, he squeezed with a soft laugh. “You, Ellie Clark, are one of a kind.”

Warm lips pressed against the sensitive spot on the back of her neck just below her ear. She tried and failed to suppress a moan. His arms tightened around her, mouth moving against the shell of her ear, creating wonderful sparking sensations to shoot across her entire body as he whispered.

“If you’re hungry, we better leave for dinner now.”

Oh, she was hungry all right, but she doubted the restaurant they were going to would serve what she wanted. Naked Sullivan Green. Just as she was about to suggest they skip dinner and head right to dessert, her stomach let out a loud grumble.

Dammit, would the floor just open up and eat me now!

Why had she skipped lunch? Oh right, because she had a hot date tonight and she’d been too nervous to choke anything down.

“Come on,” he said with a laugh, taking her hand and heading to the door. “Let’s get you some sustenance.”

Perfect way to start a date. Letting her stomach do the talking. She’d have to watch what she ate tonight. No cruciferous vegetables. She didn’t want other body parts talking to Sullivan later on. Just the thought made her want to crawl into a hole and die.

As Ellie pulled the door closed, she glanced over to her small kitchen, noting that all the stove lights were off. Of course they were. She hadn’t cooked anything today, but the irrational fear of her apartment catching on fire while she was out caused her to do the check every time she left.

“Off, off, off,” she mumbled under her breath, counting the stove, toaster oven, and small coffee pot on her counter. Pulling the door closed, she noticed Sullivan staring at her from the corner of her eye.

Dammit!

She must have been mumbling louder than she thought. Not wanting to ruin what had started as a perfect date, she ignored the question in his eyes and focused on locking her door. Sliding the key into the lock, she turned it and paused. Oh, how she wished she could simply pull the key out and drop it into her purse like any other person. But just the thought of not relocking the door another two times had her heart racing. And not in a good way.

The cold metal key dug into her finger as she squeezed, trying to argue with her illogical fear, whispering if she didn’t lock it three times, how could she be sure it was locked? And if it wasn’t locked, someone would waltz in, hide in her closet, and murder her in her sleep. She knew that sounded ludicrous, but she also knew if she didn’t perform her ritual, the anxiety would eat at her all night.

Things like this were why she never made it past a first date. Her OCD was a part of her, she could manage it, but it would always be there. She had to live with that. She understood why someone else might not want to.

“Ellie,” Sullivan’s soft, deep voice rumbled in her ear. “It’s okay if you need to…check things.”

She turned her head to glance at him over her shoulder. He smiled. His eyes filled with understanding.

“I’ve had a few patients with OCD. It’s not something I treat, but I notice they do better when they’re able to perform their...”

“Rituals.”

He tilted his head at her blurted explanation.

“I call them rituals or compulsions. People call them different things. They just…they help ground me. Calm the anxiety. I just need to check to make sure everything is safe and secure, so nothing bad happens.”

Leaning down, he brushed a kiss against her temple, warm breath caressing her cheek as he spoke.

“Check away, honey. I’m right here, ready whenever you are.”

She hesitated. “It’s just that, they…my compulsions, bother some people. Some of the men I’ve gone out with think it’s weird or annoying. They can’t understand why I don’t just stop, but I try and—”

“Ellie,” he interrupted her. “I’m not those jackasses. I might not understand what you’re going through, but I’d never assume it’s as easy as flicking off a light switch. The brain is the most complex organ in the human body and no two are alike. Doctor, remember?” He chuckled.

Feeling an immense weight lifting off her shoulders, she turned the key and jiggled the doorknob twice more. Slipping the key from the lock and dropping it into her purse without a hint of anxiety, her ritual performed to completion.

Tears of relief gathered in her eyes at Sullivan’s understanding, but she blinked them back. Her chest filled with an entirely novel sensation. Gratitude. No one except Cam and her therapist had ever accepted her rituals with no form of judgment, but Sullivan did. He might not fully understand, but he didn’t judge her for them. He didn’t know how much that meant to her.

CHAPTER 19

They headed out to his car, which was the nicest vehicle Ellie had ever been in. She didn’t know what it was. She wasn’t a car person, but it started with the push of a button and for the life of her, she couldn’t hear the engine make one peep of sound. Such a difference from her fifteen-year-old bucket of rust with over two hundred thousand miles on it and a muffler that announced to people a state over she was driving by. She really needed to replace the old girl, but it still ran and until her student loans were paid off, that was all that mattered. She’d get a new car in, oh, another twenty years.

The drive to the restaurant was short. Sullivan had chosen a local place that specialized in new ways to serve old classics. Sunlight was a smaller suburb of Denver, so they received some of the hipster spillover. She’d never been to Ipsum, but she’d always wanted to try it. Hopefully, they served the food on plates and not shovels. The food industry could be weird sometimes.

When they arrived at the restaurant, they were seated right away, as Sullivan had made reservations. Again, she couldn’t ever remember a date making actual reservations. He even pulled out her chair. Much more of this, and he would ruin her for other men.

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