Page 7 of Room One Hundred and Nineteen: Watching Her

“I don’t know why you’re avoiding us. But what we do know is it started since you got back. Did you have a bad time? Did you hate it there?” I stupidly bombarded her with questions.

“No. It was beautiful. It’s…”

“It’s what?” I encouraged, hoping I would break through, that she would finally let us in.

“It’s heaven on earth, Rick. The house, the place. It’s so beautiful and peaceful, I’m not sure how you guys don’t live there on a daily basis.”

“That would be a drive to the hospital,” I muttered, and her pretty lips twitched. But Jesus, if that’s where she wanted to spend the rest of her days, we’d figure out how to make it work. “Talk to me,” I pressed, hoping she would give me more.

“I’m not used to someone being this nice, and you guys?—"

“That’s not true, and you know it,” I cut her off again, and by the frown lines on her brow, she didn’t like that.

“What?”

“Your sister is nice. She helps?—"

“She’s also family. She kinda has to be nice.”

“That’s not true. Josh has half a dozen brothers, and they never offer him shit. I doubt one of them would piss on him if he were on fire. Especially if it meant they were slightly inconvenienced or nothing were in it for them.” Her eyes widened, but then that damn mask of indifference tried to settle back over her features.

“You’re shutting us out and—" I started to rant.

If I had been paying attention instead of being far up my own ass, I would have noticed something about Elena changed in that moment.

“That’s not fair.” I kept on talking. Telling her we were friends, that we cared about her. That it wasn’t cool to give us the cold shoulder and make us worry. Not when at the end of the day, all that mattered to us was her happiness and peace.

That’s when I noticed it. Her eyes were gentler than I had ever seen. I was about to ask her what was wrong, but the words got lodged in the middle of my throat as the scene in front of me unfolded in slow motion.

Her small soft hand rose to rest in the middle of my chest, just as she lifted her small body to the tips of her toes and leaned forward. Stunned and taken completely off guard, I stood there like an idiot caught in headlights.

Until her lips touched mine and my body finally reacted.

My arm pulled her flush against me. Without thinking or second-guessing, running on pure animal instinct, I kissed her back. Hard and deep. Fiercely. Holding her to me as my senses took their fill of her, and fuck me, I couldn’t get enough.

Her warmth.

Her scent.

The way her body fit against mine. Her soft to my hard. There was no doubt about it—she was it. She was mine. She was ours. She was our missing piece.

I didn’t have a lot growing up, so what little I did have, I had not been big on sharing. Now older and a hell of a lot smarter, even as I kissed Elena, I was looking forward to seeing my best friends with her. Not in a perverse way, but in a way that made my heart and soul feel full. All I wanted was their happiness as much as I wanted Elena’s and my own.

I kissed her until my lungs literally burned. When I pulled back, her eyes were still shut, and the only sound surrounding us was of our heavy breathing.

“Talk to me, gorgeous.” My voice sounded foreign in my own ears.

“I… Rick…” Her eyes opened slowly, and when they connected with mine, there was so much to untangle. Lust. Desire. Heat. Love but also worry.

Worry I wanted to wipe away.

“I shouldn’t have done that,” she said, causing my heart to crack.

“Baby—“

“No! I’m serious! Um…” She touched her lips. “You were being so sweet, and I-I jumped you!” she exclaimed. She tried to take a step back, but I stopped her, putting my hand on her lower back and pulling her back into my arms. “Oh god! Who does that! I assaulted you because you were being nice!”

“Elena, look at me,” I demanded gently. My girl was having a moment, not so quietly freaking out. But even in the throes of a moment, she did as I asked. Like the good girl she was. When our gaze connected, my other hand moved up between us. Slowly, I caressed the side of her face.

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