Page 48 of Last Call Lindy Hop
I looked into his warm brown eyes for a minute, then shook my head. “Thank you, but I need to do this myself.”
He nodded, then leaned in to brush his lips across mine. “I’ll be at the coffee shop a few doors down whenever you’re done.”
“Ok.” I breathed out a long breath. “I… don’t know how much energy I’ll have to do anything though.”
He smiled and brushed the backs of his fingers down my cheek. I’d already started to learn that our shared love language was touch, and I reveled in it. He was always kissing, hugging, cuddling, holding my hands, or just… making whatever contact he could.
And the smiles I got in return when I reciprocated. Nothing complicated, just us.
“If it wears you out, then we’ll go cuddle at one of our places.”
“Ok.”
He kissed my forehead. “You’ve got this. I know it’s not going to be easy, but I’m proud of you.”
I smiled and shifted to kiss him back.
I’d tried therapy before, when I moved back home. But the pain had been too new, the scars too raw. Now though, knowing that I’d be able to curl into Eli’s arms to decompress… I finally felt ready to discuss Connor’s abuse.
And it was abuse. I was ready to call it that too. He’d kept me fairly isolated in a location of his preference. He’d cheated, lied to me, and gaslit me. The expensive gifts that I thought I’d been giving him out of love, were always things that had been highly suggested as items he wanted, and the few times I’d gotten something else he’d become angry and withhold affection for days.
I didn’t know if I’d really be able to handle therapy. But knowing that Eli would be there to hold me and make me feel safe gave me the strength to try.
Hell, he’d even taken the day off work to make sure that I had whatever support I needed.
I took a deep breath, stepped back, and nodded. “Ok. I’ll call when I’m done.”
He smiled. “You’ve got this.”
It seemed an odd encouragement at first, then I understood. He knew how hard it was for me to face that part of my past, but he had the confidence to know I’d be able to do it.
Maybe it was early, but I really was starting to fall in love with him.
And maybe that was the one good thing about everything that had happened with Connor. Would I have moved to Mesa Roja if not for everything that had happened with him?
Probably not.
But now I was here, and with the man whom I was increasingly sure I wanted to spend the rest of my life with.
I returned his smile, squeezed his hands, then headed in.
Undoing all of Connor’s damage wasn’t going to be quick or easy, but it needed to be done. Not for my family, Kenzie, or even Eli. I needed to do it for myself… so I could live the kind of life I deserved.
Chapter 22 - Eli
~Two Weeks Later~
There was something to be said for taking things slow.
I’d made it clear to Lance during our first date that his healing was the most important thing, and that I would wait for him to be ready before taking any of the bigger steps in the relationship.
I already knew that I wanted to spend the rest of my life with him, so there was plenty of time. However, more than a month in, there was a large part of me that was ready to be intimate with him.
Josh, lovable asshole that he was, had teased me at one point that I hadn’t yet had sex with Lance. Luckily he’d backed off when I asked when the last time he’d been laid was.
One day he’d learn that he shouldn't dish it if he couldn’t take it.
An oven timer dinged, pulling me from my thoughts.
