Page 4 of Roleplay at Randy's
Oh.
My cheeks heat when he reaches over with a fresh set of napkins and pats at the cooling stain. A mop of colorful hair—a mix of blond and teal—crowds the stranger’s eyes, dark irises catching on the light when he stands and balls up the rumpled napkins.
“I’m Elias.” He raises his hand again and holds up a finger, transitioning to another slow fingerspell. ‘E-L-I-A-S’.
It’s oddly endearing how earnestly and meticulously he forms the letters, and I almost wonder if I should give him a pass and let him know that I can hear him well enough as long as I can see his lips move.
When I reach down to grab my hearing aid so I can focus better, I’m met with a wet, tacky mess.
“Oh, shit,” Elias hisses under his breath, and I only hear it because his voice is right in my ears. “Did I fuck that up?”
A shiver erupts across my skin, a contradictory warm flush spreading over my cheeks and extending below the neck of my t-shirt.
My hearing aid might be old and in need of replacement, but I’m thankful Riley forced the more durable model on me.
“They’re waterproof,” I say, watching as a brief surprise flashes over his face before being replaced with relief. “I just need to go to the bathroom and rinse it off.”
He takes a step back from the table as I slide out of the booth, but we’re still chest to chest when I get to my feet.
I’m hit with the scent of cheap, dollar store body spray, and I’m so starved for affection and closeness that my head swims and my body teeters toward him.
Elias grasps both of my arms in an attempt to steady me, and I’ll be damned if that doesn’t make it worse.
“Don’t pass out on me.” His deep rumble rolls across my skin, and his fingers resting on my elbows keep me rooted in place.
I soak up the contact, memorize the feel of his hands as they slide down my arms slow and steady until they fall away completely.
Our eyes find each other, and the smile that lights up his face has my already pounding heart in a vice grip.
Dimples. Motherfucking dimples.
No. We aren’t about to have some whirlwind fairytale romance. We sure as hell aren’t about to have a random bathroom hookup—even though if my libido were in charge I’d beg him to touch me in all the places his warm stare sets on fire.
With every bit of self-restraint I can muster, I throw on a tight smile and step away, caging the desperation to be held again.
“Nice to meet you, Elias.” My voice is hoarse, quiet and cracked, but his name rolls off my tongue like an endearment.
His eyes widen, his smile softens, and I slip by him before my body or mouth have the opportunity to betray me again.
Though, once I’m in the bathroom, my skin breaks out into a series of prickles that turn my body into an open wound. One that’s been irrigated of all traces of love and companionship.
Replaced simply with an endless loneliness.
2
ELIAS
If you had askedme a couple of years ago, I never would have thought I’d like dancing. In the kitchen at night, sure; who doesn’t love a little hip shake/hairbrush microphone session at the end of an exhausting day?
But on a stage? Naked except for a jockstrap for a room full of women to see?
It pays the never ending cycle of bills circulating through my bank account.
After doing it for so long? It’s like second nature.
“You look hot,” Miya says through my phone speaker, propped on my locker as I change out of my work attire and back into regular clothes.
I crinkle my nose as I slip a lavender, body hugging sweater over my head. “Don’t say that. You’re my sister.”
