Page 32 of Slow Kind of Love

Chapter Eleven

Elise woke up with a sore throat, a mouth full of sawdust, and a head that pounded harder than the drum section in the high school band. Eyes bleary, she blinked a few times as the fog rolled away, and propped herself up on her elbows.

God, what had she done? With a groan, she blew out a long, shaky breath and winced as the cobwebs cleared. Wine. Lots of it. She knew better. Elise was a lightweight by most people’s standards.

Heather.

Oh my God, Reg.She frowned. And winced. Then frowned again. That bastard.

More wine. Grease and John Travolta, singing to the eighties station on her radio. Madonna. Prince. Guns N’ Roses.

Link.

She peeked beneath the covers, noted her tights were gone, though she still wore panties and her T-shirt. Right. He’d tucked her into bed and hadn’t joined her, even though she’d wanted nothing more than to have him there. She turned her gaze to the night table and sat up to properly grab the bottle of water and two aspirin left there. Even though she felt like absolute crap, she couldn’t shake the smile from her face. Not once in her entire marriage to Ben had he ever looked after her like that. In fact, one year she’d had the flu so bad, she’d lain in bed sick as a dog for three days. Heather had called repeatedly until she’d grown tired of Ben’s wooden responses and had taken Elise to the hospital herself. The doctor had been livid because her flu had tuned into pneumonia, and he’d admitted her on the spot.

Ben hadn’t come to see her once. Said he didn’t like hospitals.

Link, however, was an entirely different animal. She remembered him carrying her to bed, the feel of his hard, warm chest and the touch of his hands on her face. The look in his eyes as he bent down to kiss her. There’d been no disapproval. No judging.

It brought tears to her eyes.

“Stop it, Elle.” Geez. Swiping at her face, she rolled out of bed and staggered into the shower, where the hot spray washed away some of the stiffness in her joints and muscles. She wasn’t sure how long it was she stayed there, leaning against the smooth tiles, but it was long enough for the water to run from piping hot to lukewarm. She cleaned her face, avoided the puffy eyes in the mirror, and, after slathering on cream and brushing her teeth, got dressed in a pair of comfy sweatpants and an oversized T-shirt Link had left at her place months earlier.

She wished she hadn’t washed it. Wished it still smelled like him. She caught herself tugging on the edge and bringing it to her nose, just in case, and then stopped cold. Wow. What the heck was wrong with her? Embarrassed, she dropped the material and headed down the hall.

“Well, that was a long shift,” Heather said from her perch at the island as Elise walked into the kitchen. “I made coffee. A lot of it.”

Elise helped herself to a generous mug and leaned back against the counter. She took a sip, let the caffeine work its way into her system, and then attempted a smile. “It’s been a long time since we got that crazy.”

“Right?” Heather slowly nodded. “Joe and Lisa’s wedding, I think. Ben was away for business, Reg was sick with a man cold, and we went together. God.” She shuddered with a chuckle. “It was the high school spring dance all over again.”

Elise blanched at the memory of the two of them dancing on the head table near the end of the night. “There’s a reason we don’t act like that anymore. I need at least five years before I even attempt polishing off that much wine again.”

“Five? Try ten.” Heather snorted, “At least.” Her friend’s smile fell. “Reg called me six times last night.”

“Did you call him back?”

“No. I’m not sure what to say, and I want to be prepared. Or at least give him the impression that I’m in control, even though I’m so close to falling over the edge, I can see the bottom. Yesterday, I was shocked. Even though I think I knew I was shocked. And then I was sad. I felt ashamed and embarrassed and then, well, all the wine. And now?” Her fingers gripped her mug so tightly, the knuckles were white. “Now I’m pissed. I’m beyond pissed. I want to throat punch him and take a bat to his balls, and not some pussy-ass Little League bat either. One of those big weighted metal ones. I want to make him get down on his knees and say the words that will make all this anger and pain go away.” She pushed off her stool and brought her mug over to the sink to rinse. “But I don’t know what those words are.” Her voice dropped to a whisper. “And I don’t know that anything will make this go away.”

Elise didn’t respond at first, mostly because she knew firsthand this was a process and that Heather had to figure some things out on her own. The only thing she could do was be there for her.

“Do you want to stay another night? We could take in a movie or go to the spa for a treatment.”

“I’d love to disappear altogether, but that’s not going to solve anything. I need to tell Reg I know and take it from there.” Heather gave Elise a hug. “I love you. Thank you for being there for me, I’m sorry I interrupted your night with Link.”

“We didn’t have anything planned.”

“Maybe not,” Heather replied. “But, gurl, he wanted to do some things to you.” She stepped back, her voice high though it faltered a bit when she spoke. “I can’t remember the last time Reg looked at me that way.”

“Reg is an ass. You know that, right?”

“He’s something, that’s for sure. But enough about me and my problems. You focus on you and what makes you happy, because more than anyone I know, you deserve it. For whatever reason, you’ve struggled with the idea of you and Link. But he’s different, Elle. And when I say different, I mean in the way every woman on the planet dreams about.” Heather was serious, her tone no-nonsense. “Don’t let someone as good as Link Major slip by because you think he’s too young and you’re worried what folks will think. Or because you think you’re not ready for a relationship, or worse, that you don’t deserve to have him. Because I’ll tell you one thing, my friend. Men like that don’t come along every day, and it’s not even about the age or a generational thing. It’s about him on a human level. On a man level. It’s about the way he feels about you. About how he’s so sure of himself that he doesn’t feel the need to hide it. It’s that simple. If you feel the same way and you don’t snap him up, or at least open yourself up to the idea of him in your life, eventually some other lucky woman will do what you can’t seem to do. He’s a keeper.”

Cheeks red, Elise followed her friend to the door. “Gosh, Heather. The way you’re talking, you’d have us married by the end of the year.”

“If he asks, you’d be a fool to say no. I mean, the man has a castle.” Heather’s eyes were filled with tears once more. “And this is coming from a woman who’s just had her heart ripped out. Even now, I can say it’s worth the risk.” She slipped into her boots and took her winter coat from Elise. “Thanks again for last night. I’ll call you later.”

“I’m here.”

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