Eliezer’s Ange by Eden Auclair
XI
cassiopeia is nineteen
she is a junior in university
The professor droned on about being a ruthless writer and then building trust with the audience. Creative writing lecture, everyone, a voice retorted flatly in Cassiopeia’s head as she continued typing notes mindlessly. She wanted nothing more than to succumb to the deep slumber already threatening to take over; she was currently falling asleep. The past month had been utter hell, to put it lightly. Between her lectures and working for Eliezer, she simply felt she had no time to breathe. But she loved every part of it.
She pushed her maroon square frame spectacles up the bridge of her nose from falling while the professor drew a deep breath before animatedly talking once again. She sipped her Starbucks Teavana—her temporary fix until Eliezer made her favorite drink—just as a low hum came from her Macbook. A little banner faded in the top right of her screen and a brilliant smile curled her lips.
[ eliezer | cassiopeia ]
Hello, ange
hello eliezer!
What time are you getting out of your lecture?
i have about half an hour left, it ends at eleven
How does one-thirty sound to come into the office?
I’ll pick you up from your loft
that’s okay, i’ll drive :)
Eliezer scoffed in his swivel chair in his office, staring down at his screen.
“Like hell,” he muttered, rolling his eyes as he typed his reply, though he couldn’t help the grin on his face, he could hear her dainty, rushed voice in his mind.
I’m picking you up, Cassiopeia. I want to. Let me, please.
Cassiopeia had to stop the high-pitched squeal threatening to come undone from her lips in the middle of her lecture. Too excited there Cass. But she couldn’t help the blissful feeling that enveloped her when she read his text. Feeling a sudden thrill in her veins, she typed her reply, keying the enter button to send her text before she could overthink, and then fixed her attention back to her lecture.
i can’t wait to see you.
Back in his office, Eliezer’s eyes widened at her text, slightly taken aback by her blunt words. He had grown used to her shy and reserved nature. This... this was certainly refreshing. But he couldn’t even begin to fight off the full-blown grin plastered on his face and he couldn’t help himself as he pumped his fist in the air, reading his girl’stext over and over again.
§
Cassiopeia stepped into her loft with Niccolò behind her and a tired sigh fell from her lips as she closed the door and dropped her Fjallraven Kånken backpack on the ground beside her creamy beige suede sofa. Niccolò walked over to the velvet chesterfield and flopped down on it, letting out a much exaggerated and dramatic sigh. She stood over him, her hand on her jutted hip while she slurped the more than empty Starbucks cup.
“God, Cassiopeia,” Niccolò groaned, keeping his hand draped over his eyes. “You are obsessed,” he muttered, groaning again when he heard her slurping the airfrom the cup. The girl giggled once more before setting the cup on the glass coffee table and grinned cheekily.
“Thank you for our Starbucks date, Niccolòòò.” She said in a sing-song voice.
“I did it for me, not you,” he murmured. “I needed to revise my thesis and I needed a certain someone to not have an aneurysm just because I didn’t get them their te-
“Ouch! Fuck, did you just throw a pillow at me?” Niccolò yelled and looked over at the girl in question. “Brat.” He grinned wickedly and she batted her lashes.
“What time do you have to go into the office?”
“Eliezer said one-thirty, so I guess he’s picking me up at one?”
“He’s picking you up? From here?” Niccolò shot up from laying down and stared wide-eyed.
“Yes?” She stared at him with crinkled eyebrows. Just as he opened his mouth to speak, the doorbell chimed and her eyes widened as did his even more.
“Shit! I haven’t even gotten dressed yet!” Her cheeks flushed beet-red as Niccolò hissed out, “Shit, he’s a half-hour early, we should not have gone to Starbucks.
“Do not mention our date to Eliezer or he will kill me.” Cassiopeia rolled her eyes.
“Ange,” a thick French-accented voice came from the other side of her door and her heart thrummed. “I know I’m early. I thought I’d surprise you but it seems you’re... already home… your car is here…” Eliezer trailed off.
The uncertainty in his voice made him sound adorable but she stood frozen in her spot, her eyes flickering rapidly between the oak door and Niccolò nervously. She was currently a mess in a pair of joggers and an oversized campus hoodie she threw on this morning in the dark along with her hair thrown up in an unruly bun. And her maroon spectacles sat atop her makeup-less face.
“Are you going to get that?” Niccolò’s tone was laced with sarcasm. Cassiopeia shook her head frantically with wide, terrified eyes, and Niccolò face-palmed as he walked over to the door and opened it. Eliezer’s sapphire eyes met Niccolò’s sea-green ones and immediately, he recognized the boy from being by Cassiopeia’s side during her coffee shop days. A sudden streak of jealousy burned through his veins and Eliezer was blindly raging as he let himself into her loft.
Niccolò shut the door and returned to his spot on the sofa, but Eliezer was too fixated on the girl who owned his heart to notice. His eyes sought his girl and settled on her, captivated by her graceful beauty. There she stood, and even in the simplest of clothing, she looked beautiful as ever. Niccolò quietly observed them, noting the unsaid conversation burning between their eyes. Until Eliezer turned to face him with piercing sapphire irises. The boy only smiled cheekily, getting up and walking over to Cassiopeia before finally throwing his arm lazily around her shoulder. Eliezer’s jaw clenched as he stared at the sight—a burning need to demand answers consumed him and Cassiopeia wasn’t too sure how she felt.
“So.” Niccolò finally cleared his throat, sounding cheery. “Youmust be the one who has stolen my little Cassiopeia’s heart!” Eliezer froze for a moment before a devilish smirk broke out on his face and he realized, maybe the boy wasn’t too bad, meanwhile, Cassiopeia looked horrified and was sure she was having a heart attack. A high-pitched shriek left her lips as she shoved her friend off of her and scampered off to her bedroom. The men let out deep, throaty laughs at her expense.
“I’m Niccolò,” he held out a hand, giving Eliezer a kind smile. Eliezer took his hand in his, shaking lightly.
“Eliezer.”
“I know. You’re all Cassiopeia talks about lately.” Niccolò chuckled lightly and he could have sworn Eliezer’s cheeks tinted pink.
“I absolutely do not!” Cassiopeia screeched from the bedroom and both men fell into fits of husky laughter once again.
They conversed for the next half hour while Cassiopeia got ready. The brute took a liking to the boy—after realizing he wasn’t after his ange—and believed she was safe with Niccolò when he wasn’t around. Cassiopeia appeared at the entry of the corridor, and like a flame to wick, Eliezer’s eyes snapped from Niccolò to her. Christ, a voice hissed in his head and he swallowed hard.
She had her attention fixated on Niccolò, scowling at her friend and hissing quietly, “I hate you.”
Niccolò merely chuckled, not feeling slightly intimidated by the small girl, and instead wore a cheeky grin after blowing her a kiss, batting his lashes, and in a sing-song tone said, “I love you too, honey bun.”
“That was just downright patronizing.” She huffed and stuck her tongue out at him and Eliezer laughed at their banter. With her attention fixed on Niccolò, Eliezer took pleasure in raking his eyes over her body, drinking in her appearance greedily. Christ, she was an ethereal sight, he could’ve sworn a halo illuminated her hourglass figure. She was dressed in a simple periwinkle skater skirt and a beige turtleneck that accentuated her full breasts. Those… those supple mounds will be my downfall, he swore in his mind.
Her eyes cut to his, feeling them burn her body, and his breath caught in his throat once again. Her gray irises were wondrous, filled with a light that had him at her feet, even if she didn’t know it yet. Her lips softly parted as his hooded eyes trailed from her ballet block heels to her hazelnut hair flaring in curls and falling down her back and he hoped she didn’t know how much he burned to undress her and press his lips on every inch of her body, memorizing her soft, silky skin. A knowing smirk curled Niccolò’s lips as he slipped out of the living room and into the kitchen, but both Eliezer and Cassiopeia were too taken with each other to realize.
Her cheeks burned under his intense stare and his eyes kept flickering to her eyes for split seconds in between running them all over her body again. Her face had a light dusting of mineral powder with illuminator and a bold coat of what Eliezer liked to call fuck me red lipstick and atop the bridge of her nose sat her round maroon tortoiseshell glasses that she would soon come to know he adored so much. Lucid images of her laying underneath his body ran through his mind and he grunted quietly as he felt himself harden painfully in his trousers. But much like Eliezer, Cassiopeia had her own images coursing through her mind with his hooded stare pinning her in her place—images of her laying underneath him, writhing and moaning and begging for everything he could give her.
His eyes flickered up to hers one last time, finally holding her gaze and she gasped softly peering into the depths of his darkened sapphire irises and he cursed in the four languages he knew in his mind. The intensity of their irises colliding with one another was too much for either to handle. While his held an emotion much deeper and darker than what she could read, hers were glazed over with an innocent lust begging for Eliezer to pin her against the wall and kiss her.
§
Entering the office, Eliezer had his arm wrapped around Cassiopeia’s small waist and they murmured their “hellos” in greeting. Everyone smiled kindly at the two as they passed by, intimidated with his brooding attitude and just out of love for Cassiopeia and her sweet aura.
“Let me help you,” Eliezer murmured as they continued walking and making their way to the kitchen. Cassiopeia was about to shake her head, but Eliezer already took her laptop and notebooks she had cradled in her arm from her.
“Thank you.” She gave him one of her soft smiles and he tilted his head down to meet her eyes, returning the kind of smile that had his eyes crinkling in the corners. In the kitchen, he put their things down on one of the many round marble tables as she put her own bag down and they got to work—him making her refresher that she couldn’t go without, and her making his coffee that he couldn’t imagine anyone else making.
“Here you go, Eliezer,” Cassiopeia said softly just as Eliezer said, “Here you go, ange.” They shared a secret smile, exchanging drinks and taking a sip from their glasses. Leaving the kitchen, they walked down the halls of the glasshouse to their offices. He had her bag hanging off his shoulder along with his on the other, her laptop and notebooks cradled to his chest in one arm and his coffee in his other hand. Meanwhile, she walked beside him, her tea in her hand with a cute pout settled on her lips. Stopping by Starlie’s, Eliezer knew he made a mistake once he realized the devilish glint in her eyes and the equally devilish smirk on her lips.
“Hello to my favorite couple... ever!” She all but exclaimed and the echoes of her voice rang throughout the empty halls of the fifty-ninth floor. Eliezer glared at his best friend and a low growl left his lips. Cassiopeia blushed a deep crimson with her eyes fixated on the panoramic window behind Starlie. His eyes cut to her and a sigh left his lips seeing her flushed cheeks and wide eyes filled with embarrassment from Starlie’s words.
“Cassiopeia?” He called out to her softly. Her eyes snapped to his and her cheeks flushed even more before she spun on her heels and nearly ran down the halls to her office. Jesus, what a mess.
“She’s adorable. I love her.” Starlie smiled, clearly fond of the girl. Though she had meant to sound teasing, her voice came out all but. Eliezer’s heart warmed at the sincerity of ringing in his best friend’s words and a small smile tugged at the edges of his lips.
“And you’re terrible,” Eliezer deadpanned before trudging away towards Cassiopeia’s office to give her stuff to her.
Starlie hummed. “I see it as a little nudge for you to make her yours for good, Eliezer.”
“Jesus, woman, you’re insatiable for a relationship that’s not even yours.” Eliezer turned around for a quick moment to whine to her. Starlie smirked again.
“Tell me, this is the first girl that has ever caught your attention in all of your twenty-six years and the first girl you’ve ever pined after from the moment you caught sight of her, yes?” Eliezer slowly nodded.
“Exactly,” Starlie said nonchalantly. “It seemed even from afar, Cassiopeia stole your heart. She’s the sweetest, kindest and purest soul I’ve had the pleasure of knowing aside from yours, Eliezer. She has no idea of just how much of you belongs to her and I’ve watched you bring her the world in your hands. And you might not see it, but Eliezer, that girl genuinely appreciates you. I see the sparks that come alive wildly in her eyes just by hearing your voice, just by knowing you’re in the same room.
“So excuse me, but of course I’m insatiable for this relationship to happen.” She grinned and he felt tears cloud his eyes and he hurriedly brushed it away. She merely watched him, unable to help the gentle smile etching its way on her face because she knew, she knew her best friend and how pure his heart was, how pure of a soul he had. She knew he was an emotional wreck, a roller coaster, and there was no stopping him.
“Thank you, Mauve,” Eliezer murmured, staring at her for a moment longer before turning around and walking to his girl’s office. The smile only grew on her face because she knew their stars would soon truly align—since they were only existing on the same dimension, always close, but never together—and their constellations would shift into one; they’d mold together and become whole.
§
—later—
“Eliezer, I can’t accept this!” Cassiopeia screeched as she stared down at the check she held in her hand. Eliezer leaned back in his swivel chair behind his desk, grinning like a lunatic on crack, and shrugged nonchalantly when her eyes settled on him. Her eyes were inviting, begging him to make his way around his desk, wrap his arms around her waist and bury his face in her neck while he laughed. But he settled for shrugging again when she fixed him with an are you serious look.
“I don’t see the problem, amour.” Really, the amount written on the check was so insignificant to him, he believed she deserved more.
“This is one hundred thousand dollars, amor, that’s the problem,” Cassiopeia grated as she glanced between the check and Eliezer.
“Ange,” Eliezer chuckled, maddening her even more, “there is really no problem.” Cassiopeia glared, ‘you stupid cunt!’ She felt tempted to add. Her phone went off her in her pocket and a smirk crept on his lips as she pulled it out. Her eyes bulged.
“Eliezer.” She breathed deeply.
“Yes, sweetheart?”
Her nose scrunched adorably and his smirk only grew as her eyes narrowed.
“You paid my fucking loft rent,” she finally screamed. His smirk fell in surprise and his cock stirred seeing her plush cherry lips and her flushed face. Even raging she looked sexy as sin.
A slow grin made its way on his face seeing her eyes flare and he hummed. “Just think of it as a welcome gift.”
“A welcome gift? We are far past welcome,” she growled and his grin grew cheeky.
“Eliezer,” she said through gritted teeth, pronouncing his name as ‘ee-lize-er’ and glaring at him. The entire thing both amused and infuriated him. Seeing Cassiopeia angry brought his animalistic urges alive, making him want to take her in his arms and have his way with her. He stood up and her eyes widened as he stormed her way. With each step he took in her direction, she took a step back. Until she backed into a wall. Her heart thrummed violently in her chest and she bent her head low, feeling naked and bare in front of him.
“Cassiopeia.” Eliezer said slowly in a quiet tone and she gasped softly, taking in their close proximity and feeling her mouth go dry.
“Want to call me that again?” He questioned in a taunting tone, putting two fingers under her chin and slowly lifting her head so their eyes would meet. Her lips were softly parted and her eyes were wide, filled with what seemed like anticipation to him. Slowly, she shook her head and lifted her eyes to peer into his sapphire irises.
“Good girl.” He hummed in approval, his gaze falling to her lips and staying fixated there. Her heart started beating wildly out of her ribcage for an entirely different reason. The hunger in his eyes had her body coming alive with desire and need. But their close proximity and the way he was ever so gentle with her tugged at her heartstrings with a much deeper emotion. And she couldn’t fathom why she felt such happiness bloom in her chest from hearing his words ‘good girl.’
“Are you nervous?” Eliezer murmured softly, brushing back a loose strand of her hazelnut locks and tucking it behind her ear.
“No.” She snapped indignantly and he chucked. A little spitfire, good to know. They stood in silence for what felt like an eternity. She had her head tilted up to glare at him while he had his head bent low, his gaze focused on her soft, cherry lips and his mouth hovering inches above hers. Their breaths mingled together and while she was terribly close to screaming ‘kiss me,’ he was mere seconds from claiming her lips in his and hoping with every fiber he had, she’d realize just how much he wanted her—all of her.
“Eliezer,” she whispered, timidly meeting his eyes once more, “this is... I can’t accept all of this,” she continued, searching for words as she spoke and shaking her head, “it’s... it’s a lot,” she settled for saying quietly. He heard her unsaid words and the hesitation and felt his anger flare within as he took her hands in his and pinned them above her head against the wall. A gasp left her lips and she returned his hooded stare through wide eyes of her own.
“Sure is,” he said calmly, “and you’ll accept it because it’s yours, it was meant for you, and fuck anyone who tells you otherwise. You’re out of your mind, you know that? If you’re not at one of your classes, you’re here in your office, working tirelessly. I admire you for your tenacity, Cassiopeia, so just take the check, it’s yours and you deserve it, even if the number on it is a little ridiculous. And your loft’s rent. I did that because I wanted to, I wanted to ease your worries and I want you to be able to just breathe, so please, just accept it.”
“A little?” She quirked a brow and grinned.
“Quiet, darling.” He rolled his eyes. She stared at him wordlessly for a moment longer before finally mustering a soft “thank you for everything, Eliezer,” with a kind smile. His eyes softened and he surprised her when he left a feather-light kiss on the corner of her pink lips. “Thank you, Cassiopeia.
“Now, I believe you have a manuscript to read and you surely won’t get anywhere with it if you’re in my office.” He smirked teasingly.
“Oh yes.” She smirked herself. “I totally can’t wait to get back to Aurelia moaning as Arlington thrust into her roughly and her blood-red nails left crescents in his back.” A sarcastic smile curled her lips. His eyes widened.
“W-What?” He sputtered.
“Later Eliezer.” She blew him a kiss and winked before softly pushing his chest. He stumbled back just like she hoped and she used the opportunity to slip out of his office and make her way to hers. A blooming feeling spread across her chest as she walked down the hall and was left to her thoughts. Maybe, just maybe, I can help mama and papa, and pay for my classes and my loft, she thought to herself.
§
Two hours blurred past Cassiopeia and though she was deeply invested in the manuscript and couldn’t put it down, her stomach grumbling clearly had other ideas. Leaving her office with her phone and wallet in hand, she walked down the corridor to Eliezer’s. Poking her head in his room, she admired him silently as he typed away on his computer, drinking in his features and trying to memorize all that she could.
“We’re in Ibiza where the party never ends and the people are unforgettable, what else did you expect, princesa?” She suddenly feigned a deep and sensual voice causing his head to snap up in her direction. “Such a brilliant read,” she teased. His eyes, horrifically wide, begged her not to continue and she only giggled.
She began again in the same voice, “‘Eyes open, princess,’ he-” She stopped abruptly with a satisfied smile from seeing his discomfort, carrying on quickly, “so, Eliezer, I’m taking my break now for lunch.” She shot him a dazzling smile to which he still stared back with his jaw ajar.
“Oh Christ,” she muttered. “I didn’t think it was that bad.” Still, she got no reply from Eliezer who was frozen as ever at his desk.
“Okie dokie, goodbye.” She waved a hand that she was sure went unnoticed before turning on her heels.
“Wait! Cassiopeia!” He called out to her and she spun back around in a split second, almost toppling over.
“Where are you going?”
“Maybe Starbucks, or Gabriel’s Sandwich Shop.”
“I’ll come with you.” He said with a hint of finality in his voice that had her smiling before he stood up and grabbed his cell and wallet.
They entered Gabriel’s Sandwich Shop where the line was nearly out the door and Cassiopeia quietly begged Eliezer for them to go elsewhere. But he didn’t care how long they’d have to wait in line, he knew she wanted Gabriel’s, and they wouldn’t leave until she got it.
“I’ll have a brie-basil and tomato wrap with a pressed kale juice,” Cassiopeia said with crimson cheeks once they finally got to the counter.
“And I’ll have a cup of iced water,” Eliezer added. He saw her open her wallet from the corner of his eyes. So this is what we’re not going to do. He was quicker than her, pulling out his black card from his wallet and giving it to the boy taking their order. A cute pout settled on his lips as they waited for both their names to be called for their orders before they left the sandwich shop with his arm wrapped around her waist as they walked down the busy street of the city with warm smiles to their favorite outdoor bistro park to eat together.