Chapter Ten

 

Colton

 

 

 

It’s been a week since Elle and I spent time at the beach and walked home together after her disastrous date, and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about her since.

I’m avoiding her as best as I can, but that’s hard to do because we go into work together every day and she lives in my house. I’ve been working out a lot lately, just so I don’t have to torture myself by spending time with my sister and her best friend. And to be completely honest, to get thoughts of Elle and me out of my mind. There’s nothing like working up a good sweat and doing one hundred push-ups in a row to make you forget about the world for a moment or two.

It’s not like I’m in love with her or anything, gosh no. We’ve only known each other for about a week now. It’s more of an irresistibly attracted to my sister’s best friend kind of situation. I’m attracted not only by the way she looks, but also by the way she moves, how her eyes sparkle when she laughs, and how kind she is to customers in the park, even when they don’t deserve it. I like her. A lot. But calling it love? No way. A tiny crush, maybe.

Even though it’s tiny and doesn’t mean anything, I need to stay away from her. Maggie would be furious if she knew I thought about dating her best friend a couple of months before leaving town.

As I’m heading toward my bedroom for another workout session, my sister stops me in my tracks.

“Will you get the popcorn?”

“Popcorn? Why?”

She puts her hand on her hip. “Because it’s movie night. And since you missed the last one… Well, you can’t bail on us again.”

“Us?”

“Yeah, you, me, Elle.” She frowns, and I meet her with a blank stare. “Are you okay? You look like you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I can’t make it tonight, sorry, I’ve got plans.”

One of her eyebrows shoots up. “Plans? Dressed like this?” she says, circling her hand in front of me. “You’re wearing sweatpants, which means you’re just going to work out again for hours on end.”

“So? I like to stay fit.”

“If you work out even more than you already do, your muscles will burst through your clothes, Col. And no one wants to see that.”

“I wouldn’t be too sure about that,” I say.

She rolls her eyes but can’t keep the corners of her mouth from lifting, even though I can see she’s trying to.

“Fine, you look amazing. Girls will swoon over you, like they always do. But there’s such a thing as too much. Please, please, please take a break for one night and join us, okay?”

I know I can’t get out of this one. Weekly movie nights are our thing, and if I don’t show up again, Maggie will start to get suspicious. I can’t keep using the workout excuse forever.

“So, I’m on popcorn duty?” I ask.

“Yes,” she replies, her face lighting up with joy.

I take a bag of popcorn out of the cupboard and put it in the microwave. It doesn’t take long before the popcorn starts popping. As soon as I hear the familiar ding of the microwave, I take the bag out again and put the food into a bowl.

By the time I arrive in the living room, the girls have already set everything else up for movie night. There’s a bottle of wine on the table, a plate filled with cookies, and a couple of cold beers. Maggie is stretched out on a beanbag in front of the couch, and Elle is laughing at something my sister just said.

“I’ve come bearing gifts,” I say as I put the bowl of popcorn down. “Are you going to hog that beanbag, sis?”

I try to sound casual to hide the fact that I’m nervous about spending the evening on a couch next to Elle.

“Of course. This seat’s taken now. If you wanted the beanbag, you should’ve arrived earlier.”

I flick my gaze to Elle, who throws me a shy smile. “There’s plenty of room here,” she says.

I plop down and scoot to the corner of the couch, so I don’t have to endure the awkwardness of maybe accidentally touching her leg or something. “So what movie are we watching tonight?”

Maggie shows me a movie poster on her phone. “How about this new thriller? It’s supposed to be really good and extremely scary.”

“Sounds good to me,” Elle says.

I nod. “Yeah, same.”

“Perfect.” Maggie grabs the remote and opens the movie app on our television.

While she’s looking for the right movie, I look over at Elle. “Have you heard from Mister Questionnaire?”

She pulls in a breath. “No, thank goodness. I did however ask Layla for clarification.”

“Clarification?”

“Yeah, why she thought it was a good idea to set me up with Zeke.”

Maggie laughs while scrolling through the list of results. “I wish I could’ve warned you about him before you went a date with him.”

“You knew about his weird antics?” I ask my sister. “Then why didn’t you warn her?”

She turns around. “Because that date got set up before I could say weirdo.”

Elle holds her hand up. “It’s okay, guys, no one forced me to go out with him. If anything, that experience made me forget about Paul for a couple of hours.”

At the mention of her ex, my stomach drops. I want to ask her for details about the way things ended between them, but I shouldn’t bring that up right now.

Oh, whatever, I need to know.

“So, you and Paul. Not a good experience, huh?”

“Not really. He almost left me homeless in Paris after dumping me for some model.” She shakes her head. “Gosh, when I say it like that, it sounds like the plot of a cheap movie.”

I give her a sympathetic smile. “Want me to break his legs? Hit him over the head with a baguette? Stuff his mailbox full of stinky cheese?”

She laughs at my silly remarks, even though I mean them. If she needs me to, I’ll make this guy’s life miserable.

“That’s a nice offer. I’ll keep it in mind.”

Maggie turns around again. “Sorry to interrupt your plans of revenge, but this new movie isn’t available to rent.”

Elle takes the remote and scrolls through the list of new arrivals. “We could watch a romantic comedy instead. If you guys are up for something like that, of course. I don’t want to impose.”

“Nonsense, it’s all fine with us. Right, Co?” Maggie asks.

I nod. “Yeah, whatever you want.”

I’d say yes to anything she suggests, even if it were one of those bloody horror movies I hate so much.

Maggie turns the lights off, and Elle presses play. Twenty minutes later, it’s clear this movie has more spice to it than I expected.

“Wow, this is some steamy stuff,” Maggie remarks.

While the couple on the screen share a few passionate kisses, I grab a handful of popcorn and shove the food in my mouth, so I don’t have to offer up a reply. I normally don’t mind watching movies like this, but now I can’t stop thinking about Elle’s cute smile and the way her hair frames her beautiful face.

When our eyes meet, I can tell she’s thinking about other things as well. Not me, obviously. That would be way too cocky to believe, but on some level, I still hope the thoughts that swirl around in her mind are about me.

“I need to make a pit stop,” I say.

“Can’t take the heat, huh,” Maggie jokes.

I lock myself in our bathroom and throw some cold water in my face. My sister’s right. I can’t take the heat, but not because of the movie. It’s Elle who’s lighting me on fire.

I stare into the mirror and give myself a stern look. “Get it together, man,” I whisper. “Keep it cool.”

After my short pep talk, I head back out there as if nothing happened. I did forget to actually pee, though, but I can’t turn around again now. They’ll both think there’s something wrong with me.

I plop back down on the couch, and we resume our movie night. Every time Elle breaks out into laughter because of a funny scene, I can’t help but look at her.

“Isn’t this great?” she asks me, her eyes sparkling with joy.

I nod. “The best.”

When the credits roll, Maggie gets up and yawns. “This was fun, but I’m exhausted. I’m heading to bed. You’ll be here next Thursday, right?”

“Me?” I ask. “Probably, yeah.”

“Well, good night. I’ll see you two in the morning,” she says, and then it’s just me and Elle in the room.

I don’t know what to say or do or ask. This isn’t like me. I normally have an answer to everything.

Elle smiles as she pulls her knees to her chin and wraps her arms around her legs.

“Are you cold?” I ask.

“A bit.”

I take one of the blankets from a wicker basket we keep near the TV and drape it over her. I tuck in her feet and legs, until she’s as warm as can be.

“Thank you,” she says with a smile. “You didn’t have to do that. I mean, I appreciate it, very much. But I don’t want you to feel like you’ve got to do all of this for me. You already helped me get a job and… Gosh, don’t mind me, I’m rambling again.”

“You rambling like that is cute,” I reply, and it’s as if the air shifts between us. Unspoken words fill the space, and all I can do is look at her. The moon lights her face in a way that makes me want to gently pull her toward me and kiss her.

I can see her swallow as she turns her eyes away from me. I hope I didn’t make her uncomfortable by looking at her like that. We sit in silence for a while. Elle fidgets with the seam of her blanket, and I stare out of the back window.

She bites her lip as if she wants to speak but hasn’t found the words yet. I give her the time she needs to form a sentence. When she does, she sends me a smile that makes me shiver.

“I just want you to know that I’m really grateful you guys offered me a room here. Just a little over a week ago, I was still in France, losing my cool because Paul kicked me out and I had to find a place to live. Stat. And now I’m here. I’ve even got a job, thanks to you. It’s incredible.”

I shrug. “It’s no big deal. I mean, I didn’t even know you were going to live here until a day or two before you arrived, and Maggie didn’t ask me if I was okay with it, but I am.”

“Are you sure?”

I inch closer to her and look her in the eye. “Of course. Having you here has been amazing, actually.”

“Really?” She throws me a look that’s laced with surprise. “You’re not just saying that so things don’t get awkward between us?”

In an act of impulsiveness, I grab her hand and squeeze it. “Elle, I mean every word. My days have been a lot brighter since you arrived. From the moment I laid eyes on you at the airport, I knew I wanted to get to know you better.”

She smiles. “Even after I thought you were there to kidnap me?”

I laugh. “That made it even better.”

I give her another squeeze, which makes me realize I’m still holding her hand, but I don’t think she minds. Not once has she tried to pull it back. If she did, I’d let go of her in a heartbeat, but… well, she doesn’t. Surely that means something, right?

Both our gazes drop to our hands. Even now, neither of us seems able to let go. I know I can’t. Her soft skin feels so good. I run my thumb over her fingers, and I swear I can see her shiver.

It only takes me a split second to decide on my next move. It’s probably the stupidest thing I’ve done in a long time, and the voice in the back of my head tells me that loud and clear, but I go for it anyway.

I gently pull her closer and brush a strand of red hair from her face. She’s so close that I can hear her breathing. The soft sounds she makes spread through my every fiber. I give her a look to see if she wants this to happen as much as I do. It’s nothing more than a small rise of my eyebrows, but she smiles and nods. It’s all I need to continue.