Bar Down (Grand Marquee Manticores #2)

Chapter 32

THIRTY-TWO

ELI

The roads are empty so early in the morning and I make it to Grand Marquee in just two hours and park in front of my old building. Since Alice is subletting my apartment, I make my way up to the third floor and instead of going to my door, I go to Ash’s, right across the hall. I knock three times and wait. When he doesn’t open the door, I pull out my phone and call him. The phone rings and rings until it goes to voicemail. It does that three times.

I knock again, this time a little harder. My heart starts beating faster and I’m starting to worry. Did something happen after he left the bar last night? Did he drink? Did he go home with someone? I feel ashamed for even thinking it, knowing that Ash would never do anything to hurt me like that. But what if he needed a distraction and I wasn’t here for him?

The door opens, but it’s not the one I’m knocking on. I turn around and see a rumpled looking Alice. She frowns at me and rubs her eyes, making sure I’m really there.

“Hey, lapsi. ”

“Eli, you’re here?”

“Yeah,” I say, dropping my backpack and giving her a hug. She looks across the hall at Ash’s apartment door and sighs.

“He’s fine, don’t worry. I saw him briefly when he got home, he had some takeout and looked really tired and you know—beat up. I’m sure he’s just resting.”

I swallow hard. “Right, of course. I was hoping he’d let me in,” I say, chuckling and pointing to my backpack.

Alice smiles at me and pats my chest. “Hold on a second,” she says, going back into my—no—her apartment. She comes back and holds up a key, twirling it around her fingers. “I’m only supposed to use this in emergency situations. But I think you being stranded in the hallway is considered quite the emergency.” She smirks and with the way her blue eyes twinkle, she looks so much like Robbie.

I smile and pluck the key from her fingers. “Thank you, you’re a lifesaver.”

She nods and yawns but hovers around the hallway with me until I gain the courage to go into Ash’s apartment.

“Hey Eli?”

“Yeah?”

“I didn’t say this last time we hung out, but—I think you and Ash are perfect for each other. I don’t think I’ve ever seen you both as happy as you were in Traverse City.”

“Hmm,” I say, debating how much I should tell her.

“I know your careers are important and that distance might feel like it’s a deal-breaker right now, but I don’t think it needs to be. If you love each other, I think you can make it work.” Alice wrings her hands and gives me a sad look as she says all of this and I get the feeling she’s not just talking about Ash.

I ponder what she said for a moment and realize that—she’s right, distance shouldn’t be a deal-breaker for us.

“Are you okay, lapsi? ” I ask, picking up on her sadness.

“Yeah, just tired, that’s all,” she says, managing a small smile. “Someone woke me up with loud banging.”

I roll my eyes and gently push her shoulder. She pretends to be mortally wounded as she stumbles and slides herself down against the door. I laugh and she looks up at me, grinning. When I offer her a hand to stand up, she takes it.

“I’m sorry things didn’t work out with you and Jordan,” I say quietly, patting her arm.

She looks surprised but quickly deflects. “Oh it’s—well, it wasn’t?—“

“You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to, but know I’m here if you ever want to talk.”

Alice sighs and nods, her eyes moving all over my face. “Maybe one day. Until then, go check on your boyfriend. Make sure he puts some makeup on that black eye, otherwise Mom might freak out and spend all of Thanksgiving fussing over him.”

“Would that be such a bad thing?” I ask.

“I guess not. I’m gonna go to sleep for another hour at least before I attempt to get ready for the day.”

She slips back into the apartment and I unlock the door to Ash’s. The place is quiet and it looks the same as it did the last time I was here, except it’s cleaner. There are no dirty dishes around and no clothes thrown all over the living room floor. I make my way to the bedroom and find Ash sprawled out in the middle of the bed, sleeping face down wearing nothing but his boxers. Even though it’s not that warm in the room, I know he runs hot at night, which is why the sheets are tangled at his feet. I smile and slowly drop my backpack.

I slip off my jeans and my sweatshirt and kneel tentatively on the mattress next to him. Does he want me here? He said he had a lot on his mind, but did that include me as well? Before I can second guess all my choices, I lie down next to him and wrap an arm around him. He’s facing me, eyes closed and his right arm tucked under the pillow, clutching it. My fingers gently trace his shoulders and upper back and I place a kiss on his bicep.

While heat radiates off of Ash, I am cold as hell, so I reach down and untangle the sheets from his feet, pulling them over the both of us. The movement makes Ash turn on his side, facing away from me, which works out great because it gives me the perfect position to spoon him. I bury my face between his neck and the pillow and I press myself tighter against him, relishing the feel of him in my arms again. One of my legs slides between his and my arm holds him close, hand splayed against his heart.

It doesn’t take long for sleep to pull me under, and the last thing on my mind is that finally , I’m home .

Ash

My alarm goes off and pulls me out of my deep sleep. I was dreaming about Eli being here with me and hugging me, telling me he was home. But that can’t be right. He’s going to be in Detroit for another two months, at least.

I try to reach for my phone but something around my middle stops me. I blink wearily down at the arm around me and screw my eyes shut tight.

No, no, no.

I didn’t bring someone else home, I wouldn’t do that. I didn’t even drink last night, so why the hell is my memory so foggy? My head is pounding, but that’s probably just from the fight.

The arm hugs me tighter and my bleary mind thinks that maybe it is Eli, that he snuck in here in the middle of the night just to spend some time with me. I slide out from under the heavy arm and reach for my phone on the nightstand, silencing the alarm.

Panic takes over when I see a bunch of missed calls and texts from Eli and my stomach drops. Did something happen?

A hand reaches over and flips my phone over and I whip my head around, ready to yell at whoever is in my bed.

“ Kultsi , come back here,” Eli says in a deep, sleepy voice.

I blink down at him a few times, not believing that he’s actually here. His pale blue eyes meet mine and for a second I think I stop breathing. My hand reaches out and pinches his cheek and he groans and grabs my wrist.

“Again with the pinching? I told you, you’re supposed to pinch yourself, not me.”

“Making sure you’re really here.” I swallow and smile down at him. “I thought?—”

“You thought what?”

“Nothing.” I shake my head, embarrassed of my own thoughts. “I’m happy you’re here,” I say, bending down to kiss him. He lets go of my wrist and cups my face, running his hand over my jaw. When his kiss turns pressing, I wince and pull back slightly. My split lip hurts like a motherfucker.

Eli runs his finger over it, then moves over my left eye where I most likely have a massive bruise. He grimaces and pulls me down in a hug. “Are you okay, kultsi? ”

I sigh and hide my face between his neck and shoulder. “Better now.”

“Do you want to talk about the fight last night? Or about Nadison getting hurt and what that means for us?”

“How long are you here for?” I mumble against his skin.

“I have to drive back Saturday morning for an early skate and the home game.”

“We can talk about it before you leave. I just want to enjoy our time together for now.”

“Okay, hani .”

When we walk into the Elliots’ house, the entire place smells like turkey and herbs. Michael, Robbie’s brother, and his wife Tangela are running around after their two daughters and making sure they don’t eat too much sugar before dinner. Olivia and Alice are on the couch, reading a romance book together and Robbie and his mom are in the kitchen, putting together some delicious looking appetizers. Robbie’s dad is watching the football game and I’m hit by a wave of longing so bad that I stop in my tracks.

This right here is all I’ve ever wanted from my own family. Casual affection and holiday dinners with close family members has never been a part of my life. Not until now. Holidays were always big, fancy parties with all my dad’s business partners and friends. It was always catered meals, suits and ties, and cold shoulders. I didn’t realize how much I was missing out on until Robbie brought me into his family and showed me that I could have more. That I deserve more.

Eli notices I stopped in the hallway and comes back to check on me. His eyes roam all over me, concern showing on his face. “What’s wrong?”

I shake my head. “I’m just happy to have found this family.”

His expression softens and he gives me one of his bear hugs, arms completely enveloping me. His dark green sweater is soft against my cheek when I place my head on his shoulder and he rubs his hands all over my back.

“Hey, you guys made it!” Alice yells out from the couch. She places her book down and runs over to hug us. I expect Eli to pull back since everyone’s attention is now focused on us, but instead he grabs my hand and squeezes my fingers. I look up at him and whisper thank you before I’m attacked by a tiny blond.

As soon as Robbie’s mom sees me, she gasps and fusses all over me, offering an ice pack and having me lie down on the couch like I’m injured. It makes me wish my own mom was more like her, but growing up I never really had this level of care and nurturing. Maybe that’s not fair, I’m sure my mom tried, in her own way, to love me, but I was a pretty wild child and eventually I realized that she was always going to pick my dad’s side over mine. So maybe I’m also to blame for our falling out.

“I promise I’m okay. Can I help you with the food or anything?” I ask.

“Nonsense,” she says, “you and Eli relax and catch up, I’m sure you’ve missed each other a lot.”

I nod appreciatively at her and turn back to my boyfriend who takes a seat next to me on the couch. He hands me a hot cocoa and some appetizers and my heart feels like it might explode at any second.

“Thank you,” I manage to say, even though my throat is threatening to close up on me. I still don’t think I deserve this amazing man, but I want to keep him anyway. All of them. This family of mine.