Chapter 22 Enjoyment #2
He’s fucking talking about me!
The room erupted. Whispers and gasps, and someone actually cheered. The moderator grinned like he’d just uncovered the biggest scoop of the year.
But I was frozen.
Because I had kissed him. And he had let me. And now he was sitting on that stage, saying things he had no idea I was hearing.
I forced myself to move, slipping out before I could hear anything else.
I wandered through the convention floor, the noise of the panel fading into the background.
I had been around El’s work before. But this? This was different.
This was his world fully realized.
Everywhere I turned, there were cosplayers dressed as characters from Obsidian. Booths displayed prints of his artwork, stacks of his comics lined up beside limited-edition covers. A massive banner hung over one of the main displays, featuring his lead character—the one based on me, apparently.
A girl with dark brown skin and piercing eyes, hair twisted into thick coils, a smirk on her lips like she had the world figured out.
At least one of us did.
Her boobs were way better though.
I stared at her for way too long, wondering if this was how he truly saw me or if this was a gross overstatement of my character. I was not strong or loving or honorable or kind. I was a mess.
“Peanut?”
I spun around to find Elliot standing behind me. He looked confused but still had a smile tugging at his lips.
“Thought you weren’t coming,” he said in a low tone, stepping closer.
I swallowed. “Finished early.”
His eyes swept over me like he was seeing something new.
“Did you get to finish everything?” he asked.
“Most of it.”
His gaze softened. “You didn’t have to stop your work for me.”
“Of course, I did,” I said, folding my arms. “You would’ve stopped your work for me.”
He opened his mouth to argue, then thought better of it. I could guess what he’d wanted to say anyway.
I nodded toward the display behind him. “Nice panel.”
If he was surprised I saw, he didn’t let it show. “You caught my panel?”
“A little.”
“What did you hear?”
I played it off, keeping my tone casual. “You talked about your lead, so I figured I’d take a look at everything.”
His smirk deepened. “And?”
I glanced at the banner again. “It’s… impressive.”
“Just impressive?”
When I looked back at him, he was closer than before. My pulse jumped.
“It’s kinda crazy,” I admitted. “Seeing how much people love something you made.”
His eyes warmed. “I don’t think they love Obsidian as much as I do.”
The underlying meaning of his words made my stomach flip.
I looked away, gripping the strap of my bag. “El…”
He tilted his head, his voice soft. “Yes, Peanut?”
“What you said back there, about love…” I trailed off, hesitating, but asked anyway. “Were you talking about me?”
He didn’t even blink. “Yes.”
I turned my gaze back to the banner, heart thudding. “But… you mean you love me as a friend, right?”
There was a moment of silence before his face drew together in confusion—then El burst out laughing. A full, rich sound that echoed louder than it should have.
I was thrown. “What’s so funny?”
He shook his head, still grinning. “Nothing. Just—sure, Ellie. I love you as a friend.”
A comforting lie.
“You hungry?” he asked casually. “They’ve got food stalls around. We could check them out.”
“Yeah… I could eat. Did you?”
Not that I needed to ask. I’d checked his Dexcom ten minutes ago.
“I had breakfast,” he said, stretching his arms. “A little tired, though. Might grab a coffee if we find some.”
“Sounds good. Maybe I’ll grab a cup, too.”
He gave me a knowing look. “Trust me, Peanut. These convention coffees aren’t your fancy lattes. We’re lucky if they remember cream and sugar.”
We wandered through the food stalls, grabbing whatever caught our eyes while El argued with every vendor to make sure nothing had even a trace of tree nuts.
Eventually, we found a tucked-away booth with decent seats, mostly hidden from view.
It helped slow the stream of fans that had been approaching him every ten seconds for autographs and photos.
While he was always grateful to oblige, I just wanted a little time with him alone.
“It’s crazy how much they adore you,” I said, watching as a group of kids walked by wearing Obsidian merch.
He shrugged with a modest smile. “People still love superheroes, I guess. And Obsidian’s one of the only Black female leads featured today. A lot of people want to thank me for making that happen. It’s nice to know people see themselves in my work.”
“Hmm. Based on what you said at the panel, sounds like they see themselves in me. I should get a writing credit.” I smirked.
He scoffed. “You don’t need one. I spend all the royalties on you anyway.”
I shoved him lightly, and he laughed, resting his arm along the back of the booth behind me.
“So,” he said, “what do you want to do after this? Movies? Library? That little convenience store by the beach?”
“Home,” I said without thinking. “I want to crawl under the covers and forget I exist.”
“Fair,” he replied easily. “Your place or mine?”
“Yours. Mine is packed with hair. I’m honestly getting sick of it.”
“A salon owner who’s sick of hair. Ironic.”
“You would be too, if you’d gone through what I did in the last twenty-four hours.” I squeezed my eyes shut. “I need a shower and a nap. Then a massage from head to toe.”
“Head to ankle,” he corrected smoothly.
I gave him a side-eye. “Thanks for the reminder.”
“No prob.”
We ate in comfortable silence for a while, watching people walk past.
Then El leaned forward slightly, voice softer. “I wanna ask you something, Ellie. And I don’t want you to freak out or overthink it. I’m just… curious.”
“Hm. Okay? What is it?”
He didn’t hesitate. “When’s the last time someone touched you?”
My eyes widened, and my face heated like an oven.
“Huh?”
El leaned back with that unreadable look of his. “When’s the last time you had someone touch you?”
“You mean like… sex?”
“Sure.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Why do you even want to know that?”
He shrugged. “When we kissed that night, you were so stiff. Makes me curious.”
Stiff?!
My voice pitched up in embarrassment. “Well, if you didn’t like it, you shouldn’t have asked for more.”
“No,” he said calmy. “The first time was perfect. The second time was amazing too, but you weren’t as into it.”
I looked down, cheeks burning. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Stop playing dumb and answer the question.”
I hesitated. “I haven’t done anything since my ex and I broke up.”
His brows shot up. “Which was?”
“Almost three years ago.”
“Three years?!” he nearly yelled. A few people turned to look.
“Can you keep your voice down?” I hissed.
He lowered his voice—but not his curiosity. “Surely you’ve been, you know, taking care of yourself?”
“Oh my God.” I covered my face.
I’m going to scream.
“Have you?” he pushed.
“Elliot. Why are you so interested in my sex life all of a sudden?”
“What sex life?” he scoffed, grinning widely as I shoved him, harder this time.
He didn’t budge, though.
“I’m satisfied with my current situation, thank you.” I clarified.
“No wonder you’re always in a mood.”
His words caught me off guard. My breath hitched.
“What about you?” I shot back. “You’ve been divorced for three years. When’s the last time you did it?”
He paused, taking a slow sip of his coffee. “Hmm. About two weeks before I met you.”
My face fell at his words. The answer stung, and I didn’t know why.
“Did you love her?” I asked.
His brow furrowed. “I don’t even remember her name, Peanut. It was a one-night stand.”
“Oh.” My voice was quiet. “I didn’t know you were into that.”
“Yeah, well. After over a decade of marriage, you get into a lot of shit you got no business being in.”
That made me pause. We never talked about this kind of stuff. I leaned in as my curiosity outweighed my discomfort. “Was your ex your first?”
“Yeah. Yours?”
“Yes.”
“You only slept with him the entire time?”
“Um… yes? What kind of question is that?” I blinked. “Did you sleep with other people?”
He smirked at the memory. “We experimented.”
“Open marriage?”
He nodded. “Lasted a year before we were ready to rip each other’s heads off.”
“I could imagine.”
“I couldn’t do that now, though,” he said, sipping again. “I’m too old for that bullshit.” He looked at me, eyes gentler. “Besides… one woman is all I need.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Well. I ain’t that woman.”
“That kiss said otherwise.”
“The kiss you hated?”
His face got stone-cold serious. “Don’t twist my words. I loved the kiss. You just weren’t relaxed. I wanted to find out why, and now I know. It doesn’t change the fact that it happened or how I feel about you.”
My heart skipped. “And how do you feel about me?”
He gave a lazy grin. “You got all day?”
I scoffed, and he laughed at my reaction before dropping something completely out of left field.
“We should go to the club tonight.”
I blinked. “What? Why?”
“I think it’ll help loosen you up. Couldn’t hurt.”
I rolled my eyes. “Fine. But you’re paying for the section.”
“No problem. I’m using your royalties.”