Chapter 43
Eri knocked on Romi’s door, Elias behind her holding the wrapped housewarming gift. The door opened a few seconds later, and Romi greeted them, stepping aside to allow them in.
“Thank you both for coming,” Romi said, closing the door behind them.
“Thanks for the invite,” Eri responded. “This is for you,” she added, gesturing to the gift her boyfriend was holding. He handed it to Romi.
“Thank you,” she said, placing it on the entry table. “Let me take your coats.”
Romi hung their coats in the entry closet and led them further into the apartment. She stayed on the ground floor and gave them a general tour before introducing them to the people there that they didn’t know.
Romi left them to their own devices as another knock came on the door. Eri and Elias went over to their friends, who were by the sliding doors that led out to a small patio.
“Hey, you two,” Avian greeted.
“Hey,” Eri responded. “Did Nesiah and Javier decide if they were coming?”
“They’re coming. Just running late,” Ricardo replied.
“Do you want a drink, Amate?” Elias asked.
“Sure, baby. You know what I like, so whatever you bring is fine.”
“I’ll come with you,” Marco volunteered. “I need a refill.”
The two left and the three remaining struck up a conversation until Ricardo told them he’d be back in a minute and went over to where food was laid out on the dining table and bar.
“We should play one of the games when Nesiah and Javier arrive,” Avian suggested.
Eri looked at the games set up around the room: Jenga, Guess Who, and Uno. Romi had decided Uno was the only competitive game she would have. She didn’t want the night turning into one long competition.
“I haven’t played Guess Who in a while,” Eri replied. “We should play while we wait for the others.”
Elias and Marco returned, and Eri thanked him for her drink before she and Avian ventured over to Guess Who.
They played a couple of games, Nesiah and Javier arriving during their first one.
Once they finished, Avian headed to Marco, who was by the food table, and Eri went over to where Elias was talking to Nesiah and Ricardo.
“Oh, Eri can play with us,” Nesiah said.
“Play what with you?” Eri asked.
“Jenga,” the other woman supplied. “Javier and Marco didn’t want to play. We could play with three people, but four would be more fun.”
“Sure, I’m down to play,” she responded, and the four went over to where the game was set up.
Several of the other people in attendance were playing separate games of Uno, while others were eating or swaying to the music that filtered over the sound bar mounted under the television.
They played for a while until Ricardo ultimately caused the tower to fall.
They re-stacked the blocks, and Eri went to the food table to make a plate to share with Elias.
Her boyfriend was sitting by the sliding doors, where one of the dining room chairs had been moved to. She sat on his lap as she ate and fed him. Javier and Nesiah joined them after a few minutes.
Fifteen minutes passed, and Romi called for all their attention to inform them she had a game for them to play.
Room Memory. She explained the rules and that she would take a few of them at a time into her office, and give them sixty seconds.
When they’d all gotten a chance to look, she would remove an item, then allow them to look again to guess what was missing.
She took the different groups — Eri, Elias, Nesiah, and Javier going last. Eri looked around the office, attempting to memorize as much of it as she could before the sixty seconds ran out.
Once everyone had gone, Romi went into the office and closed the door. She was gone for a couple of minutes before she reemerged, giving them all a slip of paper and a pen. She allowed them back into the office in groups, and they wrote what they thought was missing or had changed.
After everyone was back in the living room, Romi looked at everyone’s answers. Marco, Elias, and one of the other women who’d arrived after they’d gotten there were the only ones who’d gotten it correct.
They played three rounds of the game, and Eri got the answer correct in the last round. Each of the winners received a prize, and the party continued on.
At eleven fifty-nine, Romi turned off all the lights in the house and started a countdown to midnight on her ceiling with a projector. Fireworks played after the countdown as they brought in the new year with a toast.
“If you wish on fireworks, it’ll come true,” Romi informed the room as the projection continued to play.
Eri didn’t feel the need to make a wish because she had everything she could ever want. She leaned back into Elias’ chest as she once again sat on his lap.
“What did you wish for?” she inquired.
“The same thing you did,” he replied.
She furrowed her brow before looking over her shoulder at him. “But I didn’t wish for anything. I already have everything I could dream of.”
Elias gave her a soft kiss. “Exactly.”
Eri’s heart melted, and she leaned in for another kiss before they turned their attention back to the ceiling to finish watching the fireworks.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Elias ended the call and released a deep breath as he set the phone aside.
The conversation had gone the way he thought it would, but you could never be too sure.
He put his phone away and returned to working on the tattoo for tomorrow’s client.
During the consultation, he’d told Elias what he wanted, but given him free rein as to execution.
Since he had quite a few clients the following day, he’d kept the design minimalistic, making sure what the client wanted stuck out, but still gave the overall look depth.
His phone vibrated, and he glanced at the screen as the text message from Marco popped up, letting him know they’d made it. He’d taken Avian away for their first wedding anniversary, and they would be gone for a few days.
When he finished the design, he put his tablet aside and headed into his kitchen.
He’d skipped breakfast that morning and figured it was time to eat.
He grabbed ingredients from the fridge, looked at them, realized he’d pulled out too much, and then put some back.
Elias had gotten used to cooking for him and Eri.
They seldom spent days apart, splitting their time between their homes.
Once he’d finished making lunch, he took it into the living room, and grabbed his laptop. As he ate, he did some online shopping, but he knew it would take him a while to find what he was looking for.
When he was done eating, he took his plate into the kitchen and washed the dishes before returning to the living room and going back to his shopping. He spent the next couple of hours searching until he found what he was looking for.
With the rest of his Sunday free, he turned on the television and chose a movie to watch while he lounged on the couch.
A few hours later, there was a knock on his door, and Elias looked through the peephole before opening it.
“Hey, Cade,” he greeted.
“Hey, man,” Cade replied as Elias stepped aside to allow him in.
“What brings you by?” Elias led them into the living room.
“I was supposed to have a date today, but she stood me up. I was nearby and thought I’d stop in.”
“Sorry, that sucks, but you might have dodged a bullet.”
“True. Let’s play some video games,” Cade suggested. “Do you have any beer?”
“In the fridge. Help yourself,” Elias replied.
While Cade went into the kitchen, Elias grabbed the game controllers and changed the channel. He didn’t care what they played, and when his friend returned a minute later with two beers, he let him choose.
They played a few rounds of a fighting game. Cade had never once beaten him at it, and today was no different. After his fifth loss, his friend wanted to change games. As they waited for the next one to load, Cade finished his beer.
“Be a good friend and set me up with someone,” Cade said. “I’m tired of being single.”
Elias thought about it briefly as he took a drink from his beer bottle. “Any women I know who would be worth dating are already taken. Well, except for two. But one doesn’t bat for our team, and I know someone else has their eye on the other one.”
“I’m not afraid of a little competition.”
“I’m sure you aren’t, but I’m positive the interest goes both ways.” Elias wouldn’t put him in a situation to be let down. “Be patient. You’ll find someone.”
They played games for a few hours before Cade left. It was a little after ten, and Elias ensured the door was locked, grabbed his phone off the coffee table, turned off the television and the lights, and headed to his room.
He put his phone on the charger and went into his en suite. He turned on the shower and took his clothes off as it heated, then stepped inside.
Once finished with his shower and dressed in a pair of boxers, he slid into bed and turned on the television. He watched an episode of a documentary, and, like clockwork, Eri called a quarter after ten. Anytime they weren’t together, she would call to hear his voice before she went to sleep.
He knew it had started as something for herself, but it had become something he looked forward to as well.
Elias could admit that previously, he had never been one to stay on the phone with someone just for them to fall asleep in past relationships.
It had never been something he found appealing.
At least not until he started doing it with Eri.
Unlike the few times he’d done so in the past, their late-night calls weren’t filled with the two of them only breathing on the phone.
Though with her, he would have been fine if they had.
Eri talked to him about what she had done that day, asked him what he’d done, and wanted to know every minor detail.
He enjoyed the sound of her voice. It was even more adorable when she was tired.
The soft sound of it always made him smile.
When she started to drift off to sleep, Elias took the phone off speaker and brought it to his ear.
“I love you, Amate.”
She hummed softly into the phone. “I love you.”
“Good night, baby.”
“Good night.”
They ended the call, and Elias ensured his alarm was set before turning off the television.
He stared at the dark ceiling for a moment.
He would have much preferred to have Eri beside him, but he was okay with waiting a few more months.
Her lease would be up, and if he had it his way, they’d be under the same roof.
Another thought he’d never had in previous relationships because he was content with them having their own space, and while they still gave it to one another, he preferred when they were together, and he had every intention of making that happen sooner rather than later.