22. Lennie
Lennie
A month goes by. Not only do I start staying the night on Thursdays but they somehow bleed into the weekends.
It becomes the most peaceful time of my life. Unless I’m eating with Ren and Isolde, Elijah cooks me dinner while I sit on a barstool and we chat about the day.
I watch hockey with him, which I realize is essentially a WWE match taking place on ice, cuddling into his side on the couch. We take Albert for walks and he keeps a running list of indie bookstores to visit.
What I love the most is the peace I find when I’m with him. Of having a person to cuddle with, one I can complain to about my coworkers, and show funny memes to. He tells me about Roma’s antics and shows me the latest pictures of Sailor.
Elijah’s known for his theatrics, but at home, he’s calm. His space is comfortable and I love his dog. When I’m by Elijah’s side, I can sit in silence or chat about whatever’s on my mind without being self-conscious.
Pen Pal: Did you have a package delivered to my place?
I break away from work emails to reply.
Lennie: I ordered the next book in the series I’m reading.
Since it’s Friday and I’m going to his after work, I had it delivered there.
Pen Pal: You only read a chapter of book one last night.
Lennie: I liked it and I wanted to be prepared.
Pen Pal: You didn’t just order the next book. You ordered the next six.
Of course, he opened the package. Elijah’s place isn’t pristine but he keeps it clean.
Everything has a place, even if it’s the throw blanket folded on the back of the couch or a new album joining the others on the bookshelf.
The cardboard box my books arrived in is probably already in the recycling bin.
As if to confirm he sends me a photo. He’s lounging on the couch, one of my new smutty books covering his face.
He’s such a dork, but there’s an infectious grin on my face. It doubles when I realize he’s posted it to his stories.
We’re still keeping it quiet, or somewhat. Leopold doesn’t worry me as much and I know most of Elijah’s family know. Thankfully, no one in his family told Yelena or she’d likely call and invite my mom over for dinner in an attempt to spill the beans.
I know I have to tell Mom at some point. I don’t plan on keeping this hidden forever. But right now, it’s nice. Our little self-imposed bubble. No weirdos, no angry people, no judgment.
Maybe that’s why I love Elijah’s place. It’s free of all three.
But because life is rarely stress-free, I get a text from my sister the next day.
It’s Saturday afternoon and I just finished book two of the current series I’m reading.
Adeline: What are you doing?
Adeline: Where are you at?
My fingers hover over the keyboard.
Lennie: I’m at Ren’s.
Adeline: You’re a fucking liar.
Albert saddles up to the couch and licks my cheek.
“What’s wrong?” Elijah asks from the kitchen. He’s baking muffins and the whole house smells like blueberries.
I sit up on the couch, softly stroking Albert’s ears.
“Leonora?” he asks.
I don’t know why but the hair on the back of my neck lifts. I stand up, my legs shaky after hours of doing nothing on the couch. Slowly, I walk toward one of the big, airy windows in the living room. It faces the front of the street.
“Shit!” I fall to the floor. My phone lights up a second later.
Adeline: I fucking knew it.
Elijah walks over while wiping his hands with a dishcloth, peering out the window.
He doesn’t look disgruntled at all, but then again he told me last night he’d like to brand my ass. I know he wants the whole world to know we’re together. I’m the one being careful.
I pick myself up from the floor, sighing. “I’ll go let her in.”
He frowns.
“What?” I ask, moving to the front hallway.
“You’re not wearing clothes,” he says.
I’m wearing one of his baggy T-shirts that drops mid-thigh and a pair of mismatched socks. I buzz Adeline in.
“Leonora,” he admonishes.
Yes, I’m missing some pants, but I’m wearing underwear and I’ll pull some sweats on in a second.
“It’s my sister.” Who’s much more athletic than me, because I already hear her tread on the landing.
“Do not open that door half naked.”
There’s a knock.
I crack the door open when it slams. Elijah molds his body against mine, my boobs smushed against the steel door.
“I said, don’t answer the door half naked.”
I shiver at his breath against my ear, my heartbeat tripling. “It’s my sister,” I repeat, trying to shake him off.
“Open the damn door right this second!” Adeline yells.
Elijah doesn’t budge.
“Stop being so broody.” I push against his chest.
“Open the fucking door!”
Albert whines beside us.
Elijah retreats just an inch or two and I take the freedom. Once my hand lands on the handle, he pulls back further, giving me the space needed to open the door.
Adeline’s wearing her dark hair down, the straight, shiny locks almost to her waist. She keeps her arms crossed, one eyebrow raised, and she’s wearing a leather jacket.
She’s such a fucking badass.
Except this time her ire is geared toward me. And Elijah since her cold, dark eyes flick behind me.
Maybe Elijah had a point.
“I’m going to go put on some pants.” This seems like the type of conversation they’re called for.
Adeline moves right behind me. She practically hangs off me as we cut through the living room. The moment we’re in the bedroom, she slams the door shut.
“Ads!”
She opens it, letting Albert in, only to slam it a second time.
“Would you stop that!”
“It’s a fucking door hinge,” she replies. Despite her tight ass jeans, she drops to her knees, hugging Albert. The dog pants, licking her fingers, happy for the embrace.
“What are you doing here?” I open a drawer only to shut it. Clothes spill out of my backpack on the green chair. I search the mountain of clothes, wishing I’d refolded them earlier.
Adeline watches my movements closely. “Do you keep a toothbrush in the bathroom?”
“You think I don’t brush my teeth?” I hop into a pair of sweats.
“Well, I don’t know what to think these days, Lennie.” She leans her head against Albert's side.
“Why are you here?” I sit cross-legged on the corner of the bed. I can’t help noticing the way Adeline catalogs every detail of the room. “How did you?—”
“Figure out that you and Elijah are secretly dating?” She blinks innocently.
Leave it to my baby sister to become Sherlock Holmes.
“How did you know I was here?” I ask.
She pulls out her phone and clicks on her photos. My brow wrinkles as I watch her click on an album she created and scroll back. Flipping the phone around, she shows me a photo of my sneakers in Elijah’s front hallway.
“What the—” I think it’s an old Instagram story she saved. “When was that?”
“The night you went on your date with Leopold,” Adeline informs me, tossing her hair over her shoulder. I remember him taking a photo of me, but I never caught him taking a random picture of my shoes in the entryway. And to post it that night.
He staked his claim right away. I guess I’m lucky it wasn’t the one of us kissing. That one is the background on his phone.
Adeline swipes to another photo. There’s a ton of them.
All different snapshots. Elijah posts to his stories to prove to Leopold I’m taken.
One shows us holding hands on the couch, our faces not visible, but the hockey game in the background.
There’s a silly video of Elijah grocery shopping, looking for ingredients to make my favorite meal.
There are photos of my dark romances on the nightstand.
And holy fuck.
“Is that me sleeping?” I didn’t know about this one. My face isn’t visible, but it’s clear a woman is sleeping in Elijah’s bed, dark long hair strewn across a pillow.
“It was only up for a couple hours. Really late at night,” Adeline says. She lifts a brow. “Almost like he only wanted certain people to see it. What’s going on?”
Albert sinks to the ground, demanding belly rubs. She obliges but waits for my reply.
I shake my head slightly. I can’t explain.
Cocking her head to one side, she brushes her hair back. It’s rare to see her so serious.
“I’m fine.” She didn’t need to track me down.
“You’re dating Elijah,” she states. I sense curiosity rather than judgment.
“Yes,” I admit.
“For the past couple of months.”
“I. . .”
“I thought you went out with Leopold.” She lifts her phone slightly like she’s ready to go back to the first photo she showed me. She’s been keeping track this whole time?
For all her ramblings and dramatics, she pays attention to detail.
“I did. But Leopold’s not very nice.”
“What do you mean, not nice?” Her somber expression makes her look like Mom and it’s an unnerving experience.
I struggle for a few seconds, trying to start the story. It’s only as I start to talk that I realize just how much I’ve kept from her.
Her frown deepens. “So Elijah’s helping you.”
I nod.
“Why didn’t you ask for my help?”
Because she’s my kid sister. Because I didn’t want to admit the one date I had in forever turned into a disaster. Because how could I explain that while Leopold only said a few choice words I acted like he had a gun to my head?
It’s like she hears my last thought. “Did you think I wouldn’t believe you?”
I’ve had time to analyze every moment and I’ve also talked to Janis about sexual harassment. I didn’t give her the full details but I told her I’d gone out with an old schoolmate who got inappropriate.
I know it’s not my fault Leopold is an ass.
I crawl off the bed and sit in front of her. Albert eyes me expectantly and I rub his belly. “No. If anything I had visions of you nailing his dick to the wall.”
Adeline nods emphatically.
Albert settles his chin on my knee, the weight comforting.
“The plan came together randomly, but at the same time, all at once. I wanted the problem to go away but at the same time I didn’t want Mom constantly hovering over me.
It’s like, if I didn’t tell you all about the monster, than maybe he’d go away on his own. ”