Chapter 14 #2
When Alba didn’t respond, Ellie simply watched her.
There was something about her in the evening light that warmed Ellie in a way she hadn’t quite gotten used to yet.
The relaxed slope of her shoulders, the quiet calm in her expression…
it was different from the version Ellie saw in school corridors and staff meetings.
This Alba felt more vulnerable. She felt…
real. Perhaps this was the moment when Ellie should say what had been circling around in her thoughts for days.
She didn’t know how to begin that conversation, though.
She wasn’t entirely certain it was the wisest idea she’d ever had.
But if this wasn’t the perfect place to be honest, then she didn’t know when that moment would come.
“You’re a great friend, Ellie.” Alba lowered a hand to Ellie’s shin and sighed. “You don’t know how much it means to me that I have that with you.”
Friend. Ellie swallowed down whatever she had been about to say.
It didn’t matter that something between them constantly felt as though it was shifting, and it didn’t matter that Ellie was almost certain Alba had looked at her more than once this weekend with something that felt very close to interest. Right now, honesty didn’t feel like the right choice.
Some things simply never unfolded the way she wanted them to.
Ellie set her wine glass down on the table beside her and reached for Alba’s hand. It was the sort of thing she did with friends when conversations grew serious, but the moment their fingers touched, Alba stilled completely.
Ellie considered pulling away but chose to lace their fingers together instead.
“I’m so thankful for you, Alba. And I know I caught you in a moment this morning, but if you ever need to talk about Audrey or anything else you have on your mind, you don’t ever have to question if I’m available to listen. I’ll always be available for you.”
Alba squeezed Ellie’s hand gently. “Thanks.”
“And I do think we’ve been good for one another.
” Alba turned to her fully, listening intently, but Ellie paused as she searched for the right words.
“When we first met, I wasn’t really living.
” Alba didn’t interrupt. Ellie had learned quickly that listening was something Alba did exceptionally well.
She never rushed people, and she never filled silence just to escape it.
“I was going through the motions. Work, home, sleep, repeat.” Ellie brushed her thumb absentmindedly over the back of Alba’s hand. “And then…you arrived.”
Alba smiled. “That sounds far more dramatic than it actually was.”
“It doesn’t feel dramatic to me.” Ellie lifted a shoulder. “It feels honest.”
Alba looked down at their joined hands before lifting her gaze again. “You’ve done the same for me, you know.”
Ellie frowned slightly, surprised. Alba had seemed so quiet all weekend that Ellie had briefly wondered if she regretted inviting her along. “I have?”
“Yeah.” Alba drew Ellie’s hand into her lap.
“I’d become so used to being on my own. Like you, it was nothing more than work, home, Colin, repeat.
” Ellie smiled faintly at the mention of the dog.
“Then suddenly I had someone texting me about dinner plans on a Tuesday, and someone sharing the most difficult parts of their life with me.”
“Difficult is one way of describing me,” Ellie said with a weak smile. “But I don’t feel so difficult anymore.”
“Ellie, you’re the most uncomplicated and easy-going person I’ve ever met.
You are not difficult, but your past is.
” Alba’s dark eyes softened as she looked back at her.
“You’ve reminded me that life isn’t supposed to be so small.
That…I can do things like this with people I care about, and nobody can take it away from me. ”
The words settled deep in Ellie’s chest, grounding her. Then she realised she was still holding Alba’s hand…and Alba hadn’t pulled away. In fact, she’d shifted a little closer without either of them acknowledging it. Ellie’s pulse picked up a little. “You’re wonderful, you know.”
A flush crept across Alba’s cheeks as she shook her head slowly. “I’m really not.”
“You are to me.”
Alba laughed. “That wine was definitely stronger than it tasted.”
“Hey.” Ellie squeezed her hand. “I’m serious.”
Alba gazed back at her, and something in the moment shifted.
Ellie suddenly became aware of everything at once.
The warmth of Alba’s hand in hers, the gentle weight of Alba’s other hand resting on her thigh where her legs lay across Alba’s lap, the scent of wine drifting between them.
And the fact that they were very close. Closer than Ellie had ever allowed herself to be before today.
Ellie lowered her gaze to Alba’s mouth, catching herself almost immediately and lifting her eyes again.
Alba hadn’t moved, but her breathing had changed.
Ellie’s pulse quickened. The air between them felt charged now.
Different. She wasn’t entirely sure what had caused it, or what it meant, but for a brief moment, she had the unmistakable feeling that if she leaned forward just a little… something would happen.
Do it. Ellie swallowed. Make the first move.
“I think…” Alba suddenly drew back and slipped her hand from Ellie’s. “I think that everyone at work is going to wonder who you are on Monday morning when you strut in there like a new woman.”
Ellie sighed inwardly and slumped back against the couch. If she’d just had the courage, this night could have ended very differently. “Yeah,” she whispered. “Maybe.”