9. Brielle
Chapter nine
Brielle
“ Y ou could just let me apologize. Brielle, please.”
My heart pounded uncontrollably as my thoughts raced. The last time I was in a room alone with this man, my life was ruined and changed forever.
“You got away with it! Why would you apologize now?”
He stared at me for a second.
“Get out of here, Caleb, before I call—" My words were cut off when the door swung open. I felt safer immediately when I saw who it was. “Eli?”
Eli looked back and forth between Caleb and me. Both these men were on the list of people I had least expected to see at an art event.
“I…I just didn’t see you out there anymore. I came to find you, and I heard you yell.”
I didn’t know whether to run up and hug him for being here or be pissed that he was keeping tabs on me and I didn’t know it.
He walked around the desk and put himself between Caleb and me.
He must have seen the desperation in my eyes because he put his arm around me and kissed my forehead without a word.
Normally, that would have made me flinch, but it was surprisingly comforting.
“Thank you,” I whispered.
“Who’s your friend?” Caleb asked.
Without missing a beat, Eli put his hand out and introduced himself. “Elijah. You are?”
Caleb looked at his hand but didn’t take it. Elijah pulled his hand away unphased. Caleb looked back at me. “Can we talk about this privately…please?”
“No, you lost the privilege of being alone with me a long time ago.”
“Bee, come on, please.”
“You. Raped. Me!” I yelled. “And don’t call me that horrible name,” I added for good measure.
“Briel—”
“Hold the fuck up!” Elijah's voice interrupted. “This is the scumbag who hurt you?” Elijah pulled his arm off of me abruptly.
He looked from me to Caleb. He tried taking a step forward, but I held him to my side. He definitely could have stepped away; it’s not like I was stronger than him. “How the fuck are you not in jail?”
“‘Cause I didn’t fucking do anything. Or at least I didn’t know I did.”
“Get out!” I yelled, tears filling my eyes.
“Bee—”
Elijah stepped forward, putting me behind him. “She asked you not to call her that. This conversation is over. You are not to contact her again. Do not come within ten feet of her, or I will not be so calm next time. Got it?”
Caleb let out a laugh. “You don’t scare me, dude; you couldn’t hurt me if you tried.”
I couldn’t see Elijah's face, but I knew he was smiling. “You have no idea how many people I have hurt, and I cared about some of them. I will have no problem adding you to my list. Try me.”
Both men were quiet, just staring. I didn’t get to see how long it was going to last because Amani and Beck walked in, and she gasped at the sight of Caleb.
“Get the fuck out. Now!” Amani yelled.
“Woah, what’s going on?” Beck asked.
Amani stepped in front of Elijah. “Nothing, I am just about to take out the trash.”
Caleb wasn’t giving in. “Brielle I just want to apologize—”
Amani put her hand up in front of him. “Nope. Go. Or I’m calling the cops. Five, Four, Three.” She pulled out her phone, just to make a point.
“Fine, but this isn’t over.” Caleb conceded.
“Oh yes, it is,” I managed to get out.
Amani began following Caleb out. Elijah motioned with his head for Beck to trail them.
Beck shut the door behind him, and the moment it clicked, my legs gave out, but Elijah caught me. He lowered me to the floor and onto his lap.
“Shhh, it's okay. I am here. I promise you’re okay.” He kissed my forehead, holding his lips in place for a moment. He rested his chin on my head. I was shaking and sobbing uncontrollably. He whispered against my hair, “Baby, I’m so sorry. Tell me what you need.”
Before I could say anything, the door opened, and Amani stood there with wide eyes staring down at us. She looked at me, and I nodded. She shut the door a moment later.
I looked up at Eli. “This, I just need this.”
“You got it. As long as you need.”
He was quiet the entire time we sat there, kissing my head softly every few minutes. As my sobs became quiet tears, I finally sat up, wiping away whatever makeup I had left on my face with my hand. He pushed a stray hair off my forehead and settled it behind my ear.
“Can you get up?” he asked.
“I think so.”
He stood, holding his hand out to help me up.
“Thanks,” I replied as I tucked my shirt back into my pants.
Once he saw me playing with my shirt, he turned and faced the door.
“Do you need anything?” he asked, still looking at the wall.
“You can turn around.”
He turned and ran his fingers through his hair before speaking again. “Sorry I stepped—”
I stopped his words and covered his mouth with my finger. “Shh. Don’t apologize. You did nothing wrong. Thank you, Eli.”
He gave me a worried look. “Okay. I won’t. Are you okay?”
I hugged him. “I don’t know.”
He and I had quite a height difference. I was a measly five feet, one inch, and he had to be pushing six feet, if not more.
“What can I do to make it better for you? Do you want me to go find Amani and bring her in?”
I shook my head and looked down.
His finger gently lifted my chin to put my eyes on him. “What can I do, Brie?”
I pushed his hand away because I was utterly embarrassed. When I stared into his eyes, he looked at me with zero judgment. He wasn’t joking. He looked sincere.
“Nothing,” I whimpered.
“Please, Brie, tell me what you need. Do you need me to run after him and beat his ass? I will. If you need me to hug you, I will. If you need me to bring you somewhere else, I’m there. If you need me to call your boyfriend, I can do that too.”
I don’t know what came over me, but I raised up onto my tiptoes and brushed my lips against his.
He was hesitant at first, but he deepened the kiss once I didn’t pull away.
He put his hands hesitantly on my jaw, placing his thumbs on my cheeks.
His hands were warm but rough, with calluses on a few of his fingers.
He tasted like smoke and something else I’d never tasted before.
I assumed it was whiskey, since that’s what he had been drinking at the party earlier.
He pulled away and whispered against my lips, “Brie, what are you doing?”
I looked into his beautiful eyes. “I don’t know.”
“This isn’t you,” he stated.
Realization took over, and I backed up, covering my mouth with my hand. “Oh my God, I am so sorry. I can’t believe I just did that.”
He stepped back with a shrug. “Don’t sweat it. I won’t tell a soul.”
I grabbed his hand. “I really am sorry. That shouldn’t have happened.”
After a few awkward stares, I broke the silence. “I need to get back out there. I am in charge today, so everyone is probably looking for me.”
He let out a noticeable sigh. “Right, okay.”
He walked over to the door and opened it for me. Amani was standing right outside, waiting. I looked back at him, realizing that I didn’t even know he was here before he walked into the office.
“By the way, what are you doing here?” I asked curiously.
He glanced down at the floor and back at me. “Not sure. Amani told me you had to come today and invited me…so I came.”
I smiled. “I am glad you were here.”
“Me too.” He looked down at the ground again. “Brielle, I also wanted to apologize for how I acted before you left.”
“Don’t sweat it. I won’t tell a soul.”
He laughed at me, recounting his exact words from just moments before. “Sounds good. I’ll see you out there.”
“Yeah, I just need a minute.”
He squeezed my hand in understanding, and left the room. Amani walked in wordlessly.
My best friend gripped my hand in the way she always did when she was about to ask a question and already knew the answer to. “You good?”
I shook my head. “Not at all.”
“What do you need?”
I let out a shaky breath. “I need to call Dax.”
We left the gallery about an hour and a half after my…incident. Being alone with Amani brought a sense of calm over me. That was until I looked out the window.
“I think we are being followed,” I said quietly to Amani. I wasn’t sure why I was whispering. No one else was in the car. She looked in the rearview and smiled.
“What? Do we know them?” I asked frantically.
“We do,” she said smugly.
“Well, spit it out. Who is it?”
“Who else would it be, Brielle? Use that big brain of yours.”
My concern didn’t waver.
“Elijah and Beck are following us home.”
I smiled. Neither one of us said another word…we didn’t have to.
After returning home, I realized I had missed Elijah’s call earlier. I called him back once Amani got into the shower.
“Hey you,” he said in a hushed tone.
“Hey, sorry I missed your call. Is everything okay?”
“Oh yeah, I just wanted to see if you got home safe.”
I smiled. He knew damn well I got home safe. “Thank you for making sure I got home okay, Eli.” I couldn’t see him, but I could tell he was smiling too. “Next time, let me know you are following me, though. You scared me at first.”
“Next time?” he asked.
A small amount of nerves flooded me. “You know what I mean. Just thanks.”
“You are welcome. Thank you.”
“Thank you for what?” I asked.
He paused. “That kiss.”
My insides lit up, and butterflies took over. I wasn’t sure what to say. Saying you're welcome seemed weird. A slight wave of sadness overcame me. “It can’t happen again, Eli. I have a boyfriend.”
“I figured.”
“When do you leave for the tour?” I quickly asked to change the subject to something a little less awkward.
“We leave for home in a few days. I will be back here and there, but I have a big break coming up in May. I will send you the tour schedule so you can keep tabs.”
I smiled. “I wasn’t trying to keep tabs on you. I just wanted to know so I could plan an engagement party. They will want August and Liza there, so I have to coordinate with everyone.”
“Tell yourself whatever you want, MP.”
I huffed. “Are you ever going to tell me what that means?” I asked. I still have no idea what it could mean.
“I don’t know if I should. I kind of like teasing you with it.”
“Eli!”
He chuckled. “It means Master—”
What the fuck? I cut him off. “Eli, is this some weird kink thing you have? You want me to be your master or something and dominate you? You have the wron—”
“God, no! Though now I have a very vivid image of you dominating me, but no, that isn’t what I meant.” He chuckled loudly.
“Then what did you mean?”
“Well, you didn’t let me finish. It means Masterpiece.”
My stomach fluttered. “Masterpiece?”
“Yes, Masterpiece. It means you are a work of outstanding artistry. Something that needs to be handled with care. Something beautiful with rough edges. Something perfectly imperfect, just waiting for the right person to appreciate it.”
My breath hitched. “Eli.”
“Masterpiece?”
I wasn’t sure what to say. No one has ever spoken about me in a way that made me melt like that. I was literally speechless. My eyes stung with tears.
“You don’t have to say anything back. Brie, it was just—"
“No, I love it,” I blurted out.
I could hear the smile in his tone when he responded, “Masterpiece, it is then.”
A warm, comforting feeling immediately filled me. “See you soon?”
“I hope so.”
I hung up with Elijah and immediately dialed Dax.
His sultry voice came over the phone. “Hey, beautiful.”
“Hey, you. Did I wake you?”
“No, I am driving home. I wanted to head back early to finish some stuff before returning to work tomorrow.”
“How far away are you?” I asked hesitantly. I really needed to talk to him before I chickened out.
He laughed. “I am actually only about twenty minutes from home.” He paused. “Everything okay?”
“Um…no, actually. I need to talk to you. Can you come by the dorms when you get in?”
His voice became more stern. “Are you okay?”
“See you in twenty.” I hung up before he could keep asking.
He pulled up and got out of the car quickly. He instantly grabbed me and pulled me into him.
“Hey, what’s going on?”
Unshed tears stung my eyes. “Please sit.”
I put a little extra space between us than I normally did when we sit down together. I told him the whole story, including Elijah helping get Caleb away from me. Well, almost the whole story.
He grabbed my hand. Before he spoke, I cut him off, “Dax. There’s more.”
“Okay.” His look turned to worry.
“I got so overwhelmed with emotion after it all happened, I fell into his arms and… I kissed him, Dax. I am so sorry.”
His worried tone turned back to relief. “Okay.”
“Dax, I really don’t know. I am so sorry. I knew I had to tell you right away. Elijah is the one who stopped it. I—” Did he just say okay? “Okay?”
“Yeah, that’s fine.” He gave me a concerned look. “We aren’t exclusive, Brie. You can kiss and date whoever you want.”
Confused thoughts took over. I was going over every conversation we had ever had. “I…wait. What do you mean we're not exclusive?”
He shrugged like it was no big deal. “I mean, well, we can be. I didn’t realize you wanted to be. We see each other so infrequently outside of work.”
I scoffed in disbelief.
“Brielle,” he said, looking at me. “Putting aside the exclusivity thing, I am so sorry you had all that happen tonight. I can’t imagine how that made you feel. I am even more sorry I wasn’t there for you.”
I stood to face him. “So wait. This whole time, have you been seeing other girls?”
He looked uncomfortable. “I mean, I went on a few dates, but nothing serious. I didn’t fuck anyone, though, if that’s what you are asking.”
“Wow,” I said out loud. “I can’t believe this shit. Did I make this up in my head? Am I that fucked up?”
He stood up and pulled me into him, brushing a kiss over my lips. I jerked away like he’d burned me. “We can be exclusive. I just never asked because I thought you wanted time.”
“I mean, this should all make me feel better knowing I didn’t actually cheat on you, but it doesn’t. I feel like such an ass for making this more than it is.”
“Brielle.” He reached for me, and I stepped toward the door.
“I will see you at work, okay? I need to go sleep off this absolute embarrassment.”
“Can we talk about this?” he asked.
I looked at him. “No, I don’t think I want to right now.”
When I entered my dorm room, Amani was in her pajamas, bonnet tied on her head, eating straight from a tub of ice cream.
“So? How did it go? Is he pissed?” she asked with a mouth full.
I sat down beside her, stealing the bite she was bringing up to her mouth before leaning my head on her shoulder. “You are never going to believe this.”