26. Brielle
Chapter twenty-six
Brielle
W hat did he just say?
I let out a frustrated sigh. “You don’t know what you are saying.”
He smiled sweetly. “I have never been more sure of something in my entire life than I am about you, Brielle. Think of all the ways you have changed me, changed my life for the better.”
“I was just being a good friend, flirting a bit. I just wanted you to help me work through some stuff. I didn’t want… I just…God, my head is spinning.” I let him go and took a step back. “Elijah, you have been drinking again. Your mind isn’t clear.”
He stepped toward me and kissed me. He pulled away and spoke against my lips, “I fucking want this. I want you. What part of that makes you think I am confused?”
I stared into his eyes. “Elijah. We can’t do this. We will never work. We both have so much to work on individually. It will just end in a mess.”
He lifted me up so my legs went around his waist and gently pressed me into the wall. “Let me try. I promise I will work on my drinking problem.”
We stared at each other in silence for a few moments. I motioned for him to put me down.
“Say yes.”
“To what?” I asked.
“Being mine.”
We both smiled. “Are you sure about this, Eli? I can’t promise you that dealing with me will always be easy. I don’t…I don’t know anything about relationships, dating, or sex. I am learning all of it as I go.”
He slid me down his body, keeping his face close to mine. “I can't wait to be the one to teach you everything I know,” he groaned.
“Not everything, I hope.” I joked.
“Okay, almost everything.”
I nodded.
“What was that nod for?”
“Let’s try it.”
“Wahoo!” He jumped and high-fived himself. He pulled me into a hug.
“You are such a nerd.”
He kissed the top of my head and then looked me in the eye. “Yeah, I am, but I am your nerd.”
I went up on my tiptoes to kiss him. “Are you sure about this?”
“I am more sure than ever.”
I righted myself back onto flat feet and put my hands on his chest. “To be clear, you are asking me to be your girlfriend, and we are only seeing each other, correct?”
He kissed my lips down to my jaw. “Mine. All mine.”
I continued to look at him expectantly. He laughed. “Yes, Brielle. No one else but each other.”
“Good.” I pulled him into a hug.
Our happy bubble was broken when the door to the bar opened. It was my sister. “Is everything okay out here?”
Elijah smiled, picked me up, and twirled me. I laughed as I answered. “Everything is perfect.”
Aubrey smiled. “What’s going on?”
Elijah spoke before I could. He put me down. “Aubrey, I would like you to meet my beautiful, amazing, smart, kind girlfriend, Brielle.”
“Really?” Aubrey asked, seeming to perk up. I expected her to question it more or at least look a little concerned, but she didn’t. She walked the rest of the way out the door and pulled us both into a tight hug. “I love this, and I love you both.”
I took my arms away from Elijah and hugged my sister fully. “I love you too, Aubs.”
Aubrey briefly hugged Elijah as well and whispered something into his ear. Probably something to the tune of ‘hurt her and I will chop your balls off’.
Aubrey put her arm back around me. “Come on. Let's go tell everyone the good news.”
As we walked back in, I stopped short when Kara was sitting where I had been just before I started dancing.
I wasn’t able to stand there for too long because Elijah pushed me along with a light tap on my ass. He whispered in my ear. “Let’s go. You are about to be sitting on my lap anyway. I don’t want to let you go just yet.”
I looked back at him over my shoulder with a sly smile. “Did you just slap my ass?”
“It's mine.” He lightly bit my ear in jest.
“Hey, guys. I would like you all to meet my girlfriend.”
Cheers broke out, and Amani ran up to me. “Fucking finally.” Then she turned to Elijah. “You better not—”
He put his hands up, as he sat down in his chair and pulled me away from her and onto his lap. “Yeah, I got the talk already. I won't be hurting this precious piece of art ever. I would hurt myself before I would ever let anything happen to her.”
I looked at him, concerned. “Don’t say that.”
“Say what, baby?”
“That you would hurt yourself.”
He sat up a little straighter. “Shit, Brie, I’m sorry.”
I cupped his face. “Don’t be; just don’t even joke like that, okay?”
He nodded.
Kara kept side-eyeing me. I finally got sick of it and snapped. I leaned toward her. “Did you need something? How did you even get over here?”
Hunter raised his hand slowly. “Sorry, she said Elijah said it was okay.”
“Interesting.”
She stood. “I’ll go. I don’t want to ruin your night. Sorry, I intruded.” I immediately felt horrible.
“Shit,” I whispered. I got up to go after her. “Kara, wait.” She turned. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be. I didn’t realize you two were together. I wouldn’t have even come. I thought you were just being a jealous groupie.”
I smiled. “I kind of was.” We both laughed.
“Please stay. Have a drink with everyone,” I pleaded.
She looked down at her feet. “Nah, that’s okay. I don’t drink. I really was just here to see if Elijah wanted to…well, ya know.”
I linked my arm to hers. “I don’t drink either. Come on. Stay for a soda.”
She nodded. “Okay.”
As the night came to an end, I offered to drive Link and Aubrey home. Everyone else was taking rideshares or had a safe way to get home. I was helping Aubrey grab her things when Elijah came to stand next to me.
“Can you come over after you drop them off?”
I turned to Elijah. “It’s one in the morning.”
He grinned. “I want some alone time with my girl.”
I smiled. “Your girl is very tired, and I will see you tomorrow.”
“Technically, it is already tomorrow.”
I jokingly put my finger to my lips and tapped them like I was thinking. “That is true.”
“I just want to hold you and fall asleep next to you,” he explained.
“Can we do that tomorrow night? I’m really exhausted,” I said hopefully.
He pulled me to him. “Promise?”
I kissed him softly. “I promise.”
Aubrey and Link sat in the back seat like I was a rideshare.
It was quite comical. Lincoln was very drunk, but Aubrey wasn’t.
She kept trying to push him off her. After I helped her get him into bed in his old house, I headed over to the main house.
I was staying in what had been Aubrey’s room when she stayed here.
After showering and getting settled in comfortably, I picked up my Kindle to read for a bit when my phone buzzed on the nightstand.
Eli
So what are you wearing?
I smiled and playfully rolled my eyes.
Perv.
Eli
But I am your perv now. I have earned the right to ask.
Goodnight, boyfriend .
My phone started ringing. I rolled my eyes as I answered the FaceTime call.
“Did you just roll your eyes at me, young lady?”
“Maybe,” I said, dragging out the “a” sound.
“Do I need to spank you and teach you a lesson?”
My eyebrows went up in surprise. I’m not sure if I would love or hate that.
He winced at my reaction. “Too much?”
“I don’t think so. I don't really know, honestly.” We both laughed.
“Okay, let's put off the spanking then,” he said. “Now, show me what you’re wearing.”
I panned the phone down my body, showing him my Blue’s Clues shorts and mismatched red top. When I looked back at the phone, he was staring thoughtfully. “What? Is there a stain?” I looked down at myself, searching.
“You are perfect. Just looking at you makes me want to be a different person.”
“Well, don’t become too different. I like you the way you are.”
His smile became less serious. “Not everything, though.”
“That’s true, but you are working on yourself. It will take time.”
He nodded.
I changed the subject. “So, how is your dad doing? Did you talk to him today?”
“He's doing okay. He, uh…he signed a DNR, so that was kind of hard to hear, but I get why he did it.”
“Oh, baby, I’m so sorry.” My heart ached for him.
He shrugged. “What are ya gonna do, right?”
“When are you seeing him again? Maybe I can come with you.”
“I am going in the morning at nine, before I head over there to pick up Link. The guys and I are taking Link out to lunch, and then we will probably go back to my place to play some pool or a sports game.”
“Can I come?”
He looked surprised. “Don’t you have your lunch thing before dresses?”
“I do. But you are important too. If you want me to come, I will. The lunch isn’t until around eleven. Then the dress search begins at one. The girls are going to find the perfect ones, I know it.”
He looked down, then back up at me before clearing his throat. “I would love it if you came with me.” He paused. “I can’t fucking believe someone like you is even giving me a chance. You are every man’s dream girl.”
I blushed as small goosebumps covered my skin. “I wouldn’t go that far, but thank you.”
His voice came out in a whisper. “I really fucking like you, Brielle.”
I matched his tone. “I really fucking like you too.”