Chapter 12
twelve
VI
The days passed quickly.
I wasn’t ready to go back to normal life and figure out our roommate dynamics when the last day of our trip came around. We’d been nothing but friends who snuggled at night since heat ended, and that was nice.
Eli always had a joke to lighten my mood, and I had a blast egging him on with sarcasm. It made everything fun.
Going home might mean more loneliness, and I was tired of that. Eli would have his own life, he’d have his own job, and I’d have to go back to mine. Which meant working from home.
Though I was excited about doing so in his cabin’s glorious kitchen, I knew uncomfortable conversations would come with it.
Conversations about splitting the bills, when he would want to pay for everything.
And about him wanting my name on his bank accounts.
And who knew what else.
So, I asked Eli how he felt about extending our vacation another week or two.
He didn’t even hesitate to agree.
That was how we ended up flying to England, and spending a handful of days there.
And Paris, after that.
And Venice, too.
The messages from our friends and family were getting too frequent to keep ignoring, so after that, we finally flew back home.
I felt so much dread, I barely enjoyed the rush of flying with Eli.
It was two AM when we finally landed at my apartment building. We went inside and crashed in my bed together, though he didn’t fit on the mattress at all.
A pounding fist on our front door woke us up a few hours later.
We were basically glued together, our bodies a tangle of limbs but thankfully little to no sweat.
“I’ll get it,” Eli mumbled, brushing my hair out of my face before he padded across the room. He was still wearing the sweats he’d put on after landing in Scale Ridge, so he was decent enough, though I didn’t much like that he was answering the door shirtless.
We were just roommates, so I couldn’t say that aloud.
My eyes closed as he opened the door, and I heard Brynn demand, “You finally got back to Scale Ridge with your new mate and didn’t come straight to my house? What kind of brother are you? My baby hasn’t seen you in an entire month! It’s a good thing I had Bash’s brothers monitoring this building’s security, or you’d never bother to—oof!”
My lips curved upward.
Eli must’ve hugged her to shut her up. He’d tried that on me once or twice, too.
But mine were friendly hugs.
Just friendly.
It irritated me a little that Brynn probably got a more important hug than I did, but she was family, and I was just the roommate.
So… I’d deal with it.
“I’m taking her out of that car seat,” Eli announced. “Is Bash here?”
“Of course he’s here. He hates letting me out of his sight. He said he’d give me a few minutes to lecture you before coming up.”
“So I have a few minutes to snuggle the little squish before he reclaims her?”
“That’s pretty realistic, yeah. Where’s Vi? In her room? I need to lecture her now.” I heard Brynn’s footsteps as she approached my door.
“You’re shitty at lectures,” Eli called behind her. “Stick with the hug.”
Brynn peeked inside the room, and I shot her a tired smile from the bed. She stepped in and closed the door, locked it, and crossed the room to sit down by my feet. I leaned over the mattress, and she did the same, pulling me close for a tight hug.
“So?” she whispered. “How was heat? I need details. No one ever gives me details when it comes to dragons.”
I laughed softly. “It was just lots of sex. There aren’t a lot of details to be had.”
She sighed dramatically. “They got to you too.”
I snorted. “How’s the baby?”
“Exhausting, yet perfect.” She got a dreamy look on her face for a moment before she refocused. “But we’re not talking about me. Last I heard, you and Eli were arch enemies. The spaghetti was supposed to be a peace offering.”
“It was. He wanted to give me a peace offering too, so I told him to find me someone to take home.”
Her eyes widened. “And he found himself?”
“Basically, after shooting down all of my ideas.”
“Ooh. So are you guys, like, in love now? You must be after that long honeymoon.”
I made a face. “We’re just friends. Every time heat comes around, we’ll be friends with benefits.”
Her eyebrows shot upward. “And Eli’s on board with that?”
“Mmhm.”
“Wow. I could never.” She leaned away, planting her hands on the mattress for a moment before she went still. “You two didn’t do it in here, right?”
“No.”
Relief crossed her face. “Phew.”
I laughed. “How are the coffee shops?”
She caught me up on everything I’d missed. We heard the guys’ voices in the living room, but I couldn’t make out any words in particular.
When we were done catching up, Brynn stopped in the bathroom while I headed to the living room to take a turn with the baby. Before I left my room, I heard Bash say something that stopped me in my tracks.
“You have to know you can’t have a mate bond without falling in love.”
I went still.
Eli chuckled. “We’ll see.”
I let out a shaky breath.
We’ll see wasn’t yes we can , but I’d have to give him the benefit of the doubt. He agreed to just be friends. What reason did he have to lie about that? And if he was going to try to talk me into being more than I wanted, wouldn’t he have done it while we were traveling and sharing a room?
I didn’t know.
But things would definitely level out when we had our own rooms in the cabin. That would make life simpler.
Then, we’d really feel like roommates.
Bash asked me how our trip was when I stepped into the living room. I acted like I hadn’t just heard him trying to doom me to a relationship while I stole his baby from Eli and snuggled up with her.
The grin he shot me was way too sexy.
It was really, really good that we would have separate rooms.
Brynn and Bash didn’t stay long before heading back to their place. They did let us keep the baby the whole time they were there, which was nice. Neither of us could get enough of the snuggles.
When they left, Eli suggested going back to bed, but I told him I’d rather pack and head to his cabin. He agreed, and we loaded all my stuff into my car. Since I’d moved not that long ago, I had already gotten rid of everything nonessential, and it didn’t take long.
One of his brothers had driven his truck back to his cabin, since we’d left it in the lot at the wedding reception. So, we got in my car together, and he sprawled out on the passenger seat while I drove.
The ride wasn’t short.
It was slightly awkward, though.
I think Eli could tell I was trying to put distance between us.
But I just turned my usual music up louder, drowning out the tension that may or may not have existed between us.
There wasn’t a spare bed in any of Eli’s extra rooms. He got on the phone and set up a delivery while I unpacked what I could without furniture in the one furthest from his.
The last thing I needed was to go to bed on the mattress we’d hooked up on before our trip.
More reminders of how much I liked having sex with Eli wouldn’t do me an ounce of good.
August and Elodie showed up after the mattress was delivered, and she tugged me into my room before demanding the story like Brynn had.
We sat on the floor while I gave her the same quick rundown. The longer I spoke, the more her forehead creased like Brynn’s had.
“I don’t think you can be mates without developing feelings for each other. It’s forever, Vi.”
“I’m aware. I just don’t think romantic relationships can last forever. Even permanent friendship seems like a stretch,” I explained.
The creases deepened. “They don’t just last forever. We put in the work we have to in order to make them last forever. Even when we get busy, August and I chat through our bond multiple times a day. We always have breakfast just the two of us, and we watch the sun rise or set together as often as possible. Our relationship will last forever because we won’t let it fade.”
We were never going to be on the same page when it came to that, so I didn’t bother trying to argue my point.
They’d only been together for two years. Time was hard on people; it changed them, and their relationship. If Elodie and August didn’t change with it, they’d fall apart, but they’d still be mated.
It could be a massive mess.
“I’m glad that works for you two,” I said honestly. “But Eli and I agreed to be roommates, and just roommates.”
“There’s no way that’s what he wants,” Elodie protested.
“Our relationship, or lack of one, isn’t your business,” I shot back. “I haven’t tried to talk you into leaving August, so don’t try to convince me to give Eli more than we both want.”
“Alright, fine. Just?—”
“Just nothing,” I said firmly.
She grimaced, but agreed.
When she and August finally left, I dropped onto the couch. Eli was sprawled out on the other side, his head tilted back and his eyes mostly closed.
“Everyone keeps trying to convince me to change my mind,” I said, too frustrated to stay quiet.
“About what?” His murmur was soft. He was definitely falling asleep.
“Being room mates.”
“Mm. Not their relationship, not their problem,” he said.
“Exactly!” I tossed a hand toward him. “You get it. This is why we’re friends.”
His lips curved upward slightly. “I’m going to nap. Long flight, and short night.”
“Me too. After that, I’ve got to work on my next cupcake recipe.”
Eli made a sound of agreement, and his eyes closed completely. His breath leveled out, his chest falling rhythmically.
Maybe napping would take the edge off the tension in my lower belly that gathered after my last two conversations.
I climbed into my new bed, and tried to fall asleep.
Instead, I tossed and turned until I ended up staring at the ceiling. Eli had ordered a super-king, ignoring me when I told him I didn’t need a bed that big.
The size of it was nice, but also…
Empty.
Very empty.
After a month of sharing a bed with the dragon shifter, I wasn’t sure I knew how to sleep alone anymore. I’d only slept next to Gavin a few times, and had never really liked it, but Eli was different.
Warm.
Cuddly.
Comfortable.
But of course I’d be fine sleeping by myself. The difficulty falling asleep was probably just jet lag. Or dragon lag, considering my method of transportation.
That was fine, though.
I’d fall asleep eventually, right?