Chapter Sixteen Dane
Eliott hasn’t said a word.
Every so often she’ll try to call Gloria again, but it keeps going straight to answerphone and I can feel the tension in her building up.
I don’t know what to do or say to make this better. All I know is that I desperately want to. The look on her face – the panic, the fear, the anger – I want to wipe it all away and make sure she’s never in a situation that makes her feel like this again.
I’ve never felt like this before. Hopeless. Worried for someone other than myself. At a loss for what to do.
I feel a sudden urge to message Cash. This feels like something in his wheelhouse – not mine.
Eliott keeps her gaze fixated on her phone, like she’s afraid if she glances away, even for a second, she’ll miss something and her world will come shattering down around her.
‘We’re almost there,’ I murmur as our driver takes us down a familiar street. I give her thigh another squeeze and she relaxes, ever so slightly, into my touch.
‘What if she’s fallen again?’ Her voice is something quieter than a whisper. ‘What if she’s hurt and she’s just lying there, waiting for someone?’ Her chest heaves and I can tell she’s working her way up to tears. ‘And we’ve all just been ignoring her all night.’
‘You weren’t ignoring her.’
She looks up at me, her expressive, caramel eyes shiny with unshed tears. ‘Twelve missed calls, Dane. Twelve . She needed me and I was… What? What was I doing that was so important?’
‘You were living your life,’ I say firmly. ‘Having a good time. That’s not illegal, Eliott. You’re allowed to enjoy your life.’
She sniffs and glances away, and I pretend like I don’t notice the tear sliding down her cheek. ‘Doesn’t feel that way sometimes.’
I pull her in close to me and we stay like that; Eliott’s head on my shoulder, my hand on her thigh, in a comfortable silence for the rest of the drive.
The second we crawl up beside Gloria’s house, Eliott is out of the door and up the pathway before the car even comes to a dead halt.
I mutter a thanks to our driver and hurry after her.
Her hands shake as she fumbles for her key, but just as she finally gets it in the lock and turns it, the door is flung open.
Gloria blinks up at the both of us, looking thoroughly unimpressed. Her clothes are soaked from the waist down and she has a mop in one hand and a thick roll of paper towels in the other.
‘It’s about time,’ she huffs, and that’s the only acknowledgment we get before she turns around and storms back into her home.
Eliott blinks silently at the space where her grandmother was just stood. ‘Nan?’ She darts into the house after Gloria. I hang back, not entirely sure if this is something I should be here for. ‘Are you okay?’
‘Do I look okay?’ comes Gloria’s irritated reply from the kitchen.
‘Yes!’ Eliott sounds borderline hysterical. ‘Yes, you do and—’ She gasps loudly. ‘How on earth—’
I poke my head into the kitchen and the cause for all the panic tonight is suddenly apparent. There’s water everywhere and the only thing stopping it from leaking into the hall and the rest of the house is a mountain of paper towels Gloria has propped up by the entrance.
Gloria lifts a brow at me as I step over the towels and wade through the mini lake that’s suddenly appeared in her kitchen. ‘Any chance you also do some plumbing on the side?’
‘Afraid not,’ I say with a wince as the water sloshing around my ankles slips into my shoes.
‘But I know a guy. I can give him a call—’ I pause and glance over at Eliott, wondering if I’m over-stepping.
She’s not looking at me, though. Instead, she’s crouched down by the sink, pulling anything vaguely bucket-related out from the cupboard beneath it.
Figures.
She’s been in here for less than a minute and already she’s trying to solve the problem and make things right.
‘What happened?’ Eliott asks as she begins scooping water from the floor and pouring it out of the open window. I join her, grabbing a bucket from the pile she’s made, and she gives me a soft, thankful smile.
It’s the kind of smile that makes my heart skip a beat.
‘No idea,’ Gloria says with a tired shrug. She sinks into a nearby chair and lets the mop in her hands fall to the floor. ‘I came in to make a cup of tea before bed and this is what I walked into. I did try to call you.’ She says the last part almost accusingly and Eliott stiffens slightly.
‘I was out.’ She avoids her grandmother’s eye. ‘And my phone was on silent.’
Gloria makes a grunting sound and I find myself standing a little straighter as her narrowed gaze slides over to me. ‘I wasn’t expecting to see you again so soon, Dane.’
The statement is innocent enough, but there’s something in her tone that’s weighed down with implication.
I force an easy grin onto my face. ‘Always happy to help.’
I don’t know if I’m imagining it, but I’m pretty sure Gloria’s lip twitches. ‘You’re quite the gentleman.’
‘Why don’t you go and rest, Nan?’ Eliott cuts in quickly. ‘I’ll get the kettle on for you, and we can sort this out.’
She’s included me in the rescue effort without even asking, and it doesn’t bother me at all. Like it’s completely natural for me to be spending a Saturday night with my jeans tucked into my socks, scooping buckets of murky water out of a kitchen window.
Gloria shuffles out of the kitchen and leaves us to it. As she brushes past Eliott, she gives her a quick squeeze on the shoulder. I get the impression that Gloria’s not the overly affectionate type, and even Eliott seems to be surprised by the fleeting gesture.
‘Thank you for coming,’ she says.
Eliott’s eyes widen. ‘You don’t have to thank me, Nan. Of course—’
Gloria waves a dismissive hand in the air and then disappears out into the hall. Once it’s just the two of us again, Eliott turns to me and I’m glad to see that she looks a little more like her usual self.
The storm of emotions that had been pasted across her face since we left the club is mostly gone, and she looks much less likely to collapse into tears now.
‘You know you don’t have to stay?’ she says as she resumes sifting the water from the floor and into the bucket. ‘I’ve got it handled here.’
‘I know.’
Her small smile widens slightly when I don’t make any move to walk out of the door.
It takes us a good few hours to get Gloria’s kitchen into a vaguely manageable state. We source the leak to her rarely used dishwasher and plug it as best we can, hoping it’ll hold until my plumber friend can get round on Monday.
We don’t talk much as we work, but it’s a comfortable silence. If you’d have told me just three months ago that I’d be spending my Saturday night doing something like this, I’d have laughed in your face.
Typically my weekends are spent with pretty girls doing all kinds of fun things in the comfort of my bedroom.
I look up.
Eliott’s leaning against the kitchen counter. Not long after we started, she realised that the skin-tight outfit that she’d worn to the club probably wasn’t the best for a task like this, and she ran upstairs and changed into some oversized sweats and pulled her thick curls into a bun.
Pretty girl? Check.
Gorgeous girl, if we’re being honest.
And maybe we’re not in my bedroom and maybe it’s not my usual kind of fun , but I guess things aren’t all that different from my typical weekend plans.
The thought makes me smile. I could get used to spending my weekends with Eliott.
Gloria pops her head back through the kitchen door. Her eyes scan the room and she gives the both of us an appreciative nod. ‘I’m going to head up to bed now.’
‘Do you need me to walk you up?’ Eliott asks, already pushing herself away from the counter.
Gloria hesitates, then gives her granddaughter a reluctant nod. Eliott crosses the room and loops her arm around Gloria’s. The action is smooth and well practised, something they’ve probably done hundreds of times before.
I wonder how often things like this happen.
Mini crises that Eliott has to drop everything for because the rest of her family never pick up their phones.
It’s a lot to put on one person’s shoulders, and I can’t imagine that being forced to rely on Eliott for everything is pleasant for Gloria either.
‘Back in a sec,’ Eliott says as she leads Gloria out of the kitchen and up the stairs. Their conversation gets more and more muffled the further away they get from the kitchen, but I manage to catch snippets of it.
‘… Saturday night?’
‘I told you…’ Eliott sighs loudly. ‘… nothing… just friends.’
‘You know, your grandfather and I were just…’
‘Nan! Can you…’
Gloria’s surprisingly loud cackle drowns out whatever plea Eliott sends her way, and that’s all I manage to hear. By the time Eliott makes her way downstairs again, I’ve already dried myself off as best I can and I’m waiting by the front door for her.
I wonder if I’m imagining the slightly disappointed look on her face when she spots me by the door, but it’s gone and replaced with a smile before I can dwell on it for too long.
‘You heading out?’
I nod. ‘I think that’s as good as we’re gonna get it. Unless you need me for anything else?’
‘No, no.’ She jumps off the last two steps and comes to a halt directly in front of me.
We’re as close as we were back in the club, and my arms itch to wrap themselves around her waist again.
‘You should probably—’ She clears her throat, shakes her head, and then starts again. ‘Sorry I ruined your night.’
‘There’s nothing ruined about tonight, baby,’ I scoff. I’ve never been one for pet names or nicknames – have never been with anyone long enough for it to happen naturally – but with Eliott, the word slips out without me even thinking twice about it.
She quirks a brow, but otherwise doesn’t comment on the impromptu name. ‘I didn’t do a great job at being your wingman.’
‘Like I said, there was only one person in that room who I was interested in going home with.’ I inch forward, closing the minuscule gap between us. ‘And look where I am now. I’d say that’s a pretty good end to the night.’
Her breath hitches, her eyes widen, and her tongue darts out to run over her lips.
We stand there in a charged sort of silence for several seconds too long.
She’s staring at me, head slightly cocked to the side, her brows pinched together in the middle like I’m a particularly difficult puzzle she can’t quite figure out.
I lift a brow. ‘What?’
She hums contemplatively and then breaks out into a quiet laugh. ‘I could ask you the same thing.’ She shifts slightly, pressing her chest up against mine as she looks up at me through hooded eyes. ‘What’s on your mind?’
I let my arms loop around her waist. I don’t think I’ll ever get bored of this – holding Eliott in my arms. Every time I do it, every time I give in to the urge and pull her into my arms, it’s just feels right. Like this is where she’s meant to be.
‘At this moment?’ I ask.
She nods without breaking eye contact.
‘I’m trying to figure out how much of a gentleman I want to be right now.’
I feel rather than see the blush creep along Eliott’s skin. Even under the fabric of her clothes, I can feel the heat spreading through her. You’d never be able to tell by her expression, though.
Her face is a mask of neutrality. Casual . Like I’m not really affecting her at all. Except for her eyes. Her eyes are real heavy right now. ‘Anything I could help with?’
I can map the path her eyes take from my lips and back up to meet mine again.
Heat flashes in them, and I barely have a moment to acknowledge how truly beautiful they are – like little molten orbs of chocolate specked with gold flakes – before I’m leaning in and her lips are finally, finally , caressing mine.
Eliott lets out a low moan into my mouth as my hand comes up to fist her hair, my touch equal parts gentle and firm. I’m not sure who takes the first step, but my back suddenly slams against the front door as her hands come up to grip the collar of my shirt.
‘ Dane —’ Her voice is halfway between a whimper and a moan as I pull away from her lips and start peppering her neck with soft, hot kisses. ‘ Dane .’
‘I could get used to hearing that,’ I murmur against her neck. She nudges her thigh between my legs and I let my hands drift downwards to palm at her ass. ‘Almost forgot how good you felt.’
She laughs as she pulls my face back up to meet her lips again. ‘Should I—’
From her room, Gloria coughs suddenly, the sound echoing throughout the house. Eliott stiffens almost immediately and pulls away. My hands fall back to my side, and already I miss the feel of her beneath me.
‘Friends,’ she murmurs, pulling away. Her hand skims along my arm as she moves, and if I wasn’t looking at her, I’d swear she left a trail of fire in her wake. Her chest is still heaving and her eyes are still firmly on my kiss-bruised lips. ‘Just friends.’
I don’t think I’ve ever been so hard, but I give her a stiff nod and bite back the groan I can feel building in my throat. ‘Just friends.’
Friends.
Really starting to hate that word.