29. Elias
‘Levi knows,’ Elias said as soon as he saw Kate that night.
‘Yeah… Alexis and Sarah know too now.’
They looked at each other for a long moment.
‘Are you okay with that?’ he asked.
‘It’s actually… nice. I don’t have many female friends. My career has not really been conducive to relationships, platonic or otherwise. They were really supportive.’ She bit her lip. ‘How was Levi when you told him?’
‘Not as supportive as I imagine Alexis would have been,’ Elias said with a sigh.
‘Does he hate me?’ Her eyes, when she looked at him, were suspiciously wet.
‘You? Why? No, he doesn’t hate you.’ Elias drew Kate into his arms. ‘He’s… disappointed. In me. He lectured me on the finer points of safe sex and then went into a full-on rant about parenting being a serious business and that I had better make sure I knew what I was getting into and—’ Elias stopped and lowered his face into Kate’s hair.
Just having her in his arms went a long way to cooling him down. He knew Levi would come around. He knew his brother would support him. Levi just had to be dramatic about it first. On the plus side, Alexis being on board with it would help bring Levi around. Elias just had to wait it out.
Kate stayed in the circle of his arms, and the body-to-body connection was exactly what Elias needed… he also hoped Kate was getting something out of it too.
‘Give him time,’ Kate said, holding him tight for a moment before slowly moving away. ‘You know what he’s like.’
‘Yeah, I know, and I will. He’ll be excited about it once he gets over the shock. If we’re not careful, he will buy every safety product on the market for his new niece or nephew.’
Kate grinned up at him. ‘Should I text him a list?’
Elias laughed, and the tension in his shoulders disappeared. ‘You’re in a good mood.’
‘I’m feeling… good,’ she said. ‘I’m not even that tired.’
‘Are you up for watching a movie?’
‘Sure. Let me just change into my PJs.’
Elias changed into a pair of cut-off track pants and a T-shirt and grabbed a drink while he waited for Kate. He was still pissed at Levi, but being with Kate had taken the edge off it. He knew his brother would be there for him; he just wished Levi’s first reaction wasn’t always pointing out Elias’ mistakes. Sometimes, Levi was way too much of a father figure, but he didn’t need another dad right now. He wanted his brother.
‘Ready,’ Kate said, once more drawing his attention away from his brother and the weird dynamic between them.
She had changed into another one of her oversized T-shirts. This one was orange and purple and looked to be an obscure college football team. It didn’t matter what she wore, Elias still thought she was cute… okay, cute wasn’t exactly the word, but letting his brain go down that track was forbidden.
They sat on the couch, and after a prolonged discussion and watching several trailers, they decided on another murder mystery. A recent remake of an old classic. But just like last time, it wasn’t long before Kate was nodding off. She leaned on his shoulder, and within half an hour, she was snoring softly.
‘So much for not being tired,’ Elias whispered with a smirk.
When he was sure she was fully asleep, he picked her up and carried her to bed. It was tempting to crawl in beside her, but he didn’t. He did press a kiss to her forehead, though. A totally platonic kiss, of course.
Before he could leave, she reached out and took his hand.
‘I thought you were asleep,’ he whispered.
‘I was,’ she replied, not letting go of his hand.
‘Do you need something?’
‘Stay,’ she said.
‘What?’
‘Stay.’
‘Kate—’
‘I… I want you to stay,’ she said, her voice firming.
He searched her eyes for a moment before nodding. ‘Okay. Just let me turn off the lights.’
Elias didn’t know what this was about but… he was just going to go with it.
He came back into the room and shucked his T-shirt before crawling into the bed beside her. She rolled over to face him, and he mirrored her.
Lifting his hand, he gently scooped some hair off her forehead. ‘Is everything okay?’
She nodded, her eyes not leaving his. ‘I just…’ Instead of finishing the thought, she stretched up to lay her lips over his.
‘Kate,’ he groaned softly, not sure if he should push her away or pull her close.
‘I know what I said but… I can change my mind, can’t I?’
There were so many things he wanted to say. He had questions. Was this just another one-night thing? Was it friends with benefits? Or was it something more? Out of all the options, he wanted it to mean something more, but he wouldn’t get his hopes up. If it was just for one night, then… it would be enough.
He pulled her close and kissed her. She moaned softly and deepened the kiss, and Elias was lost to the taste and feel of her. He could die right now—okay, not right right now, but after—and he would die a happy man.
‘Are you sure?’ he asked one last time.
‘I’m sure,’ she replied, pulling him down to her mouth and throwing her leg over his hip.
* * *
Kate hadthe next day off and was going to spend it with her sister, which freed Elias up to go to his workshop. It felt like months since he’d gotten his hands dirty, and he was actually keen to get to work.
The piece he’d been working on still hadn’t taken shape into anything cohesive yet, but that was okay. He was still playing. It was good for him to just get in and work without conscious thought. It helped him process what was going on in his life. Specifically the prior evening—with Kate and with Levi, but for very different reasons.
While Elias appreciated that Levi had been his quasi-father for his early life, they should have moved beyond that relationship now. Elias was an adult, whether Levi saw him that way or not. Yes, he was six years younger, but that didn’t mean Levi should always think of him as a child. And now that Elias was going to be a father, he really could do with a brother to support him. Pointing out all of Elias’ faults was not going to help him be a better person. It just ended up making him feel like shit.
That was not the problem he had with Kate… although it also had the potential of making him feel like shit. He still wasn’t sure what to make of the developments that had taken place. She had asked him into her bed, and he had gone willingly. When they woke—Kate once again wrapped around him—she hadn’t acted like she regretted it, but she also didn’t seem to want to talk about it. She hadn’t exactly pretended like nothing happened, but Elias had at least expected a conversation. Kate had moved the goalposts, and he no longer knew what his role was. Would he now sleep in her room every night, or was it just when she felt like it? And if that was the deal, then how did he feel about that? The sex was good––better than he remembered their first time being––but did that mean he was willing to become her toyboy? Was toyboy even a thing anymore? He was young enough, he supposed, although the difference in their ages hadn’t bothered him. Did it bother her? Was that why she had been holding him at arm’s length?
Elias walked over to the speaker and blue-toothed his phone to it. He scrolled through his playlist until he found one heavy on the metal and loud enough to drown out his thoughts. He cranked it, thankful that he didn’t have to worry about his neighbours in the industrial estate. His music was the least noisy thing in the place. He put his phone on Do Not Disturb and walked in a slow circle around the sculpture taking shape in the middle of the room. It still resembled his jumbled thoughts, and maybe his state of mind was the reason it looked so disjointed.
He picked up the angle grinder and his safety goggles. Just like the wayward thoughts in his head, the sculpture needed some of those tentacles trimmed. He paused. Tentacles. That’s what they looked like. A heavy mass in the centre with long tentacles radiating out. Almost like an octopus or one of those Sentinels from The Matrix movies.
An idea took form, and Elias pulled on his gloves and started the grinder. His muse had finally arrived.