Chapter 37
thirty-seven
ROWAN
I hear Ellie close the door to her room after I caught her staring at my chest. I wasn’t going to take off my shirt, but I saw the opportunity to show off what I’ve worked so hard on, and it was worth it.
I grab my shirt and walk out of the bathroom to the living room. I spot Milo basking in the sun, completely unbothered. I go over to pet him, my hand landing on his very warm belly, and he groans in appreciation.
Just as I’m about to put my shirt on, I hear a thud come from Ellie’s room. I look behind me and shout, “El, you good?” I straighten and walk toward her room. I listen carefully, not hearing anything. I rap my knuckles on the door. “El? Are you okay?”
I think I hear something, but maybe my mind is playing a trick on me. I knock again. “Ellie, if you don’t answer, I’m coming in.”
I count to three and say, “I’m opening the door.”
I open the door and see Ellie on the floor, hugging her knee. Her face is scrunched up, her eyes squeezed shut. She’s rocking back and forth while taking deep breaths through her nose and mouth.
“Ellie, are you okay? What happened?” I walk toward her, quickly kneeling. I don’t want to touch her until I know what’s wrong.
“I’m a dumbass, that’s what happened.” She lets go of her knee and winces. “I banged the shit out of my knee. I was walking to the dresser to change into a different shirt, and I ran right into the corner of the stupid bedpost.”
“Let me see,” I murmur before placing my hand around her knee. I try not to wince when I see how much skin is scraped off. Specks of blood appear, but nothing terrible.
“Stay right here.” I stand and go to the bathroom closet, where I grab a small towel. I remember seeing rubbing alcohol and cotton balls while digging through a basket filled with Band-Aids. When I have everything, I need, I go back to her, getting on my knees once more. “Okay, this might sting a little.”
I dab some of the alcohol on the cotton ball and gently grab her knee. I start to wash away the broken skin and hear Ellie hiss through her teeth.
“Sorry.” I bend closer to blow on it, trying to cool it off for her. “Better?” I glance up.
“Yeah, thanks.” She lets out a heavy breath, and her shoulders sag. “I’m going to have the worst bruise tomorrow.”
I let out a laugh and smile. “It’s okay. You’ll still have cute knees.”
“My knees are not cute. They look like an old man's face.”
I finish cleaning the wound and close the cap on the bottle. “Well, you have cute, old man face knees.” I grab the small band-aid and put it on her knee.
She laughs. “That makes no sense.”
As my worry clears, I take in Ellie, and ho-ly shit.
She’s in her bra.
My eyes travel down to the simple blue bra that looks like it’s made of cotton. Her breasts fill the cups, and I, for the life of me, cannot look away.
“Oh, shit. Sorry.” Ellie stands up. “I forgot I didn’t have a shirt on.”
I pick myself up and look at her before saying, “It’s okay, don’t worry. I heard you fell and needed to see if you were okay. I didn’t even notice until now. Plus, I’ve seen you shirtless before. It’s never left my memory,” I tease, giving her a lopsided smile.
“Oh, do you dream about me shirtless?” She has a wicked grin, but I play along.
“Every night when I’m in bed,” I rasp.
Ellie tilts her head, looking at my chest. “Well, I guess we match.”
Her eyes scan my body, and I oddly feel confident when she does. The lower she goes; I notice her drag her teeth over her bottom lip like she’s trying to contain herself. I urge myself not to step closer, grab her face, and kiss her. Maybe I can ask her. Be a gentleman? Would that be weird or nice? I have no idea.
Fuck it.
“El,” I mutter softly, barely hearing myself.
Her eyes find mine, but she doesn’t say anything. I can feel my heart beating through my chest like a drum. My breathing feels shallow. I feel the softness of her hand grab mine and start to trail up my arm.
Oh, there goes her hand, right over my stomach. Her hands are just the tiniest bit cold, causing my abs to clench.
“Rowan,” she breathes out, and her eyes search mine.
I force a swallow down before answering, “Yeah.”
“Kiss me.”