Dear Elliot

by P. Stormcrow

  “I was thinking of scoping out the campus for school.”

  Emma stared at Elliot in shock, and he turned away from Anna to wink at her. Oh. An excuse, I think?

  “I saw that.” Anna piped up.

  “I know,” Elliot coaxed and walked back closer to place a hand on Anna’s shoulders. “I’ll be back earlier than Emma. Call if you need anything, okay?”

  Anna patted Elliot’s hand. “All right. You two have fun.”

  Emma shook her head at them and wondered where their bond had come from. Only Elliot could convince her mother of anything at all. But as Elliot withdrew, she stepped closer to her mom and gave her a gentle hug. “I’ll call again in an hour to check on you.”

  “I’ll be fine,” Anna announced with a chuckle, then lowered her voice. “And if you need to stay out on a date with Elliot, that’s fine too.”

  “Mom!” Emma wheeled back in horror and glanced at Elliot to make sure he hadn’t heard.

  “Off you go,” Anna winked at her and laughed again.

  “Okay, okay.” She shook her head, her cheeks still hot from her mother’s teasing and stalked past Elliot, who followed without a word. It wasn’t until they were in the garage she reached out and grabbed his hand.

  “Did you mean what you said? About school here?”

  Elliot winked at her. “Who knows?”

  She let go of his hand but stuck her tongue out at him while he mounted his bike.

  “Careful what you ask for, Em,” Elliot chided, but before she could utter a comeback, he pulled his helmet on.

  The jerk. But all she could recall were the kisses he’d given her that night. With the memory of his warmth persisting in her mind, she got into her car. She pulled out of the garage and glanced at the rearview mirror to ensure that Elliot followed. And when he did, she pulled out into the driveway.

  The drive was short, and Emma parked close to the engineering building. The last week of spring break meant that there were other cars dotting the parking lot, but sparser than if classes were in session. She got out and sucked in a breath as Elliot pulled into the spot next to hers. Fuck. Clad in his leather jacket and black jeans with his riding boots, he looked like sex on a stick. And the worst part was he had the cock and the skills to back up the image.

  Emma shook her head and told her libido to take a hike.

  He pulled his helmet off. “So, where’s this lab you’ve told me about?”

  At that, she grinned and motioned him to follow her, excitement thrumming through her system. She had told him about the lab but had refused to give any details about her project, not wanting to spoil the surprise. Now she bounced with energy as she tried not to break into a run toward the lab. In truth, she loved her work, but she never had been this excited before.

  As she pushed the doors open to the lab, Holly looked up with a grin, only for it to grow wider as Elliot followed.

  “Hey Emma, Elliot.” Holly waved, soldering iron still in hand.

  “Careful, Holly!” Emma pointed at the thing in her hand.

  “Don’t worry. I turned it off.” Holly set it down and rose to greet them both, but she turned her gaze to Elliot first. “What brings you to the lab?”

  “Emma was going to show me her project,” Elliot replied, if a little stiff. Emma understood. Holly vibrated with enthusiasm and her energy level took some getting used to.

  “Oh, you’re in for a treat. She’s got something all the boys in class are envious of. Did you know she’s gotten offers from three research labs already? Prof. Chiang is already trying to talk her into grad school too.”

  “Really?” Elliot turned to Emma, who glared at Holly.

  It wasn’t something she liked to boast about, as she wasn’t sure yet what she wanted to do with her life. Anna’s illness had thrown everything into disarray.

  “What?” Holly shrugged.

  Emma sighed and shook her head. “You going to be around for a while, Holly?”

  “Yeah, want to break at lunch?”

  “Sounds good.” Emma cast a glance at Elliot to see him nodding as well.

  “Come on.” Emma tugged at Elliot’s sleeve and sighed in relief as he followed. She brought him over to her area of the lab and gestured at her contraption. “Ta da!” She gestured with both hands toward the machine.

  Elliot tilted his head to one side. “What is it?”

  She sighed but did not let his confusion deflate her. “Have you seen those online videos of robotic legs helping people walk?” At Elliot’s nod, she continued. “Well, I built a smaller version for kids. Right now, all it does is climb, but I’m hoping to expand its range of motion in the future.”

  It took a moment before understanding lit up Elliot’s face. “You mean climb trees…like when you were a kid.”

  “Exactly!” Emma nodded and spun around. “I still have to figure out the balance of it, but I’m getting close. I just know it.” She beamed as she caught the stunned look on his face.

  “No wonder people are all competing for you to work for them,” Elliot stammered at last.

  “Holly is exaggerating. Their recruiters reached out to me, but it’s not like I don’t have to go through the application process.” Emma returned to tinker with her machine, her head running through a list of all she wanted to accomplish that day.

  “So, what are your plans? This is your last year, right?” Elliot asked as he hauled over a stool and sank on to it.

  “Hm, don’t know yet,” Emma replied as she walked over to her cart with all the tools. “Besides, tell me yours and I’ll tell you mine.” She gazed up at him with a challenging grin.

  “Brat,” Elliot muttered under his breath, and Emma could not help but laugh.

  “You can use the drafting table. Get yourself settled and write me the rest of that series,” Emma chided instead. The returning glare he gave her only delighted her even more.

  * * * *

  The morning saw some of the most productive writing Elliot had ever done to date, the words flowing from pen to paper without fail. When someone tapped him on the shoulder, he jumped and put up his fists in defense.

  “Whoa!” Emma laughed, holding her hands up in surrender.

  “Sorry.” Elliot muttered and gathered the sheafs of paper littered across the table. He paused though when he realized Emma was attempting to peer over his shoulders.

  “Spoilers.” He tapped her nose, and she pouted.

  “If you’re really good, I’ll let you read this after you’ve finished Worlds Apart.”

  Emma blinked. “I finished that a couple of nights ago.”

  Oh. “Well, when I’m done then.”

  “Hey, you two coming?” Holly shouted from behind them.

  “Yups!” Emma ran to catch up to Holly, leaving Elliot to follow once again. But for once, he didn’t mind not leading so much.

  They walked through the campus and Elliot spared moments to appreciate the recent growth on the trees, their leaves rustling with the wind, while delicate scents from new blooms permeated the air. What would it be like to live here? To see spring give way to summer? The campus would look beautiful in the fall with the variety of trees and their different-shaped leaves.

  What the hell am I thinking? Elliot shook his head clear. He had given little thought to any future, much less one here. The one-night stand with Emma had messed with his head. He could not consider being with her.

  Even so, moving here would give him a fresh start.

  Elliot cursed himself and emptied his mind. One day at a time.

  As they approached the cafe close to the engineering building, Emma’s jaw dropped. “How the hell is it this busy during Spring Break?”

  Holly shrugged as she rose on her tippy toes to count the line. “Probably because not much else is open right now.” She rocked back to her heels and looked at them both. “Our best bet is still to wait.”

  “Fine.” Emma groaned.

  “I’ll go find us a seat,” Elliot offered. Best
to leave the girls so they can chat. “Here. Emma, can you get me something?” He handed her some crumpled bills from his pocket. There wasn’t a need to tell her what to get. Emma knew his tastes.

  “Sure.”

  “Oh, I’ll come with you.” Holly all but shoved money into Emma’s hand. “A chicken Caesar wrap please.”

  Before any of them could protest, Holly grabbed Elliot’s arm and steered him out of the line. “There!” She pointed at a single empty table with four seats and tugged him toward it. With no choice left, he followed and wondered just what Emma’s best friend had planned.

  He didn’t have to speculate for long as they sat down on two of the chairs and Holly leaned across, drawing her eyebrows together as she studied Elliot with a seriousness that belied her demeanor so far. “What are your intentions with Emma?”

  “Excuse me?” Elliot snapped his head back and straightened.

  “You. Emma. What’s going on?”

  He’d expected something of this nature, but not the extent of the grilling or her straightforwardness. He cleared his throat. “We’re friends…or we were as kids. I am hoping she can forgive me, and we can be friends again.” Or more. That traitorous voice inside him whispered.

  No. Bad idea. Bad Elliot.

  “I see.” Holly didn’t appear as though she bought his answer for a minute, but she relented and slumped back into her seat. “Just…be careful with her. Emma’s been through a lot with her mom being sick, the last term at school and her job at the bar. She’s worried about her mom and her tuition, and that’s stretching her in all directions.”

  Plus, taking care of a sudden guest in her life. Elliot knew well that he added to her burden. Perhaps he could try making meals. He had no success with cooking back home, but he could learn, try again. For Anna. Okay, for Emma.

  “Elliot, you still with me?” Holly asked and waved a hand in front of his face.

  Elliot refocused back on her. “Yeah,” he muttered.

  “Just don’t hurt her, okay? She’s a tough girl, but even she has a limit.” Holly asked in a smaller voice.

  Her ask stabbed at his chest. The only way he wouldn’t hurt Emma was if he didn’t let her invest in him anymore. “I’ll try my best,” he replied at last.

  “That’s all anyone can ask for. Thanks.”

  Chapter Fourteen

  Dear Elliot,

  We meet, we become friends and somewhere along the way, we become something more. Lover. Family. Best friend. Whatever label you want to put on it doesn’t matter to me. The only thing that does is that we are still here, together. Still talking and laughing. Still picking up each other when the other falls. Because that’s what loving someone is all about.

  Emma

  Left alone, Emma squinted and tried to make out what kind of conversation they were having but to no avail.

  “Hey.”

  Emma spun around to meet Corey’s inquisitive chocolate eyes. “Hey yourself.” After a second she asked again, “What brings you to the campus during the break?”

  Corey rubbed the back of his head with a sheepish grin. “The house gets noisy with all my siblings around. I came to the library to get some stuff done.”

  Curious now, Emma tilted her head to one side. “How many?”

  “Two brothers, one sister. All younger.”

  Emma’s jaw dropped at the idea. It had always been her and her mom as far as she could remember, and Emma couldn’t imagine a big boisterous family like Corey’s.

  “How’s your mom?” Corey asked, caution behind those words.

  The line moved forward, and Emma shuffled with Corey doing the same. “She’s good! Surgery went well, and she’s at home now, resting and all.” Without thinking, she glanced over to where Holly and Elliot were to check whether Elliot had seen Corey. No, Holly still had him engrossed in conversation. What are they talking about?

  “You guys are close, aren’t you?”

  “What?” Startled, Emma turned to face Corey, so much she missed the line moving forward again. Corey gestured, and she slid forward to fill the space in front of her.

  “Elliot, right?” Corey sighed. “I know when I’m beaten.”

  “What are you talking about?” Emma asked, bewildered. But the quickening of her pulse, the sudden dryness in her mouth, didn’t allow her to lie to herself. She knew what Corey was about to say.

  “After you told me about the Carmichaels last time, everything clicked into place. There were a few times when I walked by the house and saw you with another boy. He always watched after you and would yell at you when you were climbing trees.”

  Should it unsettle her that Corey had watched her and Elliot as kids? Or that he remembered? But the bittersweet smile on his lips and the far-off gaze held Emma’s attention.

  “You were so angry with him the other night, and now you look at him like you don’t want him to leave your sight.”

  “He’s—” Emma stopped herself from protesting. Who was he to her? A one-night stand. A one-night stand. She groped for the right words but couldn’t.

  “It’s all right, Emma.” Corey opened his arms, hugged her tight and bent down to whisper in her ear. “If you love something, don’t wait. Take it, fight for it and never let go.”

  Deep down, she understood, though she wondered if he’d imparted the wisdom for her or his own sake. Nonetheless, she hugged him back just as tight. “Thanks, Corey.”

  He let go of her and grinned. “Besides, if broody lanky guys are your type, I never had a chance in hell.”

  Emma laughed at that. “No, but they make less fun friends. If you’re still up for it?”

  “I’d like that.”

  Another shuffle and Emma found herself in the front of the line. She ordered and paid, then stepped aside for Corey to do the same. The food appeared on the counter off to one side soon enough, and even with the tray, Emma eyed and wondered how she was going to carry it all.

  “Here… Let me help you,” Corey offered.

  “Thanks.”

  They brought the food over to the table. Elliot stiffened, but Holly was the one who froze entirely, which was so unlike her. Emma grinned as they set the food down on the table.

  “Why don’t you join us? I doubt you’ll get another table free right now,” Emma offered Corey. Elliot’s face darkened further. Now isn’t that interesting?

  “I-I—” Corey stammered.

  “Here!” Holly pulled out the chair next to hers with haste, though her face had turned beet red.

  Corey turned and sucked in a breath as he glimpsed Holly. The two stared at each other while Emma tried not to cackle out loud in glee. Instead, she sat in the other chair next to Elliot and winked at him. In return, Elliot stared at the two of them and he relaxed his shoulders.

  “Why don’t you have a seat, Corey?” Elliot suggested with a straight face.

  “Huh. Oh yeah. Thanks, man.” Corey eased into the chair but kept his eyes on Holly. “Hi, I’m Corey.”

  “Holly,” her friend echoed faintly.

  Emma bit into her lunch with a smug smile. Holly had sworn off dating after a streak of cheating boyfriends, but Corey was a good guy and he deserved someone better than her emotionally unavailable self. Now she just had to push things a little more in each direction.

  Everything was going great at last.

  * * * *

  “So, what do you think of Corey?” Emma asked. The sun had set recently, and it was getting late. Elliot had gone home to have dinner with her mom and now even she was ready to pack it in.

  “Hmm? He’s nice.” Holly had sounded distant ever since they came back from lunch, as if drifting in dreams.

  “Earth to Holly!” Emma waved a hand in front of her best friend and laughed when Holly almost dropped the circuit board she held.

  “What?” Holly demanded, and Emma only laughed harder at the indignant expression on her face. After a moment, Holly’s eyes narrowed. “Oh yeah? What about Elliot? Have you slept with him ye
t?”

  Emma’s laughter died, and she turned her back with haste toward Holly, busying herself with packing up.

  “Oh. My. God. You have!” Holly squealed. “That’s it. You’re not going home. You’re coming to the pub with me.”

  “What?” Emma dropped her pack and stared at Holly.

  “I want the details. Come on. Your boy is keeping an eye on your mom at home. You can afford to come out for a drink or two with me.” Holly waggled her eyebrows. “Besides, I need all the details. Now come on.”

  One drink. One drink couldn’t hurt, and Emma needed to talk with someone. Holly always had good instincts with other people’s relationships, so Emma nodded. “Okay, fine.”

  Plans made, they hurried to finish their packing and ducked out of the lab. The university had a few pubs, and they aimed for the one closer to the edge of the campus in order to avoid the crowds if lunch was anything to judge by.

  By the time night had fallen, the two of them had grabbed a table and were pouring over their choices of food and tasty beers.

  One of the servers approached just as they set their menus down.

  Emma glanced at Holly.

  “A burger and a pint of Granville Island Pale Ale,” Holly chirped without a hint of exhaustion from a full day of work.

  Emma glanced at the man who scribbled down her order and tried to figure out where she had seen him. But when he looked up from his pad of paper, Emma cleared her throat and turned back to the closed menu on the table. “I’ll take a Ruby Tears and a burger too.”

  “Sure, no problem. Be right up.” He bent over the table slightly to pick up their menus and walked off.

  But Emma couldn’t help but stare, still trying to place where she had seen him before. He probably had been to her pub before. Yeah, that must be it.

  “I thought you were into Elliot. Checking out another guy already?” Holly teased.

  “No!” Emma stare at Holly, horrified then stuck her tongue out at her friend.

  “Hey, man, what’s up?” A male voice boomed a little too loudly. Emma snapped her head back and groaned as the bartender fist bumped a familiar figure nearing the bar with two friends in tow. If only I still had the menu. Then I could hide behind it.