by A. M. Wilson
“You’re a rude bastard,” I remark, shaking my head at his teasing.
“I never said I wasn’t.”
I’m not entirely sure what he means by that because everything he’s shown me has been perfectly aligned with the gentleman I suspect him to be. He might be dangerous, but he’s kindhearted. Whatever the meaning, I don’t pursue it.
He begins strumming a few random cords, a soft melody, and the world melts clean away.
As the music starts up, I can’t help but get lost in the sound, the smooth melody reaching deep inside of me, taking hold of something I can’t name. My body feels alive listening to Elias play. The atmosphere of his apartment, the rich, deep quality of his voice while he softly croons the lyrics, the look of him holding his guitar. I’ve never seen a person looking more comfortable that he does right now. The instrument could be an extension of his body for the easy way he plays. For some reason, the music surrounds me and wraps me in a place I’ve never been before. A place of contentment and peace. The music makes my heart swell, tethering to Elias, rooting me to him. I can feel my emotions rising. The moment, the music, and him all stitching together to form the perfect memory.
Halfway through the third song, Elias’s phone rings from beside him. He glances down without missing a chord, and his brows dip down at what he sees on the screen. He palms the strings to stop the vibrations of music and picks up the device.
“Sorry, I have to take this. I’ll be right back,” he says while leaning his guitar against the couch. Without waiting for my reply, Elias crosses the living room towards the hall on the other side. “Hey, man,” he answers then closes his bedroom door behind himself.
I don’t wait long before he comes back down the hallway, palming his cell in his hand. He runs his fingers through his thick locks.
“I’ve got to bring you home,” he apologizes. He grips my hand and pulls me from the couch. “Another date night cut short. You must think I’m a flake.”
Far from it, but as soon as the words leave his mouth, an idea comes to me. “It’s okay. I’m sure I’ll see you again soon.”
He wraps an arm tightly around my back, pressing his hand between my shoulder blades to bring my mouth to his. Placing his lips softly against mine, he whispers there, “Had it been anyone else, I wouldn’t leave. But my buddy needs me at the bar.”
“Mmm,” I hum in response as he kisses me. His kiss contradicts the soft press of his lips as he dips his tongue into my mouth. My hands fist the soft cotton of his tee when he pulls my body tighter against his. I break away breathless.
“Take me with you.”
Elias pulls his face away with his hands still gripping my back. His eyes search mine deeply, almost with a hint of suspicion in their blue depths.
“I mean, if it’s not a problem. I’d love to see where you work. I can stay out of the way, have a drink or something,” I amend. I can’t believe I blurted that out. He was trying to get rid of me, and I should have just agreed. Maybe I am getting stronger in my independence.
He nods, even though it looks a little stiff. “Sure. Great idea. You can see where I play my music.”
I gather my purse, and Elias slips on his jacket. “Thank you. It means a lot that you’re letting me in.”
He leans down and kisses the top of my head. “One step at a time, babe. This is new for both of us.”
Elias locks up behind us, and we walk hand in hand to his truck. I wish I knew how this was new for him. He knows about my past, because I opened up right away. He’s going to need more than a bit of prodding to do the same. All I can hope is it doesn’t push him away. He’s not the only one who likes to get what he wants.
CHAPTER SIX
We pull up outside a dimly lit bar on a quiet street in Minneapolis. Elias cuts the engine. Nothing but a calm quiet surrounds us, and I can’t help but feel edgy. This is it. I’m about to learn a little bit more about the man I’ve been spending my time with. Something inside of me goes off like an old school bell—shrill and warningly.
What if I don’t like what I learn?
What if he’s not the man I think he is?
What if I don’t really find out anything?
Questions are bouncing around inside my skull, and I can’t seem to quiet them. The only way to shut my brain up is to get answers. The only way to get answers is to get my ass out of the car and find them.
I never used to be such a wimp, but the pain memory of being hurt by someone I loved is brutal. I might not care for Travis anymore, but I can still acutely recall how betrayal felt. I can only hope I’m not setting myself up for more pain.
Elias opens my door for me, and together we make our way inside. This place is a total dive. Immediately, I feel comfortable, and I love it. An old jukebox sits in one corner in the back of the room near the restrooms with ACDC currently playing. Various liquor advertisements and paraphernalia plaster the walls. The place is a lot smaller than I imagined. It’s dark and smoky but filled with people. The entire bar top has a patron on each stool, and bodies fill the few tables around the perimeter. Two pool tables on the left side of the room both have games going as well. The buzz of conversation fills the air, and I immediately want to immerse myself in it.
“Come on this way. I want to introduce you to someone.” Elias grabs my hand and pulls me through the small crowd. We stop at the other end of the bar.
“Hey, Sin!” he calls out. There are so many people around, I can’t guess whom he’s talking to, but neither of the two bartenders look like their names are “Sin.” Especially because one is a woman. I mean, I guess if her name were Cynthia or Cindy, Sin would be a suitable nickname, but the two blonde pigtails and hot pink ensemble say otherwise.
I’m craning my neck to get a better look when a huge chest with a black t-shirt stretched over it obstructs my view. I say stretched, because I’m not sure they make tees in mammoth size. His arms are a colorful collage of shapes and designs I can’t quite make out in the dim lighting. They’re beautiful, though. Some people get ink for the look of it; some get ink to memorialize or remember something; some get ink to signify something important to them. I don’t judge the why and the how. In my eyes, it’s courageous to wear your life on the outside instead of only on the inside.
The huge guy crosses his arms over his chest as if impatient, so I force myself to stop studying his skin and find his face. The look in his eyes feels like a punch to the gut, and I stumble backwards.
“Sin, this is Marlee. Marlee, this is my good friend and business partner Alex Sinclair,” Elias introduces us, and I look back up into the hardened face of Alex.
“Sin,” the man reiterates. “Don’t call me anything but Sin unless I tell you to.”
My skin skitters in goose bumps at the sound of his baritone voice. Raising a shaky hand, I extend it towards him. “It’s-uh-nice to meet you, Sin.”
Tick.
Tock.
Tick.
Okay, then. I let my hand fall limply to my side.
“Don’t be a dick,” Elias chastises his friend, but quickly lets the issue go. “Get us a couple beers, will you? Come join us for a chat if you get a free moment.”
I watch Sin’s face carefully for any sign of feeling or sentiment, but he just grunts in response and turns back to the bar. Elias grabs me by the hand again and gently leads me away.
“Don’t let him get to you. He’s a pretty quiet guy.”
“He, uh. He looks scary,” I whisper-shout, trying to be heard above the music and conversations.
“That’s because he is,” Elias replies.
I wait for some form of teasing, a smile or a chuckle, but I get nothing. For some reason, this whole situation makes me uneasy.
Elias finds an empty booth near the back corner, and we slide into the red leather seat next to each other. He drapes his long arm across the back of the booth and catches a tendril of my hair between his fingers.
“So, what’s the work you do for Sin? I’m assuming he’s the frie
nd you told me you help out.”
“Can’t say that’s any of your business, girl. You’ve been seeing my boy here, what, a week?” Sin comments, sliding into the seat opposite us. He slides two beers across the table.
“Something like that,” I mumble, looking away from his rich, brown eyes and feeling a rush of heat in my face. I’m so uncomfortable.
“You want answers, you stick around. All you need to know is he helps me run the bar.”
Why is Elias staying out of this conversation? I look up just in time to see him and Sin exchange an intense look. Elias clenches his jaw tight, and his arm goes rigid behind me. What is going on?
“Maybe we should-” I begin but a gorgeous woman sliding into the seat beside Sin cuts me off. She looks at him with such love and devotion that it briefly catches me off guard. She reaches over, gliding her fingers through his thick, dark beard, before planting a chaste kiss on his lips.
“Hey, Blossom,” he whispers into her ear.
“Don’t you ‘hey, blossom’ me. You giving this poor girl a hard time?” She asks him. Turning back to me, she says, “He acts like such a hard-ass. I’m Shelby, by the way. You must be Elias’s new girl, huh?”
Elias’s eyes soften as he looks at Shelby. “Yeah. This is my girl, Marlee.”
This time when I reach out my hand, I don’t look like a fool, because Shelby grasps it tightly. “Nice to meet you,” I tell her genuinely.
“It’s nice to meet you too. Don’t let my husband scare you. He’s just protective of what’s his and loyal to a damn fault.”
To what is she referring? The bar? Elias? Herself? I don’t have time to question it, and frankly, I don’t want to. So far, my peek into Elias’s life is delivering more questions than answers.
“Elias, a word?” Sin asks from across the table, already scooting Shelby out of his way. He tangles his hand in the hair at her nape and pulls her in for a kiss that leaves her breathless.
“Be right back,” Elias whispers in my ear before kissing the sensitive skin of my throat.
After the men grab their drinks and leave, Shelby leans over towards me and grabs my hands. She pulls my attention from watching them walk away.
“How long have they been friends?” I ask. Nosy? Yes, but I want to know more about the mystery that is Elias’s best friend and business partner.
“Mmm,” she hums thoughtfully. “From what I know, a long time. I’ve only been around here for about a year, and they’ve been tight as blood since way before then.”
“A year? I mean, I’m not judging, but you said he’s you’re husband, right?” My hand trembles as I take a hefty gulp. Her loud laugh calms my nerves.
“I know it seems fast. He helped me work out a situation I was in, and I guess somewhere along the way we fell in love.” Her eyes take on a faraway look as she reflects about something. She laughs again. “I know it’s hard to believe he’s capable of loving anything, but beneath all that toughness is a sugar sweet core.”
“I’m glad he helped your situation,” I tell her. Coming from a complete stranger, I know it won’t mean much, but I don’t know what else to say.
Shelby’s eyes lose the brightness from moments before, and she squeezes my hand tightly when she whispers, “Me too.”
Silence engulfs us like our own personal bubble, and I can feel the tension begin to rise from my anxiety. “I’m out,” I say swirling the dregs in my empty glass. “Would you like me to bring you another?”
“Sure babe,” she replies. A moment away from the tense conversation is exactly what I need. I can feel a burst of relief as I leave the table and make my way to the bar. Luck strikes as I push through the crowd because a man and a woman leave the bar, and I squeeze into the spot they vacated. I lean over the polished top, trying to catch the eye of a bartender.
“What can I getchya?” The female bartender says as she stops in front of me.
“Two Honey Weiss. Tall please,” I add, realizing we may be here for a while. As I wait for her to fill our drinks, I glance around the bar and see Elias and Sin talking in the corner. They both look tense and talk with heated expressions on their faces. Where Elias looks annoyed, Sin looks like he could take out anyone who stands in his way.
It has to be exactly the moment I’m studying them when Sin lifts his eyes and locks on my gaze. You know that whole thing about feeling like someone is watching you? I’m certain it just happened in real time. He looks about to say something when our stare down is broken by the bartender placing two filled glasses in front of me with a thunk.
Thankful for the distraction, I take a long chug of my drink while raising the other one in a part salute, part wave, part I’m getting the hell out of here. Looking away, I rush back to the table without seeing his reaction.
“What you running from?” Shelby asks as I lower myself into the leather seat.
I laugh. “Do you miss anything?”
“Nope. I have eyes everywhere. Can’t be too careful.” She gives a little shrug of her slim shoulders and takes her own gratuitous pull. Her eyes dart side to side, and something about her words, and expression, seem off.
“Well, I wasn’t running. I saw the boys and didn’t want them to think I’m rushing them to finish. I may have powerwalked my way back here.”
“Don’t worry about it. Alex and I have somewhere to be pretty quickly so I’m sure they’re finishing up.” As if to prove her point, she takes another large swallow.
Following suit, I tip my own glass to my lips. “He lets you call him Alex?”
Shelby gives me a ‘what do you think’ look. “He’s my husband. I can call him whatever I want, babe. Don’t let his iciness fool you. I’m tellin’ you, he’ll warm up to you soon enough. Look, here they come.” The words barely leave her mouth the men are suddenly here.
“Finish up, blossom. Time to go.”
Shelby tips back the remainder of her drink, licking her upper lip when she’s finished. “Nice meeting you. I hope to see you again real soon. It’s nice to see this guy with one girl,” she teases Elias, but it makes my gut flip. Elias slings his arm around my shoulders.
“You too, Shelby. Sin.” I think he grunts in response, but I can’t be sure over the noise of the full bar.
“Let’s get you home too, babe. You have to work early.” Elias grabs my hand and begins to pull me out the door.
“Wait.” I stop us. “I want to say thanks for bringing me along tonight. It was really great to see where you spend your time and get to meet your friends.”
He smiles gently at me and briefly kisses my lips. “I’m glad I brought you too.”
“I mean it. I know I sort of sprung it on you, but I like learning more about you.”
I let out a squeak as Elias crushes me against him, his lips finding their way to my forehead. “It means a lot that you want to. Now, let’s get you home before I give you something else to learn about me.”
My forehead wrinkles in confusion. “What does that mean?”
He gives a pointed look toward his crotch and then raises an eyebrow at me. “Oh!”
“Yeah. But not tonight. It’s late, and I don’t want to get you fired just yet.”
“Um, okay. Yeah. Probably a good idea,” I blather on, even though my body is slowly heating from the inside out. When he puts it that way, I couldn’t care less about my job.
“Christ, you’re cute.”
***
“Brooks and Boulder, this is Marlena speaking. How can I help you?”
“You sound so hot when you answer the phone like that.” Elias’s smooth voice slides out from the earpiece.
“Ha ha. That’s funny. What’s up? You could just text me you know.”
“I know, but I didn’t know how busy you were today. Can I pick you up after work?”
“I don’t know why you bother asking anymore. You’re five for five this week.” Today is Friday. We’ve known each other for one entire week, and each day after work, Elias has picked me up to
spend time together. A part of me feels anxious and awkward, like we’re moving too fast. But another part of me is quietly ecstatic.
“You’re right. You should leave your car at home. I can give you rides.”
I nearly choke on the sip of coffee I’m taking. “Whoa, buddy. How about we slow down here a bit. Besides, I like driving myself to work.”
Elias chuckles in that deep voice of his that so far hasn’t failed in turning me on. I think if he were here, my clothes would take themselves off. “Hmm. I’ll give you that. So is this a yes to picking you up?”
“Definitely a yes. I’m done at five.” I mentally calculate there are about four-point-one hours left until he’s here.
“Do you have tennis shoes in your car?”
“Am I a woman? Of course, I have extra shoes in my car. Why?”
“Surprise. I’ll see you at five.”
I put down the receiver, unable to wipe this ridiculous grin off my face. Lately, I’ve felt more comfortable than I have in a long time. Being with Elias is easy, fun. Ever since the heavy conversation on our first actual date, we haven’t visited those topics again. I’m glad I put myself out there right away, instead of harboring this huge secret about my hurt and insecurities. I would have been a lot more nervous on our dates than I have been. Actually, I hardly feel nervous at all anymore. It nice for a change. It’s as if the grip of anxiety has finally started to loosen its hold on my life.
Five rolls around surprisingly quick, and I lock my computer, grab my purse, and hurry down to the lobby. This time, Elias isn’t already waiting for me, so I head outside to wait for him. Just as I’m closing my trunk with my sneakers in hand, I catch sight of him driving down the street. I dash off to meet him before he pulls into the parking lot.
“Hey, you,” he says as I climb in. “What did I do to deserve that huge smile you’re giving me?”
“Oh nothing, I’m just really happy to see you.”
“Lucky me then,” he replies, sliding on a smirk of his own.
The drive is quick, not leaving room for conversation as I study the blurring cityscape passing by. He pulls up to a small café barely a couple of miles away.
