Elliot: The Williams Brothers

by Jenni M. Rose

  Julia hurried down the hall to get Kelsey, her heels clicking on the hardwood. Elliot looked over his shoulder at her retreating form from where he was helping Tucker install a light fixture above a bookcase. When she came back in the room, he eyed her from head to toe, then smiled and winked.

  She did nothing, feeling awkward in front of everyone and a little stunned that he’d done that in the first place.

  “Yeah, boss?” Kelsey came in, prepared with a tablet in her hand.

  “I need you to take a few notes and we’ll go from there.” When Kelsey agreed, Julia asked for Tucker, Elliot, and Cole’s attention. “I wanted to touch base with you about the contractor’s software that we talked about. I know that Tucker and I have talked about what would make it better and more user-friendly, and I appreciate his input. I wanted to put out a few ideas to all three of you. You can think about them, talk about them, and then get back to me. I’d like input from all three of you as to what you’d be looking for in something like that: what kind of materials should the program give a builder access to? Could it have a running list of general building code so that if an error was made, the builder would know? Should it link to a supply store so the builder can order or make a list straight from the software?” Kelsey made notes while the men looked at each other. “I also want you to think about where you want this to go. We can finance the build of the software and deal with processing it and distribution. We’d all be doing a variation of the job that I do now as head of H-Surf. Or, we can build the idea and a prototype and sell it to the highest bidder. I also want you to decide if this is something that you want to do as Williams Construction or as individuals.” Julia looked up at Kelsey. “Are you ready to go?”

  “Oh God, am I ever!” her assistant gushed. “Are you guys all set here today?”

  The men, more subdued now, nodded.

  “Guess we have some stuff to talk about while we work,” Tucker said to his brothers.

  It was four o’clock when Julia and Kelsey got back to Troy and pulled in the driveway of Julia’s house. They’d both been buffed and waxed within an inch of their lives and had both had their hair done. It had been a nice few hours, even if had been over an hour each way to get there. Kelsey had talked practically non-stop about looking at more property in Troy, not impressed with the condo she’d looked at. Julia considered Kelsey moving to Troy with her, and had questioned her, making sure it was a move she really wanted to make. She was adamant though, and they’d then started talking about buying a more substantial piece of property, as opposed to a condo.

  “Tucker, Cole, and I are going to a movie. Do you want to come with us?” Kelsey asked for what must have been the fifth time.

  “No, Kelsey,” Julia told her firmly. “I’m going to take a nice walk to the market, grab a few things, and spend tonight in.”

  “Suit yourself.” Kelsey shrugged as they got out of the car.

  For reasons she didn’t want to explore, Julia didn’t want to go inside the house. She felt nervous about seeing Elliot again, worried that maybe he’d think she expected something after he’d pressed a kiss to her forehead the night before. The worst part was, she thought she might be the one who expected something from him and she didn’t quite understand why she’d feel that way or what to do with it. So, instead of walking into the house, she hit the sidewalk and headed to the market a few blocks away, with that confusing mess inside her head.

  “Julia? You’re going now?” Kelsey yelled down the sidewalk.

  She was obviously avoiding going back into the house, for what reason Kelsey wasn’t sure. Julia kept her cards so close to the vest they were practically part of the fabric. She suspected it had to do with Elliot, and while that was part of her plan, she didn’t want Julia to be uncomfortable in her own home.

  When Kelsey got a negligent wave over the shoulder in answer to her question, she assumed that meant yes and goodbye all in one.

  With a shake of her head, she climbed the porch steps and entered the house, her hair perfectly blown out, her body freshly waxed and buffed, and feeling fabulous.

  “Well, don’t you look nice?” Tucker said she approached him in the office. She liked him. They’d clicked right away and he reminded her of her brother Gianni. He had a steadfastness to him, something that just screamed that he was solid as a rock. Just like her brother.

  She’d gotten the distinct impression that he found her attractive, their first meeting full of flirty smiles. Once he’d found out she was gay, he’d backed off in that respect, but had still come out a solid friend.

  “Thank you,” she said with a smile and a curtsey.

  “Where’s Julia?” Cole asked as he looked around her toward the door.

  Kelsey hazarded a look at Elliot who also seemed invested in her answer.

  “She snuck off to the grocery store. Seemed like she was in a hurry to get there,” Kelsey told them.

  Elliot stood up suddenly and looked at Cole. “Are you all set here?”

  “Uh, yeah. All set,” Cole said, his forehead crinkled.

  Without another word, Elliot dropped his tool belt at the door, grabbed his coat, and walked out. Kelsey looked up at Tucker and smiled, feeling immensely satisfied with herself. He smiled back, leaned an elbow on her shoulder, and chuckled.

  “What the hell are you two up to?” Cole asked suspiciously.

  “Someone in this room is match-making,” Tucker informed his younger brother.

  Cole seemed to take that in for a second and then looked at the closed door. “Well, shit,” he replied, propping his hands on his hips.

  Elliot knew from his experience the night before that it would be wise of him to announce himself well before he got into purse-whacking range. So, as he jogged up the block and crossed the street, he yelled to get her attention.

  “Hey, slow down! I don’t want to get hit by your purse again so don’t make me grab you.”

  The view from behind was breathtaking, her backside high and round and mouthwateringly squeezable. She and Kelsey had gone into the city and gotten their hair done, and Julia’s hair was straight, which he hadn’t seen in the short week he’d known her. Straightened, it was long enough that it touched her amazing ass.

  She was probably the only woman to click her way to the grocery store in high heels on the sidewalk in town, but the streets of Troy had never looked so good, if you asked him.

  Julia turned to look at him as he caught up to her and he could see questions in her eyes. She was so guarded and he wondered how much ground he’d lost with her in just one day. That one look was why he hadn’t had many meaningful relationships in his life, because he hadn’t ever found a woman who was worth sorting though all of the difficult emotions with. Usually, when a woman swung one way or the other on the emotional scale, he backed off, not knowing how to handle it. Sometimes, he didn’t want to put the effort in to figure out how to handle someone.

  He found himself in the new position of wanting to change that.

  “Why are you always wandering off by yourself in the dark?” he asked.

  “It’s not dark, it’s dusk,” she corrected.

  “It’ll be dark by the time you come out of the store,” he countered.

  “Yes,” Julia conceded a moment later. “Are you here to defend my honor if the need arises?”

  Elliot started walking slowly, waiting for her to follow. When she did, he continued their conversation.

  “Absolutely. That and a couple other reasons.”

  “And what reasons are those?” she asked after a few moments of deep thought as they got to the store and she grabbed a cart.

  “Like I’d give away all my secrets on our second date?” he scoffed.

  “Second date?” There was a question in her voice as they headed to the produce section. “Are you sure?”

  “I’m counting last night as our first date,” he informed her. “Casual conversation and doing something together that we both enjoy—watching Dr. Who. See
ms very first-date-like to me.”

  “Well,” she said as she began carefully choosing oranges. “In that case, I would say that probably last Friday was our first date. Awkward conversation after an uncomfortable introduction which ended with both of us wondering if we even liked each other.”

  “Hmm,” Elliot considered, liking that she was willing to play along. It was like low-key flirting. “So, that makes this our third date?” he agreed. “What happens on the third date?”

  “You’re asking me?” Julia looked up and raised her eyebrow.

  “I guess not,” he agreed with a shrug as she finished sniffing every orange on the display and chose one. She moved onto the pineapples and began poking, shaking, and sniffing those, as well. “I’d think more getting to know you bullshit,” he said.

  “I’m not in the habit of prying information out of people, Elliot. If you want to tell me something, you will. If I’m curious, I’ll find out on my own.”

  “Do you mean like all of the information you’ve willingly shared with me?”

  “I’ve never claimed to be an open book,” she returned. “I’m not good at making friends and I’m not always sure how to act around people.” She shrugged, embarrassed, but kept her pineapple search going. “I’m a better listener than talker.”

  “Speaking of talking, my brothers and I did some talking about your software thing.” Elliot swiftly changed the subject after seeing how fast the conversational track was going downhill.

  “Our software thing,” she corrected.

  “Cole and Tucker had some questions for you. Guess they’ll ask them tomorrow.”

  “Cole already called me twice,” she told him. “No questions from you?”

  He watched as she moved efficiently through the store and filled her cart with a handful of fruit and vegetables, and not much else. She looked so amazing, concentrating so hard on what she was doing, her hair sliding over her shoulder and in front of her face, while she clicked on the linoleum floor with her intimidating shoes. Her armor.

  She offhandedly told him about some of the questions Cole and Tucker had asked and then told him her answers to their questions. She did it without bias, not trying to sway his decision one way or the other.

  While she shopped, she obliviously garnered looks from all types of people in the store. He noticed the man in his late twenties at the meat counter, waiting on bated breath for her to notice him, but she didn’t. The mother in the deli, with two children hanging off her cart, stared at her as she was choosing her produce. When they were in an aisle, he watched as a teenage girl took out her phone, took a picture, and texted it to someone.

  Julia noticed none of these things. She paid no attention to anyone else, concentrating on her groceries and minding her own business. Elliot said nothing about the food in her cart, but added a few things for himself since he planned on eating at her house.

  She just didn’t know that yet.

  He’d put a can of soup in her cart.

  She kept looking down at it and wondering why he’d done that. Next was a bag of chips. Twice she’d tried to veer out of the aisles and into the checkout line, but he’d grabbed the end of the cart and redirected her to the frozen section where he was currently picking out a pint of ice cream.

  How did they go from tenuous civility to buying groceries together in one day?

  “Now, we’re done,” he told her with a small smile as he added his ice cream to the cart. Before she could move, he casually drew her hair over her shoulder and then draped his arm there, leading her to the cashier.

  He stood behind her as she loaded everything onto the conveyer and as she waited, she could feel him playing with her hair. He’d stared intensely at her as they shopped the aisles. That coupled with his gratuitous hair fondling and she was getting turned on.

  In the middle of the grocery store.

  She could feel his breath on the back of head, stirring her hair and her incredibly latent libido, which, of course, was ridiculous.

  “Something wrong?” he asked quietly in her ear, that warm breath tickling her neck and ear.

  “Cut it out,” she told him through clenched teeth over her shoulder, bringing her cheek perilously close to his lips.

  His smile was mischievous and he laughed when their eyes met. “What?”

  Without answering, she pushed her cart forward as it was now her turn and studiously ignored him until he took out his wallet when the cashier told her the total.

  “I’ve got it,” she told him.

  “What kind of third date would it be if I didn’t pay?” he asked as he handed his card to the cashier who could have cared less who paid.

  “Fine,” she answered, even though she didn’t agree.

  There were two paper bags, and they each took one as they began the walk back to her house.

  “Can I ask you something?” Elliot asked her as he looked down at her.

  She shrugged and screwed her mouth up to the side. “I guess so.”

  “Are you a vegetarian?” he made the question sound very grave, very serious.

  Obviously, that wasn’t something she was expecting and she look up at him quickly as they walked. “No.”

  “You didn’t buy anything other than fruits and vegetables.”

  “I got chocolate,” she argued.

  “I don’t care if you are,” he explained. “Just trying to get to know you.”

  “Why?” she asked seriously.

  “C’mon. It isn’t obvious?” he asked.

  “That we’re attracted to each other.” Julia filled in the noticeable blank in his question.

  “Well, yes. That too,” he agreed. “But, that I like you, Julia. I’m trying to spend some time with you to get to know you.”

  She wanted to ask why again but refrained and instead said nothing. Why on earth would he like her, she wondered? She wasn’t even very friendly most of the time. She worked too much and talked too little. Her past was a literal nightmare of despair that she tried not to think about, yet was unavoidable at times, not that he knew that. Sure, she looked good and dressed nice and he looked good, but was that enough? What did he really want?

  “Stop thinking so hard,” he told her as they reached her block. “It isn’t that complicated.”

  “How do you know?” she asked.

  “I guess I don’t,” he admitted. “But I’m willing to find out.”

  She was quiet again until they reached her walkway. Cole’s truck was gone as was Kelsey’s Porsche.

  “Would you like to come in for dinner?” Julia asked. “I was going to make a salad, but could probably rustle up a can of soup if you’d like.”

  He smiled at her then and she swore something inside of her caved in a little. It was like he could see inside of her, see how much extending that invitation took from her and he appreciated it. He accepted it and maybe her.

  “That sounds nice.”

  “Why don’t you go change and I’ll start the soup,” he told Julia after they put the bags down in the kitchen.

  “Why would I need to change?” she asked.

  “So that we can sit on the couch and watch movies again and you can be comfortable.” He looked up at her while taking things out of the bags and setting them on the kitchen island. “C’mon. I’ve already seen you in your pajamas,” he reasoned. “You don’t need the protection from me.”

  “What protection?”

  “The untouchable fancy clothes and shoes,” he replied. “The high heels that say, don’t touch me, peasant.”

  “I don’t think you’re a peasant,” she told him.

  “That’s good,” he agreed and told her honestly, “You don’t need to be untouchable with me, Julia. I won’t hurt you.”

  It took her a second, but he could see her thinking and coming up with her answer. “Okay. I’ll start the salad when I come down.”

  It was only briefly that he wondered why he was pushing her so hard, or rather, why he was pushing himself on h
er. He liked her and not just that, but when he looked hard enough, he saw a lot of himself in her. The wariness, the constant struggle between wanting to close yourself off and knowing you shouldn’t. He’d been there and sometimes he still went there. Julia, seemed to live there, but when he looked at her he could just see that there was so much more inside of her.

  For him, it had taken a lot of time and a lot of patience to get him out of his shell. He couldn’t explain why, but he wanted to do that for Julia. The fact that he got a hard on every time she moved could also be part of the reason that he wanted to spend so much time with her, but even he knew that it went beyond that. They were what his grandmother would have called kindred spirits.

  With that in mind, he dug around her kitchen until he came up with some utensils and a pot, and began heating his soup on the stove. While he did that, he emptied the rest of the groceries on the counter and folded the paper bags neatly in case she wanted to use them again.

  He was standing at the stove again when she came back into the kitchen and he was stunned almost speechless. He couldn’t tell if he liked her better in the ridiculously expensive clothes that fit her like a glove or yoga pants and a T-shirt. She was standing in the doorway, almost shyly pulling the hem of her T-shirt down over the hips of her gray pants, her hair up in a high ponytail. Her long-sleeved shirt was light blue and had a picture of two eggs, sunny-side up and some bacon in the shape of a smiley face, and it said Wakey, Wakey, Eggs and Bakey.

  He laughed when he read it. “I’m loving your T-shirt collection,” Elliot told her.

  “Thanks.” She went into the kitchen and put some things in the refrigerator.

  “Are you going to make a salad?” he asked.

  “Did you want some?”

  “No,” he told her as he took his soup off the burner and turned around to watch her.

  “I think I’ll just have an apple and some grapes,” she murmured, taking her dinner to the sink.

  Elliot didn’t say anything as he was barely holding himself back by a thread. He was so tempted to stand behind her, as she washed the apple, and nuzzle his face into her neck. His hands would rest on her hips and he’d squeeze her, pulling her body back into his as he inhaled her citrus scent. Her round behind, so soft, would press into him and he’d strain against her. He swallowed audibly at the thought and fought the urge to adjust his jeans.