His father’s baritone wavered, and Elliot realized for the first that this was as difficult for his farther as it was for him. He sensed the happiness, the sadness, the emotion in his father’s voice, and it shook him hard. For the first time, he saw his father in a different light. The guy who always tried to do what was right, who provided for his family. He worked his hardest, served his country, married his high school sweetheart. Then later, raised a child that wasn’t his own.
“I was thinking… Will you and Mom be home for Christmas? Maybe I could come for a visit?”
“Yes, yes, we’ll be home. Your mother—” He paused. “We would love that.”
“Me too.”
They’d lost so much time. Lost so many moments, it was hard to think of something to say. “How’s work, Dad? Is the shop doing well?”
His father’s voice relaxed a little, as he told him about a few younger men he’d hired to take over. He then told him about the other shops that had opened in town, the weather, the politics.
“Sounds like things haven’t changed much.”
“They haven’t.” But he could hear the smile in his father’s voice as he looked over to the clock. Realizing it was already five after, he sat up. “Hey, Dad, it was great talkin’ to you, but I really gotta go. Can I call you later?
“Sure thing, son.”
“Tell Mom I love her?”
“Sure.”
“Bye, Dad.”
“Bye.”
Turning off the engine, Elliot shoved his phone in his pocket, and climbed out of the cab. From the pavement, he could see Mary standing in her kitchen window with an apron around her neck. He buzzed into the building from below, and could smell the aromas coming from the apartment before she even let him in.
“Oh God, you’re here already.”
He laughed, standing in the doorway. “Should I come back?”
She shook her head, waiving him forward. “No no, I just—” she yanked her apron from around her neck and clutched it in one hand. “The damn recipe said it would only take any hour, but I—” She took a deep breath, closed her eyes, then opened them again. “Wine. I need wine, how about you?”
Elliot followed after her, “Please,” She urged him to fill a glass with Merlot . “Help yourself,” she said. “Though I do have a chilled Chardonnay in the fridge if you prefer white?”
He shook his head, “This is great.” He helped himself to the bottle on the table, reading the label before setting it back down. “Everything smells fantastic.”
She grinned at him, then opened up a pan filled with sautéed garlic and onions. “Smoke and mirrors.” She smiled, taking a sip of her drink. “I learned it on Queer Eye for the Straight Guy.”
He laughed “I think I saw that episode. Fe”— He paused for a second—“always watches it.” But he turned to the living room, and pulled in a deep breath.
Pictures of Mary were everywhere. With her parents, her friends…someone he guessed was her sister because they looked so much alike.
“Fe—that’s your roommate, right?”
He nodded. “Yes.” Feeling his chest grow tight in his chest.
“Is that short for Fiona? I can’t say I’ve ever heard the name before.”
He really didn’t want to talk about Fe, in fact, the whole point of him coming out tonight was to forget about her. But, how could he? They lived together. Had the same friends. The same life. “No.” He shook his head. “It’s just Fe. The element for iron.” All of a sudden, he was reminded of how stubborn she was. How she never backed down, even when she was wrong.
“Have you been roommates long?”
“Five years,” he answered. He turned toward the window, where the soft sounds of the ocean could be heard crashing against the shore. The last month began flashing back to him. Everything with Fe, with his brother, his father, and everything started to click into place. His father pushed him away because he thought it was right. And Fe pushed him away because— because… Why was she pushing him away?
He thought about their dinner all those weeks ago when they came up with the plan. “Why do you want her so bad?” she’d asked him. Because for once he wanted that girl. The one who never noticed him. Who thought she was too good for him. Only that girl, that girl he wanted now, wasn’t Mary… He didn’t know it then, but he knew it now.
But did Fe? Did she realize he wanted her? Or was she pushing him toward Mary because she thought she was what he wanted?
Or maybe it was like what his brother said. And she was scared. Just like he was. Scared of risking it all, and coming up with nothing.
Turning back to Mary, he watched as she pulled a tri-tip roast from the oven and set it on the counter. His heart was racing, and he felt like he may throw up, but he knew what he had to do.
“I’m sorry,” He set his wineglass on the table, and began patting his body for his keys. “I really have to go. I have to—” But he could barely think straight, let alone form a proper sentence.
Mary pulled the oven mitt from her hand and placed it on the counter. “Is everything okay?”
He frowned. “Yes—No. But I’m hoping that if I leave right now, I can change that.”
Mary leaned her hip against the counter, watching him. “Rain check?”
“No—I’m sorry.” He met her eyes, silently apologizing for his behavior. “I just.” He pulled his keys from his front pocket and turned toward the door. “I’ll explain later.” Running down the stairs as fast as he could, he climbed into his truck, and turned over the ignition. All he wanted was to be back with Fe, to grab her, and tell her exactly what he was thinking, exactly what he was feeling.
The drive back to their hime seemed to take forever, but in reality he barged into their apartment ten minutes later, and found her sitting on the couch in her pajama’s. She was eating a bowl of cereal, and stood the moment she saw him. “Elliot?”
But he only closed the door behind him and walked slowly toward her. He was sweating, his pulse racing, but he didn’t give a shit. He was going after what he wanted. Maybe for the first time in his life.
He clenched his jaw, took the remote from the coffee table, and clicked off the TV.
She swallowed hard, smoothing her nerdy sleep shirt over her breasts. “Wh—What’s happening, Is everything okay?” she stammered out.
“You’re a good woman,” he said to her as he came closer. “And you’re nice to me.”
She backed away, her head shaking, but there were tears glistening in her eyes. “This isn’t funny, Elliot. What are you doing—what happened to Mary?”
“I love you, Fe Porto, and I think you love me.”
Her eyebrows pinched together, but she only shook her head. “Of course, I love you. You’re—you’re my best friend.”
He adjusted his stance when he was only a few inches away, bracing one hand on either side of the wall that she’d backed herself into. He looked into her eyes. “That’s not what I’m talking’ about, and you know it.”
Tears ran down her cheeks, but she couldn’t run away from him anylonger. He had her trapped, and he wouldn’t let her go until he said all he needed to say.
“I love you.” His words were raw, almost choking him, but he wouldn’t let his own pride and fear of rejection hinder him anymore. His brother was right. If he didn’t go after her, he’d lose her, and he knew he’d never be able to live with himself. “I love you.” He repeated. “I have for a long time, but this is me, finally being man enough to say it out loud.”
Her lip quivered, and she closed her eyes. “Elliot—“
“I went to Mary’s apartment,” he said, interrupting her, needing her to know what happened. “My intention was to forget about you. To forget about last weekend, about the last four weeks, about the last five years. But you’re a part of me, Fe. Not just another person, but a piece of my soul. You’re the person who knows the best and the worst of me. Who knows me better than I know myself. You can fill me with joy, or rip my
heart out with a simple glance, and honestly, I don’t ever want to forget any of it.”
“Elliot.” Her back was tense, and she was shaking her head, almost pleading for him to stop.
“What are you afraid of?”
She was breathing heavy, and he knew this was hard for her, but he needed to push her, to get things out in the open, once and for all. He wouldn’t let her go, wouldn’t let her run, not without knowing where they stood.
His hands moved to her arms, smoothing over them, until he took both of her hands in his. “What are you thinking?” he whispered.
A mixture of laugher and sobs rolled from her mouth as she looked up at him. “That I’m terrified. That I’m afraid I’ll lose you.” Her eyes were red rimmed and swollen. “I can’t lose you,” she finally whispered.”
“You won’t,” he said softly back.
“Statistics prove otherwise.” She shook her head. “Relationships fail, marriages fail… My brother—”
He held one finger to her lips, shushing her. “Since when do you listen to your brother?”
A sob and laugh, came out at the same time.
“Listen to your heart.” He laid one hand on her chest. “Listen to your head.”
He took her fingers and kissed them. She was his best friend, the girl he laughed with, and joked with, and wanted to spend the rest of his life with. “I love you, Fe Porto. I love you so much, it hurts.”
“What about Mary? I thought she was your dream girl?”
“Mary is strong, and beautiful, and intelligent, but she’s not you. She’ll never be you.”
Fe began to cry, looking up q5 him with tear streaked cheeks. “I’m scared.”
“Me too.”
“But—”
He took her face between his hands, brushing her tears away with his thumbs. “This is us, Fe. Us. We’re different, just like you always tell me. All I’m afraid of right now, is that some other guy will get to be your John Wayne before I do.”
She was crying harder, her chin wobbling, but she lifted up on her toes, wrapped her arms around his neck, and crushed herself to his chest. “I love you, Elliot Prescott. I love you so much.”
Everything within him burst at the same time. His heart, his head, all the weight he’d been carrying around for his whole life. He picked her up, cradling her in his arms, and settled his mouth upon hers. “God, I love the sound of that.” He kissed her hard, with all of his heart, with all of his soul, and when he almost had his fill of her, he kissed her again.
When their mouths finally parted, she placed one hand on his jaw and pressed her forehead to his. “We have chemistry, Elliot Prescott.”
He grinned. “We do.”
“I love you very much.”
“I love you too.”
Epilogue
Six months later
Dropping her bag to the living room floor, Fe rolled her shoulders backward and tried to ignore the fact that her hair still smelled like vinegar. It had been a simple experiment, one where eggshells were dissolved to study the theory of osmosis, but somehow it had gone remarkably wrong. Kids began bouncing the eggs like rubber balls against the counters, which was okay to do at a short distance, but soon, eggs were being tossed back and forth, and all around the science lab. Fe ended up staying late, cleaning vinegar and eggs off of the walls. It was one for the record books, and she’d never been so happy to be home in her entire life.
Kicking off her shoes to the corner of the room, she frowned as she glanced around the empty apartment. It was unusually quiet, especially considering she was home so late. “Elli?” she called out to him, but there was no answer.
She continued on to the hall, where she spotted a single red rose petal on the floor. Scratching her head, she bent down to pick it up, but saw another. In fact, there was a whole trail of them that led straight to her bedroom. She bit her lip. This little surprise was exactly what she needed.
When the door sprung open, she followed another trail of rose petals to the bed, and covered her mouth. Elliot was laying in the middle of the mattress wearing his happy-faced emoji boxers, and nothing else.
He grinned at her, pushed off the bed, and rose up to his knees. “I thought you’d never get home.”
She smiled, not wasting any time, and grabbed the edge of her shirt as she began walking toward the bed. But she stopped a foot away, because she spotted a long brown box lying beside him on the mattress. “What’s that?” she asked suspiciously, but her heart was already racing a crazy rhythm.
He flipped open the box and cocked one eyebrow. “Funny you ask. Because I had the same question when I found it in the closet.”
“What were you doing in the closet?”
“Organizing. Making room for some of my stuff.”
She rolled her eyes, because leave it to Elliot to try and organize, but then he crooked one finger and beckoned her forward.
She loved how he teased her, she loved how they played, and ow he could make her insides churned with anticipation with a simple gesture. She walked closer, stopping at the edge of the bed to look down into the box. Both excitement and nervous flutters simmered inside of her. Because the King of Love, ribbed rabbit for her pleasure, was staring right back at her.
“Its never been opened,” he said, taking the purple vibrator form the box and turning it on. “Why is that?”
She shrugged, trying to contain a manic giggle. Moving closer, she kneeled at the edge of the bed, watching as he continued to run through each of the ten speeds.
“How was your day, baby?” he asked in a deep southern drawl.
She grinned wildly, as she moved closer, stopping only when her lips were a fraction away from his. “Better. Now that I’m with you.”
His smile widened against her lips. “I like that answer.” He pulled her farther onto the bed, then bent her backward, until she was laying in front of him in a puddle. He proceeded to unbutton her pants, and place sweet kisses along her collarbone.
She grinned in-spite of herself. Not because it was funny, but because she was so happy she couldn’t contain it any longer. Six months ago, if someone were to tell her that her and Elliot would share this type of passion, she would have laughed in their face. But now she knew without a doubt, it was true. He was funny, sexy, completely selfless, and he was all hers.
THE END
About the Author
Taylor Sullivan is mom of three young (or not so young) children she loves more than life. She runs them around endlessly, hoping she looks presentable enough to be out in public, and day dreams about fictional characters. Maybe she's crazy, or maybe she craves the Barbie games she played as a little girl a little too much, but that's where her stories are born. It's where they blossom, and grow, and eventually breath life on the pages of her stories.
She resides in Los Angeles with the love of her life, her children, and three dogs. She becomes giddy with excitement every time she hears from a fan, and would love to hear from YOU!
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