by Rodi Chadish
“He was being an older brother…an idiot older brother who is a complete jackass,” I answered truthfully.
“I happen to know a little bit about that…” he said, his thumb stroking the back of my hand.
“He just opened up an old wound tonight that I’m having trouble closing back up. I don’t think he meant to do it, but he did.” I said turning to face him.
“Can I kick his ass?” Elliot chuckled, his eyes lighting up.
“No…I can take care of him, but thank you for the offer…” I laughed, bringing my hand up to touch his face. “I’m sorry I freaked out earlier…when…I mean…”
“Princess, it is okay. I am not going to pretend it didn’t confuse me because it did. I just thought maybe we were going too fast…that maybe this,” he gestured to his body, “Was too much for you…”
“I promise you it is nothing you did, and we aren’t moving too fast. Like I said, old wounds…” I tried to reassure him, moving in close and touching my forehead to his.
“You have a ledge too?” he asked before his lips found mine.
Breaking the kiss, I answered, “Doesn’t everyone…”
As I let myself melt into him I could feel myself relax, his strong yet gentle hands holding me close until finally, he guided my body to straddle his without breaking our lip-lock. The tension from earlier had melted away. It was as if my body craved his touch and his attention as much as he craved mine. When we settled into the couch to watch the movie I leaned myself against the firmness of his chest, his arm coming to rest over my body. I felt protected and cared for in a way that I hadn’t felt in a very long time. His fingers brushed along the inside of my arm while we half-watched the movie, conversation becoming more important. It was hard for me to leave the warmth of his embrace when I looked at the clock and saw it was well past eleven. I helped carry in the aftermath of our dinner and as he took me to the door I paused briefly letting my eyes follow the steps up to the second floor. His hand found my waist and pulling me onto his lap he brushed the hair from my face and placed his forehead against mine.
“Be careful going home pretty girl…” he said, closing his eyes like he was memorizing this moment.
“I’ll be fine Elliot,” I teased, planting a quick kiss on his nose before getting up.
“Text me when you get home?” he asked, worry lines creasing his forehead.
“Will do handsome,” I smiled as I walked out the door.
I could feel his eyes on me and sure enough, when I got in the car and looked he was still sitting in the doorway.
eight
Elliot
She tensed. In that moment, all my current fears flashed before my eyes. Inside my mind, I was reeling, was it me? Was it my gut, the fact that my lifeless feet just rested there, a little crooked and bare? Was she repulsed by me? It took everything in me to not shut down right then as she backed away from me, a terrified look on her face. Something about the look in her eyes though gave me enough hope to barrel through that twenty-five-minute dinner. When I asked her to tell me before we began eating she promised she would after we were finished, twenty-five minutes of silence, enough time for my overactive imagination to come up with a list as long as Santa’s of reasons she should not be with me. Then when she did decide to open up a little bit, I realized it wasn’t me at all. By some small miracle my gut and crooked feet didn’t repulse her, some other guy had done a number on her… She didn’t have to tell me that, I could see it all over her face.
While I was dying to know what had happened to her, what exactly the old wound her brother had brought up was, for now, I knew enough to back off. I wanted her to want to tell me what it was, so I let it go that night. Eventually, I hoped she would trust me enough to tell me. When she left the other night, I found myself missing her almost instantly in the quiet of my house. I couldn’t believe how easily I was falling in love with her. As the heat between us died down and we cuddled on the couch we talked about life, work, and anything else we could think of. Conversation flowed so easily between us as though we’d known each other for way longer than a few days. I know it was just beginning to scratch the surface but as I found my way to bed I couldn’t get her off my mind. Her tanned skin, exposed by the tank top she’d been wearing, the way her dark hair fell in soft waves, tickling my neck as we kissed, all of her, I fell asleep to thoughts of her beautiful face close to mine as we kissed.
I missed our morning coffee meet up the next day but we texted all day long while I tried to get her to tell me what we were going to be doing on our date. Needless to say, she wasn’t offering any more hints. Pulling my head down out of the clouds, I took a call from my father late in the day on Friday.
“Elliot, how is it going? Any issues?” he asked, sounding far away.
“It’s been fine, Dad. Thank you…” I said quietly, barely making out my mother’s voice in the background asking how it went.
“I knew when I saw you the other day you were ready. Something was different about you. You were ready El,” he said.
“Glad you saw it because I sure didn’t…” I chuckled.
“Your mother says hello,” he said, completely changing the subject.
“Hi, Ma…” I said as she took over the phone.
“Oh honey, I’m so proud of you, I don’t think you know how happy this makes me,” she said, choking up.
“Ma, really it’s not a big deal…but listen I have to go, I have a patient in a few minutes,” I lied.
“Did you hear that Bill, he’s got a patient…” I heard her say before my father said his goodbyes and we hung up.
I couldn’t help but chuckle at my mother. Sometimes she was tough as nails and then on a dime she would lose her mind and cry, but lately, with me, she hadn’t been anything but tough. I can’t even imagine what she is going to do if Taylor and I get together. Poor Taylor, I thought to myself as I wheeled down the hall to Mark’s office. I don’t think she knows what she’s getting herself into with my crazy family.
“Hey bud, what’s up?” Mark asked when I came through the door.
“Can I… I mean… would Julia mind if I brought someone to dinner? I mean if she’s able to come that is,” I asked, lifting myself up for a few seconds and then dropping back down.
“I knew it!” he nearly shouted, “I knew something was up… you’ve been this whole other person the last few days…it was almost like nothing ever happened.” Mark said with a look on his face I knew too well.
“Well, would she mind?” I asked, hoping to avoid what I knew was coming next.
“Elliot, are you kidding? You know she makes enough to feed us plus the entire neighborhood at these dinners, besides she is going to flip when I tell her,” he said, without taking a breath. “Where did you meet her? Is she hot? Stripper? I knew eventually you would find a stripper!”
Every single time I’ve ever, in my life started dating a girl my older brother has assumed she was a stripper. Every girl. From the time I was fourteen he’s been asking me this ridiculous question and I had known by the look on his face that it was coming.
“Yeah man, stripper…Her Name is Candy,” I fed into his insanity.
“Seriously?” he asked.
“Yes, seriously. I met her the other night at Glamour with Brian,” I kept up the joke.
“No, really?” he asked for the third time, total shock on his face.
“No, you asshat, god why do you always assume I’m going to date a stripper? Her name is Taylor, and I met her earlier in the week. She’s kind of a Jane of all Trades, though stripper is not one of them.” I laughed.
“Damn I thought maybe once you would prove me right…” he said, laughing too.
“Well listen I just wanted to check and make sure it would be alright, I mean I haven’t even asked her if she can go but I figured I’d rather introduce her to all you nuts sooner rather than later so she knows what she’s getting herself into,” I said.
“Bring her, and you are jus
t as nuts, if not more than we are…” he said, reaching for his ringing phone, “Be over at two.”
I finished out the day and decided to skip the gym, the soreness from the night before still bothering me. After I got home I changed clothes and took the truck out to get it washed then decided that a relaxing night on my deck would be nice. The weather was warm and breezy and as I cracked a beer and transferred onto one of the lounge chairs my phone went off.
“Hey princess,” I answered.
“Hi Elliot, I’m not interrupting gym time, am I?” she asked.
“Skipped it tonight, I went a little hard yesterday,” I answered.
“I wondered, it looked like you were in pain last night,” she said.
“What is on your agenda for the evening?” I asked.
“Getting my gear together to do some engagement shots and then home to relax,” she said, as I heard her rustling around.
“Sounds fun. You ready for our date tomorrow?” I laughed.
“I sure am, question is, are you?” she teased.
“I guess, we will just have to find out, won’t we,” I joked, laughing harder.
“I like it when you laugh Elliot…” she said softly.
I didn’t know how to respond to her statement so I remained quiet for a few moments before she spoke again, “I’ll meet you at Davy’s at nine thirty okay? I really have to get off now or else I’ll be late meeting this couple.”
“Have a good night pretty girl,” I said.
“You too Elliot,” she replied before hanging up.
Not long after she hung up, my phone started ringing again and I realized that my relaxing evening probably wasn’t going to happen.
“Elliot, you’ve been holding out on me, I can’t believe you told Mark first!” Ethan exclaimed.
“Hello to you, too, Ethan. I only told him because I had to ask him if I could bring her to dinner, or else I wouldn’t have told either of you just yet,” I said flatly.
While I loved my brothers, and would do anything for them, they could be very intrusive.
“Mark didn’t even tell me, Becky told me because Julia told her…” Ethan said.
“At this rate, I may not even come. If you all are going to make a huge deal out of this, I’ll keep her away… I haven’t even asked her to come yet, I was just trying to make sure adding another person wasn’t a big deal…” I said in a huff.
“Elliot…We are just excited for you. Really,” he said pausing, “I mean it’s been a while you know. Will mom like her?” he finished honestly.
“I think so, I really do. I think she would fit in with us easily…” I said before I could stop myself.
“You have already fallen for her, haven’t you?” he asked, surprised.
“No…” I said, hoping he couldn’t hear the lie.
“You’re so full of shit, El,” he chuckled.
Despite the brotherly jagging and irritations, Ethan and I were close, and he probably knew me better than any other person on the planet, even Mark.
“Hey, I’m just trying to get to know her, but if it does work out yes, I’ve fallen,” I answered.
“Good. It’s about time El,” he said.
We chatted for a little while and then I said goodbye with promises to keep him in the loop. I watched the sun go down while I finished my beer. Every once in a while, I sit out here like this gazing at the sunset and just being at peace with the cool breeze. It’s extremely relaxing but a lot of times I miss having people around, splashing in the pool, cooking out on the grill and tossing around the football. Maybe in a few weeks, I’ll host the Sunday dinner, I thought as I crossed back into the house.
A little after nine I headed into my bathroom, which was the only one in the house that had been modified. The guest bathrooms on this level and on the upper floor had remained untouched. I pulled in under the sink and started my nightly routine, while I thought about the upstairs and how long it had been since I’d been up there. Thankfully Becky came over once a month to help me do a mass cleaning since it was such a pain for me to get upstairs. My father had asked me after rehab if I wanted a chair lift installed and at the time it didn’t seem like I would ever need it, why did I need to go up there, when everything I needed was right here on this floor. I was surprised actually that Taylor hadn’t asked about it when I saw her pause to look up the staircase before she left.
I was just transferring into bed when my phone dinged with a message.
Hey prince charming, surprised I didn’t hear from you tonight, did you fall asleep early?
No, I just spent the evening relaxing. I figured you were busy so I didn’t want to bother you. ☺
I’ve been home for a little while now, just heading to bed though and wanted to say goodnight.
Well, goodnight then pretty girl… sweet dreams.
Goodnight Elliot, I can’t wait to spend the day with you tomorrow.
It’s funny that she said that because I’d typed and deleted it three times. I really was excited to be spending the day with her and as I let myself drift off to sleep I wondered what she had in store for us. I woke up with Taylor on my mind, wondering what it would be like to wake up next to her. Did she have crazy hair in the morning? Did she snore? Was she a cuddler? What did her little curves look like in the morning light? I tried to push those thoughts aside, if I let them take over I wouldn’t be able to concentrate all day with her around and in the flesh.
I hurried to get out of bed and start getting ready. When I finished in the shower I pulled out a pair of perfectly distressed jeans, and Indian motorcycle t-shirt to pair with some gray Chuck Taylors that I’d had for ten years or more. I remember my first pair of those shoes, I was twelve, and had begged my parents for them. When they finally gave in, I wore them till they had holes in the soles. It was all I wore through high school unless I was running or wearing my cleats. My mother had threatened on several occasions to throw them away because they were so worn out. I chuckled to myself thinking about how I’d never have that issue now as I ran a little bit of gel into my hair. I hadn’t shaved this morning and I hoped Taylor didn’t mind. I rechecked my bag and grabbed the keys and some aviators off the entry table and ignoring the stomach flipping nervousness headed to my truck for our adventure.
It was only nine and I had some time to kill, it would only take me fifteen minutes to get to Davy’s. I cued up a playlist on my phone that would break eardrums and sat wondering how exactly I would fit in her tiny car. I was always thinking now, can I get in there, will I make it up those three steps, will I fit? I’d managed once to squeeze myself, and my chair into Becky’s Prius with Ethan, but that was different, I wasn’t trying to impress anyone then. Letting the music course through me I was trying to force myself to realize that I was going to have to get over some of the things that bothered me about being in the chair. Around my family, it was no big deal, anymore, but around her, I wanted to be… Normal? Strong? Manly? Whole? Who I used to be… I wanted to impress her, sweep her off her feet and make her mine. I scrubbed at my face with my hands trying to climb out of this mini chauvinistic funk that I’d slipped into in a matter of minutes, enough is enough Elliot, she’s already said she likes you, don’t mess this up, I mentally scolded myself. I turned up the music and pulled out of my driveway, trying to imagine what she had planned.
When I pulled in I noticed her talking to someone, her cheeks flushed. I hurried to get out of the truck, a little less gracefully than normal due to her look of unease. When I turned, though, he was almost to me, it was this guy Dave I used to play softball with, before. Then it dawned on me, this is her brother, Dave, who knew me when…
nine
Taylor
Literally, the minute I woke up I knew that the day was going to be awesome. I couldn’t wait to take Elliot to one of my favorite places. I popped a coffee pod in and jumped in the shower, not even drying my hair before I got dressed. I’d decided on a simple little flowy skirt, some gladiator sandals, an
d a loose halter tank top. Minimal makeup on and hair just loose I took one last look in the mirror and fixed the travel mug to head out. I wasn’t running late but wanted to make sure I got there first. I didn’t want to chance Dave being there for some reason early and running into Elliot. I grabbed my camera bag and sunglasses off the table by the door and almost screamed bloody murder when I opened the door to Dave, speak of the devil.
“What are you doing here?” I asked, catching my breath.
“I wanted to make sure you were okay,” he answered.
“I’m fine…just heading out actually,” I said coolly.
“Do you have a client?” he asked, nodding at my camera bag.
“No, I’m taking Elliot to the botanical gardens,” I answered, watching his face fall.
“Oh. Is he picking you up?” he quizzed.
“No, we are meeting at the bar and going from there. Why is this so interesting for you?” I asked.
“Just wondering. Listen, I’m sorry I jumped to conclusions yesterday. I just…I want you to be happy…” he said, not looking me in the eye.
“I am happy Dave, and I don’t know if I’ll be happy with Elliot or not, I mean we just met, but I think I could be…” I answered honestly.
“Okay, I’ll try not to jump to any more conclusions then, but if he does anything I hope you know I’m not above knocking out a guy in a chair,” he half-joked.
“Good to know… now can I go?” I said, offering a small smile.
“Yeah. Text me later though so I know you’re alright…” he said, waiting for me as I closed the door.
“Okay, Mom…” I laughed, as I followed him towards my car.
With a little wave, I pulled out, knowing full well he was going to follow me. I didn’t want to even consider what he would do when we got to the bar, though I knew he was going to try and get a meet and greet. Sure enough, when I pulled in he followed behind me.
“Dave, please just go inside,” I whined as I approached his car.
“Why don’t you want me to meet him? It’s making me even more suspicious,” he said, grinning.