“I officially hate you both.”
Noah’s voice called out faintly in the background. “Hey, I was on your side!”
“Sure you were,” I muttered.
Dorian chuckled. “So, what happened?”
“What the fuck did you do when you were in love with Noah but convinced you weren’t, and she was also totally not in love with you except obviously was?”
“I tried not to be a disaster,” he said. “Did Ellie pull away?”
“Yeah. She said she needed space, time to process everything.”
“Then give it to her.”
“And just…what? Sit here hoping she comes back?” I leaned forward, elbows on my knees again. “How do I know when it’s been long enough? How do I not screw it up by doing too much or not enough?”
“With Noah, when everything was going down with John, I stayed close. I didn’t push. I showed up, but I didn’t demand anything. I let her get there on her own, even if I was doing the same. She had a fucking lot going on with him, and I was working through my own issues, but us… It just took some time.”
“You’re glad you did?”
“Glad?” he asked. “Noah is the love of my life, and I would be nothing without her. Of course I’m glad.”
“Even if you got a broken leg out of it?”
“Even then.”
I chewed the inside of my cheek.
“She probably needs that from you too,” Dorian said. “This whole thing started on your terms. She’s still catching up.”
“What do you mean?”
“You’ve had a thing for her since forever. Yeah, I’m sure that’s only grown since you’ve gotten to know her, but you still had this idea of Ellie in your head before you actually had her. You started on the fifty-yard line, man. She’s still back at the twenty. Give her time to run the play. Give her time to catch up.”
I pressed my thumb to my temple. “And if she doesn’t want to?”
“I don’t think that’s your problem.”
“How the fuck do you know that?”
“Have you seen the video from her show the other night?” he asked.
“No, dumbass. She asked for space. Normally, I watch every show or catch the highlights. But…not right now. It’s too hard.”
“Well,” he murmured, “I think you should check it out. Might change how you’re feeling.”
“How do you know more about what’s going on with Ellie than I do?”
“Did you forget I live with your niece?” he shot back right as a crashing sound came through the speaker. “Shit, sorry, gotta go. Gracie’s redecorating with glitter. But seriously. Watch the video.”
“Yeah, yeah. Sure.”
I hung up and typed her name into the search bar without thinking. The first result said it all.
Ellie Miles Debuts Unreleased Song in New York
I skipped past the fluff, ignored the gossip, and hit play on the embedded video.
