Eli
“Ladies,”I say as the apartment door opens to reveal both Emma and her roommate, Carley. They’re both dressed in nice jeans and sweaters. Appropriate for the chilly fall weather. Winter is fast approaching for sure. I take special notice of Emma’s outfit. Her jeans are tight all the way down her legs. Her deep green sweater, isn’t—sadly. It’s oversized and it hangs down to midthigh. But the color looks gorgeous with her hair and skin. She’s got on some of those short boots women wear now. Her hair is down in waves, which I love. It looks soft and silky. I can’t wait to touch it later.
“Hi, Eli,” Emma says shyly.
“This is Cody.” I reach back and grab Cody’s sleeve and bring him forward. “Cody, meet Carley.”
“Well, you’re as beautiful as Eli described.”
I quickly look at Emma at his words. Sure enough, the smile she had on her face when she opened the door is gone.
“Thanks.” Carley reaches her hand out to shake Cody’s. “Nice to meet you. I’ve heard about you.”
“Oh?” Cody smirks. “My reputation precedes me.”
“Sure.” She chuckles. “If you want to go there.”
“Do not go there, dude,” I mutter, still looking at Emma. “May we come in?” We’re still standing out in the hallway.
“Sure,” Emma says as both she and Carley take several steps back so we can enter. Once we’re inside, Carley asks, “Would you two like anything?”
Yes. Absolutely yes. I’d like the little brunette.
“Well…” She laughs a little. “I guess all we‘ve got is water or coffee.”
“I’m good.” I look over at Cody, who hasn’t taken his eyes off Carley. I knew he’d like her. “Cody?” I slug his arm.
“Huh?” He blinks at me like he just realized I was here. “What?”
“Water? Coffee?”
“Oh.” He chuckles and looks back at his date. “Nah. Thanks.”
“Shall we go then?”
The girls put on jackets and as we approach the door, I hold my hand out for Emma to take. When she slides her palm into mine, I release an inner sigh. Even though her hand is tiny, it feels perfect in mine.
“We thought we’d go to the steak place on Beckett Ave,” Cody says looking at Carley like she’s the actual Stanley Cup. “Unless you don’t care for steak, then we can go somewhere else. Wherever you ladies want to go is fine with me.” He glances at me. “Us.”
My God. Cody is nervous. I want to laugh and make fun of the guy, but I can’t. Not when he’s so obviously in uncharted waters. What happened to my smooth best friend?
“No. That sounds fine to me.” Carley looks at Em. “What do you think, Emma?”
She shrugs, then nods. She’s quiet. Too quiet. So I lean down and whisper in her ear, “What’s wrong?”
“Nothing.” She gives me a smile, but I can tell it’s not a sincere one. How do I know? Because it doesn’t reach her eyes.
I watch Cody head down the stairs first, then Carley. I take the opportunity to straighten this out. When they’re out of sight, I tug Emma close to me. “If this is about calling Carley beautiful….”
“No.” She shakes her head.
“Emma, don’t lie to me.”
“I didn’t….” Emma’s lashes flutter. “Okay. It did. It bothered me.”
“Well…” Pulling her closer, I bend down and kiss her mouth. “I had to say that to get Cody on board with a blind date.”
“She is pretty, though.”
“Not as pretty as you.”
Her eyes roll hard.
“Don’t roll your eyes at me.” I slide my palm down to her round little ass and tap it. “I mean it.”
A blush spreads across her cheeks in record time. “I––”
Kissing her lips again, fast, I take her hand in mine again. “We’d better get down there.”
