Josie’s expression softens for a moment. That seemed to win her over. “I want to make it clear that Eliana and I already have plans to live together when I turn 18. You can take the guest room if you want.” A compromise.
“That works for me.”
“You do have to promise to be clean. I refuse to live in a boy-house.” She locks eyes with me to say she means business.
“Noted. No messes and no boy-house vibes.” I nod.
“So, what brings you here, Jake?” Eliana smiles, entwining our hands together.
“I made dinner for Hockey House and wanted to bring over some leftovers.” I take the large Tupperware out of my bag and place it on the table.
Josie turns to Eliana. “I like him. He can stay.”
“You heard her. She said I could stay.” I beam like I just won the lottery.
“Let me grab some plates. Nicole, will you be joining us?” Eliana calls.
“That depends. Did Jake make his homemade tomato sauce?” Nicole asks from her room.
“And fresh pasta,” I confirm.
“I’ll be there in a second.” Nicole’s enthusiasm draws a small chuckle from my lips. One way or another I knew I’d win over every resident of this apartment.
I head to the kitchen to help Eliana set up.
“Josie really busted my balls back there.” I could handle someone harassing me just fine; I was a hockey player, after all. But I was starting to notice a pattern. “So did Nicole when we first met.”
Eliana takes a second to process then gives me a regretful smile. “That’s on me. I definitely had some preconceived notions about hockey players, and paired with how our first tutoring session went…Let’s just say when I vented to them, I didn’t paint you in the best light. Which is unfair to you. I’m really sorry.”
“Ah I see.” I can’t say I was surprised she had bad mouthed me to her little sister and best friend. I managed to win Nicole over so hopefully I could do the same with Josie.
“I promise I’ve told Josie nothing but good things about you since we started getting closer. She’s just a little protective of me. Or really, we’re protective of each other.”
“I’m the same with my sisters. So, any big plans for the rest of the week, now that Josie’s here?”
“That’s what we were going to figure out tonight. I feel like there’s not much going on in the city.” Eliana gives me a soft smile.
“Yeah, I suppose you can’t exactly take her bar hopping,” I tease.
“Definitely not. And she goes ice skating with her friends all the time, so taking her to the Frog Pond probably won’t be exciting.” She sighs as we walk back to the table where Nicole has joined us. “Did you end up finding anything fun for us to do?”
“Still looking into it but you know how the city starts to go into hibernation around November. Which is funny given how all the New Englanders will still have their iced coffee even when it’s cold enough to cause hypothermia if you’re outside long enough.”
“What about the little market at Seaport? There’s hot chocolate and fun games,” I offer.
“Doesn’t open until next week after Josie leaves.”
Damn. I hated the disappointed look on Eliana’s face, especially knowing how much she cared about Josie and no doubt wanted to make her week.
“It’s fine Ellie. You know I don’t care. I’m just glad I get to hang out with you.” Josie stands up to give Eliana a small hug before we all dive into dinner.
The rest of the night is spent in high spirits, and I can’t think of a time when I’d seen Eliana crack so many jokes. On the surface, she could easily convince you that she wasn’t stressed or overthinking a million things in her head. But I knew better. Something I’ve realized about Eliana the closer we’ve become is how she's a master in hiding her true emotions. Her tells were subtle, a slight tension to her jaw, an eye twitch here and there, the way she would worry her lip between her teeth for minutes before realizing. I wasn’t sure what was causing her so much anxiety, but I had a feeling it was related to her sister’s surprise visit.
Once Josie and Nicole left to get ready for bed, I decided to broach the topic. “I didn’t realize Josie was coming to visit this week.”
Eliana’s shoulders tense. I come behind her, slowly massaging her shoulders while placing a soft kiss on her temple. We stand in silence while I wait for her to speak. Eventually she turns around to bury her head into my chest, and I take that as an opening. “What happened?”
“My mom dropped by this morning.” She lets out a deep breath. “My grandma is sick. She had to fly back to Iran to say goodbye. They don’t have the best relationship, but I think this is still really going to hurt my mom. Goodbyes are hard for most people, but especially for her, ever since my dad left.”
