Mom laughed and swatted the air at my joke. I was in a really good mood because I was going to see Elijah.
“Bye, sweetie. I love you.”
“Love you too, Mom.”
I shut the door to Thomas’s Escalade and pulled my backpack over my shoulders as I made my way inside the Brentwood Mental Health Services building. I used the time in the elevator to check out my hair and reapply my bubble gum pink lip gloss. I unbuttoned a few buttons on my soft, light blue and cream flannel shirt, revealing the gray tank top underneath. As I exited the elevator, I looked down at myself to make sure I didn’t have any lint or fuzz on me. When I reached his suite, I took a deep breath before pulling open the door.
Anxiously, I sat and waited for him to appear. I wondered what he’d have on today. My pulse raced as the door to his office opened.Oh my God, there he is. A navy button-down dress shirt clung to his muscular frame as he walked down the hall toward his lobby. I was dying to see his lower half.Come on, what color pants do you have hiding that sexy ass and bulge?
Our eyes connected, and we smiled at the same time. He stopped at his receptionist’s desk to hand her a piece of paper. I held my breath as he rounded the desk and counter area. My eyes slid down his body—light gray pants!Oh my God, that bulge!His gray pants were definitely my favorite so far. They accentuated the bump that jutted forward behind his fly.
“Hi, Salem.” Elijah gestured toward the hallway with his head. “Shall we?”
Yes. Yes, we fucking shall. We shall do whatever the hell you’d like to do, my handsome Elijah.
I tried not to look like I’d leaped off the couch, but I damn well nearly did. I smiled as I walked closer, and I paused in front of him.
“After you,” he said and gestured this with his hand for me to lead the way.
I stepped inside his office and pulled my backpack off my shoulders and headed to the same seat that I had last time. He closed the door and went to his seat, immediately striking up a conversation.
“Did you walk here directly from school or catch a ride with a friend?” he asked, his eyes on my purple backpack.
“No, my mom picked me up from school and dropped me off. She has a party to go to tonight with Thomas and was in a hurry to get to her hair appointment.”
“Is she picking you up?”
“She is. She might be a little longer than our appointment, but she told me to wait downstairs in the lobby until she gets here. I can work on my homework while I wait.”
Elijah kept his eyes on mine as I spoke. God, he was easy to look at, and I let my eyes wander. With his right leg crossed and propped up on his left knee, I could see a hint of his dick pressed against the crotch of his pants. I brought my eyes back up to his, and he was still looking at me.Did he know I was checking out his crotch?
“I’m sure you’re glad today is Friday and that the weekend is here,” he commented. He adjusted the positioning of his leg so he gave me a better view of his crotch. Oh my God, yes! If he only knew.
“I look forward to Fridays,” I admitted.
“Of course you do.” He turned his hands over, palms up, and looked around his office. “You get to kick off your weekend with me. What’s not to look forward to?” His tone was light and playful, and there was even a hint of sarcasm to it. Though he had no idea that he had quickly become the reason that I looked forward to Friday.
“I actually enjoy coming to talk with you.”
“That makes me happy, Salem. I enjoy spending Friday afternoons with you too.”
He really had no clue that I’d fantasized about him during the week, and that I’d drifted off to sleep while thinking of him.
“Tell me about school this week. Did you try to talk to another student in one of your classes like we discussed last time?”
“Yes,” I answered and sat back in the comfortable chair to begin our conversation. “There’s a girl who sits next to me in my chemistry class. Her name is Sioux. She’s usually quiet too and doesn’t seem to hang out with a lot of other kids. I’ve seen her during lunch, and she keeps to herself and usually reads. Anyhow, we had to pair up to work on a lab during class, so instead of me waiting around to see who was left and joining them, I asked her if she wanted to be partners.”
“That’s great, Salem. How did she respond?”
“She smiled and said she’d like to be partners. It was nice to not be one of the last people to begin lab work for once. That was on Tuesday, and on Wednesday when I saw her outside at lunch, I decided to go up to her again.”
“Really? That’s fantastic! I’m so proud of you!”
I could feel my cheeks get warm when he said he was proud of me.Mmm … reward me, Elijah.
“I asked her if she minded if I sat on the bench with her, and when she looked up and saw me, she smiled. She set her book down, and I used it as an opening for some conversation. We talked about books for a while. She’s a Stephen King fan. We’ve been having lunch together each day this week. Today she was telling me which book she was going to start reading this weekend, so I’m going to pick a copy up tomorrow, and we’re going to have our own book club together.” I shrugged, minimizing the enormity of breaking out of my shell.
“Salem, that’s wonderful. I’m so happy to hear that you made a move to make a friend.”
