“We lived through some wild shit last night, and I really needed… a friend. That’s all. You helping out a friend.” She offered a real Elle smile and looked at the counter.
Was that all it was? Me helping out a friend?Sleepingwith a friend?
I frowned and shrugged, anger working its way up my neck.I’m so glad I have you.Thatcouldbe said to a friend. Fuck. I closed my eyes, my heart racing because I felt like I’d missed my chance with Elle before I even had it. “Well, sit. I’ll cook for you.”
I finished the eggs and toast, already getting the yogurt and fruit ready, and placed the dishes on the table. “How are you feeling?”
“Eh, pretty tired.” She took a bite of eggs and put them on her jellied toast.
“What are you doing?”
“Oh. I love eggs and jelly together. Is that strange?”
“Yes.”
She laughed and finished making her weird egg jelly sandwich. “Yum”
My lips quirked, and I relaxed. If she could be this chill, why couldn’t I?Right.We still hadn’t talked about what happened. How come she hadn’t brought it up? Didn’tshewant to figure it out too?
Unless she already told me with thefriendcomment. Fear of being rejected kept me quiet. I wasn’t sure what I was even asking for, but I knew it would hurt if she said no. And…I couldn’t lose her. I’d rather watch her be with someone else than not have Elle in my life. That was how much she’d worked her way into my soul.
I gripped the back of my neck, my entire body a ball of nerves. She ate her food in silence, letting out a sigh of pleasure every so often. There were a few cuts on her face from the glass but no blood, thankfully. She narrowed her eyes at me as I stared, and she pushed her hair out of her face.
That was when I saw it.
The bruise on her forearm.
It was a handprint that stretched a good six inches. “Fuckingasshole.” I jumped from the table, kicking the chair to the side. I wanted to punch him again.
“Cal!” She stood too, frowning as she stared at her arm. “Oh.”
My jaw hurt from how hard I clenched, and I wanted to throw my plate across the room.
“Hey, it’s okay.” She frowned and walked toward me. My temper caught me off guard, and I took a few deep breaths.
“Do you… need ice?” I managed to say in a normal voice. “I might have some.”
“No, I didn’t even feel it until you saw it.” She reached out a hand but let it drop. She looked like she wanted to say something, but she hesitated. She seemed nervous.
“I’m sorry I snapped. I just,” I paused, pinching the bridge of my nose. “The thought of you getting hurtphysicallypains me. Give me a minute.”
She remained quiet as I caught my breath. I had to get it together. Between sleeping with her, spending the night with her, and the bruise? My mind was a fucking mess. My phone went off, breaking the tension, and thank god for that.
It was Charlie. The clean-up party would start in thirty minutes.
Elle finished her food, put the plates in the dishwasher, and thanked me. “I’ll give you your shirt later.”
I nodded, not caring about that. I wanted to be alone to figure out what was wrong with me.
“Thank you, Cal.” She stood on her tiptoes and kissed my cheek. “I’ll see you in a bit.”
My skin tingled from her kiss, and as soon as the door shut, I went to my plants. I needed to escape my own damn head before seeing her again. I’d tried so hard for so many damn years to not feel anything but the high of playing hockey. It was easier. Lonely and sad and miserable as fuck but easier. This mashup of terribly loud and unhinged feelings were so unfamiliar. And weird.
I’d only known her a short time, but the thought of something happening to her terrified me. If I fell deeper and it didn’t work…would I recover? Could I?
I didn’t fucking know, but we had to talk about this thing between us. She meant too much to me to avoid hardconversations. So, I’d help with the bar and then get my shit together because life with Elle made livingoffthe ice worth it.
CHAPTER
