“That is the second woman I’ve seen you be rude to for no reason.”
“I wasn’t rude. I just wasn’t friendly.” He stepped in front of her, tilting her chin up. “Do you want me to be friendly to them?”
Eri swallowed as an uneasy feeling settled in her stomach because, no, she didn’t want him to be, but how was she supposed to tell him that when she was still figuring out what she wanted? It would be unfair to him. Luckily for her, she didn’t have to reply because he answered the question for her.
“We both know the answer is no. As long as I’m not being blatantly disrespectful to them for no reason, then it doesn’t matter because they don’t matter.”
The sound of confetti caught Eri’s attention. She looked into the room to find that one game was finished, and the others were not too far behind. It was a welcome distraction from those intense eyes.
Eri unlocked her front door before turning to Elias. After their last game, they walked through and took in the effect walls and took a few pictures. She’d had fun and definitely planned to return sometime soon.
“Thank you for taking me out. I had fun,” she admitted.
“You don’t have to thank me, Amate, and I’m glad you had fun.”
Eri bit her lip as she paused, debating whether to invite him in. It was almost ten-thirty, so it wasn’t too late. She didn’t have time to decide before he was caressing her cheek.
“I’ll call you tomorrow.” Eri nodded, and her heart rate increased when his eyes dipped to her lips. “Good night, Amate.”
Is he not going to kiss me?she wondered. She tried to keep from furrowing her brow and showing the confusion on her face, but she knew she had failed.
“I want to, and you want me to,” he responded as if he’d read her mind. He leaned down and placed his lips next to her ear. “But you still need to ask me.” He kissed the shell of her ear, then opened her front door.
Eri stood there a moment because, sure, he’d told her he would wait until she asked him the last time he dropped her off, but she hadn’t thought he would stick to it. They both knew how stubborn she was, and she’d thought he’d forget all about having said it. She was wrong; it looked like he was sticking to his guns.Damn him,she thought. She tried to push the words from her lips, and when they wouldn’t come, she released an inaudible sigh.
She stepped back into her doorway. A sense of déjà vu blanketed them.
“Text me when you make it home,” she requested.
“I will,” he agreed.
Eri closed and locked her door, looking through the peephole to see him walk off. She placed her back against the door and a hand over her stomach.
“Yeah, yeah. I know, I know. Pipe down.”
Pushing herself off the door, she went into her bedroom. She was happy that she had a session scheduled with her therapist in the coming week. She needed to figure out her feelings.
9
“So, anything new since we last spoke?” Cherell asked as their session started.
Eri nodded. “I agreed to make some promotional media for an event, I went on a date, I’m almost finished with my cross-stitch picture I started, and I’m ahead on—”
“Wait,” Cherell stated, cutting her off. Something she seldom ever did, and Eri knew why. “Back up a second. You what?”
“Agreed to make promotional media.”
“Not that.”
“Almost finished my cross stitch,” Eri stalled.
“Not that either. You know what I want you to repeat.”
Picking up the throw pillow beside her, Eri hugged it to her chest. “I went on a date.”
Cherell studied her for a moment before nodding. “Do you want to talk about it?”
Eri did, and she was sure her therapist knew she did. She never brought up anything she wasn’t ready to discuss. However, she was unsure of where to even start. She could start with her and Elias bumping into each other, with him asking her to have lunch and, later, inviting her to Koa’s party. But Eri knew that wouldn’t be sufficient in helping her figure out what she felt and wanted because her confusion had started before that.
