Elliott steps forward, squaring his shoulders like he’s about to puff up and defend his territory.
“Watch your mouth,” he warns, his voice low and hard.
Eli snaps. “Or what?” he growls, lunging again like he’s ready for round two. I swear I see the fire in his eyes before he moves.
The security guard rushes in with perfect timing, wedging himself between them like a human wall. “Mr. Shaw,” he says calmly but firmly, “we’re gonna need you to take this elsewhere, alright? We like you around here. Don’t make us call the police.”
Eli stands down, barely. His hands unclench, but he doesn’t say another word to Elliott or Vanessa. Instead, he turns to me, his fingers finding mine. They’re warm and trembling just a little as they thread through mine and squeeze.
“Let’s go,” he says, voice tight.
I nod, still reeling from the commotion as he pulls me out of the store.
I stop, just as the anti-theft alarm starts blaring.
“I’m still wearing the fucking dress, you ape!”
I yank my arm away from him and run to the dressing room to change back into my clothes like the building is on fire.
I leave the beautiful gown hanging up and nearly wave goodbye to her. She’s a dream.
When I get to the exit, Eli is standing outside, security on standby. When he sees me, he still takes my hand and walks me to the parking lot.
No words. No explanation. Just this heavy, charged silence stretching between us as the door closes behind us and the sounds of the mall swallows the drama whole.
Great.
The grumpy Bear is back.
Is That Better?
Eli
Every time it feels like Max and I are finding our footing, some rhythm, some version of normal I might actually be able to live inside, I go and ruin it. Not deliberately. Not even consciously. But it happens anyway.
I slip. Something snaps. And I expose a part of myself I’ve spent years locking down and burying deep.
I used to be better at it. But ever since she showed up, I haven’t been the man the world knows. Not the controlled one. Not the measured one. Max has a way of stripping the armor without laying a hand on it. Around her, I’m raw. Reckless. Laid open in ways that feel unwelcome, but necessary all the same.
She’s necessary.
My knuckles are still buzzing with the memory of the impact. My brother’s jaw. The heat of it still running through my veins. And worse than that, the way Max looked at me afterward. Like she wasn’t sure who she was standing next to anymore. And I hate myself for it.
I didn’t mean for it to happen. But I couldn’t stop it either. He was too close to her.
At first, I didn’t even register his face. Just the posture. The way he leaned in. The way he took up space like it belonged to him. Like he owned the room.
Like he owned her.
And then I heard her laugh. Then the little hiccup that follows when she’s trying to be polite while clearly uncomfortable.
I know that laugh. I knowher.
Then everything in me went red.
It didn’t matter that we aren’t official. Didn’t matter that we agreed to boundaries.
For five fucking days, she’s mine.
