I turn to face her, stunned by her smile sparkling in the firelight. “Of course.”
She beams at me, and I summon the courage to pat the seat next to me. She sits next to me, pulling a blanket with her and draping it over our legs.
“You know, it’s nice to have another guy around here!” Steven shouts coming up for air from his Emma bubble.
“Isn’t it? And it sure has made Ellie happy! She has been such a downer lately too!” Emma says laughing.
“I have not,” Ellie whispers next to me.
“Yes, you have! Liam messed you up big time! Like he sucked all of the life out of you when he left.”
I take a sip of my water as I glance down at Ellie. Her leg bouncing up and down next to mine. I can tell she's uncomfortable as she fidgets with the tag on the blanket.
“Can we not?” She eyes her sister then back to the blanket. There's a sadness to her voice and it guts me.
“I’m just saying, he was a douche and he wrecked you!” Emma says, shrugging.
The bouncing in her leg speeds up as Emma and Steven start talking about Liam, whoever that is. I impulsively reach over to place my hand on her knee and look at her . . .You’re okay . . .I hold it there, tracing the inseam of her jeans with my thumb.I’m here. Her knee slows down as she looks at my hand then at me, a “thank you” in her eyes, I think.
I pull the blanket up and wrap us both up. Trying to respect her boundaries, I leave a small space between us, but she closes it without hesitation. I let out a breath of relief and lean back on the couch, the rigidness of my shoulders softening. And as if Ellie was tightened up like a spring too, she uncoils, relaxing herself into me as she leans over and rests her head on my shoulder.
“He is a douche, El. And I’m sorry,” Steven says sitting up straight. “I really am.”
Ellie nods at him as they say their goodnights and head back inside. I glance at my watch, it’s past midnight and the exhaustion hits me. I’m never up this late.
“You probably want to get to bed, huh?” Ellie says, still leaning against my shoulder.
“Not yet,” I say, resting my head on hers.
“Can we talk?”
She sits up to look at me, her face serious. I look away, afraid of having atalk. Talks are never good, especially when she’s looking at me so seriously. I nod, staring at the flames spark and flicker. Focusing on the heat hitting my face instead of the heat I feel everywhere else because of Ellie.
“What is this?” she asks plainly.
I know I can’t keep looking at the flames now, so I sit up to face her.
“What do you mean?”
Rolling her eyes. “This.” She waves her hand in a circle.
“Friends sitting by a fire?”
“Friends, huh?”
“Right, yes, a boss and his employee sitting by a fire.” I smirk.
“Oh, please!” She hits my arm, throwing herself back into a slouch, crossing her arms. She is even cuter grumpy.
I rest my arm behind her slumped head. Because I am smitten, I can’t resist the chance to play with her hair. Twirling the end of a dark wave around my finger I ask, “What do you want this to be, Eleanor?”
“I think . . .” She pauses, leaning in closer. “I think, I want to bemorethan coworkers.”
“Boss and employee,” I joke, choosing a terrible time to be a punk.
"Alright, boss man." She pokes me in the ribs. The physical violence of this woman. “I’m serious.”
I stop twirling her hair and take both of her hands in mine. She’s right, this is serious. Something like this has never felt more serious, but what can I do? It’s against the rules to pursue anything serious with her.
