Elodie passes me a towel as she closes the door of Lola’s room, keeping it ajar.
"Let's get this in the laundry. You do know how to use a washing machine, right?" Elodie whispers, teasing.
When Lola woke up on the couch, we brought her straight to the bathtub in the bathroom next to her room. I prepared the bath, threw in some bath toys, and let Elodie bathe Lola while I retrieved fresh pajamas.Then, like clockwork, we helped one another dress her and got her settled into her new crib. At first, I was concerned that I might be wrong and that Lola would be more comfortable in her own room at Elodie’s. But one look at her room here, with her eyes displaying awe, and I was eased. She gave me a little hug good night, and I left the rest to Elodie.
“Yes, I know how to use a washing machine,”I mock her as we walk back toward the living room.
She playfully pinches my arm in response. “Not sure it helps but let’s just keep throwing things into the machine that she has touched a lot. We need to be strategic with timing forBagel and Berry, otherwise we will have a meltdown on our hands.”
“Solid thinking. I’ll take this to the laundry room, and someone is coming up with our food.”
“Okay.”
With everything happening with Lola, Elodie was saved during our earlier conversation. If we’re responsible enough, we need to address what happened last night. When I re-enter the living area a minute later, I pause when I see Elodie oblivious that I’m watching her take cartons out of a bag and place them on the dining table. She moves as though she lives here. Pointing that out might be a little too much right now. We have enough to deal with.
Except it’s far too easy to tease her and cause her cheeks to flush red.
“When is it you get on the table for my dinner?”
She stops mid-carton, her jaw goes slack, and she tilts her head to the side. Slowly, I approach her with a satisfied smirk on my face.
She chuckles cynically. “Taking us there already?”
I slide right onto the chair at the end of the table and continue to watch her. “What could you possibly mean?”
She rolls her eyes at my antics and continues with the last box. “Smart thinking, by the way, that you put the sofa bed in Lola’s room. I don’t want her alone during the night, and it is the perfect and safe place for me to be.”Her pointed look is searing as she smiles and plops herself onto a chair.
“I only aim to please.”
“Just pass me the fried rice, will ya?”
I get to work on digging in and setting items on my plate. Truth be told, I’m hungry. As much as Elodie is a constant breeze in my head, the focus on Lola was too prevailing. But now it’s our time.
Elodie’s moan when she takes a bite of her sesame beef should be a crime. “This is so good. How did you find this place?”
“Easton recommended it two weeks ago, and I’ve had it once. Now I’m sold and shall not speak of any other establishment.”
“Good. This is a winner. Unless I get food poisoning, then the score may go down,” she jokes.
I cut into my egg roll. “Then you might be staying here forever if you get sick, too.”
She slows her bite and lifts her gaze to study me but says nothing.
“Your thoughts are running, Elodie. Don’t think too hard. It was a joke.”
Her body eases, and her sight returns to her plate, except she begins to play with her food. “Since this is the longest 24 hours, then we might as well lay it all out on the table.”
My imagination gives me a millisecond of the thought of her and me, which is why I say, “On the table is officially a banned phrase for the rest of the night.”
It causes her to grin. “Agreed. Can we just focus on dinner?”
“Agreed.” I smile.
We enjoyed our food and chatted about Everhope. I guess I’ll be returning to that small town quite a bit. I’m curious, as it sounds like Elodie had a close-knit and well-grounded upbringing in the little town in a world away from the buzz and gloom of city life. After a while, our conversation lulls and an awkward silence settles between us.
She begins to voice, “About last?—”
I stop her from finishing her sentence. “Let me make this easy for you.” Taking hold of my chair, I lift it slightly and scoot closer to Elodie, ensuring that space evaporatesbetween us. Our eyes latch, and the sly little lift of the corner of her mouth indicates to me that she is expecting me to say anything. “We fucked. Hard. It was good. We needed a release. Sex.Why? Because our attraction never went away, and it sure as hell isn’t going to. I never wanted to fight it, and you've given up on attempting to.”
