INK: Fine Lines (Book 1) (6 page)

Aiden looks to me as though I’m going to defend him, but all I can do is shrug. Eli puts his hand on my back, ushering me down the hallway. Eli typically isn’t the sort to gloat, but I still catch him turning around to Aiden with a grin that says all it needs to in order send Aiden over the edge.

Aiden walks quickly to catch up. “I’ll follow you and meet you at your house.”

“Aiden, I think we’re okay. You should go home.” I’m enjoying cutting him out of this process the same way he constantly cuts me out of his life every time things get serious between us.

“I’ll pick up a Box ’O Joe. Do you want any donuts?” Aiden acts as though I haven’t spoken.

Eli hangs his arm around my shoulders, tugging me in tighter, hoping to shield me from the insanity that is Aiden.

“No Aiden, I don’t want any donuts.” That man infuriates me to no end.

***

Things aren’t perfect with Eli these days. My Facebook relationship status is currently set to ‘single,’ but that’s only because I got tired of the perpetual ‘it’s complicated’ status. Eli is incredibly sweet, tall, and a complete package with cutting good looks. The sky could never wish to be as beautiful and blue as his eyes. He always looks put together and sharp, like he’s just stepped out of GQ.

I’ve watched him grow into an amazing man in so many ways. He matured so much through college and law school from the awkward prepubescent boy he was when we met. There are only two problems with Eli: first, he’s an alcoholic; and second, he’s not Aiden.

Eli almost always makes me feel completely safe; it’s as though nothing can really hurt me when he’s with me. He is strangely calm and level-headed in most situations. Sometimes it feels surreal how calm he is when the rest of the world is crumbling to bits. I love him desperately, but I can’t get past his unwillingness to admit he has a drinking problem.

We step outside to a ‘Chamber of Commerce’ February day in Florida. The sun is blinding and warm. The ground is harsh on my bare feet, and I wince.

Eli looks down, grimacing at my lack of shoes. “I can carry you to the car.”

Aiden looks up at Eli, rolling his eyes. I offer, “If you could pull the car around I would appreciate avoiding the walk through the parking lot.” Just stepping outside the police station lightens my mood, but my feet walking in filth has also returned to the forefront as an issue.

Eli takes off for the parking lot, and Aiden stays with me. He turns to me with a hurt look in his eyes. “Shay?” he asks quietly. “Do you really want me to leave?”

“Aiden, I already know you are going to do what you want. If I tell you not to come, you will probably come anyway, and if I tell you to come then I’m sure you’ll be on the next flight to Timbuktu.” Why does he have to do this to me? Honestly, part of me wants him there. That’s why I can’t just say no to him, but that’s always been the problem with Aiden.

He tries to pick up my hands but I jerk them away. “No, Aiden, last year you made your choice and it wasn’t me.” I can certainly recognize that I’m a work in progress and that I’ll always love him, but the simple fact is, “I can be broken without you just as easily as I can be broken with you. And I’ll only get better without you.”

Eli pulls up to us in a black Mercedes CLK and steps out to open my door. He shoots Aiden a look as I get in the car. I roll the window down. “Aiden, I’ve decided I really want you to come to the house, I need you there.” My voice is heavy with sarcasm. “Tell me what the weather’s like in Timbuktu this time of year.”

Aiden watches in disbelief as the car pulls away.

I inhale the new-car smell. “When did you get a new ride?” It seems so trivial.

“About a month ago.” He shifts into the next gear, showing off. He knows how much I love to drive fast.

“What was wrong with the old one?” I ask curiously. His other car was only about a year old.

“I had an accident.” He says, looking straight ahead at the road. “The insurance company totaled it.”

“Wow that sucks. I’m glad you weren’t hurt. Why didn’t you call me?” It hurts that he didn’t call me. Jealousy rolls around inside me as I wonder who he did call.

Eli moves uncomfortably in his seat, avoiding my question by starting in on Aiden. “Shay, I really don’t know that Aiden will have anything good to contribute. Harry and I need to work through this.” Good ol’ reliable Eli, always trying to remain calm. He, of course, doesn’t understand what I was saying to Aiden. Then again, I can’t put it past Eli to thwart Aiden at every turn. He’s just smarter about it than Aiden is. Eli is the Thinker. Aiden is the ocean’s surf, pounding jagged rocks until they yield into smoothed stones.

“I know.” It’s easier to agree with him than to argue. “He’s going to show up anyway, no matter what I tell him.”

“I really have a hard time understanding how I could lose you to that Neanderthal,” Eli blurts out.

“Eli, you didn’t lose me to anyone but your own demons. Aiden and I are not back together.” My answer is laced with sadness. Part of me aches for Eli.

“Shay, don’t lie to me, it’s not very becoming.” Eli shoots a hard glance in my direction as he says it.

“I’m not lying to you. I’m not with Aiden, I’m not with anyone,” I protest, because it’s true. If it weren’t I would be honest.

“I was there last night.” Eli’s expression is pained. “I talked to him, he was cooking you dinner while you were taking a ‘post-reunion shower’ as he put it.”

“You were there?” I start to put things together. Aiden didn’t find those flowers on the steps, that son of a bitch.

Eli nods and turns to me again. “Shay, you told me you wanted to be alone. I thought you meant it.” He focuses back on the road. “I know I wasn’t supposed to come over, but I just wanted to drop off a birthday present. I haven’t seen you in so long it hurts.”

I place my hand on his. “Eli, just because he was there last night doesn’t mean we were together.” He interlaces our fingers. His dimples cave slightly under the weight of his doubt.

I turn in my seat toward him. “He broke into my house while I was in the shower and he scared the shit out of me.” I continue to tell him everything that happened.

Fumes ignite in Eli’s eyes. “Why do you let him get away with this?” He shakes his head. “You deserve better than that. I really hope that one day you will wake up and see that there are far better men who love you, who want to be with you.”

We pull into my driveway and I’m washed over with a sense of dread when I see the yellow police tape surrounding my garage. It is so surreal.

Eli turns off the car and steps around to my side to let me out. “Come on, let’s just go in.”

“What did they do?” I let him help me out of the car. I’m so stunned that my house is a crime scene.

“They had to come and search your studio and house.” Eli says it low.

“Didn’t they need a warrant or something, or at least my permission?” How can they just do that, just go through my studio? I feel completely violated.

“There was a search warrant issued. I had someone here supervising.” He looks back at me, leading me up the walk by the hand.

We walk through the front door. The house is completely overturned on the inside. I look around at the carnage. “Oh my God.”

Eli is carefully gauging my reaction and I can see his wheels turning. “Why don’t you pack a few things and come to my house.”

I want to protest, but honestly I can’t face this right now. I’m exhausted. I just want to wash my feet and fall into bed, but since my home is completely torn apart it will be a while before I can rest.

“Okay, let me shower and change first.”

Eli lets a relieved smile pass over his lips.

***

Eli pulls his Mercedes directly into the immaculate garage. He trots around to my side of the car, always the perfect gentleman. It’s as though I’m totally trained to stay put until he opens the door. He offers his hand to lift me out. “I’ll get your bag out of the trunk. Make yourself at home.”

I walk through the doorway that leads into the house straight to the kitchen. It’s always amazed me that Eli feels 
the need to have such a grand house. It’s only him and
 
occasionally his wayward brother Jerry.

Rex comes bounding into the kitchen, tackling me. “Rex, oh what a good boy!” I scratch him behind the ears, his tail wagging at neck-breaking speeds.

There is a bowl of fruit sitting on the dark granite counter. That’s when I realize how hungry I am.

“Your dad said he would be by later so we can talk about our next steps. He said he was glad you decided not to stay at your house tonight.” Eli puts the bag down in the foyer and walks into the kitchen. “Are you hungry? Harry said I needed to 
feed
 you.” He puts a funny emphasis on ‘feed’ like some Little Shop of Horrors throwback. He’s trying to be cute; it’s working.

I take a seat at the breakfast bar, facing toward the kitchen. “I’m starving.” I consciously eye the fruit again, leaning forward on the counter.

Eli gets a playfully wild look, takes a shiny red apple from the bowl and polishes it with his shirt. He rests his elbows on the counter across from me. Commanding my gaze with a hungry look he unfurls the apple from his hands. “Forbidden fruit?”

I can feel the rush of color fill my cheeks. I smile at his silliness. “Why, yes please.” I take the apple and bite into it. I love being able to feel silly with him; a playful exchange is exactly what the doctor ordered.

“What else would you like? Woman can’t live on forbidden fruit alone.” Eli opens the freezer to survey the offerings. “I have steaks, chicken, chops…” He turns around, facing me. “Anything sound good?”

“I really don’t care; whatever you want is good with me.” I say, still crunching on my apple.

“Chinese food it is.” Eli has the Hibiscus Gardens on one-touch speed dial.

How is that Eli can wash away the pain of a day like today? The realization hits me. This has been Eli’s role in my life for years. It seems like he’s always picking up the pieces that have crumbled at my feet.

I move into the great room to a comfy spot on the couch. Even though we rarely spent time here while we were dating, I’ve always felt comfortable in his house. It’s a very masculine, rich mahogany in the living room. One thing I do appreciate is that it smells like Eli. I could bathe myself in his scent for comfort, it’s better than cookies. Huh, that’s what kind of bath basket Trish should have gotten me for my birthday: Eli flavor. My mind begins to race to places it really shouldn’t. Not now, not with all that’s happening.

I look around at the walls. I’m amazed he still has my artwork hanging in here. I get up to look at a piece I did in charcoal of him and me together. I press my fingers on the glass. Eli comes up behind me and puts his fingertips just above mine on the portrait and slides them down to meet mine. I lean back into him and close my eyes to relish in the safety and calm of him.

He intertwines our fingers, giving my hand a gentle squeeze. “Penny for your thoughts.”

The memories come flooding back to me and I can’t help but revisit that day. I was at Savannah College of Art and Design (SCAD) in Atlanta and he was just starting law school at Emory. I was drowning my sorrows at the Highlander, a shitty bar I would go to with friends. Aiden had just taken off again. The burgers were great, but the booze was doing nothing for my mood. My spirits soared when I heard his deep voice in my ear. “A penny for your thoughts.”

Smiling, I reply as I have since that day, “A penny would be too much.”

“No really, what are you thinking about?” Eli presses, twisting his neck slightly to be more in front of me.

“Why?” I’m not sure if I’m being coy on purpose, but he seems to really want to know. He always really wants to know.

“Because you have such a peaceful look on your face, you must be lost in a happy thought.” He turns me around to face him as he says it.

“I was just thinking of the night I ran into you at the Highlander. I remember feeling so happy to see you.” I answer, getting lost in those gorgeous cobalt eyes staring back intently.

A slow smile spreads across Eli’s face. “Really? That’s what you were thinking about?”

“Yeah, stupid huh?” I’m not quite so sure this is the time for nostalgia—or maybe it’s just what I need to take my mind off of my impending appointment with an orange jumpsuit.

“I don’t think it’s stupid.” Eli seems almost offended. “What’s stupid is how many nights I waited there hoping you would walk through the door.”

“What?”

“Shay, I was supposed to go to law school at Stanford, but when I heard that you were at SCAD I decided to go to Emory instead. Then went to all the places the
cool
 kids went. I knew that I would eventually run into you.” Eli releases my hand, turning away from me in embarrassment.

“Eli, why didn’t you just call me?” You could knock me over with a breath. We started seeing each other a few weeks after that.

“Because I didn’t know what to say.” He continued to evade my eyes.

“So wait a minute,” his words are starting to sink in heavily, “you gave up Stanford to go to Emory so you could 
maybe
 run into me?”

He didn’t respond, only looks back at me with a look of yearning. I walk over to him and throw my arms around him. “That is by far the dumbest thing anyone has ever done.” It dawns on me that Eli didn’t go to Brown University for undergrad because I wasn’t done in high school, and this realization was just too much. Tears well up in the corners of my eyes, and I pull back from our hug to see his raised brows topping off his befuddled expression. “And the sweetest thing any man has ever done for a woman.”