Eli is upstairs in the bathroom taking a much-needed shower. To keep things from getting too awkward, I jumped out of his lap as soon as I felt his grip loosen and told him that he reeks and he should clean up. His only reaction was a nod of his head and a low rumble that sounded vaguely like 'okay'. Right now, I'm in the kitchen, cooking a vegan lasagna for me and Eli. The tomato sauce is slowly reducing on the stove and a heavenly aroma fills the kitchen. Fresh basil is one of my favorite smells in the world, hence why I use tons of it when I cook Italian food. Cooking is like therapy for me. Every time my parents would go off on me or just ignore me and give all the attention to my sister or their work, I would retreat to the kitchen and cook until I felt a little happier inside. Since none of my family members ever cooked, I usually had the kitchen all to myself. Their judgment against me didn't keep them from eating my food, though. Not once, did I receive a compliment for my cooking from my parents, only from my sister. I learned to deal with it and I now found people that appreciate my cooking, like Tess.

"Smells great," I hear Eli say from the kitchen entrance. I didn't hear him coming downstairs, I was too deep in thoughts about the past. "What are you making?" he inquires and takes a few steps closer to me and the stove. His hair is once again wet, this time from the shower not from workout sweat. He is clad in a new clean pair of sweatpants and a v-neck t-shirt. His feet are bare and his arms are crossed over his chest. I kind of wish he didn't have any clean shirts left. Looking at his sculpted chest is delightful, to say the least. Stop sexualizing the poor man, Romy!

"I'm making lasagna. I hope you are hungry."

"You have no idea." He mumbles and comes up the stand behind me. Eli looks over my shoulder to get a better look at what I'm doing. I can smell his freshly showered body and it smells great. Refreshing but warm at the same time. Before I can say anything else, Eli's hand tangles itself in my hair. He gently lifts a couple of the shoulder-length strands before letting them fall again. Gently, he sweeps all my hair over my left shoulder, exposing one side of my neck.

"I like your hair color," he whispers, his fingers slowly dancing over the back of my neck, following the outline of my hair. My skin is now covered in goosebumps and instinctively, I tilt my head to give him more access to my skin. A moan threatens to escape my lips but I can stop it. I wish he would never stop touching me like that but then a thought crosses my mind. Just hours ago, he was with that woman. I have been here only for a week and it's already the second woman he's brought home. I don't want to end up on his long list of conquests. Quickly, I straighten my head and clear my throat.

"Thanks, I like my hair color too. And, um, it's great you are hungry because I'm making a lot of lasagne. It's your lucky day, I guess." I am aware that I sound like a complete idiot but I don't care. I just want those tingles to leave my body so I can think straight again. Eli doesn't take a step back, though, as I have expected him to after I completely ruined the mood. He just keeps standing directly behind me, not touching me but our bodies would connect if I just moved one centimeter back. What is it with him always coming to stand behind me?!

"Eli?"

"Hmm?" He hums.

"Could you...?"

"What?" He is not catching my hint.

"Oh, I don't know. Give me some of my personal space back, maybe?" Sarcasm is dripping from my voice and I slowly realize that I sound extremely rude. Well, too late to take it back now. He lets out an annoyed sigh but complies and takes a step back.

"Didn't mean to make you uncomfortable." He says, his voice clear and unwavering.

"I wasn't. It's not that it's just..." My voice trails off.

I turn around and see Eli staring at me. "Doesn't matter." I finish and go to grab an oven-dish to place all the lasagna ingredients into it. Yet another sigh escapes Eli, a defeated one this time. Good, I think, hopefully, that means he'll just drop it.

"Where is Ben?" He asks instead, sitting down on one of the barstools at the counter.

Happy about the change of topic I quickly place the lasagne into the oven and lean against the countertop, facing Eli.

"Oh yeah, I forgot to tell you. Bennett went out to stay with 'a friend' until late tomorrow."

"I see."

"Are you on vacation, too?"

"Yes, Ben closed up the garage for a week. I usually go there anyway, though."

"Why would you do that? Vacation is for not working."

"I happen to like my job."

"Right, you like everything about engines." I chuckle; he does the same.

"You remember that, huh?"

"Well, it was the only thing you told me about you that day so it wasn't hard to remember." I shrug, turn around and bend over in order to check on the lasagna. Sadly, it's not ready yet.

"I could take you with me if you'd like." Eli suddenly suggests, his voice rough and a little quieter than before.

"To the garage?" I question, disbelief clear in my eyes since the last time I asked to accompany him anywhere he said no.

"Yeah, maybe I can teach you something useful. In case your car ever breaks down." He reasons.

"I don't have a car but sure that sounds fun. Funner than sitting inside and looking at the gray sky all day." Eli just nods at my response and starts drumming his long fingers on the countertop. For the first time, I concentrate and really take a good look at his hands. The skin is rough from labor and he has several cuts and scrapes all over them. Suddenly, I notice a little white patch on his right ring finger. It's untanned skin, I realize.

"Where's the ring?" I ask, without thinking twice about it and I immediately regret it. Always the noisy one, Romy. Can you not be curious for one day?

Eli's expression changes drastically as soon as the words leave my mouth. A frown is etched on his forehead, his lips are in a straight line and his eyes are cold. I have to admit, he looks a little scary when he's mad. I don't want to blame him, though because his reaction seems to be completely subconscious, at first at least.

"Okay, I get it. Sorry, I asked, you don't have to answer that." I rush to say and go to check on the lasagne again. Finally, it's done and I take it out of the oven and prepare two plates.

"Bon appetit," I murmur and focus on the food in front of me.

After a while, I can feel Eli looking at me and I turn my head to find out my feeling was right.

"It tastes great, Romy," he compliments me and half-smiles.

"Thanks, I'm glad you like it." I smile back at him.

I'm still looking at all the different cars scattered around the garage while Eli's already working on a motorcycle. He discarded his v-neck and now sports a white wifebeater. I have to suppress a laugh because he almost looks like one of those male models in a dirty calender.

I really like cars. Especially the new and fast ones. It doesn't compare to Eli or Bennett liking cars though. I like them for their looks and how fast they can go, which I'm sure Eli and Ben are fond of too, but they also like cars for their insides. The engines, and all that. I never learned anything about it and I'm not too interested in it, either. I recognize a Mercedes CLS class and I'm immediately drawn to it. My hands glide over its silver exterior and I itch to open the door and sit inside.

"Nice ride, huh?" Eli comments and pulls me out of my reverie.

"Yeah," I breath and turn to look at him. A soft smile graces his face and he looks absolutely stunning.

"You wanna drive it?"

"What?!"

"I think you heard me."

"I... I c-can't. It's not my car and it's an expensive one on top of it. What if I'll crash it? What if I have an accident. No. That's insane, and not a good idea. Why are you even asking me that? You know I don't have a car so why do you think I have a drivers license? I mean, I do have one but you didn't know that and wh-"

"Stop it." Eli commands and my mouth immediately clamps shut. "Are you a good driver?"

"Uh, I like to think so, yes."

"Good. Let's go." He gets up from his position on the ground and walks towards the CLS. On his way over he cleans his oil-smeared hands on a towel and grabs a key from the table he passes.

"Are you crazy? What if the owner finds out? We can't do that. I would be pissed if I found out that a random stranger drove my broken car that I trusted the garage with. This is stealing or something similar at least and I'm not someone who steals. I know it might sound lame but I don't mind being a nice person and I thi-"

"Romy! I swear to God if you don't stop this rambling..." Eli's raises his voice, making me cease my rant at once. "Get in the car," he orders.

"No."

"I know the owner, he would be fine with this, don't worry so much. Just get in the car, please."

I warily look at him, not knowing if I should trust what he just said. Maybe he just wants to reassure me and thought of a white lie. Subconsciously, I start nibbling on my lip. It's a bad habit, I know. But I can't seem to quit it.

"I'm not lying to you," he then says as if he just read my mind.

Oh, to hell with it.