I thought he would crash his lips on mine the moment those words leave my mouth but that's not what he does. His eyes don't leave mine for even a millisecond and he slowly gets up from the coffee table, his broad built towering over my slender one for a short while until he pulls me up with him, my left forearm still grasped firmly in his right hand. I follow his lead and gasp when his other hand grabs my waist, under my sweater. His skin, rough and cold, on my skin, soft and warm, sending shivers all the way down to my toes. I let my eyes roam his beautiful face. His jaw is locked and I wonder if he's angry or just tense, maybe nervous even. Eli lets go of my arm and instinctively, I place my hand on his large chest. He tilts his head at that and brings his now free hand up to my face and down to my neck. He lightly places it around my throat and starts pushing me back. As soon as my back hit's the wall, a moan spills from my lips. His hand squeezes my neck once more before he's moving his fingertips along the side of my neck and cups my face, gentle but firm. His fingers tangle in my hair and he slightly pulls my head back. My pulse is racing and I cannot stop another moan from leaving my mouth. He hasn't said a word the entire time and he seems so cool, calm, and collected but I can feel his pounding heart underneath my palm. The hand under my sweater starts moving up along my ribs and stops right under my breasts. I am not wearing a bra and he brushes his thumb along the underside of my boob. My breathing hitches in my throat and I bite my lip in pleasure. Eli lets out a growl, uses his thumb to pull my lip from between my teeth, and finally slams his own lips onto mine. My whole body feels like it's on fire when he bites my lip and slides his tongue against mine, my hand resting on his chest grasps his shirt and the other snakes under his shirt, feeling his toned stomach. I slide it around his waist and let it rest on his muscular back. I hear him groan into our kiss and I cannot help but smile a little. He pulls me away from the wall a little with the hand that's on my waist and pushes me hard against his front. As if on reflex, I arch into him and nibble his lip, coaxing another groan from him. I am a little shy and careful with my kisses and he definitely takes the lead but he doesn't seem to mind and I get more confident very soon.

I don't know how long we were making out like this but our breaths are getting shorter and heavier and our lips are bruised, red, and swollen by the time Eli pulls away. He doesn't go far though, as he rests his forehead on mine. I whimper at the loss of contact between our lips and he chuckles lowly.

"You shouldn't have wished for me," he eventually says, still slightly out of breath.

"Why not?" I ask hoarsely, confused and a little hurt.

"Because this is only the beginning of what 'me' entails." Eli reasons.

"I don't care, I want you anyway," is what I tell him.

"Fuck," he groans, "you have to stop saying that, Romy." He puts some more space between us and slides his hands lower, gripping my hips. I am slowly getting my sense of reality back and just then notice how fucking wet I am. Great. I clench my thighs to relieve some of the pressure that built up down there. I glance down and see Eli in a similar predicament. I get shy real quick and avert my gaze at rapid speed. He chuckles again and I turn even redder than I already am.

"What? That I want y-" Before I can even finish that sentence, his lips are back on mine. His tongue tasting me and mine tasting him. His hands move from my hips to the sides of my face and he cups it gingerly. I can't help but smile into the kiss and my hands move upwards on his body as well. They find his collar and the nape of his neck and settle there as our kiss turns slower and softer. I am all hot and bothered and after today, I don't know if I'll ever not be hot and bothered again. Eli pecks my lips two times before breaking our intimate contact. I move towards his face, not wanting our moment to end but he pulls back ever so slightly and shakes his head.

"What?" I ask him innocently.

"Let's catch a break, hm? Unless you want this to go further but I have a slight feeling you don't want that just yet."

"But-"

"I know."

"Okay, fine. You're right." I am actually quite grateful he made us stop because what he said is correct, I am definitely not ready for more yet.

"You are so fucking beautiful," he tells me.

"Thank you," I mumble and remove my hands from his neck and collar.

"I would've never guessed that this is how the day will end," Eli remarks.

I tell him, "Me neither."

It's dark out and the sky is still full of clouds, sadly no stars to be seen. Eli and I are sitting on the porch swing, a blanket wrapped around us, drinking a glass of fresh orange juice. My legs are thrown over his large thighs and he rests his hand on my much smaller one. I watch him take a sip and immediately think about kissing him again. Goddammit, I am turning into a needy hornball. What is wrong with me?!

I decide to be bold, on top of being curious and ask Eli a question I have asked before and was denied an answer.

"Why do you not drink alcohol?"

His jaw clenches and he averts his gaze from my legs to his truck in the driveway. Maybe cars have something to do with it.

"Did you have an accident with a drunk driver?"

"No."

"Then wha-"

"Romy, drop it," he commands, still not looking at me. His voice is rough. I wanted to ask again so badly and keep pushing but I can tell he's being serious and I am being a bit of a nuisance.

"Sorry," I mutter. "I just wanted to learn more about you. No matter if it's good or bad. If you ever want to talk about anything, I'll be here to listen."

He doesn't say anything to that, just nods. Then, finally, he looks at me. His green eyes are pinning me down and my breath hitches a little. He takes the empty glass from my hand and places it and his own on the ground next to the swing. He then taps my thigh and looks at me expectantly. Thinking he wants to get up I remove my legs from his and sit up straight, ready to head inside.

"What are you doing?"

"I thought you wanted me to let you get up," I tell him.

"No, Romy, that meant 'come here'," he explains, tilting his body towards mine a little more, his thighs parting a bit wider.

"Oh," I say but don't move a muscle, still unsure of what he wants me to do.

Eli shakes his head and a small grin appears on his chiseled face. He leans forwards and reaches over me to grab my left thigh. His other hand is placed on my waist and in one quick motion, he's positioned me in his lap. His hands now resting on the small of my back.

"Oooh," I say again, now understanding what exactly he meant. He throws the blanket over my shoulders, shielding me from the chilly air of the night. I smile at his thoughtfulness and pull my lip in between my teeth. After Eli seems content with the way the blanket is situated around my shoulders, he pulls my hips closer to his, dips his head low, and starts peppering my cleavage with feather-light kisses. I look down at him and let my fingers tangle in his hair, tugging on it. As a retort, he nips at my sensitive skin a couple of times with his teeth, eliciting soft mewls from my lips. When he reaches my neck, I throw my head back in pleasure, giving him more access. One of his hands leaves my back and moves to the side of my neck. He is kissing along my jaw and I get lost in the feeling of him doing all these things to me that no one has ever done to me before. His large hand now wraps around the base of my throat and squeezes. His lips' attack on my jaw seizes but his hand stays firmly on my neck. It pushes me back a little and his voice reaches my buzzing ears.

"Look at me." He demands.

I obey and I know my eyes have a wild look in them, my chest is heaving up and down rapidly and I have a flush on my face. I must look crazy, I hope he doesn't think it's unattractive.

His eyes quickly move around my face, before focusing on my swollen lips. "We should go to bed," he grunts out as his hand leaves my neck and he lifts me from his lap back onto my original position on the swing. "It's getting quite late."

All I can do is nod while Eli disappears inside the house. Maybe he did think I look unattractive.

Once in the house, he is nowhere to be seen. He must've already gone to bed. I want to ask him if everything's okay and if I did anything wrong but I don't want to be clingy so I just make my way to my bedroom to get ready for the night.

All cuddled up in my blanket, I start thinking about today. A smile plasters itself on my face and I squeal into my pillow. I am really glad things turned out the way they did and Eli starts to open up to me a little more. I can't wait to really get to know him.

Okay, Romy. Calm your tits! You don't want to turn him off by being annoying or blowing things out of proportion. You gotta take things one at a time.

OH MY GOD?! Tess! She is gonna tease me so much about this once I tell her about Eli and me. And what is Bennett gonna say? I hope is not mad or anything. Good thing I am not his sister. I think that would've caused some serious trouble. Anyway, the two of them will be back tomorrow so I have to figure out how to go about this.

My eyes are getting droopier by the second and I fall asleep with one particular person on my mind.

When I wake up the next morning the house is very quiet. I check the time, it's 8:32 am. The sun is flooding my room and I stretch my well-rested limbs. I contemplate going back to sleep for a while longer but my stomach grumbles in protest.

Showered and dressed in a flowy yellow skirt and a white top, I skip down the stairs, ready for some breakfast. I'm in the mood for a sandwich, with tons of mayo on it, please. I expect to find Eli somewhere downstairs, either in the gym, kitchen, or living room but the rooms are empty. I call out for him twice but don't get an answer. Maybe he's still asleep. I better let him rest. I make myself an awesome sandwich and decide to eat it by the lake while continuing my book. The sun is back today and this early I don't even need sunscreen yet. How lovely, I hate that sticky, smelly stuff. I plop myself down on the soft grass and multitask my breakfast and morning read. By the time I'm done eating, almost an hour has passed. I decide to check if Eli is still asleep and head back into the house.

There are still no signs of anyone being on the first floor so I climb up the steps to the second floor and call out for Eli. I am not sure which room is his so I decide against opening random doors. Instead, I knock against all the bedrooms but silence is all that greets me. Back downstairs, I step out onto the porch and I see Eli's truck gone. Weird. Why would he not say hello and just leave like that? Should I text him? No, I think that would be a bit extreme. To kill some time, I change into a sports bra and some yoga pants and head to the gym. I have been slacking on my yoga and stretching, I desperately need to get back into my routine. What better time than to start now.

After my second shower of the day, I am back in my clothes from earlier this morning. Eli is still not back and it's almost noon so I decide to text him. Just a simple 'Hi, did you sleep well?' I hit send and instantly get nervous. I kinda miss him and I thought we would do some fun things together while we are still alone but maybe I am reading too much into what happened between us. He is probably just looking for some fun, taking into account that he had two different women over for just one night in the past week. I kinda feel though as if there is something special between us. I need to be careful and not let myself fall so easily.

Lost in my thoughts, I don't hear my phone chiming at first but a second sound follows and I break out of my trance and look down on the screen. Two texts from Eli.

Hello Romy. yes, I slept alright.

what about you?

The lack of indication where he is or when he's coming back leaves a bitter taste of disappointment in the back of my throat but I choose to not dwell on it.

happy to hear that you slept 'alright' haha. I slept great, thanks!

It takes everything in me to hold back my curiosity and ask him where he is. It doesn't take long for him to reply this time around.

I haven't slept 'great' in a long time, so 'alright' is pretty good.

that's terrible. sleep is so important...

I know.

Damn him. Just freaking tell me where you are! I put my phone down on the counter, thinking the convo is over, and look out the kitchen window to the driveway. But then my phone pings again.

go on, ask me

ask you what?

don't play dumb with me, Romy. I can feel your gnawing curiosity through my fucking phone

where are you?