Proof Part 1 - With a Bang!
I’d spent the ride home preparing myself, anxiously waxing on to Cora about Elias and the predicament Johnny had put me in. She kept insisting that it wasn’t a big deal and, as much as I tried to align myself with that, I couldn’t seem to.
“Blonde hair, green eyes, amazing body.”
“Shit. That’s the holy trinity. If he’s funny then you’re fucked.” She let out a breathy laugh and shook her head, tapping her fingers on the dash as she thought. “Johnny said he’s a good guy?”
“Well maybe he is. Maybe it’s the start of a good friendship, yeah? You’re close with Johnny and he’s hot.”
I burst out laughing as we pulled up to a stoplight, the idea of Johnny as anything but a total dork absolutely hilarious to me. Cora had developed a bit of a crush on him after a party we’d gone to at his place and she’d dropped quite a few hints since then.
She ignored my comment and continued. “I think you’re over-hyping this. You get like this around guys, Looch, you put them on a pedestal.”
“You totally do! Anybody hot, anybody sweet, any guy you meet, you dive into the idea that they’re perfect and that you’re... not.”
“And neither is he.” I came to a stop on her street and put the car in park, turning to her with a frown.
“I just... I want to be comfortable in my own home. I don’t know how to do that around guys. I haven’t lived with a man since Jack-”
“And he was a piece of shit.” She reached for the handle after a moment of silence and hopped out, pulling her bag out of the trunk and coming to my window. I rolled it down as she leaned in, pressing a kiss to my cheek and smiling. “You’re psyching yourself out babe. You’re reading into something that could be nothing, could be wonderful, who knows? Regardless of who this guy is and what he looks like, you’ve got to look at the positives, yeah? You’ve got a new roommate who may or may not look like an animated prince, he’s splitting rent with you, everything will be fine. Take it one day at a time.”
I thanked her and managed to calm myself down on the short ride home, actually kicking myself for freaking out over the crush I’d developed. He’s hot, so what? Doesn’t mean anything has to happen, doesn’t mean anything will happen. I turned my car off and grabbed my stuff before heading inside.
Jones ran to the door with a happy bark as I stepped in, warmth from a lit fire enveloping me as I did. I shed my scarf and coat and hung them on the railing before calling out softly.
“In here!” I followed the voice and stopped short at the sight of Elias on the living room floor. “You’re home!”
All I could do was smile, forced and unnatural as I took him in. Shirtless and sprawled out in front of the fireplace, he had nothing but a pair of running shorts and a hat on. I could see his curls poking out from the back of it and my eyes wandered with a mind of their own, down the thick muscles of his back to where the band of his shorts stopped just above his ass. An alarm went off in my head as I zeroed in on his back dimples and the way his thighs flexed.
“And just in time for dinner!”
He fucking cooks? Run Looch! Run away and never look back!
A timer beeped on his watch and he rolled onto his side, groaning loudly as his body relaxed. I felt like I’d walked into an adult video and I glanced towards the stairs for a quick getaway.
I blinked a few times before nodding, kicking my bags out of the main hallway and against the closet door. “Yeah, it was... good. Everything was good.”
I could feel the burn in my cheeks as I took a peek in his direction before taking the long way through the den and into the kitchen. “Where’d you go again?”
I heard his footsteps followed by Jones’ as he followed him through the house. I opened the fridge and crouched behind the door as I sought a drink, prepared to snatch it and run up to my studio. “You don’t remember?”
Hard to remember much of anything right now.
“It was kind of a whirlwind. We bounced between Seattle and Portland over the week so... how’d move-in go? You find everything okay?”
He was closer than I expected when I peeked out from behind the fridge door and I jumped, tumbling backwards and landing hard on the tile floor. The back of my head caught a cabinet and I wasn’t sure if that, or my embarrassment, was what brought tears to my eyes.
His eyes were wide as he came over, kneeling by my side with Jones hot on his heels. He wrapped an arm around my waist and pulled me to my feet, keeping his hands on me as he led me to a chair at the counter.
“Yeah! Yeah, I’m fine! Totally fine!”
“Are you sure? You fell really hard.” He ignored my protests and reached back to feel the knot on my head, his mouth in a hard line as he looked at me. “You’ve already got a knot.”
“I’m alright.” I moved to wave him off and winced as soon as I moved my arm.
“What? Your wrist?” I nodded and he felt it gently, shaking his head. “That’s not good. Can you move your fingers?”
“I don’t think so.” We both sat in silence for a minute as we watched them. “No.”
He disappeared into his room and came back out in a sweatshirt and jeans, grabbing my jacket from the railing and wrapping it around my shoulders. I slipped out of the chair and onto my feet as he turned off the oven and the fireplace.
“Elias, I can take an Uber-”
“To the emergency room?” He shook his head and pulled me outside, helping me into the passenger seat before shutting the door. I zoned out on the ride and replayed the evening over and over until we came to a stop. “C’mon.”
I stepped into the cold air of the night and mentally kicked myself as he tucked an arm around my waist, guiding me into the lobby without a word. We found seats in the crowded waiting room and he sighed next to me.
“Well, we’re off to a great start, huh?” I chuckled a bit and shook my head. “Are you always this graceful?”
“Pretty much. Broke my arm in college trying to take off a sweatshirt.”
“Thanks, I put it on my resume.”
“Do you think it’s broken?” He touched in gingerly and frowned when I nodded. “I’m sorry.”
“I feel like I snuck up on you.”
“Nah, it’s me. I get like this around... you just caught me off guard when I came home.”
“The um... do you always work out shirtless?”
“Is that what threw you off?”
I shrugged and looked up at him. “I think so. I’ve only really seen Johnny without a shirt on... I guess the muscles caught me off guard.”
His laugh rang out loudly and he shook his head.
“If you could just warn me next time.”
“I definitely will.” A nurse came out and called my name, watching as Elias helped me to my feet. He stopped by the door to the exam room and raised an eyebrow. “Do you want me to come with you?”
“I think I’ll be fine. You can head home if you want. I’ll catch a ride back when I’m done.”
“Elias, I don’t know how long I’m going to be here.”
He shook his head and sighed as I walked away. Two uncomfortably painful hours later, I walked back into the waiting room with discharge papers and a bright pink cast. My eyes were on my phone as I approached the desk to sign out.
“You have your forms honey?” The nurse behind the desk shot me a sweet smile as I handed them over. My arm with tucked into a sling and she nodded sympathetically. “How’s it feeling?”
“About as well as to be expected.”
“Sorry about that.” She typed a few things into the computer and stamped my papers, nodding behind me with a raised eyebrow. “Your boyfriend’s over there. Waited the whole time, sweet thing.”
“Oh, he’s not my boyfriend.”
She shook her head and handed me my packet with a wink. “That’s too bad.”
Elias stood as I turned towards him, stretching his arms over his head until I caught a peek of his stomach. I bit down hard on my lip and scowled as he met me in front of the doors.
“I wouldn’t leave you at the emergency room, Lucia. Are you insane?” He didn’t wait for me to answer as he tucked his arm under mine. The wind had picked up and we hurried to the car, Elias opening the door for me once more. We rode in silence for a few minutes until he cleared his throat. “How’s it feeling?”
“Not too bad. They did give me morphine though.”
“That’s good. Any aftercare instructions?”
“Can’t get it wet, can’t break it again. Nothing special.”
“Well that’s good. You’ll let me know if you need any um, help? With anything?”
There was a hint of something in his voice and I warmed through as we pulled into the driveway. He turned to me before turning the car off and I smiled.
“I will. And thank you. For staying with me tonight.”
“Of course! What are roommates for?”
