But now it was almost past ten and everyone had gone to bed except for Elias and me. I wasn’t lying to myself—I was here because I was greedy for some time alone with him. We’d have another two days working in separate teams, and I had no self-control, so here we were. Elias, who had been putting away his laptop while making notes on his iPad, looked down at my stuff, which was still sprawled over the table.
“Do you have more to do?” He knew I didn’t, since I’d said as much to Tsehay before she left, but I went along with whatever kept us talking.
“Not really, just giving myself a moment to breathe before heading up.” I stretched my arms over my head, getting the kinks out of my tired muscles. Elias kept his eyes on my face as I did it.
I could feel that he had something he wanted to say, and my stomach flipped, wondering if I’d made him uncomfortable before. But if I had, why would he still be here with me?
No, maybe he just wanted to make sure we left the room like we’d found it. That was it. He’d reserved it and didn’t want people leaving a mess.
“Are you heading to bed?” I asked, my mouth overriding the lecture about boundaries I’d given myself just a few hours ago.
He looked at me for another minute, and again I felt that charged but comfortable silence from earlier. I usually hated long silences—as an only child I’d had to endure them constantly, especially after my dad died—and I always felt compelled to fill them. But with Elias, I didn’t. It was like I could let my mind drift, and even if it went to a place I didn’t like, I wouldn’t get stuck in there.
“I’m heading up soon,” he said, then raised his chin in the direction of my laptop. “I’ll wait for you to pack up.”
He stopped and looked at me again like he was deciding whether or not to say what was on his mind. I turned my attention to clearing my things off the table while he weighed whatever he was considering. Telling myself that if he really had been weirded out, he wouldn’t have stayed behind in this room with me.
Finally, he spoke. “Desta.”
I looked up at him, somewhere between wary and hopeful. “Yeah?”
“Would you like to go for a walk in the garden?” He paused and then added, “With me.”
I stood up faster and more eagerly than what was probably prudent, and slung my bag over my shoulder as a grin cut across my face. This was a friendly gesture, I told myself. He was just being polite, but I couldn’t stop the racing in my heart when I answered.
“I’d love to.”
Chapter 9
The first three weeks of the survey flew by, and after travelling for days on end all over southern Ethiopia, I was more than a little in love.
Like my parents, I’d been completely charmed by this country’s boundless beauty. My eyes couldn’t get enough of the sprawling coffee fields and mountain ranges. The people, especially, had been amazing. Ethiopians were brimming with humor and hospitality. Every village we stopped in, people were always smiling or wanting to practice their English with me.
But the best parts were the times with Elias. Despite my attempts to keep a professional distance, I’d gotten more and more pulled in by him. Every single thing I learned about the man made me want him more. After that night when we’d ended up working together and took a walk in the garden, something had changed with us. Even when we were on different teams—and we’d had to be a few times until Sam made amends with Mr. Dawit—we’d reconnect in the evenings. Sometimes it could be a quick catch-up to plan what new book we’d listen to—Ari and Dante had been the first of many. At times we went on a stroll before bed, but it seemed like my days in Ethiopia were not complete without Elias.
We’d been together almost every day of the trip, and as we drove up to my guesthouse in Addis, I felt completely unprepared to spend the next few on my own. I didn’t even know if he’d be driving me for the next trip south, or if he’d be on one of the other vehicles with a different team. I should’ve probably been concerned by the level of dread I was feeling about not seeing someone who was essentially a work-related acquaintance. And yet I was too preoccupied with the idea that this could be goodbye to care.
Once we arrived at the guesthouse, Elias killed the ignition, and turned that heart-stopping smile on me. “We made it.”
I looked at him and I wondered if it was the ill-advised crush making me see things, but I thought he seemed a little regretful that our trip was coming to an end.
I didn’t know how to say goodbye or thank him for how good he’d been to me in the last few weeks, but I was having trouble finding where to start. So I went with rambling. “Thanks so much for everything. I hope you get to relax before going back to work next week. I’m so ready for a shower and some sleep.”
He looked like he wanted to say something, but like a moron I opened my mouth before he could. “Okay, so I guess I’ll get going.”
As I went to open the passenger door, he stopped me. “Do you want to go see some live music tonight? There’s a good band that plays on Fridays in town. They do lots of covers and I think you’ll love the lead singer.”
Oh.
Oh?
Oh!
“Really?” Funny how the tightness in my chest from the last hour loosened instantly. “That sounds great, actually. I told you how much I like
