After a minute, Elias spoke. “My mom and sister are with him. The hospital is close to here, and there’s not much traffic at this time. I’ll get there in a few minutes.”
“Okay. Take the time you need,” I said, lifting my watch to read the time. I realized it was later than I thought.
“Besides, being here with you helps.”
I tried to smile at him, but I was still having a hard time calming down. My heart was beating out of my chest, and I was convinced Elias would not get to his father in time. But he’d told me it was fine, and I needed to respect that. “Do you know what’s wrong?”
He tried to smile, but couldn’t manage it. “My father’s ill a lot. He has some heart problems, but he also suffers from—”
He shook his head like he was trying to figure out what to say, but in the end he just turned his face so his mouth brushed my neck, and we stayed like that for a few seconds. Soon he was moving again. He sighed heavily as he unlocked the door, and I could feel the apprehension coming off him in waves.
Once we were out by his car, without thinking I made a move to touch his hand. He flinched. Then I remembered where we were. This wasn’t my room, or even Saba’s house—we were out on the street. Anyone could walk by and see us.
“Sorry.”
Elias nodded and smiled, but it didn’t reach his eyes. “It’s all right, konjo.”
A feeling of dread settled in my stomach like something important had changed in the last few minutes, and we wouldn’t get back the ease we’d had with each other only a half hour ago.
Hearing him use the endearment did something for my nerves, but I was still feeling out of sorts. “I hope your dad is okay.”
“Me too.”
I saw him drive off, then walked into the guesthouse, worried for Elias and his family. I also had the feeling that the bubble we’d been in, where we pretended Elias and I could be lovers, had just burst.
Chapter 16
After stopping myself from trying to text Elias for the third time in the hour after he’d left, I decided I desperately needed a talking-to. I had to check in with Lucía, because if anyone could get me off the bullshit I was on right now, it was her. I opened the Skype app on my laptop, hoping she was around.
DestaJoyWalker: Code Red. CODE.RED.
Lucía.Woods: WTF? Please tell me you’re not skyping me after engaging in poor sexual choices.
DestaJoyWalker: OF COURSE I AM!!!!!!
Lucía.Woods: DON’T YELL AT ME!
DestaJoyWalker: I’m calling you!
I clicked on the video call icon, and within seconds she came on the screen.
She looked at my obvious case of “I just got railed” hair and shook her head. “Wow, you really went to town on that dick, huh? Dude was pulling hard on that cowlick of yours.” Her mouth was twitching from trying not to laugh.
“Hey!” I said, while trying to pat down the spikes of hair that were standing up every which way. “First of all, I didn’t give him a blowjob. Second, my cowlick has been a lot tamer since high school.”
She cackled, and I could tell it hadn’t escaped her that I failed to deny my sex hair.
“It’s not that bad! You’re such a jerk,” I said with a laugh.
That just made her bust up even harder. “Oh my God, you’re such a mess. Cute, but a mess. Okay seriously, though, what were you up to? I’ve got time. Moe’s down at the studio space doing their thing.”
I smiled at that. Luce’s partner was an incredibly talented sculptor and would go work on their stuff every weekend. “Oh, I can’t wait to see what they’re working on.”
She nodded, an adoring look all over her face. She only got that when Moe came up.
Luce had always been a wild woman. She fucked whoever she wanted and never took anyone she was with too seriously. She just played. But as soon as she met Moe, she knew. When she first told me about them, she sounded so certain about what she felt. I couldn’t help thinking that I felt that same certainty about Elias, even if it was fucking self-destructive and idiotic.
“So what’s this SOS about?” Now that I had all her attention on me, for the first time in our friendship, I paused. I didn’t want to share too much. The moments I’d had with Elias already felt precious, like they’d shatter if I didn’t handle them with care.
I realized I’d been quiet for a while, and when I glanced at the monitor I saw Luce staring at me with a funny look. “Babe, you look pretty serious right now.”
I covered my face with my hands and groaned. “I could fall in love with this guy, Luce.”
At this point she would usually make a joke about how my need to be “involved” was pathological. She didn’t this time, though. She looked at me carefully and asked, “Who is it?”
“It’s Elias, the logistics coordinator for the project I told you about when we talked after I got here.” I sighed. “He’s amazing. I want him so much, and not just because he’s gorgeous and turns me inside out just from saying my name. He’s so noble and passionate about everything.”
“Okay, hon.” She put her hands up, and I could tell she was trying hard not to lecture me. “I don’t want to sound like I don’t take your feelings seriously, but you do this. You meet a guy, decide you want him and you make it your mission to have him fall for you. Sounds like Elias is a great guy, so be careful with your heart and
