“This is stupid,” I said to myself. “Why am I not with him right now?”
I loved Elliot and he loved me. I wasn’t staying apart from him when I didn’t have to; it didn’t feel right to be separated from him. I was nervous about how our relationship would pan out now, but I was doing what Elliot had said and taking it day by day.
With my mind made up, I got up and looked at the new clothes and underwear my mum had bought for me. I settled on wearing black leggings, a black T-shirt and a light grey jumper.
I grabbed my old duffle bag from my wardrobe and packed a change of clothes along with clean underwear and socks. I pulled one of my white Vans on to my right foot, then put my boot cast back on my left. I packed some toiletries for myself, since I knew I had none at Elliot’s, hooked the bag over my shoulder, grabbed my crutches and slowly made my way down the stairs.
I paused by the sitting room when I saw Mum knitting.
“Mum.”
She looked up at me and an amused smile stretched across her face. “Is your father going to owe me twenty pounds?”
“Depends.” I raised an eyebrow. “Did you bet on something?”
“Yup.” She grinned. “I bet you wouldn’t make it past ten p.m. without coming down and telling us you wanted to go and be with Elliot; he bet eleven.”
I glanced at the clock and saw it was twenty to ten. I looked back at my mother and laughed.
“You win, I want to go and be with Elliot.”
“Figured as much,” she chuckled. “Come on, Dad will drive us.”
My dad grumbled as he put my bag in the boot of the car. He wasn’t upset that I was leaving, only that he’d lost the bet he made with my mum, which cracked me up. The drive was quick and uneventful. When we got there, Dad waited in the car while Mum carried my bag on her shoulder as I hobbled inside.
We shared the elevator with a pizza delivery boy. I glanced at the receipt on the box and grinned when I saw it was for Elliot. He had had dinner with my parents a few hours ago, but was obviously still hungry. I borrowed money from my mum, told the boy I’d bring it to the flat because it was my boyfriend’s, and paid him. Mum took the box from me and we quietly made our way down the hallway until we stopped in front of my old flat.
“I’ll phone him and pretend I’m at home, then I’ll ring the bell and he’ll think it’s his pizza.”
Mum kissed me goodbye, gave me a thumbs up, then ran back to the elevator giggling the entire way. I balanced the pizza box in one hand, and dialled Elliot’s number and put my phone to my ear with the other.
“Hey,” he answered on the second ring. “Are ye okay?”
“I’m fine,” I answered. “I just missed you.”
Elliot’s low laughter made me smile. “Ye saw me three hours ago.”
“Three long hours ago . . . I thought I dreamt about you. I forget what you look like. I forget if you have a six-pack or an eight.”
Elliot’s laughter became louder. “Witch, don’t be teasin’ your man right now. It’s not nice.”
“Want me to make it up to you?”
“With what?” he joked. “Phone sex?”
“You read my mind . . . You know I’m in bed, alone, right?”
Elliot groaned so loud I could hear him through his front door, and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.
“Sasanach,” he growled. “What’re ye wearin’?”
“Tiny red shorts . . . maybe I’m topless.”
I think Elliot whimpered. “I can imagine ye—”
I picked that moment to press his doorbell. Part of me wanted to draw out getting Elliot hot and bothered, and part of me just wanted to be next to him, touching him. Teasing him meant teasing myself.
“Fuck. One sec, gorgeous,” Elliot grunted. “I think that’s me pizza at the door.” The door swung opened seconds later, and before Elliot even looked my way he said, “Ye have shitty timin’, right when me missus was—”
“One large meat feast, sir?”
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
NOAH
Elliot stared at me, shirtless with his phone held to his ear by his shoulder, cash in his hand. His lips were parted, but no words came out.
“Can you take the box?” I laughed as I hung up and pocketed my phone. “My leg is stronger now but standing on it for too long makes me tired.”
Elliot seemed to snap back into reality, grabbed the box from my hand and then guided me into his flat. I grabbed my crutches but didn’t use them to walk – I just took my time as I went into the sitting room and glanced around.
“You painted,” I said, smiling. “I like it – grey is very modern.”
I looked over my shoulder when Elliot didn’t reply; he was still standing in the hall staring at me. I snorted and shook my head.
“Close the door, go put your pizza on a plate, then come in here and join me.”
I placed my crutches against the wall and then walked over to the sofa to sit down. I sighed as I lifted my leg and rested it on a beautiful coffee table that was new to me. There were also new cabinets in both corners of the room, and the television on the wall was new – and bigger too. The sofa was still the same, which didn’t surprise me; it had cost us a good chunk of money and still looked to be in great condition.
“Elliot,” I called. “Can you get me a glass of water, please.”
He didn’t reply, but instead of shouting again, I prepared to get up and get it myself. But then he suddenly appeared holding a glass in one hand and a plate stacked with pizza in the other. I smiled at him.
“Thanks, hon.” I took the glass and
