Now, I’ve got chocolate all over my fingers. I can’t seem to move my gaze away from his when I lift my hand to my mouth. Suck the chocolate off my fingers. One. By. One.
Eli clears his throat with a heavy sound and forces his eyes away. “Wh-what are we trying next?”
I snap myself out of my stupor and focus on the snacks again. “Um…uh, here. Try this.” I quietly open a cellophane packet and hand him a piece of old-fashioned chocolate fudge.
He takes it from me and analyzes it skeptically before popping it into his mouth. “Holy fuck…” he mutters as the fatty, sweet cocoa goodness melts on his tongue. “This is amazing.”
“Tell me about it.” I put a piece in my mouth and my eyes roll back. “I bought it from this little old lady down on the promenade. She says it’s her grandmother’s grandfather’s uncle’s wife’s recipe…or something like that.”
When Eli reaches for a second piece I slap his hand away. “No, you only get one piece. This stuff is dangerous.”
“And the rest of it isn’t?” He quirks a brow and gestures to our junk food spread.
I swing my head left to right. “Trust me—I learned my lesson the hard way. Eat one more piece and you probably won’t be able to fit into your tux for Walker and Penny’s wedding.” I chuckle.
His eyes drop to the counter and his shoulders fold in perceptibly. “I think I’m gonna skip that,” he grumbles.
I blink at him. “What…?”
“I’m not going to Walker and Penny’s wedding,” he repeats himself.
“Wait—tell me you’re going to your parents’ anniversary party,” I demand.
He shrugs a shoulder. “I think I’ll skip that, too.”
“Why?”
“It’s just…I…I don’t think I’m needed there,” he says finally.
I scrunch up my face at him. “You don’t think you’re needed there? Of course, you’re not needed there, strictly speaking.” I chuckle. “Eli, we’re not talking about a military conscription here. We’re talking about spending quality time with your family, being there for them, making memories with them. That’s so special.”
“What’s so special about spending an entire evening in a room full of people who are secretly judging me, resenting me? My family sees me as nothing but a criminal, Jessa. I’ve dragged the Kingston name through the dirt. I’ll be doing us all a favor by staying away.” He slowly spins his beer bottle around on the countertop.
I angle my body to face him full-on. “Let me tell you something, Eli. People are complicated. Family is complicated. Okay, fine—they may be disappointed in the choices you’ve made. But that doesn’t mean that they’ve written you off or given up on you.”
He hikes a brow. “Is that so?” I hear the sarcasm in his voice.
I search my mind for a way to make him understand. “My parents live in a rickety trailer in a middle of nowhere town. They barely have two pennies to rub together. But did you know they won the lottery?” Eli’s brow goes higher in response to my question. “Yup, years ago, they won two-point-five million dollars. You want to know what they did with it?”
“What?” he questions, his expression telling me he’s invested in my story.
“They blew it. Spectacularly.” I breathe out heavily. “They bought a mansion and some fast cars. They bought my sister and me all kinds of things we didn’t need. They were irresponsible as hell. The money didn’t last long and at the end of the day, the four of us ended up living in a trailer park. They could barely provide for us.”
“Wow! That fucking sucks, Firefly. Your parents really fucked up.” He scrubs a palm across his chin.
Firefly? My belly tingles when he calls me that but I’m too much of a chicken to ask him what it means.
I continue speaking. “Was I disappointed? Definitely. Was I angry? Sure as shit. But did I stop loving them? Not for one second.” I hold his gaze. “I think your family feels the same way, Eli,” I venture to say. “They might be angry with you on some level. But I think there’s nothing they want more than for you to know they still have your back.”
The man goes quiet. He stares off across the dark room for a long moment.
When his eyes come back to mine, he half-smiles. “I’m gonna have to review your employment contract because I’m pretty sure you aren’t supposed to bop your boss upside the head with logic like that.”
I grin. “Just think about it.” His gaze holds mine and when I can no longer withstand his brown-eyed intensity, I turn back to the snacks. “How about an eclair?” I reach for an oblong pastry stuffed with marshmallow frosting.
Eli grabs the package and it makes a loud crinkling sound. Wanting to help, I reach to take it from his hand but when I clasp my hand around his, one end of the wrapper pops open and filling squirts out, covering my fist.
And I know it’s dumb and so very immature but it really, really looks like we’re fisting a little penis together.
We pause.
We glance at each other.
Then we break out laughing. Like teenagers in Sex Ed class. It’s ridiculous.
"Shush! You're gonna wake Callie!" he scolds me playfully through his own laughter.
"Sorry," I snort, drop my head and slap a hand over my mouth.
But there's frosting in my hand. So now, there's frosting in my hair and on my nose and on my cheeks.
"You're making a mess," He says sternly. He throws my words from earlier back in my face. "You're no better than
