AllFreeNovel
Share Us
I grab our glasses and sit on the floor across from him. The wine is delicious, but it’s caused a strange bubbling sensation in my lower belly. Maybe I need to put some food in there.
Elliot lifts the lid, showcasing one of those forearms, and out drifts the most delicious pizza aroma I ever did smell.
“Prosciutto, marinated artichokes, arugula, and thinly sliced figs. My absolute favorite,” he announces.
“I think it’s about to be mine too.” I grab a napkin and a slice and take a bite of the herby and slightly sweet deliciousness. The whole thing melts into a taste sensation in my mouth.
All I can do is close my eyes and make hmm, mmm, mmh noises.
When I finally swallow and open my eyes, Elliot is sitting there, holding an untouched slice, looking at me with a wide grin.
“Are you watching me eat?”
“And listening,” he says with a wiggle of his eyebrows. Is he pizza-flirting with me?
I take a sip of the wine, which goes perfectly with the cheesy gooiness. “This is all so good,” I say, poised to take another bite. “See, I’m a cheap date.”
As soon as I’ve filled my face with more food, my brain realizes what my mouth just said. Christ, there’s no time to swallow. I need to fix this now.
I cover my full mouth. “Notthathisisadate.”
“What?” Elliot asks through an equally large mouthful.
“This.” I point from me to him, then to the pizza and the wine. “Notadate.”
He snorts with laughter and just about gets his hand over his face in time.
Realizing how ridiculous that must have sounded, half of me wants to join in laughing with him and the other half wants to crawl under the table with mortification. But all of me definitely wants to finish chewing this mouthful before I say anything else.
Elliot pulls himself together and swallows. “Sorry about that. I think some cheese just came out my nostril. Or possibly a piece of artichoke.” He wipes his mouth and nose with a napkin. “But thank you for providing that valuable, and completely unexpected, clarity on the status of the evening.”
I wash my pizza down with more wine and clear my throat. “I just meant that although I said I was a cheap date, I wasn’t thinking this was a date.”
Christ, Charlotte, shut the fuck up. I’m just digging myself deeper. My stomach flips with embarrassment.
Or actually, maybe it’s not embarrassment. Maybe it’s something worse.
There’s a low rumble deep in my gut. I press on my belly as if that will mask it.
Elliot’s chuckles come to a sudden halt.
“Are you okay?” he asks, putting down his slice. “All the color just drained from your face.”
“I’m not sure.” I swallow the saliva that fills my mouth.
My stomach lurches.
“Is it the pizza?” he asks. “Or maybe the wine?”
I shake my head as a ripple rises up my throat and hits my gag reflex. “Oh God.”
I can’t puke. I can’t. I’m in Elliot’s office. I can’t throw up in here. Or anywhere. I don’t want to vomit at all.
He rises from the sofa, wiping his hands. “You really don’t look well.”
“I’ll be all right in a minute.” I have to get the hell out of here. I am not about to hurl my guts up in front of Elliot. Or anyone else for that matter.
As I push myself to my feet my head swirls. “Need some air.” I take a step toward the door. “Back in a min?—”
