Jumping as she turns, finally sees me standing there.
“How long have you been there?”
“Just a minute.” I shrug. “What are you doing?”
“I was hungry.” She laughs, shrugging over to the breakfast she’s making. “Thought I’d make you some.”
I don’t want to admit that it thrills me as she says it, wanting to have some bullshit make-believe breakfast with her, but knowing that there’s no way it could ever be a thing.
The keep everything under wraps, I keep my life neatly arranged in two separate boxes, and if I were to bring Drew into that… well, I just don’t see anyway of that working. There’s not one that she fits in, and juggling one more, that I have to keep separate from both of my realities, it’s bound to break it all.
“Uh… I hope that’s okay.”
“Perfectly fine.” I nod. “After last night, you can do whatever you want.”
Blush spread across her cheeks. Glancing over at the stovetop, she moves over and slides the food from the pans onto plates, passing one to me.
She moves over to the table, sits down, and looks up at me as if she’s waiting for me to join.
Needing to keep as much space between the two of us, I sit on the stool at the counter.
She looks down at the plate, sighing, and just stares at it as if she’s contemplating whether she’s still hungry.
“Eli...” she trails off, looking up at me. It’s as if I know what she’s going to say before she says it; her eyes tell me everything.
“Drew,” I instantly break the distance I swore by and move over to the table now, sitting down and looking at her. “I want to be completely honest with you. I would be lying if I tried to say I wasn’t wondering if this could be something.”
Her eyes widen, most likely surprised that I seem to read her mind.
“And I think you feel the same way. That’s why you showed up last night.” I purposefully leave out that it wasn’t the first night she’d shown up there.
She softly nods her head.
“And we both know it can’t happen.”
“I’ve tried to figure out a way it could.”
Shaking my head, I look at her. “There’s a lot you don’t know.”
Tilting her head, she looks at me, confused.
“You said before that you trusted me.”
“I do.”
“Then know there are reasons I can’t tell you.”
“Can you tell me if my brother’s safe?”
“Yes, I told you. I do everything I can to make sure he’s okay.”
She nods her head.
“In the future, can you tell me if he’s in trouble?”
“Legally, no.”
“I knew that. I don’t know why I asked it.”
