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“Violet,” Elden gritted out, cracking his neck. “You keep standin’ there lookin’ at me like that, you’re not gonna get that assignment done.”
My whole body quivered at his tone. For a second, I was ready to abandon the assignment and college all together if that meant he was going to make good on what his tone communicated.
But reason won out.
Barely.
So I went to start on my assignment.
Elden cooked us omelets that were out of this world. He could cook. I filed that away in that special place I’d kept all the slivers of information I’d gathered about Elden. He read the classics, he rescued puppies, he could cook.
We ate in silence, me with one hand, the other on my computer.
I didn’t even realize I’d finish until he took me plate from me and commenced doing the dishes.
Once that was done, he did as promised, perusing our bookshelf and positioning himself in the armchair that faced the breakfast bar I was working at.
I’d look in his direction every now and then, and our eyes would meet. My stomach would flip, and I’d battle everything inside of me to focus back on the task at hand.
The hours flew by, and I submitted the assignment at 11:59.
No one had arrived home either, obviously partying, staying with whoever they were sleeping with or also overloaded with work.
“Done,” I breathed, exhausted and barely able to keep my eyes open.
Elden closed his book.
Panic curled in my chest as I stumbled off the stool, my ass and legs numb. Elden was there to steady me.
My hips sizzled beneath his touch.
I gazed at him with heavy lids, trying to commit each of his features to memory, cement in that soft yet intense expression pointed in my direction.
“Do you want to watch a movie?” I asked, slurring my words from exhaustion.
The corner of his mouth turned up. “Violet, you’re about to fall asleep standing.”
I blinked rapidly, trying to appear much more awake than I was. “No,” I protested. “I can’t go straight to sleep after doing all that anyway. I’ve got to wind down.” It was a half lie. I usually couldn’t sleep after cramming for a test or an assignment. There was science that proved how detrimental bright light right before bed was, and I always forced myself into my room with a book to help my nervous system wind down.
But Elden was here. I wouldn’t stay up thinking about him, wondering what he was doing, who he was with, if he was thinking about him. Because he was here. With me. Thinking about me.
He considered my words, measuring them. I was shocked awake with worry that he’d refuse, say he’d have to leave now, go back to the life that didn’t include me.
But he lifted his hand, running the back of it along my jaw. “Okay, baby,” he said, voice velvet.
He walked me to the sofa, placing me down on the soft cushions before reaching for the remote. “You choose,” I yawned. “My brain is no longer working.”
He smiled. I tried to catalog that too since I was pretty sure I hadn’t seen Elden smile in my life, but my faculties were shutting down.
Elden sat close to me, and on instinct, I tapped his arm.
He lifted it immediately, and I didn’t think twice about burrowing into his chest. I inhaled the leather smell, the scent of him, my nervous system settling. But there was a scent absent. My eyes found his bicep and the small patch on it. I reached out and circled it with my finger.
Elden’s body stiffened. “What’s that?” I asked sleepily.
“Nicotine patch,” he answered, voice tight.
My body jerked, and I tilted my head to regard his face. He was only inches away. “You quit smoking?” I whispered.
