Hit List

forty nine | gentle

Incessant knocking comes from my front door. "Bree, open up!" Elijah calls from the other side.

I'm going to take Sienna's advice. Rip the bandaid off. Remove Elijah from my life.

My hand tightens around the cold door handle. I squeeze my eyes shut. Thud. Thud. Thud. My heart beats at the pace of Elijah's knocking.

How will I look into his eyes and tell him I can't have him around me anymore? Maybe if I avoid looking at him. Keeping my eyes shuttered, I pull the door open.

"Hi, beautiful." His voice is smooth.

"You have to stop calling me that." Because I like it?

"Guess what?" His voice becomes a pitch higher than usual. He shuts the door and pulls me into a bone-crushing hug. "I might be able to get custody of Kasey. I know, it sounds crazy, but I'm the one financing her school fees and everything anyways. I may as well benefit by getting to see her. I spoke to a lawyer today and he said it's possible." He squeezes me so tight.

I can't help but smile at that. He steps back. Making a huge mistake, I look into his eyes. All words fall away.

His brown eyes are alight. A huge smile is spread across his face. It melts my heart completely, pushing away any option for me to tell him to leave.

"Do you think you would be able to handle all of that responsibility? With university, work and raising your sister." It is a lot to handle.

"Yes, I'm willing to let it drain me, or drive me crazy, as long as she's happy. My parents are leaving her at home alone for weeks at a time while they travel. Nobody should have to live that way. That's how psychopaths are created." No matter how much I work out, I don't think I'll ever be half as strong or caring as he is.

I truly love him as a person. He is the most beautiful human I've ever met. Inside and out.

Distance yourself, Bree. Taking a few steps back, I allow my back to hit the far wall before I stop. I can't imagine my life without him, but I've never had a good track record when it comes to luck. If I don't let him go, something else will find a way to ruin this.

His demeanour changes. A small smile crosses his face as he crosses the room. "Where do you think you're going?" He brushes his thumb gently across my cheek.

My throat closes up. "Nowhere . . ."

His hand cups my face. I lean into it for a moment. His touch is so unbelievably gentle. Distance yourself, Bree. I try to shift away, but he takes ahold of my wrists. "Nowhere," he whispers, pinning my wrists to the wall.

"Elijah." I shouldn't.

"Bree." His smile widens, causing his eyes to wrinkle in the corners. He knows exactly what he is doing.

God, that smile. How can I deny this gorgeous human anything? Our proximity does nothing to ease my racing heart.

I try to distance—at least emotionally, since I can't physically—but my heart is being pulled towards him like a magnet to a fridge.

What do I say? All I know is that I don't want to tell him to let me go.

My eyes trail down to his lips and I lean my face closer to his. He gets the message and releases one wrist to slide his hand behind me neck. In an instant, our lips meet.

It's satisfying. Like ice cream on a hot day. I crave more of it. He senses it and applies more pressure to the kiss, moaning against the kiss.

Distance, Bree. No. I don't want distance. I want Elijah, with his gorgeous smile and comforting voice. He is staying in my life for as long as he is willing to stick around.

If something comes in the way of us, then so be it. But I'm not ending this. I will enjoy every second that I get with him.

I start to tug his shirt up, desperate for more of his gentle and loving touch. He pulls away from the kiss and I lift his shirt over his head. Our lips crash once more, with more force then before. Satisfying a craving we have both been having.

Elijah slips his hand beneath my shirt. His warm hands explore my skin. "Wait, wait." He pauses and squeezes his eyes shut.

"Everything okay?" My eyes scan his face.

He opens his eyes and brushes his thumb across my bottom lip. My eyes flutter. "Everything is perfect."

I pull his shirtless body against me. My fingers trail over the beauty spots on his torso, connecting them like a constellation.

"Uh . . ." His eyebrows crease together.

"Elijah, tell me what's wrong?" Is he hesitating? Is he hiding something? Is he worried about sleeping with me because he knows the truth and was playing along but doing this is too far?

He releases my other wrist to take my face in both of his hands. "I want to be gentle with you." I don't see the problem. "But if we go further, I won't be able to be gentle."

"Why not?" He is always gentle.

"Because in bed I'm far from it."

"What, like . . . spanking?"

"And more." He nods. One hand grabs my throat, making it harder to breathe.

Maybe it'll be fun. I'll never know unless I try. "I can handle it."

"You sure?" He bites down on his lip. I nod. He pushes me down by my shoulders, so that I am on my knees. "We'll see about that."

•<•>•

Hmmm... wonder if it's simply going to fade to black. Hehe. Guess you'll have to wait and see.

T w i t t e r : xPineappleGirlx
I n s t a g r a m : laylaawrites
Y o u t u b e : xThePineappleGirlx

Lots of love and jelly tots - xThePineappleGirlx