Who Knows?

"Don't do that,"

"You're here," I utter in disbelief.

"Yeah," he scratches the back of his neck and casts a glance upward, looking at the dark clouds pouring rain on us. "I hope that's okay for you." The rain has soaked his shirt and it's clinging to every dip of his skin and muscles. He's making it really hard to stay mad at him or to concentrate. My throat feels too tight and my skin is shivering not only from the cold anymore.

I don't know how to answer his question, so I keep quiet. I feel my phone vibrate a few times in my pocket but I ignore it.

"You should really come inside. You're gonna catch a cold if you stay out in the rain for much longer," his voice is gruff like usual and he seems unhappy with my decision to walk home in the rain. I know I should listen to him but I stay rooted to the spot. Eli walks the remaining steps over to me and gently grabs my hand, pulling me into the building. Even though my skin is freezing from the rain and wind, the part that Eli touches feels burning hot. Once we're inside, he squeezes my hand a single time before slowly letting go, turning to face me again.

"What made you think walking home in a thunderstorm was a good idea?" he questions, sounding slightly angry.

"I don't know," I mumble and feel tears of frustration creep into my eyes. I want to run to him and hug him, bury my nose in his shirt and chest, smell his scent and never let him go again but my brain shouts at me to keep my distance; to be wary and not trust him right away and I swear it physically hurts to obey my rationality. I somehow manage to control my urges and not run to him but I can't stop the next words from tumbling out of my mouth in one rushed breath.

"I missed you so much."

A mix of pain and relief crosses his face before he opens his arms, reaches for me,  and pulls me against his chest. His big hands hold me to him at the small of my back and between my shoulder blades and he buries his nose into my hair.

"I'm so sorry for taking so long and making you wait, darling. You have no idea how much I missed you," he whispers into my hair and pulls me tighter against his body. My tense muscles relax for a second and I deeply breathe in his scent before realization hits me and I break free from his embrace, taking a few steps back. He doesn't get to hug me, yet. We haven't talked and there is still the possibility of a new girlfriend. But if that was really the case, why would he hug me like this and tell me he missed me? No, Romy, don't be naive, you cannot always trust what people say!

He doesn't comment on my reservations and nods his head toward the stairs, indicating for me to follow him. I let him lead me up to the apartment as if he's the one living here and not me but I cannot seem to care about that right now. The door to our apartment is ajar and Eli pushes it open, holding it for me to walk through. The moment I step foot into the living room, Tess comes barreling into me, hugging me to her frame and whispering in my ear, "Did you see my text? I texted you that he was here, please don't be mad at me."

I hug her back and say, "I didn't see your text but I'm not mad at you. Just a little shocked is all."

"Yeah, I can see that," she says as she pulls back and roams my body with her eyes. "You should shower and change into dry clothes."

"Thank you, Tess. I wouldn't have thought of that," I retort sarcastically and she rolls her eyes.

"We're gonna go out to eat later, do the two of you want to join us, or do you need to talk first?" Bennett asks into the room.

I am not quite ready to talk to Eli yet, to face the truth and a distraction sounds like a welcome excuse. I am quick to say, "Sounds good, I'm in. I'm starving actually, so perfect timing. I'll get ready and then we can head out."