Just For A Little While

12

ᘏ𝚂𝚊𝚖ᘏ

I can't believe I'm back here again. There's something wrong with me. Or maybe it's this room. It's tainted with temptation. It's wrong. It's broken.

We're leaving tomorrow in the afternoon and I'm sitting alone in a hotel room with Elliot Fucking Hightower again. McKenna's busy spending her last moments with Asher, so I figured I'd wander about the hotel.

For some fucking reason, wandering about the hotel meant getting in the elevator and going down to Elliot's floor. He didn't ask me to come by. I came all by myself and asked to be let in when he opened the door. He looked just as confused as I feel and slowly moved aside to let me in.

So, here we are. My shoes are off and set neatly beside the bed and my jacket is on the back of the chair in the room while I sit on the edge of his bed with my legs over the side. Elliot stands in front of the bed, leaning against the dresser and eyeing me suspiciously. Neither of us really knows why I'm here.

I'm still pissed about what I heard, but strangely, I still want to just sit with him. I don't want to talk about it with him of all people though. Just want his company, I guess.

"Do you remember the first time you smiled at me?"

Elliot's eyebrows bunch up, but he nods. "I do."

I set the scene for him anyway. "I walked into the kitchen where you were eating lunch and I completely ignored you when I went to the fridge. When I looked at you, you smiled like how I've seen you smile to everyone else, and you said hi."

Elliot nods again, just once. "You rolled your eyes at me." He finishes.

"Yeah." I confirm. "I'm sorry for that."

Ah, so that's what I'm here for. Death bed confessions. Last minute apologies. We're leaving tomorrow and after that, I won't have a good moment to talk to him. Or anyone.

Elliot is still confused. "It's okay." He accepts my apology anyway. "Is that all you came here to say?" He smiles, chuckling quietly.

"No," I sigh. "Remember when you came into my office with a question, and I told you to google it then proceeded to email you the exact same question you'd just asked me twenty minutes later?"

"Vividly."

"Sorry about that too."

Elliot nods and looks down at the ground with an amused smile. "Mistakes happen." He reasons on a shrug. It wasn't intentional when I emailed him. I genuinely had the same question and only realized it was the exact same question the next day.

"Remember when you brought coffee for everyone in the office, including yourself, and you handed them out but then later turned around to discover your coffee was gone?"

Elliot quickly lifts his gaze back to me. "Don't tell me that was you." He says, jaw dropped.

I grimace. "I'm sorry."

"Samantha," Elliot gasps far too dramatically. "I was so tired that day." He scoffs, putting his hands on his hips. "And I got you one of your own!"

I nod. "Yeah..." I quietly confirm it like he was asking me a question. "But also...You took my yogurt so," I sheepishly shrug. At the time, it seemed fair.

Elliot sighs quietly and slips his hands into his pockets, leaning back and crossing one ankle over the other. "I forgive you." He decides, feigning annoyance. He smiles at me immediately after. "Why're you apologizing now?" He asks.

I only shrug at him, deciding to keep my plans to myself. I've only told McKenna and I'd like to keep it out of the office. I don't want to look like a quitter. I am not a quitter.