The Bet

10

Chapter 10: You Take Me Higher

This special place that Eli promised to take Aspen was his house, well not the house itself but behind it. In his backyard was a giant treehouse, the outside was fully decked out with wrap around fairy lights, Keep Out signs, and a basket was perched right outside the door. "Did you plan this?"

"If by planning you mean texting my mom asking her to leave food and blankets out for us, then yes."

Subconsciously looking behind her, Aspen wasn't sure why she expected to see Eli's mother, she wasn't exactly dressed to meet his family and she wanted to make a good impression. "Is she home still?"

"No, she left out a little bit ago." Holding her hand and pulling her up to climb the latter, Eli trailed behind her picking up the basket by the door. "Go in."

Aspen sucked in a breath inside, it was uncharacteristically beautiful. A couch was on both sides, a rug in the middle with neons and fairy lights adorning the walls. "It's beautiful. Did you do this?"

"My brother and I, mostly him though. He'd ask me what I wanted and whatever I said he made it happen. It was our getaway, when life was catching up to us or if we just needed somewhere peaceful to think. This has always been the place and when I'm up here everything feels right."

Aspen was eating up his words, her breath completely taken away by the sights around her—before her too. Eli was so busy taking out peanut butter sandwiches and root beers he barely noticed her staring at him, such contentment beaming off her features. "You terrify me, Elliot James."

"Why would you say that?"

"I don't like many people, I don't bother with anyone at all really and I don't know how you did it. You weaseled your way into my life and you're always on my mind, I never thought I could like you but I do and that terrifies me."

"I don't want to hurt you," His response was so double sided, a meaning that Aspen didn't even know about. Eli didn't even know how to properly ease her worry because anything he said would prove to be a lie at some point in time but he didn't want that anymore. "I know you have your doubts about me but if you stick around, I can show you that there's more to me than some guy who used to sleep around. I care about you, Aspen."

Sitting cross cross applesauce before him, Aspen was nervously picking at her white nail polish. The intensity of the conversation and how Eli's words made her heartbeat speed up and the palms of her hands swear, she knew she was already in too deep. He'd left a mark on her that she couldn't just ignore and get rid of so easily. "I didn't know you had an older brother."

Changing the subject cleared the air, made it easier for both of them to breathe and maintain a clear grip on reality. "Yeah, Bentley he's my best friend. I haven't seen him in a while."

"How come?"

"He moved down to Florida for college, he was going to come back but then he got this job that pays like crazy and he met this girl. He's really happy but he doesn't come around much since he's so busy."

Nodding along to his words, Aspen leaned back shaking her hair out of her face. "I understand, my dad's always gone. He used to call a lot but we haven't heard from him in a few months."

"Doesn't that scare you? Not knowing if he isn't calling because there's no service or because he died?"

Fiddling around with the sandwich before her, Aspen tried to distract her mind from the possibility of her father dying. "Well, no one's come to our door yet with his tags and a flag."

"How do we always get on such sad topics? This was supposed to be romantic."

Her pretty laugh broke the tension that their problems made. "I like it, no ones really ever asked me about things like that or bothered to learn more about my life." Crawling closer to him, their backs pressed against the wooden wall behind them. "I won't lie though, you doing all of this for me is much better time spent than anything else."

"Aspen," Eli's voice was soft and steady, his captivating brown eyed gaze drawing her in like a fish on a line. "Can I kiss you?"

"Like I could say no." A warm hand pulled her in, his lips pressing against her own like plush. Goosebumps littered her skin from the connection she felt from how his mouth moved, his teeth gently catching ahold and pulled on her bottom lip. An action that successfully made Aspen feel like mush in the palm of his hands.

A strained groan came from the brunette boy, the beautiful girl before him had her hands trailing up the front of his shirt, the gently touch her of fingertips sending a shiver up his back and his pants growing a bit tighter. "Here you thought you were going to have to worry about me, I should be the one worried. You, Aspen Kennedy are going to be the death of me."

Dark brown waves of silky hair fell down her shoulders, the chocolate brown of her eyes the most alluring of sights Eli had ever seen. She wasn't even wearing anything special, just jeans and a random t-shirt but she looked like what he'd pictured heaven to be. "Enjoy me while you're still alive then."

Pulling her in as close as he possibly could, the gentle breeze sifting between their clothes and a moon hanging overhead providing the perfect amount of light, Eli was peaceful. Her scent engulfed him, relaxing all of his muscles and soothing his soul so naturally he felt content. Large, warm hands were gripping her waist, his face buried in the crook of her neck, nose nudging her pulse point and lips giving barely there little pecks to her throat ever now and then. He had every intention of answer her but Elliot was overcome by such tranquility, he had forgotten how to form words unless it was her name.

They stayed out there for what seemed like forever, sharing little snippets of their lives, holding one another, stealing kisses and making jokes that had them laughing so hard their sides hurt. When their eyes finally closed for sleep, their hands remained intertwined holding onto one another like a lifeline.

Aspen prayed the moment would never end, Eli was worried for the time it would end.