The Red Lounge

Chapter 34

My body felt heavy as it started to wake up in response to a loud knocking coming from the entrance of the apartment. I could've slept for a few hours more due to the lack of sleep I had the previous night and rigorous workout I had last night.

"I don't know who would be knocking," he groaned as he got up from the bed.

He exited the room and I grabbed my cellphone from the floor besides the bed. It was eight in the morning. Elijah and I practically slept for 12 hours straight

I also checked to see if I had any missing calls or texts from Xavier considering we were disrupted last night.  There was one missed called and three text messages from him, also one message from Pia.

Xavier
6:14 PM: Are you okay? What the hell was that?
6:24 PM: I'm worried about you.
7:25 PM: Call me whenever you have the chance.

Morena
8:04 AM: I'm fine. I'm at Elijah's apartment.

Xavier
8:04 AM: OK

I placed my phone beside me when I noticed Elijah entering the room with a wooden trolley food cart. It had good embellishments on the side with French writing. Bon Appetit.

"What in the world?" I whispered and leaned over to get a better view of the cart.

"The man said it was from a Mr. Felix, though let's read the note," he suggested, picking up a white envelope from the cart. He scanned the card for a second and had already rolled his eyes.

"What does it say?" I asked.

He threw the card onto the cart and shook his head. "I know you had French last night but here's a luxurious French breakfast on me."

I couldn't help but giggle. Although Felix knew how to push my buttons, he had a playful energy that I could at least appreciate. It was like having a brother who had no filter.

Elijah narrowed his eyes and reread the card again. "How did he know you were here?" Elijah asked me, his dark blue eyes bore into mine.

"Well, I'm starving!" I jumped out of the bed and attempted to lift up the silver cover, but Elijah had placed his hand over it.

"Morena," he said slowly.

I plopped back onto the bed and stared at the ceiling. "Felix brought me here last night."

"Oh, he did?"

"Yeah, and he gave me a lecture about making life choices. He wanted me to either make up with you or break up with you. He was convinced I was playing with your heart."

Elijah sat on the edge of the bed with a defeated look. "I'm sorry about Felix. I hope you know that I had nothing to do with that. I told him that you just needed some space."

I sat back up and faced him. "Yeah, I told him that too and he said real relationships don't take breaks."

"When you were ready to pursue this relationship again, I wanted it to be through your own will not because my over-protective friend decided to intervene."

I ran my hands down his smooth, muscular arm. "Look, I was ready to take you back Friday night but my ego and worries got in the way. Felix gave me that push I needed. It was like a reality slap. I came here last night and it was willingly because I could've gone home, but I didn't. I chose to be with you, Elijah."

Elijah sighed deeply and looked at me with heavy eyes. "Okay, as long as it was willingly and you weren't coerced."

I leaned over to give him a kiss and placed my hand on his cheek. "I love you. Now, let's eat. I'm starving! I couldn't even eat my damn cheeseburger yesterday!" I catapulted off the bed and lifted up the metal cover. I revealed two country French breakfast, an assortment of jams and honey, fruit salad, and oatmeal.

I picked up one of the croissants and took a bite out of it. "We should fight and make up more often!" I joked. Elijah didn't find my joke too funny and instead looked downcast considering the amazing night we had together.

"What did you mean by 'couldn't even ear my damn cheeseburger'?" He asked, placing his hand on his thighs and leaning in close to me.

"Oh, I don't know..." I took another bite of the croissant and nervously looked away.

"Morena," he called almost angrily.

"Fine! Felix dragged me out of a diner! I was having dinner with Xavier because he had won his baseball game, but Felix came in and made a big scene."

Elijah stood up quickly and crossed his arms. "Morena, that's called coercion."

"I wouldn't call it that."

He rolled his eyes at me, something he's never done before. "You won't call it that, but that's what it is, Morena."

I tossed the croissant on to the plate and started to look for the clothes I wore last night. "I'm not a freaking case, Elijah." I found the pants and slipped them on rapidly. "Sure, I was dragged out but I had the decision to stay or go. I decided to stay at my own will. I didn't have a freaking gun to my head." I took his shirt off and tossed it to him. He caught it and held it tightly. I found my sweater and tossed it over my head. "I'm just going to go. You probably have work to do anyways."

"No, Morena, don't go," he sighed. "I'm sorry."

I stayed in place and looked away. Elijah walked over to me and placed his hand on each arm. "I think I'm more upset with myself. Felix gave me a lecture too. He pretty much told me to either fight for you or call it quits. I told him I was going to leave it to you, but I should've been proactive. I should've fought for you."

I exhaled deeply and peered up at his glossed over eyes. "You were respecting my wishes."

"I know, but I feel like I should've done something more."

"It's fine, Elijah. You did everything perfectly right. Don't let Felix get into your head. He knows nothing about women."

Elijah felt disappointed in himself for not chasing me, and the truth was that I didn't want him too. I wasn't used to that in a man so I never had it for them as an expectation. It was a feeling that I didn't yearn for only because I never knew how it felt. Aside from the past few days, I always thrived better emotionally when I was alone to deal with my issues.

Elijah enveloped me with his strong yet gentle arms and kissed the top of my head. "I'm free the rest of the day if you'd like to stay. Actually, I was going to meet up with Felix later to have a sparring match. We want to freshen up on our moves. I think you could learn a lot about self defense."

"Would I get an opportunity to punch Felix?" I mumbled in his chest.

"Unlikely, but I could teach you how to inflict slow, unbearable pain on him."

"Now we are talking!" I exclaimed.

I was ready to give Felix a piece of my mind.