And Yet. . .

Chapter 6

He could still hear the guests from the backyard, their lively chatter and laughter, in addition to the music playing, echoing throughout the street, no doubt. Elliott had walked through the house to step onto the front porch for a moment, not really feeling guilty for needing a break as he sought comfort in the cigarette he was smoking. He wouldn't smoke in the backyard where Rose's younger cousins were, or where her five month pregnant aunt was.

It wasn't like the arrival of her family was too much. It was slightly overwhelming, sure, to meet all of those people under the façade of being the boyfriend of their niece, cousin, granddaughter, but not overwhelming. Not when he lived in a metropolitan like New York. So the break was needed just to ground himself for a moment. Playing a part was tiring. Her grandparents were sweet, and her aunts—all of whom had married into the family since both of Rose's parents only had brothers—were a riot. Thankfully no one was the cheek pinching kind—Elliott had enough of those in his own family. Most of her cousins were around their age, and Elliott bonded with them over his preference of the New York Jets as opposed to the Giants. He didn't talk much, but Rose's family's enthusiasm and chatter made up for it.

He didn't really feel guilty about lying to all of those people, though. Rose didn't seem to, so Elliott wasn't about to lose sleep over it. It was just for the weekend, and then after a while, they'd go through a fake breakup and it'd be over, and no one would be the wiser.

As he let some smoke to curl out of his phone, his phone began buzzing and Elliott's jaw clenched, having a feeling of who was calling him. He'd already ignored a call already the other day. When he glance down at the screen, his grip on the device tightened as the word Dad glared back at him. It pissed him off, just the mere knowledge of the man calling him, and he was all too aware of his blood boiling in his veins. So he ignored the call and shoved the phone back in the pocket of his jeans, wanting to desperately rid himself of any thoughts about his father, just as the front door opened.

"Planning your escape already? You lasted longer than I thought you would." Elliott glanced over his shoulder to see Rose stepping out, not moving from his position of leaning on the railing on his arm, back slightly hunched as she stepped up to his right. He let his gaze run over her as she reached out to grip the railing, not for the first time taking in dark pink jumpsuit she wore, hugging her figure too well. The thin straps were hidden under her wavy brown hair, the necklace that had the Pisces symbol daintily sitting at the bottom of her throat as always.

"Not escaping," Elliott told her, lifting the cigarette between his fingers. "Just needed a smoke." He accentuated his words by taking another drag.

Rose raised an eyebrow at him, turning so her body was facing him, leaning on the railing with her right arm. "Weren't you trying to quit?"

"Trying being the key term," he shrugged casually, not quite bothered. His friend, Ashton, had taken it upon himself to help Elliott in quitting. Baby steps. At Rose's unimpressed look, Elliott smirked lazily, squinting slightly as the sunlight shined on his eyes. "Don't worry," he continued, turning to face the front yard once more, "you and your family didn't drive me back to bad habits." He didn't even need to see Rose to know she rolled her eyes. "Are you here to drag me back inside?"

She scoffed lightly. "Yeah," she answered. "My cousins want you to play soccer with them. They want you to play rather than Rich, so—" Rose patted his shoulder as she pushed herself away from the railing, ready to head back inside. "I'd say that's a win."

Before she even had the chance to drop her hand away from him, Elliott's body moved on instinct, his left hand coming up to grasp her right, straightening and smirking lightly at the startled gasp that left her when he pulled her towards him. Her chest brushed against his, widened green eyes staring up at him, and the scent of her watermelon body wash enveloped Elliott in their sudden proximity.