Below the Sky

Chapter 35: Riana

A few minutes after one Elijah arrived back at the coffee shop. He walked through the doors, looking slightly tired but also, ready. He smiled when he noticed me and Lila waiting, and moved towards our table.
"You guys ready to come see my apartment?" He asked. He leaned his arms onto our table.
"Ya, we're ready," I said. Then I grabbed my bag from under the table, and helped Lila climb out of the booth. She grabbed her things, and we moved towards Elijah.
"Okay, it's not that far of a walk," Elijah said. Then we exited the coffee shop, moving onto the sidewalk.
We took a right after the Happy Brew, and headed in a direction that me and Lila hadn't explored yet. We walked maybe five feet behind Elijah, putting a reasonable distance between me and Lila and him, but not too far where we could lose him.
Elijah was true to his word, the walk from the coffee shop to his small apartment was only about five minutes. I was still out of breath when we arrived though, tired from lugging a giant bag around all day.
"This is my home," Elijah said. He pointed at a tiny house, a small yard in the front. It was cute, not huge but big enough for one person to live in, or now, three.
We walked up a small path to the porch connected to the front of the building. We stepped up, and Elijah opened the door, holding it for me and Lila.
The interior of the apartment matched the exterior, small and cute. There was a little front table where Elijah set his keys, then the hallway led into a kitchen, and living room. The living room had a rocking chair, tv, and a couch. The kitchen was smaller, but it still had the basic necessities, like a fridge and sink.
Past the kitchen and living room were two doors, one I assumed led to a bathroom, and the other Elijah's room. He led us to the first door, which opened into a small area. There was a bed, and a dresser. There was also a window, and the window had a gorgeous view that overlooked the entire town.
"This is my room," Elijah said. Then he moved out of the room, and we followed him. He closed the door behind him, shutting out his tiny space.
Next was the bathroom. Inside there was a toilet, bathtub that was also a shower, and a sink. It was small, but it worked fine.
We left the bathroom, and Elijah led us back into the living room. He pointed at the couch, "one of you can sleep there, and other on the floor I guess, you guys can get settled in, but I need to get back to work," Elijah said.
"You're leaving?" I asked, concern etched into my tone.
"Ya, I'm just on my lunch break right now, bye Lila, Riana," and with that Elijah left the living room. After a second I heard the front door slamming, and then he was gone.
"This is nice," I said. I set down my bag, and collapsed into the couch. Lila set down her things, and lay down on the sofa beside me. She cuddled up to me, tucking her head on my shoulder.
"It feels really good to be in a place where I can be free," she said softly.
"I know, it does," I played with Lila's hair, twirling it around my finger.
Eventually Lila lifted her head off of my shoulder, and her lips found mine. She moved so she was on top of me, as I lounged back on the couch. At one point my shirt made its way to the floor, and Lila's followed. Our kiss intensified, and then I broke my lips from hers, moving my way down her neck. Then I was at her chest, her stomach, and farther. Lila gasped, gripping my shoulders for support. She started to moan, clearly pleasured.
We laid back on the couch, tired, but ecstatic. Lila was leaning on me again, a smile adorning her face. "I love you Riana," she said.
I peeked up at her, pulling her face to mine. We kissed, softly, but beautiful. "I love you too," I said through her lips.

Hours later I awoke to the sound of the front door slamming. I sat up from my spot on my couch, nudging Lila awake. She groaned, moving off of me.
Elijah walked into the room, a look of exhaustion adorning his face. He dropped his keys down, and went and collapsed in the armchair.
"How was work?" I asked.
Elijah put his hand over his face, groaning, "tiring, what did you and Lila do all day?"
"We kind of just relaxed," I didn't want to go into huge detail about me and Lila's activities this afternoon.
"Okay, I'm gonna start dinner. I'll help you and her find jobs tomorrow," then he stood up, and walked into the kitchen.
Elijah grabbed a pan down from a kitchen counter, and placed it over a lit flame on the stove. He grabbed his ingredients, and started to cook dinner.
Suddenly Lila stirred. She was still laying on me, some drool drizzling down her face. She sat up, her hair all mussed up and sleep still lingering in her eyes. "What time is it Riana?" She asked.
I looked over at a clock hanging on the wall. It read around eight o'clock, meaning me and Lila had been sleeping for hours.
Elijah cooked dinner quick, and soon we were all seated at the small table, plates with grilled cheese sandwiches in front of us. Elijah poured three glasses of water, placing one in front of me and Riana, and then himself.
We all dug into the food, smiling at the taste. Grilled cheese sandwiches are pretty basic as meals go, but the ones that Elijah made were good. It was the perfect end to the day.
"So Lila, you live around here?" Elijah asked.
Lila peeked up from her food, "ya, I live maybe a half hour from here. Or at least, I did..."
I changed the subject quickly, not wanting to cause Lila too much pain, "I'm studying to be a lawyer," I blurted out.
Elijah turned his head, looking at me with a new awe. "Really, what year are you in?"
"I'm going into my third year of college, then I'll hopefully go to law school," I said.
"That's pretty cool. Ya, I graduated college a few years ago with an English major. Now I work at a company that manufacturers parts for means of transportation, like cars or airplanes. I'm the technical writer, meaning that I write anything for the company to other companies, or advertisement."
"I used to really enjoy writing," Lila's voice is small, but everyone still stops to listen. She peers up, shyness erupting over her face. "Ya, when I was younger, I always loved writing, that's what I wanted to do. But then I got taught that I wouldn't be successful unless I worked a nine to five job for the rest of my life. So dreams of writing went out the window."
"I still love writing, and I made it my career. You don't have to listen to other people Lila, you should find away to support yourself off of something you love doing, like writing."
Lila's face erupted into a smile, "thanks Elijah."
When everyone was done eating, we helped Elijah clean up the table, or mainly Lila helped him. I went and sat down, choosing a book off a shelf in the corner of the living room to read. Lila scrubbed our dishes with Elijah, laughing with him about something.
When everything was clean and put away, Elijah too picked out a book, and sunk into the armchair. Lila came over and snuggled up next to me, peering at the words on the page I was reading. The rest of the night was peaceful, wonderful. I hadn't felt this secure in a while.