PETRICHOR

.21.

I stared back at him in awe, he was laughing and watching me, completely amused by my reaction.

"Elias ha" I tested how his name rolled on my tongue. His name- well real name- suited him. However, I think I'll have a hard time, getting used to his real name. Elias.

"Why are you smiling?" He questioned amused by my reaction.

"Oh nothing" I replied innocently.

We started cleaning after dinner, Elias lending me a hand as usual. "You know ... I'm starting to think I know nothing about you,"  I concluded rubbing a dish clean.

"Why ?" Elias enquired putting the leftovers in a container.

"I thought you were a rich university student who was in a gang or a mafia, having a lot of tattoos. Doing probably illegal stuff gets in fights, drinks and smokes cigarettes.... no offence " I went on and on about my bad impression of him. Adding a "no offence" at the end of the sentence, which was pretty useless.

He closed the fridge and looked at me frowning, a smile playing on his lips letting me know he wasn't mad or anything. He placed his hand on his heart dramatically, "Offense taken." He joked and we both laughed.

"Oops"

"But seriously why would you think so?" He seemed curious to know the answer.

" I don't know to be honest but at some point, I questioned if you were a good person. However, I decided to trust you and give you a chance to prove me wrong." I explained not looking at him, I knew he was amused tho.

" It was probably your house, car, and how fit you are that gave me the bad boy, gangster vibe. Um and well I assumed you'd have tattoos based on my previous assumption. Not to mention you were snooping and acting sketchy, you seemed very mysterious I just assumed the worse! You can't blame me when you would leave at 3 am Silas- I mean Elias." I explained in exasperation and narrowed my eyes at him.

"You think my body is fit." He smirked playfully coming dangerously close to me. I rolled my eyes and pushed him away.

"I know you like it, I saw you blushing- OUCH " I elbowed his abdomen to stop teasing me.

He rested his back on the fridge and crossed his hands a smirk still on his face. "But seriously, you need to listen to my point of view first about -well- everything."

I gestured for him to go ahead and explain himself.

"From where do I even start... " he trailed scratching his temple.

" Well, everything that you know about me is true. Even tho my job was basically to lie and live as a different person. I just couldn't do that with you honestly. Maybe I hid some truth, yes, but I never really lied." Elias shared with me the truth.

Interesting.

" I am a cop, 23 years old,  studying criminology and law, next year I'll be finishing my master's degree in both of them. I've been a cop for about 2 years now. I do live alone, but I have 2 very supportive parents who got me the apartment and the car as a gift, with their money.  They are rich, not me." I listened to him intrigued by everything he was saying, he was very ambitious. I grew even more fond of him when I thought it wasn't possible.

I prepared a cup of tea for both of us to have as we talk. I handed him his cup as he thanked me and I rested against the counter facing him.

" That's amazing Elias, really," I commented smiling at the amazing man in front of me.

" You know, I did smoke before, but I quit around the time I did meet you. Also what made you think I have no tattoos? Maybe I do have some in places you never saw?" He gave me a mischievous suggestive look.

I rolled my eyes and laughed, " Are you suggesting that you have a tattoo on your butt ?"  I went along with his words, well two can play the game.

He gave me a disappointed look, "sadly no. "

"Shame," I added, earning another laugh from him.

"I have my reasons not to have tattoos tho. I regularly donate blood since I'm a  rare blood type. I'm not too keen on the idea of having something permanent on my body either. " He stated his reason and I was just impressed by how he continues to grow in my point of view.

" I see ... I have one on my ribs." I got it a couple of years ago.

"Really? That's cool. Maybe one day I'll see it myself." He attempted to flirt again and took a sip of his drink. I kicked his leg as I blushed. He smiled at me lovingly instead, I just blushed harder I raised my cup to hide my now red face.

" I'm pretty sure you are curious about the actual reason for my disappearances and fights?" My eyes flicked to his as a nodded. I started to recover from blushing a while ago.

"Since I couldn't meet my fellow friends who are cops when you were awake, I met them late at night- turns out you were awake tho and you know what happened. When we met we exchanged information and held meetings. Meanwhile, the fights were just me catching criminals, it gets bad sometimes but I'm used to it."  Everything was revealed and as soon as I thought he was done he continued.

He ran a hand in his hair and fixed his posture ."When I met you I was already undercover investigating the case of the serial killing that took place. The same case that you are involved in right now. Surprisingly, I met you - one of the victims. It was my chance to get to know more information from you to catch him. I was very frustrated that day you were attacked because he was so close yet I couldn't catch him. I had to prioritize your safety that day."

My mouth was open, so he was already on the case and he happened to stumble upon me. Fate is sick sometimes.

"That's just crazy... Wait, so you used me for the sake of your mission ?"

He thought about it for a moment "Maybe you would think of it that way, but I was genuinely trying to help you. I never thought of it that way."

" I understand Elias, you don't need to explain yourself. Even if you did use me it was for a good cause, I am still grateful that you are helping me, even until now." I meant every word coming out of my mouth.

He came closer putting the cup away and placed his arms on my sides trapping me. He closed the distance even more as he looked at me with so much love and admiration. I was mentally screaming for him to just kiss me already.

His hands rested on my chin as he pulled me in for a quick peck on the lips. He lifted me, gently placing me on the counter and standing between my legs. My arms immediately snaked around his neck, my hands getting lost in his thick smooth hair.

He placed his hand gently on my cheeks as his finger rested on the back of my neck pulling me in for a kiss. His arm supported my waist as he kissed me dearly. He was kissing me slow and teasing me.

I was getting frustrated, I groaned and fastened the pace a little bit. He smiled against my lip, he knew he was teasing me and he enjoyed it. I bit him lightly causing him to groan and suddenly he was kissing me roughly and passionately. Matching my speed, we kissed in rhythm.

I could taste the tea we had, my hand explored his neck and hair tugging slightly in his hair. He pulled me even closer to him.

We eventually pulled away to catch our breath,  even Elias looked breathless. I felt proud for some reason, maybe because I had the same effect he had on me.

We looked at each other and smiled, I just knew at that moment I may have fallen in love with him.