Smoke & Mirrors

Chapter 5: The Beginning

The ride to Elliot's was silent, he didn't ask her what happened, and she didn't tell him on her own. When they arrived, Elliot opened her door and Cosmo jumped out and found the closest tree to relive himself. Elliot bent down and took Allison's hand guiding her into the tall building. When they walked through the doors and were greeted by two stainless steel elevators that smelled of lemons, he pressed the button for the 34th floor and the doors closed. Allison stood next to him, still not speaking, but the colour had returned to her face and that contented him. The doors opened to a long hallway with one door on either side. Elliot placed his hand cautiously on the small of Allison's back and led her forward to the door on the right. He retrieved the keys from his pocket and slowly opened the door, into a huge, warm, and beautifully decorated condominium.

The living room sprawled out in front of them, and a long area rug ran the length of the room. A large, deep red suede sectional sofa faced a huge television that had been hung snugly on the wall. There was stone fireplace, that took up residence directly under the television, dawning sculptures from various parts of the world on top of red mahogany. Glass windows lined the entire wall leading out to a veranda that wrapped around one half of the building. To the left was the kitchen, just as beautiful and two hallways leading in opposite directions from either side of the living room.

Cosmo sauntered over and laid himself right in front of the warm fireplace, quickly making himself at home. Elliot led Allison to the hallway on the left, carrying her small suitcase in his free hand. He opened the only closed door to reveal a large immaculate bedroom. In front of her stood a king size bed that filled the centre of the far wall, and a sunset painted the wall above it, 6 feather pillows, silk sheets and a black down duvet dressed the bed perfectly. There is a desk in the corner that is just as dramatic as the bed, and a T.V. that hung on the wall opposite the bed. Elliot placed Allisons suitcase on the bed and led her through the room into the En-suite bathroom. It was bigger than any bathroom Allison had ever seen, the walls were painted the same warm shade as the bedroom, like the red wood across fireplace. He walked her to the shower and turned it on and water sprang from the 3 walls cascading like a waterfall in the centre of the glass enclosed stall. Elliot stuck his hand into the water, testing the temperature and adjusted it till it was just warmer than warm.

Elliot stood behind Allison and ran his hand up her arms and removed the blanket that hung from her shoulders. She let it fall to the floor behind her as Elliot let his hands trail back down her exposed skin. Allison stiffened under his touch, and he backed away. He caught her eyes in the reflection of the glass as she looked down and turned her around slowly, he caught her chin and guided her until her eyes met his.

"Towels are in here." He pointed to a large linen closet to the left of the shower. "Shampoo, conditioner, and body wash are in the shower." He spoke softly. "Take as long as you need. I'll be in the living room keeping the dog company." he let go of her chin and turned to leave the room.

"Cosmo." She whispered. "His name is Cosmo." she repeated a little louder.

"Well, I am going to keep Cosmo company, come out when you're ready." he smiled at her. Allison was filled with a familiar warmth and she smiled back as Elliot left the room, closing the door behind him.

***

Allison stepped into the shower and let the water hit her from all angles. The warm water rolled through Allison's hair, fell down her back, and dripped down to the floor. To her right three stainless steel tubes were attached to the wall each with their own label, she moved her hand under the one labelled shampoo and a clear, sweet-smelling liquid fell into her hand. She pressed her hands together and ran them through her hair, creating a thick lather before leaning her head back into the water. Allison repeated the process with the conditioner and allowed it to sit in her hair while she washed the rest of her body. The body wash smelled of mint and linen as her hands trailed over her skin, lathering her body with a thin layer of suds. Once again backed herself up into the warm water and allowed it to rinse away the conditioner, bodywash and the events of the evening and she watched it all slide down the drain.