The Expansion of the Universe

Twenty-Five | "I should."

"Elijah?" Liza asked later that same day, sitting on the back porch of her condo and watching as Elijah chased Milo around the yard.

The man stopped running so abruptly that he fell forward and barely missed Milo, landing against the dirt with a muffled thump!

Liza jumped up, startled. "Elijah!"

Her neighbor and only friend rolled over to his back, his shoulders shaking as he began to laugh brightly. Milo, clearly unsure as to why his new playmate had halted their game, sniffed at the man's face curiously.

"Are you alright?" Liza continued, creeping closer and crouching beside him, her fingers trailing over his arm carefully.

Elijah's laughter ended in an amused sigh, and the way he gazed at her—with the utmost contentment and adoration—nearly had her heart slam-skip-slam to a complete halt. "Ah, I'm fine, babe, I'm fine. I'm a tough cookie, I promise."

Liza sat back on her heels with a frown. "I'm sorry, Elijah, I didn't mean to make you trip."

Elijah waved her off, the movement of his arm throwing her fingers off. Before she could find herself upset, those calloused fingers tangled with hers, and he brought their coupled hands to his lips, where he planted a kiss to the back of hers. "No sweat, doll," he assured her once his lips had successfully sent her heart off on another gallop. "I'd say my lack of grace is more to blame than you. What's up?"

Liza floundered for a beat, having nearly forgotten her original question. "Oh—right. Uh, I was thinking—"

"Well, be careful doing that; I know for a fact it's dangerous—I'm still not recovered from when I last did it."

She rolled her eyes at his cheeky grin and tried again. "Alright, you. I was thinking that I would like to try something."

At her words, Elijah's eyes lit with excitement, and he sat up quickly, though his hand remained clasped in hers. "What kind of 'something'?"

"Well, I tried it before, and it didn't go well, but, uh, maybe I could try to go to your condo—"

"Yes!" Elijah nodded his head emphatically. "Yes, yeah, definitely, let's do it. Now?"

"Oh, um, well, sure, I guess, if that's alr—"

"That's great! God, babe, this is so exciting!" He scrambled to his feet, his movements almost absent-minded as he pulled her up as well, bending down to pass her a joyous smile before he tilted his head further and planted a slobbery kiss on her cheek. No sooner had his lips met her skin was he pulling away, squeezing her hand once before dropping it and rushing back inside her house. "I'll get Milo's leash!" He called over his shoulder, but she was only half-listening.

He'd just kissed her. On the cheek. With his lips.

And, damn it all to hell, she was beyond pissed that he hadn't kissed her with his lips on her lips.

"Get a grip, Liza," she hissed, running her fingers through her hair (oh, God, she needed to wash it) and sucking in a slow breath before deeming herself stable enough to follow him inside. She found him with Milo, already by the front door, his excitement palpable as he bounced up and down on the balls of his feet like an eager child on Christmas morning.

"Here, babe," Elijah held out Milo's leash, and she took it hesitantly. Her suggestion to venture to his house was becoming extremely real, and she wondered if perhaps she was pushing herself too far.

What if she had a panic attack the second she stepped off her lawn and onto his? God, that would be beyond embarrassing, and would only go to show that she hadn't made nearly as much progress as she'd originally believed.