What Happens In Vegas | ✓

15 | the realization

Noah

My lungs burned as my feet pounded against the rubber of the treadmill. Every inch of my body was covered in a sheen of sweat, and every now and then a bead of sweat would drip down my back. Still, I ran faster. 

I was rudely interrupted when a hand appeared in front of me and pushed the emergency stop button. I huffed, turning to Eli with a glare. I yanked an ear bud out of my ear. 

"What the hell?" I asked.

Eli rolled his eyes and tossed me a rag to wipe the sweat off my face. Eli and I had been best friends for about two years now. We met during an event for his most recent movie Trevor Road, and we instantly hit it off. I became an investor in his movie, and we became close friends as a result. I didn't have many friends in the industry, mainly because most people were superficial and stuck up. Eli wasn't. 

"I've been calling your name for ten minutes. You were stuck in a trance or something." He smirked suddenly. "Oh, were you thinking about Ella?"

I clenched my jaw, discarding the now used towel in the dirty linen bin in the corner of my home gym. "I wasn't thinking about Ella," I muttered. 

I was lying through my teeth. 

If I was being honest, the last five days since we've been home from the Oscars, I couldn't think about anything except for Ella. The memories I had from us having sex took a back seat, and now I was caught up thinking about the smile she gave me when she got the deal with Fashion Forward. That and the way she fit perfectly in my arms when she hugged me. 

There was something wrong with me. 

"How'd that meeting with your friend go earlier this week?" Eli asked with a bored expression. 

I chugged a bottle of water. "I cancelled it. I wasn't feeling it." 

Eli stayed silent for a moment. "That was a real dick move, man."

I sighed. "I had to say that. We were getting to comfortable too fast."

"Did you have to say it? Or did your fear make you say it?"

I pursed my lips. "This isn't a therapy session, Eli."

He chuckled. "You're going to get mad at what I say next."

"Then don't say it." I made my way out of the gym and towards the kitchen, intending on making a protein shake before I got in the shower. Eli followed after me.

"You like Ella. And there was no meeting with your 'friend' this week. That was a lie."

I stopped on my heel with wide eyes. I yanked Eli into my office that we had stopped next to. 

"Are you insane? She could've heard you!" I hissed. 

Eli grinned widely. "So it's true then?"

I huffed and sat in my desk chair. "I don't know. I can't stop thinking about her. I'm so fucked."

Gears seemed to turn in his head. He looked at me with wide eyes. "You guys slept together didn't you? After that gala a couple weeks ago." I nodded quietly. 

"Shit, man. You guys slept together and then you turned right around and slept with someone else? And you made sure Ella knew about it?"

Hearing it out loud, I felt even more guilty. 

Eli groaned. "No wonder Val keeps asking me about what's going on with you. You're fucking insane."

I dropped my head in my hands. "What do I do? I like her, alright? And I've never had serious feelings for anyone before and I clearly have no idea what I'm doing."