crave | 16+

XV

JOSIE
5 HOURS LATER

DEV AND I WALK out of Bath & body work fully ready to head to McDonald's and eat a bunch of carbs we don't need but me being the freaking idiot I am, I stare at my best friend instead of the sidewalk in front of me and I walk directly into someone which knocks me to the ground. My tailbone aches. My eyes come in contact with a pair of Oxfords I know all too well. Devina helps me to my feet and I almost dread looking up.

I mutter a curse under my breath before connecting our eyes. He looks edible for crying out loud.

"You should be more careful when you walk, Josephine," he says with a glint of amusement in his eyes. I gulp not knowing how to explain this one to Devina.

"I know that accent," my best friend since high school states. "You're the annoying boss."

My eyes almost pop out of their sockets. I'm fully ready to grab Devina's wrist and sprint as far as Elijah will let us, but when I look at him a humorous smile is plastered across his face.

"And you must be the obnoxious friend from high school who doesn't know how to take a phone call hint," Elijah retorts back his tone steady. Calm. No sign of annoyance whatsoever. Sometimes his calmness scares me most. His ability to contain himself even in situations where every part of his brain must be screaming at him to snap, he doesn't. It reminds me of the calm before the storm.

I turn my head to Devina. "Touché," she says.

A breath escapes my lips. Thank God they didn't murder each other. "What are you doing here?" I ask Elijah finally. He looks down at me with a strange look in his eyes. It isn't anger, but almost adoration which makes me want to gag. I don't know why he's looking at me like I'm a lost reindeer but I don't like it.

"I believed you and Mrs. Baqri would be finished by now. I was going to pick you up for dinner, but I see that isn't the case," he explains.

I can feel my cheeks burn. I never told him where Devina and I would be, nor did I tell him who I was with. I'm almost too afraid to ask him how he found out, not knowing if I even want that answer. I look over at Dev who's trying her best not to smile. Devina doesn't live far from me – she lives in New Jersey while I live in New York city. I just rarely see her due to her job.

"Josie?" she asks. I hum in response. "Aren't we through here? Rudra is probably missing me." It's a lie. Her husband is a pathetic creature who barely speaks to his wife. My heart swoons for her. Before I get to reply, I'm being pulled away from Devina by Elijah. I stop him, watching Devina's sad expression due to our lack of goodbye.

He finally stops in the midst of the street. "You can't just pull me away like that!" I say, breathing heavily. Without saying anything, I storm back to my best friend, giving her a hug. "Thank you," I whisper. "I'll see you soon. I promise."

We pull back from the hug and she smiles at me. "He might be an ass but he's hot."

I roll my eyes and then walk back to Elijah who's waiting patiently. As. If. When I make it to him, I don't stop. Instead I continue walking in hope of losing him, even though I know he'll make it to me in the span of 3 strides. He wraps an arm around my shoulders, and pulls me into him. An exasperated sigh escapes my lips which makes a chuckle leave his.

We walk past Christ Enterprises and to my surprise he pulls us inside. Confusion lingers in my breath as he greets the front desk people. I feel my cheeks set aflame as all of my coworkers in one way or another stare at Elijah's arm draped around me protectively. We make it past security without having to walk through the metal detectors.