apocalypse, the answer

18.

BYGONES

"look at you," he said when i walked down into the kitchen. we had finally rescheduled the dinner date thing.

i wore a red dress again. with his coat on top. it was freezing and we were mentally unwell. it wasn't really the best of times.

he wore my grandfathers suit. it was big on him. he still looked good. straps with overalls on a white button up, slacks and a blazer. and eli apparently didn't feel the cold when he dressed like that.

i kept my coat on until he lit a fire to keep the dining room warm.

"i made soup again. i thought we could share, so we don't waste anything," he explained. eli had been more...expressive ever since he told me about mila. he communicated his feelings a lot more, absentminded thoughts and just random little comments he probably could go without.

i was seeing the real world eli.

unfortunately he was seeing the real world me.

"you look pretty," i said clearing my throat. he choked on his drink. my eyes widened. "sorry i don't give compliments often..." i trailed off.

i didn't know how else to describe what i was seeing besides pretty. he even shaved. he looked pretty and soft. non-threatening and comforting. he looked completely different from me now, versus when i had first met him. he changed in my eyes.

"a girl has never called me pretty," he laughed. he came over to me, grabbing my hand. "but thank you. you look quite handsome yourself."

snarky bastard. i smiled and rolled my eyes sitting down at the long oak dining room table.

we shared the soup and sat next to each other in silence. just spoons scraping the bowl.

we just kept looking at each other.

it was comforting though.

"can i dance with you?" he asked randomly. i was in the middle of finishing my drink as well.

the room felt much warmer after we finished the old bottle of wine we got from the cellar.

"i'm not a good at that," i said quickly. i took another long swing of the last bit of prosecco in my glass.

he shrugged, "ill teach you," he said simply, and then he stood up holding his hand out to me.

i looked at it and sat my glass down. i stood up and he gently pulled me by the waist so my body was pressed against his. he moved my arms around his neck.

"let's pretend the world isn't ending for just tonight," he said with a charming little smile. i didn't know what he meant by that, but i nodded anyways.

he pulled away and grabbed the sleeve of my coat. "may i see your beautiful dress?" he asked.

the way he looked at me made me nervous. he had these eyes that were so warm and intense at the same time. and he seemed to be unaware of how his gaze controlled the heartbeat in my chest.

i nodded because i was too breathless to speak. he pushed the coat from my shoulders and it fell to the floor in a soft clump at my feet. i was still wearing my boots and warm socks.