Imagining Us

Ch. 41- This feeling in my chest

He still held her hand, and she tried her hardest to not enjoy the feel of it.

"I'll walk you down, let me just grab something from my room first," he said, gently tugging her to follow him outside the bedroom and into the hall.

"You're not staying?" she asked as they walked side by side. Esi was trying not to think too much about the feel of her hand in his— the firmness yet gentleness of his grip.

Porte shook his head. "I only came to see you."

"What about your family?"

He stopped in his tracks which caused her to falter a bit.

"I think that they're fine without me," he responded.

She wondered if that was something that he was told or if he came to that conclusion on his own, but seeing how his family inquired about him, she didn't think that it was true.

Esi tugged at his hand. " I don't think that they are, Porte."

She remembered their reactions at dinner. The questions that were asked. The concern.

He looked down at her, a flicker of emotions in his eyes as he considered her words.

Porte sighed. "I'll talk to Delly before I leave."

She raised a brow.

"And Teddy," he added.

Esi pulled her hand from him, stepped backwards and placed it on her hip. She noticed as his eyes tracked the movement.

Lingering.

"Who else would you have me talk to, Esi?" he asked in a low yet direct way.

Porte stepped towards her, his frame hulking–those shoulders built from swimming.

"Is it Luka that you specifically want me to reconcile with?" he asked carefully, then slowly looked up and down her.

She resisted the urge to shift under the weight of his perusal.

"Don't think I didn't notice how you looked tonight," Porte breathed. "Did you dress up for my brother, Elizabeth?"

She was accustomed to his pointedly flirtatious comments, but they weren't there yet. He had no right.

"And what if I did?" she seethed the words deliberately to put him in his place.

His eyes widened slightly, nostrils flaring.

They were playing a dangerous game.

He searched her eyes, and perhaps realized that he didn't have a leg to stand on. That his absence hadn't won him any favors.

"Lucky him," Porte murmured quietly. He knew that he wasn't in any position to say anything else.

Porte gently reached for her hand again. "My room is this way."

They continued to walk down the hall.

A part of her rejoiced at winning that round, but another part of her knew that her words may eventually come around to bite her.

~~~~
Esi took in his room as he rummaged through his draws. It didn't seem like it was lived-in much which made sense since he hadn't been there in a while. At first glance, she could describe it as minimalist with grey tones but with a built-in fireplace, rustic stone wall backdrop, and an open balcony.

Medals and trophies were lined off on a shelf. When she looked closer, she noticed that most of them were for swimming competitions.

There was a bookshelf that she wanted to make a beeline to, but doubted that she would've had enough time to peruse it.