Shadow & Smoke

Chapter 11

"What the fuck!" Eli yelped as he jumped up from where we'd taken cover at the curbside. Whomever had smashed his truck window's had fled swiftly and not even Eli could chase them down.

Still processing everything, I suddenly felt entirely sober as the adrenaline continued to course through my veins. Getting up from the curb, I realized that the culprit was a large rock laying on the ground nearby. It had gone clear through the driver's window and out the passenger's side.

"You've got to be fucking kidding me..." Eli scoffed as he surveyed the damaged windows and noted that his front tires had also been slashed earlier in the night.

"Eli, call the cops!" I offered as he came over to check on me instead of dialing the police.

He began pulling the glass shards from my hair and I smiled that even in all that was happening, he still thought of me.

Yeah, he was one of the good ones.

"What the fuck happened?" Jane's voice called from behind us as I turned to see her and a few of the others from our table exiting the bar. They all gawked at the scene that was Eli's battered truck.

"Some asshole..." Eli began to explain and when he finished, his firefighter friend and Jane's safe ride home offered me a lift, too.

"I'm over on Crestview." Eli's buddy, Mark, offered. "I can drop you before Jane and it's no trouble."

"I appreciate it, man." Eli added which made me feel okay accepting Mark's offer. I was apprehensive going with anyone I didn't know—especially men I didn't know. Knowing that Eli approved of the guy made me feel better. Eli turned to me, "I'm sorry about this."

I laughed, "You're always apologizing for things that aren't your fault."

"So, I know this was technically my raincheck," He smiled at me and damned that smile of his, "But, maybe we can get dinner somewhere not in town and maybe no broken windows?"

And there it was: the last offer that I could decline before Eli took it personally and I lost my chance entirely.

Did I want to give things a chance between us? I didn't know. I did know that Eli was an amazing guy and I knew a dozen or more women who would kill to have a shot with him. So why then, was I so fucking apprehensive?

It didn't make sense. I'd known Eli since I got to town and we'd clicked immediately. Since moving there, I hang out with him a bunch and things were easy between us. It didn't take any effort to be around him for things to be fun. I didn't feel pressured to be someone I wasn't or to do something I didn't want to just to earn his friendship. There were no strings attached.

We just were.

But there was more to it, too.

I felt it. He obviously felt it. There was no denying it at that point and he'd already tried to ask me out multiple times. I could only laugh and shrug it off so much before he took it as me not being interested.

Which, I was.

But, I also wasn't at the same time.

It was so fucking confusing.

Story of my life.

I felt a connection to Eli, sure. There was no doubt that I was attracted to him. I knew that the feelings I felt were reciprocated but I was scared to act on them. What if things didn't work out? What if I got my heart broken?

Verity Springs was a small town after all. There were very limited places to hide from past lovers and the rumor mill that never stopped turning. One wrong move and one of my closest friends could become a stranger.