Tragic

Chapter Six: Beautiful

Hunter

I couldn't sleep last night.  Thoughts of Elliot standing on her balcony clouded my mind. Even from a distance, I could see it in her eyes.  The dynamic between us has shifted and I'm not sure what to do.  On one hand, Elliot is incredibly beautiful, and smart, and basically perfect—but she's also Ollie's little sister.  Although we've never had that conversation, I'm pretty sure he'd have a problem with me dating her.  He flipped his shit when he found out we were running together.  I can only imagine what his reaction would be if we fucked around.

            Despite my reservations, I promised Elliot I would take her shopping for new shoes today.   I think it's just an excuse to have a chauffer take her shopping. I've seen how many pairs of tennis shoes she has.

            I'm currently seated outside an obnoxious store next to a model standing in a pair of swim trunks while music blasts in my ear.  The things I do for this girl.  Twenty long minutes later she emerges with a smile while toting two more bags.

            "Find anything good?" I ask, standing to stretch out my legs.

            "Of course. I just need to make one last quick stop and we can get lunch."

            I internally cringe.  She says this after every store we go into.

            As we begin to make our way toward the escalator I take the new set of bags from her hand and add them to the others I'm already carrying.  She smiles up at me.

            "I'm so happy I brought you.  You're a very useful shopping partner."

            Adjusting my grip on the over-stuffed paper bags, I smile back. "You know how you could show your appreciation?"

            "How's that?" she asks distantly while staring into the window of another store.

            I laugh, nudging her arm.  "You could feed me.  We've been at this for hours.  I'm starving."  When she turns to finally give me her attention, I give her a pathetic face back and she laughs too.

            Elliot pinches my cheek.  "Aw, you poor baby.  It's so exhausting walking around a mall all day."  She pulls her hand back and runs it through her hair, a smirk playing on her lips.  "No wonder I always run faster than you."

            Throwing my head back, I let out a chuckle.  "Yeah right.  I let you win because I feel bad for you.  Losing all the time wouldn't be good for your self-esteem." 

            Her eyebrow arches.  "Is that so?" She moves in front of me, looking directly into my eyes.  "Care to make a friendly wager?"

            "What did you have in mind?"

            The smile on her face turns almost sinister.  "When we go for our run later, if I win, you have to sit with me and watch a Gossip Girl marathon on Netflix tonight."

            "What about if I win?"

            She purses her lips for a moment and then shrugs.  "Then we can just watch whatever dumb show you want to."

            Although watching that show kind of sounds like torture, I'm stuck on the fact that she's already planning on hanging out with me tonight.  Ever since I moved into the guest house, she's been finding more and more reasons to spend time with me.  Not that I'm complaining, but the more time alone I have with Elliot, the more I feel like we are about to cross a line we shouldn't be.

            Again, against my better judgment, I smile back at her.  "Okay, you're on."

            She claps her hands together excitedly.  "You're so gonna lose."  With a wink she practically skips into another store, and this time, I can't hide my smile.  She's too fucking cute.