With Lips Like Fire He Burns Me

9. Protective Or Possessive Call It Passive Or Aggressive

Louis knocked on the front door three times. He leaned against the doorframe, waiting patiently for his ex-girlfriend to answer the door. When the door finally did open, it revealed a sleepy Eleanor with mussed hair and pillow littered cheeks. Louis found the strength to push aside his pride.

"I normally wouldn't do this, but I needed to talk to someone." Eleanor brushed the bangs away from her face, frowning sleepily at Louis. "I didn't know where else to go."

"Come in. Cup of tea?"

Louis blinked at Eleanor. He pushed himself off the doorframe and followed her into the cozy studio flat, letting the door shut behind himself.

"Sure. Thanks."

"Milk? No sugar?"

"Please." Louis noticed the stray clothing haphazardly thrown on the floor. He walked into the kitchen and sat on one of the kitchen stools. He cupped his face with his hands. "Sorry, I didn't know you had company over."

"I don't." Eleanor set a kettle onto the stove, switching the flame on. "It's my roommate. She's a bit of a slob. Kind of reminds me when I used to live with you."

Louis chewed the inside of his cheek. He fiddled with his fingers anxiously, picking at the hangnails he chewed out of nervous habit. He pushed his bangs out of his face.

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry that our break-up was messy. I didn't know how to handle...All that mess." Louis winced, backtracking quickly. "Not that our relationship was a mess. Just the after bit."

"Relax." Eleanor smiled warmly at him. She placed the cup of tea in front of Louis, covering his hand with her own. "I loved our relationship. Every bit of it. I don't regret any of it." She shrugged, pulling her hand away and wrapping her small manicured hands around her own cup of tea. "We just weren't right for each other."

"Do you think we could have worked out if we changed some things?" Louis blurted. He exhaled slowly, blinking his long eyelashes at Eleanor. "Maybe we'd still be together."

Eleanor smirked at Louis, amused. "What, you wanna get back together with me now?"

"I don't know." Louis let his shoulders fall. He pinpointed his gaze at the ring stain on the kitchen island. He sulked. "No, not really. But it would have saved me all the misery of being alone until I found my next girlfriend."

"And what?" Eleanor scoffed at him, taking a sip from her cup. Her eyes twinkled in mirth. "You'd rather be taken and miserable?"

"I wasn't miserable."

Eleanor stared blankly at Louis. "You were. Quite so. Reminded me constantly too."

Louis blushed in shame. He dropped his head down, his cheeks flushing a bright pink.

"Only when we fought. I wasn't miserable when, you know, we were having sex."

"Well I sure hope not."

"You think I'm any good at it?"

Eleanor raised a perfectly trimmed eyebrow. "What?"

"The sex."

"Ah." Eleanor cocked her head, pursuing her lips in thought. She picked up Louis' barely touched cup of tea and her empty one and placed both cups in the sink. She leaned against the kitchen counter with her hands behind herself. "You were..." She shook your hand in a so-so seesaw. "Eh."

"El."

"Kidding, geez." Eleanor smiled at Louis, raising her eyebrows at him. "You were good. Really good. You cared about your partner's pleasure. Got them there first, not caring if you were hard and wet with your cheeks flushed and eyes glossy."