My Safe Refuge

Chapter 13

The sound of the keys hitting the ground and Chris' husky voice pulls my eyes away from his towel. At the same time I feel the heat flooding my cheeks, at the embarrassment and awkwardness of this situation that I now find myself in.

"Oh....eh, yeah, just there. Lily just dropped me home." I say, a little flustered, and very distracted at Chris' bare chest.

(Christ, I don't know where to look, there is so much of him on display. The obvious place would be his eyes, but that usually starts off a whole other whirlwind of emotions inside of me.)

"Sorry I'm not more decent, I just came out of the shower and came down to grab a bottle of water. I guess I'm not used to having someone else living in my house. I forgot that you might be here, I'll try to remember the next time."

I quickly bend down and pick up my keys and stare back at Chris.

"No not at all, don't worry about it, you don't have to stop on my account."

As soon as the words have left my mouth I immediately realize how they must of sounded to him, as a small amused smile crosses his face.

"Oh, what I meant to say was that, it's your house, so you can do what you like.....I didn't mean that I want to see you again.....not that I......"

I stop talking as I see Chris desperately trying to hold back his laughter, he's clearly very amused at the stuttering, flustered mess that I have become.

"Ellie, it's fine. I know what you meant. If you'll excuse me, I'm just going to go and get dressed and I'll organize some dinner then."

"Oh, okay....sure." I say, as I step aside and Chris walks past me up the stairs.

(Oh my god that was officially the most embarrassing thing ever. Just when I thought that I couldn't possibly become any more of a mess in front of him. Although, with a body like that, I'm pretty sure anyone would have became a little flustered just looking at it.)

I head up to my room to put away all of the new clothes that I got today. After picking out a nice outfit for my first day at work tomorrow, I head downstairs to grab a glass of water. Chris is in the kitchen, fully clothed, much to my disappointment. He looks across the room to me when he hears me approaching.

"Hey Ellie, I'm just making spaghetti bolognaise, I hope that's okay with you?"

"Yes, that's more than okay. You do know that you don't have to cook for me? Shouldn't it be me cooking for you, considering you are lending me a place in your home?"

"It's no trouble. Sure I would be making dinner for myself anyway, and I'd end up freezing half of it as there is never anyone to eat it with." He says with a smile.

"Okay, well will you at least let me help you?" I ask politely.

"Sure, do you want to chop the tomatoes for the sauce?" He asks as he points to the chopping board on the counter.

"Yeah, I think I can manage that!"

"So, I never got to ask you how you got on earlier, how was your day with my sister? Has she driven you insane yet?"

"No, not at all. It was actually really good fun. I managed to find a few nice things for work."

"Ah well that's great. She didn't interrogate you too much I hope?"

"No, not even a little. She was great, honestly. I really like her, and it was very good of her to help me."

"Yeah I know, I do give her a hard time on occasions, but really she is a gem. She will look out for you and be there for you when you need her. But whatever you do, don't tell her I said anything nice about her, she will never let me live it down." Chris says with a small chuckle.