Crash Into Me

Chapter Thirteen: Eli

The elevator doors glide open, bringing the dim shadowy living room into view. I pull out my phone and use an app to turn on the warm lights. A few boxes are left in the corner, but the rest of my apartment is impressively organized and well-decorated. I hang my work bag in the closet by the entrance. All of my coats are hanging in color coded order along the rack. I smile gently and let out a quiet laugh. She's perfect.

Making my way to the staircase, I yawn and shuffle my tired feet up the stairs. The doors to my bedroom are open and I see Alli curled up on the bed, fast asleep with the nightstand light on. The sight of her instantly makes my heart melt. I walk over to the nightstand and turn it off soundlessly with a single tap.

She scared me earlier with her sudden interest in the discovery of my chest. She can't ever know about it--she'll never want to have anything to do with me ever again. The thought of her seeing what's inside sends shudders down my spine.

"Eli?" She turns over to face me, rubbing her sleepy eyes with her clenched fists.

"Hello, beautiful," I reach down to run my fingers through her soft wavy hair.

"Did you just get back?"

"Yeah, sorry, my shift went later than expected."

She feels around for something, but gives up in her state of drowsiness. "I can't find my phone. What time is it?"

I tilt my watch toward my face, making it light up. "Two o'six. And it's right here." I pick it up from the ground and hand it to her.

"It's so late," she says, taking it and clicking the unlock button before turning it back off and placing it on the nightstand. Sitting up, she blinks hard a few times trying to wake herself up.

"I know, I'm sorry. You don't have to wake up for me." I place my hands on her shoulders, massaging them in small circles over the knots in her back. She relaxes forward into my arms.

"No, I want to," she says, as I kiss her head and let her rest her cheek against my chest.

"I wanted to get back at ten, but the ER was slammed with admits. It was intense." I start taking my shoes off and pull my now wrinkled scrub tops over my head. "You did an impressive job with the unpacking," I add.

"I'm not done yet, but I'm making progress. I think I should finish everything up by tomorrow." She smooths her hair down, looking more awake.

"That's great! Thank you, really."

"That's what you pay me for," she says, looking pleased with herself.

"And you're worth every penny," I smile as I pull off my scrub bottoms and feel my fatigued muscles ache from being on my feet all day. "I'm going to rinse off. That twelve hour shift wore me out."

"Mind if I join you? I could use a shower too." The corner of her mouth turns up in a naughty smile.

"You know I could never turn down a shower with you." I reach down and grab her, tossing her over my shoulder as she kicks and giggles the whole way to the master bathroom.

"Eli!" She cries in playful protestation, hitting my shoulders with her fists.

"Oww! You know that's considered abuse, right?" I tease.

"And this is considered kidnapping!" She laughs, her voice cracking in the cutest way.

I set her down carefully on the cold tile and flip on the lights while she bends over to turn on the shower. Her alluring black see-through pajamas show off her perky breasts. I can't stand how attractive she is; it physically hurts to look at her for too long.

"Why are you so damn beautiful?" I ask, as she pulls her long hair over her shoulder with one hand. 

"I'm not." Her eyes dart down to the white tile floor.

"Yes. You are." I reassure her, taking a step closer and wrapping my arms around her slender waist. Her breathing becomes unsteady as I slide my index finger down her back and grab onto the bottom of her top. I can feel her heart pulsating rapidly against me.

"Is everything okay, Miss Smith? That tachycardia is beginning to get a bit worrisome."

"I don't know, you're the doctor. You tell me," she breathes.

"I might have to do a comprehensive examination. Lift up your arms." She puts her arms over her head as she's told, her luscious brown eyes staring yearningly into mine with every shred of attention she can muster. My fingers trace their way down between her breasts all the way to her stomach, brushing vertically against her belly button and stopping centimeters away from the top of her pajama bottoms.

"You're driving me crazy," she shivers.

"Not anymore crazy than you're making me," I whisper into her ear. I pull her shirt up over her head before she slides down her short pajama bottoms and lacy onyx thong. I reach behind her back and unhook her matching bra as she eagerly yanks off my black boxers. She shoves me into the shower and grabs vigorously at my neck. She wants me just as badly as I want her, turning me on even more. She has me pinned in the corner of the shower stall before I hoist her up with her legs tucked behind me and carry her to the opposite corner, resting her against the wet wall. She presses herself up against me as I embrace her neck with passionate kisses.

Our bodies collide into each other again and again as water cascades down upon us. I tug on her hair and she pulls ravenously at my neck. I need her as desperately as she needs me. The intensity builds between us until she lets out a loud pleasure-filled moan and our mouths meet in a fervent embrace.

***

Alli reaches for a fluffy towel and twists her hair back and forth quickly between either end of the towel to dry it.

"What is it with us and showers?" I ask her.

"You started it," she grins.

I shake my head and step into some clean gray boxers while she puts on a fresh set of underwear. Wiping down the steamy mirror with a towel, I turn on the sink and pull out a new pack of toothbrushes from the top drawer. "Here, you can have this one." I hand her a pink and white toothbrush.

She looks down at it with a subtle look of surprise. "Oh. Okay, thanks." She carefully takes it from my hand and squeezes some blue gel toothpaste onto the bristles, brushing alongside me. She lets out a laugh at the ridiculous appearance of our foam-filled mouths, making me laugh. I like this. I like her--I really, really like her. Maybe even more than like, but I'm too afraid to admit that even to myself. I haven't known her long enough to feel that way. My heart plays tug-of-war with my brain at the insanity of my rather sudden strong feelings toward Alli.

We finish brushing our teeth and head back to the bedroom. She walks over to the opposite side of the bed and pulls down the velvety comforter before slipping underneath the blankets.

"I'm going to get a glass of water. Do you want one?" I ask.

"I'm all right. Thank you, though."

"Okay," I nod, lightly closing the door behind me and climbing down the stairs. Turning the lights downstairs back on with my phone, I walk back to the closet by the elevator to retrieve my brown leather workbag and unzip the middle partition. Reaching into the bag, I feel around blindly in an open pocket toward the back until my fingers feel the cool tiny steel key and a miniature multitool.

I make my way to my new office space with the key in one hand and the multitool in the other. The thick white and blue carpet invites me to crouch down onto its shaggy surface. I peel back the edge of the carpet facing closest toward my work desk. Skimming through the multitool selections, I find a blunt edge and use it to pry open the wooden panel that I asked the moving men to loosen for me earlier. It creaks in objection until it finally gives and I am able to lift the single piece up, unveiling an insignificantly small dark shallow opening. 

I carefully place the key inside of the section under the floor as quietly as possible before returning the piece of wood to its original spot and covering it back up with the rug. The floor absorbs my secret for safekeeping and a comforting feeling of relief comes over me. Now I can breathe easy. I never want to see that key again. I hope I never need it again...