𝐁𝐑𝐄𝐀𝐓𝐇𝐄 | 𝟏𝟖+

II

Eudora

Elijah Alexis Moretti

That was his name, the name of the man who along with my mother had successfully convinced both of their families that they were happily in love with one another.

However due to my brilliant bullshitting senses, I quickly realised that whatever facade they were putting up was, you'll never guess, bullshit

I unfortunately still hadn't managed to conclude exactly why it was that the pair were pretending to be happily betrothed, however what I had concluded, was that Elijah was not looking at me in the way that a step father would at his step daughter.

The first time I had realised this was the day after the engagement party.

I had been stumbling around my room deciding the best way to place my plants for them to each get maximum sunlight. I had ditched the satin dress that I had originally been wearing due to me falling asleep in it after an unhealthy amount of champagne consumed, courtesy of my amazing influence of a friend Mina, and opted instead for an oversized T-shirt with lace underwear.

No better way of showing a new me than matching pink underwear.

Whilst I had been oblivious to the commotion around me, due to me singing along to the vinyl that I had placed on my record player I hadn't been aware of Elijah's presence in my room.

However I was made painfully aware of it when his hands softly graced my hips.

I had practically whipped myself around to face him, my caramel cheeks flushed due to a mixture of the fact I had been jumping around my room like a bloody lunatic, but also due to the fact he was shirtless.

Damn.

Stop it he's not even that hot.

The corner of his lip was quirked upwards slightly as he took in my flushed appearance before he spoke

"Having fun?"

I blushed harder

"I-yes?"

He let out a chuckle, and the sound travelled south quickly.

He made his was around my room, touching the various trinkets that let arias the surfaces before settling down on my bed.

"I know this may be difficult for you, adjusting to having a male figure in your life after so long"

If only you knew what I got up to on weekends

That's right, absolutely nothing.

"Honestly it's no big deal" I stated before I laughed awkwardly, his eyes boring into my own a bit too hard for my liking.

"It's not like I'm going to call you Daddy or anything"

Elijah let out a laugh which he then quickly and poorly concealed into a cough before he poked his cheek with his tongue, nodding his head slowly before he backed into a corner of my room, his next words the very reason why I was battling with my morals.

"I wouldn't mind if you did"

I paused at that, not quite sure if he had intended for me to hear that, but any thoughts of bringing him up on it went out the window when he took it upon himself to lie down on my freshly made bed.

He nestled himself into the corner of the bed where it met the wall as his eyes closed, taking in a breath and releasing it content.

"Your room is between the bathroom and the laundry room"

I nodded my head, not that he would have seen it as his eyes were closed

"No wonder it's so warm"

I took a seat next to him as I replied.

"Yeah it's nice, though I don't doubt in the warmer months that'd lead to my windows being open most of the times"

He hummed a non verbal agreement to my statement before shifting onto his side so his eyes bore into mine before he spoke.

"Your mother has a few clients in New York that she'll be meeting up with next week, she won't be home for a while"

Home.

It felt weird hearing him say it mostly due to the fact that I wasn't aware of his existence a few weeks prior.

"It means we'll have some time to connect, uninterrupted."

I laughed at that, his eyebrows knitting up in confusion as I attempted to control my laughter

"Oh yeah, what things are you going to tell me, your favourite colour?"

He laughed alongside me, his head falling back onto my pillow as he rubbed his hands across his chest

"We can talk about anything you want"

His hand traveled up my leg gingerly, in a comforting manner as he smiled

I could feel my cheeks warming up but thanks to my dark skin tone, even if I had been blushing it wouldn't have been noticeable to him

Perks I say

"Yeah, that sounds good"

He nodded before making his way out of room pausing at the door before looking back at me

"Up until recently it had been green, but now I think I'm more into pink"

I had cocked my head to the side in confusion initially, almost simultaneously with his departure before the reality of his words hit.

Now that got my blush noticeable.