Alice

God, why does he have to look so goddamn good?!

I can't even breathe properly when he drives us to our destination, the tension in his Mustang already reaching its peak.

"So, where are we going?" I ask, trying to break the silence that only magnifies the heat between us.

"It's a surprise." He glances over to me with a smirk.

I can't help but groan, looking out the window as I mumble, "I hate surprises..."

"You've been surprised by the wrong things then." His words make me turn again, and I shoot him a smile when I the sincerity in his eyes. He's not wrong, surprises in my life usually ended with either me having to raise a teenager with no help at all, or having to move in with a certain handsome soldier.

"Maybe..."

We arrive at a very rusty looking bar in the old town, and Elijah instantly jumps out of the car, opening my door with a smile. He looks a bit nervous, even, and that fact alone makes me smile back at him - it's such a weird look on someone as dark and rough as him.

"You ready?" He asks, holding out his hand to me, and that gesture alone makes me giggle, and I nod my head when I intertwine our fingers, letting him pull me up. He doesn't just pull me up though, he practically jerks me out of the car and I crash into his chest, needing him to steady me with his hand on my lower back. He presses me against him, that sly smirk on his lips doing all sorts of things to me when he whispers into my ear. "Good..."

My heart is thundering in my chest when he leans back, his lips only inches from mine, begging me to kiss him. And I'm about to, I'm about to let myself drown in the feeling of his lips on mine, when he suddenly spins me around, his arm snaking around my waist where he tugs me closer to him, having a firm grip on me as he nods to the front door. "Let's go inside then..."

And I know that he sees the effect he has on me, the blush on my cheek burns through my skin, while my legs are already shaky as he pulls me with him and into the bar.

The chatter of different people fills the room the second the door closes behind us, and in a matter of seconds I feel about half a dozen pairs of male eyes on me, their rough attire somehow making me feel overdressed all of a sudden. At least Elijah wears a buttoned-up shirt, the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, but still he looks a bit more dressed up than usual.

He pulls me closer to him, his arm around my waist tightening its grip as he sighs, walking toward an older man by the bar with purpose.

"I'll be damned!" the older guy calls out, "The one and only Legend honors us with his presence!" He pulls Elijah into a hug and I move to give them space, but Elijah just grabs my hand as he embraces the older man with a grin on his face.

"Good to see you, too, Rusty."

"Ah come on, I hate that name!" The man exclaims when they break the hug, and in a matter of seconds Elijah jerks me toward him again, his arm instantly coming back around my waist.

"And I hate mine, so stop calling me that," Elijah says with a wink, eliciting a laugh from the man called Rusty, who now stretches his hand out to me.

"Well, and who do we have here?"

I smile at his demeanor, shaking his hand with confidence. "I'm Alice. Nice to meet you."

Rusty grins, giving my hand a proper shake before pointing at me, obviously noticing Elijah's protective posture. "Ha, I like her. Firm handshake and beautiful at the same time. You better hold on tight, brother."

That comment does not sit well with Elijah though, his arm on my waist pulling me even closer, our hips now practically glued together. I feel the countless glances of the other men in this room on me, their stares making me feel observed and uncomfortable as hell. And Rusty seems to notice, too, because he suddenly waves us over, telling us to follow him.

We do just that, Elijah's hand slipping in mine as we walk through the bar, and I suddenly realize... It's not me they're staring at. It's Elijah. I look up at him, wanting to know if he realizes that as well, but he just looks straight ahead, not regarding anyone in here as we step through a pair of swinging doors.

He releases a long breath as we reach a quiet corner, secluded from the rest of the guests but still able to see what's happening around here. Rusty leaves us for a minute, only pointing at the board at the wall that offers four different choices of beer before he returns to the bar.

"Are you okay?" I ask as we're alone again, Elijah's arm still wrapped around my waist when he nods his head.

"Yeah, I'm glad you're here with me..." His eyes search mine when he speaks, and I see the sincerity in them, see how much he's actually trying to turn this into a great evening. "I'm just starting to think I picked the wrong place..."

Elijah brushes some hair out of my face, studying the movement with excessive interest, his eyes twinkling in the dim light of the old bar.

"Why?" I ask as I pull him onto the bench behind us, both of us taking a seat as I look back out, noticing how most of the men have stopped staring, but some are still glancing over without any decency whatsoever.

"I used to come here whenever I had a break from my tour. It was different then. For me, at least." He looks over to the men, and those who were just shamelessly staring at us are now immediately averting their gaze.

I can tell he doesn't want to talk about it anymore, and he doesn't even get the chance to, because only seconds later Rusty is standing right in front of us, rubbing his long, white beard when he asks, "So, what are ya havin'?"

"Uh, I'll just have a beer. Thanks, Rusty," I answer with a smile.

But Rusty just groans when he narrows his eyes at Elijah. "See what you taught the girl?" He looks straight back at me, the look in his eyes telling me he's not kidding when he exclaims, "I'm Rick. None of that Rusty crap."

"Alright, Rick." I raise my hands in defense, while Elijah next to me just chuckles, shaking his head in amusement.

"I'll have the same, Rusty." Elijah says with a grin.

"God, what do you want with the man, Alice? He's as stubborn as a mule!"

Now I'm the one that laughs, saying the only thing that comes to mind. "Well, I happen to like mules."

Rick's laugh echoes through the whole bar and I suddenly feel like I've overstepped a line, the blush creeping into my cheeks as I clear my throat, trying to redirect the attention to something else.

"Damn, I like her..." he mumbles as he steps away and back behind the bar, shaking his head while shooting me a few more glances from the other end of the room.

I immediately feel Elijah's eyes on me, and as I turn around to face him I'm met with those grey-blue orbits, aimed at me like it's their only target, like it's all they need to take in right now.

"Do I have something on my face, or..." I whisper, watching how a smirk tugs at the edge of Elijah's lips.

"You already made an impression," he says, tugging a strand of hair behind my ear.

Not really knowing what to say to that I just stay silent, feeling how my heart picks up a beat with every second that passes, with every moment those steely eyes dive into my soul.

"Alright, two beers!" Rick's voice makes me jump, pulling me out of that dangerous spell Elijah just has over me as he slams two bottles of beer on the table.

Before I can even say thank you he's back behind the bar, shooting me a wink from afar while Elijah hands me a bottle, raising it toward me in a cheering motion. We clink our glasses, again holding that all too dangerous eye contact until I manage to get some words out. "So... Tell me something about you."

I try to remember the reason we're here, that I want to know more about him, that I need to get to know him.

Elijah sighs, taking a sip of his beer before he studies it in his hand, obviously trying to find the right words to say. "You need to know there's only so much I can tell you. I was part of a special unit and there are things I'm not allowed to tell anyone."

I nod my head, realizing that this is probably much more serious than I expected. I don't know much about the army, and I have no clue about the different structures in place, but I know that it can't be easy, in any event.

"That's okay. Just tell me what you can." I place my hand above his hand, and just for a split second does he look back up at me before he looks back at the beer in his other hand, studying the liquid as he speaks.

"I was a flagship soldier. It's been my dream ever since I could think, even though no one else in my family served. Well, I got enlisted and worked my way up until I became a specialist."

"A specialist in what?"

He shoots me a quick smile, "That's something I can't tell you..."

I nod my head in response, the sudden weight of how secret this all must be crashing down on me as he explains further. "I was good. No, I mean, I was brilliant, which is why they wanted me to lead a special unit. And I never did anything else, I lived my dream in that position... Well, and when I got sent back home because of my injury I threw a fit. I lived like a Hermit for the past six months, basically..."

He rubs his hand over his knee, and I wonder if it hurts, or if he just remembers something else.

"Yeah, well, now I'm here. No job, no perspective... But I do have one thing going for me." Elijah looks straight at me now, that beautiful spark back in his eyes now.

"And what would that be?"

The crooked grin on his face sends my heart galloping in my chest, and I can't help but watch as he leans in, his thumb brushing over my chin in an almost untraceable manner when he whispers, "I got a pretty stunning roommate. And she even managed to get me out of the house."

I have to swallow from the heat in his eyes when he releases my chin, bringing the bottle of beer back to his lips as he takes a long sip. Feeling absolutely fired up myself I can't help but mirror the movement, almost downing half the bottle while Elijah looks around the room, a sigh escaping his throat when he places the bottle back on the table.

"Thank you," he says with a thin smile on his face.

"For what?"

"For getting me out of there..." The way he looks at me now makes me freeze, the pain and hesitation in his eyes so blatant that I feel like I might start crying myself. He just has that ability to make you feel everything he does with a single glance, while everything else on him is so rough and seemingly cold... Those grey-blue orbits serve not only as windows to his souls, but also as a mirror of his emotions, of the pain he endured.

"That's your achievement as well, you know," I say, but Elijah just shakes his head, a sour smile on his lips when he takes a sip of his beer.

"I'm sure there's no medal for that."

He releases his hand from my own, and I instantly feel how lonely it suddenly feels, the space he once held now painfully cold.

"Well, there should be one. Your service didn't end when you left that place. The aftermath of your experiences should be rewarded, too..."

"You have a strong set of opinions, don't you?"

I can't help but laugh at his words, rolling my eyes as I answer, "I have a strong set of principles, and there are some things I'm very adamant about."

"Such as?"

I know what he's doing. I know that he wants to shift the attention to me, and that's okay. He just goes at a different pace than most of us.

"Such as climate change, animal protection, children's' rights, equality, women's' rights... You know, the usual."

He laughs, shaking his head with amusement before he asks me about all of them, and we spend the next hours discussing those topics, and I have to admit I'm surprised how open Elijah suddenly is, it becomes clear that his set of principles and morals is just as strong as mine, he just doesn't know how to talk about them sometimes.

"Okay, so let's agree on the fact that penguins are cute, but pigeons still shouldn't even exist..."

"But they have a specific use in our ecosystem, too!" I say half-seriously, trying to get a reaction out of him, and succeeding at it, too.

"Good lord... Okay, we need to get out of here, this bar fries your brain..."

"Wait!" I hold on to his hand with a laugh when he suddenly gets up, that crooked grin playing on his lips as he pulls me up with him, my laugh suffocated in an instant as he smashes me right into his chest.

"Yes, Miss Epione?"

Good Lord, I think I might die from just hearing that deep vibration in his voice.

Well, it would definitely be worth it...

"I uh... I need to use the restroom," I blurt out, internally facepalming myself for coming up with this exact distraction. I think it's not the bar that's frying my brain, it's the bonfire of a man right next to me.

And that crooked grin on his lips only broadens when he nods his head, leaning in to whisper in my ear, "Right through that hallway over there and then to the left."

I almost stumble out of his grasp, hearing Elijah's chuckle behind me as I rush to the restroom, my knees feeling like jelly from the sole feeling of this man so close to me.

God, Alice. Get it together. Talking about emancipation and women's rights, and yet you melt at the sole sight of a man...

Well, not any man. This man in particular. That's different.

I take a long look in the mirror after I wash my hands, trying to calm my still raging heart, to continue the rest of this evening with a bit of grace and dignity.

"Alright. You got this."

That's all the time I have to motivate myself, and so I straighten myself up once more before I dash out of the door, almost running into one of the guys that were staring at us earlier. "Well, hello there," he says, his large frame towering over me as he blocks my way out.

It rattles me every single time just how much men still have the power to intimidate me. I try not to show it though, try to act confident and plaster a smile on my face as I retort, "Hello."

"So, you're Elijah's chick?"

Oh, great... He's one of those guys.

"I'm not anyone's chick, but yes, I'm here with him. And I would like to get back to him, so if you were kind enough to just move..." I try to push past him, but he instantly grabs my wrist, and I instantly look down at the contact of our bodies with wide eyes. "Are you serious right now?!"

You got this, Alice. There's no time to be intimidated.

"What?! I didn't do anything to you, lady, calm down..."

"You're touching me without my permission, in my vocabulary that falls under 'doing something to me'." I use the air quotes with my free hands, making sure he gets my point.

"Chill, I just want to talk..."

Oh, my fucking god - does this guy not get it?!"

"The bathroom hallway is a weird place to talk, and to open your mouth you don't have to touch me, do you?! Now let me go already!"

I'm pulling at my arm again, but the man doesn't let go, he just stands there with that disgusting smile on his face.

Shit. Okay, kick in the balls or punch on the nose... Which works best?

"Guy, don't tempt me..." Elijah's voice suddenly rumbles from behind the man.

Well, this seems like the very best way...

"Dude, calm down, I was just curious..." The man steps away and lets go of my wrist, the imprint he left on it burning through my skin. I rub my palm over it, trying to calm the sting of his grasp, when suddenly Elijah is right next to me, lifting my wrist in the most gentle manner I have ever witnessed, studying it with worried eyes.

But then he turns around, the gentleness instantly washing away and replaced by pure indignation when he steps toward Guy, clenching his fists when he approaches him. "You fucking hurt her?!"

I shove myself between the two of them, really not wanting to cause a huge scene right now, and also not seeing the use in a fight when nothing really happened.

"Elijah..." I whisper, placing my hands on his heaving chest. It takes a second or two, but he finally looks down, his fiery eyes searching mine, everything about him screaming aggression and fury. He looks like a giant suddenly, his entire frame towering over me now. It's astonishing how much sheer posture changes your appearance.

Our gazes are still locked, and I feel the burning desire to punch Guy straight into his face, smashing into me like wildfire. But he calms himself, slowly but surely does he lower his chest, his posture softening when he gently takes my injured hand in his own.

"Oh, so you are the bitch that's fucking him!"

And suddenly, that calm and gentle moment is replaced by a hailstorm of rage coursing through my veins. I don't even control what I'm doing, but in a split second I turn around, my fist seemingly acting on its own when I throw it straight into the guy's face.

Well, fuck...