Alice

It's the day before my interview and Elijah and I are on the terrace, enjoying the morning sun as we wait for Felix.

I haven't seen him in a while, Elijah and I spent the last days tangled between the sheets mostly, and even though I called around to get more interviews, I still found myself in bed, right next to him, most of the time.

Not that I complain. I really don't...

But I know reality will come back sooner or later, and I'm actually kind of glad to see my best friend again. I feel like we need to catch up on so much.

"Liss! Open up!" I hear Felix hammer against the door, and Elijah just heaves a sigh as he closes the book in his lap.

"You really chose an annoying best friend, you know that?" he says, and I can't help but laugh, quickly leaning over to press a kiss on his lips.

"Well, that's why he's mine, not yours," I whisper against his lips, and Elijah instantly wraps his arm around my neck, pulling me closer to deepen the kiss. My knees instantly go weak when his tongue ravishes my own, his fingers digging into my skin in an almost violent passion.

I want to protest, I want to say that Felix is literally waiting right by our door, but Elijah just makes me speechless with the way he takes control over me, over every single sense in my body. It must be him who controls me, because I don't know when I crawl into his lap and grind on him, feeling the excitement grow right beneath me already.

"Alice..." he groans into the kiss, but I can't stop, feeling absolutely mad suddenly.

"Oh my fucking god! Eww! Ewww! Stop!" Felix's voice makes me pull back, to which Elijah responds with a growl as he narrows his eyes at me, very obviously not liking the interruption.

"How did you even get in here?" I ask, straightening myself up as I turn to look at my best friend, trying not to sound like I was just about to devour my boyfriend in our garden.

Felix has both of his hands covering his eyes, only now splitting his fingers to look between them. "I'm not telling you!" he exclaims, "Are you decent again? Jesus christ..."

"Shut up, Fefe." I laugh, although I can't stop the blush that creeps into my cheeks from this situation. I feel like a teenager that got caught by her big brother or something.

"I'll only open my eyes when you're at least two feet away from him, Liss. I can't risk seeing that again."

Now Elijah is the one who laughs as he gets up and steps toward me, pressing a kiss on my temple as he whispers, "We'll continue that later, love."

And then he just walks off, shooting me a wink as he calls out, "You can open your eyes now, Felix. I'm going inside!"

"Thank god..." my best friend mutters, and again I can't help but laugh when he rolls his eyes as soon as his hands disappear from his face. "Come here and give me a hug, Liss."

He grins when I throw my arms around him, feeling the pure and unconditional love seep right into me when I whisper, "I missed you!"

"I missed you, too," Felix pulls back, pinching my cheek as he says, "Look at how much you've grown!"

"Oh my god, not this again..."

Felix and I spend most of the morning catching up, he tells me about the girl he met a few days ago. He says she's way out of his league, and that he was extremely surprised when she even said yes to a date.

"I swear, I thought she was going to slap me when I asked her. She looks so badass, I'm kinda scared of her. But it's hot, sort of... I don't know. It's weird." He runs a hand through his hair, and I can't help but grin when I notice how nervous he is, how worried about this date.

"Felix, I'm pretty sure you underestimate how attractive you are to every woman on this planet that isn't me."

That makes him laugh and he bumps into my shoulder, shooting me another grin before he says, "Wanna meet up tomorrow after the date and let me tell you how much that's not true?"

"I'd love to," I laugh, "But I can't. I have that interview in New York tomorrow."

"In New York?" He raises an eyebrow, sipping his tea as he studies me with curiosity. "Isn't that where Lee lives?"

The implication in his voice catches me off guard for a second, and I just look at him, trying to figure out what to say to that. "Um... Yeah?"

"Well, do you think it could be him?"

"I don't... I don't know. I don't know the name of his firm, and I don't know much about the firm I'm interviewing at tomorrow..."

Felix sighs, and I see the concern in his eyes when he squeezes my thigh, shooting me a warm smile as he says, "I mean, I'm not even sure. It could be a coincidence, but I mean... It could also be Lee's sick way of trying to show off or something."

"What?"

Both Felix and I jump when we hear Elijah's voice, his ability to sneak up on people like that is astounding, really.

"Uh... I... We..." my best friend stammers, obviously more than afraid of my boyfriend all of a sudden.

"Felix thinks my interview tomorrow it at Lee's firm," I explain, "I told you the only thing I know about him is that he works in New York now and that's it. Well, Felix thinks that maybe he's... Up to something. I have no idea why he would do that though, so I'm not convinced..."

"I mean, I just thought it was weird that she had to go there in person when the job she'd be doing is stationed here anyway..." Felix mumbles, now even daring to look up at Elijah, who looks less than impressed when he takes a seat on the lounge chair opposite to us.

He takes a sip of his coffee, and I can literally feel how the anger rolls off of him, spreading right in the surrounding space. That tends to happen when Lee is part of our conversations, and I can't even blame him. It must be hard to hear about your girlfriend's ex all the time.

"Well, they do those interviews a lot, still. Don't they? They'd want to know who they're working with," Elijah says, and I can't help but smile at the fact that he tries to find a different reason for this. I know that he's probably boiling inside right now, but the fact that he manages to keep that down to make me feel better really just blows my mind.

"Yeah, you might be right... I'm just saying, be careful, Alice. We know the guy is unpredictable."

I nod my head, knowing that he has a point there. Lee has proven time and time again that he's a hothead who does whatever he thinks is best for him. "Yeah, you're right..."

I'm glad when Felix drops the topic, and we end up enjoying the rest of our day with light banter and me teasing my best friend for being so scared of the date he has tomorrow. He deserves to be with a kind, smart, and considerate woman. I might have been through a lot, but so has Felix. I relied on each other, because we were all we had, in a way. He deserves to be happy, now, too. Just as I am.

Because I really am. Elijah makes me happy, in so many ways. It might not seem like it - I know he appears cold sometimes, and I know he can be an idiot, but he's my idiot. He's appealing in his own ways. It's the subtle glances he throws, even when no one's around. It's that he lets me be strong for him, when needed. It's how he doesn't even ask when I need space, or silence, or just a hug. He doesn't pressure me; I know he's there to listen, if I wanted to talk. Elijah trusts that I trust him - and that just means everything.

"Hey, handsome..." I can't help but smile when I see him sitting in the library, and he instantly reacts the second he sees me approaching, placing the book on the table next to him before he stretches out his hand.

"Hello, gorgeous." His dark and raspy voice vibrates right through me when I take his hand and sit on his lap, my feet dangling over the armrest while I lean into his chest, just listening to his heartbeat for a second.

He circles his arms around me, just holds me for a moment, letting us bathe in each other's presence until I say, "I'm sorry about this mess. I didn't think far ahead when I called that firm..."

"It's okay, Alice. It's not even your fault. And who knows if it's actually him..." he sighs, and I look up at him, meeting his gaze with a smile.

"Yeah, we don't know that. And I have to use this chance. I have to figure this out. And if it's him... Well, at least I have one more chance to tell him to fuck off."

Elijah laughs, shaking his head as he presses a kiss on my nose while saying, "You sure know how to do that."

We just look at each other for a moment, a huge smile on my face when I remember how I told him off the very first day we met. It seems unreal, where we are now, months later.

"I don't want you to get hurt," he suddenly whispers, and those words alone send a wave of emotions straight into my heart.

"By Lee?" I ask, and Elijah just nods his head, his brows furrowed when he searches my eyes. "He can't do that anymore, Elijah. He lost the right and ability to hurt me a very long time ago. I'm happy where I am right now, with whom I am right now, and he won't change that. No one can."

And again he just looks at me, his fingers running through my hair as he just studies me, like he needs to figure out if I'm serious about my statement or not. He's done that a lot, and I let him - It's not like I have anything to hide. I'm serious about this, and I know he is, too.

"I'm happy, too, you know..." He smiles, and goddamn, that smile... It's enough to brighten my world in a matter of seconds. "Happier than I've ever been, I think..." he adds, and I can't help but smile right back at him.

Elijah is subtle, usually, he carefully chooses his words. That makes moments like these, the open declaration behind this, even more meaningful.

And I don't know what it is, if it's the fact that he's so open about this, or the simple fact that I can't get enough of this man... But I don't even think twice before I reposition myself on his lap, straddling him now before I brush my lips against his own. He responds almost immediately, his arms coming around my back as he presses me closer against him, our bodies perfectly aligned when he suddenly picks me up, his fingers digging into my thigh while I keep on chasing him, stealing every breath I can with as much purpose as I possess.

"Where are we going?" I ask in between kisses, already feeling breathless and dizzy.

But Elijah doesn't help matters when he suddenly kicks the door open, his teeth coming down on my bottom lip before he answers, "To the bedroom, love..."

After a quick and steamy session we definitely didn't have time for, we finally arrive in New York a few hours later.

I'm absolutely overwhelmed by the size of it, to be honest. People are running around, always looking like they just forgot something, most of them on their phone and almost running us over.

Elijah somehow manages to hail us a cab though, and soon we check into one of the fanciest hotels I have ever seen.

There are TVs in the damn elevators.

TVs. In Elevators.

I mean, what the hell?! Do people sleep in here or what?

"Damn, what is this place?" I ask as we step into our room, which is more of a suite than a normal hotel room for one night.

"Yeah, honestly, this kind of screams Lee... Why would a company waste so much money on just a hotel?" Elijah mutters as he places our suitcases next to the bed.

I know he didn't mean it like that, but his words do sting. Because he did just imply that I, as a photographer, am not worthy of the amount of money and attention that goes into this interview. And that just... It hurts.

"Yeah. I guess..." I walk into the large bathroom, trying not to overthink this situation too much. He didn't mean that, but I'm already insecure about all of this. His words surely don't help.

"Alice..." Elijah suddenly appears right behind me. "I'm sorry, you know that's now that I meant."

"Isn't it though?" I can literally feel how irrationality takes over, how I'm snapping at my boyfriend for something he doesn't have any influence over. And still, I can't stop myself. "Didn't you just suggest that this must be my ex's work, because there's no way in hell that any firm would want to spend so much money on just me? It's impossible, right?!"

I cross my arms in front of my chest when I lean against the expensive marble basin behind me, challenging Elijah with a glare as he just looks at me with wide eyes, obviously trying to think of the right thing to say. "You know that's now that I was saying, Alice."

"You did say it though!" I always feel the tears in my eyes when I realize just how much I'm letting this spiral out of control.

"Alice... Breathe. Remember who you are. You're smart enough to know I didn't mean that." He cautiously takes a step toward me, and when I see the worry in his eyes I suddenly feel so stupid again, and I immediately meet him halfway, my arms wrapping around him as he embraces me tightly.

Sometimes it's like I lose control over my mind, like a train of irrational, unfounded, and just generally goddamn stupid thoughts plummets right through it, and I'm just not strong enough to stop it. It's frustrating, and scary, too, sometimes. I want to be in control of my life.

"I'm sorry..." I whisper into his neck, but Elijah just presses a kiss on my head, his hands still rubbing soothing circles on my back before he pulls back, the silver-blue in his eyes immediately taking me home.

"It's okay. I get it. I do." He presses a kiss on my nose. "What do you say, let's forget about everything else for a moment and just go out and have a nice dinner?"

And for what feels like the hundredth time today I feel so appreciative of this man, of the way he handles situations, just like a true soldier...

"I like that idea... And thank you."

"For what?" he asks with a raised brow.

"For being you, Elijah. For being you."