I stopped by, but you were snoring and looked so cute and peaceful. I didn’t want to wake you up. I had dinner with your parents then came home so you could rest. See you first thing tomorrow. I can’t wait. Love you.
I covered my face in annoyance, I’d have to wait until tomorrow morning to see him now. I checked the time and saw that it was only half nine. I lay back on my bed and shook my head.
“This is stupid,” I said to myself. “Why am I not with him right now?”
I loved Elliot and he loved me. I wasn’t staying apart from him when I didn’t have to; it didn’t feel right to be separated from him. I was nervous about how our relationship would pan out now, but I was doing what Elliot had said and taking it day by day.
With my mind made up, I got up and looked at the new clothes and underwear my mum had bought for me. I settled on wearing black leggings, a black T-shirt and a light grey jumper.
I grabbed my old duffle bag from my wardrobe and packed a change of clothes along with clean underwear and socks. I pulled one of my white Vans on to my right foot, then put my boot cast back on my left. I packed some toiletries for myself, since I knew I had none at Elliot’s, hooked the bag over my shoulder, grabbed my crutches and slowly made my way down the stairs.
I paused by the sitting room when I saw Mum knitting.
“Mum.”
She looked up at me and an amused smile stretched across her face. “Is your father going to owe me twenty pounds?”
“Depends.” I raised an eyebrow. “Did you bet on something?”
“Yup.” She grinned. “I bet you wouldn’t make it past ten p.m. without coming down and telling us you wanted to go and be with Elliot; he bet eleven.”
I glanced at the clock and saw it was twenty to ten. I looked back at my mother and laughed.
“You win, I want to go and be with Elliot.”
“Figured as much,” she chuckled. “Come on, Dad will drive us.”
My dad grumbled as he put my bag in the boot of the car. He wasn’t upset that I was leaving, only that he’d lost the bet he made with my mum, which cracked me up. The drive was quick and uneventful. When we got there, Dad waited in the car while Mum carried my bag on her shoulder as I hobbled inside.
We shared the elevator with a pizza delivery boy. I glanced at the receipt on the box and grinned when I saw it was for Elliot. He had had dinner with my parents a few hours ago, but was obviously still hungry. I borrowed money from my mum, told the boy I’d bring it to the flat because it was my boyfriend’s, and paid him. Mum took the box from me and we quietly made our way down the hallway until we stopped in front of my old flat.
“I’ll phone him and pretend I’m at home, then I’ll ring the bell and he’ll think it’s his pizza.”
Mum kissed me goodbye, gave me a thumbs up, then ran back to the elevator giggling the entire way. I balanced the pizza box in one hand, and dialled Elliot’s number and put my phone to my ear with the other.
“Hey,” he answered on the second ring. “Are ye okay?”
“I’m fine,” I answered. “I just missed you.”
Elliot’s low laughter made me smile. “Ye saw me three hours ago.”
“Three long hours ago . . . I thought I dreamt about you. I forget what you look like. I forget if you have a six-pack or an eight.”
Elliot’s laughter became louder. “Witch, don’t be teasin’ your man right now. It’s not nice.”
“Want me to make it up to you?”
“With what?” he joked. “Phone sex?”
“You read my mind . . . You know I’m in bed, alone, right?”
Elliot groaned so loud I could hear him through his front door, and I had to bite my lip to keep from laughing.
“Sasanach,” he growled. “What’re ye wearin’?”
“Tiny red shorts . . . maybe I’m topless.”
I think Elliot whimpered. “I can imagine ye—”
I picked that moment to press his doorbell. Part of me wanted to draw out getting Elliot hot and bothered, and part of me just wanted to be next to him, touching him. Teasing him meant teasing myself.
“Fuck. One sec, gorgeous,” Elliot grunted. “I think that’s me pizza