“Well, it’s a little late to go to the barber.” He looks into the mirror, and as much as I love the thickness of his beard and the long brown waves that hang in his face, it’s not the look of a powerful CEO. It’s the look of a young man who works too much and neglects his appearance.
“Well, lucky for you…I’m not too bad with a pair of scissors.”
He stares at me skeptically in the mirror. “I don’t think so.”
“Come on,” I say with a roll of my eyes as I pull him toward the kitchen.
A few moments later, I have him sitting on a chair over a layer of towels as I chop inches off the mop on his head. When Ellis enters in his black on black suit, Nash and I both freeze.
“What’s going on in here?” he asks like he doesn’t look like a God entering the room in that tux.
“Umm…Mr. Wilde needed a little trim. What do you think?”
Stepping back, I take in the handiwork so far. You can actually see Nash’s eyes now. I kept it long, just above his ears but cleaned up around the edges.
Ellis approaches, looking down at him. “We’ll have to do something about this,” he says, stroking the thick hair on Nash’s face.
“I can trim my own beard,” he mumbles.
Ignoring him, Ellis takes off his jacket and picks the clippers up off the table. Kneeling down in front of Nash, they stare at each other, the intensity palpable as Ellis slips the guard across Nash’s beard, trimming it up and straightening the edges. When he’s done, he runs his thumb over Nash’s lower lip, and suddenly it feels like the oxygen has been stolen from the room. I keep waiting for him to kiss him, but he doesn’t. Instead, he stands up and steps away.
The tension between these two has grown since that night in Ellis’s room. I had no idea watching them together would have the effect on me it did. And I don’t just mean it was the hottest thing I’ve ever seen in my life, but it tore my heart straight out of my chest. I fell hard for them that night. I never wanted to have them both so much in my life. To be a part of that, a part of their relationship, their love, their life…it’s all I want now.
And it consumes me.
But Ellis is still holding Nash at arm’s length. He senses what I’ve sensed in Nash. That until Nash lets go and accepts this part of himself, truly giving himself over to someone else, it will never be safe to really love him.
I know it too, but it’s too late for me.
I’m a good deal more reckless than Ellis. He will remain guarded, but I’m throwing myself headfirst into what will probably be the biggest heartbreak of my life.
“Shouldn’t you be getting yourself ready?” Ellis asks, looking at me. I’m in nothing but a robe, but my hair and makeup are already done.
“All I have to do is slip my dress on.”
“Can I help?” he asks with a coy smile.
“I think I can handle it.”
“I’ll go wash all this hair off.” Nash interrupts us before disappearing down the hall, leaving Ellis and me alone in the kitchen. As I start cleaning up, I feel him approach me from behind. Wrapping his arms around my waist, I turn and gaze up into his eyes. I’m hit with a wave of sadness thinking about him leaving, especially after knowing how badly Nash wants him to stay. How much we both want him to stay. But I won’t say the words I know need to come from Nash.
“Did something happen between you two?” I ask.
“Nothing at all.”
It’s a cold, emotionless answer, and I know it’s not one-hundred-percent true.
“Listen, Hanna. I don’t want you going back to living with your mother. You should stay here until you can get back on your own two feet, okay?”
“And what about you?” I ask. “Where will you be?”
There’s a hint of sadness in his eyes. “You know I can’t stay.”
I know the reason he can’t stay is because of the man in the shower now. Dammit, Nash. Just be honest with him. Apologize. Tell him how you really feel.
“I wish you would,” I whisper as he leans down, placing his lips against mine. I try to absorb his kiss, his taste, everything about him. Ellis feels so perfect for