Elly in Love (The Elly Series) (27 page)

In her absorbing dreams, Elly saw Keith stripping a tree of its bark. One handful at a time, he was peeling the tree like an orange, throwing the shattered bark pieces onto a pile of ornate cupcakes. Elly was standing beside him, staring as he pulled down this perfect tree, handful by handful.
I love him,
she thought.
I love him, I do.
The last strip of bark pulled away to reveal something gold and shiny underneath. Then Keith opened his mouth wide and began eating the cupcakes with a terrifying ferocity. With a muffled cry, Elly dropped into sleep.

Elly tried to subtly stick her nose out the car window. She couldn’t be sure, but she was almost certain that Dennis was stinking up the backseat. It smelled
terrible
. She looked over at Keith, who was making a disgusted face. “I’m going to open the windows,” he said.

“But it’s like a billion degrees out there,” argued Dennis. Keith gave a shrug and opened the window closest to Dennis. “Hey!”

They were on their way to the annual Star-Fan Convention, which apparently was held every year at America’s Center Convention Complex in downtown St. Louis. They were definitely not talking about how Keith had stood Elly up earlier that week. She couldn’t help but steal glances over at him as they drove, trying to gleam some understanding of what was going on. Keith looked over at her with a wink, and Elly gave him a small smile. She knew nothing. Dennis’s handful of papers snapped in the wind and he read to them with joyful abandon. “Star-Fan convention is the third largest multimedia sci-fi and fantasy convention in the United States. It started in nineteen sixty-eight with a handful of comic book artists, and has grown to feature more than two thousand vendors and host over thirty thousand people each year. Costumes are encouraged and encompass all pop culture, science fiction, comic book, and fantasy lore.” He looked up. “We should have worn costumes.”

“No,”
said Elly and Keith at the exact same time. They looked at each other with skepticism. Elly grinned. Even with the smell seeping up from the backseat, today was turning out to be more than tolerable. The warm sun blazed through her car windows, illuminating Keith’s brilliant deep-blue eyes. He was a handsome driver, she noted. He was handsome in just about everything he did.

Dennis coughed loudly to break the moment and continued. “There are over twenty-nine hundred hours of programs, presentations, demonstrations, signings, photo opportunities, and contests, in addition to the private conversations with heroes of film, literature, comic books, and gaming.” He gave a sigh, sounding like a lovelorn teenager. “I’m hoping to get a signed copy of
X-Dragons
, edition nine forty-six
and
get my
World of MageCraft
box signed by the booth girls.”

Keith wiggled his eyebrows at Elly. “I wouldn’t have invited you along if I knew there would
booth girls
.”

She squeezed his hand. “I’m hoping to find an orc, myself.”

“Why would you want to find an orc?” asked Dennis, annoyed. “They are disgusting, half-bred murderers who eat humans.”

“I didn’t mean that, I meant….”

“Elf?”

“Elf, that’s right.” Elly was just thrilled to hold a conversation with Dennis that didn’t revolve around dishes or his computer game. She turned around to face him. “So, what is the difference between an elf and an orc?”

Dennis gave her a huge smile, launching into a nerd-propelled diatribe. Her heart danced happily. He was happy. Maybe for the first time away from the computer, he was happy.
This was progress
. Even though it wasn’t easy, this was progress. She would get Dennis to open up to her.
Then she could fix him.

An hour later, Keith finally found an impossibly tight parking space near the convention center (Elly had to squeeze her way out of her door—it was highly embarrassing). They walked slowly toward the long brick building that stretched out in both directions, a massive sculpted dragon guarding the entrance. The line for the ticket booth stretched around the block, but luckily Keith had purchased early online (“They weren’t cheap,” he had grumbled, and when Elly offered to pay him back, he looked even
more
offended), so they skipped the line and walked straight under the dragon’s nether-regions into another world.

The first thing Elly thought was that she had never seen so many colors. Bright, exploding colors everywhere—on the people, on the walls, in the booths, on multiple screens that blared and jumped from every surface. Pulsating music was being pumped through the walls, amplified by the sound of hundreds of video-game screens. Elly was almost knocked over by a giant Alice in Wonderland, her short skirt hiked up over her behind. “‘Scuse me, lady! Keep it moving!”

Keith grabbed Elly’s elbow and hauled her out of the crowds of people swarming in the entrance. His eyes were wide and frightened. “You just got yelled at by a male Alice in Wonderland!”

“I know! It was kind of wonderful!” They both laughed. Dennis had gone to the first booth by the door and looked over at them with annoyance. “I want to go wander around, can I meet you guys later?”

A thin twinge of betrayal shot through Elly. “We came here for you—you aren’t even going to stay with us?”

Dennis bit his lip nervously and started wringing his hands. “Um, I guess I can, I just want to go over to the
World of MageCraft
booth because they are giving away free totes and first-edition comic books.” He looked desperately uncomfortable at the idea.

“Go,” said Keith, surprising Elly. “We’ll be fine, we’ll have fun.”

What just happened
? Elly turned to glance at Keith, who said, “Why don’t we meet back here at two?”

Dennis gave an ecstatic nod and fled into the crowd, his blond hair flipping as he jogged awkwardly.

“Thanks for that,” deadpanned Elly.
Keith taking the lead with Dennis was definitely starting to get old.

Keith looked down at her. “You can’t blame me for wanting you all to myself, can you? You’ve been so busy with the
BlissBride
stuff and the new store that I barely see you. My Elly.” He raised her hand to his soft lips. “I think we should ditch these nerds and find a quiet corner where I can tell you all about my secret geekiness, and all the fantasies that go along with it.”

Elly was still annoyed that he had overstepped his bounds as a boyfriend.
Or was that really what she was annoyed about?
“That’s fine, I just wanted to spend some time with Dennis, that’s all.”

“Oh.” Keith frowned. “I just thought it would be fun, just the two of us
.”

It would be fun. Everything with Keith was fun.
Elly longed to press herself against him, right in the convention center, wrap herself in his robust build and fall away, letting her fragile heart break in his hands. But then she remembered the way his face contorted when he lied to her, and her heart sank a little. Elly gave a fake smile in his direction and started walking in between the booths. “That’s fine. Whatever.”
You sound like a petulant teenager
, she told herself.
Stop it.

The Green Lantern walked by, arguing with a girl dressed from head to toe in pink bunny fur. Elly looked quickly at some cute T-shirts featuring anime animals with big, scared eyes, and then past numerous booths selling girly costumes.
Yeah, I can’t wear that. Never happening. Nothing would look worse.
Princess Leia in a bikini walked by.
Nope
, she thought
, I was wrong
.

“Elly, what is the matter with you?” Keith looked genuinely confused.
How could he not know?
“I’m sorry I stepped in with Dennis. I’ll go find him if you want.” He looked around. “I will search Middle Earth and beyond if you so command.”

Elly pinched her cheek with her teeth, forcing away a smile, fighting between her desire to know the truth and her desire to still have her calm sea. Dennis had already caused enough waves. “It’s not that. It’s fine. I’m sure he is having a ball somewhere. I’m glad that he got to come—I’ve never seen him so happy, except when he’s glued to that computer.”

“It’s true. He moved really fast away from us.” Keith rubbed his mostly bald head. “Hopefully, it will inspire him to leave the house more, maybe get a job. We’re hiring at the deli, you know. I was going to bring it up with him later, when he’s happy and exhausted, like a kid after Disneyland.”

Elly imagined Dennis in one of Keith’s white aprons. It was a pleasant picture, but she didn’t want to push him. “Maybe.” They wandered awhile, hand in hand, taking in the art and the crazy culture. Everything possible was represented. There were knitted superhero dolls and mind-bogglingly expensive action figures, collector’s Lego creations, and one-of-a-kind illustrations from famous artists depicting Superman and Batman. They walked inside a giant Lego castle, and Elly took a picture of Keith surrounded by chesty girls covered head to toe in green paint and wearing
Star Trek
uniforms. They ate a light lunch
—nine dollars for a terrible turkey dog?
—and ate in silence. Elly could feel a growing awkwardness between them. Her answers were short and clipped, which bewildered and annoyed Keith. Right now, they were
that
couple—the awkward couple on the verge of a fight, trying to hold it all together with traitorous smiles.

After lunch, they reached the end of the convention hall and stood waiting for Dennis near a T-shirt kiosk. After some good-natured haggling with the vendor, Keith bought a Captain America T-shirt for Dennis and a Flash T-shirt for himself. He held it up proudly for Elly. “I loved the Flash growing up. I have a framed copy of my first comic on my mantle.”

He has a mantle
, she thought. “I’d love to see it.”

“Someday,” he replied. Then he looked up at the ceiling. A raw, emotional hole started tearing open in Elly’s chest. Keith stared over her head at a blaring screen. “Hey, I kind of want to see that new Bond movie tonight—want to watch it at your apartment? Order a pizza? Or we could see if Kim and Sean want to go out—I would love to try that new Greek place….”

Elly felt a surge of anger rise up from her core. He was avoiding it, again. Again, he was putting it off. She whirled around to face him. “I’ve got a better idea—how about we go find Dennis and then go straight to your house?” She could see that Keith was taken aback, both by her words and her aggression. It was a side of her he had never seen—not directed at him, anyway. Elly hated her bitchy reflection in his eyes.

“Um, what?”

“Let’s go to your house. Let’s go find Dennis and go to
your
house. Not the deli, not my apartment, or my car, or the park,
your house
.”

“I think Dennis is probably going to stay here until it closes. He wants to find the
World of MageCraft
booth girls, remember?” He attempted a smile with the side of his mouth. It quickly faded when he saw that it wasn’t reciprocated.

Something deep and buried flared in Elly. Her insecurities swirled up to the surface. Hot tears sprung to her eyes. As a woman dressed in armor walked past her, Elly fought a desire to grab her holstered sword and hold it to Keith’s throat. She narrowed her eyes as she stared up at him.
Be honest
, thought Elly,
calm down. Be reasonable
. Taking a deep breath, she gave him a straightforward look, her gaze locked on his. “Keith, why haven’t you taken me to your house?”

Keith painfully pulled his eyes from hers to look at his sandals. “I told you, it’s messy, and I want to make sure it looks, you know, appropriate when you come over.”

“So it’s good enough for Cadbury, but not for me.”

His hand reached for hers. “Yeah, because Cadbury is a dog. A pile of worms is good enough for him. Calm down.”

Elly stepped back, leaving his hand lingering in the open air. “Don’t tell me to calm down. Why haven’t you taken me to see your house? Is it because you are ashamed of me?”

“That’s ridiculous.”

“Is it because you are a hoarder, or you have no food?”

Keith patted his roundish belly. “Does that seem like a problem?”

Elly felt mocked. “Keith, please don’t try to be funny right now. I’m asking you honestly and directly. Are you homeless?”

Keith let his head fall back with a roar of laughter. “Elly,
come on
.”

Something delicate snapped inside of her.
He was laughing at her.
Elly let her anger sweep her away. All the feelings she had been pushing down rose up, ready to pour out from her mouth in a venomous rush. She brought her hand down hard on the corner of a booth. The vendor jumped. “Is it because you have a woman there? A girlfriend, maybe?” In the roar of the crowded convention center, a great silence passed in between them. Elly watched his face, searching for truth.

Keith’s eyes widened and a vein pulsed in his forehead. He had just comprehended the seriousness of this conversation. “Did you just ask me if I have a girlfriend? Are you serious?”

Elly knew she had crossed a line, but she didn’t care. She wouldn’t have this happen to her, not again, not behind her back. “Yes I’m serious! You keep avoiding bringing me to your home at
all costs
, and for what? It can’t honestly be the laundry, or the upkeep, because I don’t
care
. You know me, you know I wouldn’t care, so it’s something else, something sordid and wrong.” Tears were flowing down her face freely now, and Elly was vaguely aware that a battle-damaged Imperial Stormtrooper had stopped walking to observe their fight. “I’ve been taken advantage of before, I know what having a secret means.”

“Elly, you don’t.” Keith pulled her toward him. His arms, strong and thick, circled around her. “Let’s talk about this later.”

“No.” Elly pulled away from him. “No distractions, no excuses. You’ve done this a hundred times already. Tell me the truth.” She had to raise her voice to be heard over the buzz of the crowd. A man dressed as the Joker circled around them. “Why so serious?” he hissed.

“Shut up!” thundered Keith. The Joker looked terrified and skittered away.

“Why won’t you take me to your house?”