The Billionaire's Burden (Key to My Heart #2) (10 page)

Chapter Six

The next three weeks passed in a blur of Eli’s lips and his intense, tawny gaze.

In between classes, we often met in the back halls of the campus, where our mouths would do all the talking we never got around to living next to each other for the past year.

My hand began to feel empty without his warm fingers intertwined in my own, my lips ached for his own constantly.

I was awash in emotion and yearning for this man.

“You know it’s been almost a month since our first date.” I mused one evening, as we lay in my bed, mostly clothed, beside each other. His body curved around my own, his fingers played in my hair. His warm breath burned beside my ear.

He chuckled, smoothing a hand over my hip, playing with the band of my shorts. His fingers flitted beneath the hem just slightly, feeling the forbidden flesh hidden away, before his hand moved back over my stomach.

“We’ve never gone back to Aubrey’s coffeehouse.” I said, rolling onto my back to look up into Eli’s gorgeous face, “She’s going to think I hated it there.”

His tan fingers smoothed over my shirt, popping one of the buttons with a smirk as I swatted away his brave fingers.

He lowered his face to mine, warm hand cupping my chin, pulling me into his embrace hungrily.

There was still no denying his desire, I caved easily in his warm embrace. Our legs wrapped around each other, our hands danced over each other’s bodies. My fingers sailed the dips and curves of his muscled back as his burning tongue slid slyly between my lips.

Slowly, reluctantly, he pulled back, leaving me gasping for air and my lips yearning for his warmth once more.

“I just don’t want you to have another reaction.” He said with a shrug, “We can go back sometime if you really want to.”

Eli chuckled as I pouted the more he moved away, brushing his fingers over my cheeks as he climbed from the bed, searching the nearby floor his fallen shirt.

“It’s in the computer chair.” I said glumly, watching as he snatched it and slid it over his head, “Are you leaving?”

“Big test tomorrow.” He sighed with a frown, “And I have to get some things for this weekend.” He added offhandedly, flicking his phone open as he scrolled through it briefly.

“We could study together?” I said hopefully, “I’ve got a quiz tomorrow and…”

“My things are back in my apartment.” He said with a shrug, “I really should be going.”

I bit back the instinct to ask him if I could join. It would do me no good to beg and plead him to spend all of his time with me. We were just in the very fledgling stage of our love, we weren’t even anything official yet. I would die if I smothered the feelings we obviously shared for each other. I’d never been the clingy type, and I certainly wasn’t going to start now.

“Okay.” I said instead of pressing the issue, smiling at him, “What’s going on this weekend?”

We’d spent every weekend together, I mistakenly expected that to continue.

He paused, glancing at me uncomfortably before shifting his gaze back to his phone. He pursed his lips, contemplating.

I only had to rake my mind for the briefest of moments before I realized what was going on.

“A party.” I said quietly, “It’s one of your parties isn’t it?”

He gave a sharp nod, jamming his phone into his pocket with a clear of his throat.

“I really need to get going.” He said quietly.

The obvious un-invitation hung in the air between us like a sharp dagger. He clearly didn’t want me to go to his party.

“Okay.” I repeated, like a parrot stuck in a loop.

Eli swooped forward, taking my chin in his hands as he pressed his lips against mine, “Maybe you could hang out with Lucy this weekend?” He said, “I bet she’d have something exciting for you two to do.”

I summoned up another cheery smile, though I was sure it did not reach my eyes, “Yep.” I said simply, giving a halfhearted wave as he walked out of the room.

Seconds later, the front door swung closed.

I collapsed backwards, glaring up at my ceiling.

We’d been dating a whole month and he wasn’t even going to invite me to his party? What kind of attitude was that? Was he hiding me? Was he ashamed of me? Did I embarrass him?

Was I overreacting? I’m sure that I was, at least on some level. But, still!

I wished Lucy was home.

The more time I spent with Eli, the more time she spent squirreled away on campus somewhere.

Though, I knew she was still hurting from her rough breakup earlier this semester, I hadn’t expected her to hold it against me when I started seeing someone. It didn’t help that Eli was never interested in hanging out at his own apartment, it always had to be mine.

Maybe he was a hoarder or something.

Glumly, I climbed to my feet, heading into the kitchen. The coffee machine sat untouched on the counter. Lucy didn’t even stick around in the mornings long enough to make me coffee anymore. Eli hadn’t spent a single night, but it was as if she was afraid to spend time around me.

With a frown, I dug through the cabinets, searching for Lucy’s vitamins that she added to the coffee. I was going to show this girl that even though I had a sexy man on my arm now, she was still my number one.

Despite having zero idea how she concocted her coffee creation, I did my best, adding in the most stinky, greenest, weirdest looking of her powders and vitamins in an attempt to make her best damn cup of grossness that she’d ever had.

It was truly luck that just when I finished, the black haired girl walked right through the apartment door. She jumped when she saw me, as though she hadn’t expected me to be home.

It was true though, lately I’d been going to dinner with Eli instead of having meals at the apartment with Lucy. Previously, we’d always cooked together, even when it was simple things like microwave mac ‘n cheese.

“Lucy!” I said cheerily, slamming down two cups of “coffee” on the table, “I made you a peace offering.”

I sat down, waving at her own chair as she cautiously approached.

Lucy held up her hands, closing her eyes for a moment, “Oh god.” She said, wrinkling her nose, “That is the most vile thing I’ve ever smelled…I bet it’s great for your colon.”

Laughing, I shrugged, inhaling the scent of the gross cup of Joe, “It better be.” I said with a smirk.

Slowly, my roomie sank into her chair, dropping her purse on the ground beside her.

“Why did you make a peace offering?” She asked pensively, frowning at me, “Were we fighting?”

For a moment I paused, swirling a spoon in the dark brown liquid. Particles of the powders swirled with it, like a tornado in a swamp. Come to think of it, it kind of smelled like a swamp too.

“I just felt like we were drifting a little.” I offered with a shrug, “I just wanted to spend a little time one on one with my bestie.”

“…was Eli busy tonight?” Lucy asked deliberately, dark brown eyes narrowing on my face, “Is that what this is about?”

I sighed heavily, leaning back in my chair, “Does it matter whether or not he’s busy?” I asked, crossing my arms, “Or does it matter that I’m spending time with you? I’ve missed you, Luce.”

She rolled her eyes, offering me a tepid shrug, “Alright, alright.”

She lifted her mug to me, clinking it against the ceramic of my own cup, “Bottoms up.” She said, cringing in anticipation of the taste.

We gulped down the warm liquid, shudders running through both of our bodies.

“That was disgusting!” She cheered, pumping her hands in the air, “You made me so proud!”

“We need a chaser…” I groaned out, covering my mouth with my hands and squeezing my eyes shut.

I’d made coffee even worse than Lucy ever had. Eli was probably vomiting in his own apartment just from the putrid stench.

Lucy grabbed the mugs, rinsing them in the sink before coming to sit back down with me, “You know I’ve missed you the last few weeks.” She said, glancing at me sideways.

My roommate had never been one to be sincere. It was a little shocking.

“I missed you too.” I said quietly.

I’d been a bad friend lately, ditching Lucy constantly to go suck face with a boy. Though that boy was truly marvelous at said sucking, and it’d been the same story when Lucy was dating her ex.

“We need to have a movie night Saturday.” She said gleefully, “Like we used to. You know. It’s been weeks since the last time we drank wine and watched a godawful film.”

“Alright.” I said cheerily, “We can go to the mall and do a little shopping that morning. I’ll bring the wine, you bring the movie?”

She nodded happily, climbing back to her feet as she slugged her stuff back up into her arms, “Now, I’ve got to get some homework done.”

She paused as she walked to her door, leaning against the wooden frame as she looked over her shoulder at me.

“You know,” She said with a smirk, “Perhaps I’ll just let you make the coffee from now on.”

I laughed, shaking my head.

I was definitely going to the coffee shop on campus from now on.

Chapter Seven

"You've checked your phone eight times in the last five minutes." Lucy observed sagely as she sat that weekend morning, tucked in her bright pink robe with her feet on our table.

Her own phone lay abandoned by the coffee machine. Her eyes lingered on me judgingly.

"I haven't heard from Eli since yesterday morning." I sighed, leaning back in my chair with my arms crossed over my chest, "It's been a whole day since I heard from him."

"Oh my goodness, you mean it's been 24 hours? Are you sure he's not dead?" Though Lucy's eyes rolled and her tone was snide, my heart thudded painfully in my chest.

"I saw him come home from class yesterday afternoon." I frowned.

Lucy leaned forward, planting her folded hands on the table before me. I suddenly felt as though I were being let go from a job or something, the way her lips pursed into a severe line and her brown eyes narrowed dangerously.

"Listen, sweet cheeks." She began condescendingly, "You guys have been together for only a couple weeks, going a day without talking is not the end of the world. Besides, it means you can spend more time with me. Aren't you a lucky girl?"

My roommate smirked, proud of her argument, crossing her arms over her chest.

It was my turn to roll my eyes.

What she didn't understand was that when the relationship was still so new, going a whole day without communication was a good chunk of the span of the relationship.

"He didn't even invite me to his party this weekend...” I finally said, not able to keep the pout from my lips.

She paused thoughtfully, returning my frown, "Wait, really?"

With a nod, I glanced towards the wall we shared with the sexy blond neighbor. Who knows what he was doing right now, probably making a list for chips and drinks and everything that wouldn’t include me.

"Ouch." Lucy said, suddenly shaking her head and jerking up to her feet.

"Alright." She declared, "Let girls weekend convene." She clapped her hands loudly together, "We'll go shopping, we'll go eating, we'll get wine, we'll watch movies. Let's get your mind off that guy."

I nodded, managing to laugh as I climbed to my feet.

"I'll even buy the wine." She said smugly, grinning at me.

That was a big step for someone as cheap as Lucy was.

"Whoa." I said, startled, "To what do I owe this honor?"

"Anything to make my girl feel better." She replied primly, smiling as innocent as a newborn babe, "But I have one itsy bitsy little condition."

"Name it." I sighed, heading towards my room to shower and change.

"You leave your phone here!" She called after me, "I don't want you checking it every two seconds!"

I stared down at the screen, biting my lip.

Lucy was right.

I didn't need to be sitting at home, waiting for Eli to talk to me. He clearly wasn't going to answer any of the messages that I'd already sent until he was good and ready, it would be useless of me to sit here, moping and waiting for him.

"It's a plan!" I called back through thin walls of our bedrooms' partitions.

Sliding out of my cozy pajamas, I tossed them into my beige hamper, wrapping a towel around my body as I headed to the bathroom that Lucy and I shared.

Early on in our lease together, we'd agreed that I'd shower in the morning and she'd shower in the evening, that way we weren't competing for hot water.

As the warm steam spread through the bathroom, I gazed at myself in the mirror, waiting for the fog to cloud the whole reflective glass.

I'd never been the type of girl to get so lost in a boy. I'd dated, occasionally, and never felt the way that I did about Eli.

Was it just because he was so incredibly handsome that I felt the need to cling to him? Either way, it couldn't be healthy. It wouldn't do to neglect Lucy, or even myself, I had to remember that even though I felt complete around my new man, I could only complete myself.

Or at least that was what the motivational calendar in our living room told me.

That thing always knew just what to say to brighten a day.

Finally, I slid under the warm spray, huge sigh rolling from my lungs. There was nothing more relaxing than a nice hot shower. The weight of the last 24 hours left my shoulders, leaving nothing but the fresh lemony scent of Lucy's shampoo. I always stole a squeeze when I needed a mood lifter. It was my dirty little secret. I knew she constantly took my shaving cream, so it was a win-win for the both of us.

By the time I left the shower, Lucy was already waiting to leave the apartment.

"Come on!" She cried at me impatiently, drumming her fingers on the coffee table, "They stop serving breakfast at 11:30!"

"I'm going, I'm going." I shushed her, walking into my room and pulling on a sky blue sundress. It was the cutest dress I owned, not that I had too many other cute choices. I'd never been a big clothes type of girl. But, it made me feel good to dress up every now and then. After sliding into silver, strappy sandals, I joined Lucy in the living room.

Obediently, I'd left my phone on my bed.

"Ready?" She asked, leaping to her feet and grabbing her purse.

"Ready." I chimed in, leading her to the door.

With one last glance towards Eli's quiet doorway, we left the apartment complex.

We herded into Lucy's little blue sedan, kicking my feet up onto her dashboard immediately, as her ac began roaring and her radio hummed out some Spanish sounding song.

Spending the day with Lucy reminded me why we became friends.

Though she was bitter, caustic, and a little abrasive, her heart was huge and her witty remarks were hilarious.

We sat outside a tiny little cafe in the evening, sipping hot chocolate and people watching.

"The moon is beautiful tonight." She mused, gazing upwards towards the sky.

She was right, as usual. The moon was a perfect circle in the sky, so big and bright that you could see each dip and crater in the yellow surface.

By the time the evening died down, we were ready to go relax with our other best friend, Netflix.

True to her word, Lucy even put down the $7.99 for a fresh bottle.

We could hear the music before we even parked in the usual place in front of our apartment.

Eli's screaming, party metal spilled out into the sidewalk, echoing along the hallways of the apartment complex.

Lucy hesitated, gripping the bottle in her hands, watching me with a frown.

I pretended not to notice, casting her a smile as we walked to our own apartment. I opened the door resolutely, not even sparing a glance towards Eli's own apartment. Silently, I walked to the kitchen, grabbing two utterly fancy plastic wine glasses and the bottle opener and settling back on the couch.

Lucy hung in the doorway, shifting glances between Eli's door and myself.

"What the hell are you waiting for?" She asked with a frown, "Check your damn phone and see if he came to his gorgeous senses and invited you over!"

Before she'd even finished the sentence, I dashed towards my room. Once I had my phone in hand, I walked back towards the living room, turning it back on.

For a moment, the empty screen stared at me.

"Nothing." I sighed, looking up at her.

Abruptly, my phone beeped. Clumsily, I opened the messenger app, only to see an automated text from the university about not defacing the auditorium.

"Nothing." I murmured again glumly, settling down on the couch.

Lucy sank down beside me, chewing her lip.

"That's not fair." She said, looking at me, "Why wouldn't he want to show you off to his friends? This is a great time to introduce you to everyone."

I shook my head, leaning my chin onto my palm. It stung, not knowing why he didn't want me around. He had these parties so frequently, why would I be invited?

"Do you think he's doing drugs over there?" I whispered, "Or another girl?"

My roommate twirled the edge of her ponytail, inspecting the broken ends, "If it's anything, it's probably another girl."

It was always another girl.

"I guess that's that, then." I sighed sadly, leaning against the couch, "I shouldn't have gotten involved with the neighbor. Now we’ll have to keep seeing him every day."

Lucy shrugged, "He avoided us for a year, he's graduating soon, he'll be out of our hair soon enough."

"Is this how you felt when you found out Jake cheated on you?" I asked, looking at her.

She paused, going back to inspecting her hair, unwilling to look at me. It hurt me how much it still obviously pained my best friend to think about that moment in her recent past. It was still fresh only a few months later. They'd dated for longer than I'd even known about Eli though.

Suddenly, Lucy thrust the bottle into my hands, "Get your ass over there." She said with a firm nod.

"...what?" I whispered, "But it's girls night, and you bought this wine?" Lucy was never selfless. Not usually, anyways.

"He should have invited you." She said firmly, "Now get over there and give him this bottle of wine and get whatever little tart he's fooling around with out of the picture!"

I wasn't sure whether to laugh at the prospect of barging into Eli's apartment or Lucy's use of the word 'tart.'

I didn't have much time to think about it either, as Lucy stood, pulling me to my feet and shoving me out of the apartment.

"And don't you come back until you've talked to him!" She said, slamming the door and locking it.

She probably just wanted to pick the movie on Netflix.

With a sigh, I walked the whole two feet over to Eli’s apartment.

From where I stood, the music was deafening. I could barely hear myself think, or hear the hesitant knocks that I lay on his wooden door.

I bit my lip, standing awkwardly there as I glanced up and down the hallway.

I'd never been in Eli's apartment, I'd never even knocked on his door before.

When he didn't answer, I gently turned the knob. If he was having a party, he'd probably have it unlocked after all, so people could come and go. That was pretty typical, right? It wasn’t like I could just go back to my own apartment, Lucy wouldn’t let me in until I tried to speak with Eli.

The door opened with ease, swinging open to reveal the dark shadows of his living room.

What kind of party was this supposed to be?

There was no one here that I could see, the lights of his apartment were all off, nothing moved in the shadows.

"...Hello?" I called slowly, stepping inside. I left the front door open behind me, the only light that shone was from the hallway lights.

From inside his bedroom, I heard the whimper of a puppy.

When had Eli gotten a dog? He'd never even mentioned it to me. Where was Eli? Had they run out of ice and gone for more, or maybe the party had moved to another house and he'd forgotten to turn off his music?

Hesitantly, I flipped on a light, looking around the living room.

Everything was immaculate, from the brown sofa to the white walls. Though it was sparse, with little decoration. A huge pile of dirty dishes sat in his sink, though they didn't look old. Perhaps it'd been a dinner party.

Slowly, I closed the door after me, looking for the source of the deafening music. Quickly, I found the stereo player, switching it off just as the dog howled from inside Eli’s closed bedroom door.

I rubbed one of my ears, trying to soothe away the pounding left from the heavy metal. The poor dog was probably even more miserable than I was. I’d never noticed Eli to be so careless, I’d have to talk to him about it later.

The dog whined again, it had gotten stuck in there whenever Eli left.

"I'm coming, boy!" I called to him, setting the bottle of wine down on the pristine counter.

The dog's howls came more frequently now, deep and bellowing. It had to be a mastiff or something, with the huge amount of noise it made. It was a little intimidating.

When I got to the bedroom door, I pushed at it, trying to open it, but it was locked from the other side.

Rapping on the wood, I pressed my ear against it, listening.

I could hear nothing but the startled cries of the huge puppy.

Had something happened to Eli? There was no way he could just be sleeping through the music and the dog howling. Was he hurt?

I shoved my shoulder against the door, trying to ram it open. Harder and harder I threw my body against it, until at last, it jarred open.

I peered inside, but the lights in the room were off. The dog snarled in surprise, howling once more.

Though I wasn't in the best shape of my life, I was somehow able to force the door open just enough for me to slip in.

Through the heavy darkness, I could hear the dog's low growling noises, his heavy breathing filling the air. I searched the walls for a light switch, finally finding it beneath my probing fingers.