Page 38 of Rugged Hearts: Part One
Realizing I’m just staring at him as I stand here, I go to leave, but he must’ve looked my way since he says, “Thea?”
Turning around awkwardly, I give a small wave. “Hi, sorry I didn’t mean to disturb you I was leaving.”
Pulling the headphones down so they rest along his neck, he beams at me. “You’re not, would you like to join me?” I look at him, then take in the window seat. It fits him comfortably I don’t know that the two of us would though. He must guess at my dilemma and says, “here,” patting the space in between his legs as he spreads them so his right foot is now on the floor. I open my mouth to say he doesn’t have to but he adds, “Please.”
What’s with these men and saying please?I sit down in between his legs, feeling the cushion’s softness. I’m able to extend my legs out along the seat completely. Guess being short is good for some things. With my back now to his front, his arms wrap around me slightly as he rests his hands on his thighs, bracketing mine. Looking down at them, I swear I see his fingers twitching in my direction. Part of me wants him to hold me but being in thisposition feels so intimate. I don’t get it, especially when I was in a similar position with Liam earlier.
“Do you want to listen with me?”
Angling my head back so I can see him and looking at his headphones, I don’t see how we can both listen. They aren’t earbuds, they are over the ear headphones. “How?”
Smirking, he turns one of them to the side. I’m surprised they don’t break. “They’re made to be able to do this, don’t worry.”
“Okay then yeah that’d be nice.”
Turning my head forward, he adjusts a little in his spot then leans forward and basically rests his head on my shoulder, pressing the left side of the headphones against my ear. His beard teases against my cheek, making me suck in a breath. The music filters in, it’s nothing I’m familiar with, it has an almost indie folk quality to it. Not what I thought he would be listening to at all. It’s so mellow though, I get why he looked so light earlier. We stay like that listening to the album for a while. As it goes on, his hands gradually move to rest on my stomach as his arms wrap around me, holding me fully. His thumbs move in soothing motions. After feeling so drained earlier you’d think this would put me to sleep with how relaxing it is, but somehow it’s the opposite. I feel energized and relaxed. Is that an oxymoron?
“There you are.” Eli’s exclamation makes me jump. I glance over to him. He looks more disheveled than he did in the kitchen. “I’ve been looking all over the house for you, then we thought you left because of Micah but your car was still here.” He sounds exasperated. I didn’t know they’d worry like that.Before I can apologize for just that, he just says, “Dinner is ready,” and then leaves. Jake lets out a sigh as he sits up fully from our relaxed position, his arms falling away from me.
Standing, I ask, “Is he mad?”
“No, he was just worried.”
“But he rushed off.”
He chuckles lowly. “He was respecting us spending time together.” I don’t know what to say to that. I guess I neverthought of the intricacies of courting a pack. Sophie makes it look easy but then again, they’ve been together for over thirty years. I can’t even picture being with anyone that long now that Connor’s gone. My eyes naturally shift to Jake, making me reconsider if that’s still true. I can’t handle any more introspection today. I push it down for now, wanting to just enjoy dinner.
32
THEA
My stomach is doing loops in anticipation for my date with Eli tonight. I didn’t feel so nervous with Ben, but it’s probably because we just stayed in. He hasn’t told me what we’re doing, just to dress casual. Wearing jeans and a knit sweater with some ankle boots is as casual as I can be without being in full-on sweatpants. A knock sounds at the door, sending my heart racing. Opening the door, Eli’s smile widen as he looks at me, triggering one of my own. I swear he has powers, because how else is his energy so contagious? He helps me forget the deep abyss I’m usually lost in.
He has a semi long coat over his outfit, his hair looks like it’s been cut since I saw him a couple days ago at pack dinner. The tight curls on top are a little shorter and the fade on the sides are fresh. The stubble beard he has accentuates his jaw nicely. His smile grows bigger as he notices me checking him out. Blushing, I quickly grab my jacket and head to the car. I hear a small chuckle sound from behind me but I ignore it.
The car is nice and warm.Thank Gods for heated seats.“Are you going to tell me where we’re going?”
“Nope,” he says, popping the ‘p.’ “But we do have about aforty-five minute drive so I will this one time give you control of the aux.” He says it so seriously, making me laugh a little.
“I’m honored.”
“You should be, I’ve never let any of the guys have that power when I drive,” he says with a slight smile.
Now I’m not sure what to put on, I like a little bit of everything but part of me wants to mess with him and pick something he’d probably never listen to—a musical. But which one? Deciding on one, I pull it up on my phone and begin the first song. The musical beings playing throughout the car and he frowns at first before what seems like a lightbulb goes off in his head.
He laughs. “I think your evil plan backfired. It’ll surprise you to know I was in theater in high school.”
To say I’m surprised is an understatement. His eyes quickly look at me before returning to the road and now he’s full on laughing at my reaction. “I wasn’t on stage, unfortunately. My personality is just too big for it,” he says though I can tell he’s joking. “I was a stagehand, helping with the sets and making sure things run smoothly. So picking a musical is right up my alley; though I haven’t heard this one before. What is it?”
“EPIC the musical, it’s a musical of Homer’s Odyssey.”
He hums more to himself. “Sounds good so far, now we have to listen to the entire thing. I can’t be left on a cliffhanger. Make sure to put it on for the ride back.” Shaking my head with a smile, I relax further into the seat as we listen to the musical.
It’s not long until we’re pulling into a parking lot. At one point I started singing along but lowly, but Eli, of course, heard me and egged me on to really sing with the songs as loud as I could. I didn’t go that far; I don’t want to blow out his ear drums with my horrible singing. But Ididsing louder and it was really fun, Eliwas trying to guess at the words so he could sing along but pretty much just vibed with it while he drove.
As he turns the car off and I stop the music, he asks, “So I don’t really remember the story but it’s basically his journey to get home to his wife and son, right?”
“Yeah, he was gone for the war for ten years and it takes another ten for him to get back. Twenty years apart and their love still drives them to be together again.”