That Thing Between Eli & Gwen

We had left Cypress early that morning. All the guys had come and even called Eli by his first name, which was a start. My dad hugged me for so long I thought we were going to miss our f

light. My mother…well, she just gave me a look like she could read everything that had happened the night before with Eli. I had stayed with him until the sun came up before sneaking back to my bedroom. You would think being a grown woman, I wouldn’t have to sneak anywhere, but I was not ready, nor would I ever be, to have that battle with my parents.

For the first time in forever, I didn’t panic on the flight. I just thought about the night before or held on to Eli, and everything felt all right. I wasn’t scared. Sore, yes, but not scared.

“Hey Mom, it’s me. I just wanted to let you know we got back safely. I’ll try and call a little later. Love you, bye.” I left the message, hanging up. Right after I did, my agent, Tara, called.

“Hello, Tara?”

“Hey, Gwen, is this a bad time? I wasn’t sure when you came back from your parents,” she said.

I grabbed a glass of water for myself. “That’s fine. What’s up?”

“Well, I have a new project for you. I think it would be great, but you should know something.”

“What is it?” I asked, putting my glass on the counter.

“Well, it’s from Sebastian—”

“Tara, I’m not interested.”

“Your contract isn't up, and of all the things they sent over, this is the best one for your career.”

Damn me for not cutting ties when I had a chance, I thought, putting my hand on my forehead.

“Fine, what is it?”

“Sebastian is starting a new magazine, called The Real, and is partnering with National Geographic to do it.”

“And they want me, too?”

“They want you to be the main photographer for it. You would travel around the world, shooting people from all walks of life. The rich, the poor, everyone, and it will be featured in The Real. Everything would be paid for, of course, and you would get a team…”

My eyes shifted to Eli, who sat comfortably next to Taigi, petting his fur. “Find another project, Tara,” I said.

“Gwen, this is amazing, you would be opening yourself up to so many opportunities —”

“Tara,” I said as softly and as sternly as I possibly could. “Find another project for me to do to finish up my contract, all right? I will talk to you later. Thanks.” I hung up before she could say anything else.

“Is everything okay?” Eli straightened some.

“Everything is fine. Did you find anything to eat?” He looked like he didn’t believe me, but looked through his phone anyway.

“What are you in the mood for? Thai? Chinese?”

“How about we get a hamburger and fries? The more I think about it, the better it sounds,” I said, walking over to him and offering my hand to help him off the ground.

He took it, standing up. “That works. How do you have so much energy after—”

“After last night?” I grinned, holding the door open for him. “I have no idea, but I’m sure it will hit me later. For now, I want to eat. The cereal and toast we had this morning was nowhere near enough. Bye, Taigi.”

I closed and locked the door. He took my hand, leading us to the elevator. We both stopped when we saw Toby there, slouched with a half-bottle of whiskey in his hands. He looked up at the numbers above us.

“This…isn’t…my…floor…” He hiccupped, slipping backward.

Eli ran to catch him.

The bottle slipped from his hand, falling to the ground.