She slid back on the couch but her back remained ramrod straight, the tension in the room was thicker than the fog after a summer storm.
“Elena?”
“Yes?” She looked over at me.
“You can relax. I won’t bite.”
I realized I was giving her permission, which went against my plan, but she immediately responded, pulling her knees up to her chest, her shoulders losing most of their tension. She wrapped her arms around her knees, hugging them tightly. It seemed protective, or maybe it was just comfortable. I preferred to think of it as being the latter. She hadn’t eaten much at dinner. She had to be hungry. And what went better with a film than snack food. “I’m going to grab something to eat. Would you like something?”
“Umm . . .” She shrugged her shoulders. “Sure.”
“Give me a minute.” She leaned forward to get the remote but I said, “You can leave it play. I’ve seen it before.”
She grabbed the remote anyway, clicking pause before retreating back into the couch, her chin coming to rest on her knees. “I’ll wait for you.”
“I’ll be right back.”
I headed for the kitchen, moving quickly through the house. Cursing myself for not thinking of this sooner, I figured that popcorn would be the best choice. It hurt to think that Elena probably hadn’t been to the theater in years, and I wondered just how much she’d missed out on. Things that I likely took for granted were a luxury to her. The thought made me uneasy.
Searching through the pantry, I found a box of microwavable popcorn and, tossing it in the microwave to cook, I went to the fridge and grabbed a bottle of beer, soda, and water. If I gave her a selection, she’d have to make her own choice.
I carried everything out to the den on a tray, met by a wide-eyed Elena. “Wow,” she said dropping her feet to the ground. She started to get up and I pulled the tray back, away from her reach.
“Sit down and relax. Remember, you’re my guest.” I set the tray on the ottoman. “I wasn’t sure what you’d want to drink, so I brought you some choices.”
“Beer with popcorn?”
Her eyebrows scrunched together. It was adorable, and something I never thought I’d like about a woman. But with Elena I did. It was refreshing to see her question things without fear of repercussion. Whatever caused her to let her guard down needed a repeat; then again, maybe she hadn’t even realized she’d done it. “Absolutely. Beer goes with almost anything.”
She looked skeptical but reached for one of the bottles of amber liquid. Taking my seat, I hit play and music filled the room.
As the film progressed, Elena relaxed further, tucking her feet underneath her, shoveling popcorn and beer into her mouth and leaning forward at each climatic part of the film. She was enjoying herself, the smile on her face making her glee evident. It was a good thing I’d seen it before because I watched her more than I watched the screen, all the while doing everything in my power to keep myself from turning it into a teenage night in my parents’ house. I couldn’t stop thinking about how much I wanted to forget the movie and make out on the couch. As the evening wore on, I edged closer and closer to her, the soft scent of lavender and jasmine permeating my senses, making my head spin. Holy hell, I was screwed.
As the credits rolled, Elena stood and began cleaning up our mess.
“Leave it,” I said. “I’ll take care of it.”
She paused, her eyes bouncing around the room like she didn’t know what to do with herself. “Are you sure you don’t want my help?”
I had no problem with her helping if it was because she wanted to, but I wouldn’t let her do it because she felt like it was her duty. “Elena, I don’t want you to feel like you need to clean because that’s what you’ve always done.”
Her eyes glistened and she held my gaze for a second before turning to head upstairs. I thought about it for a moment before I placed my hand on her shoulder, the muscles tensing beneath my palm. “I know I said this earlier, but I hope you understand, I don’t want to be like your husband. He has no idea how to treat you and you deserve so much better.”
“I wish I could believe that.” I closed my eyes and inhaled sharply, the hurt in her voice stabbing me through the chest. Spinning her around, I pulled her close until her cheek rested above my heart.
“One of these days, I’ll make you believe it.”
I held her while she cried, and as much as it pained me to hear, the sound making my own eyes burn, I couldn’t help the small part of me that recognized that she was giving this to me. She was beginning to trust me and I needed to be careful. My earlier lust forgotten, my only thought was to comfort her. As her tears dried, she sagged against me and, not thinking, I pressed my lips to the top of her head. She immediately stiffened, as did I.