The Expansion of the Universe

Ten | "The perfect balance."

Ten.

Ten.

Why was Elijah at her condo at ten in the morning? He always came at one o'clock.

Always, always, always.

And why was he just as attractive as she'd expected once the terror of meeting him had passed?

Those brown eyes found her quickly, just as they had that first day, and it took everything within Liza to stay in place.

And then Elijah smiled at her, and she nearly threw herself off the couch as she made her way to the oak door, her heart pattering the now familiar but no less unsettling slam-skip-slam.

"Hello, beautiful," Elijah greeted from the opposite side of the wood, his tone thrice as cheerful as normal.

Liza had no clue how he sounded so happy all the time, but she was definitely a tad jealous.

"Hi," she greeted, furious at herself for blushing, of all the stupid reactions.

For God's sake, she was twenty-eight—she had no business blushing like a kid in middle school learning about sex for the first time.

"It's ten," she blurted after a moment, even as she and Milo got settled on the floor. "You always come at one."

"I'm flattered that you noticed," was his quick retort, though he did sound somewhat honored. "I normally do, yes, but I got a call on the way home from work and decided to stop by and share the good news with my bestest, most-special friend who is always dying to get a visit from yours truly."

Liza snorted. "Charming," she murmured despite her nerves.

Elijah laughed. "I know, babe, that's the point. Anyway, my good news."

"What is it?"

He sobered slightly. "Is it alright for me to tell you?"

Liza's brow furrowed. "Sure." It sounded like a question more than a statement.

"I'm just checking," Elijah reassured her. "I know some days I'm not mentally prepared for Austin to whine about his latest attempt at dating, even if the news is good."

"Oh." Did he have to be so nice? His kindness made her heart hurt. "Yeah. Yeah, you can tell me."

"Thanks, Liza, that's nice of you. Okay," there was a clapping noise, and she guessed that he'd hit his hands together out of excitement, "remember what I told you about my brother, Zachariah?"

"He works in a fancy casino in Vegas," Liza recalled, "and he hates Oreos."

"Yes and yes," he sounded giddy that she'd remembered, and Liza couldn't stop a proud smile from spreading on her face. "Well, good news, doll—he's no longer going to be a station chef and forced to deal with the sous chef woman he hates with everything in him."

"Why not?"

"He received a head chef position at Lillian's over in Midway. Exciting, isn't it? I'm pumped." He did sound thrilled, and Liza smiled brightly.

"Only an hour or two from here." She thought so, anyway. She hadn't driven anywhere in a while, though, so she could have been entirely incorrect.

"Yeah, that sounds right." Well, thank God for that. "I can't wait to have weekend dinners with a professional chef; I'll bring you some leftovers, okay?"

"Okay."

"I still need to bring you those Oreos I promised," Elijah mused. "Do you have a favorite dessert?"