Craving Purity

19

"I don't need you hovering," Levi murmured as he served Elijah a tea, his soulmate taking it with a smile and handing Levi a twenty dollar bill with a wink. "It's a loss of money if you give it here because they just split it up at the end of the night anyway."

Elijah huffed. "I'm trying to score points with the cute barista and he's not having it," he mumbled, drinking the tea.

"No, he's not," Levi said, a small smile gracing his face at how dorky Elijah was. "But he might let you score some points with him after his shift."

"You're so cute when you try to be sexy," Elijah cooed, making Levi blush. "But you're also sexy at the same time so it's a win-win for me."

Levi bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. "I have to get back to work," he said as Elijah's phone rang, Greyson's icon popping up on the screen. "And you have a call to take."

Elijah pouted but answered as Levi waved and walked back behind the counter. "You ruined me making moves on Levi," he scowled into the phone, relishing in Greyson deep laughter over the phone.

"Hello to you too, beautiful," Greyson said, before his voice dropped to a more serious tone. "I need a favor, babe."

"If it requires me leaving-"

"It does," Greyson cut off, speaking again before Elijah could complain. "I need you to help me at the store. I've got a bunch of new shipments and I'm not taking it all. You've got the best eye and you can tell what's good and what I should send back."

Elijah knew that he was the best, all narcissism aside. He loved choosing the jewelry and it was midday, so he didn't think Levi would be in a lot of danger if he left him alone.

"Fine. I'll be there in twenty minutes." Elijah grumbled, standing up with his tea and running to the desk so he could speak with Levi. "I have to go help Greyson with some shipments. I'll be back-"

Levi shook his head. "No, you help there," he said, smiling at his soulmate. "I'll be fine here and my shift is almost done anyway. I'll be there at four."

Elijah groaned, annoyed that everyone was acting like Levi was perfectly okay, even Levi himself. It was as if he didn't have a horrible breakdown the night before and that everything was perfect.

"Don't be late," Elijah said, knowing that Levi would just get frustrated if he tried to call Greyson back and say he actually wanted to stay behind with Levi. "I swear, if you're not there by four fifteen, I'll come back here and kick your ass."

Levi nodded. "I'll be fine," he said, leaning over the counter to kiss Elijah's cheek. "Yesterday was just an emotional day for me and I had a weird panic attack."

"You had every right to freak out," Elijah said, glaring at his boyfriend. "Don't you dare invalidate your feelings or I'll have two reasons to kick your ass."

"Got it," Levi promised, smiling. "Now go pick some jewelry and move so I can take the next order."

Elijah took one last glance at Levi before leaving and catching a bus. He had a bad feeling in his gut, but he was going to trust Levi saying it was paranoia and an overreaction.

Maybe it was just jealousy.

Yeah, that made sense. His gut always hurt when he got really jealous, and Elijah still felt jealous when he saw Levi's coworker. He was sure that was just his natural response to other people being around his soulmate, and he was still sensitive from seeing Levi so distressed the night before.

•••

"What do you think of these ones, sir?" the provider asked, showing Elijah another box of diamonds.