At 4 PM, there was a knock on my door. I was almost expecting Eli to just walk in since he had just invited himself over. I opened the door, trying to look pleased to see him; however, my heart ached. Eli seemed easily happy and walked into my house, taking a seat on my couch.
I sat with him, however farther away than I would have ever sat before.
"That's awesome that you are already making so many sales, Betty!" Eli said with a grin on his face.
I smiled back, "yeah, it is. I am hoping to spread out my sales a bit more, so having one from this college girl is great!"
"I hope you have more sales from school," Eli replied. My eyes narrowed since I knew exactly why.
"So that more of your conquests can visit you at lunch?" My words came out a bit harsher than I intended. If Taylor had said the same thing, it would have come across as playful, but I just sounded jealous.
Eli was thrown off from my tone. His eyes scrunched as if he was trying to understand what was causing my mood. "What's wrong, Betty?"
What's wrong? Maybe the fact that I like you and you don't feel the same way. Or you keep giving me signals that MAYBE just maybe you feel the same way, and then I guess I am stupid for completely misreading the situation.
I wanted to scream all that, but I stayed silent, choosing to shrug. "I have to pack up the clothes," I said, getting up to head to my room. I half expected Eli to stay on the couch, but he got up, following me up the stairs.
I had not packed the clothes for this girl yet because she still had been choosing between two shirts for the last day. A few hours ago, she had decided to get both.
I stopped at my bedroom door. Eli was directly behind me. "I am excited to see your room!" Eli said, honestly. He was probably talking about the vintage furniture that we had around our house, but I will admit, but my heart still raced at his comment.
I scoffed, mad at myself. I opened my door, stomping over to my packaging and the clothing laid out on top of my dresser.
Eli sighed, following closely behind me. "Seriously, Betty, what's wrong? Did I do something?"
I almost screamed. He had no idea. I thought I was so obvious. Everyone else seemed to understand what had been bugging me for the past few weeks - really since I'd laid eyes on Eli.
I didn't answer him.
"Jeez, Betty! You're no fun! Do you want me to go?" he asked me.
"Why don't you just head over to Jessa's? You would probably have a lot more fun with her." I winced at my own words.
I honestly did not mean for the words to come out. I comically slapped my palm across my lips and turned towards Eli, feeling embarrassment course through my body.
"So THAT is what this is about! You're still upset about my reputation! Betty, I promise you I never just throw girls away. Despite what people say, I am not like that. Every girl I have ever slept with has initiated it, and I don't lead anyone on! I thought I had proved to you that I am different from what people think of me... mostly."
I almost cried at his words. Great, so he is just letting me know precisely how many girls want him. He has so many options better than me. "This is not about your conquests Eli!" I sat on the side of my bed, my legs dangling. "Just drop it, Eli, I am fine."
I looked down at my phone. We still had over half an hour before we should leave to go to the girl's house.
When I looked up, Eli was standing much closer than he had been before. He looked concerned and uneasy.
"Why do you even care, Eli? You've only known me for a month."
He shook his head, clearly exasperated at my words. "Betty, I think I have made it clear I want to be friends!"
Exasperated myself, I just wanted answers. "But WHY?" Why was this boy so interested in being my friend? Was it just the fact I had worn him down?
My breath caught in my throat when he stepped even closer, my knees brushing his. "I don't know. But I have already told you my big secret, and even though we have only known each other for a month, I felt close to you."
I felt close to him too.
I couldn't breathe the closer he got, "So tell me what's wrong, Betty! Do you not want to be my friend?"
I shook my head, "Maybe I wanted to be more than friends."
Eli stepped back.
I felt panic rise in my chest. Oh my god, why did I say that?
"But... but you made it pretty clear you didn't want that? When you thought I was making a move, you freaked out..."
Eli looked as if he was trying to piece it together in his head.
Well, I don't understand why we have had to be so honest with each other so often, but here it goes again. "I was scared, Eli. I thought you wanted to do something, and I..."
I swallowed my embarrassment. Eli was looking at me so intently. "I was jealous today, okay. I didn't like seeing that!"
"If you were so jealous, why didn't you let me make a move if you thought that was going to happen?"
He still looked so confused, as if he was trying to place it all together in his head. It didn't make any sense to him.
I looked down, my socks suddenly looking very interesting. "I've never been kissed, and I got scared," I said soft enough that I am surprised he heard me.
His mouth popped into an 'oh' as if he finally understood my dilemma.
"So, you would just need to go slow?" He said slowly, finally piecing everything together.
I nodded, letting him come to terms with what I was saying. I expected him to run out the door at my confession.
"So... you like me?"
I looked up at him, and he was grinning. I couldn't tell if he was teasing me or not.
"Please don't tease me," I begged.
His eyes flashed with something that I couldn't catch, and he was standing in-between my legs in seconds. My bed was tall, but I still had to look up to look him in the eye.
"Sorry," he said, placing his hand under my chin.
He licked his bottom lip, and I turned my head away. "So, let's go slow."
My head snapped back to look at him. I don't know what he was exactly implying, but I was intrigued. However, I was unsure of whether or not he could just go slow, considering his experience with other girls. I also had a little clue if Eli was talking about a relationship or just something else.
Eli smiled at me; he looked nervous. "So, I was wondering if you want to go out on Saturday night!"
"Like a date?" I asked, desperately hopeful.
He nodded, "I thought we could go to the drive-in movie theatre? I know it's a bit of a drive, but I used to go with my parents as a kid, and it was entertaining. I haven't been in years. And you mentioned it the other day."
My stomach was doing flip flops, "I think that would be fun."
"Oh.. okay, that sounds great!"
"Yeah.. that sounds great."
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1266
"You need to know
We'll take it slow" - public
sorry for the shorter chapter but what do you think?