It was St Patrick's Day in Savannah, which was an institution and a holiday for all. It brought in over one hundred thousand visitors to celebrate every year. St Patrick's Day always caused the ER to be flooded with accidents and drunks. Chloe was supposed to get off two hours earlier than she did, which meant that she was late for the party she was hosting. The parade started at ten o'clock, and it was half-past nine when she reached her apartment. The party was always at her apartment because it overlooked the parade route.
Chloe was unlocking her door with a mass of people in the square behind her when Elliot Black, the man she had been dating for a few weeks, walked up behind her.
"Perfect timing," Chloe greeted with a smile.
"Are you just now getting home?" he asked.
"I am. My shift ran over because they were short-handed. Everyone wants off for the parade today." Chloe led the way up to her apartment on the second floor.
Chloe had met Elliot at the coffee shop she frequented. He was a handsome man who was in real estate development. When he had asked her out, her initial response had been to tell him no, but then she reminded herself there was no reason she shouldn't take him up on his offer.
At lunch the day before, Elliot had asked her if she wanted to go to the parade with him, and she had, on a whim, invited him to her place. No one knew she was dating him, so he would be a surprise to everyone, and she was dreading it.
Chloe placed her keys in the dish by the door and watched Elliot look around. It felt odd to have a man in her apartment. Ben and Silas were the only men who had ever been invited. Elliot was a handsome man, he was lean and tall, with dark hair and eyes, and he had a great dress sense, but there was something that made her unwilling to share a lot with him. She had tried to tell herself that it was because he wasn't Valentine, but she wasn't so sure.
"You really do have a premium spot here, don't you?" he asked over his shoulder with a smile as he looked out the balcony doors.
"Yes." Chloe joined him, opening the doors and letting all of the noise from the street below flood into the room. "The parade comes around the square, and the Grand Marshall stops in front of the cathedral to be blessed."
They watched the scene below for a few minutes.
"I had a difficult time finding parking. Where do all of your friends park?" he asked, watching the scene below him.
"They all live downtown, but they aren't on the parade route, so they walk here," Chloe noted that he smiled at her words.
"They all have apartments like you?" Elliot asked without looking at her.
"No, they have houses." Chloe didn't have time to worry about what was going through his mind. "I'm going to get a quick shower. Would you open the door for anyone who comes? I'm only expecting a few people. Help yourself to anything in the fridge you like." Chloe rushed into her bedroom and took the quickest shower of her life, but it wasn't fast enough.
"Chloe's in the shower. She'll be out in just a moment." She heard Elliot greet someone.
Chloe groaned as she pulled on her t-shirt. Great! That hinted at an intimacy that wasn't there. The questions from Faye and Lia would be never-ending. She should never have invited Elliot.
Chloe was tired, so she didn't try with her appearance like she usually did. She was wearing a pair of old faded jeans, an old t-shirt, and a baggy cardigan. She had cleaned all the makeup off her face and pulled her hair into a loose bun on her head.
"Hey, guys!" she greeted as she joined them. "Did you meet Elliot?" Chloe looked from Elliot to Lia and Faye, who were hiding grins. Silas looked bored, Ben looked curious, and Valentine's face was void of expression. Eliot was eyeing her plain face with shock.
Chloe, ignoring Elliot's look that made her feel self-conscious, thought it was best to keep it to first names.
"Elliot, this is Faye and her husband Silas, Lia and her husband Ben, and Valentine."
Elliot kept looking at Ben and Valentine as if he recognized them but couldn't place them. Thankfully they were saved a bunch of questions as a marching band came around the corner, and everyone went outside to watch. Chloe movie into the kitchen to pull out some snacks, and she was only there for a few moments before Lia and Faye joined her.
"Who's Elliot?" Lia asked, looking over her shoulder at the men on the balcony.
"I met him a the coffee shop. We've been dating for a few weeks." Chloe filled them in as quickly as she could.
"And you like him?" Faye asked with concern.
"We're just dating. It's nothing serious." Chloe shrugged as she dumped chips into a bowl.
"Does this mean you've given up on Valentine?" Faye asked in a sad tone.
Chloe shrugged again. "It's time to spread my wings."
"So you invited him here to rub it in that you've moved on?" Lia asked, reaching for a chip.
Chloe's eyes grew wide at the thought. "No, I hadn't thought like that." Chloe looked at the men on the balcony. No one was talking as they watched the parade. "Do you all think that?" Chloe asked, mortified. "Elliot wanted to watch the parade together, and I invited him here before I could think better of it."
"It's your subconscious trying to make Valentine jealous." Lia grinned. "Fingers crossed." Then she joined her husband as Silas wandered into the room. He looked from Faye to Chloe in a manner that put Chloe on edge.
"Just say it, Silas. You have something to say. I can tell." Chloe reached into the fridge for a beer.
"It's a step in the right direction. I just hope this one isn't long-term." Silas reached around Chloe for water and then rejoined the others.
"I don't get how you can communicate with that man!" Chloe grumbled at Silas's vague statement.
Faye gave a secret smile. "We communicate quite well, thank you. The thing about Silas is you have to read between the lines."
"When I read between the lines, all I get is that he has little patience for me and thinks I cause nothing but trouble." Chloe shook her head and sat on a barstool.
Faye frowned. "Silas is on your side. He didn't tell Valentine you were going to see him, and he did tell you Valentine was coming here. He wants to see you and Valentine happy, but he also wants you both to be careful."
Chloe looked over at Silas, who was standing next to Valentine. Was he on her side?
There was a sudden screeching of tires, a loud crash, and tons of screaming.
Silas, Faye, and Lia went running past and out of the apartment. Chloe had just finished a beer, so she stayed put, but she walked out on the balcony with the others.
It was a trainwreck. One of the vehicles in the parade had jumped the curb and run into the crowd.
"Aren't you going to go help?" Elliot asked her with a frown.
Chloe held up her beer and sat in the chair next to Ben, whose eyes were glued to the action.
"Newsworthy?" Chloe asked.
"Sure, but I'm not in the news game anymore. You have another one of those?" Ben asked.
"Yep," Chloe stood, "Elliot, Valentine?"
"Sure," Valentine said. Elliot declined. Chloe came out with two more beers and handed them off first to Ben and then to Valentine. When her hand brushed Valentine's, she felt the same jolt she always did.
"Was it a rough night at the hospital?" Ben asked.
Chloe smiled. "It was, but then it always is on a major holiday." She sat on the chair next to his, and they all watched the scene below in silence.
"I thought you would be down there helping, Valentine,' Ben said as he took a swallow of beer.
"Nope, I'd rather stay out of it." His Russian accent was thick, and Elliot looked at him with shock. "I think your friend just placed me," he said in Russian to Chloe.
"Perhaps," Chloe agreed, closing her eyes. "It was only a matter of time." After a moment, she forced her eyes open to see Valentine looking at her and not at the scene below. "Aren't you interested in the drama that's unfolding on the square?" she asked in Russian.
"No, I've seen enough drama in my time." Valentine took another swallow of his beer, and they both ignored Elliot watching them.
"I'm sure it's much more interesting than me," Chloe insisted.
"I'm sure it's not. You look like you're nineteen all over again without your makeup." His eyes scanned her bare face, and when their gazes connected, time stood still as it always did.
Wasn't it supposed to get easier?
"I didn't know you spoke another language, Chloe?" Elliot said. Chloe caught Ben hiding a smile behind his beer.
"I speak several languages," Chloe said.
"I think Chloe's beat, and since the parade is over, we should leave her to get some rest," Ben stood as he spoke. "Maybe next year's parade will make it until the end," he said as he brushed her cheek with a kiss. "I'll text the others, but they are probably already on their way to the hospital."
Valentine followed Ben to the door, and they both turned to look at Elliot, who realized he was supposed to follow them.
"Have a nice rest, Chloe," Elliot said, dropping a quick kiss on her lips. They had kissed a few times, but it had been lackluster. "Dinner later?" he asked.
"That sounds nice," she said, walking them to the door and closing it behind them.
Everyone had been deceptively calm about Elliot, and she couldn't help but wonder how long it was going to last.