Page 69 of Bar Down

I swallow and nod, trying my best to stay excited for him instead of feeling sorry for myself. “Of course, I need to see your apartment.”

He scoffs, “It’s just a studio downtown. It’s not going to be anything fancy.”

“I’ll be the judge of that.”

“Could you do me one more favor?” he asks a little sheepishly.

“Anything,pretty boy.”

He bites his lip. “Can you give me a haircut?”

“Absolutely NOT!” I rear back like he’s burned me or something. Eli just rolls his eyes and runs a hand through his long blond hair.

“Come on, it’s killing me. I get too sweaty during games and it looks gross.”

I groan, “But you look so hot with it. Like a Nordic viking or something.”

“Please,” he says, giving me what I can only assume is his version of puppy dog eyes. They’re big and wide and damn it, I can’t help but give in.

The corners of my lips twitch. “Fine, but I’m not happy about it,” I grumble.

I groan and sigh and mumble my complaints the whole time we get set up in my bathroom. Eli takes a seat on one of the counter stools we dragged in here from the kitchen. He takes his T-shirt off in one smooth motion and I can’t help but admire his body. He’s hard and soft in all the right spots and all I want is to feel the warmth of him on top of me. But I focus on the task he’s given me instead.

Eli wraps a towel around his shoulders and I use a spray bottle to get his hair damp. I have no idea what I’m doing when it comes to giving him a haircut, but he trusts me enough to let me do it.

I grab the scissors and thread my fingers through his hair, from his scalp to the ends, repeating the motion. Every time my fingers linger on his scalp, Eli leans into me and melts a little, and I think my heart does too.

“Are you sure about this? What if you end up looking ridiculous?”

He chuckles and places his hand on top of mine where it rests on his shoulder. “It’ll be fine. Worst case is you end up giving me a buzz cut.”

I choke and sputter as I say, “But you have such nice hair.”

Mournfully, I let go of the argument, knowing he won’t back down on this, and I start cutting the longer strands of his hair. I sigh as they fall to the bathroom floor and shake my head.

“RIP sexy viking Eli.”

“If it makes you feel better, maybe I’ll look more like Charlie Hunnam.”

“He is one sexy guy,” I say and Eli narrows his eyes at me. “Not sexier than you, of course, my little viking.”

“Little?” he asks indignantly.

I don’t give him a reply as I grab the clippers and turn them on, carefully readjusting his head so I can better see what I’m doing. When his silky hair falls to the floor, I die a little bit inside.

By the time I’m done, he still has hair left on his head—thankfully. His haircut now resembles mine, with a bit of a fade on the sides and more hair on top. I run both my hands through as much as I can and sigh, catching his eye in the mirror.

“Not much for me to grab, but you’re still a sexy motherfucker.”

Eli’s smile is wide and in one swift movement, he swivels around in the chair to face me and pulls me in close. I step in between his legs and let my hands fall from his hair to his face, tilting his head up. I kiss him tenderly, trying to memorize the taste and feel of his lips on mine. I don’t know when we’ll get to be this close again.

Eli

The two hourdrive to Detroit passes by way too quickly, Ash entertaining me with stories of his past, while I do the same. Before we know it, we arrive at my new apartment downtown. The good news is that it’s within walking distance to the arena; the bad news is that it’s busy as hell. The building has twelve floors and plenty of people are coming and going or hanging out in the common areas.

There’s a gym, a lounge area with lots of TVs, an indoor pool, and a coffee bar, all available for tenants to utilize, which is why this place was the most appealing of the bunch. From what I could tell by looking at the pictures, the apartment is small and has minimal utilities but I could see myself here, swimming and sitting at the coffee bar with Ash.

We make our way up to the 8th floor, Ash carrying my suitcase while I carry the other one and my backpack. The place smells like potpourri and I immediately miss home. I want to be back in Ash’s apartment cooking something together or watching something stupid on the TV. I’d even play one of the video games he likes so bad right about now. I look over at him and smile, even though it must look more like a grimace. He smiles back, just as awkwardly and as I’m getting ready to tell him what’s on my mind, the elevator dings. We shuffle out and make our way to apartment 805.

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