Page 25 of Alex

“Pieces of what? What are you putting together?”

Just like I left her questions unanswered, she leaves mine hanging in the balance. My thoughtsscramble as I try to make sense of what she’s talking about.

Her small fist knocks on the door before she twists the knob and pushes the door open. “Peter?”

A man’s voice sounds from inside the room. “Hey, Elise.”

I follow her into the large room. There are lockers along the wall to the left, monitors hanging on the wall to the right, and a large metal desk in the middle of the room with an ancient computer on top.

Papers are flung haphazardly on the desk, and there’s a large calendar like the one Elise has on her desk, except this calendar has bent pages and entire days scribbled out.

Doodles line the once blank edges of the paper.

I take a few seconds to look at Peter while he’s explaining everything that happened over the past several hours.

His hair is shorter than mine and more brown with hints of red in it. He’s fit and looks like Captain America, but I can see the way he’s looking at Elise.

It’s the same way I look at her. He’s got it bad.

I wonder why she isn’t dating him. Is it because they work for the same company? Or does she not know how he feels about her? Has he kept his feelings locked up?

When she walks over to the wall with all the monitors, I follow her. She seems more steady on her feet, but I’m not taking any chances with her.

Peter clears his throat, causing me to turn around to look at him. He looks worried as his gaze moves from me to Elise.

Does he think I’m going to hurt her?

I turn my gaze back to Elise as she opens a panel on the wall and uncovers a flat screen. As soon as her finger makes contact with the screen, it lights up.

She shifts her weight from her left leg to her right, getting closer to my body. I wrap my arm around her waist while she types in the override code to get into the system settings.

She glances at me and gives me a smile, but doesn’t say anything. As she waits for the system to accept the override code, she leans into my chest.

Elise and I stare at the screen as she enters another code and verifies that she wants to restart the alarm system.

The screen goes black for several moments before returning back to its normal display. She checks all the sensors and cameras to make sure they are online before closing the panel on the wall.

She turns around to face Peter and says, “Okay, you should be all good for the rest of the night. Call me if you need anything else.”

I want to tell him not to call because she’s going to be with me, but I haven’t asked if she wants to go home with me.

She could decide that she wants to go to her house alone. My dick bobs in my pants in protest of that idea.

Peter rubs his hands on his pants leg, like his palms are sweaty from being nervous. “Thank you for leaving the fun and drinks to come out here to help me. Both of you.”

He narrows his eyes at me slightly as he says the last part. I don’t believe he really means it to me. He’s probably happy to see Elise, but he’s not happy I showed up with her.

Elise doesn’t seem to notice the change in his tone. She offers him a polite smile and says, “It’s not a problem. I’ll see you Monday evening.”

I follow her towards the door, and we walk in silence back to the main entrance. My hand is once again on the small of her back, but this time, she’s walking close beside me. Our arms brush against one another with each step we take.

When we are outside, I use her keys to lock the door before steering her toward my car.

She turns her head toward me and inhales deeply.

I look at her, confused. “Do I stink?”

“Nuh uh.” She takes another sniff. “Mmm, you smell really good. Like amber and woods.”

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