Page 2 of All Hallows' Rage
“This is Elijah, your new partner,” Gretchen said, starting the introductions. I looked back to the beautiful man who now had a beautiful name to match. “Elijah, this is Matt.”
Elijah’s hand extended for me to take. When I reached out for him, a quick jolt of static shock passed between our fingers and we flinched back. Elijah’s smile dropped for a moment before returning even bigger. I slipped my hand into his and the static electricity was replaced with a warm tingling that worked its way up my arm and down my rigid spine.
“Nice to meet you.” Elijah’s voice was soft, but strong. A kind tone that matched his features, but an underlying strength that spoke to a sense of authority almost. Authority didn’t feel like the right word, but everything had started to tilt and spiral after his touch.
“You as well. Are we ready to begin?” I had nothing. There was nothing by means of introduction that floated through my mind. I looked at Gretchen and hoped she would kick us into gear so that we could do this and I could go home to a cold shower.
She was no help as she stood there in silence, only glancing down after a beat. Lost, I followed her and realized the warmth in my palm wasn’t because Elijah had raised my body temperature.
I still held his hand.
Clearing my throat, I dropped the hold quickly. “I apologize.”
The slight narrowing of his eyes said he didn’t mind, but nothing more was spoken as Gretchen guided him onto the floor in front of the straps. I took a deep breath through my nose and released it along with the tension building in my shoulders.
A pointy,pestyelbow jammed up into my ribs. Up because the nuisance was a foot shorter and I was mostly out of her reach.
“Ow, Lane,” I said in a flat, unaffected tone as I watched them walk away. She never did any real damage.
“I saw that,” she sang out.
“Everyone here did.” I looked down at her to drive the point home. “It’s nothing to read into.” I left it there and followed them onto the floor. Saying it to her felt convincing, but as I repeated it to myself, I slowly lost faith and confidence in the words.
As I stopped near the center and kept my gaze focused on the straps that swayed in the air, Elijah gripped one in his hand as he leaned and offset his weight.
“Matt,” Gretchen started, getting my attention before handing me a small slip of paper. “Will there be any trouble lifting him?”
Her question caught me off guard. My eyebrows pinched together as I processed her words. What threw me the most was the fact she’d never asked such a question before now. My glance to Elijah confirmed he was still fucking beautiful and very much within my limits of stunting.
“None at all.” I looked down at the paper, recognizing the familiar moves, and desperately prayed for a distracting speech of Gretchen’s.
“Great, don’t drop my new star, Barrios!” Her hands clapped before she turned away and walked off the floor.
Are you fucking kidding?
My desperation turned into defense at her words.
“I’ve never dropped anyone. I won’t drop you.” He watched me as I promised it. It was true. I’d never dropped a partner before and didn’t plan to start now. Keeping me anxious, he finally smiled.
“I know. Also, her introduction was so formal. You can call me Eli. I assume you’re taking the lead?” He released the strap he held and stepped to the side. Long fingers curved over his hips and accentuated the V in his waist as he rested his hands.
“Yeah, I can do that. I can go either way if you think we need to switch it up later.” Eli’s lips twitched in a smirk that tipped me to the realization of what I said. “Oh, that sounded like something else. I meant—”
“Take lead, Matt.”
I nodded, dropping the paper and taking my place between the straps. I wrapped them around in the needed direction and slipped my hands in the loops. The slack lessened, and I felt the tension under my hands as I braced myself.
“I’ll go in the muscle-up and transition as you—”
“Hold on,” he finished. Eli had an easygoing nature and looked relaxed every time I laid eyes on him. He hadn’t crossed his arms out of annoyance or rolled his eyes once. It felt promising.
I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. Visualizing my body, I readied each muscle group for the lift and pushed everything else into a box to deal with later. Cool fingers slid over my traps and pressed into my back below my neck.Fuck.
Elijah was my height, and when I dared to open my eyes, we were locked on each other. His were even more vibrant up close, as golden flecks caught the light.
“Ready?” he whispered. The music reached my ears then, along with the crew’s countdown. It was the same sultry beat, and I knew the count even in my sleep.
No, I’m not ready for any of this.
