Page 29 of Cross the Line
CHAPTER 7
ELIJAH
Fuck. Fuck. Fuck.
I blow out a breath before pulling another deep into my lungs as Jayden and I leave my room to meet the rest of the team in the lobby before the flight. Hesitation drags at my heels while I check my phone again for a reply from Finley. Nothing. Only Lex’s updates lighting up my screen with what’s happening on his end.
“Relax,” Jayden says, snatching my phone and locking it before shoving it into the pocket of my chinos. “Fin’s still asleep. It’s only seven in the morning in LA, so… Relax. Okay?”
I nod, glancing up at him, taking him in. His eyes are still a little bloodshot from the night before, but no longer teary after his power nap while I spoke to Shayne about how to handle the press. Or rather, how to avoid them completely.
Before I do or say anything else, I need to talk to Finley. We need to talk. The three of us have to figure out what’s happening before the rest of the world barges in and makes its demands of us. Before its opinions are slapped on us.
I need to get my head straight.
Since talking to Connie at the gym and after last night, my mind’s been a carousel of questions that only lead to more questions. I can’t pin down what I like and what I don’t. What I want. What I fear.
All I know is I love Finley and Jayden. Being around them changes the rhythm of my heart, makes my lungs feel too big for my chest. They turn the noise in my head into something quiet, calm.
I don’t know what that means. Because I’ve never felt it with anyone else.
Sure, I like the guys on the team. Lex. Connie’s beautiful. Christina, too. But they don’t affect me like Jayden and Finley do. When I’m with them, I can breathe. When I’m not, it’s like I’m suffocating.
It’s like all my breaths are tethered to their existence. Like my world only spins because they’re in it.
We stop by the elevator, the air too still, too charged. I can’t stop glancing at Jayden’s profile. His lips are still red and swollen, his eyes flicking between mine with that crooked half-smile that makes my stomach clench.
We’re smiling at each other like a couple of idiots with a secret. My insides hum despite the heaviness in my chest. It’s giddy, and the longer we’re like this, the more electrifying it becomes.
The taste of his kiss still lingers on my tongue. The ghost of his hands still buzzes against my skin.
This relentless, magnetic pull between us has become something astronomical. Unstoppable.
I inch closer, letting the back of my hand brush his knuckles. Jayden’s smile brightens, slow and teasing, before he turns to face me fully. The moment stretches thin, airless. Time folds in on itself when our palms meet, skin to skin.
“Fuck,” Jayden groans, the sound guttural, setting fire to every nerve in my body.
My pores zing with awareness.
God, he’s beautiful.
His nails drag up my fingers to my palm. “This is going to be impossible.”
“What is?” I ask, though I already know. I’m still licking my lips, trying to chase the ghost of his mouth like it might dull the ache in my veins.
“God, Eli,” he growls, low and rough, eyes narrowing on mine. “I can’t stop thinking about kissing you. Wanting to lick and bite and suck and… fuck… you’re killing me.”
Every word hits me like a pulse. I feel it everywhere.
I wish I could give him what he wants right now—but loving him doesn’t change how I love Finley. How I’vealwaysloved Finley—with everything I am.
Until I talk to her, until the three of us address everything that’s happening, we can’t steamroll ahead. It’s not fair to her, and I refuse tohurt her any more than I already have. And that I will have to. Because Jayden is right; until I face my past, I’ll never outrun it. I’ll never make her happy the way she deserves. The way I want to.
Like he can hear my thoughts, Jayden grips my wrist. “Everything is going to work out.”
“Will it?” I glance down at our sneakers—white and colorful, neat and scuffed.
Focus on something small. Center yourself.It’s what the Biofeedback sessions have taught me.
