Page 97 of Just Business
Justin rubbed his arms to warm them up. “That’s really generous.”
“Keeps them coming back. They mow my lawn during the summer, too. Help out when I need a hand. They’re good boys. Smart. Do well in school. Their mother says they’ve been putting the money away for a road trip when they graduate.” Eli bent and collected a few random pieces of suit and tux and put them on the bench. “I may help with their college expenses, depending on where they end up.”
Hearing all that was like slipping and falling while standing perfectly still. “There’s so much I don’t know about you.”
A bit of color rose to Eli’s cheeks and he deposited more clothing on the bench. “Likewise.” Then he met Justin’s gaze. “But we can remedy that.”
They could.
Eli tipped his head, and cocked his finger in a come-hither motion, then he made his way up the stairs. Well, there was only one thing to do. Justin climbed up after Eli to the second floor.
“I want to show you something,” Eli said. At the end of the hall, he opened another door, one Justin had never been through, and stepped to the side. He gestured inside.
A staircase leading up. Dark at the bottom, but daylight filtered in at the top. Justin glanced at Eli, then climbed. He hadn’t realized the third floor was finished.
More than finished, actually. He entered into a huge room with light walls and windows. Bookcases. A bed. A reading nook. An old-fashioned writing desk. A bathroom tucked off to the side. Even a tiny kitchen. Justin stepped farther in.
The stairs creaked and Eli sat down at the top. “I rarely come up here. I thought you might like it. Should have offered this months ago, but...” He rubbed the back of his head. “I’m not very good with the whole relationship thing, as you can tell.”
“You want me to live here?” That pit of dread opened up again.
Eli shook his head. “I’m not asking you to move in.” He shifted a bit on the stairs, stretching out his left leg. “But when you’re here, this can be yours. Your own space. To study. Relax. Whatever.” He paused. “Two flights are a bit much. I think the cleaners come up here more than me.”
A meow sounded as Lavi bounded into the room. He sniffed the air. “His Royal Fuzzy Butt isn’t allowed up here, either.”
Justin approached the far side of the room. Each step felt like treading over eggshells. Part of him was excited—the other part wanted to flee. He took a breath. Eli wasn’t trying to trap him—just give him space. “This’ll be a good place to study.” Warm and full of daylight. So very different from his apartment. He could do this. Be a part of Eli’s life without that consuming him. Maybe, just maybe hecouldmove in at some point. If Eli would have him.
Lavi jumped up onto the desk and peered out the window. Justin scratched between his ears. “I’ll let you come up here, buddy.” That tumble in his stomach wasn’t terror, but anticipation.
He returned to the stairwell and joined Eli, sitting next to him. “Thank you.”
“You’re—”
Justin kissed him. Not hard, but enough to shut him up. Eli cupped his neck, his warm fingers raising goose bumps on Justin’s arm.
Justin broke the kiss. “Please don’t give up on me.”
“I won’t,” Eli murmured. “If you won’t, I won’t.” He stroked Justin’s hair.
“Deal.” He wasn’t sure what Eli meant, but he wouldn’t give up on himself and he wouldn’t give up on Eli, either.
Chapter Nineteen
By the time evening rolled around, the roads were free of snow and even dry. Eli glanced out of the front window. Pity. Justin’s company had been delightful. Still, he understood the need to go home. Reevaluate. So much had happened in so short a span of time.Maybe that’s good. You think too much.
Justin stood in the foyer, his suit packed in a garment bag. He’d changed the sweats for an older pair of Eli’s jeans, cuffs rolled up, and a sweatshirt. The coat and gloves were Eli’s, too. The least he could do. Justin had likely saved his life last night, if not his sanity. “Ready?”
“Yes.” Eli buttoned his coat, gripped his keys, and fought the twisting in his gut.
When they reached the car, he hesitated. Icy roads, the lurch of spinning.
“I can drive,” Justin said. “If you need me to.”
He sucked in a lungful of cold air and opened the door. “When was the last time you’ve driven in this kind of weather?”
Justin’s expression answered that question, even before he spoke. “Never.”
Not surprising, what with growing up partly in the South and working in California. “Well, then.” Eli dropped into the driver’s seat. Justin sat in the passenger’s seat. “I do need to do this. It’s a control thing.”
