Page 179 of New Growth
El didn’t answer immediately. “Of course I do. Especially after I met you.”
I scoffed. “Bullshit.”
“I’m serious.” His voice dropped. “When I first saw you, Ellie…it was like my heart said,Oh, it’s you.I’ve been looking everywhere for you.You made me nervous as hell, completely knocked me off my game just by looking at me.”
I narrowed my eyes. “Liar.”
He shook his head slowly. “No. You were familiar. Everything became clearer. I looked at you and saw the rest of my life. That’s why I don’t even think it’s a coincidence we share the same name. You are undeniably my other half, Elliot.”
I didn’t know what to say. My breath caught somewhere between disbelief and the ache in my chest.
I let out a shaky breath. “El…”
“And they didn’t become something because you weren’t in the way. They didn’t even become something because they were soulmates. They became something because they didn’t respect you enough.”
He leaned in closer, his forehead brushing mine. “They’re terrible people for making you feel that way. You are not too much. You are not in the way of anyone. You’re extraordinary, and anyone who made you feel otherwise never deserved you to begin with.”
I pressed my lips tight, trying to keep it together. He made it so hard to fall apart when he looked at me like that.
“Understand?”
I nodded.
“Good, now stop worrying about them.” El’s voice was soft against my ear. My cheek rested on his shoulder as we swayed in place. His thumb traced slow, absentminded circles on the small of my back.
“El,” I murmured, my voice muffled by the collar of his shirt. “Do you really believe in soulmates?”
He didn’t hesitate. “Yeah. I do.”
I glanced at him, skeptical. “But if we all have someone out there waiting for us, what’s the point of dealing with other people and getting your heart broken?”
“Maybe we weren’t ready for each other yet,” he said, fingers brushing over mine. “Maybe we had to learn a lot before we could love each other the way we were meant to.”
“Or,” I teased, “maybe I just wasn’t born yet.”
A spark lit in his eyes as he gave me a playful glare.
“Oh, yeah?” he challenged, then slapped my ass.
I gasped, trying to pull back, but his grip tightened. “El!”
“You’ll pay for that later,” he whispered, dipping his head to kiss the curve of my neck. “I’ll show youexactlywhat this old man can do.”
I burst into a giggle, blushing as he pulled me closer and started running his hands along my thighs.
For a moment, I let myself forget where we were, who was watching, and what today was supposed to be about. I squirmed, trying to wriggle out of his grasp, laughter spilling out freely. For the first time all day, my mood was finally improving.
“Ellie?”Well, that was short lived.
My body stiffened at the sound of Ryan’s voice cutting through the moment. I turned slowly, the smile falling from my face. I’d been avoiding both her and Ma all day, weaving between rooms, slipping out of group photos, keeping El and I’s presence minimal. But I knew I had to show my face eventually before I made my exit.
I guess that plan’s out the window.
She looked at Elliot. “I’m sorry, can I borrow my sister for a moment?”
El didn’t move. “Absolutely not. I’m in the middle of feeling her up.”
“Elliot!” I hissed, swatting at him, though part of me appreciated the way he never flinched in her presence.
