CHAPTER FIVE
WHEN LUCY WOKE UP it took her a minute to orient herself and realize where she was. There was light streaming through the window past the white curtains. That was her first clue that she might not be at her apartment. In her bedroom, there were no curtains because she liked to wake up and go to sleep with nothing between herself and the sky.
She stretched languidly and rolled onto her side. Elijah was deep in sleep, sprawled on the bed next to her. She smiled and suppressed a shiver as the memories from the previous night came rushing back—wave after blissful wave. Lucy still couldn’t quite wrap her head around the fact that this was happening to her. She was in bed with Elijah Redford again!
Only this time it was different. She had always been far from a pushover, but she hadn’t known she had it in her to be quite so assertive, especially in bed. Still, her newfound fierceness seemed to appeal to Elijah as much as it appealed to Lucy herself, judging by the way he looked at her long after they had their fill of each other. Maybe it was the sex, or the way she stood up to him at the bar. Whatever it was, something had definitely changed in their relationship. The power wasn’t all his anymore. He seemed to view her in a different light now—like she was a woman and not just a girl.
After they had sex, he surprised her this time by seeking her touch in a way that was different than he did in Ojai. It revealed a gentleness and vulnerability to him. Even now, that tenderness was still there as he slept on his stomach with his face turned toward her and an arm slung across her stomach, keeping her close to him.
He was most likely completely unaware of the fact that he was revealing so much of his softer side to her. Lucy, on the other hand, couldn’t say that she felt completely safe to let her guard down. There was still a thick layer of armor between Elijah and herself that she wasn’t sure he would ever let her penetrate.
When he tried to explain his douchey behavior to her, he said he did it because he had to “be careful” but Lucy’s gut reaction was more inclined to believe that his defenses would always be up no matter what happened. It was in his nature to be careful and to not let anyone in. She couldn’t decide whether or not she minded. If she were to be entirely honest with herself, she wasn’t quite sure she was ready for Elijah’s defenses to be down around her either. After all, her own walls were still firmly in place and she wasn’t exactly ready to let go.
Still, it was hard not to feel attached. Her gaze ran along the length of his body, her eyes drinking in the sight of the flawless lines of his exposed back. She caught the glimpse of the dimples in the small of his back before they disappeared underneath the thin sheet. Elijah’s hair was sticking out in all possible directions, even more so than usual, and his features were relaxed in sleep as they never were when he was awake.
He seemed younger when he slept, somehow. And he certainly seemed more human. Lucy suppressed the instinct to press a kiss to his shoulder, because that was what couples did—steal sleepy touches in the early hours of the morning. But Lucy and Elijah weren’t a couple, and she had no interest in tricking herself into believing that they were anything other than just a fling.
She gently dislodged herself from underneath his arm and slid out of the bed. She padded to the bathroom silently. Her bare feet made no sound in the plush luxurious pile of the carpet. She made herself as presentable as she could with the few supplies she had in her purse. When she walked back into the bedroom she picked up her clothes and quickly got dressed. She scribbled a message for Elijah on the hotel stationery she got from the desk and left it on the nightstand, underneath his cell phone.
Lucy allowed her gaze to linger on his sleeping naked body one last time. Damn, but he was fine. She wished she could wake him up and have another go (it certainly would make for a great start to the day) but quickly discarded the idea and let herself out of the room quietly. She breathed a sigh of relief when the door clicked shut behind her. Lucy didn’t look back as she made her way down the hall.
When the elevator doors sprang open, she hopped in. She leaned back against one of the mirror-covered walls as the elevator lurched into motion. She closed her eyes and inhaled deeply. The truth was, she secretly wished she could put Elijah behind her. She was painfully aware of how dangerously close she was to falling for him. Granted, the sex was mind-blowing, but emotions had come into play. She had felt it from Elijah’s end too, and it made her uncomfortable.
Neither of them had any intention nor the desire to commit and if she tried to predict the outcome, she couldn’t come up with anything other than heartache and heartbreak in the long run.
Her phone beeped. She hastily took it out of her bag. She found herself torn between relief and disappointment when she saw that the text wasn’t from Elijah, but Michael.
“Headed home. I’ll bring breakfast. I have so much to tell you! ;)”
Lucy smiled as she texted him back. “Hold on, cowboy. I’m already out. Where are you?”
“Sunset. Doing some early morning sightseeing while I clear my head.”
“Meet me at the Cafe de La Presse for breakfast. I’ll be there in 30!”
Michael texted back a thumbs up emoji. Lucy let the phone fall back into the depths of her bag. Outside the hotel, the sun nearly blinded her it was so bright. She inhaled the crisp morning air and smiled.
The thing was, no matter how hard she tried to deny her growing feelings for Elijah—she would have been lying if she had said the weather wasn’t more than just a little sunshiney inside as a result of it too.
* * *
Cafe de La Presse was a coffee shop on Sunset Boulevard that Lucy absolutely adored. It was a quaint little place with wild flowers on each of the wooden tables and indie music playing quietly in the background. It was hipster before the world even knew what “hipster” was. The place had a hippie-crunchy granola-esque type vibe reminded Lucy a little bit of home. She was such a regular that the owners and staff knew her by name.
When she got there, Michael was already waiting for her at a table. He stood up as soon as she entered. He looked positively radiant. His short wavy strawberry blond hair was slightly disheveled, and she had to suppress a grin at the pair they made.
He hugged her tightly and only released her after quite a few moments.
“How’s it going?” she asked as they sat down.
“Great! More than great if that’s even possible,” he said, grinning from ear-to-ear. “Just want to say thanks for everything. I owe you one.”
“Just one?” Lucy teased.
The waitress, a thirty-something woman named Camille, walked over to their table. She greeted them with a warm and welcoming smile. Camille was one of Lucy’s favorite staff members at the Café—wise beyond her years and always ready with a kind word for everyone she met. Camille was one of the first friendly faces Lucy had encountered in the City of Angels, for which she would always be grateful.
After they placed their orders, Michael and Lucy waited in companionable silence. They always did this when they had something important to discuss. It was a ritual for them. They would wait to share any juicy details, whether good or bad, until the food and/or beverages arrived. Luckily for them, Camille was fast so they didn’t have to wait long.
Lucy wrapped her hands around her mug of dark Ethiopian blend coffee. As the fruity and slightly nutty smell of caffeine wafted up her nose, she took a sip and watched as Michael enthusiastically bit into a massive blueberry scone.
“So,” Lucy said as she peered at him from over the top of her coffee mug. “You had a good night, then?”
“The best. His name is Jeff and I think I’m in love!”
It turns out that after Lucy left the bar, Michael won the second round of competition with Beth. He not only managed to get the guy’s phone number, but he went home with him too. According to Michael, the two of them stayed up all night talking. They apparently had so much in common that they practically could’ve been twins separated at birth.
Lucy and Michael never had a problem discussing sex with each other. In fact, it was one of their favorite topics whenever the occasion arose. Over the years, they had been there for each other through myriad men and failed relationships, providing indispensable advice and consolation to each other. Again, Lucy was convinced, whoever said that men and women can’t be friends never had a friend like Michael Dalloway.
Michael talked about everything that happened during his night with Jeff in a way that made his eyes sparkle and his whole body come alive. Lucy smiled. She loved seeing him like this.
“Wow,” she said softly. “You really like this guy, don’t you?”
He flushed and looked at her straight in the eye and said, “Yes. I really do.”
“What are you going to do? I mean, you live in Colorado and he’s in L.A….” Lucy let the words hang in the air. She knew she didn’t need to elaborate further. Neither she, nor Michael believed in long-distance relationships.
“Actually…” Michael cleared his throat. “There’s something else I want to tell you about.”
“Hmmm... What’s that?”
“I didn’t just fly to L.A. just to rescue you from the pit of depression.”
“Huh?” Lucy stared at him. “Not that it matters, but then why did you come out here?”
“I got a job offer.”
“Shut up!” Lucy gaped at him.
“It’s as an assistant to a famous landscape photographer who lives here in town. I came out to check it out. It’s mostly just a formality at this point, really. We spoke on Skype a couple of times and it seems just like what I’ve been looking for. And he loves my work…or so he says,” Michael added modestly.
“Oh my God! Why didn’t you tell me, Michael?” Lucy cried out. She could hardly believe her ears. Michael was an amazing photographer.
“I didn’t want to jinx it.”
“This is so exciting.”
“I’m meeting with him this afternoon. I was going to tell you, but I wanted to wait until I knew for sure that it was the right gig for me.”
“So you’re moving here?” Lucy felt giddy with excitement. She still didn’t quite dare to hope.
Michael grinned. “Yep. If all goes according to plan.”
“When?”
“As soon as possible.”
“Michael, that’s amazingly good news!” Lucy cried. “You should totally move in with me!”
He stared at her. “Really? You mean it? ‘Cause I thought about it, but didn’t want to impose—”
“Impose? Are you fucking kidding me? You’re my best friend. This is a dream come true!”
He sighed in evident relief. “Well then, I might just take you up on that offer at least for a while until I can find a place of my own.”
“You better, Michael! I’d be really upset if you didn’t.” Lucy immediately started making plans for when Michael would move in.
After a few minutes, Michael interrupted her. “Now that we’re done with me, what’s going on with you?”
“What about me?”
He smirked. “Come on. You can’t pull one over on me. You’re wearing the same clothes you wore last night.”
“Oh.” Lucy looked down at her rumpled clothes and blushed. “Well, last night took an interesting turn.”
“Don’t tell me, you went home with him? After all that?”
“Oh, Michael. I know what you’re thinking. But this time, it’s different.”
“Well, for your sake I hope it is.”
“It was incredible, Michael. I felt so in control.”
“Well, Lucy. You certainly are the little vixen, aren’t you?”
With that Lucy proceeded to tell Michael all about what had transpired with Elijah the night before. Michael listened with rapt attention.
“Lucy, I…uh…” He took a deep breath. “Look, I’m very happy for you that you’re having such amazing sex and all, but are you sure you know what you’re doing?”
Lucy frowned at the bluntness of the question. “What do you mean?”
“I mean, it’s not like you’re just hooking up with some dude from college. This is a little more of a big deal than that.”
She sighed. “Yeah, I know. I was thinking about it earlier today, actually. I think the situation has all the potential for exploding in my face.”
“Yeah,” Michael said with an apologetic grimace. “Do you even know what you really want from all of this?”
Lucy shrugged. “No, I haven’t the faintest clue.”
“Oh, Lucy. I just don’t want to see you get hurt again.”
She shook her head sadly, “I know. I was thinking it might be best if I put some distance between us.”
“You think?”
“Yeah. I left him a note with my e-mail address on it and asked him to let me know should he decide to help me out with the Clean situation.”
“Is that it?”
“I think so. I think I need to keep it professional from now on.”
“Do you think that’s even possible after all of this?” Michael didn’t sound skeptical, just genuinely curious.
“I don’t know.”
“You know I’ll be there for you no matter what happens, but just be careful.”
Lucy nodded dejectedly. So that was how grownups talked. She wasn’t sure she was a fan.
Just then, there was a beeping sound from her bag that caused her to jump. It was her phone. She had a new email in her inbox. Even though she was pretty sure it was probably just spam or something equally unimportant, she decided to check anyway. To her surprise, the email was from none other than Elijah Redford, himself.
“It’s Elijah,” she said to Michael, not looking up from the screen. “He just e-mailed me.”
“What does he want?” Michael asked, his mouth full of blueberry scone.
“He says he’s sorry he missed me this morning.” When she finally looked up at her friend again, her eyes were wide with surprise. “And he wants to have dinner with me tonight before he leaves on a business trip to Florida.”
“Big surprise there,” Michael said wryly. “And I guess you’ll be saying yes?”
“Well…yes,” Lucy said. “But I’ll keep it professional, I promise.”
Michael rolled his eyes at her. She didn’t have to tell him, but Michael could see that her heart was beating a mile a minute inside her chest.
* * *
The restaurant they met at was beautiful—one of the fanciest Lucy had ever seen. Elijah had reserved a table on the terrace overlooking the sea. The view was breathtakingly romantic.
There was something different about Elijah that evening. His mood was lighter and he seemed more attentive than before as if he was genuinely interested in getting to know Lucy for who she was. To her surprise, he was also quite willing to open up about himself.
Unwittingly, Lucy found herself feeling more at ease as the evening progressed. She discovered they had far more in common than just ambition and great sex.
He was originally from Kentucky, where prairies and horses had been his everyday life for as long as he could remember until the day he left to follow his dreams in L.A.—much like Lucy had done. His Kentucky twang became stronger when he talked about his home growing up. He’d always loved animals and wished he at least had some dogs to keep him company now, but his lifestyle was such that it wasn’t possible. So when Lucy showed him pictures of Toby, he went absolutely crazy.
Lucy had never suspected Elijah Redford could be so down to earth, which was further testament to just how good he was at not letting the world in. The more they talked, the more Lucy enjoyed herself. At some point during the night, however, she had the scary epiphany that despite what she knew to be her better judgement—she was indeed falling for him.
She excused herself and went to the ladies’ room so that she could have a minute or two to herself. When inside the privacy of the bathroom stall. She took a few, deep, calming breaths. This isn’t part of the plan. She had to let Elijah go. It was the best thing for both of them. She made her way back to their table and found that he was already preparing to leave.
He looked up when he saw her and smiled so deeply that his dimples seemed all but carved in his cheeks. “I thought we might take a walk on the beach.”
Lucy swallowed hard. Elijah’s eyes were dark blue in the dim light of the terrace lanterns. All she wanted to do was lean in and kiss him. She resisted the urge and took his arm instead, letting him lead her out of the restaurant.
“Wait,” she said as they were almost out the door. She reached for her purse. “What about the check?”
He shook his head in amusement when she nodded. “I’ve taken care of it already.”
“Are you sure?”
“Please, I could never forgive myself if I let you pay for dinner.”
She smiled shyly at him. “Thank you,” she said sincerely. She wasn’t used to such chivalry from guys her age.
“It was my pleasure.”
When they were outside, Lucy forced herself to let go of his hand. She stopped as he took a few steps ahead of her before looking back.
“I think I’d best go home now,” she said abruptly.
“Home, Now?” He frowned. “I thought we might go back to my hotel and…well, you know.”
“I’m sorry, Elijah. I don’t think this is a good idea.”
“I don’t understand.” He looked completely confused. “What happened? Why not?”
“You’ve got your empire and I’m just starting out with my career.” Lucy said gently. “I don’t know if I can live in your world.”
“I thought we were having a good time.”
“Yeah, we were.”
“Then what’s the problem? Don’t you feel there is something more between us?”
“Yeah, I do.”
“So?”
“I’m sorry.” Lucy looked down at her feet. “I really think it’s best if we keep this professional.” The words sounded hollow and meaningless even to her ears.
Elijah nodded. “I understand,” he said slowly. “You’re young. You don’t know what you’re doing.” He wasn’t being unkind, he was just speaking the truth. “Then, business it is if that’s what you want—but not before I do this.” Before Lucy could react, he quickly stepped forward and took her face between his hands and kissed her. For a split second, she thought about pulling away, but then instinct took over and she kissed him back. It was a deep, satisfying, soul-searching kiss—the kind that could make your toes curl. When they finally emerged for breath, there was a sad and heavy look etched on Elijah’s face.
“Perhaps I’ll see you at a conference sometime.”
Lucy nodded, still dazed from the kiss. “Yeah, maybe.”
But they both knew it wasn’t true. As he turned and walked toward the beach, Lucy did all she could to fight the urge to go running after him.