I don’t think my words fazed him since he didn’t say a word. I was glad it didn’t. Instead of sitting down, I went straight for the refrigerator to take the juice carton out. Closing the door, I almost smacked into Elijah.

“Sorry,” I said, moving to my left, but he moved to his right and we bumped again.

“Excuse me,” Elijah said lightly. “It seems we need a bigger kitchen.”

“Sorry,” I said, moving to my right without thinking. As he moved to his left, we collided again. It was as if we were an uncoordinated couple doing a tango.

Elijah placed his hands on my shoulders, causing me to stay in place. Looking into his eyes intimidated me, so I quickly shifted my eyes to his arms. They were flexed and nicely toned, and I got a closer looked at his dragon tattoo. When he swung me to his right, I snapped out of it. We finally got it right.

Pouring two glasses of juice, I took them to the table.

“I think we need to talk about a few things,” he said casually. Sitting across from me, he handed me a fork.

Instead of replying, I let him know I was ready to listen by gazing into his eyes with a quick smile. He had the most beautiful piercing eyes and long eyelashes. I couldn’t stop staring at them as we sat in silence.

Elijah finally cleared his throat and sat up straight while he continuously twisted the fork in his hand. “I think that we should each let the other person know when we ask someone over. Like your boyfriend, for example.”

“He’s not officially my boyfriend. We’re in a relationship, or seeing each, or whatever you call it,” I interrupted.

“Okay, whomever you date,” he said, taking a bite of his scrambled eggs. “If I decide to bring someone back here, I’ll let you know ahead of time so you can decide if you want to go out for a bit or stay in your room.”

I quickly swallowed so I could repeat what he’d said, to be sure there were no misunderstandings. “So if I want Liam to come over, I should let you know. Is it okay if he spends the night, since he’ll have to drive several hours to see me?”

“Sure, I don’t see a problem with that. You don’t have to ask for my permission, Alex. I didn’t mean it that way.” He took a sip of his drink. That only made me thirsty, so I took a sip of mine, too.

I nodded in understanding. “Then, I’m letting you know now that Liam will be coming this Saturday and he’ll be spending the night.”

Elijah blinked his eyes, as if he needed to register what I had just said. “Sure. I have plans anyway, and I plan to stay out pretty late so that will work out just fine.”

“Anything else?”

“When Jimmy and I were roommates, we made sure to wash our own dishes and clean up after ourselves. We also left our school schedule on the fridge, just in case. I also need your cell number, since we don’t have a landline. I’ll put a small magnetic whiteboard on the fridge. We can communicate that way, too. The rent is due at the end of the month and I’ll let you know how much the utilities cost, since we split them. If you decide you want to move out, I need a month’s notice, along with the rent. Also, if you didn’t know, there’s a washer and dryer in the room next to the bathroom. I think that’s about it.”

“Okay, easy enough. And don’t forget, I’m making dinner tonight.”

“Alex, you don’t have to make dinner just because I made breakfast.”

Elijah had the wrong idea. I’m pretty sure he hadn’t heard Lexy tell him last night that I was making dinner, since he was too busy being mad at me and his head was stuck in the fridge at the time. “I’m actually making dinner for Lexy to thank her for yesterday, and for all the trouble to come. Since I don’t have a car, I’m going to have to ask her for more favors. I’ve been saving up for my own, so hopefully I’ll have one soon.”

“Oh.” Elijah looked confused or stunned. I wasn’t sure which.

After we had finished talking, I thanked him for breakfast, excused myself to check my phone, and then came back. Lexy had told me she would let me know in the morning if there was a job for me, and there was. Feeling elated, I told Elijah that I would clean up since he cooked. He had no problem with that since he didn’t like doing the dishes. That worked out just fine.

Thinking back, I’m glad I’d bought more than my share of food. Though I didn’t know Elijah that well, he was one of Jimmy’s good friends. That alone was enough reason to want to share, to give. Even if he weren’t Jimmy’s friend, that wouldn’t have changed.

Elijah

I hadn’t seen Alex at home lately. Since I was in training to work in the Administration office during the late afternoons, I hadn’t really seen her the past couple of days. Not that I was waiting for her or anything. I was just curious as to where she went since she didn’t have a car. I should have told her that she could ask me for a ride as well instead of always having to ask Lexy, but I didn’t feel like it. Besides, I didn’t know how she would feel about riding on my motorcycle. I also didn’t want that responsibility hanging over my head.

Not wanting to eat more of Alex’s food and feeling like I wanted a burrito, I decided to go to the campus dining hall. I hated long lines, so I went after the lunch rush. Not only that, but knowing that Lexy worked there was an added bonus. Wearing a baseball cap backwards, since I had just gotten out of the shower after working out at the gym, I headed out the door.