Sweet Soul (Sweet Home #5)(32)

In seconds I was out of the parking lot, en route to our place. I made it home in record time, pushing the speed limits on every road. Pulling into the driveway of our house, I parked my Jeep and walked round to the back entrance. The house was dark and silent. This late, Lexi would be in bed.

Opening the gate to the backyard, I walked toward the pool house door, stopping to glance up at Elsie’s window. My heart lurched when I saw her curtains were open and that lightning bug jar was shining out over the yard from its position on the center of the ledge.

I gripped the strap of my gym bag tightly, unwilling to stop staring at the jar. The wind licked around the yard, cold air whipping at my face.

Inhaling deeply, I set back off for the pool house when a sudden movement caught my eye. Snapping my head back in the direction of the window, my chest tightened when I saw Elsie. She was dressed in dark pajamas, and her long golden hair hung down over her chest. The jar didn’t give off much light, but it lit up her face enough for me to see the most beautiful smile gracing her pretty lips.

At me.

For me.

Her head ducked down when she saw me looking, but I nervously waved my hand. Elsie looked down at me through the protective curtain of her hair. I stood there. She stood there. And neither of us moved.

I wanted to speak to her again. My stomach flipped with anxiety when I realized I wanted to tell Elsie that I’d missed her.

I’d missed this silent pretty girl.

I’d never even thought of a girl this way before, never mind missed one.

The wind surged again. Using the blast of cold air to wake myself up, I lifted my head to admire Elsie, who was still peering down. Again I waved my hand, this time motioning for her to come to me.

In the neon glow of the jar, I saw her eyebrows furrow. I shifted my stance to stand directly under her window. Elsie, seeing me below, opened the window, the wind immediately whipping her blonde hair above her head into a halo. I swallowed at how beautiful she looked.

Elsie’s eyes were fixed on mine, and with arms wrapped around her waist, she peered out of the open window. When the wind dropped, I rasped, “Come down.”

My pulse raced so fast; my blood rushed so quick through my ears that I could barely hear. I didn’t want her to say no. It had cost me a bucket of nerves to ask her to come to me.

Elsie stepped back from the cold, but otherwise didn’t move. My heart sank knowing it was a no. Nodding my head, I moved from back toward my pool house, disappointment coursing through my veins.

Just as I reached my door, the sound of the kitchen door opening behind me grabbed my attention. I looked over my shoulder, to see Elsie approaching; pen and paper clutched tightly in her hand, her cute ass little Ugg boots on her feet, and my hoodie drowning her smaller frame. A fierce wave of possessiveness crashed over me on seeing her wearing my hoodie again.

Thoughts began circling my head. I wondered if she was wearing it because she was cold, or was she wearing it because it was mine? Because it gave off my scent? Because she wanted to be close to me?

The thoughts melted away the second Elsie arrived at my door. Her head was tilted down toward her feet, and even with her face hidden by her long hair, I could see a pink shade on her skin.

Her nervousness, the nervousness that matched mine, warmed something in me. “Hi,” I said, trying to find something to say. Something short so she wouldn’t hear the shaking of my voice.

Elsie lifted her head and smiled, mouthing, “Hi.”

She held her pad of paper tightly to the chest, her body slightly swaying from side to side. She looked so shy, and so damn pretty.

Forcing myself to move when she shivered, I opened the door to my pool house, moving aside to let her through.

Elsie brushed past me. I almost groaned as her arm pushed past my stomach. Clearing my throat, I shut the door and threw my bag on the floor. Needing a distraction from that touch of her arm, I went to the kitchen area and put on a pot of coffee.

When I felt like I could breathe again, I turned round, to find Elsie still standing near the doorway. She was completely still, and my heart swelled at seeing her silent vigil, probably racked with as many nerves as me.

As I looked at her, I knew that if it were any other girl stood here with me now, I’d have waited for her to speak first, to lead the conversation. I’d listen, afraid to speak, too nervous to move. But Elsie’s silence forced me to take the lead. And it was okay. Because as nervous as I still was with Elsie, I could talk to her. Even though it was hard, I could talk. That was another first right there.

The only sound in the room was the coffee pot brewing. Knowing I needed to speak to her again, to see those blue eyes fixed on me, I moved to the end of the bed and sat down. I caught Elsie flick a glance at me, and I pressed the spot beside me. “You wanna sit?” I asked. Elsie inhaled deeply, but nodded her head.

My chest constricted when she moved beside me, the smell of coconuts slamming home when she lowered herself down. I listened to her breathing, and it made me feel real relieved when I heard that the sickly crackle in her chest had faded to almost nothing.

Elsie didn’t move, a damn statue beside me, so I asked, “You feeling better?”

Elsie slowly lowered her pad of paper and wrote, “Yes, thank you.” She hesitated a second, before writing, “I can’t remember the last time I felt this good.”

Elsie looked up at me, and I could fully see her face. The darkness from under her eyes had disappeared and there was a warm tone to her light skin. Her hair was clean and appeared thicker, but best still, her blue eyes were bright. The whites of her eyes the color of snow.