The Way to His Heart by B.L. Dayhoff

Author:B.L. Dayhoff [Dayhoff, B.L.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: JMS Books LLC
Published: 2021-11-26T00:00:00+00:00

Chapter 12

For Elliot, Saturday had been much like he’d described to Micah, although it had required a lot more borrowing of tools than he’d admitted. He’d spent even more time debating what food to buy and how to best extend his (Micah’s) money and feeling guilty the entire time. Saturday night he almost confessed what he’d done, lying in bed as his sheets glued to him, Micah’s noises telling him he was still listening even as he fell asleep. Micah might not even remember in the morning, but Elliot would have confessed.

The thought of the subterfuge made him feel worse. So he hadn’t.

They’d talked again Sunday night, about nothing in particular, although mostly about the behavior of shoppers in the lead up to Christmas and how grateful they both were that the cold snap had ended and the next week was supposed to be seasonably warm. They’d talked for long enough that they ended up in bed together, again, but only talking, and Micah hung up before falling asleep this time—he said the earpiece had hurt after wearing it so long.

Elliot had rolled over and stare up at the ceiling, feeling like shit now that Micah’s comforting voice was gone, and he had only his guilt to keep him company.

On Monday morning, Elliot was so excited for that evening, he felt like a kid at Christmas. Which he attributed to having no job, no life, and no friends. That was enough to douse his exuberance. He still triple-checked he had all the (sparse) groceries he needed for that night, had the recipe memorized for the sauce, and fretted that it was too basic a recipe for his, uh, for Micah. But he couldn’t exactly go out and buy some ground beef to throw in, so Micah was getting all that Elliot had. Literally.

As early as he dared, he packed up the supplies, changed into his nice jeans and T-shirt, with a flannel overtop and his hair as neat as it ever got. Of course, as soon as he got outside, the autumn wind put an end to any careful tending, but Elliot tried not to obsess over it. Based on the smirk on the young woman sitting across from him on the bus, as he attempted to flatten the rat’s nest, he didn’t succeed.

Which, whatever. Micah had seen him multiple times with worse hair; at least today had involved a shower, product, and no mad dash to and from the bus stop.

He was giddy as he stood on the door stoop, waiting for Micah to answer the door and only slightly regretting not texting that he was on his way. He’d wanted it to be a surprise, but that seemed stupid now as he danced from foot to foot. Micah seemed to be taking forever.

The door swung open, and Micah’s annoyed scowl melted off upon seeing Elliot. He had the phone pressed to his ear and said, “It’s fine. I was expecting this interruption. Anyway, see if Danny can cover that shift, too.

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