HOW TO CATCH A BAD BOY

She hadn’t prepared anyone that she was bringing this guy who’d just consumed the past few weeks of her life. Chandler took the exit for her apartment as she tried-really, really hard-not to let her brain freak out over the fact that she felt this way about him so fast. Her heart thought it was freaking romantic. Her gut was all arrows, pointing straight at Chandler. Her fingers tightened around his hand before she realized what she was doing.

“You okay?”

Elena nodded furiously. “Fine. Just … still trying to mentally prepare to be back.”

“I miss that cabin too, baby.”

Smiling, she thought about something he’d said right before they left. “You gonna warn Paul that you’re shipping him a new mattress?”

“I better.” He grimaced. “If I were him, I’d want to sleep on the couch until something shows up that wasn’t defiled the way we defiled that mattress.”

She was still laughing when they pulled up in front of her apartment building, and Chandler whistled as he pulled the car into a parking spot. Elena reached out to open the door, almost scared that she’d tell him to turn around and take her somewhere… His place… Anywhere… As long as they were together and alone, but Chandler stopped her, then he leaned in to give her a soft kiss on the lips.

“Let me help you get your stuff inside,” he said.

Elena nodded, then got out and watched as he got her bag out of the boot and they headed upstairs together. Inside, he pulled her into his arms and kissed her hard.

“I’ll call you,” he said softly.

Elena nodded, unable to find her voice, “Bye, Chandler,” she replied.

_________

Three weeks later, Elena could only describe her relationship with Chandler as the best she’d ever been in. They spent so much time together that Elena couldn’t imagine him not being a part of her life anymore. They went on dates… So many dates. Chandler seemed to be doing everything to make up for his screw up on their first date. They spent at least four nights every week together. Sometimes they spent the night at his place and sometimes at Elena’s. They were happy, and even Emily was coming to terms with it.

Elijah and Lexi were back from their honeymoon, and the awaited dinner at Emily’s finally arrived. Chandler kept his promise and showed up with Elena and surprisingly, he and Emily did get along, although he suspected that Elena had something to do with how calmly Emily received him. It was a bit awkward at first, but eventually they got over the awkward part and conversation flowed smoothly.

They told childhood stories, and Chandler was eager to hear about Elena’s family just as she was eager to hear about his. Not once, had he had a woman look at him with such expectation in her eyes. And now, she came with a family, who wanted to know everything about him. What he did, how he made a living, because that affected Elena too, or might someday. He did his best to answer the questions and even asked some of his own.

After dinner, he stood, “Excuse me,” he said to them and disentangled his hand from Elena’s so he could head to the bathroom he saw off the kitchen. Once the door was closed, he braced his hands on the sink and stared at his reflection for a few seconds. Cranking the water on, he cupped his hands under the faucet and splashed his face a few times. When he felt like his heart rate slowed and he could breathe normally again, he walked out. Emily was in the laundry room adjacent to the bathroom, finishing a phone call.

“Yeah, thank you, I’m thrilled.” She held up a finger for him, but because she looked happy, he didn’t feel like she was baiting him. “I’ll call you tomorrow and let you know for sure. Thanks.”

Chandler tucked his hands in his pants pockets and let out a slow breath. She did the same. Before she started talking, he could tell she was trying. Maybe she was repeating the same mantra he’d had in his head all day. That for Elena, she would try.This content © Nôv/elDr(a)m/a.Org.

“I promised my sister I’d give you a chance,” Emily said. “Because she’s never …” she shook her head. “This is new, for Elena. Being in a relationship like this.”

Her candor eased an admission from his lips. “For me too.”

Emily smiled. “I know. I’ve heard.”

When he lifted an eyebrow, she held up her hands. “Sorry. I have years of thinking about you a certain way, and your brother lectured me about that. That you and Elena have nothing to do with whatever it is between you and your parents.”

The idea that Golden Boy was defending him at all had Chandler rocking back on his heels slightly. “Did he?”

“Yeah. Elijah isn’t like his mom, you know. He doesn’t hold any of that against you. The distance between you and them.”

Chandler nodded slowly. “Elijah is a more forgiving person than I am. I guess I should be grateful for that.”

“Yeah, you owe me and him pretty big, if you think about it.” Emily joked.

“I suppose I do,” he conceded with a smile of his own.

“They’re too much alike, you know. Elijah and Elena. That’s probably why I never worried about it.” Emily glanced into the kitchen. “She probably doesn’t even realize I knew she liked him.”

Following the line of her gaze was impossible to resist, and even though it should have been a tiny thing, to realize that Elena had liked Elijah, it suddenly felt really, really big. Standing on the edge of the mountain big. If he’d felt like a lost cause before what Emily had said, it was nothing in comparison to how he felt now. If she’d dropped the proverbial anvil on his head, it would have had less of an effect.

Of course, Elena had had a thing for Elijah. Everyone, including the woman he was trying so hard for, would’ve preferred him. The nice brother. The smart brother. The one who wouldn’t embarrass her or himself.

“But you wanted to make sure I knew,” Chandler said in a quiet, dangerous tone.

Emily’s eyes jerked back to his, wide and shocked in her face. “Umm, given the giant heart-eyed, lady boner you’ve turned my sister into, I assumed she told you about it, considering you guys had nothing but time to talk for days.”