FRAGILE: Part 1 (6 page)

“Really?” Eli asks. He seems genuinely interested, and I find that I can’t turn away from his gaze.

I manage to shrug my shoulders. “They do good work.”

Eli reaches out and takes one of the bags from my hands. “Let me help you.”

“You don’t need to do that,” I say. I can see Homer give me a thumbs up from behind Eli’s back, and I almost wave at him to stop it.

“I insist,” Eli says.

“You look busy though.”

Eli shakes his head, a couple of strands of his sexy hair bouncing a little in the wind. “I just finished up early today.”

I’m breathless, and I glance at Homer, who nods his head approvingly. “Um, okay. Are you sure though?” I eye his suit. “You look a little fancy. You might attract muggers.”

“And women,” Homer whispers to me. I elbow him as subtly as I can when Eli glances down at himself. “Between you and him, our donations could skyrocket if we did some sort of underwear modelling show.”

“Shut up!” I hiss at Homer, embarrassed. He just laughs, and I shake my head at him, smirking.

Eli, seemingly oblivious of our little bicker, takes off his jacket, vest, and tie, rolling them up and throwing them over his arm. He looks more casual, but now I’m imagining all his clothes disappearing and I’m lightheaded with desire.

“How’s that?” Eli asks.

“Better,” I say, very eagerly. I take a deep breath, trying to steady my racing heart. “Thank you.”

“Of course.” Eli takes another bag from Homer and walks with us across the street. “Homer, how long have you been with Lark’s Food Pantry?”

“Twelve years,” Homer says. “I knew the place before, but I was too busy to volunteer up till I retired.”

“And what did you do, before you retired?” Eli asks.

“I was a machinist,” Homer says. “I worked for a company that makes engines for tractors.”

I like Eli and Homer talking; it gives me a chance to watch Eli and listen to his sensual voice without thinking too hard about stuff to say—since I always end up talking about myself. I’m also curious to see if Homer can get Eli to talk about himself.

“In Atlanta?” Eli asks.

“Nah, we moved here to be closer to some of our daughters,” Homer says. “And what do you do? Eli, right?”

“Yes. I’m the CEO for Marnvell Jewelers.”

“You don’t say?! Is that how you and Ruby know each other?”

I feel my stomach tighten, and at the same time, I want to laugh. I glance at Eli, wondering if he’s about to tattletale about our initial meeting and what he thinks about it now, but he just nods his head and says nothing. By this point we’ve come to a homeless man, and I watch with surprise as Eli, unafraid, hands the disheveled man a paper bag.

“Anything I’m supposed to say?” Eli asks Homer and me in a whisper.

“Have a good day sir!” I say to the homeless man. “That’s it,” I add quietly to Eli.

“Ah.” Eli and Homer head over to a nearby group of homeless men, while I hang back, looking around for others to give food to. I spot four young women who aren’t homeless, but they’re gaping at Eli from the sidewalk, and I can see them pointing and gesturing to him as he turns.

“Hey there!” one of the girls calls out. The other three giggle.

Eli gives them a small wave but continues walking with Homer as they head my way. I have to fight not to smile smugly at the girls’ disappointed frowns and their glares on me.

“I swear, between you and Ruby, we could probably get our donations for the year,” Homer says when he’s within earshot of me.

I just roll my eyes. “My headache’s coming back. Let’s get these handed out so I can get back and get some medicine.”

“You have a headache?” Eli asks.

“Yeah.”

“Maybe you should carry her,” Homer suggests. He gives me a sly smile.

“Uh, no.” I quickly walk over to a lone man and hand him a bag, wishing him a good day.

Once we’ve handed out the last paper bag, Homer and I invite Eli to come back for dinner at the food pantry and soup kitchen.

“I would like that,” Eli says.

As we make our way back to Lark’s Food Pantry, I’m intrigued by the fact that Eli maneuvers out of any personal questions that Homer asks and keeps turning the conversation back to Homer. He’s a pro at not letting anyone know anything about him, and I’m only fascinated with him even more because of this—which frustrates me. I don’t normally like mysteries, so why I’m so attracted to Eli—besides physically—is beyond me, except for the fact that he just volunteered to help hand out food for the homeless without hesitation. I’m totally attracted to selfless guys. But then again, who isn’t?

When we make it to the shelter, I’m amused by the women who stare at Eli, and even Erin does a double-take before walking our way.

“Hello!” Erin says. She smiles warmly up at Eli. “Welcome to Lark’s Food Pantry! I’m Erin.”

“Erin runs the organization,” I say. “She won’t admit it, but she’s the only reason this place can serve as many people as it does. She’s awesome.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Erin,” Eli says. He takes her hand and shakes it gently. “I’m Eli.”

“Eli here knows Ruby,” Homer says. “He joined up and helped distribute food today.”

Erin gives me a smile that’s a little too big. “Thank you, Eli! Ruby’s been a great asset to Lark’s Food Pantry for a couple of years. Any friend of Ruby’s is a friend of ours.”

Eli gives Erin a small but genuine smile though he doesn’t say anything. After a second of Erin staring at Eli, she finally exhales, turns, and beckons us over to where the other volunteers are seated around the small table, extra paper bags distributed out. I take a seat beside Erin and Eli sits next to me. Reese, one of the other volunteers, gives Eli a star-struck smile, as she slides a paper bag over to him.

“Hi,” Reese says breathlessly. She tucks a strand of blonde hair behind her ear. “I’m Reese.”

“It’s nice to meet you, Reese,” Eli says. He pays her no further attention, despite how much Reese and Cassie, her friend, are blatantly staring at him.

Meanwhile, Eli opens the paper bag up and takes out the ham and cheese sandwich without reluctance. He’s always struck me as almost blue blood, but now I’m not so sure. He might be wealthy now and used to it, but it looks like that wasn’t always true. Or, he’s just very comfortable in any situation. It only reminds me of how little I know about him.

“We served out nearly five hundred meals today,” Erin says excitedly. I give a hoot with the others and smirk, as Eli looks around at us in surprise at our commotion. “Well done!”

There’s chatter about how the day went, stories shared of some of the more grateful folks we served. Erin soaks it in with a radiant smile, and I wish, as I do every time I volunteer, that I could do this as a job. Not every person we give food or supplies out to is grateful, but for those that are, the hope on their faces and Erin’s response is like a breath of life to my soul.

I can’t help but watch Eli, trying to gauge his reaction to the stories. He seems to be enjoying himself, watching the speakers with his full attention, except for when his eyes occasionally look at me. Then, we smile, and I look back at the others in the room before my eyes are slowly drawn back to Eli.

I’m ridiculous,
I think at some point.

“How’s Buttercup?” Cassie asks me in the slight break. She loves cats, and I smile as I pass my phone around for her to look at the latest pics.”

“Cute, as ever, getting old though,” I say. “Thanks for asking.” Eli looks over at me with a slight frown. “Buttercup’s my cat,” I add.

“Oh,” Eli says. He smirks. “You would have a cat.”

I chuckle, nodding my head in agreement.

“She’s so adorable!” Cassie squeals. Reese only glances over at her friend before going back to staring at Eli. After another pause, my phone’s handed back around to me, and I hold it out for Eli to see a few pics of Buttercup.

“How long have you had Buttercup?” Eli asks.

“Three years,” I say. “I got her from a rescue shelter. They said they’d had no takers because she was so old, so I took her in. Buttercup’s a sweet cat.”

Eli smiles at me, his eyes watching me with great interest, but he doesn’t say anything, and I wonder what he’s thinking.

As we wrap up, the air full of the sound of empty paper bags and potato chip bags being crumpled, Reese walks around to where Eli is sitting. She’s dressed in tight jeans and a pink shirt that’s as snug as her pants, and she gives Eli a wide smile as she stops in front of him, pushing her chest out to give it the most oomph.

“So, Eli, are you busy tonight?” Reese asks quietly.

“Yes,” Eli says.

I see Homer lean around one of the other volunteers and give me a very pointed look. I just shake my head, smiling, as I finish off my water bottle. Eli might be busy, but it’s certainly not with me. I’m not even sure why he helped out today. We spent one weekend together, and Eli had made it clear that that was going to be it.

Maybe Eli really does care about the food pantry,
I wonder. I toss my water bottle into the recycling bin nearby.

“Are you sure?” Reese asks. She steps close to Eli, still smiling coyly up at him. “I know a great place in town to go,” she whispers. Her voice is so soft I barely hear her words, and I imagine I wasn’t supposed to.

Eli reaches out and grabs my hand firmly. “I’m here with Ruby,” he says.

My heart flutters violently in my chest, and I about fall off my chair in surprise. Maybe it’s a ploy to get out of seeing Reese, but he could have just insisted he was busy without coming up with an excuse. And, if he wasn’t really busy, Reese isn’t bad looking at all, so I see no reason Eli wouldn’t just take Reese up on her offer. I give Reese the best apologetic smile I can manage, as her eyes burn into me.

“And three’s a crowd?” Reese asks.

Eli gives Reese a small, polite smile. “Maybe some other time.”

“You sure?” Reese asks. She steps forward and puts a hand to Eli’s chest.

While who Eli wants to see is none of my business, he’d told Reese no, and I feel my body tense, as I fight the urge to protect him.
Now I’m really being silly,
I think. Eli’s the last person who needs protecting—and I knew that from experience.

“Yes,” Eli says.

A sly smile spreads across Reese’s face. “I knew you couldn’t resist,” she croons.

“Yes, I’m sure that I’m here with Ruby,” Eli says.

Reese’s blue-green eyes flicker from Eli’s face to mine, her smile fading. “Oh, so you’re only interested in color? Or, is she paying you?”

I stiffen in surprise at both comments, and I hear Erin inhale sharply.

“Reese!” one of the other volunteers hisses at her.

“Ruby is a friend of mine, and a fine lady,” Eli says coolly. He stands, tugging at my hand, and I obediently stand with him. “Thank you, Erin, for all you do here.” Eli pulls out his wallet and sets a wad of one hundred dollar bills in front of Erin. There’s a number of gasps from around the room. “I’m very impressed with Lark’s Food Pantry.”

Erin’s eyes look like they’re going to fall out of her head they’re bulging so much. “Th-thank you, Mr. Eli! I can get you a receipt, if I get your full name and address?”

“There’s no need,” Eli says. “Do you have everything, Ruby?”

“Yes,” I say. I’m dizzy with shock. I wave at the other volunteers, trying to ignore Homer’s very big grin, as Eli leads me by my hand out of the shelter.

“Are you kidding me?!” Reese says behind us.

“Cool it, Reese,” Erin says. “That was
very
rude of you, and I want you to apologize to Ruby next time she volunteers. I can’t believe you were so mean to her! Especially when she brought her nice and very generous friend—” The door shuts behind us at this point.

“Thank you,” I say to Eli.

“You’re welcome,” Eli says. He looks down at me.

Without being in my heels, Eli’s much taller than me, and in the quiet outside the shelter, the sunlight fading, I’m well aware of his overpowering presence. It’s both comforting and unsettling, but I don’t feel like I’m in real danger. I’m just in danger of throwing myself at his feet and begging for his touch again.

“Did you drive here?” Eli asks me after a long pause, as we stare at each other.

“No, I took a cab,” I say. “I tend to only drive when I leave the city.”

Eli nods in agreement but says nothing, as he takes my arm and we walk towards the street. “Are you busy tonight?” he asks.

My heart’s back to trying to escape my ribcage. “I’m hoping I’m going to be busy now.”

Chuckling, Eli flags down a cab. “Do you need to see Buttercup?” he asks, as the cab comes to a stop in front of us.

“No,” I say. “Buttercup’s got an automatic food dispenser. I mean, I’d never leave her alone for more than a couple days, but she’s fine.”

Eli, giving me a small smile, helps me inside the cab and gives his address to the driver. “So why do you volunteer at Lark’s Food Pantry?” Eli asks when the cab takes off.

“Erin’s a big part of that,” I say. “But even before I met Erin I’d planned on volunteering at a shelter or food pantry or something like that at some point. My mom spent some time on the streets, and it was people like Erin and organizations like Lark’s Food Pantry that helped her to not just survive but get back on her feet.”