A Beautiful Forever by Lilliana Anderson

in his
face. “I don’t need any speeches ok. I know where we stand.”
    I attempt to fill the emptiness in my hands by wrapping them
around my mug and taking careful sips.
    “So, um… Naomi can salsa can she?” he asks, ending the
silence that was stretching out uncomfortably between us.
    “She can. She's really amazing actually,” I gush, so
grateful to him for speaking normally to me.
    Despite the easy conversation that continues between us, I
can’t help but feel that things have changed between us and not in a good way.
Maybe I need to move out and let him go so he can find someone else. But, the
mere thought of cutting my ties with him causes my chest to constrict and tears
to spring into my eyes.
    “Paige, what’s wrong? Are you ok?” Elliot asks quickly as he
watches me clearing my throat and blinking rapidly as I try to get a handle on
my emotions.
    “I’m fine Elliot,” I lie. “I just bit my tongue.”
    “Oh,” he laughs, settling back into his seat. “Are you
bleeding? Do you want some water?”
    “No, I’m fine. It's okay now. Are you ready to go?” I ask,
pushing back my chair and reaching for my bag.
    “Sure, lets go,” he says being certain to give me enough
space to move past him as he opens the door for me. He stands so there’s no
chance for us to touch accidentally and continues to keep his distance as we
walk back to the car. I feel a deep sense of regret about how I reacted
earlier. I miss his closeness already; I miss the gentle brushes when our
bodies connect, and I miss his hand on the small of my back to guide me through
the door. They’re small gestures that had become normal, and now they’re gone…
     

Chapter 11
Elliot
    That moment in the coffee shop when she told me to let go,
keeps playing over and over in my mind, and it hurts like hell every single
time. I’ve been doing my best to maintain the new ‘no touching’ policy that
Paige established between us. But it’s hard. We've spent the best part of a
month getting to know each other, and I didn’t realise how much of a habit
touching her had become. Now, every time we go out as a group or when I walk
home with her, I have had to consciously remind myself to give her physical
space. I feel kind of empty now, and even though I’m trying to maintain our
friendship, it’s hard and I’ve been a bit lax in meeting her after work these
past few days.
    It’s not that I’m avoiding her. I just need to work things
out in my own head. She told me that it bothers her that she likes it when I
touch her. Just thinking that sentence hurts my head, and I don’t understand
how I’m supposed to behave around her, so I’m doing my best to stay at work for
as long as possible, keeping busy until I figure out how to handle this.
    “Any last minute clients?” I ask Celsey, our American receptionist
who arrived on her working visa not long after I did. 
    “Hi Elliot,” she says smiling brightly as she looks up from
what she was doing and tucks her shoulder length blonde hair behind her ear to
keep it from falling over her eyes. “Looking for extra hours?”
    “Yeah, I could do with the cash,” I answer. It’s only a half
lie. I'm really just trying to stay back so I have a good reason not to meet up
with Paige again today.
    “Can’t we all,” she laughs as she taps at the keys on the
computer in front of her and peers at the information on the screen. “There
aren’t any PT clients, but I heard Jessica saying that she’s struggling today
and wants to go home early, do you think you could take her last couple of
clients on?”
    “Absolutely, I’ll go and let her know. Thanks Celsey,” I
smile as I turn to go and find Jessica to tell her I’ll take over for her.

Paige
    “Looks like you finally pushed hard enough to chase him
away,” Andrea comments as we exit the salon, this is the fourth day in a row
that Elliot hasn’t been waiting for me.
    “I think I’ve fucked everything up with him,” I tell