Chapter 50
He couldn’t explain it himself, and yet here he was, pushing open the museum doors and walking through the foyer toward the exhibit halls. The air inside was cool and dry, the art pieces gleaming under the gallery lights.
Nate wandered through the exhibits, his footsteps echoing off the stone walls. The paintings were beautiful, each one telling a story that only its creator could truly know.
He reached the end of the hall, turning into a smaller exhibit room. There were only a few pieces here-three large paintings lined up along one wall, each one depicting a cityscape with a single figure at its center.
Nate approached them slowly, feeling a sudden sense of unease in his chest. The paintings were all different-different styles, different colors-but still somehow familiar.
He stepped up to the first one-a dark depiction of a city at dusk. The colors were muted, a deep shade of blue that seemed to swallow the rest of the scene.
It was a beautiful piece of art, but it wasn’t what drew Nate’s attention.
It was the man in the center. Standing on the rooftop of a building, looking out over the city below him-
Nate swallowed hard. It was Elijah.
It looked nothing like him-and yet, it was undeniably him. The pose, the profile-
The other two paintings were similar. The second one was a city at night, a dark silhouette of a man walking along the edge of a rooftop. The third one was in daylight, Elijah sitting cross-legged in the middle of a busy street.
But it was the first painting that really caught his eye. The one where Elijah was looking out over the city, his face turned toward the viewer-
His eyes were black as coal, his dark hair swept up off his forehead. But it was his expression that drew Nate in-the look in his eyes-
It looked like sadness. And yet-
Nate swallowed. It didn’t matter. He wasn’t here to interpret art. He was here to understand his own messed-up situation.
And he still wasn’t any closer to doing that.
He stared at the painting for a long time, trying to read Elijah’s expression. And when he finally tore his eyes away, he realized he’d lost all track of time-
It was dusk outside, the museum almost empty.
“Sir,” a voice called. “The museum will be closing soon.”
Nate turned, startled. He hadn’t seen the employee standing behind him, and now the man was staring at him oddly.
“Sorry,” Nate muttered, shoving his phone back into his pocket.
He walked out of the exhibit room, still half-lost in thought. He didn’t understand these paintings-and he didn’t understand why Elijah was in them, or what they were supposed to represent. And he didn’t understand why he felt so drawn to them-
As if they held some sort of answer, some sort of clue to the strange puzzle that was Elijah Reyes-
Nate shook his head to himself as he walked out of the museum foyer. He still didn’t have any answers-and now it was too late to find more clues.
All he could do now was go home, and try again tomorrow. And hope that this time, things would finally make sense-
But as he walked down the front steps, a familiar figure appeared on the sidewalk below him-
Elijah.
Nate froze for a second, his heart pounding against his ribs.
“What are you doing here?” he demanded.
Elijah smiled. “I could ask you the same thing.”
“I needed a break from work,” Nate said shortly. “And I wanted to see some art.”
Elijah frowned, cocking his head to the side.
“Well,” he said after a moment. “It looks like I’m in luck.”
“What?” Nate asked, confused.
Elijah smiled again, but there was an edge in his voice when he spoke. “Because I need a break from work too.”
Nate glanced past him, looking for his car. But there was no sign of it in the parking lot. He must have walked here.
“I don’t think that’s a good idea,” Nate muttered.
Elijah’s smile turned into a smirk. “Oh come on. You don’t really want to go home right now.”
Nate sighed. He hated how easily Elijah read him.
“Fine,” he said finally. “But you can’t drive my car.”
Elijah raised a dark eyebrow. “I can do whatever I want.”
“I can call the police,” Nate threatened, but Elijah just laughed.
“Fine.” He shrugged, holding out his hands. “You can drive.”
Nate studied him for a long moment. He really didn’t want to do this-
But at the same time, it was just a drive. And Elijah really didn’t look like he wanted to screw with him right now-
Maybe Nate was reading him wrong, but this seemed like some kind of apology. Some kind of gesture that would make up for what had happened in the bar.
“Fine,” Nate finally said, stepping down onto the sidewalk.
Elijah followed him without a word, and they walked side by side to the parking lot in silence.
—
Nate didn’t say much as he drove through the city streets. The sun was setting to their left, casting the sidewalk in a warm orange light. He glanced over at Elijah every now and then, but the other man was quiet, his eyes fixed out the window at the passing buildings.
“What do you think of my art?” he asked finally.
Nate felt a jolt of surprise at the question. He hadn’t expected to hear those words out of Elijah’s mouth-
“You know,” Elijah continued, as if he could read Nate’s mind. “My paintings.”
“How did you know I saw them?” Nate demanded.
Elijah smirked. “This isn’t my first time at a museum.”
Nate hesitated, unsure of what to say. The last thing he wanted was to get into another argument with Elijah-
“I’m sorry,” Elijah said suddenly, cutting off whatever Nate had been about to say.
Nate blinked. “For what?”
“For what happened in the bar,” Elijah said simply. “And for what happened before that.”
Nate felt his entire body go still, his hands clenching against the steering wheel. He didn’t know what to say to this sudden apology-
He wasn’t even sure Elijah was sincere.
“I’m still going to fuck with you,” Elijah added.
Nate rolled his eyes, relaxing a bit at the words. That was more like him.
“So why apologize?” he muttered.
Elijah shrugged, his gaze still fixed outside the window. “I don’t know. Maybe I’m getting soft.”
Nate raised an eyebrow. “That doesn’t seem likely.”
Elijah shrugged again, and for a moment, Nate thought that was the end of the conversation. But then Elijah’s head turned toward him, his eyes dark in the fading light of the car.
“I do like to fuck with people,” he admitted. “But I’ve never hurt anyone before. I’ve never pushed someone to the point where they-”
He cut himself off with a shake of his head, his mouth twisting into something that almost looked like regret-
But it couldn’t be. Not from Elijah Reyes.
“I think we should get some ice cream,” he said instead, his voice brightening.
Nate stared at him for a second, and then burst out laughing.
“Ice cream?” he demanded. “Seriously?”
Elijah smiled, a twinkle appearing in his eyes. “Yeah. Seriously. It’s really good for the soul.”
Nate snorted, shaking his head. “Sure,” he said finally. “Ice cream sounds perfect.”
They drove another half-hour before reaching the ice cream shop, and then Nate had to circle the block once to find parking.
The sun had disappeared below the horizon, the sky darkening above them. Nate was silent as he climbed out of the car and walked toward the shop, his feet carrying him along the sidewalk without him even realizing what he was doing-
He didn’t understand what was happening. This wasn’t how things were supposed to go between him and Elijah-
Elijah Reyes was supposed to be nothing more than a thorn in his side-a tiny blip on his otherwise flawless career radar. But now-
Now Nate wasn’t sure where Elijah fit into all of it.
Maybe not at all-
But somehow, here they were. Walking into an ice cream shop in a completely different part of town-
And Nate couldn’t deny that he was curious to see where this would go.