"So… You're not mad at me?" Clare asked that same night, as she was playing with Eli's hair while his head was rested on her lap.
"It's kind of hard to when you're making my head spin," Eli honestly replied. She was driving him crazy with her talented fingers, and Eli couldn't help but wonder whether or not her fingers were that talented in… other places. He was almost positive that they were.
She had finally let him in completely. She had finally showed him the real her. And although he was admittedly worried about how much the past had damaged her, Eli couldn't help but be slightly joyful that she trusted him enough to tell him everything.
Eli's comment earned him a little shove, though. And Clare laughed as she said, "Well, I guess I'll never stop playing with your hair then."
Eli sighed. "I can totally live with that."
A few minutes passed with Clare gently running her fingers through Eli's hair, before she said, "Tell me about your childhood."
"Why?" Eli scoffed, but after Clare gave him an extra convincing pout, Eli succumbed to her wishes. "My childhood wasn't exactly… exciting or anything."
"Well then it's a wonder I'm still with you, isn't it. A boring childhood! I can't believe you hid this from me for so long!" Clare exclaimed facetiously.
"Hahah, very funny. But yeah, it wasn't too mind-blowing. I've lived in Toronto pretty much my whole life, and my parents were very dysfunctional, but in the best way possible, if that makes sense. My dad is a DJ for the Solid Rock 98, and my mom works at a retirement home, teaching old people how to paint."
"Oh, so that's how you got into painting then?"
"No, I was just born with this natural talent. I taught my mom how to paint," Eli said with a wink, making Clare roll her eyes.
"No siblings?"
"Nope. Just me, Cece, and Bullfrog."
"What about… girlfriends?" Clare asked hesitantly.
"What about them?" Eli asked, playing dumb. But when Clare gave him a look that said 'cut the crap' he sighed in defeat. It was now or never. "I only had one other serious girlfriend. Julia. Remember when I told you briefly of her the first time you came over?" Eli said, and Clare immediately nodded her head in recognition. "Julia and I had been going out since grade 10. She was… extraordinary. Well, at first, anyway. She always encouraged me, and I loved her. I thought she loved me too. But we started fighting a lot, usually about my art. She wanted me to sell my work, but I thought it was too personal. Those paintings were like my kids. But one day after my most successful art show, this dude offered me $50,000 for 3 paintings, and Julia jumped to agree before I could protest. She left me a month later for the same man she sold the paintings to."
Clare contemplated the information for a minute before saying, "Wait, you don't mean Julia Miller, do you? Because that painting of yours looks a lot like that actress."
Eli nodded his head. "Yup. That's her."
"You've got to be kidding me," Clare laughed and shook her head. "I'm going to have to live up to a movie actress for crying out loud."
"I don't think you have anything to live up to," Eli answered honestly. "So far you're two totally different people, in the best way possible. Julia was more interested in money and fame. She never really had two feet on the ground. She was never… stable. You've already surpassed her in that sense. Plus you get a lot more of my jokes," Eli said with a small laugh. "Honestly, I've fallen for you a lot faster than I fell for Julia. Just don't tell her that. She's very competitive," Eli teased, giving Clare a wink, making Clare feel better automatically. Knowing that her boyfriend's ex-girlfriend was a movie star was intimidating for Clare, but Eli knew exactly what to say to make her feel better. She could tell that it was difficult for Eli to tell her about Julia, and Clare was glad that they were finally telling one another everything. No secrets. Nothing in between them anymore. They could finally just… be.
"What about you?" Eli asked, sitting up on the couch and facing Clare. "Any other boyfriends?"
Clare laughed. "Unless you count my friend Jake when I was 5 years old, then nope. No other boyfriends."
Eli smirked, "Well, what about your childhood? Anything exciting there?"
Clare sighed, and somehow telling Eli about her childhood was a lot easier now that she had told him about K.C. "My mom was an alcoholic. My dad and I had to come pick her up wasted from a different bar every night. She was just a mess. Then when I was around 13 my only sister, Darcy, was raped. She tried to kill herself and eventually moved to Kenya. Pretty… surreal."
"Wow," Eli said. "My boring life makes yours look like an HBO show. I'm so sorry."
Clare shrugged, a few tears brimming in her eyes, "It's not your fault. I've learned to cope with it and… I'll be okay. Eventually."
Eli felt his heart breaking at the words leaving Clare's mouth. He wrapped her up in a bone-crushing hug, hoping that he could shield the perfect girl from all of the horrors of the world. "I love you," he whispered in her ear.
Clare choked on a sob. "I love you, too."
Eli leaned in and tried to give Clare a very chaste kiss, but Clare was surprisingly the one to deepen it. Usually Eli was the one to try and intensify their kisses, but her huge confession made Clare want to give herself in to Eli just a little further. She straddled his lap, pushing him back to lie down on her couch. Eli was startled at first, but quickly caught up with Clare, cupping her face with his hands while she played with the end of his shirt. Clare could feel a violent shiver of pleasure spreading itself along her spine as Eli switched to giving her neck long open mouth kisses. She made her hands venture inside Eli's shirt, and smiled to herself as she felt his muscles contract at her warm touch. Eli groaned against Clare's neck as she lifted his shirt up over his head, exploring his body further with her eager hands. Eli moved his hands to the bottom of Clare's shirt, and after she gave him the okay with her eyes, Eli started to unbutton her shirt, leaving them both shirtless. Eli was extremely thrilled that Clare let him get that far. He ran his hands across her shoulders, memorizing every inch of her body that he could, and Clare seemed to be doing the same thing to his body, too. The skin-on-skin exposure was equally magnetizing for both of them, and they were both glued together, longing for more contact. Eli flipped them over so that he was lying on top of Clare, and tentatively reached behind Clare's back looking to her eyes again for permission, and he saw it evident in her dilated, lust-filled eyes that she wanted her bra off as much as he did. Eli unhooked Clare's lime green bra and gradually let his eyes fall on her breasts. Clare blushed, obviously a little embarrassed at being so exposed, but she didn't have to be, because Eli had honestly never seen a more beautiful woman in his life, and he made sure to tell Clare that repeatedly as he started toying with her breasts. Clare moaned at the overbearing pleasure of having Eli's hands playing with her hardened nipples, and tangled her hands in his hair as he began to start teasing her left nipple while he tugged and twisted her right side. He licked his mouth over to her right breast and Clare absentmindedly thrust her hips up into Eli, coming into contact with his growing arousal and making them both groan at the sensation. Clare did it a few more times, now meeting Eli's hips as he pushed himself down to meet her, the friction driving both of them wild.
Eli licked Clare's body back up to her mouth, where he started to slow down the intensity of their make out session. They both knew that they didn't want to go all the way tonight; and the fact that they could both understand each other without having to say anything only testified to the fact that they were closer to each other than they had been with anyone else in their lives.
"Eli," Clare said, still breathing quite heavily. "I love you. More than everything."
Eli gave Clare a dazzling smile, one that was reserved for her and only her, before saying, "I love you, too. More than I thought I could love anything." Clare smiled her own smile that was set-aside for Eli, and gave him another kiss before snuggling into his shirtless arms.
"It's about time!" Crystal exclaimed. Clare had told her about her conversation with Eli (leaving out the significant details, of course) and Crystal was overjoyed that Clare had finally opened up.
Clare laughed. "You can say that again."
"It's about t-"
"Don't actually say it again, though," Clare said, rolling her eyes at her eccentric friend.
"Fine, fine," Crystal said, tossing her hands up in the air in defeat. "Anyway, what happened afterward?"
Just as she asked that, a customer came into the store, and Clare didn't feel comfortable speaking about her and Eli's physical relationship in front of a stranger. Once he left Clare turned back to Crystal, anxiously awaiting her answer.
"We made out on my couch and took our shirts off," Clare mumbled under her breath, making Crystal squeal in utter delight. "God!" Clare yelled, covering her ears. "You're worse than Alli!"
"Does he have… strong lips?" Crystal asked, altogether too intrigued in Clare's romantic life.
"How can you tell?"
"Did you feel it in your knees?"
Clare smirked. "I felt it everywhere."
"Strong lips," Crystal conceded, apparently getting all the information she needed, and a smack on the shoulder from Clare.
After Clare and Crystal talked for 15 more minutes about nothing in particular, Eli walked into The Deep Pit and greeted Clare with a warm hug, which made Crystal give a dramatic sigh, mocking the two lovers.
Clare stuck her tongue out at her coworker, still within Eli's embrace. "Eli, this is Crystal. She's the manager here. Crystal this is Eli," Clare said, introducing them to one another.
"Hey, Crystal," Eli said, shaking her hand in a friendly manner without letting go of Clare. "Nice hair."
Crystal laughed and started toying with her now purple hair in a braid. "Thank you very much," she said, and then leaned over to whisper in Clare's ear, "This one's a keeper."
Clare blushed, making Eli kiss the top of her head. "She's right, you know," he said, his smirk more pronounced. "I am such a catch."
"Don't get all high and mighty," Clare said, smiling into Eli's chest. "Nobody's perfect." Eli simply shrugged and left the store after saying goodbye to Crystal.
After walking past a few stores, Eli broke their silence. "Nobody but you," he said, confusing Clare for a moment.
"Nobody but me what?" Clare asked.
"You said 'nobody's perfect.' But you are," Eli stated with a smile, making Clare's eyes water, and she stopped walking right in the middle of the sidewalk to give Eli a kiss. For a moment, they forgot where they were. They forgot about everyone around them. The only thing Eli and Clare could remember was the passion they held for one another.
Author's Note:
Disclaimer: Yeah… I don't own Degrassi. But I was thinking about it last night and I suppose I own the idea of Eli being a painter? But then again, no one can really "own" ideas can they now? But anyway, I don't own Degrassi at all. OR Pretty in Pink. If you paid enough attention you would see my little mini-Pretty in Pink tribute there…. Haha.
BLURG I hated this chapter with a passion. I just noticed that ever since the middle of chapter 6 it's all been the same day, and I promise I won't drag anything out like that again haha.
Reviews are greatly appreciated!