Thanks for your reviews Kelly & EC Brenway!

Kelly - I love Elly flirting with Chloe too!

EC - Glad you liked the chapter! I like that Chelly are reconnecting and getting closer too!

The Chemistry In Darkness

Chapter Thirty-Three

Wednesday 4th December 2024

Elly knocked on Chloe's front door nervously, gently relieved when Chloe replied "Come in," in a low yet audible voice. Of course, Chloe could've whispered it and Elly still would've heard her.

Elly anxiously opened the front door, glancing at Chloe whom was already standing in the middle of the living room, preparing herself to begin her martial arts practice, "Hey you. Nobody was at home to watch Aster for me today but she needed a nap and I've managed to hook up this baby monitor that…well to be honest was a present Bea had bought me before I disappeared for baby Aster but was never here to use it. It still works and I have the monitor camera pointed at Aster's bed that I can access the feed on my phone. I probably can't train with you as long as I usually do as I guess Aster will wake up in 45 mins to an hour. Is that alright?"

Chloe shrugged, "Sure, y'know I guess you could always bring Aster with you to watch us train if you think that would be easier."

"My daughter will reveal your secret martial arts life to the first person she next speaks to if we let her in on this. Aster loves to speak her mind, I'm surprised she hasn't gotten me into more trouble with that mouth of hers," Elly admitted.

I don't think I thought through how hard it is for Aster to not reveal what I really am…that is not the way I want Chloe to ever find out about me…

"Okay," Chloe shrugged once more.

Elly watched as the blonde turned away from her to begin stretching before their workout. Things still hadn't felt like it had gotten back to normal between them since Chloe had shut the door in Elly's face days earlier when Elly had told her friend that her husband was controlling her.

It had been nearly a week since that moment with the pair continuing their daily routine of going for a run each morning. With Elly deciding to wait until a more appropriate chance to broach the topic of Pierce's controlling attitude once more, Elly wondered more and more if she was delaying bringing it up again because she was more afraid of Chloe slamming an invisible door on their friendship.

But no matter the worry Elly endured trying to comprehend why Chloe wouldn't want to hear her out and what it could do to their bond they were building; Elly was positive above all that Pierce would never hurt his wife.

Elly had discussed Chloe's reaction on Friday with her eldest brother, Mark, when she and Aster had joined him and his family for dinner Friday evening. Mark hadn't been surprised by Chloe's reaction, admitting Chloe had done a similar thing to himself and Aaron when they had tried confronting her over Pierce's behaviour. Mark encouraged Elly to persist with Chloe by spending time with the blonde but to take things slower in relation to their worries over Pierce.

So, that's what Elly had done the past few days, realizing if and when Chloe was ready to hear her out, then she'd be the person Chloe could turn to.

I'd prefer Chloe come to terms with how controlling Pierce is…but at the end of the day if I have to risk my relationship with Chloe…then I will to protect my mate…

With Pierce at the hotel on the weekdays, Chloe's ability to use her living room as a place she could practice her martial arts without her husband knowing, Chloe had allowed Elly to join her in practicing the craft the previous two days. The previous day, they had followed the same pattern as Friday, going to the fitness center for Chloe's martial arts class, and Chloe had had her hair done afterwards, this time without Pierce intervening as they left the place.

Chloe had been friendly and kind to Elly, helping to begin her training in martial arts, smiling whenever Elly made an incorrect move or giggling to herself when Elly insisted she would one day best her, only to be tripped over quickly onto her back.

The flirty banter Elly had stunned Chloe into confusion with several days earlier hadn't been spoken about but Elly had lightly continued to flirt with Chloe, hoping one day she would be able to express her feelings for Chloe without hesitation.

As Elly set up her phone on the coffee table, which had been moved to the side of the living room, she wondered if Chloe was watching her. Even though she couldn't see Chloe's eyes, she liked the idea of Chloe watching her every move.

Elly opened up the app that showed her the camera vision of Aster sleeping in her bed on the phone screen so she could keep an eye on her whilst she trained with Chloe. Turning back to the blonde, she was disappointed to see Chloe wasn't watching her like she'd hoped she was.

When does Chloe's bond to me as her mate kick in that she knows it's me she has to be with no matter what? I thought the bond would be instant for the two of us from what I was always told and that's how it worked with Lexa even as a human, she was drawn to Clarke instantly. Is there something stronger holding Chloe back or do I need to make more effort to make Chloe realize there's something between us that can't be stopped?

Elly smiled as Chloe finally looked up at her, saying, "I got you something for Friday's session at the fitness center and my class since you did so well during yesterday's but I wanted to save it 'til today. Hetty gave it to me to give to you…since I didn't have any cash on me and can't pay by card as it'd lead back to the fitness center…but she insisted as a thank you to me for volunteering to run the classes I do for her."

Elly's smile slowly dropped as Chloe handed her a folded pair of a martial arts uniform.

Do I need to change into this cause I was gonna take my light sweater off in front of Chloe to show off the gorgeous crop top I'm wearing today…? Maybe martial arts isn't all it's meant to be…

"Something wrong?" Chloe asked as she watched the look on Elly's face.

Elly looked back up at Chloe, "No, sorry, I just wasn't expecting this. I thought I'd buy myself one of these at the next class. Do I have to change into this now?"

Chloe shook her head, "Nah, these are just for the classes to change into and out of at the fitness center. As you can see, I don't bother with the outfit when I'm at home…be a bit hard to explain if Pierce did come home unexpectedly."

I sure can see…tight shorts…tight shirt…strong muscles…long legs…

Elly cleared her throat as she realized she'd been staring at Chloe's body, "Cool…let's do this… Hey, what's all this?"

Chloe raised her eyebrows as Elly was distracted by a bunch of paperwork on the coffee table, "Oh, that's just the maps and info on Pierce's island. I wanted to talk to Pierce about it the other night about going out there to get a feel of how the island has recovered from the fires that happened on it whilst we were out there a few years ago. I was hoping we could get around to putting the island up for sale but Pierce looked at the maps the other night and said he didn't have time to bother with the island right now so I guess I'd better put them away rather than waste time thinking about what to do with the island."

Elly reached out, taking the map of the island, her eyes immediately studying every aspect of the map within seconds, before turning back to Chloe and putting the map back when she found it, "You can sell an island?"

Chloe shrugged, "Yeah, of course, that's how Pierce obtained it."

Elly blushed, "Right, course he did. I hope you get it sorted soon once Pierce decides it's a priority."

Chloe thought back to her trip with her friends several years ago for Elly's 35th Birthday after her best friend had gone missing that had ended with half the island up in flames after a lightning strike, feeling sad that Elly hadn't been there with them, "We'll get around to it. Now, let's get training."

"Right, of course. Thanks for the martial arts outfit, I'll make sure to hide it in my sports bag and do what I can to wash it when no one's looking, with any luck Aster won't find it and start asking questions. Now, training, where did we get up to yesterday?" Elly replied as she placed the gift inside her bag and turned back to Chloe as she removed the jacket she was wearing.

Chloe's eyes immediately darted to Elly's abs and lower body.

When did Elly get that toned? Her abs look like steel I could bounce off of…that sounded…dirty. Well, I just mean…Elly looks like she hasn't aged a day nor had a baby cause she looks…hot!

"Chlo," Elly's voice finally got through to Chloe, the tone of her voice suggesting to Chloe she'd been calling out to her several times.

Chloe raised her face, trying to avoid staring at Elly's body, "Right…uh…we were up to…just follow me for the warm up."

Was Chloe checking me out? Maybe the bond Chloe feels for me starts here…working out in very lil clothes and lots of skin on skin contact when Chloe teaches me moves that will make her fall to the ground…okay fine, I fall to the ground cause my werewolf strength doesn't exactly allow me to move my body like it does Chloe's when she knows all these moves to best me. Why didn't I think of wearing one of my crop tops weeks ago for our run every morning?

Nearly an hour later, Chloe was sweating at the end of their workout, whilst Elly had barely broken a sweat. After tripping Elly off her feet and falling on top of her when Elly pulled her down with her, Chloe was completely spent having spent the entire workout distracted by how amazing Elly's body looked.

This is perfectly normal to admire my best friend's body…the woman I fell in love with years ago and slept with one time…

With Aster still napping back at home, Elly continuing to check on her via the baby monitor app on her phone that was sitting on the coffee table in easy eyesight, Chloe wandered over to the kitchen for a bottle of water from the fridge, "You want anything, Elly?"

Your body tangled up in mine for hours on end…oh she means food or drink…

"I'll just take an apple," Elly said pointing to the bowl of fruit on the dining table, smiling when Chloe leaned over to throw her an apple which she caught.

Elly raised her eyebrows as Chloe turned away from her to drink the water.

Don't stare at Elly and her abs, Chlo, don't stare at those abs like you've been doing for the past hour just wanting nothing more than to…water, just drink the water, don't think about…Elly's abs…and how much better looking they are to Pierce's…

Elly watched as Chloe was chugging down her water, "You really exhausted there, Chlo?"

Exhausted…of looking at your abs for the past hour and just wanting to run my hands across them…why did I agree to train Elly in martial arts? If I can't keep my thoughts of Elly to how they should be when she's your friend and your married! This is just a once off, there's nothing between Elly and I…

Elly shrugged as Chloe ignored her question, biting into the apple and immediately being repulsed by the taste of the fruit, "Ew, what's with the flavour of your apple? Apples are not meant to have a flavour attached to them let alone this one."

Chloe's phone beeped at the same time Elly was talking to her and she found herself distracted by it, not listening to the brunette.

"Chloe," Elly called out, about to ask for something else to eat, but then watched the look on Chloe's face, "Something wrong?"

Chloe placed the phone back on the kitchen counter, "Oh, it's nothing, just Pierce has gotten one of the local museums to display one of my paintings."

Elly smiled at the news, "That's great, Chlo!"

"Yeah, I guess," Chloe sighed.

"Why aren't you excited by this? I mean, I've heard about your artwork and paintings and whilst I haven't seen them, I bet they're perfect," Elly enthused.

"Pierce paid the museum to display the painting and he thinks I don't know that. My paintings are good but they aren't good enough to be displayed in a museum. My artwork is only hanging up all over the Lassiters complex because Pierce insisted that Paul and Terese needed to get on board with it. He probably paid them too," Chloe replied sadly.

Elly discarded the apple by throwing it in the bin, before reaching out to Chloe and taking her hand gently in hers, still surprised by the feelings invoked in her by her best friend, "I may not have seen your paintings but I know you, Chlo, and if you put your heart and soul into those paintings and pieces of artwork...they'll be amazing. If Pierce had to pay the museum or Lassiters to display your work...then they are very lucky to have it displayed than someone else's. I'd love to see your artwork."

Chloe blushed at Elly's compliments, "I have a studio here in what used to be my old bedroom... It's the one place that is totally private for me to create my artwork in peace even when Pierce is home...Pierce doesn't even have the combination to unlock the door... Which I know is a weird thing to have in our shared house, one of the bedrooms locked with a security combination panel…I guess a regular lock and key…the key could be copied. It's the only thing I ever asked of him for. Privacy to create my artwork and he does that for me. I don't let him in my studio, he sees my artwork when it's finished, never before."

I'll take that as a no, Chlo…

As Elly began to loosen her grip on Chloe's hand she was heartened when Chloe instead squeezed her hand and even more when Chloe continued, "I'll show you my art studio."

Chloe won't show Pierce her art studio but she'll show me…I feel special…maybe Chloe is starting to open up to me in a way that proves she'll fall in love with me…

Next time - What piece of Chloe's artwork surprises Elly? Who interrupts Chelly's time together this time?