Eli pauses at the entrance to the hallway, his shoulders up around his ears. Finally, they slump, and he turns around, his eyes never leaving the ground. He digs his toe into the floor and sighs. Kassie sits down at his feet, and his hand finds its way into her fur. “I didn’t mean to make you feel uncomfortable. It’s just that… I really like your makeup. I didn’t know boys could dress like that.”
I glance at Holden. He’s nodding to himself like he clocked that before any of the rest of us did. Lip gloss. He got kicked out over wearing lip gloss.Fuck. I can’t believeIdidn’t make the connection. “I can teach you how to do yours too, if you want,” Holden says, offering Eli a small grin.
Eli’s head snaps up, and he stares at Holden with wide eyes. “Really?”
“Of course.”
Eli looks between Roman and me. “You guys wouldn’t care?”
I try hard to keep my face from doing anything crazy because that feels like an absurd question to me. “Of course not,” I say at the same time Roman manages, “Not at all.”
Chapter 7
Roman
Eli relaxes and slowly makes his way back into the living room, once again sitting down. I glance over at Holden to see him grinning ear to ear at Eli. He doesn’t know it yet, but Holden just made Eli his new bestie.
Holden cocks his head. “Just makeup, or clothes too?”
Eli blinks at him. “Uh…”
Holden bounces a little in his seat. “It’s okay either way. Oh, we can go shopping, yeah? We love Ro, but he doesn’t exactly have the best style.”
That gets a startled laugh out of me. “Hey, I dress fine, thank you.”
Holden rolls his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. You look fine. But that’s not what Eli wants, is it?” he asks, turning his attention back to Eli.
Eli dips his head, his cheeks flushing. But he does shake his head. “You guys really don’t care? I…”
We all wait to see if he’s going to continue, and when he doesn’t, I sigh. “Why would we care? Holden’s my best friend, and you see what he looks like. We just want you to be yourself.”
Beck squeezes my hand.
“But…” Eli starts, cutting himself off abruptly.
Julian clears his throat. “Hey, Eli.” Eli jumps a little at the low timbre of his voice, but turns to face him, swallowing hard as he takes him in. Julian smiles, and Eli’s body relaxes. I almost laugh. Julian honestly looks a little terrifying until he smiles. It’s clear that with that smile, Eli saw what we all do. A gentle giant with a heart of gold. “What’s the real worry here?”
Eli sighs, dropping his gaze again. “What if people don’t like it?”
Julian hums. “Do you think Holden cares what people think of him and what he likes?”
“Fuck no,” Holden chimes in before Eli can answer.
I almost laugh again. He’s a hot mess.
Eli looks right at Julian. “Do you care?”
“About what? What people think about me and my likes?”
Eli shakes his head, clearly frustrated. “No. Do you care that he dresses like that? That he… wears makeup and stuff?”
Julian glances at Holden, then looks back at Eli. “No. You said it yourself. He’s the prettiest person you’ve ever seen in your life. I happen to share that opinion.”
Holden flushes red, which is always so funny to me. It takes a lot to get him flustered, but compliments are one sure way to do it. Not that I have any room to talk, since my every emotion is constantly broadcast across my face.
Eli nods, but doesn’t say anything, so Julian continues, “If there’s someone in your future who makes you feel bad for the things you like, that person isn’t for you. Be yourself. Be who you are, Eli. The right person—the rightpeople—will love you all the more for it.”
Holden stands and makes his way toward Eli. He holds his arms open, and Eli looks a little confused. “Well, are you going to get up and hug me or what?”
