HOW TO CATCH A BAD BOY

“Can you guys not do this?” Elijah asked with a frown, “This is supposed to be a nice family dinner,”

“It’s fine, Elijah. Don’t we all know it, Laura,” Chandler interjected. “Trust me, we all do…I’m sure Elijah does too because he practically hears it everyday.” As he said it, clearly taunting her with his tone, he stretched his arm along the back of Elena’s chair. His thumb dipped dangerously, and Elena felt it brush the edge of her spine. She held very, very still.

Laura’s eyes narrowed dangerously, so Elena cleared her throat. “He likes to mess with people too, I’ve noticed. Just ignore him.”

Chandler withdrew his hand with a low chuckle that made the hair lift on her arms. Normally, it was the kind of thing that would make her want to twist his balls up in a knot-but it was so obvious that he was baiting Laura, trying to garner any sort of reaction from this woman, even if it was her contempt. Contempt, when you’ve been ignored and overlooked, was a preferable alternative, sometimes.

“So,” Elena continued, trying to change the topic, “as you already know I’ll be handing the wedding cake. Trust you’ll be showing me the right place to get everything I’ll need to get started”

Laura perked up. This Elena couldn’t understand about her, and why it pained her to see her treat her stepson the way she was. She was so attentive and motherly when it came to anything that had to do with Elijah.

“Absolutely,” she said, “We’ll go shopping tomorrow, and I’d be glad to show you around the the city too if you’d like,”

Elena thought she couldn’t think of anything more depressing than hanging out with Laura, but instead of saying that, she plastered a smile on her face and hoped it didn’t look fake at all. Apparently, she didn’t do a very great job of it, because Chandler leaned in again, and she gave him a sideways look.

His voice was low, meant to be intimate and secretive. “Now why did that make you look so sad, love?”

Elena cleared her face instantly. “I’m not sad,” she disagreed. “Just wish it was time for dessert so I could forget this chicken ever existed.”

His eyes searched her face. “Mm-hmm. I get it.”

What did he see that made him look at her like that? Elena’s heart thumped once, twice. Hard. When Chandler was looking at her like that, she didn’t feel alone. She felt exposed. She found herself pushing her chair back. “Excuse me. I’ll be right back.” She said

Everyone glanced up at her.

“Don’t be gone long, honey.” Chandler said with a grin. The ‘honey’ he called her was surprising to everyone at the table, and Elena fought the urge to laugh at the look on Laura’s face. Chandler sure knew how to mess with her and clearly he enjoyed every bit of her discomfort.

She hurried out to the bathroom and when she returned, the conversation at the table had changed to something else, much to her relief. She understood Chandler better now, if her family was this way, she certainly wouldn’t be thrilled about coming home either.

Dinner came to an end, and before Elena could go up to her room, Emily grabbed her arm and pulled her into a corner of the living room so no one else could hear them, “What the hell is going on between you and Chandler?” she asked.

Elena lifted an eyebrow, giving her a puzzled look, but she was starting to wonder if Emily knew about the kiss too. Did she see them in the garden? Or did Beth tell her?

“Don’t look at me like that. Urmmm…. Defending him at the table…. And him calling you honey in front of everyone. Duh… Have you forgotten what he did when you went out with him? And so fast? All it took for you to forgive him was a ride in his car for a few hours? Look, I’m not trying to judge, but I don’t seem to understand anymore since you moved here, and it all started immediately you met him,”

Elena sighed and pulled her arm out of Emily’s grip,”You say you don’t want to judge, but you are judging, Emily,” she said, “You complained that I wasn’t talking to you about stuff anymore, and it’s because of the way you act. You might not agree to everything I do or want to do, but as my sister, why can’t you try to be supportive,”

Emily shook her head, “I’m sorry, but I’m only looking out for you. Chandler is bad for you. Why can’t you see that?”

Elena rubbed her forehead in frustration, “Maybe he is. Maybe he’s not. I honestly don’t know what to think anymore, but I can’t deny what I feel for him. You’re with Daniel so you should understand. When you guys met, you told me how you felt around him… How you were drawn to him and that you couldn’t help yourself. Well, I feel that way about Chandler. I know you hate him, but it’s the truth and I need you, Emily, my sister to be supportive and not judgemental.”

Emily lowered her eyes, “Hate is a strong word,” she said softly, “I don’t hate him… I’m just…. Wary of him, that’s all,” There was some silence as the two sisters stared at each other, then Emily added, “So you say you like him that much, huh?”

Elena nodded shyly, “Yes, I do,” she replied, “And I know it might be hard for you to believe, but he’s really sweet when he wants to be. He puts up this show to everyone so they think he’s a big, bad, scary guy with tattoos but he’s really not. He makes me laugh, and I’m happy when I’m around him. I can’t seem to stop thinking about him and when he kissed me… I… ”

She stopped speaking because Emily’s eyes had doubled in size, “You guys kissed? When?”

“This afternoon… Some hours ago…Outside… in the garden,” Elena replied,

Emily looked shocked for a moment, then she burst into laughter, “What?”

“Stop laughing so fucking loudly,” Elena scolded,

“I’m sorry,” Emily took a deep breath, “Wow…You ermmm… You’re really serious about this…. About him,”