Page 18 of The Love Playbook

My good mood deflates as soon as I’m home, though. When I walk through the door, Eli tosses down his game controller, leans back on the couch, and looks me up and down. “Who did you get all dressed up for?”

Rolling my eyes, I close the door behind me and nod at Dylan, Liam, and Andrew, who are apparently over to play games with Eli. “Hey, guys. What’s up?”

“Where you been, man?” Dylan asks. “Eli’s been whining that you left without telling him where you were going since we got here.” He points his finger at me, then wiggles it back and forth to indicate Eli and me together. “You guys turning into an old married couple? And what? You wanna get out and meet new people?”

Scoffing, I shake my head. “I had a date, you assholes. Not that it’s any of your business.”

The trio of younger teammates collectively, “Ooooooh.”

Eli, on the other hand, just scowls. “A date with who?”

“Dude. Seriously? Lighten up,” I tell him, not at all in the mood to hear him lecture me again about Autumn being little more than a jersey chaser and shouldn’t I want better than that? I’ve heard it all before. “What are you guys playing?” I ask, hoping I can change the subject.

“Hold up, hold up,” Andrew says, scooting forward in his seat in the armchair adjacent to the couch. He points at Eli. “What’s he upset about? Is Dylan right? Are you cheating on Eli?”

“Fuck you,” Eli spits. “We’re not into each other. We’re just friends. And I don’t like my friends getting used by girls who—”

“Shut up, man,” I cut him off before he can finish whatever he was going to say. I’m not entirely sure what it was, but I know it wasn’t going to be complimentary. Crossing my arms, I stare him down. “And where do you get off talking about anyone’s sexual activities anyway? You hook up at parties. You’re not exactly a monk.”

He throws up his hands. “But that’s the point. You basically are. And you’re suddenly datingher? Of all people? Why’s she even interested in you anyway?”

Grinding my teeth, I force myself to take a deep breath. “What? Is it really so outrageous that a girl would be into me?”

“No, man. No. That’s not what I’m saying. I’ve seen tons of girls throw themselves at you, and you brush them all off like gnats. Why now? Why her? I just don’t get it. I figured you were holding out for some wholesome girl like … I dunno … Ellie. Or Dani. Hell, Dani’d probably be great for you. You should ask her out instead.”

“Are you serious right now? You want me to ask out Dani?You. Are actually tellingme. To date her. Seriously?”

He at least has the grace to look uncomfortable. “Better you than some other asshole,” he mutters.

Blinking, I shake my head. Eli’s been crushing on Dani for a long time, but for whatever reason, won’t make a move. They’re friends, he says. And I don’t know if he’s hinted that he wants more but she shut him down and he’d rather keep her as a friend than nothing or if he’s just too chicken to even try. Still, though. Tellingmeto date her? That seems … really dumb.

For one, he’d go crazy with jealousy if things got serious with us. For two, what if we broke up and she didn’t come around anymore because of me? Wouldn’t it be better to date her himself if he’s willing to risk that?

“Wait,” Dylan breaks in. “Who’d you go out with? We’re missing info here. What’s going on?”

“Autumn,” Eli answers before I can say anything, his gaze still on me, his chin lifted in challenge. “Right?”

“Yeah. We went to dinner.” I widen my eyes and hold my hands out. “The horror, right? How will I escape her evil clutches?” Turning, I head for the hallway. “I’m gonna change. Do me a favor and grow up a little while I’m gone, okay?”

The guys erupt in a variety of excited noises, but I ignore them all and head for my room. I’m glad Autumn appreciated the effort I put into my appearance tonight, but I’m looking forward to getting into the athletic shorts and T-shirt I wear most often at home.

Except when I get to my room, there’s a little stuffed pig sitting in the middle of my bed, staring up at me. “Goddammit!” I shout.

A chorus of laughter and shouting comes from the living room.

“You got Pigged!” Andrew yells.

I guess it was about time. I shouldn’t have been so cocky tonight telling Autumn about skating by under the radar. Clearly somebody knew.

“Who got me?” I ask, grabbing the stuffed pig off my bed and heading back to the living room.

Andrew has his hand raised when I poke my head around the corner. I glare at him. “I’ll get you for this. Just you wait.”

It’s an idle threat, and I’m sure he knows it too, because he just gives me a smug grin. “Awww, c’mon, Jackson. Don’t be like that. You know it’s all in good fun.”

“Yeah, yeah,” I mutter, heading back to my room. But I make a quick detour across the hall and toss Piggy on Eli’s bed. He’ll bitch and moan about it when he finds it, but oh well. I’m following the rules—I’m not trying to give Piggy back to the person who gave him to me, and I’m doing it when the person I’m passing Piggy to isn’t watching.

Piggy is basically a long game of hot potato, and whoever ends up with him at the end of the season has to keep him until the following season. But he’s also our good luck charm. Since this tradition started, the program has only improved, and last year we made it to a bowl game in our first season as a Division I school. So there’s a lot of pressure this year on all of us to continue our upward trajectory.

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