Page 46 of The Love Playbook

Laughing, I shake my head. “No. I got Piggy a couple weeks ago and passed him off pretty quickly. It’s not that difficult if you don’t make a big show of getting Pigged. Now everyone knows you have him, so they’ll be extra sure to keep their stuff on lock when you’re around.”

His mouth opens and closes a few times as he takes that in, clearly unable to come up with a good comeback. Finally he glares at me again then tosses Piggy in my direction. “Seems like it’s your turn again, then.”

Eli tsks from his spot next to me, shaking his head as he comes around and retrieves Piggy, making a show of brushing off the stuffed pig. “That’s not how we do things, man. And you might be a freshman, but you’ve been around long enough now to know that. Especially if this is your third time getting Piggy. Jackson’s offering helpful advice, and you’re gonna act like a little shit?” Eli shakes his head again, crossing his arms over his chest and adopting the disappointed dad demeanor he’s so good at. This is part of the reason he’s likely to be one of the captains next year.

Lomax opens his mouth again, but stops when Eli holds up a hand. Closing the distance between them, Eli pushes Piggy into Lomax’s chest. “We don’t toss Piggy on the floor. He’s our good luck charm. We take care of him. If he gets dirty, we give him a bath. Do you want to have to give Piggy a bath before you can pass him on?”

His glare now fixed on Eli, Lomax swallows hard then jerks his head in a quick negative.

“I’m sorry,” Eli says amiably. “I didn’t hear you.”

“No,” grits out Lomax.

“Good.” Eli pats him on the shoulder and waits for Lomax to hold onto Piggy before stepping back and returning to his locker near mine.

Lomax stands frozen, glaring daggers at Eli and me for a moment until one of his friends jostles him and cracks a joke. It only gets a forced laugh from Lomax, but it succeeds in breaking him out of his angry stance.

Thank Christ. Because I do not have the patience for that bullshit right now.

A strangled sound comes from Eli, and I turn to give him a quizzical look. “You alright, man?”

Eli nods at my phone sitting face up on the bench next to me.

My eyes about bug out of my head when I see what Eli’s reacting to.

Autumn: How do you feel about anal?

“So, uh, things are going well with you and Autumn, huh?” Eli says, his voice strained, though I’m not sure if he’s holding back laughter or something else.

I can feel myself blushing to my hairline. And god, what I wouldn’t give to be able to play this cool. But I absolutely cannot.

Clearing my throat a few times, I pick up my phone and stuff it in my shorts pocket. “Uh, yeah. You could say that.”

Eli sniggers, focusing on getting all his things together and not looking at me.

I yank on my shirt and stuff the rest of my gear into my bag. “Ready?” It comes out almost like a bark.

His shoulders still shaking with suppressed laughter, Eli stands. “Yeah, man. Let’s go home. Sounds like you have a fun conversation ahead of you.”

“Shut up,” I growl at him, and he just laughs some more.

* * *

My face turns beet red again when I pull out my phone once I’m safely in my room and reread Autumn’s text.

I stare at it for a really long time, my eyes focused on that last word. Anal.

She wants …? Or does she?

If she’s asking about it, I don’t think it would be a stretch to assume she’s interested in it. Or at least willing to try it.

But is she only asking because she thinks I might want to? Or is it something she genuinely would enjoy too?

Finally I type out a response.

Me: Um … I’m not sure? How do you feel about anal?

I can’t even bring myself to put my phone down and pretend I’m doing anything other than waiting for her response.

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