Page 16 of Offsides

I think Dylan prefers to live on his own, though. I can’t blame him. Jackson and I get along great, but it would be nice to have my own place. It’s just a lot more expensive to rent a one-bedroom than to split the rent on a two-bedroom. At least Jackson’s not a pig. Miller and Weaver, for example, are disgusting. They try to host parties sometimes, and I never stay long, because it’s just too gross for me.

Maybe living with Jackson has rubbed off on me, because I don’t remember being this fastidious in high school. Though my parents made me keep a certain level of cleanliness in my room even then. I’m not as organized as Jackson by any stretch, and I don’t mind leaving my clean clothes in laundry baskets for days, but I definitely prefer not to live in unrelenting chaos.

It’s still funny to me that he ended up with Autumn, though. Because she is the living embodiment of chaos.

Speaking of, she’s the first person who greets us once we’re in Dylan’s apartment. A wide smile on her face, her wavy turquoise hair French braided over one ear and held back with a jeweled pin on the other side, she reaches us first, pressing on her toes and pulling Jackson’s face to hers for a kiss.

Even though it’s been months, some part of me is still surprised that my shy, blushing roommate is now okay with PDA.

But he wraps his arms around her and kisses her back, even going so far as to lift her off the ground so that she picks her feet up, her sparkly flats glinting in the low light. Yeah, my little boy’s all grown up now.

Since Autumn’s here, that means her entourage, including Dani, is likely nearby. I scan the open-concept apartment, taking stock of the cluster of people near one wall but quickly looking past it. Dani doesn’t hang with the crowds. Usually I can find her curled up in the corner of the couch or on an out-of-the-way chair if she beats me to one of these.

My quick scan turns up nothing, though, prompting me to step farther into the living area and take a closer look at the seating. Ellie and Piper are perched on the end of a couch chatting with some other girls. But Dani’s not with them. I scan the couch more closely, then the loveseat and armchair grouping … but no Dani anywhere I’d expect her to be. Maybe she’s in the bathroom?

Brow furrowed, I turn back to find Autumn smirking at me with her arm hooked around Jackson’s waist, and from the placement of his arm, his hand is likely in the back pocket of her jeans. Suppressing the urge to sigh, I focus on Autumn, narrowing my eyes at her knowing smirk.

“Did Dani come with you guys?” I ask, despite hating myself for needing to. Shouldn’t Dani have texted me if she wasn’t going to come? We agreed on going back to normal. Normal Dani and Eli interactions include letting the other know if we’re skipping an event we’d usually attend.

Of course, even though we bumped into each other at the store that night, things really haven’t been all the way back to normal. Our conversations are stilted, lacking the easiness we’ve had from the beginning.

“Yeah, she’s here,” Autumn says, the smirk as evident in her voice as on her face.

I scowl at her. I can’t help it.

She just laughs, because apparently my reaction is hilarious. Then she gestures toward the cluster of people by one wall. “She’s over there.”

Turning my head, I aim my scowl at the group by the wall. Half the team appears to be clustered there. She’s in the mix?

“Where?” I demand.

Another laugh from Autumn, and I glance back to see Jackson trying to hide a smile in the top of her head. “Probably in the middle. She’s causing quite a stir.”

“What the hell does that mean?” But I’m moving toward the group without waiting for an answer. Autumn appears to take my question as rhetorical, because she doesn’t try to answer anyway.

I’m stuck on the outside edges, trying to see what’s going on, and that’s when I hear Dani’s voice. She’s currently analyzing Dylan’s performance this last season. And the guys are eating it up like nachos and ice cream at the end-of-season free-for-all once we can relax our meal plans for the off season. They react in a chorus of “Oooohs” at a particularly scathing point from Dani.

“Me next!” crows one of the starters from this season—Murphy, one of the tailbacks.

Dani laughs, throaty and low. “I think I need another drink if I’m going to keep this up.” And the guys shift, all vying to be the one to get her a drink, and that’s when I finally see her.

She has her hair in sexy waves again, like she did that night at the karaoke bar. Her makeup draws attention to her eyes. It’s subtle—a slight shimmer on her eyelids and I’m not sure what else exactly because I’m no makeup pro, but it turns up the volume on her natural features, making them more striking, attention-grabbing in a way that doesn’t slap you in the face. Unless, like me, you’re so used to looking at her bare face that the fact she’s wearing makeup is immediately obvious.

Even her lips are pinker. Plumper. Juicy.

Dear god,juicy?Did I really just think of my best friend’s lips as juicy?

Yes. I did. As juicy as her ass looks in the formfitting mini skirt and wedge heels. What’s she doing wearing those at this time of year? Does she want to slip and fall on the ice?

And don’t even get me started on her top with its plunging neckline displaying her luscious tits that I’m sure have all these assholes salivating.

They might be acting like they’re gathered around her for the football commentary, but let’s be honest. She’s turned herself into eye candy.

Before she can get far, I reach out my hand for her cup. “Let me get you something. What are you drinking?”

Water. She’s drinking water. Because she absolutely doesn’t need any alcohol with these dicks trying to get in her panties.

Is she even wearing any under that skirt? Dammit, she better be.

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