Page 29 of Offsides

With a sharp laugh, I stand, my book in one hand, the card in the other. “Thanks, Autumn. Glad you cleared that up for me.” Shaking my head, I go to my room. I need to think on my own to figure out what I should do.

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Eli

My phone rings, and I’m swamped by a mixture of surprise and relief propelled by a chaser of adrenaline when I see Dani’s name on the screen. It's funny that she's calling me. We usually just text. Wait, does that mean this might be bad?

Idiot, idiot, I chastise myself as I push myself to sitting on my bed.Just answer the damn call and find out.I smash the answer button with my thumb and hold the phone to my ear. "Hey! Uh, I mean, hi. What’s up?”

Dani snorts softly with amusement. “Hey. You alright there?”

“Yeah.” I chuckle. “Yeah. I'm good. How are you?”

“Good. Um, hey, so… um. About that gift card … uh, did you still want to take me to use it?”

I sit up straighter, pulling my feet under me. “Yeah!” I clear my throat as she laughs softly.Rein in the enthusiasm, dude.“Yes. I would like that. When are you wanting to go?”

“Ummm, I dunno. Maybe tomorrow? After class?”

“Yeah. I can do that.” I scoot to the edge of the bed like I'm about to get up. Like she didn't just say tomorrow. Like I need to get my things and go pick her up right now. When I realize what I'm doing, I have to force myself to relax and lean back on my elbow on the bed. “My last class ends at three tomorrow. When are you done?”

“Two.”

“Do you want me to pick you up? Or do you want to meet at my place?”

She doesn't respond for a moment, then I hear a soft hum. “I think… Why don't you pick me up?”

“Okay. Three thirty work?”

“Sounds good.”

After we hang up, I drop my phone on the bed next to me and flop back on my pillow. Blinking at the ceiling, I can't quite believe what just happened. Maybe Autumn knows what she's talking about after all.

* * *

The next day at three thirty on the dot, I’m outside Dani’s front door. My stomach gurgles with nerves. Which is completely ridiculous. I've hung out with Dani a million times. We've gone shopping before. Okay, never for makeup or whatever we’re getting today. Still. It’s not the first time I’ve been to her house or picked her up for some reason.

This isn't a date. Much as I might like it if it were, we are nowhere near that point yet. I talked to Autumn again this morning when I discovered her at our kitchen table. She was surprised and happy to find out that Dani asked me to take her shopping.

“I really wasn't sure what she was going to do,” she said when we talked. “When I talked to her the other day, she didn't seem to know what she wanted either. I almost expected her to ask Piper or me to take her. Or to just sit on the gift card and not use it for a long time.” She grinned and clapped her hands. “Oh! This is exciting. Okay. Here’s the plan.” And then she launched into a lengthy lecture on all the dos and don’ts of both getting Dani and me back to a friendly place, and also how to go from there to a more-than-friends place.

I'm honestly skeptical about half of what Autumn suggested. But I was skeptical about the gift card suggestion, and that's working out so far. So maybe I should listen to what she has to say.

Raising my hand, I knock firmly three times.

When the door opens, Dani stands on the other side. She looks me up and down and laughs. “What are you doing? You never knock on the door and wait for me to answer. Why didn't you just come inside?”

With my hands in my coat pockets, I shrug and give her a lopsided grin. “I wasn't sure how you'd feel about that, given … everything.”

Her own grin falters slightly. “Well, I guess that's a good point. Thank you for being considerate.”

“You’re welcome. You ready to go?”

“Yep. Let me just grab my jacket and phone.”

She leaves the door cracked while she puts on a white puffy coat, then stuffs a couple of things in her pockets and comes out the door. She gives me another smile, this one a little more forced. “Alright. Let's go.”

With my hand on her back, I walk her down her front steps to my car. It might be a risky move, as it's more of a date or a boyfriend gesture, but Autumn emphasized that I should be bold. But not too bold.

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