Page 37 of Offsides

As she approaches the table, she gives me a wide smile, and I notice that her lips have a slight sheen to them. Her eyes look more noticeable, which sounds stupid, but I can’t think of any other way to put it. They’re more attention-grabbing. As she sits down, and I have time to really take her in, I realize she’s wearing eye makeup. She still looks like her usual self, just a little more put together.

“Hey!” she says, pushing one of the coffee cups toward me. “Sorry it took me so long to get here. I thought it would be nice to have some coffee to fuel our study session. Do you have a lot of homework to get through?”

“Hey yourself.” I reach across the table and grab the coffee cup she offers, take a sip, and grin. It’s a white chocolate mocha. “You decided I needed a treat, huh?”

She sips her own coffee, her eyes dancing above the rim of the cup. When she sets her cup back on the table, she lifts one shoulder in a shrug. “I thought we could both have a treat.”

I make a show of looking her over again. “You look really nice tonight.”

Her cheeks flush, and she looks at her hands circling her cup. “Thank you.” She takes a deep breath and raises her eyes to mine. “So what are you working on?” Her brow wrinkles, and she looks around the table. “Hang on. Where are all your things?”

Chuckling softly, I pull everything back out of my bag. “I was about to head home.”

“Did you finish everything already? Am I really that late?” She pulls out her phone and checks it, her brow still furrowed. “It hasn’t beenthatlong since you texted me.”

“No, you’re right, it hasn’t been that long. But since you didn’t respond to my text and you weren’t here, I assumed you weren’t coming at all.”

“So … What? You were just going to leave? Don’t you still need to study anyway?”

“Yeah, but I was having better luck studying at home. I figured I might as well go back if you weren’t going to join me.”

She narrows her eyes at me and takes another sip of her coffee. “Now that I’m here, are you going to stay?”

“Of course. I’m the one who invited you to join me. It would be pretty shitty if I left as soon as you arrived. Especially when you brought me my favorite special coffee.”

I obviously said the right thing, because she smiles to herself as she pulls her things out of her own bag. “All right. Let’s get studying. Do we want to do it in timed bursts? Or just go until one of us needs a break?”

Scratching my cheek, I contemplate her question. “Do you have a preference?”

She tilts her head from side to side, her mouth screwed up to one side. She’s so adorable. I wish I could just go to the other side of the table and kiss her right now. But I know that would be a mistake. Maybe one day I’ll be able to do that. That’s the goal. I wonder if Autumn has any new brilliant ideas to help me get there.

Dani picks up her phone, and presses some buttons on the face. “Let’s do timed bursts. I’m setting my timer for thirty minutes. Ready?”

At my nod, she taps her screen and bends her head over her book.

I look at her for a moment longer, taking in the subtle changes. While I don’t need Dani to be anyone other than who she is, I’m glad she’s finally feeling able to explore all of the facets of her personality. And I’m excited to see where all of this might lead.

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Dani

For years I thought wearing makeup was the most ridiculous thing. I figured it must add so much time to getting ready in the morning.

But now that I have expanded my morning routine to include it, it’s really not that bad. I mean, I was already wearing sunscreen on my face every day anyway. It’s just that my sunscreen is now tinted. If I’m feeling really minimal, I can just put on a little blush, a little mascara, a tinted lip balm, and I’m out the door. If I’m feeling more adventurous, I’ll even wear eyeshadow. Not every day. But more than never.

My roommates have accepted it in stride, barely commenting on the change. Even Eli hasn’t said much, just making a point of telling me I look nice almost every time I see him. Which, to be honest, is a new thing. I’m not sure he’s ever complimented my appearance before. And now he’s doing it all the time.

I’m definitely not upset by it, though. Especially since he’s not over the top and weird about it. It’s just a passing comment, and then we move on to whatever else we’re doing—studying, grocery shopping, playing video games, watching football …

Because we’ve started to do those normal Dani and Eli friendship things again. And tonight I’ll be going to his place for game night for the first time all semester. I’ve missed the last few due to the weirdness between us, and I’m excited to get to hang out with all my friends again.

Piper pokes her head through the bathroom door and watches me finish applying my lip gloss. Crossing her arms, she props her shoulder against the door frame. “Looking good, hot stuff.”

Laughing, I replace the cap on my lip gloss and meet her eyes in the mirror. “Thanks, Piper.”

“I’m glad you’re coming tonight. It hasn’t been the same without you.”

I zip closed my small makeup case and turn to face Piper. “Oh yeah? How so?”

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