Page 5 of Offsides

Sighing, he sets his glass down on the table and crosses his arms. “I don’t have a problem with Autumn. I just know that she likes to … push at comfort zones. So while I know that you normally only have one drink, and I’m sure Autumn also knows that, she may have convinced you that you needed more than one tonight to cope with … well, with whatever got you up on that stage singing a breakup song.” He raises one dark eyebrow, inviting me to fill in all the blanks.

Rolling my eyes again, I turn and head for the living room. “I had two,Dad,” I toss over my shoulder. He snorts behind me, almost close enough that I can feel the huff of breath accompanying it.

I flip my hair over my shoulder as I spin and take my usual seat on the couch. “I’mfine. We were there long enough, and I had a glass of water between drinks.” I’m feeling looser than normal, maybe, a little less reserved. But I’m notdrunk. Not even close.

Eli hums, settling on the couch as well, leaning forward to set his glass on the coffee table. He turns, propping his arm on the back of the couch, his leg bending and coming up between us. “So what happened?”

CHAPTER THREE

Eli

Dani takes a long moment to answer. Her mouth opens and closes, and she looks down at her glass of water before saying, "Luke and I broke up."

I shift in my seat, unsure exactly how to respond. "Didn't you guys break up a while ago?"

She rolls her eyes and shrugs her shoulders. "Yeah, but you know how we are. We always end up getting back together."

"So what was different this time?"

She clears her throat, and when she speaks her voice is quiet. Small. Vulnerable in a way that I don't know I've ever heard before. It makes me want to pull her close and wrap my arms around her. But she's holding herself stiffly, separate and apart like she doesn't want to be touched.

"He has a new girlfriend. He brought her home for Christmas."

"Ohhhhh.” Yikes. That's rough. I want to say something comforting, but I have no idea what to say.

"Ohhhhh,” she mimics, rolling her eyes. "Yeah."

I clear my throat and shift closer to her, wishing I could hug her like I did at the bar. She looks up at my movement, her eyes studying mine and taking in my posture. Then she sets her glass on the coffee table and collapses against me.

I settle my arms around her gently, stroking her back.

She lifts her head and looks up at me, her eyes dark pools. Her lips part. Her face is so close to mine. If I bent my head a couple of inches, I could kiss her.

We stare at each other, her eyes never leaving mine, and time seems to stop, like that moment when you toss up a ball and it’s suspended in midair before gravity reasserts itself and it falls once more. When time resumes, my head moves almost of its own accord, and then my lips are on hers.

She barely responds at first. She lets me kiss her, but she's not really kissing me back. I bring one hand under her hair, tilting her head so that I can give her a better kiss. This time when I press my lips to hers, she kisses me back. But only for a second, and then she jerks away.

"Eli!" Her hand flies to her mouth, covering her lips as though to hide them from me. "What are you doing?"

Before I can respond, the front door flies open and Autumn and Jackson enter.

"Hey, guys!" Autumn practically shouts, stumbling through the kitchen and into the living room. "What are you guys doing?"

Dani shoots to her feet, yanking her hand away from her face and balling it into a fist at her side. “Hey, Autumn!”

Her greeting is way too bright, especially considering how we left the karaoke bar, but Autumn’s either too drunk to notice or is pretending not to for Dani’s sake.

“I knew I’d find you here,” Autumn declares, stabbing her finger in the air in Dani’s direction. “I’m gonna stay the night here with Jackson. You can drive my car home when you’re ready.”

Jackson holds out a set of keys that I know must be Autumn’s because of the wire wrapped crystal attached to the key chain as well as a couple smaller silver charms.

With a forced smile at Autumn and Jackson, Dani steps forward and retrieves them. “Perfect timing. I was just thinking that I was about ready to go home.”

She gives me a tight smile and a finger wave before disappearing into the kitchen. Standing, I follow her, but she doesn’t give any of us a second glance before she grabs her jacket and purse and is out the door.

I stand and stare at the closed door for a moment, trying to figure out what just happened.

I mean, I know what happened. I was here, after all.

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