Page 61 of Offsides

My roommates let out a collective, “Awww,” and try to suffocate me with a group hug. “You’re one of us now, Dani,” Piper says. “Whether you like it or not.”

Good thing I like it.

CHAPTER THIRTY

Eli

I’ve spent most of the semester so far wishing my relationship with Dani could go back to normal. It’s still nothing like normal, but it’s far better than that. I’m finally getting what I’ve wanted for years. Dani and I spend as much time together now as we did before, but it’s so much better.

We still spend most of our time doing boring everyday stuff, just like we always have. We study, we work out, and we eat together more often than not. When Autumn and Jackson are home, or when we’re at Dani’s and they’re there too, it feels more like a double date than being third wheels. I like it. I like it a lot.

I especially like that Dani is more comfortable with PDA than I would have guessed. She lets me kiss her pretty much anywhere. I mean, we’re not exhibitionists or anything. It’s PG-13 stuff at the most. And yeah, the guys still hassle us when we kiss in the weight room. But we both know they’re just jealous of what we have. Hell, it’s possible a few of them are jealous of me. Our loudest hecklers are also the ones who tried to hit on her when she showed up at team events all dressed up.

And I get to take her out on dates on the weekends. Even though she gave me grief about dinner and movies and boring traditional dates, I still do it because it’s fun. I like movies. She likes movies. And there was a new Marvel movie we both wanted to see. It’s way more fun to experience those types of movies on the big screen anyway. She managed to rein in her running commentary. For the most part, anyway. She did lean over and whisper her thoughts to me a few times. But for me, that just enhances the experience. I enjoy getting her take on the things that we do.

Once it warms up, we’ll be able to do more active, outdoor things. It’s still too cold out for most of those activities. Although …

“What do you think about going tubing?” I ask while we’re supposed to be studying for our biochem test. We’re in one of the library study rooms. I have it reserved three days a week for two hours in the afternoons. This way we’re more likely to actually study together instead of making out or having sex. We usually do those things too, to be honest. We just do them afterward. At home.

Even here in the library, I’m having trouble staying focused. I’m feeling antsy for some reason. Now that we’re into February, the endless cold is getting to me. Too many days with a low ceiling of clouds, sunset still ridiculously early, not enough sun, and too much dreary cold. Plus, I get the feeling sometimes that something might be bothering Dani. She hasn’t said anything. At least not to me. And that, more than anything, makes me a little nervous. If she’s not telling me what’s wrong, then am I part of the problem?

So instead of studying, I’m spending my time thinking up fun activities for us to do together. And low-key planning some extravagant thing for Valentine’s Day. It’s less than two weeks away now. I need to figure things out quickly.

“Hmm?” She lifts her head and blinks at me, clearly having no idea what I just said.

“Some of the ski resorts around here offer tubing during the winter too. What do you think? Do you wanna go?”

A slow smile spreads across her face, and she sits back in her chair. “You want to take me tubing?”

“Yeah.” My smile matches hers. “I think it would be fun.”

“That does sound fun. I haven’t gone tubing in a really long time.”

I pull out my phone and open the website for the ski resort I was looking at last night. “They still have times available this Saturday. Should I get us tickets?”

She nods. “How much is it? If it’s really expensive, I’ll split it with you.”

I wave her off. “I’ve got it covered. Don’t worry about it.”

Her brows wrinkle together. “Are you sure? Because you pay for a lot of things. I don’t mind contributing.”

I finish buying the tickets and set my phone on the table before answering. “Would it make you feel better if you covered dinner the next time we go out?” It goes against my somewhat traditionalist ideas about dating to let her pay for our meals, but it’s obviously important to her to share the expenses. So I can set aside my issues if it’s important to her.

She nods. “Yes. It would. Now that that’s settled, we should get back to studying. We only have the room for another forty-five minutes.”

At my dramatic sigh, she laughs and shakes her head before returning her attention to her textbook.

“Hey,” I say, ignoring the way she rolls her eyes as she lifts her head again. “Why don’t we quiz each other? Then we’re still studying and making good use of our time, but it’s a lot less boring.”

Chuckling, she shakes her head at me. “What is with you today? You usually don’t have this much trouble studying. Especially when we have a test.”

I shrug. “I don’t know. Just distracted, I guess. Is that a no to the quizzing?”

She shakes her head again. “No. It’s not a no. Do you want me to quiz you first, or do you want to quiz me first?”

“How about I quiz you first?”

“Good idea, since I’ve actually studied the material. You’ve apparently been daydreaming about going tubing.”

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