Page 62 of Offsides

Unrepentant, I shrug again, then look over the textbook to find something to ask a question about. When I look up, I find her glaring at her phone. “Is everything all right?”

She flips her phone facedown, expression grim. “Yep,” she says, though the angry tone of her voice suggests otherwise. “Everything’s fine. Are you going to ask me a question about biochem?”

I study her for a moment, debating whether or not I should push the issue.

But she gives me an expectant look, and glances pointedly at my textbook. So I decide to let it go and focus on biochem. At least for the next forty-five minutes.

* * *

“What was that text earlier?” I ask while we wait for dinner at a drive-thru an hour later.

“Huh? What text?”

I study her for a moment, then have to look away so I can pull forward and pay for our food. While I’m pulling out my wallet, Dani smacks my arm and shoves her debit card in front of my face.

Rolling my eyes, I take it and pass it to the guy at the window, swallowing my automatic protest. She said she’d get our next meal. This is our next meal, I guess. I was thinking our next sit down meal, but if this makes her happy, then this makes her happy.

After we get her card back and are waiting for our food, I watch her put her card back in the slot in her phone case. “Earlier. At the library. You were glaring at your phone like someone texted you something that pissed you off. Your roommates harassing you or something?”

She chuckles and shakes her head, glancing out her window when she answers. “No. Nothing like that. My roommates sometimes annoy me, but they don’t actually piss me off.” She doesn’t elaborate further, though, about what actually upset her.

“Your dad?” I guess.

That gets her to look at me, her smile tight. “Good guess.”

I let out a rueful chuckle. “See? Another reason why it’s nice we know each other so well.”

That same tight smile again that makes me wonder if my guess was actually right, but then we get our food.

Dani opens the bag and pilfers a few fries.

“Hey! No fair!”

Laughing, she holds the bag out to me so I can grab a few as well. “So what time are we going tubing on Saturday? And when do we need to leave?”

CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE

Dani

Saturday is a blast.

I stay the night at Eli’s to make it easier to get up and leave in time to make the nearly two hour drive to the ski resort. We plan to get there with plenty of time to spare so we can ride the bus up the mountain from the base.

We put on our snow gear when we park, and Eli looks cute in his black snow pants and gray parka, his head covered by a black fleece beanie. He grins at me over the top of the car as I pull the suspenders up on my snow pants and put my coat back on. “You ready to have some fun?” he asks.

“Yeah. Have you been here before?”

He glances around at the parking lot ringed with pine trees and up at the mountain looming over us. “Nope. This’ll be my first time too.”

“Well hopefully everything’s clearly marked when we get up there.”

He laughs. “I’m sure we’ll be able to figure it out.”

The bus arrives a few minutes later, and we file on along with several other skiers and snowboarders getting a midday start. As we head up the steep switchbacks, I’m glad that I’m not the one having to navigate this. Forty-five minutes later, we’re deposited in front of the main lodge, looking around to try to get our bearings.

People are everywhere, skating past on skis, little kids dragging skis behind them, groups of guys shouting at each other and being rowdy just like groups of guys everywhere.

“Let’s go inside and figure out where to go,” Eli says into my ear.

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