Page 64 of Offsides

Eli doesn’t seem bothered, though. And I know he’s planning on paying. Despite letting me get dinner the other night, he still pays for most of the things that we do together.

“How about a pizza?” he asks. “That sounds really good to me right now.”

I hum in thought and look over the menu. I had kind of hoped to avoid junk food by eating here instead of at McDonald’s or wherever at the base of the mountain. But the choices here don’t seem to be significantly better—pizza, burgers, pasta. They do have salads, though. I guess I can live with that.

I nod my agreement. “Pizza’s fine. I’m going to get a salad, too.”

Eli grins at me. “Look at you, always trying to stick to the meal plan.”

“Meal plans have been my life for too long to give them up entirely.” I shrug. “Besides, I feel better when I eat vegetables.”

“Good point. I do too. One of the things I’ve always liked about hanging out with you is that I’ve never had to defend my need to follow my nutrition plan. If anything, you’ve helped keep me on track better than my teammates even.”

Smirking, I shake my head. “It doesn’t surprise me that your teammates like to slack off. Except for Jackson. I feel like he probably enjoys having a meal plan. It’s a system for him to follow. And I’ve noticed that he likes those.”

Eli laughs. “He definitely likes systems.” He gets a thoughtful look on his face and covers his mouth with his hand. Then he places his forearms on the table and leans closer to me, pitching his voice low, his eyes twinkling as he fights a smile. “Do you think … do you think Autumn gave him a system?”

Surprised laughter bursts out of me. “Ummm, you know? That’s not something I’ve ever thought about. And as happy as I am for the two of them, that’s not really something I want to think about.”

“I know… same. It’s not really something I’ve ever thought about either. But now that the thought’s entered my head, I can’t get it out. Do you think she gave him diagrams and written instructions? Did he study it like the playbook or a textbook for class?”

I shake my head, unable to fight back the smile on my face. This is the most ridiculous conversation. “You’re not going to let this go, are you?” I look off to the side of the room, unfortunately considering Eli’s questions. “Autumn doesn’t seem like the diagram and written instructions type, though. But I’m sure she gave him plenty of verbal directions.”

Eli burst out laughing. “That gives a whole new meaning to oral.”

I know my face is bright red, and I’m dying laughing along with Eli despite my embarrassment. “Can we please talk about something else?” I manage to get out eventually.

A smiling waitress approaches our table, clearly picking up on our hilarity. “Hey, guys. Having a good time?”

We both nod. “We just wanted to grab some dinner before heading back after an afternoon of tubing,” Eli tells her.

“Perfect. What can I get you?”

Eli places our order—a chicken Alfredo pizza and two salads with just water to drink.

The waitress smiles again. “I’ll have that right out.”

“You’re a terrible friend,” I tell Eli as soon as the waitress is gone.

His mouth drops open, and he places a hand on his chest. “A bad friend? How so?”

I wave my hand between us. “This whole conversation. Speculating about Jackson and Autumn in the bedroom. Furthermore, you’re making me be a bad friend, too.”

Pulling his head back, he gives me side-eye. “Fine. We’ll stop speculating about what goes on between them. I will say, though,” he holds up a finger, “it’s not all speculation when you can overhear them.”

I shake my head. He makes a good point, but I’m not telling him that.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Eli

One of the best parts about spending the day outside with Dani is that neither of us have looked at our phones much. So whatever’s been making her glare at her phone periodically hasn’t disrupted our day.

I’ve gotten her all to myself in a way that I rarely get outside of the bedroom. There I always have her undivided attention. But the rest of the time, there’s school, friends, family, all the usual things that pull at everyone.

It all ends once we’re back in the car. Dani pulls out her phone and scowls at it.

“Everything all right?”

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