Page 35 of Apple of My Eye
‘What?’
‘Nothing.’
‘She’d like you, you know.’ The thought pops out of my mouth before I can think it through. ‘My mom, I mean.’
Eloise blushes. ‘You think?’
‘I know. She loves a hard-working woman.’
‘Takes one to know one.’
‘I didn’t even tell you what she does.’
‘I can tell she works hard. She raised you.’ Eloise leans back into my shoulder. My insides feel all warm and tingly. An Anderson saying you’re a hard worker is a big compliment, maybe the nicest thing Eloise has ever said to me.
Eloise stills, cocking an ear up towards the ceiling. ‘Still raining,’ she confirms, ‘we might have a while.’
‘Truth or dare?’ I suggest.
Eloise laughs. ‘Something about me telling you I used to come here when I was younger must have really stuck. I haven’t played truth or dare in, like .?.?. a decade?’
‘That’s the magic of it.’
‘OK—’ Eloise turns to me ‘—I’m game. You go first.’
‘OK.’ I take a minute to think about what to say. We’re so cozy in this barn, so close and so intimate. ‘Truth,’ I decide.
She smiles. ‘Tell me a secret.’
‘What! That’s not a truth. You have to ask me something.’
‘OK,’ Eloise teases, ‘can you please tell me a secret?’
I laugh. ‘Touché.’ I rack my brain, swinging my feet back and forth while I think. A secret for Eloise. I don’t have many. I don’t want to tell her anything cliché about a first kiss or the first time I had sex. I don’t have any family secrets. I’m definitely not going to tell her about losing the fantasy football bet. I haven’t told anyone that’s what got me here. Everyone assumes it was so altruistic of me, and I can’t bear to tell them I was forced to do it. Suddenly, it comes to me.
‘I hate football,’ I say. It’s the first time I’ve ever said it out loud.
‘What?’ Eloise asks. ‘That’s your secret?’
‘Eloise,’ I say, turning towards her so our eyes meet. ‘If you met my friends, you would understand what a big deal that was.’
‘That you hate football.’ She crosses her arms, eyebrows raised with skepticism.
‘Yes. You cannot tell them. I mean it. Ever.’
She snorts. ‘You’re acting like they’re on their way here as we speak.’
‘Isaac and Julian are visiting for the first U-Pick weekend,’ I explain. I can’t help but smile thinking about it. ‘I’m excited.’
‘I can see that.’ Eloise grins. ‘That’s cool of them. One of my best friends from graduate school is visiting for Fall Festival—Evan. You’ll like him, I think. I wish you could meet Shari but she’s in Italy.’
‘Awesome,’ I reply. Trying to play it off that I’m not completely thrilled Eloise wants me to meet her friends. ‘I’d love to meet him.’
‘Wait, so back to football. You’re actually pretending to like it?’
‘Well.’ I squirm, beginning to regret telling her. ‘Yes?’
‘Nick!’ She playfully swats at my arm. ‘Boys are so dumb.’
