Page 24 of Foul & Fake
Juliana chuckles. “Let me see your phone. I’ll put my number in there.”
Her friend crosses her arms with a small frown, but doesn’t say anything at all as I hand it over.
“What’s your name?” I ask. “Have you been personally victimized by Eli too?”
She looks between Juliana and I before answering. “Um, I’m Maci. Not really, he’s too much of a jock to acknowledge me.”
Juliana’s smile fades slightly as she types. “She’s joking. It was nice meeting you though. Definitely text me so we can talk shit about him.”
I really wish he’d gone into a lot more detail about what he said to her. There’s an irritatingly high chance that I’ll say something I’m not supposed to, so I swear to myself to keep it surface level as I shoot her a text with my name. “Sounds good.”
She waves at me and walks away, leaving Josh and I staring at each other with confused expressions. “Wow. So… when’s the wedding?” he teases, and something about the question makes me uneasy.
This isn’t just about us anymore, and meeting his sister was a good reminder of that. I let things go way too far way too fast, especially considering why we’re doing this in the first place. “Yeah,” I say halfheartedly. “Wedding. Can we go before they come back out?”
He seems to catch the shift in my demeanor because he mutters out a, “say less” and links his arm with mine, weaving us through the crowd like the pro he is. It isn’t until we’re approaching my dorm and my keys are in my hand that he decides to probe. “So… trouble in paradise?”
“Paradise doesn’t exist,” I clarify, pushing open my door and relaxing when I see it’s empty. “I’m just… cautious, that’s all.”
“Fair,” he agrees. “So do you want company, or…?”
I do, but I think I’ve got some serious decisions to make and I can’t exactly talk through the dirty details with anyone. This is the first time I’ve ever regretted the fact that my best friend came to the same school I did. If he’d gone anywhere else, I could spill all my secrets. All of Eli’s secrets, too. “I’ll catch up with you later. I want to take a shower so hot the devil gets concerned.”
“That’s my girl. Wash away those sins so we can make room for new ones,” he gives me a hug and blows me a kiss before walking away, and I almost immediately wish I’d have told him to stay.
Growling, I shut the door and collapse on my bed, giving myself a few minutes to stare at the ceiling and wonder if I’m making the right decision about anything at all.
Probably not, but I do know I’m way too confused to be in this mess. I need some space, some perspective. That’s all.
Pulling out my phone, I brace myself and send my thoughts to Eli.
Me
I’m not backing out, but I do want to stop hanging out in private. I’ll come with you to your team events or whatever, hold your hand walking to class if I see you, and you can still kiss me on the cheek, but that needs to be it. I hope you understand.
He won’t, I’m sure of it, but I turn my ringer off and pull the blankets over my head anyway. I think it’s time for a nap.
Several hours later,I wake to Eli stumbling into my room and locking the door behind him. “Cupcake?” he whispers loudly, making me happy Sam isn’t here for her sake.
I ignore him, watching him as my eyes adjust to the darkness and he begins undressing.
“Eli, what the hell are you doing?” I rush out, scrambling to cover myself with the blanket. “Go aw?—”
He tugs the comforter down, his shirt off and jeans unbuttoned. “So we’re not going to bed?”
He’s slurring slightly, making this worse.
“Didn’t you get my text?”
“Oh, that bullshit. Yeah. I called you like seven times and you ignored me so I figured you didn’t mean it.”
Good lord, I don’t want to check my phone. “You thought me ignoring you meant I didn’t mean it?”
“Well when you put it like that…” he trails off, rubbing the back of his neck with a sigh heavy with the scent of booze. “You didn’t explain why. Where the fuck is this coming from?”
It’s coming from the fact that even now, I want to pull him into bed and take care of him. I want to put his ass to sleep, snuggle with him, and ride him in the morning until he apologizes for being so hot.
And the fact that while some people have anniversaries, we have a break-up date.
