Page 83 of Becoming Selfish

“Eli, what are you doing? You’re going to be late,” I remind him as he bounds towards me.

He doesn’t respond, but instead, he grabs my face on either side and firmly presses his warm lips to mine. His tongue grazes against my surprised lips as I open them to give him access to my mouth. His movements are feverish but passionate, and he tastes as good as always, but I’m a little confused by his sudden display of affection. His tongue continues to explore my mouth as the whistles and shouts from the fellow gym-goers surround us.

He pulls his lips from me but keeps his forehead leaning on mine with his hands cupping my face.

“I’m sorry,” he whispers only inches from my lips. “The guys on the team have never seen me with someone before, and I reacted in the worst way.” He closes his eyes and shakes his head. “I’m not used to being with someone. I might need you teach me how to do this, okay?”

I nod my head against him as a small grin forms across my lips.

“Well, you’re doing a pretty good job at it right now,” I tell him, causing him to smile at my words.

He quickly pecks my lips again before leaning down to my ear.

“You look insanely hot right now, and I’m going to be picturing you in this outfit all day,” he whispers before slapping my ass and walking away. He briefly turns back around to give me an arrogant smirk as my cheeks heat from his public display of affection.

The entire gym is dead silent. I’m assuming because most everyone is as shocked as I am that the university’s most notorious playboy just made a somewhat public declaration of his feelings for me.

“Ali,” Eli says to greet her, walking by her treadmill and out the door to head back to the rink.

Ali’s mouth is gaped open in shock as he walks by her before she turns her attention back to me. Her jaw is practically on the floor, and her eyes shine with amusement.

“Shut. The Fuck. Up!” she excitedly shrieks, loud enough for the entire gym to hear.

Chapter 52

Eli

Morning skate went by quickly, but I miss having the rink to myself. Now that it’s the regular season, I have to share it with the rest of the boys. My night with Logan played on repeat in my mind the entire time I was on the ice as I remembered the way her body molded into mine. At one point, Patrick pulled me from heavenly thoughts when he made some smart remark about how amazing Logan’s ass looked in her tight workout pants. I mean, he wasn’t wrong, but I don’t want him or anyone else looking at my girl, so I made sure to hit him a little harder into the boards to teach him a lesson. Not that he knows that she’s my girl yet, but he will soon enough.

The rest of my Sunday kind of sucked. I knew Logan was busy studying with Marc, so I didn’t want to interrupt her. She’s used to being independent, and I don’t want to bombard her with my presence, but I’m having a hard time holding back. I just want to be with her.

Having to write my paper about her just made things worse. The more I thought about her and her selfless heart, the more I wanted to walk my ass over to her dorm to just be around her. I’ve never crushed this hard before, but then I don’t even think crush is a strong enough word for it at this point.

It’s like a switch got flipped inside of me after taking Logan to the pond last night. I’ve never wanted to make someone my girlfriend before, but after last night with Logan, all I want is to be the man who takes care of her. I’m done with all the stupid shit. The sleeping around and not giving a fuck about anyone besides myself. She’s it for me. I don’t know how to explain it, but I feel different today. Lighter almost—more myself.

When Sunday night rolled around, I couldn’t help myself as I pulled out my phone to text her. I knew she didn’t want me to distract her studies by being with her, but she never said that I couldn’t text her. I lay in bed, wishing she was next to me as I typed out my message.

E: I miss you.

Not even a minute later, my phone buzzed, and as I looked at my screen, a giant shit-eating grin formed across my face.

L: It hasn’t even been a whole day yet.

I can just imagine her rolling her eyes with a big, satisfied smile on her face as she read my needy words. I waited, staring at those three little dots as Logan typed another message to me.

L: But I miss you too, baby.

I grew up hearing my parents use pet names, and I’ve never really understood why you would. I mean, they’re cheesy as hell, but when Logan uses them, I love it.

Her sweet text was enough to satiate me for the night. I knew I was going to sleep like shit, but it’s not Logan’s responsibility to take care of my sleep, even though the only time I get a restful night is when she’s next to me. I don’t want her to feel burdened to have me over all the time just because I can’t make it through the night without her, especially when she’s trying to focus on her schoolwork. I don’t want to be a distraction for her. I want her to take care of herself for once. The thing that sucks about the timing is that I leave for Michigan this week for a preseason tournament, which means I won’t get to sleep well again until next weekend.

Monday’s classes dragged on, and I left my physiology class ten minutes early, so I was guaranteed to sit next to Logan in creative writing. Much to my surprise, when I got to the lecture hall, Logan wasn’t there yet, so I picked a pair of seats somewhere in the middle of the room. Not so close to the front as Logan would prefer, but not towards the back where I would’ve chosen. Keeping my eyes glued to the door, I wait for her to walk in.

When she does, my mouth drops open at the view, and my shoulders instantly relax, just knowing that she’s in the same room as me. Logan looks stunning, as per usual, but today she’s radiating. Her hair is down and curled, and the deep red color looks fresh and shiny. She’s wearing a dark gray, skin-tight skirt that hits just below her knee, hugging every curve. Her silky dark green top flows away from her body, but I know exactly what’s hidden underneath. The green of her shirt brings out the green of her eyes, and I can see them beam from here. She looks like a sexy little businesswoman dressed liked this—my sexy little businesswoman. That is, until my gaze wanders down her perfectly toned legs to her shoes, finding a pair of old worn Converse on her feet. I can’t help but laugh when I glance back to the matching pair I’m wearing.

She looks around the room, which I hope is because she’s trying to find me, and when her eyes connect with mine, they soften. She gives me a sweet smile and cocks her head to the side when she realizes I’ve saved her a seat next to me.

“Hi,” she says, sliding into the chair I had reserved for her.

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