Page 93 of Becoming Selfish

That is until her friend responds and my smile falls.

“We hooked up last year,” her friend says. “Might be the best dick I’ve ever had.”

When Ali notices my blank expression, she nudges me with a sympathetic smile on her lips. “Don’t worry about it,” she says, trying to get my mind off the fact that the girl sitting behind me has done more, physically, than I have with my man.

Eli scores again in the second period and adds an assist in the third, which is extremely impressive. Though, what I find more impressive is when he lands himself in the penalty box for getting in a minor fight. It isn’t the fight itself that I like, but the fact that when one of Northwestern’s big defensemen starts wailing punches on one of Eli’s smaller teammates, Eli steps in to defend him. The Northwestern d-man gets booted from the game, and Eli lands himself in the box for fighting, but when he makes it back to his bench, he’s greeted with appreciative pats on the back and fist bumps from all of his teammates.

We win 5-2, and the crowd buzzes with excitement over the potential of what this season could bring. The most surprising thing I found from my first hockey game was the fact that Eli hadn’t gotten picked up by an NHL team yet. He’s by far the best player on the ice. It’s not even a question of how talented he is.

M: Meet me outside of the player’s tunnel. It’s behind section 112.

“Marc wants us to go meet up with him,” I inform Ali as we make our way through the crowd towards the section he mentioned.

There are quite a few Minnesota fans headed in that direction, but I’m able to spot Marc’s height and tanned skin through the crowd when we reach the tunnel.

“Hey.” Marc wraps me in a hug. “What did you think?”

“Eli is insanely good.”

“Right? He’s the best one out there, that’s for sure. And he played better today than I’ve seen him play in a long time.”

“Marcus,” Ali interrupts to greet him while trying to suppress a grin.

“Ali,” Marc responds, holding back the same smile.

I watch for a moment as my two friends hold eye contact with each other, being way more friendly than they’ve been in previous weeks.

“Let’s go. My parents are waiting for EJ outside the locker room.” Marc nods towards the tunnel, making his way down the hall as Ali and I follow behind.

Down the corridor, there’s a huge crowd standing outside of the locker room, waiting for the players to emerge. Parents and families are waiting around for their boys to come out, but there are plenty of fans and students down here as well. I recognize Marc’s parents from his pictures and spot them ahead, among the crowd, waiting for Eli. Alyssa is also down there with her group of girlfriends, all wearing Eli’s number on their shirts, and a couple of them have signs in their hands as well. Their attire is making me second guess whether or not I should’ve worn something more team-spirited than the plain maroon top I chose.

“I’m going to wait back here,” I tell Marc as I stop in my tracks, staying towards the edge of the tunnel, far behind the crowd swarming the locker room entrance.

“Are you sure?” He turns back to question me.

“Yeah, go hang with your parents. I’m fine.”

When he joins the crowd ahead of us, Ali nudges me. “What’s up?”

“Nothing. I just don’t think Eli is going to want me to be waiting for him the second he comes out of the locker room. You remember what happened when Cam and Patrick almost caught us holding hands.”

“I don’t think that’s true. He was kissing you on campus just last week.”

“I know, but this is different. I don’t think he wants these people to know yet, and I’m trying to respect that.”

Ten minutes of waiting and the players start to trickle out from the locker room. They’re all freshly showered and back in their suits and ties. Patrick files out, saying hello to a few people before going over to Alyssa’s clique and giving them each a hug. Cam makes his way through the doors and finds an older couple, who I assume are his parents, judging by their matching ginger locks, before embracing them both. It seems like most of the team has exited the locker room, but Eli still hasn’t, and the crowd hasn’t lessened, so I assume that most everyone down here is waiting around to see him.

When he does finally emerge, my jaw slacks at the view. He looks so handsome in his navy-blue suit. It’s perfectly tailored to fit his muscular build, and the lines accentuate his tall frame. His crisp white shirt is unbuttoned at the top, and his brown shoes perfectly match with his belt. His hair is wet from his shower, and he looks so damn good he should probably be on the cover of a magazine.

When he comes out, the crowd stirs, and my suspicions are confirmed that everyone was waiting for him as a few people rush him the second he appears.

He looks around for a moment until he finds his parents and Marc, dodging the crowd as he heads in their direction. Even though he has spotted his family, he continues to sift through the audience with his eyes, looking around. He gives his dad a quick hug and a pat on the shoulder, then gives his stepmom a swift kiss on the cheek, all while continuing to search through the crowd. He leans over to Marc to say something in his ear as Marc quickly turns in my direction, pointing up the hall. As Eli’s eyes find mine, his face lights up, and a huge smile dons his perfect lips as he begins to slip past the crowd to head towards me.

Most people are watching his every move, which is making me nervous, but I’m more excited to see Eli than I am worried about what anybody else thinks.

His long legs bound towards me, and before I realize what’s happening, he wraps me in his arms and lifts me up in a hug. Tightening my arms around his shoulders, I close my eyes, pressing my cheek against his. He nuzzles his head into my neck, and I cup the back of his wet head with my hand as he holds me in the air.

“Hi, baby,” he says into my nape.

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