Page 163 of Becoming Selfish

Oh, I’m going to smother the shit out of that dog. Eli will be lucky if he gets any of my attention that weekend, let alone Max’s.

“What did you do last year for Thanksgiving?” he asks as he hands me my bowl of cheesy carbs.

Last year I was sitting in my mom’s hospital room, eating a microwaved turkey dinner from the hospital cafeteria. At that point, my mom didn’t know who I was half the time due to the meds she was on, but I’m not going to bring that up right now. I don’t want to put a damper on tonight.

“Not much,” I say instead.

“Are there any Thanksgiving traditions that you guys did growing up? Anything we should do this year that you’re used to?”

“I always ran a 5k on Thanksgiving morning. I looked forward to the annual Turkey Trot in our hometown.”

Eli gives me a skeptical glance. “My little athletic freak, you ran a 5k to start your day of eating?”

“Mmm-hmm,” I hum with a smile, my mouth full of pasta. “Do you have any traditions?”

“We do a Maddison-Jones football game on Thanksgiving afternoon. It’s a big deal and highly competitive, so get ready to cheer me on for that. Signs are encouraged,” he adds with heavy irony. “Plus, Marc’s birthday is that weekend, so that’ll be fun.”

I slowly hop off the kitchen island as we make our way to the couch, our mac and cheese in hand. Taking a seat on the sofa, I kick my feet up as Eli sits next to me. He grabs the remote from the coffee table before taking my legs and gently swinging them over his lap instead.

“What do you think about skipping school tomorrow and just hanging here until you have to leave?”

Eli pauses with his forkful of pasta partway to his mouth. “Logan Jo Leo, are you suggesting that we ditch?” he asks with wide eyes. “Who are you, and what have you done with my girlfriend?”

“It’s Logan Josephine Leo,” I remind him, even though I know he just likes to shorten it because he thinks it flows better off the tongue. “Classes obviously don’t matter for you, and I don’t have anything too important tomorrow. We could still go to creative writing if you want to?”

“Nope,” he quickly says, shaking his head. “The only reason I even like that class is because you’re in it, but you can’t be naked there. So, home it is.”

“Alright, my little LJ, what do you want to watch?” he asks, holding the remote up to the television, turning it on.

“I have two more episodes of this season of New Girl. Can we watch that?” I ask as sweetly as possible, hoping to get my way. “I’ll explain what’s going on.”

“Baby, you just let me have sex with you. You could pretty much have anything your little heart desires right now,” he says, making me laugh with my mouth full. “But I have a confession. Remember that night when I showed up at your dorm, and you were pissed off at me? The night after we kissed for the first time.”

I nod my head suspiciously, having no idea where he is going with this or why this has anything to do with the show I want to watch, except that he watched a few episodes with me that night.

“Well, I told you I drove there, and I couldn’t drive home until I sobered up,” he reminds me. “Yeah, I walked there from my house.” His lips turn up in a devilish grin.

“You little liar!” I say with a gaping mouth, though the corners are turning up in amusement.

“I couldn’t tell you the truth! You were going to kick me out!” He puts his hands up in defense.

I take a pillow off the couch and playfully smack him with it, causing him to throw his head back in laughter.

“You persistent little punk,” I add, trying to hold back my grin.

“Yeah, and that persistence paid off, I’d say.” He runs a hand up my bare leg before leaning over and kissing my lips with his.

“And since we are on the subject of being truthful,” he says, his lips lingering just above mine. “I’ve seen this season of New Girl twice already.”

My mouth hangs fully open. “Do I even know you anymore?”

Chapter 73

Eli

Allowing the hot water beat down on me, I stand under the stream in the locker room showers, with my hands on the tile wall and the water coating my exhausted body. The pulsing pressure feels amazing on my tight muscles. I’ve been going hard the last couple of weeks between important division games and longer practices, plus I’ve been staying late on the ice to get some extra repetitions in. My body can feel it. But I have to keep my head down and grind because Senior Showcase is only a little over a month away.

This morning’s game felt good, and the pregame wake-up sex felt even better. It’s been a couple of weeks since Logan and I first slept together, and it’s gotten better each time. And by better, I mean for her. It’s been fan-fucking-tastic each and every time since the start for me, but it’s different for girls, and it’s been more enjoyable for Logan the more we’ve done it. Regardless, Logan has taken it like a champ. But still, I’m looking forward to the day that I don’t have to hold back with her.

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