Page 143 of Staying Selfless

“You’re right. L-o-g-a-n,” he repeats. “Anyone call you ‘Lo?’”

“Yes,” Eli lies, clearly trying to avoid his friend having a nickname for me.

“No.” I playfully swat my boyfriend in the chest. “No one calls me that.”

“Lo,” Zanders says, trying it out. “That’s it. We have a winner.”

“Okay. My turn. Z-a-n-d-e-r-s,” I slowly enunciate. “Zandy.”

Eli chokes on his drink behind me before busting out in a fit of laughter.

“That’s gonna be a no from me, Lo,” Zanders quickly states.

“Well, I can’t go with EZ because that’s just too self-explanatory.”

“How about, ‘Zee?’” he suggests.

“‘Zee,’” I repeat, seeing how it feels coming off the tongue. “I like it.”

“Zee and Lo. How much do you hate me, Maddison?”

“I don’t have enough words to explain just how much,” Eli admits, though I can tell through his tone that he’s full of shit. Eli clearly loves this guy.

“That’s okay. I know it’s not saying much because I absolutely despised you until about five minutes ago, but I think I might end up liking your girl more than you, anyway.”

“Welcome to my life,” Eli playfully sighs.

Even though I’ve formed a few relationships with Eli’s friends, his friendship with Zanders is different. Maybe I’m just hopeful, but I have a feeling this one is going to last a long time. And not I or anyone else will be able to comprehend the bond these two have formed through their shared experiences.

“Hey, any news?” Eli shifts the tone of conversation.

He doesn’t have to explain what he’s referring to. The only thing on either of their minds these days is a potential call from an NHL team.

“No. I’m starting to freak out, man.”

“Yeah, me too,” Eli admits.

He has one arm draped over my shoulder from behind, so I reach up and lace my fingers through his, hoping to calm his mind.

“Brother!” Marc exclaims, falling into us. “I need a drink.”

“No, you don’t,” Eli quickly counters. “You need some water.”

“No. Alcohol,” Marc insists.

“What you need is to stop putting your tongue down every chick’s throat. What is that, number four?” Eli motions towards the girl Marc left on the dance floor.

“You, of all people, shouldn’t be giving me shit. Just last year, you were doing this. Worse than this. At least I’m not sleeping with them.”

I feel Eli’s body stiffen behind me as Zanders snickers in front of me.

“And you.” Marc nods towards the Ohio State defenseman. “You’re the biggest man-whore here,” he says without filter, the liquor coursing through his veins.

“And proud of it.” Zanders puffs out his chest with a smug grin on his lips.

“We should go home.” Eli stands up straight. “You’ve had enough to drink.”

“Fuck that. I wasn’t babysitting you when you were off fucking every girl on campus. Let me live my life,” Marc counters in frustration, storming off.

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