Page 139 of Staying Selfless

“Damn, baby.” Eli waltzes into my room on Wednesday evening. “Your ass looks amazing in these.” He walks up behind me, taking two handfuls of it.

“Thank you. New jeans.” I wiggle in his grasp. “And thanks for picking me up.”

“You act like there was a choice. You’re not driving that car until spring.” He holds my dorm room door open for me to exit first.

I playfully roll my eyes at his bossy tone, but the truth is, he’s right, and he’s just looking out for me. I should probably think about buying something bigger and safer to drive before my next Minnesota winter.

Eli intertwines his fingers with mine and leads us towards the elevator.

“Wait.” I stop in my tracks. “Let me check on Ali.”

I already texted Ali multiple times, trying to convince her to come to Cam’s birthday, but she refuses. Maybe an in-person grovel will do the trick. But after three unsuccessful and unanswered knocks, I accept defeat and shoot her another text instead.

L: I would love to see you at the hockey house. I miss you, and I know the boys do too.

I tuck my phone away and follow Eli to the elevator.

“I can’t believe she hasn’t talked to Marc yet,” Eli says as he steps inside the four metal walls.

“I’m staying out of it.”

Because the truth is, I understand and sympathize with both parties here. Yes, I want Ali to explain things to Marc, but she’s clearly dealing with some traumatic history on the communication front. And I would love for Marc to forgive Ali for the other night, but he doesn’t know the truth yet, and I completely empathize with him for why he’s so upset.

But Eli only has one person he needs to worry about, and that’s his brother, whereas I have two.

“Speaking of Marc,” I begin. “Is he at the hockey house?”

“Yeah. And he’s buzzing already. I have a feeling I’m going to be dealing with two drunk grad students tonight,” he teases, shooting me a playful look out of the corner of his eye.

“And do your teammates know who else is coming?”

“Not yet.” Eli opens the lobby door for me, the late February chill smacking me in the face. “Cam knows because I wanted to make sure he was cool with it, but I haven’t told the rest of the boys yet.”

The hockey house is swarming tonight, which isn’t all that strange for a player’s birthday bash. But it’s Wednesday, and this is a twenty-first birthday which means we’ll be heading to the bars soon, so I didn’t expect to see the house bumping with music, drunken college students spilling out the front door. I thought this was just going to be a little pre-game drinking.

I step in front of Eli, heading up the walkway towards the front door, but before I make it to the first step, my California ass slips on the frosted cement.

As I awkwardly wobble, trying to regain my balance, Eli grabs me. “For fuck’s sake, Logan,” he says, not letting go of my waist. “Are you trying to give me a heart attack?”

My blood is pumping from the sudden jerk in movement, but it wasn’t that big of a deal. Even if I fell, it would’ve been more amusing than anything.

“Sorry, I’m not as good on the ice as you are,” I tease.

He eyes me with a pointed glance, but the corner of his lip pulls upward. “That was cheesy as hell, Logan Jo.” He grabs me, tosses me over his shoulder, and heads inside.

It’s not until we are through the doorway, no iced-over sidewalks in sight, that Eli places me back on my feet to walk on my own.

“Kitchen,” he says, lacing his fingers with mine and leading us through the crowd.

“Logie!” Cam rings out with a bit of a slur, bypassing my boyfriend altogether, most likely because Eli was just here ten minutes ago.

“Happy birthday, Cami! We brought you a present.”

“Tequila. So thoughtful,” my red-headed friend says when Eli hands him the silver bottle.

“Happy Birthday, man.”

“We drinking tonight, girl?” Cam turns to me.

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