Page 171 of Staying Selfless

I’ve avoided Eli’s phone calls since my doctor’s appointment yesterday. It’s not that I don’t want to talk to him, but I’m worried I’m going to spill everything if I hear his voice, and I don’t want him to know that he’s going to be a dad until after his big game tomorrow. I don’t want him to lose focus.

As I contemplate calling Eli, hovering my thumb over my boyfriend’s name, Marc barges into my room without as much as a knock.

“Hey,” he casually says, taking a seat at my desk.

“What are you doing? It’s Friday night. Aren’t you going out to party with some cute girls or something?”

“Nah.” He brushes me off. “I thought maybe you could use a friend tonight. How does a pizza and a movie sound?”

My eyes begin to sting as I look at my best friend with gratitude. “That sounds perfect, Marc.”

He gives me a knowing grin as he places our delivery order on his phone.

“I need to call Eli and check in. Will you stay here while I do so I don’t accidentally spill the beans?”

“Yeah, of course. But if he asks you to have phone sex or something, I’m leaving,” Marc says with sarcasm.

Or maybe it’s not sarcasm because I wouldn’t put it past Eli to say something sexual the moment he answers the phone.

“Are you naked?” Eli asks, answering my call on the first ring.

“I’m out,” Marc states from across the room, his voice projecting into the speaker.

“Oh fuck. Sorry, bro. Baby, you’ve got to warn me.”

“I didn’t even say hi, and you asked if I was naked. You didn’t leave me much time to warn you.”

“Well, hi,” Eli laughs.

“Hi.”

“How did you guys’ tests go?”

“Good,” Marc chimes in. “Logan finished before anyone else.”

“Nice work, babe!” Eli’s voice drips with elation, always being excited for me when it comes to my education.

“Thanks. How do you feel about tomorrow?”

“Good. I’m a little stressed, but overall, I feel good. Their arena is amazing. I wish you guys were here to see it.”

“Me too.”

“I really miss you, baby,” Eli reminds me.

“I really miss you too, honey bunches, sweet cupcake, sugar angel pie,” Marc chimes in.

“Fuck off,” Eli laughs.

“I miss you too,” I remind my boyfriend through my laughter. “I’ll see you on Sunday, though. Two more sleeps.”

“Maybe. Coach decided today that if we win, we’re heading straight to Tampa instead of coming home first.”

“Wait, really?” The Frozen Four championship is being held in Florida this year, and Marc and I have our tickets booked to fly out on Wednesday just in case Eli wins tomorrow, but I thought we would have a few days back in Minnesota together before the team left.

“Yeah,” Eli sighs. “I guess since it’s spring break anyway, Coach just wants us down there ASAP. He’s stressing, but I don’t blame him. It would be our first time in the Frozen Four since I was a freshman.”

“So, I won’t see you until Wednesday?” I’ve gotten accustomed to Eli being on the road, and as much as it sucks, I can handle it. What I’m not sure I can manage is keeping this pregnancy a secret from him for that long.

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