Page 36 of Staying Selfless

“Um...yeah,” Ali finally agrees. “Yeah, that sounds nice.”

“Cool.” Marc’s voice comes out a little higher than usual. “Alright. Well, do you guys want to awkwardly walk to class while we pretend like nothing happened?”

I peep around Eli, making sure the coast is clear. Attempting to keep my knowing smile contained, I step out from behind him, but Marc and Ali both playfully roll their eyes at me before heading into the hall.

I throw my backpack on before opening one of the moving boxes sitting in the middle of my room. Taking a deep breath, I find the small wooden box I was looking for. I take it out and set it on my desk, knowing I need to go through it soon and don’t want it locked away at Eli’s parents’ house.

I catch Eli’s gaze out of the corner of my eye, following my every movement, but he doesn’t ask questions. He just gives me an understanding smile when our eyes connect, though he has no idea what this wooden box is for.

As I go to step into the hallway to head to my first class of the semester, Eli gently pulls me back by my arm. He pins me to the wall with his hips, his free hand caging me in, and his soft lips finding mine. His kiss almost takes my breath away, and not just because he caught me by surprise, but because of the butterflies that are taking up too much space in my stomach and lungs.

I part my lips, deepening the kiss and allowing his tongue access to mine. I wrap my free hand around the base of his neck, pulling him into me as our mouths explore one another. I can taste the black coffee on his tongue, and even though I’d never drink the stuff, I love the flavor when it comes with my favorite boy.

“Damn,” I sigh, thoroughly impressed and partly out of breath when Eli pulls away. “What was that for?”

“Because you seem a little more like yourself today, and I missed you.” The corner of his lips tug upward.

He gives me one more peck before following me out of my room, playfully tapping my ass as he does.

Chapter 13

Logan

As soon as I got back to my dorm after my last class of the day, I pulled my books out and started studying. Once again, grad classes are jumping in right away on the first day. I absolutely bombed my final exams last semester, with everything going on that week, and I need to try to make up some ground. The only class I did okay in was creative writing, and that’s solely because I had written my final paper well before that shitstorm of a week hit.

Ali came by earlier tonight, giving me a fashion show for her date, acting like a nervous wreck. It’s hilarious to see her have feelings, and you can tell she’s not used to them. She tried on about five different outfits until finally settling on one, then covered it all with her winter layers. The funniest part of it all was that Marc was in his room, just a few doors down, waiting on Ali to be ready.

I couldn’t help the proud and excited smile from covering my face, watching them walk down the hall together to go to dinner.

It’s been a couple of hours since they left, and as soon as they were out of sight, I closed my door and put my nose back into my books, but the knocking at my door right now is taking my attention away from the words on the pages.

Eli’s handsome face pops through my doorway, a giant grin across his lips. He takes a step in, only revealing half of his body, the rest of him covered by the wooden barrier. He’s wearing his typical uniform of joggers, a hoodie, and a backward hat, and just like always, he looks effortlessly sexy.

“Hi,” he beams from my entryway.

“Hi, baby. What are you doing here?”

“My coach told me to take the night off since I played all weekend and we have to leave for our road-trip tomorrow,” he explains, still hiding half of his body behind my door. “And since our friends are on a date, I was thinking maybe we could hang out. Maybe order a pizza?”

I cock my head to the side. “That sounds perfect.”

“Okay, good.” He walks into my room, a giant pizza box already in his hands.

I can’t help but laugh as Eli proudly makes his way over, sitting down next to me on the floor with our backs against my bed and the pizza box sandwiched between our bodies.

“What would you have done if I said no?” I ask with a laugh, tossing my books to the side.

“Baby,” Eli begins as he throws open the top to the box, allowing the greasy pizza to fill my room with its aroma. “I said ‘pizza.’ I knew you weren’t going to say no.

“Hi, by the way,” he says again as he leans across the space between us, pressing his lips to mine. “How was your first day?”

I just took a bite when he asked that, so I give him a silent nod in response.

“You like your classes?” he asks, and my shoulders pop in a shrug.

“What?”

I finish chewing before answering him. “I’m just a little stressed. I tanked my finals, and I need to try to bump up my GPA this semester.”

---