Page 48 of Staying Selfless

“Yes, you are,” Eli says definitively.

Another one of the things I feel so appreciative of when it comes to Eli is his unwavering certainty that I am the one for him. I’ve never had to question his intentions. He’s always made them clear. Sure, there were some hiccups initially, but Eli had never dated before, and it was a huge learning curve for him. But he’s absolutely killing the boyfriend game, if I do say so myself.

“What’s the birthday plan next weekend?” Marc asks his brother.

“The boys are throwing a party for me on Saturday after our home game. Then on my actual birthday, I don’t have plans, but I was hoping we could spend the day together?” Eli tilts his head, placing his chin on my chest, and referring to me.

He slips his warm hands under my shirt, between the mattress and my back, holding me.

“I’d like that,” I confirm, as his mouth quickly splits into a grin, matching the one on my face.

“Fuck me, right?” Marc says with sarcasm.

“You can hang with us.”

“Nah,” Marc brushes off his brother. “I’m just giving you shit. Let’s be real, I’ll be lucky to be functioning the day after a ‘Maddison birthday bash.’”

This conversation is urgently reminding me that I need to get Eli something for his birthday, but I have no idea what. Typically, I would consider myself a good gift-giver, but in this case, I can’t think of anything that would encapsulate just how much Eli means to me.

“You bringing Ali as your date to the party?” Eli teases.

“At least I’ve taken her on a date. You two fucking weirdos are probably going to get married and have babies and shit, and you’ve never even been on a real date.”

Eli’s eyes quickly dart to mine when Marc mentions babies. Marc doesn’t know that I don’t want to have children. It’s not a subject that’s ever come up between us. Let’s add this to the list of things that Eli and I need to figure out for our future.

“Yeah, where’s my date, huh?” I tease my boyfriend, trying to ease the tension that this conversation could potentially cause.

Eli lets out a little laugh, seeming to be just as thankful for a shift in conversation. “Well, actually, if you’re up for it, I would really love it if you were my date to Gabe’s wedding. Mary has asked me almost every day if you’re coming, and I know the whole family wants to see you too.”

The thought of accompanying Eli to his cousin’s wedding does nothing but make me smile. “Yeah, baby. I’d love to go.”

I turn to my best friend, suggestively nudging him. “Marc, are you bringing anyone?”

“I don’t think I should. You guys both know what a big deal it is to bring someone around the family. That’s way too much pressure.”

“Well,” Eli chimes in. “If you feel for Ali the way I think you do, it’s not a bad idea. It might be a good time to do some damage control with Mary. If those two are stuck in a cabin together for the whole weekend, there’s no way that Mary won’t realize that Ali is good for you.”

“I don’t know, man. Or if it backfires, we’ll be stuck in a cabin for the whole weekend with my mom awkwardly hating on the girl I brought.”

“You have some time to figure it out.”

I involuntary yawn as I listen to my boys talk, reminding me that the whole point of getting into my bed was to take a Sunday afternoon nap that I clearly need.

“I love you both, but I’m going to sleep. You guys can keep talking, just don’t expect me to participate.”

Eli chuckles at my honesty as he climbs off me to lie on the bed before rolling me on top of his body. I place my head on his chest as his arms wrap around my shoulders, holding me to him.

Marc grabs my TV remote as he and Eli start scrolling for a movie on Netflix. I couldn’t tell you which one they picked because before they do, I’m out like a light as I fall asleep on my boyfriend’s body.

Sometime later, I slightly open my eyes after hearing Marc’s whispering voice. I’m in the same position I fell asleep in, and I don’t know how long I was out, but there’s a movie still playing in the background as the two boys talk quietly.

“How are your therapy sessions going?” Marc softly asks Eli.

“They’re good so far. I’ve only had two, but the guy seems pretty cool.”

“What are you working on with him? Career anxiety?”

“A little bit, but honestly, I haven’t dealt with too much anxiety towards that lately. I’ve been feeling good since those meetings. I had an attack over Senior Showcase weekend, but besides that, it hasn’t been consuming me like it was.

---