Page 98 of Staying Selfless

“It’s gorgeous. All those windows, it almost feels like you’re outside, but with the luxury of central heat.”

“Thank god,” I chime in from the living room as I set up some pillows, creating a spot for Eli to elevate his ankle. “Mary, do you have a plastic baggie I can steal?”

She sifts through the kitchen drawers. “I think I saw some in here.”

“Baby, please go lie down,” I plead with Eli.

“I’m fine.” He stands, leaning on his crutches.

“EJ, listen to your girlfriend,” Mary chimes in as we both give him a pointed glance.

“Both of you?” Eli sighs in disbelief, hobbling over to the couch. “For fuck’s sake, I’m not going to get away with anything this weekend.”

I fill a baggie with ice as Mary and I shoot each other a proud and victorious grin.

“How’s it look?” she asks.

“It actually looks pretty good. There’s some bruising, but the swelling has gone down quite a bit. The team doctor is hopeful they’ll give him a cortisone shot and let him play in the first round. But he was also adamant about him staying off it this weekend. So, I’m going to be the annoying girlfriend and make sure he does just that.”

“Oh, that sounds like fun. I’ll be the annoying stepmom and join you.”

I take the bag of ice to find Eli in the living room with his leg propped up on the mountain of pillows I created.

“I’m not trying to mother you.” I position the ice on his injury.

“I know.” He holds his arms out for me, pulling me onto his lap. “You’re just looking out for me, and honestly, it’s kind of hot when you boss me around. But regardless of all that, I’m still frustrated I can’t do anything all weekend.”

“You can do me all weekend,” I whisper so no one else can hear.

“Oh my god.” Eli’s brown eyes lighten with amusement. “Where did this dirty mouth come from?” He laughs. “I fucking love it. And yes. I fully plan on doing just that.”

Mary, Marc, and Ali make their way to join us in the living room as I sit up.

“Mom, where should we put our bags?” Marc asks.

“Well, your dad and I were going to give EJ and Logan the master since it’s on this level. That way, EJ doesn’t have to deal with the stairs.”.

“Are you sure?” I quickly ask.

“I can handle stairs, Mary,” Eli cuts in. “We don’t need the biggest room.”

“It’ll make your life easier. Your dad put our stuff in one of the rooms upstairs so you guys can have the other two,” she tells Marc and Ali.

I stand from Eli’s lap to grab our bags that I left by the front door, finding my way into the master bedroom on the first floor.

My jaw drops as I walk through the doorway, seeing the insane size and view from this room. The king-size bed is sprawling, centered on the wall across from the vast windows, giving us a perfect visual of the snowy scenery. I know Eli’s long-ass body will enjoy this massive bed for a few nights.

I set our bags down next to the mattress before wandering into the bathroom, once again, totally impressed.

There’s a separate shower and bathtub with dual sinks in front of the mirror. I’m looking forward to being away from the coed bathrooms for a few days, not to mention using this tub.

I find the closet, needing to hang up my dress for the wedding on Saturday. Thankfully, it’s wrapped in a garment bag from the store because I don’t want Eli to see it until I put it on. I grab his suit bag, unzipping it so I can hang it in the closet as well. When I pull it out, I find his dark green, almost black, tailored suit. I love this one on him, just as I love any suit that graces his beautiful body. But we’ll look like we planned to coordinate with our matching green outfits when in reality, it was just a coincidence. Eli still has no idea what I’m wearing.

I put the rest of our clothes away in the dresser, emptying both our bags before heading back to the living room to hang with Eli’s family.

“There she is,” Jack says when I join the rest of the group, sitting around an injured Eli.

“I bought things to make homemade pizzas,” Mary begins. “I would ask if that sounds good, but I don’t really give a shit. That’s what’s for dinner.”

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