Page 19 of How We Fooled

“I did. You look so beautiful, and I wanted a picture.”

The grin she gives me is priceless, so I take another one, making her cover her mouth as she laughs. I’ve never been one to FaceTime, but now, I get why others do it. Getting to see her makes all the difference in the world.

“You look …” She doesn’t finish her sentence.

I take off my hat, toss it onto the passenger seat, and shake my head to show her how sweaty my hair is as it falls over my forehead. I still have eye black on, and my face looks like it has makeup that’s been smeared, but it’s really just the dirt on my face.

“What? You don’t think they’d let me in the restaurant, looking like this?”

She shakes her head. “No. Please don’t.”

My intention was to only call her to ask her out tonight, but now that I have her on the phone, I don’t want to hang up, so I place the phone in between the dash, my door, and the windshield. This way, I’m able to keep my eyes on the road, but still glance over at her every once in a while. We talk like this during my entire drive back to Leighton River, making it feel like it was only ten minutes and not the hour-plus that it actually is.

Liza

I stare into the phone as Eli drives back to Leighton River. There’s something about him being all sweaty with his messy hair that is making it hard to take my eyes off of him. Since he’s driving, he’s kept his eyes on the road, which means I get to take him in unabashedly without him even really noticing.

I can’t get over the thought that he called me before he even got on the road after his practice was over.

I’ve never met a guy who doesn’t play some kind of game, keeping me wondering where this is going or if he’s going to call me again. Eli is doing the exact opposite, and it’s making my head spin a little, leaving me to wonder about his actions. I want to think they are genuine, but it’s so foreign. I feel like I still need to keep my barrier up, just in case this is indeed the game he plays—making girls fall head over heels, then dipping the first chance he gets.

Once he’s back to his house, he puts the truck in park and sits back, repositioning the phone so he can see it better now that he’s not driving.

“Okay, let me hop in the shower, and then I’ll come get you.”

“Sounds good,” I respond, trying not to blush now that he’s looking straight at me with his gorgeous green eyes that make me melt by the beauty of them.

He grins and raises his eyebrows ever so slightly, making me laugh.

“Bye,” he says breathlessly.

“Bye.” I hang up and fall back on my bed with a squeal of joy.

I knew moving here was going to be life-changing, but I never envisioned finding a guy this quickly, who would be this amazing.

CHAPTER EIGHT

Liza

Eli shows up at my house at four thirty, which makes me laugh.

When I open the door, I tease, “We’d better go get the early bird special before it’s too late.”

He steps up to me, wrapping one arm around me and bringing me in for a quick hello kiss. “I know it’s early for dinner, but I’m starving, and I wanted to see you. This will just give us more time to hang out.”

I grip his hand. “Here, my aunt wants to meet you.”

I walk us back to the kitchen, where she’s just starting to cook dinner.

“Aunt Heidi, this is Eli.”

Eli lets go of my hand and holds it out to her. “Nice to meet you, ma’am.”

They shake.

“Eli! It’s so good to meet you. Where are you two off to?”

I look at Eli because I honestly have no clue what the name of the restaurant is.

---