Page 82 of How We Fooled

Dalton walks her to the door with his keys in his hand, so I hop up.

“I’m heading out too. I’ll give Natalie a ride home.”

Instead of heading to the door, I go to Maya and wrap my arms around her. It’s not something I’ve ever done, but right now, I’m so tangled up with my thoughts about Liza that I think I need the hug just as much as Maya does.

“I’m glad you’re okay,” I whisper in her ear.

She hugs me back. “Thank you, Eli.”

I nod and walk out the door, nodding my goodbye to Dalton and Ben.

After giving Natalie a ride home, I try Liza once again, but still can’t get through. I know I’ll never be able to go to bed tonight until I talk to her, so I do what I said I never would and head straight to her house, hoping that because it’s the middle of the night, no one will see me.

Once I’m there, I walk to her bedroom window and tap lightly. “Liza, it’s me, Eli,” I whisper, trying not to scare her.

It takes a few tries, but eventually, she wakes up and opens her curtains, looking at me with a question in her sleepy face. I tilt my head toward the front door, and she gets up to meet me there.

Slowly, she opens the front door and steps outside. “Eli, what are you doing here?” she whispers so she doesn’t wake up her aunt and uncle.

I wrap my arms around her, just needing to be close to her. “Some shit happened with Maya and the guy she was dating tonight.”

“What?” she asks, pulling back to look at me, but I bring her in closer, not wanting to lose that connection.

“She’s fine. Ben beat the shit out of him. I just wanted to hold you for a second,” I say, gripping her tighter.

She holds me just as tight, knowing she can give me exactly what I need in this moment, making me love the fact that we can have each other this way, right now, not worrying who will see.

CHAPTER THIRTY-TWO

Eli

Spring is here, the snow is starting to melt, and baseball season is finally happening. The new semester started in January, so I’m officially not Liza’s student anymore. Yes, she’s still a teacher at our school, but not being in her class was a plus and a negative at the same time. I miss getting to see her every day. Now, all we get is little glances in the hall and nothing more, which is killing me.

It took some convincing, but I finally got Liza to agree to go away with me for spring break. Billings was too close, and we were dumb to think we wouldn’t run into anyone. Thank God Maya kept her word and has never mentioned anything to me about who she saw me with that day.

I found a small town a few hours away; if anyone from here is there, then we were destined to be caught because there are no such things as coincidences that big. We are staying a few nights, and I’m beyond excited to get to hold her in my arms again.

“Okay, Mom, I’m taking off,” I say as I enter the kitchen.

She eyes me as she lets out a sigh. She knows I’m lying about where I’m going, but she hasn’t tried to stop me, and I love her for it.

She places her hands on either side of my arms and eyes me in her motherly way. “Be safe,” she says, meaning so much more than just don’t get hurt or do anything stupid.

“I will, Mom.” I give her a big hug, my silent thank-you for not stopping me from going to be with Liza.

I hop in the car, send Liza a text to let her know I’m leaving, and blast the radio to help the time go by faster because I’ve never wanted to get somewhere so fast in my life.

I check us in to the hotel that has little cabins that stand by themselves; this way, we are completely alone. It will just be the two of us for three glorious days.

Once I enter the cabin, I send her a text message, letting her know the cabin number and instructions on how to get here, then sit back and wait for the love of my life to arrive.

Tires rolling over the gravel road awake my senses, and I rush to the door to see her parking next to me. I can’t help myself when I meet her at the car before she even opens the door. It’s been five months since I’ve kissed her lips, and I can’t wait one more second.

Our eyes meet, and the hunger between us is flammable as she opens the door and instantly jumps into my arms. The same fireworks I’ve felt anytime my lips touch hers are there as I carry her into our cabin.

We waste no time in saying our hello the proper way by ripping our clothes off. I’m inside her in what feels like two seconds, but the hunger we have for each other couldn’t stop us if we tried.

We’ve waited too long for this. We have time to savor it later, but now, there’s just a primal need to be one again as fast as humanly possible.

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