Offsides by Jerica MacMillan

Author:Jerica MacMillan [MacMillan, Jerica]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Published: 2022-07-20T18:30:00+00:00

* * *

Apprehension tightens my chest as we approach Eli and Jackson’s apartment.

It’s silly. I’m being silly. There’s no reason for me to be nervous to see my best friends. Things with Eli and I are back to normal. Well… maybe not quite normal. But we’re getting there. Maybe in another few weeks I’ll be able to pretend like he never actually kissed me.

For some reason that makes me sad.

Even though I freaked out when it happened, I enjoyed it. I didn’t want to pretend like it never happened at the time. I wanted to be able to talk to him about it and figure out what it meant.

But then he said, Let’s pretend that never happened. Which means that it meant nothing. And if my best friend is going to kiss me, I want it to mean something. I don’t care that Eli prefers hookups over relationships, but I don’t want to destroy our relationship for nothing more than a hookup.

And it’s clear he doesn’t want that either, because he hasn’t made any moves like that since.

Ellie leads the way into the apartment, a cheer greeting our arrival. It’s already pretty crowded, and Autumn, who came earlier, is circulating, a clipboard in hand. She writes on the clipboard as she speaks to people, and I know she’s creating the roster for tonight’s matchups.

Ellie approaches her and gives her a quick hug. Autumn waves at Piper and me, scribbling quickly on her paper before coming our way. “Hey, guys. I’m glad you made it.” She gives each of us a hug like we didn’t see each other just this morning. Then she waves toward the kitchen. “Eli is back there if you want to go say hi.”

“Thanks, Autumn,” I mumble. She’s already moving on, though, and I’m sure she doesn’t hear me at all.

Piper trails behind me as we head toward the kitchen. But we don’t make it more than a few steps before we’re stopped by Jared Ferguson, the left tackle who replaced Simon. He stands, blocking our way forward. Like Simon, he’s a mountain of a man, with broad shoulders the size of small hills. Not as trim as the man he replaced, and he hasn’t quite outgrown his baby face. His round cheeks bunch into a grin as he looks Piper and me up and down. “Hey, ladies. Can I get you anything?”

Even though he addresses both of us, it’s clear his offer is mostly for me.

My brows wrinkle together, confused why he’s paying attention to me all of a sudden. Maybe it’s because we got here after things have gotten started? Usually I’m here already when other people start arriving, so no one other than Eli or Jackson has ever offered to get me anything before. “Uh, no thanks. I’m good.”

He leans closer, almost as though he’s trying to separate me from Piper. “Aw, come on. Don’t be like that.”

A laugh bubbles out of me unintentionally. “Don’t be like what, exactly?”

Piper’s hand appears on his chest, and she steps in, pushing her away between us.

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