“I don’t blame her.” He bit his lower lip as he studied me. “Will you go home for Christmas?”
“Probably. I don’t see why I wouldn’t.” I eyed him. Why was he bringing that up? It was a few months away.
“Okay.” He dipped a piece of tuna nigiri into his soy sauce mixture. “I don’t know. If we become close, maybe we can hang out at home. It’s been a long time.”
I lifted my brows. He was making plans for the future? Was this a date?
“How’s Ethan doing? Is he still stuck in Medford?” He sipped his beer.
“Yep, he’s still there. We went to community college together, and he got his associates in IT and now works as a teller at my mom’s bank.” I had to call him and update him on Eli. I ate more food.
“Good for him. I never held it against him when he told you what happened.” He worried his lower lip. “He was always a good friend to you. Loyal.”
“Yes, he is.” Ethan would be happy to see me back together with Eli, but I’d keep it to myself. I peered at him, watching meintently. What did he want from this? I shifted in my seat. “Eli, what?—”
“I want us to be friends again and maybe more. I’m hoping for more.” His full attention drew to me, and he laid his chopsticks across his plate. “It’s like I told you. I still have feelings for you. The instant I saw you on the field, it was like…” He looked away for a beat. “My heart felt like it was ripped from my chest.”
I dropped my mouth open. Fuck, how should I take this? I’d felt the same way, hadn’t I?
“Is there a chance, Wren?” His brows creased as he reached across the table and grasped my hand. “Don’t you feel anything for me?”
I gaped, emotions rolling through my heart.Yes…“I-I don’t know yet.” I was a fucking liar, but I wasn’t ready to open up to him. “I need time.”
“So, there’s a chance.” He squeezed my hand, freed it and then combed his fingers through his dark hair. “Is there anything between you and Jackson?”
“Jackson? No.” A soft chuckle rumbled in my throat. “He’s just a study partner. He’s bisexual, but he’s dating a girl right now, and we’re just friends.” He’d been jealous of Jackson?
Squirming in his seat, Eli said, “Good. Keep it that way.” With a click of his tongue, he said, “I don’t want to see you with anyone else. I can’t help it.” His gaze locked on mine.
I knitted my brows. Was he serious right now? It wasn’t like we were dating. “Eli, this isn’t a date, right?”
“It’s…” He fisted his hand on the table. “No, it’s not a date.”
Had I angered him? So what? We weren’t together. “Eli, let’s be friends for now, and we’ll see what happens.” I swallowed hard. I already knew what would happen. Eventually he’d break me down and I’d fall for him again. It was inevitable. But for now, I’d keep some distance between us.
“Sure.” He took a deep inhale. “I’m sorry. I can’t seem to control myself where you’re involved.” He wiped his mouth with a napkin.
It was how he’d been in high school that had attracted me to him. Jesus, I was in trouble. I should start with a lighter topic. “Hey, remember the time your mom came home early from shopping?—”
“And almost walked in on us?” A smile swept across his face. “You hid under my bed, naked, until I could get her out of my room.”
“She bought you new clothing, as I recall, and wanted you to try it all on to be sure it fit. I thought I’d be under the damn bed for hours.” I chuckled. It had been hella dusty under there, and it had been a miracle I hadn’t sneezed.
He snickered, drank some beer and then said, “She always complained that I grew out of my clothing every few months. I don’t know what she expected. I had to gain muscle to be scouted.”
“Yeah, you were the biggest guy on the team by your senior year.” And the sexiest. I ran my gaze across his body, the thick arms and wide chest, my cock waking. Damn it, he still did it for me in the best way. But he was even larger now and had the angled jaw of a man. My balls tingled, and heat filled my belly.Settle yourself, Wren.
He gave me a coy grin and then licked the corner of his mouth. “Remember the time I blew you in the locker room?”
Shit, no way for my dick to stand down now. I adjusted my swelling cock inside my shorts. “Yeah, that was hot.” If I started dating him, could we try it again? Damn, my desire for him was getting ahead of my heart.
“You always said I gave the best blowjobs.” He waggled his brows as he sipped his beer and then shimmied in his seat.
My cock ached. Was he as hard as I was? “You, uh, you did.” And he was the one I’d compared every blowjob to since. No one understood me the way he did. Shit, this conversation needed to switch gears again. “Anyway.”
“Yeah…” His lips tensed, and he poured more beer into my glass. “We had some fun times, didn’t we?”
“We did.” I drank the fresh beer and plucked another piece of roll off a plate. “This weekend’s game is against Texas State.” I ate the sushi.
