I feel my heart hit my stomach and immediately snatch the container out of her hands. “Shit. You might’ve just touched cherry juice! How allergic are you?! She smirks at me, then licks her fingers. “...You’re not really allergic, are you?”
“No.” She shakes her head. “But it was really sweet to see how fast your life, and mine, flashed before your eyes.”
“I would say it’s nice to see you making jokes and letting loose, but that was a sick joke.”
“That was barely a joke,” she laughs. Then she seems to consider something. “Do I really come off as that up tight?”
“You’re the tightest,” I respond, getting an eye roll from her. “I’m just messing with you. Did you know you get this cute little crease between your eyebrows every time I say something obnoxious and you don’t want to laugh?”
“You think you know me so well, huh?”
“Not nearly as much as I’d like to.” The confession leaves my lips and hangs in the air for a moment. I don’t want to put her on the spot, so I pivot. “So, are we doing this or not?” I hand her back the cherry Jello shot.
She brings her container up to cheers mine beforesqueezing the Jello into her mouth. “That’s actually not half bad. I can see how those get dangerous real quick.”
“One day, I’ll tell you about the time Ollie double-poured the Jello shots and then ate most of them.”
“Yikes, that sounds like a rough night.”
“And a rough morning,” Ollie interrupts. “So what’s next on your ‘college party’ bucket list Eliana?”
She looks around casually. “Where’s the beer pong table?”
Chapter 28
Jake
Eliana handles beer pong the way she tackles any to-do item in her calendar— with tact, a game plan, and a determination that could rival an Olympian’s. She does a few practice throws before the game starts. She manages to sink her first shot and the next one touches the rim before bouncing off the table. She decides to up the ante in her next attempt, bouncing the ball off the table and sending me a wide smile when it sinks into the cup a few feet across from her.
“You’re a pro already, Ellie.” I had been using the nickname for weeks now, and if she minded, she hadn’t told me.
She walks around the table to where I’m standing and taps her hip against mine. “Well you gave me some pretty solid pointers earlier.”
She takes a ping pong ball from my hand and sends it flying across the table and into the leftmost cup with ease, and I know immediately we’re going to sweep any team that comes against us. I liked that idea a lot. The thought of us as a team.
We play a couple of rounds just the two of us. Eventually, I swap out the beer in the cups for water after Eliana confessesthat she can’t have more than a few sips without wanting to gag over the taste. We had set up a few beer pong tables outside and closer to the kitchen to keep the party controlled to the front part of the house. I set up this table specifically for us, far away from all the alcohol, the debauchery, and decently hidden from the rest of the party. For a moment, I forget that anyone else exists except for her and I. That is until Ollie rolls in with Adam and a mix of guys from the hockey and lacrosse teams.
“Well well, what do we have here?”
“Jake’s showing me how to play beer pong.” Eliana’s expression shifts from calm and confident to sheepish. She turns her head to shoot me a quick wink before going back to looking despondent. I’m very intrigued by the game she’s trying to play right now.
“Ohishe now?”
“Yeah…it’s not going super well though.” She sighs and tosses a ball so far back it doesn’t come close to any of the cups. Her second “attempt” isn’t any better, and if I didn’t know any better, I’d say she was very bad at beer pong.
“Don’t beat yourself up over it. You just need some practice. And maybe some better competition.” Ollie smirks playfully at me. “Jake why don’t you and her pair up against Adam and I? Hockey House rules.”
And by that he means loser has to clean the winner’s bathroom and do their laundry for the next two months.
“I mean, it’ll probably be a shutout but I’m down.” Eliana shrugs. Her nonchalant tone matches the look on her face.
“I’ll rack the cups.”
“Excellent.” Ollie smirks. “Jake why don’t you and I start so Eliana has time to adjust?”
“You sure you wanna play House Rules again? My track record speaks for itself.”
“Oh yeah. I think it’s about time for me to get a win. I’mfeeling pretty good about tonight. Letting your heart control your head is a rookie mistake, Keeley. I thought you knew better,” he tsks.
