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He groans. “I’m going to play like shit if I don’t get some sleep.”

I shrug. “Not my problem.”

Eli side-eyes me.

I stretch my legs out. “We should do this more often.”

Eli scoffs. “Fuck no.”

“C’mon. Mascot duty’s not so bad.”

We spend the rest of practice watching from the sidelines, too damn tired to care.

Chapter 29

I come home from classes all day today, even though I’m so tired from yesterday and my ass kind of hurts. I shut the front door behind me, kicking off my shoes as Dad stretches.

“I’m gonna take a nap,” he says, already heading toward his room. “You doing school stuff?”

“Yeah,” I lie. “Gotta work on my project still.”

He just grunts in response before disappearing down the hall.

I exhale, climbing the stairs to my room. The second I step inside, I lock the door. Shower first. Then I can pretend to be productive.

The hot water loosens my muscles, washing away the long day. I take my time, fingers dragging through my hair as steam curls around me. When I step out, I grab a towel, tucking it around myself before pushing the bathroom door open—

And freeze.

Eli.

Stretched out on my bed, one arm behind his head, the other flipping a red mask between his fingers.

I arch a brow. “You sneaking into my room now?”

He grins, slow and lazy. “Didn’t sneak in. Just found a way in.”

“Which is literally the definition of sneaking in.”

He lifts the mask, covering the top half of his face. “Miss me?”

I lock the door behind me. “You know FaceTime exists, right? Texting? Phone calls.”

His lips twitch as I cross the room, stopping at the edge of the bed. His gaze flicks down my towel, but he stays put, mask still in place.

“I wanted to see you,” he says, voice lower now. “In person.”

My heart trips over itself.

I reach out, fingers curling around the edge of the mask, and lift it away. His eyes are on me, dark and unreadable.

“Better,” I whisper.

He answers by grabbing my waist, pulling me down on top of him.

I straddle him instinctively, my hands landing on his chest. “Where’s Caleb?”

“Reaper bullshit I don’t care about,” he murmurs, sliding his hands up my thighs. “You don’t have to think about him right now. It’s just me.”