Page 9

NINE

ELI

We’ve been sitting at my favorite diner for thirty minutes and Becca’s barely said three words. The quiet is different than what I’ve come to expect, and surprisingly, I don’t think I like it.

The spark in her eyes dimmed every second she spent on her phone, a heaviness sinking in my gut as I watched, which is funny because I thought I hated that fire. It’s annoying as hell. She’s annoying as hell, but I still find myself wanting to smooth away her frown and sweet-talk the sadness from her eyes.

I lean back in the booth, taking her in. She’s sipping on her Coke, looking at her surroundings, the ends of those wild, red curls knotting in her fingers. She does that a lot, I’ve noticed: plays with her hair.

“So, was that your ma on the phone?” I break the silence.

“Yep. The one and only.” She nods.

“Things okay at home?” I don’t know why I’m bothering to ask, it’s not like she’ll tell me.

“What is this, an after-school special? The coach takin’ out the player to bond and learn life lessons?”

“You should learn how to shoot the ball before calling yourself a player.” I point at her.

“I can shoot the damn ball.” She crosses her arms. “I’ve been doin’ it for days now.”

“You’re shit at it.”

Her mouth drops open and she blinks at me. “Elliot Carson, you take that back. I am not.”

My mouth tilts up. “Maybe you should try harder. You’d never make the team.”

Her eyes flash and my heart skips.

“Maybe I need a better coach, Big Head.” She chews on a fry, cocking her head. “You really wanna get into how things are with our families? Out of the two of us, I’m the one who’s better off.”

That shuts me up quick. In all the time we’ve spent together, we haven’t mentioned my sister. It feels almost taboo, especially with the thoughts I have of Becca when I’m alone.

She drives me fucking wild.

Besides, thinking of how close they are just highlights the fact that if Becca hates me the way she does, Lee must feel a thousand times worse. Sadness slithers its way up my spine, reaching around my neck and strangling me. I rub at my throat, trying to ebb the sting.

“You’re right.”

She drops her half-eaten fry onto the plate. “I am?”

“Yeah.” I blow out a breath, leaning back. “When it comes to my family, we’re all pretty fucked.”

“Hmm.” She grabs the straw from her drink, plugging one end with her finger as she sucks liquid from the other. Is she doing that on purpose? I watch how her lips close around the straw, my cock growing as I adjust in my seat.

“You really are fucked,” she agrees. “How come you never go home, Eli?”

“What is this, an after-school special?” I mock. “It really isn’t your business, Rebecca.”

Her eyes narrow, cheeks flushing as she purses her lips. My stomach flips, excitement rushing through me at the reemergence of my little spitfire. I was worried she wouldn’t come back out to play.

“Not my business ? You are such a prick. Let me tell you somethin’, asshole. I’m the one who held your sister up day after day when she couldn’t do it herself. She didn’t have anyone there, Eli. No one except me and Jax.”

My forehead creases. “Is Jax that kid who lived behind us?”

“Mmhmm.” She pauses. “Truly, he’s a better friend to her than I am, and you best believe that’s a bitch for me to admit.”

“I doubt that’s true.” I can’t imagine someone more loyal than Becca.

“No, it is.” She waves me off. “But he’s stupid in love with her, and while I love your sister, I don’t want to spend my life eatin’ at her buffet.”

I’ve just taken a sip of my drink so her words make me choke, and I cough while I try to stop my laughter.

She grins, shaking her head. “But it doesn’t matter whether she had a thousand mes or a thousand Jaxes. She needed you there. She still does.”

I rub the back of my neck, her words muddling up my perception of my baby sister. I don’t feel needed. Never have. The only thing Lee talks about is Pops and how I need to help him, but whenever I try to dig deeper, Pops assures me it’s just Lee struggling with the loss of Ma. That she’s projecting her worries onto him, and I love my sister, but I’m more inclined to believe Pops.

“I don’t wanna go back there, Becca. I don’t think I can,” I murmur, my voice raspy.

The line between Becca’s eyes deepens as she studies my face.

I wish she’d stop looking at me like that.

After a few moments, she sighs. “I get it…not wantin’ to be in Sugarlake.”

“You do?”

“Yeah. It’s what Momma was screamin’ at me for today, actually.”

Surprise trickles through my system. “You don’t wanna be in Sugarlake?”

She huffs out a laugh. “Hell no. That town judges you quicker than a duck jumps on a june bug.”

“No shit.” I chuckle.

I catch her eyes with mine. There’s a softness there I’ve never noticed—or maybe it’s never been directed my way—but now, it’s hard not to get lost in its warmth. I clear my throat, glancing at my plate. “Thank you. For just…getting it. I don’t think anyone ever has before.”

She tugs on the end of that curly hair, twirling it around her fingers. My heart bangs against my chest, my leg bouncing to its rhythm under the table. The air swirls and changes, appreciation for her words and my attraction mixing until I swear it can reach out and touch her.

After a few tense moments, she exhales and drops her gaze. “Yeah…well, I still think you’re a pussy for not mannin’ up and goin’ back.”

I smile, stretching my arm against the back of the booth. “Well, you know what they say.”

Her brow lifts. “What do they say?”

“You are what you eat.”