Page 162 of The Surprise Play

She groans like it was orgasmic. “One hundred percent required.” Looking up with a sleepy grin, shekisses me again. “But you can wear me out anytime, Coyote.”

I waggle my eyebrows at her until she’s giggling against my chest.

Wrapping my arms around her shoulders, I walk her back into the diner, determined to give her the best surprise party in the world.

I can’t fucking wait!

CHAPTER 50

ELIZABETH

Wily’s been evasive this week, and it’s making me nervous. Ever since we got back to Nolan, he’s been hiding something from me. I have no idea what it is, and okay… I’m more than nervous. It’s freaking me out!

What did my dad say to him at the diner while I was napping?

Did he tell Wily to stay away from me?

No, that can’t be right. They seemed to really like him. We had dinner together on Saturday night, and we taught Wily how to play Carcassonne. It’s one of our favorite board games, and Wily did great. He built a huge city that got him a bunch of points, and he nearly beat my dad. And then we watchedThe Sound of Music, because Wily had never seen it before, and he didn’t mind one bit that Mom and I sang along to every song, knowing every lyric. Wily had his arm around me, grinning and kissing the top of my head when I started singing “My Favorite Things.”

It’s so obvious he likes my parents, and he seemed to be having fun hanging out with us.

And Mom kept on gushing that I’d found myself a good man. She even gave him multiple hugs when we left, and Dad shook his hand just before Wily opened his truck door for me.

Oh, the way Mom swooned over that one.

“Such a gentleman.” She beamed.

Yeah, well mygentlemanhas been lying to me, and I should definitely confront him about it, but what if he turns around, sighs a sad little sigh, and says something like “I don’t want to hurt you, but…” or “I’m not sure how to say this, but…”?

Then he dumps me. And I’ll never recover.

Sucking in a tremulous breath, I try to focus on my studies. I’m at the library, and Wily bailed on our tutoring session about twenty minutes ago. He said something came up and could I please meet him at Football Frat in an hour.

Ugh. This is the worst!

I don’t know how the hell I’m supposed to concentrate on any of my work. My laptop screen keeps blurring as I stare at it, and the letters start to dance.

What’s Wily going to say to me when I get to his place?

And why did he bail?

He’s got an assignment due next week. He can’t just slack off. I can’tlethim slack off.

Yes, I know the Scouting Combine is only a week away and it’s been all-consuming as he prepares for it, but we’ve talked about this. He wants to graduate too! Therehas to be some compromise here, and I’m really going to have to have a word with him.

If we’re still together.

If I’m still his tutor after tonight.

My throat thickens until it hurts to breathe, and I slap my laptop closed, checking the time yet again. Eight o’clock feels miles away.

It’s thirty-six minutes. You can do this.

Sucking in a breath, I open my laptop back up, shuffle in my seat and try to at least write the next paragraph of my essay.

It’s the hardest thing I’ve ever done, and by 7:41, I’m toast.

Grabbing up my stuff, I decide that arriving five minutes early will not be the end of the world. I order an Uber before walking down the library steps and go to wait outside in the cold.