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TWENTY-FIVE

ELI

“ VORTEX WINNNNNNNNS .”

The adrenaline that pumps through my veins is like nothing I’ve ever experienced before. I have to admit that I wish Wrenly and Ryan were here. I’ve personally never made it this far in the playoffs, and it’s more exciting than I imagined it would be.

However, the celebration seems a bit unfilled as I look around the audience and hope to see them. I know they aren’t there. They’re fifteen hundred miles away, tucked into her dad’s house, safe and sound.

Skating back to the locker room, I wince at the fact that I wasn’t able to text Wrenly during my breaks. We were so in the zone, so on the top of our game. Our entire period breaks were spent strategizing.

Now that I’m on the bus and headed back to the hotel, the air around me is charged but quiet with contemplation. We’re excited but also replaying the whole game in our heads. At least I know I am.

Taking my phone out of my pocket, I open the text thread, wanting to send Wrenly a text that I’ll call her as soon as I get back to the room. But the sight that greets me in the thread causes my stomach to drop.

What the fuck?

What the actual fuck?

It’s a photo of me and that woman who forced me to take a selfie at the hotel before the game. How the in actual fuck did this end up not only on my phone but sent to Wrenly, too? I can’t look away from the thread. I don’t know what to do. My heart starts racing, and my breathing becomes short and labored.

“You okay?” a voice asks, but it sounds like it’s off in the distance somewhere.

My eyes have lost focus. Everything is blurry. I can’t see a fucking thing. Then I feel a hand on my shoulder, and it shakes me. Turning my head, I look over to see Daniel staring at me, concern washing over his face.

I can’t speak. My throat is too tight. Handing him the phone, I watch as his eyes widen. He takes in the text, then shifts his attention to meet mine.

“What the fuck?” he asks in a hiss. “That’s the hotel lobby.”

“It is,” I am finally able to say.

He opens his mouth, likely to ask me how. The fucker of it all is that I don’t know. I don’t fucking know. So I tell him just that. “I don’t know how it happened. My phone was in the pocket of my bag. I thought it was in my jeans’ back pocket, but that’s all I know. That’s all I know. My life is going to be ruined if Wrenly leaves me over this.”

“She won’t leave you,” he says.

“How do you know?”

My words come out as a demand. I want him to assure me, but I also know that he can’t. There’s nothing he could really say or do to fix this. Wrenly and I are on shaky fucking ground right now. I want her with me. She doesn’t want to leave her father. And this is only going to keep her right where she is.

This is going to feed her insecurity about me and us. And I can’t blame her at all, either. Not for a single second. My knee starts bouncing as I think about what is going to happen next.

As soon as the bus pulls up to the hotel, I stand. Daniel reaches for my forearm and squeezes. “Don’t do anything crazy. Call her, try to talk to her.”

I almost laugh at him, mainly because I know that Wrenly won’t answer. She’ll go as far as to block my calls. I know she will. She’s done it before. I can’t just sit here and call her, doing nothing else.

I need to go to her.

WRENLY

If my dad noticed my shift in mood, he thankfully never said anything. I spent most of Sunday feeling sorry for myself. It’s Monday morning, and I’m back to work. I had planned on talking to my boss about how to get my credentials switched over to Ohio, about how to ensure that I don’t lose all my schooling credits and time as a dental assistant, but now I don’t care.

I’m not going anywhere.

Not after that picture that was sent to me. Not only that, Eli didn’t even message or call me, nothing. It was all kissy faces and sweet words minutes before that photo was sent, and now it’s radio silence?

I don’t understand what happened. I’m also not sure I want to know the whole story, either. In fact, I think I would rather live in a state of unknowing and just move on with my life.

It was a few days of amazing sex. That’s what I tell myself. Considering he’s the only amazing sex I’ve ever had, I’m going to remember the good stuff and move on.

Clearly, he’s not ready to settle down, and I just need to accept that.

This is the closure I needed, even if it’s not real closure. But it’s better than what I had before. He’s shown me exactly what I needed to see, and I see it—clear as crystal. Keeping my head down, I spend the day working, wondering what tomorrow will bring.

I’m not sure if I feel relieved or sad. My brain tells me that I should be happy, but my heart is breaking into a million pieces. I must give off leave-me-alone vibes because nobody at work asks me about my week away.

They all keep their distance and don’t ask anything too personal, which isn’t like them, but I’m grateful for the peace. Gathering my things, I wave goodbye to everyone and start to make my way out to my car.

Something catches the corner of my eye, and I pause just a few feet away from my driver’s door.

It’s him.

Eli Abbott is standing with his ass leaning against my car door. His hands are shoved into his pockets, his chin is tipped down slightly, and he’s looking up at me through his lashes. If I were in an ’80s teen movie right now, I wouldn’t be surprised. Because that’s exactly how this moment feels.

The beautiful popular hero.

The nerdy, friendless heroine.

But this isn’t a movie, and he’s beautiful. That being said, it doesn’t mean he gets to treat me badly. I need to stand up for myself. I blame myself for running away from him two years ago, but I don’t blame myself for his actions Saturday night.

My feet carry me toward him, a pull that I couldn’t deny even if I tried. Thankfully, my brain steps in, and I stop just a few feet away from him instead of slamming my body against his and kissing him until I’m breathless.

“Wrenly,” he murmurs.

God. I love the way he says my name.

I bite the inside of my cheek until the metallic taste of blood touches my taste buds. It’s the only way I can keep from throwing myself at him, from crying and begging him to want to keep me.

“Eli,” I state woodenly after releasing my cheek. “What are you doing here?”

His lips twitch into a small smile, but otherwise, he stays solid and still. “I didn’t send that. I don’t know how it was taken. A group of them showed up at the hotel and started asking for pictures before we boarded the bus.”

I stare at him, blinking as I try to process the words he’s said so quickly. Swallowing the lump in my throat, I let out a heavy breath. Once the words register, I don’t know how to respond.

Instead of asking for any details, I switch the topic slightly. “Aren’t you supposed to be playing tomorrow?”

He hums. “Coach knew I would play like shit. He’s giving me this one game to handle my shit. If I’m not handled, he’s going to start looking at my contract.”

“What does that mean?”

“I lose my job,” he simply states.

“Are you putting that on me?” I ask.

He shakes his head slowly, then pushes off my car, takes his hands out of his pockets, and closes the short distance between us. I feel his hands on my face, cupping my cheeks. I hate to close my eyes just for a moment to let it sink in because it’s probably going to be the last time.

Then his forehead touches mine, and I whimper softly. “Nothing is on you, sunshine. But I was afraid you wouldn’t answer your phone. And honestly, something this big needs to be discussed in person. But nothing happened. Nothing could ever happen, not when I have you.”

Tears escape my closed eyes, sliding down my cheeks at his words. He lifts his head, and I force myself to open my eyes and look up at him. He slides his thumbs along my cheekbones. His gaze searches mine.

“It’s only you, Wrenly. You and Ryan are my world.”

“I don’t know if I can handle this.”

Saying those words makes me feel weak, but I know from talking to Clara that the girls are not going to go away. I also know that the Maddison girl likely did that just to be a bitch. And if I were in my right mind when it came in on my phone, I would have realized it then, but jealously and insecurity are real. I couldn’t think straight. I’m not sure I can even now.

Eli shifts his face forward, and his lips touch mine before he speaks. “You can handle this because I’m not going to do anything, not a damn thing, to jeopardize us.”