Page 53 of Return Policy
Slipping the other two photos into my bag, I angle the camera toward Elijah.
He’s eating a cupcake, and I frame the image to emphasize his glorious, muscular top half, which includes a tattoo on his chest I’d like to inspect further. His gaze flicks toward me, and a panty-dropping, closed lip grin dances across his face before he takes another bite, leaving a bit of frosting on his upper lip. My mouth curves upward as I think about seeing the adorable result on film.
Before the shutter clicks, a thumb comes on to his face and wipes off the frosting. My eyes flick from the lens towards the person the finger belongs to.Andi, of course.She sucks the frosting off her thumb.
Okay, this was obviously a mistake.
My eyes flick back to Elijah, who looks at me with an unreadable expression. A loud clapping sound interrupts our staring contest, and we turn our heads.
“Who’s ready for some shirts and skins?" Theo asks, walking up with Stella, who has a football tucked under her arm. The guys all hoop and holler as us girls shake our heads at their excitement. “Let’s pick teams and get to it.”
I end up on shirts with Noah, Theo, Sage, and Stella. Skins is Elijah, Charlie, Julian, Desmond, and, of course, Andi.Perfect.
“Let’s get some music going for this showdown!” Charlie yells out, then hooks her phone up to a Bluetooth speaker.
“Good as Hell” by Lizzo starts playing, and we face off on the line of scrimmage, with our team having the ball first. Sage hikes the ball to Noah, and I sprint down the beach; the sand slows me down but I’m still surprisingly faster than most of them. The ball soars through the air, landing directly into my hands.Fuck yes.Elijah’s quick on my heels, and his arms wrap around me just as I’ve entered our end zone.
“Ha!” I scream as Elijah picks me up off the ground. I hold the ball into the air, and my team cheers. He lets me down, my body sliding against his in the process, and I shiver.
“Damn. Maybe I should nickname you Forrest Gump.”
“Thought you’d be a lot faster… How’s it feel coming in last for once?”
He bends down, his lips gliding against my ear, and a breath catches in my lungs. “The only time I come last is when I fuck.”
I’m stunned so silent I can’t even point out he did, in fact, lose as he turns and jogs back to the line of scrimmage.
Charlie’s phone goes off, interrupting the music, and she runs over to it. “Sorry, guys. I’ve gotta take this. I’ll be back.”
“Come on, Char!” I shout over to her. “Really?”
“Sorry.” She looks back down at her phone. “It’s Nash.”
Whenever Charlie’s little brother calls, she always answers, no exceptions.
“Fine,” I grumble, turning my attention back to the other team. “Can you guys still hang a player down?”
“Really, Sunflower?” Elijah taunts. “Don’t insult us.”
We get in formation. Julian hikes the ball to Elijah, and Andi runs downfield, looking for Elijah’s pass. I sprint after her just as the leather ball lands in her hands. I lunge forward to tag Andi and we both end up tumbling to the ground.
“Ouch.” She laughs, pushing up out of the sand, and extends her hand down toward me.
“Sorry,” I mumble as she hoists me onto my feet.
“It’s okay. These guys have a way of turning on our competitive sides, huh?”
I laugh awkwardly. “Yeah.”
“Um, Soph,” Theo calls over. “You know we’re playingtouchfootball, babe.”
“Yeah, yeah.” I wave him off as Elijah sends a glare his way.
The score is tied after another hour of back and forth, with our team now having possession. Sage hikes the ball to Noah as Stella and I sprint toward the end zone. Noah makes eye contact with me and sends the ball soaring my way. I extend my arms, but Andi jumps in front of me and intercepts it, sprinting to their end zone and winning the game.
Elijah’s team celebrates with high fives and backslaps while we boo them, giving double thumbs down. It would be hilarious if it weren’t for the way Andi jumps on Elijah, wrapping her long legs around him as they celebrate their win. He sets her down, and she spanks his ass, causing my blood to boil.
I walk back toward my towel and yelp when I’m thrown over a large shoulder. “Good game, Sunflower,” Elijah says in a husky tone.
