Page 60 of Trick Play
I make it out just in time to wave at Cal as he heads out the door. The look he gives me is tinged with longing, like all he wants is to come back in and climb into bed with me again. Which is probably exactly what he’s thinking, because we usually have two rounds minimum when we get together with multiple orgasms for me, and while last night was fantastic and exactly what I needed, we each only had one orgasm.
But he pulls the door closed behind him, and I’m standing in the hall with just Ellie, who turns and faces me with her hands layered over her chest, her face the real life version of a heart eyes emoji.
“You two are so precious,” she gushes.
I level a look at her, because I’m not in any position to handle gushing or dissecting my relationship with her brother right now. Especially after last night and the shift I felt deep in my softest places when he wrapped himself around me and held me close while he fell asleep.
She immediately straightens her face and drops her hands. “Okay, fine. We won’t talk about Cal. Or whatever happened last night that had you landing here. Instead, let’s talk about today. And tomorrow. And the two days after that.” She crosses one arm over her torso, propping her elbow on her fist and her chin on her other hand. “What are your plans?”
I can’t help laughing at the way she turns on a dime. “Umm, I really don’t know.” Yawning, I rub one eye and turn toward the bathroom. “First I have to pee. Can we discuss it after that?”
“Of course.” She waves me toward the bathroom. “I’ll make coffee. And then I’ll tell you my plans, and you can decide from there, okay?”
I give her a somewhat bewildered nod and head into the bathroom. Once done, I find her in the kitchen, the coffee pot gurgling as she cuts a bagel in half and pops it in the toaster. She turns as soon as that’s done, leaning back against the counter as she faces me. I’m worried she’s going to give me the heart eyes face again, but she seems to pull herself together.
“So,” she starts, sounding very businesslike, “today is officially Thanksgiving, and I think I mentioned the other day that my mother has decided I must return. I was actually supposed to go home yesterday, but Simon’s parents had the three of us over for an early Thanksgiving dinner for the guys, and I finally managed to convince my mom that I couldn’t possibly miss that, that it would be a horrible social faux pas to miss my first Thanksgiving with my boyfriend’s family when I was specifically invited.” She pulls out the carafe and pours herself a mug of coffee, setting another mug on the counter and gesturing for me to help myself. Then she grabs a jug of creamer from the fridge, jiggling it at me in silent question after pouring a healthy splash in her mug.
Grinning, I nod, and she sets it on the counter while I fill my own mug with coffee.
The toaster pops, and she hisses at her burnt fingers as she pulls the bagel out and drops it on a plate before buttering it. “You want one?” she asks.
“Sure.”
She passes me the bag, and I pull the cinnamon raisin bagel apart with my hands and pop it in the toaster.
“Anyway,” she continues, “that makes today my third Thanksgiving this week. But if I don’t go, it’ll be a whole thing. Wanna come with me?”
I turn, surprised, not realizing this was where she was heading with this conversation. “Seriously?”
She nods emphatically. “Hell, yes. Having you along would be fantastic, actually. I’ve been dreading going home. I mean,” she tilts her head from side to side, “arguably it should be better than Fall Break considering I’ve actually declared a major so my dad won’t be on my case about that. And my grades are good, barring any major disasters with finals, so they can’t gripe at me about that. But my dad will surely find something. Probably harp on me taking so long to declare a major and how I need to make sure I get any and all prereqs taken care of as soon as possible so I’m not too far behind.” She rolls her eyes and shakes her head. “Anyway, I’m sure there’ll be something. But he tends to tone it down if there’s a guest. Not completely. He’ll still find something. I mean, how else will he entertain himself if he doesn’t have me to pick at?” I’m not sure what to say to that, but apparently an answer isn’t required, because she waves the thought away. “Sorry. Welcome to my pity party.” She does a half curtsey that makes me laugh, and she comes up smiling back at me. “Whaddaya say?”
“Your parents won’t mind me showing up without advance notice?”
She shrugs. “I already texted my mom and asked if it’d be okay for me to bring a friend, and she said of course. Actually, when I told her I’d found out today that a friend was going to be alone on Thanksgiving, she texted back that I should be sure to invite you before I even finished typing the second part of my message asking if it would be okay.”
I chew on the inside of my cheek. “A friend, huh? So you didn’t tell them about Cal and me?”
A mischievous grin breaks out on her face. “Well,” she says slyly, “since neither of you will admit to what exactly there is between you, no, I didn’t tell them that you’re anything to each other.” She shrugs again. “Besides, you live in my dorm. You have my number. We’re friends.”
The toaster popping covers my surprise at her easy declaration of friendship. She pulls out a plate for me and slides the butter over to me.
“Um, alright,” I say as I spread butter over the toasted bagel. “That sounds good. I’ll come.”
She claps and says, “Yay! Great. Okay. I’ll let my mom know you’re officially in, that way she can make sure to have the air mattress ready for you. It’s not the greatest, I know, but it’s better than the floor for sure. And this way you won’t be moping around my brother’s house all alone or having to deal with … whatever else.” She looks up from her phone, examining me. “It’s alright on your end for you to come, right? You won’t make everything worse by leaving town for a few days?”
I shake my head. “No, I mean, not any worse than it already is. I’ll text my mom and let her know so she doesn’t worry, but I need some space to figure out how to deal with everything that happened. Besides, I haven’t been out of town in far too long, so this’ll be a nice change.” I pause, taking a bite of my bagel. “So, um,” I say as I swallow, “where are we going exactly?”
With a laugh, Ellie leaves the kitchen. “The Dalles, Oregon,” she calls over her shoulder. “I’m surprised you didn’t know that already.” Her head pops back through the doorway. “Cal never told you where he’s from?”
Shrugging one shoulder, I give her a lopsided grin. “It never came up.”
She cackles. “I’m sure it didn’t.”
CHAPTER THIRTY
Cal
Me: We made it. Team meeting in 10, so I’ll text again later.
