Chapter 9
ELIAS
Ididn’t sleep well last night.
When my alarm wakes me up, I’m groggy and bad tempered. My roommates keep out of my way when I barrel into the kitchen on the hunt for coffee, grunting, and possibly speaking a language they don’t understand.
I did not stay up looking at my phone and waiting for a text from Ben last night. And I also do not care how his date went.
And when he texts, asking if I want a ride to class, my stomach does not do a relieved, swoopy thing. And my mood does not instantly lift to the point where my roommates look at me like I’m on drugs.
Ben is waiting outside when I come out with my books and my racket bag for practice later.
I tell myself I’m not going to ask how his date went, but when I climb into the passenger seat, I can’t help but notice he seems a little dejected.
“How was your date?” Schei?e.
He shrugs. “It was fine.”
Just fine? Yes! No, why am I celebrating?
“Tell me about it.”
Ben presses his lips.
“Spit it out. I won’t tell Nate, if that’s what you’re worried about.”
He sighs. “It was … fine. Really. It wasn’t a bad date.”
“But?”
“He was a gentleman. He picked me up, made reservations at a nice restaurant, the conversation was ... pleasant.”
“He was a bore?”
“Not exactly, it just felt like …” He lets out a big sigh and takes one hand off the steering wheel to brush his hair back. I have to resist the urge to replace his hand on the wheel with my own. “It felt like I was on a date with my dad.”
A part laugh, part strangled sound of horror rips through me.
When I glance in his direction, he’s smiling uneasily. “So, you know what I mean?”
“Yes. I mean, no, I’ve never been on a date that felt like I was with my father, but I can imagine how terrible that would be.”
“Not that there’s anything wrong with my dad.”
“No, mine neither. I just don’t want to date him.”
“Exactly.”
He lets out another sigh. At this rate, he won’t have any air left in him. “He doesn’t like sports.”
“Any sports? Not even your stupid American football?”
Ben gives me a side eye in the mirror before answering. “Not even football, no.”
“What else?” I can see he’s dying to vent, and he can’t do it with Nate. I’m also enjoying hearing about how bad this date was.
“Well, he was just a bit of a downer, talking about how my role in the business is just going to be financial, and me and Nate have already discussed both being hands-on in finding new talent and—”
“Wait, what do you mean? Finding new talent?”
“Oh, well, we’re hopefully going to travel a bit and find young players for our academies.
Athletes who might need a helping hand—grants, scholarships, those types of things.
Since Evan and his family are based here and Nate’s so close to them, I’ve been thinking I would do the scouting while he covers the office-based stuff.
I could still run the numbers while I’m on the road. ”
Would our paths cross on the pro tour if Ben was out there, scoping out new talent?
“What?”
“Nothing,” I say. “It sounds amazing. Don’t let that guy get you down about it.”
He gives me this big smile that is so genuine and vulnerable I have to look away.
He parks outside the life science building but pauses before getting out.
“What’s wrong?”
“I’m going to have to tell Nate I don’t want to see Tom again.”
“So what?”
“He’s going to be disappointed. He won’t stop until I have a boyfriend.”
I swallow, lick my dry lips. “The offer still stands to tell him I’m your boyfriend.”
I note the slight widening of his eyes. That cute blush starting at the base of his neck.
“Unless you think that would piss Nate off even more?”
“Why would it?”
I shrug. “I don’t think he likes me very much.”
“He likes you. He’s just protective, is all.”
“He does know you’re a grown man, right?”
I have never met someone Ben’s age who is more mature or impressively put together. It baffles me that his friends would treat him as if he’s not fit to make his own decisions.
He bites his lip and something gnaws in the pit of my stomach.
“Do you really think he’d buy it?”
The roar of blood rushing fills my ears. I tell myself to calm down. This would merely be transactional. A means of getting my doubles partner out of his head and all to myself, without the distractions and annoying friends.
“Yes. We could sell it. If you wanted to.”
“Okay. Let’s do it.”
I don’t realize I have a big grin on my face until Joelle spots me outside the psychology classroom and asks why I look so pleased with myself.
“If you got laid, I don’t need details,” she says.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I always smile.”
“Um, not really. You have a bit of a resting bitch face, actually.”
I frown at her.
“Yeah, like that.”
“I didn’t get laid.”
“Okay.”
I try to focus during class, but I keep thinking about how we’re going to sell our fake relationship to Nate and Ben’s other fraternity brothers.
My first task is to attend a costume party as his plus-one before Nate can set him up with someone else. We’ll convene on our couples’ costume later—Ben is working on it. I’m expecting I’ll be something ridiculous … and I don’t mind.
BEN
I managed to turn up to class just as the professor was starting the lecture, so Nate didn’t get a chance to corner me about my date with Tom. But as the class concludes, Nate walks with me to my car. There’s no escape.
I tell him what I told Elias … well, I tell him some of what I told Elias. I can’t believe there are things I’m telling a practical stranger that I’m not telling my best friend. But then, I’ve been keeping secrets from Nate for years, haven’t I?
“Just fine?” Nate asks. “What did he do?”
“Nothing, he was very nice. He was polite, he asked me plenty of questions, he has excellent table manners.”
“So, good start, then. Right?”
I hold back a groan. “Right.”
“It’s probably not going to be love at first sight. You know it took me and Evan years to get together.”
But they always loved each other, on some level. God, I want that. I want someone to love me as fiercely as Evan and Nate love each other.
“And this is your first real relationship,” Nate points out. “My first real one was with Mira, and that didn’t work out in the end, but I’m glad it happened. She taught me a lot about how to be with someone, how to be a decent boyfriend and all that stuff.”
Nate has a point. Do I want to be completely sexually inexperienced when I meet the love of my life?
Nate may have been clueless about being with guys before he got with Evan, but he wasn’t a total virgin.
He at least knew how to be with someone other than his own hand.
I’d be worried about blowing at the slightest touch at this point.
I nod at the right parts and let Nate talk on.
“So, when are you seeing him again? Why don’t you invite him to the mixer? You guys could dress up as something fun.”
“I can’t imagine Tom going for that. And anyway, I, um … invited someone else.”
“Who?”
“Elias?”
I realize now that Nate would call bullshit if I just told him I was dating Elias out of the blue.
If he’s going to buy that we’re dating, we’re going to have to build up to it.
Maybe start flirting before this party. My stomach does somersaults at the very idea.
A cold sweat rushes over me at the thought of trying to flirt with someone as sexy and intimidating as Elias.
But he did suggest the idea, right? Maybe he could flirt with me? I’m sure he’s good at that stuff.
“I suppose we should be trying to make him feel welcome. He is on the team,” Nate says.
“And my doubles partner.”
“But Ben, you can invite Elias and still bring Tom as your date.”
“I think he’s busy that night actually … yeah, now I think of it, I’m sure he had something on.”
“Oh.” Nate gives me a dubious look. I am so bad at lying. How the heck will I pull off a fake relationship?
He shrugs. “Okay, well, we’ll invite him to something else. Movie night, maybe?”
“Yeah, maybe.”
Honestly, every scenario outside of things my dad would do ends with Tom looking uncomfortable and unimpressed.
I can’t imagine him getting involved with my brothers while they throw popcorn at each other and laugh at fart jokes.
Nor can I imagine him dressing up or washing cars for charity, or any of the stuff, silly or otherwise, that make up my life at the fraternity.
All except the stuffy meetings and financial reports.
But Greek life is about so much more than that.
I send Elias a message before we bump into him at practice. I don’t want him to be caught off guard.
Emergency!
I think we’ll have to build up this ‘relationship’ thing. Nate isn’t going to buy it.
I need you to start flirting with me.
Sorry.
My hands are sweaty as I slide my phone back in my pocket. I force myself not to look at it again until I’ve found a spot in the parking lot outside the cafeteria.
His message is blunt, as always. Straight to the point. Yet, my silly romantic heart reads it as a love poem.
I can do that.
While I’m grinning at the phone, another message comes through.
Stop apologizing.
Elias’ absence while I eat with the guys is welcome—I need time to recover from those messages and to prepare for the moment he starts flirting with me. But it’s also sad. Elias is a part of this team. He should be here eating with us, getting to know everyone better.
I’m tingling with anxiety as we step into the locker room. Elias is already there, as always. Thankfully, he’s changed into his tennis clothes, so I don’t have to see him in any way undressed. God help me if I ever see that magnificent butt again.
The guys greet him as they come in.
Elias singles me out with a charming smile. “Hey, Ben.”
My cheeks flush already. Come on man, get a hold of yourself. He hasn’t even started flirting yet. Has he?