18. Alana
ALANA
Eden
Will you let me borrow your notes?
Borrow my notes? He was way smarter than me in Business. Even if I gave him my notes, he probably wouldn’t have understood a single thing because I barely had a single clue what I was even writing down.
Also, why wasn’t he coming to class today?
Alana
Why?
Eden
Oh, Ally-Bear… I’m in Boston, did you forget?
It’s game day. We’re playing the Bayview Sharks tonight.
Alana
Right. Sorry, it must’ve slipped my mind…
Eden
It’s alright! So, will you lend me your notes so I can copy them?
Alana
Alright?
Will you be back on Monday?
Eden
Someone’s missing me already, I see
Alana
… Nevermind.
Eden
It’s adorable, really, Ally-Bear. There’s no need to feel embarrassed now. I’d miss me, too.
Alana
I’m blocking you
Eden
You won’t, you miss me too much to do that ;)
I’ll be back tomorrow morning, I think
Alana
You think?
Eden
Well, the bus ride is a couple of hours, so…
Alana
Right. But you’ll definitely be back for Monday’s classes?
I got nervous when he didn’t reply for longer than a minute when my text said read. But for strange and unknown reasons, I got even more anxious when the phone in my hands started ringing and my own face was reflected back at me.
I hated FaceTime calls more than regular calls. I already dreaded looking into the mirror, so there was no way I was ever going to pick up a video chat call. However…
I answered the FaceTime call reluctantly, half expecting to find Eden completely relaxed in his hotel bedroom, or in his hockey gear for some last-minute practice before the big game. Maybe that wasn’t even a thing, who knew? Not me, that was certain.
To my surprise, he was still inside the bus.
“I thought you’re already in Boston?” I said, instead of greeting him.
Eden looked at me through the screen, adjusting his headphones before he replied. “We’re almost there, I think. Maybe another two hours.”
“So you lied?”
He shook his head. “When I said I’m in Boston, I meant I’m in Boston for class. Not that I’m already there.”
“Oh.”
Eden chuckled at my reaction, his smile lighting up his face. “You look cute when you’re confused, Ally-Bear.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t say stuff like that, it’s weird.”
His head cocked slightly. “Baby, we’re in a relationship. I’m supposed to say cringy stuff to you. Like… that you’re my everything. My heart almost stopped beating the second you picked up my call. And how much I fucking miss you because I haven’t smelled your hair in twelve hours.”
Oh, God. Somebody kill me.
I suppose it made sense. If we wanted everyone to believe we were dating, we had to be comfortable with being slightly cringy. Love made people weird. But he was taking it a bit too far. A simple “I miss you” would’ve sufficed.
“You’re so dramatic,” I said, mostly because I had no idea what else I was supposed to say.
He was putting up an act for his teammates to maintain our image. It wasn’t like he meant all those things he said. And even, no, especially, if he meant it, I wouldn’t have known how to reply.
“Only for you, Ally-Bear.” He set his phone down on what I assumed was a tray from the seat in front of him, then leaned back into his seat again. “But on a serious note, I do miss you.”
My eyebrows shot up immediately, but I brushed my initial shock off flawlessly and instead replied, “Yeah, yeah. Don’t get too used to saying stuff like that.”
Since he was wearing headphones, I assumed his teammates couldn’t hear a thing I said. So while he had to sound all lovey-dovey, I could speak freely.
Eden didn’t bother to respond or even show any sign of acknowledgment.
I looked away for a solid second, and when my eyes were back on the screen, he was holding a bag of chips in his hands, opening it quietly.
“Most of the guys are asleep, so I have to be quiet,” he explained when I looked at him a bit puzzled.
“They wouldn’t be mad if I woke them up, but they’d steal my food,” he added before shoving a handful into his mouth.
“Shouldn’t you be eating something healthier before a game?” I asked, genuinely curious.
I always kind of had this image in my head that athletes ate nothing but protein bars and made themselves some protein shakes for almost every meal. And maybe chicken and rice or something like that. Lots of vegetables.
Though, Eden specifically, I thought he wouldn’t eat anything but great, healthy home-cooked meals. Didn’t he grow up with a chef as a dad? And Eden kept insisting on how well he could cook.
I’d been spending so many evenings with this guy, and yet I’d never actually seen him eat anything. Should I have been concerned about that?
“Nah, I’m on a bus, baby. Bus-time means it’s snack-time.” He grinned as he reached his hand back into the bag of chips. “Plus, I already had a healthy breakfast this morning. Eggs, avocado toast, the whole deal.”
I raised an eyebrow at him. “Seriously? Didn’t you wake up at like… five? Also, stop calling me baby. I’m not your baby.”
He shook his head at me, smiling brightly. “At three, actually. I wanted to shower before leaving the house and make breakfast.”
Guess he was going to ignore the second half.
Either way, I made a mental note to never ask Eden about his morning habits ever again. 3:00 a.m. was definitely time for sleeping, not showering and making breakfast. Even if he had to leave at six, I would’ve slept until five-fifty, then rushed to get ready and skipped breakfast altogether.
Since I wanted to leave the morning talk in the past, and I definitely didn’t want to hear any more cringy words coming out of his mouth, I decided to spin back to my latest question in our chat. “So, will you be back in class on Monday?”
As soon as Eden’s lips pulled into a smug smirk, his eyes twinkling with mischief, I regretted asking. He must’ve thought he was being oh-so hilarious.
“That highly depends on why you’re so eager to want to see me there,” he replied eventually.
“Just answer the question, Eden.” I sighed, already getting tired of his replies. If he couldn’t give me clear answers, why was I even talking to him?
Eden chuckled as if he couldn’t have given any more fucks about my frustration.
“Since I’ll be back in New City tomorrow, I’ll attend my classes on Monday.
That’s usually how it goes. Sure, I might miss a day or two because of a game, but they’re usually on the weekend.
Despite my NCAA career, I’m still a student, Ally-Bear. Did that answer satisfy you?”
For whatever reason, relief seemed to instantly flood my body.
This past week was hell for me, and I was almost sure that if he hadn’t been there, it would’ve been a whole lot worse. I already dreaded going in for my classes today because he wasn’t going to be there to shield me from all those eyes that suddenly seemed to be interested in me.
All my life, I had been a wallflower, but ever since Eden made our “relationship” official, people were watching me. Three weeks of constant hell. I’d never get used to the attention.
Eden had warned me about this happening, but a part of me had doubted it until it happened.
Though, unfortunately, Austin hadn’t once glanced my way yet.
Anyway, with Eden there, perhaps Monday was going to suck a lot less than today would.