Flopping down on his bed, resigned to spending the evening in his room instead of watching TV or playing video games like he’d planned, he heard Coop’s voice, followed by female laughter that he recognized. Sitting up, he was about to go out there, when a knock sounded on his door and Coop poked his head in, his dark hair flopping over his forehead.
Coop looked him up and down, his blue eyes amused. “Good. You’re decent. You have a visitor.”
Daniel looked down at his bare chest and athletic shorts. Sure. Good enough. He followed Coop out to the living room, where Elena stood holding a pie plate covered in foil, looking around their living room, shifting from one foot to the other.
When he came into the room, her eyes landed on him, and they widened as they traveled over him. He liked when she looked at him like that, when that tell-tale flush came to her cheeks, tinging her skin with the lightest hint of pink. Not a blush. That was the look her skin got when she was aroused.
Coop plopped down on the couch, reminding Daniel they weren’t alone. With one arm thrown along the back of the couch, Coop took a pull off his beer, making no effort to hide the fact that he was watching them like they were some kind of dinner theatre.
Wanting to regain control of the situation, Daniel spoke first. “Hey, Elena. I wasn’t expecting you.”
Her eyes flicked over his chest once more, and it took all his willpower not to puff up and flex under her approving gaze. Instead, he tried to remain casual.
Finally, she met his eyes. “Yeah, I can see that. Sorry. I, um, I wanted to surprise you.” She held up the pie. “I found a recipe for chess pie.” She glanced at Coop, who still stared at them both avidly, now turning his gaze on Daniel, his blue eyes twinkling, dark eyebrows raised as he waited for Daniel’s response.
“Let’s take it to the kitchen.”
He briefly considered grabbing a T-shirt, but decided not to. Let her look. Maybe she’d quit blowing him off every time he asked her out if she kept eye-fucking him like that. And they’d at least be out of Coop’s eyeline in the kitchen, if not out of earshot.
Grabbing paper plates and plastic forks out of the cabinet, he watched as Elena took the foil off the pie, revealing the golden-brown top on the custard filling. His mouth watered just thinking about digging into a slice of that.
Elena eyed the disposable dishes, then looked at him. “Seriously?”
He shrugged. “We don’t like doing dishes. We have them, but prefer these. I do have a real knife to cut it with, though.”
“How grown up of you.”
She laughed at his narrowed eyes. He pulled a knife out of the drawer and handed it to her. “I’ll let you do the honors since you made it.”
Her fingers brushed his as she took the knife out of his hand, and he swore he felt electricity coursing between them, but she seemed unaffected, so he pretended to be as well. For now.
She cut a slice of pie, using the knife and a plastic fork to get it onto a plate in one piece, and presented it to him. “You try it first. Tell me if it tastes right. I’ve never made this before, so I hope I chose a good recipe. They all seemed pretty similar, though, so I just picked one at random. I used my normal crust recipe, because I like it better than the one suggested.”
He took the plate and fork she held. The crust broke as he cut into it, little bits of flaky goodness falling onto the plate. The custard filling was a burst of sweetness on his tongue, perfectly complemented by the buttery crust. He moaned aloud. “Oh my God. That’s so good.”
She smiled at his words, until her pleasure turned to embarrassed horror when his jackass of a roommate yelled, “If you’re going to get a blowjob, could you take it into your room at least!”
Elena covered her face with her hands, but Daniel couldn’t help laughing at her embarrassment, yelling back at his roommate around a mouthful of pie. “Shut up, Coop! You’re just jealous that someone made me a delicious pie, and you can’t have any.”
“Oh, is that what we’re calling it these days? My bad. I missed the update. Make sure you add that one to Urban Dictionary.”
Elena’s shoulders shook, but she didn’t make a sound. She was laughing, right? This was funny. At least, he thought so. “Elena?”
She looked up at him, tears in her eyes, but laughter burst forth from her, finally audible, and she fanned her face, trying to take a deep breath. “Oh my God. You guys are horrible. I’ve never had my pies compared to sexual favors until I met the both of you.” She shook her head.
He laughed too. “Whatever. This pie’s almost as good as sex. I’m going to have another piece. You need to try it. You made the damn thing. You have to eat at least one piece.”
Slicing the pie for both of them this time, he gave her a plate and a fork and they both sat at the table, eating their pie without talking.
Coop’s voice floated in from the living room. “Well, this is awkward.” Fucking Coop.
Daniel leaned back in his chair so he could see his roommate. “Only ‘cause you’re here, asshole.”
“Ouch, man. That hurts. I have feelings too, y’know.”
“Uh-huh.”
Elena chuckled. “He can join us. It’s okay.”
“No it’s not.” Daniel gave a firm shake of his head. “You made this pie for me, not him. He can stay in there and drink his beer and shut the fuck up.” He said the last part a little louder and looked back at Coop, who flipped him off in response.
Elena looked at him like she wanted to say something, so he waited, eating his pie. It tasted just like his mom’s.
Finally, “How’s your first week of classes going?”
He nodded, forking up another bite. “Good. It’s going to be a tough semester. Fall semester’s always rough. I usually try to go for easier classes, but Abnormal Psych’s only offered in the fall, so I have that, plus some upper level math classes that’ll be tough given how often I miss classes for away games. I got away with just twelve credits this semester, but I’ll pay for that with a heavier load next semester so I can graduate on time.”
She wrinkled her brows and cocked her head to the side. “I thought you told me you weren’t graduating until December.”
“Yeah, that’s true, but I’ll be student teaching next fall. So I have to get all my classes in before that.”
“So this is your last season playing football?”
“Yup.”
Scraping up some of the custard filling with the edge of her fork, she kept her eyes on her plate. “Does that make it harder? Knowing you won’t play anymore after this semester?”
He sat back, waiting for her to look up before he answered. Coop, of course, wasn’t content to be patient. “He could always do like Watkins did and go to the Regional Combines, maybe get drafted. Coach even said that some scouts might come to some of our games, so that’s a possibility too.”
Elena’s head snapped up at that, examining him. “Watkins? That’s Chris, right? Megan’s boyfriend?”
Daniel nodded slowly. Coop got off the couch and came to lean against the wall next to Daniel, his arms crossed over his chest. “You know him?”
Elena tilted her head to one side. “Not well. We’ve met. He’s friends with one of my roommates.”
Coop’s head jerked back in surprise, his eyebrows coming down. “Who?”
“Matt Schwartz.”
“You live with Matt Schwartz.” Coop’s voice came out flat, making it a statement instead of a question.
She nodded, looking confused at Coop’s reaction, her eyes flicking to Daniel. “Yeah. He’s dating my best friend, Hannah. They wanted to move in together, so Hannah and I moved into the house he used to share with Megan and Chris.”
“Huh, okay.”
Daniel glared at Coop, who finally got the message that he was unwelcome in their conversation. With a roll of his eyes, he filled a glass of water from the sink, then returned to the living room, where Daniel heard the opening soundtrack to Call of Duty.
“What about
you?”
Elena set her fork down, finished with her pie. “What about me?”
“You’re graduating in May, right? What are your plans after that? Keep working with your dad?”
She shook her head. “No. I’m planning on going to law school. I take the LSAT in October. And I’ll be applying to law schools soon.”
“That’s cool. Where are you applying?”
“Marycliff for sure. They have a good program. Um, UW, probably. I dunno. I haven’t decided on any others yet.”
He raised an eyebrow, finishing off his second piece of pie. “What about the big name places like Harvard or Stanford?”
She shrugged, looking away from him again. Some emotion passed over her face, but she masked it before he could figure it out. “It depends on my test scores. If I don’t score high enough, it’s not even worth bothering. And they’re so far away, so I don’t know. Probably not.”
“Really? You haven’t even taken the test yet, and you’re already ruling them out? We’re college student. Aren’t we supposed to be going after our dreams? You know, reach for the stars and all that shit.”
She laughed, and he couldn’t help grinning at the sound. He loved it when she laughed. “You’d make a great motivational speaker. That should be on a poster. You could put it up in your classroom for whatever you’re planning on teaching. What are you planning on teaching?”
He gave her a pointed look. “Math. And I’ll coach football too, so even though this probably will be my last season, despite Coop’s high hopes for me to go pro, I won’t be done with football entirely. Don’t think you’re going to change the subject so easily, though.”
“Well, now you can have a third career writing quotes for motivational posters. ‘Reach for the stars and all that shit.’” She chuckled again. “That’s perfect.”
“You should, you know.”
That look crossed her face again. “Yeah. We’ll see.” She gave a forced smile. “I still have to take the test first.” Standing, she gathered her plate and fork, glancing around. “Trash can under the sink?”
He nodded. “Yeah. I can get that, though.”
“It’s fine. I don’t mind.” He watched her throw away her paper plate, then come back to the table and gather her phone and keys from where she’d set them. “This was fun, but I need to get going. Homework and a website to finish.”
Daniel stood. “Sure. Me too. Well, homework anyway. I don’t have to build websites for anyone.”
She smiled at him. “Thanks for letting me barge in like this. I promise I’ll text next time.”
“It’s fine. Barge in any time.”
“Okay. Well …” She twisted her keys in her hands, looking toward Coop who was now engrossed in his game, seemingly oblivious to them. Daniel wasn’t fooled. Coop paid attention to everything. It was part of what made him one of the best offensive tackles on the team, noticing anyone coming up and blocking them before they got to the quarterback.
“It was good to see you. I’ll text you after the game on Saturday to see if you’re free, okay?”
Her dark brown eyes met his, wide and searching. “Okay.” He walked her to the door, stepping outside and pulling it closed behind him so he could have a moment without Coop witnessing everything. “Goodnight, Elena. Thanks for the pie.”
“You’re welcome.”
Taking advantage of her upturned face, he placed his hand behind her head and brought his lips to hers. It was an innocent kiss, closed lips to closed lips, but her indrawn breath had blood rushing south. He broke it off before he was tempted to turn it into something more, knowing they couldn’t go further.
She stared up at him some more, his hand still behind her head, the lights from the parking lot casting a warm glow on her face. Pulling away, she broke contact and looked down. “Goodnight, Daniel.” And with that she was gone, leaving him standing on his steps watching her get into her car.
When he went back inside after she drove away, Coop had paused his game and was waiting for him.
Resigning himself to a conversation he knew he wouldn’t like, Daniel went into the kitchen to cover the pie and put it in the fridge. “Spit it out, man. I know you have something to say.” If he had to listen, that didn’t mean he had to look at him while they talked.
“Nah, man. Not really. Just noticing that you got it bad for that chick.”
“Your point?”
“Just that you’re already pussy-whipped by a girl who’s got you firmly in the friend zone.”
Daniel smirked at that. He hadn’t told Coop about their activities on Saturday. Instead he said, “She needs a friend right now.” That was true, too. And he intended to keep being that. It was up to her how good of a friend he was. With the way she’d stared at him tonight, and how things had gone on Saturday, he was pretty sure he was the kind who gave her screaming orgasms—the best kind of friend, in his opinion. And if she let him do that, he’d push to make it official.
Coop just snorted and started his game again. “Suit yourself, man.”
“Thanks. I will.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Hey, chica. Where you been?”
Elena looked up from the phone in her hand at the sound of Hannah’s voice as she came through the side door into the kitchen. She usually came in that way because it was closer to her room, plus if Matt and Hannah were on the couch, she wouldn’t walk in on them. “Huh?”
Hannah leaned in the kitchen doorway, her arms crossed. “I feel like I’ve barely seen you since you got back, and it’s been almost a month. How are you? What’s going on?”
Elena slid her phone in her back pocket and set her bag down. “I was hanging out at Daniel’s for a while. I know Matt just got back from his last trip a couple of days ago, so I thought you’d like some time to yourselves. Y’know,” she gestured toward herself, “third wheel?”
Hannah scoffed. “That’s not true. You live here. You shouldn’t feel awkward about coming home.”
Elena managed to stop herself from rolling her eyes. “Okay. Noted. Can I come in all the way, or is your ambush in the kitchen for a specific reason?”
Hannah didn’t hold back her eye roll. “It’s not an ambush. I was about to make some popcorn, and I heard you come in. That’s all.”
Picking up her bag, Elena took it to her room, which she’d finally finished unpacking and organizing last week. Hannah sat on the end of the bed while Elena unpacked her laptop and homework from her bag, setting it on her desk so she could work on it later. Hannah obviously wanted to talk.
“Is Matt not here?” Elena asked as she hung her bag off the back of her chair.
Hannah shook her head. “Chris is playing tonight, and he went to Lance and Abby’s place to watch the game.”
“You didn’t want to go?”
Hannah shrugged, picking at fuzz on the comforter. “I had homework. And Abby wasn’t going to be there, so it was just the guys. I decided to stay home.” She looked at Elena, her green eyes brightening. “Plus, I thought it’d be fun to have a girls’ night. We could watch movies and eat junk food, or go out to a club or something if you want, like we used to.”
Leaning back against her desk, Elena crossed her arms, giving her friend a level look. “You want to go to a club.”
Her famous blush reddened Hannah’s cheeks. “We could. If you want to.”
Elena snorted and shook her head. She couldn’t believe how easily Hannah blushed, even at twenty-two. Any time she got flustered or nervous, not to mention embarrassed, all the blood rushed to her face. Elena knew all about Hannah and Matt’s sex life, both from Hannah dishing and overhearing things through the paper-thin walls when she’d stayed out in the living room to watch TV or read after her roommates had “gone to bed.” She’d only made that mistake twice before clearing off to her bedroom the same time they did. Or she opted to stay out late enough when Matt was home that they’d already be in bed by the time she got home. Hence her habit of coming in the side do
or.
The increasing amount of time she’d been spending with Daniel since the day she’d brought him that pie helped as well. And that was the reason Hannah was now cornering her and wanting a girls’ night. Even going so far as suggesting they go to a club. While Hannah had always come along, at least when she was single, Elena knew it wasn’t ever her favorite thing. It wasn’t really high on Elena’s list anymore either.
She shook her head. “Nah. I don’t really feel like going to a club.”
Hannah’s eyebrows went up a little. “Really? Been going too much lately?”
If that wasn’t a fishing expedition for information, Elena didn’t know what was. She couldn’t contain her chuckle. “No. I haven’t been to a club in ages.”
“How come? You usually love going dancing.”
Elena shrugged, turning to straighten some papers on her desk, put a few stray pens back in her pen cup, and organize her highlighters. “Just haven’t felt like it.”
“Elena, are you okay?” Hannah asked the question more softly, her voice full of concern. “You haven’t been yourself this semester.”
Swallowing the lump that came to her throat any time someone asked about her wellbeing, Elena didn’t answer at first.
Hannah jumped in before Elena could figure out how to respond. “I know I kind of pressured you into moving. I’m sorry if you’re not comfortable. The situation at the time was … less than ideal.”
Snort. “Less than ideal? It was fucking awful.”
“I’m sorry. I really am. I thought having a house would be nice for both of us. I didn’t think—”
Shaking her head, Elena cut in, meeting Hannah’s pleading eyes. “No, Hannah. No. Don’t be sorry. It’s not the house or living with you and Matt that’s the shitty situation. It was this whole summer. And everything since. I’d still be like this even if we were in our old apartment or living on my own. It’s really not you. Please don’t think that.”
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