I feel like I missed out.
“Um, sure,” I answer hesitantly. It’s weird, how they’re all staring at me.
Autumn grins. “I’m so glad. We’re all going, so we can watch Ash play.”
“Doesn’t Beck have a game this afternoon?” I meet my little brother’s gaze, who shrugs before he returns his attention to his new phone.
“When it’s over, we’ll head straight for the stadium,” Dad says. I inwardly groan. The last thing I want to do is go to another one of Beck’s youth league games. “I still have one extra ticket for the game. You want to invite Ellie?”
No. I want to invite Eli. “She’s working all day,” I say. “She probably can’t go.”
“Oh, that’s too bad. She hasn’t been over in a while,” Dad says, sending me a meaningful look. I’m sure that’s some sort of jab at me, but I’m ignoring it.
“Is Hannah coming with us?” I meet Jake’s gaze. He seems shocked I’d talk to him.
“Yeah, she is,” he admits.
“Then I definitely have someone I want to invite,” I tell Dad. I can feel Mom stiffen next to me. I’m sure she’s preparing for my answer. I’m also sure she knows who I’m going to say.
“Who?” Dad says, his brows lowering like he’s confused.
I press my lips together, taking a deep breath before I blurt, “Eli.”
“Absolutely not,” Dad says at the same time Jake says, “Hell no.”
Autumn reaches over and slaps Jake’s arm. “You can’t tell her who she can and cannot invite.”
He glares at her, rubbing his arm where she smacked him but, otherwise, says nothing.
“Why not, Daddy?” I ask, my voice shaky.
“I thought you two were broken up,” Mom says to me, her voice low.
“We want to make it work.” I turn, so I’m facing her. “We’ve been talking.”
“Really?” Mom sounds full of doubt, when I really need her to be on my side.
“Yes, really.” I glance over at my father, whose thunderous expression tells me he doesn’t approve. “If you get to know him, you’ll realize Eli is actually a good guy.”
Jake makes a derisive noise, and I send him a dirty look.
“I don’t care who they are. No boys are good enough for my daughters,” Dad says with a scowl.
“What about Ash?” Autumn asks, as she gets up from her chair and walks over to our father, dropping into his lap. He automatically wraps his arms around her waist, and she loops her arms loosely around his neck. “You approve of him, right?”
Her pointed question and expression make him visibly squirm.
“I’ve—come to accept him,” Dad says haltingly, making Autumn laugh and shake her head.
“Then you have to give Ava’s boyfriend a chance,” she tells him, and I stand there in wonder, watching as my big sister works our dad over for me. When she still lived at home, she treated me like garbage. All the time. I was a nuisance, a pest. I didn’t understand. I was too young and got in all her shit and was too nosey and she basically made my freshman year a living hell.
Now, finally, she’s on my side. It’s actually pretty amazing.
And heartwarming.
“Let him come with us,” Autumn continues, as she plants a noisy kiss on Dad’s cheek before she rises to her feet. “Not like he’s going to try anything when we’re all there together. He’ll be on his best behavior.”
“Yeah right. You have no idea what this guy is like, Autumn. Trust me, he doesn’t know how to be on his best behavior. I don’t want him there,” Jake says. Always making sure we know how he feels about Eli.
We get it, Jake. We get it.
“We know,” Autumn says drolly before she glances over at me and Mom. “You won’t know what he’s really like unless you actually spend time with him. Don’t judge him for what he’s done.”
“He’s done some pretty awful stuff,” Dad says.
“Please?” I turn to Mom who offers me a soft smile. “It would mean so much to me—and to Eli—if he could come tonight. Let him prove to you that he’s not a bad guy.”
Mom sends Dad a knowing look and he returns it, lifting a brow. It’s pretty crazy how they can communicate with each other without ever saying a word. “What do you think, Drew? Should we let her invite him?”
Nerves eat at my stomach as I wait for his answer. His expression is like stone. Unreadable. Then there’s Jake, who’s totally annoyed. Beck could care less. He’d rather play on his phone.
“Just say yes,” Autumn tells him, making Dad sigh.
“Fine, yes. He can go.”
Jake pushes back his chair, the legs scraping loudly across the wood floor as he jumps to his feet. “Keep that asshole away from me tonight,” he mutters, before he exits the kitchen.
Ignoring my brother’s outburst, I rush over to Dad and give him a hug, pressing my cheek against his chest. “Thank you for letting him go.”
“You better ask him first and make sure he can go,” Dad says gruffly, as he gives me a squeeze before he releases me.
“I will.” I go back to my mom and hug her too, before I grab my bag and race up the stairs, isolating myself in my room, so I can text Eli in private. I hope he answers. I hope he hasn’t blocked me again. He was mad last night, but not totally furious. More like he was disappointed. I keep letting him down. I need to prove that I want to be with him. No sneaking around this time either.
If going to a Fresno State Bulldogs game with my family isn’t public enough for him, then I don’t know what is.
Picking up my phone, I start typing.
You want to go to the Bulldogs game tonight?
He responds within seconds.
Eli: With who?
I decide to FaceTime him. I don’t have the patience to type it all out. Plus, I want to see his face.
He answers quickly, and when his face appears on my phone screen, I feel a little giddy. He’s clearly still in bed. His hair is a mess and he’s shirtless. “Why are you texting me so early?”
“You answered.” I shrug, smiling at him. “So, do you want to come with us to the game tonight?”
“Who’s us?” He yawns. Scratches his chest. I watch his fingers trail across his bare skin and tingles sweep over me.
“My entire family,” I answer.
That gets his attention. “You’re serious?”
I nod. “My parents, plus Autumn is here. Jake and Hannah. My little brother, Beck. We’re all headed to campus after Beck’s football game. Autumn came home for the weekend to spend time with us and with Ash.”
“Ash fucking Davis?” Eli sits up, the comforter pooling around his waist. “He’s a legend. I always forget they’re together.”
“They’ll probably get married eventually.” Pretty sure Autumn’s already got her wedding colors picked out and everything.
“Will we get a chance to talk to him?” Eli asks eagerly.
“Maybe. I’m not sure.” I pause. “So. Do you want to go with us?”
“Your parents are cool with me going? And Jake?”
“I wouldn’t ask if they weren’t.” I won’t mention Jake and how he acted earlier. We’ll just steer clear of him this evening. Plus, he’ll have Hannah there as a buffer too. Just like I’ll be a buffer for Eli.
It should all work out. No problems.
“Yeah, I’ll go. That sounds dope as hell.” He smiles at me and I can’t help but smile in return. “You’ve made a complete turnaround, Callahan.”
“Hey, you told me to prove it,” I say. I lean back against the pile of pillows on my bed, yanking up the very blanket Autumn accused me of stealing so it’s wrapped all around me. “Maybe you could come pick me up at my house in a little bit?”
“Uh, sure.” He runs a hand through his hair, his biceps bulging with the movement. He has the best arms. He has the best everything. “I need to take a shower first.”
“You have a Bulldogs T-shirt?” I ask. “Make sure you wear one. We all do when
we go to their games.”
“Do you go to them a lot?”
“Yeah, to support Ash. I didn’t go to many games last year though. I thought they were kind of boring,” I admit.
The expression on his face is nothing less than horrified. “Football bores you?”
“I mean…it’s not my favorite.” I wrinkle my nose.
“That’s it. We’re done. For sure.” My heart drops to my stomach for the quickest second, before he starts laughing, and I realize he’s teasing me. “You are such a contradiction, Ava Callahan. You come from football royalty. Your dad and uncle played for the NFL. Your brother will probably play for a pro team too. Your sister is going to marry a guy who might end up a top draft pick, and you’re like, ‘it’s not my favorite.’” He says the last part in a high-pitched voice.
“I do not sound like that.” I’m vaguely offended.
“You kind of do.” He’s smiling. His eyes are sparkling. He’s enjoying this.
“So what time are you picking me up?” I ask, changing the subject.
“How is this working exactly?”
“Well, my parents have to take Beck to his football game in a few hours. Autumn will probably end up going with them, since she won’t be able to see Ash until after the game. I assume Jake will go get Hannah and meet us down there. We can meet everyone down there too. They’ll want to tailgate before the game starts. Dad always brings his mini barbecue and makes beer butt chicken.” I make a face.
Eli bursts out laughing. “Sounds delicious.”
“I’m sure you’ll love it,” I drawl. “You want me to text you when they leave?”
“What, they’re going to allow their precious baby girl to be picked up by me when you’re all alone in the house?” He raises his brows.
“I haven’t given them a reason not to trust me.” I lift my nose in the air, going for innocent.
But if Eli wants to mess around a little bit, I’d be down.
“Lately you have. But I guess they can easily forgive you.” He’s got this look on his face, and I’m guessing it might be related to the fact that his parents—his mother, specifically—doesn’t seem to trust him at all. Not that he necessarily earns her trust. “I’ll hop in the shower and you text me when you’re ready for me to come get you,” he says.
“Okay. Sounds good.”
“See you later, baby.”
“Eli,” I say, just before he ends the call. “I’m glad you’re coming with us.”
“I’m fuckin’ glad you invited me,” he says with a little laugh.
Making me laugh too.
Twelve
Eli
I still can’t believe Ava actually asked me to join her for a family fun night at a Bulldogs game. This ought to be interesting. Me and Jake sharing the same air, hanging out together? Fucking insane. That guy will probably shoot daggers at me with his eyes the entire night. If I’m lucky, I’ll chat up Drew Callahan and get him on my good side. Maybe I’ll even get a chance to talk to Asher Davis. That guy is an amazing quarterback. I think his chances to go pro are huge. I’d love to hear what he has to say.
But the best part of this? Being with Ava. Just—sitting next to her and not having to hide the fact that we’re together. Like I told her, I don’t want to be her dirty little secret any longer. I pretty much announced to all my friends last night that we’re together. Hell, I’d strut around everywhere I could with that fine ass girl on my arm. That fine ass girl who just so happens to be mine.
I take a quick shower and jerk off to ease the tension. With what happened last night, I know I won’t be able to do much with her this weekend, especially since we’ll be with the fam bam. Gotta be on my best behavior. I might be picking her up at her house when no one else is there, but I don’t think we’re gonna get down and dirty. She’s playing shy right now, and that’s fine. I’ll chase her.
Eventually, I’ll catch her.
I dig through my closet looking for a Bulldogs T-shirt, but I don’t have one anywhere. When you live close to a university, you tend to pick up one of their shirts eventually, but I guess I lost the one I know I had a long time ago.
I end up in my brother Ryan’s room and go through his closet. He took pretty much everything he wanted with him when he went away to college, and none of this stuff left behind means much to him. Lucky for me, I find a Bulldogs T-shirt. It’s navy blue versus the typical red, but it has a giant bulldog on the front of it, so that’ll work. I tug the shirt on over my head and check myself out in his dresser mirror. I look good. Pretty sure this T-shirt is practically brand new.
I’m about to leave the bedroom when my eyes snag on a picture frame sitting on top of the dresser. Picking it up, I check out the photo. It’s of me and Ryan and my parents. We’re in Maui. One of the last family vacations we took together during Thanksgiving break. I’m a freshman and Ryan’s a senior and I’m pretty sure it was a last-ditch effort between my mom and dad to make things right between them, but it didn’t work. I remember them arguing a lot. Mom drinking a lot. Things were tense between them. You can see the strain in my dad’s eyes. My mom’s tight lips and glassy stare. Even Ryan looks like he’d rather be anywhere but there.
Me? I’m smiling wide and looking like a cheesy motherfucker having the time of his life in Hawaii. I look oblivious to the tension, though I wasn’t. It was just easier to pretend none of that was happening.
I remember hooking up with a cute girl who was a year older than me. Sixteen to my fifteen. She taught me to slow down with kissing, use less tongue and not be so eager. I owe that chick a lot.
I don’t even remember her name.
I set the frame down, hating the melancholy that washes over me, slowing my steps. Darkening my mood. My family broke apart soon after that photo was taken. I could blame my dad for cheating on my mom, but let’s be real. They were both at fault, always playing the blame game.
Now look at us. I’m alone in this giant house. I have no idea where Mom is right now. My father hasn’t lived here in a couple of years and I rarely see him. When I do, he yells at me. Ryan is like a ghost. He just up and disappeared. Went away to college and never came back.
Fucking sucks. I miss him.
Once I’m back in my room, I grab my phone and send Ryan a quick text.
You need to call me tomorrow. We have a lot to talk about.
That’s all I say. I hope it’s enough to scare him. At the very least, concern him. Fill him with curiosity. I’m tired of being treated badly by every important person in my life. I need people to step up.
At least my girl finally did.
My phone dings, and I check it eagerly, ready to see a response from Ryan. But it’s not my brother who’s texting.
It’s Ava.
The coast is clear. My family is gone. You can come over whenever you want.
I feel like her text is loaded with innuendo. Or maybe that’s my horny side reminding me that it would be real easy to get Ava naked in her room.
But will she let me?
Guess I’m gonna find out in approximately thirty minutes.
I make it up to her neighborhood by the lake in what feels like record time, my engine roaring as I floor it, while climbing the mountain highway. Even though summer’s long over, the tourists still come out on Saturdays and drive like assholes. Tour-ons is what my dad used to call them instead of morons, though it’s not like we’ve lived up here for decades and have the right to call them that. All the locals do. But the majority of businesses need those tourists to survive, so they shouldn’t complain.
Honestly? I can’t wait to get the fuck out of here. I didn’t grow up here, I have no real ties to this place. Everyone knows my business anyway. Small town vibes kill my big-time dreams on what feels like a daily basis.
By the time I’m pulling into the Callahan driveway, I’m nervous. Which is a foreign sensation because come on. What do I have to be nervous about? The Callahans aren’t even here so I have no one to impress. M
y girl is the only one who’s waiting for me in that house. The nerves will really kick in by the time we arrive at the stadium. I’ll have to get myself under control and hope I don’t make a complete ass out of myself.
Though I’ve been making an ass out of myself for the last few months and I’m sure every single person we’ll be hanging with tonight has witnessed it at one point or another. So fuck it.
I’ll just be me.
I jog up to the front door and push the doorbell, the chimes ringing loudly. I shove my hands into the front pockets of my jeans and look around. The neighborhood is quiet. No one’s outside. The only sound is a bird calling in the distance and if you really concentrate, I can hear the roar of a boat engine out on the water.
The door suddenly swings open and I turn back around only for my jaw to drop open. Ava’s standing in front of me, wearing form fitting dark blue jeans with a rip in the knee and a cropped red T-shirt with the bulldog mascot front and center and “Bulldogs” in giant letters above it. Her hair is perfectly straight and flows past her shoulders and she’s smiling at me.
“Goddamn.” That’s the first thing I say, like an asshole. I scrub a hand over my jaw. “You look hot as fuck.”
She laughs and opens the door wider. “Come in.”
I follow her inside, tilting my head back to take in the soaring foyer, the giant chandelier light thing hanging above my head. It’s not a classic chandelier dripping with crystals. Definitely got a more modern feel about it.
Everything about this house has a modern feel to it.
“This is the first time I’ve walked inside your house normally,” I tell her as she shuts the door.
“You want a tour?” she asks.
“Sure.”
Ava escorts me around the house, showing me the many rooms. There are actual wings to this place. There’s an entire office and guest suite, along with a giant bathroom that occupies one end of the house. There’s a living room and family room and the kitchen is massive. Her parents’ bedroom is down here too, in its own wing, and it’s freaking huge. She didn’t even show me the bathroom, but I can only imagine. And this is just on the first level.
Meant To Be (The Callahans Book 4) Page 11