that it was a guest room, which made me feel a modicum better about being in here. The idea of camping out in a room that belonged to a stranger was just too creepy.
There weren’t any chairs, but that didn’t give Eli pause. He set the glasses and bottles on the wooden nightstand next to the bed before he sat down on the edge of the mattress, patting the space next to him.
“Come sit. I promise, I don’t bite.” As I paused, vacillating, he added with a wicked grin, “That is, not unless you ask me real nice.”
“Funny.” I sighed and moved to the side of the bed. I stayed a safe foot and a half away from Eli, leaning my butt into the comforter-covered mattress, wondering what to say next.
“Let’s get some refreshments. I promised you a drink, didn’t I?” Leaning over, he poured the cola into both cups and then replaced the cap before twisting the top off the second bottle. He added a healthy splash to both of our drinks and handed me one.
“Here’s to . . .” His eyes held mine, challenging and assessing. “Here’s to new friends.”
“New friends,” I echoed, touching my cup to his before taking a sip. The cola was sweet, but whatever he’d added to it burned my throat, forging a warm and happy trail to my stomach. It wasn’t delicious, but it wasn’t horrible, either. I drank a little more, just to give myself some much-needed courage.
“So.” Eli moved back to settle against the mounds of pillows at the top of the bed. “Tell me about you. What’s life like in—Lancaster, you said? What do you like to do?”
I took another sip of my drink to buy some time. Describing my life at home was hardly going to impress this guy. It might put him to sleep. I tried to think of something I could share that would make me sound worldly and sophisticated, but I came up empty.
“Well.” I eased myself up onto the bed, sliding backwards until my feet didn’t touch the floor anymore, kicking off my shoes so that I didn’t get the comforter dirty. “I live on a farm. We have horses . . . and cows. And goats.” I pictured the endless acres of waving grass and the rolling hills which were now aflame with trees that bore changing leaves. “It’s the most beautiful place, I think. I mean, I haven’t been many places, but for me, it’s like heaven.”
“It sounds great.” He smiled, his eyes steady on me. “Do you ride the horses? Do you know how?”
“Of course,” I laughed, drinking more. The booze didn’t burn so much anymore, and I was beginning to feel more relaxed. “I’ve been on horses for as long as I can remember. Longer. All of my cousins and my aunts and uncles ride. Most of our friends do, too.”
“I’ve never been close to a horse,” Eli confessed. “When I was in grade school, they used to take us on field trips to farms, and sometimes we were allowed to pet the colts, but I never, like, actually sat on a horse’s back. That’s pretty badass.”
“I’m sure there are a ton of things you’ve done that I’ve never even thought about doing.” I tipped the cup back and finished the drink. “Like scoring a touchdown. Never done that.”
“Good to know there’s at least something I have in my favor.” He spoke so seriously that I couldn’t help giggling.
“Okay, so I told you a little about my life. Tell me about yours now.” I jiggled my cup. “And could I have some more, please? That was yummy.”
“Sure.” Eli stretched one long arm over to get the bottles and refill my drink. “Um, something about my life. Well, mostly it’s football. It’s what I’ve always wanted to do, so it pretty much consumes all my time. When I’m not practicing or playing, I’m conditioning or reading plays or studying tapes—or I’m doing school work so that I can maintain my grades. I want to get a full scholarship to a college that has a championship team. Then after I graduate, I’m going pro. And I plan to stay in the game for a long time.”
“That’s very . . .” I’d lost the word I was going to use, which wasn’t at all like me. I frowned, trying to remember what I’d been about to say. “Oh, ambitious. It’s very ambitious of you.” I accepted my filled cup back from him again. “But