The Sophomore (College Years #2) - Monica Murphy Page 0,103

one of those contracts when they were offered. Now I’ve got nothing.

Well, I’ve got my friends. And Ellie.

Ellie.

My gaze lingers on her, how she throws her head back and laughs at something Ava says. Jocelyn is sitting with them, as well as Baylee, who Caleb brought with him. For whatever reason, they’re all getting along perfectly well, which is shocking considering Baylee’s association with the awful Cami Lockhart. That girl destroyed more relationships than she actually had herself during her time in high school.

Wonder where she’s at now?

Best if I don’t ask, especially Eli, who had his own run-in with her. Multiple times.

“I don’t blame you,” I finally say to him, glancing over at him. His expression is grim, his jaw tight, his lips thin. He doesn’t look happy, when he should be soaking up these last hours with his girlfriend. “What’s wrong with you?”

“Long distance relationships are bullshit,” he mutters fiercely. “Having her here this weekend is reminding me why I hate them. I don’t want to let her go.”

“Yeah.” I sip from my water bottle. I’m glad the Callahan family invited us to their house, and I’m having a good time, but we’re keeping it clean. Ava’s parents don’t let us drink in front of them, not like my dad, who would provide me with plenty of alcohol and weed any time I asked for it. He’d leave me a stash of both, since he was always working or out of town. This is why I was always partying in high school. Kind of fucked-up, but back then, I thought it was great.

We all did.

“You and Ellie for real now?” he asks me out of nowhere.

I shrug. “We haven’t actually talked about it and made it official, but I think so.”

“She can’t quit looking over here at you,” he observes.

“I’m doing the same thing to her,” I say, smiling at her when our gazes lock. She returns the smile with a shy one of her own before she resumes her conversation with her friends.

“You’ve got it so bad,” Eli says, shaking his head. “Finally.”

“I shouldn’t have led her on like I did for so long,” I admit, suddenly feeling down on myself. An emotion I’ve been battling with all weekend.

The disappointing meeting with Rick and his people won’t leave me, and it’s colored my mood. Even having Ellie all to myself for the entire weekend since she took the time off for Ava’s visit hasn’t completely lifted my spirits, though it’s been the perfect distraction. Just the one I needed.

I’m happy with her, I really am. We can’t get enough of each other, and she’s surprisingly wild in bed. Girl does not hold back, and I appreciate that.

A lot.

But I’d hoped to not only be having the time of my life with her, I’d fully expected to have something lined up with Evergreen. My future, solidified.

Instead, I feel like I’m floundering more than ever.

“You were blind,” Eli says, as if that’s explanation enough. “You didn’t see what was happening right in front of your eyes. Not like I did with Ava. I took one look at her, and I fucking knew. I had to have her.”

“Yeah, I wasn’t as sure as you were,” I say, thinking back on those days. When I would host parties out at my uncle’s abandoned cabin by the lake, playing my guitar around the fire and singing songs, with Ellie always by my side. Gazing up at me with those big eyes, looking at me as if I could change her entire life.

God, I was such a dick.

“Just don’t fuck it up,” Eli says, his tone turning serious. “Ellie is a sweet girl. I’d hate to see you hurt her.”

“I don’t plan on hurting her,” I say defensively.

“I know, but you probably could with little effort. You’re kind of an ass sometimes. A little selfish,” he says.

I start to laugh. “That’s pretty funny, coming from you.”

He frowns. “What do you mean?”

“You’re a selfish ass, Eli. You strut around wherever you’re at, thinking you’re king of the goddamn world. It’s the Eli Bennett show and we’re all just living in it,” I say, sounding bitter. Sometimes his cocky attitude makes me angry. Defensive.

It’s an emotion that’s been bubbling just beneath the surface for days.

Eli glares at me, not saying a word. His entire body seems tense.

In fact, he looks pretty fucking…mad.

Shit.

“You really think that?” He sounds offended.

I shrug, most likely needing to back pedal, but not necessarily in the mood for it. Maybe I