"Yeah, it's gotten me into trouble."
"Me too."
"Thanks for saving me a seat," I added.
He shrugged then walked off to talk to a few of his friends.
"That was nice of you," Elle said.
"He's a cool kid," I replied.
"He likes you."
I smiled. " I know. He saved me a seat."
"I wasn't talking about Eli."
As I glanced up, she nodded toward the ice, and I caught Tolliver looking this way. He gave me a nod, and when I merely blinked, he lifted his hand.
"I love Tollie to death," Elle mumbled from beside me, "but could he be any more obvious?"
"What?"
"Just wave back for goodness sake."
I sent him a small wave which made him grin.
Then I looked away before I could do something stupid like fall for the guy.
"Mmm, nice job."
When I turned back to her, Elle was frowning at her book in concentration, and I asked, "What are you studying?"
"I honestly don't know," she muttered.
"Do you like to read?" I asked.
"Who actually likes reading?"
"I do. My cousins too, and the girls in my writing group."
"Huh." Elle shook her head. "Anyway, no, I hate it—especially the books we have to read for school. They're so depressing."
"Valid," I said. "Hey, one of my cousins works at a library. I bet she'd give you some good recs. Lottie has a gift for pairing the right book with the right person."
Elle looked dubious.
"Seriously, a good book can make your whole day brighter."
"Well, anything has to be better than this."
I nodded in sympathy. "I wasn't a fan of Steinbeck either."
"I love math," Elle said.
"Gross," I said back.
"Come on, it makes sense."
