Page 57 of Unforgettable Player

“Sounds good.”

He gets out of the car before I have a chance to do or say anything more.

I drive home before I go to the rink. My gym bag is there and I could really use a shower and a change of clothes.

Mom tries to grab me as soon as I let myself into the house. I smell like someone who had sweaty sex last night and she’ll definitely pick up on it.

“I’ll be down in a minute,” I call on my way to the shower.

I stand under the spray, closing my eyes and enjoying the sensation of getting clean, try not to panic that I might never have Elliot’s smell on my skin again. We’re going to talk later. We’ll figure something out.

Scout’s in the kitchen chatting to Mom when I get downstairs. They’re giggling about something and sharing a bag of cookies.

“Where were you last night?” Mom asks.

“Urgh, don’t wanna know,” Scout says. I smile at her. After what Elliot told me about her standing up to his bullies and putting herself in the firing line, I want heal whatever this shit is between us more than ever. She’s my sister, for fuck’s sake, and I love her. I know she loves me, too, under all this armor.

“I just stayed out with a friend,” I tell Mom.

“A girlfriend?” Mom raises a hopeful eyebrow.

“Mom, if he was out all night with some girl he just met, you’d best believe she’s not a ‘girlfriend.’”

“Are we slut shaming here, sis?”

“I’m only shaming you. I am questioning her intelligence, though.”

I snort.

Mom rolls her eyes before pivoting back to me. “What’s her name?”

“There was no girl.” My heart rate picks up. I could tell them both right now. Tell them I was with a guy last night. But Mom won’t let it drop until she finds out who and Elliot made it pretty clear he doesn’t want anyone to know we’re hooking up.

Mom’s shoulders sag. “So, you were just up playing video games all night?”

“No, Mom, he was hooking up with some puck bunny and he doesn’t want to get your hopes up about grandbabies.”

“Grandbabies?” Mom asks. “Please tell me you used protection.”

Scout gags. “TMI.”

Mom and Scout argue good-naturedly about whether asking me if I used protection with this imaginary girl is TMI or not and I stand back, watching, smiling. I only zone back into the conversation when Mom says Eli’s name.

“Where is he today? He didn’t stay over last night?”

If it was anyone else, Scout might have put two and two together and accurately got four. But the thought of me and Eli hooking up is obviously so out of her realm of possibility that it didn’t even cross her mind. I guess that’ll make it easier for us to stay on the down low.

“He’s at the library,” Scout says. “I’m gonna pick him up in an hour and we’re going to the record store. Maybe swing by the bookstore and see a certain Cute Bookstore Guy.”

My stomach drops. We didn’t discuss being exclusive. ‘Casual’ doesn’t exactly scream ‘exclusive,’ does it? But fuck if I want Eli hooking up with some other guy while we’re hooking up. Can you be casual and exclusive at the same time? Do I even have the right to ask him for that?

I speak before I even know what I’m going to say. “How do you know Elliot wants that?”

Mom and Scout’s heads snap in my direction.

“What do you know about what Eli wants?” Scout asks. “Of course he wants to see Gabe again, he’s hot.”

“Do you think they’ll see each other after Elliot goes back to school?” Mom asks.