Page 85 of From A to Us

He considered letting it go to voicemail. He wasn’t sure he had the capacity for another engagement activity, but if he didn’t answer, she’d snag a minute with him at the arena.

And it was easier to say no over the phone than in person.

“How about the sausage?” Eli asked Nolan, picking up the phone.

“Yeah. Or the pepperoni and peppers. One of each?”

“Give me a second and I’ll order. Hey, Jen.”

“Hey, are you on your way? Carol-Anne thought you’d be there by now.”

“Uh . . .” Quickly, Eli pulled the phone away from his ear to check his calendar, but today’s schedule was blissfully empty. “On my way where? And who’s Carol-Anne?”

That caught Nolan’s attention, and he looked over with a frown.

“Carol-Anne is the executive director at the education and literacy charity foundation that’s hosting a gala tonight at the Community Sailing Center that you’re supposed to be headlining,” Jen said, her tone growing in urgency. “We talked about it a few weeks ago.”

“Right,” he said slowly. “I remember.”

They’d talked about it in her office the same day he’d shown the high school students around the arena. And he hadn’t put the date in his phone because . . . because why?

Because he’d found Nolan’s letter taped in his stall and completely forgotten about everything else.

“Fuck.”

“You forgot,” Jen said, realization clearly dawning. “Okay. That’s okay. I can tell her you’re ill.”

“No.” Eli shoved aside his computer and the textbooks. “I can be there in . . .” He checked the time. Thank god he and Nolan had showered after celebrating how delicious lunch was with blow jobs. “Half an hour. Fuck, Jen, I’m sorry. I didn’t have it in my calendar.” He raced upstairs to change. “What do I need to know? Fuck, do I need to make a speech?”

“Nothing that fancy.” Jen’s voice was the calm to his panic. “Just schmooze the donors, encourage people to participate in the silent auction and raffle, pose for some photos, and shake a zillion hands.”

In other words, put on a smile and be on. Eli had been smiling all day, but knowing that he had to get dressed up and go be Eli Parker for a few unexpected hours? He wanted to do anything but smile.

“Okay.” Eli examined his wardrobe choices in his closet. “Thanks. I’ll be there soon.” He hung up and tossed his phone onto the dresser.

“Hey.” Nolan joined him and gently brushed his elbow. “What’s going on?”

“I’m so sorry, Nole, but I need to go.” He grabbed a suit at random and flung it onto the bed. “I need to be at a charity event that I totally forgot about.” He growled low under his breath and ripped a shirt off its hanger. He flung it onto the bed with the suit. “What kind of asshole forgets that he’s headlining a charity event that supports kids’ rights to learning?”

Nolan opened his mouth to say something, but he must’ve decided against it because he closed it again.

Eli flew into the bathroom to fix his hair. “I’m sorry to cut our evening short.”

“Don’t worry about me.”

“Do you think I need a shave? Good thing I got my hair cut for that Flavour Network thing.”

Again, Nolan looked like he was about to say something, and Eli was sure “Do you want me to drive you?” wasn’t what was on his mind.

“I’ll take my car,” Eli said, digging through his cabinet for hair product. “That way you don’t have to pick me up again later.”

Nolan’s response was a small sigh. “I’m swapping out the shirt you chose. It clashes with the suit.”

Eli muttered an absent reply.

He was ready to go in ten minutes, and he left with a quick peck to Nolan’s cheek. At the event, he did exactly what Jen said. He schmoozed the donors, he encouraged them to participate in the silent auction and raffle, posed for countless photos, and shook twice that many hands.

This kind of event, one that supported education, was usually his bread and butter.