Tristan pulled Ele into the cradle of his thighs. She came willingly. His hands were clasped in front of her, and she interlaced their fingers.
“It was a good game,” she commented.
“It was. Unlucky that we have to play the number one team in the world next.”
“It is. You need to make sure you win.”
Tristan chuckled. “Of course. I’ll get right on that.”
“I’m not ready for this to end,” she said seriously.
“Right,” Tristan agreed.
He’d forgotten about that. When they were done playing football, this interlude would be over too. When he thought about it like that, it amplified the importance of the next game.
“I’m sure that’s not your greatest motivation, but it couldn’t hurt to have multiple reasons.”
Tristan didn’t have a response for that, so he stayed silent.
“How is your sister?”
“A pain in my ass,” he answered, perhaps too quickly.
Ele laughed. “I’m sure that’s Jamie’s auto-response to that question too.”
“I doubt it. She went through my phone, sent my mom that picture, and generally was all over me about my relationship with you.” He dropped his hand and kissed Ele on her neck. “She drives me crazy.”
“She knows it’s just for now, right?”
If Tristan had been standing, he might have been brought down by the pain of that blow. Of course, earlier tonight, he’d rebuffed his sister’s claims of his deep feelings for Ele. But Ele’s flippant response, her very similar assertion of nonchalance, cut deep. It made no sense to him.
“Yes, I explained it to her—with as few words as possible. Less is better.”
Ele chuckled. “Maybe it was just the day for odd sibling interactions.”
“How so?”
Ele shifted around and slung her legs over the side of the couch, situating herself on Tristan’s lap.
“I just noticed things about Jamie and Juliana that I hadn’t before.”
“Like what?”
“I think J
amie is really lonely. And Juliana’s crazy antics, I think, have more to do with trying to get our attention than anything else. For so long, I’ve only been able to see what’s happening with me. There’s been scheduling and arranging, managing and overthinking. I haven’t paid attention to anyone else. Now, I’m noticing things about them, things that I should have noticed a long time ago.”
“What’s changed?” It was on the tip of his tongue—to ask the question, to lead her to making the revelations she locked up tight. He wanted to hear it, not read about it. Is that true? Do I want to share her burdens, or do I want to keep my distance?
“You.”
“Me?” he said, surprised.
A moment ago, she’d reminded him they were only here for the duration of the tournament.
“I’m not really sure how to explain it without freaking you out.”
He forced a smile. “I promise I won’t take it to heart.”