Diego appears out of nowhere, jogging over to where we’re standing, stopping right between us. “Hey. What’s your guys’ problem?”
“He hates me.” I wave a hand at Eli, still chuckling.
Eli doesn’t appear amused at all. It’s already late September. Ava is long gone, away at San Diego State and from what I hear, she’s thriving. Loving every minute of it.
While our boy Eli looks like he wants to murder me because I’m…what? Having sex with Gracie regularly, while his girl is three hundred miles to the south of us?
Diego glances over at Eli. “Bro, why you hatin’ on Caleb?”
“I hate his smug face.” Eli points right at me. “Look at him.”
Diego does exactly that, looking at me before returning his gaze to Eli. “What about him?”
“He’s a dick.”
“Eli, Jesus. What is your problem?” I ask, throwing my arms up in the air. “I know you miss your girl, but damn. Give me a break.”
We always get along, Eli and me. We have similar personalities, so you’d think we’d clash, and back in the day, when we viewed each other as the enemy, we did.
But once we got to know each other, we became fast friends. So this, I hate you tirade, is…kind of unexpected.
A whistle blows in the distance and I glance over to see the defensive coach waving us all over to where he’s standing. “I gotta go,” I tell Diego and Eli before I leave them to jog over with the rest of the defensive line to hear whatever coach wants to tell us.
Okay, I’m acting like I don’t know what’s up Eli’s ass, but I think I do. He’s just pissed because he’s living with two people who are having nonstop sex while he’s getting none. He’s missing his girlfriend and I get the sense it’s killing him that he’s not seeing her. Worse, he keeps trying to call her and a lot of the time, she doesn’t pick up. Once she went to San Diego, she hit the ground running and girl got busy. She joined a sorority last year and is even more involved this year. We’ve been back in school for six weeks, and time has flown by for everyone, I think, but Eli.
I feel sorry for him. I do. Before Gracie, I would’ve given him shit and told him to break up with Ava because I was that much of a callous idiot. Hell, when she first went to San Diego, all of us talked about how long they might last, not giving them much of a future because come the fuck on.
A long-distance relationship is hard work. Yeah, Ava’s sister Autumn and Ash Davis made it work. And look at them now. They’re engaged to be married. Autumn is living with him while he’s playing in the NFL.
That is the shit of dreams, and not for me—the NFL part—but that’s okay.
I’m happy where I’m at. Where I’m going.
Content.
I don’t let Eli get in my head and end up having a solid practice. Being on the team the last two years means I get lots more field time and I can’t help but think of Jackson, who gave up on this shit because he never played and besides, music was calling his name.
He’s making a solid living at it so I can’t blame him. He’s also on my mind because he’s here right now. The first leg of his tour has come to an end and he and Ellie are visiting for the next few weeks before they go to Europe for the fall while he tours. They’re currently staying at Ellie’s parents’ house for the next couple of days and they’re coming over for dinner tonight at Tony and Hayden’s. Tony’s barbecuing.
Of course.
Hayden is eagerly playing hostess, I’m sure. She’s good at that. Even after teaching all day.
My girl lives for that shit too. And she teaches all day as well. She’s killing it. Those third graders love her. And I love that they call her Miss Hughes. I mean, they have to. She is their teacher after all. But it’s kind of hot, I can’t lie. Miss Hughes this, and Miss Hughes that. I might’ve called her that a few times when I was trying to get her naked. She always laughs, but deep down, I think she likes it.
That is what’s so great about being with Gracie. She just gets me. And I get her. We’re on the same wavelength, and I’ve never felt that way with a woman before. More like I’ve never had a deep enough relationship with any woman to ever think we could be in sync together, but I’ve changed that. I’ve changed in general.
All thanks to Gracie.
It helps that our sexual appetites match. I love nothing more than being balls deep in her every single night. She hasn’t had any issues with fibroids or whatever since that one night I took her to the emergency room. No pain, no cramps. She went in for a more extensive ultrasound, but they could only spot a small blip and her doctor reassured her she should be fine.
I’ve told Gracie I’m the one who healed her and she just laughs, but I believe it. Girl has been going strong since we’ve been together. Teaching is going well for her. Life in general is going well for the both of us.
I have zero complaints, beyond Eli wanting to rearrange my face. And he’s not pissed at me. He’s just mad at life in general. The guy’s emotions have always run close to the surface. It doesn’t take much to send him straight over the edge.
And he’s been a lot edgier lately.
Once practice is over and we’re all sweaty and exhausted—still fucking hot as balls outside, thank you very much—I’m headed back to the locker room when I hear someone run up behind me.