Parting Chances (Fighting Chance #1) (14 page)

I was working my usual closing shift at the cafe. My boss, Robb, was all about theme nights. He wanted to bring as many different groups of people in as possible. And so far, it’d been working great for him. We’d had music night, poetry night, coffee and paint night, writing night…and that night? That night was video game night. We set up a few large TVs in the back meeting room for the gamers to play on. It was set up as a playoff. Player vs. player. Winner moves on, loser goes home. Or, well, in this case, they usually sat in the back watching the competition go on. Eli and Noah had been playing since the thing started. As far as I knew, they were both still in the competition.

I started on my night cleaning duties for closing. I wasn’t sure how long the video game thing was going to go, but I hoped that if it went longer than my scheduled shift, my boss would get back in time to finish with them so I could go home. After all the time I spent at the boys’ house watching them play video games, the last thing I wanted to do was watch more of it.

As I was counting down my drawer, Noah walked out of the back. “Hey, did you get eliminated?”

“Yeah. About a half hour ago, actually. But now Kyler’s demanding I come home, so…”

“How’s Eli doing?” I asked as casually as I could.

“He’s still in it. It’s down to the final six now. They should be finishing up soon...” He held his vibrating phone up to me. “Kyler.” Then he put it to his ear gave me a wave and started walking to the door. “I’m on my way.”

I finished my closing routine; locking the door, putting the cash draw back in the safe, shutting down the machines, and turning off the lights in the window. Then I made my way into the meeting room to check on the progress of the game. A few people still lingered around the room watching the competition unfold. It looked like it was now down to the final four, and I didn’t see Eli sitting in front of one of the TVs. My heart dropped a little that he had left without me noticing. I stayed near the door and leaned back against the wall. It looked like I was going to be waiting this out with them. Robb still hadn’t showed back up. I had just taken out my phone to text my boss when someone leaned back against the wall right next to me.

“Stuck here until it’s over?”

Slowly turning my head up, I took in Eli as he casually leaned against the wall, arms crossed and one leg propped up on the wall behind him.

“Looks like it.” I turned my attention to the four players. One group had just finished, and the other looked like it was almost done. Then it was just the final two.

“Want some company?” Eli asked as he kept his gaze on the TV screen.

“Sure.” Out of the corner of my eye, I noticed Eli nod, but he still kept his gaze straight ahead. His lack of communication confused me. Maybe he was unsure of how he felt about me now.

Or, Hales, maybe he’s just respecting your request and giving you space.

We stood in comfortable silence while we watched the final two battle it out. The game didn’t last long before one guy claimed victory. I congratulated them both and handed the top three the packages that Robb had left as prizes. I wasn’t sure what was in them, but he assured me the gamers would love them. The four guys made their way out of the cafe, chattering about the competition. When they were out, I flipped the lock on the door and turned to find Eli leaning against the counter.

“Need help cleaning up?” He nodded towards the back room. Apparently these guys had never heard of a trashcan because the room was littered with garbage. And I still had to wash the dishes they had used.

“That’d be great. Thanks.” I was grateful he was still here. Otherwise, it would take me at least an hour longer before I could head out. I hauled a garbage bag from behind the counter and followed into the room. We started filling the bag with food and to-go cups and put the washable dishes into a plastic bin. In a few minutes, the room was straightened back up, and we only had a stack of dishes to clean.

The downside of this being a locally owned small cafe—there was no massive automatic dishwasher. We usually had someone on the night shift who took care of the dishes, but it looked like the job landed on Eli and me tonight.

“I wash, you dry?” he asked as he filled the sink with soap and water.

“Sounds good.” I pulled a towel from the pile under the sink and stood next to him waiting.

Well if this didn’t feel familiar.

But the sexual tension that had gripped me that day in August failed in comparison to what was happening now. In the little space, fit only for one, we were elbow-to-elbow. His arm would brush against mine constantly, sending sparks shooting through it. And when he’d hand me a mug to dry and our fingers brushed, I thought my hand was going to explode from the pop-rock feeling that erupted.

I was on edge the entire time I was drying those dishes, willing the pile to get smaller and smaller so I could get out of this confined space with him. My brain was on overdrive with the amount of tension swarming the air. I was tempted to just say
screw it
and push him against the fridge and kiss him like I’d been longing to since that first day on the porch. But I knew that would just make this situation worse, and the plan was to just get back to being friends.

Finally, he handed me the last mug, and I ran the towel over it at lightning speed before basically throwing it in the cupboard. I hung the towel up to dry and bolted from the kitchen. Eli followed lazily behind me. I shrugged into my coat and purse and speed-walked to the door, hoping he would get the hint that it was time to go.

“Just have to get my coat,” he mumbled and headed into the meeting room.

I glanced at my phone as I waited for him. Three missed calls. My heart dropped, thinking they were from my dad. I swiped at the screen and breathed a small sigh of relief when I saw they weren’t from my family, but instead from Drew. Aside from that horrible mistake on Halloween, I had made it a point to not talk to him or see him since he broke up with me last winter break.

The only thing I forgot to do was change my phone number, or delete and block him from my phone. He hadn’t contacted me after Halloween, so I figured he was beyond wasted too. But by the looks of the three missed calls in the last hour, he hadn’t. Eli entered the room as I stared at my phone as if it was a foreign object.

“What’s up?”

“I have three missed calls from…” I trailed off as my phone started ringing in my hand.

“From who?”

I couldn’t do anything but hold up my phone. As soon as he saw the name flashing across the screen, his eyes hardened and his mouth turned down into a frown.

“Why is he calling you?” His posture stiffened and his glare was directed at me now.

He couldn’t possibly think I
wanted
Drew to call. But when I stared into the ice blue eyes, I realized that was exactly what he thought.

“I have no idea. I haven’t talked to him since he broke up with me last year.”

Eli’s gaze hardened, if that was possible. “What about Halloween?”

“Er…I didn’t actually
talk
to him that night…” I cringed.

Silence fell between us as my phone stopped ringing. My eyes never left Eli’s as I willed him to stop glaring at me. Slowly, he softened and his posture relaxed, only to stiffen back up when the phone rang again. I was about to throw the thing against the wall, but Eli snatched it from my hands.

“What are you…?” I was cut off as he answered the phone.

“Hello?” His voice was rough. Even I winced from the sound of it. I could hear murmuring coming from the other end but was unable to make the words out.

“No, you have the right number. This is Haley’s phone. What do you want?” His icy tone never ceased as his grip tightened on my phone. I was afraid he was going to crush my phone in his grasp. But slowly, I saw him relax, and he gave me a sexy grin.

What in the world?

“Well, Drew, let me tell you something. Haley doesn’t want to talk to you. She doesn’t want to hear from you. In fact, it would be great if you could just lose this number altogether. It would make everyone’s life so much easier.” My jaw dropped open as Eli dug into Drew more and more.

I could hear Drew yelling on the other end. Screaming at Eli to put me on the phone. He held the phone out as Drew yelled, “Who the hell do you think you are?” I raised an eyebrow at him, but he just shook his head.

“I’m Haley’s boyfriend.” And with those three words, he clicked off the phone and handed it back to me. “You shouldn’t have any more problems. Just do me a favor and steer clear of him at parties.” He winked, so I knew he was joking, but I just stared at my phone, unable to form words to what Eli had said. I felt him pat me on the shoulder and edge past me to leave, saying something about seeing me tomorrow, but my brain was still on those three words.

I’m Haley’s boyfriend.

He had only said them to get Drew to stop calling me. So why was my heart beating out of my chest? And why did the butterflies erupt in my stomach at the mention of him being my boyfriend? Like this didn’t add to the already confused state I was in.

The following day, I did my best to appear as casual as I could. I didn’t want Eli to know his words had affected me as much as they had. In fact, I was barely able to get any sleep with the way my brain went crazy over it. Damn that Kyler for staying over at Noah’s and not being able to have girl talk.

In class, I had brought the obligatory coffee and listened way too intently to the professor, and afterward, feigned a headache so I didn’t have to sit through what was sure to be an awkward lunch alone with him. All because of my stupid overactive brain.

But I couldn’t get out of helping Kyler make dinner for the guys. How I got dragged over there, I had no idea. Kyler had powers that I was unaware of.

Or, maybe I really wanted to come over. We all had to talk about the upcoming campus-wide trivia competition. That got pretty intense. It was seventy-two hours of non-stop trivia questions, and it was our job to make sure we had all the shifts covered. So, since Thanksgiving break was next week and the trivia competition was the weekend after, planning was needed, especially when we had done nothing for it thus far.

I scooped the salad ingredients into the wooden bowl Kyler had put out for me, tossed it with some vinaigrette she’d made and brought it out to the table. Noah and Eli were busy battling on one of the video games, but that didn’t stop me from noticing Eli’s gaze flick my way when I entered the room and the small lopsided grin that appeared on his face.

Damn it. Why does that affect me so much?

I turned and headed back into the kitchen, keeping my head down and almost running smack into Kyler, who was bringing out the main course.

“Watch out!” she shrieked. “You’re going to make me lose all my hard work!”

“Sorry, sorry. I just—” But Kyler walked out before I could really respond. I still hadn’t had a chance to talk to her about the boyfriend thing. I was hoping she’d tell me it was all in my head and Eli had just said it to get Drew off my back. But my mind was spinning different stories faster than a spider could spin a web. I needed consolation.

Sucking in the groan that was about to escape, I brought the pitcher of water out to the table where the rest of the group was now sitting. Of course, the only spot open was the one next to Eli. I gingerly took my seat, making sure to keep enough distance between the two of us.

We ate in relative silence. I scarfed down my food while Kyler stared bug-eyed at me. I just shook my head and excused myself when my stomach couldn’t fit any more. With a feeling of wanting to flee, I made my way to the front porch and plopped down on the swing. I slipped my hands into my hoodie pocket, and sucked in deep breaths of the crisp fresh air.

The door opened and closed, and I felt Kyler sit gently down next to me. “What in the hell is going on?”

“Well, if you were ever home you’d realize I needed to talk to you.” I hadn’t meant to snap at her, but all these emotions were putting me over the edge.

“Wow. Easy, girl. I’m here now, so spill.”

I glanced around, making sure we were alone.

“Noah and Eli are doing the dishes,” Kyler answered my unspoken question.

Taking a deep breath, I recapped last night’s events. Kyler never spoke a word the entire time I told her about how Eli had stayed and helped me clean up. The sexual tension I couldn’t shake whenever I was around him. She only raised an eyebrow when I mentioned Drew had called but didn’t make a sound when I told her that Eli had told him off.