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“Eli, she’s scared. The easiest thing to do when you’re afraid of something is to run away from it. She’s afraid of something. Commitment, I guess.”
My boyfriend rolls his eyes, not ready to give in and forgive the person who hurt his brother.
“She was trying to forget about her feelings for Marc, or at least see if she could. I don’t know, but that’s why she went out on a date with that guy last night.”
“That doesn’t make sense, Logan. Ali went out with someone else because she liked Marc too much?”
I shrug my shoulders. “The idea of being in a relationship is terrifying to her for some reason, and I think she knew it had come to a point where it was all in or all out with your brother.”
“That’s because it is all in or all out. Marc is a relationship guy regardless of their friends with benefits bullshit from the first semester.”
“She knows. Maybe it was self-sabotage as a way to force Marc to be all out, so she didn’t have to do it herself. I’m not sure.”
“Marc said the guy was fixing his shirt when he left. They clearly hooked up.”
“I think they started something, but she stopped it. And then there was some really unfortunate timing in the hallway.”
“So, what now?” Eli asks.
“I don’t know. She bawled her eyes out last night. I’ve never seen her cry. Not once, but she couldn’t stop. She could barely even speak. Obviously, last night sucked, but maybe it’s a wake-up call for her?”
“Logan, come on,” Eli says with exhaustion. “Stop being so optimistic. Do you really believe she’s changed all of a sudden, and she’s ready to be all in?”
“No. It doesn’t happen overnight. But no one is perfect. Sometimes there’s a learning curve. I love you, but it took you a minute to figure out this whole relationship thing, too.”
“Yeah, and now I’m killing it,” my humble man states.
“We’ve all made mistakes, and unfortunately, Ali made a pretty big one and hurt Marc in the process.”
Eli’s expression refuses to yield. He’s angry, and I get it.
“He’s your brother, so you have every right to be protective of him.”
“And he’s your friend, Logan,” Eli quickly counters.
“So is she!” I snap.
Eli’s brown eyes are set and determined but falter at my tone, softening.
“I’m just trying to be a friend to both of them.” I shake my head, my voice leveling. “She doesn’t have anyone else. Even though I don’t understand why Ali is the way she is, it doesn’t mean that her fears are invalid. I might disagree with it, and it might frustrate the hell out of me, but it’s something she’s starting to recognize. She was broken last night, and it’s a whole hell of a lot easier to get through that with a friend than when you feel like everyone is against you.”
“You are a good friend, baby,” Eli tells me. “You’re the best friend. But I’m still upset with Ali.”
“I know. She’s mad at herself too.”
Eli resumes his job as my hairstylist, finally making it to the back of my head. He’s doing his work with precision, but it’s taking so much longer than when I do it myself. I can knock out a root touch-up in fifteen minutes, but I’m pretty sure we will hit an hour by the time Eli is finished.
Regardless of the extra time it takes, this might be my favorite dye job yet. Solely because of the care and effort that Eli is putting in for me.
“Are you guys ready for your game tomorrow?” I ask my boyfriend.
“I think so. I don’t think I’ll be playing much, but the rest of the boys look good.”
“How’s the ankle?”
“It’s good enough,” he answers with finality. I try to get a read on him through the reflection, but Eli intentionally avoids my gaze.
“Fucking masterpiece.” Eli finishes my color, standing a few feet back and admiring his work.
