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“How did your interview go this week, Queenie?” Eli asks.
“What interview?” Ava asks.
“Of course, you only told Eli… so yeah, what interview?” Sloan says with more bark than bite.
Eli apologizes with his eyes, but I don’t really care. I would have told them, eventually.
“E and I had our weekly FaceTime the night before I went, so I happened to tell him before you guys. But I had an interview with one of the summer camps around here. I am going to be their assistant sports activity director this summer.”
They all congratulate me, but I’m not sure how excited I actually am about it. Part of me is looking forward to seeing how things go and the other part of me is bummed to have my whole summer booked up.
Over the last few years, my time spent with Eli has been few and far between. With me in school and him all the way in North Carolina, we haven’t seen each other much. We text almost daily and FaceTime at least once a week, but it's not the same.
When we are together, I sense us both fighting the chemistry and pull that magnetizes between us. For me, it's because every single time we give in, I’m reminded of why I don’t ever allow anyone else a chance. I don’t think there is a soul on this planet or the seven others that I crave the way I do his.
With that being said, the pros always outweigh the cons when it comes to Eli, so even though it hasn’t been as often over the past couple of years, that craving has still gotten the best of us many times. And if the look in his eyes and the thrum in my body tell me anything, my best friend will be tangled in my sheets by the end of the night. I’ll deal with moving forward into the strictly friend-zone tomorrow.
“Let’s finish this bottle of tequila off, and then the grad needs to give her speech,” Ava says, passing the bottle across to me.
“Ugh, I never agreed to that.” The bottle meets my mouth, and I take a big swig, causing my lips to quiver from the liquid fire.
“Come on, you have your three best friends here. Who better to do it in front of?”
A half-hour later, we have the bottle finished and the jokes flowing.
“Ooooh, Quinn… you know, I have heard some hot stories about camp counselors getting it on after hours,” Ava says with suggestive eyebrows. “A little bunkbed rendezvous.” She giggles.
Sloan must notice the tick in Eli’s jaw because she abruptly moves to the center of the couch in between Ava and her brother. “Okay, Quinnie girl, it's time for your speech.”
Rolling my eyes, I reluctantly pick up the empty bottle of tequila. I clear my voice and tap the rim of the fifth, pretending it’s my microphone. Dramatics aside, I ponder on what I want to say… I could be silly Quinn right now, or I could let my heart bleed out to the people I’m closest to.
“I wish I could stand up here and tell you I feel like Elle Woods the day she graduated from Harvard law school… but that would be a complete lie. I am proud of my volleyball career at NYU, and I’m grateful to say I finished college, but…” I look at each of them, my eyes fixating on Eli’s sincere ones. The look he doesn’t give to many people, but when he gives it to you, you feel like he could fix your whole world… or at least attempt to.
“Somewhere deep in this wild heart of mine, my intuition tells me I have a greater purpose here. Working at a camp seems cool, but I know it won’t truly fulfill me. Everyone around me seems to know exactly what they want… and I am happy for you guys, truly.” I pause, rubbing my hand over my face. “I just feel like there is something missing in my life… it’s like it's within reach… obtainable. But I have no clue whatitactually is.” I see Sloan ready to jump to my rescue and tell me everything is going to be okay, but I hold my hand up, stopping her. With this truth serum running through my veins, I don’t want to stop. “I want dreams, aspirations, goals of my own, but I just can’t seem to figure out what that entails for me. Maybe I’m looking in all the wrong places.” I feel Eli’s eyes assessing me, my words probably shocking him the least out of the three of them.
“But don’t fret… your friend is a tough chick. I’ll work it all out one day in this thick skull of mine. For now, I’ll continue to be the best cheerleader any of you can ask for.”
Sloan and Ava both swallow me up in a group hug, telling me how proud they are and how much they love me. “One day, Quinn Turner… you will have everything you want in this life. I believe that with all my heart,” Sloan reassures me tenderly. I meet Eli’s gaze again. “Maybe,” I respond as I look into the eyes of the one thing I know without a shadow of a doubt I do want for myself… and I hate that I can only have part of him, unwilling to risk the core of our relationship.Friendship.
His next words prove he knows me better than anyone does. I don’t want pity, and I don’t even want encouraging words. I just want someone to listen and then distract me from the word vomit I just spewed.
“I one hundred percent agree, you are the toughest chick I know… and you definitely have a thick skull.” Eli lets out a fake cough and says under his breath, “Aka, hard-headed.” I blow him a kiss with my middle finger and a grin.
“But let’s see who has the thickest skin…” When his shirt gets pulled over his head, I know exactly where this is going. “Last one to the water is a rotten egg.” I’m jumping up and pushing him back down to the couch before he can even get out his last word.
I shed my sundress once I reach the darkness of the beach. I can hear his feet thundering against the sand behind me. When the cold water hits my skin and his arms wrap around my body, the suffocating feeling I had from showing my weaknesses decimates.
“Do you know the first time I knew you were my person?” His whisper causes my body to warm. I shake my head. Thinking back, he has been that person to me for as long as I can remember.
“That spring break at the lake when I dared everyone to go in the cold water and you were the only one who would do it. I remember thinking you were the coolest chick on earth… and then I saw you smile, so proud of yourself for accepting the challenge. I knew I would do anything to see that smile over and over again.”
His words cover my heart like melted candy over an apple, making it even more impenetrable for any other man to get to. And as he kisses me and my toes curl into the sand under my feet, I know for certain tonight will be worth the aftermath.
Eli is always worth it to me.
Ten
Quinn- 26
