Next Man Up (Making the Score #2) - Tawdra Kandle Page 0,1

all.” I lifted one shoulder. “That was genius.”

Eli cocked his head, his eyes widening a bit. “You know something about football, huh?”

“A little.” I reached up to tug the strap of my dress back into place on my shoulder. I wasn’t used to wearing clothes that left so much of me exposed. Back at home in Lancaster, Grammy never would’ve let me out of the house in anything this short, this low-cut or this tight. But Hannah and Rebecca had insisted that dresses like this one were what girls wore to parties here in South Jersey. And I’d been stupid enough to listen to them.

“Does your boyfriend play football?” Eli leaned a little closer, and I could practically feel the heat of his eyes on me.

“I don’t have a boyfriend.” The words came out a little breathy, making me wince. I wasn’t that girl who mooned over boys. Or was I? I’d never met any guy like this one. “But my cousins play, and my uncle coaches at our high school. I’ve been listening to game talk around the Sunday supper table my whole life. In a family like mine, you either give in and love football or you hate it. I decided it was easier to enjoy it.”

“I’m glad.” He was near enough to me now that when I breathed in, all I could smell was him—some kind of light cologne, the clean fragrance of the laundry detergent his mom had used to wash his shirt, and . . . was that beer? My heart was thudding against my ribs, and I hoped he couldn’t see the tremor that ran through me.

“Glad that I like football?” I played with my silver star necklace, twining it around one finger, just to keep my hands busy.

“Mmmmm. But even happier that you don’t have a boyfriend.” Eli reached down and touched my hair where it lay against my shoulder. “How about we get something to drink and go someplace a little quieter?” He pointed to the open front door, where people were still pouring through. “It’s only going to get louder in here.”

I glanced over my shoulder. My cousin and Becca had disappeared—and so had the boys who’d been with them.

“They just walked out to the back.” Eli followed the direction of my gaze. “They’re probably getting something to drink, too, and maybe sitting by the firepit in the backyard.”

“Oh.” I gnawed the corner of my lip. “Maybe I should go check in with them. If Hannah decides she wants to leave and they can’t find me, she’ll flip out.”

“I don’t think they’re going to take off any time soon.” He ran his fingertips down my bare arm, leaving shivers in their wake. “C’mon. If your friends decide they want to bounce, they’ll find us. We’re just going upstairs.”

Faint alarm bells rang in my brain, but then Eli closed his hand around mine again, this time tugging me toward the hallway. Throngs of people milled around in our path, but the crowd parted like the Red Sea as Eli walked. I thought it must be nice to be someone like Eli Tucker, a person who was given automatic deference and respect.

“Let me just grab us something to drink.” Eli raised his voice to be heard as we turned through the doorway to the kitchen. “Beer okay with you?”

Wrinkling my nose, I shook my head. “I don’t like it. Love the smell. Hate the taste. It makes me gag.”

He gave a short huff of laughter. “We don’t want that. Okay . . . well, hold on. I have another idea.” He patted the seat of a barstool that was pulled up to the counter. “You stay here, and I’ll be right back. Don’t move.”

I obeyed, hooking one foot over the rung of the stool and easing onto the padded seat. “I’m not going anywhere.”

Eli headed for the huge round table on the other side of the kitchen. It was covered with bottles of every size and shape, and I wondered what he planned to pick out for us. I wouldn’t know what to suggest, even if he’d asked me. I was well aware that alcohol and drugs were readily available in our area, and that my classmates indulged in both regularly. But I’d never had any interest in losing control, for many reasons, not the least of which was the fact that my grandparents would kill me dead.

That wasn’t entirely true. Grammy and Gramps wouldn’t yell or punish me if they found out