After going out with Will and Bree, I decided to stop by the bookstore and pick some T-shirts for the girls and me to wear to the game.

After listening to Elizabeth ramble on with suggestions for the meet, I actually liked her plan to support our team with official apparel. I also thought it would make Elijah feel good to see me go all out to root for him, and would make me feel good.

When I entered the bookstore, I was immediately overwhelmed by how many options there actually were. There was an entire wall lined with baseball caps alone!

I went up to a table of shirts and sweatshirts and flipped the first price tag that I saw. My jaw dropped.

Sixty-five dollars for a sweatshirt with a 'Y' on it? Are you kidding me? I mouthed a silent "wow" to myself. Maybe we'll have to resort to using paint after all.

I looked around the shop to see if there were any items that fit more reasonably into my budget. I smiled when I saw a sale table.

Fifteen dollars. Okay, that sounds more like it. I bit my lip as I thought about whether or not I was actually able to spend ninety dollars on six shirts. It was a lot of money, and I still needed a computer, but I had a source of income now. I really did owe it all to the girls. They were a huge help when I needed it the most.

I wanted to do something for them, even though I would never be able to thank them enough.

I smiled as I picked out shirts for each of us and checked out.

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"Hunnies, I'm home!" I was feeling extra cheery when I arrived at the suite.

Lara, Maddy, and Charlotte weren't home from class yet and, when I went to check the living room, there was a note from Mariana and Elizabeth on the coffee table saying they went out to grab something to eat and would bring food for us upon their return.

It was rare that I got the entire suite to myself, so I used my time wisely.

I pulled my phone out and scrolled to the 'E' section of my contacts. He picked up on the first ring.

"You don't know how excited I got when I saw your name pop up on my phone."

I blushed.

"You don't know how excited I get when I hear your voice." I enjoyed being playful with Elijah. He brought that side out in me.

"I can't wait to see you on Friday." I could hear the smile in his voice. "I'm looking forward to your face paint."

"Hey, I thought we agreed on body paint! I wonder what letter I'll be..."

We started laughing.

"Oh, I wanted to ask how you're feeling. Does your wrist still hurt?" He went from jovial to concerned in a flash. I glared at the bulky, scratchy brace velcroed onto my hand.

"It doesn't really hurt. It feels weird when I put a lot of pressure on it, but that's pretty much it. I'm dying to get this brace off, though. It makes my hand sweat." I tried to lighten the mood with the more embarrassing details of my injury, hoping Elijah would take the bait and start to joke. He didn't disappoint.

"Yeah, I can't wait until that brace comes off either so your hand can go back to its rightful place; safely in mine." My heart skipped a beat.

"That was a little cheesy, but I'll take it." I tried to hold in a giggle but ended up snorting instead. Very attractive, Sara. Very attractive.

"Aw, come on. You know you miss holding my hand." He was clearly amused. Now it was my turn to make him blush.

"I miss all of you." My heart rate quickened. It took him a moment to respond. I had a feeling he experienced the reaction I had intended.

"You don't understand what you do to me, Sara." The tenor of our conversation shifted. I didn't know how to respond. It didn't feel like the right time for a quip or a joke. Thank goodness he broke the silence.

"I feel so happy when I hear your voice, when I spend time with you, when I think about you, which is all the time. I'm so incredibly lucky to have you in my life. You are amazing."

Now I really didn't know what to say. I just stood in the middle of the living room as my heart felt like it was about to pound through my chest. My eyes were welling up with tears.

"I'm so grateful that you smashed your head into my face. The pain was a small price to pay for all the joy you bring me."

I smirked and shook my head, although I was happy that Elijah lightened the mood. It was getting a little intense. I found it remarkable how Elijah could go from zero to a hundred, then right back down again in only a few words, while I was here trying not to pass out from the sheer potency of those words.

"I don't know what to say, Elijah." I was quiet, almost whispering into the phone. "You leave me speechless. You quite literally take my breath away."

"Really?" He got quiet too.

We both fell silent again.

"I really wish you were here right now. Oh, um-" We spoke at the same time, mirroring each other's thoughts.

I wanted to see Elijah so badly, and I could hear in his voice that he desired the same.

"Man, if I didn't have a team meeting, I would come over right now."

"No, don't worry about it. Go lead your team, Captain. I'll see you soon."

"Not soon enough." It was cute how disappointed he sounded.

"I'll be thinking about you in the meantime."

"I'll be doing the same. I find myself thinking about myself a lot these days." He was clearly teasing me.

"Bye, Elijah!" I rolled my eyes and smiled before hanging up after he said goodbye between guffaws.

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I was sitting at my desk, working on a reading assignment from my textbook when Elizabeth and Mariana returned.

"We come bearing gifts!"

Elizabeth waltzed in with plastic bags in each hand. She held them high above her head like she was attempting dumbbell flyes in gym class.

"We just happened to find the best pancakes in all of New Haven, quite possibly the world!" She sounded like a sports commentator introducing a famous athlete. Her enthusiasm made me chuckle.

After hearing 'pancakes,' I just had to investigate further. I followed the mouthwatering scent into the living room.

"Mmm! Smells like cinnamon."

As Elizabeth and Mariana started unpacking the takeout containers, Charlotte and Lara entered the suite, soon followed by Maddy.

I'm glad they came when they did because I didn't think I'd be able to wait any longer before digging in.

"Ooh! What's that delectable aroma?"

"Well, you're about to find out! Bon appétit!"

They looked amazing.

We sat around the coffee table and as soon as the fluffy goodness touched our tongues, we were lost in heaven.

Elizabeth and Mariana watched us as our eyes widened in delight.

"Where did you get these and what are they?" Charlotte's eyes were filled with need as she shoveled in another bite.

"You are eating cinnamon roll pancakes from The Pantry. Aren't they divine?" Elizabeth announced with her head held high, obviously proud of hers and Mariana's selection.

"Mmmhmm!" I was not about to stop eating to give a wordy response.

"These are my favorite word in Spanish." The girls looked at Mariana with confused expressions, but I started laughing, which nearly caused me to choke on my food and aspirate.

They looked at me for an explanation.

"Panqueques! The Spanish word for pancakes in panqueques." I provided a brief explanation in between boisterous snorts. That triggered laughter from everyone, especially Mariana, who subsequently asked what my favorite word to say in Spanish was.

Just thinking of it made me snort again.

"Cacahuate. It's Spanish for peanut." That one had Mariana rolling on the floor.

We shared our favorite funny words before the room went silent again. Between vocabulary and pancakes, I'm sure you can guess what held our attention.

I interrupted the silence when I realized a vital part of this spontaneous snacktime was missing.

"You know what this needs?" The girls looked at me like I was crazy. I knew they were thinking nothing could make these pancakes any better than they already were.

"Milk!"

All I heard were agreeing moans from stuffed mouths resembling chipmunk cheeks.

  ↞↠  

"Ugh. I need a nap." Maddy's statement triggered groans from the girls.

We were sprawled across the living room, some of us on the couch and chairs, others spread like starfish in the middle of the floor. We were all rubbing our stomachs.

"Well, thanks to Elizabeth and Mariana, I now have a new food addiction. Lucky me!" Charlotte's sarcasm made all of us laugh.

"Thank you for buying us food, guys. You're the best." As we thanked them, I jumped up from the couch remembering my surprise.

"Oh! I have something for you! You're going to love this!" I ran to my room and returned with six shopping bags that I distributed to the girls, holding one for myself.

They gasped and squealed with joy as they pulled out matching official Yale Bulldogs varsity T-shirts.

"Oh my gosh, Sara! Thank you so much!" They all sprung up, following Elizabeth, and gave me a big group hug.

"These are perfect! We're going to look so cute matching at the meet!" Elizabeth was jumping up and down, clutching the shirt.

"Wait, Sara, you got these from the bookstore, right?" I nodded my head in response to Maddy's question. "These must've been crazy expensive! Let us pay you for them."

I shook my head. "No, it wasn't too bad. I'm happy to do this for you guys. It's so little compared to how much you've done for me. You're so supportive. You girls are the best friends I've ever had." I gave a small smile to the girls, who looked like they were about to cry.

We pulled each other in for another, tighter group hug before cleaning up the dishes and discussing our day.

I told them all about my work study program and Bree and Will after they told me about their classes and errands.

"I want to meet this Will guy. He sounds like a goofball, plus who doesn't love an adorably quirky nerd?" Ahh, Elizabeth. Always thinking about boys. "Maybe you can set one of us up..." She nudged me in the side as we all giggled.

"Maybe you could invite them to the meet. I'm sure we'd all love to meet them!" Charlotte wore a knowing smirk.

I texted both of them an invite right then and there and quickly received their responses.

"They're both coming!" The girls giggled again. I knew it wasn't long before they would start scheming. Poor Will. Poor Bree, too. I wondered how this was going to play out.

Remind me to apologize to them after the meet.

****
Shoot, now I want pancakes! I have to admit, those cinnamon roll pancakes look and sound amazing. I need to try them one day!

Are you ready for the meet? I know I am! It's about time we see how these girls act in a public setting. We'll also see how they interact with Will and Bree...

Thank you guys so much for reading! Please remember to VOTE and COMMENT if you enjoyed. I really appreciate your support and love reading and responding to all of your comments!

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Well...

(See what I did there?😉)