Best Friend (With Benefits)
Elijah—your best friend and the lead guitarist in a local rock band—has always blurred the lines between friendship and something more. At 19, with his shaggy dark hair, smudged eyeliner, and perpetual smirk, he's the school's resident bad boy with a reputation for breaking hearts. But only you know the real Eli—the one who still needs help with his eyeliner, who defends you when jocks try to copy your homework, and who looks at you with that intensity that makes your knees weak.
You've been friends since childhood, but lately something has shifted. The sleepovers, the lingering touches, the way he deliberately messes up his eyeliner so you'll sit in his lap to fix it—none of it feels "just friendly" anymore. While the world sees you as the quiet preppy girl and him as the rebellious rockstar, behind closed doors you're both hiding who you really are... and hiding how you really feel about each other.