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“Pretty bad.”
“She’s stubborn as hell too, or at least she tries to be, so good luck getting her to forgive you anytime soon.”
“Yeah,” I sigh. “I’ve begun to learn that about her.”
A few moments of silence linger between us, before he adds, “You’re both adults, and you guys can do what you want, but she’s going to be part of my life, and therefore yours too, even after you sleep with her, so you might want to think about that before you do.” He gives me a knowing look.
“It’s not like that.”
“EJ, I know you, man. It’s always like that with you.” He looks at me plainly, no sarcasm in his voice.
Since I got to school, I’ve had a reputation for sleeping around and moving on quickly. To be honest, I’ve enjoyed living up to it. I’ve never wanted the responsibility of having a girlfriend. My mindset has served me well because I’ve never had to worry about someone else’s well-being, and my focus has always been able to be on hockey with no distractions. Lately, though, I’ve been toying with the idea that maybe things can be different, maybe I can have both. Something about Logan makes me want to have both. But, if my own brother doesn’t think I can change, what makes me believe that I can?
That’s enough self-reflection for one day. It’s Marc’s turn to get grilled. I can’t be the only one taking all the heat here.
“Anyways, what’s up with you and that Ali chick?” I ask.
“What are you talking about?” He looks at me, conveniently confused by my question.
“Mmm-hmm. You think you know me so well, but I know you too, man. I saw you two making eyes at each other last night.” I relax back in my chair, resting my hands casually behind my head, so I can enjoy watching my brother squirm.
He scoffs. “Not a chance. She’s not my type.” He shakes his head so quickly it’s as if he’s trying to convince himself of his words.
“Well, maybe she should be your type. I think she would be good for you. She’s way cooler than Lauren, that’s for sure.”
“Yeah, yeah.” He waves me away. “Still not gonna happen.”
I check my phone for the time. It’s already half-past eight. I stand up and stretch my legs as I begin to make my way out of his room.
“Alright, I gotta head to the rink. The boys are throwing another party tonight, you coming?”
“Obviously.” He shrugs his shoulders at my ridiculous question.
“Cool. See you then.” And with that, I leave and close the door behind me.
Before heading to the rink, I swing by and grab my gym bag out of the bed of my truck. I decide to leave my car at Marc’s place and just walk to practice. The walk isn’t too far, and the weather is still warm enough. I’m glad I wore shorts today because it’ll be too cold before long to do so.
There’s a weight lifted off my shoulders now that I’ve apologized to Marc. Now, I just need Logan to forgive me, and things will be back on track. I’m glad I have her number, but I’ll wait until after I skate to shoot her a text, otherwise I’m just going to be checking my phone every five minutes for her reply.
On the way to the rink, I pass by a large window of the campus gym and casually glance inside while continuing my walk. I do a double-take when I notice Logan in the far corner of the gym, where the punching bags are. There are four other heavy bags, all occupied by guys; she’s the only female around. I walk a little further down the window pane to get a better look at her, being sure to stay out of her sightline. As I near, my mouth parts at the sight of her. She’s wearing those tight yoga pants again with only a sports bra on top. She has boxing gloves on, her red hair is in a high ponytail, and her body is glistening with sweat. She continues to throw combinations on the bag, hitting hard and with technique. She looks more coordinated and confident than any of the guys around her, and she is without a doubt the sexiest thing I’ve ever seen.
I don’t want her to see me; I just want to admire her for a moment longer. She’s strong and can obviously take care of herself. But, on a deeper level, I think back to what Marc mentioned earlier about her always having to take care of other people, and it makes me wonder, has anyone ever taken care of her? If I hadn’t fucked up so badly, maybe that could’ve been my responsibility.
Chapter 36
Logan
“Hey, bitch!” Ali exclaims as she bursts through my door without knocking.
“Bitch? Really?” I turn away from the pile of laundry on my bed to give her a sarcastic, skeptical glance.
“Yeah. Okay, I was giving it a shot. Didn’t like the way it rolled off the tongue. Probably won’t use it again.” She shrugs.
Shaking my head, I chuckle at her candor as I go back to folding my clothes.
“Anyway, I came by looking for you this morning, and you weren’t here. Did you end up spending the night with a certain freakishly tall hockey player?” She wiggles her brows suggestively.
“Nope. I was at the gym.”
