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“Yeah, for sure, that sounds good.” I grab my truck keys off my dresser.
“One thing, though,” he adds as we begin to walk out of my room, “can you try to talk about something other than Logan today?” He gives me a knowing glance.
“I’ll try,” I tell him with a laugh as I close my bedroom door behind me.
And I do try. I try to spend my entire Sunday avoiding the topic of Logan. I try to stop checking my phone every thirty minutes to see if she’s texted me. I try to concentrate on my workout when I go to the gym later in the day, and I try not to imagine her lying next to me when I go to bed at night. I try and fail miserably on all counts.
Chapter 39
Eli
I rush out of my physiology lecture as soon as it’s over. For the first time in my college career, I’m determined to be early to a class as I make my way to creative writing. I’m hoping to get there in time to sit with Logan. I didn’t talk to her at all yesterday, and I’m still confused as to where we stand after Saturday night. After my confession, I didn’t want to bombard her with texting her all day to check-in, but man, was I tempted.
I’ve almost made it to the lecture hall when I spot Cam and a couple of guys from the team, just ahead. The last thing I want to do is stop and chat with them right now, but there’s no way to avoid it as they’re in my direct walking path.
“Shit,” I say under my breath when Cam spots me. I try to avoid making eye contact with him and continue on my way, but it doesn’t work.
“Maddison!” he says as he jogs up to me. “What’s up, man?” He pats me on the shoulder.
“Not much, just running late to class,” I tell him as the rest of the group approaches. I attempt to make my way around them, but Cam grabs my arm to stop me.
“Why are you in such a rush, man?” He looks at me, confused. “Since when do you give a shit about getting to class on time? Hang out for a minute.”
“I can’t, I really gotta go.” I glance towards the lecture hall.
He looks at me with both surprise and confusion on his face. Typically, I would seize any excuse to be late to a class or even miss it. And it’s not that I don’t want to hang with Cam or the rest of the guys, and thankfully Patrick isn’t with them, but this is the one class I’m actually looking forward to.
“Alright, see you at practice tonight, I guess.” He shrugs, dejected, and confused.
I stop in my tracks, looking up towards the sky as my shoulders sag. “Shit, I forgot tonight was our first practice.”
“Dude, what is up with you? You’ve never forgotten about a practice before.”
“Nothing. It’s nothing.” I shake my head. “Senior classes are just a bit more overwhelming than I planned,” I lie as I look towards the lecture hall once again. “Speaking of, I really do have to go. I’ll see you guys tonight,” I tell the group, jogging to my class.
“Don’t forget about alumni weekend on Saturday, man!” Cam shouts in the distance.
Without turning around or slowing down, I shoot him a thumbs up in the air.
Shit. I completely forgot that tonight was our first official practice as a team. How could I have forgotten? This season has been weighing on my mind ever since we lost in the playoffs last year. This final season is way too crucial for me to lose focus, and I have Senior Showcase in Chicago in a couple of months. It’s going to be riddled with NHL scouts. If I’m not on my A-game, my career is fucked.
With only two minutes to spare, I walk into creative writing and spot my biggest distraction sitting in the fourth row. Unfortunately, I’m too late, as all the seats around Logan are taken, so I find an empty chair a few rows behind her. It’s been eating me up, wondering where we stand, so I decide to text her and see if I can gauge her reaction.
E: Thanks for saving me a seat, friend.
I hear the ding on her phone from here, as she reaches into her bag and pulls it out. I notice a slight grin form across her lips as she reads my text message. That has to be a good sign, right?
Logan scans the room until she spots me. Relief washes over me as her green eyes lock with mine, cocking her head to shoot me a sweet smile. I give her a quick wave and try to hide my giddy expression as she returns her focus to her phone to type her response to me.
L: Sorry, friend. The guy next to me was super intimidating when he asked if he could sit there.
I look to the guy sitting beside her, who is not in the least bit intimidating, and recognize him as the freshman I snatched the log sheet from last week. She turns around to me and shrugs while giving me a playful smile. Could she be any more charming? I shake my head at her in mock disappointment as I try to suppress my grin.
Before I can respond and continue our banter, Professor Kenny walks in and places his things on the desk, next to his computer.
“What up!” he booms from the front of the class.
He stands front and center as he begins. “Alright, let’s get into our first paper. As you saw on your syllabus, that I know you all read in its entirety.” The class chuckles at his sarcasm. “This week’s assignment is titled ‘Passions’. Now, this is not some telenovela-type paper where I want you to write me some horny script. This paper is about your passions. What drives you? What wakes you up in the morning? What keeps you from sleeping at night? I want to know what makes you, you.”
