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“They took my phone. And my keys. Cam still has them, actually,” he says, his voice soft. “Please, Logan. I was looking forward to seeing you all week, you have to believe me.”
I stay silent again, not sure what to think. I want to believe him, I do. It’s just that I have a hard time trusting people after everything Zac put me through last year.
“I’m sorry. Please give me another chance,” he adds, his voice laced with sadness and desperation.
I’ve had the luxury of having my bedroom door and now a shower curtain to block my view of Eli when he’s upset. He’s hard enough to say no to as it is, let alone when he’s right in front of me. After a few moments, I take a deep breath and open the curtain just enough to peek out at him, knowing that I’m tempting myself by looking into his soft eyes. But, when I glance around for him, he’s already gone.
I take another few minutes to rinse my hair and gather my thoughts. If Eli is telling me the truth, I shouldn’t be that upset with him. Sure, he probably could’ve handled the situation better, but if what he’s saying is true, it’s not as bad as the scenario I played out in my head of him being with another girl.
Shutting off the water, I reach out for my robe, being sure to keep it wrapped snugly against me before leaving the stall. When I walk out, I have about ten different sets of eyes on me with whispers and giggles floating around. They all seem to be just as shocked and amused by Eli’s admission as I was.
Finding an empty sink to place my toiletries in front of, I grab my brush and smooth out my hair.
The girl using the sink next to mine looks up at me through the mirror, impressed. “Damn, girl. What the hell kind of spell do you have Maddison under?” she asks, shaking her head and laughing in amusement.
I can’t help but laugh with her, recalling how ridiculous Eli must’ve looked standing in the coed showers fully dressed and confessing his feelings to a shower curtain for everyone to hear.
I shyly glance back up in the mirror as I tell her, “I have absolutely no idea.”
Chapter 44
Eli
I bolt from the bathroom as quickly as possible. The sheer number of eyes on me while I tried to apologize to Logan was a bit unnerving, but part of me doesn’t even care how stupid I looked. I just needed her to know how sorry I am. I don’t know what I’m going to do if she doesn’t forgive me...again. I really need to get my shit together if I want to have a shot with this girl.
I wish I could’ve gotten a better read on her in the bathroom. It’s so hard to know what she’s thinking when I can’t see her face. Her green eyes are usually so telling that it’s as if I can almost read her thoughts when I look into them, but here I am, having no idea where I stand, yet again.
Making my way to the elevators to go back home, I pass by Logan’s room and realize I left her door open when I came by looking for her only a few minutes before. She should be back soon, and I need to see her, face-to-face, and apologize again.
Slipping inside, I take a seat on the edge of her bed and wait for her. But I don’t make myself too comfortable because I’m in hot water at the moment, though I always feel at ease when I’m in her space. I keep my head down with my hands interlocked and my elbows resting on my knees. I probably look like I’m in time-out, and to be honest, I feel like it too.
A few minutes later, she hurries into her room wearing only a thin robe that clings to every curve of her body.
“Eli, what the hell?” Logan asks with exhaustion when she finds me sitting on the edge of her bed. She closes the door behind her.
I know I should respond, but I can’t. I know I should look into her eyes so I can see what she’s thinking, but I can’t. All I can do is stare at her naked body—the one that’s covered only by the thin fabric wrapped about her. Her hair is damp from the shower, and I can smell her fresh vanilla scent from here. My mouth has gaped, I know this, but I can’t seem to help it. She’s absolute perfection in every sense of the word, and she doesn’t even know it.
She catches me staring, so she tugs at her robe, making sure it’s covering her body completely. When I realize I’m making her uncomfortable, I break out of my daze and close my mouth. Uncomfortable is the last thing I want her to feel around me.
“Sorry.” I pull my eyes up to meet hers, but I still can’t read her expression. She tears her gaze away from mine as her cheeks begin to blush.
She stays silent. Maybe she doesn’t know if I’m apologizing for staring, startling her, or for the actual apology I need to give her, and honestly, I don’t know either.
“I just...I wanted to apologize. Face to face,” I begin, but I still can’t get a read on her. “I know I fucked up. I’m so sorry about last night. I did try to leave, but I probably could’ve tried harder, and I’m sorry about that. I really did want to be here, and I know I keep fucking up, but I hope you can forgive me. I’ve never done this before, and I obviously suck at it.” I look at her with remorse and hope all wrapped into one, but again she stays silent with her eyes pulled away from mine.
I stand up to leave, looking her in the face one more time, hoping for some relief from my guilt when our eyes finally connect. They ultimately give way, and I can almost see the walls breaking down behind them as she lets out a deep resigned sigh.
“Eli,” she says.
God, I love the way my name sounds coming off her lips.
“Don’t let it happen again.”
A weight lifts off my chest as I take an embarrassingly deep breath of relief and give her an appreciative smile.
“It won’t,” I reassure her.
A few moments pass as we awkwardly glance back and forth at each other, unsure of what to say. Maybe I should leave, but I really don’t want to.
