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My breath hitches at the heated contact, my traitorous body humming to life. I would have missed this moment if it weren’t for Logan bringing me out of my comfort zone. "It's been a really good day,” I smiled. We danced like that for another couple of songs before the music switched to a hip-hop vibe.
It’s really loud in here, huh?” He says, raising his voice over the music as we continue to sway.
"Yeah, it is." I say trying not to complain when I had him this close.
Lifting his hand, Logan whisks my cheek with his knuckles, and I close my eyes with a sigh. “Do you want to get out of here?” He asks.
“Not yet,” I replied, enjoying the feeling of being close to him.
As the song changes, it’s another one by Kane Brown and I hum along again as Logan whispers the words about being made for me and me for him and for just one moment I allowed myself to believe it could be possible.
“Hey,” he whispered softly, drawing my eyes upward. “What if, Stephanie?” He asked, giving me a serious look and my mind and body immediately sprints into panic mode.
A heat warms my chest, my hands turn clammy, and my stomach churns in knots as I hear what he says, but my brain can’t react.
Pulling away, I placed my hand on his chest. “I think I might need some air,” I said, fumbling to get back into my chair.
“Stephanie…” He says, my name rolling off his tongue as it knocks the wind out of my lungs. “I’m not trying to scare you?” He says as I back away.
When a small whimper escapes, I back up even further. “I just need a minute.”
???
Taking off before anyone had the chance to stop me, the cool night air cools my skin the second I step out of the club. Taking a deep breath, I let the fresh air fill my lungs as I head for my room.
Cruising the deck along the way, I’m drawn to the bow, which is lit up with white lights. Mesmerized by its beauty, I don’t stop until I reach the railing. Feeling my nose tingle, I pinched it to fight off the emotions I was feeling as Logan came up beside me.
Desperately clutching the tears I’d been holding onto since he whispered the Kane Brown lyrics in my ear, neither one of us uttered a word. Sitting in silence, Logan opened his mouth, and I knew the next words to come out will be the ones I’d waited to hear for far too long. Words that will changeeverything.
“Do you know how much I’ve missed you?” He whispered softly. “And how much it sucked not having you at my games when I got drafted,” he confessed.
“I’ve been to a handful of your games,” I admitted in a whisper of my own.
“You have?” He asked, surprised.
“Mia, Ashlynne, and I made it to a few,” I said, clearing my throat. “We sat up in disabled seating so I wouldn’t distract you if you happen to see me,” I said, embellishing the truth.
“Distract me?”
I press my lips together.
“Why didn’t you tell me you were coming?” He asked, his eyes narrowing in question. “I would have dropped everything to come and get you,” he said, shifting closer.
“You know why,” I said, dropping my eyes low as he touched my arm. “I didn’t want to make things any more awkward than they already were.”
Holding my breath with anticipation, I wanted to say more. I wanted to tell him how Ashlynne and I waited for him outside the team’s dressing room after the New Years’ game. But as the other players came and went, Ashlynne and I caught sight of Logan openly flirting with someone else.
At first, I thought she was just some puck bunny who followed the team back to their dressing room, but when the flirting continued into kissing I felt powerless, invisible, and overall heartbroken.
Embarrassed that I’d come all that way, only to find him with someone else was downright cruel and I couldn’t take it.
Recalling the memory, my stomach churned with hurt all over again as my eyes once again found their way back to his.
“I’m sorry,” he whispered, lifting his hand.
Opening his mouth like he wanted to say something, the tension grew thick as his hand roughly brushed his jaw as the other pinched the bridge of his nose.
“You know it wasn’t easy on me either,” he admitted, turning his attention back to me. “I had a lot riding on me. At times, it felt like more than I could handle,” he confessed, running his hand over his head. “I never meant to hurt you, Stephanie,” he said, breaking into my heart all over again. "I was scared of how much you meant to me."
