“Love you too,” I say, and we end the call.
“Your mom knows about us,” Logan says a little shocked.
I nod. “I tell my mom everything. I told her about Hawaii, and it felt wrong to not tell her you were here at Westfall. You don’t need to worry. She would never say anything to my father,” I assure him.
He nods but it looks like he is in deep thought.
“She wanted me to thank you for taking care of me.” Drinking the soup has given me back some energy.
“It’s nothing,” Logan says, and then he shrugs off his jacket. “Shove over, we can watch a movie together.”
“I don’t want to get you sick,” I warn, repeating my previous concern.
“I’m fine. I take lots of vitamins every day,” he replies. “Now shove over a little and make some room for me.”
I shift over and Logan gets into bed with me. I snuggle into his arm, and he places his arm around me, holding me close. This feels good. And he smells so good too. Everything about him is perfect. We start to watch a movie named Hustle with Adam Sandler. I’m not expecting it to be so good, but both of us get drawn into the story as we wait for the end. At one point I need to get up to pee. When I get back into bed, I snuggle into Logan’s side and he gives me a small kiss on the forehead. We’re like friends. Good friends. Friends who care about each other. Geez, the only person I’m lying to is myself.
TWENTY-EIGHT
Logan
Answer the phone. Come on. I pace my room back and forth, needing to speak with my brother.
“Hello,” Declan’s voice comes through the line. “Is everything okay?” he asks because it’s close to midnight.
“Yeah, totally fine, but I can’t get a hold of you lately,” I say.
“What’s going on?” my brother asks with concern.
“Lili,” I say.
He chuckles. “Mind elaborating?” I’ve told him she’s here and working for the team.
“She’s gotten under my skin, and I was so close to screwing up on the weekend and I’ve worked so hard, and I don’t know what to do,” I mumble.
“Dude, you aren’t making any sense. Slow down,” he says.
I take a seat on my bed and let out a long breath. “I accidentally kissed Lili at a club last weekend.”
Declan snickers. “How do you accidentally kiss someone?”
“Funny,” I snicker back. “I drank a little too much and so did she, and it was like all our inhibitions flew out the window. I didn’t know if she wanted me anymore. You know she was being all serious and professional and our little coffee dates were completely platonic, and then I don’t know what happened. We just crashed together and the hunger. . .”
“Whoa.” Declan’s response causes me to pause. “You kissed her in public? Do you have some sort of a death wish?”
“It wasn’t really in public; it was outside the bathrooms and Noah caught us. Thank goodness, no one else saw,” I explain.
“You’re playing with fire. She’s Coach Ramirez’s daughter, for goodness’ sake. I told you what happened between Poppy and me when Ryse found out we were together. The whole team went against me because I caused a rift. This close to the Frozen Four is risky as hell. Everyone wants to be in sync. You’re all working toward the same goal. You piss off Ramirez and the whole team will be out of whack, and they’ll blame you,” he warns.
I squeeze my eyes shut. Not what I wanted to hear but someone needs to knock reason into me.
“Dammit, I know, Dec. It’s just, I never felt like this before,” I reply.
My brother sighs. “I completely understand you; I do. Falling for my best friend’s sister wasn’t ideal, but you’ve fallen for the coach’s daughter. There’s a big red warning sign in front of that.”
“This isn’t helping,” I groan.
“What do you want me to say? Are you ready to give up on hockey for her? I know you have your engineering degree to fall back on. Is that what you want?” Declan asks.
“Down the road I can see myself working in engineering, but I won’t make the kind of money I can make in the NHL. Besides, I love hockey. It’s really all I know and want, and I want Lili too, but it doesn’t make sense to screw up my future when I don’t know where Lili stands.”
“Wow. Okay,” Declan says. “Look, I get it. She’s your first and you guys shared something special, but this girl is giving you mixed signals. You can’t give everything up for someone who isn’t all in.”
“I know,” I reply. He’s a hundred percent right.
Declan yawns. “I’m beat.”
“Good game tonight. I saw the highlights. Nice goal,” I tell my brother.
“Thanks,” he replies.
“I’m coming into Westfall for Valentine’s tomorrow. I’m taking Poppy out for dinner and stuff, but maybe we can meet for a bit before or something.”
“Sounds good. Just text me when you’re free. I’m going with some of the guys to some frat party. It’s what all the single guys are doing,” I explain. Since Noah and Cait are going into Boston, the rest of the guys said I would be pathetic to stay home and study on Valentine’s Day.
“Aren’t you becoming a party animal?” he jokes.
“Not really. The club was a one-off because I knew Lili would be there and the party. . .”
“You’re going because of her. Aren’t you?” Declan says.
“Yeah, but I’m enjoying going out. I’ve never really done it, and I figure I might as well have fun while I’m young. It’s my last few months at Westfall. I need to have some sort of college experience that doesn’t include training, games, and studying.”
“I totally agree, Bro,” Declan says. “Get out there and have fun. Just don’t risk everything you’ve worked so hard for on a maybe.”
“You’re right.”
“Have a good night,” he says.
“You too.”
TWENTY-NINE
Liliana
I’m setting up the camera and getting the lighting just right as the guys enter the arena.
“Waffles, pancakes, French toast. Tell me your favorite to least favorite,” I call out to Noah Alexander. He’s decked out in all his gear and helmet, holding his hockey stick. He grins at the camera.
“Pancakes, waffles, French toast.” He smiles.
I’m trying to keep things fresh with the PR and coming up with lots of engaging ideas. The guys seem to be having fun.
Logan is next. I call out, “Waffles, pancakes, French toast. Tell me which you prefer from favorite to least favorite.”
Logan smiles his kilowatt smile and then says, “Waffles, French toast, pancakes.”
I’ll have to remember that order for one day, hopefully, when I get to make Logan breakfast. I at least need to repay him for making me soup when I was sick.
Leo is up next, followed by Rowan, Levi, and Wyatt.
The rest of the team pours out and each tells me their order of favorites and then I cut the camera. The guys have been cooperating with all my antics. I stay to watch the practice. Seeing my father in his zone clarifies a lot for me. He loves these guys and he’s driven to ensure their success.