“Look, guys, I invited someone up to my room tonight and I need a little privacy. It isn’t fair they should have to leave with all you guys gawking at them.
“Go, Logan,” one of the guy’s cheers.
“High five, bruh,” another guy says.
My stomach is doing somersaults and I think I may vomit from nerves. Logan must then be saying something quietly because all the guys disperse.
“They’re moving away from the door,” I tell Noah. He looks about as green as I feel.
“It’s none of my business, but you guys need to be careful. Logan has a lot riding on the line,” he warns, and I read between the lines. He doesn’t want Logan throwing everything away.
“I know. I care for him. I would never want to jeopardize his career,” I reply.
Noah nods.
Logan opens the door and waves me out of the room. I head back to the stairs, not wanting to bump into my father. He follows me into the stairwell.
“You should go back to your room,” I say to him.
He nods and gives me a kiss and I rush up the stairs and head back to my room. When I get behind the closed door I deflate. That was close. We need to be more careful. If only we could stay away from each other.
THIRTY-SEVEN
Logan
For the past week the guys have been riding my ass about who the mystery girl was in my room. In all my time at Westfall, I never had a girl over at the house or in any of the hotels we stayed at.
Rowan also spied on me when I walked Lili to the stairwell. Thank goodness he didn’t recognize her in her little getup, but he won’t stop bugging me about who she is. I’ve tried to convince them it was someone who lived in Portland that I met online. I’m not sure if he’s buying the little fib, which sucks, because it means Lili and I need to be super careful. The guys are watching me extra these days.
Since we can’t really see each other, Lili and I have been texting or sexting often. The sexting is a problem because now that I know what sex with her is like, I want it all the time. Thank goodness for levelheaded Noah. He laced into me about throwing all my hard work down the drain. He isn’t wrong either. I need a career in the NHL, and I’m so close I can taste it. I spend the next week studying and writing midterms. It helps Lili is busy with school too but studying so much is making me tense, and so it doesn’t help when I get a message saying.
Lili: Do you want to relieve some tension?
My cock hardens from the promise in her words.
Me: What did you have in mind?
Lili: I can borrow my dad’s car. Tell him I want to go grocery shopping in town for some of the snacks he knows I like. I pick you up and we fuck in his car.
Shit. I shift in my seat.
I can’t exactly say no to that.
Me: When can you get here?
Lili: Give me twenty. I’ll pick you up at the end of your street.
I’m wearing a pair of jogging pants and a T-shirt, so I slip on a hoodie. I head downstairs and go to the kitchen for a glass of water. Leo is in the kitchen studying at the table.
“You going somewhere, Russo?” he asks.
“Ima take a walk. I’ve been sitting too long,” I say.
All the guys have been focusing on schoolwork this week with midterms upon us. We all need to keep a certain average to stay on the team, so everyone is putting in the effort required.
“You want company? I’m due for a break,” he says.
Fucker. He grins like the Cheshire cat.
“I just want to clear my head,” I reply dryly.
“You going to see the chick?” he asks. “The one from Portland?” I go to the cabinet and fill a glass with water and drink.
I deflate. “Why won’t you guys leave me alone? You’re all fucking chicks left, right, and center, why am I so interesting?”
“Because you literally never hook up. We want to know who the special gal is.” Then he pauses and watches me. “Or is it a guy?”
“Are you fucking kidding me right now?” I reply.
“I’m outta here,” I say. I leave the kitchen, grab my thick winter jacket, put on my boots and beanie, and head out the door. The guys are starting to grate on my nerves. I walk down the street as snowflakes fall from the sky. The air is so cold it hurts to breathe. As I reach the end of the street, Lili pulls up in Coach’s car. It makes me feel uneasy getting into Coach’s car but not enough it will stop me. I reach over and peck Lili on the lips.
“Drive away from this place fast,” I advise her. I put my hood up on my head and lower myself in the seat.
“This is so crazy,” Lili giggles.
“Tell me about it. Until I fall for a girl I have to jump through hoops to see her,” I sigh.
“Aww. Logan, you’ve fallen for me?” Lili asks being funny.
“You know damn well I’ve had feelings for you since Hawaii,” I reply to her.
“You couldn’t know in Hawaii. I was the first person you were with,” she replies, and her words sting.
I remove my hood and look at her since we’ve left the Westfall area. “That isn’t fair.”
“Isn’t it though? People date and try things and figure out what they like and don’t like. You haven’t had that opportunity. I’m your first and I’m sure there will be many more after me,” she states.
My anger at her words begins to build until I realize these are her insecurities talking.
“There was never a girl who grabbed my attention the way you did. Something about you was different. At first, I was intrigued but when we kissed in that club in Hawaii, I knew it was more. There was something in your eyes that called to something inside me.” I lay myself on the line, knowing she’s been hurt while trying to show her something better exists between us.
“You can’t know that,” she scoffs.
“Really? Well, since you have so much experience, why don’t you tell me? Is the sex between us considered good? Because I think it’s freaking fantastic.” I wait and watch her.
She bites her lip and then she exhales. “I’ve had less than a handful of lovers, and whatever this is between us has been the best.”
I grin.
She stops at a red light.
“So, I’m the best you’ve ever had,” I declare proudly.
She laughs. “Don’t let it get to your head.”
“It already has.”
She shakes her head.
“Tell me you’ve had these deep discussions with your other lovers.”
“Stop calling them that, it’s weird,” she giggles.
“Well, have you?” I wait for her response.
“No, okay,” she concedes while laughing.
“Thank you.” I lean my head back on the headrest. “Where are you taking me anyway?”
“I really need to go to the supermarket. I can’t return to Westfall with no snacks,” she says.
She pulls into a supermarket parking lot. We both get out and head inside. She buys all kinds of gluten-free snacks. Then she pays and we head back out to the car.
“I thought we had some tension to relieve,” I remind, and I lean over the console and claim her lips, but she doesn’t deepen the kiss.
“I should go park around the back of the building,” she says, so she drives us to the back of the supermarket. The place is dead and she puts the car in park and turns up the heat since it’s freezing outside.