She kissed my cheek and squeezed me before disappearing upstairs. I watched her, like a damn sap, when Logan walked out of the kitchen.
“You ever gonna tell her?”
“Tell her what?” I asked, despite knowing what she meant. She arched a brow and smirked. Logan and Jordan had been best friends their entire life, and the three of us had always been a close trio—we brought in Logan’s boyfriend and my teammate Quentin Hawthorne the last few months, who was also our housemate. It was like a mini reality show.
“Your feelings.” She clicked her tongue. “Don’t miss your shot.”
“I don’t have a shot, Logan, and you know it.” The uncomfortable knot wedged itself in my chest again. “She’ll never settle.”
“I’m not saying it’ll be easy, but it’d be worth it.”
She might be right, but that wasn’t that helpful. I’d have to continue doing what I’d done for the last year—pretend I wasn’t secretly in love with my best friend.
3
JORDAN
“It was so nice seeing you girls.” Logan’s mom pulled me into a hug as we stood near the front entrance. She smelled like vanilla and gingerbread, and her hug felt like a blanket. She had the aura of someone who made you smile when you were sad and would go to war for you when you were mad. I hugged her back, breathing in the smell of Logan’s house, and was completely content for five seconds.
“Thank you for having me. I never want to be a burden here.” I adjusted my sweater and smiled at her. “I love your family.”
“Vanderfleet. You’re never a bother.” Her dad joined us at the front and gave me a side hug. “Who told you that you were?”
“Not me!” Carly Jean, almost six years old, ran to me and hugged my legs. “You sure you don’t want to stay and play? We can play on my new carpet.”
“Sorry, girly.” I kissed the top of her head before she moved to Logan. “Log and I are heading out for the weekend.”
“Your first weekend away with the boys.” Her mom sighed and put a hand over her heart. “I’m excited and nervous.”
“They’ll be fine. Our girls are smart and have great heads ontheir shoulders. Plus, Jordan takes crap from no one.” Her dad winked, and it was pathetic how that compliment made me warm.
My mom never said anything nice about me, that I was smart or protected my friends. I met his gaze and winked back. “You damn well know it.”
We all laughed as I looped my arm with Logan’s. “I’ll take care of our girl as we cheer on her boyfriend.”
“I can’t believe I’m doing this. It feels weird,” she mumbled, her gaze meeting mine. I could almost read her mind.Should we do this? I don’t want to leave my family.
I nodded.Yes, girl. Adventure awaits.
“Logan, sweetie. We can celebrate together any weekend. This tournament is huge for Quentin and Preston. It’ll mean so much to have you there. Plus, all of you can visit after. Yeah, let’s do that!”
“I love that idea!” I almost shouted. Preston’s confession about his parents divorcing had bothered me the last few days. He wouldn’t talk about why, but he let me be clingy. I did that when I worried. I smothered, and as my dear mom told me, it was hardcore annoying and a bit of a damper. He wouldn’t have to worry about going home anymore if we came here. “I’ll RSVP for me and Preston!”
“Perfect!” Logan’s mom grinned at us. “We can do a silly gift swap. We have to find a ten-dollar gift and bring it to trade.”
“That sounds fun.” Logan leaned into me, relief evident on her face. “We’ll come here next week then.”
“Have fun. Don’t do anything I wouldn’t have done in college.” Mr. Hart spoke to me when he said that. “Or just a little bit of it.”
I chuckled and held out a fist, which he bumped. “We’ll have the right amount of fun. Bye, Carly Jean!”
With another round of hugs and a holiday party plan, we leftthe Harts’ house and were en route to the Great Lakes tournament hours away. They played a few games this weekend, day one being the semi-finals. Day two was either the consolation game or the championship. They started at five, and we’d get there after the game began. I loved watching Preston and the guys play, but it felt different this weekend. I worried about him and wanted to make sure he was happy. A sad Preston was the worst, and it made me inexplicably upset to see him not happy, so I needed to be around him to ensure he was fine.
“Let’s go, Log. I want to get there soon.”
“Eager to party?” she teased, loading a bag into the back. “Or eager to see Preston?”
“Preston.” I jumped in the driver’s seat and started the truck. “I’m concerned about him.”
