Despite being two years older than me, she really loves to dig under my skin the way I imagine a little sister would. Which iswhy I have half a mind to kick her, but it doesn’t seem like Lexi heard the comment, so I keep my limbs to myself.
No need to draw any more attention to my unfortunate infatuation.
Lexi’s frown deepens. “Well, do you want to talk about it now, or…”
“It’s just stupid shit,” I mutter as she drops onto the couch beside me, leaving me sandwiched between the two girls.
“Try me.”
Sighing, I utter, “You know how my mom informed me we’re to go see the golden child over winter break again. For Christmas, this time? Well, she called this morning to talk about it some more and…apparently I don’t really have a choice in the matter.”
She hums softly and offers an empathetic smile, and without her even speaking, I know she understands where it went wrong. After all, she gets it; what it’s like to live in the shadows of an older sibling; an athlete too, no less.
It’s one of the countless things we bonded over in the early days of our friendship.
“And let me guess,” she starts slowly. “This was after you told her multiple times you didn’t want to go, only for it to be decided you were going anyway?”
“Yep,” I mutter, popping the P for emphasis.
Her hand lands on my arm, the heat from her palm seeping into my skin like a white-hot brand. It’s a move that’s meant to be sympathetic, but all it does is flip a switch inside me; the one that changes me from the loyal best friend to the pining loser who will never have her.
And fuck, if it isn’t embarrassing as hell.
“I know it sucks, being looked over. But c’mon, Loge,” she reasons, giving me a little shake. “It can’t be all bad. You survived last year, right?”
“Barely,” I grumble, which pulls a soft lilt of laughter from her.
Willow laughs from her spot on my other side. “You don’t think that might be a little bit dramatic? It’s just New York.”
“Do you not remember me telling you we went to two hockey games in the five days we were there?” I ask, arching a brow at her.
“Okay, and what about the other three?” Willow counters, arching her perfectly shaped brow.
Honestly, I don’t remember us doing much on the activity front, only that we had to be at certain places at certain times because my brother’s schedule was so tight. Most of the time, I had my nose buried in my phone, either texting Lexi updates or watching anime to pass the time.
I blink a couple times before meeting her gaze. “I don’t know. It must’ve been so bad, I blacked it out.”
A laugh slips out—this time from Lexi—and I turn toward her.
“What’s so funny?”
“It’s New York; some say the greatest city in the world. There’s so much for you to do outside of the hockey stuff.”
I groan and drop my forehead into my palms, grumbling, “And yet, I know for a fact that’s all we’re gonna do.”
Even if Mom says it’ll be better this year, I know it’s not true. If it’s not going to Oakley’s games—where I sit and watch anime on my phone the whole time instead—then we’re doing things around the city based on Oakley’s schedule.
Quinton does his best to help me feel included, which is cool. He’s a decent guy, from what I can tell, and I guess he understands what it’s like to be the family black sheep too. But even still, he manages to fit in perfectly withmine,and that only makes me feel like more of an outcast.
“It would be a lot better if I didn’t have to be the fifth wheelthe entire time.” I roll my head to look at Lexi while resting my palm over her hand. “Please, Lex. Is there any chance I can convince you to skip out on your familial obligations to keep me company? It’d be a lot less miserable that way.”
Something in Lexi’s expression falters, and her gaze quickly flicks from me to Willow and back again. An unspoken exchange passes between them in that briefest moment of eye contact, only for her to pull her hand out from under mine.
“As fun as that sounds, I can’t, Logan. Not just because of going home. It’s Wyatt too. He didn’t just stop being my boyfriend when he graduated.”
Unfortunately, I am very aware of this. She was already dating the captain of the baseball team when we met. Neither Wyatt’s place as her boyfriend or her becoming one of my best friends has done anything to dissuade my feelings. Part of me wonders if I’ll ever be free of the hold she has on me.
But I’m wondering why the hell she’s bringing—
