I nod a few times, my attention still fixed on Logan. Like so many times before, his face is impassive, not giving me much to work with in terms of what he’s thinking, especially on Louis’s comment about “using this relationship.”
Yeah, we both know that’s what he signed up for—hell, it was the plan he concocted himself. But if it were me in his situation? Well, it wouldn’t feel good. I’m the onedoingthe using, and it feels like shit. But I’m caught between a rock and a hard place after announcing it tonight.
Now, our only way out of this whole mess is to keep walking through it.
“Understood,” I reply despite the tension lining my jaw.“Anything else you need me to do?”
Louis is silent for a moment—this time, long enough for me to wonder if we got disconnected—before he finally replies.
“I can’t believe I’m saying this, but speaking plainly? Don’t fuck it up with Logan.” The guy in question covers his mouth beside me, stifling a laugh, as Louis continues. “And if you do, for the love of all things holy, just keep it under wraps until after the draft in June. If this is mending the wound, we don’t need to rip it back open.”
“Uh, yeah. I can…do my best there,” I promise awkwardly while Logan composes himself.
At least one of us is enjoying this.
“Great. Now that we’ve got this settled, I need to run,” he states. “Talk to Logan about what I said. We’ll schedule a call to get the ball rolling once he’s been looped in.”
With that, Louis is gone a second later, the line going dead before I can so much as say goodbye.
For a second, Logan and I just stare at each other, both of us a little stunned by the entire conversation that just happened.
“So, uh, looks like we’re dating until June,” I surmise awkwardly. “Unless there’s a problem with that. I know you probably didn’t think—”
“No, June is fine,” he cuts in. “Louis is right. If this is working, we don’t need to do anything that might unravel the progress.”
I study him for a second, still trying to gather what his real thoughts are on this. But like earlier, his expression remains shuttered; keeping whatever’s rolling around in his mind safely inside. Which is why I bite the bullet and just ask instead.
“You’re really sure all of this is okay?”
His lips twitch into a hint of a smile, but there’s a touch of sadness to it. “I appreciate the thought, but that ship has sailed. Like it or not, our boats are hitched together until the draft.”
Not exactly the response I was looking for, but I’m not gonna press him on it. Especially when I came to the same conclusion.
Blowing out a breath, I nod. “Okay. Well, in that case, I guess the timing would make sense for a break up. I’d be heading off to wherever I’m drafted, and you’d still be here for two more years. It’d be a logical choice if we were to end things at that point.”
“Exactly. We can say we ended things amicably, realizing the distance would be too hard, and there’s no bad blood.” A wry chuckle comes out before he adds, “We can let Louis be the one to wax poetic on that part.”
“Who knew he had such a way with words?”
It’s then, for the briefest moment, I catch a flicker of emotion in his eyes before he lowers his gaze to the floor. But I saw it, and I swear it was a look of…hurt.
“Yeah. Who knew,” he murmurs. “But at least we’ve got a plan, right?”
His response causes my line of thinking to swerve away from his subtle reaction, and I nod.
Having a solid plan of attack is a good thing, despite how weird it is to now have an expiration date looming in front of us. But at least we know where we’re going and what’s expected from this arrangement moving forward. It leaves very little room for surprises, on both our parts.
“Are you hungry?” Logan asks suddenly, pulling me from my thoughts.
“Starving, actually.”
“I was making pesto chicken before I was coerced into attending a hockey game. You can have it if you want,” he offers while rising from the bed. “You know, assuming it doesn’t go against your training diet or whatever.”
“I fucking love pesto, so even if it was, I’d still be eating it.”
He nods before clearing his throat. “Well, either way, we should head down soon. Otherwise they’rereallygonna thinkwe’re fucking each other’s brains out.”
I roll my eyes and stand too. “Right, because it makessomuch sense that the reformed playboy would go celibate the second he gets in a monogamous relationship.”
