“I don’t think I am good enough for you, Logan,” he finally tells me.
His voice doesn’t sound broken anymore.
He says it firmly, matter-of-fact, like he’s certain he’s informing me of the truth.
“Do me a favor and don’t ever say that again.”
“Don’t you see it, too?” he asks. “That I fuck things up like I have a special talent for it?”
“Your father waswrong, Chase?—”
“And I always manage to drag down the people around me, somehow, too?”
“Anyone who doesn’t see your worth is fucking blind,” I tell him, my voice resolute. I squeeze his shoulder hard, leaning forward to look at his eyes. “Stop doing this.”
“I can’t.”
“Thisisn’t you,” I tell him.
He finally looks up to meet my eyes. “It’s always been me.”
I hold his face in my hands.
I lean in to kiss his forehead, then each of his cheeks. I tilt his chin backward so I can kiss his lips, and I do it softly, slowly, taking my time.
“You aren’t going to scare me away,” I tell him. “Keep trying, if you’d like to. It won’t work. Tell me the worst of you, and I’ll still be right here.”
He puffs out an exhale that sounds like a laugh, but then I see a stray tear break off from his eye.
“I can’t believe you’re still here,” he whispers, looking up as he pulls in a shaky breath.
“Why didn’t you call me?” I demand. “Why didn’t you call me when you were let go from the restaurant?”
“You know about that?”
“I know about that. And you could have called me, or come back to my suite, or told me anything you were going through.”
He swallows. “I couldn’t think. I didn’t know…”
I nod, running my hand down his back. “I understand.”
For the first time since I’ve gotten here, he changes his position. He lets his knees straighten out and he leans his body against mine, letting me hold him at a better angle as he melts against my body.
He tucks his head against the crook of my neck, and I let my hand stroke over his hair in a steady rhythm.
Finally, he clutches at me in the way I’m used to.
He brings his arms around my waist, tugging at me, squeezing me like he’s holding onto me for life.
“I’m sorry,” he says.
“It’s okay.”
He kisses me on my neck, then on my collarbone. He nuzzles against me like he’s trying to burrow.
“I’ll be able to talk about it soon. I just… can’t, right now.”
“Take your time. You know, Chase, I have to take a weekend trip home to LA this weekend. Didn’t find out until a few hours ago, but I’m flying out late tonight forYard Linepromo.”
