“Are you sure you’re okay?” I ask after a minute of silence. “I know we’re not lifelong friends or something, but you can tell me how your week has been.”
“My week’s been long.”
I expect him to continue. But when another silence stretches out to its breaking point and all we can hear is the laughter floating over from the balcony, I break it.
“You’re kind of impossible to read, Logan,” I tell him, bringing my hand away from his leg.
His eyes are serene as I look over at him, two stunning silvery jewels that don’t give me any better clue as to what he’s thinking.
“I’m just bad at talking sometimes,” he tells me.
“Okay. Well, if I’m making you uncomfortable, please say so?”
He lets out a long sigh, running his hands across his hair and then suddenly turning to face me. His eyes are wild, now, with a sudden intensity.
He speaks in a low tone.
“I don’t think you could ever make me uncomfortable, Chase. When you touch me, I feel like I want to forget the rest of my life. I wish I could sit here on the couch with you all day, and I’m kind of afraid Iwillmake that choice, but I really do have a ton of things to take care of today. Understand?”
I recognize what he’s saying immediately.
He doesn’t want this to be like last year, and I can’t blame him for thinking it could be.
“I see.”
He swallows, running a hand through his hair. “Listen, I don’t open up easily to very many people, and last year, I opened up more to you than just about anyone. It isn’t like you’re doing something wrong, Chase. I’m just… still remembering what it’s like to exist around you.”
My heart squeezes in my chest.
Because Idounderstand that. Down to the core of my being.
“You don’t have to say anything more,” I tell him softly. “It’s okay.”
I reach over a hand gingerly and place it on the small of his back. When he melts into the touch instead of recoiling, I let myself leave it there.
“How haveyoubeen, Chase?” he finally asks.
“Good. Other than the fact that I noticed you haven’t looked at my DMs from last night.”
He puffs out a small laugh. “Those apps really have to stop sharing what everyone views and doesn’t view.”
“I agree, actually. But… I still noticed.”
“I’ll read them,” he tells me. “I just have a lot of work stuff right now.”
I give his lower back a squeeze. “I messaged asking if you’d want to get dinner together.”
“That sounds like a good idea,” he says. “You want to order in and come back here tonight?”
“No. I meant out in the real world. At one of those restaurants with private booths, obviously, so you don’t get mobbed, but still. In theworld. Because I have missed you this year, and I do think we could try to be real friends.”
“Chase,” he says in a warning tone.
“Logan,” I reply in an exaggerated, playful way.
“I’m just worried.”
I nod. “Because there are other actors out on the balcony?”
