Chapter 7 #2
The only other place I can think of him waiting would be at my car, but when that isn’t the case either, I realize he must’ve just went straight home with Willow and Lexi.
And sure enough, when I walk through the front door twenty minutes later, all three of them, plus Bailey, are lounging on the living room sofa with a movie on the TV.
“There’s the hockey star,” Lexi says in greeting, jumping off the couch to come give me a hug. “You killed it on the ice.”
“You say that like you had any idea of what was happening,” Willow chimes in.
“Not to mention the fact that the only one here who actually cares about hockey didn’t go to the game tonight is appalling,” Bailey mutters.
Lexi glances at him when she releases me, arching a brow. “It’s not our fault you were stuck waiting tables at Pasta La Vista tonight.”
“Uh, yeah. True. But I would’ve switched shifts if I knew I had better options,” Bailey grumbles before glancing at me. “But Lexi is right, you played a great game. I caught most of it at work.”
“Uh, thanks,” I say slowly.
My gaze travels over the three of them before landing on Logan, who has been watching the entire exchange with confusion etched into his features.
He’s not alone in that either. Ever since this fake dating plan started, all three of them have been a lot friendlier with me.
Not to say they weren’t nice before—Logan has always been the abrasive one toward me—but they never went out of their way to come to my games or talk hockey with me.
And they certainly didn’t run up to give me a hug or congratulate me when we won.
It’s like we’ve landed in a parallel universe.
Bailey and Lexi have taken to chattering about the game, him grilling her about knowing anything hockey related, while Willow watches in amusement. And while it is entertaining, I really need to let Logan know what’s going on.
“Uh, do you all mind if I steal Logan for a little bit?” I ask, interrupting as politely as I can.
Willow lets out a little whistle, and Lexi’s face breaks out in a grin.
“Should we move this little Uncharted watch party to the basement so you have even more privacy?” Willow asks, a suggestive smirk on her lips.
“A thousand percent,” Lexi agrees. “With that win, I don’t even know if two floors will be enough.”
The confusion written on Logan’s face morphs into something like terror when he realizes what they’re implying, but he quickly schools his features before they notice.
“Why would they need more…” Bailey trails off, seeing the look both the girls are giving him, and finally puts the pieces together. The wrong pieces, seeing as celebration sex is very, very much off the table, but they don’t know that.
“Hey, at least neither of you have to worry about a walk of shame since your rooms are right down the hall from each other,” Lexi says with a shrug.
Logan’s nostrils flare, and I shoot him an apologetic look before lacing my fingers through his. He allows me to pull him toward the stairs, but I can feel the tension rippling from his body in waves that grow larger with each step we take.
“It’s always sweeter when you wrap your peter, Cam!” Bailey calls after us before adding, “Well, actually, I don’t know which of you is doing the wrapping. But my statement stands either way.”
The girls can’t contain their giggles, though a quick glance reveals Lexi covering her mouth to hide it the best she can. Willow, on the other hand, is getting a lot of enjoyment from this, her eyes dancing with glee when Logan flips Bailey the bird over the banister.
“I can’t wait for you to go to fucking Norway,” Logan hisses at his best friend before pushing past me, dragging me up the stairs along with him.
He bypasses his own room, hauling me all the way down the hall to mine instead.
Probably for the best, considering the conversation we need to have would break our cover if any of them overheard.
Though, I don’t think we’ll have any issues.
I’m almost positive the three of them will be unnecessarily heading to the basement to continue their movie.
Still, I flip the lock for good measure once we’re both inside.
“Well, that was embarrassing,” Logan mutters.
He’s pacing the length of my room, the whole exchange downstairs clearly having gotten under his skin, and I grab his shoulders to halt him in place. Of course, I realize my mistake a second later and pull my hands away.
“We’re supposed to be dating, remember? And I’m an athlete on a post-win adrenaline high. Of course they’re gonna think I’m dragging you away to fuck.”
Logan’s nose wrinkles up, as if disgusted by the mere thought, and he crosses his arms over his chest. “Well, since we both know that clearly isn’t the case, what’s actually going on?”
Shit.
I was so concerned about getting here to tell Logan what happened, I didn’t really give much thought to how I’d deliver the news. Which, in hindsight, is a bit of a problem. So rather than finessing it in any way, shape, or form, I just…blurt it out and hope for the best.
“I may have outed our relationship at the press conference,” I say, wincing as the words come out. “And by may have, I mean I one hundred percent did.”
I brace myself, ready for him to be pissed about me doing this without talking to him first. Yet Logan just blinks a couple times and then drops down on the end of my bed with a frown.
“Uh, yeah. I know.”
Double shit.
“How? It was only like thirty minutes ago.”
He offers a pained smile before lifting his phone screen to me, showcasing all the notifications. His font is small and hard for me to read, but I do catch a few names on his text notifications—his parents and brother being among them.
I don’t try to make out anything they say, though. Part of me doesn’t really want to know, especially after opening my own text from Oakley on my way home.
Oakley: How the hell did you interpret “ask my brother for help with your class” as “you should start dating him”?
Needless to say, I’m not in a huge rush to respond to that one.
My lips pull back in a grimace when I meet Logan’s gaze again. “I’m sorry. The boyfriend comment was an accident. I didn’t realize the mic was still on. But maybe I should’ve ignored the questions after. At least it would’ve given you the chance to…I don’t know. Tell your family first?”
“Why? It’s not like we got married,” he points out with a snort. “Besides, it was as good a moment as any. Go big or go home, right?”
I cock my head, not sure I heard him right. Probably because he’s being oddly chill about this, and I don’t entirely trust it.
“I guess that depends on how they took it.”
He shrugs. “I mean, Mom and Dad were fine with it, obviously, since Oakley’s gay. As I expected, they’re just glad to hear I’m dating,” he says, rolling his eyes. “They were just more surprised it came out like that.”
“Why?”
“I don’t know. Probably just because I’m pretty private compared to the rest of my family.
” He must see the horrified expression on my face, because he shakes his head and waves me off.
“It’s okay. I knew what I was signing up for with this whole thing.
Hell, it was my idea, remember? It being publicized is kinda par for the course for a PR relationship. ”
“That’s kinda the only reason I mentioned you by name,” I admit sheepishly.
“No, it was smart. Maybe it’ll take the focus off the video for a while, seeing as they were trying to fillet you alive on that front.”
I frown and drop onto my bed beside him. “Yeah, that was pretty rough.”
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and I groan. There’s no telling who it is, but I’m almost certain I’m not going to enjoy who or whatever it is. And sure enough, my heart drops right out of my asshole when I see the name on the screen.
Louis Spaulding.
“You need to answer that.” I glance over to see him looking at the screen, only to lift his gaze to mine. “Put it on speaker and pretend I’m not here.”
Taking a long, steadying breath, I steel myself for whatever ass chewing I’m about to receive, and hit the green button to accept the call.
“Louie S., my man. What’s the tea?” I say in an attempt to break the ice.
Logan’s lips roll inward, no doubt matching the face Louis is likely making on the other end. The only difference is Logan is clearly trying not to laugh.
In fact, I can almost hear Louis’s exasperated eyeroll on the other end before he says, “Good evening to you too, Camden.”
“It is a good evening, isn’t it? We won, after all. But enough about me. What can I do ya for?”
My gaze moves to Logan, finding him already watching me with curiosity. I don’t have the chance to think much of it, though, thanks to Louis cutting straight to the point.
“Well, I watched your press conference, seeing as I was the one who wanted you on it in the first place,” he states dryly. “Needless to say, I don’t think the little stunt you pulled at the end was my definition of lying low, or keeping the conversation on hockey.”
“I did the best I could to keep them on hockey. But you saw for yourself; once they asked about the video, all bets were off.”
“I was talking about your relationship status, actually.”
Oh. That part.
“The mic was hot,” I explain, as if that’s a worthy excuse. My gaze shifts from Logan to the floor, embarrassment once again cresting within me about making such a rookie mistake. “I’m sorry, Louis. I thought I was out of range, but obviously—”
“No need to apologize. It might be just what we need.”
“What we need?” I echo.
Louis is quiet for a moment—a thing he does when he’s mulling over his words, I’ve come to realize. Unfortunately, there’s no telling if what he has to say is good or not until he finally does speak, which leaves me waiting in anticipation.