Chapter 26 Logan
LOGAN
“There’s no way,” Ryan mutters, throwing the controller down on the table. “How the hell did he hit me through the wall?”
Austin snorts from the couch. “You were crouching behind drywall.”
“That’s bullshit,” Ryan mutters, respawning. “You can’t shoot through that.” The game starts only for him to die a few seconds later. “Fuck. Why do they keep spawning me next to the same guy?”
“Because you’re predictable,” Austin says with a chuckle. “Like your sex life.”
Ryan flips him off, and Nathan walks in from the kitchen with two Cokes a second later. He tosses one my way and I catch it, keeping my eyes on him.
He drops onto the couch beside me, his thigh bumping mine and it makes my heart skip.
He never sits beside me—too scared the guys will get suspicious and find out about us—but after the away game, after we had sex, he’s been different.
Closer. Sneaking into my room without waiting until the guys go to bed, staying over until we wake up together, and I’ve been eating up every damn second of it.
Ryan groans, tossing the controller onto the coffee table. “I’m done. This game’s rigged.”
Austin smirks, grabbing the controller to take over. “It’s called skill, Cap. You should try it sometime.”
Isabella walks down the stairs, pausing when she sees the game. “Are you guys arguing again?”
Ryan looks up, his mouth falling open when he takes in her outfit.
“Fuck.” He wipes a hand over his mouth, staring at the way her jeans cling to her ass and that low-cut top shows off her tits—which I know Nathan is probably cringing at right now.
“Tell me you decided to stay at home instead of going out.”
“I’ll be back before you know it,” she says with a chuckle. “Try not to burn the place down.”
He pushes up from the couch and his hands find her hips, tugging her toward him. “Can’t promise that. I think you should stay,” he says as a piss-poor attempt to get her to stay in tonight.
She chuckles, placing her hands flat on his chest, leaning in for a quick kiss. “It’s the last weekend I have with my girls before the holidays. Three hours. Max.”
Ryan sighs, his thumb brushing her jaw. “Fine. Have fun, curls.”
Austin lets out a scoff, keeping his eyes on the game. “Let your girl have fun, cap. She can’t be sucking your dick every damn day.”
Nathan throws his empty Coke can, glaring as it hits the back of his head.
Austin winces, glancing over his shoulder. “Shit. My bad.”
I chuckle, but the click of boots makes my head snap to the right as Aurora heads down the stairs next, my brows shooting up at the short, tight skirt wrapped around her long legs.
Maisie’s right behind her, fussing with the strap of her dress that dips low across her chest, which makes my brows shoot up even more.
Jesus. Quiet, shy little Maisie is hot as hell.
Her black dress hugs every curve on her body and I know Austin notices her, when I hear the sound of a controller slip out of his hands and hit the floor.
He blinks, dragging his eyes up and down her body. “Holy fuck.”
Maisie stops, her eyes widening a little. “What?”
“That dress,” he groans, shaking his head. “Fuck. No way I’m letting you out of my sight.”
Ryan laughs. “Look who wants his girl to stay now.”
Maisie laughs, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear, clearly trying not to melt under the attention. “You don’t have anything to worry about,” she tells him. “Nobody’s going to look at me.”
I scoff as I take a sip. Yeah, that’s bullshit. I have a feeling Maisie doesn’t realize how hot she looks in that dress.
“Every guy at that bar’s going to look at you,” he corrects her, walking toward her.
“Ready?” Isabella asks her friends.
Maisie nods but gasps when Austin tugs on her wrist, pulling her toward him, and kisses her. “You’re taken,” he says when he pulls back. “Remember that.”
She laughs, her face flushing by the second. “Literally not one person has ever approached me before.”
“Good,” he murmurs against her lips. “Because no one could ever love you more than I do.”
She rolls her eyes but smiles up at him. It’s kind of adorable, honestly. “I’ll text you when we get there, okay?”
He exhales through his nose, like it physically hurts him to let her go.
Aurora’s already by the door, jingling her keys. “Let’s go before he chains you to the couch.”
Maisie laughs again, and Austin finally lets her go, but his gaze follows her the entire way to the door until it shuts behind them.
He slumps back on the couch, dragging a hand over his face. “I officially hate girls’ night.”
Ryan smirks, picking up the controller. “You hate that she looked that good leaving you behind, you mean.”
Nathan chuckles under his breath beside me as he picks up the second controller and starts a racing game. He sits back, his legs stretched out, his brows furrowing every time Ryan speeds past him.
I lean my head back against the cushion, half-watching the game, half-watching him. It’s ridiculous how easily my focus drifts to him, to the line of his throat when he takes a sip of his drink, the crease between his brows when he concentrates.
When Ryan wins the race, he places the controller on the table and switches to a hockey game. “You guys got plans for Christmas break?”
Austin groans immediately. “Don’t say break, man. That means finals are coming, and I don’t want to think about that.”
Ryan laughs, shaking his head. “I thought having a tutor for a girlfriend would help you out.”
Austin tosses him a grin. “Yeah, well…” He pauses, smirk spreading. “Turns out I like doing other stuff with her more than studying.”
Nathan lets out a sharp scoff. “Of course you’d turn it sexual.”
Austin looks over at him, his smirk growing wider. “I was talking about watching movies, Hayes. Get your mind out of the gutter.”
Ryan chuckles, reaching for his drink. “You and Isabella are staying here with your parents, right?” he asks Nathan.
Nathan nods, taking a slow sip from his can before setting it back down on the table. “Yeah. We like being home for the holidays.”
Ryan smiles faintly. “That sounds nice. We usually head to Montreal for a skiing trip.”
Austin scoffs. “Aw, poor guy has to go on vacation for Christmas,” he says, rolling his eyes. “I’ve never even been on a plane.”
I glance over at him. “No shit. Really?”
He shrugs. “We didn’t have a lot of money growing up to go on trips. Everything my mom made went straight into hockey.” His expression softens a little. “It’s why I’m dying to graduate and go pro. I want to pay her back for everything.”
Ryan’s teasing fades. “You’ll get there, man. I know you will.”
Austin smiles back, but then shakes his head and scoffs. “Alright, enough of this love-fest. Where you headed for break?” He turns toward me, and suddenly the other guys do too.
I pause, the question hanging in the air longer than I mean for it to. My fingers tighten around the can. “Staying here.”
Nathan looks over at me, his brows dipping. “You’re not going home?”
I shake my head. “Nah. Don’t really have a home to go back to.”
The room goes quiet, and I kinda wish I had just made up a lie.
Ryan’s voice breaks the silence. “Shit,” he breathes out, shaking his head. “That sucks, man. I’m sorry.”
I force a small grin, trying to shake it off. “It’s chill. Means I get the house to myself and I can finally walk around naked.”
Austin snorts. “Thanks for the visual.”
“I’ll make a calendar just for you,” I shoot back, winking at him.
He laughs, the tension easing a little. “You can always come to mine. My mom would literally cry tears of joy if she got to feed one more person.”
I smile, but I’m already shaking my head. “Appreciate it, man, but I’m good. I’m used to it.”
Nathan’s still looking at me, and I try not to meet his eyes, wanting to avoid this conversation and just move on.
Austin clears his throat, glancing at his phone. “What do we think the girls are doing right now?”
Ryan scoffs. “Talking shit about us, probably.”
That gets a few laughs, and a few minutes later, the guys drift off, grabbing their stuff, heading upstairs. And then it’s just Nathan and me.
We’re both still sat beside each other, keeping our attention on the game even though I want desperately to look at him.
“You really don’t go home for Christmas?” Nathan asks.
My head snaps up, locking my eyes on his. I brushed it off earlier with the guys, but with Nathan, I don’t want to do that. I don’t want to hide behind sarcasm or pretend it doesn’t matter.
I want to let him in. I want to tell someone, to not keep this shit lodged in my chest.
I shake my head. “Haven’t been back in…” I let out a laugh, running a hand over my jaw. “Fuck. Five, six years?”
Nathan turns to face me more fully, his brows drawn together. “Why?”
I take a slow breath, feeling it scrape the back of my throat. “My parents don’t talk to me. Haven’t since high school.” I pause, my fingers tightening around the can. “Since they found out I was bi.”
His face drops. “What?”
“I was seeing this guy sophomore year,” I say quietly.
“He was my lab partner, and we got close.” I let out a harsh breath.
“We were careful. Or we tried to be. But one night, my dad walked in on us. We were just kissing. Literally just kissing.” A bitter laugh escapes me.
“Didn’t matter. He lost his fucking mind. ”
I blow out a breath when the memory of him shouting, tugging him away from me, losing his damn mind resurfaces. “He told me to get out. That I wasn’t welcome in his house. That I disgusted him.”
The words still echo in my head, even now. I’ve tried to bury them, drown them, pretend they stopped mattering. But they didn’t. Not really. They’re still there. Bruised into my ribs like fingerprints that never fade.
“What about your mom?” Nathan asks. “Did she—”