Logan
Ellie: I’m treating you to ice cream. I’ll be there in five minutes. If you’re not dressed wait until I get there so I can have a show too (;
Me: Shouldn’t I be the one treating you to things?
Ellie: Boys deserve to be spoiled too
Me: *men
Ellie: Well maybe if we taught boys that it’s okay, we’d have less toxic masculinity
Me: You got me there, Ace…
Purposely, I kept my shirt off. If Ellie was going to show up at my place last minute again, the least I could do was fulfill a few fantasies.
Leaning against the counter, one ankle crossed over the other, I held my T-shirt loosely in my hand and checked the time. According to her last text, she should be here any minute.
I shifted my stance, subtly tightening my abs and glancing down to make sure everything was flexed just right—biceps, chest, all of it.
Ellie didn’t knock anymore. She didn’t hesitate. She walked in like she owned the place.
Fresh out of the shower? She’d come over and park herself on the bathroom counter, legs swinging and eyes glued to my naked body—especially my cock—until I got dressed, and only then would she bother looking anywhere else, usually with a wink.
Half asleep on the couch after a long day? She’d barge in and throw herself across me like a weighted blanket and sigh like she’d finally found peace.
Once, I came home to find she’d beaten me here. That was my favorite. It felt like coming home to her, like this thing we had was becoming something more, even if neither of us had the balls to say it.
We’d fallen into a deep pattern. Spending time together was typical, yet how we spent our time changed drastically.
If I were being honest, I loved it. Every damn second of it. I loved how she couldn’t keep her hands—or eyes—off me. But truth be told, the feeling was mutual. Having her like this was a beautiful problem, because we didn’t get much done when we were in the same room.
Just as I tugged my jeans a little lower, revealing the cut of my lower abs, the door flew open.
Ellie stepped in like a summer storm—fast, hot, and impossible to ignore.
Her gaze hit me instantly, raking from the brim of my cowboy hat to my bare chest, down my torso to the boots on my feet. She dropped her purse by the door and didn’t bother closing it as she stalked toward me.
“That’s what I’m talking about,” she purred, a wicked smile curling her lips.
She didn’t stop until her finger was on my skin, running slowly down the center of my chest, between the ridges of my abs, to the top of my jeans.
“What if…” she murmured, her voice pure sin, “you went out for ice cream like this and I got to lick it off you instead?”
I tipped my head back with a groan at the image alone.
“I’d start right here,” she whispered, dragging her finger back up my torso and then trailing it down again, slower this time.
“El…” I warned, voice thick with desire. “We’re not gonna make it anywhere at this rate.”
She leaned in, all heat and temptation, and pressed soft kisses against my bare chest. Her tongue flicked out to taste my skin, and a quiet, needy moan escaped my lips as my cock stirred, tightening behind the zipper of my jeans.
She had me. Completely.
Then, just as quickly, Ellie snatched the T-shirt from my hands and stepped back, her body leaving a trail of heat in her wake.
“Let’s go, buttercup,” she teased over her shoulder, already halfway to the door. “Ice cream won’t eat itself.”
“You’re going to be in so much trouble,” I muttered under my breath.
Ellie smirked. “You can show me later.”
And with that, I stepped out the door, shirtless in the unforgiving Texas summer heat. I climbed into the cab of her truck, the leather seats already hot from the sun, and off we went.
“Thanks for giving this back,” I said as we pulled into the ice cream shop’s small lot, reaching for my shirt.
“It’s a damn shame no one else got the show,” Ellie teased, a mischievous glint in her eye.
“Half the town already saw more than they bargained for when Penny roped me into that fundraiser for the library. We don’t need a repeat. I’m still having flashbacks to old ladies slipping dollar bills into my waistband.”
She burst out laughing, looping her fingers through mine. “That was iconic, and you know it.”
Honestly, it was one of the best nights I’d had in a while. One that none of us will forget, that’s for sure.
We walked up the wooden ramp and into the cool, sweet-smelling shop.
I kept my hand on the small of her back, guiding her in.
She paused just inside, scanning the chalkboard menu above the counter.
I stepped in close behind her, wrapping my arms gently around her waist and resting my chin on top of her head.
“Let me guess,” I murmured, lips brushing her hair. “Mint chocolate chip with gummy bears?”
“Bingo,” she said. “But this time, I’m getting a cone instead of a cup.”
“You rebel,” I whispered, pressing a kiss to the crown of her head.
We stepped forward as the surly teenager behind the cooler pointed at us, unimpressed.
“What do ya want?” she asked, wiping her forehead with the back of her arm.
“I’ll take cookies and cream, medium, in a bowl. And she’ll have mint chocolate chip with gummy bears, in a cone.”
“What he said,” Ellie added, patting my arm like a proud partner.
The teenager rolled her eyes and got to work. She was clearly managing the entire operation solo, while an older woman with a bright smile handled the register, beaming at us.
Ellie reached into her purse and handed over her card before I could say a word.
“Hey—” I started to protest.
She shot me a look. “I said, I’m treating you.”
I didn’t put up a fight because the determination in her eyes told. I thought it was most definitely a losing battle.
Ice cream in hand, we stepped back out into the warm, golden air. The sidewalks of Main Street shimmered in the heat as we started toward the park, walking side by side.
“Thanks for the treat, Ace,” I said, scooping a bite of my ice cream.
“Thanks for coming with me,” she replied, tucking herself closer against my side. Our steps fell into an easy rhythm, like we’d done this a hundred times before.
It was clear neither of us cared who saw us together around town, and that felt damn refreshing.
Ellie, who just weeks ago had been so anxious about being back here, worried about judgment and small-town whispers, now walked beside me with confidence. That shift in her, subtle but sure, filled me with something close to pride.
I stopped our movements and reached down, cupped her face in my palm to kiss her—quick, soft pecks that left her lips parted when I pulled away. I stared straight into her eyes, searching, steady.
We hadn’t brought up the L-word since I said it the other night. Neither of us had touched it since. But standing there, under the setting sun with chocolate smeared at the corner of her mouth, she looked so damn beautiful, so utterly mine, it was hard not to say it again.
Before I could decide whether to speak, Ellie suddenly tensed. Her eyes went wide, then she let out a little yelp and grabbed the front of my T-shirt, dragging me into the narrow alley we were standing near.
She pinned me gently against the brick wall, her expression a cocktail of panic and adrenaline.
“What was that about?” I asked, blinking at the sudden shift. One second, I was kissing her in the open air; the next, I was tucked into shadows.
“Boone and Aspen just came out of the pizza place,” she whispered, biting her bottom lip as if she’d been caught red-handed. “I panicked.”
So much for not caring who saw us.
I kept my hands lightly on her waist, steadying her. I understood her instinct. No one really knew what this was between us yet. We hadn’t said it out loud, not even to ourselves. The only person who knew anything was Mac—who, thank God, was a vault.
Ellie took a long lick of her ice cream, eyes darting around the corner like we were fugitives.
“Do you want them to know?” I asked, my voice low. I wasn’t just asking for her peace of mind. I needed to know too, for my own clarity.
Her answer would tell me everything about how she saw us.
She took a slow breath in, held it, then exhaled like it carried a weight she’d been holding for too long.
“I think so?” she said, voice soft, uncertain.
That was enough to make my heart stutter in my chest.
“Is there a ‘but’ in there?” I asked gently.
She looked at me, her eyes flickering with hesitation. “Well… no. I just don’t know what to say… like what we are.”
The other night, we’d snuck up to her room, but no one had known. I understood where she was coming from—being so open about the romance that was sparking between us was different.
Her gaze searched mine like she was asking for something without speaking it aloud. She needed a direction. A definition. Something she could hold onto.
I reached up and ran my thumb across her cheek, brushing away a strand of blond locks and letting my touch linger.
“I think I’ve made it pretty damn clear how I feel about you,” I said. “I’m all in, Ace. But if you’re not ready for that just yet, then we take it slow. We keep doing what we’re doing. And if someone asks, we just say we’re exploring a connection we found while I was visiting my folks.”
She nodded slowly, the tension in her shoulders easing.
Relief and something softer flickered across her face—something that looked a lot like hope.
“Plus, we’re all going out soon,” I said, brushing a kiss against her temple. “We can test the waters then, see what’s said, how it feels. What do you think?”
“I think that sounds good,” Ellie replied, a soft smile tugging at her lips.
“Then let’s get back out there and finish our night.”
She nodded and slipped her arm through mine, letting her head rest against my shoulder before we continued down Main Street.
The sun had begun to dip behind the mountains, casting the sky in streaks of gold and violet.
It painted the perfect backdrop for our quiet walk, side by side, step by step, falling easily into conversation and laughter.
We strolled until we reached the old Petal Pusher storefront and then the darkened shell of what would be Miles’s restaurant, still under construction.
Ellie stiffened beside me. Subtle, but unmistakable. I gave her arm a gentle squeeze.
“I still haven’t run into him,” she said quietly, her gaze trailing over the dark windows as we passed.
“Good,” I muttered. “Maybe he finally got the hint.”
Ellie let out a dry scoff. “Doubt it. That man doesn’t take hints well. Or at all.”
I dug my spoon into what was left of my ice cream. “Do you want to talk to him?”
She shrugged, her steps slowing just slightly.
“There’s a lot I want to say,” she admitted. “But I don’t want to have to see him to say it.”
“If you do,” I said, voice low, “please let me be there. I can’t stand the thought of him hurting you again. I won’t let it happen.”
She looked up at me then, eyes soft with gratitude and something warmer.
“If I make any plans, I’ll let you know,” she said. “I’d want my personal bodyguard with me anyway.”
She gave my bicep a playful squeeze and then leaned in to rest her head there, like it was the safest place she knew.
“Good,” I said, wrapping an arm around her. “Because you’re stuck with me, wherever you go.”