Logan
Never in a million years did I think I’d be like every other guy in our friend group—parked at the bar in the middle of the day, unloading my love life onto Mac Ridley.
There was something about bars that made a man’s lips loosen.
Maybe it was the comfort of a cold beer, or the illusion of privacy.
But it definitely wasn’t Mac’s hospitality.
The man barely said ten words unless provoked and usually just stared at you while puffing a cigarette, looking equal parts disinterested and judgmental.
And yet… here I was, falling into the same confessional pattern Boone and Rhodes had. Another sucker caught in the trap of low lighting and a high stool.
“So,” Mac said, drying a glass with a rag slung over his shoulder, a cigarette dangling precariously from his mouth, “you gonna tell me the real reason you and Ellie went on that little trip?”
“Not my story to tell,” I replied, taking a slow sip from my beer before setting it back down on the bar. I spun the coaster absently between my fingers, needing something to do with my hands.
“Ah,” he said, the sound steeped in meaning. “And while you were on this very mysterious trip, did you happen to tell her how you feel? Or are you still being a wuss about it?”
“Dude,” I muttered, tilting my head to the side and glaring at him.
He didn’t flinch. “I’m honest.”
“I know,” I sighed, glancing down at my bottle, unsure how much I could give away without giving everything.
For the past two weeks, I’d been my own damn therapist. No outside perspective. Just me—arguing with myself in circles. And when you’re the only one in your corner, it’s real easy to talk yourself both into and out of a good thing.
“I did,” I said finally, surprising even myself with the certainty in my voice.
Silence fell, thick and expectant. If there were cartoon crickets, they’d have been chirping by now.
Mac arched a brow, setting the glass down and leaning on both elbows. “Okay… and?”
“She didn’t reject me,” I said, tracing the lip of the beer bottle with my thumb. “I set up a little picnic on the beach. Told her I was into her. But even before that… something shifted between us. It felt different. Charged.”
Mac nodded slowly, tapping ash into the tray before taking a long drag. “So let me get this straight. You went on the trip because things got… ‘charged,’”—he used air quotes—“and you wanted some alone time?”
“No. The charge came during the trip. The reason we went isn’t really why I’m here. Or why I feel the way I do. Or why I’m sitting in your bar during my lunch break on a Thursday.”
He grunted. “Message received. So, why are you here then?”
The truth was… I wasn’t entirely sure.
Since sleeping with Ellie, something inside me cracked open. What used to feel like only a crush now burned into something more obsessive, more consuming. I could no longer imagine a life where she wasn’t entirely mine.
Though I still wondered what this new chapter looked like for Ellie and me. From friends to lovers, what would change and what would stay the same?
“I just don’t know how to navigate this,” I confessed. “Her. Us. This whole… thing.”
Mac shrugged. “Clearly whatever you were doing before wasn’t working. So do the opposite.”
I rolled my eyes and threw my hands in the air. “That’s your advice?”
He gave a smirk. “I’m a bartender, not a love guru. But if you want my honest opinion? Throw it all at her. Every ounce of feeling you’ve got. Stop playing defense. You love her, show her.”
He leaned in slightly, his expression more serious now, cigarette bobbing between two fingers. “You already lost her once by hanging in the background.”
He jabbed his cigarette toward me. “You deserve to be happy, Logan. You’re a good man. And she’s not just some girl. She’s your girl. She always has been. Anyone with eyes has seen it. And we both know you’d treat her the way she should be treated, unlike the other men who’ve been in her life.”
I exhaled slowly and turned my gaze toward the far end of the bar. “I just hope Boone sees it that way.”
Mac’s eyebrows shot up.
“Hmm?” he said, standing upright. “I beg your pardon? Couldn’t quite hear that.”
I repeated myself, this time from deeper in my chest, “I said, I just hope Boone sees it that way.”
“Why wouldn’t he?” Mac asked, arching a brow. “It’s not like you’re just screwing around with his sister.”
I broke eye contact and stared down at the bar, jaw tightening before I could stop it.
That was all the confirmation he needed.
Mac slapped both palms against the bar with a loud thud.
“You are screwing around with his sister, aren’t you?”
I gave a tight nod, the admission catching somewhere in my throat.
Mac leaned back on his heels, lips curling as if he’d just hit the jackpot. “And now you’re here because you love her and you don’t want Boone thinking the road trip was just a cheap move. Like you’re using love as a cover to get her into bed.”
Damn it.
How did he do that? How did he take the jumbled mess of thoughts tangled in my brain and unravel them into one clean, cutting sentence?
“Basically,” I muttered.
Mac let out a low whistle and leaned on the bar, far too amused for my liking.
“Cut it out,” I growled, but it came out weak.
Snuffing out his cigarette, Mac dropped the teasing entirely. He shifted forward, eyes serious now, voice low and steady.
“In all seriousness… it’s clear how you feel about Ellie. Anyone who’s been around you two as long as we have can see it—you care about her. Deeply. And she cares about you, too. I don’t know what lit the fire between you, but whatever it was? You’d be a fool not to treat it like the gift it is.”
I stared down at my hands, the weight of his words sinking in.
“Any doubts you’ve got?” Mac added. “Let ’em go. They don’t belong. You’ll drive yourself crazy trying to logic your way through something that’s meant to be felt.”
“That’s easier said than done,” I replied, voice rough.
“Sure,” he nodded. “But forget Boone for a second. Even if he is pissed, so what? It’s not his life. It’s yours. You love her. She’s finally seeing you as more than just her childhood shadow. Don’t waste that.”
That was the key, wasn’t it? Getting out of my own damn head.
I had every intention of showing Ellie how deeply I felt—of going all in. The change in our relationship was undeniable, and it felt right. So much better than sitting on the sidelines, wishing and watching.
Mac was right. Again. Damn him.
“I can’t believe I came to you for love advice,” I muttered, shaking my head with a laugh. “Normally I’d go to Boone but…”
“You slept with his sister,” Mac said with a sly grin, finishing my thought.
“Right,” I replied through my teeth.
“Speaking of Boone,” Mac said, tossing the bar towel over his shoulder, “did he ever find out what happened at the bar last time? With Miles?”
Just the name stirred heat under my skin. Anger coiled low and sharp in my gut.
“How would I know? I’ve been gone for the last week.”
“Fair,” Mac admitted. “I didn’t tell him. I wonder if Rhodes did.”
“If he had, trust me, we’d all know about it. Miles would be six feet under by now, and Boone wouldn’t be hiding the shovel.”
I hadn’t laid eyes on that bastard since Ellie and I got back, and that was probably for the best. For him. I hadn’t forgotten what happened. Hell, I’d made myself a promise, and I still planned to keep it. Sooner or later, I’d handle it.
“He’s been lying low,” Mac added, resuming his methodical drying of pint glasses. “Real low. Since right before you two left.”
If only the whole town knew what really happened. What Miles tried. They’d run him out of here themselves. Pitchforks, torches—the works.
“Good,” I muttered. “The less we see of him, the better.”
Mac gave a small nod, silent agreement passing between us.
Then, as if shifting gears, he brought up Penny.
We fell into easier conversation—how she was doing, how things were progressing, and the baby.
I still held onto their secret, the one no one else knew, and just like before, it felt like a privilege. An earned kind of trust.
We both agreed it had been too long since the whole crew had been in one room. Vowed to make it happen soon. Maybe next time without any dramatics or assholes trying to ruin it.
I stayed a while longer, letting the conversation drift, still turning things over in my head like river stones.
This new rhythm between Ellie and me? I was going to take it for what it was—a win. A real one.