Page 48 of The Breakaway

Logan at least had the grace to look chagrined. "I know, I know. I'm sorry." He took my hands in his. "It's just been a stressful trip and I wanted everything to be perfect and now it's all . . . not."

I softened, squeezing his hands. Logan was back, his blue eyes pleading. But something felt different. Like I was looking at him from the other side of a pane of glass. Like if I tried to push through, everything between us would shatter.

He leaned into me, a tired smile playing at the corners of his mouth. "Have I mentioned that I missed you? Because I did. A lot."

"Once or twice." I grinned as his lips found skin. "But feel free to keep reminding me."

He pulled me to our room, our fingers intertwined. He flopped onto the bed with a groan, burying his face in my pillow. "Mmm, smells like you."

I chuckled, settling beside him. "I hope so. It is my pillow."

He rolled over, pulling me into his arms. I nestled against his chest, breathing him in. I frowned. “Did you change your cologne?”

Logan tipped his chin. “Different deodorant. Why, you like it?”

I nodded. “It’s nice.” I didn’t like it. It was too . . . sharp. In your face. I reached up, threading my fingers in his hair. Something inside of me was pushing away from him, and I needed it to stop.

"Let's just stay like this forever," he mumbled. "Screw Europe. Screw everything else."

My heart clenched. If only it were that simple. "As tempting as that sounds, I don't think your coaches would appreciate our life choices."

He huffed a laugh. "They'll live." His arms tightened around me. "At least we have all day tomorrow. Just you and me. No interruptions."

I stiffened, my hand stilling in his hair.

Logan pulled back, frowning. "What? Don't tell me you have plans."

"I . . ." I bit my lip, averting my gaze. How could I put this without sounding like a complete jerk? "I have to prepare for my audition on Wednesday. And the Christmas concert is coming up.”

His frown deepened. "Seriously? I'm only in town for one day, Shar. One day before I'm gone for who knows how long."

Guilt gnawed at my stomach. He was right. What kind of girlfriend was I, prioritizing rehearsals over our limited time together? But the piece Ms. Franck had given me was insanely difficult. I needed every spare second to practice if I wanted to nail it. Him being here meant I was losing out on tonight.

Rob's words from the other night echoed in my mind.Logan Kemp always gets what he wants.

I'd brushed it off then, chalking it up to Rob's general dickishness. But now, with Logan's expectant gaze boring into me, I wondered if there wasn't a kernel of truth to it.

Logan sighed, his handsome face pinched with frustration. "Fine. Whatever. I guess I'll just entertain myself."

Okaaay. That stung. I felt the pull to drop into our normal pattern. Stage one: Logan tells me what he wants. Stage two: I adjust my life to make it happen for him. Normally, I wouldn’t have even hesitated. I would’ve cleared my calendar without telling him I’d done it. But tonight, for whatever reason, giving up everything tomorrow made me want to stab a fork into my eye.

I swallowed hard, my pulse rushing.Open up. Tell him the truth.“You know how important this is to me." Saying it out loud felt like stripping down and standing in front of him naked.

"More important than me, apparently," he muttered.

A door slammed down inside of me, and he felt it. My body tensed. My skin flashed cold.

Logan slumped. "Shit, Shar, I'm sorry. I didn't mean that." He scrubbed a hand over his face. "I'm just . . . I'm just really damn tired."

I swallowed past the lump in my throat. "I know. It's okay." Even though it wasn't, not really. But I plastered on a smile anyway, determined to salvage what was left of the night.

“Come here.” He shifted me higher on his body, his hands going up the back of my shirt. He kissed me, his fingers finding the clasp on my bra.

If I couldn’t give him the time he wanted, I could at least give him this.

_____

The sounds of a garbage truck outside our window roused me from a fitful slumber, my head fuzzy and thoughts muddled. I blinked blearily in the morning light filtering through the blinds. Logan's arm tightened around my waist, tugging me closer.

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