Page 145 of Wicked Minds
Eyes searing into mine, he simply nods, the silence stretching between us.
“I should go,” he says eventually.
“Okay.”
God, I sound like an idiot, I internally groan, biting back any more stupid retorts I might blurt as he sets the photo frame down and heads for the door.
Opening it, he pauses on the threshold, looking back at me over his shoulder. For a moment, I think he’s going to say something, but he gives a slight shake of his head before walking out, closing the door, and leaving me alone.
Well, that could have gone a lot worse.
At least we didn’t hate fuck each other this time. That’s gotta count as a win, right?
43
RILEY
“Ugh, I’m so full,” I moan as we leave the restaurant. Logan insisted on taking me out on a date night, and I have to say, it’s been perfect. “That was delicious, but now I need to go home and nurse my food baby.”
Logan chuckles, draping his arm over me. “No can do, Shortcake. The date isn’t over yet, and I have somewhere I want to take you.”
“Is that so?” I tease, grin blooming. It amazes me how easily he lifts my spirits. I was surprisingly relaxed after spending my morning in the dance studio and chatting with Grayson. Something about our conversation felt cathartic—or perhaps it’s the knowledge that he now knows everything. That he seems to believe me, or at least, he isn’t calling me a manipulative liar.Small wins.
Still, being out with Logan tonight… bathing in his lightness that casts everything else in shadow. It’s exactly what I needed.
“Yup.” The way Logan looks at me… somehow makes me feel like a teenager going on her first date whenever I’m around him. I feel like I’m getting all the typicalteen crushhormones that I never experienced when I was at school.
And I’m not complaining one little bit.
I’m relishing every blissfully ordinary moment. Even with everything that’s going on, for the first time in my life, I don’t feel irreparably broken. When I’m around Logan, it doesn’t feel as though my past is clinging to me like an unwanted ghost. There are no chains shackled around my ankles.
Logan makes me feel free. Fresh. Untarnished.
“So, where are we going?” I ask once we’re in his car.
“You’ll see,” he responds cryptically, giving me one of his cheeky, up-to-no-good grins.
“So long as this isn’t another kidnap attempt,” I half-tease.
“Next time I kidnap you, Shortcake, it’ll be to hide you away in a remote cabin, just the two of us.”
“Mmm, that sounds much more pleasant. And what exactly would we get up to in this remote cabin of yours?”
Flicking his gaze my way, he levels me with a dark, hungry stare, his intentions crystal clear. I struggle to swallow around my suddenly dry throat, and it’s an effort to keep my voice neutral as I say, “Board games?”
His laugh is light and musical, soothing my soul in a way no other sound can. “Sure, baby.Board games.”
I’m grinning by the time he pulls through a set of gates, and I arch a brow. “Don’t you spend enough time on this campus?” I tease. “You really want to spend the time you’re not in class or training here, too? If you’re not careful, Logan, you’ll get yourself branded a nerd.”
“Someone’s feeling bratty tonight,” he retorts with a heat in his gaze. Bypassing the student parking lot, Logan continues driving us around the campus edge toward the sports stadium.
“Is there a training session tonight?” I question, assuming that’s why he’s brought me here.
“Not exactly,” is his only response, and I stare at him in confusion as he parks the car and gets out. He’s pulling a duffel bag from the trunk as I step out, swinging it over his shoulderbefore taking my hand and leading me toward a back entrance into the stadium.
I take in the long, gray hallways lined with jerseys and photos of previous years’ teams, only pulling my focus when I hear the unmistakable sound of children laughing up ahead.
Glancing at him from the corner of my eye, Logan grins knowingly but still doesn’t say a word as the hallway opens into a tunnel, spitting us out beside the ice rink.
