Page 106 of The Fire Between High & Lo (Elements 2)

“Yes.”

“No!”

“I have cancer.”

I rolled my eyes. “Dude. Low blow. How long are you going to play the cancer card?”

He smiled at me, reached his hand out in my direction, and patted me on the shoulder. “Take her out, okay?”

I nodded once. “Okay.”

Chapter Forty

Alyssa

“Hi,” I said, my voice breathy as Logan stood on my porch in a suit and bowtie. His hair was slicked back, and he was beaming.

“You look beautiful,” he said, taking in my long black dress. “So beautiful.”

I blushed. “You do, too. I mean, handsome. You look handsome.”

He reached out for my hand, and I took his in mine. As he walked me to the car, he opened the passenger door and helped me inside. My heart was pounding against my ribcage as the butterflies in my stomach somehow transformed into dragons, setting me on fire. I was so nervous.

When he asked me if I’d go to Chicago with him to see an opera, I had to make sure I wasn’t dreaming. We never were able to go on any fancy dates all those years ago. We never were able to fall in love the way we truly deserved to love one another. So the fact that today, Logan was in a suit that wasn’t too big for him, and I was in a dress that was too fancy for me, was amazing.

I still love you…

“Are you excited?” he asked, as we drove down the freeway.

“Yes.”

I still love you…

“I’ve never done anything like this, ya know? Seen an opera. I mean, I’ve been to your piano recitals, which were breathtaking, but I’ve never seen something like this.”

“You’ll love it,” I said. “When I was in college, we had to go to shows for one of my music classes. The opera is quite the experience.”

He smiled. “Thanks for coming with me, High.”

Whenever he called me High, I felt like I was eighteen all over again.

I still love you…

The show was amazing, and as we sat in a corner box watching it, I’d noticed Logan tearing up from the action. His eyes never left the characters on stage, and mine hardly ever left him. It was crazy how it happened. How one boy could still, after all these years, control every beat of my heart.

After the show, we walked outside in the cool, autumn Chicago weather. We stood so close to one another that every now and then our arms would brush up against each other. The hotel we were staying at was right down the street from the opera house, which was wonderful.

“Erika and Kellan are stressed,” Logan said, breaking me from my thoughts.

“Yeah. Extremely stressed. Erika called me the other night as she sat in her car crying her eyes out. She feels as if she’s at the end of her rope, and like Kellan is pushing her away.”

“Do you think he’s pushing her away?”

“I don’t know. I think he’s just scared.”

“Yeah. Me too. I’ve been thinking… We should do something for them. I don’t know what, but I want to do something to make them feel better.”

“That’s a great idea,” I agreed, opening the door to the front lobby of the hotel. “And I think—”