Page 8

8

QUENTIN

W hat a fucking night.

My head spun with regret. Had I made the right choice, bringing Em back here? Audrey would want that, hell, so would Theo. I couldn’t leave a drunken, upset Em at the dorm where her ex had slept with her roommate, her roommate kicking her out of her room. God. Anger bubbled at her shitty boyfriend, the fact he’d do this to her.

I’d hung out with the Sanders family quite a bit, been around Em and Judah. They’d seemed happy. He was always polite and kind to Em. Theo hated Judah, but I figured that was him being protective.

Now, I wondered if he saw something we missed.

I gripped the back of my neck, angling it to the side to ease the tension growing there. Logan had been incredible, not asking questions, but the look of unease on her face was hard to avoid. She had concerns she wasn’t voicing, and the night wasn’t what I’d promised. Instead of a fun party with games, dancing, or putting on a show, we’d cleaned up puke and were back before midnight.

She had to be upset.

I guided her into the kitchen, trying to find the right way to explain. My mom always made this ice cream dessert when we had to have hard talks. The time I didn’t get on the A team in sixth grade, she made me a special mush drink and let me cry it out. It wasn’t complicated: milk and ice cream with chocolate sauce, but you had to mix it a certain way for there to be ice cream chunks. You could drink it like soup or like a shake, but it was perfection. One of my favorite memories was all four of us, Mom, Dad, Audrey, and me, sitting outside watching lightning bugs while eating it. I wonder now if it was the day we learned my dad was legit sick. They never told me, but that night we sat out there extra late, and he hugged me extra tight.

A good, comfort dessert healed people. “Go ahead and sit, I’ll make it for you.”

She slid into the kitchen chair and leaned onto her elbows, resting her hands under her chin. “So, what is this strange, cheap dessert? You have me intrigued.”

Her eyes were open, curious, which caused a sense of relief. I didn’t want her upset.

“We call it mush. ” I pulled out a tub of cheap vanilla ice cream we got at the store, the milk, and the syrup.

“Okay, not the most appetizing name.” She showed all her teeth in a cringe.

“Trust the process, Log.”

“You’ve been using that nickname a little too freely for someone who hasn’t known me since I was five.”

I scooped three large scoops into each bowl. Might regret it tomorrow, but eating ice cream was a great way to end the night. “Want me to stop?”

“You haven’t earned it yet.”

I stilled and spun around, then leaned against the counter to stare at her. There was a little fire in her eyes, a bit more sass than before. Her tone was almost flirty—which, for the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why I loved it. “I will.”

“As confident in that as you are that mush will taste good?”

“Mm hm.” I finished the dessert and brought her a bowl. I took an extra second to admire the curve of her neck, the way her collarbones dipped in. Logan was beautiful. “Try a bite before you judge.”

She licked the side of her lip before taking the spoon and putting a mouthful of the mixture into her mouth. She paused, tilted her head, and smacked her lips before nodding. “Okay, wow. Unexpected, but this is great.”

“Next time I tell you you’ll like something, trust me.”

“Still can’t call me Log though.” She pointed her spoon at me, amusement dancing in her eyes. “This is ice cream soup. Scoop soup, if you will.”

I snorted. “That’s a better name than mush.”

“Ya think?” She took another few bites before her shoulders relaxed. She was so damn easy to read. The world would be simpler if everyone wore their feelings on their sleeves like she did.

I let her eat a bit more while I took my time with mine. After a few minutes, I brought up Em. “I have a complicated relationship with my sister and her fiancé—who is Em’s brother. My sister and I… we used to be close, until we weren’t.” I swallowed the ball of discomfort. She assured me we were good now, but I carried the guilt with me every day. Logan viewed me as a somewhat decent human, so I didn’t want to tarnish that with the truth.

It was selfish of me. I knew that, but I didn’t care.

“We worked our conflict out, but her fiancé also happens to be the one who injured me freshmen year, which made me miss most of my sophomore year.” Which meant I missed the opportunity to get drafted, which led to my downfall, which is why I need a fake girlfriend. “Theo is great for my sister. They are good together.”

God. Why was this so difficult?

Messy. I was fucking messy. I rubbed my temples as every part of my body tensed. I didn’t want to share all this. It was hard. Complicated. “Em is a freshman this year. Their family is going through a tough time, and she doesn’t deserve this. She’s like a sister. I just?—”

“Hey.”

I tensed as Logan put her hand on my forearm. Nothing but sympathy shone from her eyes.

“You don’t need to explain anything to me. I think I wanted that right at the start of the call because it was so strange to see you act that alarmed. But I don’t anymore. Em matters to you, and she needs support right now. As someone who went through something similar, I understand. I wouldn’t be here without my friends.”

My throat felt thick again for a different reason. Her dainty fingers moved back and forth on my skin, the gesture pleasant and comforting.

“You are a good person who is looking out for someone else. Even if you didn’t care about her, you’d help anyone in that position.” She squeezed me one more time before releasing her grip. “I’m glad I was able to help.”

“Jesus, Logan.” All the stress evaporated from my body, her reassurance and confidence in me lifting me up in a way nothing had in a while. “Thank you.”

“We’re friends now, yeah?” She arched a brow, waiting for me to respond. I nodded. Friends was a strange word for how I felt about her, but it’s all we’d ever be. “Friends know when to push and when to stay quiet. I trust you, Quentin. If you need to eat your mush in silence, then I’ll eat it with you.”

Her complete awareness of what I needed, without pushing, was disarming. No one in my life was like that.

All I could do was nod. Her gesture meant more than she understood, yet her little smirk to herself made me think she knew she was being a good friend. I knew that I’d have to fill her in on the drama of my life, especially before the first dinner with my mom and her fling, but we had time before that.

I wanted her to continue to see the good before I spammed her with the bad. We finished our ice cream in silence, then she took my bowl and cleaned both of them before saying goodnight. It was simple. Easy. Perfect.

Now I just had to figure out what to tell Audrey and Theo because there was no world where they weren’t going to come visit.

“Why is my brother calling me over and over?” Em curled into a ball on the end of the couch the next morning.

I’d slept like shit.

Preston, Jordan, and Logan had done a great job trying not to make noise, but it was hard when every floorboard in the place creaked and squawked. It was ten a.m., and I should’ve been at the gym working out, but I couldn’t get up.

“Hey,” Logan walked out of the kitchen wearing an oversized shirt that said Book Boyfriends are Better and carrying a cup of coffee. “Wasn’t sure how you preferred it, so I threw in a sploosh of milk.”

“Is that a technical term?” I smiled as she handed me the mug. “Thank you, any way is fine.”

Logan smiled softly, sleep lines on her face and her eyes somehow lighter brown than yesterday. “Em, you want coffee or a water?”

“I want to die, so let me.”

Logan snorted. “Don’t think we can allow that.”

“Tell Theo to stop calling.” Em peeked under her hand, her bloodshot eyes pleading with me. “I can’t deal with him.”

“Are you asking me to?” My stomach bottomed out. I didn’t want to tell Theo what her ex did. The guy was like a puppy most of the time, but when you pissed him off, he went feral. Especially for those he loved. “Because I can, but I’m not sure it’ll be good.”

“Lie. I don’t care. Say I stayed here.”

“I’m not lying to your brother, Em. I can buy you some time, but he’s gonna learn the truth.” I yawned, and the muscles in my back twitched. Then, my phone buzzed. Theo Sanders. “He’s calling me now.”

“My location is shared with him.” Em sniffed and buried her face into a pillow. “I might throw up again.”

“Make it in the trash can this time, not me or yourself.” I pushed up from the couch as Logan frowned at us. I wanted to touch that wrinkle between her brows to smooth it out. It had no business being on her face. “I need to answer this. Thank you for the coffee, princess.”

“Princess?” Her eyebrows about disappeared into her hairline.

“I looked up popular terms of endearment from books to see what one we like.”

Her responding blush gave me the motivation to take Theo’s call. With a final deep breath, I answered. “Hey, Theo.”

“Tell me why Em is at the house and not answering my calls. I’m freaking the hell out. Audrey talked me out of driving there right now. Tell me what the fuck is going on.”

“Hello to you too.” I sighed and pushed the back door open. The screen had about three holes in it and needed oil in the hinges. The morning air was humid and hot, but it was fresh. “Em is safe.”

“Why is she at your house?”

“Theo, give him a chance to talk.” My sister’s voice carried through. “I’m putting you on speaker because he’s so fired up right now. I know she’s okay if she’s with you,” she said.

“She had a rough night and called me to help. I brought her back here to sleep it off.” I bit the inside of my cheek, debating how much to share.

“What does rough night mean? Did someone… do something to her?” Theo asked, the edge of his voice on the brink of exploding.

Pinching the bridge of my nose, I went for the truth. “Her now ex-boyfriend slept with her roommate, then her roommate kicked Em out of her dorm room when she was drunk. She called me alone, late at night, drunk and crying.” My stomach soured just thinking about the call. I was terrified something would’ve happened to her. “I got there in ten minutes, brought her here. Logan helped her shower and?—”

“Who the fuck is Logan?”

“One of my girl housemates. She’s great. Listen, Theo, Em is okay physically. She’s hungover, had the worst night of her life, and is heartbroken. She’s safe here. I’m gonna talk to the rest of my roommates to see if Em can stay for a few days while we talk to housing. We can have her switch dorms.”

“That’s a good idea, Q.” Audrey’s calming voice took the lead. “She’s lucky you’re so willing to help.”

“Not luck at all. I want to punch that dude in the goddamn face if I ever see him.”

“I just might,” Theo growled. “We’re coming down there.”

“Hold on,” I interrupted him. “I’d love to see you both, you know this, but Em probably needs space. She’s mortified right now. How about you come down once we figure out her new dorm? Help us move?”

“I’ll talk to Theo about it. He’s pacing right now.” Audrey sighed. “Tell Em we love her, okay? Thank you for telling us, Q.”

“Sure.” I nodded, even though she couldn’t see me. It felt like the right thing to do. I didn’t get why people were thanking me for doing what any decent human being would do. “I’m going to go check on her, and please don’t make me be messenger. I’ll always let you know if she’s safe, but she needs time.”

“I get it. I’ll work with Theo. It’s hard to hear something like that happening to someone you love. That… that’s gonna take some time for her to get over.”

“Logan went through something similar. I think having Em here and talking to her will be good for a little while. Logan is awesome. You’d like her.”

“Yeah?”

I could almost hear Audrey’s smile.

“Stop. It’s not like that,” I said. “I think we’re gonna be great friends, honestly. Haven’t had anyone who was that kind or patient with me in a while.”

“Then good. I’m glad she’s living with you for the year. I want you to have friends and people surrounding you who support you. I do want to come visit you but not for a few weeks.”

“Yeah, give Em time. Maybe you can text her?”

“I will. Hey, thanks again for helping her. You’re a good person, Quentin.”

I swallowed my disagreement and instead said, “We’ll talk soon, Audrey. Love you.”

“Love you too.”

I hung up the phone and slid it into my pocket just as the noisy screen door opened. I swore I didn’t even need to ask—I knew it was Logan.

“I brought your coffee out here. Figured you needed it and wasn’t sure how long the call would be.”

“Thank you.”

She set the mug on the ledge of the deck. Now that I wasn’t distracted from the call or Em, I admired her face and bedhead. Her braids were still in, but the curls were everywhere. It was cute as hell. If I wasn’t such a mess and she wasn’t heartbroken, she’d be who I wanted to try dating. Even if we were housemates and it broke the rules I set for myself. No girls, all hockey. She was pure sunshine.

“Why are you smiling at me like that?” She leaned against the railing, her brown eyes almost gold in the sun. “Do I have toothpaste on my face? Because that happens sometimes. I don’t know how or why, but it’s such a thing for me. One time, I went to school with it on my cheek, and it was horrible!”

My smile grew. “No, no toothpaste on your face. I like your hair in the morning.”

“Oh this?” She gestured to her hair. “It’s a mess. I like to call post-braid days, hat days. That way it hides all the looseys that broke free.”

Looseys.

This girl.

“You are…” I trailed off, finding myself smiling yet again.

“A handful? I know.” She grinned wide and goofy but then stared up toward the sky. “I have an idea. You might approve, might not. Em opened up to me a bit. I’m sure it helps that I went through something similar to her—a friend betraying you with someone you loved. I think she should stay here for a week. I don’t mind sharing my room. I can sleep on the floor or something.”

“You’re not doing that.”

“I don’t mind. She needs this, Quentin.” She pushed off the railing so she neared me, her peachy, delicious scent wafting around me. A fierce, determined look was etched across her face. “I don’t need your permission. I can ask her on my own.”

“Whoa, Tiger, settle down. No permission needed. You can do whatever you want, any time, okay? I meant you’re not sleeping on the floor. I was already planning on asking you, Jordan, and Preston if she could stay for a week. I’m hoping to convince the housing department to switch her dorm for the year. We can go Monday.”

Her eyes widened in understanding. “Great plan. Yeah. I like it.”

“Glad you approve, princess.”

Those pretty brown eyes sparkled. “Princess again?”

“I kinda like it.” I winked, causing her to blush again. I loved her blushes. “Or would kitten be better?”

“Oh, no.” She scrunched her nose and swatted my arm. “Not that.”

“Buttercup?”

“Quentin, no!” She giggled, and that sound rooted itself in my chest. Magnetic. Logan was magnetic to be around. Her joy and laughter and smiles pulled you in and made you want to linger.

I chuckled and scrubbed a hand over my face. I could stay out on the deck talking to her for hours, but there was one hungover heartbroken mess inside we needed to take care of first. “Want to go talk to Em about the plan with me? We could be a united front?”

“Sure thing.”

“Okay, then after you, pookie.”

“Ugh, not that either!” She stomped her foot – which I found adorable—before marching inside, and while I knew Em would relate to her, it dawned on me that this was the first time I felt like I was on the same team as someone else outside of hockey.

It was nice.