"Say that again," I demanded in a strained voice.
Brody grinned and clutched my door handle. With how loud he banged it open, I was surprised it wasn't broken. "You've got at most five minutes."
"Huh?" I grunted. "Five minutes for what?"
"Before Elle leaves." His wide grin brought my eyebrows together. "You're welcome."
His words finally registered in my tired brain and shot me upright in bed. "What!? Here? Right now. In this house."
How the hell had that happened? Brody went from wanting more time to dig up dirt on her to... bringing her here?
I couldn't believe Ellie responded to my text, so I called her. She sounded off, her voice timid and shaky in a conversation that ended too soon. It left me wondering if something had happened at the party or outside since she hadn't gone in.
"Yeah. She gave me a ride." His grin faded under the blush that filled his cheeks and he cupped the back of his neck. "Jake's, uhh, on a date right now. She's on limited time, but you're welcome."
Jake shouldn't have left her by herself, especially if she was uncomfortable, but I sure as hell was capitalizing on his selfishness. I combed my hair, brushed my teeth under Brody's gaze, and stopped where he stood. "You could have warned me." I didn't know whether to hit him or hug him. He deserved both, and got neither, because of the faint smell of alcohol on his breath and the smoke on his clothes. "Have you seen Mom yet?"
He shook his head. "Nah. I came right up here."
I appreciated that, but he shouldn't have drunk anything other than soda tonight. He was relaxed and coherent but red-faced, so I pointed out the door. "Unless you want to be grounded too, brush your teeth, shower, and go to bed. I'll cover for you. Where's Ellie?"
"Mom went outside to interrogate her."
That was bad. Mom needed thirty seconds to overshare embarrassing stories and pictures. "Fuck."
The speed I flew to my window would've been funny, except my toe caught my desk chair. A sharp pain spread up my foot, which I rubbed and peered outside. A white car was parked on the curb, Jake's car, but no Mom or Ellie.
"Logan! Brody!" Mom called, so I shoved Brody into his room.
I felt Ellie's quiet presence before I saw her. She was a soft, calm whisper that made my heart race with each step until a pair of dirty white tennis shoes came into view. "Hi, baby."
Fuck, she's really here.
In her best scared animal impression.
Ellie huddled by the front door. Her hair was in a ponytail with shorter pieces framing her face. Her eyes were red, puffy, and underlined with light gray circles, and the color had drained from her cheeks. Despite those and an interesting choice of clothes, she was beautiful. She couldn't have cared less about impressing anyone, which impressed me. Ellie looked... real. She was so fiery at the library and looked like life had been sucked out of her. What happened tonight?
The compression that thought squeezed in my chest was unfamiliar. I'd never cared about a girl's paralysis from me before, but a dull fear lingered in her eyes. Ellie's lower lip tucked under, and she stared as if she didn't believe I was there, but she was in Mom's house. Her lips parted, but she stood there in a silent stare before she squeaked, "Logan?"
The temptation to tease her arose, but my normal sure bet felt like a gamble. I found myself restrained, almost uncomfortable as if I walked into unfamiliar territory without a map. Crazy. I got this. I pushed through the unfamiliar block of uncertainty. "Couldn't wait twenty-four hours before seeing me again, huh?"
My gamble paid off. An invisible snap darkened her eyes and tightened her lips. "Technically, I brought your brother home," she said in a dry, unimpressed voice.
Brody. Fuck, she knew. How long before Jake did? This wasn't the time to ask, so I dragged my eyes down her appearance and smiled. "Nice shirt. That's your party outfit?"
Her black sweatshirt said Senioritis is a disease with only one cure: graduation in bold white letters. Her stiff smile gave off a clear, 'leave me alone' vibe. Torn-up Ellie was prettier than any girl I'd seen at a party wearing tight stuff that highlighted their... assets.
"I was going for a -" she said when Mom hug-mauled her.
Ellie's face broke from initial shock to a big smile. I'd seen Mom do that, a lot embarrassingly, but her hugging Ellie embedded a foreign sense of uncertainty in me. Those two against me?
"She's a hugger," I teased. "Play your cards right, and I'll give you more than that."
"Logan." Mom swatted at me and pulled Ellie to her side. "I did not raise you with such manners. And Eleanor looks lovely, in a casual, self-assured, modern woman way, so buzz off."
"It's okay." Ellie's smile widened, and a tease sparkled in her eyes. "But I'm cool with embarrassing baby pictures if you have any, Grace."
Eleanor and Grace? Fuck, they were on a first-name basis already. But let's put one thing straight first. "No pictures, Ma."
"Oh, I have plenty." She linked one elbow with Ellie's and dragged her into the kitchen. Loud echoes of her voice bounced off the walls. "Should we start with the bare-ass ones or twig and berries?"
Mom did not say what I think she said. Of all possible words, she says... that. Ellie's mouth dropped, and her eyes rounded, then lifted to me. "I'm sorry?"
I never blushed, but my jaw almost hit the ground. There was no coming back from that embarrassment. Ellie put a hand over her mouth, but her shoulders twitched. Her eyes sparkled over her fingers while I wanted to melt into the floor. Instead, I scratched the back of my neck.
"Where's Brody?" Mom glared at me. "You know, the son of mine who calls his loving mother more than once in two weeks. Eleanor, would also you believe Logan makes me sit at the top bleachers during his games? His own mother!"
I burned two 'stop oversharing' holes into the back of her head with my eyes. "Brody crashed in bed. And you bet your ass has to sit up high, so I can't hear every word you yell, along with everyone else on the sidelines."
"Language, Logan." I sighed when Mom pointed at her head. "See, Eleanor? The root cause of my grays."
Ellie's soft words hit me with a gut check. "My mom has a mild anxiety attack when my brother takes the field. Sometimes she has to breathe into a brown paper bag."
Ellie's brother. Brody. I clenched my jaw into a dull ache. If Ellie knew, then did Jake? She was not leaving here without me asking first.
"I worry about Brody, but this one's head is hard enough." Mom snapped her fingers at a chair. "Manners, Logan."
I dragged out the chair with a tight grip. Ellie sat and pressed her back where my fingers held her chair. I clenched them tighter at the soft curve in her exposed neck and the urge to trail my finger down it. A quicker thump rose in my chest when those dark brown eyes looked over her shoulder. She coughed, so I grabbed her a glass of water. Her fingers closed around it with a small smile of appreciation. Chivalry wasn't dead, Ellie.
"Eleanor, do you know euchre?" Mom asked.
Ellie shook her head, and I rolled my eyes. "No one outside Canada probably knows it, Mom."
"Hush," she chided with her eyes on Ellie. "Are you hungry? We have some leftover takeout."
Ellie's neck was going to hurt from how much she shook her head, but she smiled at Mom. "No, thank you. I ate dinner at home."
I smirked at Mom and sat next to Ellie. "Cooking without burning the kitchen down?"
"Yes." Ellie's smile widened. Seeing her smile so much was... nice. They weren't forced or tight, but soft and warm. She was quiet tonight but relaxed more with each smile. "Most of it's my mom's recipes. We try to make time to do it once a week together."
Mom frowned at me with no ounce of subtlety. "What a novel idea, a child who enjoys spending time with their mother."
I looked back and forth between her and Ellie. Mom. Ellie. Ellie. Mom. They were comfortable. Very comfortable. I wasn't sure how I felt about that. "I'll take forced participation. Even whenever you choke on your own stupidity, Logan."
Apparently, it was piñata Logan night. Ellie took another sip of water, not before I caught her smirk. "What did he do?" she took her whack at me, which put a shine in her eyes.
"Those girl pictures I mentioned?" Mom clicked her tongue and dealt the cards. "All over his phone."
Fuck, why would she share that? Why? I wanted to crawl under the table. By the glimmer in Mom's eyes, she wanted the confession, so I slid my phone to Ellie. "I swear, I've wiped everything that was sent unsolicited to me off my phone. Promise."
"I don't need to see." Soft warmth covered my hand. The urge to roll mine over and hold hers came over me. Her eyes flipped to mine, she gasped, and she pulled her hand back to her lap. I couldn't help but smile at the slight shade of pink spreading across her face.
An hour, a few euchre rounds where Mom and I let Ellie win, and too many insults and embarrassing stories later, my sides were in pain. Ellie's red face wasn't much better. She gasped and wiped her watery eyes.
"I apologize." Mom shook her head. "Logan is very much a work in progress. But at least his eyebrows grew back."
Ellie released a loud laugh at Mom's version of my first chemistry set. She had two laughs, a soft giggle like tingling music chimes, and a full, hearty laugh. It was lower and richer like it opened up a deeper part of herself. I liked both, even at my expense. I permanently wore a guarded smile, absorbed one dig after another from Mom, and brushed Ellie's knee with mine whenever I moved. The way she stilled, she noticed but never reciprocated more than a smile in her eyes over her cards.
"He's..." A tease sparkled in Ellie's eyes. "Something I haven't figured out."
Her words shouldn't have pulled a tightness in my chest. I was supposed to be indifferent under my usual cocky exterior. The forward guy that charged the field with the team on my shoulders and offered no apologies. The funny, confident guy my friends laughed with. The guy who didn't put up with shit from bullies, like her brother who threatened me earlier today.
That guy felt more like a mask every time I put it on in front of her.
Ellie looked straight through me. And I saw nothing but her the longer I looked at her. Past the sassy, clever lines and avoidance. She was smart for sure, but warm and caring. What happened to her before she arrived dissolved for her, but stuck in my mind. The kitchen clock's ticking and Mom's shuffling cards hummed into the background noise. Ma fell into a faultline for all I cared.
Ellie's phone was the buzzkill that ended our night. "I need to go." Disappointment spread through me as she stood. Her presence felt so quiet, warm, and calm, but as much as I wanted her to stay, I couldn't force her to.
Mom and I escorted her to the front door, where Mom pulled Ellie into a neck chokehold. "Thank you, Grace," Ellie said in a tight voice.
"Our pleasure. My pleasure." Mom patted her back and then pointed at the door. "Walk Eleanor to her car, Logan."
Ellie's smile faded. "That's not necessary, Grace."
"It is. He needs practice." With a palm on each of our backs, Mom shoved us outside together.
I looked back at the shut door and sighed. "Wow," I muttered and dragged a hand through my hair. "Sorry about... all of her."
"It was... entertaining," Ellie teased with a giggle. Music. "She has better game than you."
"No comment." I stuffed my hands in my pockets and slowed my steps to match hers. Tension filled the air as we closed the gap to her car. No, Jake's. The reminder clenched my stomach. I squeezed my hands and all the lightness from tonight evaporated. My inner asshole hadn't forgiven me for my earlier missed opportunity. He reminded me of the obvious: this time we were alone.
When we stopped at her door, her face lit up with a beautiful smile. How sweet and genuine she looked didn't matter. The ache her smile put in my chest didn't matter. Means to an end, Hightower. Nothing more, because she couldn't be more.
"I had fun tonight." She moved to sit down, but I caught her arm. Her breath hitched in a soft gasp and the moonlight painted her skin pale. Her eyes were so dark, black enough to reflect the uncertainty on my face.
I brought my other hand to my chest in mock disappointment. "That almost sounds like a compliment. We'll have more fun when we go out."
Before she shot me down, I leaned over and caught her natural scent, all Ellie with a faint ivory soap. With a feathered touch, I skimmed my nose over the soft swell of her cheek. Her arm trembled in my hand. I couldn't have cast a better spell the way she drew a shuddered breath and her eyelids grew heavy. Her lashes lowered, a thick curtain over the undeniable heat pooling in her eyes.
Again, I wanted to kiss her. Badly. But I needed to tease her, even though it went against what I wanted. My body was all in, from my increasing pulse to the heat rising under my skin, even if it felt unnatural. The sensitive skin beneath her ear was my goal. Like a dart of poison, a prick of contact was all I needed. Per my plan, that's what I was supposed to do, poison her into falling for me. Until I was what she wanted.
I tucked the barrier of random dark brown strands behind her ear and trailed my fingers where my lips aimed. Goosebumps raised a pathway where I stroked, over her racing pulse. My heart pounded harder as I moved closer and dryness choked my throat. A rush of blood surged through my veins, followed by heat and ache when my lips brushed warm, silky soft skin.
Her gasp in my ear was the real compliment, but I murmured, "Say yes, Ellie."
"Logan..." her whispered moan was a sound I didn't know I needed to hear, and its effect was instant. The torture she wrapped my name in lifted my hand behind her head and surged the ache between my legs. As much as I wanted to smash myself flush with her and show her how much she affected me, that was too far.
I whispered 'say yes' into her skin, in a plea that fell short. Her throat hummed with each word of rejection, "I will think about it. I appreciate the honesty, but still don't trust you."
Ouch. I shouldn't have been irritated by her lack of trust. Given the game I played, I didn't deserve to feel like that but I did. When I pulled back, doubt replaced her heated look. She wasn't ready, and I needed to be patient. "It's okay," I lied right through my bruised ego. "I'm not giving up, but I need you to do something. For Brody."
A tiny shadow creased between her eyebrows. "Brody?"
"You can't tell Jake he's my brother." I clenched my jaw. "For his sake, not mine. Jake doesn't know and Brody needs it to stay that way."
"He doesn't know?" Her voice and eyes softened, which I appreciated, but I needed her agreement, not sympathy.
"No, he doesn't. Brody needs to get through the season with-"
"I get it," she whispered and lowered her gaze.
I didn't need to remind her of her brother's potential reactions but needed her word. "So, you'll keep it a secret?"
The upward lift of her eyes, the way her pupils rounded larger as they searched mine, unlocked a deeper desire in me. Not the desire to finish what I teased her for, but a yearning for her to keep a secret. One between her and me. One that pressed a weight into my chest.
Soft warmth touched my cheek. Her palm cupped my jaw as if I were delicate. Unlike me, not an ounce of deceit shone in her eyes. "It's not my story to share."
I exhaled and relaxed my shoulders. "Thank you."
She gave a soft smile, but my hand squeezed her arm. I couldn't let her leave without me returning some truth to her. "Ellie, I don't know what else to say that you need to hear. I don't play that game with girls, and I told the team to stop. I told them to stay away from you, and I meant it."
My intentions to strip down her walls backfired. She'd torn mine down. Other than the vulnerable exposure, I didn't care. The pressure in my chest mounted to burst through my sternum. "Give me a chance to show you I'm not that guy. Please."
"I respect that." Her words were kind, and reassuring, but not the one I wanted. Yes was one word, but the most important word. Irritation tightened my jaw, but she held her hand in place. Her voice was soft with awe and consoled me as much as her thumb's arc over my jaw. The soft look in her eyes, like she saw me in a different light, pinned me still. "I like this side of you, Logan. The real you, laughing with your mom and caring about your brother."
Ellie flashed me the prettiest smile, stepped onto the door frame, and brushed the softest, sweetest kiss on my cheek. My skin tingled under the contact. It froze every muscle in my body and rendered my brain inoperable.
"Show me the real you, Logan," her soft voice washed warmth into my ear. "He's the one I would say yes to."
Useless, my mouth hung open. Brain obliterated. Thoughts? Not happening.
Her last smile twisted my heart into a giant knot. "Good night."