Stella rolled her head back and laughed.
It felt good to be getting a little enjoyment out of seeing Logan suffer. After all, it was Logan who showed up so abruptly and without and warning. It was only fair that Stella was allowed to indulge in a little bit of payback.
‘It’s good for you,’ Stella said, a big smile on her face. ‘But seriously, wheatgrass is genuinely incredible when it comes to healing aches and pains. I swear by it.’
‘It’s early evening, we should be pounding the beers!’ Logan said, the disgruntled look on his face showing no sign of going anywhere. ‘Anyway… I probably owe you a bit of an explanation.’
At this point, Stella assumed that Logan was going to explain why he had shown up unannounced in what looked to be quite a distressed state.
As reliably rugged as Logan had looked, on reflection Stella had realized that there was something not quite right abouthim. There had been an edge, a slight haziness to Logan that wasn’t how Stella remembered him at all.
But rather than explain what was going on right now, what Logan wanted to set straight was something from a long time ago…
‘You know, I always felt bad about how we left things in college,’ Logan said, taking a sip of his berry drink. ‘I know we’ve seen each other since, but it’s always felt like a cloud above us, you know?’
‘Yeah, that’s a fair comment,’ Stella said, a wry smile on her face. ‘I guess the last thing you needed was a Little clinging on to you…’
‘I figured you’d say that,’ Logan continued. ‘Well, I want to own it. I’m sorry. I’m sorry for leaving without giving you a proper explanation. And I’m sorry for waiting until now to sit down and have this conversation. I fucked up. I failed college and knowing that you were so focused on your studies, I just didn’t want to drag you down with me. But rather than have an adult talk about things, I just cut loose.’
‘Yeah, but you were also afraid of commitment,’ Stella said, her voice quivering just a touch. ‘You knew how much I liked you. When you left town, it hurt.’
Logan nodded and appeared to be contemplating something.
Stella noticed that Logan was still wincing a little if he moved his shoulder too much, but rather than try to press Logan for any further details on his current situation, Stella decided that it was better to keep the conversation flowing.
‘So… tell me,’ Stella said. ‘Have you managed to find yourMiss Rightsince we last hung out?’
‘Hmmm. What do you think?’ Logan said, a wry grin back on his face.
‘I think you’ve probably found plenty ofMiss Right Now’s,’ Stella said. ‘But anything longer than a weekend? I’m guessing not.’
‘You’d guess correctly too,’ Logan laughed. ‘And you? There must have been a Daddy to catch your eye’
‘Still single. Still working hard. Still…,’ Stella said, trailing off.
‘Yeah?’
‘Still trying to find my happy place, I guess,’ Stella said, suddenly feeling a pang of emotion. ‘Hey, I’m volunteering again.’
‘Oh, great. Doing what?’ Logan said, his interest piqued.
‘A dog shelter,’ Stella replied, smiling. ‘It’s called The Dog Den. Honestly, I know you’ve always liked dogs. It’s incredible how many super-sweet little mutts they get in there. I’d take them all home with me if I could.’
‘I bet you would!’ Logan laughed. ‘You’ve got a thing for scruffy, charming strays…’
Stella giggled.
Suddenly, there was that old electricity between them again. It was undeniable. Despite being so different, the pair of them had a lot more in common than appeared on the surface.
Ever since she first met Logan on campus as a nervous twenty-one-year-old, Stella had felt a connection between them. And now, if it was ever in doubt, it was clear that this very same connection was still there.
Despite being a little bit self-conscious at times, Stella never found it difficult to act flirtatious with Logan. And it was as if Logan just had that special something in him that unlocked another side of Stella that so many other people just couldn’t get to.
Logan, of course, never found it hard to flirt in even the wildest, most inappropriate settings.
The rumors around campus had been that Logan had managed to work his way through at least half of the Literature faculty in the first semester alone. Logan had always denied this, but Stella never quite believed him.
‘Okay, okay,’ Stella said, the pair of them spending a little too long staring thirstily at one another. ‘I need to know something else.’
