I Love You, I Hate You: Part 2

Logan wordlessly shuts the water off, disappointment etched across his face. He grabs the first towel from the rack and hands it to me, then takes one for himself. I wrap the rough cotton around my chest and walk into the main room. I open my suitcase, rummaging through it for nothing in particular. I just needed to get out of that bathroom.

Away from him.

My guard is falling, walls are cracking, and I can’t let that happen.

“Hey,” he says, towel tied around his waist. “We should talk about what happened.”

I toss a dress onto the bed and search for my underwear to avoid looking at Logan. Those abs, those same chiseled abs that sucked me into his arms last night, are staring at me again. I will not look at them. I will not fall into them again. “There’s nothing to talk about.”

“Uh, you can’t wear that.” Logan says, referencing the black thong laying beside my dress. “I mean you can, but everyone will stare at you. I don’t know if you remember, but I don’t like people looking at what’s mine.”

I stand up straight and grip my towel so it doesn’t fall free. Logan may have seen the scar once but that doesn’t mean I want him looking at it again. “First of all, I’m not yours. And secondly, what does it matter what I wear under my dress? No one’s gonna see it.”

Logan grins, bringing out those perfect dimples and that lopsided smile that’s haunted my dreams for years. “Because I promised our parents we’d join them and the family for a poolside brunch. It’s our last chance for everyone to be together before you fly out this evening.”

“You what?” I ask, my eyebrows arching. I don’t mind seeing Piper and Cooper again before I leave, but Dad and Tessa are another story. And Sarah, she’s been the biggest disappointment of them all this weekend. I’ve spent zero time with her because she keeps disappearing, probably with a new guy every night.

Logan reaches for my elbow, probably to pull me into a hug and silence me with a searing hot kiss, but extend my arm.

“Logan, I need you to understand that whatever this is,” I point between him and I, to make sure he fully understands what I’m talking about, “it doesn’t go on beyond today. There is no us anymore. We were just having fun.”

He pulls me into his arms and says, “I know. Last night was amazing, and I wouldn’t mind doing it one more time before you leave, but I’m not the only one who misses you. We don’t know when we’ll get to see you again.”

Never, because I can’t risk anyone finding out about Molly.

17

Logan

Brunch is the stupidest meal invented. It’s either breakfast, or lunch. Eleven in the morning is closer to lunch than breakfast. So, why my mother is serving french toast is beyond me. Walking past the group of gossiping wedding goers, I grab two towels from the cabana boy and make my way to the pool. I lay one out on a lounge chair for Dani and claim the chair beside it for myself. I recline mine back forty-five degrees, tuck my hands behind my head, and close my eyes.

I slept like shit the last few weeks leading up to mom’s wedding. Mom has been dating Walter for two years now. That’s two years I’ve spent trying to pry information out of them about Danika. But I was stonewalled. Blocked on all social media accounts and left out to dry by my parents.

Prior to those two years, I was a mess. The last hal

f of senior year was a disaster. I was depressed, drunk to the point of uselessness, and angry at the world. My first year of college wasn’t any better. For a while I saw Danika’s face everywhere. Her ghost haunted me to the point of celibacy. I tried moving on. I tried one night stands. Hell, I even tried Viagra. But as soon as it came time to do anything with a woman, her memory ruined the moment in one way or another. She had my heart, and being with anyone else has always felt like cheating.

But last night, curled up in bed with Danika in my arms, I finally slept. My world tilted back on its axis and for one beautiful night, everything was how it should be.

I didn’t follow through with my plan. I knew I wouldn’t be able to leave her in the middle of the night. I only stepped outside this morning because Mom called, otherwise Danika would have woken in my arms and we would have gone for round two.

I hate that she’s leaving in a few hours. Hopefully, this time, she’ll say goodbye and I can convince her to keep in touch. I broke down her walls and got her back in my arms in less than two days. Imagine what I could do if we texted daily? I’d have her back in no time.

“When’s your brother getting here?”

I turn my head to my right and open my eyes. Sarah Archer. Danika’s so called best friend and Cooper’s one night stand turned stalker towers over me with her hands on her hips. There’s nothing extraordinary about Sarah. Her moss-brown hair is pulled into a high ponytail. Her frame, while curvy, isn’t large by any means, but it isn’t small either. The only thing I can fathom that might have drawn Cooper in are her eyes. Grey with slivers of blue in them, just like our sister’s.

“Soon. He’s leaving after we eat.” It’s more information than she deserves, but I get it. Loving someone who doesn’t love you back is torture. Danika, she doesn’t love me. Probably never did. But I wholeheartedly love her.

“Ugggh,” Sarah groans, taking the lounge chair on the other side of me, the one meant for Danika. “That man is gonna be the death of me. Have you seen Dani?”

I shield my eyes with my hand, wishing I hadn’t lost my sunglasses yesterday. I should check with the front desk before we leave and see if anyone has turned them in. “She’s grabbing a drink at the bar.”

Sarah sits up and scans the crowd, a mix of beach goers, hotel guests, and lingering wedding party people. “How in the hell did you get her in a bathing suit?”

I chuckle. “I think the better question is, am I gonna get her out of it?”

Sarah rolls her eyes and leans back into the chair. She opens a magazine, flipping to some article I hope she’ll read so she can stop talking to me. “Fat chance she’ll never let you see her—”