Of Love & Regret (Madison & Logan 1)

Chapter Twelve

The next couple of weeks were amazing. Logan and I spent as much time together as possible, though sometimes it was difficult because of his heavy workload. On the nights that he had to work late, he came over afterwards, and we shared late dinners and spent the rest of the night in bed. We were insatiable when it came to our desires, as if we were working through all the pent up sexual tension that had built up between us throughout the past few years.

On the days that Logan was able to get out of work at a decent hour, we were like a newly dating couple, which I guess we were despite having spent a lot of time together already as friends. Simple things, such as going out to dinner and a movie, took on a whole new light now that we were a couple. The weekends were the best when we had two whole days together, and I spent both days at Logan’s place. I realized how quickly we were moving and that we were spending practically every minute together, but I didn’t question it. We had a lot of wasted time to make up for. We hadn’t really given our status much discussion beyond that Sunday night when we had first slept together, but it was understood that we were seeing each other exclusively, and I was happy with that.

The only moments I wavered were when thoughts of Cassie crept into my head, but I pushed those aside as quickly as possible. The past was over, and I could only concentrate on the present.

I had given Emily the full report about my refusal of Adam’s proposal, as well as what was happening between Logan and me. She had been nothing but supportive, even knowing the truth about our past, and I was relieved that she didn’t think less of me.

I checked my watch on a late Tuesday afternoon after having spent the entire day working on my latest article. It was almost five o’clock, and I decided I had gotten enough writing done for today. I saved my work before putting my computer on sleep mode. Logan was working late, so I decided have a snack to tide me over so that we could eat dinner together later.

I was standing in front of my open refrigerator debating my choices when the buzzer to the entrance of my building sounded. I frowned as I walked over to the intercom; I wasn’t expecting anyone.

“Hello?” I said into the speaker.

“It’s me. Let me up.”

I froze, shocked by the unexpected sound of Adam’s voice. It had been a little over two weeks since I had turned down his proposal, and I hadn’t heard from him since then. The last thing I expected was for him to show up at my apartment unannounced.

“What are you doing here, Adam?”

“I need to talk to you. Please just let me in.”

I hesitated. I wanted to ignore him, but this wasn’t someone I had just gone on a few dates with. Adam and I had been together for three years, and I felt obligated to hear out whatever he had to say.

I sighed in resignation as I buzzed the front entrance open and waited for him to reach my apartment. It was taking longer than expected, so I opened my door and peered out. I could hear him climbing the stairs, although it sounded like it was taking more effort than it should have. When I finally saw him walking up the last flight of stairs to my floor, I understood why it was taking so long. He had sounded normal enough through the intercom, but I could tell that he was more than a little drunk by his staggering movements.

“Are you okay?” I asked, concerned. It wasn’t like Adam to get drunk.

“Yeah, I’m fine,” he said when he reached the door to my apartment. I could smell the alcohol on his breath, and his eyes were bloodshot, but I was surprised by how steady his voice sounded. He didn’t slur his words at all, and if it hadn’t been for his appearance, I would have thought he was perfectly sober.

He pushed past me into the apartment, and I didn’t protest. Maybe I could get a few cups of coffee in him and send him on his way.

He half-stumbled his way into the living room, bumping into the coffee table before he collapsed on the couch.

“You’ve been drinking,” I said matter-of-factly, not wanting to sound accusatory. After all, I had been the one to hurt him. I couldn’t blame him for drowning his sorrows, especially since I had done the same thing a few times lately.

Adam shrugged. “Just a little happy hour celebration. It’s no big deal.”

“Let me make you some coffee.” I turned to go into the kitchen, but his voice stopped me.

“No. We need to talk.”

This was what I had been dreading since I had heard his voice on the intercom. He had taken our breakup and my refusal of his proposal pretty well, but now it seemed he was back to hash it out. This was the last thing I wanted. I also didn’t want him to have any idea that Logan and I were together now, because that would make him think that I had been cheating on him before we broke up. Emotionally, I wasn’t sure he was entirely wrong. And I had kissed Logan while Adam and I were still together.

“Okay,” I said as I took a seat on the couch, making sure to leave plenty of room between us. “What do you want to talk about?”

“Us. I think we should give our relationship another shot.”

Crap. I did not want to deal with this today. I took a deep breath before replying.

“Adam, I’m sorry that our breakup was a surprise to you, but I know it was the right thing to do. I really don’t think there’s anything more to discuss. Our relationship is over.”

He didn’t reply, and stared straight ahead, looking glum. Seconds stretched into minutes as we sat there in silence. I tried to think of a way to get him out of my apartment as quickly as possible.

I was about to suggest that we go to a coffee shop down the street when he whipped his head towards me. I was taken aback by the anger I saw on his face.

“You’ve gotta be fucking kidding me.”