Page 10 of This Is Love
Logan rolls his eyes, then shakes his head for good measure. “Knock it off, Jaxon.”
I raise both hands. “Easy there, bro. I didn’t mean anything by it.”
Rya’s gaze ping-pongs between us. She’s caught in the cross fire. I shut my eyes for a brief second. The girl I’m falling for doesn’t deserve that. Definitely not tonight. Not ever, really.
Closing the distance to her, I bend at the waist and tip her chin up with a few fingers. In my peripheral vision, a steady pair of unrelenting blue eyes watch every move I make. Ignoring Logan, I murmur quietly, “I’m just messing around. You’re calling the shots. Every fucking one. You tell us what you need.Nobody else’s opinion matters.” And I really do mean it. Even if it surprises the fuck out of me. I pause, then wink at her, briefly cupping her cheek. “Got it?”
Rya releases a deep sigh. “Yeah. Thanks.”
Clearing my throat, I note that a phone on the table is vibrating with incoming notifications. “This yours, pretty girl? Someone’s texting you.”
Logan arches a brow, watching as I pick it up. “Um, yeah. Jennifer said it was in her pocket. She took it out when she helped Rya put on the hospital gown.”
“You want it?” I hold it out to her.
Rya shakes her head, then on a long exhale, rubs her hands over her face. “Could you read them for me?”
“Yeah, if that’s what you want.” I hold the phone in front of her face, and it unlocks, so I proceed to open the messages. My lips twitch as I glance over some of the texts. “It’s our favorite tipsy troublemaker.”
Rya gives me a semi-amused smile. “What is she even doing awake?”
I shrug. Raising my voice by an octave, I give my best Hazel impression as I read, hoping to make her laugh. “Ryaaaaaaa. OMG, I’m so hungover. Where are you? Still out? Or just not here? Maybe you’re barfing again. I puked, too. Send me the Bat-Signal, and I’ll rescue you. Do you need anything? Girl, answer me!”
While I’m holding the phone, what I hope is the last of the texts comes in. Becauseoof, this is a little like taking a look inside Hazel’s head, and I’m finding it a fucking terrifying place to be. This final message, though… no way am I reading it aloud. In fact, I stare rather woodenly at it.
When’s your walk of shame happening?
Maybe it’s a weird roommate thing. I dunno. Raking a hand through my hair, I mutter, “The fuck, Hazel.” I look up after grinding my teeth. “You don’t need to hear the rest. She’s being an idiot.”
Rya eyes me warily.
In the time that I’ve refused to continue, Logan has gotten up from the bed and comes in close, peering over my shoulder. “Damn. I, uh… I think she’s still feeling the effects of her night. She’s clueless you’ve had any trouble.”
I roll my eyes. “You mean she’s still drunk off her ass?”
Chewing on my bottom lip, I debate deleting the texts for good so Rya doesn’t need to bother with them when her phone buzzes yet again.
Hey, what are you doing with your winnings?
Uh. Well, this is fun. I glance at Logan. Hopefully, we can contain this to their visit to the closet and not bring up ours. “She wants to know what you’re doing with your cash from Tri-Beta.”
Rya blinks at me. “Money?”
Logan sighs, scooting over to where he can grab one of the two cups of coffee, then blows into the hole in the lid. “From Seven Minutes in Hell. You got it for kissing Hazel in the closet. Jaxon mentioned it earlier when he was trying to be funny.”
“Right.” Her mouth drops open, and I see it in her eyes. She really doesn’t fucking remember. “I mean… since my phone was in my pocket, is the cash there, too? Where are my clothes?”
Pointing to a medium-size plastic bag on the counter across the room, I ask, “Do you want me to check the pockets?”
“Yes. And since everyone remembers all the fun and I don’t, I think it’s only fair to know more about what shenanigans went down during the rest of their dumb game. Besides, maybeit’ll distract me from everything.” She grimaces, wiping what I assume are sweaty palms on the sheet covering her thighs.
But… there’s no time for distraction, because a moment later, there’s a tap on the door, and all three of us freeze in place as Dr. Murphy pokes her head into the room, Nurse Charlie standing right behind her. “Rya? Are you ready?”
“Um. Y-yes.” She draws in a deep, shuddering breath. I don’t think I’m seeing things—her slim body has begun to quake. My heart plummets into my gut at the distress that has made its way back onto her face.
Logan takes her hand, and Rya grabs onto him like he’s her lifeline. Something in me shifts. I may be dangerously close to caring too much for this girl, but I’m also agitated it’s not me she reached for. I continue to watch them, even though it’s like putting burning pokers straight into my eyeballs.
Leaning in close, he whispers something in her ear. She pauses a moment, her gaze flicking to his as she takes in whatever he said. The worry in his eyes is palpable as he plants a kiss on her temple. “I’ll be here when it’s over.” His voice is low and gritty, scraping over my heart in a way I wasn’t ready for.Fuck. I close my eyes, hoping it’ll block out the twinge of sympathy I feel for the pair of them. With what appears to be a mixture of reluctance and great difficulty, Logan steps away from her. “Someone will come get me if she needs me?”
