Page 49 of This Is Love
24
JAXON
“I thinkRya is still riding high on earning the spot in the spring performance.” I grin at Logan, raising a brow.
We’ve just settled back into the hotel room we’ll share again tonight. I won’t deny it, I got a sick sense of satisfaction when Coach threw Logan and me together again for this set of away games. Who knows what the old guy thinks of the shift that’s happened between the two of us in recent weeks. He probably assumes the canyon we’ve bridged is all thanks to his “disciplinary” tactics. Hell, maybe I’ll even throw his surly ass a bone and admit forcing us together is where itstarted. But I don’t think he can claim credit for the current state of us. It’s more owed to getting past the misunderstandings, the discovery of our terrifyingly hot chemistry, and the girl who’s been right there for us through all of it.
Logan chuckles softly from behind his laptop. “Yeah, she’s always been like that, though. It’s kinda like she doesn’t see how good she is. She plays the comparison game way too often. But maybe this will be a good step toward her being able to accept her talent for what it is. Anyway, based on how she could hardly sit still to talk to us, I’d say yeah, she’s very happy and excited.”
“Agreed.” I tip the bottle of water I’ve been downing to my lips again. “I’m just glad she wasn’t derailed by any of the shitty things that happened leading up to the audition. That would have been a shame. When we get back to campus, we should sit down with her and look at this clusterfuck from all angles.” At Logan’s nod of agreement, I grab a pair of joggers from my bag and begin to strip on my way to the bathroom.
Pausing at the door, I hold up a hand to get his attention. “Hey, what was that about Hazel and notes? I kinda lost the plot when she butted in.”
Logan rolls his eyes. “That girl, I swear. She swapped into my math class. Apparently she bit off more than she could chew with the one she registered for and was close to failing and wigging out about it.” He makes a yikes face. “Anyway, I told her she could borrow my notes, then forgot about it until she texted me. And of course, I didn’t even get the message until we were done with the game today. Shit, I should snap some pics of them now and get that off my plate.” With an obviously frustrated shake of his head, he twists around to grab a notebook out of his backpack.
“If I didn’t know better, I’d say that girl has a thing for you.” Pitching his voice to sound like our girl’s roommate, he gushes, “‘Thanks so much, Logan, I’ll pay you back somehow.Promise.’”
“Shut the fuck up.”
The laugh I’d been trying to stifle bursts from me, and I wink at him. “I’m just messing with you.” He shoots me a disgusted look as I jut my chin toward the bathroom. “Be out in a few. Now that we’re both done pitching for the week, we can relax tonight. Watch a movie or something.”
“Yeah, cool.” Logan’s head bobs as he snaps a few photos of his notes before pointing at the screen before him. “I’m just going to send these, then finish up the essay for my English class. Shouldn’t take me long.”
I make quick work of cleaning up, then dry off and tug on my clothes before picking up my phone. The banking app on my home screen taunts me. Mom added me as a user on her account when I turned eighteen so I could help her pay bills and stuff when she wasn’t feeling well. I’ve been watching it carefully this week, waiting for the first installment of money to be withdrawn for the payment plan I set up with the hospital.
But… there’s nothing.What the hell? It’s seriously not what I need right now because if that money comes out when I’m not expecting it, I’m bound to have trouble paying rent or buying groceries and meds for Mom. My molars grind, and I shake my head, disgusted, as I yank the bathroom door open, letting the steam pour out. Grumbling under my breath, I sit down on the end of the bed, propping one elbow against my thigh while I continue to stare at my phone. With the other hand, I rake through my damp hair.
In my peripheral vision, I can tell Logan is watching me. He slowly closes his laptop. “What’s going on?”
I work my jaw to the side, scanning back through transactions to make sure I don’t see the payment earlier than it was expected to come out. But it’s not there. And it’s not pending either.Fuck. What the hell am I going to do if this wreaks havoc on our finances, the way I know it has the potential to?
Logan’s weight depresses the mattress beside me as he sits down. “Everything okay?”
I’m so used to not telling him shit, it takes me a second. “Um. I set up a payment plan for the medical bill from Mom’s last hospital stay. When I was there, I swear the woman who helped me said it would come out yesterday. But it hasn’t.” I toss my phone to the side. “It’s just one more thing to keep track of and worry about.”
Logan rubs his hands over his face. “Yeah. You don’t need that.” On a heavy breath, he gets up from his perch and turns toface me. “Uh. I’ve gotta tell you something, but—” His jaw snaps shut as he studies me. After a moment of consideration, he huffs out a sardonic laugh. “I doubt you’re going to like it, seeing as how you reacted to me paying for the car repairs.”
My brows furrow sharply together, and my ears buzz so hard I can’t be sure I heard him right. “Wait, what?”He didn’t. No. Tell me he didn’t.
The easy smile that has been present more and more lately on my stepbrother’s lips is gone as he lets air hiss from between his clenched teeth. “I kinda took care of it that day at the hospital. I overheard you asking if they could split it into payments over six months.”
I stare into twin pools of blue that watch me so carefully, it’s almost uncomfortable. A month ago, it would’ve sent me off the fucking deep end. Blinking, I shake my head. “You didn’t.” The words burst from me, flat in tone because I’m so used to responding from a place of pride. Since my own father doesn’t think we’re good enough to help, I’ve needed to show him it didn’t fucking matter. We can manage on our own, my mother and I.
Drawing in a deep breath, he nods. “’Fraid so.”
I shoot to my feet. “Why would you do that? You didn’t need to.”
Logan’s chest jerks, and he looks at me in a way he never has before—like he actually fucking cares. And then, he follows it up with words that tell me exactly that. “I did it so you wouldn’t have to worry about it.”
My lip curls, fighting my gut reaction that would have me starting an argument with him over it. “You should have told me you did that,” I mumble after a moment, my cheeks flushing hot when it hits me that all I want to do is fucking yank him against me and hold on tight.
“I was planning to.” He winces. “I hadn’t gotten around to it yet because I was worried about whether you’d be capable of accepting it at all without a fight.” His tongue slips out to dampen his lip as he eyes me. “But dammit, Jax, I knew you’d have less weighing on you if I just took care of it.”
I huff out a breath, eyes piercing his. “Fucked if you don’t know me better than I know myself sometimes.” I shake my head in disbelief. He did this. For me. Before things were even close to right between us. That alone has the ice around my heart melting into a puddle at my feet. My lips twitch. “Have you ever minded your own business in your entire life?”
“I can’t,” he rasps, maintaining our eye contact as he runs his hand over his jawline.
“You can’t, huh?” I throw my arms out from the sides before stepping close. My breathing is erratic and rough, and his is much the same. A growl works its way up my throat. “And why the fucknot?” I’m well aware I’m using the same tactics that were meant to scare him in the past—only now, they’re more of a test. To make sure I can trust him. I’ve only been able to rely on myself for so long…
