Page 32 of Yo Ho Ho
There were subdued cheers and congratulations from the crew in the back as Max took the envelope from Charlie's hand.
"I guess that lucky 13 finally paid off for you," Bob said from across the aisle.
"I guess so."
Charlie took a seat next to her and gave her a quick congratulations as the plane started to pull away. "You almost didn't get that, you know."
"Really?" Max asked.
"Just as the door was closing, Logan slipped on a pair of shades. You owe him."
Max laughed a little, trying to be polite as she quickly slipped the cash into her bag and looked out the window. She finally had something break in her favor, which was the first time that had happened in a while. Definitely the first time it had happened since she found out she was losing her job. But why did the deciding factor have to be Logan Moore?
Chapter 13
Max took another sip of her tea and stared down at the pool from her hotel room window. Her hair was still wet from her swim, her leggings and long-sleeve t-shirt cozy but not too cozy. There was something soothing about being able to swim outside at eight o'clock at night, especially when the weather was warm. Detroit couldn't even compete with the weather in Florida at this time of the year. There was just no comparison.
Max was thankful for a night like tonight. With so much craziness and stress in her life, she needed to have one calming night like this. No columns to worry about, no deadlines to hit, no hockey to watch and write about.
Of course by February, she would probably be desperate to write any kind of hockey story about any kind of hockey game. The season was always tough to get through, especially in the dead of winter, but it was still OK to be frustrated right now. It may be the last time she could experience something like that. It's why she had a swim and pulled on some comfortable clothes. She needed to do what she could to enjoy the last few weeks of her job.
The pool also allowed her to avoid people she didn't want to deal with: Hockey players — or at least one in particular. Some of the players and media guys had invited her to go drink in the hotel's bar with them, but she politely declined. She didn't want to be around them tonight. Max could go down another night, but just not this one. She couldn't handle the questions about how she was doing or if she had figured out what she was doing next. It was just too much for her right now.
She also couldn't handle Logan Moore. His comment to her in the parking lot yesterday still bothered her. Did he really need to remind her that she wouldn't have a job for much longer? And did he need to do it in such a demeaning way just to get a date?
Although Amanda was also right. She needed to take a chance and be happy in whatever way she could. But the problem was she had no idea what that happiness would look like. Would a new job make her happy? A new relationship? She didn't know. So maybe it was good that she was by herself in her own hotel room, looking out over Florida with some time to think about what was out there for her.
She kept coming up with different ideas, new things she could do or places she could go. But there was one constant in all of her thoughts: Logan Moore. Her mind would drift to a new job and she would think about how it would affect her relationship with Logan. She thought about maybe traveling somewhere like she always said she would and she could see Logan at all of those places with her. He had infected her mind and was inserting himself everywhere.
Her thoughts were broken by a knock on the door, and she checked the clock on her nightstand. It was just a little past nine o'clock — way too early for the guys to be back from the bar. Max set her mug down on the dresser and padded over in her bunny slippers to check the peephole and see who was on the other side.
Logan Moore. He really had begun to infect every part of her life.
Max opened the door slightly. "Logan."
"Hey, can you let me in?" he said quietly.
She shook her head. "That's not a good idea for so many reasons."
Logan looked down the hotel's hallway in both directions. "Max, there's no one around. Please just let me in."
He looked different. Gentle and open. Max was going to roll her eyes at him, tell him to go away, but there was something in his face that made her want to open the door for him. So she did.
Logan quietly slipped in and Max quickly closed the door behind him. She was able to really look at him now that he was standing tall in her hotel room. Black track pants with the Detroit Pirates logo that all the players owned. A black t-shirt that was tight across his chest and arms, making her wish she could run her hands over her body. A bucket of ice in one hand. She watched as Logan's eyes roamed down her tight leggings before landing on her slippers.
"I'm going to miss seeing those on the road," he said with a slight smile.
Max rolled her eyes and gave him an exasperated sigh. "What do you want?"
"I uh…" He shifted nervously on his feet, the ice bucket moving with him. "I know you said you like to work with a drink sometimes so I brought you some ice."
He actually remembered a conversation they had.
But she stood her ground. "I also said I never wanted to see you again."
A look of remorse crossed Logan's face. "Yeah, could we talk about that?"
Max closed her eyes and took a deep breath, her head falling slowly as she began to stare at the ugly hotel room carpet. She didn't want to talk about it. She didn't want to have this conversation with him again.
