“If I don’t come back in 10 minutes… don’t eat my lasagne.”
Logan snorted, “Just go.”
He watched Alex’s back disappear. When a man passed her by, he realized again how slim she was. He shook his head. If he had been tempted to eat the lasagne before, that idea vanished from his mind. The girl clearly needed to eat more.
He looked over the menu again. Maybe he could order more food. Alex could take home the leftovers. He hoped to make the best out of this time since he almost lost his head. Emily didn’t exactly make it easy for him to ask permission.
“Why would I give up my Friday afternoon with Alex for you?” She glared at him.
Emily had one hand on her hip. Saturday afternoon, she’d be on the flight back to her home. She and Alex agreed to have a date before that happened. Thursday was a good choice since they’d still have Friday in case something came up.
Something did come up and now someone wanted to take up their backup choice?
During the meeting, Logan followed her out when she excused herself to the restroom. He waited outside for her to finish. Most of the school had closed. The staff room was the only one left open. A few janitors roamed, finishing the clean up.
“I don’t have practice tomorrow and I want to take her out,” he explained. His hands itched to clap together in prayer.
Emily shook her head, pressing her lips together, “Why can’t you take her out on Saturday instead?”
“You think I can kidnap her from your aunt’s house?”
“You can stay in. It’s not like you’ve never trespassed before” she snorted.
“But I want to take her out. Not stay inside.”
Emily bit her inner cheek. Her own desires conflicted with one another. At one side, she wanted to hang out with Alex too. On the other, she wanted to sail her ship. A change of environment might just help broaden her cousin’s perspective a bit.
Alex might think it was nothing but a date was a date.
“Fine” Emily huffed reluctantly. Then, she pointed a finger at Logan’s jawline, “But you owe me for this. If I ever have an emergency, you don’t have the right to reject me when I ask for your help.”
“As long as you don’t interrupt my date then, I’m up for it.”
Logan chuckled from the memory. Emily’s surprised face when he used the word, ‘date’, embossed in his head. Her demeanor completely changed. She even suggested a few activities. He rejected most of them and settled with eating out.
Although, he did place them at the back of his mind for future reference.
“What has your mind so rattled?” A quiet giggle asked next to him.
Logan’s eyes were on the side dish part of the menu. He debated between the fries and the cheese sticks. He considered getting both of them too. He opened his mouth, an answer ready at his lips. When he looked up, his reply had been replaced by one word.
“Skye.”
His ex-girlfriend wore a black fitted sweater and pants of the same color. It matched her hair and her eyes. The invasion of dark colors made her fair skin stand out. A pink lip gloss on her lips, she unveiled her teeth, “It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Logan?”
She had one hand behind her back, holding her other arm. Her gaze darted towards the ground. Logan had grown even more handsome than the last time she saw him. He had built up his muscles. What pleased her to see were his eyes.
They remained the same emerald green she loved.
“I don’t think I really want to see you right now” he replied softly. He turned his head away from her, avoiding her stare.
Logan’s mind had gone blank. He hadn’t seen her for 3 years. She hadn’t changed much in appearance. The same innocent baby face stared at him. He couldn’t remember the last time she came across his mind.
There had been times when she did whenever Jae reminded Logan of it. Not necessarily that his twin said or did something intentionally. Jae had tried several times to reconnect with him. Each one, he refused. In those moments, his walls would crop up and he would remember it.
He didn’t want his twin to be entangled in some parts of his life ever since.
Those walls gradually slimmed down during the weekend. Having seen what he had done for Alex and what the weekend had shown him, Logan realized how much he missed his twin.
The last thing he wanted was for that gap to reopen.
Skye sat across from him, trying to get his attention, “I would have but… Logan, you aren’t a stranger to me. I couldn’t just ignore you. I know today must be hard on you.”
She reached to touch his hand. Logan pulled it back and hid both under the table. He looked at the window, watching the cars rolled by. His brain couldn’t keep up with what was happening.
He sneaked a peek.
He regretted it.
Those pleading eyes looked eerily familiar. It was probably the last thing he saw before they broke up. His resolve almost wavered back then. A part of him felt the guilt for seeing her get hurt before his eyes and by his words. It was a feeling he buried under layers of dirt.
Yet, they weren’t strong enough to suppress it.
Logan wiped a hand on his face, pressing down on his chin hard, “Is there any other reason why you wanted to talk to me?”
“I missed you.”
…
…
…
He remained silent, unable to share the same sentiment.
Logan wondered when that changed. If it had been a few years ago, he would have said the same thing. His weary heart would have welcomed her with open arms. Even if they couldn’t go back to what they were before, he’d want her to stay in his life somehow.
It seemed that time was a marvelous phenomenon.
“Logan, I—”
The sound of Alex’s voice snapped him out of his thoughts. She slowed to a stop, gazing at the other side of the booth. He watched her eyebrows raise in surprise. Then, her eyes squinted a little. She must have sensed the atmosphere.
Skye ignored the tension and smiled casually, “Why hello! And who might you be?”
Alex nodded her head towards Logan, “I’m a fr—”
“He’s a schoolmate of mine,” he interrupted her. Confused gray eyes glanced at him. They were back to their hooded state. The expression she used around strangers. Logan slid over the booth and gestured a hand towards the other side, “This is Skye. She was in my middle school class.”
Alex sat down on his side of the booth, directly across from Skye. The seat was still warm.
“It’s so nice to meet you!” She giggled, offering a handshake, “If you don’t mind, I’d like to hear stories about Logan in high school. He had quite the temper back then and got in so much trouble. The only reason that he wasn’t kicked were his grades.”
Alex licked her lips. She lifted a hand and accepted the shake, “I’m sorry. I haven’t known Logan for long. Maybe that’s why I haven’t heard of you from him.”
She dropped her hand, tucking it back into her hoodie. Her back slouched against the backrest of the bench. She sucked the corner of her lip inwards and stared at the table. Her fingers dug into her palm. She almost slipped back there.
She needed to keep in mind that she shouldn’t know this person.
At least, not as Alex.
Logan gathered his bearings upon seeing Alex’s dismissal. He wasn’t sure what to make of it. Her words seemed to have an implication but he couldn’t be sure on what it might be. He cleared his throat and looked at Skye.
He generally didn’t like to be rude but he also didn’t want this date to change its plans.
“I’m sorry to cut his reunion short” he began to say, “But we’re kind of in the middle of a bro-to-bro time.”
Alex lifted her chin. She turned her head for him to see her raised eyebrow, “Bro-to-bro time?”
“Can’t really think of a phrase where people wouldn’t think I’m gay.”
“Are you sure that’s the only thing that would make them think that?”
“Excuse me” a waitress cut in. She held a tray in one hand and a glass of soda in the other, “Who ordered the root beer with Sprite?”
“That would be me. Thank you” Alex smiled up at her.
The waitress set down her drink and grabbed another glass. Looking at the remaining people at the table, she raised her eyebrows, “The Pepsi?”
“Oh, that’s his” Skye pointed to Logan, chuckling, “You still order the same drink?”
“I wouldn’t say that,” Alex said. She stirred the ice inside the glass, “Last time, he had a milkshake.”
The moist in the air turned frosty. The temperature dropped several degrees around the booth. A knife could cut through the ice and it would regenerate.
“Was it chocolate? He is a chocoholic.”
“It was. We also asked for a spoonful of brewed coffee to be mixed in. The caffeine just brought out the chocolate flavor. We might try a mocha one next time.”
Skye bit her tongue. The moment was just too precious. Her presence clearly bothered Alex. She didn’t mind her snarky replies. It just made things a bit more interesting. The entertainment was worth it.
