I Hate Football Players 3 | 18+

Chapter 42: Ellie

"I need to tell you something," I confessed quietly.

The longer I stood and looked up at Logan, the more his gentle smile faded. I swallowed against a dryness that crept up the back of my throat that had nothing to do with how we awkwardly stood over the chicken section of the meat aisle, then coughed slightly.

Thankfully, he offered, "Let's finish shopping first, then we'll talk in private."

"Okay," I replied and sighed against the relief that came over me at that suggestion.

After the death glares I shot at Lydia upon every sight of her through the rest of the store, Logan started attracting attention himself. Shortly after we continued shopping, he was stopped by a few people, roughly one person every other aisle. He was asked over and over about Emmitt, the changes to the Huskies' offense, and of course congratulated on the game opener.

Logan replied to every question like a relaxed pro, including how he didn't know anything about Emmitt, which was an honest response because Charlie had only updated us this morning that he'd gone to an undisclosed Seattle hospital after the game. I more than happily stepped back and took pictures from people's phones when asked because that guaranteed I wasn't in them.

"Popular already." I chuckled after he posed for a few selfies with the people ahead of us in the grocery line. He only threw me a grin but, just like Logan, he was sincerely polite even if some of the pictures were weird like when he held up a pineapple.

A ridiculous amount of food purchased on Logan's Husky card later, his elbow brushed against my shoulder while we walked through the parking lot to where he'd parked his truck. While we walked in silence, I thought about Dr. Sterns' advice that I needed to go out with and connect with more people and why she felt that way.

She's not wrong... I've always been introverted.

Whenever I looked up at Logan though, an uncomfortable feeling of guilt took root in my stomach and I swallowed against the dryness that crept up the back of my throat.

He deserves to know... everything really.

I wasn't ready to completely open up on my past, why my distaste for Lydia went way past how she ridiculously flaunted herself all over Logan, but going forwards I agreed with him and wanted to be honest.

After I flashed Logan an appreciative smile for how he held the door open for me, I climbed up into the passenger's side and tracked his path around the hood.

"What?" He said as soon as his butt hit the driver's seat.

"What what?" I stalled and clipped on my seatbelt.

"What's going on in here?" He leaned over and gently tapped his index finger into my forehead.

My lower lip rolled inward, where I held it with my teeth for a moment. "You know how I asked you out for Friday?"

A crease line tensed between his eyebrows, but his tone was light and teasing. "Bailing on me already?"

"No, although you know you don't have to be obl-" I started when he put one finger over my mouth.

In my silence, he lifted his finger and shook his head slightly. His eyes flashed with an emotion that bordered irritation, but his lips flinched upwards into a smile. "Are you trying to get me to ask you out?"

"What? No," I assured him quickly. "I just wanted to say that during my talk with Dr. Sterns, she suggested that I go out, try to have some connections, with as many people as possible."

"So... You didn't want to go specifically with me?" Now his forehead was creased all over. "Or are you seeing anyone else, Ellie? I mean, if you are then -"