XPLR | Colby Brock

~123~

I brushed through my short hair, not that it was very tangled, but more to tame down the frizz I woke up with. I'm thankful that my hair no longer calls for much work. 

I pulled half of my hair up, and I pinned it in place with two bobby pins in an 'x' behind my head. A little strand of hair at the front of my face was too short to be pinned back, so I let it rest into my face. There was a knock at my door. I glanced at the clock. It's only 10:45, but I'm pretty much ready. Logan is here early. 

I walked towards the door, and I opened it. To my surprise, Logan was actually dressed up a bit. "Hey," he said, smiling at me, and I caught his eyes quickly dart up and down my body. I was wearing a dress, but the skirt went down to my calves. 

"Think you'll be warm enough?" he asked as he followed me inside. He's been to my apartment almost everyday since I moved in. Considering the rest of Juilliard is out on Christmas Break, I am too. My classes start January 3rd, and I've had so much time on my hands. Most of the touristy things to do in New York are closed since it's so cold outside. So I've just been sleeping in, practicing, and letting Logan take me to random holes in New York. 

He plopped down on my freshly made bed, and I sat down at my brand new vanity next to my mirror. I found that, and a little bit of flirting with an old man got me the vanity for cheap. So now I have somewhere to keep all my makeup. 

"Why do you have so much makeup?" Logan had asked as he unpacked one of my boxes that said "makeup". "Me and my old friend in LA kind of made it our hobby together. To get better makeup. I was always better at it, though." 

I thought back to Elena. I wonder what she's doing now. I wonder who she's sleeping with now. 

No, Rose. I thought. I shouldn't remember only the bad things that happened. For so long, Elena was my best friend. Elena was my sister, I loved her. No, I love her. If she was in a crisis, and she needed me, then I would help her. Well, maybe not send her five thousand dollars, kind of help, but I'd let her crash at my place until she could get back on her feet. 

I never wanted to let Colby get between us. In the beginning, God, what feels so long ago, I promised myself I wouldn't. But here I am now, on Christmas Eve, in New York City, putting the finishing touches on my look to meet my friend of one month's family. 

"Will you be ready to go yet?" he asked. I glanced at him in the mirror, I forgot he was here for a moment. He had been watching me finish my makeup, adding mascara here and there. "I'm ready," I said, picking up my coat from the chair I was sitting in, the only chair in my apartment. I slipped it on and walked towards the door, where the shoes I was going to wear sat. 

Logan opened the door for me and I walked out. "Don't tell me you're nervous," he said. "I'm not nervous," I said, looking over my shoulder at him as we walked towards the stairs. "I don't think that you'll be saying that once we get to the door." 

"I have no reason to be nervous, it's not like I have to impress them or anything. You're not my boyfriend," I said. I said it a bit menacingly. Logan didn't flinch, in fact, I think he liked that I had a temper. I never used to have a temper, I grew up with an alcoholic, that kind of thing forces you to take a submissive personality, but I think the geography change brought on an onslaught of different emotions. 

Most of them are a bit angry. 

A lot of them are angry, actually. 

But I don't have to worry about this new confidence and new fire in my soul. 

Logan once said it makes me hot. That made me feel good. 

"Would you have been nervous to meet Colby's family?" he asked, trotting down the stairs of my building and out onto the street as if he hadn't a care in the world. As if that question didn't strike a chord in me. 

Colby was confident, but he wasn't cocky confident like Logan is. I like Logan's cocky confidence. It's attractive. Logan knows it too, and it mixes into his aesthetic. He's carefree, but he always knows exactly what he's doing. 

"I was going to marry Colby, you know," I said, "I'd been dating him for six months, of course I was nervous to meet his family. I wore a promise ring from him." 

Logan snickered. I stared at him for a moment. "I loved him, Logan," I said, and there were undertones of hurt in my voice. "Why did you guys break up?" 

"You know why," I muttered. I didn't know why he was acting like this. "I do know why," he said. He pulled me into him, wrapping his arm around me, which was a normal occurrence now. "I'm sorry he did that to you, love," he said. I rolled my eyes and shook his arm off of me. "Not funny. It really hurt me," I said. "Who said I was trying to be funny?" he asked. 

But I knew what his next prod was going to be, if he hadn't heard the hurt in my voice. 

Do you ever wonder if that was the only time he cheated on you during your relationship?