Ella
By the time I awoke, the morning light was streaming in through the window. I yawned, scrunching up my eyes against the light; I wasn’t in my bed. The air still smelled faintly of popcorn, and I was thirsty from the alcohol. What happened?Then, suddenly, I remembered.Logan.I had fallen asleep on the couch next to him, our bodies close. My cheeks instantly flushed red, and I jolted slightly as I lifted my head to see that he was asleep right beside me. His back was turned to me on the large sectional sofa, but I could still feel his warmth, and we were sharing the same blanket.Before I could get up and get my bearings, Logan began to stir. He rolled over onto his back, his eyes blinking open. And then his gaze met mine.The events of last night crashed over me like a tidal wave. The movie, the popcorn, the accidental exhaustion—it all went directly against what I had promised myself. I had allowed myself to cross a line I had drawn in the sand, a line meantElla The days blurred into a seamless routine, a pattern that was never meant to last, or so I tried to convince myself. Logan’s visits to my small apartment became more frequent, and with each passing day, the line between our fake relationship and something that felt strangely real began to blur. He would arrive in the evenings, an unspoken agreement between us that his presence should be temporary. But the evenings turned into nights, and Log
Ella Once again, we slipped into another comfortable pattern. Logan’s presence in my bed became familiar, our boundaries remaining firm. But there was something else, too: Logan slipped out of the bed and disappeared at least once a week, only to reappear come morning. One evening, as I was laying there staring up at the ceiling and wondering where he went this time, I heard the front door quietly click open.
Ella Logan froze when the living room light flicked on like a deer that had just been caught in headlights. The room was silent for what felt like an eternity, the space between us stretching into miles. I felt like I was still reeling, my heart pounding relentlessly in my chest. But somehow I managed to keep my cool and hold my shoulders straight as we stared at each other. “Uh… hey,” he said, straightening, still in the midst of shrugging his
Ella “Do you really want to know, Ella?” Logan asked, his voice low and husky. “My deepest, darkest secret?” Something about the teasing tone hiding in Logan’s voice gave me pause. I took a step back, slipping out from between his body and the wall where I was sandwiched.
Ella Logan began to drive down the street, the silence between us punctuated only by the sound of the engine and the static of the radio. Ema was quiet now, satisfied by her actions. But I couldn’t be mad at her; in a way, I was also secretly excited to uncover whatever ‘secret’ Logan was hiding from me. “So,” I began, a weak attempt at nonchalance, “is this the part where you blindfold me and take me to your secret lair or s
Ella The scent of rubber and gasoline was thick in the air, familiar and yet so foreign in this new context. Logan, noticing my trepidation, gestured for me to follow. We headed into a more private area behind the garage, where there were fewer prying eyes. “You okay?” he asked, his voice lowering.
Ella My eyes followed Logan as he wandered around his humming race car. It was a sleek black model with dark red stripes along the sides to match his suit, and the number ‘six’ painted in white on the hood. I stood off to the side, watching, still in shock from everything. Suddenly, a shadow towered over me, and I turned to see the man from earlier in his orange coveralls. He was wiping his hands on a rag, eyeing me with a so
Logan I was strapped tightly into the driver’s seat of my trusty racecar, the leather of the seat and the nylon of the thick safety straps hugging me tightly all around. The hum of the car engines at the starting line mingled with the sound of the crowd and the announcer, but my eyes were only on Ella. She was standing down by the rail right next to the track, leaning on the cool metal. Her hair was blowing slightly in the wi