The Risk

by Ford, Mia

  “I like this place.” Holly murmured as she looked up at me

  “This is me, Holly. I might play for the big leagues, but I like simple food and a relatively simple life. I treat my parents the best with my money and I have a nice house. Not a mansion but a good place. I want to take you there.” I told her as she pressed her lips together.

  “I want to see it. It’s near your parents?” She asked as I nodded. She could come on the weekends when I played at home. It would be perfect.

  “At least it’s just a few towns away. Not far for a weekend.” I shrugged as she glanced up at Nora. She set two big plastic cups of tea and winked at me before turning away.

  “I know. This is so much to take in.” Holly reminded me as I stroked her hair.

  “No rush. This is perfect for now.” My voice was low, and her eyes locked with mine before I leaned down to kiss her. She breathed in as our lips met, feeling the same heat that I did.

  We talked over the meal and got more in detail of Holly’s life. She didn’t grow up with a lot of warmth, but her parents were involved. They weren’t like my own and Holly expressed that she didn’t feel like she needed me to meet them. By going to college away from her home town, she was slowly creating space between them.

  Meeting Shelly had been a blessing. My sister was warm and loving and seemed to bring Holly out of her shy shell. She wasn’t the social butterfly that Shelly was but admitted that she might hide inside of her dorm if she lived with anyone else. I asked her if she’d met any guys there and she looked up at me with a questioning expression.

  “I know that you’re in college and gorgeous. I get that guys ask you out and perhaps even women.” Holly giggled.

  “I guess there were some that were headed there but it’s not my jam. I had a serious boyfriend in high school and when we broke up, I just wanted to focus on school. It hurt even though we weren’t planning on a future.” I nodded, playing with her hair. “Looking back, it was nothing like the way I feel about you.”

  “How do you feel about me?” I asked as she blushed.

  “I knew that you were good-looking from the start. Shelly talked about you and I’d seen games and pictures. I’m not blind.” I nodded, leaning close as I latched on to every word. “When I went to that game, you took me off guard.”

  “I agree with that,” I told her as Nora brought out our plates. We dug into the food and Holly told me how much she loved everything. I was impressed that she finished her plate and complimented her as she laughed at me.

  “I love greasy dive food. What can I say?” Holly raised her hands as I pulled some money out of my wallet. I paid Nora, giving her a healthy tip before walking back outside with Holly. We made our way slowly back to the hotel, passing some shops and bars along the way. I was still holding her hand as we laughed at something, my face turned down, so I wouldn’t be recognized.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Holly

  The night was magical. I loved the dinner and walking around with Logan as he tried to hide his identity. I knew that we couldn’t ever go out without that possibility, but I was settling into the idea slowly.

  My heart sank as I heard someone calling his name. Logan frowned and turned around as a group of people rushed him. I jumped back as he held his hands up, trying to get them away from us.

  Fans told him how good he’d played recently and that they loved him. There was a higher number of girls asking for autographs and pictures. They were bold about it, their eyes flirting and hungry as they looked him over. When he agreed to sign something, a brunette slipped her skimpy tank top down to offer the pale skin of her breast as I gasped. You could practically see her nipple and by the way she was looking at Logan, she was familiar with him.

  “Bonnie, not there. Do you have anything else?” Logan stammered as she smiled knowingly at him.

  “It’s nothing you haven’t seen before,” Bonnie reminded him as Logan glanced at me. He still refused, moving on to other fans and whatever napkins or slips of paper they had. He took a few pictures, but I’d walked away to sit down on a bench. The look in his eyes told me that he had slept with that girl. I had no idea when but jealousy was flaring deep inside of my stomach at the idea. She was pretty and older than I was, possessing a confidence that I could only dream of growing into. I watched as she kept talking to him, pressing closer as the others finished with Logan and moved away. He took a reluctant picture with her as she wrapped herself around him with a sexy smile on her face.

  By the time he was finished and walking towards me, I stood and moved ahead of Logan to get back to the hotel. I needed my car keys and to get back to the dorm. The way he talked about his life was nowhere near as threatening as the reality of it. I wasn’t ready to feel this way every time we were out. I didn’t understand how any of the women did it.

  “Holly,” Logan called out behind me, taking long strides to catch up to me. He took my arm and turned me to face him, pushing back into a dark corner of a building. “Wait a minute before you run.”

  “I want to go back to the dorm, Logan. I’ve seen enough,” I insisted as he pressed his body into mine.

  “I warned you for a reason, Holly. It’s a brutal part of my life.” His eyes were locked on mine. “Did I do anything indecent back there?”

  He had a point and pressed closer to me.

  “No,” I said softly before his lips claimed mine. He kissed me hard as I fought the urge to give it right back to him. I had no willpower and moved into his arms, kissing him hungrily as we moaned.

  “Come back to the hotel with me,” Logan begged me as I clawed at his hair. “I don’t want to do this here for the world to see, Holly.”

  We both rushed down the street and into the lobby. I hated myself for being so weak yet threw myself towards Logan when we were in our room. I couldn’t get enough of his mouth and wrapped myself around him as he carried me to the couch, trying not to imagine Bonnie doing the same thing. Logan dropped me to the cushions and slipped my jeans down, stripping me of my underwear in the process. I moaned as his mouth covered me, feeling him tracing my pussy with his tongue.

  All hope for pulling away was lost as he licked and sucked, making me a slave to his mouth. Logan was good at this, all of this. He made me feel things I never thought that I’d feel. I gripped his hair and pulled him closer, feeling his strong arms spread my legs further apart. I moaned as he worked me, putting the incident on the street out of my mind.

  “Logan,” I groaned as the pressure built inside of me. “Oh, God. Logan!” I came as he locked his mouth over me, sucking in my juices. He pulled away as I finally settled down, gasping his name.

  “Bend over the couch, Holly. I want to show you how much I want you.” Logan growled as I stared at him. He was showing a new side of himself and I turned weakly, pressing my clothed breasts against the cushions. Logan slipped inside of me with one thrust, making my sensitive skin tingle as well as throb. We’d been doing this a lot lately and my body had never ached this way. I drove back against him despite all that, needing more.

  We fucked hard until we both came, and I dropped forward, breathing deeply. Logan moved to the couch beside me and I closed my eyes.

  “What was that?” I whispered as he brushed his fingers against me.

  “That’s me. That is one of the ways I want to show you who I am. Only you,” Logan said as I turned to look at him. “What happened tonight will probably happen again. The fans are crazy. It doesn’t mean a thing to me, Holly. I swear.”

  “Bonnie?” I asked as he sighed.

  “I slept with her recently. It was just the night but clearly a mistake. I have to handle it with as much class as I can since I’m a public figure. She was blatant about it and I hated that, but I can’t come off as an asshole to the public. I was on that road when I started hockey, and someone cared enough for me to pull me aside about it. I am not going to do that again because it’s my career.” Logan looked guilty as he spoke, and it hit me somewhere dee
p inside. “Just know that I forgot about her the instant the night was over. I am caught up in you now.”

  “Okay. I can deal with that. I can try not to feel insecure about this, but it might take some time.” I told him as he nodded. “When we do fight or whatever this was, can we always make up like that?”

  “Absolutely,” Logan told me before we both laughed. We got up and made our way to bed where we watched a movie wrapped in each other’s arms. I didn’t know where we were going from here, but something seemed different. I fell asleep there, hoping, and vulnerable to this beautiful man.

  We woke up in the morning and were sipping coffee as we decided what to do for breakfast. It was gorgeous out and I kept sneaking looks through the window as I considered all the places in the area. Our phones chimed one after the other and I frowned as I walked over to get them. I glanced at mine to see that it was Shelly, seeing the same name on Logan’s phone. I frowned as I handed him his, sliding mine open to read her message.

  S: What the hell? There're pictures of you and Logan online together downtown. Are you sleeping with my brother?

  I didn’t have to hear her voice to know that she was angry. Logan had a similar message, and he pinched the bridge of his nose as he sucked in his breath.

  “Damn it. That fucking crowd drew attention to me and someone got pictures. I didn’t want you to have to deal with this shit.” His eyes were closed as he spoke, and my heart sank. All the joy that I felt when we seemed to get stronger faded and I dropped to the couch weakly.

  Shelly was my best friend, and I didn’t want her angry with me. I couldn’t take that. I wondered if it was better for me to leave to go back to the dorms and reason with her or hide. I knew that Shelly was big on trust. That had been a major point with her since I met her.

  “I knew that it could happen. I knew who you were when we got involved, Logan.” I dropped back to the cushions and closed my eyes. Even if I did plan to tell her about Logan, I wanted it to be from us. This made it look like we were a dirty secret when it wasn’t like that.

  Maybe it was.

  Logan’s phone chimed again, and he read it, telling me that it was his parents this time. I took my phone and googled Logan’s name, finding the pictures scattered around from last night. They were of him with the group for the most part and a close up of Bonnie draped all over him. That hurt. There were also some of him and I walking together just before that, which was probably the time that he was recognized. It was obvious that it was Logan, and that we were holding hands. There was no reason for that in his family’s eyes.

  “I see them. There’s a lot from last night and we can’t pretend that we weren’t together. What did your parents say?” I asked, looking up at him.

  “They’re worried more than anything. They want to know what’s going on,” he told me, sitting down beside me on the couch. “Should we just go over there and tell them everything? It’s not like we can deny it, though I don’t want to.”

  My heart dropped again. I wanted to fix things with Shelly more than anything, but I considered Logan’s feelings. I didn’t want to let him go, but I was so used to giving in to others to make them happy. My parents demanded it, setting the course for the rest of my life. Shelly was my friend first and the idea of her being angry with me hit me deep. Logan was just a guy, and I’d learned that they disappear when they wanted to.

  An image of the way that Bonnie was draped all over him played through my mind as I felt his hand on my leg.

  “I don’t know,” I told Logan as his hand froze on me. “I’m so surprised by this. I don’t know what to do.”

  “I’m shocked too. I didn’t want it this way, but shit happens. We might as well run with it, Holly.” I stared at him. “Everything will be fine.”

  My phone chimed again, and it was another text from Shelly. She was demanding to know what was happening since her parents were asking her now. Shelly wasn’t known for having a lot of patience.

  “I can’t deal with this right now. I hate being pushed into a corner this way,” I told him, shutting the power off and dropping it to the cushion.

  “That’s a great way to handle things,” Logan told me as I looked up at him. His mouth was set into a thin line and I raised my brows at him. “You’re so willing to be with me behind closed doors but now that it’s out in the open, you’re running? Is this how it is with you?”

  “I need time to think this through. Can we deal with it tomorrow?” I asked as he stood up and started pacing.

  “I’m going to talk to my family, including my sister. Are you in or are you out?” He asked as he looked deep into my eyes.

  “I’m scared, Logan. This is so new.” I wasn’t even sure about my feelings for him much less confident enough to explain them to those that were close to Logan.

  “All I want to tell them is that we’re seeing each other. I am going to be honest about how long this has been going on, Holly. I don’t lie to my family.” I knew that he was telling the truth. Logan was close to his family, and they talked about everything.

  Fear took over, and I grabbed my phone, rising to get dressed. We’d made love this morning, and I was only dressed in one of his shirts. I needed to get my own stuff on and run for the hills. It was easy for me and the way I dealt with my parents. College was a perfect reason to leave and a great excuse to hide behind.

  “Holly? What the hell are you doing?” Logan roared as I grabbed my clothes and locked the bathroom door. Shelly would want me to walk away from this and I needed to choose her. She was my best friend, and I’d do anything to keep that. “Holly!”

  “There’s nothing to tell them. I’m going, Logan. This isn’t worth all the pain.” I gasped as I heard my own words. When I got emotional and spoke, it always came out all wrong. “I’m sorry.”

  “I see how things are. I guess it was fun while it lasted,” he told me, his eyes cold as he stared at me. I was scared to look over, but I saw what was expected. This wasn’t the first time it happened to me. “Just go, Holly.”

  I grabbed my stuff, shoving it into the backpack before I walked through the door into the hallway. I stumbled to the elevator, making it to my car before the tears started to drip down my face. Logan was one of the few people that drew me so close, but I couldn’t hurt other people for something that might fade. Passion this strong couldn’t last.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Logan

  I watched as Holly walked out of the hotel room. She was pale and shaking, making me worry about her. I knew that she was running from me, and I admitted that this was a tough situation. Unfortunately, it wasn’t the first time this happened to me. Women in the past had thought that I was going to commit to them because of some photo snapped out on the street. They thought that one night meant more, and it was up to me to confirm that it didn’t.

  It wouldn’t.

  Holly was different. She was never just a one-night stand for me. The moment I looked into her eyes, I wanted her. I wanted her more with every time I was inside of her. It had to work out but she was too scared to try. It fucking had to.

  I sat back down on the couch and took several deep breaths. There was nothing to tell now, and I stared at my phone for a long moment. I dialed a number and leaned back as my mom answered, asking what was going on.

  “It was nothing, Mom. You know how the people are with their damn phones.” I listened to her speak as I formed a lie in my head. “I was heading back to the hotel and came across Holly. She was getting some food with a friend and I was getting her through that crowd in front of the bar. They were drunk and rowdy and unfortunately, they recognized me. I dealt with them and got her back to her car so she could head out of the city. It was bad timing but there’s nothing going on.”

  “It wouldn’t be terrible if there was, Logan. She’s a sweet girl and much different from some others I’ve seen you with. Holly is the real thing.” Mom spoke sadly as pain filled my chest. Holly was scared and running from her feelings.
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br />   “She’s a great girl, but she’s just Shelly’s friend. I was protecting her.” We moved on to discuss family dinner tomorrow and I wondered how I was going to get through that. Mom told me that she’d talk to Shelly and I hung up, dropping the phone to the couch as I let my breath out. The lie was out there and nobody was going to tell the truth.

  I packed up and checked out of the room since it held too many memories now. I got the same room as we stayed in before to create some stupid memory or tradition. What a crock of shit. I told them to go ahead and charge me for the two nights and left to drive home, locking myself in my house as I grabbed the bottle of whiskey from the cabinet. I didn’t have a game tomorrow by some miracle of fate and I was going to drink some shots. This ending hurt and I needed to find a way to get my head in the game.

  I watched sports and drank slowly, not wanting to be useless in the morning. I ignored my messages from friends and calls that came through, assuming they were about Holly. I lied once about that and needed to get it together before I did it again. I needed it to look genuine to everybody.

  Holly only had to tell one person but Shelly might see right through her. We didn’t even agree on a story so it might look stupid, but Holly was going to run. It was what she did. She’d say nothing to avoid what happened between us.

  I missed her as my eyes closed. I missed the way she felt beside me and wrapped up in my arms. I missed her mouth on me and the way I fit inside of her so damn well. No woman ever felt like that before and I wondered what I just lost. I wondered if I should have fought harder to keep her.

  I fell asleep to a movie on the couch, waking up to the sun shining through the windows. I felt a little worse for wear but sat up, rubbing my eyes. I had a few hours before I needed to be at my parent’s house and rose to make some coffee and start my day. I saw a message from Shelly and decided to respond to make sure that Holly was okay. It took everything I had not to call her last night.