It was nearly eight in the morning by the time I snuck back into the lake house. I was lucky that everyone was still asleep. When I woke up in Grant's arms this morning, I couldn't get over how incredibly good it felt. He convinced me to stay for breakfast and we ordered some waffles and eggs from room service. Then we took a shower together which was...refreshing. He and I had showered before, but this—like a lot of things recently—felt different. 

Leaving the hotel was a different story. It was hard to say goodbye to him. That wasn't something new, though. It had always been hard. I promised him I would call him later and I wasn't going to blow it like the night I talked to my dad and got hammered. After the amazing night we had, going M.I.A. wasn't the best move. Not that I wanted to ghost him. What I wanted to do was go back to that hotel and crawl into bed with him. Hell, I wanted to binge on The Walking Dead with him. But I couldn't. 

Instead, I was walking down the long staircase to meet Amelia and Wyatt for brunch. 

"Hey, babe." I kissed Amelia on the cheek and sat in the empty chair next to her. 

"Hey. How was your night with your friends?" 

I reached for the pancakes, unable to make eye contact with her. "It was good. We hung out at Jack's and played some pool. It's been awhile since I've seen them, so it was great to catch up." 

I spread some butter on my pancakes before I poured the syrup over it. "How about you? How was your night?"

She reached for the orange juice and filled her glass. She didn't make eye contact with me either. Was she pissed at me for being out all night? Maybe she went into my room and noticed I was gone. Fuck. I hoped not. 

"It was good," she finally answered. "I hung out with Wyatt mostly." 

I nodded. "That's good. I'm glad you guys get along so well." I took a few bites of my pancakes before I brought up the other issue. "So, you know about the bonfire?"

She sipped her juice and glanced in my direction awkwardly. You could slice through the tension with a knife. "Yeah. Your mom told me. It sounds like fun." 

Fun? But I thought that..."You know it's a party, right? There'll be family and friends there." 

I could see the tenseness in her expression. "I know. I'll be okay."

"Good morning, guys," Wyatt drawled as he came and sat across from us. "How is everyone?" 

"Good," Amelia and I answered at the same time. 

My brother looked from me to Amelia. "You guys seem tense."

"Didn't sleep well," I mumbled before I took a bite of my eggs. 

Wyatt grabbed some French toast and fruit before he smirked at me. "Too much to drink last night, bro?" 

If I didn't know better, I would say my brother was suspicious of my extracurricular activities last night. But there was no way he could know. He barely even knew Grant and he had no idea that he was in town. 

"Yeah," I answered. "A little too much bourbon." 

Fuck. Was I ever going to stop lying to everyone? It was my fault. I knew that. But it almost felt like tug-of-war. I was being pulled in two different directions. Amelia was on one side...and Grant was on the other. There were a few moments I caught myself leaning more in his direction. What would happen if that rope snapped and I fell to his side? To him. For him. 

There was a time I remembered all too well where I admitted to myself that I felt more for Grant Matthews than physical attraction or lust. I said the words to myself—in my head. But since then, especially as my bride-to-be sat next to me, I haven't allowed myself to think about it.

The three of us ate in a comfortable silence before my mother joined us. When she explained that my dad was still in the city for work, I was more than grateful. After the last talk with my dad, I wasn't looking forward to another. Not now, at least. 

Once we were done eating, Amelia and I went into town to get some firewood for the bonfire. After we loaded up the back of my father's Suburban, we headed back to the lake house. 

Amelia kept her gaze out of the window; watching the mass trees as they blurred by. 

"You okay?" I asked her. She's seemed a little off lately and I was starting to get worried about her.

She turned to me with a smile that didn't quite reach her eyes. "Yeah. I'm good."

"If it's this bonfire, we can cancel it. We don't have to have it. I want you to be comfortable." 

She reached over and placed her hand on my thigh. Funny. When Grant did that, I got hard instantly. Not with Amelia, though. 

"It's okay, Logan. I promise it's going to be fine. Besides," she chuckled, "at least I know about it, and it's not a surprise."

I chuckled and my cheeks heated. I still felt like an asshole about that whole thing. "I'm really sorry about that whole surprise party thing."

"I'm just teasing you, Logan." She took her hand back and leaned her head against the headrest. "I need to meet your extended family anyway. This is the perfect setting for that. I'm looking forward to it." 

I sure hoped so. 

Once we got back to the lake house, Amelia took an early nap on the couch and I took one in my bed. As eventful as my time was last night with Grant, I didn't get more than a few hours of sleep. 

When I finally woke up, I walked downstairs to find Wyatt and Amelia setting up Monopoly in the living room, and the smell of fresh pizza wafted in the air. 

"Hey, Logan," Wyatt called. "Wanna play?" 

I snickered and sat next to Amelia on the couch. "No, thanks."

"Why not? I thought this was your idea anyway." 

I glared at my brother. "You are the worst person to play games with. You're competitive and you cheat." 

Wyatt rolled his eyes. "Please. You're just still mad that I beat you in cornhole. Again."

I went to get up from the couch and leave the room when Amelia grabbed my hand. I looked down at her and she stuck out her bottom lip. She was pouting and it was kind of adorable.

"Amelia..." I warned. I really didn't want to play. It was going to ruin everyone's night. Especially mine.

"Please, Logan. For me? It'll be fun! I promise." 

I let out a disgusted grown. "Fine. But I'm the shoe."

Two Hours Later

"It's not my fault if you don't have enough money. You landed on Boardwalk and I have two hotels on it. Either pay up or the game is over and I win." Wyatt argued with a cheesy grin.

"I told you," I countered, "it was a miss roll! The dice went off the table! It doesn't count!"

When Wyatt simply crossed his arms over his chest, I knew my brother wasn't going to give in. Just like always. It was one reason I hated playing with him. He was a sore winner and a cheater. 

"Fine!" I snapped and muttered something under my breath.

Wyatt leaned forward and put his and behind his ear as if to hear me better. "I'm sorry, I didn't catch that."

"You win!" 

"Yes! Finally, he admits it," Wyatt gloated before he got to his feet. "Now, who wants to go swimming?"

I stood from my chair and looked at my brother. "Not me. I'm wiped. You guys go ahead though." I gave Amelia a kiss on the cheek and told her goodnight before I climbed the long staircase to my room.  

Not even bothering to change clothes, I fell into my bed with a groan and closed my eyes. Just as I started to doze off, my phone rang. 

I didn't even bother looking at the caller-ID. "Hello?" 

"Did I wake you?"

I smiled when I heard that very familiar voice. "No. Just resting my eyes. How are you?"

There was a brief pause before he answered me. "Honestly?"

I frowned and sat up in the bed. There was an odd note to his voice. "What's wrong?" 

Heavy sigh from Grant. "Do you think we made a mistake?"

My chest tightened. There were to many occasions to know which one he was referring to. "When?"

"The first time."

That was all he needed to say. I knew exactly what he was talking about. He was asking if the first time we had been together was a mistake. Unfortunately, I didn't know the answer to that. I couldn't say yes, because being with him felt right. But if I said no, then why weren't we...more?

"I don't know," I answered quietly. "That's a hard question to answer."

"Yeah, no kidding," he breathed.

What worried me about this whole phone call was that it wasn't like Grant to call me up and bring this shit up. It was usually me.

"Have you been drinking?" I asked him curiously. It would make sense if he had been. 

"Yep."

There it is. He probably felt guilty, just like I did, about last night and started drinking earlier in the day. I had wondered why I haven't heard from him until now. I texted him earlier and didn't get a response.

"What can I do?" I already knew what his answer was going to be; but I also knew exactly what he was feeling and I wished there was something—anything—that I could do.

"No. Thanks." When there was a rusting noise over the phone, I could picture him rubbing his hand over his face. "I just need to sleep it off."

"Okay," I said. "Call me if you need anything."

"You too."

I hung up my phone and tossed it randomly on the bed next to me. I was not expecting that to happen tonight. Amelia, Wyatt and I were supposed to go to Jack's tomorrow night. Maybe Grant can swing by and I could see him for a few minutes. Yeah. I'll just send him a text tomorrow and ask him. That made me feel anxious. Because I didn't want this time to end badly like all the others before. Even if he and I could only be just friends...I needed him in my life. One way or another.