I Hate Football Players 3 | 18+

Chapter 6: Logan

While I moved my clothes into the far corner of the apartment's only closet, a heavy knock on the front door grabbed my attention. I figured Ellie's dad came back and braced myself for the verbal lashing I expected. Instead, Wes and Charlie's frowning faces greeted me from where they stood in the hallway.

Apparently still a verbal lashing, just from a different source.

"Hey," I said casually. "You guys just missed Ellie -"

"We're not here for Ellie." At 6ft5, there weren't many guys on the team taller than me, which included Wes. But the intense, angry stare in his eyes, tension strained in his thick neck and shoulders, and how tightly he clenched his jaw shut all showed he couldn't have cared less about a few inches' difference.

"Okaaaay," I dragged out the word but stepped aside with the full understanding that they weren't our apartment's welcome wagon. I'd expected their visit sooner and was surprised they'd chosen now, after Ellie had arrived but while she wasn't here, for this conversation.

"Come in, sofa's awful." I swept one arm over to the previous tenant's obvious parting gift. I was a big guy, so small furniture and I didn't get along but this sofa felt like a spring went up into my ass every time I sat on it.

"We're cool." Wes' brown eyes stared intensely at me while he bumped my shoulder when he stepped by. Charlies also attempted to glare a hole through me and I chuckled at their overprotective nature. Once inside, the way Wes slid an arm around Charlie's waist and they faced me looked like a tag-team effort.

Wes told me Charlie, short for Charlotte, was here at UW on a tennis scholarship. That explained her tall, athletic figure. I wasn't sure how she ended up being Ellie's roommate but all I cared about was how easily she'd traded with mine. One look at her face, eyebrows and mouth wrenched up in concern, made one thing obvious.

Apparently I underestimated the 'easy' level.

"Exactly what are your feelings about Ellie?" Charlie cut right to the point and without a blink, which I respected.

"I..." I paused for a moment, then shrugged and answered honestly, "Want her back. I never stopped... wanting her back."

My answer, which was mostly true, definitely hadn't appeased both of them. Charlie pursed her lips and Wes' grip on her tightened. "Those are intentions, not feelings. What if she's not the girl you knew?"

Charlie was right, I hadn't shared my feelings. When I got here at UW, I wasn't entirely sure of them myself but one look at Ellie affirmed everything. Deep down, my feelings hadn't changed at all for Ellie.

What concerned me wasn't the possibility I actually loved the Ellie I knew two years ago, but whether she still had any feelings for me. I wasn't about to vomit all my feelings to her social gatekeepers though.

Instead, I crossed my arms over my chest and again went with the honest, direct confession, "I've known a lot of versions of Ellie."

The sarcastic biting Ellie who hated football players but had me with one look.

The fun, smart, confident, sexy, and forward Ellie.

The loving and caring Ellie.

Even the sad and broken Ellie.

My answer obviously wasn't good enough for Wes because his eyebrows drew together. "How serious are you here, LT?"

"Ellie broke up with me," I reminded him. "So pretty fucking serious if I'm here and want her back."

After a few practices, workouts, dinners, and nights in our apartment, Wes seemed like a stand-up guy. He was in a solid relationship, now engaged, called his parents a few times during the month we were here, and had an obvious concern for Ellie.