I sat wrapped tightly in a blanket (courtesy of Tristan) wearing my dry clothes. Tristan disappeared periodically to find firewood to feed the fire to keep us warm. The temperature seemed to drop several degrees in a short amount of time. My drying hair began to frizz and I hoped that my makeup wasn't all over the place. I silently prayed that I didn't look as bad as I felt.
My heart actually ached. I wanted to be with Tristan but I knew inevitably, I would go back to Logan. Logan cared about me and we had a bit of history... I knew his secrets and he knew mine, we just seemed to fit. Sure, he had a few kinks to work out, but we were still in high school. We had plenty of time to work out our differences and hopefully, he took some time during our time apart to think about what he'd done.
I had no doubt in my mind that Tristan's motives were noble which made it even harder to lead him on.. He definitely deserved better than me and my love-triangle bullshit. He deserved a relationship where he was the only one and I couldn't give that to him. Tristan generally kept to himself at school and was never surrounded by a crowd, unlike Logan...Why he even approached me that day, I had no idea.
"Whatcha thinkin'?" he said cutely as he sat down beside me, handing me a soda and a plate holding a burger, a hotdog, and chips.
"Oh, nothing," I lied, taking the plate and can of soda that he offered. My stomach grumbled impatiently.
"Don't lie, Lauren. You're thinking that what just happened between us was a mistake and now you're having second thoughts," he said, casually, probing my eyes with his.
I broke eye contact and put a potato chip in my mouth. I chewed slowly until there was nothing left to chew before I looked back up at him. He was still looking at me intently.
"What?" I grumbled taking a bite out of the hotdog.
"Am I right?" he asked, cracking open his soda.
"Yes, Tristan, you're right," I said monotonously.
"Why are you having second thoughts, Lauren? Because of Chadwick?" he said after taking a sip.
I closed my eyes and inhaled deeply before nodding. I wanted to be anywhere else at this moment.
"I know you still love him, so I'm not mad if you say we shouldn't see each other anymore. Also know that I won't think any differently of you, regardless of your decision," he said sincerely, the intensity behind his stare, borderline painful.
"Why couldn't I have met you first?" I said, closing my eyes and shaking my head. He scooted closer to me, wrapped his arm securely around my shoulders, and pulled me close.
"God has a plan and he doesn't make mistakes, Lauren. He meant for everything to happen exactly the way it did and I have no regrets and neither should you," he said, planting a kiss on my forehead.
I closed my eyes and relished in the moment: the warmth of the fire on my cheeks, the security of Tristan's arms around my shoulders, the smell of the trees and lake, all of it. Tristan lived up to his word. Tonight was absolutely perfect and I was having the time of my life.
~*~*~*~
I sat at the edge of my bed, excitement getting the best of me. A little less than a week had passed since my night with Tristan and things had changed very little between us. We still talked and texted on a regular basis and even went to grab a bite to eat after school. He acknowledged the inevitable fact that sooner or later, I would be Logan's again and he had even reassured me that if things didn't work out again, he'd be anxiously awaiting his chance.
I, of course, told Tristan that he was way too good of a guy to be waiting for anyone to which he met me halfway by telling me he wouldn't actively search for anyone but would accept if the situation arose. I always knew I was a good girl but when I became such a 'prize', I had no idea. Nevertheless, it felt good to be wanted, sexually or platonically.
My heart began to dance in my chest as my cell phone began to ring. I looked at my phone and Logan's picture popped up on the screen.
"Hello?" I said, careful to not sound to anxious.
"Hey, Babe, what are you doing?" Logan said in a low voice, almost a whisper. I heard loud music and shouting in the background.
"I'm just sitting here at home... Logan, shouldn't you be getting ready for the game?" I asked, casually.
"Ah, yeah, I was just making sure you were coming... you know, I didn't wanna get out there and you not be there," he said, still near-whispering.
"Yeah, I'll be there, there's still about an hour and a half before game time and I'm getting ready. Listen, don't worry about me, just get your head in the game before James kicks your ass for talking to me. Plus, I want to be impressed today," I said, knowing exactly what to say to get him pumped.
"You got it, Babe... see you soon," he grumbled.
Soon, I heard Chance in the background: "Logan, I know you're not fucking talking on the damn phone! We're less than two hours out, you need to fucking get it together!"
"Okay, get off the phone before you have a riot on your hands," I said, chuckling.
"Alright, I love you," he said before hanging up.
I laughed at myself for how close I was to saying it back, but for now I had to get ready. I took a shower and put on Logan's jersey, tucking it into the waistline of a pair of jeans that hugged my hips in all the right places. He knew the jersey wasn't going to be long and flowing like it should be, rather it was fitted.
I put on my makeup and slipped the necklace Logan gave me around my neck. It was beautiful and it made me feel beautiful as well. After a few spritz of perfume, I was ready to head to the game.
I locked up the house and hopped in my car. I was actually excited to watch Logan in action, I hadn't watched a game since Dillon played last year. It didn't take long before I was pulling up to the field and it was packed. After parking my car, I walked up to the ticket window to buy my ticket. Mrs. Oricelli was working the window.
"Hello, Mrs. Oricelli," I said with a bright smile as I reached into my pocket to pull out my money.
"Hello, Lauren, there's no need to get your money out, Logan already paid for your ticket," she said, handing me my ticket through the window.
