Page 37 of The Fall

“I think I’m good. I’ll just start fresh with Max in the morning.”

His smile falls slightly, but he nods. I refuse to feel bad about his disappointment. He’s not my partner. I don’t have to skate with him. But that doesn’t stop me from considering changing my answer for a split second.

“Ok, no problem. Have a good night.”

“Yeah, you too,” I mumble as I put my head down and walk quickly to my car and book it out of the parking lot. My shoulders don’t relax until I can no longer see the rink because that means there’s not a possibility I’ll see Logan in my rearview mirror. And I definitely don’t want to see him anymore today.

THIRTEEN

SAVANNAH

Logan pockets his phone when he sees Max and me coming toward the ice.

“My mom would like me to invite you two to dinner tonight. But please don’t feel like you have to,” he says before we even get to say hello.

“Ah, shit, man. I can’t tonight. I’ve got to work.” Max got the online job he interviewed for, which is great. But that means he has to work almost every second we’re not training.

“I can come,” I say. Both of them look at me with raised eyebrows. “What? I like your mom. She’s way cooler than you.”

Logan chuckles. It’s been almost a week since our hiking adventure. It was a shock hearing about his mother’s diagnosis, and I’ve had so many questions. But I’ve also been trying to keep my distance from Logan, so it never seems like the right time to bring it up. There’s also the little problem that it’s none of my business. I’m trying to be respectful, but unfortunately, I’m nosey as hell.

“Ok, good. I’ll let her know. Thanks, Savannah.”

I nod, and Max grabs my hand, leading us onto the ice. “What was that about? I gave you the perfect out.”

“What? I don’t mind having dinner with Logan’s mom. She seems nice.”

Both of his eyebrows raise in surprise. “Who are you and what have you done with my Sav?”

“What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is you hate having to socialize, especially when it involves our coach. Need I remind you that you claim to hate him? You said going to yoga with him was the second worst day of your life.”

I roll my eyes. “I’m not going for him. I’m going for his mom.”

He laughs. “I’m almost sad I have to work. I’d love to see how this plays out.”

“It’s just dinner.”

“So you say. Hopefully, you and Coach don’t get into a food fight.”

“Shut up. Let’s skate.”

We spend the next two hours skating before going to dance class. Then we’re back on the ice for another three hours practicing our routines over and over again.

When practice is finally over, Max hurries off to the locker room to grab his stuff and head home. He’s gone by the time I meet Logan in the lobby. I wasn’t planning for dinner, so I don’t exactly have a change of clothes. Unfortunately, I’ll have to attend dinner in my leggings and off-the-shoulder T-shirt that I wore to practice.

“I can drive if you want. Then I’ll bring you back to your car after dinner.”

“You’re sure?” I ask.

He opens the passenger side door of his car and ushers me in. “Positive.”

Suddenly, I feel nervous. It’s just dinner with my coach and his mom. Nothing to be nervous about. Right?

“Thank you for doing this,” Logan says once we’re on the road. “It’ll make my mom really happy.”

“You don’t have to thank me, Logan. If I didn’t want to do this, I would’ve said no.” I play it off like it’s no big deal. This morning when I agreed, it didn’t feel like a big deal, but now that it’s just the two of us in his car on the way to his house, I’m rethinking my decision. But it’s too late now. I’ve got to live with my choice.