Page 77 of C*cky Best Friend

Chapter Thirty-Five

Samantha

A year later

My phone rouses me from a deep sleep and I roll off of Steven to squint at his bedroom, confused by my whereabouts, I’m so out of it. “Hello,” I hoarsely whisper while rubbing my eyes.

“Samantha?” Logan asks. Behind him are the usual sounds of a party or restaurant. Or club. Or lounge. Or festival.

Steven groans, “Who’s that?”

“He’s there with you? What time is it?”

Steven hates my talking to Logan.

But I don’t. I don’t hate it at all.

I tell them both, “Hang on,” slipping out of bed and reaching for a robe. It’s too large for me, since my boyfriend is over 200 pounds. But it will do. As I tiptoe out, hoping he’ll slip away and not remember any of this, I whisper, “I’ll be right back.”

The crowd where Logan is quiets more by the second which leads me to believe that he is hurrying to a quiet space, too. He’s got heavy sarcasm as he demands, “Can I talk now?”

Shutting the door, I walk to the refrigerator to get some water from a Britta container that Steven bought at my suggestion. You just never know what’s coming out of the faucet. I like to be careful—it’s a Cocker thing. We all have these.

Except maybe Sofia.

I didn’t think to check.

Boy, I am still half-asleep!

Where is my head right now?

“Why are you calling me this early?”

“It’s not early in China.”

“Don’t make me do math, Logan. I should be dreaming right now.”

“I’m having a hard time, Sam.”

Taking a long, cold gulp, I stare into the moonlit apartment I’ve been invited to move into. “What’s going on?”

Someone shouts in the background and Logan cusses under his breath before his voice becomes intimate again. “Ines and I aren't working out.”

Setting the glass down, my hand rests on the counter and clutches it. “You guys have been together a long time. I’m sure you’ll work through it. She just needs to know that you’re stubborn.”

He laughs, “Nobody is as stubborn as she is.”

“What problems? What’s going on?”

“She wants a child.”

My stomach flips over, and I swallow, casually asking, “What do you want?”

“Kids would ruin my career.”

“Said every woman ever.” I take another sip of water and set the glass down with a loud thunk.

Logan exhales, “I’m not the only guy who wants to be a good father and go after what I want. It’s hard to do both.”