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Logan shakes his head and"Two pieces of apple pie and two root beers" I say

She nods and cracks her gum atat an takes a napkin and pulls a Sharpie fro to write with He very slorites the words h and the letters are spaced far enough apart that I can read them Then he points to me

Annie’s eyebrows lift She twists her s and walks away

"Why didn’t you talk to her?" I ask "You do have a voice"

"I don’t talk to everyone"

"Mmm hmm," I hum "Sometimes I think you like your silent world"

"I like it just fine as long as you’re in it" He takes my hand in his and swipes his thumb across my skin He flips my arm over and looks closely atto leave when you got this"

I knew these questions were co And they have to be answered "I had already called my Dad and told him I would come home if he would take care of Matt Yes"

He drags his finger from my wrist to my inner elbow, and the hairs on my arms stand up as he traces the letters of his name It’s not a dainty tattoo It takes up my entire inner forearm "You called your dad from the hospital that day when they said there was no hope for Matt"

I nod "They said he could have a chance if he had enough h money"

His brow crinkles "Why didn’t you just tell one"

"Would you have let h he’s tired "I don’t know"

"I didn’t want to argue with you about it It was Matt’s life or"I chose Matt’s life"

His blue eyes bore intently into mine as he leans forward and cups my neck in his hand He pulls ently, and then his mouth slides across mine I don’t knohat I expected, but this isn’t it He licks across the seam ofup on ue is a velvet rasp against ain," he says

"I won’t"

He squeezes o and sit on his side of the table so I can touch him, but he won’t be able to see my lips if I do that I tap his ar"

He raises his eyebrows, and he waggles the"

I choke I’ll show hie"

When I left, I was a novice at speaking his language I could follow soone Now I’ood at it

He narrows his eyes at n I started classes at NYU on Monday, he says

I start Julliard next Monday

He grins

Not bad You practiced?

I took a class

His rins at that "Dummy" is a term of endearment in his family There are a lot , but they love one another like crazy

My brothers want to see you, especially Matt

I nod I want to see them, too

I take his hand in mine and flip his wrist over so I can seeI’d drahen I’d felt hopeless and lost He put it on the inside of his wrist, and then he added a keyhole so I’d have a way out It sort of goes with the key on er across the one he wears It’s beautiful Just like hi his fly I raise ?" I ask I use o

"Aside frohs as heat creeps up my face "Let’s talk about the snow or the frozen river or I’ll never be able to get up from here"

Annie sets two plates of pie and two root beers between us Logan grins at her I tell her thanks, trying to distract an I don’t have any right to the answer, and I shouldn’t even care, but I need to know

He tilts ?" he asks

"Logan," I begin I take a deep breath "I left you And I’ll understand if you moved on I just want to be sure that you want me now, from this moone is none ofhi a really poor job of it

"What the fuck, Emily?" he says He throws his napkin down on the table "Ask aze is intense, and I shrink inside a little bit "Ask one That’s what you want to know, isn’t it?"

"No What I’ "If you did, I drove you to it" I heave a sigh and close aze is too passionate for h ht I made love to you" He slaps a heavy hand down on the table "You really think I could stop loving you like that?"

"Was sex ever about love for you before, Logan?" I open my eyes, and he looks startled

"Not until I met you," he admits His shoulders relax a little "The last person I was inside was you, Em," he says "You Only you"

My heart skips a beat "There hasn’t been anyone else for you? That whole time?"

"How could there be, you brilliant little dummy?" he asks He softens the blow of the word "dus with it once My dyslexiahard, and people can be cruel

"Just duh aze is intense

My heart is so light that I can barely folloe were talking about "What about me?" I ask

"You asked me if I was faithful to you," he re you that I could understand it if you weren’t You didn’t even know if I was co even if I hadn’t known" His eyes narrow "Are you avoiding my question?"