Dissonance by Drew Elyse Page B

I was facing him, or my mistake of underestimating his incredible looks again, but when I came back inside and found myself face-to-face with him, I was shell-shocked. He stood in the kitchen holding a mug, and the smell of coffee permeated through the space. Still shirtless, he leaned forward against the island, not hiding the fact that he had probably been watching me for a while.
    I tried to appear unaffected. “Good morning.”
    “That it is,” he replied with a slight smirk. “Is this part of your normal morning routine? If so, early mornings might be easier to face.”
    His flirting made it that much harder to reign in my confusion. My brain attempted to plow through the overwhelming mess, anyway. All I could conclude was that Logan had me all messed up. Last night he had made it very clear that nothing would happen between us, and yet there he was blatantly flirting with me before we even had breakfast.
    “Usually, I run. Yoga is more of a secondary thing.”
    “Well, by all means, feel free to do yoga around here anytime, particularly if that is what you usually wear. Though, if it is, I may have to put up a screen so the neighbors don’t get the view, too.” His grin was devilish and incredibly enticing. It made me feel far less self-conscious about my sports bra and tight shorts. Typically, I would be far too shy to be seen in so little, but Logan’s unabashed approval of my appearance made me feel sexy. It was an unfamiliar and powerful feeling.
    I approached the island and sat on one of the stools across from him. “Coffee?”
    “Yeah,” he said, lifting his cup in a mock toast before taking a drink. “I just turned on that electric kettle of yours. Eli said you usually go for tea in the morning.”
    Eyeing the kettle that was already up to heat for me, I moved around the island to the cabinet where my teas had been unpacked. I measured some English Breakfast into my small ceramic teapot and poured in the steaming water. While it steeped, I grabbed a cup and turned to Logan. “You wouldn’t happen to have cream would you?”
    “Oh, yeah,” he said, instantly moving to the fridge.
    I prepared a cup, lightening the brown-grey liquid with a splash of cream, before returning to my stool.
    “My mom liked to have tea at least once a day when I was growing up,” Logan told me. “I never really got the taste for it.”
    In truth, I found him far more attractive standing around in the kitchen like that having a normal conversation, or the night before when we’d chatted like friends over Chinese, than I did any other way. Relaxed and at home Logan was more alluring to me than the variable sex god I had danced with the night before. Don’t get me wrong, the serious amounts heated desire he could draw from me were unparalleled, but it made me uneasy. I was far more comfortable with him when we both just relaxed.
    Of course, it was simpler for me to be at ease when I knew I couldn’t land him. There was nothing to be nervous about when he flat-out told me that he was not going to end up with me. No, he has relationship hang-ups that have nothing to do with you. It had been the same all night, having to continually remind myself that the issue was not me. It was an old habit that I found nearly impossible to break.
    Logan broke my train of thought. “Do you have plans today?”
    “I’m supposed to go to Eli’s. See their place. Knowing Alex, she’s probably going to want to drag me out somewhere tonight,” I sighed a bit melodramatically. “But, if I indulge her now, she won’t be as much of a nightmare once I’m working and say no.”
    “I can take you over there if you want.”
    “That would be great. It’ll be a few days before I get a handle on the transit system here.”
    “Transit?” he asked, clearly unhappy with my transportation choice.
    “It’s convenient. That’s how I got everywhere in Chicago.”
    “It’s gross, loud, unreliable, and God only knows who might be on