"Hey girlie," Charlie's bright voice greeted me at her apartment door a few hours after Logan literally ate his gripes about mushrooms, took a nap, then went to practice.

Since today was a Thursday evening prior to a Saturday game, Wes and Logan stayed after practice with the rest of the offensive team for film review. I'd rushed home after my library shift, threw together a container of leftovers for our dinner, and changed into an outfit that obviously lacked her approval.

Her blue eyes traveled down over my appearance, her lips pursed, and she shook her head. "Not wearing that, are you?"

I looked down at my baggy T-shirt, which looked perfectly clean, and black yoga leggings. "What's wrong?"

"I'm pretty sure a bag lady looks sexier," she mused while she stepped out into the hallway and locked the door. Her bright pink and black racerback yoga top and leggings hugged every muscle on her athletic body. Her thick, blonde locks were pulled up into a high ponytail like mine, but hers fell in shoulder-length casual curls while mine hung straight down to my upper back.

"You know that shirt will just ride up and annoy you once we get there." Her voice was light but both of us knew she was right because my shirt annoyingly shifted every time we went into forward fold.

I had no argument on the riding up part, but frowned at her other words while I trailed behind her. "Why would I want to look sexy?"

"Hmm... let's see..." She paused at the top of the stairs, cocked her head sideways, and tapped one finger against her lips. "To catch a hot guy's attention."

"I don't want to catch Logan's attention," I replied quietly, brushed past her, and stepped down the stairs. A round of giggles chased after me, so I paused and turned around to a very amused, borderline smug look on her face. "What?"

"I didn't say Logan was the hot guy." Her lips parted into a bright smile. "But you're admitting he's hot, slow and painful but still progress. How is married life with the walking GQ model?"

"Confusing," I mumbled while we made our way down the stairs.

"Wes told me he's got some mad skills on the field," she offered casually, then her voice shifted slightly and she teased, "Test out the bedroom skills yet?"

"Charlie!" I huffed and balled my fists tightly.

"I'm teasing... Mostly." She asked once we reached the outside and headed up the sidewalks towards the UW Recreation building. "Did he apologize?"

Charlie had discovered the recreation building's services our freshman year. Ever since, she'd dragged me to many, many classes until we found something that worked. Twice a week, at least in the past, she and I attended two yoga classes. One class was Bikram, or Hot Yoga, for strength building and one Vinyasa class that worked on flow and balance.

Unlike my Heisman-worthy athletic brother, I was barely coordinated and, more accurately, really clumsy. Walls and corners jumped out into my elbows, shoulders, and hips. I tripped over both my own feet and thin air, and when I walked both up and down stairs. Logan himself had physically caught me more times than I counted during our relationship.

It was kind of romantic when he did though.

With Charlie and yoga's help, my balance and center of gravity slowly improved. I wasn't the most athletic, buff person but I was stronger at holding my own body weight in some of the balance poses. Others, like toe stand, I'd just accepted would never be my cup of tea and happily watched as the rest of the class wobbled in place.

"What does Logan have to apologize to me about?" My eyes couldn't have stretched any wider.

"I'm the one who needs to apologize to him."

"Wes and I just assumed since you broke up with him that he..." She waved her hand in front of her face like she'd confused herself. "Guess we assumed wrong."

"I didn't make that clear though," I admitted with a sigh. "Sorry."

The truth was, Charlie knew very little about my relationship with Logan, other than it was my last one during our senior year of high school and obviously I'd still thought about him since then.

On a more personal level, she didn't know that he was my only relationship, almost all of my firsts in the physical department, and the emotional side...

No comparison.

"Did you apologize to him then?" Her voice cut through my rambled thoughts while we crossed the street and walked down the sidewalks on campus. "Please tell me there was hot, desperate, two-year, pent up frustration, makeup sex involved."

"No and no," I admitted curtly, although a strange flicker of disappointment sparked inside me at that admission. "I spoke with Dr. Sterns though. She... basically said the same thing... that if I apologize to him, I might be surprised at his reaction."

"She's a smart woman," Charlie replied with a wink but her smile softened. "What else did she say?"

Her words prompted a reminder inside me, so I blurted out, "Is there a reason you didn't tell me I was living with Logan? Before I got here."

Her blue eyes shifted sideways and met the glance I'd already thrown at her. "Because I didn't want you to overthink it, stress out, and then still freak out," she admitted with a sigh. "I'm really sorry about that. We were supposed to reintroduce you to Logan in our apartment, but he had to use the bathroom... just bad timing."

Matches what he said though.

"But now that he's here..." She took a few silent steps like she carefully chose her words. "I think it was the right decision. For both of us, not just me."

"Right decision for me," I stated dryly. "Humor me, please."

"Ellie, I love you but you're very..." She paused again, this time on the entrance steps to the UW Recreation building, where she rested her hand on the black painted railing. "Closed-hearted."

"What the hell is that?" I frowned at the word that sounded made up.

Without a blink, she clarified, "You're guarded, reserved, and you shut people down before they even have a chance. Especially guys."

I am? And here I thought I was making progress.

"You can't mean someone from the football team." I rolled my eyes and walked up the stairs behind her long, shapely legs.

"Not just them." Her ponytail swished across her shoulders as she shook her head. "Ellie, I could count on two hands the number of guys that would date you if you gave them the green light."

My foot froze in the air over the next step. "What?"

"It's more than casual dating or hookups though. You're an amazing person Ellie, I just wish..." She stopped at the top step and sighed. Her concern reflected in the glass entry door before she turned and faced me.

"Wish what?" I wasn't prepared for this heavy of a conversation and rolled my lower lip under my teeth against the uncertainty that now churned in my stomach.

"...Wish you had someone who knew that. Someone who's amazing back to you, that helps you break out of your shell and gives you the kind of connection that Wes and I have," she finished. "You had that once and I think, or at least I hope, that you want that back."

I couldn't answer Charlie for fear that I burst into tears like my internal storm of emotions pushed for, the odds of which increased the longer I thought over her words. She wasn't wrong, I'd had all of those things, and more, with Logan. By no coincidence, that was the happiest and more confident version of myself I remembered ever being.

As the person who knew me best on campus and helped me overcome one of my issues, I couldn't completely dismiss Charlie's opinion. Instead, I opted for a slight subject change, reached around her, and yanked open one of the black framed glass doors. "Want to hear something funny?"

The smell of incense, cleaner, and feet wafted into us while we entered the building's yoga studio. The open, vaulted ceiling room with exposed light wood rafters that matched the hardwood floors and floor to ceiling black frame windows showed a lovely view of campus from the top floor. We were six minutes early but twelve mats were already set up, where people of all ages laid straight on their backs with their eyes closed in meditation.

Charlie and I settled ourselves near the back of the class and unrolled a couple of mats. After I pulled my hair up into a high ponytail, I pointed one finger at her and whispered hoarsely, "This conversation isn't over!"

"No it's not!" she whispered back while we stowed our shoes, socks, and keys into a cubby. As I picked up a mat, she gave me a look that read this conversation was definitely not over.

Ninety minutes, one hundred and five degrees, and twenty-six poses repeated until I'd lost count of the number of times we'd done them, class finally ended. Like everyone else in the room, Charlie and I looked like we'd showered with how much sweat dripped from our bodies. The fluff in her blonde hair drooped in clumped strings and the baggy T-shirt she'd teased me about now clung tightly to my body and I couldn't separate the sweat marks on it anymore.

"Great job, ladies." The instructor, a just as sweaty, fit guy named Dan, passed by us. He flashed me a bright smile, patted my damp shoulder, then finished his rounds to the next group over. My eyes lifted up to an amused expression on Charlie's face, her eyes studied mine scrutinously but she stayed silent.

"What?" I whispered to her.

"He's on one of my hands," she whispered back.

"Huh?" My ponytail shifted over one shoulder as my head cocked sideways.

She only wiggled both her hand's fingers at me, then smiled. "If I didn't know how innocently oblivious you are, then you'd be really annoying Ellie. You're so far inside your own head that you can't see when a guy checks you out."

"Man-bun Dan?" I whispered loudly and dragged my eyes over to his sweaty back and messy bun at the nape of his neck. "He just said good class, what did I miss?"

"Mmm-hmm." She threw me another smile over her shoulder out in the hallway.

"Hang on." I jogged a few steps until I walked by her side. "He said it to both of us."

"Yeah, but he didn't touch me when he did it." Her smile curled upwards into a smirk and a spark of recognition flashed in her eyes.

"Because he knows Wes would break both his arms if he did," I replied with a half-grin.

"True..." Her voice trailed off and I felt her eyes on me but dropped my gaze cast down. "But you can deny the importance of silent touch implying feelings. How many girls have you seen clawing up Logan?"

"Clawing up Logan..." I mumbled to myself because my mind went in a completely different direction.

Oh gosh. I've been all over Logan like white on rice whenever I'm near him.

I rubbed one of my palms over my still-sweaty forehead at that enlightenment. The image of his handsome face from the kitchen, where I was pretty sure I'd also rubbed my breasts over him again in that stupidly small space, flashed out of my memory.

He hasn't complained though...

Thankfully, Charlie changed the subject, back to what I'd mentioned before class started.

"Spill it, Ellie." She gasped for fresh air once we opened the doors and headed down the stairs. Like every class, my knees wobbled and my leg muscles felt like jelly. "What's funny about Dr. Sterns?"

"She suggested that I go on dates," I spat out in a monotone voice. "Not just one, plural."

Her eyes lit up like that was amazing news. "That's perfect! This is going to be so amazing for you. I'll help you get -"

"Glad one of us is excited." I rolled my eyes and hobbled my way down the stairs.

"You should be too, I bet Logan would be a fun date," she chirped out happily. Her words pulled a smile across my face, since Logan and I had some fun dates, at least once his football season ended.

Football.

"I don't want to be a distraction during the season," I said quietly. "Trust me, I understand -"

"I don't think you do, Ellie." Her blonde eyebrows lifted at me. "That boy is head over heels... hot for you. It's completely obvious how much of a distraction you are from how he looks at you."

How did she come to that conclusion? When did she even see us together?

"Charlie, I -" My cheeks were definitely warm although I was relieved that my blush was probably hidden under my already warm face. Under the intensity of the determined look on her face, I dropped my gaze to the sidewalk cracks that passed under our feet.

"In fact, I dare you." Her words snapped my eyes back up, where I saw hers now flashed with excitement. Her pink lips pulled into a smile that intrigued me but also none of me trusted.

"To do what?" Something about her expression pulled a sense of discomfort through me but a flicker of stubbornness wanted to know where she headed with this suggestion.

Her smile widened from amused to full-on unspoken challenge. "Flirt with Logan. If he has no reaction, then I'll make dinner when you come over Friday. But if he's any bit interested, then you make dinner for us."

"Flirt with Logan... tonight?" I stared at her with my eyes and mouth wide open. "Exactly how do you propose that I do that?"

"That's your challenge." Her shoulders bounced as she giggled lightly, then she turned and faced me. "But I'll give you a head start, here."

Before I responded, her arms reached out and yanked up at the bottom of my sweaty T-shirt until she'd peeled it up over my head and off my arms. An unsettled sense of panic rose inside me when a cool breeze hit my exposed skin everywhere that wasn't covered by my pants or sports bra.

"Charlie!" I squeaked out at how relaxed she looked about the fact she'd stripped off my shirt in the middle of the sidewalk.

"There. Much sexier." She nodded at me, adjusted one of my sports bra straps, and tucked my shirt under her elbow like she kept it for ransom. Her eyes lifted to mine and she offered no reassurance when she said, "Relax, we're back at the apartment building."

"Charlie!" I groaned at both her crazy antics and the feelings from my now nearly numb legs as we climbed up three flights of stairs.

Her only response was she directed my shoulders down the hallway, then patted me on the butt a couple of times. Right before her door shut, she stuck her head back out and winked.

"Good luck!"