I'd never had a urinary tract infection before but after this one, I hoped I never had another again. I'd woken up with a strong urge to pee, which magnified but every time I peed, a hot, sharp sensation burned like I peed out shards of glass, even if just a few drops. After a short relief, the urge crept up and the whole process repeated itself.

This sucks. After two times of back-to-back good sex too.

Logan's non lubricated condoms probably weren't the cause of my UTI as much as how we'd gone through more than half of his jumbo-sized box. My mind skipped over the calculation of how many times we'd slept together but hopefully this setback was only temporary.

As if him seeing me half-naked on the toilet wasn't embarrassing enough.

Logan and I had as little privacy as any roommates but we'd tried to give each other privacy at least when we used the bathroom. His expression in the bathroom only showed his eyebrows drawn together and his mouth corners downturned but my cheeks flamed hotter than, well, my infection at the sight of him knelt down near the toilet.

"So what are you going to do?" Charlie asked in a low voice while we exited Hall Health Center.

Dr. Robbins, a very polite, older woman who'd nearly diagnosed me as soon as 'burns when I pee' left my mouth and sent over the prescription as soon as the test came back positive, then filled my hands with pamphlets on preventative care and the lowered effectiveness of birth control pills while taking antibiotics.

"Logan's picking up the antibiotics." I sighed and opened her car's passenger's side door. My nose cringed at the slight discomfort in my core area while I sat down but I turned my head in her direction once her door slammed shut. "Thanks for taking me today."

"Of course. Wes is probably still moaning over his post-period cramps episode anyways." Her blue eyes rolled but a smile played on her lips. "But I meant about your birth control."

"Get the IUD, I guess." I shrugged, clipped on my seatbelt, then widened my legs. "That's what Dr. Robbins suggested."

After her UTI diagnosis, since I'd brought up my and Logan's sexual intercourse with condoms, birth control, and my PCOS, Dr. Robbins had also drawn an STD panel test for me, then suggested that Logan also got checked for peace of mind and that I considered an IUD. She warned me that my birth control pills' effectiveness was possibly affected by the antibiotics, offered to place an IUD in the next day my period started, and advocated that an IUD option still managed my PCOS symptoms like the pills but was much more effective at pregnancy prevention.

"I have the patch." Charlie patted her upper right arm. "But IUDs can be safe and effective."

"I think that's what Harper has," I murmured since the idea that some foreign object was stuck up in my uterus for a few years still sounded as unappealing now as it had when Dr. Robbins first brought that option up. "But if it means we don't need condoms then maybe it's for the best."

"Sex does feel better without it." Charlie smiled at me. "But I get it, even engaged Wes and I are years off of thinking about having kids."

"I'll think about it," I mumbled while my phone buzzed with a text message. "I just hope the UTI is gone before my parents and Jake are back here."

I glanced down and saw Harper had returned my 'so I have a UTI' text message from Dr. Robbins' exam room.

Harper: UTI? Do you pee after sex?

me: Every time.

Harper: Hmm... condoms?

me: Every time.

Harper: Check if they're lubricated. Dr. Google says 'maybe' but all that extra friction builds up. Or so I've heard...

me: What do you mean?

Harper: I don't keep partners around long enough to test a 'weeks of frequent sex' theory. Not since... well, never mind.

me: Who??

A few rounds of text bubbles later, she finally fessed up.

Harper: your dickhead brother.

"Huh." My mouth dropped open at that reveal and my fingers tightened around my phone.

me: In two years!? Not even one boyfriend?

Harper: Settle down, Judgey McJudger. You haven't either!

Me: True but you're... like a boy magnet.

Harper: You mean dick magnet.

Harper: No boyfriend since Ryan our senior year, if you want me to be technical.

"Wow," I mumbled at my phone, then just shook my head and slipped it into my purse.

Logan surprised me from the very first step I took into our apartment. The first thing I noticed was the warmer temperature and mouth-watering aroma that I first smelled within the hallway. Once I entered our place, I welcomed the smells of cooked dinner, pulled pork from the crock pot mixed with another aroma I hadn't placed because I gasped at the sight of the dining room table.

The table had two place settings with our full dinner - the pork, couscous with peas, carrots, and sweet potatoes, spinach salads, even mixed fruit bowls. Even sweeter, a vase of yellow carnations sat in the middle of the table and one of the place settings had a white pill bottle, large glass of water, a gallon of cranberry juice, and a bucket-sized container of plain Greek yogurt.

That's... a lot of juice and yogurt.

"Hey," Logan's voice called out from the kitchen, followed by a few bangs, a crash, then a low-tone muttered string of curse words.

"Hey..." One of my hands pressed into the center of my chest, where warmth flooded through me and activated my Ellie-goo status. "You did all this? Thank you."

"Hold the thanks when you see the dirty dishes," was his response, so I walked over to the kitchen entry and hid a round of giggles behind one hand at the sight in front of me.

In less than an hour, Logan had inflicted more damage on the kitchen in the form of more used pots and pans than I usually dirtied in one day. Remnants and leftovers from the plated foods on the table remained in their cooking trays and pans, a stack of empty containers sat in one corner of the counters for leftovers, the stove was overfilled with pots, and utensils had exploded over every available surface.

"I'll clean it up," he promised with a grin and stepped towards me with two glasses of water. "Go to the table, take your meds. The label said take them with food."

"You read the label?" I asked while he literally shoed me out the kitchen, with one leg lifted and his foot nudged my shin.

"Read it, talked to the pharmacist, and got her advice on those." He nodded at the juice and yogurt at my place setting.

"Thank you." I wrapped my arms around his waist, lifted up onto my tiptoes, and pressed a kiss into his cheek. "You're so thoughtful."

"I am." He leaned over my grasp, set the glasses down, then pulled out my chair. "Now, take your meds before I cram them down your throat."

"Yes, bossy." I sat down, read the label that I needed one pill twice a day for five days, and pulled out a gigantic, red pill. A large swallowed mouthful of water later, I choked down the dry, chalky pill and picked up my fork.

Once I flashed him a thumbs up and chugged half my water glass, Logan nodded slightly at me, sat down, and dug into his dinner. While carnitas were everywhere in California, pulled pork wasn't commonly eaten there. Monique and I had tweaked Momma Williams' recipe so the amount of sugar was drastically reduced. Charlie and I had eaten them on sandwich rolls but Logan and I just ate it on a pile of couscous and veggies.

"We have just enough time to eat before the interview airs," Logan said between bites and poked his fork in the direction of the TV. "How are you feeling before that airs?"

"I'm not too worried, other than looking nervous," I admitted and took in a few bites of pork that melted on my tongue. "Mr. Reynolds told me they can't report anything on Ryder since it'd be speculative."

"That's good," he replied slowly, then swallowed hard. "So the doctor's stuff..."

"Yeah, guess I'm switching to an IUD." My chest lifted and heaved with a sigh. "Dr. Robbins at the clinic recommended it. She said I can get it placed on the first day of my next cycle."

His blonde-haired head tilted slightly sideways and ocean blue eyes studied mine for a few bites. "Like an implant?"

"Yeah, they stick some T-shaped white plastic thing up inside my uterus. It'll take seven days to be effective but she said it's better than the pill, the hormones will help with my PCOS, and as long as you're clean too then we shouldn't need condoms."

"About those..." Logan's empty hand ran through his hair, then rubbed over the back of his neck. "I'm sorry, the ones I have weren't lubricated and the pharmacist said that might've caused it so I bought different ones that she recommended."

Not like I knew better either.

"Well the doctor said some of the lubricated ones might too, it's confusing." I reached over and rubbed his closest forearm. "I just hope it doesn't happen again."

"Me too." His mouth twisted slightly sideways and a weighted heaviness grayed his eyes. "I don't want you to have something permanent Ellie, birth control is both our problem."

"I appreciate that but my current setup might not be working," I admitted with a sigh and stabbed my fork roughly into a large piece of pork. "Apparently the hormonal pills I've been taking since I was fifteen shouldn't be taken more than five years anyways."

"If that's what you want," he stressed with an unblinking look at me but I smiled at the level of seriousness he took here.

"I guess so." My shoulders lifted slightly, then I admitted, "I can't think of a better alternative. If I did the patch then I have to take a pill called Metformin for the PCOS anyways."

"What is that, Ellie?" he set his fork down and his ocean blue eyes fixed his full attention on me. "I feel stupid like I should know already but I don't."

"Technically mine is called lean PCOS," I clarified. "Polycystic ovarian syndrome. My female sex hormones are imbalanced beause of insulin resistance and high cortisol levels. I'm lucky in that I don't get a lot of the symptoms but that's one reason I eat low-carb, high protein and veggie-heavy meals too."

"Sorry not sorry." I grinned at him before he responded. "It's not just all about what you eat for football. If I can avoid a big weight gain, hair loss, oily skin, and all the other secondary side effects then I'm doing much better."

Logan's grin wasn't as happy as mine, more resembled a grimace as he said, "You said ovaries though."

"Right." I nodded slowly. "My ovaries have a bunch of cysts, they look all bumpy on ultrasounds. Mine don't ovulate normally, without the birth control I'd go months without a period. So that's why I started taking the pill when I was fifteen, nothing to do with being sexually active."

"I'm sorry, Ellie." Logan's expression softened and while I appreciated the concern, pity definitely wasn't what I wanted.

"Don't be, it's how I am." My shoulders lifted slightly again. "Two of my aunts have it and... That's why they couldn't have kids."

"So, you could -" he started when I interrupted since I knew right where his question headed, whether or not I'd have similar infertility issues.

"I don't know." My voice came out soft, meek, and full of uncertainty. "So if having a family some day is important to you, then -"

Logan interrupted me this time, reached one of his large hands out, and squeezed mine warmly. "I have my important family, especially right here. Definitely not thinking about kids any time soon either when I'm still trying to figure out what I want."

I sat silently, just rotated my hand under his until our palms pressed together and hooked my fingers in between his longer ones. Truthfully, if Logan had wanted a family of his own some day, that wasn't a guarantee with PCOS. At this point though, I honestly had no idea what my shitty ovaries were capable of, which drifted my thoughts back to, of all topics, the assisted reproductive essay I'd helped Kade with a few weeks ago.

My aunts definitely didn't have IVF as an option, so who knows.

"Thanks for explaining it," Logan replied quietly and rested our joined hands on my thigh. Before I answered, he nodded at the cranberry juice jug. "Drink up, baby."

I poured half a glass and crinkled my nose at the bitter sweetness, but still drank the half-glass in one round. Logan shot me a satisfied look but my teeth and tongue felt coated with a sugary aftertaste. After one more prodded reminder from him, I plopped a few spoonfuls of the plain Greek yogurt onto my fruit bowl and mixed them together.

Still tastes like sour cream.

After we cleared our dishes, packed up leftovers, then filled up the sink with soapy water, we took a break and sat on the sofa. I tucked myself into Logan's side, pulled my feet under my butt with my knees forward, and rested my head against his chest while his arm wrapped around me and fingers gently ran up and down the back of my arm.

My heart pounded stronger in my chest when Rachel Sorenson's polished appearance showed up on our TV screen. Dressed in a dark red power suit, she sat behind a desk and chatted with a guy in a sports jacket who did a side-by-side comparison of Logan against Jake, who couldn't have been more different in their quarterback styles. Towards the end, the analyst gave the nod in quarterback skills to Logan but predicted USC still won the game based on special teams play.

"Figures," Logan muttered and shook his head slightly.

"Aww..." I cooed at his bruised Husky ego when the two of us and Jake popped up on screen.

Logan and I sat silently and watched the ten minute TV segment. Although both our phones vibrated a few times during the interview, we ignored them. The filmed footage had been heavily edited, Rachel's random question order was nonexistent and the entire interview flowed seamlessly between questions. None of our answers were surprises, I came off like a nervous wreck, Logan the doting boyfriend of the year, and Jake the most eligible bachelor in all of college football.

"They edited out Rachel touching her forehead whenever Jake talked," I joked when the segment ended and Logan flipped off the TV. "And changed the order of what questions she asked us."

"They always do that," he grumbled. "They'll probably air another segment Saturday before the game."

"You're right." I pressed a gentle kiss into Logan's cheek, pushed my feet onto the floor, and stood up. "We should get ready for class tomorrow."

"Feel any better?" he asked and followed me into the kitchen, where he stepped right up to the sink and started the dishes.

"I do," I admitted while I took the rinse job next to him. Thankfully, the burning sensation in my core area had slowly subsided since I'd taken the antibiotic pill. "Although the doctor did tell me the meds will turn my pee red, so don't freak out about that."

"I'll try my best," he muttered quietly and handed me a soaped up baking pan. "But thanks for the heads up this time."

"No, thank you. For dinner, getting my meds and stuff, the flowers too," I replied and flicked a few water droplets at his cheek.

"You're welcome." While his eyes glimmered as he dotted a few soap bubbles on the tip of my nose, I just smiled and silently wiped them off. All of Logan's actions today were so sweet, so considerate, I had no doubt that his future reactions for anything related to my health would be vastly improved.

Definitely redeemed himself.

_________________________________

Q: Will this be the last book, or is there a book 4 planned?

A: I wouldn't be against an IHFP4 but Harper's spinoff book absolutely is coming next, plus two additional spin-offs that I'm currently thinking about. I'm also going to edit IHFP1, 2, and 3 before I'd consider a book 4.