The game's second half picked up just like the first half ended. UW and USC both took the field renewed physically and mentally, then went right back onto their offensive attacks. Back and forth, the teams traded scores, the lead changed more times than I counted, and every butt in Husky Stadium stood clenched in anticipation.

Jake and Logan both put on offensive clinics, as neither fumbled the ball or threw an interception. Logan's slight edge showed only in his slightly more efficient passes and UW scored more quickly but Jake went score-for-score until Dad's scowl looked permanent, Mom's face was gray with tension, most of my fingernails were chewed down to stubs, and every nerve in my body felt frayed.

Finally, down 36-40, the Huskies' defense came up with big stops against Jake's offensive line. The crowd roared with nervous excitement as Logan took the field and unfortunately, under the pressure from USC's attempted quarterback sack, he pitched his redemption pass to Seth uncharacteristically high, wobbly, and off its mark.

The stadium inhaled one collective breath and watched silently while Seth's legs worked their best effort deep down the field. He closed the gap enough that his arms extended, clutched the football, and came down hard with the USC defender wrapped around his back, the ball stayed tucked into his chest,... and his butt firmly planted in the endzone.

"Yes!!" I cheered loudly, although anything that left my mouth was swallowed up by the explosive noise around us.

Surged by the offensive go-ahead, the Huskies' defense put the game away to the absolute delight of almost the entire stadium.

"Well, fuck," Dad cursed as the game clock ticked down and gave the Huskies a 43-40 win.

"Jake played well." The solemn expressions Mom and Dad wore showed my words, which sounded as lame as they felt when I spoke them, were completely ineffective.

"Both quarterbacks played well," Dad surprised me with his response although disappointment clearly hung in his eyes. "I'll say it again, LT... uhh, Logan, is one of the most talented quarterbacks I've ever seen. If he stays clean and healthy, no doubt he'll get drafted."

The bleachers thundered around us as purple and white blurs of fans rushed onto the field, converged around the UW players, and joined in the celebration. Mom, Dad, and I sat in our seats but I snapped a few pictures on my phone, even zoomed in for a video as Logan celebrated with Wes, Darrius, even Emmitt.

"Honestly, I don't know what he wants," I confessed quietly and tucked my phone into my purse. "But, knowing Logan, if he had a plan in mind then he'd tell me."

Dad's only response was his mouth twisted towards his right cheek but he stood silently and scanned his eyes around the field.

"Jake's going to take this hard," Mom murmured, her eyes fixated on number seven's knelt down figure across the field near the Trojans' bench, his head tipped downward to his chest. A few USC teammates surrounded him, patted his shoulders, and walked to the sidelines.

"Let's hit the restrooms again, then wait outside and meet up with Jake," Dad suggested, stood up, and stretched his arms overhead. With a narrow-eyed look from me, he quickly added, "And Logan."

While we made our way up the stairs in the lower level section, Mom slipped her arm around my shoulder and hugged me tightly against her side. "Sorry we missed out on the Family Day events," her low tone sounded full of guilt. "And that we're leaving early tomorrow morning."

"It is what it is." I put one arm around her and hugged back, which wasn't easy as we climbed the cement stairs. "We'll make the most of tonight."

"Haven't forgotten you want to talk." Her eyes darkened slightly and her wistful smile turned downward.

"Me either." My chest lifted and heaved with a sigh and I dropped my arm from her.

Like most home games, Logan was nearly mauled for autographs and pictures afterwards. I waited outside the Huskies' locker room while Mom and Dad waited for Jake, who based on Mom's text at least, was stopped by a few USC fans who also traveled or lived in the Seattle area.

Thankfully, the only female fans that I saw were truly just Husky football fans, not 'trying to get into Logan's pants' fans. In other words, not a single bleached blonde hair from Angel or Lydia was present that night.

Good riddance.

My arms crossed over my chest at the chilled breeze that blew against the back of my neck while a ridiculously handsome blonde-haired guy with the brightest ocean-blue eyes and knee-weakening smirk approached me. My heart thundered louder against my chest walls as Logan approached in his gray post-game suit. Once he closed the gap between us with a few long, confident steps, in one breath, I jumped up and flung my arms around his neck. The scent of his fresh soap and deodorant filled my nose, his slightly damp skin on his cheek pressed into mine, and I threaded my fingers through his wet hair.

"Congratulations!" I rushed out and squeezed him tightly. "So proud of you."

"Knew we could do it." His voice was equal parts confidence, pride, and excitement while he held me close against him. "And I'm just going to get this out now since Jake isn't here but it feels fucking amazing, baby."

"So proud of you, Logan." I pressed my lips quickly against his, then slipped down his torso until my feet touched down onto the cement. His palm radiated warmth as his fingers wrapped tightly in between mine and we walked across the parking lot towards his truck. "I love you."

At those words, Logan's feet stopped immediately, his bag hit the pavement with a soft thud, and his hands cupped around my jawline. My stomach fluttered at the intensity in his gaze down at me before his lips closed the gap between ours. His kiss was hard, demanding, and I loved every feeling it ignited inside me. I returned every push and pull until a few trembles quivered down my spine and reminded me we were still in public.

"I love you too." Logan's words were more breath than voice and washed over my lips. He kissed me once again, just pressed his lips hard against mine, then pulled off with a soft pop. "And now that the game's over, let's see your family."

"You mean let's get it over with," I corrected with a grumbled tone. "It's not going to be easy but I want to get the Ryder situation off my chest."

"The whole thing?" Logan's eyes stretched so wide his irises were surrounded with white. His free hand raked through his hair, then rubbed the side of his neck. "You haven't..."

"No." I shook my head while his voice faded off. "I never cleared the air with them. Buried my head in my books up here and pretended like things were fine with how my parents treated me."

"Fuck," he cursed quietly but squeezed my hand even tighter. "Whatever you need, I'm by your side baby."

"That's all I need," my voice wavered slightly but I squeezed his hand back. "You're all I need."

I meant every word and hadn't consciously thought much about how much of an impact Logan's presence made in my life, but realized that by the end of the game when I sat sandwiched between my parents. They all loved me but Logan was my strength. And I drew more strength and confidence from his unending support, lack of judgment, and how he treated me like I was the most important person in his life.

If he's by my side, I can do anything.

Including taking on my pig-headed father.

While I couldn't have ever expected Logan and I were given another chance, every cell of my being was thankful we'd gotten one. My heart was full of so much warmth, I felt like it wanted to burst out of my chest.

By the time we got to Logan's truck, the night sky hung overhead behind the same heavy, gray cloud cover. The interior was nearly black from Logan's tinted windows, but I took advantage of the privacy and slipped over onto Logan's lap the moment he sat in his seat.

"Woah." His breath hit my lips and his hands gripped my hips as I straddled him. "Hi."

"Hi," I whispered and brushed my lips against his gently.

Logan pulled back his head and his eyes, with noticeably larger pupils from our close proximity, studied mine. "Does this mean you're feeling better?"

My only answer was a slight nod and I pressed my torso flush against his chest. His muscles tensed under his dress shirt as I ran my hands over his chest and shoulders, the soft ridges and bends that I knew so well but touched like I reintroduced myself. Heat flamed inside me as I pressed my forehead against his, aligned the bridges of our noses, and grinded my pelvis against his. The light friction from his dress pants released a low groan from his lips, which I absorbed when I locked mine on his.

With one quick movement, his large hands palmed my ass, tugged me closer, and bucked his hips against mine. The swell of his erection right into the seam in my core area, combined with the strong, hot strokes of his tongue against mine lit my insides up like a pilot light.

"If we don't stop," he groaned and pulled off. "We won't make it to the restaurant. But we're finishing this tonight, baby."

A soft gasp escaped my lips when his hands firmly clamped down lightly on my ass cheeks and gripped me tightly. After a few recovery breaths, my lips tugged upwards.

"We'd better."

Logan and I walked hand-in-hand into the entrance of the Big Time Brewery, where most of the tan-brick front of the tiny but discreet bar was covered with dark green trimmed windows. The nearly all wood-paneled interior wrapped around us like Logan's hand still around mine and we spotted my parents and Jake holed up in a corner table.

By the drinks on the table, beers for the three of them already seated and two water glasses near empty seats, the waitress had already visited their table. Thankfully, Mom and Dad had removed their USC jerseys since a few Husky fans watched the post-game highlights from the bar but respectfully kept their backs turned in our direction, which was the main reason we'd come here.

After a quick round of hugs and handshakes, Logan and I sat bumped against each other on the bar side of the table while Mom, Dad, and Jake huddled in the corner. I examined Jake with the same intensity as I'd studied for my midterms. An air of disappointment weighed down his slumped shoulders but a tight, strained smile showed he presented a good front. Mom wore a tentative but shaky smile and one of Dad's hands clutched around his draft beer bottle but he never drank from it.

After a cleared throat, Dad looked up at Logan. "Helluva game tonight. Both of you boys." His gaze glanced between Logan and Jake.

"Thank you, Sir." Logan turned on the formality, which Dad scoffed at.

After a few rounds of idle game-related chit chat that thankfully showed neither Jake nor Logan had seen any of the pregame signs or harbored any rivalry animosity, the corners of Jake's lips curled up and he asked me the last question I'd expected but should've.

"So... How's Harper?"

I nearly inhaled my sip of water into my lungs at Jake's casual question. After a few gags, throat burns, and embarrassing back pats from Logan's palm, my watery eyes lifted up to Jake's.

"Wuh-what?" I choked out.

Logan's chuckle hit my ears before Jake's, who couldn't have been more casual as he leaned forwards in his seat, his dark eyes danced with amusement, and spoke slowly like I was a child, "How. Is. Harper."

"Scarred after you showed up last week," I retorted while my lips pulled towards one corner of my right cheek. "She's... okay. Her Dad's kicking her out in the spring."

His eyebrows shot up high. "How come?"

While I assumed Harper murdered me in my sleep for what I told Jake, I still shared with him, "She's been at community college longer than planned, so her Dad found her an internship to work at if she doesn't decide what she wants to study."

With a completely relaxed, impassive shoulder shrug, Jake replied, "I'm sure she'll figure it out."

"We'll see her a little bit at Christmas, a day or two." I slumped slightly against Logan's side, which radiated heat from his suit coat, at the reality of our short break.

UW's academic schedule ran on four quarters, not two semesters like most universities. While our courses were shorter in terms of the number of weeks, the winter break rotation meant we were in classes when most universities held their winter break for nearly three to four weeks. In the past, I'd appreciated our shorter breaks since they'd gotten me out of, for example, my cousin Madisson's awkward not-wedding or extended Christmases.

My hand found Logan's under the table as I remembered his Dad. While his posture stiffened for a breath, he relaxed and shifted closer in his seat until his leg touched mine, which I appreciated more than words expressed at that moment.

"So..." Jake's dark eyes narrowed at me and Logan then froze my breath in my lungs as he wagged a finger between us. "How long?"

"Not long," I finally choked out and stared directly at Dad. "And you're okay with it, right?"

"Dating, yes?" he huffed out quietly. "Living together, no."

My eyes rolled and my hand clamped onto Logan's as waves of anger rolled inside me. Since a temper-flared argument over a petty and, in my mind at least, resolved issue was the last thing I wanted with Dad, I took in a deep breath, sucked my lower lip under, and breathed through flared nostrils.

An obvious fact flew out of my mouth before my filter kicked in, "I had nothing to do with that."

"Whoever's fault it was," Dad's sharp tone cut straight into from across the table, where his eyes darkened the longer he shifted them between me and Logan. "I don't like the living situation."

"Dad, we're all adults here," Jake, of all people, cut in on my defense. "Ellie's twenty, not fourteen, so back off."

The corners of my mouth lifted faintly up at his words, which were completely true but Dad had an entirely different reaction. His mouth contorted into a sneer, cheeks flushed pink, forehead tensed until a vein popped out, and voice was laced with anger when he said, "I'll never stop caring about Ellie not being taken advantage of!"

Trembles ran down the back of my neck and spine. With Logan's close proximity, he must have felt them and thankfully spoke up because I sat frozen with my jaw somewhere on the bar's floor.

"Mr. Harrison, I can't change what happened to Ellie or that I won't do something stupid or doesn't meet someone's approval but Ellie means everything to me." His hand tightened over mine. "I waited two years for another chance and I'm not going to let her go this time."

"So this -" Dad fumed and waved his hand at us. "Roommate setup was some kind of scheme? Getting into her pants first, then break her heart?"

How the hell did he get that from what Logan said?

Before either Logan or I answered Dad's ridiculous accusation, Jake's phone buzzed with a message. He checked it, cursed, then shifted his eyes between me and Dad.

"Excuse me," Jake blurted out, along with a requested steak dinner ordered for him, and walked towards the bar centrally located within the restaurant and behind my and Logan's seats. I turned my head and my eyes absently followed Jake, where he was stopped by a leggy blonde who dangled them over the edge of a barstool.

Seriously? He's meeting tonight's hookup during dinner?

Wait... That's not just any blonde.

My breath stalled in my lungs at the sight of Rachel Sorenson the ESPN journalist, who now batted girly eyes and raked her hands over my brother.

Can't unsee that.

Unfortunately, the giant pile of delusional anger that wore my father's skin and sat across the table distracted my attention enough away from Jake and his apparent sidepiece.

"Dad, you're being ridiculous," I accused him in a tight voice that restrained the anger that still flared inside me the longer Dad looked pissed off at us. "Logan and I are happy together, that's not what I want to talk to you about."

"Then what is?" A slight gleam from the yellow overhead lights flashed across his nearly balding head, with just a few wisps of holdout hairs combed sideways over his scalp.

"Ryder Stevens," I blurted out, which froze everyone's attention at the table. "What happened, I -"

"Ellie, we're past this," Mom forced out in a raspy voice that sounded like her words stuck in her throat. "Moving forwards -"

"I can't move forwards," I interrupted her and looked at Dad. "Until we clear the air because there's a good chance I'll be asked to testify in court against him."

"Did Dave Reynolds plant that idea in your head?" he snapped out harshly. "If so I'm having definite words -"

"He wanted to warn me it could happen," I cut him off with a raised hand and internally high-fived myself at the calm, even tone of voice I used. "That's all. But there's a good chance this shit will all come up again and I need to know you're on my side."

"Of course we are!" His raised voice echoed off the walls and drew a few eyes in our direction. My own cheeks flamed warm as heat crept over his expression. "We've always been -"

"You treated me like a child!" I hissed out between my teeth as the usual lump of emotions that resurfaced with my past. After a breath that suppressed the anger that fought for dominance over my reactions, I lowered my voice and stared Dad straight in the eyes. "Locked me up and treated me like I was incapable of making decisions."

"Oh, like dangling yourself and him -" Sarcasm soaked Dad's voice while he waved a dismissive hand at Logan. "Out on national television, attracting all kinds of attention to yourselves, was a good decision."

My eyes nearly rolled out of their sockets. "Dad, I love Logan -"

"You're too young to know what love is," he grumbled and sat back.

"No I'm not!" My free hand squeezed into a tight fist, which I banged loudly on the table between us. "You're so... ridiculous!!"

At Mom and Dad's frozen reactions, my feet moved first. With one silent glare straight at Dad, I stood up and left the table. While I walked past the bar for fresh air outside, Jake's hand extended and gently tugged on my arm.

"Ellie?" His dark brown eyes were full of concern while they studied mine.

"I can't do this!" My voice rushed out in a whisper and the view of the bar blurred as hot tears trailed down my cheeks and took as quick of steps out as I could. "Sorry, Jake."

Ridiculous.

_____________________

A/N: I'd like to thank my new beta reader TThompson34 for stepping for the rest of this story! 

While you wait on my updates, please give her story Following in the Footsteps a read through:

https://www.wattpad.com/story/261874903-following-in-the-foot-steps