Ella The next morning, I found myself standing in Logan’s exercise room, a place I had only heard about but never seen. It was much more spacious than I had imagined, equipped with various gym equipment, mats, and even a small boxing ring. The walls were lined with mirrors, reflecting the polished floors and the gleaming exercise machines. It was clear that this was where Logan honed his physical prowess.

EllaThe air in the exercise room felt heavy with the aftermath of our passionate hookup. My heart was still pounding, and my body tingled with desire. I had never expected things to escalate like this, and now that they had, I was overcome with a mixture of emotions.“Wow,” Logan breathed as he rolled away from me, out of breath and just as sweaty as before. “That was…”His voice trailed off, but he didn’t need to finish. I didn’t want him to finish—because I was coming back to my senses.God, what had I done?The aftermath of what we had just done together hit me like a freight train. I felt as though I had fallen victim to my primal urges and I had done something I never should have done. This was a mistake, just like the first time.So why did I feel so… good?My cheeks flushed with embarrassment as the realization hit me. No, this wasn’t right. I shouldn’t have done this; it was stupid. It was so, so stupid. But I could make a promise to myself never to do it again. I could put t

EllaI was in the middle of descending the hiking trail, my thoughts still consumed by the conversation with Ema and the unresolved emotions surrounding Logan, when I heard a voice calling my name.“Ella! Ella, wait up!”I turned around, my heart skipping a beat as I spotted none other than Devon in the distance, waving and heading my way. My surprise was palpable as he drew closer, but his presence wasn’t unwelcome. It was nice to see a friend right now.“Devon?” I exclaimed. “What are you doing here?”He grinned as he approached, that familiar mischievous glint in his eyes. “I hike here all of the time,” he said with a shrug. “Seems like you do too, considering this is where we first met. You haven’t forgotten already, have you?”I couldn’t help but smile at the memory. It felt like a lifetime ago when I had literally bumped into Devon on this very trail, right when I needed someone the most.He had helped get rid of a group of guys who were bothering me by pretending to be my boyfr

EllaIt had been a long day at the office, but a fulfilling one nonetheless. After working out our plans and splitting up the cases based on our interests and areas of expertise, Sarah and I planned for another meeting in the morning.I was excited to work with her, although I knew that working too closely together could throw a wrench into our budding friendship if we weren’t careful. Still, I trusted Sarah deeply, and I sorely needed the help—and she needed the cases if she was going to move up in the firm and get Mr. Henderson’s attention for the upcoming promotions.By the end of the day, though, I was exhausted and ready to go home. I went through my usual rigamarole of packing up my files, my laptop, and my tapped phone, even though the thought of taking it anywhere with me anymore made me sick.I almost considered leaving it here again. Another ‘accident’. Another night of not being listened to, if that was even possible.But Logan had made his point very clear already; appeara

Ella“Do you want to drive the car yourself or not, Ella?”Logan’s question came out with that same infuriating mischievous smirk, as always. We had just spent the past two hours working on his racecar together, which I had admittedly enjoyed, but driving was a whole different story.“Driving? Logan, you know I hate driving,” I protested, crossing my arms as I stared at him with a mix of annoyance and reluctance in my eyes.Logan’s eyes twinkled with mischief as he stood beside the racecar. He leaned on the hood, leveling me with a probing gaze.“Oh, come on, Ella,” he urged, a playful grin tugging at his lips. “It’s not that bad. And I promise it’ll be fun. We’ll just take a little drive out into the desert, enjoy the night. It’s not like there will be other cars out there.”I sighed, feeling a sense of defeat wash over me. Logan had a way of persuading me to do things I had never thought I would, and right now, I was on the verge of giving in, no matter how much I hated that fact.“