A/N: Hello again everyone! As promised, I'm here with the fourth chapter! Before we get started, I'd like to thank mrs. hutcherlark, TheLoganTrain (Guest), and loovingthis for reviewing last chapter! I loved hearing your thoughts and I'm glad that you all liked the Cargan interaction! There will be a nice Cargan moment and a sweet Kames talk next chapter that I'm really excited about!

And I'm sure that you all will be excited with this chapter! I won't give anything away, but I hope you all enjoy!

Chapter Four

"So… how was your lunch?" Logan asked as he continued to set up the chess board, not looking up when I sat across from him.

Chess wasn't one of my favorite pass times, but it was something that Logan and I did together. I guess it was kind of our thing.

I let out a sigh dropped my gym bag to the floor before leaning back in my chair.

"It was all right." I answered after a moment. "I think it was a mistake for them to put that McDonalds down the street. I'm going to get fat from all that cheap, crappy food."

"Well cheap fast food tends to be bad for you." Logan said with a shrug. "You know you can shop on a budget and still have decent, filling meals."

"Yeah, but it's so much easier when someone else does the cooking."

It was an old argument between the the two of us. Probably a little tiring for Logan who, if he was not always health conscious, was at least self-sufficient in the kitchen. That was one of the things he and Carlos had in common. Just about every time I saw them together outside of practice, one had cooked something he wanted the other to try. Carlos had dinner at our house more often than James some weeks. That was another reason why I didn't understand James' statement that Logan and I would be good together. It was obvious, perhaps only to me, that Logan had far more in common with Carlos and the interest between them definitely went both ways.

I watched in silence as Logan finished setting up the pieces on his side of the board. I instinctively tensed a bit when he looked at me and then back to the board quickly, focusing on what his first move would be. It was a different pawn every time, but I had learned to read most of his opening moves. A far left or right pawn meant he was going for a longer game, trying to draw out his opponent's most aggressive pieces. A center pawn meant he was going for a quicker game and wanted to give himself an advantage.

Honestly, he always had an advantage, whether he knew it or not. I made it a point of remaining as silent as possible during our encounters because it was easier for him to distract and then beat his opponents if he kept up a steady stream of chatter. But my silent act also served a different purpose. It gave Logan too much time to think, and then overthink, all of his moves and attempt to second guess what I would do next.

His hyperactive brain was his weakness most of the time. This time though, I wished he would stay silent and not try to continue our conversation from earlier. It had been hard enough talking myself out of being upset over what he had shared with me. I wasn't sure I'd be able to keep my remaining bitterness to myself if Logan brought it back up. Maybe it'd be better if we didn't spend any time together at all right now.

"I should jump in the shower. I'm sure I smell pretty bad."

"You're fine." Logan said, briefly glancing up at me again. "You didn't sweat nearly as much as everyone else." He said before pausing, letting that comment hang in the air. "Unless you don't want to play with me." He said before looking up again, this time holding my gaze until I finally looked away.

"No, I've got a little time." I said before swallowing hard. Geez, the air in this room was suffocating. Was the AC out here too?

"So, nothing to do this afternoon?" He asked slowly as he wiggled his fingers over a pawn near the far left. "Nothing earth-shatteringly important?" He looked up again, eyebrows raised.

Was this all about me blowing Carlos off? Of course. Wouldn't want to hurt his feelings, would we?

"No, but I can find something to do if you'd rather not play. I thought I'd rest up before I go out later."

"Ah." He said as he reached for a center pawn and moved it one space. "So you'd rather get wasted with some club rat than hang out with your friend and neighbor for one night?"

At least he had the foresight to refer to Carlos as a neighbor and not one of my friends. I wasn't up for pretending I wanted to be around Carlos any more than Carlos wanted me around. He probably only invited me over to be polite. After all, how would it look if he invited James and Logan, but left me out?

"I think you know the answer to that." I said before picking up one of my pawns and moving it a space.

"I thought I knew some things about you, but I could be wrong. About a lot of things." He added that last comment in a mumble just before grabbing another pawn and shifting it one space.

"Like what?"

I watched as he sighed before looking up from the board.

"I thought you could handle what I had to say without having a hissy fit."

"I didn't have a hissy fit." I said defensively.

No. What I had was frustration that I couldn't change James' mind and, deep down, the knowledge that James' refusal to try for a relationship was the right move. It just sucked that it took another person to point it out to me.

"No, you let your teammates suffer in potentially unsafe conditions without a break because you were too busy mad at James and I to think about what you were doing." He said, quickly following my chess move with one of his own.

"You guys were fine."

"And if someone had passed out or worse, would you have been the one to explain why to the EMT's or their family?"

I looked down to avoid his glare before replying.

"Fine. I should've been paying more attention to the weather. Happy?"

"No." He said as he watched me move another piece. "I want to know what part of this you have a bigger problem with. Call it curiosity on my part."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean," He began. "is your issue that James and I have talked about you a few times?"

'Now it was a few times?' I thought to myself, frowning in the process.

"Are you bothered because he says he could see us together? Or is there something else?" He asked, his voice becoming more quiet at the last question.

I looked up from the board to see something that I never thought I'd see from him. An expression that, on anyone else, would've been more than curious. It was open, vulnerable. A naked longing that disappeared as soon as I was sure that I knew what it was, only to be replaced by him pressing his lips together and looking back down at the board.

Wow. Okay. That made this conversation a hell of a lot more interesting. Maybe Logan had spent so much time analyzing me because he wanted to know if he had a chance. And I wasn't really sure how I felt about that.

"I'm not in love with the idea that you guys have talked about me." I said. "It's strange."

"I'm sorry our conversation made you feel that way." He said softly. "I honestly wouldn't have said anything if you didn't want to know."

"I know, I asked for it." I responded. "About… us." I said, looking up just in time to see Logan's expression change before the mask slid back into place. "You don't think it's weird?"

I watched as his lips trembled as he fought down a smile.

"I think," He began, reaching across the table. "life is full of possibilities." He continued as he touched the back of my hand, gently stroking the skin. "If this isn't one you want to take advantage of, then you shouldn't feel pressured to do so."

It wasn't my imagination that the temperature in the room had risen. It was one thing when Loges was getting into my head on a purely academic level. It was another thing when he looked at me from beneath thick lashes as if he could unravel me from inside out if given half the chance. Holy hell… the little nerd was trying to seduce me!

"I don't feel pressured. I feel…" Confused. Suprised. A little turned on. More confused. To distract myself from the dirty direction my thoughts were taking, I turned my attention back to the chess board. Somewhere between needling me about taking off and getting all touchy-feely, Logan had started to win the game. We started back playing the game, and it didn't take long for me to have the advantage again. That is, until Logan's leg moved against mine.

"What are you doing?" I asked.

"Stretching my legs. There's not much room under the table. Maybe we should play on the floor. Or upstiars…" He suggested.

I wasn't exactly sure what he wanted to play, but the look on his face said that it had nothing to do with a chess board. Time for a subject change.

"How come I haven't seen you play with James lately?"

"He's given up trying to challenge me." He said with a shrug. "I guess he realizes that some things are inevitable." He added with another small stroke on the back of my hand.

This time, I swore I felt a corresponding ache in the small of my back and up the inside of my thigh, the sensitive parts of my body that always responded the most when given the right kind of attention. My mind might be reeling at the idea, but my body definitely wasn't opposed to getting to know Logan a little better.

I had to refocus on the game. The chess game. The little figurines on the board in front of me that could've been army action figures for all the concentration I had right now. I reached towards the board, letting my hand hover over the back row of pieces.

"What are you thinking about?" Logan asked.

"Beating you."

"Kinky. Be careful if you decide to try it. I've got sensitive skin." He said, his words making me knock over one of my knights.

I watched as a smirk formed on Logan's face before he picked it up. "I'll consider that an accident, not a concession."

"I should go." I said quickly.

"Oh, to get ready for that hot date you don't have lined up with those friends who are busy with relationships right now?"

"Logan, don't."

"What?" He asked, pulling his hand back across the table. "I want to spend time with you tonight. You'd rather runoff and avoid me. I thought we'd gotten past you being upset about what I told you."

"I don't want to hang out all night with Carlos, okay?" I said, watching as a frown formed on his face.

"Do you really hate him that much? I don't get what you're problem is with him. He's really nice. He's funny. He'll even cook for you so you don't have to eat that deep fried, chemical-filled crap anymore."

"Yeah, he sounds wonderful." I said as I pushed back from the table and grabbed my gym bag. "Enjoy your date with him tonight. You'll have a lot more fun without a third person there."

As I went up the stairs, I noticed that Logan didn't even bother calling me back. Which made me assume that this time, he got the message.

Done! Oh Kendall... when will you learn? Lol! I hope you all enjoyed that little Kogan moment, you know, before things went downhill :)

I'm enjoying writing this story because it's different from my usual writing style. And I'm enjoying it so much that I'm considering doing more stories in this format. And since the unrequited Kames love in this story is killing me, I may just make it Kames! ;)

I'd love to hear your thoughts on this chapter as well as if you had a favorite moment!

As I said earlier, next chapter will basically just be Cargan and Kames talks but I'm really excited because there's some closure in a way for Kames. You'll see what I mean next chapter!

Anyway, next chapter probably won't be up until next weekend but I hope to be able to read lots of reviews until then! ;)

-EpicallyObsessed