Alyssa and I arrived at the skating rink at exactly one o'clock the next day. I wore my thick, red leggings and the black coat I usually wore when I went running. I'd put my hair in a high ponytail to keep it out of my face, and I might have taken extra care on my make-up this morning.

The swelling in my wrist had gone down and it felt a lot better. I rolled the bandage up and put it in my backpack with my swimming stuff so I could give it back to Logan.

Logan.

I smiled just thinking his name.

"What are you smiling about?" Alyssa asked me as we walked up the sidewalk to the skating rink's entrance.

"No reason," I said too quickly.

She lifted an eyebrow. "I don't buy it. What exactly did you do yesterday?"

I didn't know if I wanted to talk about hanging out with Logan all day, since I still didn't understand it all myself. But I said, "Me and Logan kind of hung out all afternoon."

Her jaw dropped. "You and Logan? Like, Logan Carmichael?"

I nodded. "Yeah."

"And?" She waited for me to say more.

I shrugged. "And it was nice. He was nice."

We reached the entrance then, and just before she pulled the door open, she asked, "Do you like him?"

I bit my lip and tried to keep the butterflies at bay as I thought about my answer. But the butterflies wanted to wake up. "I might."

She raised her eyebrows. "Wow."

"I know." Then I hurried to say, "But I need your help. As you know, I've been super bad at reading guys, so I was hoping you could maybe watch Logan today and help me figure out if he likes me? I don't want to have another Noah Taylor situation."

She looked through the glass doors, and I noticed that the boys were right at the front of the lobby with their backs to us. Excitement bubbled inside my chest with the anticipation of spending another afternoon with Logan.

"Sure. I'll watch him." She turned back to me.

I grinned. "Thanks."

She pulled on the door and we stepped into the skating rink lobby. The guys stood from the benches, and I met Logan with a tentative smile, butterflies flapping around in my stomach. I had expected him to return my smile, but instead, he just greeted me with a stony expression.

Had he somehow heard my conversation with Alyssa?

My heart, which had swelled over the past minute, shriveled up with the thought that he had and that he didn't like the possibility of me liking him.

Before he could notice how his scowl affected me, I turned my gaze to Jace, who was smiling hugely at Alyssa and me.

Well, at least someone was happy to see us.

Jace clapped his hands together. "We already took care of your admission and skates, so we can just head downstairs."

"You guys didn't have to do that," I hurried to say, looking anxiously at Logan. Was he acting weird because he hadn't wanted this to look like a date?

Jace shook his head and handed us our wristbands and vouchers for the skates. "It's no problem at all. We invited you, so it all works out."

Well, technically, Logan had invited me because I'd asked him to pretend to be my boyfriend for a minute, and Jace had invited himself and Alyssa, but I wouldn't argue with him. I didn't need a second twin scowling at me.

Alyssa and I put our purple wristbands on, and then we all walked down the stairs to get our skates. Logan and I somehow ended up side by side, but he didn't say anything, which just made me feel so awkward that I couldn't think of anything to say to make things normal between us again.

Had I totally imagined everything yesterday?

"Have you guys been skating yet this winter?" Jace asked after we got our skates and went to the benches outside the rink to put them on.

"Not yet," Alyssa answered.

I tied my laces around my white skates. "I haven't been, either."

Jace glanced at Logan who was shoving his left foot into one of his black skates. "Me and Mr. Grumpy over here haven't been since before we moved away, so it should be pretty fun."

Logan glared at Jace at his mention of him being "Mr. Grumpy." I made quick work of tying up my other skate, so I could get on the ice and away from Logan and whatever was bothering him.

After putting on my thin gloves, I glided onto the ice. I waited for Alyssa and Jace to join me, and then we started skating around the rink.

"What's up with Logan?" I asked Jace, once we had circled about a quarter of the way. Logan was still sitting on the bench, taking his time lacing up his skates.

Jace glanced back at his brother. "He's upset about something my mom told him this morning."

"So it has nothing to do with me?"

Jace got a confused look on his face and asked, "Why would it have anything to do with you?"

"No reason."

We finished our first circle around the rink when Logan stood up from his seat. "You guys go ahead, I'm going to wait for Logan." Jace and Alyssa looked awkwardly at each other for a second but continued forward.

I slowed down to wait for him on the side.

"You decided to join us after all?" I asked when he got to me.

"Yeah, sorry I'm weird today."

I pushed off the wall and skated slowly beside him. "Why is that?"

I hoped he felt he could confide in me. I'd like to think that we were becoming friends.

He wobbled as he skated forward. "Apparently, my mom invited Olivia and her family to a housewarming dinner at our house on Friday."

"Olivia, as in your ex?" My insides turned cold.

He sighed heavily. "Yeah."

"And that's bad?" I asked, hopefully.

He shrugged. "It's just weird. I was finally getting over her."

"Oh, so you broke up pretty recently then?"

He nodded. "Yeah, just a few weeks before we moved here."

Wow, that was recent. How did I not know about this? I knew he said I couldn't fall in love with him because he'd just gotten out of a relationship. But I hadn't realized that he was on the rebound.

Had I really let myself fall for another guy who was trying to get over someone else? If that wasn't the story of my life, I didn't know what was.

"So are you worried all your old feelings will come back when you see her?" I asked, though I hated that I even had to ask that question.

He shook his head. "No. I just don't want to see her."

"Yeah?"

We skated a few strides in silence before he said, "It was never going to work."

I didn't know if that was better or worse. Was it better that he might hate her now? Or worse that he might forgive her because he could still have feelings for her?

Man, this would have been good to know a week ago.

"Sorry to hear that."

He shrugged. "Don't be. It just got me in a weird mood. But I think it actually helped to talk to you about it."

"Well, that's good." Good for him anyway. But now I was totally going to be second guessing everything he said or did.

I pushed off my left foot to go faster, deciding to just let it drop. If he said he felt better, I'd go with it.

I expected him to pick up his speed as I went faster, but when I turned back, he was still going super slow.

"Did you forget how to skate?" I asked, changing the subject. Maybe if I started acting like we used to always act together, I would feel better.

He grinned, his dimple appearing on his left cheek. "Actually, I never was very good at it."

"But I thought you Carmichael boys were good at everything," I taunted.

It did feel better to talk smack to him.

He chuckled. "We play basketball in the winter. Not hockey."

"Well, you better get really good really fast because I think it's time for us to have a race."

"Right now?" he asked.

I nodded. "Yep. Right now."

He chuckled. "I never knew you were so competitive."

I shrugged, and to show off a little, I did a 180-degree turn and started skating backwards. "You don't compete in gymnastics for six years without being a little competitive."

"So do you really want to race me right now?"

"Yep." I did. I could use the distraction from my worries.

We went to the top of the rink and waited for a few of the families to pass us. "First one to the other side wins, okay?" I said.

"Okay." There was a competitive glint in his eye.

"On your mark," I said. "Get set."

"Go."

He shot forward before I had a chance to realize that he'd just said go. So I pushed forward on my skates as fast as I could. I caught up to him quickly, and I was about to pass him when he suddenly grabbed me around the waist and said, "Oh no, you don't."

I didn’t know what he'd expected to accomplish by pulling me back to him, but in a split second we were crashing to the ground in a heap of legs and arms and skates.

"Ow," I said, pushing myself off his chest and rubbing my head where it had hit his solid shoulder in our fall.

Logan just lay there on his back with his head on the ice, breathing heavily. "Sorry," he panted. "I just couldn't lose to a girl."

My jaw dropped. "I can't believe you just said that." I smacked his bicep playfully. "You jerk."

His chest started shaking as he laughed, quietly at first and then loudly. "I'm joking, Raven."

I rolled my eyes and sat up straighter. My legs and butt were starting to go numb on the ice. "So did you accomplish what you wanted with that slick move of yours?"

He propped himself up on his elbows and gave me a suggestive look. "I just wanted to be close to you."

I smacked him again.

Logan sat up and got a funny expression on his face. Then he tilted to the side and reached a hand to his butt. "I think I split my pants."

I craned my neck to try and get a peek at his backside. Sure enough, there was a split about three inches long down the back of his black jeans—and showing through the tear was red and green striped underwear.

"Are you wearing Christmas underwear?" I asked, trying to get a better look.

His eyes went wide, and he sat back down so both of his butt cheeks were on the ice. "You weren't supposed to see that."

I laughed. "I never pegged you for the kind of guy that would wear festive underwear."

He shook his head. "They're my lucky underwear. I don't typically wear boxer briefs with Christmas colors, if you must know."

"Sure."

He rolled his eyes and got on his hands and knees before standing up.

It was then that I noticed a bunch of people looking at us, and I had to smile. "I think I'm having déjà vu," I said.

He held his hand out to me. I took it and let him pull me up. "And what's giving you déjà vu? The fact that I helped you up yesterday, too, because you can't seem to stay upright on a cold surface?"

"Hey." I scowled.

"What? You don't like it when people make fun of you after an accidental fall?"

I stepped forward until we were inches apart. "I was thinking more like how the last time we were in front of a bunch of families with young children, you gave everyone an eyeful then, too."

He looked around to see what I was talking about, and his face paled when he saw a bunch of little kids pointing and giggling at seeing his underwear.

"I think it's time for me to go home and hang out in the hot tub. I have a feeling I'm going to be a little bruised from that fall."

"If not your body, then your ego, right?"

"Har-har." He held his hand out to me. "Let's get out of here."