Fate (GXG)

Chapter 5

Logan’s POV

I felt the cool water hit my face in the shower after a long day I had. My body sore from today's events of two practices and weight room workouts. Today marked the last day of training for the women's and Men’s basketball team here at Grand Ridge University. Summer training had been brutal, we had started on the last day of school in May. Now here we are in July finally finished with the workouts. Not only did I have workouts with my team. Including that with my other training for my trip to Thailand to learn more about Muay Thai, also along with running my business, it’s been a hell of a month for me. I needed at least a few days off from everything and everyone just to keep myself from going insane. I walked out of the bathroom walking and towards my closet to find something to wear for my night alone. I selected some sweatpants and a shirt, my signature look I would say. walked over to my large bed and laid down to rest for at least a moment. A stolen moment of clarity is all I needed.

Then my cell phone rang… the moment that I had intended to steal for myself stopped and was disrupted. I looked everywhere for the nuisance disrupting my time of peace, and yet I couldn't locate it. I looked around and found it sitting on my desk that I do most of my work on. I sighed long hard, now that I've found it I couldn't just ignore it. I needed to see who's requesting my presence now. I walked over slowly to the desk hoping that if I walked slow enough the caller would just hang up and never call again. As I reached my mahogany fine crafted desk the call stopped. I exhaled with relief mumbling to myself, “Thank you, whatever you wanted couldn't have been important.” I looked at the phone for a few more seconds just in case whoever it was called back. After a minute of no results of any kind, I turned my back to go back and lay down. Then...

*RING*

I turned my head swiftly this time it wasn't my phone, instead, it was the call box by my front door. I walked out into the rest of my loft. The person on the video box kept buzzing as if they knew I would be here but also knew I would ignore them if given the chance. I came upon the door and the box. My call box has a screen on it so I can see who’s out front and can see who's outside causing all this noise. Who the person ruining my day off, well at least whatever what I have left of it. I pushed the button on the display to see who it was and to my unsurpise who I thought it had to be was the person it was made out to be. Nathaniel.

“What do you want, Nathaniel?”

“Come on, Logan…. I forgot my key that you gave me to your place, Please Logan… let me up.” Nathaniel pleaded with his hands clasped together. 

For him to look like a big scary grown ass man, he’s the most childish man I had ever had to deal with. Nathaniel or Nate as he pressed me to call him and I do from time to time when he doesn't annoy the s**t out of me. When he does he knows it when I call him by his full name. It's safe to say I rarely call him Nate. 

Nathaniel is about six foot five and if you let him tell you he’s six foot five and a half. Even though we’ve taken him to our medical training staff all summer and measured him every day and the results are still six foot five. I didn't respond to him, instead, I watched him standing outside like the huge child he is, standing there with his hands put together begging with puppy dog-like eyes as if he was a spoiled toddler when you tell them no.

He started to speak into the intercom again, I cut him off with a quick “No”

“Please Logan, Logan pleaseeee,” he said, dragging out the E for what seemed like hours. It made me cringe because he knew I would do anything to make it f*****g stop even if it means letting him inside on my day of freedom. My serenity was ruined by a man-child who forgot his key that I gave him to only use when he needed my place as a hideout or just needed a break. I sighed aggressively because I knew I was about to let him in and ruin my peace. I pressed the intercom dreading to reply to him to let him in. “Fine, but I'm not giving you another key until you pay for the change of the locks of the front door of the building and my house.”

“Fine, fine, fine, just let me up please” 

 I pressed the button to let him in the building but my job wasn't over yet. Since Nathaniel didn't have his key, I also had to give him access to come up in my personal elevator that led to my personal car garage and my loft. I pressed the button that allowed the elevator to be called to him. I walked over to my couch and laid down. I closed my eyes taking some deep breaths that I learned from my brief Muay Thai training in Thailand over spring break. Inhaling the energies of the universe and exhaling the negative energies from my spirit. I knew whatever the urgency of Nathaniel's’ visit, whatever it is he wanted something. It has to be important because just like me he had practice today and he knew that I needed to rest because I wanted to rush through my business meetings so that I could travel to Thailand and finish training next weekend. It's Thursday and I have to finish several proposals as I explained to him and the rest of our friends earlier. My meditation was interrupted by the knock at the door. I had already had the door unlocked for him so I wouldn’t have to get back up. Nathaniel walked in and looked at me in a frantic state as if he thought I was about to kill him about the key. Then his look softened as he walked towards the chair on the side of me. 

“Thank you, Logan... I’m really sorry about the key, I'll replace it I promise.” 

“Don't worry about it, I know you didn't mean any ill intent by it. You didn't lose it on purpose, plus you don't have a job. How do you plan on paying me back with no income?”

He sat there silent running his hand through his beard thinking of an impossible way to pay me back. Out of my friends, only Jayson and I worked. I was running a business passed down from my grandmother. Jayson was working at an internship for his major. The only thing Nathaniel and our other friend Chad knew were partying, females, and a bunch of other nonsense. They often call me and Jayson their parents. Sometimes teasing me when I tell them not to do something or when I tell them ‘no’ they always respond with “Yes mom.” If it was Jayson they would call him dad. Not to say as if I and Jayson were a couple. They knew full well that their kind didn't appease me and I was more interested in women. 

He began to speak after taking a minute to think. “I’ll come and work for you. I have these big muscles,” he said flexing. “Maybe you need a bodyguard while in Thailand or while you're closing your huge mafia deals or whatever business you do.” 

I clicked my tongue again “ For the last time, I am NOT selling drugs or a part of the mafia. And NO, you're not coming with me to Thailand. Besides, I can kick your ass right here and right now.” I said standing up towering over him. Nathaniel may have a few inches over me and have huge bodybuilder arms but he lacks legs and he constantly skips leg day. 

When I first met Nathaniel he was a scrawny walk-on for the basketball team. I met him from our first day during hell week. Hell week is when upperclassmen basically flat out bully the freshman athletes. It’s a ‘right of passage here’ but, I didn’t buy that s**t and stayed far away from the upperclassman as much as I could. Unfortunately, Nathaniel was told that he had to touch my breast and he would fully be accepted also, that’s he wouldn’t have to finish the rest of the week. Let’s just say he attempted but before he got too far I broke his hand and his nose completely. I was going to continue breaking s**t however that’s when we all met Jayson. Who ultimately saved the rest of his bones and my ass from not getting kicked out. I made a promise to be here and here is where I shall remain until I graduate. 

Later I eventually with Jayson's help and I say help very lightly, apologized to Nathaniel. I kind of ruined his manly reputation and I felt bad for him. So I offered to make him what he is today and honestly, I’m so proud. Still, the boy wants to be a womanizer i***t and some things can’t be helped.

“Now Nathaniel,” I said finally sitting down. I paused for effect to show him how serious I am but it’s so hard with him because I scare him too easily to not laugh at him. “You know I needed my loft to be empty for the rest of my time here before I leave next weekend, and I know you wouldn’t have come here because you missed me, you just saw me.” I looked up at him and he just hung his head down playing with his fingers like a child being scolded. “I know you can’t possibly be in trouble to hide out here. I just saw you an hour ago, and I know you don’t really want to go with me to Thailand… what’s wrong.”

He signed hard, I could tell on his way here he couldn’t think of any way to tell me. That he played the situation over and over again in his head. Trying to find the right words to tell me but, he was still frozen. “You’re right, it’s not about me..” he trailed off still waiting for the words to hit him. He finally met my eyes staring at them with sympathy and anger. “It’s about Ariel, she’s is or she has been cheating on you”

Ariel is well about to be my ex-girlfriend we had only been dating for a semester. I thought I liked her enough to keep her as my girlfriend but as time grew rather quickly I realized that I didn’t. I thought originally that Ariel and I were just you know having s*x and it wasn’t a thing. Apparently, I was the only one with that thought and we are a thing or were a thing. It happened during spring break when I came back from Thailand and she’s been showing me off since. I’m not going to lie although I realized we shouldn’t have even had s*x, something in me just wanted to feel something even if it was fake to me. To her s*x felt amazing and to me, it felt like going through the motions. I would never let her touch me, I would just satisfy her itch and get back to work. I piled myself into my work for the business that isn’t completely run by me but will be soon. I guess the lack of s*x or me not wanting to be her arm bag was enough for her to cheat.

I looked at him with so much seriousness and leaned over to him, “How sure are you, Nate. I don’t like rumors you know this. With your word alone isn’t enough you know I need proof.” 

“I’ve suspected for a while but of course I know you, Logan. I got the proof that I needed today, I even traded my hot limited-edition sneakers for this.” He said with such confidence. 

“Nate, I-“ 

“Logan don’t, you know I hated this she-devil b***h, I mean yeah she’s hot but a b***h is still a b***h. For you, I’ll give up everything I own. You’ve done so much for all of us.” He handed me his cellphone, I flipped through the naked photos with her and multiple men and women, there were even videos after each picture. 

I couldn’t help it but I laughed out loud. Nathaniel looked at me as if I’d finally turned psycho and would use whatever ‘connections’ he thinks I have to take her out. He touched my arm trying to calm me down as if I was a mad man. “Logan,” he whispered softly and with concern. 

I put my hand up and finally gained back control over myself. With that, I cleared my throat and stood up. “Nathaniel,” I said and he stood up as well “Yes” he replied. 

“Thank you, can you please send those to me, you don’t need to replace the keys. Consider this your payment.” 

“What are you going to do?” Nate said with horror in his eyes. He probably thinks that I’m a psychopath at this point or on the road to becoming one. It’s not really normal for someone who’s been in a relationship for the last three months to laugh like I am right now. In all seriousness it does suck but, it's over now no going back.

I walked to my kitchen to grab a couple of shot glasses and of course, Nate followed me with a panic look on his face. Looking in the liquor cabinet I grabbed the best bottle of tequila I had. I’m not the biggest drinker between my friends and I, I think the idea of drinking until you’re puking your insides out is dumb and the morning after isn’t a reward. That being said I’ll do it occasionally, and tonight might be that occasion. 

“Nothing, absolutely nothing. I’m going to go back to work and get ready to leave for my trip. What do you expect me to do Nate?” I pour two shots and down them both. Perks of being rich no one really cares about your age, thankfully I’m not the typical young billionaire, drinking until sun up, wasting away and never caring about who you hurt in the process, and just burning through money. I’m nothing like them, everything I received from my grandmother, I made better. 

The world may think I’m just a rich child who inherits while someone runs the company but, the truth is I run these businesses and no one knows it. Only a handful of people know it, the boys of course, my small town friends of my grandmother and their families, as well as some of the employees to a certain degree. I employed all of my grandmother's friends and oh boy she had a lot of them. She used to say that they were more than just friends, they really were our family. I loved all of them and I even employed their families. So I took my work and business seriously. It's not just about me and my reputation. I have families to take care of, they are my family.

I started to pour one more shot, Nate swiftly came around the table and grabbed the bottle from me. I was pouring him a shot. I didn’t want to leave him out of the party, I mean he hated her so much that I was convinced that at one point of time He might have a crush on her. You know what they say ‘If a boy bullies you or something he likes you’ some s**t like that.

“Logan, I won’t let you drink yourself through sadness… well at least not alone or here without women and music,” Nate states with a smirk. I knew what that look meant, I know what he wanted and the answer is NO. NO.. NO! “Logan let's continue this at the club, Come on you haven’t been to it in a while and it’s the only one we can get in.” He pleads with his ugly puppy eyes. He’s so annoying and I can’t believe some people fall for these sad ass antics from him.

“NO,” I say grabbing the bottle again pouring one final shot before I do some work. I leaned back on the counter taking in his pitiful sad eyes. “Nathaniel, I’m fine, I have too much s**t to do before leaving next week.” He instantly drops down in front of me on his knees and begins to beg pathetically...

“Logan PLEASE! You know that’s the only club we can get into. We need you, it's been too long since we’ve been outside. Come on pleaseeee..” He dragged out his e’s again. Damn him, I hate when he does this s**t, I WILL NOT BE CAUGHT WITH THIS AGAIN. So I pushed him to the ground and he landed on his back loudly. “Ouch,” he yells loudly to me, staring at me with hurt as if I punched him in his face. Starting to feel like I should. “Why’d you do that, I just wanted to cheer you up!”

“No Nathaniel, you just want to go to the club, and the only reason we get in is because I own it.” I do indeed own it, I owned it because it’s a good investment nothing more. The money I receive from this club goes directly to the older families back home that are retired and can't work. “You’re using me, Nathaniel. Admit it.” I held out my hand to help him back up. He grabbed it and was back on his feet.

“No, well yeah, but no Logan, you haven’t been out since spring break before the National tournament. We miss you, Logan. We don’t have to be there long two hours tops.” He’s right, I’ve been busy with school, training, and work that I haven’t had time for anything or anyone extra. I knew was about to cave in. I released an annoyed grunt mixed with a sigh. I have no idea what the sound was but, of course, Nathaniel knew what it meant because he was jumping for joy. “Fine but, TWO HOURS only. When I'm ready to go I WILL LEAVE.”

He was so excited that it slightly warmed my heart, he’s a child but he’s one of my best friends. “So are you going to break up with her now or? Wait, I don’t have anything to wear, I need to go Logan, I’ll have to call the boys to let them know the plans for the night. We’ll meet here, Okay byeeeeeeeeee.” He spits this out a mile a minute while leaving. I locked my door with a sigh. ‘Guess I'd better get ready for whatever tonight holds’ I thought to myself.