L O G A N

The sun hits every part of my exposed skin as I run, causing beads of sweat to trickle down my forehead and back of my neck. The day has been hotter than hell, but I couldn't stay cooped up in an empty apartment any longer.

My gray tank is soaked and clinging to me as if it's become part of my skin. Even though I peel it free, another mile of sneakers against pavement just ensures that it will once again fasten itself to me. Not even my ear buds blasting The White Stripe's "Seven Nation Army" can take my mind off this sweltering heat.

I didn't think I would be this disgusting when I finished the run, my end destination being Minneapolis Travel Company. I decide to cool down by stopping into a nearby Starbucks to order myself a vente iced green tea with lemon. As soon as the cold beverage graces my tongue I feel like my skin could begin to steam in relief. With a quick glance outside to the bank across the street, the sign says it's 102 degrees at only eleven thirty in the morning. Gross.

The travel company is only a few doors down from here and I thought by now I would have picked where I wanted to go. That's part of the reason I took the run; it helps clear my head.

"Need a refill?"

I leave my glance from the window and turn back to the barista who is pointing at my empty cup. Usually they don't offer that.  The cold tea went down much faster than I thought it would.

"I'm good, thanks though." I smile politely and give a quick nod.

"Can I get you anything else?" The girl takes a step forward, putting her hands behind her back and rocking from her heels to the tips of her toes and back down.

Christ. She's flirting.

If my sister was here she would be pushing me straight into this girl telling me to go for it. She's cute, in a just barely started college sort of way. She looks young. Young enough that if I asked her who The White Stripes are, I'm not sure she'd be able to answer.

"Still good, thanks." I nod curtly.

I notice the disappointed look on her face before she turns and walks back to her coworkers. Three of them stood and watched her get turned down, sorta. Tammy would have slapped me for that, likely telling me that I could have been nicer about it or that I could have asked her out on one date. Nate would have scolded me for not tapping her. Triplets can be so alike yet so different.

If I had to side with one, Nate's argument would definitely have won this time. I haven't had sex in eight months. I haven't had time, energy, or the will to even attempt to date. I'm not even sure I know how to anymore.

I stop the thought of my lack of sex life from consuming my mind by pulling out the list of destinations from my pocket again. This list has become a crinkled up mess from how many times I've gone over it in only a day's time.

Does it really matter where I end up? It's basically the same resort no matter which one I choose. Same food, same drinks, same beds. I suppose it comes down to which beach I want to plant my ass on for two weeks. I'm about ready to just close my eyes and point to one to choose.

I decide that the travel agency will likely be able to help me decide.  After all, it's their job to know which places people enjoy the most.  It's not as if I'll be touristy; I just need time to think and my siblings knew that.  They knew that this last year of school was me hitting a low like never before. 

Once again, I fold up the paper and stuff it into my pocket.  Before I toss my cup into the garbage, I pop the top off of it and take a mouthful of ice to chew on. It barely keeps me cool enough to walk down the sidewalk to the travel place.

When I swing the door open a direct blow to the chest has my lungs grasping for some of that humid air. I immediately take a step back, making an "oof" sound and noticing a petite blonde stumbling backwards. My arm reaches out and grabs hers in reflex, right before her ass hits the ground. I yank her back toward me a little too hard, again causing her to crash into my chest with a thud.

"I'm so sorry!" The woman exclaims and steps back from me with a noticeable limp.

Way to go, dumbass. Couldn't watch where you were going and put a girl into pain.

"I'm sorry," I shake my head and motion to her ankle that she's clearly not applying any weight to. "Did I hurt you?"

She glances down at her foot and shakes her head. "No," she sighs sadly. "This is just how my week is going. This was someone else's fault."

When she looks back up it's hard not to notice the bloodshot whites of her eyes and the faintest of streaks where tears had run down her cheeks. It's also hard not to notice that her eyes are a very unique shade of bluish-green; they're stunning.

A travel agency is an odd place to be crying though.

"Are you sure you're okay?" I set my hand on her arm in an attempt to steady her. That ankle looks terrible and the way she's babying it, I'm assuming it feels just as bad.

Somehow I think I'm asking about her mindset more than her ankle though. She clearly reads that question the same with an exaggerated laugh. "Fucking peachy," she mutters with an eye roll and picks up an envelope from the floor that she must have dropped. "Sorry - again. Just having a week and spaced. Didn't see you."

Before I can say anything else she brushes past me and limps out of the business to enter her car. I rub the aching area of my chest that she collided into as I watch her drive off into an abyss of air conditioned vehicles. Awesome day to have someone collide into me; I'm drenched in sweat and I'm sure I smell terrible.

My run today is proving to be a very poor choice.

"May I help you, sir?" I turn to a short woman with spiked dark brown hair who is looking at me like I'm crazy.

Right, air conditioning.

I pull the door closed, noticing that the blonde's blue car is now completely out of my sight.  I hope she's alright, that was quite a collision.  I'm twice her size and still feeling it.

Focus, Logan.

I, once again, pull the folded paper from the pocket of my gym shorts and hand it to the woman.  "I need to pick one of these places and it's a bit last minute.  I start a new job in a month so I need to take it sometime in the next few weeks."

"Sure!" she beams and motions for me to take a seat beside her desk.

I do as I'm instructed and take the seat with my mind still circling around the woman who was crying in here a few minutes ago.

"Do you have a preference on where you'd like to go?"  I look up to the worker, now seeing that she's wearing a name badge that says Tricia on it.  "Some of these places are booked a few months out.  Jamaica and Hawaii are very popular this time of year so I know those aren't available."

"Anywhere is fine," I lean back and again look to the door.  My curiosity is getting the best of me.  "That uh - woman that was in here before me.  The blonde one, was she upset about something?  She looked like she was crying.  I just want to make sure it's not my fault, we collided pretty hard."

Tricia looks back to the same door with a frown.  "Em's just having a really bad week.  It wasn't anything to do with you."

Em.

It's clear that this woman must know her outside of this business, so I don't press any further.  At least I didn't make a stranger cry today.

I run my hand through my damp hair, feeling a bit more disgusted with myself for running here and wanting to get home sooner rather than later.  I seriously can't even stand myself right now.

"So, what are my options?" I motion back to the paper again. 

Tricia grabs a purple highlighter from a cup and begins running it over a few destinations as she focuses on her computer screen. After above five minutes she pushes it back towards me, allowing me to see that the list is now narrowed down to about half the size.

"What do you think? I put some dates beside each one where I could get you a plane ticket and the resort."

"I really don't care," I answer honestly with a chuckle. "As long as there is booze and a beach, I'll be fine. I'm not going as a tourist; I just need to clear my head."

I look back to Tricia just as she looks back to the door and then to something on her desk, before she gets a small twinkle in her eye. "What about - Bali?"

"Sure," I nod. Again, I don't care where she sends me. I've never even looked at pictures of this place but I'm sure it looks like every other tropical destination.  Beach, palm trees, ocean, done deal.

"What about tomorrow?"

"Tomorrow?" That seems like very short notice to pack for a two week trip.

Tricia holds up what looks to be a plane ticket and uses it to motion to the door. "You'd be doing my blonde friend a huge favor if you took this ticket to Bali tomorrow. She had to cancel a ticket last minute. There's a Bali resort on that list, but I didn't highlight it because it's typically for couples. But, if you aren't going to do touristy things while there, it shouldn't matter. I could probably get you an awesome rate actually because you won't need a honeymoon suite which comes with said couples tourist packages. Since this is prepaid I could give you a gift card for the difference."

My ass sitting alone at a couples resort? This is almost ironic.

I run my hand over my face with a groan and look back to the beaming girl in front of me. She's holding up the plane ticket and making it dance in front of her, as a way of pleading for me to take it.

Bali, a couples resort, tomorrow.

"If it's too soon or you don't like the idea of hanging out with a bunch of couples for two weeks - I totally get it. Like I said, just trying to get rid of Em's plane ticket. We can book you at a normal resort."

Em.

Once again, my mind is swirling around what could make that beautiful woman cry. Those eyes were way too damn beautiful to be that bloodshot.

I suppose I could do a good deed for the woman who is having a crappy week and who I collided with. Maybe I can put a small smile back on her face when she learns her ticket sold. Hopefully some good karma finds its way back to me for it; lord knows, I could use it.

"Alright." I groan again, thinking of how horrible this trip might be being surrounded by couples who think they're in a one of a kind love. It's a joke, but booze will help me tolerate it. "Book it."