Chapter 7

Logan

“Thank you for dinner, Mom.”

“Oh, anytime, sweetheart.” She smiles and cups my face. “I like seeing you out and about. So what are you boys doing tonight?”

“Meeting two lovely women for drinks. We met them last week. Eden and Hannah.”

Hope flashes on my mom’s face and I can already guess what she’s thinking, so I excuse myself and leave them to talk. I step outside on the deck where my father’s standing with a glass of scotch and a cigar.

I lean against the wooden railing and close my eyes. In that brief moment, Hannah pops in my head and I quickly open my eyes and rub my face.

“What’s going on, son?” he asks without looking my way.

“Just thinking.”

“Thinking can be very therapeutic.”

I nod. “Yeah. I’m trying to figure some things out.”

“Is there anything I can help you with?”

“To be honest,” I pause, “I’m not sure.”

“Does this have to do with your new lady friend?” I don’t respond. “I take that as a yes,” he quietly whispers.

“And yet I miss my wife. I think about her all the time and wish she were here with me.”

His hand grips my shoulder, and the comfort of having my father next to me helps slow the tension.

“She will always be with you. It’s been two years, son. It’s okay to move on and open yourself again.”

“Yeah,” I mutter.

“By moving on with your life, you aren’t betraying her and her memory. She’ll always be a part of you, Logan. She was your high school sweetheart and wife. No one will take her place in your heart. I know she wouldn’t want you to barely be living. The drinking and one-night stands, and well, now the arrangement you have with Paige, it’s not helping you and it never will.”

I sniff, breathing in the acrid scent of his cigar smoke. “There’s no more arrangement with Paige. I ended things with her.”

“That’s good, son. You know, maybe this new friend of yours is a blessing in disguise.”

“What makes you say that?”

“Look at you.” He turns and is now facing me. “There’s something about you, something that’s come back. I understand Shannon will always be the love of your life, but that’s the thing about life. It moves on whether you want to see it or not, and just because life moves on, it doesn’t mean we forget about the ones who we love. And we make room for love, which I think that’s what you’re doing.”

I scoff and shake my head.

“So what's the young lady's name you have a date with tonight?”

I clear my throat. “Hannah Harris. She's from Ohio and moving here for a job. I'm not sure where she'll be working.”

“Hannah, huh?” He takes a puff of his cigar, blows a smoke ring, and peers at me through the leftover gray haze. “I like that.” I nod. “Interesting. And what do you know of her?”

“She’s sweet and adorable as hell.” I laugh, thinking about her smile and the way she talked when we were together. “She has this way of making you feel better, and I don’t think she knows it. I know she’s from Ohio. Her brother passed away a few years ago. She’s got her parents, just recently graduated, and starts a new job on Monday.”

“I see.”

“What?” I ask.

“Nothing.” He waves me off, the cigar clamped between his fingers. “I want you to do something for me.”

“Sure.”

“Every day, do something that’s going to help you move on from Shannon. If you let her go, and still love her at the same time, this task will be easy. Do something new every day—and start on Monday.”

“Sure thing, old man.” We stand in silence for several moments, staring out at the dark yard and listening to crickets. I shift my stance and finally say, “Well, Dad, guess I better be headed out. I'll see you later.”

“Good night, son. Have fun with Hannah and remember what I told you.”

Lincoln pulls into the parking space at Next Door Bar and Grill and we walk inside. We make our way through to the back patio where music plays and three bartenders are serving drinks.

“Two Stellas,” Lincoln orders.

“You’re sure they’re coming out?”

“Of course,” Lincoln replies with a smirk. “Eden texted me a few minutes ago. No worries, man. You’ll see your girl.”

I glance away, avoiding eye contact. “She’s not my girl.”

“Whatever you say, my man. Answer me this. If you don't know each other then why’d you make me find her address? Why’d you send her flowers? Lastly, why do you spend most of your time texting with her?”

His questions throw me off. To be honest, I'm not entirely sure why. It feels good to know she loves the flowers, and we can talk about anything. It’s easy with her. There’s no pressure or expectations.

“Don't think too much about it.”

“Uh-huh.”

I thank him for the beer and when I turn around my gaze finds Hannah laughing with Cal and Eden. Her hand's on his forearm and she moves a little closer to him. The next thing that grabs my attention is how sexy she looks. The dress hugs her body and I swear those legs of hers are sexier than before I last saw them.

Lincoln nudges my arm and we grab our beers and head over to them. I stay back a little, and when the music changes to a fast tempo song, Eden grabs Hannah and Cal and they make their way to the middle of the patio bar and start dancing. She notices me watching her and gives me a smile and a small wave. I lift my chin in her direction and she turns back and continues dancing. I can't stop watching her. Her dance moves aren't sexy, and it's actually really adorable seeing her awkwardly shake her ass and move to the music.

“Holy shit.” Lincoln chuckles and bends over, and holds his stomach. “Is she raising the roof?”

“Yep.” I laugh and she turns her attention to us and giggles.

You're cute I mouth, and she smiles, pressing her hand to her cheek. She spins around and performs some more ridiculous moves.

A few of our friends make their way over to Lincoln and me, but my focus is solely on Hannah and the way she's dancing. Her red dress fits her perfectly, showing off her long, toned legs and beautiful, curvy body. When she moves, slightly bending her knees and shaking her ass, it's a wakeup call to my cock, and I can't stop staring. It's addicting watching her.

I head over to the bar and order another beer. I get a quick smell of sweet perfume when a small, cool hand squeezes my shoulder. I glance over to see Eden standing behind me.

“Hey, you.”

“Hey back. How was the move?”

“Great. Everything's set up thanks to Hannah's parents.”

I nod. “Good, I'm glad.”

When the bartender walks over, I order my beer and two shots of Washington Apple, one for each of us.

“You look like you're having fun out there.”

Eden smiles at me. “So I hear you and Hannah are getting to know each other.”

“We've been texting. She's sweet. I like getting to know her.”

“She's a really sweet girl and has been my best friend since we were little.” Eden looks toward the dance floor then back to me and lowers her voice. “I didn't tell you this, but please don't hurt her.”

My back stiffens. “I know what her boyfriend did to her. Trust me, I'm in no position to start anything. She's a friend. There's nothing to worry about.”

The bartender brings our drinks over and she picks up the shots, passes one to me, and we clink glasses and toss them back at the same time.

“Yeah.” She slides her glass across the bar. “That's good to hear. This move will be good for her. As long as she's away from Aaron then I know she'll be fine.”

I smack my shot glass onto the bar top, ignoring the glare from the bartender. “Like I said you have nothing to worry about. But, she's okay, right?”

“She's trying to be strong. Aaron was her first and only boyfriend, so she's taking it hard.”

“Breaking up is never easy. Hopefully, tonight will do the trick.”

I take a swig of my beer when I feel someone touch my back. I turn to see Hannah and Cal right behind her.

“You looked like you were having fun out there dancing.”

“Oh, yeah.” She fans herself and leans over the bar to try and get the bartender’s attention. “I'm so thirsty.”

“Here. Have some.” I hand her my beer. She lifts the bottle to her lips and guzzles it.

“Cold beer is the best. Wow, this is really smooth.” She examines the bottle.

I wave one of the bartenders over and order a round of drinks.

As the night goes on, Lincoln and Eden go off on their own, while Cal finds some blonde. Hannah and I are sitting in the corner and she's talking about the move and starting her job on Monday.

I'm about to ask her where her new position is at when she grabs my hand and pulls me up from the chair.

“I love this song!”

I spin her around and a burst of laughter fills my ears. Damn, she's so fucking adorable.

Bringing her closer to me, I smell her attractive perfume and instantly draw her flush against my body. I turn her around so her back is to my chest and wrap my arms around her with my lips feather-kissing her neck.

Soft moans vibrate past her lips and I want to hear more. I fucking want more.

We finish dancing to the song and walk back to our corner. Being near her is messing with my head. I'll need to be careful. I don't want to treat her like some random chick and I know Lincoln's into Eden, so I don't want to mess up whatever's going on with them by hurting Hannah.

“Look at Eden and Lincoln.” She points to them making out in the corner.

I place my fingers underneath her chin and veer her head toward mine. “I never told you how beautiful you look tonight.”

Her cheeks blush. “Thank you, Logan. That's really sweet of you to say.”

She's truly beautiful, and I can't take my eyes off her. I know it's getting late and I'm not ready to say bye yet. Before I can say anything my phone vibrates and I answer the call without looking at the caller.

“Hello?”

“Logan.” Her whisper makes me look straight ahead, past Hannah, and I excuse myself to talk in private.

“Paige, what is it?”

“Melissa sent me a picture of you and some bitch. Are you seriously out with someone right now?”

“It’s not like that,” I explain. “And honestly my life doesn’t concern you.”

“Bullshit,” she shouts. “It has everything to do with my concern. You’re an asshole. So while you’re out, having fun, probably gonna get your dick sucked, I missed my shift at the bar and now I’m stuffing my face with chocolate so I can get over you.”

“Stop it, Paige. She’s a friend.”

She scoffs. “Whatever, Logan. Go ahead and fuck with her head the way you did with mine. I’m sure she’ll appreciate it. When you’re done with her send her my way, so I can let her know it wasn’t her fault you’re a fucked up asshole.”

Before I can say anything, she disconnects the call and I’m left standing in the dark corner, replaying her words, and realizing how right she is about how I am. I look back toward Hannah. She’s laughing with Eden and Lincoln and it’s beautiful to see her like this. But, Paige is right.

I killed Shannon and have to live with that regret. I broke Paige and slept with endless women. I’m a fucked up man and I have to end this with Hannah before it gets too far.

When I’m back, I sit down and feel Hannah’s hand on my thigh. I stare into her wide emerald green eyes and it nearly brings me to my knees. I know what I have to do.

For Hannah's sake, I have to end this thing between us before it even starts-and I have to do it tonight.