Sitting in class, jotting down notes, is as boring in college as it was in high school. Maybe more so because paying attention is more important here than it was in high school, especially if you don’t have a friend in the class. One thing about being with Logan is it’s made me truly realize that life in college will end. Seems obvious, I know, but it’s starting to hit me. Life after college sounds a bit terrifying, so I vow not to think about it until my senior year.
Once class ends, I begin my walk across campus to the library. It’s around lunch, but I’m not that hungry, so I’ll study for a bit. My phone rings, and I stop walking to search through my bag to find it. The damn thing is at the very bottom underneath a textbook and I rush to answer once I see it’s Logan calling.
“Hey!”
“Hey, busy?”
“Just walking to the library. What are you doing?”
“Taking my lunch break. Are you having a good day?” he asks.
“Sure. You?”
“Yeah. I was wondering if you wanted to go with me to Syd’s for dinner tonight.”
Oh, man. “I would, but I’m playing at the coffeehouse. You can’t bring me every time you go over there anyway. She might think we’re serious about getting married or that you don’t want to face dinner alone with her,” I tease.
“First of all, sugar, who says we’re not serious about that still? And second, I don’t want to face dinner alone with her.” He sighs. His admission surprises me. Logan gets along so well with his sister; why would he dread dinner with her?
“Why?” I ask softly.
“I gotta tell her about my conversation with my mom, and I just want to forget about it, especially since the woman called me again today.”
“What exactly happened with your mom?” He never told me because he avoided the topic entirely after she called.
“Long story short, she regrets her decisions in life and wants me to fly out to see her. Before you ask, the problem is that she asked me to pick up and leave to see her. She wants to see me, she can get her ass on a plane and come to North Carolina. And I’m not going to point that out to her, either.”
“Got it. Totally understandable. You also have a new job, so unless it’s a weekend visit, you wouldn’t be able to go see her for a long time anyway. It makes more sense for her to come here.”
“Exactly!” He says it as if no one would agree with him and he’s glad I do.
“You’ll be fine, handsome. And if she isn’t on your side for some reason, then at least you know I am.”
“Thanks, baby.” He takes a deep breath. “I’ll let you go. How late will you be singing tonight?”
“Until a half hour before they close.”
“Okay. I might stop by and see you then.”
“Sounds good.”
We end the call at the perfect time because I’ve reached the steps of the library as we’re hanging up. It’s odd. I’ve never had a guy call me for support before. That’s sort of what he did, right? How cool it is that I can reassure him? That he called me, hoping I could act as a buffer, and when I couldn’t, I was able to soothe his nerves anyway? Why that makes me feel so freaking giddy is beyond me. It feels a little ridiculous, to be honest.
Maybe I’m making something out of nothing, but it feels good that he called me and that he didn’t hesitate when I asked what happened. It was like he needed me, too. That’s a heck of a powerful feeling as well. Everything concerning Logan seems to give me a powerful, overwhelming, sense of comfort feeling. You wouldn’t think it would make sense, or that it would be a good feeling, but it does and it is.
While Logan can avoid his mom and call me, I can do no such thing. There’s a pair of boots I want and since Logan will want his hoodie back at some point, I need to grab mine. Somehow, I forgot it while I was packing my things. Hoping my mom miraculously had to work late does me no good. Not only is she home, but there’s another, unfamiliar car in the driveway as well. At least it looks like Gregory is here, too.
I get out and walk to the door, hesitating. Do I knock? Screw that. I turn the knob and push the door open, calling out, “Knock, knock!” as I walk inside.
Mom immediately comes from the kitchen, followed by the guy she went on a date with. Now that I can see him a little bit more clearly, he looks a bit older than her. He’s decent looking, I guess.
“Just grabbing a few things.”
“Do you want to stay for dinner? This is Glenn, by the way.”
“I can’t. Nice to meet you.” I make a break for my room. Unsurprisingly, Mom follows.
“How have you been? What’s it like staying at your dad’s?”
“It’s fine, Mom. Fewer arguments.” Unless you count our disagreements about his work schedule.
“Are you still seeing that boy you went out with?”
“Yes. His name is Logan.” Score! Found my boots. Now, where’s my hoodie? I flip through the clothes hanging up in my closet.
“What is he like?” she asks.
“I don’t know. What’s Glenn like?”
“He’s very sweet. You should stay for dinner and see for yourself.”
I sigh. “I already told you I can’t. I have other plans that can’t be canceled, and even if they could, it would be rude to do so last minute. Maybe some other time.” That last part might be a lie. I’m not sure yet. I’m still trying to get myself used to the idea of giving up on reuniting my parents. To spend time with her new boyfriend might be too much too soon. “Have you seen my hoodie?” I ask, facing my mother.
“It’s in the laundry room. I washed it for you.”
“Oh. Thanks.” I didn’t realize it needed to be washed, but whatever. It can’t hurt. “I’m gonna grab it and go.”
She follows me out of the room. “Maybe we can grab lunch one day? Or you can come over for dinner? You could bring Logan.”
“Yeah, maybe.” I don’t want to commit to anything that I’ll regret later. I grab my hoodie from the laundry room and when I turn around, Mom is standing right there. She’s in my space and the only reason I’m not annoyed is because she seems worried about being there.
“Can I hug you before you go?”
“Sure, Mom.” I lean forward and hug her, not wanting to make it more awkward by waiting for her to make the first move.
“I love you, Kayla.”
“Love you too, Mom. I’ll talk to you later.”
Despite what’s happened recently, I do love my mom and I don’t want to hurt her. All I’ve wanted is some space to do what I want. If Dad can give me those freedoms, she should realize it’s something she should do, too. I’m twenty, for goodness sake! She can’t expect good things to happen when she breathes down my neck like she does. Well, like she did. My “maybe” earlier might have been wrong. I need to decide if I want her to meet Logan yet and then decide when I want to come visit with her.
Now that I have my things, I drive to Dad’s house for a quick shower, change my clothes, eat, and then grab my guitar. Coffeehouse here I come. Hopefully things go well with Logan and his sister tonight. If he doesn’t make it by here for some reason, I’ll have to call and check in on him. The fact that I have someone to worry about makes me smile.
Logan gives me an extra reason to smile as I think about him while I sing as many upbeat, happy songs as I can.
“Someone’s in a good mood!” someone shouts after one song ends.
I only laugh, take a sip of water, and start the next song. There always seems to be a steady flow of people in here, no matter what day it is. How many of those people take a seat varies. At least five tables are occupied at all times today. Some are on their laptops, some are on their phones, but there’s one guy sitting in the corner. He walked in about an hour ago. He stands out mostly because he doesn’t have an electronic device with him. He has a notebook or sketchpad or something with him. I don’t think he’s looked up since he sat down, but then, I’m not totally focused on him either.
And when Logan walks in, my eyes latch onto him. He doesn’t look my way at first, the meanie. He orders a coffee and then finds an empty seat at the table closest to me. Finally, he looks at me and smiles. He’s definitely handsome and his smile is ridiculous. The moment I finish my song, I set my guitar down and hop off stage. I’ve never been more thankful for the space left between a table and a chair before. Logan left quite a bit. Enough that I can slide in and sit sideways in his lap, wrapping my arms around his neck.
“Hey, handsome.”
“Hey, sweet cheeks.” He kisses me sweetly on the lips. One of his hands rests on my lower back while the other sits high on my inner thigh.
“How did it go?” I ask.
“Fine. How’s your night going?”
“Good. Better now that I’ve seen you.”
Logan grins. “Oh, yeah? You must’ve been having one hell of a day for my ugly mug to make it better.”
I laugh. “Don’t be so hard on yourself. I don’t date ugly people.”
His eyes widen. “Kayla! You mean you’re only with me because I look good?”
“I call you handsome for a reason, Logan.”
He places a hand over his heart and makes a sound like he’s been hit. “That hurts. I thought you were with me because I’m good in bed.”
The giggles I was trying to contain burst free with his comment. “You’re insane. Like that’s any better.”
“Hey, you started it. Get your butt back up there. I didn’t come here to talk.”
I sigh dramatically. “Oh, that’s right. You’re only with me because I can sing.” When I pout my lips, he kisses me.
“Go.”
“Fine.” Leaving his lap, I return to the small stage, grab my guitar, and think of another happy song to sing. There’s an hour left until my time is up. It seems to fly by. Mostly because I get to quit early. No one stays until close and soon, Logan is the only one left. I do sing one song just for him before stowing my guitar in its case and collecting my tips.
Logan shakes his head as I walk toward him.
“What?”
“You’re incredible. I can’t get over it.”
“You don’t need to. You should simply accept that I’m amazing.” For some reason, I feel the need to bat my eyelashes at him.
“I lied. You’re ridiculous. Let’s get out of here.” He stands, taking my hand, and we leave the workers to their cleaning routines. “You going home or do you miss me enough to come to my place?”
Deciding to tease him, as I put my guitar into the backseat, I say, “Nothing good would come out of going to your place at this hour.”
Logan grabs my hand and pulls me flush against him. “Oh, a lot of good would come out it, all right.” He rubs his already cold nose against mine, eliciting a shiver, before kissing me. If he’s going to kiss me like that, as if with this one kiss he must convey every dirty thing he wants to do to me because this is his only chance to do so, then I’m not sure how to prevent myself from going to his apartment tonight. Because this kiss promises mind-blowing things that a girl would be crazy to pass up.
My chest labors for every breath, my body leans against Logan’s for support, and it totally doesn’t feel like the temperature hovers around freezing.
“Go on home if you want, pretty girl, but if you change your mind, my door will be unlocked.”
My exhale is a harsh sigh. “You’re such a tease, Logan.”
He laughs as he opens the driver’s door to my car. “A bad one if you end up staying at home tonight. Drive safely.”
Reluctantly, I get into my car and soon pull away, wondering if I should go to his place. Really, it should be a no-brainer. The question shouldn’t be why should I go to his apartment, but why shouldn’t I? There are no cons that I can think of. Plenty of pros. There’s Logan. Sex with Logan. Sleeping in Logan’s arms. Being with Logan. And lastly, Logan. I mentioned him, right? And the cons would be? My mind blanks. Staying at home means sleeping in an empty bed and, depending on if Dad is there, an empty house.
The moment I pull into the driveway, I get a text.
Logan: Get home okay?
That does it! He’s too sweet to sleep alone tonight. My thumbs move immediately.
Me: Yes. Packing a bag as soon as I can walk inside and then I’m coming over.
Logan: Officially the best girlfriend ever.
I grin and rush inside. Dad isn’t here, surprise surprise. I leave a note on the kitchen counter for him. He’ll call if he doesn’t find it. With that done, it takes me about fifteen minutes to pack my things. It wouldn’t take quite as long if I didn’t have to gather my school stuff, too. I have an early class tomorrow and I don’t want to bother with coming here in the morning.
When I turn around from locking the door, I see a car sitting at the end of the driveway with the headlights off. The moment I step off the porch, the car backs out like they pulled in to turn around. The lights come on the moment they’re on the road, too. An uneasy feeling hits me, even though the car is gone.
I slipped my phone into my pocket before I went inside and I pull it out to call Logan.
“Everything okay?” he answers. “Or are you calling because you miss me so much already that you can’t wait until you get here?” He pauses. “Don’t tell me you’re calling to say you aren’t coming.”
“No, I just wanted to talk to you until I get to your apartment.” I recount what I saw as I walked out of my dad’s house. “I feel creeped out now.”
“Did you see what kind of car it was?”
“No. It’s dark. The only reason why I knew there was a car is because of the reflection from the one light Dad has in the yard. Who turns their headlights off just to use someone’s driveway to turn around?”
“I don’t know. It’s definitely weird. Is your dad home?”
“No.”
“I’m glad you’re coming here then,” he says.
Me too, that’s for sure. Logan tells me more about dinner with his sister. The highlight is that Savannah wants to teach him how to ice skate. For some reason, she’s decided her Lo-Lo must learn how to skate like her and her daddy.
“I told her the only way I would come is if I could bring my new friend, Kayla.”
“What?” I exclaim.
“Yep. You gotta come with us. Don’t worry. Syd promised she’d make sure we’d all go, including Ian since he’s the legit pro. You up for going with me?”
“You’re asking me now? After you told that little girl you’d go and bring me?”
He laughs. “Good point.”
“Okay, I’m in a parking space. I’ll be up in a second.”
We hang up, I grab my bags, and soon, I walk off the elevator on his floor. I grin when I see him leaning against the threshold with a mug in his hand. He takes my bags and hands me the mug.
“Hot chocolate for my hot lover.”
“Ooh, I’m a lover now?” I step inside and he closes the door.
“Yep.” He walks down to his room to place my bag in there before returning. “Hot chocolate good?”
“Yeah, thanks.”
Logan wraps his arms around me, the mug stuck between us, and runs his hands up and down my back. For a moment, I worry about spilling the hot chocolate, but then, he says, “Glad you’re here and safe where I can keep an eye on you.”
I smile as he pulls away. “You were worried about me?” Carefully, since the hot chocolate is very hot and I nearly burnt my tongue on the first sip, I take another tentative sip.
“Well, not until you sounded worried. Then I was worried.” Logan takes a seat on the couch and pats the spot next to him. “I just got you. I don’t want to worry about you yet.”
I frown as I sit. “What does that mean?” It doesn’t sound great.
Logan winces a little. “That didn’t come out well, did it?”
“Not really, but that’s why I asked you to explain.”
“I guess I meant that we’re still having a lot of fun. We haven’t had an argument, haven’t had any sort of badness, and you haven’t scared me shitless yet. I like the fun, happy phase. Don’t you?”
He has a point, and he didn’t mean it in a bad way. Logan’s easily forgiven. I lean into his side. “Yes. Where’s yours?” I hold up my mug.
“You’re the one who had been outside and slightly freaked out. You needed it, not me.”
“You’re sweet.”
He drags his knuckles over my thigh while I finish off my hot chocolate. The moment I set it on the coffee table, he tugs me into his lap and kisses me. Seconds after his tongue slides into my mouth, a growl or groan, or maybe a mixture of both, vibrates up from his chest.
“Fuck, you taste like chocolate. I want you right here; that okay, baby?”
My response is to take my shirt off, causing him to curse under his breath before he attacks me with his mouth once more. The way he wants me, the way he makes me feel because I can so clearly tell he wants me, drives me insane in the best way possible. I don’t ever want this to be over.
A cozy warmth surrounds me. Fingers brush my neck and I realize it’s because Logan pulled his arm out from under me. He kisses my forehead and slowly moves away from me, taking half of that delicious warmth with him. My eyelids crack open enough to see him fiddle with something on his nightstand. His footsteps lead him away until I hear the water cascading down in the shower.
Aw. He’s taking a shower first. There’s no sense in me not taking advantage of him being sweet and missing out in this opportunity to sleep in a little bit longer. I tug the sheets up higher and let my eyes drift closed.
“Sweet cheeks.” Something brushes over my cheek and I push it away, hearing a chuckle. “Time to wake up, baby. Get a shower and maybe, just maybe, I’ll have you something to eat when you’re done.”
I open my eyes to see him smiling at me. “Do I have to?”
“Do you want breakfast?” He has me in a corner. “Better hurry before all that hot air comes out of the bathroom.”
Groaning, I roll away from him and rush to the bathroom, laughter sounding behind me. The chill in the air raises goosebumps immediately, but the bathroom is a bit warmer. Sometimes, I have no problem waking up in the mornings. But then, there are mornings like this where there’s a coldness in the air and the only place anyone in their right mind wants to be is cuddled under the blankets in their bed. Or, in Logan’s bed in this case.
The shower helps snap me out of it, but it’s still no fun to get out from underneath the water and get dressed. Instead of blowdrying my hair, I brush it, pull it back, and braid it. It doesn’t take me too long to finish getting ready after that.
“Pookie! Food’s about to get cold!” Logan calls as I step out of his bedroom.
I laugh. “I’m coming!” He sits at his table with two plates full of French toast and bacon. “Looks good. Thanks.”
“You need to come here when I get off work.” His eyes focus on my braid, which hangs over my shoulder.
“Why?”
He leans over, wraps my braid around his wrist, and uses it to pull me toward him so he can give me a kiss. “Because we need to have sex while your hair is like that.”
I laugh and shake my head, pulling away from him to dig into my food. “Sorry, handsome, but I have a big test coming up in one of my classes. I’ll be at my dad’s the next few days to study.”
Logan frowns. “You can’t study here?”
“No. You’ll distract me.”
“Fine. Just know you’re missing out on the wonders of lucky Lo-Lo.”
My laughter gets the best of me for a moment. “What in the hell are the wonders of lucky Lo-Lo?”
He shrugs. “Something I just made up if I’m honest. If I’m lying, it’s something that will help you pass your test.” He flashes me a grin.
“You’ll be fine without me, Logan.” I pat his arm in a soothing motion.
“Be prepared for calls from me. You remember what I said. You’re the kind of girl a guy needs to see every twelve hours, and since I can’t, I’ll have to call often. And don’t worry, I won’t interrupt your studying too much.”
I can’t help but smile. That seems to be all I do around Logan. I hope that never stops.