Your Exception

by Starr, Bria

  It sucks to be cheated on.

  I decided to do what was best for me and leave him. Leave the home we had lived in together for the previous two years. I didn’t beg for him to pick me over her nor did I kiss his ass and tell him I still loved and forgave him. I just left. I knew deep down that it wasn’t me who had done anything wrong. I was only guilty of loving him, and trusting him, but now I have a new start. A fresh beginning.

  Cassidy and I have a two level house with two decent sized rooms upstairs but on opposite sides of the house. Thank goodness. Each room has been slightly remodeled with a bathroom and walk in closet. The main level has a small living room that’s open to the kitchen, with the front door in-between, that leads out to our porch. Cassidy did tons of looking around for the right place and the right price. We couldn’t have asked for more. Even the privacy is nice. We share a driveway with one house that veers off. According to our landlord, an elderly couple lives there. Besides them, there isn’t a house anywhere around us. The house itself isn’t exactly up to date with the appliances, but it’s cozy and quaint, and it works for us. We couldn’t have asked for more.

  We get the kitchen and living room completed by early evening. After I get my bathroom organized, I make my bed, unpack my clothes, hang up my shirts and fold my jeans. I can hear Cassidy down the hall talking on the phone, so I put my iPod in its dock and turn up my favorite playlist. I can't sing or dance, but you can bet your ass I'm a rock star in the shower and a dancing queen while alone in my room. Mid-twist I hear laughing and I turn around to see Cassidy pointing and laughing at me from the doorway.

  "Don’t judge me!" I scream, covering my face in humiliation.

  She falls to her knees, still laughing. "I'm going to pee my pants!"

  What was I thinking whipping out my horrendous dance moves with the door open? I laugh with her.

  Cassidy stands up and wipes the tears from her eyes. "I'm going to go pour some wine and make some popcorn. Come down when you finish up. I call the recliner!"

  I'm still full from the pizza we ordered earlier, but I can use another break. I finish putting the last of my clothes away, then make my way downstairs. As I inhale the delicious aroma of popcorn, I grab the bottle of water I’d shoved in the freezer an hour earlier and chug half of it down, swallowing small chunks of ice as I do. There’s nothing better than ice cold water.

  I walk over to the couch and grab my Kindle. Working two jobs means I have less time to read and it makes me sad. Cassidy sets down her glass of wine, and the bottle, on the coffee table beside the bowl of popcorn.

  "Yes, I will be drinking this entire thing tonight," she says as she picks up her own Kindle and sits down in the recliner. She sighs. "Ahh, this is the life! What would you do without me?"

  I smile and shrug. I don't know what I would do without Cassidy in my life. I feel happy for the first time in a long time. Content.

  Chapter 2

  "Wren?"

  What the hell does she want?

  I roll over in my bed and put my pillow over my face.

  "Wren!" Cassidy whines into my ear.

  I pull the pillow away and let her have it. "What? Don't make me regret moving in with you. I’m exhausted after unpacking. This is Sunday! A day of rest!"

  She smiles and kneels in front of my bed. "Well, good morning to you too. I just wanted to give you a heads up that Jack might come over today and hang out. Do you think we should go out and meet him, or have him come over here?"

  She woke me up for this?Really?You havegot to be kidding me.

  "What is this we business? I'm not going anywhere, and I certainly don't want Dumbass in the house today while we finish unpacking."

  "He's sweet, and he obviously likes me because he's the one who texted me,” she gloats.

  "You honestly think you're the only girl he's texted today?"

  She frowns.

  I sit up in my bed and give her an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. It's early,” I say, rubbing my eyes. “He probably does want to see you. What do you prefer to do? Go out or have him come over? I'm fine with whatever you decide. I promise."

  "Well, as much as I love our new place, it'd be nice to get out for a bit. We’ve pretty much got everything done and put away, so I guess we'll go out. Are you coming with us?"

  I debate. Go out with Cassidy and Numbnuts as the third wheel, or stay home with my chocolate and read. "I think I'm going to stay and get the rest of my boxes put away and hang some decorations."

  She raises a perfectly shaped eyebrow in suspicion.

  "Fine, I'd like to relax and read for a bit. I'm at a really good part in my book and fell asleep reading." I glance down at my Kindle lying on the other side of my queen-sized bed as proof. She smiles and nods. If anyone understands my reading addiction, it's Cassidy.

  "Well, I've got to go get ready. Come help me pick something out."

  I groan as I throw my blankets off to the side and drag myself down the hall to her room.

  After Cassidy’s hair is styled and her makeup applied, she puts on her dark pink dress with a black belt around her middle, complete with black heels and her black Coach purse. She's meeting Jack at Kally's Place in the next town over. It's a nice restaurant with a patio that overlooks the lake.

  "Are you sure you won't come with? It won't be awkward. Even Jack was asking if you'd come."

  "Threesomes aren't my style, but thanks for the offer."

  She laughs and shakes her head at me. "I'm pretty sure that's not what he was asking, but whatever. Okay, I’m off. Have fun all by your lonesome!"

  "Oh, I will. You look amazing, by the way!" I call out after her before she shuts the door, leaving it unlocked. Shaking my head, I walk to the door and turn the deadbolt before heading upstairs.

  As soon as I’m in the shower, I start singing at the top of my lungs. Because I can. When the hot water turns cool, I step out, get dressed, then make some lunch because I missed breakfast while helping Cassidy get ready. When I finish eating, I curl up in the recliner we always fight over because it’s so comfy, and read until I drift off to sleep.

  Hearing whispers, I open my eyes to see three people standing in my kitchen. Cassidy, Jack, and fucking Logan. All standing there with huge smiles, looking at me. I sit up straight and my hands immediately fly to my mouth searching for hints of drool. Who knows how long I've been out. Then my hands move up to my eyes trying to wipe any trace of smudged eyeliner or mascara away.

  "Sorry, I tried texting you a few times to warn you we-” she pauses briefly giving a slight head nod in Logan’s direction before continuing, “were on our way back. Logan joined us, and they wanted to see the new place. I thought we could all hang out here for a while."

  "Um, sure. I was just reading..."

  I look down at my Kindle before quickly standing up. I pick up my emptyplate and head towards the sink. Logan turns so his back is against the counter. He isliterallytwo feet away from me, and he smellsso good. It’s hard not to bring my head closer to catch a whiff of his soap mixed with the leather from his jacket. He has a white shirt underneath and another pair of loose fitting dark blue jeans. I have a thing for James Dean, and he’s definitely pulling off the ‘James Dean’ look.

  Cassidy wanders off to give Jack a tour of the house. As I'm rinsing off my plate and putting it in the dishwasher, Logan looks down at me and smiles. "So where were you last night?"

  I turn my head up to him. "Excuse me? Gee, that didn’t sound stalkerish at all,” I tease.

  "I guess that did sound pretty bad. Well, since I'm already digging myself a hole, this might be a good time to ask where you were today too." He laughs.

  I lean back against the counter opposite from him. "I was here today. We’ve been moving the last two days, and I'm exhausted," I explain.

  "Well, that explains why you weren't at The Edge last night. I was looking for you because I thought you said you worked weekends. I live over in Westmont, and I keep hearing good things about the place,
so I took some of my buddies to check the place out and maybe get a few gigs playing there. Plus, you told me Draven was playing. I ended up knowing who most of the guys in the band were."

  I look at him curiously. “And you didn’t know them when I told you the name of their band?”

  “I moved to Texas for a year. I just moved back a couple months ago. Last I knew, they were all in different bands. A lot has happened in a year.”

  I couldn’t agree more with that statement. So he only lives two towns over. Westmont is more of anuppity town compared to our little Elmwood.

  "I said I worked mostweekends. I took this weekend off to move.”Why were you looking for me?“And that’s right, I did mention Draven. What did you think of them? They're my favorite local band."

  Logan put his hand over his heart as a look of pain passed over his face. "Hey, I thought Distort was your favorite band. I'm crushed!” He smirks. “But you were right, they were great. They play the good songs you never hear anymore."

  I nod in agreement as I look around for Cassidy and Jackass. Logan seems to understand and holds out his hand. "Come on, let's go find them. You can give me my own private tour on the way."

  I walk past his outstretched hand and make my way towards the stairs as he follows. When we get there, he holds out his arm as if to say, ‘After you’. Is it just me or is every girl usually ushered up the stairs first so that the guy has an opportunity to stare at her ass the entire way up? Good thing I've got curves in all the right places.

  We get to the top of the stairs, and Cassidy’s door is closed. I motion to the right, and Logan walks towards my room before stopping in the doorway. He looks around before entering, then goes over to my dresser and desk, carefully taking everything in. I notice he glances down at the unpacked box on top of the stack, the one filled with pictures of me and Alec.Shit. Why haven't I burned those yet? But he doesn't say anything. He casually looks over my two tall bookshelves filled with books and DVDs.

  He sits down on my black and red bed spread and looks up at me.

  I am cautiously aware that this hunk of a man is sitting on my bed right now. MY bed!

  "So, what is your favorite book?" he asks.

  "That's a horrible question! I couldn't possibly pick just one.”

  He chuckles. "Just answer the question. Quick! Without thinking."

  I look up to the ceiling as I think. How can a book nerd answer such a question? I think of my first favorite, one I can always go back to and love just as much the first time I read it. "Pride and Prejudice by Jane Austen,” I respond.

  "Oh, come on. That's such a girl choice."

  "First of all, it is a classic choice. And second, no man in the world could ever live up to Mr. Darcy. No man. Don't judge it until you've read it," I say in defense.

  He holds up his hands. "Okay, okay. Settle down. What's your favorite movie?"

  I wander towards my bed and sit down. I have a feeling I’ll be in here for a while, but I don’t mind. He's stuck here until Jack's ready to leave, and he is nice to look at. Plus, he smells amazing. I lay back against the pillow as he turns and lays down on the other one next to me.

  I can’t believe I’m lying in my bed with a total stranger right now. A gorgeous one.

  “That, I can’t answer. I have way too many. Although I do prefer the old black and white classics.”

  He turns his head and looks at me. “You have an old soul.”

  I look back at him. “Why do you say that?”

  “There’s just something about you.” His gaze slowly falls down to my lips. I fight the urge to look at his as well, but I am overpowered by a slight turn of desire, and feel the overwhelming urge to kiss him.

  I watch as he runs his tongue over his lips. In preparation to kiss me? Oddly enough, I want him to.

  Suddenly, a faint, muffled cry sounds in the distance. One that I soon realize is more like a cry of ecstasy. We both look at each other and break out into laughter. Awkward...

  I reach over on the nightstand and grab the remote to my iPod dock and turn it up. We lay there listening to music and go back and forth answering questions about our favorite colors and foods to pass the time. I find out that he is twenty-five—three years older than I am. He has two sisters, one brother, and a mom who worked three jobs at once to support her family. His favorite color is blue, and he loves pizza.

  There’s only about an hour of daylight left when we hear Cassidy and Jack come out of her room and head down the stairs. Logan looks over at me. "Well, I guess I’d better get going, too. Thank you for letting me come over and hang out with you."

  "It's not as if you had a choice. You were stuck here, waiting on Jack."

  He smiles before walking toward the open door of my room and heads towards the stairs. It's my turn to view his backside this time. I smile as I realize I'm doing it. Only to look up as he stops at the top of the steps and turns his head just in time to see me checking out his ass. I turn bright red, put my head down, and keep walking, nudging him down the stairs. He laughs out loud as he heads down. How embarrassing.

  In the kitchen, Cassidy and Jack are discussing Distort’s upcoming gigs.

  I nervously glance at Logan, wondering if he was about to kiss me before we were interrupted by Cassidy’s screams. He hadn’t looked as if he wanted to again while we continued our conversation.

  “Wren would probably come with me to see you. She loved you guys, didn’t you, Wren?” Cassidy says cheerily.

  “Yeah, they were okay,” I casually respond. My eyes shift back towards Logan, and his eyes meet mine.

  She innocently looks at me. “Okay? You said you loved them, and that you’d download their music if you could. Remember?”

  Yes, thanks for bringing it up.

  Logan bursts out laughing. “Is that true?”

  My cheeks start blushing again as I look down in embarrassment. Could this day get any worse?

  Logan is still laughing. “Oh, this is great! All this time I thought you were immune to my charms, but now I hear that you love my music. This day just got better!”

  My face is completely crimson now. “Weren’t you guys on your way out?” I say, opening the front door and walking out onto the porch, hoping they’ll get my point and follow.

  Cassidy brings Jack outside, kissing him goodbye in front of his car. Logan steps out and reaches over, pulling me in for a hug. "I had fun today, Wren."

  That reminds me...

  "How did you know my name the other night?"

  He gives me one of those sexy half smiles as he turns and walks down the steps. He goes down the driveway, where he passes Jack's car and throws his leg over a black Triumph motorcycle.

  What. The. Fuck.

  Realization dawns on me that he was, in fact, not stuck here this entire time. He could have left any time he wanted. He winks at me as he pulls some sunglasses out of his pocket, revs the engine, and rides away. I really didn't think a sexy guitar player could get any hotter.

  But he just did.

  Cassidy comes in the house, her hair still a mess from her rendezvous with Jack. "Now this has been a great day!"

  "Yeah it was...nice," I respond as I head over to plop down on the couch.

  "Did you fuck him?"

  "What? No way! I think you know me a little better than that," I say, disgusted.

  "Well, I sure fucked Jack. He has mad skills."

  "I really don't want to know, and please, don't use terms like that. It's annoying."

  "So, did he at least kiss you?"

  "No, Cassidy. He did not kiss me.”But I’d wanted him to. I was hoping it would happen, but it never did. “We talked. That's it. There are plenty of other things a man and a woman can do together that aren’t sexual."

  “Like what?”

  I laugh. She has to be joking. “Oh, Cassidy. One day you’ll learn. Besides, I’m not exactly sure it’s like that.”

  "Well, what's not to like? He was the one forcing Jack to ask me to get
you to come with today."

  No way. “You’re kidding?”

  “I’m not, actually. You should go for it. He’s totally into you.”

  I don’t want her to know my feelings towards Logan have fully increased in the last few hours. "Why don't you just let me get over one guy before I start on another, okay?"

  "Fuck Alec! You need to get over him. It's over. Done. He cheated on you!"

  Tears sting my eyes. I know all these things, but hearing them, that hurts.

  "I'm sorry, Wren. I'm sorry. It's just that…he's a bastard, and I don't want him ruining any more of your life than he already has.

  I wipe away a fallen tear and stand up. "It's okay. I know you're just looking out for me. I'm going to go to bed now."

  "Do you work tomorrow night?"

  "No, just the shop. I'll be there Tuesday and Thursday night though. Along with Friday and Saturday night, of course."

  "I'm meeting my sister for lunch before my shift tomorrow night. I’ll probably only stop home to change quick before I go in, so I probably won't even see you."

  "I'll see you Tuesday then. Good night."

  As I lay in bed, my mind, for once, is not on Alec. I can't stop thinking about Logan and how comfortable I felt with him lying in bed with me. I still can’t get over that. I swear I can still smell him. I lean my head over and smell him all over my other pillow. I slowly sit up and switch pillows. What? It's my bed, I can do what I want. I fall fast asleep and dream of rock stars and black motorcycles.

  Chapter 3

  Monday morning comes way too fast.

  I head into the shop and punch in. Through the big glass windows behind the front desk, I can see Zach is already in the back working on a newer model Charger. What I would give to own one of those! He looks up and waves at me. I smile and wave back.