by Amanda Black
“I would have introduced you to my parents,” I called out over my shoulder, “but they left early to go on a date of their own.” I smiled, turning to him. “I guess we inspired them. Plus, my mom is going to be gone for a couple days doing publicity for her book, and they always like a little alone time before they’re apart.”
“That’s okay,” Logan said from the doorway. “Maybe next time.” He said the last sentence so quietly that I barely heard him, but it made me feel giddy nonetheless. If he was thinking about a next time, then that meant this was more than just a one-time date to him, and that idea made me very happy.
“Ready to go?” I asked, turning around to find that he was much closer to me than he had been before. Leaning back against the counter, I looked up at him and smiled. “Wow, I never realized how tall you are.” He had almost a foot on me, forcing me to tip my head back when he was so close.
“You didn’t notice last night?” he smiled.
“Uh, well,” I could feel my face heating. “I was a little bit preoccupied last night.”
“Me, too.”
We stood there in silence after that and just stared at each other, as if we were daring each other to make the first move. I wanted so badly to just reach up, pull him down to me, and kiss him senseless, but I knew I wouldn’t stop there. As soon as I tasted his lips I would be done for—I’d end up dragging him upstairs and throwing him down on my bed.
It’s kind of hard to have a proper first date if you’ve already mounted and ridden him like Seabiscuit before even leaving the house.
“We should go,” I whispered weakly, my throat suddenly very dry.
“Yeah,” he nodded slowly. “That’s probably a good idea.”
He held out his hand to me and smiled. I slid my fingers into his palm and he clutched them tightly, like a small child being given a favorite candy he had no intention of sharing with anyone.
That suited me just fine. I wasn’t a big fan of sharing, either.
He led me outside to his car, which was the first time I ever noticed what he drove. “A Volkswagen?” I asked, quirking my eyebrow at him.
“They’re one of the highest rated cars for safety,” he said matter-of-factly. “My dad and I thought it would be the most responsible choice for a first car.”
“That makes sense, I guess.” At least it was a newer model—a nice silver Jetta sedan, not one of those tiny little Beetles that I’d always thought of as a girly car. Actually, the closer he got to it, the sexier it started to look.
“So, where are you taking me?” I asked him as we walked together.
“That depends,” he said with a smile. “I have two options in mind. Would you like a nice restaurant with cloth napkins and real silverware and the whole shebang, or would you prefer a more casual setting?”
“For tonight, I think I’d actually prefer something more casual. I just want to have fun getting to know you, not worry the whole night that I’m using the wrong fork.”
“That works,” he chuckled. “Pizza okay?”
“Always!”
“Harris it is, then.” Harris Pizza was a local favorite. They were a little mom-and-pop setup that was famous for creating “Quad City Style” pizza. A ton of other imitation places had popped up around them, but as my dad loved to say whenever we’d visit, nobody did it better than Harris.
Logan opened my door—another first for me—then made sure we were both buckled up before starting the forty-minute drive into the Quad Cities.
“Would you like to listen to some music on the way?” he asked, behaving like the perfect host. “I have my iPod, or we can listen to satellite radio.”
I was torn. I really loved the Alt Nation channel and had been going through withdrawal from satellite radio since being saddled with the rolling antique that was my car, but something told me that was the selfish answer.
“How about your iPod?” I wanted to get to know him; what better way to start than with music he liked?
From the huge smile he gave me, I could tell I’d made the right choice.
“Okay!” He plugged it into the dock, scrolling through a few different screens before looking at me shyly. “I, uh, I sort of made a playlist. You know, for tonight.”
“You made us a date mix?” I didn’t think this guy could get any cuter.
“Yeah, well… It’s just a bunch of songs that make me think of you.”
I stand corrected. He just blew way the hell past cute and was bordering on adorkable.
When he queued it up, I saw that he’d named the playlist Eden Songs, which caused a fluttering sensation in my stomach. Needless to say, I was totally blown away when he turned it on and one of my favorite new tunes started playing.
“Oh my God, I love this song!” I squealed.
“I know,” he replied, clearing his throat nervously.
“How do you know? We’ve never talked about it, have we?” I may not have paid as much attention to Logan as I should have in the past, but I definitely would have remembered an entire conversation about my favorite music.
“You, uh, you hum it a lot. In class.”
“I do?” Jesus, Eden, not only do you ramble, but now you apparently hum.
“Yeah. Once I figured out what song it was, I looked it up and listened to it. The music is good, but the lyrics really make it for me.”
“Oh, I know! That’s what I love most about it. Although the music is great, too. It just all goes together to me. The tune is so light and bubbly and fun, and then the lyrics are so damn sweet and touching. When they’re put together, I can’t help but smile.”
My favorite part started playing, where the singer breaks into a few lighthearted la la la’s before repeating the adorable chorus about wanting nothing more than to make his girl happy, so of course I couldn’t stop myself from singing along like an idiot and bopping around in my seat.
I glanced over to find Logan staring at me intensely. Figuring I looked like a doofus, I stopped singing along, but it did nothing to lessen the powerful look he was giving me.
“What?” I finally asked, a little embarrassed under his scrutiny.
He blinked a few times and turned back to face the road. “Uh, nothing. I just…really like the words.”
We both were quiet as the next song started, one I’d never heard before that was pretty, but rather sad. It was about a guy who keeps waiting and hoping for a girl to notice him and give him the time of day.
I felt Logan’s eyes on me again, but when I turned to catch him in the act he was already watching the road again.
By the time his iPod started playing another sad song, I was beginning to detect a pattern.
“Logan?” I finally got up the nerve to ask as he was parking the car at the restaurant.
“Yes?”
I waited until he turned off the engine so that I had his full attention in the quiet car.
“You didn’t make that playlist today, did you?”
“What makes you say that?” he hedged, looking away nervously.
“Come on, Logan.”
“You’re right,” he sighed, looking at me with color blooming in his cheeks. “I started making that mix when you first moved here.”
“Why? I mean, they’re beautiful songs, but they’re so sad. At least, they make me feel sad.”
“I’m sorry; I never wanted you to be sad. Like I said earlier, these are songs that make me think of you. They… It’s like they say the words that I never could.” He looked deep into my eyes, reaching out to stroke my cheek. “You don’t know how long I’ve hated myself for not being able to talk to you.”
I reached up and covered his hand with my own. “You seem to be doing fine now. Right now is all that matters. I meant what I told you last night: I don’t think I was ready when I first moved here. I’m sorry that you felt that way for so long, but I’m happy that we’re finally trying to see where this is going together.” I leaned forward and kissed him softly on the lips before pulling ba
ck and smiling at him. “Better late than never, right?”
“Yes,” he whispered, kissing me again quickly. “Better late than never.”
“Good. Can we go eat now? I’m starving!”
“Yes,” he laughed, and his smile reached all the way up into his beautiful eyes. “Yes, let’s go eat.”
Chapter 12
We laughed and talked over our shared appetizer, which tasted delicious but had me repeatedly checking my shirt for spots of marinara sauce. I had a nasty habit of spilling food all over myself whenever I ate, and this was one night when I really didn’t want to wear my dinner.
We took turns asking each other questions throughout our meal, which was how I learned that Logan was not only good with computers, but also very creative. He liked to read and sketch in his free time, and he wanted to study graphic design in college.
“So you don’t want to be some video game programmer or something like that?”
“No,” he chuckled and shook his head. “Don’t get me wrong, I love my video games, but they’re a fun way to escape for me. If I made that my career, I don’t think I would like them anymore. I just want to play them.”
“And your father doesn’t want you to go into medicine?”
“No, both of my parents have always pushed me to do what’s right for me. They would never want me to blindly follow in their footsteps; they’d rather I take my own.”
“They sound really great. It’s kind of nice that a lot of my friends here have parents who are still together. At my last school I was one of the only ones. I know divorce is necessary in certain circumstances, but I think it’s really sad that its become so common that having married parents makes you the odd man out.”
“I agree,” he said with a nod. “So, do you have any siblings? I haven’t heard of any, but I wasn’t sure.”
“Nope, just me. How about you?”
“Just me as well. My parents talked about having more, but my mother worried that they’d already missed too much of my childhood working at the office—she manages my dad’s practice. So they didn’t want to spread their attention even thinner.”
“That makes sense, I guess. My parents would have liked more, I think, but they were pressing their luck just to have me, from what I’ve heard.”
“Would you have liked a sibling?” he asked.
“Oh, I don’t know. Sometimes I think yes, but after babysitting my cousins I’m very glad to be able to go home alone at the end of the day.” We both laughed at that, then Logan changed the subject.
“So tell me a bit more about your family. I’ve heard that your mom is a novelist and something about your dad and the Bears?”
“He used to do physical therapy for the Bears when I was little, but I barely remember it. He’s the reason we moved; he wanted to be closer to his parents and his brother, and he got a great job offer here in the Cities.”
“That’s great.”
“Yeah, he seems a lot happier lately. And I think my mom came out of the womb writing, so nothing’s really changed for her. Just give her someplace where she can camp out with her laptop and she’s good.”
“And my dad said that Richard Foster is your grandfather?” I couldn’t ignore the stomach flip I felt at hearing that he’d spoken to his father about me.
“Yes, I had no idea our families were connected like that. My dad just told me this morning that your family took over his practice.”
“Mmhmm,” he nodded. “They were partners for a while when I was little. I always liked him; he would sneak me suckers when my mom wasn’t looking.” I immediately treasured the image of my grandfather conspiring with a little sticky-fingered Logan. “I haven’t seen him in a long time. Is he doing well? I heard he’s traveling a lot.”
“Yeah,” I sighed. “He and my grandmother are living it up like jetsetters lately. I’m happy for them—obviously he worked hard for it—but how many cruises do you need to go on?” I asked with a laugh.
“So that means that Ethan is your uncle, is that right?”
I nodded. “Do you know him?”
“Well, not personally, but he’s a great artist. I’ve always admired his work. I can’t believe he lives in Aledo, you know?”
“He didn’t for a long time, but when he met my aunt Lily that all changed. I’ll tell him you like his stuff; he’ll be thrilled that someone our age has any idea who he is.”
We ate in silence for a bit, simply enjoying each other’s company and the delicious pizza. After a while Logan started looking uncomfortable, as if he wanted to say something but couldn’t get up the nerve.
“What is it?” I asked, refusing to let him chicken out.
“Well…you know how we were talking about my parents earlier?”
“Yeah, they sound like great parents.”
“Would you, uh,” he coughed to clear his throat. “Do you think you might like to meet them?”
“Did you have something in mind?”
“Well…my mother wanted me to ask you over for dinner next weekend.”
“Wow, already?” I couldn’t keep the shocked tone from my voice.
“Too soon? I told her it was too soon,” he mumbled angrily to himself.
“Logan, calm down,” I soothed, reaching out and patting his hand. “I’m not saying no, I was just surprised that they would want to meet me already, that’s all.”
“Oh, well they’re actually dying to meet you, my mother in particular. I’ve sort of been talking about you for a while. When she heard we were going out tonight, she got so excited.”
“She sounds really sweet,” I smiled, squeezing his hand, which I still held. “I’d love to go.”
“Really? That’s wonderful.” He grabbed my fingers and pulled them up to his lips, kissing them gently. “Thank you, Eden.”
“What are you thanking me for? Thank you for inviting me.”
We ended up splitting a molten chocolate cake for dessert, and after a few bites I noticed that Logan had a drop of fudge sauce on his lip. Fighting my urge to jump over the table and lick it off, I leaned over slowly and brought my thumb to the corner of his mouth.
“You have a little…right here.” I wiped away the sauce, but when I pulled back I noticed that his eyes were staring straight down my top.
Once he realized he’d been caught, his cheeks colored brightly and he coughed a few times. “Uh…is that an amethyst?” he asked.
“What?”
“Your necklace.” He pointed to the sparkling purple stone that hung around my neck. “I was trying to figure out what it was.”
“Oh, my necklace. Yes, it’s an amethyst. It used to belong to my mom’s mother. It was her birthstone. She passed away long before I was born.”
“Well, I’m sorry for that. But it’s beautiful.”
“Thank you,” I smiled knowingly.
And thank you, Amy.
* * *
After dessert, we drove to the movie theater in Moline. Logan took my hand and held it tightly as we walked inside. It felt so nice to be out in public with him that I couldn’t help from swinging our arms back and forth between us as we walked. He didn’t seem to mind, if the smile on his face was any indication.
We chose the closest thing to a date movie that we could find in the limited selection, some brainless rom-com with a typical movie couple going through typical movie problems. It wasn’t horrible, just predictable. It was so predictable, in fact, that I didn’t think I would really miss anything if I happened to maybe…oh, I don’t know, kiss Logan a couple hundred times.
I leaned over slowly, making him think that I wanted to whisper something in his ear. When he angled himself closer to me, I flicked the tip of my tongue against his earlobe before sucking it between my lips and nibbling gently. At first I thought I’d hurt him because he let out a loud gasp, but my worries were put to rest a few seconds later when he followed it up with a combination moan/grunt from the back of his throat.
“What are you doing, E
den?” he choked out as I started to kiss my way down his neck. I could tell that he was trying so hard to be a respectable date, but I’d had enough of respectable Logan.
“Kiss me,” I whispered in the dark, and the speed in which he turned in his seat to cover my lips with his own was almost comical. Almost.
The second he slipped his tongue between my lips, I wasn’t laughing about anything. I was too busy seeing stars.
We kissed and panted and nipped and licked for what felt like hours but was probably only a few minutes. Before long, my hand was reaching down and gripping his upper thigh. I felt the muscles tense underneath the fabric of his jeans, and he let loose another one of those sexy whimpers into my mouth.
I badly wanted to slide my hand up higher, desperate to feel the hardness that I was pretty sure I would find waiting for me, but I had just enough rationality left to know that we definitely needed more privacy for something like that.
“Logan,” I whispered after forcing myself away from his delicious lips.
“What?” He pulled back to look at me, but his movements were sluggish, as if he were in a daze. His eyes looked almost hypnotized as he stared at my mouth, waiting for me to speak.
“I think we should leave.”
“Where do you want to go?” he asked, looking confused.
“Take me to your car.”
Chapter 13
Once we were in the safety of Logan’s car, I suggested that he drive us down to the riverfront to find a private place to park. His eyes grew really wide for a moment and he swallowed thickly, but he nodded and started driving.
I still felt like it was too soon to have sex, no matter how badly my body was screaming at me to do it, because we had really just started talking. But it certainly felt like the right time to step things up a notch or two. It was obvious that we were ridiculously attracted to each other, and in all honesty, his inexperience was a major turn on. I kept thinking of all the things I could show him and teach him, slowly, one by one.
