"Why didn't you call?" Denise asked. "We would have picked you up."
I glanced away from Logan to look at her. "He sort of threw my phone out the window before he dropped me off."
I heard at least three gasps coming from the women in the room. A few of them even put their hands over their mouths, trying to hide their shock.
"It's fine," I said. "I'm fine. It wasn't really that big of a deal other than I had to walk a little bit."
"And you think that girl might have had something to do with this?" Denise asked.
I shrugged. "I probably shouldn't have said that," I said. "It was just the first thing that came to my mind. Who knows if it was her."
They all looked at me like the whole thing was a crying shame, and I turned to face Logan, who was staring down at me. I just stood there and let his eyes roam over my face. He was making an expression like he was relieved to be staring at me, and I drank it in, breathing easy for the first time in hours. I smiled. "I need a shower," I said.
"I'm going up with you," he whispered.
The others began talking amongst themselves in an effort to give us a little space.
I smiled. "Not in the shower," I whispered.
He knew I was kidding, but his face fell like he was disappointed. "You sure?" he asked. "I was hoping to catch you at a vulnerable time after your trauma."
I let out a laugh. "It wasn't that traumatic."
"Not traumatic enough for me to sneak a shower in there?"
I smiled and leaned into him, resting my face on his shoulder.
"I'm just playing with you," he said with a hand on my head. He absentmindedly rubbed my hairline with his thumb. "I'm just going up to wait for you since I'm not too keen on letting you out of my sight right now."
"I'm keen on your unkeeness," I said.
He shook with silent laughter.
"Just so you know, I knew you were kidding," I said. "I know you don't care about showering with me. You've barely even touched me at all for the last four days."
Logan pulled back and leveled me with an appraising glare. "I hope you're kidding me," he said.
"About what?" I asked, shrugging.
"You know I'm just going slow for you, right?" He looked at me sideways.
I smiled and shrugged again. "I didn't know you thought we were going slow," I said. "It felt more like nothing at all."
He tilted his head to the side and lifted his eyebrows at me, causing me to giggle. "What did you just say?" he asked.
I stared down and bit my lip shyly.
He cupped his hand to his ear, and leaned in as if listening closely. "Come again?"
I just continued to giggle.
"Tell me, or you're getting tickled," he warned.
"I said I thought you were doing nothing," I whispered instantly to keep from being tickled.
"I'm sorry, I'm confused," Logan said, with a deadpan, dumbfounded expression on his face. "It seems like you're giving me some sort of invitation right now, but I can't quite figure out what it is. Can you rephrase what you're trying to say, in English this time, perhaps."
I smiled and squinted my eyes closed, feeling painfully shy. He put his mouth right next to my ear and said, "I think you're giving me permission to kiss you, Rachel. Am I right about that?"
The warm puffs of air hitting my ear caused a chill to run down my spine.
"Is that what you're saying?" he whispered when I didn't answer right away.
I was helpless to speak, so I nodded.
He had been lightly holding my shoulders, and his grip tightened a little. "You're not just feeling vulnerable right now, are you?"
I shook my head again. "I've been thinking it would happen for days now."
His grip got slightly tighter, and again, he leaned in to put his mouth near my ear. "I thought you needed me to prove something to you."
"I thought you already did," I said.
"Now that I've got official permission, you should know I'm gonna kiss you soon," he whispered. "You won't know when it's coming."
I took a shaky breath, my chest shuttering as it rose.
"Sometime when you least expect it, I'm gonna put my mouth onto yours again." He paused, but I just stood there, trying to act casual like he was whispering normal everyday things into my ear instead of words that made my blood turn warm.
"Is that okay with you?" he asked.
I answered with a nod.
Chapter 17
The remainder of the night was spent torturously waiting for Logan to follow through on his promise.
He came upstairs with me while I took a shower, and then we went back downstairs to hang out with his family. Aside from a few questions right when I first went down there, they were considerate about not putting me on the spot. I told them it was a super weird experience and I was relieved it was over, but I didn't bring up London's name again, and neither did anyone else.
As tradition dictates, the family had a beach bonfire planned for that night. They were going to put it on hold after all my drama, but there was still plenty of time to enjoy it, so they wound up starting it while I was in the shower.
Logan and I met them all at the beach once I got out. Here's where the utter torture part I mentioned comes in… Logan kept his hands to himself for the remainder of the evening! I thought for sure after the conversation we had where I basically gave him a formal invitation to kiss me, that he'd at least go so far as to hold hands or brush up against me or something. It might have been easier to swallow if he didn't look so good, but his masculine frame was comforting and tempting to me, and the firelight caused perfect shadows to dance across his face.
We stayed outside with his cousins, messing around on the beach, throwing a glow-in-the-dark Frisbee, and other fun random stuff like that—we even played a little makeshift game of charades.
They talked about how last year on bonfire night they all went to Travis's party, and how they were glad to spend this year's at home. Mia said she had talked to Travis, but that he was out of town this week on business. Paige told this really romantic story where she and Cody sat in front of this very bonfire for hours talking on their first real night as a couple.
I thought that story might get Logan feeling mushy, but no chance. He told a story when she was done about one time where his friend set his pants on fire at a beach bonfire in L.A. It was a really funny account that had everybody cracking up, but it was far from mushy, and I felt like I could go crazy waiting for him to touch me like Cody did to Paige in her version.
It was late at night, and we'd been out there for hours when we decided to call it a night. We all went back to the house at the same time, and this time, Logan and I were walking right in the midst of everyone else instead of falling to the back of the pack. All of the others were in their respective bedrooms when we came in, so we did our best to stay quiet.
Logan pulled at my shirt as we walked through the kitchen. "I'm gonna sleep outside tonight," he whispered. "Evan and Cody wanted to sleep in the hammocks."
I nodded and smiled as if it were of no consequence to me. The other cousins had said goodnight and were off to get ready for bed, but Logan and I stopped in the kitchen to finish our conversation.
"Are you okay up there by yourself?"
"Fine," I said.
"Paige will be up there if she doesn't sleep outside with Cody."
"I'm fine. I was by myself Wednesday night, too. It's not a big deal."
He stepped closer to me, pinning me lightly against the counter. He put his face under my chin and moved it around my neck like he was sniffing around for something. He barely touched me—just got close enough where a part of his face would lightly touch my neck as he shifted. I tilted my chin up, giving him greater access, and hoping he would touch his lips to me. He made this slow, soft motion for what seemed like forever before he put his mouth near my ear.
"I want to kiss you right now more than I've ever wanted anything in my entire life," he said.
<
br /> I breathed several times before responding. I felt on the absolute edge of some precipice of desire I'd never experienced. "Why are you not doing it?" I asked breathlessly.
He waited several long, agonizing seconds before responding. "I said you wouldn't know when it's coming," he said.
"I thought by that, you meant sometime tonight."
He grinned. "Not necessarily."
"I can't believe you're making me wait," I said.
"Says the girl who wrote the book on waiting."
Logan smiled at me and I smiled back. He pulled back and regarded my face. He inspected it as if he was really taking in every curve and surface.
"I probably have sand on my face," I said, feeling fidgety under his scrutiny.
He shook his head.
I reached up and touched his cheek. He had a few grains of sand stuck in the light row of hair on his jaw, and I used the excuse of dusting it off for a reason to touch him.
"You don't care about that sand," he said, with a sly smile.
I kept using my nails to brush it out. "Yes, I do!" I whispered. With a straight face I said, "I wouldn't be a very good person if I let you go around with sand on your face."
He smiled confidently as he took my hand off of his jaw and wrapped it around himself, placing it on his side.
I could barely breathe. I was so wound up with wanting to touch him that a torso touch was almost too much to handle. I could feel his firm muscles through the fabric of the shirt. I begged myself to pull my hand away, but I couldn’t. His hand was over mine, but he was using little to no pressure to hold it there. I could have slipped mine away easily, but I didn't—I couldn't make myself.
"How about there?" He asked. "Do I have any sand there?"
"I'm not really qualified to answer that question," I said.
"Why's that?" he asked. "You could feel it on my face."
"If I start fishing around for sand while my hand's right here, I might start doing and saying things that get me into nothing but a whole lot of trouble."
He smiled before cocking his head to stare into my eyes. "There's a tiger in there somewhere," he said.
I smiled. "Maybe so, but only one man will ever get to see it."
He scrunched his eyes closed as if the temptation was too great. "You know that man's me, right?" he asked.
"That's what you said last September."
"I meant it then, and I mean it now."
"You just don't want to kiss me," I said.
He smiled. "I've already told you I do."
"Then why aren’t you?"
"I'm waiting," he said, wearing a teasing grin.
"For what?"
"The right time."
I looked around at the empty room where we were standing.
"It's not right yet," he whispered.
"Why not?"
"Because Cody and Evan are gonna come down those stairs any second." He put his mouth close to my cheek. "You don't know when it's gonna happen." He let his lips touch my cheek for a split second before pulling back. The touch caused me to shiver, which made him smile.
"What if I kiss you first?" I asked.
"You won't," he said.
We smiled at each other. "You're right," I whispered.
"I know," he said.
I was thinking about how I wanted to 'clanch' onto to him and never let go when, just as predicted, Cody and Evan came down the stairs carrying blankets and pillows.
"Sorry to interrupt," Evan said, smiling as they approached us.
"You weren't interrupting anything," I said. "I was just heading upstairs."
"Mia and Charlotte said to tell you to come in their room," Evan said. "Paige is in there, too."
"They're probably painting their nails or piercing ears or something," Cody said.
I turned to head upstairs with a simple smile in Logan's direction.
"Night," I heard him say at my back once I had already turned.
"Night," I said, glancing back at him.
I stopped on the second floor and went to the blue bedroom where Mia and Charlotte were staying. Mia had bought realistic-looking rubber snakes, and was planning on putting one in each hammock with the boys.
There were two obvious flaws with the plan. One was that we'd have to wait till they all fell asleep to do it. And two was that none of us would be out there to enjoy the scare if it, indeed, worked. Mia was dead set on doing it, though, and said she was making it happen with or without us. Of course, we all agreed to help.
We stayed up for an hour before venturing downstairs to the hammocks. They were set up between the piers, so we were walking under the house in sand, and it was easy to be quiet. We had the giggles at first, but once we separated, each going toward our designated victim, we gained composure and got down to business.
Mia got Evan, Paige covered Cody, and I was taking care of Logan. I offered to let Charlotte have him, but she was scared to death, and said I should 'please, please, please' take her place. Charlotte stood near the back of the house like the watchman of the group while the three of us set out to put snakes in hammocks.
It was a crazy end to a crazy day, and I was delirious with nerves as I stood next to Logan's hammock. I was trying to make a plan of attack, and hadn't even touched his blanket, when I heard a man's voice yell out a non descript sound.
"Huhhhh!" I heard.
It was only a split second later when the pile of blankets in front of me started to move, and Logan sprang up, throwing his hands in my direction as he made the same "Huhhhh," sound.
He scared the living daylights out of me, and I stumbled backward, falling onto my butt in the sand. Logan was out of that hammock and by my side within seconds. Sure, he was laughing uncontrollably, but he was by my side to give me a hand, nonetheless.
One quick look around told me that the others had suffered my same fate, or similar, at least. I'm relatively sure that while I was stumbling backwards, at least two of them were screaming like we were in a horror movie.
"Evan heard Mia talking about it," Logan said, chuckling as he helped me to my feet. The others were far enough away that I'd been the only one to hear him.
"You're in trouble for this," I said, dusting off my pajama pants.
"Maybe I like being in trouble with you."
"Y'all are the absolute worst!" Mia said, loudly enough to get all of our attention. She, too, must have fallen, because she was dusting off her pants when I looked at her.
Evan, Cody, and Logan were still laughing. It must have been a funny sight to see all of us stumbling back like that.
"We're not the ones who were trying to put these things in someone's hammock," Evan said.
I was still holding onto the snake, and Logan reached down to take it from me. He held it out to inspect it even though it was mostly dark. "This looks real," he said. He turned it in his grasp, trying to inspect it. "I'm glad Evan heard them," he said. "This would have freaked me out."
"I know," I said. "I felt bad about doing it. I was thinking about putting yours on the sand underneath you instead."
"That still would have been pretty bad," he said.
"Not as bad as having that in there with you."
"Just so you know for the future," he said. "I'm not a heavy sleeper. There's no way you could have put something under the covers with me without me waking up."
"I was destined for failure," I said morosely.
He smiled. "I’m unprankable."
"Is that a challenge?" I asked.
"It most certainly is!" Mia said, stomping over to snatch the snake from Logan's hand. "We're gonna get 'em if it's the last thing we do. These things were twenty dollars a piece."
"They look real, if it makes you feel any better," Cody said.
I glanced at him just in time to see Mia snatch the one he was holding.
"I know," Logan added. "They're awesome. We'll have to get our dads."
"Oh, don't worry," Mia said. "I'm getting all y'all! You never kno
w when. I'm gonna get you when you least expect it."
Logan reached out and pinched at my forearm when she said that, and I looked at him, shaking my head with a smile.
The girls only stayed down there for another minute before deciding to go to bed. We continued dusting the sand out of our pants as we walked into the house.
"We're going to bed," Mia said as we walked inside.
"For sure," I whispered. "I'm tired."
"I'll bet you are," Paige said. She was referring to my ordeal, which had happened earlier that night even though it almost felt like it was a lifetime ago. Paige and I left Charlotte and Mia on the second floor, and continued on to the third. We told each other goodnight as soon as we got up there, and she disappeared into her bedroom.
Chapter 18
I woke up the following morning to Ryan shaking my arm. I blinked, and her precious, smiling face came into focus.
"Hey," I said, sleepily as I sat up on my elbow. I must have been sleeping hard, because it took me a few seconds to realize where I was and who exactly was staring at me.
"Logan said I can use your new selfie stick, but it's still in the box, and my mom and dad said I needed to ask you first."
I was already in a somewhat confused state, and her off-the-wall statement had me racking my brain.
"Ryan Diane, you were supposed to let Ms. Rachel sleep," I heard Paige say from the direction of the stairs.
Ryan and I both glanced in that direction, only I was smiling sleepily, and she was wearing an I didn't mean to do it face.
"I'm sorry," Paige said, as she headed toward us.
"It's fine. I was getting up anyway," I said.
I wanted to see what time it was. I leaned over to grab my phone, but remembered once I glanced at the bedside table that I didn't have one. There was, however, a digital clock sitting there, which read 11:28.
"Is it almost noon?" I asked.
Ryan looked at Paige to see if her mom would confirm or deny my question. "You needed the rest after yesterday," Paige said sweetly.
I sat up, feeling dazed and unable to believe I'd slept so late. I blinked at Ryan, doing my best to remember what she'd been asking me when I first opened my eyes.
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