SEDUCTIVE: A Contemporary Romance Anthology

by Anthology

  It was too much to take. “No!” Without any other thought, I bolted out of the room, down the stairs, and then out of the house. It was just too much and way too strange—and I wound up running the whole way home, wishing Logan had never shown me what was on Brendan’s computer.

  I tried to drown out the remnants of our conversation in my head—but I couldn’t. Focusing on homework was impossible, so I watched TV.

  Except I couldn’t stop thinking about what Logan had said—and I was beginning to remember things that confirmed Logan’s suspicions…things that were making me think that maybe there was some truth to what he’d said—whether I wanted to admit it or not. I found myself tuning out the TV as I thought back over the years with Brendan.

  Maybe what Logan said was true.

  Like last fall, almost a year ago…Brendan had invited me over for dinner and we were going to study for a history test, but I’d gotten there early. My mom had shown up at our house with a strange guy and threw a fifty-dollar bill at me, telling me to scram till bedtime. I’d decided to head over early and Logan told me Brendan and his friend Dennis were upstairs. I’d knocked on the door before walking in, of course, but I hadn’t waited for Brendan to tell me to come in. The guys were standing in the middle of the room and Dennis’s shirt was on the bed. It had felt a little awkward, but Dennis said he was hot and sweaty after football practice and felt better with his shirt off. The whole thing had seemed a little weird but I didn’t question it. Looking back now, though, I could recall how both boys had been overexplaining how Dennis’s shirt had come off. There were a lot of little things I was remembering like that and, taken together, they not only made me wonder.

  They made me convinced.

  As I lay in bed that night, though, there was but one sticking point, one reason why I didn’t want to believe Brendan might be homosexual.

  Over the years, he’d kissed me. A lot. And he seemed to be just as into it as I was. Didn’t that mean something?

  But he never made any moves, never tried anything.

  God, I was now ridiculously confused. And there was only one way to find out for sure.

  So the next day, Brendan picked me up for school as usual—and gave me a kiss just like always. I didn’t want to just ask the question right off the bat; I needed to wait for the right time. “How was the game?”

  He shook his head. “It sucked—ended fourteen to thirteen.”

  “Oh, I’m sorry you lost, Bren.”

  “No, we won—but it was rough and hard to score. They were really good. Two of our guys were injured. Massey has a concussion and Ronnie pulled something in his leg. They wrecked us and I’m worried about our next game now.”

  “Holy crap.”

  Hearing how rough his night had been made me chicken out, so it wasn’t until after school that I worked up the courage to ask him. We were holding hands, walking to his truck and, when we paused by the passenger door, I said, “Hey, Bren…I need to ask you a question.”

  His brown eyes searched mine before he squeezed my hand. “Yeah, go ahead.”

  I blinked my eyes and licked my lower lip, feeling nervous—because what if it was true? I just had to ask. “I need to know…are you gay?”

  His reaction was almost like he was choking on some food but he quickly regained his composure. “What?” I was on the verge of apologizing when he said, “No, of course not. I don’t know where you’re hearing that rumor, but it’s bullshit. I love you, Bree.” I immediately felt better. “I don’t know who’s telling you these lies, but they’re bullshit.”

  I nodded my head and relished the feeling of relief washing over me as he kissed me.

  Later when I was home alone, I thought back over everything that had seemed like proof that Logan might have been right and realized that it was all circumstantial—catching Brendan in strange positions, seeing what was on his laptop—all those things were nothing but coincidence. There was nothing iron clad, and the fact that Brendan denied it was all I needed to know.

  But then I started questioning why Logan would tell me such a lie. And I could only come up with one reason. Maybe he had come up with this story, hoping I’d break up with Brendan so I would be with him instead. I was starting to think he didn’t like the idea that I’d told him it was over as soon as Brendan had gotten back from football camp.

  Or maybe I hadn’t made that clear.

  I’d made a mistake—sleeping with Logan in the first place—but now I had to correct it. I needed to let him know in no uncertain terms that it was over forever.

  So the next morning, I texted Brendan and told him I wouldn’t be at school because I was sick. I even called the school and played like my mom to say I wouldn’t be there due to illness. As usual, they bought it. If I’d missed lots of school, I knew I wouldn’t have gotten away with it, but I rarely skipped.

  Later that morning when I thought I could safely roam around town without being caught by kids in my class (long after classes began but before lunchtime), I dug my bike out of the shed and rode it the two miles out to the college.

  I’d only ever been to the campus once on some school field trip. I knew there were a few buildings there, but I didn’t know where anything was—like if Logan had an office or where he would be if he was teaching a class or whatever. I wondered if I should just walk around peeking through doorways until I found him.

  The big building I walked in first had a mammoth entryway and long hallways and stairways all around. In spite of that, it seemed eerily quiet. I could hear voices far away but nothing nearby. I decided to walk farther inside toward the voices, and as I made it deeper in, I saw that there were several offices with lots of people working. Now I just had to decide which one to enter and figure out what I should ask.

  Before I could, though, a young blonde woman appeared carrying several files and approached me, maybe sensing my tentative feeling. “You look lost.”

  I smiled. Boy, was I, in more ways than one. “I’m just wondering where I would find Logan Brown.”

  She raised an eyebrow. “Oh. Dr. Brown…the speech and theater prof?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Are you in one of his classes?”

  Did that even matter? “No.” It felt like time for a lie, something I was getting better at as time went on—but it turned out the truth would work just fine. “I’m his son’s girlfriend—and I need to talk to him.”

  “Oh. Well, I can show you where his office is. Even if he’s teaching a class right now, he’ll show up there eventually. If not, he might be in the auditorium.”

  This was becoming a pain in the ass, but I didn’t want to text or talk over the phone. I wanted to confront him face to face where there would be no chance of Brendan appearing during our conversation. And I needed to just get it over with.

  “Sounds great. Thank you.”

  “No problem. I’m heading that way anyway.” I followed her around the corner and found that there were other stairs in the building, but these ones went down into a basement. Then we walked into a large room with stark white walls, one big desk, cubbyhole mailboxes, and lots of beige doors. “I think Dr. Brown’s office is that way,” she said, pointing past the mailboxes toward another small hallway.

  “Thanks again.” She darted off to the right and into one of the open doorways, leaving me on my own. I walked toward the spot she’d pointed to and, as I got closer, I began reading the nameplates while walking down the tiny hallway. J. MAGILL, P. MIKKELSON, A. TAYLOR.

  And then L. BROWN.

  That had to be him, right?

  I paused in front of the door, ready to rap on it, but I realized it was open a crack. I shouldn’t have, but I tried peeking inside and found it wasn’t open enough for me to be able to see anything. I was able to hear, though, and then I confirmed it was definitely Logan’s office. There was no mistaking his rich, smooth voice.

  Why did that sound still make my legs feel melty?

  I could hear a young woman’s voice
through the door and I suddenly felt jealous. I wanted to yank the door open and rip her hair out. Now how stupid was that? I had no idea why she was there or what was going on, but I immediately assumed Logan wanted her, another young woman, to replace me.

  What the hell was wrong with me?

  Instead of bursting in, I contained myself and stood there, perusing some papers on the wall next to the door. One gave his office hours and noted his class times; another advertised tryouts for the next play. Finally, I sighed and sat on a bench up against the wall to wait.

  Every time I heard that girl giggle, I felt a vile monster well up inside my gut.

  A few minutes later, the door opened and the girl sauntered out. “Thanks, Dr. B.” She noticed me as she walked past and gave me a snotty look, making the vitriol pump through my heart again. But I took a deep breath and stood once she was out of eyeshot and, before I could turn to the door, Logan stepped out with a leather attaché in hand. “Briana, what are you doing here?”

  I summoned up courage—or I was faking it. I wasn’t sure which, but it was working for me. “We need to talk.”

  He raised his eyebrows. “I have a few minutes.” Pushing his door open again, he said, “Come on in.” Once I was inside and he closed the door, he asked, “Do you want to sit?”

  “No. This shouldn’t take long.” I drew in a long, slow breath. “I just wanted to say it’s over between you and me.”

  I noticed a twinkle in his eyes then and all it did was piss me off. “Yes, I believe we’ve already discussed this…so I’m not sure why you’re telling me again.”

  “I just wanted it to be clear.”

  He nodded. “It is.” After a few uncomfortable seconds with his eyes drilling into mine, he said, “I didn’t want to hurt you.”

  “Whatever.” I wasn’t sure where the sudden bitch inside was coming from, but I embraced her fully. “You’re gonna hurt your son—and I can’t believe you tried to break us up with that bullshit about him being gay.”

  “Briana—”

  My fists were so tight that my fingers dug into the palms of both hands—but I didn’t relax. “It’s over, Logan.”

  Before I got myself in deeper, I turned and stormed off. It was hard trying to remember how to get out of that cavernous building but I managed to find the stairs going up. Once I was on the main floor, it was easy getting outside. My cheeks felt cool as the warm breeze dried the tears.

  I rode my bike home like a crazy woman, not even stopping to wonder why I felt heartbroken.

  Why did I still want Logan desperately? I realized that then—seeing him and imagining him wanting that other girl drove it home how much I wasn’t over him.

  When I got home, I threw myself in bed as if I was truly sick, and I just let myself be miserable. It had seemed so easy before, the way I believed I could just shut off my feelings for Logan and resume my relationship with his son like nothing had ever happened. For the first time since I’d crossed that line, I felt torn. But what could I do? If Brendan continued to shut off part of himself from me, I was going to be miserable for the rest of my life.

  No way. I wasn’t going to settle for that.

  So it was resolved. A day in bed helped me formulate a plan that had to work. His birthday at the end of the week would provide the perfect opportunity. I’d only have to convince him that we needed to have sex. For his birthday, I was going to present my body as a gift and he could do whatever he wanted with it. He only had to accept. As a red-blooded soon-to-be eighteen-year-old male, one who had only one thing to do to fully become a man…my plan had to work.

  It was almost foolproof…

  CHAPTER ELEVEN

  As usual, the only thing stopping my plan from being executed beautifully was Logan—but I felt like I could fix that, too. I called him the next day between two classes where I wouldn’t see Brendan. And I didn’t care if I was late to my next class, so long as I solved my dilemma.

  Fortunately, Logan answered. And he was calm and cool.

  “So this is what’s gonna happen at Brendan’s birthday party, Logan. As far as he knows, I’m a virgin—so tomorrow night, we’re going to have sex for the first time. I’m giving him my body as a birthday present, and I’m going to pretend it hurts like my real first time with you did.”

  “I wish I could tell you otherwise, Briana, but it’s not going to work.”

  “Shut the fuck up, Logan,” I hissed from my hiding place in the bathroom stall. “Just find a way to not be at your house after the party. Do your son a solid. You need to go somewhere else so we have the house to ourselves. That way, he’ll feel comfortable.”

  “Okay, fine. I just think you’re going to be sorely disappointed.”

  That red monster flared inside me again, but I kept my voice low. “Don’t even try with me anymore.”

  And I hung up. Now my plan was foolproof.

  Logan had outdone himself. His backyard was packed with all kinds of kids and relatives that Saturday afternoon, and there were streamers and balloons and music under the late summer sunshine. Brendan looked happier than I’d ever seen him, and that made me smile.

  I knew he was going to love his present from me. Being eighteen now, married or not, would free him to follow his heart. It just had to—and I knew my plan would work.

  The whole day was fun. The only thing missing for me was Chelsea and, being surrounded by a lot of football players’ girlfriends, mostly cheerleaders, made her absence more pronounced. But I knew she was out on a date with Seth (who was now attending school in Fort Collins but back home for the weekend) and their relationship was really steaming up.

  I hoped that sort of thing was contagious.

  The crowd started thinning out around seven, later than planned but still early enough, after all the guests had had their fill of barbecue, fun, and cake and ice cream. Brendan had received a lot of presents, too, even though he hadn’t expected them. It was pretty cool, because the party had managed to stay a secret from him, in spite of lots of people knowing about it. First to leave were relatives, and the dwindlers were kids. But, with five teens left, Logan said, “I’m giving rides to anyone who needs them. Any takers?” He got a few hems and haws before he added, “Drinks at Sonic on me.” For some reason, that got four of them eager to go and the fifth, a guy who seemed interested in one of the girls taking up the offer for a ride, said he’d go, too.

  I had to give Logan credit. That was a clever way to get his ass—and the stragglers—out of the house quickly.

  Once gone, I sidled up to my boyfriend. “I still have a present to give you.”

  Brendan smiled. “You didn’t have to get me anything.”

  “I know.”

  “Do you mind helping me clean up for dad so it’s done when he gets back?”

  I forced myself not to sigh. “I helped your dad plan your party…and I’ll help him clean up when he gets back—but I really want to give you your present from me now.”

  He grinned. “Okay, fine.”

  “Let’s go to your room.” He looked confused. “I have a special present for you, but we have to go upstairs.” Because he still wasn’t moving, I added, “Trust me.”

  I really did have a tiny present in my pocket, too, but I wanted to be in his room to give it and my ultimate gift to him, because I wasn’t willing to wait any longer.

  Once there, I gave him as sensual a kiss as I could, and then I asked him to sit down on the bed. “What’s going on?”

  “Hold on.” I wanted Brendan and me to push through whatever his hang-ups were so that we could progress in our relationship, but I was willing to ease into it. First the tiny gift. Reaching in my pocket, I pulled out a gold chain. Brendan had worn one the year before but when it broke, he hadn’t replaced it, so I thought he’d appreciate a new one. I asked him to close his eyes and hold out a hand and, when he obeyed, I dropped the chain inside his palm. “Okay, now you can look.”

  When he peeked, he said, “Thank you, Bree. I l
ove it.”

  This day was turning out to be perfect so far. “I’m glad. So put it on!” Grinning, he opened up the little clasp. “I have another gift. I…know you wanted us to save ourselves for marriage, Bren, but I want you now—and I want you to have me now—and so that’s my other present to you.” He managed to get the chain around his neck but now he was just staring at me, his mouth gaping. “If you don’t take me, I’m gonna be heartbroken.” There was nothing left to do but undress…so there went the shirt, tossed on the floor beside me.

  Surely seeing my half-naked breasts would have to inspire him.

  “Stop it, Bree.”

  I was ignoring him this time, because if he really just wanted to wait for some strange reason, I was certain that seeing my naked body would make it difficult if not impossible to resist. I remembered his father’s reaction at seeing me in lingerie, and I hoped Brendan found me just as tempting. I wanted Brendan—and I wanted him to want me.

  So I tuned out his pleas to stop and shimmied my jeans off my hips and down my legs.

  Standing, he barked, “Briana!”

  Oh. He’d referred to me as Bree for so long that calling me by my full first name sounded odd. But his voice fell on deaf ears, and I slinked up to him, sliding my hands around his neck. My barely clad body felt tingly up against his athletic frame. He began talking but I stopped it with a kiss meant to light him on fire, and while our tongues intermingled, I glided my hand down his body until I got to the front of his jeans. Then I cupped his package and felt the first glimmers of disappointment.