After a week, everything had been set and settled. Logan had been give a schedule and a routine, both of which he was expected to follow. He swore to himself that he would try, but made no such promise to anyone else. This was uncharted territory, and all he could do was his best. The night before everything was to begin, he and Hail went for a walk through the city.
“Are you scared?” Hail asked him.
“Nah,” Logan said. “I passed scared a while ago. I’m starting to feel comfortable, which is making me antsy.”
“It’s okay to be comfortable,” Hail said. “I promise it’s safe.”
“I’m not sure what to do with safe,” Logan said. “I’ve never had it, I’ve never been it, and now I’m living in it. I feel like a alligator living on land.”
“Alligators can live on….”
“Special water living alligators,” Logan interrupted with a laugh. ”Work with me here.”
They walked around the city and came back to Hail’s home. Logan stopped for a moment at the edge of the property, memorizing the sight. The pinkish-brown bricks around the green-shuttered windows. The green door with the flagstone steps which trickled down to spill over into a winding walkway, snaking through the thick, green grass. Home, he thought. He’d never had a picture in mind when he thought that word before. He tried it out loud.
“Home.”
Hail wrapped his arms around him from behind, resting his chin on his shoulder. “How did that feel?” He asked.
“Can’t tell yet,” Logan said.
“Try it again.”
“Home,” Logan said. “That’s my home.”
Hail squeezed him gently and kissed his cheek. “And now?”
“Doesn’t feel wrong,” Logan said.
“Let’s try it one more time then. Logan Kim, welcome home.”
Logan shivered with pleasure. That invitation was all that had been missing. He turned in Hail’s arms and kissed him, running his fingers through Hail’s thick curls. Family, he thought. I have a family. Overwhelmed with the newness and impossibility of it all, Logan ran into the house, pulling Hail behind him. As they made love on their bed, and as they cooked a family dinner in their kitchen, everything started to click into place. It wasn’t boring yet. Logan had the strong sensation that it wasn’t ever really going to be.
Burning Transgressions (Shifter City Book 1) Page 17
