by Eva Luxe
She paused again. She could hear people crying louder now, her words clearly meaning something to them.
“There is no light left in me right now. I am destroyed by your sudden absence. But you always told me life isn’t fair. You never minced words and you never made me think I was owed anything that I hadn’t earned myself. You taught me how to be strong, but most importantly, you taught me how to love. To love someone is to want something for them more than you want it for yourself.”
Logan was really crying now.
“Your dreams and mine have almost always coincided. I just always expected you’d be there to see them come true. This is life’s cruel joke on us all. We aren’t guaranteed shit.”
Logan looked at Solomon as she said that.
“I will do my best, just like you taught me to do. I will try out for the Olympics, I will give my best to my country if I am called to serve them. I will continue to give my best to my college and to my mother, the one woman you might have loved more than me.”
She looked at her mother then who was crying loudly now, her Xanax either wearing off or kicking in.
“Thank you for somehow being the father that I got to have. There won’t be an hour that goes by in my life where I won’t think of you. You always said you were grateful for me. But I wish more than anything I could tell you how grateful I was to be yours.”
She was finished. Her heart was broken.
There wasn’t a dry eye in the house.
Chapter 16 - Logan
A month after Chuck Lowery had passed and a couple of weeks before Logan’s tryouts at Nationals in San Diego, Solomon asked if Logan would like to go on a proper date.
She’d spent most of her time with her mother the last month, sorting things out with insurance, making sure her mother was eating and taking care of herself. But now she was back in Cincinnati for the second semester of school and it was time, whether she wanted to or not, to get back into a routine.
And Solomon wanted to be part of that routine.
They’d eaten dinner downtown, at a beautiful restaurant that overlooked the Ohio River. They’d talked about easy things first; soccer, judo, the Olympics. Topics that didn’t bring up hard memories.
But Solomon knew it was also time for something else. Time to share something he had never shared with her before.
They sat on one side of a table together, his arm around her as they picked at their calamari.
“I’ve missed you,” he said, kissing her head. “Thanks for coming out with me tonight.”
“Thank you for bringing me out of mourning,” she replied. “I’m sorry. I’ve missed you like crazy but I’ve felt kind of numb since… You know. It’s been hard to wake up again.”
“I understand,” he said. “It’s part of why I wanted to see you.”
Logan looked at Solomon’s handsome face, a face that could easily be on any Men’s Health magazine. She still couldn’t believe he was hers.
“What is it?” she asked.
“My parents died before I was born,” he said. He’d never talked about this. He wished he had a drink… Even though Solomon didn’t consume alcohol. Not while training.
Logan clutched his hand. “I’m so sorry. I had assumed something like that had happened… Wait. How did both of your parents die before you were born?”
Solomon inhaled and slowly exhaled.
He then told Logan the entire tragic tale of how he’d come to be on this planet.
She pressed her nails into his skin when he explained the hard parts. She choked up when she learned about his mother’s fate and again when he told her about tracking down his Uncle Gavin and how he’d taken Solomon in.
When he was done he felt like a weight had been lifted from his chiseled chest. He hadn’t expected telling her about his family to be so cathartic.
Logan was almost in tears. “You have been through more than anyone I have ever known. And here I am feeling so sorry for myself. The thought of your mother…” Logan couldn’t even finish the sentence.
Solomon shook his head. “That’s not why I told you. Pain is relative. I never knew my father, so in a way his death is something that isn’t a part of me. It’s separate. I feel my mother’s death more acutely because she saved my life. She’s the only reason I am here. The loss of your father is as great a one as my own. You had so much time with him to build up memories. You had so much more at stake. And to know you trusted me to be with you through it… Well. It made me want to trust you with a part of me too.”
Logan knew it probably wasn’t appropriate, but she’d never wanted someone more in her life than she wanted Solomon Kano at that moment.
He’d opened up to her. Finally.
“Solomon,” she whispered against his shoulder, lightly kissing it. “Take me somewhere. Anywhere. As long as we’re alone.”
Solomon’s eyes widened.
“Check please,” he said to the waitress as she walked over.
He’d never been so eager to leave a restaurant in his life.
* * *
Solomon had suggested the gym in the spur of the moment, not knowing any other place where he could be completely alone with her. He didn’t want to bring her back to his dorm room and deal with his roommate. He didn’t want anyone to interrupt their time together. Time with her was a precious thing. They both had so much happening in their lives which easily kept them from spending more than fleeting moments together.
Not tonight. He wouldn’t allow it.
So to the gym it was. He’d been nervous as he drove, glancing over at Logan who sat calmly in the passenger seat next to him. He couldn’t stop looking at her legs. Or imagining them wrapped around him. They were long and tan, with toned calves and muscled thighs. There were bumps and bruises in various places that made him admire them, and her, even more.
Logan fought for every win. And it marked her beautiful body.
She made him so nervous.
Solomon shook his head. He never got anxious. Not in judo or in life. Nothing scared him.
Except Logan Lowery. The power she held over him was something he’d never experienced. She didn’t know it, but he would have done anything she asked of him.
This was a foreign thing for someone like Solomon. He’d lived his life with such a singular focus the last few years. There’d been nothing worthy of distraction. It was why he’d gotten as far as he had. His focus was unbreakable. He was a man on a mission.
But Logan took the breath out of his lungs. Every time he was near her there was nothing else he could focus on other than her.
“So this is the dojo where Solomon Kano trains,” Logan said as they walked through the doors of Sensi Shenji’s gym. “One day this place is going to be a historical landmark.”
Solomon laughed nervously. “I don’t know about all that.”
Logan turned to him, her eyes bright even in the shadows of the empty dojo. “But you do. It’s why you put the work in.”
She looked down at her feet, suddenly uncharacteristically shy. “You’re like me, Solomon. We put it all out there on the field; on the mat. It’s how we survive. It’s all we know. I recognize it in you and I’ve never seen it in anyone else but myself. The fury.”
Solomon was inches from her now, towering above her. He wondered if she could hear his heart pounding in his chest. He decided it was time to take a chance.
He cupped her chin with his hand and pointed her face up to him.
“Watching you play,” he said. “Is like watching something special. I feel like I’m part of something big when I’m at one of your games. You’re so talented.”
Logan blushed. “I love that you watched me and I didn’t even know it.”
She was laying back on the mat now, her skirt riding up her thighs.
“I couldn’t take my eyes off you,” he said. He rested his body above hers now, wanting her desperately. His cock strained against his slacks and his belt buckle.
Her legs were parted
slightly and without a thought, he ran one of his large hands up her inner thigh, making her whimper.
“Solomon,” she said. “Please fuck me. I’ve wanted you for so long. And tonight… I just want to feel something good. Can you do that for me?”
Without even answering, he pulled off the collared polo shirt he’d been wearing as she started to unbuckle his pants. He unbuttoned her skirt and pulled it off swiftly.
She wasn’t wearing any panties. He sucked in a breath.
“Logan,” he said. “You mean to tell me you’ve only been separated from me by a thin layer of cotton skirt?”
She smiled at him. “I had hopes for tonight.” She pulled off her shirt and wriggled out of her bra.
They were both naked. His eyes raked over her body. Her legs were fantastic; muscled and tan. Her waist had a defined curve to it. Like a guitar. He ran his hands up her naked body, making her nipples stiffen.
“Please,” she called out to him. “Solomon, I need you.”
He’d trained on that very mat she now lie naked on, for hours. Never in all that time had he imagined a moment like this. And now he’d never be able to imagine anything but her from now on, every time he was on the mat.
He entered her slowly, causing her to yelp as she adjusted to his size. He’d never been so hard, never wanted a woman like he wanted her.
She arched her back as he fucked her slowly, his hands under her ass where it met the small of her back. She came so easily for him, calling out his name as she did, making it so hard for him not to come himself. He resisted, all so he could prolong the pleasure of having her body.
He flipped her over, needing to take her from behind, desiring to own her in every position. She cried out and leaned into the mat, she was now on all fours. Her elbows dug into the floor as he pounded her relentlessly, never having felt something as good as Logan’s Lowery’s body.
“My pussy,” she called out, crassly. “You’re going to make it sore. But I like it. Harder, Solomon! Fuck me harder!”
He’d never have guessed Logan would be so assertive and so wonton in her need for him. But their bodies melded together like they were pieces of something that had been missing. He couldn’t get enough.
He never wanted this to end.
“I want to be on top,” she panted.
He was happy to oblige.
In that position Logan had more control of the pace. She slowed it down a bit and he watched her body rise and fall, her breasts being groped by his eager hands as she cried out from another orgasm ripping through her body.
“Logan,” Solomon said. “You feel too fucking good. I need to come.”
She nodded. “Missionary. So I can look at you.”
God, he almost came just from her saying that. He gently placed her on her back again and began to thrust into her slowly, than faster, until the tightness of her pussy was too much for him.
Solomon came hard and long inside of her, neither thinking to pull out, something that wasn’t completely wise on their parts, but in the moment it just didn’t seem to matter.
They lie next to one another for a long time after that, breathing hard, neither knowing what to say.
“I don’t want this night to end,” Logan finally said. “Ever.”
“Then let’s not end it. Not now anyway,” Solomon said as his cock started twitching again. “I have more in me, Logan. You’re going to be begging me to stop by the end of this night.”
Logan grabbed onto him as he began to fuck her again.
“Not likely,” she whispered into his ear. “I can take as much as you can give me, Solomon Kano.”
And she did.
* * *
“Good morning,” Logan said, snuggling into the crook of Solomon. Somehow after what had happened at the dojo, they had made it back to her dorm room. She’d remembered her roommate was out of town for a wedding which meant they had the tiny college dorm room all to themselves. And sharing a twin sized mattress didn’t seem like such a terrible idea when you had someone like Solomon sharing it with you.
“Yadra,” Solomon replied. “It’s Fijian for good morning, you’re really sexy.”
Logan laughed. “Is it now?”
Solomon smiled. “Yep.”
Logan sat up, wrapping a sheet around her still naked body. “Last night was… amazing.”
Solomon grinned. “That’s one word for it.”
“Well, what’s a Fijian word for it?” Logan said, pressing her forehead against his.
“Ha,” Solomon said. “It would be veivakadrukai.”
Logan’s eyes widened. “I’m going to stick with amazing.”
Solomon laughed. “There are no words for you, Logan Lowery.”
She kissed him again, and thought of doing more… But they needed to talk.
Last night she’d been swept up in the moment. It had been incredible and she had no regrets.
“I feel bad asking this,” Logan suddenly said as Solomon stretched his long, ropey arms as he leaned against her headboard.
“What is it?” Solomon said. “Breakfast?”
“Yes, definitely breakfast, but something else,” Logan’s voice trailed off for a moment. “Solomon, there is no one else I want but you. I can’t even imagine… I didn’t even know what happened last night was an actual real thing. It was by far the best night of my life, and certainly the most passionate.”
Solomon grinned. “The first of many.”
Logan closed her eyes. This would be hard.
“But it can’t be the first of many,” she said, not having the strength to look at his reaction. “At least not until after Rio. If I even make it to Rio.”
Solomon sat back, completely dumbstruck. He hadn’t expected this.
“I have to focus,” Logan explained. “And when I am around you… I do anything but. All I want to do is touch you, or kiss you, or think about you fucking me. I get lost in thought in class, at practice. And with national try outs coming up, I can’t afford to lose focus now.”
“So,” Solomon said. “We’re breaking up.”
He couldn’t deny it; he was hurt. The timing was just so odd. He’d made love to her all night. Hell, he’d been close to actually telling her he loved her, but now he was glad he’d resisted.
This was just… out of nowhere.
“No,” Logan said. “I just need a break from anything that isn’t soccer. But I don’t want to see anyone else.And it would kill me if you were to see anyone else.” She sighed. “I know I am being completely selfish and completely confusing and very unfair. But, Solomon, I have to make the Olympic team. For my dad.”
Solomon understood. He just didn’t agree with the way she was going about it. He had to focus on things too. But his desire for Logan was something he channeled into his sport. It helped him get better.
Maybe soccer was different. Or maybe just Logan was.
He leaned forward, taking her hand. “I hate this. After last night the very last thing I want to do is be away from you. This is going to kill me.”
Logan lied down next to him again, running her hands across his abs. “It’s not going to be easy for me either. I’m crazy about you, Solomon. If that helps. And I’m honestly not even sure I can stick to it. I think about you all the time.”
“Well,” Solomon finally said. “I will respect your wishes, Logan. But I’m not going anywhere. And in Rio, it’s going to be pretty hard not to want to spend a month with you in arguably one of the sexiest places on the planet.”
She leaned into him then, kissing him hard. He seemed to understand, but she couldn’t be sure.
But she had to try. They weren’t guaranteed another Olympics. Or even another day.
She knew it all too well.
So she had to give this her all. It was what might help her forget how broken hearted she still really was.
Chapter 17 - Solomon
Solomon respected Logan’s wishes for now and admired her from afar, watching her games in pers
on when Xavier was at home, following her exploits on the internet when they weren’t. He regretted missing the final home game of her season, but he was in Brussels at his judo tournament, a major event on the European circuit, where he finished fourth in a very competitive field. Adonis DeCarlo was in attendance, but he withdrew with a shoulder injury before a potential quarterfinal matchup with Solomon.
Gavin and Sensei Shinji plotted Solomon’s course, and he was doing well enough that he seemed to have a shot at clinching an Olympic berth four years ahead of schedule. To make his own dreams come true, the make Gavin and his family in Fiji proud, to compete on the biggest stage in the world under the Fijian flag, to potentially humble Adonis, all these things motivated him, but once he realized Logan would possibly be part of the United States Women’s’ National Team in Rio, he needed no further inspiration.
He fought like a demon through the spring of 2016, and in mid-June Gavin received the news from the Fijian Olympic Committee and the Fiji Judo Association: Solomon Jack Kano was formally invited to represent the nation of Fiji at the 2016 Summer Olympics.
Gavin borrowed a tactic he recalled seeing on American Idol the next time he saw his nephew.
“Solomon, I heard from the FJA and the FOC today. I’m afraid it’s not good news.” Gavin’s demeanor was downcast, and Solomon practically physically deflated in front of him. “It’s. The best. News. Ever!”
Solomon looked puzzled, so Gavin let him off the hook. “You did it! You made it! You’re going to the Olympics!”
Confusion became joy, and Solomon lifted his uncle into the air and spun him in a circle as they laughed and hugged.
Solomon Kano, who by all rights should have perished in the same storm that claimed his parents, not only survived tragedy, he flourished. Being a product of two nations, two cultures, two clashing worlds, made him kailoma. It also made him a potential Olympic champion.
Chapter 18 - Logan
Logan touched down at San Diego International Airport an uncustomary bundle of nerves. Throughout her athletic career, even making the leap from high school to college, she’d always been buoyed by an unshakable confidence; as a youngster because she was bigger and faster than most everyone else, and as she got older because she just knew she was better.
