by Kaylee, Katy
Jordan looked at Logan. “You’re the tech guy. Isn’t this a good idea?”
Logan cleared his throat, pushing visions of Amber out of his head. “Yeah. I mean I haven’t seen the numbers, but it’s almost always a good thing to do everything in house. People think outsourcing is key, but, in some businesses, the overall savings of doing it in house can even out, if not overshadow, the outsourced work. At least, that’s what I learned in school.”
They all laughed. Matt walked over and patted Logan on the shoulder. “That’s right, and that’s what we’re seeing here with this project.”
Logan nodded, rubbing his hands over his face. “Great.”
Matt looked at him and wrinkled his forehead. “You feeling okay, buddy?”
Logan sighed. “Yeah, I’m just a bit tired, that’s all.”
Matt chuckled, slapping him on the back. “Maybe you should stop staying out so late at night. I’ve noticed you not home or not around the last few nights when I’ve been going to bed. I thought it was strange, but maybe not so much considering who your best friend is.”
Jordan rolled his eyes. “Hey, I am not a bad influence on him. If nothing else, he is a good one on me. The tides have turned lately, though. I’ve been snug in bed while he’s been God knows where.”
Logan looked at them both and shook his head. “It’s not like I joined the CIA and I’m out spying on the Russians or something.”
Jordan turned to him with narrowed eyes. “Hey, wait a minute. Staying out late, mind somewhere else… I think maybe this guy finally got laid.”
Logan just laughed, turning to pretend to look at the blueprints for the new setup.
Jordan shook his head and turned Logan toward him with a laid-back smile. “Oh no, you aren’t getting out of this one that easily. You are the master at avoiding questions like these. So? Did you?”
Logan ran his hand through his hair and down his neck. “Why are you suddenly so interested in my sex life?”
Jordan scoffed. “Please, I always have been. And what sex life? Up to now, you were the guy leaving the party empty handed and early every time. I couldn’t drop a chick in your lap and have you interested. All of a sudden, you’re getting all cryptic on me? Hell no. Did you or didn’t you get some?”
Logan smirked and shrugged. “Maybe.”
Jordan’s mouth dropped open and he ran up to Logan, slapping him on the shoulders. “Holy shit! No fucking way. This is a monumental occasion, right here. Congratulations, dude. I mean, it’s obvious from how laid back you are right now compared to your normal uptight personality that sex is exactly what you needed, like, your entire life. So, tell me about her? Is it like a relationship? Is it just a hit and run? Is she blonde, brunette? Do I know her?”
Matt laughed and grabbed Jordan’s shoulders. “Jesus, man, you’re going to scare Logan back into captivity. Cut him some slack. Haven’t you ever heard of privacy?”
Jordan scoffed. “Please, there is no privacy right when it comes to me and him. We’re brothers, he has no choice but to spill that shit. Now, I need details, man.”
It took everything in Logan’s body not to cringe at that statement. If he knew what he was talking about, Jordan would definitely not want details of him taking his sister’s virginity. Still, Logan knew he had to play along. He’d been had, which he knew would happen sooner rather than later, but he also knew he had to give Logan something or he wouldn’t ever stop asking about it.
“It was just some random chick that I met. Tall, long dark hair, sexy as hell,” Logan replied.
Jordan moved his hands in a circle. “And what else? Was she like smoking hot? I’ve seen some seriously smoking hot girls come after you in the past.”
Logan put up his hands. “She was definitely a ten. Amazing body, beautiful features, and killer personality to go with it. If I was a relationship guy, I’d be all over it. But it was definitely an amazing night.”
Logan was doing it up, realizing that short answers weren’t going to satisfy Jordan at all. He had to make it sound like it wasn’t any big secret. Otherwise, knowing Jordan, he would poke and prod until Logan exploded and spilled the beans. He could see it now, just losing it and screaming out that he had slept with Amber. That would be about the time that Jordan laid him out on the ground. That was one of the last things that he wanted to see happen, so he put on his man mode and made it sound good for the cameras.
Jordan put his hand up and gave Logan a high five. “Seriously, dude, I am super proud of you. I kept telling you that you were a chick magnet and you were wasting it. You just needed to dip your toe in and feel how amazing the waters were.”
Logan put out his arms. “Well here I am. I waded in, and then dove head first.”
Jordan thought about it for a second. “I just don’t get how I missed this. Where did you meet her? The normal bar?”
Logan coughed, clearing his throat nervously. “Nah, a bar on the other side of town. I was out for some me time and headed in for a drink and met her there.”
Jordan slapped him on the back. “Well, man, I have to say I am a proud parent today.”
Logan laughed and pushed Jordan along after his father. He couldn’t help but think to himself, if you only knew.
Matt stuck his head around the corner. “So, are you two going to come look at this stuff or are you still having your man love moment bonding over Logan’s dick?”
Jordan groaned. “You always gotta ruin a picture-perfect moment don’t you, Dad? I mean seriously, no one wants to hear you say dick. That is not a word meant for anyone over forty.”
Logan grinned as Jordan disappeared after his father around the corner. He could hear them bickering back and forth from the control room. It was a welcome sound, considering for a moment he thought he was going to get had by them both. Amber was too important, and whether they were together or not, he had to protect her feelings and her life. If that meant lying to Jordan and Matt, he would just have to keep doing it.
Amber
Amber opened up the back of her mom’s SUV and stared at the mountains of groceries. She lifted her eyebrows and looked over at her. “Seriously, who are you feeding?”
Her mom grabbed a bag. “Have you not noticed that you live with two twenty-year-old men who can eat me out of house and home? This amount of food will last a week, tops. You just never noticed before because you were too busy studying.”
Amber grabbed two bags. “Yeah, and you had a staff to take care of this.”
Her mom shrugged. “I like doing this stuff on my own. And I still have a housekeeper, but I was starting to get bored.”
Amber laughed, following her mom inside. “You know, when normal people get bored, they pick up a hobby. They don’t fire their house staff and start lugging groceries in.”
Her mom turned toward her. “I think I’ve failed you. In most people’s lives they don’t have a house staff.”
Amber tilted her head back and forth. “Yeah, I know that, I’m just saying in your world that’s what bored people do. Didn’t that one lady you know get bored and start a company as a hobby?”
Her mom walked in front of her back out to the car. “Yeah, Linda. And then out of nowhere the thing blew up and she is like a multi-millionaire on top of her husband’s millions. Talk about pocket change. I just don’t have any ideas for anything like that. And to be honest, after decades of helping your father run the production company, I don’t really want to run another business.”
Amber and her mom went back and forth until all the bags were in the house and stacked on the kitchen island. Amber took it bag by bag, helping her mom unload and put everything away. She couldn’t help but blush slightly thinking about sex with Logan on the kitchen counter, something they hadn’t gotten to yet.
“So, how are things coming with your placement exams for Yale? Have you set your date to take those?” her mom asked.
“Uh, no, not yet. I will. I’m just getting a little more studying in before I do.”
Amber’s mind immediately became clouded. It was the first time that she had really stopped to think about Yale since she started sleeping with Logan. She had been so caught up in their love affair that there wasn’t any room for anything else in her brain.
Her mom walked up beside her and furrowed her brow. “Are you okay? The Amber I know would have already taken the tests and would be picking out classes for her first semester. There is a deadline for all of this, you know. Don’t go getting behind now, you worked so hard to get where you are.”
“I’m not, I was just taking my time since it’s so important,” Amber lied.
Her mother let the subject go as she took the frozen foods over and began stacking them in the freezer. Amber unloaded another bag, her thoughts already lost in something that she hadn’t even realized. What was she going to do when she had to leave Logan and move across the country? As it was already, the two of them barely could stand not being in the same room with each other, much less not being in the same state. The idea of packing up and leaving him behind made her feel sick to her stomach.
She wasn’t even sure at that point if she could pack up and leave him. There was a connection there that was stronger than anything she had felt before. Now that their feelings were known to each other, they were like magnets. They loved being together, just the two of them, and sharing everything. They had gone from friends to lovers, to inseparable in three seconds. It was almost too much for her to even think about, standing there in the kitchen with her mother.
Just breathe, Amber, don’t think about it now. The reality of it was that she couldn’t think about it then, not with her mom there with her in the kitchen. She would have to take some serious time and really contemplate her options, but now wasn’t the time.
Amber took two boxes of cereal and walked them into the pantry, tripping on her way out. Her mom put out her hand and caught her. “You alright sweetie? You seem a little bit off recently. Not quite like yourself.”
Amber leaned forward and kissed her mom on the cheek. “I’m okay, I promise. I think I’m just worn out from four years of worrying. I’ll get my spark back, I promise. In the meantime, I’m taking it easy and relaxing a bit.”
Her mom hugged her. “Good, you deserve it. And besides, when you get to Yale you won’t be getting much sleep. You’ll be up all night studying your butt off. All the hard work will pay off in the end, though, just you see.”
Amber smiled kindly at her mom. “Thanks, Mom. So, what out of this smorgasbord of food are you making for dinner?”
“We are going to have salmon, asparagus, potatoes, and a salad,” she said proudly.
Amber’s stomach grumbled. “Mmm, that sounds amazing. You want me to help you make dinner tonight? We haven’t done something like that in a long time.”
Her mom grinned. “I would love that. I was actually just thinking about how we used to bake together all the time. We haven’t done anything like that in a very long time. Life always seems to get in the way. I hate that. Then you look back and wish you would have just stopped and smelled the roses. Oh well, we make the best of what we have, don’t we?”
“That we do,” Amber replied.
She went back to unpacking the groceries and folding up all of the bags. She took the reusable ones out to the car and closed it up for her mom. She paused, looking over at Logan’s jeep. She knew he wasn’t home; he was with her brother and dad, but she already missed him. She felt almost ridiculous for saying that, considering he literally lived in the same house as her, but she couldn’t help it. It was what it was. When she got back inside, all the ingredients for dinner were spread out.
“How many of us will be here for dinner?” Amber asked.
Her mom put the milk in the fridge and said over her shoulder excitedly. “Everyone will be here. It will be all five of us for the first time in a long time. I was actually thinking about instituting a family rule where every Friday or Sunday or something we make it a priority to be here at dinner together. We weren’t able to do that when you were kids because of the company, but now we have more leeway.”
Amber thought that was a great idea, though sitting across the table from Logan and not showing her emotions and lust was going to be a challenge for her. At that point, though, she didn’t really care how hard it was, she just wanted to be around him. He had been gone all day at the Production Studio, going over the new stuff her father was implementing. She knew he really didn’t like the movie business but did it to make her dad feel good since he had done so much for him. It was sweet, something she had never really thought of before.
Her mom nudged her with her elbow. “Hey, space cadet. Start with the asparagus. Cut off some of the ends, put them in this bowl, and toss them with garlic, oil, and salt. Then spread them on the cookie sheet. The oven is already preheating, so when you’re done just stick them in there and set the timer for fifteen minutes. We want to check on them regularly because they tend to overcook really fast.”
Amber pushed the thought of Logan to the back of her mind. “Got it. Cut, season, cook. Check periodically.”
Her mom put a sheet of parchment paper on the cookie sheet. “You amaze me; you’re listening even when you aren’t. You’ve always been so good at multitasking. I suck at it, which is why it takes me forever to cook and half the stuff is cold by the time it comes out.”
“We love it anyway,” Amber said giving her mom a grin.
“You, my dear, are sucking up to me and I like it. You may continue,” her mom said, laughing.
They stood in the kitchen, cooking and talking, doing things like they had so many years before, when Amber’s life wasn’t so full of stress and growing up. She couldn’t help but think about how she had liked it better when the choices were simple. None the less, she had to face them head on, at least eventually.
By the time the salmon was done and everything else had been put into serving dishes, the guys were home from the studio. Their mom yelled out to the guys, who were sitting in the living room watching baseball. “Dinner is ready. You’re being served special tonight by Chef Amber.”
Amber set the bowl of potatoes down on the table. “Oh no, don’t put this on me. I don’t know if you all will survive or not when you’re done with your meal.”
The guys laughed as they all sat down at the table. Jordan looked at all the food and clapped his hands. “It looks really amazing, ladies. We are some lucky guys to get to be fed like this.”
Their mom walked over and kissed Jordan on the cheek. “Thank you, baby.”
Matt coughed into his hand, siting at the head of the table. “Suck up.”
Their mom swatted him on the back of the head as she walked by. “So, maybe you guys should take notes. Flattery always works, and I love it.”
Logan put his napkin in his lap. “It all looks wonderful Mrs. Stark… and Amber. Thank you.”
Logan reached his leg out and fiddled with Amber’s foot. She took in a deep breath trying not to let her emotions show on her face. After the food was passed around, Amber’s dad started talking about the company and everyone got lost in conversation, except her and Logan. They were too busy playing footsie under the table and sending each other sexts.
Amber held her phone in her lap where her brother couldn’t see. It buzzed quietly and she clicked the message from Logan. “I want to run my tongue all over your body right now. Like seriously, throw all the food off and just fuck you right here on this table.”
Amber held back a grin. “Oh yeah? Well maybe I want you to lay down and let me suck your cock first. Then I can ride you until you explode.”
She glanced across the table as Logan read the text. Without hesitation, he started texting back. Amber took a bite of her food, waiting patiently to see what he said.
Her phone vibrated and she quickly clicked the message. “At the studio today, all I could think about was fucking you. Taking you over the bed and just ravaging your entire body. I seriously had to hold back a b
oner all day. It was starting to become painful, I won’t lie.”
“Aww, poor baby. I wish I could take care of that right now,” she texted back.
Amber looked around, but no one was paying attention so she reached up with her foot and ran it across his crotch. He cleared his throat, choking on a piece of fish, and she had to turn her head not to be caught laughing. It was definitely getting her more than aroused.
Logan
“I’ll have a Sam Adams,” Jordan said to the bartender.
“Make that two,” Logan called out with two fingers up.
They got their beers and walked over to one of the tables in the back. They were early to the bar that night and not many people were there yet.
Logan looked around him at the cramped space. “Why do you always insist on sitting back here?”
Jordan swallowed a drink of his beer. “Because, bro, it’s the perfect spot to scope out chicks. You can see every person as they walk through the door, and the ones trying to hide from the creepy guys end up back here.”
Logan narrowed his eyes. “So, you are a creepy guy disguised as a non-creepy guy, creepin’ on chicks in the shadows of the bar.”
Jordan pursed his lips. “Why you got to put it so evil like that? Jesus.”
Logan laughed. “Sorry, dude. You do you. If you want to be the creeper, you be him proudly.”
Jordan threw a nut at Logan. “Shut the fuck up, dude.”
Logan caught the nut in his mouth. “So, your dad was super stoked about the changes going on at the company, right? Are you taking notes? You know his ass will test you.”
Jordan huffed. “I know everyone thinks I’m an idiot, but in reality, I’m really good with that stuff. I think secretly my dad wishes you would take over the company.”
“Yeah, well, he can keep on wishing, because that’s not going to happen. Man, how mad would you be? On a scale of punch me in the face or run me over, where would that sit?”