by Kaylee, Katy
Logan just stared at her. “By a while, how long are we talking?”
Amber looked down at her hands. “Since you and I started seeing each other. I just don’t think that I can leave you behind and go all the way to the other side of the country. I know it sounds crazy, and like something a love-sick puppy would do, but there’s a connection there that I can’t explain. My whole life has been segmented, planned out at every step for something that I consumed myself with. I never thought about anything else in life. I never thought about relationships, hobbies, or life outside of one alma mater. I refused to look at the rest of the world because I was afraid it would deter me from my goals. But then there was you, and you showed me there is so much more to life than where I go to school. Despite what my father thinks, I will not ruin my whole life because I choose a non-Ivy League education. I am a smart girl and I will excel anywhere I go.”
Amber watched as Logan stood, gathering his words. “For as long as I have known you and your family, the one thing that you have always been certain about was the fact that you wanted to go to Yale. You made your father take you to tour the school when you were eleven years old. I haven’t been that sure about anything in my life, not even the kind of toothpaste I like to use. It has been a lifelong dream for you. You have to go; it’s all you have wanted.”
Amber shrugged her shoulders. “I have new dreams now. Sure, they changed in the blink of an eye, and they are based on something I can’t even tell anyone about, but it’s something I want more than that insignia on the back of my car. Call me crazy, but I look at my parents and know that they got where they are not because of a degree or school but because of the strength of the bond between the two of them.”
Logan slowly allowed himself to smile and reached over, pulling her into a hug. She tried to pull back, but he wouldn’t let her. “Let someone walk in and see, who cares? I am just giving you a hug.”
Amber relaxed into his arms. “Thank you.”
Logan chuckled. “I should be the one thanking you. You have made my day, and probably more than that. I don’t want you to make choices you will hate me for in the future, but at the same time I have hated the idea of you leaving. I will stand by you no matter what decision that you make.”
Amber pulled back and Logan ran his hands through her hair, cupping her cheek with his hand. He leaned in and gently pressed his lips against hers. She could feel the heat in her chest and her heart beating wildly. Her knees were almost too weak to stay upright. He looked back at her and smiled. “Everything will turn out okay in the end. We just have to have faith that we are making the right decisions.”
Amber smiled and kissed his nose. He backed away and she turned to make her coffee just as her mom walked through the door into the kitchen. Amber jumped slightly and turned to look at her.
Lisa picked up the phone that she had left on the counter and paused. “Just give him some time, sweetie. Your father wants what is best for you, or at least what he thinks is best for you. Maybe the two of you can sit down and you can tell him your plan. That will help him be more secure in the idea that you are making the right decision.”
“Thanks, Mom,” Amber replied.
Lisa glanced over at Logan and nodded before walking back out of the kitchen. Amber took a sip of her coffee and thought about her mother’s words. A plan? She had no idea what she would do if she stayed there. She had only just realized she couldn’t leave Logan behind, not even for Yale. She glanced over at him and smiled to herself, watching as he ate his croissant and watched the birds out the kitchen window.
She may not have a plan, she may not have Yale, and she may have zero clue about what to do next, but she wasn’t alone in it. She had something she valued way more than that, and that was Logan at her side no matter what.
Logan
Everything got pretty complicated, and fast. Lisa and Matt owned a condo out in Colorado, and shortly after the conversation in the kitchen, they got a call that one of the Airbnb renters had completely trashed the place. Matt had put Logan and Jordan together on a plane to fly out there to assess the damage, and fix what they could. When they had said damage, Logan expected dirty floors, maybe a broken piece of furniture, but when they had arrived they were completely shocked.
There were holes in the walls, the furniture had been destroyed, the television broken, and chunks nicked out of the solid oak floors. The place looked like someone had taken a baseball bat to it, and it wreaked of alcohol. Whoever had rented the place had a serious rager and just blew the condo to shreds. Logan had already been upset that he had to leave Amber behind in LA, and from the looks of the place when they arrived Tuesday night, they might be there for a few days.
After the conversation in the kitchen Monday morning Logan hadn’t been able to find alone time with Amber at all. She was either with Taylor or having long discussions with one or both of her parents. Jordan had been coming home early, so there was no waiting until they were in bed to watch a movie together, either. It had been hectic, to say the least, and all he wanted to do was get back to LA so he could be there for her. She was struggling with the fact that her father was so upset with her over Yale. She just wanted people to respect her decision.
Logan wasn’t very excited about the prospect of her giving up what she wanted for him, but he hated the idea of her leaving. It was a tricky situation, something he knew that deep down Amber hadn’t fully committed to yet. He knew there was a chance that she could decide to stay the course and go to Yale in the fall. There was no way he could try to discourage her from that; it truly was what was best for her. At the same time, his own stubbornness and selfishness kept him from coaxing her into changing her mind on not leaving.
Flying out to Colorado in the middle of it all didn’t help in the least. It put him out of sight and put her father’s insistence at the forefront. He was terrified he would get back home and she would have changed her mind. Logan stepped over a pile of trash and grabbed the pieces of a broken lamp, feeling helpless.
Jordan came from the back room and slung down a trash bag full of liquor bottles. “If I ever see these assholes again, I seriously might snap their necks.”
Logan chuckled. “What, you never went to a raging party where people went bat shit crazy and destroyed everything in the house?”
Jordan lifted an eyebrow. “No, no I haven’t. Have you?”
Logan shook his head. “No. Most people I tended to hang out with at least didn’t want to go to jail.”
Jordan pulled out his camera. “Have you started on the kitchen yet?”
“No, not yet. Just moving through the living room.”
Logan nodded. “Okay, I think that’s the last room I have to photograph. I gotta send these pictures over to the detective.”
When they arrived and saw the damage, the first thing they did was call the cops. They thought maybe there had been a break-in, but there was no damage to any door or window and the place had been locked up when they arrived. They had just had a fraternity staying there for a brother’s ski weekend, and they could only assume it had gotten out of hand. They went ahead and filed the report because someone was going to have to be responsible for the damages.
The cop had told them to take pictures of everything just as it was and send them over to him and to their insurance company. After that, they could start cleaning up the mess and assessing the repairs. Jordan was livid; some young idiots had come into his parents’ house and acted like it meant nothing to them. Logan could see the fierceness that was flowing through him every time he picked up a broken trinket or a leg from one of the chairs.
“Of course. They rolled up in here and broke the fucking dishes. Who fucking does this?” Jordan yelled from the kitchen.
Logan groaned as he swept the floors, moving all the debris into one pile. “I don’t know, brother, but we’ll get this place back into shape and we’ll catch the assholes who did it. Luckily, we have all the information on who rented it last and the statem
ent from the housekeeper that it was perfect before they got there, and hours after they left it looked like this.”
Jordan emerged from the kitchen, tossing a shard of a plate into the pile. “It just pisses me off because my parents may have a lot of money, but they got there because they worked their asses off. Then some entitled idiots come rolling through and start breaking all their shit. I told my parents when I heard about the listing that it was a bad idea, but Dad was in a fraternity and had no idea how different it is now.”
Logan swept the large debris into a trash bag. “The good news is we are almost done cleaning up and you said the repair guys are coming this afternoon, right?”
Jordan rubbed his face. “Yeah, they will be here in a few hours.”
Logan patted him on the shoulder. “That’s good. As long as your father is satisfied with the work we did, we should be able to get back to Los Angeles by tomorrow. You’ll be stress free by this time Friday. That’s a good start to a weekend.”
Jordan sat down on the edge of the couch, pulling a liquor bottle from between the cushions. “Yeah, I guess you’re right.”
Logan continued cleaning. “So, you gonna go out to the bars and grab some hot chick to take your frustration out on?”
Jordan scoffed. “No, actually. I kind of met someone back home. She’s a really cool chick, smart, funny, super sexy. I think that this one is one I might want to stick around for a while. She’s not the same as all the others. I met her at a convention my dad took me to and we had a few drinks and hit it off. We haven’t even slept together yet.”
Logan was shocked. “Wow, man, that’s huge for you. She must be amazing. I don’t think I can remember the last time you talked about a longer term relationship unless you count the one with your car when you named her and gave her a personality.”
Jordan tilted his head. “You leave Annalise out of this. She is my baby. She has been nothing but faithful to me.”
Logan laughed. “I know, man, but at some point, you have to start thinking about committing to someone who has a heartbeat and isn't a piece of machinery.”
Jordan grinned. “I know. And this girl, who knows, she might be the one to do it with. She is a ball buster, though, I won’t lie. She is strong and assertive, she doesn’t let anyone kick her in the teeth. She’s in the movie business too, directing small time and then script writing, actually, for some larger people like Nicholas Sparks. She had to work her way through a man’s world and was kind of content with just focusing until we met. We’ll see where it goes. How about you?”
Logan smiled as he swept. “Actually, yeah. I have someone in my sights for sure. There is a lot to it, but she is pretty awesome. As far as this girl you are talking about, it sounds great, man. I want you to be happy and maybe start shedding some of those college years.”
“Ha! Not sure that will ever fully happen, but she gets it and she is patient about it, at least so far.”
Logan picked up the trash bag and set it to the side, looking around the room. “Okay, so this room just needs a vacuum and mop so that they can get the stains out of the hardwood. We’re tossing the rug, right?”
Jordan nodded. “Yeah, my mom hates it, but I told her there were several different types of bodily fluid on it and she said it was worth buying another one.”
Logan wrinkled his nose. “Uh yeah, that’s disgusting. And by a few you mean…”
Jordan put up his hand. “Just think about it. I don’t even think that I can explain it to you without wanting to vomit all over myself. It’s as bad as it sounds. Trust me.”
Logan grabbed the vacuum and did a quick sweep over the floors as Jordan mopped behind him. When they were done, they moved onto the kitchen, pulling all broken things from the shelves. Jordan walked over to a small cupboard next to the island and put a key in the lock. He opened it up and smiled, pulling out an old picture of his mom and dad on their wedding day.
Jordan held it up in the air. “Look at these two feisty kids. You think they were as wild as we are?”
Logan looked over at the picture. It looked like a young Amber in a wedding gown. “No, and mostly because your father has been a stout hard ass since he came out of the womb barking orders to the doctors.”
Jordan laughed. “I know that’s right.”
Logan filled up one trash bag and went onto another. “Why do they keep that stuff here?”
Jordan locked the cabinet back. “This was the first vacation home they ever purchased. When they come here to stay, they like to put touches of home out. So, back to what we were talking about earlier. When am I going to get to meet this mystery woman who has you occupied in the brain and checking your phone every five minutes?”
Logan shrugged. “Honestly, I’m not sure. I mean we both have some pretty big decisions to make in our lives, her more than me, and if she goes for it, she will move to the other coast. I don’t think a long-distance relationship would really work out since we just started to see each other. It’s all really up in the air right now. I think it would be best to keep her out of my very personal life until we decide whether she’s going to be a part of it for an extended period of time.”
Jordan stopped and looked at Logan. “Extended period huh? Are we talking just girlfriend, or are we talking you could love her if you let yourself?”
Logan thought about it for a second, knowing the answer was simple. He already did love Amber, but he couldn’t say he loved said random girl after a couple of weeks. It wouldn’t make any sense to Jordan. He wouldn’t have a clue that Logan had known her his entire life, and that wasn’t something he could tell him. He would instantly want to know who, since they pretty much had the same friends for all that time. “If I knew she was staying, and I let that guard down yeah, I think I could love her really easy. She’s that type of girl that you can’t help but love. It’s not complicated as far as feelings are concerned.”
Jordan sat down in the chair looking lost. “I have to admit something to you. I think I know exactly what you are saying because I might feel that way for this girl. I won’t know until more time passes, but she is really special.”
Logan continued cleaning thinking about just how special Amber really was. She might be rest of his life special.
Amber
Amber pressed the send button on the computer and let out a deep breath. She leaned back on the bed and put her arms behind her head, thinking about Logan and everything that she wanted to say to him. She was making some seriously big life decisions based on him, but she felt sure when she did it. He was incredible and everything she ever wanted in a partner. She just knew that once they straightened everything out with their family, things would fall into place for them.
The phone beside her bed began to buzz and she picked it up with a wide smile. “Well, hello there. I was just thinking about you.”
Logan chuckled. “Oh yeah? I am always thinking about you. In fact, I was laying here in my hotel room wondering what you were doing right at this moment.”
Amber shut the laptop. “I just withdrew from Yale actually.”
Logan sounded excited at first but then tried to muffle it. “Really? That’s… that’s…. are you absolutely one hundred percent sure that you want to do this. It’s a huge decision to make based on me.”
Amber wrinkled her forehead. “Are you having second thoughts?”
Logan let out a deep breath. “No, not even in the slightest. I am absolutely thrilled you aren’t going to be leaving, but that’s a huge thing, saying no to Yale, the place you wanted to go your whole life. I just want to make sure you are sound and resolute in your decision.”
“That I am. Sound as I’ll ever be,” she said confidently.
“Good, then I am more than excited about this,” he replied.
“So, how was the condo? I heard dad screaming the other day, so I assume it wasn’t good.” Amber already knew she just didn’t want him to get off the phone yet.
Logan whistled. “It was a doozie.
Everything was pretty much trashed. Furniture, dishes, the floor, a couple holes in the wall, all the electronics, destroyed. But we got it all cleaned up and the workers came earlier today and cleaned the floors and patched holes. Your mom’s decorator out here is going to go by and redecorate the place, but we don’t have to stay for that.”
Amber perked up. “Does that mean you’re coming home?”
Logan smiled. “Yes, ma’am it does. We fly out in the early morning tomorrow. I was trying to convince your dad to let us come back tonight, but he said he wants us to double check the craftsman work before we leave.”
Amber pouted. “He really is a kill joy recently. Of course, he has no idea he’s killing any joy but your and Jordan’s, and he likes doing that. Other than that, you okay? Not meeting any Colorado ski bunnies up, there are you?”
Logan laughed. “No, none at all. Besides, I already have it out for this one chick back home. She’s tall, sexy, smart, and I can’t keep my hands off of her.”
Amber bit her lip and moved her laptop off the bed. “Oh yeah? Sounds like a lucky girl. And exactly what would you be doing to this girl right now if you had the chance?”
Amber could hear Logan pause and clear his throat. He obviously wasn’t expecting that, but he didn’t take much time to come back. “What are you wearing right now?”
Amber looked down at her tiny pajama shorts and white tank top. “A tank top and panties, panties that are already wet just thinking about you here with me.”
Logan breathed hard into the phone. “Oh yeah? God my cock is so hard right now baby.”
Amber closed her eyes. “You don’t know how much I want you. My pussy is throbbing. Tell me what you would do to me right now.”
Amber could hear Logan taking off his clothes and it excited her even more. He came back on the line, the springs of his bed echoing through the phone. “First, I would pull the straps of that tank top down, and reach inside, pulling out those hard, firm titties. I would lean down and suck one of them into my mouth, nibbling and tugging on them gently.”