How to Unbreakup

by Rebekah L. Purdy

  With a smile, I shifted my glance back to Logan. “Sure.”

  He grinned. “Cool. So what kinds of things do you like to do?”

  “Hike, swim, play video games—I’m open to pretty much anything. Well, except for maybe snake hunting.”

  “Why don’t we plan to go hiking? I know some awesome spots. Maybe we can stop at Cut River Bridge too.”

  “Sounds great.”

  “I’ll pick you up around eight tomorrow morning.”

  “Okay.”

  “Oh, and bring your swimsuit. We can try to stop off and swim somewhere if it’s warm enough.”

  “Hey, I love hiking too. Maybe me and Lila could tag along,” Sage said as Logan stood back up.

  “Ugh, I’m not into all that walking.” Lila put her hands on her hips. “I thought you could hang out in town with me tomorrow. There are some of my friends I want you to meet before my birthday party on Saturday.”

  He frowned. “Actually, I forgot I promised my dad I’d go fishing with him.”

  She pouted. “That’s too bad. Maybe we can get together in the evening.”

  “Yeah, we’ll see.”

  Logan and Lila said goodbye then headed down the beach toward their house.

  When they were out of sight, Sage glanced at me. “Are you sure you should go alone with Logan? You barely know him.”

  My chest tightened. What was going on with him? Why did he care whether me and Logan hung out or not?

  “He’s nice. Besides, it’s not like I have anything else going on. You, Allie, and Benji have all been so busy—I’m kind of getting lonely.”

  “D-do you like Logan?” Sage shoved his hands in his pockets and kicked at the mounds of sand.

  Allie shot me a knowing look.

  “He’s super nice and fun.”

  “Just be careful.” Sage’s voice cracked and he stalked toward the house.

  “Geesh. If he got anymore angsty we could throw some black guy liner on him.” Allie set her magazine down.

  “I don’t get why he’s upset. It’s not like he hasn’t had Lila all summer.”

  “Well, if you want my opinion—I think my brother’s jealous.”

  “Not likely.”

  “Oh, it’s very likely. Because I don’t think Sage is as over you as he pretends to be.”

  Was she right? If so, should I still go with Logan?

  Yes. Logan’s a great guy. Besides, you already said you’d go. I’d spent almost every moment of my vacation so far focusing on Sage. Now, I needed to concentrate on me. Even if it was only one day.

  Chapter Twenty

  Step #6: Make him jealous

  Logan parked his SUV in the gravel lot. We both climbed out. I grabbed my backpack, which had water, granola, and my EpiPen in it. I slid on my sunglasses, squirted some sunscreen on my palms, and proceeded to rub it on my arms, neck, legs, and face.

  He came around the vehicle with his own backpack secured in place. “Ready?”

  “Yeah.”

  I followed him to the well-worn path leading into the woods. Thick green foliage grew on either side of the trail. Ferns fanned out closer to the ground, while wild mushrooms grew in the moist soil.

  “Wow, it’s beautiful out here,” I said.

  He turned his head and smiled at me. “That’s why I come out here so much. You can forget the real world for a while and lose yourself in this place.”

  I hoped he didn’t mean literally. Trees grew from rocky outcroppings. The trunks were curved and knotted. Some formed strange arches, while others reminded me of long-necked animals.

  Beams of sunlight snuck through the leafy coverage above. I spun to look around me. It was sorta like walking into a fairytale. The way the large trees bent in toward the path and the circles of mushrooms grew. Birds twitted above, flying from one perch to another. Bugs buzzed about as if they didn’t have a care in the world.

  The trail wound around, then got steeper. We ducked under a large mossy oak branch, then climbed up a rocky incline. When we got to the top, I saw the waterfall splashing down the side of a hill. White foam clung to stones like froth. It was beautiful.

  Logan reached for my hand and led me closer to it. The warmth from his fingers caused butterfly-wing flutters to tickle my belly. But I held tight and let him guide me through the steep terrain, until we reached the top, where the river waters converged, creating the waterfall.

  I sucked in a deep breath. This was the type of scene you saw on puzzle boxes. The beauty that you wrote poems about.

  “It’s so perfect,” I whispered.

  He gave my hand a squeeze. “So I think this would be a good place to soak our feet and have a picnic.” He gestured to the large boulders lining the banks of the river.

  “Sounds good.”

  We made our way closer to the river then unloaded our gear. I slipped my shoes and socks off and dipped my feet into the cool waters. With a sigh, I sat on the edge of a giant granite stone. A dragonfly flitted across the water like a tiny helicopter.

  “So Sage said you play soccer and basketball.” Logan handed me a turkey sandwich and sat down next to me.

  “Yeah. My soccer team made it to the playoffs last year.”

  “That’s cool. Do you plan on playing in college?” He took a bite of his sandwich.

  “I’m hoping to. There were some scouts that came to some of our end-of-season games. I’ll just have to make sure I kick butt this upcoming year.”

  “So you’re a senior like Sage?”

  I smiled. “Yes, thank God. I don’t think I could last another year … ”

  He chuckled. “Trust me, college is a lot better. You’ll meet lots of new people and most of the professors are decent.”

  My gaze slid down his leg. For the first time, I noticed the large scar on the inside of it. Why hadn’t I seen it before? Probably because you weren’t paying attention.

  “What happened to your leg, if you don’t mind me asking?”

  His brow furrowed and he stared across the river. “I got into a bad car accident my senior year of high school. The impact of the crash shattered my knee and broke my leg and some ribs. They had to put in some metal rods and plates and stuff.”

  “Oh God, I’m glad you’re okay.”

  “Yeah. Well, I lost my football scholarships. And one of my best friends got pretty screwed up. He was in a coma for months. Although he came out of it, he’s paralyzed now.”

  I swallowed hard, seeing the pain on his face. “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay. It was a while ago.” He took another bite of food then brushed the crumbs from his hands. “You know, I’d love to watch you play soccer sometime.”

  His ivy-colored eyes met mine.

  “I’d like that.”

  We sat there in silence for long minutes, finishing up our lunches. When we were done, we headed back to his vehicle.

  “Now, I’m gonna bring you to see the Cut River Bridge. You probably drove over it on your way to Manistique.”

  “We did, but we’ve never stopped before.”

  “Ah, then you don’t know what you’re missing.”

  We pulled onto the highway once more, driving to our next destination. When we arrived, Logan found a parking spot. Once again, we hopped out. This time though, he grabbed his guitar from the back of the SUV.

  “You brought that with you?”

  “Yeah, I’ve been meaning to sit down and play it for you. Figured it’d be kind of fun to do it here.” He shut the doors of the vehicle and grabbed my hand.

  We walked across the lot then crossed the busy street. I couldn’t believe how high up the bridge was. We made our way down some stairs to where a path went beneath the large, metal structure.

  “Holy crap, this is awesome.” I tilted my head upward to stare at the bottom of the bridge. Overhead we heard the traffic zooming over it.

  When we got right under it, Logan pointed to a door, which had a nameplate that said, T. Troll on it.

&nbs
p; “See, we even have our own troll under the bridge.”

  We laughed and he guided me toward a slew of stairs.

  There had to be hundreds of them. “Do I want to know how many stairs we have to go down?”

  “Probably not. I can tell you there are over two hundred of them.”

  “So you’re carrying me back up, right?”

  He chuckled. “Don’t worry, we won’t go all the way down.”

  We descended for a few minutes. The view was perfect. Thick woods and leaves surrounded the wooden and metal walkway. Spider webs clung to the railings, leaves and bugs stuck inside them.

  When we got about halfway down, Logan stopped at a wooden bench and had a seat.

  “Come sit next to me.” He patted the spot beside him then took his guitar from its case and tuned it.

  After a couple of minutes, he strummed out a beautiful song. He closed his eyes while he played, his foot tapped along. His long lashes touched his cheeks as he sang. His voice amazed me and tiny goose bumps sprung up on my arms.

  When he finished, I clapped for him. “I loved that song. Do you think you could teach me to play it?”

  “Sure.” He handed me his guitar and a pick. Then he moved to the other side of me. “You’ll want to play a G chord, then C—” And on he went, whispering the notes and chords in my ear. Next came the words.

  As I sang along with him, my gaze met his. My heart thudded in my chest. If I wasn’t careful, I might end up falling hard for him. And would that be a bad thing?

  After several times through, I finally got the hang of it and most of the words down.

  “Thanks for showing me how to play it. I really like it.”

  “Do you want to know a secret?” he asked as he put his instrument away.

  “What?”

  “I wrote that song.”

  My eyes widened. “Seriously?”

  His face turned a deep shade of crimson. “Yeah. I like to write music.”

  “Well, you’re good at it. Have you ever thought about doing it professionally?”

  He shrugged. “Not really. I just like doing it for fun.”

  “Maybe you ought to consider it.”

  “Maybe.”

  We made our way back up the stairs to the car and headed back to my house.

  Today had been fun. The way I pictured my summer should be. When we pulled into my driveway, the porch lights blazed through the darkness. For a moment, I thought I saw the curtain in the front window fall back into place.

  After we parked, Logan came around to open my door for me. He took my hand and helped me out. We stood toe-to-toe. He reached toward me, his fingers caressed my face.

  “I’m so glad you came this summer, Grace. I really like spending time with you. You’re different than everyone else.”

  “I like spending time with you too,” I whispered.

  He leaned closer, his thumb sweeping across my lips.

  Nervous tingles swept through me like a mini-hurricane. I swallowed hard. I’d only ever kissed one boy and that was Sage Castle in eighth grade. What if I messed this up? It’d been a long time and I didn’t exactly have any recent practice. Besides, Logan was in college, he probably had lots of experience.

  As his breath fanned over my cheek, I caught the scent of cinnamon from his gum. I tilted my head and closed my eyes. His arms snaked around my waist, gently tugging my hips against him.

  Right then the front door burst open. My lids shot open and I saw Sage standing on the porch.

  “Hey, your dad said hurry up and come inside. We’re having forced family fun night.”

  The moment was broken for me and Logan. He took a step back and ran a hand through his hair.

  “Sorry about that,” I said. “I-I should probably go now.”

  “Don’t worry—we have the rest of the summer, Grace. And I plan to spend as much of my free time with you as I can.”

  Excitement raced through my veins. “I’ll see you soon.”

  With a wave, I rushed inside where my parents already had a game board set up on the dining room table.

  Sage slumped down in a chair, his eyes narrowed.

  “Grace, sit by me.” Allie jerked me in the chair next to hers, and then leaned over and whispered, “Sage has been watching out the window half the day for you.”

  Startled, I shot her a questioning look. “You’re lying.”

  “Nope. I think tomorrow would be a great day to implement number seven on your list.”

  Number seven. Seduce him. Oh God. Was I ready for that? I had absolutely no experience in the “be sexy” department. This had the potential to go all kinds of bad. But then again, maybe I could pull it off. Or so I hoped.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  Step #7: Seduce him

  Allie and I sat up in the loft working on my outfit for project “Seduce Sage.” Or better said, costume. Allie bit off the end of the thread from the spool and went to work sewing the white sheet. Tonight, I’d be dressing up like Princess Leia from Star Wars, Sage’s favorite sci-fi chick. Unfortunately, we didn’t have a real costume, so Allie and I were making one from scratch.

  We’d chosen to do the one from the scene where Leia was wearing the white robes right before she was captured by Vader.

  “Okay, so I’ve got everything figured out. Our parents will be gone until later this evening. They left for Pictured Rocks a little bit ago. When we finish this, I’ll take Benji, and the younger two over to Kitch-iti-kipi for a while. That should give you enough time,” Allie said.

  “I sure as hell hope I can do this. I have no idea how to be sexy.”

  “You’ll handle it. Trust me, once you’re in costume it’ll be a piece of cake. Besides, I thought Lyncee already gave you some pointers to make your evening romantic.”

  My teeth grazed my lip. “She did. I wrote them down here.” I held up my “How to Unbreakup” notebook.

  “All right, I think I’m about done.” She stood, showing me the Leia costume.

  I had to admit that it looked great. She’d worked her magic.

  “I still can’t believe I’m doing this,” I said.

  She patted my shoulder. “It’ll be fine. Now, I’m going to go get everyone ready to go. I’ll see you tonight.”

  A few minutes later, they’d left. It was show time. Sage came out of the bathroom, his hair wet from a recent shower.

  He glanced around the house. “Where’d everybody go?”

  “Our parents are at Pictured Rocks, and Allie took the kids up to Kitch-iti-kipi.”

  “Well that explains why it’s suddenly so quiet.” He chuckled. “So what are you going to do?”

  “If you’re up to it, we can play a video game.”

  “Sure, let me put my dirty clothes in the hamper and I’ll be right there.”

  With a deep breath, I went down the hall to the game room. I flipped on the big screen TV, and then turned the power on for the game system. I bent down and rummaged through our box of video games, pulling out one that Sage and I used to play together in middle school.

  “I can’t believe you still have this game,” he said when he came into the room.

  “Don’t worry, I promise not to show you up with my mad gaming skills.”

  He chuckled, taking a seat on the overstuffed wraparound couch. “Let me guess, you’re gonna be the elfin princess.”

  “Of course. She’s bad ass with her staff.” I plopped down on the couch next to him.

  He scooted closer, until his knee brushed against mine. I gasped, trying to focus on the screen.

  “Hmmm … should I be the Rogue or the Dwarf?” Sage glanced down at me.

  For a moment, I couldn’t breathe. His blue eyes melted me into puddles. Geesh, if I didn’t know any better I’d say he had magical powers, the way he could just turn a look my way and I’d fall apart at his feet.

  “Grace?”

  “Sorry, definitely the Rogue. He’s quicker in battle.”

  We sat together, fig
hting through the first three levels of the game. Every time he moved, some part of him brushed against some part of me. I was super aware of him. Of his closeness to me. And neither of us moved away. My fingers trembled as I glanced at the clock. If I was going to do this, I knew I had to start soon.

  “I think I might order us pizza, does that sound okay?” I asked.

  “Sure. You know what I like on mine.” He paused the game.

  “I do. I’ll be back in a few minutes.” My body quaked as I pushed to my feet and left the room. The first thing I did was call and order the pizza. When I finished that, I hurried upstairs.

  My stomach did jumping jacks as my nerves kicked in. I reached up and grabbed the white flow-y gown from on top of my bed and slid it over my head. Next, I tightened a belt at my waist that Allie had made for me. I went over to the full-length mirror. It actually didn’t look half bad. With a smile, I worked on my hair. When I was done, I giggled. The buns on either side of my head would’ve made Princess Leia proud. Now, I had to pull out the big guns, or more correctly laser blasters.

  I went over to Caleb’s box of toys under his bed and pulled out a Star Wars blaster, and secured it to my side.

  From downstairs the doorbell rang. I grabbed cash from my dresser, then raced to the foyer. When I flung open the door, the pizza delivery guy’s eyes widened.

  “Whoa, I think I must be dreaming,” he said. His gaze swept over me.

  I blushed. “Thanks, um, keep the change.” Palms clammy, I shoved the money at him, took the pizza, and shut the door behind me.

  Okay. This was it. I sucked in a deep breath. You can do this. You’re Grace Evers and you’re sexy. My pulse thundered in my ears like a severe storm out on the lake.

  Before I could talk myself out of it, I headed into the game room. Sage was still staring at the TV screen when I dimmed the lights to make it more romantic.

  “Why’d you turn the lights down?” He shifted his gaze to me. Surprise etched his face as his eyes moved over me. He set the game controller on the table. “Wow—you look amazing.”

  I cleared my throat. “Thanks.”

  He stood and grabbed the pizza from me and set it on the coffee table. “Do you want me to get plates?”