by Amanda Abram
“What are you talking about? I saw you guys holding hands at Justin’s party the other night.”
I snorted. “He was just helping me up from where I was sitting on the dock. You happened to arrive right after I stood up.”
“Oh.” He plucked his own piece of grass out of the ground and twirled it between his thumb and forefinger.
“What about Riley?” I found myself asking, lowering my gaze to the ground. “Are you two a thing?”
He let the blade of grass drop. “Me and Riley? Nah. I mean, I don’t know. She’s definitely my type, but we haven’t talked about getting together or anything.”
“Something tells me she’d like to.”
Cocking an eyebrow, he said, “Oh yeah? What makes you think that?”
I tapped a finger on my chin as I pretended to think about it for a moment. “Hmm, let’s see. She seems to enjoy stripping in front of you. And finding whatever reason to touch you. And texting you half-naked selfies. The girl wants you. Bad.”
Logan grinned and raked a hand through his hair. “What can I say? I’m irresistible.”
“That can’t possibly be true. I’m able to resist you.”
He scoffed. “I’m sure in the right situation, even you’d be unable to resist me, Dawson.”
I shook my head adamantly. “Nope.”
“Come on, the signs are all there. You’re touching me all the time—”
“Yeah,” I interjected, “to hit or punch you because you just said or did something stupid.”
“And you couldn’t wait to strip for me yesterday—” he continued like I hadn’t even said anything.
“Because you practically begged me to,” I pointed out.
We held each other’s gaze for a moment before starting to laugh and collapsing onto our backs again.
“In all seriousness,” I said as our laughter subsided, “Have we even made any progress where Matt’s concerned? Has he said anything about me? Have you talked to him about me yet?”
“Uh…not yet.”
“What are you waiting for? Am I that much of a lost cause that we need to take all summer to fix me first?”
He gave me a lopsided grin. “No, it’s not that. It’s just…I thought it would be better if this all happened organically, you know? I don’t want to just tell him point blank that he should date you. I want him to come to that realization on his own. Trust me, you’ll want that, too.”
“Okay, but…” I clasped my hands together over my stomach and began twiddling my thumbs. “I haven’t really had many interactions with him yet. How is he supposed to come to the realization he wants to date me if we never even see or talk to each other?”
He appeared to mull that over for a moment. “Good point. Okay, how about this? He’s coming over to my house tomorrow to hang out. What if I suggest we do a group get-together sometime? Like you, me, Riley and Matt. We could all go mini golfing or something. It will give the two of you the chance to get to know each other a little better, and it will give you both an idea of what it would be like to date each other.”
The corners of my mouth tipped downward into a frown. Why did Riley have to be included in this? I didn’t really know her that well yet, and so far, she’d given me no reason not to like her, but I couldn’t help but feel incredibly insecure around her. She was beautiful and perfect. But I just had to remind myself it didn’t matter—she was Matt’s cousin, therefore not my competition.
“That sounds great,” I said. I felt a sudden kink in my neck and reached a hand up and started massaging the spot.
“You okay?” Logan asked.
“Yeah,” I said. “My neck hurts a little, that’s all. You forgot to bring pillows.”
He chuckled. “Here,” he said, stretching out his arm to the side. “You can rest on my arm.”
I lifted my head and he slipped his arm underneath. I was immediately surprised by how soft he was. He was certainly no pillow, but I expected him to feel as hard as a rock, knowing how much the guy worked out. Maybe it was because he wasn’t flexing, or maybe it was because anything was better than the ground.
Absent-mindedly, I moved closer to him and rested my head on his shoulder.
“Is that better?” he asked softly, turning his head slightly so his words vibrated against the top of my head.
I yawned as I nodded. “Much better, thank you.”
If I hadn’t been overcome with a sudden, overwhelming wave of sleepiness, I would have seriously questioned the position we were in right then. If anyone were to stumble upon us, they’d most likely mistake us for a couple having a romantic moment under the stars. But there was nothing romantic here. We were just two neighbors—barely even friends—gazing up at the stars together. For a few minutes, I think we talked about the constellations. We marveled at the possibility that some of the stars we were looking might have burned out long ago. We even took guesses as to which ones they might be. At one point we witnessed a shooting star blaze across the sky and we each made a silent wish.
Eventually, my eyelids grew heavy and I think I might have mumbled something about it being late and how we should get home.
It was the last thing I remembered before closing my eyes and drifting off to sleep in the warmth and comfort of Logan’s embrace...
Chapter Twenty
LOGAN
I woke up the next morning to warm sunlight caressing my face, the sound of birds chirping in the distance, the pleasant scent of apples filling my nostrils, and the feeling of holding a girl in my arms.
Wait…what?
My eyes flew open to reveal a very confusing view above me—light blue sky, white fluffy clouds, muted golden sunlight—and I instantly began to panic.
Why was I waking up outdoors? And who was I holding in my arms?
It didn’t take long for the memory of last night to come flooding back. I was stargazing with Emma. We were talking. She fell asleep. I didn’t have the heart to wake her. And then apparently, I fell asleep.
And neither of us woke up until morning.
I lifted my head slightly to assess the situation. Her face was nuzzled against my neck, her arm draped across my abdomen, her hand resting on my waist, one of her legs tangled with mine. Meanwhile, my arm—numb from the flow of blood being cut off from her sleeping on it—was around the small of her back, my hand resting low on her hip.
Lifting my free arm carefully, I glanced at my watch. It was almost seven o’clock. We needed to get home. And fast.
“Emma,” I said, softly nudging her.
“Hmm?” She stirred slightly. Her hand moved to my chest as she snuggled even closer.
I gulped as I stared up at the sky. This was the first time I’d ever woken up next to a girl and the first time I’d ever slept with one in the literal sense. I hated to admit it, considering who the girl was, but it was nice. The feel of her in my arms…warm…soft…
I didn’t know what to do, especially considering that when she woke up, she was going to freak the hell out.
“Emma,” I said a little louder, shaking her this time.
“What?” she mumbled, sounding annoyed. Her eyes fluttered open and her gaze caught mine. For a moment, we stared at one another. A small smile graced her lips as she brought her hand up and placed it along the side of my face. “Hey,” she whispered.
“Hey,” I found myself whispering back as my pulse suddenly quickened. This wasn’t the reaction I’d been expecting.
But it was short-lived. It only took maybe three seconds before she realized something wasn’t right. Maybe it was the fact we were outside. Or the fact she was lying on the ground next to me. Whatever it was, it hit her hard. Her smile instantly vanished as she gasped. She pushed herself away from me and stumbled backward.
“What the hell?” she squealed. She glanced at our surroundings with a look of pure confusion on her face as she struggled to stand.
“We must have fallen asleep,” I explained as I sat up.
With shaky ha
nds, Emma reached into the back pocket of her shorts as if looking for something but came up empty-handed. “Where’s my phone?” she asked, patting her other pockets. “What time is it?”
“It’s a little after seven,” I replied. I stood as well, bunching up the blanket and grabbing the flashlight.
“Shit,” she hissed, raking a hand through her slightly mussed-up hair.
My jaw dropped. “Whoa. Did Emma Dawson just swear?”
Emma shot me a glare. “I swear all the time, just usually when I’m talking about you.”
Apparently, Emma was a grouch first thing in the morning.
“We’re going to be in so much trouble,” she moaned, now practically yanking her hair out of her head.
“Calm down,” I said, walking over to her. “It’s a Sunday morning. Our parents are probably still asleep and don’t even know we’re gone.”
That was a lie. There was a good chance at least Rachel was awake, since Abby was an early riser and liked to cry loudly if nobody came to get her by the time the sun was up. I wasn’t sure about Emma’s parents, but it didn’t really matter. Our cars were both in our respective driveways, so there’d be no reason for them to suspect we weren’t asleep in our bedrooms.
We would just have to find a way to sneak in without anyone catching us…
“You’re right. My parents usually sleep in on Sundays,” she said, her voice surprisingly calm. “Either way, we’d better get home. Now.”
She broke into a run and I followed. Luckily, we weren’t too far away, and it would only take us a minute or so to make it to our houses. I was feeling hopeful that everything was going to go smoothly, but as we approached my house, I saw Rachel step out the front door to retrieve the newspaper. And then she glanced over in our direction.
Thinking quickly, I chucked the blanket and flashlight into the bushes before she could notice them and grabbed Emma’s arm, leaned in and said, “Just follow my lead.”
As we approached my driveway, Rachel gave us a curious look. “Hey, you two. What are you guys doing out so early in the morning?” She sounded suspicious.
“We just went for a jog,” I said; my breathlessness from our run lending credibility to my lie.
“Yeah,” Emma said next to me between gasps of breath. “A jog. Just jogging.”
“Oh, really?” Rachel blinked over in my direction. “Logan, you’re never up at this hour of the morning—especially not to engage in physical activity. Are you feeling okay?”
“Never better.” I grinned, giving her a thumbs-up. “Emma’s trying to get me to start waking up earlier. She doesn’t think I should sleep my summer vacation away.”
Rachel smiled. “I agree.” She glanced between us. “I was just about to start cooking up some breakfast. Emma, would you like to join us?”
“Oh, no thank you,” Emma replied politely. “I’m going to go home and collapse on the couch. I’m not used to exercise.”
Rachel chuckled. “Okay, then. See you later.” She gave Emma a wave before disappearing back inside the house.
As soon as she was gone, Emma breathed a sigh of relief. “That was close.”
“Yeah, no kidding,” I muttered. “Hopefully your parents aren’t up, but if they are, just feed them the same lie we gave Rachel.”
“I will,” she said with a nod. She started walking toward her house, but stopped two steps in and turned around. “Last night was nice, by the way.”
I couldn’t help but smile at that. “Yeah, it was. Talk to you later?”
“Sure,” she said, smiling back. “Let me know what Matt thinks about your mini golf idea.”
“Huh?” At first, I didn’t know what she was talking about, but then I remembered I had thrown out the idea of having a possible pseudo double date with Matt and Riley at some point. “Oh, right. Yeah, I’ll let you know.”
“Great.” She gave me a small wave before turning on her heel and walking briskly over to her driveway.
Rachel was waiting for me by the front door when I entered the house.
“So, how’s your project coming along?” she asked, unfolding the newspaper.
“My project?”
“Yeah, you know, helping Emma find love? Made any progress yet?”
Why was she asking me this right now? With a shrug, I walked past her toward the kitchen. “A little bit.”
“A little bit?” she echoed. “Logan, what are you waiting for? The clock is ticking. I would’ve thought you’d put a rush order on this, knowing you have such limited time before our New York trip.”
“I’m working on it, alright?” I snapped, opening the refrigerator and taking out a pitcher of orange juice. “In fact, Matt’s coming over this afternoon and I’m going to suggest that he and I take Emma and Riley mini golfing tonight.”
Rachel made a face. “You’re going to invite Riley along?”
I took a gulp of orange juice. “Yeah, why?”
“Oh, nothing,” she sighed, grabbing a carton of eggs from the refrigerator. “Actually, I take that back. You know, as soon as I saw that girl step out of the car across the street, I knew you’d be all over that.”
“All over that? Really, Rachel?”
She shrugged. “Look, I’m sure Riley’s a great girl and all, but she seems a little too much like Grace. And I liked Grace, you know that, but she wasn’t good for you, and I don’t think Riley will be, either.”
I downed the rest of my juice and walked over to the sink to rinse out the glass. “Okay, first of all, I’ve hardly spent any time with Riley since she arrived here. Second of all, even if she and I decide to hook up for the summer or whatever, she’ll be heading back home before school starts, so it’s not like we’re going to embark on a relationship like Grace and I did. So, your concerns are invalid.”
My phone vibrated in my pocket. Taking it out, I saw I’d received a text from Emma.
Emma: Parents still asleep! Crisis averted!
My phone buzzed again with another text, this time a photo of her standing in the doorway of her parents’ bedroom with her parents asleep in their bed in the background. She was giving the thumbs-up with wide eyes and a goofy, open-mouthed grin.
I laughed as I started typing out a response.
Me: glad 2 know ur reputation with ur parents remains untarnished!
“What’s so funny?” Rachel asked, cracking an egg into a bowl.
“Nothing. Just Emma,” I replied, sticking the phone back in my pocket.
“Oh, I see,” she said with raised eyebrows.
I narrowed my eyes at her. “What?”
“What?” She blinked at me innocently.
“Your voice had a tone to it.”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about,” she said with a slight smirk. “Anyway, back to our discussion, don’t jump into things with Riley, okay?”
“Yeah, yeah,” I muttered. “Whatever. I’m going to go take a shower. Save me some eggs?”
Rachel nodded. “I’ll even save you some bacon, too.”
“You’re the greatest stepmother ever.” I gave her a quick peck on the top of her head before exiting the kitchen.
As I ascended the stairs, I took my phone back out to see if Emma had maybe texted me again and I’d just missed the notification.
She hadn’t.
And as I headed for the bathroom, I decided not to question why I was suddenly filled with an intense feeling of disappointment.
***
The doorbell rang at exactly one o’clock and I knew it was going to be Matt. That dude was the most punctual person I’d ever met. It was annoying.
Sure enough, when I opened the door, he was standing on the front porch…with Riley at his side.
“Uh, hi,” I said, my gaze flickering from Matt to Riley and then back to Matt.
“Hey,” he said. “I know we were supposed to bro out this afternoon, but Riley was bored to tears—”
“Literally,” she interjected, putting on a fake pout. “Ther
e’s nothing to do up here. When I found out Matt was coming over to hang out with you, I invited myself to join him. I hope you don’t mind.” She tilted her head and batted her eyelashes at me.
It was an old trick, used by many girls in my lifetime, but it worked. Stepping aside, I motioned for them to come in. “I don’t mind at all,” I said, although Rachel’s earlier advice suddenly popped into my head as Riley brushed past me.
I ignored the thought as I shut the door behind us.
“This might be boring for you, though,” I warned her. “Matt and I were just going to play video games all day.”
“I don’t mind,” she said with a shrug. “Watching you two play video games beats hanging out with my parents and my aunt and uncle.”
“What about Jade?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer.
Jade was Matt’s younger sister. She was thirteen going on three hundred. I say that because she often looked like a vampire. She’d been going through a goth phase for at least a year now, staying out of the sun so her skin would remain translucently pale, wearing dark red lipstick, black eyeliner and eyeshadow, and dressing in nothing but all black clothing. I’d seen her a few times since summer began, and even on the hottest days she’d been clad in a black t-shirt, a long black skirt and black combat boots.
In other words, not exactly the type of girl Riley probably liked to hang out with.
Riley responded with a giggle. “I love my little cousin, but at the same time she kind of frightens me.”
“Try living with her full-time,” Matt mumbled.
I chuckled as I led the way down to the finished basement—or as Dad liked to refer to it, the “Man Mansion”.
It wasn’t as big as the name would lead you to believe, but it did run the whole span of the first level of the house, so it was probably around fifteen hundred square feet of gaming consoles, leather armchairs, a foosball table, an air hockey table, a sixty-five-inch TV, a mini-fridge stocked with cans of beer, and many other dude-centric items that kept Rachel from ever spending time down there.