by Amanda Black
“Forever,” I whispered.
“Forever,” he nodded, following it up with that glowing smile.
Chapter 26
“I wonder who invented the term spooning?” Logan mumbled into the back of my neck before he kissed it and pulled me even closer against him.
“Beats me,” I sighed, relaxing into the warmth of his body. “They can call it whatever they want for all I care, as long as you keep snuggling with me like this.”
“No problem,” he chuckled.
We had cuddled together for a while before dozing a little bit. As amazing as our sex had been earlier, I was startled to realize that waking up in Logan’s arms was almost better. I had never felt so cherished or special at that moment and I only hoped that he felt half as good as I did.
Seeking out more of his warmth, I backed my bottom up against him and was startled to feel him sliding, hard and ready, between the backs of my thighs.
“Oh! Well, hello there,” I giggled.
“Sorry,” he said with a hint of embarrassment in his voice. “I can’t help it. Lying here next to you like this… It’s got a mind of its own.”
I reached down and slipped him between my folds, rubbing my wetness along his length. “Who’s complaining?”
“Oh…God, Eden…that feels so good.” We slid together a few times, the tip brushing back and forth over my now-swollen bundle of nerves.
“Yes…yes it does,” I gasped, flexing my hips in time with his. “Do me a favor— reach back there into that drawer.”
“You got it.” He rolled away long enough to grab another condom and put it on. “There. Now, where were we?”
“I think we were right about…there,” I sighed, pulling him between my legs again. After a few fumbled attempts we were able to line him up at my entrance. Logan pushed forward, entering me slowly from behind, forcing himself a little bit deeper with each thrust of his hips. I raised my leg up and over his, helping him go further.
“Tight,” he grunted. “So fucking tight!”
Our movements were a little jerky and stunted in that position, but I had to agree that the tightness it caused was amazing. I could feel everything.
“Roll over for me, baby,” he panted in my ear. “I need to move more.” He pushed at my shoulder until I was lying flat on my stomach, my head turned to the side so that I could look back at him. “Yes…oh, God.” His movements inside me became more fluid, with long, deep strokes that drove me mad. Before long, I felt him sliding his hands under my stomach and lifting me. “Get up on your knees for me.”
Who was this guy? Was this actually the same boy who less than two weeks ago was so shy he could barely kiss me? Now he sounded so sexy and confident that I found myself up on my knees before I knew what I was doing, commanded by the power of his voice.
“Christ, you have no idea how good you look like that,” he groaned. I felt him stroke his hands down my spine almost reverently before settling them on my hips, tilting them up even further before sliding deep inside me again.
I threw my head back and cried out at the sensation, and when he stopped to ask if I was all right I looked over my shoulder at him. “Don’t stop now!”
He let out a loud growl, his expression turning feral as he began thrusting harder. His movements became rougher until he was pounding into me, his hips slapping against my ass. How did I not know this could feel so good?
“God, yes!” I cried, moving in time with him.
Logan reached his hand around me, slipping his long fingers between my folds until he was rubbing me. “I want to make you come, Eden. I want to feel you squeezing me.”
“Oh…just keep doing that…I’m so close!” The combination of his deep strokes, his words, and the way he was touching me was sending me right over the edge. I felt my legs starting to tremble beneath me and I wondered in the back of my mind if they would be able to hold me up through this.
“Oh, God, I can feel you,” he moaned. “That’s it, baby…let it go. I want to hear you. Fuck, I love you so much!” His thrusting became more erratic as I screamed his name, falling into a million pieces around him as he quickly followed.
“Holy shit!” I panted when I had finally caught my breath.
“No kidding,” Logan laughed, flopping down next to me on the bed. “Jesus…it just keeps getting better.”
“I think you mean that you keep getting better,” I said, tickling his sides before kissing his chest.
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“It means you’re a natural at this! I can’t even believe that you just started doing this stuff. My God, Logan, you’re so insanely sexy. The way you talk…and move!”
“So you’re saying you’re a fan?” he said with a smile.
“Oh, I’m the president of the fan club, baby.”
“Well, that’s a coincidence, since I’m your biggest fan, too.”
I leaned over and kissed him on the tip of his nose. “I don’t know about you, but I’m starving. Can I make you something to eat?”
“I don’t want to impose.”
“Who’s imposing? I’m asking you. Besides, I’m not thinking of anything major, maybe just a grilled cheese or something. How does that sound?”
“With tomato soup?” he asked, his eyes lighting up.
“I think I might have some.”
“That sounds great,” he said, his stomach growling loudly in agreement.
After we dressed I made my way down to the kitchen while Logan used the bathroom. I was heating up the soup and halfway through grilling my first sandwich when he came downstairs, my laptop in tow.
“Why do you have that?” I asked as he set it on the kitchen table and fired it up. He looked up at me and smiled like a little boy trying to get his way, not saying a word. “What?” I finally asked after flipping the sandwich over.
“You promised.”
“Promised what?” I thought for a moment before it finally dawned on me. “Oh man, are you serious?”
“You promised, Eden.”
“You’re still going to make me do it? I shouldn’t be held responsible for that promise; you used your powers of adorableness on me.”
“My powers of adorableness?” he laughed, causing the cutest dimples to appear on his cheeks.
“Yes! You’re doing it right now!”
“Well, is it working?”
“Yes, dammit,” I grumbled. “Pull up the damn site,” I sighed, plating up our snack and serving it. By the time I grabbed two sodas out of the fridge and sat down, he had already brought up the Facebook homepage and angled the laptop between us so that we could both see the screen. “Just let me eat first so I don’t lose my appetite.”
“Oh, don’t be so dramatic,” he laughed, dunking the corner of his grilled cheese into the steaming bowl of soup before taking a large bite. “Mmm, this is delicious.”
“Thank you,” I smiled, before directing my attention to the screen with a sneer. “Ugh, fucking Zuckerberg.”
“Don’t worry,” Logan whispered. “He’ll never know, I promise.”
“All right then, let’s get this over with.”
For the next hour Logan proceeded to help me set up my account and preferences, making such a big deal out of selecting “in a relationship” for my status that I couldn’t help but lose the chip on my shoulder. It was glaringly obvious that he only wanted me on there so he could spend more time online with his girlfriend, and I decided that I might as well suck it up for his sake. Once everything was up and running, he gave me another quick run-through, and the next thing I knew, I was an official Facebooker.
“So what do you want to post first?” he asked excitedly.
“Uh…let me think about it for a bit.”
“Eden, it’s just Facebook. It doesn’t need to be anything monumental.”
“Well, why not? If it’s my very first post, why shouldn’t it mean something?”
“I guess you have a point,” he sighed when he realized
he needed to head home, clearly frustrated that he wasn’t going to get to watch me do it. “Well…I suppose I’ll have to check it again later tonight.”
“Don’t pout,” I teased as I walked him to the door. “I just want to post something really important that I don’t mind the whole world reading. Give me a little bit to think it over.”
“All right. I’ll check it again after I get home.” He smiled at me before leaning down to kiss me sweetly. “Thanks for letting me twist your arm. I think you’ll really enjoy it after you’re on for a while.”
“We’ll see,” I said, not holding my breath. “Talk to you later?”
“Yeah, I’ll give you a call after I spend some time with my family.”
“No rush, just call whenever you get some free time. Thanks for hanging out…and everything else.”
His smile grew even wider. “Thank you,” he said, wiggling his eyebrows.
I watched him until he pulled out of the drive, waving good-bye before I closed the door. As soon as he was gone, I walked straight over to the computer and typed in my status. I’d never had any doubt what I wanted to write, I only wanted it to be a surprise for him when he got home.
I’m head over heels in love with Logan Black, and the fact that I let him talk me into joining Facebook should prove it.
I went about my business tidying up the kitchen and finishing my homework. It wasn’t until later that night when I was back upstairs and getting ready for bed that I logged back in to my new Facebook account. I couldn’t fight the huge smile on my face when I saw what was waiting for me.
Logan Black likes this.
Then below that:
I love you, too, baby. I’m honored that was your first post.
I also noticed that about half the senior class had already sent me friend requests, but I didn’t pay any attention to those. I’d worry about that tomorrow…tonight was about Logan.
Chapter 27
Over the next few weeks, we developed a routine. Logan would come home with me after school and keep me company for a few hours. It wasn’t always sexual; there were days when we would do nothing but cuddle on the couch and get sucked into watching endless marathons on The Food Network.
Then there were times that were extremely sexual, like the week when my mom went out of town again and Logan was determined to christen every surface in my house he could find.
The kitchen table was my favorite.
On the days when my parents were home, Logan would often have dinner with us. My mom loved having him over. I had worried about him wearing out his welcome with my dad, but he seemed to really enjoy having a guy around to talk to. Logan wasn’t huge into sports like my dad was, but he was always up for some conversation. Sometimes they would talk about sports medicine and Logan would ask Dad about what it was like in that line of work, while other times Dad would ask about different design projects Logan had going and actually seemed interested in the answers he was given.
I hated to say it because I knew it sounded tacky as hell, but we were becoming a family. Logan had wormed his way into our lives and our hearts, and I don’t think any of us would know what to do if he left.
It was the same way for his parents as well. They would have me over on the weekends and I would spend hours in the kitchen helping Nora prepare dinner, then hours up in Logan’s bedroom away from prying eyes. We’d mapped out Nora’s “surprise” inspections down to a tee, so we always knew when it was time to tidy up and be presentable. The fact that she was so predictable never failed to make me laugh; it was clear that she didn’t want to fully condone us doing anything inappropriate, but she didn’t want to actually catch us at it, either. I think she was hoping that it would scare us into behaving, but it never worked.
We made time for our friends when we could outside of school, hanging out at Devon’s for movie and game nights at least once or twice a month. We also went to his post-game parties once in a while, but when it came time to playing the Single Game, we would both look at each other and know it was our cue to leave. Logan and I had no interest in that game anymore. It had served its purpose, and we had better things to do now than watch a bunch of other people make out.
I’d even gotten more used to using Facebook, which pleased Logan to no end. I regularly shared cute photos of the two of us. It also turned out to be a great way to keep in touch with my Aunt Emma back in Chicago. Unfortunately, she wasn’t the only one from my hometown who found me online.
“Riley sent me a friend request last night,” I whispered to Amy in study hall.
“He didn’t!”
“It really shocked me. I haven’t even thought about him in a long time.” Just seeing his profile picture had made my stomach jolt slightly from nausea.
“Did you decline it?” she asked.
“I haven’t done anything yet. I was so stunned, I just logged out. I should just decline it, right?”
“Are you kidding me? I wouldn’t dream of passing up such a great opportunity.”
“What are you talking about?”
“Think about it: if he’s searching you out, he’s no doubt trying to snoop around and see what you’re up to now. Why not let him see exactly what he’s missing and how blissfully happy you are?”
“Really?” It sounded iffy to me. “I don’t really want any contact with him. And I don’t want to see any of his stupid status updates.”
“That’s easy,” Amy replied quickly. “What you do is accept the request and then unfollow him, so you won’t see him in your feed. It will let his nosy ass see that you’re way better off without him and that Logan makes you happier than he ever could. My bet is that he won’t bother you for long, and if he does, you can just unfriend him.”
I thought of Riley seeing the large smile on my face that had never been there when I was with him. As little as he mattered to me now, I couldn’t deny that the thought of him seeing proof that I was completely over him felt really good. Why not let him see that his betrayal had become nothing but a little smudge in my memory?
I pulled out my phone and pushed the accept button before I could change my mind. “Done.”
Suck on all of my happiness, douchebag.
* * *
It only took two days before the first private message arrived.
Hey girl how r u? Miss u.
Barf. Ignoring someone never felt so good.
A few days later he sent another one.
What? U still mad? So who’s the dorky new guy?
After that I had to count to ten so I wouldn’t lose control and throw my phone across the room. I opened up the message again and clicked the options, quickly selecting “turn off chat for Riley.” I had no interest in any kind of conversation with him, especially if he was going to insult Logan right out of the gate.
I hoped that would be the end of it, but I couldn’t help wondering if Amy’s advice had been the right way to go.
Chapter 28
Christmas eventually rolled around. After separate dinners with our families, Logan met me at my parents’ and managed to make me bawl my eyes out. Not maliciously, of course—they were tears of joy—but I still cried like a baby.
“What’s this?” I asked as he handed me a gift-wrapped package.
“Your present,” he smiled.
“I thought we were making our presents,” I said, immediately regretting the homemade packet of sexy coupons I’d stayed up late gluing glitter to.
“We are. Go on, open it.” I tore into the lovely paper and opened the box to reveal a large wooden frame. As I turned it over, Logan stood at my shoulder and spoke quietly. “Now, I had to buy the frame, but I made what’s inside it.”
I stood there staring down at my favorite childhood photo, beautifully restored and blown up to an 8 x 10-inch glossy print with the word “family” printed on the mat board in Logan’s elegant script. One minute my parents were smiling up at me as my younger self pigged out on chocolate cake, and the next thing I knew I was bursti
ng into tears.
It was the sweetest thing anyone had ever done for me.
“Don’t you like it?” he asked, a worried tone in his voice.
“How—how did you?”
“I stole it off your corkboard a few weeks ago when you were in the bathroom. I smuggled it back here and scanned it into my computer, then used some of my photo software to sharpen it up. I figured this way you could still pin the original to your wall, but now you’ll always have a copy to stay safe.”
I set it down on the edge of his bed and threw myself into his arms. “I can’t believe you are so thoughtful!” I wailed. “What did I do to deserve you? How did I get so lucky?” I held him tightly until my crying fit subsided, allowing him to rock me back and forth a bit as we stood.
“Sweetheart, how many times do I have to tell you? I’m the lucky one.” He leaned down and kissed me gently. “I’ve never felt more blessed than I do right now.”
What was I supposed to say to that? Between bawling and feeling like my heart was about to explode, it wasn’t my most articulate of moments.
“Love—you—so—much,” I fought out through a barrage of sniffles. “I—coupons!” I blurted out, shoving my gift at him.
While I pulled myself together, Logan flipped through my booklet, laughing at the creativity of some of the rewards and raising his eyebrow suggestively at others. “Any position?” he squeaked.
“Mmhm,” I nodded, wiping my nose with a tissue.
“Imagine the possibilities,” he chuckled, grabbing me and kissing me.
“Do you hate it?”
“Of course not! I love it! I can tell how much time you put into making this for me, Eden. As a matter of fact, I wouldn’t mind cashing in on this one right now,” he smirked, pulling a coupon out of the booklet and handing it to me.