“Jamie, you’re killing me,” Logan said, exasperated. I’d just spilled a full glass of stout on his pants after bumping into the keg cooler.
“Sorry,” I said hurriedly, grabbing my towel from the back of my apron and wiping him down vigorously. I tried to keep the spill from staining the front of his pants since it was in a very visible spot.
“OKAY, okay, okay,” Logan said, grabbing me by the wrists and gently pulling me off of him. “That’s enough, you don’t have to do that, geez.” He sounded embarrassed and moved quickly away from me, but not quickly enough that I missed seeing the slight tenting of his pants. Now I was embarrassed. I’d just molested Logan, and I wasn’t so sure that he had liked it. “Jamie, go get table thirteen’s order,” he said, not looking me in the eye. I poured another stout to replace the one I had just spilled, and marched obediently to table thirteen.
“Oh, hey,” I said in surprise. Kelsey was sitting at table thirteen. The man she was sitting with was currently checking his teeth in the camera app on his phone.
“Hey there, how are you?” she asked, giving me a quick hug. “This place is packed! That’s awesome!”
I nodded. “It’s a little crazy here tonight. I’m a klutz when we’re not busy, but tonight I’m basically a bull in a china shop. I think Logan is on the verge of firing me.” I laughed. “Who is this?” I asked, looking at the man, who looked up from his phone.
Kelsey looked over at her date, and I thought I saw a glimmer of distaste before she said, “This is Mark. Mark, this is Jamie.” Mark tilted his chin forward at me and extended his hand. Mark was good-looking, but in a way that made it obvious he knew he was good-looking. He was wearing a polo with the collar popped and was wearing quite a bit of product in his hair. He must’ve time traveled here from 2005.
I smiled and shook his hand. “What can I get you guys to drink?”
Kelsey opened her mouth to order, but Mark interrupted her. “Don’t worry, babe, I got this. You’re going to love this drink. Have you ever had a blue motorcycle?”
Kelsey hesitated, looking back and forth between me and Mark. “No?” she said unsurely.
“Okay, well you have to try it. We’ll have two blue motorcycles,” Mark said confidently.
I looked to Kelsey for confirmation, who nodded slightly in resignation but didn’t seem too thrilled. “Okay, two blue motorcycles coming right up.”
Once back behind the bar, I nudged Logan and said, “Kelsey’s boyfriend kind of seems like a dick.” He looked up at this and looked at Mark, frowning.
“That’s not Kelsey’s boyfriend. Kelsey’s not really the ‘boyfriend’ type. That’s most likely a first date that she found on a dating website,” Logan said, looking at Mark critically.
“Ah,” I said. “Well, if I were her, I wouldn’t go on a second date with this guy.” I topped off the blue motorcycles with blue curacao and walked them over to Kelsey and Mark. Mark waved me away, saying “Yeah, thanks, you can go now,” when I tried to speak. My eyes went wide and I looked at Kelsey, who mouthed “I’m so sorry” at me as I walked away.
“Yeah, that guy sucks,” I proclaimed. Logan grunted and continued making a row of shots for another group of girls who’d come in. “Damn, we’re busy tonight. And the crowd is much younger than normal,” I said, helping to tray some beers.
“Dylan has been doing some promotion online. That’s where all these young people are coming from,” Hannah said, passing by me and Logan on her way to the beer tap. Ah.
We stayed steady for the rest of the night. I stayed in the zone and out of the weeds, and everything eventually died out. Hannah pulled off her apron and proclaimed she was going home at eleven. She looked at Logan and me for confirmation and we both nodded and told her she was good to go. She left, kissing me on my cheek as she went, and promised me that she would call me in the morning.
Before I knew it, it was half-past midnight. The only people left in the bar were me, Logan, Bear, Kelsey, and Mark. Mark was pretty drunk, and unsurprisingly only became more unbearable as he got drunker. Kelsey waved me over desperately as soon as we made eye contact. I steeled myself, then headed to their table.
“How are you guys doing over here?” I asked.
“I think we need our checks,” Kelsey said, eyes pleading.
“Oh, put it on one tab,” Mark said, putting an arm around Kelsey. “You got this, right?”
“What?” Kelsey asked. “Why should I get it?”
“Come on, you’re a lawyer. You can pick up a check.” Mark slid off his stool. “I gotta take a whiz and then we can get out of here.” He winked and staggered to the bathroom.
“I guess I’ll take the check,” Kelsey said, handing her card over to me.
“That guy’s kind of a jerk. Are you really going home with him?” I wrinkled my nose. “He made you drink blue motorcycles, and then he made you pay for them.”
She raised her shoulders. “Jury’s out. He’s an idiot but he’s hot, and he’s got to make up for these drinks somehow.” I looked at her like she was crazy, but ran her card and gave it back to her. She signed the slip and gave it back to me. Mark staggered back from the bathroom, slung his arm around Kelsey’s shoulders, and led her outside.
Now it was down to just me, Logan, and Bear. Logan and I were hanging out behind the bar together, polishing glasses, and I glanced over at his pants. He had a pretty sizable stain from where I’d spilled beer earlier. Pointing at the stain, I said, “I’m sorry. I’ll get you new pants.”
He looked down. “Oh, don’t worry about that. I have lots of pants. Let’s clean up and I’ll walk you home. Bear, you can leave whenever if you’re all set.” Bear nodded and left so quickly he practically left dust trails behind him.
“Okay, let’s do this,” I said, grabbing a mop. We swept and mopped together in silence. After everything was spotless, we put away our cleaning supplies and did a once-over of the bar. Logan gave us the all-clear, then turned all the lights off. He opened the front door, gesturing for me to leave in front of him.
We walked to my apartment side-by-side in comfortable silence, and when we got to my front door, I turned to him.
“Thank you,” I said.
“For what?” he asked, turning his head.
“Everything,” I said seriously. “For making me feel safe. I know I was initially reluctant to get the restraining order, but getting that ball rolling really lifted a weight off my shoulders.”
“Good,” Logan said, brows furrowed. “I don’t ever want you to not feel safe.” He leaned down and kissed my cheek, gripping my upper arms.
I closed my eyes as his lips lingered on my cheek. Logan murmured, “Goodbye,” then stepped back from me, his expression inscrutable. After a beat, he walked back down the street to the bar. I leaned against the door frame and watched him walk away dreamily, only going inside to lock the door once he’d fully disappeared from view.
CHAPTER TEN
I was pretty exhausted Saturday morning after our super busy Friday night. I headed down to the beach to lay out in the sun and relax with Luke. I lathered on my sunscreen and donned my giant hat. It was already hovering around 85 degrees, and it was only ten in the morning. I was wearing my favorite bikini, a bright red little number that I hadn’t worn in years, and didn’t bother with a sarong to cover up.
I sat in the wet, cold sand, just shy of the line where the tide ended, and watched Luke chase the water as the waves rolled in and out. He was covered in seaweed particles and sand, and periodically shook his whole body so that all of it splattered on me. It was disgusting, but actually kind of effective in cooling me off. I stood up and waded into the murky ocean, holding my hand out underwater to see how far down I could see. Not that far, as it turns out. I spent a good amount of time trying to gauge the actual measurements of how long it would take before I couldn’t see my hand fully.
Luke barked loudly, breaking my concentration on my brilliant experiment, and ran down the beach towards a G
reat Dane who was running alongside a shirtless, ripped man. God, he has to think this is intentional by now. I sunk down as far into the water as I could go, trying to hide from Logan. I leaned back, hoping my face wasn’t visible.
“Jamie?” I heard. “Is that you?” I wasn’t very effective at hiding. I stood up, looking around in an exaggerated manner.
“Oh wow, Logan, hi!” I called, feigning surprise. “What a coincidence!”
“Yeah,” he laughed. “Crazy, isn’t it? I knew you were stalking me!”
I groaned and dipped my whole body underwater in chagrin. I popped back up quickly. Logan seemed concerned for my sanity.
“Are you all right?” he asked, holding back Rocket from mounting Luke, who was lying in the sand on his back, ready to take it. Slut.
“Yeah, I’m fine,” I said, wading my way back to shore. “How’s your run going?”
“It was great, but honestly I think it’s over. It’s so humid and hot,” Logan said, his eyes fixing on my leg. I looked down and saw a mass of seaweed wrapped around my right thigh. I quickly pulled it off and threw it back to the ocean where it belonged.
“Yeah, you’re insane for even beginning a run when it’s this hot, especially with your dog,” I chided, looking down at the two intertwined dogs. Rocket didn’t look any worse for wear though, and was having a blast humping the crap out of Luke, while Luke gave him the occasional lick on the face.
“I stopped very frequently for Rocket to get in the water and to get in myself,” Logan said, reaching for my shoulder. I tensed up when his hand got to my shoulder, but I relaxed when he grabbed another chunk of seaweed. He looked at me sardonically. “You’re very dirty for someone who just emerged from a large body of water.”
“Oh, I’m always very dirty,” I blurted before I could stop it. Logan’s gaze grew hot and distracted, and I bit my lower lip. This only served to draw his hot gaze down to my mouth, where it lingered. I wanted to jump right back into the ocean to cool down. “I mean, like my body.” His hot gaze turned to amusement. Stop talking. I stopped talking, and promptly flung myself back into the water, hoping for Poseidon to drown me to stop me from embarrassing myself further.
No such luck. When I came up for air, Logan was taking Rocket’s leash off and unclipping his harness. He reached down and took off his shoes, then dove into the water and swam to me. Rocket and Luke both barked and jumped into the water, following Logan.
“Good idea,” Logan said, reaching me and dipping his head below water. When he surfaced, he said, “I probably smell a hell of a lot better now. And I’m no longer at risk of heatstroke.”
I giggled and swam out far enough that I couldn’t touch the bottom anymore and had to tread water. I narrowed my eyes to shield them from the sun and checked that Luke and Rocket were doing okay. I’d been in the ocean enough times with Luke to know how strong of a swimmer he was and that he would always listen when I told him to get out of the water.
Logan swam over to where I was treading water, his fingers grazing my side when he reached me. I leaned into his touch, wanting more. “Rocket’s a great swimmer,” he said into my ear. “Don’t worry.”
I shivered despite the warm water. His fingers were still on my side, slowly stroking up and down. I struggled to respond, my mind going blank. I turned into his touch, and he let go, raising his hands to the surface. Hiding my disappointment, I took this chance to admire his face and upper torso. That tattoo on his arm was gleaming under the sun’s rays, magnified by the water droplets and looking utterly lickable. His shoulders and pecs were strong and tanned. There was just a touch of hair in the middle of his two defined pecs. His face was tanned and smiling- no hint of a frown today. And those blue eyes put the murky ocean water to shame. One of his dark eyebrows quirked, and he bit his lip. He had to have seen me staring, and I didn’t have it in me to stop.
“So.” I said, trying desperately to make intelligent conversation. “Um.”
“So. Um,” he softly parroted, moving ever so slightly closer to me. “You’re not working today, huh?”
I shook my head, transfixed by his eyes boring into mine. “Nope. I never work Saturdays.”
“I don’t like to work Saturdays either,” Logan said, his fingertips brushing either side of me now. I gasped softly in surprise, and he continued softly stroking my side. I raised my hands hesitantly and ran them down the flat plane of his stomach.
Logan groaned, then looked at me for a sign of encouragement. I pulled myself closer to him, tentatively wrapping one of my legs around his. He helped me by moving his hands to my lower back and pulling me into him in one fluid motion. I wrapped my other leg around his hip, throwing caution to the wind, and we were now groin to groin, separated only by his running shorts and the thin strip of fabric that my bikini provided. We stayed still, rocking slightly with the waves of the ocean, Logan throwing out one hand to continue treading. Neither of us said anything, not wanting to break the magic of the moment. I pulled both of my hands from where they were flung out in the water and raised them to his shoulders to wrap them around his neck.
I gyrated my hips slightly, testing how far I could go in this little game of ours. Logan groaned and I felt him harden beneath me. He leaned his head in to the crook of my neck and whispered, “You’re driving me insane.” He used the pad of his thumb to gently trace the lines of saltwater that were running down my neck, brushing me up and down and making my heart race like crazy. I moved further into him so that my breasts were pressed up against his chest, and continued moving my hips. Something was building in me. My hips moved of their own accord to chase relief, and I leaned my head into his shoulder to bite it. Logan leaned his head forward, eyes closed, and grabbed my hips. “Stop, Jamie, we can’t.” He extricated my legs from his hips and gently set me aside. I stared at him in utter bewilderment.
“What?” I asked stupidly.
He ran his fingers threw his hair and let out a frustrated sigh. “Come on, I’m your boss. This is really ill-advised, to say the least. Unprofessional. Maybe unethical? Plus you have a lot going on right now and I’m probably taking advantage of you emotionally.” He reached out and rubbed my shoulder, but it was no longer erotically charged. Now it was paternal. That fire burning inside me a minute ago? Yeah, that was doused.
“Oh, okay,” I said, still stupid. “Maybe we should grab the dogs and get out of the water. I think it’s probably about time for me to go home as well.” My face was burning with mortification.
“Jamie, no, that is not what I meant,” Logan said, grasping my forearm. “Don’t go home. Let’s hang out today. We can go get pizza. As friends. Or even better, as coworkers.”
“Oh, that DOES sound better,” I said sarcastically.
“Jamie,” Logan warned.
“I’m kidding, I’m kidding. Let’s go get the dogs and get pizza,” I said, swimming far in front of him and trying to cool the burning redness on my face. How many times was I going to sacrifice my dignity by flinging myself at this guy? I dove deeper underwater, trying to cleanse my body of humiliation. When I was close enough to shore that my belly touched the sand, I surfaced.
Luke and Rocket were lying next to each other in the surf, happily rolling around in the cool sand. I stood up and whistled to Luke, who jumped up and trotted to my side. Rocket perked his ears up and tilted his head at me.
“Go get your leash, buddy,” Logan commanded, wading up to stand besides me, water droplets gleaming on his unfairly perfect abs. Rocket dashed to pick up his leash and returned it to Logan in record time. Logan looked down at me. “Ready?” I nodded, grabbing Luke’s leash. Logan retrieved his running shoes and socks and followed me over to where my beach towel and keys were.
“Packed light today, huh? No laptop? However will you browse the Dungeons and Dragons message boards at the beach without your computer?” Logan teased.
I swatted him on the arm. “I’m not that nerdy.” He grinned widely. I stuck my tongue out at him, then wiped mysel
f down with my towel. I wrapped it around my hair, drying out the thick blonde mass. I was hoping it would dry into sexy beachy waves, but with this humidity, it was more likely to turn into a giant frizzy pouf. That should help Logan in his efforts to not flirt with me.
I grabbed my keys and walked towards the sand dunes, where there was an exit ramp to 63rd street. Logan followed me, while the two dogs ran wildly behind us in circles.
“Where are you parked?” Logan asked, looking around.
“I rode my bike. How about you?”
“I am parked a couple of streets up at 68th. Let’s walk to my car and I’ll drive us down to the boardwalk. It’s way too hot for you to be biking around,” said the man who’d just ran miles in the heat. I held my tongue, and Logan whistled to Rocket. He promptly stopped running in circles with Luke and ran to sit next to Logan. I looked at my bike, considering declining, but the insistent heat made my choice clear. My dignity would have to take a backseat to my comfort.
“Okay. Are we all going to fit in the car?” I asked skeptically, looking at his gargantuan dog.
“Oh yeah, I’ve fit two dogs and two people in there easily and comfortably,” Logan assured me, tiptoeing quickly on the hot concrete of the street. “Hang on,” he said, and slipped his running shoes on sans socks. “Oh, that’s better,” he moaned, walking more easily now.
We got to his car and he held the door open. Logan attached my bike to the bike rack on the top of the car while both dogs jumped in, spreading sand and water all over his leather seats. I cringed, putting my beach towel down on the seat, then hopped in. I leaned over to unlock Logan’s door for him before he got in, and he smiled.
“Automatic locks,” he said, holding up his key fob.
“Well, it’s the thought that counts,” I said sheepishly, and he nodded in agreement. “Let’s go get food.”
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