Next in Line

by R. L. Wilson

  I wanted to keep asking her questions but I decided not to press my luck. I put my arm around Holly and pulled her towards me so I could kiss her head and then her lips. She smiled at me and then yawned. I couldn’t help but chuckle. “Why don’t you go to bed? I’ll just be sitting out here for a while staring out of the window.” “But I want to keep you company and to be honest I feel a lot safer when I’m with you.” What she said just then made me feel so happy and that I finally knew my place with her. I smiled and pulled her in closer. Holly laid her head in my lap and stretched her legs out over her chair. I gently stroked her hair as I watched the construction site hoping to find something. I hadn’t even noticed that Holly had fallen asleep until I heard her breathing get heavier. She looked so peaceful when she was sleeping and all that I wanted to do was curl up next to her in bed and hold her in my arms. Coop and Sophie walked into the living room and were laughing. I was glad that they were getting along again but I didn’t want them to wake Holly.

  “Quiet guys” I whispered loudly to them. They quickly stopped laughing and walked over to us. “Put her to bed” Coop said once he saw Holly asleep on my lap. “I don’t want to wake her” I replied. “Well you can’t just sit there with her all night.” Damn he was right. As much as I wanted to stay in that very position it would get uncomfortable. “Fine, but you’ll have to watch the site for me” I said grinning. I scooped Holly up as carefully as I could trying not to touch any of her bruises and walked her into my bedroom. I gently placed Holly on my bed and took off her shoes. I covered her over with the blanket, kissed her on the head and walked out, closing the door behind me. I really wanted to be in there with her but I figured this would be a great opportunity to talk to Coop and Sophie and find out what’s going on with Holly. I walked back into the living room and pulled another chair up to the window so the three of us were all watching the construction site. “So how are you feeling now Soph?” I asked her. “Better. But I guess a few shots will do that to you” She said giggling. Normally it frustrated me when Sophie would get all giggly and silly but every time that I looked at her and saw all of the cuts on her body, I just felt bad for her. Even though she had spent weeks acting like a crazy bitch to all the people who cared about her most, she didn’t deserve what had happened to her tonight. “I hope your cuts and Holly’s don’t get infected. We really should have taken you girls to the hospital to make sure everything was okay.”

  Sophie looked straight at me. I think she knew what I was about to ask. She let out a little sigh and said “I don’t think I should be the one to tell you all of this but you should probably know. Holly had a boyfriend all through high school. His name was Joshua and he was so sweet to her. They were the most perfect couple.” “Gee thanks” I said sarcastically. “Let me finish” Sophie demanded. “They had spent all day and half the night together when he decided it was time to go home. Holly told him how much she loved him and he said it back. He asked her out on a date for the next night and of course she agreed. Anyway, on his way home he was hit by a drunk driver who ran a red light. He was pinned in the car for an hour before they could get him out. He spent a week in the hospital in a coma before he passed away. Holly was devastated and to make it worse, after he had died the doctors gave her all of Joshua’s things that he had on him that night. He had an engagement ring. Even though they were only nineteen and he thought it was a bit too young to get married, they had also been together for five years and he loved her more than anything. This happened two and a half years ago and you are her first boyfriend since then. I tried to hook her up with heaps of hot guys since then but she’s never interested in them.” Well I definitely hadn’t expected a story like that. I felt so bad for Holly. She’s been through so much already. “Is that also why she has never said that she loves me even after I say it to her?” I knew that I probably shouldn’t have asked that question but I needed to know. “I think so” Sophie said. “Logan, we have all seen the way that she looks at you and the way that she acts about you. I think it’s pretty obvious how she feels about you.” I put my hands over my face and grunted. “Why am I being such a little girl about this?” I asked. “Well you are a little girl Logan. I’m just glad that you can finally admit it. That and you’re in love” Coop said dragging out the last word and making kissing faces at me. I grabbed the spoon out of the bowl that I had sitting on the floor in front of me and flicked some of my left over melted ice cream on Coop. “Not cool man” He complained as he started licking the ice cream off of his shirt. I looked at Sophie and we both laughed at him.

  When I woke in the morning, Holly was all cuddled up to me. It was nice to wake up to this. I still felt really tired after spending half the night watching the construction site with Cooper and Sophie so I closed my eyes again. Then I felt the bed jerk and Holly sat up quickly gasping. I freaked out and kicked my arms and legs as I jumped up too. “Are you okay?” I asked Holly. “I’m late for work.” “No you’re not. It’s Saturday today” I said back. “Oh. Well I feel stupid now.” I couldn’t help but chuckle at her. I put my arms out towards her and Holly lied back down on me. I wrapped my arms around her and held her tightly to me. I felt like I needed to protect her even more now that she had told me that she feels safe with me. I wanted that to be true. After lying cuddling Holly for a few minutes I jumped up and said “Let’s get some breakfast.” Holly didn’t say anything, she stretched so I grabbed her around her waist and threw her over my shoulder. She squealed and started kicking and trying to tickle me. Lucky for me I wasn’t ticklish but I was about to find out if she was. I put my hand on her side and started tickling her as I walked us out of my bedroom and into the kitchen. She started laughing, screaming and kicking around even more now.

  When I got into the kitchen I stopped tickling Holly and my eyes widened in surprise. There in the middle of the kitchen was Sophie and Cooper making out. They were going at it like wild animals. Cooper was only wearing a pair of shorts and Sophie was in one of Cooper’s shirts. Holly and I just stared in surprise for a moment before Holly said “Seriously guys. We don’t want to see that.” Sophie giggled and went back to stirring the eggs that were cooking on the stove. I gently put Holly down and we both sat at the dining table not saying a word. “Sophie and I are going to the zoo today. You guys should come too” Cooper said breaking the very awkward silence. I looked at Holly and she was smiling. I guess that means she wanted to go. “Yeah, sure. We’ll come” I said to Cooper.

  After breakfast we all got dressed and the girls did their hair and makeup. Cooper and I were ready half an hour before the girls so we sat on the couch and watched some TV. After flicking through all of the channels and being disappointed that nothing good was on I grabbed my gun and badge and clipped them onto my belt. “Do you really think that you’ll need that?” Cooper asked me. “Of course I will. We will be out all day together so if you annoy me then I’ll be able to shoot you, and I need my badge because if the people around us start to panic then I can show them that I’m a cop so everything is okay.” Coop smirked at me and said “You can’t make jokes Logan. That’s my thing. Without jokes all I have are the good looks, the smarts and being a better cop than you.” I couldn’t help but laugh. Coop may have been joking but there was a lot of truth to what he said as well. Once the girls were finally ready we all go into Coop’s truck and headed towards the zoo. Sophie kept clapping and bouncing up and down. She was such a child sometimes.

  I was glad when we finally got to the zoo. When we got in I looked at the giant map and let out a sigh. “Do we seriously have to look at all of the animals? I mean, I don’t need to come to the zoo to see some butterflies and some birds. I can go outside my apartment to see that” I said. Sophie stopped walking and looked at me glaring before saying “Yes, we do need to see everything. Stop trying to ruin my day Logan.” “Well someone’s moody today” I said smirking and then grabbed Holly’s hand.

  I was standing next to Holly in front of the monkey exhibit watching
Sophie and Coop laughing and cuddling. I guess everything between them is back to normal. I looked down at Holly and knew that I shouldn’t say anything but I just couldn’t help myself. “Holly, I know what happened to your boyfriend Joshua.” I saw Holly’s mouth drop and her eyes widen as her head shot in my direction so she was looking at me. “How do you even know about him?” She asked snapping at me a little. Before I could say anything she was looking at Sophie. “Please don’t be mad at her, she was just trying to help me understand why you have never said that you love me.” “Did any of you think that maybe I’m just not ready to say it yet?” Holly asked snapping at me. Holly looked back at the monkeys and we stood in silence for a moment. “I’m never going to leave you Holly. Never.” Holly still wasn’t looking at me so I took a step towards her so I was right up next to her and started gently stroking her arm. I took in a deep breath and said “I love you Holly, I know that you’re scared but I will never leave you or let anything bad happen to you. I promise. I will always be here for you, whenever you need me.” I continued to stroke Holly’s arm when she turned to look me in the eyes. Her beautifully long brown hair was blowing around in the wind and I could see the tears in her green eyes as she said “I love you too Logan.” Without waiting for another moment to pass I placed my hands on her cheeks and pulled her face to mine, crashing our lips together in what felt like the most passionate kiss we had ever had. The kiss had me forgetting that we were in public until I heard some giggling and wooing. I pulled my lips away from Holly and looked over at Sophie and Coop. “Bloody Children” I muttered quietly. Holly just giggled and turned, heading towards them.

  For the rest of the zoo visit and drive home I couldn’t keep my hands to myself. “Give it a rest guys. You’re starting to make me feel sick” Coop joked looking at us in his mirror on our way home. I didn’t stop kissing Holly’s neck and cheek as I raised my middle finger at Coop. I heard his gasp and say “That really hurts my feelings Logan.” I couldn’t help but laugh a little as I moved my lips back to Holly’s. When we got back to the apartment, Holly walked in first and I was right behind her. Holly pushed me up against the wall in the hallway and crashed her lips into mine. I felt her hands run through my hair as she grabbed hold of it. I ran my hands down her back and down to her butt. I scooped her up to my waist and she wrapped her legs around me without taking her lips off of mine.

  “Ahem” Cooper said loudly pretending to clear his throat. I placed Holly back on the ground and walked over to the front door where Coop was leaning with his arms folded across his chest and that dorky smirk on his face. “Thanks for today. I’ll see you later” I said and started to shut the door. “What are you doing?” Coop asked as he put his hand out to stop the door from closing. “Well in case you haven’t noticed you’re interrupting something that I would like to get back to” I said sarcastically as I nodded my head in Holly’s direction. Coop chucked a little and then said “Well what am I supposed to do?” “I don’t know. Go sit in your car or visit Sophie or something. Goodbye Coop” and I shut the door and locked it. “Asshole” I heard Coop mutter from the other side of the door. I laughed and ran back to Holly who was leaning against the wall biting her lip. God that was sexy. I picked her up and she wrapped her legs around my waist again. Holly started kissing under my ear and down my neck as I walked us to my bedroom.

  When we got into the bedroom I threw Holly down onto the bed. She giggled as she bounced a little. Not wanting to wait another second I climbed up over her until I was face to face with her. I slammed my lips onto hers as she started to grind her body up against mine. I felt her hands run down my back and grab hold of the bottom of my shirt. She pulled my shirt up to my shoulders and I quickly pulled away from her and took the shirt off the rest of the way so I could go straight back to her lips. She let out a little moan as I started to kiss down her neck the same time as my hand was slowly sliding up her shirt until I was cupping her breast. Holly let out another little moan as she ran her hands over my chest and stomach. Holly pulled away from me and lifted her top over her head and threw it onto the floor. I pulled her towards me and unhooked her bra, throwing it down next to our shirts. Her hands went into my hair and she pulled my face down so we were kissing again. I put my hand on her thigh and slowly ran up her leg until I reached the top of her shorts and pulled them down as far as I could. Holly then used her feet to pull them the rest of the way off. I started rubbing her gently and her back arched as she moaned in my mouth.

  Deciding that I couldn’t wait any longer, I undid my pants and took them and my underwear off at the same time then grabbed Holly’s underwear and pulled them off, trying hard not to stay away from her mouth for too long. I started kissing her harder as I started to rub her again. She pulled her head away to moan and then looked at me and said “I love you Logan.” God it felt so good to hear her say it. “I love you too Holly” I replied. I held onto her hands as I entered her and I couldn’t help myself as a small moan escaped from me. Holly let go of my hands and gripped onto my back, digging her nails in a little, at the same time that she wrapped her legs around me. It felt so good and I loved being that close to her. I thought that I stay like this forever when Holly dug her nails in harder and let out a loud moan as she went over the edge which dragged me with her. I could hear Holly trying to catch her breath when I kissed her gently before rolling off of her and onto my side. I put my arms around Holly and pulled her towards me so we were facing each other. She placed her head in my chest, kissing it gently, and said “I’m sleepy now.” I couldn’t help but laugh. “Go to sleep then baby” I said still laughing a little. I kissed the top of her head and closed my eyes.

  Chap

  ter Fifteen

  Holly

  I felt the thud on my stomach as Toby jumped on me and started licking my face. “Stop it Toby” I said laughing and trying to push him away. “Yeah Toby, stop it. That’s my job” I heard a sleepy Logan say. I looked out of the window at how bright it was and then looked back to Logan who seemed to be having trouble keeping his eyes open. I placed my hand gently on his cheek and watched his amazing smile spread across his face from my touch until Toby started licking his face. Logan quickly jumped up and grabbed the puppy. “Fine, fine I’ll get you some breakfast.” I watched the naked Logan walk out of the bedroom patting Toby on the head. I put my hands over my face and giggled quietly to myself as I remembered everything that had happened last night. It was perfect. Just how I had hoped it was going to be.

  When I moved my hands away from my face Logan was walking back into the room wearing a pair of basketball shorts. Where did he get them from? He got back into bed, threw the blankets over our heads and pulled me in tightly. “Good morning beautiful” he said as he kissed me on the forehead and then gently on my lips. I felt a tingle go through my body and had to stop myself from letting my body shiver at his touch. “So what do you want to do today?” Logan asked me. I really couldn’t think of anything that I wanted to do more than what we were already doing. Just lying in bed being as close to Logan as I possibly can be. “I’m not sure” I said. “We can just stay here like this all day.” I felt Logan’s shoulders and chest move as he silently laughed at what I had just said. “We could do that if you really want but I was thinking that maybe we could go kayaking today seeing as how it’s going to be hot.” I looked up at Logan who was smiling at me.

  “Oh, yeah sure. That sounds fun. I don’t know how to kayak though. I’ve never been” I replied. Logan laughed silently again before saying “That’s fine. I can teach you.” I couldn’t help but smile back at him. He was so charming. “I’ll start getting things ready” He said. Then he kissed me on the lips and walked out of the bedroom. I stretched and slowly got out of bed to get dressed. I couldn’t stop smiling as I remembered what Logan and I did last night. Words cannot describe how magical the night was. I got dressed in some short board shorts and my bikini top. I brushed my long and straight brown hair and grabbed one of my favourite butto
n up shirts on my way out. When I got out of the apartment Logan, Cooper and Sophie were all standing together talking. I closed the front door and everyone turned and looked at me. Sophie smiled widely at me and I looked at Logan suspiciously. “So apparently these guys are tagging along with us today” Logan said not sounding too impressed. I looked back at Sophie who was smiling at me and couldn’t help the corners of my mouth from turning up a little. “Okay well the good thing about you taking so long to get ready Holly, is that the everything is all packed up and ready to go” Cooper said as he nudged Logan. These guys were being so weird. “Okay well let’s go then.”

  When we arrived I couldn’t wait to get out of the car. This place looked so beautiful. They boys took the kayaks off of the trucks and put them on the sand while Sophie and I covered ourselves in sunscreen and put on our life jackets. We were all standing ankle deep holding onto our kayaks when the boys pushed theirs out a little deeper and then jumped in. Sophie and I looked at each other confused about what we needed to do. Once the boys were in their kayaks they grabbed their paddles and turned themselves around so they were facing us. “Are you girls coming or what?” Cooper asked. “We don’t know what to do. We have never done this before” Sophie called out. The boys looked at each other and started to laugh a little. “This will be fun” Cooper said. That worried me a little. Cooper wasn’t really a very serious kind of person. He was always making jokes and playing tricks on people. I just hope he isn’t going to make me look like a fool. “Just push your kayaks out a little further and jump in. It’s pretty simple” Logan explained. I did exactly what Logan said. I pushed my kayak out a little and then just jumped in. The kayak wobbled a bit when I jumped in but then it stopped. I was excited that I had managed to do it. I turned to look at Sophie who was still just standing there. “Come on Soph. It’s easy. If I can do it you can do it” I called out. “Fine” Sophie replied. She pushed her kayak in the water a little more and jumped in but instead of trying to sit straight when she got in, Sophie leaned which made her kayak capsize and Sophie fell into the water. Cooper, Logan and I all burst out laughing until Sophie popped her head out of the water and glared at us all. After Logan and Cooper helped Sophie into her kayak we headed off. We had only been paddling for about 5 minutes when we all stopped to watch some dolphins swim right up next to us. It was amazing. When they were gone we continued paddling until we came upon some old abandoned and half sunk ships.