Surrounded (Unsettled Series Book 2) (15 page)

“We can’t move forward if you’re always going to hold onto old habits.”

“I learned that lesson when I landed at the airport.”

“What do you mean?”

‘No matter how far I was from you, I couldn’t stop missing you” I whispered. “If I want us to work, I know I have to be willing to change—not for you, but for myself. You’re right. I
didn’t
trust you. Not really. I didn’t trust myself either. And if you weren’t so persistent, I could have easily lost the best thing that’s happened to me in a long while. I can’t risk watching the man I’m in love with turn his back on me because I’m a coward.” Logan’s roaming fingers tensed at my words.

I looked to Logan and was immediately trapped by his mesmerizing green eyes. “I love you, Logan. I knew it the moment I walked away.” He leaned in and pressed his lips against mine, kissing, teasing, setting my body on fire within moments. I closed my eyes and let him wash away the pain of the past few days. I hadn’t forgotten how great his lips tasted. It was hard not to want more than just kisses with Logan holding me like he was.

Our mini-reunion was interrupted by the sound of someone clearing his throat. I broke away from Logan to see my dad standing in the middle of the lawn.

“Uh—hi, Dad.” Logan leaned back and ran his hand through his hair. He was doing a terrible job hiding the smile on his face.

“Hi, baby girl. Do you want to introduce me?” he asked, humorously. This was the first time I’d ever been caught making out with a guy. Even though I was nearly twenty-five, it still felt weird knowing that my dad saw us kissing.

“Sure.” I hopped down from the wall. “This is Logan. My boyfriend
.” I felt a smile bloom full-force on my face at those words. I was standing there grinning at Logan like an idiot.

“Ah. So you’re the one who’s had my baby girl moping around here.
” My head whipped around to my dad.

“What, you thought I didn’t notice?” he said.

Logan crossed the grass to shake my dad’s hand. “I wish I could say I wasn’t the cause, but I probably had something to do with that. I’m Logan Colton, nice to meet you, Sir.”

“Call me Richard. It’s nice meeting you too.” My dad reached out and shook Logan’s hand, then turned to me. “I was just getting ready to mow the grass back here, so maybe you two should go inside.”

“Sure Dad, we’ll get out of your way. We’re actually going to head out, can you let Mom know I’ll be back later?” I rose to my tip toes and gave my dad a kiss on his cheek.

“Sure, baby girl. See you later.”

I grabbed Logan’s hand, and pulled him towards the gate, snatching the blanket my mom left on the patio swing on the way out.

Logan and I had a lot of making up to do.

Brooklyn

After making a quick stop at the gas station, I maneuvered Logan’s rental down PCH. One of the things I missed about not living in LA was that I wasn’t able to drive down PCH anytime I wanted. I could always count on the mild weather that blew in off the coast to calm my senses.

After a short while, I exited the freeway and drove the winding path towards the beach.

“Do you miss living here?” Logan asked, his gaze wandering the shoreline.

“Sometimes. Not all the time,” I replied as I pulled the car into a parking space off the street. I wanted to bring Logan to one of the places that had always held a special place in my heart growing up. This is where my dad used to bring me and Danielle on the days we were wearing on my mom’s nerves.

“It’s beautiful out here,” he said.

“It is. C'mon.” I pulled the blanket from the tiny backseat of the sports-car and hopped out. There was hardly anyone out, even though it was a Friday, but that was just the way I liked it. This was my special spot, and I liked to think that nobody else was allowed. I fanned out the blanket on the grass and plopped down, sliding my feet out of my sandals.

“What are the nuts for?” Logan asked, as I popped the vacuum seal on the bottle of peanuts I’d picked up at the gas station. 

“When I was younger, my dad used to bring us here and feed the squirrels peanuts. Of course there are signs all over that say don't feed the animals, but I can’t help but to give into their cute little faces.”

“I don’t see any squirrels.”

“Oh, they’re here,” I said with a smile. I emptied a couple nuts into my palm and tossed them in the grass near the trees. As I expected, two
squirrels ran down the trunk of the tree and attacked the peanuts that were littered on the ground.

“They’re quick,” Logan said in amazement, which made me laugh. He looked like he’d never seen animals before.

“Do you want to feed them?” I held out the bottle.

“Sure.” I laughed again when he greedily snatched it from my fingers. He looked like a kid with a new toy. I stretched out on the blanket, resting my face in the crook of my arm. The cool breeze whispered along my skin and ruffled my sun dress. I could feel the tiny blades of grass tickling my toes.

I watched as the squirrels attacked every piece of food that Logan threw. I liked that I could do simple things with Logan and he enjoyed them just as much as I did. Having him near me made me realize more than ever how much I’d missed him—and how my foolishness had nearly ruined things.

“Why did you decide to come all the way here, Logan?” I murmured, watching a squirrel stuff his face while standing on his hind legs.

“Did I have a choice?” he answered, not looking at me.

“Yes.”

“That's where you're wrong. I didn't have a choice. I just followed my heart. When you left me standing outside the event, I didn’t want you to walk away. I knew I wanted to keep you in my life. When we’re together, you make me feel things I didn’t even know I wanted again. That’s why I came after you.”

I let what Logan said resonate in my brain.
Was I really this lucky to have a man who cared this much for me?
Walking away from him would have been the biggest mistake I could have ever made. Things between us were good before the chaos, and I hoped they’d be good afterwards. I was determined to give our relationship my all.

“It means everything to me, Logan. Thank you for not giving up on me.” And I meant it.

We spent the afternoon by the beach, enjoying being together again. I didn’t want the day to end. Logan’s voice broke me out of my haze of happiness.

“The sun’s starting to go down. Why don’t we take a walk? Do you have your camera?” he asked
, standing up.

“No. I was kind of in a hurry to get us out of the house,” I replied with a smirk. I sat forward just as Logan reached down to help me to my feet. The setting sun illuminated his hair and played on his face.
God, he was handsome.
I picked up the blanket and took his hand. After I slid into my sandals we headed towards the pathway. Logan pulled me into his side as we walked. We followed the dwindling sunset down to the sand and made our way to the water’s edge.

Logan

I pulled the blanket from Brooklyn’s grip and laid it on the sand. We sat down next to each other and looked out at the water. I leaned back and draped my arm around her shoulders.

“It’s peaceful here.” The beach reminded me of our first picnic together.

“Yeah, it’s one of my favorite places.”

Things felt so right having her cuddled into my side again.

“I missed you,” I murmured, planting a firm kiss on the side of her temple. I wanted my lips to make contact with other parts of her body, but there were a few things I wanted to get off my chest first.

“I missed you, too,” she said, looking up into my eyes. As I shifted on the blanket, I remembered I had something in my back pocket for her. I pulled out the small package Danielle had given me and handed it to Brooklyn.

At the sight of the Starburst, a surprised expression crossed her features. “My favorite,” she whispered.

“Yes, your favorite.” I leaned down and kissed Brooklyn with everything I had. Our tongues intertwined and I could feel her opening to me, wanting more. I trailed my mouth down her neck to her shoulder, biting gently before moving back up. I wanted her badly, but I needed to know that she was certain she wanted me, too. Our conversation in her parents’ backyard had been interrupted, and I needed to know what she said back there was really what she meant.

“Brooklyn?” I breathed against her lips.

“Yeah?”

I pulled back and looked at her. “I need to know for sure that you want this. That you want
me
. I need to know that you trust me enough with your heart that you won’t second guess me…
us.
” She watched me, unmoving. “I need to know that before we go further, because I’m in love with you.” I laced my fingers through her hair. “There can’t be any second guessing or regret. I have too much of that in my life as it is.”

She leaned in bringing her face closer to mine. “I want this Logan. I missed you. I missed us. I want us.” The way she looked at me pierced my heart.

“Are you just saying that because your mind is foggy right now?” I knew my question wasn’t fair. I could see the heat in her eyes. The way she wanted me at that moment made me burn for her.

“Yes…” she breathed out.

“Oh, really?” I teased, abruptly stopping my tongue from making tiny circles on her neck.

“I meant no!”

“Did you?”

“No…I meant no,” she moaned, clasping her hand around mine, urging me to start again.

I chuckled quietly against her skin. “Okay, I believe you. But just remember,” I lightly peppered her neck with kisses. “When you feel like running, don’t be afraid to grab my hand because I’ll run with you.” I somehow found the strength to pull away from her, otherwise I was going to have her undressed and underneath me in a couple of moments. I pushed myself off the blanket and stood, holding my hand out to her. “We should probably go. It’s getting dark out.”

Brooklyn’s questioning eyes darted to my face. “Oh…um.”

I loved watching her squirm under my gaze.
Good.
She was as turned on as I was. And I planned on giving her every last ounce of me, just not right now. When I finally slid into her, I wanted her to remember every second. I had to adjust my jeans as I thought of her sweetly surrounding me, but I was determined to play it cool.

Brooklyn

As soon as we walked b
ack into my parents’ house, my mom tried to put us to work. She barely gave me time to introduce Logan.

“Logan, meet my mom, Marilyn.”

“We met earlier.” He turned towards my mother and nodded. ”Nice to see you again.”

“Yes, honey, I met your boyfriend
,” she said, giving me one of her looks. “I was a little surprised since I had no idea that you were even seeing anyone.”

“Dad didn’t tell you?” I asked, playing along. I would use my dad as a scapegoat all day long if i
t meant I would pass one of my mom’s interrogations.

“Nope, he didn’t. I guess we’ll have to talk about that.” She wiped her hands on her jeans. I could tell she’d been busy all day. “Well, since you two are here, do you want to help me with some things in the backyard? I’m still trying to get the lights up. Your dad quit on me an hour ago,” she huffed, pulling at her short hair. My mom was trying a new bob cut, and it suited her.

“Of course,” Logan offered before I could turn her down. I immediately shot him a death stare. He had absolutely no idea what he was agreeing to. Before he’d shown up, I’d spent the last two hours outside trying to untangle the white lights my mom wanted strung around the gazebo. Plus, the absolute last thing on my mind was decorating the damn backyard. I hadn’t had sex in what now felt like months, and stealing peeks at Logan’s ass in his jeans was just making me want him more. I thought for sure we were going to get things going at the beach, but clearly I was wrong.
Weren’t make-ups supposed to include make-up sex?

“Logan and I were going to go to dinner and I don’t know what else, so I probably won’t be home until late,” I offered.
Please don’t guilt us into staying… please don’t guilt us into staying…

“Well I made roasted chicken and potatoes for dinner, if you guys want to eat that. That way you can eat and still help me.” My mom may have thought she was getting one over on Logan, but I knew better. I shot Logan a look that told him to keep his mouth shut.

“I love roasted chicken,” Logan piped up.
Seriously?
What man liked roasted chicken more than sex with his girlfriend?!

“Good! Let’s go to the kitchen and I’ll make you a plate.” I grabbed Logan’s arm as my mom headed into the kitchen.

“What is wrong with you?!” I hissed.

“What do you mean?”

“We haven’t seen each other in a week and the only thing on your mind is roasted chicken?” Logan’s eyes gleamed as he looked at me “Absolutely not,” he said in a low, seductive voice that sent chills racing down my spine before heading towards the kitchen. I let out a groan of frustration as I followed behind them. It was going to be a long night.