Unsettled (23 page)

“Stay,” I whispered as I nestled into Logan on the couch.

He wrapped his arms around me tighter. “Don’t worry, I’m not going anywhere.” We were both silent as I rested my head on his shoulder, listening to the sounds that drifted into the house from the street. Every now and then I would hear a car pass. The kitchen clock told me that it was past midnight, but instead of heading toward my bedroom, I just stayed in the security of Logan’s embrace. My eyes were heavy, and eventually my consciousness ebbed away.

I was startled back into consciousness when my face collided with Logan’s chest as he lifted me into his arms.

“Hey,” he murmured, “you were out of it.”

“I was?” I asked sleepily, “What time is it?”

“Late,” he responded. “Don’t worry, I got you.” I lazily twined my arms around his neck. “You know, I could get used to this,” I said drowsily. He was carrying me toward my bedroom.

“Good—that’s the plan,” he crooned in response.

I felt his arms relax under my weight as he laid me on the bed.

“Lift up for a minute. Let me get these off you,” he whispered. I arched my body off my mattress. He tugged the rough fabric of my jeans down my legs, and then I felt the softness of my sheets floating along my skin. The smell of my Logan and fabric softener drew me back to sleep.

16

I
woke up the next morning to sunlight seeping around my curtains. I turned onto my back to look at Logan. There was a piece of notepad paper where his warm body had been. Once I saw the slip of paper, my heart sank. He left, I thought. Last night had probably been too much for him. I grabbed the piece of paper and read the words that jumped off the page:

Good morning beautiful,

I went back to my hotel to get cleaned up and dressed. I’ll be back around eleven thirty. Pack a bag and be ready. I didn’t want to wake you before I left, but if I had I would’ve took a stab in the dark and told you this:

I want you to give us the opportunity to stroll hand in hand, especially during those times when
you can’t stand. I know we’ve only met what seems like seconds ago, but for some reason all I can think of is the opportunity of us having more. I’m sure there will be times when you’ll want
to turn back. Memories will always flood through your mind, but by the end of today, the only thing I want to do is kiss your scars away.

Don’t be afraid to let me in.

–Logan

P.S. If my day job was singing I would definitely be homeless, so I’ll leave that to the pros!

Immediately my heart swelled. His words were a paraphrase from a song written by Paid Forward, one of my favorite rock bands. I was speechless. My eyes scrolled over the words again; I was still in shock. The truth was that Logan was the first man I actually wanted to let in. I was drawn to him—he was somebody I could easily pour myself into, and after last night’s encounter with Damon, I was more than ready to move on. Damon had a serious set of balls on him—I couldn’t believe he actually thought he would be able to waltz back into my life and proclaim that he’d made a mistake. He was far too little, far too late. For the first time in a long time, I was happy—with Logan. Logan made me happy. I smiled at that thought. In the back of my mind I just prayed that if what we shared fell apart, I would be able to survive.

Following Logan’s orders, I turned over in bed to check the time. Thankfully I had some time to get ready since it was only ten fifteen. I threw back my covers with a renewed spirit. Logan’s love letter had stoked the embers around my heart.

I headed to the kitchen to make myself a piece of toast. To my surprise I saw a huge bouquet of deep orange roses engorged in a clear glass vase. I eagerly attacked the tiny envelope that stuck out of the bouquet.

Do I hear trumpets? I see someone’s awake and out of bed—good job.

If you’re still reading this note that means you’re wasting time. Get dressed!

–Logan

I couldn’t help but laugh at his attempt to be bossy. After I finished my breakfast I hurried back to my room to dress, shower, and pack a bag as instructed. I was excited about spending time with Logan, and I was even more thrilled at the prospect of getting away for a little while. I had no idea where we were going, but if it was anything like our impromptu picnic, I was confident it would be romantic. My insides quivered as I remembered his hands on me.

I had just finished applying my last traces of eyeliner when I heard the doorbell buzz.

I wasn’t at all surprised when Logan showed up exactly at eleven thirty. By this point I was well aware of the fact that he didn’t have it in him to be late.

“Coming!” I yelled, hearing the doorbell ring for the second time. I slid on the last of my accessories. I had chosen to wear a pair of skinny jeans and a black, lacy camisole. I settled on an indium gray chunky sweater and studded ballet flats.

I smiled as I opened the front door to let him in.

“Morning,” I said as I tussled with my hair, attempting to pull it back into a loose ponytail.

I took in Logan’s appearance. He was rocking a casual look, sporting a pair of light washed blue jeans, khaki-colored boat shoes, and a navy tee.

“Hey, good morning,” he smiled. He leaned in and kissed me lightly on the mouth. Stepping back, his eyes gave me a once over.

“I can’t lose you in the crowd with those on,” he said, pointing at my fuchsia, rhinestone-studded ballet flats. “You look nice.”

“Thanks,” I said.

“I’m ready to go,” I stated proudly as I pointed to my overnight bag. I sounded like a third grader announcing I was ready for the first day of school.

“I love a woman who’s on the ball,” he said, leaning in to kiss my forehead. I liked receiving Logan’s small affections. I wrapped my arms around his neck and leaned into his navy collar.

“You always smell so good,” I murmured, “like laundered towels or something.” I was seriously becoming too sappy for my own liking.

He laughed at my comment. “I think it’s actually called soap.” Bending down to scoop up my small satchel he said, “Well, let’s get this show on the road.”

I locked the front door behind me and followed him to the Range Rover.

“Where are we going?” I asked.

“You’ve got to know by now that I don’t give up secrets,” he said with a smirk, tossing my bag into the back of the truck.

I looked up and down our street inconspicuously. “No Merick today?” I asked as I climbed into the car. For some reason it intrigued me that Merick was able to stay so well hidden from my roving eyes.

“He’s always around, but his job is to be behind the scenes. I don’t like being hovered over.”

“Makes sense—wait a minute. Was Merick “around” the evening of our picnic?”
Oh God, please say no
, I thought. I doubted Merick needed a show of his boss’s ass in the air as he pumped into me.

Logan glanced at me, “and if he was?”

“Logan!” The idea of Merick seeing us in the field made me want to run back into my house to hide. There was no way I’d be able to face him if he’d seen something. That was too embarrassing.

“Relax baby, no he wasn’t there. I gave him the afternoon off. I would never let him or anyone else see you in a compromising position.” Instant relief swept through me.

“Well thank God for that” I mumbled, as he closed the door behind me.

When we were both settled into the car I turned to Logan, “Do you mind if I pick the music this time?”

“Go for it,” Logan said, pulling the SUV out onto the street.

I settled on a popular top forty station, then leaned into my seat. Cold Five’s latest single wafted through the speakers as we headed out of my neighborhood and onto the freeway. I hummed along to certain songs that came on the radio as we drove along and looked out the window as the outside world passed by in a haze. After thirty minutes of driving Logan turned off the freeway heading toward Dulles.

“Are you lost?” I asked. I knew he wasn’t very familiar with the D.C. area.

“No, why?” he questioned.

“Because we’re on the turnpike for the airport,” I offered, simply stating the obvious.

“I know,” he replied calmly.

“Well if you aren’t lost, then I am,” I said, staring at him, waiting for clarity.

“During our conversations on the phone, you mentioned that you’d like to go to the aquarium,” he said factually, hitting his blinker to merge into the off-ramp lane, quickly throwing a mischievous smile my way.

“Ok…which aquarium are we going to?” I asked, completely perplexed.

“The Georgia Aquarium,” Logan said slyly, looking over at me with a crooked smile.

“What?” Surprise was written on my face. . “You’re not serious…are you?”

“Why wouldn’t I be? Our flight leaves in twenty minutes.” He looked over his shoulder to merge lanes. “The good news is we can be a few minutes late since we don’t have to go through TSA checkpoints.”

I leaned back into my seat speechless. When I said let’s go to the aquarium, I thought we might go to the National Aquarium, not one in an entirely different state! I wondered how much our splurge to Georgia cost Logan. I’d had enough trouble accepting him paying for drinks at Legends. Accepting private flights was going to be a hard pill to swallow. I would never be able to afford to do something equally lavish or special for him, and that bothered me a little bit. I didn’t like feeling financially inept when it came to him. At least with Damon we were on the same financial footing. We were both broke in college. Then again compared to Logan, we were both still broke.

I sat in silence for the next ten minutes until we stopped in front of a plane hangar that housed a small Learjet.

“Are we flying in…that?” I pointed to the small jet that looked flight-worthy but far too small for my liking.

“We sure are,” Logan replied, amusement lacing his voice.

“Well I have an admission of my own…I’m not the hugest fan of flying. I can handle a larger plane, but this one looks like it could drop out of the sky at any second,” I said, trying to beat down the anxiety that was roiling in my stomach.

“Brooklyn, you’ll be perfectly safe in the jet. It’s the top of the line model and I requested a second safety check earlier this morning.”

I looked straight out of the windshield at the small jet in silence.

“Are you sure about this, Logan? I mean I would be perfectly fine staying on land and going to the National Aquarium. Plus, you can save the thousands I’m sure this flight cost. I recall a certain celeb crashing in a jet like this,” I said, pleading my case to him with my eyes.

Logan swept a lock of my hair from my face and caressed my check.

“If you really don’t want to fly, we don’t have to, but I’ve heard that this aquarium is one of a kind, and I thought it would be nice to experience it with you. Think of all the photos you can take… and it’s only a two-hour trip if you count runway time. We’ll be there before you know it.” The pad of his thumb brushed my cheek again.

I smiled at Logan’s sly attempt to talk me off the ledge with promises of great photo ops. I let out a slow breath, then grabbed the handle of my door, swinging it open.

“What the hell! I might not get another chance to do something this wildly absurd. If it’s my time, it’s my time… but I’m warning you, if you start singing lyrics from “Leaving on a Jet Plane” or make one plane crash joke, we are done!” I retorted, motioning between the two of us while grabbing my purse out of the car and adjusting my sweater.

“My lips are sealed,” Logan said, exiting the SUV sporting a carefree smile. He stepped toward me and grabbed my hand. “Are you sure you’re ready? I don’t want you to feel forced,” Logan said, staring into my eyes.

I appreciated him giving me one last out.

“I think I‘ll be fine,” I said reassuringly, brushing a loose hair from my cheek. I knew if I said no I would regret my decision. Logan’s comments about my potential photo opportunities were a small selling point as well.

“All right, well the flight crew is waiting for us so let’s go,” he said, pulling me along as he headed toward the jet’s access stairs. A stewardess was waiting at the top of the steps.

“Good morning, Mr. Colton. Welcome aboard.”

“Thank you, Caitlyn. Where’s Jon?”

“He will be out shortly, sir. Please have a seat in the cabin.”

I was surprised at how spacious the jet was, since it looked rather small from the outside.

“Are we the only two people scheduled for the flight?” I asked, puzzled.

“Yes,” Logan replied, clearly confused by my inquiry.

Duh, Brooklyn
, I scolded myself. Of course Logan Colton, a Bloomberg top performer could afford private flights…he probably had more money stashed away than I’d ever see in my lifetime.

Caitlyn stowed my tote bag in the overhead compartment of the jet after I took my camera out. After Caitlyn finished her inflight procedure checklist I made myself comfortable in the beige leather seat.

Jon, the pilot, came out right before takeoff to confirm the flight plan with Logan. He was an older gentleman with wire-rimmed glasses donning the typical flight captain uniform: navy slacks and a white collared shirt. I hoped that his seasoned look meant he had many years of flying under his belt.