Riding the Sugar High: a Grumpy Sunshine Romantic Comedy

35. Fight For Me

Primrose

“Really,I love your style. I’ve always hidden behind big sweaters and baggy jeans, but you’ve inspired me to dress how I want, regardless of what people say.”

I smile at the woman in front of me, looking gorgeous in a fitted dress that hugs her curvy body. “Well, great choice. You look fantastic.”

“I think so too,” she says before grabbing the signed box of Uncandy and waving. “Tell your cowboy I say hi.”

With a chuckle, I focus on the next person in line, a shy teenager whose mom keeps gently urging forward. The woman tells me about her daughter, how she’s just taken up veganism, and though talking to fans is one of my favorite parts of the job, I get distracted by the thought of Logan.

My cowboy.

The cowboy I haven’t properly talked to in two weeks, because I’ve barely had time to breathe.

But today is launch day. I’ve worked my ass off for six months, and Uncandy is hitting stores all over the country. After a few more weeks of promotion, I’ll be back at the farm.

I know Logan feels neglected.

He hasn’t said a word, of course. I miss most of his calls, but he never seems upset when I call back. The only thing he truly seems worried about is whether I’m eating and sleeping enough. The one question he keeps asking me is, Are you happy?

And I am. I really am.

I mostly am.

The only times I’m not exactly fond of is when I’m back home, between one trip or another. When I return to an empty apartment and hear traffic noises through the windows.

They never bothered me before, but they don’t compare to the silence of the farm, interrupted only by Logan’s deep voice.

I miss him. I miss him so viscerally that it feels like his absence is creating scarring tissue around my heart. Like I’m constantly deprived of the best part of my life.

Not to sound ungrateful, because my career trajectory has changed for the better, but it couldn’t have happened at a worse time.

“Primrose?”

I flinch when the event organizer gently cups my shoulder, focusing on the young girl before me. “Oh my god, I’m so sorry. I?—”

“Primrose has been signing autographs for several hours,” she explains. “She’s just a little tired.”

“Yes, that’s it,” I rush to say. “Here.” I autograph the girl’s promotional box, then smile at her. “I’ve written down my phone number. My boyfriend is a vegan, and if you ever want some tips, or to talk about something?—”

“Oh my God!” Her eyes widen as she takes the box. “I can text you?”

“Please do.”

She smiles wide at her mom, who gently nods in a silent thank-you before walking away.

“Katie, I’m going to take a break,” I tell the organizer as the next people approach.

“Of course.” With a gesture at the woman helping with the line, she informs the crowd we’ll be taking a short break, then points me to the back of the shop.

Thank god.

Just thinking of Logan has me craving the sound of his voice. We’ve texted this morning, and he’s recently figured out voice messages, but replaying a mumbled “g’morning” doesn’t cut it.

I take out my phone, tap on his contact and bring it to my ear, sitting at a small desk.

“—llo?”

Oh, his voice. I swear it has the ability to heal me better than Penicillin. “Hey, can you hear me?”

“Hello?”

“Logan?”

“Yes, hey. Hi,” he says in a rough voice. “Is everything okay?”

“Everything’s fine. I just wanted to hear your voice.”

“I thought you had that signing today.”

“I do. I’m still here.”

“Missing me a little too hard today, Barbie?”

I smile, because it sounds like he’s smiling. Every time he does, his voice takes on a softer, warmer edge.

“Always, cowboy. But I’ll be there soon, right?”

“Right. Twenty days and sixteen hours left until you land.” He clears his voice. “Kyle taught me how to use the phone’s countdown timer.”

I fight to hold back a chuckle. “Look at you. A real pro. Have you turned on the TV at all?”

“What for? I’ve got no one to snuggle. I set up all the streaming services the guys swore you’d want, though.”

And an internet connection too. He’s made his perfect house even more perfect for me, and I’m not there to enjoy it.

“What else is new?” I ask as I pull at a loose thread on my skirt.

“Uh, well...” There’s a beat of silence. “We have a new goat. She’s a feisty one, Julia. She kicked the crap out of Rob yesterday.”

“Well, to be fair, Rob is a little...” I say as I think of the male goat.

He snorts. “Dense? He is. He could use a little goat to keep him on his toes. Or...hooves.”

I drop my head back. “What else?”

“Kyle’s grown an eight-foot zucchini. He might submit it to the Guinness World Record.”

“Is he asking women if they want to see his massive zucchini?”

“No,” he says with a low chuckle. “He’s still going strong with Cassidy from the juice bar. He seems happy.”

Even knowing I’m missing out on Kyle’s relationship makes me sad. I wish I were there, checking on the progress of this zucchini, meeting Julia and watching her pester Rob.

“Simon’s daughter started walking last week. Really, she skipped walking altogether, and she’s just running all over the place.”

“What about Aaron?”

“Aaron...” His sigh rattles against the microphone. “Aaron is lonely. Figuring out how to be a single dad now that Josie is in rehab.”

My lips twist. Josie has been at the facility since the week after I left. I might be wrong, but it seems longer than usual. Is she hiding out? How is Sadie dealing with it?

“Are you there for him? For them?”

“Josie doesn’t want any visitors, but you know I’m at Aaron’s place nearly every day for dinner. Sadie is still going through her Barbie phase.”

“Aw, just like me.”

“Afraid it isn’t exactly a phase for you, love.”

“Fair enough,” I concede, my lips curling at the nickname as butterflies overtake my stomach. Since I last saw him, there’s been a whole lot of tastefully erotic pictures and filthy video calls, which are great but don’t hold up against the real thing. They’ll have to do for the next twenty days and sixteen hours, though.

“Do you think you might want to, hmm...give me two more minutes of your time?”

“Uh-huh, of course.”

“And do something a little adventurous?”

“I’m feeling pretty adventurous today. What did you have in mind, Barbie?”

There’s a bathroom down the corridor, and every time I hear his voice, I have to thank gravity for my underwear not automatically dropping at my ankles. “You know. Make me yee-haw, cowboy.”

“Oh.” There’s a loud, high-pitched yelp on Logan’s end, and focusing on the background noise, I hear more chatter. I check the phone, then bring it back to my ear. Twenty past eleven, which means he should be at the farm. “Where are you?”

“At the mall.”

At the mall? He hates the mall.

“Is someone pointing a gun at your head?”

“No. Just trying to buy some candy.”

“You are?” I smile wide. “Is it for me?”

“It’s not for you, but it’s from you.”

“My candy?”

“Yeah.”

I close my eyes, my grin increasing with every passing second. “Why are you buying it? I can make it for you when I get there.”

“Yeah.” He pauses. “But I was hoping to get it autographed.”

My brows scrunch. “But I’m...I’m in Mayfield.”

“So am I.”

“What?” I jump up, my heart beating so fast in my chest it might just explode.

I rush toward the door, then stop, my hands shaking as I look for a mirror.

“The line is long, and apparently, Primrose needed a break.”

Shit, he’s here. I’m about to see him again after six whole months.

“Did you faint? Crawl out the window?”

“N-no, of course not.” I run a hand through my frizzy hair. “I just—I left my makeup at the table, Logan.”

“Ohh. Well, that’s a real tragedy.”

“It is when you haven’t seen me for six months.”

“I’ve also seen you sweat through your clothes and run away from a fire. Saw you covered in mud, and, uh, well. Myself.”

“But it’s been half a year!”

“Which means, come through that door before I break it down and take you on the first horizontal surface I find.” He clears his throat. “On second thought, vertical stuff will do too.”

“But—”

“You know I like the chase more than I should, backpack.”

I do know. Not that I have any intention of running away. “Yes. Okay.” An exhilarated, nervous giggle moves past my lips. “I’m coming. You—you stay right there, okay? Because I want to kiss you and touch every bit of your face, so I know you’re really here.”

“How about instead of telling me, you?—”

I grab the handle, then rush back to my bag and grab his leather jacket. Despite how ridiculous it looks on me, I might have been using it almost every day and sleeping in it a couple of times. “Don’t move.”

“I’m right here. Big guy in the pink cowboy hat.”

Pink cowboy hat?

No, he didn’t.

* * *

Logan

The white door opens, and Primrose comes out with my jacket in hand, frantically scanning the crowd left and right. It’s my first time seeing her since I got here, because even with how much taller I am than anyone in this store, there’s only so much distance I can cover, and this line is long.

Fuck. She’s beautiful. She also looks like she lost weight, which is not surprising with how she’s been working herself silly these last couple of months. Between all the new partnerships that popped up and these promotional trips for her product, she hasn’t stopped for a minute.

Our calls diminished in intensity and duration, and I won’t lie and say it’s been easy. The only reason I haven’t freaked out is that I could tell it wasn’t for her lack of trying. But I’m pretty sure she teared up yesterday when she heard my voice, and I decided I’d had enough.

She needs me, so I’m here. With a pseudo-white horse.

She quickly walks across the room, getting closer, but I don’t wave, as she hasn’t looked in my direction yet.

Come on, Barbie. I’m not exactly hard to miss.

Her fans stop her and try for photographs, but she just kindly waves and moves on, stepping closer and closer in her pink outfit.

If she weren’t so obsessed with her clothes, I’d rip it off her with my bare hands.

Her head turns, and when I feel like she’s about to look my way, I raise my hand, then bring it to my hat as her eyes meet mine. Her smile widens, and stepping to the side, I leave my spot in line and jerk my chin up. “Howdy, Barbie. Get your sweet ass right here, right now.”

I can’t wait another minute.

She runs, which, in those heels, has the potential for disaster, but before I can tell her to slow down, she crashes against my chest, the smell of strawberry all around me as she melts into me.

“Shit,” I whisper as I wrap both arms around her and lean down to kiss the top of her head. I can feel her presence—my whole body’s reacting to it. My lungs expand more, my shoulders become lighter.

She’s here. Between my arms.

Her hold tightens, and though I’m vaguely aware of the crowd squealing and the infernal clicking of pictures being taken, I can hardly bring myself to care—especially when Primrose’s shoulders start quaking.

“Hey—Barbie,” I say, pulling her chin up. She fights my hold, hiding her face against my shirt. “Come on, let me look at you.”

She tentatively glances up, her eyes swelling with tears and her chin wobbling. “I’m sorry,” she says in a frustrated voice. “Why do I cry all the time?”

I, for one, love it. Not that she cries specifically, but how strongly she feels. How deeply. I don’t think we’d be here if she didn’t. That we would have fallen in love in a little over two weeks, then survived six months apart.

“You’re so beautiful. I’d forgotten how beautiful you are.”

She shakes her head. “Not true. You tell me every single day.”

“But I forgot it was this beautiful.”

“Why are you here?” she asks, something between a laugh and a sob escaping her. “You hate malls. And airports. And planes.”

“I hate a lot of things, Barbie. I’d still live through them all for you.”

Someone in line goes awww, and I roll my eyes.

“How long are you staying? Did you get a hotel? Please cancel the booking and stay with me.”

“Actually, I...This is the reason I’m here.” Her brow furrows, so I quickly add, “Of course, I wanted to celebrate your launch, and I was dying to see you. But, um, I’m here to tell you that I just...” She moves against me, her breasts brushing my stomach. “I can’t do long-distance anymore.”

“What?” she squeaks, a horrified grimace appearing instead of her smile. “You’re dumping me?”

“Dumping you?” My head jerks back. “Why?—”

“You can’t do it anymore?” she asks, her pitch rising. “Are you serious? I’m here because you told me to go—we’re launching the candy today. We made it all this time, and three weeks before I’m back, you?—”

I pull her closer and look deeply into her eyes. “Do you think I’d squeeze myself into a metal box that shoots through the sky for six hours, then wait in a line for two more wearing a pink cowboy hat that doesn’t fit my big head—all of it, to dump you?”

She pauses, her wide eyes blinking as if she’s realizing it sounds peculiar at best. “Right.”

“Right.”

“So, wait...what do you mean?”

Gently coaxing her closer, I lick my lips. I’ve thought about this speech for hours, and all the words I carefully crafted now seem light-years away.

“I’ve been miserable, Primrose. I mean—you’re part of my life, and that makes it...” I can’t even put the feeling into words. “So much better. But I also miss you all the fucking time. When I talk to you, I miss you even more. It’s like a clock that never resets, just ticks faster and faster until I can’t think of anything else but the fact that you’re not there, next to me.”

Her mouth opens, and for a few seconds, she stares at me. “Therapy is working out for you, isn’t it?”

It is. I’ve had three panic attacks since I started, but I was more prepared to face them. And I’m working on expressing my emotions. On processing them.

“The point is, I’ve done it for six months. I’d do it for six more—hell, I’d wait a whole lifetime for you to come back.”

“But?” she whispers.

But she’s been calling less and less. She used to text me all day, every day—to the point where Simon and Kyle started calling me Cyber Logan, because I was always staring at my phone. And now, she doesn’t have the time for it. It’s hurting me, but most importantly, it hurts her. “You’re too busy for a long-distance relationship, and I won’t let us grow apart. I won’t stand here and watch the most important thing in my life fall into pieces only because I didn’t do anything about it.”

“So, um...” She shakes her head. “Are you here to talk about us? To set some boundaries and?—”

“I’m here to stay.”

Her eyes widen again. “Stay? In Mayfield?”

“Yes, for now. Then we’ll go back to the farm, and then...I’ll be wherever you are. The work at the farm has been good, but now winter is approaching, and they can handle it without me. After that, we’ll see. But I’m not leaving your side for as long as you need to stay away.”

She smiles, which immediately relaxes my shoulders. She doesn’t seem to think I’m crazy, which was my main concern. “But, Logan, your whole life is there. You can’t just leave everything behind.”

I tuck a lock of hair behind her ear, my fingers rubbing the pink tips. I’ve missed those pink tips. “My whole life is right here.”

Tugging at my shirt, she smiles. “Why haven’t you picked me up yet?”

I lean forward and, with the usual protective hand, pull her up against my chest, her legs wrapping around me.

“I love you,” she whispers then. “I’ve been so miserable too.”

“Yeah, I could tell.” I brush a thumb over her cheek. “But I’m here now, okay? And I love you, so I’m not leaving until you ask me to.”

She sniffles. “Okay. Three more weeks, and then we’ll be back home.”

“I am home.”

She leans forward, her lips pressing on mine, and the crowd immediately cheers, their claps and excited yelps turning into a ooohs and aaahs once I deepen the kiss and taste her tongue.

Her hazy eyes meet mine when I pull back, and I jerk my head to the right. “Think we’re going viral again?”

“So be it,” she says before diving back in.

I pull back before it turns heated again, because the last thing I need is to have an erection in front of three hundred women holding their cameras to me.

“I love you,” I mumble into her mouth, our noses grazing. “I love you so much, Primrose. Reason number one why I would date you.”

She closes her eyes, pressing her forehead against mine. “Are you sure you’ll be okay? My apartment is a mess, and this city is chaotic. It smells, it’s loud, and people can be so rude.”

“I’ll be okay.” It might not be ideal, but being here for her doesn’t feel inconvenient. It feels right. “Take as long as you need, and I’ll be by your side every step of the way.” I gently put her down and smack her ass. “Now go get ’em. We’ll talk about everything else later.”

“Okay.” She reaches for my neck, so I lean down to kiss her. “I’ll see you soon. For real, this time—like in two hours.” Happiness is bursting out of her, and she breathes as if to expel some of her adrenaline. I call her name when reminded of my gift for her. “Yes?”

I wait until she spins around, then set the pink cowboy hat on her head with a wink. “Yee-haw, Barbie.”