Chapter 4 #3
Had he finished his business with that guy before he came looking for me? Had Adrian kissed him first? Touched him? Enjoyed that guy’s touch before deciding, oh, maybe I should go see Logan now? Had he come? The thought sliced through him, cold and bitter.
At that, something flickered in Adrian’s gaze, a softness that broke through the frustration.
He stepped closer, his voice gentler. “He is another surfer I met here shortly after I landed. He’s from Australia and has many friends here.
I surfed with them for a few days, and he wanted me to come say hey.
” Adrian didn’t have to explain himself, but he desperately wanted to.
Logan nodded; no voice came to him. Did you hook up with that guy before? Are you even gay or bi? Or maybe you’re straight?
No. Logan did not care, and he would not be going to those thoughts.
“When I couldn’t find you, I got worried and searched for you,” Adrian added.
“Why?” Logan’s voice came out sharper than he intended, his fingers shredding the label on his bottle. “In a few days, we’ll probably never see each other again. It doesn’t matter.” The words tasted bitter, hollow, but he forced them out, steeling himself against whatever was building in his chest.
Adrian took a deep breath, his gaze never wavering as he leaned against the counter, shoulders relaxing, his expression almost vulnerable.
“I didn’t mean to leave you tonight, just went to say hey…
. And I never… I never meant to leave Hawaii without…
” he murmured, the words soft as a confession.
“I was actually trying to… well, ask if you’d want to keep traveling with me. ”
Logan stared, his heart a wild, uneven rhythm in his chest, his mind trying to catch up. “What?” he whispered, the word barely audible.
Adrian glanced down, rubbing the back of his neck.
His voice trembled slightly as his other hand moved absentmindedly over the counter, fingers fidgeting.
“Yeah… I’ve been thinking about it for days, but I wasn’t sure you’d even want to.
I thought maybe… maybe we could go somewhere together.
The Philippines, maybe, then Australia… but I’d stay here too, if that’s what you wanted.
” He hesitated, then met Logan’s gaze, his eyes earnest, a quiet vulnerability Logan had never seen before.
“I like being with you, Logan. Didn’t know how to say it. ”
The ache in Logan’s chest was raw, an emotion he couldn’t name. The jealousy, the uncertainty, the self-doubt, they all faded, replaced by something warmer, a quiet thrill that made him feel dizzy and grounded all at once.
“I thought you traveled alone,” Logan said, his voice catching slightly, sounding almost broken.
“I was,” Adrian replied softly, taking a step closer, his hand brushing lightly against Logan’s. “But… I’d much rather be with you.”
Logan’s heart hammered, each beat a rush of adrenaline, hope, and something that felt dangerously close to happiness. “I… yeah, I want to go,” he said, breathless. “When?”
Adrian smiled, and Logan felt his own lips curve in response, his pulse steadying, his thoughts quieting as he felt that, maybe, this was exactly where he was meant to be.
“Whenever we want?” Adrian asked, chuckling, his laughter light, like foam catching the last rays of a setting sun.
“Works for me,” Logan replied, his voice soft with a new ease, a tide of relief he couldn’t hide. He paused, eyes flickering back to the glow of the party on the distant shore through the window. “Hey… I’m sorry I left. You want to go back? It’s still early.”
But Adrian shook his head. It was enough, this quiet space between them.
Logan smiled, stepping over to the fridge to grab a beer, pressing the cold bottle into Adrian’s hand, the simple gesture feeling oddly intimate, as if he were handing over some small, precious secret, a simple offering of peace and “I am sorry for being a jerk.”
“Thanks,” Adrian murmured, fingers brushing over Logan’s.
He looked down, then back up, a playful spark in his eye.
“So, now that I ran all this way to find you… can I actually have your number?” He gave a little laugh, tinged with something honest, almost raw.
“Didn’t realize until just now that I couldn’t even call you.
” Adrian pulled his phone from his pocket.
Logan felt a shy grin spread across his face, and the flicker of something—hope, maybe—ignited low in his chest. He took Adrian’s phone, typing his number in carefully, letting his fingers linger over the screen just a bit longer than necessary.
After he finished, he pressed ‘dial’, and his own phone rang from the bed for a second.
He handed the device back to Adrian, the moment feeling raw, and big somehow.
There was a beat of silence, and then Adrian glanced around. “Well,” he began slowly, setting his half-finished beer on the counter. “Guess I should get going—”
“Stay?” The word escaped Logan’s mouth almost before he’d fully decided to say it, soft but bold, and his gaze lifted to meet Adrian’s. “We’ll look at flights, maybe figure out some plans? There is much more to do in Hawaii before we leave here.”
Adrian’s expression softened, as though Logan had opened a window to something he hadn’t quite believed could be real.
“You… you really want us to do it together?” His voice was quiet, barely above a whisper, touched with a disbelief that made Logan’s heart ache.
It was as if Adrian feared this moment might dissolve if he spoke it too boldly.
Logan’s nod felt like a promise, one he didn’t fully understand yet, but that he wanted to give all the same.
He couldn’t say why, but he did want this—this adventure, this time, this inexplicable bond growing between them.
He felt the anticipation wash over him, a feeling as constant as the ocean itself, carrying him somewhere new, somewhere right.
“All right,” Adrian murmured, smiling with a soft intensity that sent a ripple of warmth through Logan.
He took a step closer as Logan pulled his laptop from his bag, a mischievous grin spreading over Adrian’s face.
“But you’re doing all the reading,” he announced, dragging a hand through his already messy hair.
“I can’t with that English anymore…” he grumbled, and Logan laughed, the sound bright and free. “It hurts my brain!”
“Oh, shut up,” Adrian called as Logan was just laughing harder and sat on the bed.
“Do you want me to correct your grammar if it’s wrong?
” Logan asked, barely containing his grin, especially when Adrian turned to him with that pissed-off, cocky, thoroughly amused look—the one that always made Logan’s pulse stutter.
“If you want, we can also work on your vocabulary, and your accent could use some work—”
“That’s it!” Adrian declared, snatching the nearest pillow and launching it straight at Logan’s face with mock annoyance, his smile wide, eyes glinting with humor.
Logan caught the pillow mid-air, his laughter spilling out, feeling somehow as vast and open as the sea beyond the walls of the tiny cabin.
He tossed the pillow back at Adrian, who took it, propping it under his head with a smirk as he settled on the bed.
They slipped into an easy rhythm, Logan clicking through flight options as Adrian lounged on the bed beside him, close enough that Logan could feel the gentle warmth radiating off him.
He pointed out places they could go, barely able to believe that they’d actually be traveling together, as if the universe had decided to nudge him toward this unfamiliar, wonderful current, pulling him toward a journey he hadn’t planned but wanted desperately now.
They booked a flight for a week and a half later, their fingers brushing occasionally as they pointed to destinations and plans on the screen.
The hours slipped by, the two of them falling into laughter and quiet, murmured ideas about all they wanted to see—the wild waters in the Philippines, the warmth of the sunbaked beaches.
Logan felt his heart swell with each new image that flickered across the screen, each plan that formed was new and exciting, they moved from places in Hawaii to the Philippines, moving the conversation along and confusing places altogether.
Adrian stretched, arms reaching above his head, muscles shifting beneath sun-kissed skin.
His head tilted back, exposing the long line of his throat, and then, slowly, he let his eyes flutter shut, telling himself he would just rest them for a bit.
His breathing evened out, slipping into that steady, peaceful rhythm Logan recognized all too well—the same rhythm from the days they spent chasing waves, carving through the ocean until exhaustion weighed their limbs, until they collapsed onto the sand, warm and salt-streaked.
Sometimes, Adrian would nap right there on the beach, the tide rolling in and out like a lullaby, their bodies moving in quiet harmony with the pull of the water.
Now, in the dim hush of the room, Logan glanced over and found him lost in sleep again.
His long hair spilled across the pillow, tangled and messy and beautiful.
The sharp edges of his face had softened, lost to the quiet of dreams, the usual fire in him dimmed to something gentle, something unguarded.
Careful not to disturb him, Logan closed his laptop, set it on the nightstand, and turned back, unable to resist looking at Adrian for a moment longer.
He knelt beside the bed and gently slipped off Adrian’s shoes, noticing the way his shoulders rose and fell with each soft breath.
His heart ached, sharp and sweet, watching him like this, vulnerable and so close.