Chapter 21 Gwendolyn #2
I pull back, ready to tell him to stop lying, but I eat my words instantly when I take in the expression on his face.
His eyes are impossibly bright as they continue to roam over my face. His naturally plush lips are red and swollen. I have a bit of pride surge through me at the thought of why they are like that. Because of me.
The aforementioned embarrassment suddenly moves within me as I take in my hands that are still touching him. Only now they lay against the wrinkled fabric of his shirt. Wrinkled because I was mauling at him, unable to get close enough as he brought me to euphoria.
I tip my face down to hide the blush that is definitely washing over me. I don’t stay that way for long as his finger pushes under my chin, forcing me to look up at him. His brows are practically touching as he looks down at me, confused.
“What’s going on in that pretty head of yours?”
I bite my lower lip, which is deliciously swollen thanks to him. “We shouldn’t have done that.”
My voice is low, but I know he heard me as his bright eyes begin to dim. His hands fall away as he takes a step back from where we were still connected. I almost weep at the loss of connection, feeling even more exposed and instantly missing his warmth.
“I thought we were on the same page.”
“We were,” I rush out. “We are. I think. I just—you just got back into town, and we have a lot going on. You have a lot going on.”
Logan places his hands on my shoulders, squeezing once. “Breathe, Gwen.”
His words force me to suck in a sharp breath, exhaling heavily.
“Maybe we shouldn’t have done that right now, but I think we can both agree it felt good. We felt good together.”
My cheeks heat up at the reminder of just how good it felt for me. “This is so embarrassing.” I continue to repeat.
Logan softly chuckles, pushing back a lock of hair that fell from my updo. “I’m going to need you to get that out of your head right now.”
“But I practically mauled you.”
“And I’ll replay that memory for the rest of my life.” His smirk sends another heat strike to my core as his eyes darken, likely already watching the scene replay in his mind.
I can’t help the scenarios playing out in my head at the thought of what this means. How this could blow up in my face. How awkward this could make life.
I’ve had hookups before that didn’t involve strings, and I have no problem being normal around them even after things end. But with Logan, this is different. He’s different. There’s too much entanglement.
“Gwen,” he says softly, and I raise my eyes back to his. I hadn’t realized I was staring off into space until his voice called me back. “This doesn’t have to mean anything.”
I know he’s right, but something in my gut twinges at that. I take a deep breath again and try to reframe this in my mind.
“It was just a one-time slip up.”
His head nods slowly. “If that’s what you want.”
“It’s the forced proximity trope.”
His face pinches, and he mutters, “That damn trope again.”
“It was bound to happen. Tension between us has been building, and now that we did that, we can start fresh. And never do it again.”
“Never?”
I raise my eyebrows. “This isn’t going to become a friends-with-benefits trope. One is enough for this friendship.”
Logan chuckles, his smirk picking up on one side, pushing a small dimple in that has me ready to swoon. “If you say so, Gwendolyn.”
“What does that mean?”
His gaze drops down between us. That’s when I realize the space between us that he placed by stepping back has disappeared. This time from me as I had unconsciously placed my feet to the ground and leaned toward him. I straighten back up and move to leave some distance again.
“Do something for me?”
“What?”
“Tell me how that,” he points from me to himself, “really felt.”
I pause for a second, weighing if I want to lie straight to his face or tell the truth. In the quiet of the night, I go for the latter.
“Incredible.”
The smirk that was still sitting pretty turns into a full-blown grin as he takes in my word.
“Yeah,” he says. “I have to agree.”
“But we can’t do it again.”
“If that’s what you want, I’ll respect that. But can I ask why? Truthfully. Because, that was incredible. More incredible than I have felt with anyone in my life.”
My body buzzes with his admission. I silently agree.
“I need this festival to go off without a hitch. I need to prove myself to your mom. Not to mention Camila…”
“Okay, I can accept the first part, but Camila? What the hell does she have to do with this?”
“Well, for starters, she’s going around saying you’re about to be engaged.”
Logan drops his head back on a groan. “Fuck, they are relentless. That’s something her and my father have gotten into their heads. Not something I want. I have no plans ever being back with her. I can promise you that.”
I bite down on my lower lip. Logan immediately reaches out, pulling it out of its trap lightly with his thumb stroking softly over the indent.
“I can also promise you that what I’m feeling for you right now, what I’ve been feeling since I saw you for the first time again, is nothing compared to anything I’ve ever felt in my life. I don’t want to scare you, but this feels right.”
My hands instinctively land on his chest as I lean into the palm of his hands that cradles my cheek. “I know. But…”
I trail off and he implores me to continue with a silent plea on his face.
“Can we just, I don’t know, table these feelings? At least for now? See if they are still there after the festival is over.”
“I don’t think I can table these feelings, but I can try. For you.”
“That means this,” I point between us like he did before, “can’t happen again. Just friends.”
He takes a half step closer. “If that’s how you want to do this.”
“It is,” my mouth says, but my feet take me the other half step to meet him in the middle.
“Does this moment still count as that one-time slip up?” His whisper fans over my lips, sending a pleasant shiver down my spine.
“I think so.”
The words are barely out of my mouth before they are cut off by his lips.
No softness or hesitancy this time as we instantly part for each other.
My hands go straight to the strands of hair at the back of his head.
Pulling, tugging, guiding him where I wanted him.
His hand cupped my jaw, doing the same to me.
And I can’t help the warmth that spreads within me at the thought of how well we fit together. How easy it was to fall into the moment with him.
I also can’t help the question swirling through my brain wondering if I could really keep from recreating this moment with him every time I saw him. Because, now that I know how good it feels to be in his arms, I don’t want to be anywhere else.