Chapter 4
Drink Devine may not exactly have been Logan’s usual kind of hangout spot, but Logan had to admit that it actually wasn’t all that bad. Terrible wheatgrass shot aside, Logan was enjoying his berry juice. But even more than that, Logan was simply enjoying hanging out with Stella again.
I left it too long.
Stella is great.
Any man would be lucky to have her…
However as the conversation progressed, Logan suddenly noticed a difference in Stella.
It was as if the mention of Logan’s problems had spooked Stella a little bit. This was confusing for Logan. His problems were his own, not Stella’s.
‘Is everything good?’ Logan said. ‘All of a sudden you seem… on edge.’
Logan paused and waited for a response from Stella.
Logan thought back to how his older brother used to give him the time and space to speak about his feelings. Jackson had been the best big brother a young boy could ask for and Logan missed him more and more as the years passed.
Sadly, Jackson had died when Logan was starting high school and it had impacted Logan’s life in the most significant way.
Jackson had been a guiding light in what was often a chaotic and challenging upbringing. With Jackson’s stability and attention gone, Logan had found himself often looking after his own interests.
To do this at such a young age wasn’t ideal, and Logan had made the decision at that point to simply focus on himself and having as much fun as possible.
Needless to say, this approach to life came with many benefits. However it also came with downsides too. And it seemed like recently, the downsides were beginning to very much outweigh the upsides.
Still, Logan was enjoying being with Stella again.
Logan just had to find out what was suddenly bugging her…
‘It’s okay. If you’re regretting allowing me to stay, then I can haul my ass out of your place. No problems at all,’ Logan said, wanting to show Stella that he wasn’t some down and out freeloader. ‘You know me, I never outstay my welcome.’
Logan stopped talking and cast his eyes over Stella.
Stella still looked so young. Stella may have been well on the way to developing an impressive career, and she was also clearly putting the time in at the gym too, but to Logan she still had the same fresh-faced look she always did back at college.
Logan felt nervous as he waited for Stella to reply.
It was certainly possible that Stella might tell Logan that he had to leave. After all, Logan had hurt Stella in the past and Logan wouldn’t have blamed Stella for holding a grudge.
Fortunately though, whatever it was that was on Stella’s mind wasn’t enough to make her rescind her offer…
‘No, no, you can stay,’ Stella said, smiling a little nervously. ‘It’s just… work stuff on my mind. Nothing to do with you, Logan. It will be a pleasure to have you around. It’s been way too long, right?’
Logan smiled.
Stella may have been trying to act all mature and self-assured, but Logan knew that there certainly was something going on that Stella wasn’t revealing. What that thing was, Logan didn’t know. But right now all that mattered was that Stella seemed happy enough for Logan to stay at her place.
‘So how about I get us a couple more juices?’ Stella said, standing up from the chair. ‘We can get them to go, then head back to mine?’
Logan nodded in approval.
There was a moment as Stella smiled back at him that Logan felt a surge of electricity between them. It was the same feeling as earlier. Some things would never change, no matter what life threw at Logan and Stella.
But Logan knew that right now he was in no place to be putting the moves on anyone, he was simply grateful to have such a good girl as a friend.
Stellas’s got love in her heart.
She always did.
I’m lucky to have her in my life…
Back at Stella’s place, Logan was enjoying the feeling of spending the evening relaxing on a supremely comfortable couch rather than the cramped confines of his car.
That wasn’t to say that everything was perfect…
‘This movie… sucks ass!’ Logan laughed, rolling his eyes as the predictable superhero movie took yet another totally predictable turn. ‘Please don’t tell me that you’re loving it?’
Stella rolled her eyes and took a big, crunchy bite out of her apple.
Logan watched Stella as she munched on the apple. Wearing a tight white t-shirt and a pair of denim shorts, Stella looked good. Stella had always been slender, but she had been working out and her body looked strong too.
Logan had to work very hard to stop his mind from wondering as to how Stella’s body might look like naked these days…
Nope. Do not think about her naked.
Just don’t do it.
Going there would be a baaaad idea.
Fortunately for Logan and his wandering mind, Stella finished crunching on her apple and was able to get involved in the conversation again.
‘It’s… okay,’ Stella said, hastily swallowing the chunk of apple in her mouth. ‘I’ve seen better, I’ll give you that.’
‘Seen better? These modern superhero movies just ain’t what they used to be,’ Logan said, genuinely annoyed at what he was seeing on Stella’s sleek Ultra HD screen. ‘This TV screen is insane though. It deserves a real film.’
Stella laughed as she finished off her apple.
‘Okay old man, cool story!’ Stella said, laughing at her own joke. ‘Tell me another story about how everything was way better back in the ancient past!’
Logan laughed, even if Stella’s sass was igniting a desire in Logan to spank his friend’s butt until it turned red.
Whatever, it was good to see Stella so relaxed and enjoying firing back with some banter of her own, just like old times.
Thinking back to when they first met, Logan recalled how Stella would often go back into her shell when she was challenged by someone who she didn’t really know all that well.
But Logan had always seen that Stella was quick witted and as capable of smack talking just about anyone – if she felt confident enough to do it.
The more time Logan and Stella had spent together at college, the more Logan had seen Stella’s confidence grow. By the time that Logan was on the verge of dropping out, he could see that Stella was confident enough to handle herself and forge her own path.
Well, that was the justification that Logan constructed in his head at the time.
But having listened to what Stella had said about being deeply hurt when Logan left, Logan was beginning to see that perhaps Stella was – and maybe always would be – a deeply sensitive babygirl at heart.
And this just made Stella all the more appealing…
‘You look so damn cute,’ Logan said, noticing how tight Stella’s waist looked in comparison with her soft, smooth curves. ‘Maybe I’d be more into this lame-ass movie if you weren’t looking so good.’
Stella immediately began to blush, which only made her a whole heap cuter as far as Logan was concerned.
‘Fine. You look as sexy as ever too!’ Stella giggled, her eyes peeking out from behind her fingers. ‘There, I said it. Happy?’
‘I will be if you let me do one more thing,’ Logan said, reaching over and cupping Stella’s delicate chin in his hand and turning Stella’s mouth towards his. ‘Just for fun. Just like old times…’
The second that Stella’s lips touched Logan’s, it was like being transported back to Stella’s dorm room on campus. With Logan’s feelings clearly reciprocated, the pair of them began to kiss passionately. It was as if no time had passed at all, and the spark was very much still there.
If anything, this felt like all their old kisses rolled into one super-charged version. Logan could feel his cock rapidly begin to harden and push up against the crotch of his jeans.
‘Oh crap, should we be doing this?’ Stella said, briefly pausing before answering her own question and simply continuing to kiss Logan.
Logan moaned his approval as Stella’s hand found its way down to the front of Logan’s jeans. As Stella squeezed and applied downward pressure onto the throbbing hardness at the front of Logan’s jeans, Logan momentarily found himself questioning whether this was in fact a good idea…
I don’t want to hurt Stella, not after last time.
I never want to make the girl cry again.
But… she’s obviously into this, so….
Unable to resist the touch and feel of Stella’s hands and lips, Logan continued to make out with his old college friend. All of Logan’s troubles suddenly felt so far away, almost totally out of his mind except for the deepest recesses.
Keen to progress the situation into something even more appealing, Logan went to unbutton the top button of Stella’s jeans.
One button… popped.
Two buttons… popped.
Three buttons…
‘Um, I think we’ve, um, made a mistake,’ Stella said, abruptly pulling away and practically jumping off the couch. ‘This is a bad idea. Really bad. Like the worst idea ever.’
To Logan’s shock, Stella didn’t even wait around for a response. Stella simply turned and more or less ran to her bedroom and firmly shut the door behind her.
‘Urgh,’ Logan said, letting out a long sigh. ‘Maybe you’re not so different from college after all, kid.’
Logan was hot, horny, and ready for fun.
But seemingly Stella had reservations.
Logan knew from past experience that the last thing Stella would want now is for Logan to approach her. What Stella needed was time to cool off by herself in the safety of her own room.
With the unsatisfying superhero movie still playing on the TV, Logan aimlessly scrolled through his phone. The cracked screen was actually getting worse, so Logan was barely able to make out anything.
This was far from the end to the evening that Logan had hoped for.
Still, anything was better than another night spent in his car.
Or worse, a night spent on the streets.
Logan felt fortunate to have been taken in by Stella, but given how awkwardly the evening had ended, a part of him might have preferred a night spent sleeping on the Blue Rock beach.
‘Time to check out the football highlights,’ Logan said, reaching over for the TV controller and flipping through the menu to get to the sports channels. But to his dismay, Stella didn’t have the sports package. ‘Of course you don’t. I know when I’m beat. It’s time to get my old ass to bed.’
With that, Logan stood up from the couch and gingerly moved his injured shoulder in a circular motion. It felt like it was improving, and there was certainly far less pain than there had been earlier.
Perhaps Stella’s insistence on that wheatgrass shot hadn’t been so bad after all…