f o u r t e e n
Can you feel the tension rising
Now you're, now you're getting it close
Now you're, now you're getting it close
Almost love, it's almost love ?
**
I woke up the next morning to see that I had received a brief, yet straight-to-the-point text from Logan.
My eyes scanned the message a thousand times over as my half-awake brain struggled to comprehend what I was reading. The time displayed at the top of my phone read eight-thirty, and Logan's message came in at eight-twenty, which meant that I only had around ten minutes left to get dressed.
I rushed over to the bathroom to brush my teeth, and in a desperate attempt to try and multitask, I began to frantically rake a comb through my hair.
My outfit was the least of my concerns since I was going to have to swap it out for my uniform when I got back. With that in mind, I grabbed a baby blue sundress from a random section in my closet and quickly slipped it on over my head.
After grabbing the sandals and sunglasses that I wore yesterday, I stepped out into the hallway and made a beeline for the stairs.
Out of nowhere, a warning bell went off in my head, and the impression that it left prevented me from setting my foot down on the first step.
Dammit.
I whirled around on my heel and trudged over to Kyle's room. He was typically up and about at this hour, choosing to start his day early only to come home late.
Because that makes sense.
Like always, his door was closed, and even though I highly doubted that he was still in his room, I figured that it wouldn't hurt for me to check.
Better for him to not be up here, and I checked than for him to be up here, and I didn't.
I knocked on his door and hesitated for a few seconds before knocking again. After realizing that he wasn't going to answer, I simply opened the door and walked in.
"Didn't your mother ever teach you that it's rude to enter someone's room without their permission?" Rebecca suddenly spoke, scaring the absolute shit out of me.
She lay, propped up on her elbows, eyes narrowed in annoyance.
The spot beside her was empty, leading me to believe that Kyle was in the bathroom.
"I'm sorry," I apologized flatly. "I didn't expect anyone to be in here since Mr. Rodriguez is usually out of his room by now."
Rebecca frowned, pursing her lips together to form a faux pout. "Well, he's a bit busy right now, so why don't you go ahead and get started on those bathrooms. M'kay, hon?"
The silence that settled over the room was deafening.
I inhaled deeply to prevent myself from lashing out at her before I slowly opened my mouth and said, "Well, can you tell him that I'm going out for a bit and that I'll be back before lunch?"
Rebecca assessed the design on her nails as she contemplated my request.
"Sure," she finally agreed. "Now get out."
The tone that she took when delivering this command left me itching to drag her across the floor by her extensions. I quickly suppressed the urge as I turned to exit the room.
The house was uncharacteristically quiet as I made my way downstairs to wait for Logan, and the lack of noise in the air made me somewhat sad. In the few short weeks that I've been working for Kyle, there has yet to be a day where Julianna isn't waiting for me with breakfast in the kitchen.
Today puts a dent in that pattern.
Julianna decided to take the day off since she figured that there would be enough leftover food to hold Kyle over until tomorrow. The only thing that we had run out of was pancakes, but Julianna was quick to tell Kyle that he could always fix himself a piece of toast, assuming he knew how.
Her joke didn't go over well with him.
With Kassandra still sound asleep upstairs, there was also a lack of warmth in the air. She's been sleeping in every day, and whenever someone tries to call her out on it, she hits them with the phrase: 'I have jet lag.'
Justin, on the other hand, left to go back to his apartment, since he quote, "felt as though he'd overstayed his welcome," even though Kyle told him that he could stay until Kass left.
After seeing the sad look on my face, he informed me that he would be back on Monday to carpool with Kyle to work and that he and I could go to dinner when they got back.
I've grown so used to them being around here that it's weird whenever they're not.
I was pulled from my thoughts after my phone buzzed in my hand, signaling Logan's arrival.
Upon slipping out of the house, I tugged my sunglasses down so they could rest comfortably over my eyes.
The sun glared down on my bare shoulders the minute I stepped off the porch, and the sensation brought a smile to my face.
Through my colored lenses, my eyes came to rest on the matte black Lamborghini that sat, idling in Kyle's curved driveway.
The windows surrounding the vehicle were tinted to match the all-black exterior, and I sent Logan a nod of approval as he was watching me through the windshield.
"You like?" he asked after I slid into the passenger's seat beside him.
"Are you kidding me?" I exclaimed while shutting the scissor-style door. "The color alone had me sold."
There will never be a time when black isn't my happy color.
Logan grinned at my response before he threw the car into drive and sped out of the driveway.
A hazy blur of green, blue, and tan hues raced past my window as Logan flew through Kyle's neighborhood at a dangerously high speed.
I shook my head at his antics.
Show off.
Logan passed me his phone, which he had already opened up to Spotify, and I swiftly typed in my song of choice. The surround sound speakers were louder than I expected them to be as the vibration from the bassline shook the walls of the car.
And I know she'll be the death of me, at least we'll both be numb
And she'll always get the best of me, the worst is yet to come
But at least we'll both be beautiful and stay forever young
This I know, yeah, this I know
The angelic sound that is The Weeknd's voice flowed freely out of Logan's window, giving everyone around us a taste of what we were listening to.
"She told me, don't worry about it!" I began to sing along with the track after Logan glanced over at me with a smirk. "She told me, don't worry no more!"
"We both know we can't go without it," Logan joined in on the next verse, surprising the hell out of me with his upward enthusiasm. "She told me you'll never be in love, oh, oh, woo!"
The smile on my face only grew wider as Logan and I both yelled out the chorus in perfect unison.
Our laughter soon spilled over into the streets as we continued to sing along to the song without a care in the world.
"Where are we going?" I finally thought to ask after we turned onto Santa Monica Boulevard.
We managed to sober up from our karaoke concert a few minutes ago, and I was left both out of breath and severely heated.
Logan, on the other hand, was left virtually untouched, his hair only being slightly messed up given that he had been shaking his head around to 'Burnin' Up' by the Jonas Brothers.
"Floria's Café," he replied shortly.
"Never heard of it," I hummed while turning to look out of the window.
We pulled into the parking lot of the café a few moments later, and I was surprised to see that the place was relatively small. The exterior of the building was quite retro, with the theme of the café being white and light blue.
Rows of flowers surrounded the front entrance, and their placement added to the overall aesthetic.
We pulled in behind the café before Logan put the gear in park and stepped out of the car.
"Thank you," I smiled up at him as he opened my door and helped me out of the vehicle.
He locked the Lambo behind us before he steered me towards the back entrance of the building. I positioned my shades back on top of my head while he reached around me to knock on the door.
A period of silence passed before a woman who was at least two inches shorter than me opened the door with her arm extended out to us.
"Come in, come in!" She waved us inside. "I was wondering when you two would show up! What, did you get lost on your way over here?"
Logan scrunched his face up as he reached down to hug the older woman.
"Please," he sassed, "I could make that drive in my sleep if I wanted to. Hell, I've probably done it a few times without even knowing it."
The woman whom I've rightfully assumed to be Floria shook her head at Logan's confession.
"You better watch it, boy," she warned him. "I might be old, but that doesn't mean that I can't still whip your behind with the strength of a twenty-five-year-old."
Logan was quick to release her from his hold, which caused me to burst out laughing. The look of fear on his face let me know that he's had his fair share of whoppings as a child, and the thought only made me laugh harder.
Floria patted his arm tenderly, her eyes glinting in amusement. "Good choice."
She then whirled around on her heel to acknowledge my presence. "Excuse his lack of manners, dear. Who might you be?"
Logan quickly wrapped his arm around my shoulder, pulling me into his side. "This is my new friend, Lilac."
"That's such a beautiful name!" Floria gushed, warming my heart with her infectious smile. "I'm Floria if you haven't already figured that out."
I smiled back at her. "Thank you! May I ask how you two know each other?"
The pair exchanged a smug look.
"She hired me when I was fourteen after my grandma insisted that she put me to work," Logan explained. "They've been best friends since the beginning of time, so you already know that they had plans to exploit their grandchildren from the get-go."
"Well, it was for the better, wasn't it? You became famous the second you turned sixteen and then proceeded to forgot all about me," Floria huffed while crossing her arms. "Remind me, who was it who helped you learn how to make some of your most famous dishes? I seem to have forgotten."
My mouth fell open at her strategic use of sass and class.
"I freaking love you," I professed at the same time that Logan said, "I've been busy!"
"Busy, my ass!" Floria snapped back in response to Logan's protest. "I just read an article about the trip that you took to Cancun last month."
Logan opened his mouth to say something, but he was quickly cut off by Floria's next statement.
"And don't even try and tell me that it was for work because there was a picture of you on a yacht with some half-naked girls at the bottom of the page," she said, shooting him a glare.
A wave of silence passed between us as Logan struggled to come up with a suitable response.
"Damn," I uttered without thinking. "She got your ass."
Logan narrowed his eyes at me. "You're supposed to be on my side!"
I held my hands up defensively. "How can I be when you've clearly been ghosting my sweet and sassy Floria."
Floria swept me into her side, grinning brightly. "I knew I liked you."
Logan merely rolled his eyes at us before he turned to leave out through the swinging doors. "Yeah, yeah. Can we eat now? I'm starving."
This time Floria and I were the ones to exchange a look.
"Men," we both sighed, shaking our heads in disappointment.
Floria then ushered me out of the kitchen before she instructed us to go and find a place to sit while she grabbed the food from the oven. Nobody paid us any attention as Logan led me to a booth at the back of the room.
"Doesn't anyone care who you are?" I voiced my concern aloud after we sat down on opposite sides of the table.
Logan reached down to toy with the menu in front of him. "Everyone here is a regular and has pretty much known me my entire life. They couldn't care less who I am."
I leaned forward to rest my elbows on top of the table.
"Do you ever miss it?" I found myself asking. "Not being a celebrity?"
Logan's piercing blue eyes bore into my own as he mirrored my actions.
"I do sometimes," he admitted truthfully. "I mostly just miss being able to go out in public, you know? Looking over my shoulder every five seconds for paparazzi or some crazy obsessed fan is the worst part about it to me."
I frowned at his admission. "And the parts you don't mind?"
He shot me a lopsided grin. "Being able to meet people like you."
If I wasn't sitting down already, I know for a fact that I'd be laid out on the ground right about now.
Before I could begin spilling my guts out to the boy seated across from me, Floria waltzed over to our booth with a platter of delicious-smelling food.
"What can I get you all to drink?" she asked after setting the platter down in front of us.
"Orange juice is fine," Logan and I found ourselves answering at the same time.
We spared a glance at each other as Floria raised a brow at us.
"Alrighty then," she laughed, winking at me discreetly. My cheeks flushed red at the implication behind her gesture.
"Ladies first," Logan declared while motioning for me to take my pick.
After taking a deep breath, I began to fill my plate with French toast, bacon, eggs, and a crap ton of fruit. Once I was satisfied with my portion, I nestled back into my seat.
"Are you sure you don't want to take some more? I know that some girls feel the need to limit themselves in front of a guy . . ."
I suppressed an eye roll at his suggestion. "Shut up before I take the whole platter."
Logan let out a small chuckle before he reached out to grab the food that I'd left him.
Floria returned with our drinks a few moments later, and she made sure that we were completely satisfied before she went off to take care of another customer.
The relaxed atmosphere of the café was quite surreal to me.
Customers stayed to themselves, conversing quietly with one another as they sipped their coffee. The distinct sound of forks scraping against the bottom of plates rang out in the air every so often, followed by a chorus of laughter from the people sitting diagonally to us.
In a way, it felt as though we were trapped in our own little bubble.
"You know, you're not nearly as bad as Kyle made you out to be."
The bit of orange juice that I'd just swallowed nearly came right back up at the abruptness of Logan's comment.
"Excuse me?" I said after I managed to recover from my coughing fit.
Logan's lips twisted into a smirk as he watched me struggle to piece together his words.
"Oh, you thought everything that Kyle told me about you was good?" he teased.
I began to push my watermelon around on my plate.
When Logan told me that he was already aware of my existence, I wasn't sure what to think. Kyle has made it increasingly clear that he is less than fond of me; however, it didn't occur to me that he might go out and relay his disdain to other people.
I knew for a fact that Logan was just messing with me, but that didn't stop me from asking, "What does he even have against me?"
A split second of silence passed on Logan's end and the delay in his response made me regret my decision in prolonging the subject.
"I'm sorry," I backtracked, tucking a strand of hair behind my ear. "I shouldn't have said anything—"
"Kyle doesn't know how to deal with his shit," Logan interrupted me in a steady tone of voice. "So don't take anything that he says to you personally because he doesn't mean it. He's just deflecting."
I frowned at this.
It sure as hell seems like he does.
My attention shifted down to my hand after Logan placed his on top of mine.
"Trust me," he insisted seriously. "Now, hurry up and finish because there's one more place that I want to take you before we head back."
My eyebrows shot up in surprise at the substantial amount of effort that he put into this outing.
He's already doing a better job than my exes, and I just met him yesterday.
We finished eating around thirty minutes later, and Logan wasted no time gathering up our trash so that we could bring it back to the kitchen.
Floria was in the middle of talking to one of the waitresses when we made our reappearance, and I watched as she turned to eye the plates in Logan's hand.
"Thanks, Tiffany," she said, finishing off the rest of her conversation before she turned her attention to us. "You kids could've left those at the table. I would've gotten 'em!"
Logan began to place the dishes that we'd used in the industrial-sized dishwasher beside us. "I figured that I owe you one since I haven't visited in a while."
Floria smacked her lips together in a way that left little room for Logan to make any objections. "You better not make that mistake again, ya hear?"
Logan flashed her a cheeky grin. "Loud and clear."
After shooting him one last glare, Floria took my hands into her own and gave me one last reassuring smile. "It was lovely meeting you, dear."
I squeezed her hands lightly. "You too. I'll definitely be back soon."
She made me swear on it before she marched over to Logan, grabbed the dish out of his hand, and pointed a bony finger at the back door.
"Get on outta here," she demanded playfully. "I'll let you off the hook this time."
Logan washed and dried his hands before he placed a kiss on Floria's cheek and gestured for me to head outside.
"Thank you for everything, Ria!" he yelled out over his shoulder. He held the door open for me as I turned to thank Floria for the meal.
We soon ventured off to the car, where Logan once again opened my door and helped me climb inside.
The routine that we followed on our way over to the café was instantly revived the second Logan started up the car, and when we finally pulled up to our next destination, it was nearing ten-thirty.
"You know, in all of my years of living here, I've never once been here before," I confessed.
Logan had taken me to see the Mattachine Steps, which appeared to be way more intimidating in person than they looked to be online.
"Well, I'm honored to be able to share this moment with you," he retorted while slipping on his Dolce and Gabbana sunglasses. "I figured that it wouldn't hurt for us to burn off the food we just ate."
I reached down to pull at the material of my sundress. "I wish I would've known this ahead of time. I would've worn something different."
Logan waved me off. "We'll take it one step at a time."
I felt my shoulders relax as he nodded his head towards the stairs. My steps were slow and steady to ensure that I didn't fall, which Logan found to be hilarious for some reason.
"I don't know why you're laughing," I told him seriously. "Because if I fall, I'm suing."
One look at my face was all it took for him to mask his laugh with a cough.
The sun beamed down on us as we climbed up the stairs, and I quickly reached up to tie my hair into a bun.
"What's your biggest fear?"
I peered over at Logan. "I beg your pardon?"
"Your biggest fear," he repeated. "What is it?"
My eyes zeroed in on the ground beneath my feet as I thought through his question.
What was my biggest fear?
Being buried alive? Dying at the hands of my spouse? Any insect bigger than the size of my nail?
"Not achieving the goals that I've set for myself," I found myself responding in the midst of all of the other potential answers that were running through my head.
Logan pondered my response for a moment before he asked a follow-up question. "And those would be?"
"God, you sound like my high school guidance counselor," I said, chuckling at the memory of my advisor, Mrs. Griffin, staring down at me with a stern expression on her face.
The unimpressed look that Logan sent my way was enough to make me continue talking.
The first words that came out of my mouth were: "I want to finish school."
Logan remained quiet at my side as he waited for me to finish elaborating on my hopes and dreams.
"Once I get my degree, I want to start my own business. Maybe a dance studio or a bakery? I haven't really figured that part out yet."
It's been a long time since I've thought about what I might want for myself in the future.
In a way, I've been avoiding the topic as a whole since Monica and Tyler made me feel as though there was no way I'd ever escape their confinements.
Thanks to this new job, though, things were finally starting to look up.
I felt the need to reverse the question back to Logan, so I did. "What about you? What is your biggest fear?"
A frown slipped onto my face when Logan stalled on the step below me for a minute, kicking around a pebble with his foot as he considered his response.
His reply only made my frown deepen. "Not being happy in the end."
We resumed our climb up the stairs after he sorted through his thoughts. "Whether it be with my job or my spouse, I just don't want to feel as though all of this was for nothing."
"Being famous, you mean?" I asked, seeking clarification.
He hesitated before nodding. "It could even go beyond that too. I guess what I'm trying to say is: I don't want to look back at my life and realize that nothing I did truly made me happy."
My heart sank even further when he added, "And I sure as hell don't want my status to be the only thing that I'm remembered for."
Although the sun was shining brightly overhead, it felt as though we had just walked underneath a shady tree. The topic of our conversation had taken a detour into no man's land as we were now openly discussing thoughts and ideas that I willfully kept locked away inside my head.
Being able to talk about it was nice, though. More especially since Logan is a stranger to me.
Something about him felt safe.
Like I could tell him everything that I was thinking without there being any fear of judgment.
"I take it that you and Kyle don't have these heart-to-heart conversations on the daily?" I joked in light of his confession.
Logan made a 'pfft' noise with his lips.
"Uhh, we totally do," he argued in a girly-pitched voice. "We hug our pillows and everything."
I reached out to shove his shoulder. "Shut up."
We had already made it about three-fourths of the way up, which is why I instantly grew suspicious when Logan glanced back at me with a wicked gleam in his eye.
Before I could even think to ask him what he was up to, he took off running up the rest of the stairs, leaving me to watch him from behind.
"Race you to the top!" he called out over his shoulder.
I scrambled to grab hold of my dress before I followed after him at a staggering speed.
"Cheater!" I shouted.
The sound of my labored breathing filled my ears as I struggled to keep up with him. He was already one set of steps away from reaching the top.
Up until that point, I had been watching the ground to make sure that I didn't miss a step, so when Logan suddenly swore out in exclamation, I lifted my head to see what was wrong.
"Turn around, turn around, turn around," he instructed, slurring his words together with how fast he was repeating them.
I stopped moving, my eyes widening in concern as I watched him bound back down the stairs in my direction.
"Paps," he practically spat the word at me. He grabbed my hand and tugged me along behind him.
Together we bounded down the steps without stopping, our speed much more urgent than it had been a minute prior.
I spared a glance behind me to see five or so men dressed in all black with their cameras aimed directly at us.
"How the hell did they find us?"
Sure Logan's car was highly inconspicuous, but given that we've only been to one other place, and the fact that it's barely even eleven o'clock in the morning, I didn't expect anyone to find us.
"It's their job," he huffed. "And they're damn good at it too."
My would-be response came out in the form of a scream after the front of my sandal folded over itself and nearly sent me flying down the stairs.
Logan released the hold that he had on my hand and immediately reached out to grab me by my waist.
He managed to stabilize me before I fell, and in the split second that we took to pause on the stairs, he reached out to cup my cheek.
His eyes searched my own as if he were looking to uncover something. "You okay?"
I blew out a breath, nodding my head slowly. And with that, we took off running again. We made it back to the street where Logan had parked the car, and he was quick to unlock the doors and slip inside.
The second he heard my door slam shut, he threw the car into drive and we sped off.
The only sound to be heard for the next couple of minutes was our excessive panting. I reached up to fan my face, prompting Logan to turn the AC on full blast.
"You're crazy as hell for going out without a bodyguard," I told him once I'd caught my breath.
He ran a hand through his hair, and the action resulted in his golden blonde strands going every which way. "Yeah, I never go out unless it's to the studio to film. It's been a while since I've done something like this."
"You just went to Cancun," I pointed out.
Logan's attention briefly shifted from the road as he turned to stick his tongue out at me. "Yeah, well, that was for vacation, and the culture is different over there."
I leaned my head back against the headrest. "You're unbelievable."
A moment of silence passed before we both started laughing. The adrenaline rush that we obtained left us feeling higher than the clouds, and we spent the next ten minutes goofing around.
The drive back to Kyle's ended up being slightly delayed, given that we were further out from where we started. When Logan finally pulled into the driveway, a feeling of sadness washed over me.
This excursion made me realize just how long it's been since I last went outside.
I've been so focused on completing my work these past few weeks that I've made little to no time for myself.
Hanging out with Logan gave me the opportunity to get out of the house, and now that it's over, I don't know what to do.
"I had fun today," I admitted while turning to peek over at Logan.
He was sitting with one hand resting on the steering wheel and the other positioned on his thigh.
He met my gaze a moment later, and a tiny dimple took form on his cheek as he grinned at me. "I'm glad."
The overwhelming urge to kiss him hit me at that moment, but I figured that it was way too soon for me to make a move like that. So, by way of compromise, I leaned over and kissed him on the cheek.
"If I fall asleep in the middle of cleaning, I'm putting all of the blame on you," I quipped while sliding out of the car.
Keeping my hand on top of the door, I leaned down so that we could still see each other.
"You're killing me, Reynolds," he groaned dramatically. "First, you threaten to sue my ass, and now you're talking about ratting me out to my best friend?"
He paused to create a moment of suspense. "I'm starting to think that you have it out for me."
I shook my head at him.
"Bye, Logan," I smiled while reaching out to shut the door.
His reply came in less than a second later. "Bye, Lilac."
I closed the door and headed up the driveway to stand on the porch. After typing the code into the keypad-protected door, I stepped inside the house.
This is the only time that I'll ever bask in the freezing temperature of this house.
I instantly set off to the kitchen to grab a bottle of water, and as I made my way down the hall, I couldn't help but laugh to myself.
I still can't believe that this is my life.
In no way would I have ever guessed that I'd be spending my Sunday morning with Logan Williams.
Yet here I am.
I set my phone down on the island when I walked past it to get to the fridge. After grabbing a bottle off the shelf, I closed the refrigerator door, wasting no time cracking the bottle open so I could take a disgustingly long sip.
I was so mesmerized by the coldness of my drink that I nearly did a spit take when someone suddenly spoke up from behind me.
"Where the hell have you been?"