Chapter 5
FIVE
Logan
The drive to my house is not long, but it sure is tense.
Elizabeth seems apprehensive, and every time I look at her, she gives me this worried smile that I really don’t like.
She wasn’t like this when I first caught up with her in the parking lot at the pub, but after that kiss, it’s like a switch got flipped.
Truth is, I am nervous as well. I don’t feel like myself. I told her to come with me because I didn’t want to risk anyone seeing us like that in the parking lot. I’ve had enough of being found out in public to last me a lifetime.
With all these thoughts swirling through my mind, I almost miss the turn to the subdivision I live in. My house is in a cul-de-sac, right at the end, a little tucked away from everyone else, just the perfect location.
“This is it?” Elizabeth asks when I park in the driveway.
I take a moment to stare at her delicate profile. She looks even more beautiful than I was remembering from before. She turns her head to look at me when I take too long to answer.
“Home, sweet home,” I confirm. I pop the door open, ready to exit the truck. “I’ll give you the tour.”
I rush around to her side, grinning from ear to ear when I find her waiting for me to open her door, sitting there like the princess that she is. With a flourish, I pull on the handle and open the door all the way, only to find her looking terrified.
“What’s wrong?” I try to glance around her, but I don’t see what could be distressing her in such a way.
“Nothing,” she mumbles. “I think.”
She turns sideways in the seat and allows me to help her down, with her hands clenching into my shirt for a brief moment before I have her standing on the hard surface of the driveway.
“This is really nice, Logan,” she tells me when we walk to the front door.
My fingers fly over the keypad where I enter the code that unlocks it, allowing us to walk in.
When I hear the click signaling just that, I push the door open, then press a gentle hand to Elizabeth’s back, propelling her forward.
She takes a few steps before stopping, never passing the foyer. I follow suit, and the door clicks closed behind me. The sound echoes all around us. Her shoulders seem tense now while her hands are balled into tight fists. She stares around for a while before turning to look at me.
“I’m ready to talk.”
Her voice is small, almost a whisper. I furrow my brow at her anxious expression, especially when she bites her lower lip, her eyes darting around the room.
“Elizabeth, it’s not what I think you’re thinking,” I chuckle. “I think.”
I take a step closer and force a reassuring smile, feeding off her nervous energy. I place a comforting hand on her arm.
“Let’s sit down.”
I take her hand into mine and lead us both toward the large living room. She squeezes my hand back, but it’s more like a nervous tic rather than because she’s feeling me.
“I’m sorry for being so jumpy,” she says when we stop in front of the couch.
I shake my head. “No need to apologize. I’m all over the place.”
A smile forms on her lush lips. “You and me both.”
“I messed up back at the pub,” I tell her, trying to keep my voice as soft as possible. The smile dies on her lips.
She nods, glancing around once again. “I put you on the spot. I get it.”
Without another word, I guide her to sit down on the couch. She perches on the edge, still holding onto my hand as if it’s a lifeline. I drop beside her, our knees almost touching.
“I think I gave you the wrong impression,” I say softly, trying to catch her gaze. She avoids me for a few seconds, but when her eyes finally meet mine, I can see the turmoil brewing within them.
“I really wanted to surprise you,” she repeats what she told me before. “And I feel like it backfired. I wasn’t prepared for everyone to notice us talking. And I thought you’d be really happy to see me.”
She sighs and looks away, then brings her eyes back to mine.
“Now I am panicking a little,” she continues. “I think I made a rash decision. Just a phone call to you would’ve sufficed.”
I take a deep breath in and decide to be honest. “I panicked, too. Mostly for the same reasons you mentioned. Except for the one where you think I’m not happy to see you. I am so happy.”
Her shoulders sag in relief as if she’s been holding her breath this entire time. “I was worried you were upset with me.”
I shake my head firmly. “I am not upset with you at all.”
Her grip on my hand tightens, this time with a touch of warmth. “Thank God for that.”
She leans back into the couch, her tension obviously easing with each passing second. For the first time since we ran into each other earlier, I see a glimmer of calm in her eyes.
We sit in comfortable silence for a moment, our hands still entwined.
“I have so many questions about how you ended up here,” I tell her. “And we need to talk about a lot of other things, too.”
At first, her face freezes in a mask of worry. “You don’t want me here? I shouldn’t have assumed…”
“No,” I stop her. “I still…”
I am about to tell her that I still love her, which is not a lie. But maybe we jumped the gun before, and we should take it a lot slower this time around, depending on what her plans for the future are.
“Tell me how you ended up here,” I prompt her.
She nods, her eyes softening as she continues staring at me.
“I missed you so much.” Her voice is a tad shaky. “My father blocked your number with the phone carrier, so none of your calls to me would go through.” She pauses for a second. “Assuming you were calling…”
“Fuck yeah, I called.” The words burst from my lips. “And ever since I left, I’ve been torturing myself with the thought that maybe I didn’t try hard enough to get a hold of you.”
Elizabeth turns sideways on the couch. She lets go of my hand and places it on my thigh.
“He blocked me from calling you as well,” she says. “I was only getting your voicemail.”
I shake my head, amazed at the length her father went through to keep us apart.
“That’s fucked up.”
She laughs softly, the sound soothing my soul in ways I hadn’t realized I was missing.
“It is fucked up,” she agrees. “I can’t believe he did all that. I can’t believe he traded you. I cried so much when I heard.”
She presses both hands to her face in an effort to calm down.
“I was so angry, and we fought a lot. I cut all contact with him before moving here.”
My eyebrows raise in surprise at hearing that. But I am more shocked by the resolution in her voice. It’s as if she really means everything that she’s telling me. I don’t see what reason she’d have to lie to me about it.
“How did you get the job with the Aces?” I remember her going to school, but I thought it was for a degree in arts.
“My friend, Mona, helped me,” Elizabeth explains. “She and I took this course a couple of years ago, and I got certified to be a nutritionist.”
“That’s real?” The surprise in my voice is obvious, making her laugh.
“I should probably be offended that you think so little of me, but I surprised myself with that one, too. In fact, I had forgotten I even had that certification until Mona reminded me of it.”
I laugh with her, but I still have questions.
“So you just called the Aces, and they hired you? Just like that?”
She gives me a coy look. “I used some connections from the Sliders. They helped me with getting this job.”
I put up my fist for her to bump. “Smart girl.”
The more I stare at her face, I realize that I don’t want to talk anymore. I want to kiss her, and I want to get her naked. Talking seems overrated, while it’s also very needed. It is a conundrum I did not expect to have to deal with tonight.
Settling more into the couch, I drop my face in my hands. I rub them up and down my cheeks before I stick them into my hair and sigh. The tension in my shoulders seems to be melting with each passing second. The silence between us is not heavy, although, I can feel her unspoken fears.
After a few moments, she begins sharing the rest of her story with me.
“I probably should’ve tried a little harder to get a hold of you. But once the wheels were in motion, I had to act fast. Between finding a place to stay and making sure I could actually afford to be on my own, my head was spinning.”
I listen intently, my heart squeezing when I hear the emotion in her voice. I can tell she was really scared.
“I told myself that all I had to do was come here,” she continues. “That you’d be incredibly happy to see me again, and that we’d…” She hesitates for a second. “That we’d continue from where we left off.”
I turn my head to look at her, noticing the way her eyes glisten with unshed tears.
“I really missed you, Lo,” she whispers. “I couldn’t wait to see you again.”
As I swallow around the lump in my throat, I’m silent for a moment, absorbing her words and everything about her.
“I thought about you, too,” I tell her. “Every single day.”
She lets out a long shuddering sigh. “I never took into consideration the fact that you may have moved on…”
I grab her hand and shake my head. “There was no way for me to move on, Lizzie. You’ve been a constant in my head.”
Her lips tremble when she gives me a smile. “So… are you happy that I came?”
I realize that I can’t stand not having her in my arms anymore. I pull her into me, our faces almost crashing into each other.
“If I don’t kiss you again, I might explode,” I whisper against her lips. The grin she gives me in return tells me that she feels the same.
Without warning, I stand up from the couch before bending back down to pick her up. She is so light, I feel like I could toss her up in the air and catch her without dropping her. She giggles when I throw her over my shoulder and start walking toward where the bedrooms are.
“Please don’t drop me, Lo,” she begs, but she doesn’t sound too concerned about it at all.