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“Why the long face, sugar?” she’d asked me once after I came home from school with a scowl lining my features.
Junior year had been a bust, thus far. I’d been picked on by my peers and I finally got up the nerve to ask Kyle Dawson if he wanted to come hang out and watch movies. It had taken all three years of high school for me to talk myself into finally asking him, thinking that it wouldn’t matter if he said yes or no. That I wouldn’t care.
Only I did care.
Because when I’d asked Kyle if he wanted to come over, his response was to laugh. Hard. He laughed until his cheeks were red and then asked me if I was serious. I was confused because of course I was serious, why wouldn’t I be? But I didn’t have time to tell him that I didn’t understand because he was murmuring to his friends, already onto something else.
As I’d stood in front of his desk, awkwardly holding my books, he looked up at me again and rolled his eyes. “Obviously, the answer is fuck no.”
I’d promptly burst into tears as Gran scrutinized me, walking around the dining room table of our small home and wrapping me up in a hug. I was so mortified at the way he’d turned me down. How was I supposed to show my face in school again knowing that he’d probably told everyone about the creepy animal girl asking him out?
“I feel so stupid.” I’d sniffled into her cashmere sweater.
“No, no! Why do you feel stupid?”
“Because, Gran! I asked him to hang out and he laughed at me,” I wailed.
She’d led me to the couch and sat me down, patting my knee and looking at me with green eyes that were just like mine. Wiping my tears with gentle, motherly affection, I’d watched as she shook her head, a small smile gracing her heart shaped face.
“Honey,” she’d said after a few minutes. “I’m going to tell you something and I want you to listen to me. There’s going to come a time in your life where you find someone that fits. Maybe they fit like a puzzle piece, or maybe they’re the missing ingredient for whatever you’re missing in life. It isn’t going to happen in high school, it may not even happen in college. But when it happens, Juliette? You’ll know. You’ll feel it. Being with someone is not the be all end all and it’s not a privilege. It’s work. It’s constantly working on yourself and working on your relationship. Good things never come easy, honey. But the good things are so worth it.”
My eyes teared up at the memory and I pressed my fists against them, pulling in a shaky breath before exhaling slowly. My eyes landed on Logan’s house with that blood red front door, and the overhead light flicked on. I watched as the door opened and he appeared, leaning against the doorframe with his hands in the pockets of his faded jeans. He was looking toward the parking lot and when he spotted me in my car he lifted his hand in a wave, a smile lighting up his handsome face.
I was instantly filled with a sense of peace knowing that I was about to spend the night with him. I was safe, I had my dog, and Logan was waiting at the door with a smile on his face. Gran’s words replayed in my head again.
Good things never come easy, honey. But the good things are so worth it.
Chapter 14
C hristmas was one week away and I was enjoying a peaceful, quiet day off for the first time in close to a month. Not that I was complaining, my days off had been filled with hot sex and adventures with Logan and the dogs. But I had to admit that it was nice to enjoy the peace and quiet that I’d forgotten about.
Logan had left for a job before I even woke up this morning, and when I went downstairs there was a fresh pot of coffee and a note leaning up against the red mug that I had dubbed as mine since I started staying at his place.
J,
Sorry I left so early this morning. I would have woken you, but you were sprawled across the bed and snoring. Plus, you’re kinda mean when you get woken up. Anyway, the dogs have already been out and I made the coffee extra strong for you. Don’t bother cooking anything, I haven’t gone food shopping. But there are plenty of takeout menus in the drawer next to the fridge. I shouldn’t be too late, but just in case I am, feel free to lock the door and sleep naked so I can wake you up as soon as I’m home. Can’t wait to feel those legs wrapped around me again. Enjoy your day, babe.
Logan
HE DIDN’T HAVE to leave me a note, but it was pretty damn sweet that he did. I’d quickly folded it up and then tucked it into my purse before taking a large mug of coffee back upstairs with me.
I’d gone back to sleep.
I’d taken the dogs on a nice, long walk in the brisk December air.
I’d even eaten half my weight in spicy salmon rolls from a new sushi bar in town.
Now, it was mid afternoon and I was enjoying a nice bubble bath in Logan’s master bathroom with rose scented soap engulfing me. Damn, I was glad I’d invested in a nice bathroom set because who didn’t want to smell like a rose garden? The water was warm and steam rose as I leaned back, a glass of red wine resting on the small wooden ledge that surrounded the large tub. My hair was piled high on my head and I felt relaxed, so relaxed as my eyes drifted shut.
I hadn’t heard from Logan yet and I hated the fact that I was just a little worried about him. This is what he does for a living, he’s fine.
I cleared my throat and tried my best to clear my head, focusing on the rhythmic tap tap tapping of the water that dripped out of the faucet every few seconds. Indulging in my wine, I took a few hearty gulps, loving the flavors of plum and cherry that coated my tongue.
“I love wine.”
I couldn’t remember the last time I’d been drunk, but that wasn’t something I ever really had a good time with anyway. I didn’t try any type of alcohol until my first year of college and even then it had been cheap, birthday cake flavored vodka and I’d spent the early morning hours hunched over the toilet and puking up everything in my system. I was sure an organ had come up too, as I vowed to never drink that much again.
But that’s what everyone says until the next time.
