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Logan woke to sunlight pouring into his bedroom and an empty spot beside him in bed. Melanie had stayed over after they’d left the bar but being that it was Saturday, he knew that she had classes to teach that morning. Picking up his phone, he saw that it was only seven and since her first class wasn’t until nine, she should still be there. Pulling on shorts, he shuffled into his living room and found her on the couch, sipping coffee and reading a magazine.
“Morning,” he said, stifling a yawn.
“Hey.” She turned her head and looked up at him. “I thought you’d sleep in.”
“My body missed yours.” It was the truth. Even in his sleep, he knew if she moved or got up. He poured himself a cup of coffee and joined her on the couch. “Why are you up so early?”
“Just habit, I guess.”
They sipped their coffee in silence just enjoying each other’s company. This was his favorite part of being with Melanie, well aside from the sex. They knew each other so well that they could just sit without talking. It wasn’t ever weird or awkward.
It was comfortable.
When she got up to refill her coffee, he asked, “What are your plans after work?”
“I don’t think anything.”
“Wanna hit the festival tonight?” Cedarville was always having some kind of festival during the summer months and tonight was a one day only, Midsummer Festival. They did it every year on the Saturday of the weekend that was right at the midpoint of the season.
“Oh, I’d forgotten about that.” She poured her coffee and rejoined him on the couch. “Will you buy me cotton candy?”
“I’ll buy you anything you want.” He kissed her nose.
Again they sat in silence until she got up to get ready for work. When she left, he was alone. Something that he used to love. Being alone gave him time to think and just be. But now that he had Melanie, being alone meant he was lonely. He missed her even when she was only gone for a few hours.
Deciding he needed to stop wallowing in the self-pity of missing his girlfriend, he got up and went to his office. He had a ton to do in order to get his gallery up and running and today would be a great day to dive in.
He would be talking to his mom tomorrow about all her ideas and suggestions and it would be good if he came with ideas of his own. He tried to remember all of the galleries he’d ever been in and what he liked and disliked about them all.
The one thing he didn’t want was for it to be stuffy. He wanted everyone to feel comfortable there. Not just the rich and famous or the lovers of art. He was a firm believer that everyone loved some kind of art and he wanted to cater to that crowd.
He spent hours drawing up what was in his head and while his talent didn’t lean toward drawing, he could do enough to get by and see a vision. After that, he sent emails to several of his friends and contacts to see who might be interested in loaning out pieces. He had planned to do that the day he’d walked into his house and found Melanie naked in his bed. But some things are more important than emails and phone calls.
And a naked Melanie was at the top of that list.
Hearing knocking from the front of his house, he went to see who was at his door.
“Tony,” he said when he opened the door. “What brings you by?”
“I-” he shook his head, “I’m not entirely sure.”
Logan stepped back, opening the door wider for his friend to walk in. “Let’s go to the kitchen and sit.” He shut the door and followed his friend to his kitchen. Tony sat down at the counter and Logan pulled two bottles of water from his fridge.
Setting one down in front of Tony, he leaned his hip against the counter. “Would this have anything to do with Carly?” Logan figured he might as well, get everything out in the open.
“I’m guessing Melanie told you, right?” He twisted the bottle of water nervously in his hands.
“Do you think I have a problem with you liking Carly?”
“Don’t you? I mean, she should have been off-limits seeing as how she’s your cousin.”
“That’s a stupid fucking rule and it only applies to sisters.”
“So you don’t care. At all?”
He sighed and opened his own water to take a drink. “Tony, you have been my friend for years and I know you. You are not a player, never have been. If you like Carly, I trust that you won’t hurt her.”
“Fuck!” he swore. “This has gotten totally out of hand. I feel like a pussy-whipped fool and she’s not even mine yet.”
Logan knew exactly how he felt. “The right woman will do that to you.”
“I don’t know how to do this. I’m not this guy.”
“What guy? A guy who cares for a woman so much that he can’t stop thinking about her? What’s wrong with that guy?”
“Nothing, I’ve just never done this.”
“I have news for you...most people who fall in love have never done it before. We are all beginners. I know I was.”
“But you had Melanie and you knew how she felt about you. I have no idea what is going on in Carly’s head ninety percent of the time.”
“You’re joking, right? I had no fucking clue that Melanie had feelings for me. Not until she went bat shit crazy and got all mad at me for leaving town. But even without her doing that, I would have confessed how I felt. I didn’t have a choice.”
Tony dropped his head into his hands and groaned in frustration. “Last night, I thought maybe things were at a tipping point. She asked me to dance and was acting all into me and then whack,” he slapped his hands together, “she tells me to fuck off and leave her alone.”
Logan tried to stifle his laugh but it was useless. “That sounds like her.”
“I’m glad my pain amuses you.” Tony stood and paced in the kitchen. “What do I do?”
“Fuck if I know,” Logan said and then thought of something. “I will say though, that I have never seen her act like she acts around you. And if I had to guess, that’s because she likes you.”
“So I guess I’m gonna have to man up and talk to her.”
“Probably a good idea.”
“You really don’t care?” His face held confusion.
“I look at it this way, if you guys were to get together, I wouldn’t have to pretend to like some douchebag that she was dating.”
“I’ll get out of your hair. Thanks for letting me rant.”
“Actually, I wonder if you would want to come check out the building I’m buying for my gallery? I’d love to get your take.” While Tony was in the security business now, through high school and college he’d worked for a contractor remodeling houses. His opinion would be one that Logan would value.
“Sure,” he said and they headed out the door.
––––––––
A little after six, he went by and picked up Melanie for the festival. The weather was hot and muggy, and her outfit said as much. It was a short – a very short – sundress with thin straps and there were flip flops on her feet.
“You ready,” he said lingering against her lips after he’d kissed her. Her hair was pulled up high and there were a few stray strands hanging down that he pushed behind her ear.
She cringed and whispered, “Are you okay if Carly comes with us? She’ll meet up with friends and won’t be with us the whole time.”
“It’s totally fine.”
She kissed him making an exaggerated smack sound. “You’re the best.” She turned her head and shouted, “Carly, come on, let’s go!”
Carly came barrelling down the stairs. “I appreciate this, guys. I hate being a third wheel.”
“Carly, you are always welcome to come with us and hang with us.”
“Umm, hello,” Melanie said, hands on her hips staring at him, “She is not ALWAYS welcome to join us. I certainly do not want her there when we are having sex.”
“You knew what I meant, dummy.” He pinched her arm.
“Please, like I’d even want to be in the room when you have sex,” Carly said. “Gross.”
Logan laughed as they walked out to his Jeep. “Ahh, come on, I know you guys spied on me and Bran when you were kids.
Melanie and Carly glanced at each other. “How do you know that,” Melanie asked.
“We caught you once when you followed us down to the lake.” He pulled out onto the street and drove toward town.
“You did not!” Carly screamed. “When?”
“I don’t remember. You were maybe thirteen or fourteen and Bran and I were in high school and had dates. The plan was to take them to the edge of the lake to make out, but when we caught you following us, we changed the plans.”
“How do I not remember this?” Melanie looked in the backseat at Carly.
“Don’t look at me, I don’t remember either.”
Finding a parking spot, the three of them got out with Carly jetting off to talk to a friend and him and Melanie almost immediately running into Melanie’s parents.
“Mom, dad, I didn’t know you would be here?”
“Maybe if you checked in more, you would have.” Her dad raised his eyebrow at her.
“Dad, don’t start,” Melanie said.
Extending his hand, Logan greeted him. “Dan, it’s good to see you.”
“I see town gossip was correct this time.”
Logan eyed Melanie. “You didn’t tell your parents we were dating?’
She chewed her nails. “I kinda forgot.
“I think it’s great,” Christine, her mom, put in. “Even if I had to find out at the pharmacy.”
“I really am sorry,” she said and cringed. “I meant to tell you but I’ve just been so busy.”
“We’ll let you guys go have fun and maybe we can all have dinner this week,” Dan said.
“You bet,” Logan said. He steered Melanie away. “I can’t believe you didn’t tell them.”
“It’s not like I talk to them every day.”
They kept walking and when they passed by the building that would soon be his gallery, he had an idea.
Pulling the keys from his pocket, he unlocked the front door.
“What are we doing here? I thought you were going to feed me?”
Locking the door behind them he walked her deeper into the darkness of the room. “I’ll feed you, but first, I think you need a little punishment.” She must have seen the gleam in his eye and heard the playfulness of his voice.
“Oh yeah.” She ran her hand down the front of his shirt. “Have I been bad?”
“Very, very bad.” He turned them so that they were hidden behind a wall.
“Then by all means, teach me a lesson.”
He loved that she was right on board with him in whatever he was thinking. Even if that meant having sex in a building mere feet away from where half the town was walking.
Was there anything hotter?
Running a hand up her smooth legs, he pushed her sundress up. When his hand moved to her ass and he encountered a firm cheek where material should be, he stilled. “Are you commando?”
“Oops,” she said. “I guess I forgot to put on underwear when I got dressed.”
“You’re gonna be the fucking death of me, woman.” Together they became frantic. Her hands were at his shorts, unzipping and pushing them down, and he was busy, suckling her neck as he pulled a condom from his pocket.
“Hurry,” she panted in his ear.
He rolled the condom on and with one thrust, entered her.
“Holy hell,” she said and gripped his shoulders.
Without being told, she lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist. He had her pressed up against the wall to help support both of them.
“Hold on tight,” he told her and began to move. His body was craving hers and there was no way in hell he could take this slow. Every push seemed to give him more momentum until he was moving at a pace that was beyond him. It was like he was having an out of body experience. He took in her expression and her breathing, loving that she seemed to have as much need for him as she did for her.
And when he could hold back no more, he was rewarded with her pulsing around him and screaming from the top of her lungs. As his own release practically blinded him, he covered her mouth with his to keep her quiet.
They kissed and kissed and kissed. It seemed that neither one wanted to stop or let the other one go. But Logan knew that he needed to pull out and get rid of the condom so reluctantly, he stepped back.
Discarding the condom, he pulled his shorts back up and tucked himself back inside.
“I noticed that I wasn’t the only one going commando,” Melanie said as she tugged her dress down.
“Laundry crisis.”
She looked mussed and thoroughly ravished and there was no way that anyone that saw her wouldn’t be able to tell. And he loved it. It was a little caveman but he loved the idea of everyone knowing that she was his.
“We should probably get back out there before Carly sends out a search party.” She wiped her face. “Do I look okay?”
He took a step toward her. “You look like I just fucked you against a wall.”
She smiled and ran her fingers through his hair. “Since you look the same, I won’t have to worry about all the barely legal girls hitting on you.”
Melanie, it seemed, had a little bit of cavewoman in herself. And that made Logan want to push her back up against the wall and fuck her again.
But he’d save that for later. When they were completely alone and could make all the noise they wanted.