Chapter 24

By the time I got home that evening, I couldn’t sit still. Maybe it was the fact that the rumors had somewhat escalated or it was fact that Logan had sort of broken up with me, but I felt restless. Should I have explained a bit more? What if I had actually made it seem like I was still in love with Trent that made him not believe me?

I knew I wasn’t a clingy type of girlfriend. Sure, I liked physical contact as much as the next person and I enjoyed the satisfaction that came with being in the moment with my boyfriend, but I wasn’t the type to nag or try to go out of my way to make sure I was heard or seen or anything like that. Things came and went and I adapted accordingly. It was probably the reason I was able to accept Trent leaving as easily as I did two years ago.

It had always been a blessing to me because moving on had been fairly easy.

But something told me it wouldn’t be the same with Logan. I cared about him way more than I did Trent and, even though it had only been a short while, losing him would completely shatter me.

Which was why I was currently standing outside his house, afraid to ring the doorbell. I sucked in a breath, running my hands down my bare arms in an up and down motion as I shivered from the cold, wondering why I’d worn a tank top instead of a sweater or long sleeve. Fear rang in my ears as loud voices; what if he turned me away? What if he decided he was completely done with me? What if the drama wasn’t worth it?

Turns out, I didn’t have to wait any longer because the door suddenly snapped open and Logan appeared in front of me. His brows scrunched up in confusion as he took the sight of me in. “What are you doing here?” Without giving me time to answer, his hand shot out to me and I grabbed it, letting him pull me into the house before shutting the door behind me.

Thankful for the reprieve from the outside chill, I basked in the heater that warmed up the house. “Thanks,” I murmured to him, holding his gaze. At least he hadn’t turned me away. Progress, I thought.

“Come on.” He gestured to me with a slight narrowing of his head and I followed him up the stairs and to his room. This was a walk we’d taken more than once, and I’d even seen his mom and sister once or twice. I didn’t miss the surprised stare they’d both given me the second time I was here, which somehow led me to believe he didn’t bring girls home frequently and even when he did, not for the second time.

Silently, I let him lead me into his massive bedroom and smiled in response when he egged me to sit on the foot of the bed. “Thanks.”

He plopped down next to me. “Are you alright? Do you need a sweater?”

I shook my head. “I’m alright. It’s better here.”

“Okay.” He smacked his lips. “Why’d you come?”

“I don’t have feelings for Trent.” I blurted out the words before I could change my mind. This was the problem with me, according to Aimee, even in our friendship. I was too closed up. She thought I needed to find a way to open up more and for some reason, I was about to take her advice. “I just wanted you to know that.”

Christ. Talking about one’s feelings was a difficult task. Was I supposed to look him in the eyes? I didn’t know how to, not right then. So, I focused my gaze on my intertwined fingers resting on my lap.

“Is that what you came all the way here to tell me?”

Sighing, I met his eyes, regretting it when I saw it was laced with humor. “Don’t fuck with me, Logan. I’m trying to be more open with you.”

“And I appreciate that,” he said, the intensity of his gaze burning a hole through me. “That’s all I want.”

It was? “Why didn’t you just say that?”

“Because I figured it would lead to an argument and I didn’t want to deal with that tension. You’re not exactly big on being told you’re wrong.”

“Yeah? Well, neither are you,” I sniped.

“See what I mean?”

I paused for a second and then smiled at his knowing look. “Alright, fine.” I acquiesced. “Listen, I just wanted to tell you that those rumors aren’t true whatsoever. Trent and I were over two years ago and there’s nothing between us and there never will be because I’m in l...”

For some reason, I stopped what I was going to say, wondering why. Then after a few heartbeats, my eyes widened in realization. Oh, my God. Was it really true?

One perfectly curved brow raised in speculation. “What? What were you about to say?”

All these while I had believed my feelings for Logan were mild. I’d tricked myself into thinking it was due to a biology response to having an attractive species of the opposite sex pay me attention. But it wasn’t.

“Lexi?”

Hearing him say my name only reinforced my discovery. Fucking hell, I’d gone and done it.

“I’m in love with you,” I whispered, my eyes instinctively closing, waiting for his mocking laugh to snap me out of it. When it didn’t come, I whispered again, “I love you, Logan Hernández.”

By the time I opened my eyes, I saw that his face was mask of shock. Flattering, as it took quite a lot to shock him. But when he didn’t say anything for a minute, I began to worry. “Logan, please say something or I’ll literally die of humiliation.”

Logan sucked in a deep breath, and I thought I vaguely saw his bottom lip quiver. His eyes closed for a few minutes and when he reopened them, there was a hunger in there that I’d never seen before. Reaching forward, he grabbed me firmly, pulling me close to his hard body. I yelped at the collision, then sighed when his lips connected with mine in a frenzy. Oh, how I loved kissing him. His lips were gentle as his hands cradled my face, his teeth grazing my bottom lip in a plea for entrance and I offered it willingly, because how could I not.

Our tongues met and gentleness flew out the window. Logan kissed me, tasted me like he would never taste anything ever again. My body was hot, so hot I thought I would pass out from overheating. I ran my hands down his body fervently while his hands left my face. One of them rested on my left breasts, giving it a little squeeze that caused me to gasp, giving his tongue more access to explore my mouth while the other travelled down my stomach to place itself on my core between my legs.

A bell rang at the back of my head and I ignored it, letting Logan touch me however he wanted because I wanted it too.

And so he did, his fingers taking me under and bringing me back up, his lips almost my undoing.

He only pulled away from me long enough to whisper against my lips, “I love you too, Lexi Hale and I have loved you since before I knew what love was.”