Chance, page 3
Logan seemed unperturbed by her candor. He merely chuckled and replied amiably that what she wanted was fine. Throughout the course of the evening, as more wine flowed and more amusing and entertaining conversation passed between them, Charlotte began to warm to Logan. She had to admit, he was sexy—in a very masculine way.
Initially, she’d thought he wasn’t her type. The night she'd met him, he rubbed her the wrong way. He came across as arrogant and brash. It had also bothered her that it seemed as if he was expecting something in return for when he'd intervened on her behalf on that fateful night outside of The Red Door.
However, now that they'd spent more time together, she was seeing him in a new light. There was a whole different side to him she wouldn't have guessed existed. She liked him. He was charming and attentive. He was fun to be with and his warm nature and compliments were disarming.
Of course, although she didn't want to admit it to herself, there'd been something intriguing about him from the beginning. She remembered how he kept creeping back into her thoughts, despite her reluctance. She recalled the events of the first night they’d met. She thought about his confidence and bravery as well as his impressive, imposing nature that had somehow drawn her to him without her even realizing it. The more she looked at him and spoke to him, the more she felt her attraction for him growing. She realized he was her type. He had it all: strength, maturity and control.
Those were all features on her mental checklist; the features she looked for in a man. He had the attributes she found most attractive. He was also older than she was, by twelve years. That was a good age difference. Not too vast that people might think he was her father or a pervert. She definitely preferred older men.
Then there were his aesthetic features. He was rather good looking, an understatement. He'd always been handsome in her eyes, but she found the more time they spent together, the more attractive he'd become. By the end of dinner, he was completely gorgeous and sexy to her.
The way he acted contributed to his attractiveness. He was so suave. The deep blue pools of his eyes served as a place in which she'd lose herself. His charm and charisma were breaking down her defenses a bit more every time she looked at him. It could've been the wine, but she found herself increasingly wanting to run her fingers through his soft looking hair. The more time she spent with him, the more she found inappropriate and slightly alarming thoughts running through her mind, often involving them naked.
Their meal had been very pleasant without any major developments in their friendship—or relationship. Any way she looked at it, she'd had a good time, good enough to do it again. Of course, Logan asked her, he always asked her out. He was persistent and relentless in his pursuit of her affections. His tactic was beginning to win her over, bit by bit.
Surprisingly and refreshingly, although Charlotte gave him some clear signals, he was a pure gentleman when he dropped her off at home after their date. He walked her up to her front door. When they said goodbye, he leaned down over her and deftly avoided her proffered lips. He lightly brushed her cheek with his lips instead.
Charlotte was stunned, realizing this had been the first date she'd been on in her life, where the guy hadn’t at least tried to get to first base. Usually, they tried to get much farther.
She also realized she rarely, if ever, wanted to go as far with a guy on a first date. She wanted Logan.
Chapter 3
For their next date, Logan took Charlotte to the park. They went for a lovely walk and a picnic. They had a nice time together. Things were easy between them. They laughed, flirted and spoke freely, genuinely appreciating each other. Although they shared a definite spark of physical attraction, neither one of them acted on it. Much to Charlotte's surprise and frustration, they remained friends…but with a strong underlying physical current between them.
Later that week, they enjoyed a movie at the cinema, leaning into each other and sharing popcorn and drinks. He took her out for another meal. On one special evening, he took her out to three different places. They had drinks together, a wonderful meal in a fancy restaurant and then expensive cocktails in a ritzy bar.
Much to her dismay, Logan was a perfect gentleman, every time. In less than two weeks, they’d been on five dates. Well, Charlotte considered their outings to be dates. She wasn't sure if Logan did. However, throughout all of their time together, he hadn’t even attempted to kiss her on the lips. She wished he would. She really wanted to kiss him.
Charlotte wondered if Logan was holding back advances because of her telling him she didn't want any relationship when they'd first began spending time together. It seemed very respectful, if not frustrating, of him. However, she'd been going out of her way since that night, to give him all kinds of signals she wanted more from their relationship. She was getting bolder over time, flirting with him almost shamelessly.
Logan had always paid for everything they did together. He insisted on it. Charlotte was fine with him paying, at first. However, eventually, that started to make her feel uncomfortable and self-conscious. It seemed unfair to her, as if she was taking advantage of him. He often took her to expensive places, always of his choosing, of course. She began to feel as though she should order only the most reasonable things possible. Otherwise, she'd feel as if she were taking advantage of his generosity. She eventually decided to take matters into her own hands.
“I’m taking you out this time,” she said to him over the phone.
Charlotte was still at Nyland's when he called her to arrange picking her up outside her office for coffee at the end of her day.
“No, no, don’t be silly, Charlotte. I insist on paying,” Logan responded.
“At least let me pay for the coffee,” she objected. “Really…I mean, it’s only coffee. It’s not as if it’s going to break the bank or anything. I can afford it.”
“I couldn’t possibly allow you to pay,” he continued to say, dismissing the idea.
“Please, Logan. It's important to me,” she said, quite firmly this time. There was a significant pause over the other end of the phone.
“You’re very kind,” he said eventually, his voice quiet. “I don’t deserve you.”
She gave a surprised, little laugh. “Logan, it’s only coffee.”
This time, however, it turned out it wasn’t ‘only’ coffee. After enjoying some time in a local coffee house, they took a walk—hand in hand—to an apartment where an associate of Logan’s lived. There, they picked up Max. Logan said he was helping his associate with his dog, as he does on occasion. Max needed a good run.
Naturally, Charlotte suggested they take him to the park. Once they’d arrived in a large meadow with nobody else around, Logan let Max off his leash. He ran off barking and jumping, probably after a squirrel or rabbit. Max was good for that.
“Will he be OK?” Charlotte asked with a little chuckle. “He’s not going to just… disappear or anything, right?”
“Oh, no. He'll be fine. He's just enjoying himself. You're very sweet,” Logan smiled, sliding his arm around her waist.
She tensed ever so slightly and then relaxed into him. Despite all of the time they'd spent together, they’d had very little actual physical contact, with the exception of holding hands and the occasional brief embrace to say goodbye when they parted company. In reality, having his arm around her was like a hug. She turned her head to smile up at him. He was a good four inches taller than she was. She liked tall men. Charlotte wrapped her arm around his waist in return, slowly cuddling into his warmth, against the bitter wind of the early evening.
“Kiss me,” he said quietly. It was so quiet, that at first she barely heard him. She wasn’t even sure she’d caught the words correctly. Then he said it again, louder and clearer. “Kiss me. All of this time, we’ve been dating; you haven’t kissed me. I’m starting to think that you don’t like me that way, at all.”
“Of course, I like you,” she scrunched up her nose, giving him a weird look. “Why would I spend all of this time with you if I didn’t, silly?”
“Don’t call me 'silly,'” he mumbled, and then gave her a squeeze. “Why haven’t you kissed me, then?”
Charlotte couldn’t really answer that question. In truth, she’d thought about kissing him once or twice after their first dinner date, but she'd been waiting for him to kiss her. She'd always thought they were just taking things slowly. She'd assumed that was what he wanted.
She was definitely enjoying their friendly and romantic activities together, and had finally admitted to herself she liked him, as more than a friend. She'd realized whatever they had together was going to go further…much further, if she had any say about it. Therefore, she’d been quite happy to maintain the status quo and to enjoy simply being with him without feeling the need to rush things. However, she did want more.
“Well, I just…I don’t know…” She didn't feel comfortable launching into any big, long explanation about her thoughts and feelings for him. It would be way too embarrassing for her. It had been difficult enough for her to admit to herself she'd wanted more than mere friendship with him.
However, he sounded as if he wanted an answer from her. Therefore, she tried for an abbreviated version, something quick and simple that said pretty much what she'd been thinking.
“I guess, I just thought we were taking things slowly,” she finally said, “Oh, and isn't it the guys who are supposed to make the first move and kiss the girls?”
She said the last part teasingly, of course. She didn’t actually mean it. Luckily, these days, it could go either way. Anyone could kiss anyone. The old-fashioned, sexist societal rules and traditions that people had to follow, once upon a time, were no longer followed.
“Yes,” he chuckled. “Yes, they are. And I will.”
He dropped his arm from around her waist then and turned to face her. He looked into her eyes with an intensity that surprised her and seemed to cause butterflies in her stomach. Suddenly, Charlotte's desire to kiss him was overwhelming as she quickly licked her lips. She watched him intently as he closed the distance between their mouths, finally making the first move.
Logan bent slightly over her, tilting his head to one side and very slowly pressed his lips against hers. Her eyes immediately closed, her head moved ever so slightly to tilt in the opposite direction and her mouth parted to accept his kiss. She leaned into it. They kissed for a few moments and then his tongue slipped into her mouth and darted across hers, almost teasingly. Charlotte began to lean farther into him, to deepen the kiss.
He pulled back and broke their embrace, smiling down at her.
“Well…I’d say that was a successful first kiss,” he remarked, standing up straight again and putting his arm around her once more.
“Y-yes,” Charlotte stammered, her mind was reeling, her breath was coming more quickly and her heart was thumping with the thrill of it. She felt a little giddy, even a bit unsteady on her feet. She couldn’t remember the last time anyone had such a strong effect on her, especially from one simple kiss. She'd rather enjoyed it and she wanted more.
“Max!” Logan called his dog, who immediately came darting back to them, tail wagging enthusiastically. “Come on, Max…hurry up,” he chastised him fondly as he reattached the leash.
“I've got to walk my girl back home, haven’t I?” He gazed at Charlotte as he said it, appearing to gauge her reaction. It was the first time he’d ever referred to her as anything that signified she was his girlfriend. Even though he’d only made this announcement to his dog, she felt another rush of excitement.
Is that what I am? Logan’s 'girl’? His girlfriend?
A rather silly part of her didn’t even know how it had happened. Their union had been both gradual and insidious. Yet somehow, she’d been swept away by this man. At that moment, she was sure being Logan’s girlfriend was exactly what she wanted. The honor of being his was what she wanted more than anything in the world. It felt right, like the natural progression of where things had been heading between them.
As they walked back to her house, hand in hand, she felt as though she was floating on air, or maybe, walking on water seemed more apropos. The world around her seemed to melt away, as if it was in some kind of distant bubble in which they were no longer a part. They were together, just Logan and her, alone on a perfect and exciting new adventure as boyfriend and girlfriend.
***
The next few months passed as if in a whirlwind. They began seeing each other nearly every day. Logan almost insisted upon it. He’d call her every morning before work, again during her lunchtime and again, just as she was finishing up at work for the day. He'd check what time they were meeting and where.
If another commitment came up or she didn’t feel like going out because she was too tired, he'd give a sad, little sigh and would tell her how much he'd miss her.
Charlotte's friends were extremely excited to hear she had a boyfriend. They were happy for her. “It's about time!” seemed to be the most common sentiment. Her friends wanted to meet him, out of curiosity. It was so rare Charlotte would have a guy in her life so, her friends all wondered what this special man was like.
They'd ask her when she was going to bring him out. Bethany insisted they'd all go for a drink together. Logan, however, was not sold on the idea. He said he didn’t feel comfortable being around large crowds of people, especially people he didn’t know. He'd once told her being in public spaces made him uneasy.
Charlotte questioned him about his statement. After all, they were always out in public as a couple. However, Logan clammed up and refused to elaborate. She'd wondered whether it had been an excuse because he was nervous her friends wouldn’t like him for whatever reason. However, that seemed strange, as well. It didn’t seem to fit with Logan's personality. He was usually so confident and self-assured.
Her commitment to spending so much time alone with Logan on such a regular basis resulted in her seeing her friends much less often. She occasionally spoke to them on the phone, via e-mail or text message, but it had been a while since they’d been out together. She hadn't seen any of her friends in person, except for the people she worked with.
Charlotte had no major objections to the new arrangement. She was so caught up in Logan and the way he showered her with endless affection and attention she didn’t even miss her friends. He seemed to have a way of being clingy without getting to the point of annoying her. Maybe she'd just matured and now was ready to share her life with someone. It seemed to be the natural progression of things.
Eventually, Charlotte's friends had begun to express their annoyance with her consistently turning down their offers for evenings out and shopping days. She was always choosing to spend her time with Logan. Bethany, who was always the bluntest of her friends, even told her over the phone that she needed to get out more.
Charlotte just brushed the comments off and ignored them. She assumed they might be jealous of what she and Logan had. She doubted any of her friends had partners who wanted to spend as much time with them as Logan did with her. She also doubted any of their partners were as attentive and devoted to them, as Logan was to her.
After a month of seeing each other, they still hadn’t had sex. They’d kissed countless times and often cuddled. On several occasions, their affection had become so heated, she wanted him there and then. Yet, he never took their physical relationship any farther. She wasn't comfortable being the aggressor, speculating there might be a reason for him to want to take things slowly.
After some time, Charlotte began to wonder if something was wrong. Was something holding Logan back from physical intimacy? When he stayed over at her apartment one night after a late movie, she was sure they'd go farther. They’d even slept in the same bed. He only wore his boxers and she was only in her bra and panties. Yet again, he seemed content just to cuddle with her. He didn’t even kiss her that night.
Although Charlotte was more than a bit frustrated, she decided not to worry about it. She reassured herself he must be attracted to her, thinking back to the many times they'd kissed. He'd definitely wanted to touch her; they held each other and cuddled so frequently. She rationalized perhaps he didn’t believe in sex before marriage.
Despite her many questions and ongoing frustration with the situation, Charlotte decided not to push things. Although inside she was burning for him, she had fantastic self-control. She'd simply force herself to wait until Logan came to her, when he was ready. She hoped he'd be ready sooner rather than later.
Luckily, she had her convenient battery-operated friend in the top drawer of her bedside table. It helped her keep her sanity, as well as to stop her from spontaneously combusting. Sadly, what that friend provided her with was akin to astronaut food. It'd kept her alive, but certainly not satisfied.
Chapter 4
One evening, after walking her home after dinner out, they'd paused outside her front door for what she'd assumed would be another goodbye cuddle and a sweet kiss. However, Logan completely took her by surprise.
“Aren’t you going to invite me in, so we can have sex?”
Her eyes widened and her mouth dropped open. She was so shocked by his unexpected words, she didn’t know how to respond. She just froze in shock.
It wasn't only surprising to her he'd finally wanted to have sex. She was extremely thrilled about that sudden turn of events. However, how he'd asked her struck her as being so unlike him. Logan was always so charming and charismatic. He was usually romantic, showering her with complements and affection. This question of his just seemed odd and quite out of left field.
Charlotte had fantasized about this moment countless times. She certainly never expected him to blurt out such a basic proposition, especially for their first time. She expected him to do something more in the heat of the moment, or at least something slightly romantic. They hadn't even kissed tonight. It seemed was so blunt and out of the blue.
