Page 53 of Landing Her Eagle
“Logan!” I cry. “I want to be with you. I don’t care about the room aesthetics.”
Finally, he strides across the room and kneels in front of me. He rests his hands on my jeans-clad knees. “Daphne, I care. I want the first time we make love to be special. I don’t want it to be in an airport hotel.”
“Are you saying I flew all the way to Paris and I’m not getting boinked?!” I say it in a joking manner, but I’m serious. I missed him, and I’m tired of waiting. I want him. I’ve been dreaming of being with him for weeks. Does he not want to have sex with me? Has our time apart changed his mind?
Oh no, have I read this situation all wrong? He said he loves me, but he doesn’t know I heard him because I didn’t tell him I loved him. Is that why he changed his mind? Maybe he wants to go back to being friends? Was there a time limit I wasn’t aware of?
“Oh, you’re getting boinked today, Daphne,” he reassures me, “but not here.” He squeezes my knee. “How about this? You take a shower.”
I raise my eyebrows in the universally known gesture forwanna join?
He chuckles. “Alone. There are limits to my restraint, Daph.”
“It’s more efficient and environmentally conscious if we shower together, you know,” I mention, teasing him.
“Hush, you. I already took my shower, and I know you want to wash the travel cooties off you. I’m running downstairs to grab stuff from the breakfast buffet while you take your shower. No funny business.” His earnest gaze meets mine. “Please, Daph. I want to do this right.”
Oh, my heart. I couldn’t deny this man anything. Leaning forward, I place a quick kiss on his lips because I must. I can’t resist him.
“Okay, we will do it your way.” I pause.“This time.”I try out a stern expression to show I’m serious, but I’m uncertain if I pulled it off. “But don’t think I’m going to always give in.” I squeeze his hands where they rest on my knees. “Now go fetch me food, kind sir. I need to keep my strength up.”
After lifting my hand to his lips to place a lingering kiss on the back of it, he stands and gives me a courtly bow. “Yes, milady. Dost thou have any special requests?”
He is such a goof. I tell him to get whatever he thinks is good and watch him walk out the door. I’m sure he’s going to dawdle so that I have time to shower and get dressed, but he’s right. I want to wash the travel cooties off me. I strip and turn on the shower, adjusting the temperature to something less than scalding. I quickly soap up and rinse off. Using the same soap Logan did feels intimate. Considering what I hope we do tonight, it feels silly to think about the intimacy of using the same bar of soap, but I can’t help it. I use the shampoo the hotel supplies because I didn’t want to go digging in my bag for the travel-size bottle of my usual shampoo. It smells nice. I feel fancy using French toiletries. I laugh at the sheltered life I’ve led. By the time Logan returns with a tray holding muffins, bottled water, yogurt, berries, and granola, I’m dressed and running a towel over my hair.
Setting the tray on the small desktop, Logan smiles at me. “Feel better?”
“I do. I’m ready to go on an adventure!” I hug him. I’m in France. With Logan. I can barely believe it! “What are we doing first? I want to do everything!”
“Well, first we’re eating breakfast, but while we’re doing that, we can figure out what we’re going to do next. We can stay in Paris. Or we can take the train to Strasbourg and do the Christmas Market there.” He pulls the top off his cinnamon strudel muffin and sets it on my plate. He really loves me; muffin tops are my favorite. “Strasbourg is really neat. It’s in the Alsace region of France. There’s a long history of French and German culture. Remember, we studied the Cathédrale Notre Dame de Strasbourg in class?”
I can’t hold back my happy moan while chewing the bite of muffin. The sweet and spicy flavors are exploding on my tongue.
Logan’s eyes darken with my moan. He wants me.
So why is he reluctant to sleep with me? Is it really just that this room isn’t that romantic, or is there more to it? Doing my best to push any negative thoughts away, I do an excited Tigger bounce in my chair at the thought of finally seeing in person something I’ve daydreamed about exploring. That I get to experience it with Logan is a dream come true. We would have lunch after our history and architecture class and talk about the places we wanted to visit, but I never dreamed it would happen for me at all, let alone with Logan by my side as my boyfriend.
I swallow the muffin bite and take a sip of water. “I remember. Let’s go to Strasbourg for at least a couple of days. I scheduled my flight home for next Saturday. I’m supposed to be back in the office a week from Monday. Will you be able to change your flight?”
With an overconfident grin splitting his face, he replies, “Sunshine, just wait and see what I can do.”
I can’t wait. That’s part of my frustration! However, I’ll channel my inner grown-up, try to be patient, and let Logan plan things how he wishes them to be. This time.
32
LOGAN
While we eat our breakfast,I make train reservations to take us to Strasbourg this afternoon, rent us a room for the next few nights at a hotel I think Daphne will adore, and change my flight to match her return flight next Saturday. I already packed in anticipation of flying home today. Seeing how Daphne never unpacked, it’s a simple matter to check out of the room and travel to the rail terminal to take the train to Strasbourg.
“So, tell me about your tours. The Batsto one was neat.” It’s a two-hour ride, and we spend it holding hands, exchanging kisses, and talking about the tours Daphne has been recording and uploading.
Besides the first tour she posted at the wildlife refuge, she did a second tour at Batsto Village, an abandoned former ironworks town in the middle of Wharton State Forest, now a New Jersey State Historic Site.
“I went there once as a boy but didn’t really appreciate it. Watching your video, I saw so many things I wanted to shoot. I’d like to do a seasons series where we visit throughout the year and I take pictures of the same things and see how they change, or don’t change, in a year’s time. I’ve never done something like that.”
I haven’t done it since I’m never in the same place long-term. I’m surprised at how excited I am. I’m also slightly shocked because I knew I would be excited to be with Daphne, but I was expecting to feel like I was sacrificing to be with her. Suddenly, I’m seeing opportunities, and being home isn’t a sacrifice. It’s so exciting to explore and discover things I’ve taken for granted. Being with Daphne is the impetus for returning home, but I’m also realizing the wonderful things about a place I’ve always been so eager to leave. Can you fall in love with a place the same way you do a person?
“Let’s grab a taxi to take us to the hotel,” I say as we exit the train in Strasbourg.
