Page 63 of Puck Drop
Now, as I stare at myself in the mirror, I wish I could be prouder of the person I am slowly becoming. The only problem is that I still can’t stand on my own two feet. Not that sure that I ever will. It is ironic that I felt so liberated when I left New York, thinking that I would show my father that I can do whatever I want and thrive while at it. All that, just for me to now depend on Logan’s kindness so that I can get my career moving.
On the bright side, I did call a couple of high-end galleries in downtown Austin. They both asked to see my portfolio, and I sent them pictures of some of my work that I left back in New York. I also threw in the pencil drawings Mona encouraged me to do. They seemed to like those the most. One of the galleries said they would be in touch to check in as I had more pieces done.
“Hey, ready to go?”
I jump in front of the mirror, my right hand going to my chest. I’ve been so deep in thought, I didn’t hear Logan walking into the bedroom. He walks over to me and hugs me from behind and puts his chin on my shoulder, his hands resting on my middle.
“You look incredible,” he tells me. He runs his hands up and down my hips before they go back over my slightly rounded stomach. “I can’t wait to get you out of this dress as soon as we get back home tonight.”
I put my hands over his, loving the way he stares at me in the mirror. “You look pretty dashing yourself,” I say.
Logan straightens up and makes sure his bowtie is in place. We are attending a charity event tonight, a very formal event that required him to wear a tuxedo.
He steps next to me and grabs my hand to hold while he never takes his eyes off the mirror in front of is.
“We’re going to be the hottest couple there,” he declares. “I can’t wait to see the guys’ faces when we walk in together.”
I feel slightly nauseous at the idea of meeting everyone again, but now in the capacity of Logan’s girlfriend as opposed to an employee of the Aces organization.
“Do you think they’ll stare at me?” I can’t help myself but ask.
“Oh, they’ll stare alright,” Logan laughs. He becomes serious when he notices my stricken face. “Only because you’re beautiful, baby,” he assures me. “Absolutely no one cares about anything else that might’ve happened with your job. Besides,” he rolls his eyes at me, “trust me when I tell you that they all have enough personal problems of their own. They won’t have time to worry about yours.”
I smile at hearing that, but it feels forced. He’s just trying to be nice and make me feel better, which seems to be his thing. He’s become my main source of emotional support in a very short period of time.
“I’d rather stay home with you.” He runs the tip of one finger up and down the side of my face. “Or at least totally take advantage of you in this dress before we leave,” he teases. “But I’d mess it up, and your makeup would have to be redone. Besides, I promised we’d be there…”
I take a step forward and wrap my arms around his waist while trying to keep my face away from the material of his tux. I’d hate to leave makeup marks on it.
“Logan Mantei, you are the sweetest, and you always know how to distract me to make me feel better about myself. I am proud to walk in there with you tonight as your date.”
He brings his face down like he wants to kiss me, but I pull back. “It took me a while to get my lipstick in place.” I bring ahand down and place it on his growing erection. “How about you get to see it around this when we get back?”
I laugh at the way his eyes about pop out of his head at hearing that, but he does let me step away from him. I grab my small bag and make sure that I have in it my phone, a tube of lip gloss, some mints, and also my driver’s license.
“See, that’s what I mean about you,” he says while following me out of the bedroom. “You have this side of you that only I get to see, and I love it so fuckin’ much”
We get in his truck, and he starts driving toward where the charity event is held. He teases me all the way there while I have no problem teasing him back. It is easy banter that we both enjoy. I realize that I feel relaxed and at ease for the first time since way before I left New York.
The drive to our destination is supposed to be close to an hour, but I swear it feels like only minutes. We are both surprised when we arrive.
They have valet parking, so we don’t have to look for parking. Instead, we hand over the key fob and prepare to walk inside.
Logan grabs my hand, intertwining our fingers together. He brings it up and kisses the back of it while giving me a sexy wink just as his lips touch my skin.
“We really look hot together,” he murmurs against my hand, and I about melt into the pavement.
We spend the next few minutes getting checked in. Someone gives us the rundown of the event and how the auction portion of it works. Logan has already signed up for it, so we don’t have to do much beyond that.
As soon as we step into the ballroom where everyone is gathered, we hear soft music being played by a live band. Waiters walk around with trays full of champagne and appetizers, stopping every so often when they notice someone who might enjoy whatever they have to offer.
“Very glitzy,” Logan whispers into my ear, and I giggle.
It is glitzy, but not anything I haven’t attended before. My father used to take me to events like this one, especially the ones organized by the hockey team. In fact, me and Logan met at an event similar to this one, so, in a way, it’s like we’re coming full circle, except that we don’t have to hide our attraction to each other now.
It feels liberating but scary as hell. I wish I had at least one other person here that would be in my corner, someone I could talk to if Logan needs to step away for a bit.
I run my eyes over the crowd, like I am looking for someone in particular. All I see are people laughing and having a good time. At some point, I hear someone calling Logan’s name.
