Page 58 of Everything Has Changed
Gwendolyn
Ipeek over at Logan through the strands of hair that fell from the confines of my messy bun. He’s fully concentrating on the pages of to-do lists in front of him. His tongue absentmindedly traces his lower lip while his eyes track the page. More than once I’ve caught myself staring so hard that I missed a question he asked or a comment he wanted to add.
It feels weird, this attraction I have toward Logan. Weird, but good. It’s more than the silly little schoolgirl crush I had on the popular kid back in high school. Back then it was surface level. The checkmarks for the crush requirements hinged on his looks, mostly. That’s not to say he’s not still devastatingly good looking, because he most certainly is. Honestly, even more so, if that’s possible.
Now it’s the way I’ve seen him with his mom. The way he stood up to his dad. How he remembers little details and goes out of his way to do something nice without being asked. Maybe it has to do with the close proximity, but I’m seeing more of Logan Spencer than I ever planned, and instead of making me realize my crush was ridiculous, I’m wondering if there might be more to it.
Not to mention the way my body lights up at the slightest touch of his hand or when he absently brushes his knee against mine. If those simple moments feel like a fire being lit under my skin, I wonder…
I shake my head slightly to pull myself out of the daydream of what that tongue might feel like tracing my own lip.
“Fortunately for us,” I tap the paper he’s looking over now with my pen, “a lot of the town is already signed up from previous years. We just need to confirm what they are planning to do and make sure everyone is okay with the placement of their booths. Not that they have much say in it because of the layout, but I know some are more needy than others with their demands.”
“Who will be manning your booth?”
“Ophelia and Piper. But I’m trying to talk my sister into coming down, too. We always have a big turnout, and with me being focused elsewhere, the more hands the better. Someone at the register, someone getting bakery items, then someone making the drinks.”
The moan he releases isn’t as bold as the one from earlier that sent my lower region into a frenzy, but it’s still enough for me to wish I could force that sound out of him in other ways.
“I already know I’ll be stopping there for a pick me up.”
Rolling my eyes at his dramatics, I continue. “I was going to go shop to shop to settle final details. Get the okay for the setup so we can iron out any kinks early.”
“I can do that,” Logan says.
I raise an eyebrow. “Are you sure? You really don’t need to take on too much. I know you’ve got your hands full with your dad.”
His eyes go darker for a moment, focusing on something not in front of him, at the mention of his father. The look is gone so quickly, I question if I even saw it.
“It’ll give me something to do so I’m not stuck in that stuffy office all day.”
I pretend to shudder at the thought. “That sounds awful. Oh,” another thought pops into my head, “and it’ll help you connect more with the townspeople. Wasn’t that the goal of you doing this, anyway? That actually works out well.”
“Right.” He clears his throat, taps his finger on the edge of the page. “Mind if I take this?”
“Sure. I have it saved on my computer, so I’ll just print a clean copy.”
He chuckles. “Of course you do.”
“Sue me for being organized. I’ve only been thinking about my chance at this for years.”
Logan visibly cringes. “I am still so sorry about this. I honestly don’t want to take anything away from you.”
I wave away his concern. “It’s not on you. Besides, it’s not terrible having you as my partner. Between you and me, I don’t think I would have been able to handle it all plus the cafe.”
He scoffs. “I don’t believe that for a second.”
“You might not realize this, but I have a little trouble delegating and not taking on everything myself.”
“You seem to be doing just fine these days. I remember a Gwen who wouldn’t even let me touch the scalpel in biology.”
“You were holding it wrong!”
He shrugs, grinning from ear to ear. “Now look at you, letting me take over a checklist. That’s growth if I have ever seen it. I’m proud of you, really.”
I go to slap his arm jokingly, the praise hitting a little too close to heart, and I feel like I need to ease the growing tension I feel from his comment. But he grabs my hand before I can make contact, fully anticipating my move. We were already sittingso close. Our thighs had been brushing softly with every movement, causing a current to move through me with every small nudge. But now that we were facing each other, I realized only a couple of inches separated us.
My eyes snag on the way his tongue darts out to wet his lip.
