Page 123 of The Lost and the Found

Hayden

Veena droppedmy jacket off the next morning, and I apologized for leaving her the night before. I felt bad, but Veena said Logan already explained the situation and I didn’t need to worry.

I wasn’t sure what it was that Logan explained, but I wasn’t going to question it. She and Grant stayed for breakfast, and when they left, she gave me a long hug that was as familiar as it was comforting. I almost didn’t want her to let go.

A week later—the week of my spring break—Logan officially moved me in with him.

I was a bit nostalgic about saying goodbye to my apartment, but when we finally got the last box of my stuff to his apartment, my heart didn’t feel heavy like I thought it would. My furniture was either thrown away or donated to Goodwill, and Logan paid for me to break my lease on the apartment.

I supposed with all the stress of moving, I never really thought about what all of this meant until my first night there when I admitted to myself that I was in a pretty serious relationship now.

It all felt so… grown-up.

I was also working less. There wasn’t any need for me to bust my butt when Logan refused any rent. He wouldn’t even let me buy groceries, so everything I made went into my savings account and any free time I had was spent with Logan by my side, even if he was just reading or working.

I loved every moment.

The following week, we were sitting on the couch eating dinner and watching a movie when Logan surprised me by asking if I wanted to meet Mathew.

“Mathew?”

“Yeah. I figured it’s probably time.” He moved a lock of blonde hair from my face, tucking it behind my ear. He didn’t move his hand, and he was looking at me in that intense way he did.

I didn’t know what to make of his expression.

“Everything okay?” I asked.

“Yeah,” he said, his voice sounding rough. “I love you so much. You know that, don’t you?”

I smiled, covering the hand he had on my cheek with my own. “Yeah. I know.”

He shook his head. “No, I don’t think you understand. I love you so much, I can barely breathe sometimes. I still can’t believe you’re real. Promise me you’ll never leave me. That no matter what happens, you’ll stay and you’ll fight it out with me, but you won’t leave.”

“What does that mean? Why are you saying this?”

He shook his head then, and I knew he was lying when he said, “Nothing. So, do you want to meet Mathew.”

I smiled. “I think it’ll be nice to meet the man who raised you.”

He looked bewildered, then he relaxed and smiled. “Yeah. I guess he did raise me.”

It was my turn to cup his cheek with my hand. “And what a wonderful man you turned out to be.” I kissed him then, and Logan let me control the movement. I loved that he did this, when I knew everything in him wanted the control.

“I promise to always stay and fight with you. As long as you’re faithful to me, I don’t think there is ever anything you can do that I won’t forgive,” I whispered when I pulled away.

And that was the truth. I didn’t think there was anything Logan could do, save for cheating, that I couldn’t forgive. I loved him that much. Maybe more than I should. I didn’t care.

“God, baby. You make me so happy.” He grabbed my shoulders and hauled me closed to him, our dinner forgotten on the coffee table while Logan devoured my lips.

We didn’t do any more than kiss. There wasn’t any pulling off of clothes, trying to get naked, or heavy petting. Logan didn’t even touch my breasts, and they usually were the first things he grabbed whenever we find ourselves in this position. But his hands stayed on my shoulder, and his kiss was everything. It was as innocent as it was intimate.

We kissed for the longest time.

His tongue moved against mine in the best way possible, and when I tugged at his hair, he deepened the kiss and that was all. I burrowed myself closer to him, wishing there was a way I could stay like this forever. Because it wasn’t enough. These moments we have to ourselves weren’t enough. I wanted him with me all the time.

I wanted to stay in this bubble with Logan for the rest of my life, if possible.

But I knew how intrusive the outside world could be. We couldn’t stay in hiding. But with Logan at my side, everything felt possible. I was very much looking forward to my future.

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