Page 42 of The Lost and the Found

Hayden

Saturday morning,I woke feeling light.

I hadn’t felt this way since I was a little girl, when I didn’t have a single worry in the world. It was a good feeling.

And even though I knew my worries were still there, that they wouldn’t disappear overnight, they were placed in the background for something much more pressing: my shopping date with Logan.

Was I a terrible person for being excited about going shopping when I knew I wouldn’t be paying for it? If so, I didn’t care.

I smiled at myself in the mirror. The muscles still felt unused, but not as much as they had a few days ago. And when I was ready at eight, I went to the living room and pulled out a book. Reading for fun wasn’t something I did often, but today was all about indulgence, and I didn’t want to read another textbook about accrual-based accounting.

I read Stephen King instead.

He was my favorite author as a child. I think I might have devoured most of his books by the time I turned fourteen. But then I lived on the streets, and reading horror no longer sounded fun. It was way too close to my everyday life, where I was acutely aware of every creak and every shadow.I hadn’t felt secure enough in my situation to pick up another King book since.

I was two chapter into The Outsider when a knock came at my door. Logan was early. I opened the door, and there he was in a casual dark winter coat, dark blue jeans, and black boots. There was even a black scarf wrapped around his neck. He wore casual well.

His hair was a little messy, which was a little unusual, but somehow it suited him, and for once, he was clean shaven. I was surprised; I had never seen a clean-shaven Logan before.

He looked good.So good, I couldn’t decide which I liked more, this or the usual scruff around his jaw and lips.

“You shaved.”

He smiled. “Yeah, I didn’t think I’d have time tonight before the function.” He brought a large hand up and rubbed his jawline. My heart stuttered from the simple move. “Do you like it?”

I nodded. His smile widened.

“Come in. I just need to grab my coat and we can leave.”

He did as I asked, and I locked the door behind him. I walked to my room to grab my coat, wallet, keys, and phone, stuffing the last three in the huge pockets of the coat.

The coat Logan bought was as warm as it was functional. I loved it.

When I walked out with the coat zipped all the way up, Logan turned to me, his eyes softening as he took me in. When I was close enough, he pulled me in by my waist, until our chests touched and my hands splayed on his shoulders. “You look beautiful,” he said.

I smiled somewhat reservedly and looked down. I didn’t think I would ever get used to being called beautiful, especially by him. “Thank you.”

He kissed my cheek swiftly before pulling his scarf off and wrapping it around my neck. I looked up at him questioningly. “It’s cold outside,” he said, by way of explanation.

“Oh.”

“Yeah. This will keep you warm. Are you ready?”

I nodded. “Yeah, I am.”

“Good, let’s go.”

Logan waited for me to lock the door and then he surprised me by taking my hand in his. I flexed a little before relaxing and watched his back as he led me toward the stairs. We passed Kenny, who standing by his door, and I did a silent prayer that he wouldn’t say anything.

No such luck.

“Hey, Hayden. Haven’t seen you in a while. How have you been?”

I schooled my expression and nodded at Kenny.

I knew he could be crude, but there was nothing about Kenny that said he was dangerous. I hoped he would keep his crude side to himself, especially in front of Logan, who was dangerous, but no, all the drugs must have burned away all his self-preservation.

“I miss seeing your pretty face around, baby girl. You leave so early in the mornings, it’s hard to see you. And I’m running out of new fantasies of you in my spank bank.”

---