Logan laughed. “Our lacrosse house probably wasn’t much cleaner.”
I smiled gently. “Our families took us out to dinner after our graduation ceremony to celebrate. He proposed that night, and we got married a year later.” I played with the hem of his shirt.
“You mentioned Madison was a little earlier than planned.”
“Yes, she was.” I shook my head, curling deeper into him. Talking about this felt strangely therapeutic. “Drew was a planner. He had a journal with dates and events and when they would happen. I was nervous when I found out we were expecting. We were supposed to enjoy being married for five years.” I laughed. “But as you know when it comes to kids, you have no choice but to adapt, and he turned into a wonderful father, and a good provider.” I swiped at another tear. “He was my best friend, always had my back and I’m not going to lie, we had a good life and there isn’t a day that goes by where I don’t think about him.”
His thumb reached and wiped the moisture under my eye. “I’m sorry you lost him.”
“I am too, but I’m also thankful that I found you.”
His eyes grew warm with affection. My heart was heavy from talking about this. I had a sudden need to lighten things up.”
“Tell me about your days playing lacrosse. I don’t know much about the sport. Do you have any pictures from college?”
He pulled out his phone, pressed a few buttons, and handed it to me. “That’s me and a few of my fraternity brothers after we won our first championship against Cornell.”
I looked at the picture and smiled. Of course, he was hot, even all sweaty and muddy. “Wait a minute,” I said, looking more closely. “You have a Facebook account? How did I not know that? Why are we not friends?”
He went to the home page, typed in my name; his finger hovered over the friend request. “Are you going to accept?”
“As long as you promise not to spam me with stupid memes and comment on every single picture.”
He rolled his eyes, clicked add friend, and set his phone down. “I hardly use the app. I mostly use it to keep in touch with old friends.”
“What other apps are on your phone?”
He picked it up and handed it to me. “It’s all yours. The password is 0420.”
I leaned back with my mouth hanging open. “You trust me with your phone. What if I snoop through your text messages?”
He nuzzled his nose into my neck. “I’ve got nothing to hide.”
“Logan, what are we doing?” My throat burned with how transparent he was being. Trust wasn’t something to take lightly. It was something earned, not given. I don’t know how we ended up here, but it was too big to ignore.
“We’re taking this one step at a time.”
“What if I’m done taking things slow?”
His hand touched my lower back, sending a path of goose bumps up my spine. “What exactly are you saying, Ava?”
“I’m done talking. Let me show you.”
I moved in, brushing my mouth against his. He held his breath as I positioned myself on his lap so I could straddle him. I cupped his face, pulling him closer. He was allowing me to take the lead, and despite being in control, I was the one at his mercy.
He slanted his head and kissed me softly. The pads of his fingers tickled my scalp as he weaved his fingers through my hair. A million thoughts raced through my mind, but the best one of all was how amazing this felt. My teeth grazed along his bottom lip, begging for entry. He took my mouth in his, kissing me with more intensity. The way he responded to me was enough to send me over the edge. I rocked my hips into him, feeling consumed with need. This kiss was real. It was raw. It was everything.
Very slowly, he pulled away, letting his lips linger against mine. “Are you sure you’re ready for this?” he asked with a challenge or a question, I wasn’t sure.
I leaned back so I could stare into his eyes. “Have you changed your mind?”
“Not a chance.” His mouth came back down with a force that left no question on who was in charge now. His tongue stroked relentlessly against mine. I don’t remember ever being kissed like this before in my life. I circled my hands along his neck, needing something to hold on to. The pleasure that was building was too much. He yanked me tighter, repeating the same torturous strokes of his tongue. I was strung so tight I was about ready to break. I gripped his hair and tried to move my hips, but he held me still.
“Logan,” I begged, knowing I was one second away from losing complete control.
“What do you want, Ava?” he asked, kissing along my neck and tracing his mouth over my exposed shoulder.
“I want you. Only you.”