Dissonance (32 page)

“Look at me, Charlotte.”

She pried her eyes open to meet the uncontrollable need that had to be showing in mine. She broke apart then, her entire body quaked as she succumbed to her orgasm. Her cries echoed in my ears. I continued to pump into her, trying to suspend her pleasure as long as I could. A rush of heat moved up my spine, my balls tightened nearly to the point of pain. Her walls clamped down on me again, and I exploded. I slammed all the way into her one last time, pumping everything I had inside of her. Neither of us looked away until we collapsed, sated and exhausted from our shared climax.

I pulled her into my arms once our frantic breaths had evened out. I draped a plush comforter over us, and she looked into my eyes again. “Are you okay?” I asked, worried that I might have hurt her.

“Yes,” she smiled at me, he face engulfed in bliss.

Relief soared through me at that little grin; I felt the urge to pound against my chest from the knowledge that I had pleased her so much. I kissed her lightly, settling her against my chest so that she could sleep.

A few minutes passed before I heard Charlotte’s voice. “Logan?”

“Yeah, baby?”

“Why me?”

I looked down at her, completely lost. “What’re you talking about?”

“What you said earlier,” she said, “why me?”

It took a moment for her meaning to sink in. She was asking why I loved her. I wanted to tell her she was crazy if she couldn’t recognize it, but I knew she needed a real answer from me. She didn’t see herself the way that I did, and I needed to help her understand.

“The moment I first saw you, I wanted you. How could I not? You’re gorgeous. But, it was so much more than that. I didn’t understand it, but I would not going running out into the rain like that for just anyone,” I grinned wistfully, remembering that day that changed things forever. “You drew me to you. And then, when you looked up at me, I was entranced.”

“I probably looked like a drowned rat,” she laughed lightly.

“Maybe a bit,” I admitted, “but it was really just your hair. That didn’t matter at all, though, when I got my first look at your eyes. It took everything I had not to kiss you right there. The only thing that stopped me was Eli’s warning.” She scoffed at that, and I chuckled. “It didn’t help that you continued your onslaught.”

“What?” she asked.

“You came up here, and put on those sweatpants,” I groaned and she slapped him playfully on the chest. She had no idea how sexy she had looked. I continued seriously, “No, it’s the way you’re so shy, despite the fact that you throw me off balance with your beauty every time you walk into a room. It’s the way you never cease to throw out one more thing that is so impressive that I feel like I could never possibly reach your league. It’s the way you love Eli and Alex so fiercely. It was that Kinnell poem you showed me. But mostly, it was the way you reacted when I said you could play the piano, your eyes lit up like I’d given you the greatest gift you could imagine. And the way you played it, so consumed in the sound. The way you talk about music like it can save the soul. I never thought I’d find someone else who lived through music the way I do. And yet, here you are.”

She was starting to look overwhelmed by everything I was saying, so I gently caressed her arms, trying to keep her with me.

“And despite how hard I tried,” I continued, “despite the fact that I doubt that I’ll ever really deserve you, I can’t stop myself from falling in love with you.”

Her whole body tightened against me, just as it had the first time I’d said those words. I hated that that was the only way she knew to respond, but I knew it would take time for her to be comfortable with me saying them. I could wait.

“Don’t worry, angel,” I cooed. “I meant it when I told you I won’t say it until you are ready for me to. Just know how I feel for now. I need you to understand that you have me, completely.”

The following Tuesday, Logan called me from work, telling me that we had something to do that evening. He told me that he wouldn’t be home until around eight o’clock, and I needed to be ready once he was.

“Ready for what?” I asked.

“Can’t tell you that, angel,” was his answer.

“Another surprise, Logan? Really?”

“Damn, babe, you don’t have to sound so excited,” he joked.

“I don’t like surprises.” I sounded petulant at that point, but it didn’t matter.

He contemplated that for a minute. “A. I think I have proven that you do,” he offered. “B. Would it help if I told you that this surprise isn’t really for you?”

“What? No! Now I’m just more confused!”

“But you don’t have to worry about a bad surprise.”

He sort of had me there.

“What am I supposed to wear to this surprise that’s not for me?”

“A black dress, something sort of formal,” he suggested.

“That’s all you’re giving me?”

“Yupp. I’ll see you at 8.”

He rushed to change when he got home later, emerging in pair of charcoal dress pants and matching vest that contrasted perfectly against his black shirt and tie. How anyone could be so annoying and so absolutely delectable at the same time was flabbergasting. Seeing him don suits for work each day should not be underrated, but I’d nearly drooled seeing him in that outfit. The tailored suits looked incredible, but losing the stuffy jacket did amazing things for him. What really overwhelmed me was the way he rolled his sleeves up, revealing the bit of ink on his forearms. This didn’t look like some hot guy in a suit, this was my Logan. He was dressed nicely, but the personality of man I’d come to care about more than I was ready to admit still shown through.

Logan grabbed his acoustic guitar when we left. That brought on another round of interrogation from me. What did he need with that? Why were we dressed nicely? What the hell was going on? He dismissed all my questions, leading me down to the car.

When we pulled up to an abandoned-looking building just before sunset, I thought Logan must be losing his mind. He refused to give me anything to go on.

“Logan, seriously,” I pressed, “what in the world are we doing here?”

He just kept that same damn grin on his face and shook his head. “So impatient,” he admonished. He started getting out of the car. “Come on, all will be revealed once we get inside.”

Logan grabbed his acoustic out of the back seat before coming to my door. If I’m honest, I really did think he had been planning a surprise for me. Between his admission earlier, the nice clothes, and his guitar, I was more than slightly nervous as to where the evening was going. All sorts of ideas crossed my mind, each more over-the-top than the last. Apparently I’d been completely off the mark, but I was still wary. It was hard not to be when standing outside an old brick building with no idea as to why you’re there.

A screech of under-oiled hinges sounded from behind me just before a voice I hadn’t been expecting.

“About time you two got here,” Eli complained. He was well dressed too, wearing black pants, a white button up and a thin black tie. Somehow, he managed to pull off the look without looking like a waiter. I could just imagine Alex whispering that he looked edible, or something equally uncomfortable, to me.

“Well, it was hard to instill a sense of urgency when I couldn’t tell her what we were doing,” Logan answered.

Eli sighed. “Come on, I have to get going soon.”

I just followed Eli’s lead, figuring questions were futile. He led us inside and immediately started climbing a flight of stairs to our left. I took a look around at the first floor as I took the first few steps. Given the exterior, it was sort of what I’d expected. It was empty, probably a storehouse at one point. It was old, but well maintained, there were no obvious issues that needed repair. It seemed oddly clean and lacking of dust, though, for a building that seemed completely unused.

“What is this place?” I hedged, hoping I’d at least get an answer to that question. I wasn’t disappointed.

“Warehouse,” Logan said from behind me. “My dad bought it a few weeks back. The company that owned it went into foreclosure. He had a crew in here this week cleaning it up. We’ll sell it or rent it out to another company once we figure out which is more lucrative.”

“Oh.” I wanted to ask once again what we were doing in a warehouse, but I let it go.

At the top of the stairs, Eli opened another door and a distinctly floral scent flooded my nose. Moments later, I understood why. The room wasn’t particularly large. It seemed like it might have been meant as a small office area or something. Any other details of the room were lost beneath dozens of bouquets of Alstromerias. The red and white flowers were displayed on every surface in the room. Unlit candles sat near the bundles of flowers that had been Alex’s since the first time she had been given them… by Eli.

And then, I understood.

“Oh my God,” I murmured, facing Eli and finally noting the air of nervousness about him. “OH MY GOD!” I shouted this time. I threw myself at him, hugging him with all of the force I could muster. “You’re really doing it?”

Smiling despite his anxiety, he reached into his pocket to produce the small black box. The classic, princess-cut solitaire inside had my smile growing to impossible heights.

My brother was proposing to my best friend.

Charlotte was practically radiating her excitement. I don’t think I’d ever seen her so openly happy. Somewhere beneath the surface, though I hated to admit it, the sight made me disgustingly jealous. I wanted to be what made her that happy. How pathetic that was doesn’t escape me, either. Forcing myself to swallow my negative thoughts, I made a silent vow to cause her to smile like that one day. I could be better, be the sort of man that made her impossibly happy.

“This is perfect, E,” Charlotte was gushing. Something else I never really expected from her.

“It’s not quite done, yet,” he grinned, not fully dispelling the nerves from his expression. “I need you two for the final piece.”

I wrapped my arms around her from behind, letting myself soak in her excitement, whether I caused it or not. “Ready to do a duet with me, gorgeous?”

She looked from me to Eli, curiosity mingling with her joy. “What song?”

“Green Eyes,” Eli answered.

She swooned at that. God, I was losing my mind at that point. Jealousy is a sick little bastard. I wondered if Charlotte knew the story behind his song choice. All Eli said about it to me was that “Alex
is
Green Eyes.”
Thanks for the clarification, buddy.