She was everything I’d wanted for the last six and a half years but she’d always been within my reach yet completely unreachable and I didn’t know how much longer I could pretend like it wasn’t killing me.
Her lips were facing me, soft and ready and I wanted to attack them more than I wanted anything else. She might scream if I just went for it. I could pretend I was still half asleep and disorientated, speak a load or rubbish that didn’t make sense so she thought I was sleep kissing if she shoved me off. Like that thought hadn’t ever entered my mind, every time I’d had a drink I’d wanted to kiss her so I could blame the alcohol if it went wrong. The thing that stopped me every time was the possibility that it could be awkward after. I didn’t want awkward with Chloe. I wanted everything with her. I could settle for an agonising fucking friendship, but I couldn’t do awkward.
I wanted to lay in her bed all day with her but I knew she’d wake up soon and I wasn’t sure how she’d handle the intimate position, the closest we’d been before was waking up with her elbow in my side or one of her legs against mine.
I kissed the top of her head, closing my eyes and savouring the moment for a second. I fucking love you.
Against every instinct I had when it came to her, I rolled her over, laid on my side and leant on my hand. “Morning, Chlo,” I said much too loud and much too cheerfully.
She gasped awake, jumping and clinging to the cover. “Logan! What’re you doing?”
“Waking you up, you’ve been sleeping too long. Want to go for a run?”
First she looked lost, then she looked murderous. “You woke me up to ask if I want a run at…” Her eyes flicked to the alarm clock on the bedside table, “seven in the morning?”
“Yeah, you up for it?”
“No, I am not up for it. What’s wrong with you?”
Now that was a question I wouldn’t mind the answer to as well.
“You like running in the morning.”
“Not this morning. We weren’t supposed to run today.”
“So is that a no?”
She groaned and flopped back on the bed. “Logan, go home.”
“I don’t want to. We could go get breakfast somewhere or you could cook for me here.” I’d already put my hands out to protect whatever she was about to hit. I caught her wrist before it came into contact with my shoulder and laughed. “I was joking. I’m a modern man; I’ll cook for you. What do you fancy?”
“Why’re you so happy?”
The answer was pretty fucking obvious to me and it was currently glaring at me.
I shrugged. “It’s a lovely day, Chlo. Come on, sweetheart, cheer up.”
“You can cook for me here. I want bacon.”
That was what I’d hoped because there was no way her mum would let me loose in her kitchen so I wouldn’t end up being the one that cooked anyway.
I got out of bed. “Alright, miss grumpy, bacon is coming up. You want it in bed or are you getting that arse up?” Actually, I quite liked the idea of bringing her breakfast in bed.
“I’ll get up. Give me five minutes to get ready and I’ll be down.”
“Alright. See you in a minute.” I opened her door and looked back over my shoulder. “And, Chlo, the messy bed hair is pretty hot.” I got out and closed the door as she frantically looked for something to throw at me.
***
“Morning, Bethany,” I said to Chloe’s mum as I walked into the kitchen.
“Logan, hi,” she replied, shocked to see me. “I didn’t know you were here.”
“Yeah, sorry, popped over to see Chlo after her date and fell asleep.”
She nodded, having no issue with the fact that I’d spent the night in her daughter’s bed. But that was because I was Jace’s brother and she would never think anything would happen, so it kind of sucked.
“I’m making bacon, you want?” I asked her.
She laughed and shooed me to the table. “You sit, I’ll be making breakfast.”
“Will you ever let me cook in that fancy kitchen?”
“Not a chance, mister! I don’t even let Bill cook in my kitchen.”
“I’ll make the coffee then.”
She pointed in my direction, already getting pans out to cook. “That you can do. How did Chloe’s date go? She tell you?”
Oh, yeah, she told me. “It went alright, they’re going out again.” I tried, really tried, to sound happy for her.
“That’s good. For a while there I wasn’t sure if we’d ever get her back. She relied on the plan she’d made with Jace far too much.”
“She just needed a kick up the butt. Honestly, I think she was getting there herself, she was healing but couldn’t see a way of planning for a different future.”
Bethany ripped open the pack of bacon. “She needed you. You’re good for each other, you’ve always bounced off each other.”
She didn’t mean it in the way I wanted her to or she did but knew it was about as likely as pigs flying. Either way, someone saying me and Chlo were good for each other did things to my heart that I’d only admit out loud if I turned into a teen girl.
“Yeah, we’ve always got along.”