“You wound me, Clare.” He moaned in mock pain, gesturing to his heart with our joined hands.
I giggled, “Ahh, poor Logan. Did I hurt your feelings? Do you need a lollipop? Maddie always likes suckers when she’s upset.” I preferred chocolate. Lollipops did nothing for me.
Looking mischievous, he said, “No sucker, thanks. But I can think of something else to lick that would make me a great deal happier.”
“Perv!” I yelled, playfully hitting him on the shoulder with my free hand.
“You walked right into that one, and I wasn’t lying,” he laughed.
“You would think with a best friend like Leah I would have learned not to say things like that by now!” I huffed, trying to sound indignant but failing miserably due to the grin I couldn’t seem to shake.
“No, please don’t. I am a huge fan of your oblivious dirty talk.”
“I do not talk dirty!” I cried.
“We’ll see,” he said, no longer joking. Those two little words held promise and possibility and I took an audible gulp as my mind started racing with indecent thoughts. Okay, yes. I did have a dirty mind. Sue me.
“Is here a good spot for our picnic?” Logan asked, pointing to a bright open space located underneath a flowering dogwood tree.
“What? Oh! Yes!” I babbled, realizing I’d been so completely engrossed in my Logan fantasy world I had barely noticed we had already been through half the garden by now. Weren’t women supposed to be able to multi-task? Apparently only ones who were getting regularly laid.
Logan spread out the blanket and we both began unpacking the overflowing basket, settling ourselves Indian style across from each other on the large blanket. When Ms. Thompson said she packed “a few things” she was being a bit modest. Inside the basket there was a large array of fruit, cheeses, breads and crackers. The sugar addict in me also noticed the cookies, brownies and....jelly beans? I looked up at Logan and he just smiled. She also gave us a bottle of chilled white wine, a corkscrew and wine glasses. It was a feast, and this was only our appetizer.
“This is, wow. Amazing. How did you set this up? And don’t think I haven’t noticed we are the only ones here,” I said. I was very curious how he managed to empty out a six bedroom inn on a Saturday.
“I wanted our first date to be about us. No busy restaurant or crowded streets. We can do all of that later, but today I just wanted to be about you and me. It’s amazing what a bit of money and a lot of charm can do. And I have that,” he grinned. “Plus Ms. Thompson’s a bit of a romantic, so it didn’t take much to twist her arm,” he added.
“It’s lovely Logan. Every part of it. Thank you.”
“Well it isn’t over, so don’t give me a perfect score yet. There’s still time. I could still completely f**k it up!” he joked.
“Even so, I think it’d still go down as the best first date ever,” I confessed.
His eyes flashed up to mine quickly in surprise, and then I realized what I just said. This wasn’t a simple first date for him, I realized. He must constantly be wondering what or who I’m thinking about. I wondered if he feared he’d never measure up. If he thought he would constantly come in second place to a ghost. I wanted to ask him and then soothe his fears because it wasn’t what I was thinking at all. But not here. Not on our first date, in this beautiful garden, when everything is so perfect. So, instead of using words, I did the only other thing I could, I showed him. Leaning forward on my hands, I gently placed my lips on his. He groaned at the contact, and all of a sudden his control snapped. He snaked his arm around my waist and hauled me onto his lap. Tilting my head to the side, he deepened the kiss and plunged his tongue inside, consuming me. With my legs wrapped around his torso, I felt him hard and ready between our bodies and I instinctively ground against him. I was completely lost in him, and the world disappeared.
“Stop, ah f**k. We’ve got to stop,” he gasped, desperately trying to catch his breath as he leaned his forehead against mine.
“Why?” I breathed, still stuck in my lust haze.
“Cause if we don’t, I’m going to take you here right in the middle of this garden. And that’s not the way I want our first time to go.”
“You’ve thought about our first time?”
“Jesus, Clare. I think it’s been the number one thing on my mind since the moment I walked into that exam room. It’s a wonder I can even function at work,” he admitted.
I giggled, my body shaking slightly which caused him to wince.
“Okay, you on top of me? Not helping my resolve. I’m starting to reconsider,” he groaned as his eyes roamed up and down my body.
“Fuck,” he cursed and promptly picked me up at the waist, sitting me down next to him.
I giggled again. I really shouldn’t have, but I did find it kind of humorous.
Call me crazy.
“So, our first time, what’s it like in your head?” I questioned him.
“You want me to describe it, Clare? I’m not sure how that’s going to help my current situation.”
Distracting himself, Logan picked up a bunch of grapes and began popping them into his mouth, one at a time. I mimicked him, taking my own bunch of grapes from the giant basket in front of us. Apparently we both need a bit of a distraction.
“Well, yeah, if I play a starring role, I’d like to know about it. And what makes you think there will be a first time?” I teased.
“Woman, you’re trying to kill me, and really? After that? I’m quite positive we’d be in the middle of our first time right now if I hadn’t put the brakes on,” he boasted, giving me a cocky stare which caused me to blush. Saving me any further embarrassment, he continued, “I don’t have an entire scene planned out or anything, but I am a guy. I can’t help but imagine you spread out, like a feast before me, allowing me to take you in every way imaginable.”
Oh God. Can’t breathe.
“Look. I haven’t had the best track record since my divorce. I’ve been labeled a lot of things, and for the most part I’ve earned them all,” he admitted, his voice full of regret.
“I want a clean slate with you, Clare. You’re special to me. I don’t know what we’re doing or where it’s going but I’ve never felt anything like this, and I can’t mess that up by doing the same shit I’ve always done.”
I was speechless. I don’t think I had ever been so turned on from a man telling me why he didn’t want to have sex with me before. Forgetting myself, I leaned over again and kissed him, pulling his body to mine. He came willingly, and we ended up right where we were minutes ago, devouring each other with fiery frenzy. In our fervor, he pushed me down to the blanket, and I felt his hard body on top of mine. His hands slid up my leg and slipped under my dress to grab my ass. He groaned in surprise when his hands touch nothing but fleshy backside thanks to the thong Leah talked me into. God, his groan was sexy.