“Fuck, you’re perfect,” I breathe out, moving back in to kiss her. “It’s like you were made just for me.”
I feel her starting to tighten around me, and I know she’s preparing for her release. I move my hips faster, with as much force as I can in the water, and it’s only moments before she’s coming undone again.
When she finishes, her eyes open and lock on mine. She wets her lips. “I was made for you, Logan. Nobody else.” She shakes her head, and I feel my own release rising to the surface.
My hips take on a rhythm of their own, working harder and faster until I’m spilling everything I have into her. All movement stops as we both try to come down from our recent high. My heart is pounding against my chest, and our loud breathing is all that fills the night around us.
“It feels like I never left,” I tell her, picking her up as I remove myself from her and set her on her feet. “When I’m with you, it feels like these last twenty years didn’t even happen.”
She nods. “I know. I feel the same way.”
I pull her in for one last kiss, feeling the world stop spinning. Being together, it’s always stopped all time. The world revolves around us now.
Eleven
Ella
A week passes quickly with Logan back in town, and we spend every free moment together that our schedules allow. I work at the flower shop, spending more time telling Lisa all the details of our meetings than I do arranging flowers, and when the workday ends, I go over to see the day’s progress on the house he’s fixing up. Since the day of our dinner, we’ve had dinner together every night at my place or his. We’ve gone out a couple of times, but news of the divorce hasn’t made its way through the town yet, so I put a halt to those for now. I haven’t talked to Tom at all since Erin’s graduation, but I have received a few more legal documents to sign when it comes to changing his beneficiary and other insurance type papers.
Erin has been spending more and more time with her boyfriend before she has to leave, and since I’m left all alone, I’ve been spending more and more time with Logan. Things are great between us. In a way, it’s like being together makes us eighteen again. It’s almost like he never left. And while we’re having fun recreating our youth, we haven’t exactly grown up enough to talk about what all this means, the bigger picture.
I have so many unanswered questions that I’m afraid to ask, like what happens when you sell the house? Are you leaving, or are you staying? Do you see any kind of future with me, or am I just a fun way to pass the time? Are you with me because you still love me, or is this all just a way to get a little piece of your youth back? Questions upon questions with no answers. And I know that if I ask them, he will give me an answer. He’s never been the kind of guy to change the topic avoid any hard talks. But I’m also afraid of his answers. What if he says he’s leaving when the house sells? Will that affect the time I have with him now? I’m not sure I can keep doing this if I know it’s just going to end soon. So for now, I plan to just enjoy my time with him, knowing that eventually, these questions will answer themselves.
A part of me feels like he thinks the same way I do. He’s as much afraid of my answers as I’m afraid of his. So for now, we both keep our questions locked away inside and just focus on enjoying the time we do have together.
Lisa and I lock up the flower shop at five sharp, and I get behind the wheel to go see the progress on the house like I’ve been doing every day. When I walk in, I don’t find him. The living room is officially done, with new flooring, fresh paint, and a couch. The hallway floor is done, and the downstairs bathroom and kitchen are completely clean with a new fridge and stove. I peek out the kitchen window to find him out back, tending to the yard. I walk out the back door and stop to watch him for a moment. I burn the image into my brain of him in his loose-fitting jeans as he drags a rake across the ground shirtless, his back and biceps flexing with every movement.
I let out a loud whistle, giving him a little catcall, and he turns around to see me with a smile. “Like what you see?”
I shrug, playing indifferent. “Did I mention I’m looking for a gardener for my place? Uniform is similar to what you’re wearing now,” I tease, motioning up and down his body as I walk closer.
He laughs and pulls me in for a kiss. “Did you see the upstairs?”
I pull back, flashing him a look. “Are you hitting on me? ’Cause that’s a must for anyone I hire.”
He laughs and rolls his eyes. “No, seriously. I tore everything out today.”
“Ohhh, I must see. Show me your bedroom, Logan.” I say it all flirty and breathy.
He laughs but drops the rake to take me inside.
He leads me up the stairs, and already, it looks different. The old carpet has been torn out and is down to the bare, unfinished hardwood. The photos have been taken off the walls, and both the bedroom doors and bathroom door are standing open, rooms completely empty.
“What’d you do with all the stuff?” I ask, walking into what used to be his room.
“Pitched it. Well, not all of it. Some of the stuff I packed up into boxes and stashed in the downstairs closet.”
I spin in a circle, taking in the empty room. “So, how long until you have the whole thing finished?”
He shrugs as he leans against the doorframe. “If I keep this pace, another week or two. But if something slows me down…” he says, walking closer. “There’s no telling how long it could take. Hell, it may never get finished.” He wraps his arms around me and pulls me to his chest.
I squeal from the quick movement, but I wrap my arms around his neck and kiss his delicious lips. I don’t know what it is about him, but when we’re together, everything else falls away. I don’t think about the last twenty-two years. I don’t think about my daughter going off to college or the divorce I’m going through. The whole world just falls away, and we stay protected in our own little bubble. Holding me against the wall, he pushes my dress up my hips and moves my panties to the side. Even though we were in this exact position just yesterday, I can’t help but want him again. When we’re together, I feel like I’m home.
“My place for dinner?” I ask as I fix my clothing after we’ve finished. “I think Erin is going to be home, so it’ll just be the three of us.”
He pulls his jeans up his hips and tightens his belt. “Yeah, okay. I need to shower first though.”
I motion for him to go ahead. “Be my guest.”
He smirks as he walks past me, back downstairs to the only finished shower in the house. An idea hits me, and I giggle as I head down after him. After I hear the water come on, I strip out of my clothes in the hallway and walk into the tiny bathroom. I pull back the curtain and step in behind him. His head is bowed forward as he washes his hair. When he turns around, he has water dripping into his eyes and he’s squinting, but it doesn’t stop him from checking me out.
“Ready for round two already, huh?” His hands find my hips, and he pulls me against his chest.
I shrug. “It just occurred to me that I haven’t seen you fully naked since we were kids.”