He cleared his throat, speaking with hesitation. “I like spending time with you, too.”
I knew how hard it must be for him to say something like that. He was so shy, and it always made his words carry more weight. I knew he chose every word carefully. At least while he wasn’t drunk.
We’d approached the house now, and we stopped on the front deck, right outside the door.
Logan pulled in a breath, letting it all out. “I feel so scatterbrained right now. Not in a bad way. In a good way, I guess. A really good way, actually.”
His eyes were a little wide, radiant blue looking right up at me.
I puffed out a small laugh. “I feel scatterbrained ninety-nine percent of my life,” I said. “Welcome to the world of Brody Bryant.”
He smiled, his features lighting up. “I think I like the world of Brody Bryant.”
“You feel scatterbrained?” I asked, my voice coming out soft. “I don’t want to make you feel that way. Is my stupid monkey-brain contagious or something?”
He nodded, his gaze dancing across my face. “I just feel comfortable around you, I guess. In a way I don’t usually feel. And I’m so used to not feeling comfortable around anyone but Dani. It’s disorienting.”
“You want to know what else is disorienting?” I asked, cocking my head to one side.
“Hmm?”
“Looking in your eyes,” I said, reaching out and gently brushing a lock of his hair to the side.
He stood up a little straighter, on high alert.
“God,” he whispered quietly, and I watched his Adam’s apple bob as he swallowed hard. “Why am I so nervous? In a good way?”
“Probably because I’m flirting with you again, roomie,” I said.
Bad. Bad. I knew I shouldn’t have been going down this path, but I couldn’t stop myself. I wanted him, so badly.
His eyes widened for the second time tonight, his face getting that faraway, deer-in-headlights look again for a moment. He still looked good, even when he was all dazed.
I reached out, grabbing his hand. It was a little colder than mine and I squeezed it, warming up his fingers.
“If you want me to stop at any time, I will,” I said, my voice low as I looked him in the eyes. “I don’t want to make you uncomfortable, but goddamn, I want to kiss you so badly.”
He looked like he might pass out, but finally, he spoke. “It does make me uncomfortable,” he said. “But like I said, I think it’s in a good way.”
“You sure about that?” I asked, searching his eyes.
He swallowed hard. “Yeah,” he said, a worried look coming over his face again. “I just—well, I don’t know how to act, and I’m so bad at this stuff, and even if I want it, which I do—I really do, you are so hot, Brody, you don’t even know—I just don’t know what to do—”
I leaned in, pressing a soft kiss to his cheek, right on the spot where he often had a blush. His skin was warm and smelled faintly of spiced vanilla.
Yes. This was what my body had been craving for hours. Weeks, honestly. Skin-to-skin contact with Logan, even a chaste little kiss on the cheek, felt like fire, somehow. Every little thing meant a lot with him.
He let out a little sigh as my lips touched his skin, and I slowly moved to his opposite cheek, giving him a little kiss there, too.
I nuzzled up against the side of his neck, speaking softly by his ear. “You’re doing great,” I said. “You can be nervous all you want.”
I could feel him take a deep breath in.
I fucking loved being this close to him. I felt like a dam holding back a torrential flood of just how much more I wanted, but wouldn’t let myself take. I knew I had to earn his trust, and right now I was pretty sure I’d do anything for it.
“Well, usually when I’m nervous, I recite the English monarchs, in order, in my head,” he said, his voice just the slightest bit shaky. “And I don’t exactly know if it’s a turn on to hear about George, George the Second, George the Third, George the Fourth, William the Fourth—”
I kissed him again and breathed out a quiet chuckle at the same time. I reached up to circle my fingertips over the side of his body, squeezing him gently there.
“Listen, if you need to recite the names of old, dead rulers while I’m close to you, I’d take it in a heartbeat.”
He puffed out a laugh now, too, sighing afterward. “No. Not this time. No chance in hell I want to be thinking about primogeniture and sovereigns right now.”
“Those are definitely words I’ve heard, but I have no clue what you’re talking about,” I murmured, pressing tiny kisses to his jawline. He let out a deep, satisfied breath, leaning his head to the side to give me more space.