Lover Boy: All American Boy

"Mmhmm," she murmurs in agreement.

"Do you want to talk about it?"

"Nope,” she says, throwing a handful of their snack into her mouth, “Popcorn?" she asks, holding out the bowl.

"You know if we're going to be real friends, Avery, you'll probably need to tell me more about you."

A heartbeat, and then, "Ok, but not now," Avery whispers, ashamed of her inability to open up.

Bringing her legs up onto the couch under her hips, she fiddles with the hem of her pants nervously.

Logan takes a handful of popcorn and shoves it into his mouth before grabbing the remote and flicking through the channels before landing on a showing of the movie Scream.

Even the way he shovels food into his mouth is sexy, she thinks before she can stop herself. Sexy? Where did that come from?

They sit in companionable silence as the film rolls, but the tension continues to grow in the room. Whether that tension is awkward or sexual, Avery can't pinpoint because she’s feeling both.

"You know," Logan says as he maintains his attention on the television. "I grew up poor. Dirt poor. And my dad used to beat me so bad I would need to skip school so that the teachers wouldn't notice the bruising."

Avery jerks her head in his direction at his sudden and unanticipated confession: a confession he gives so nonchalantly.

"My mom left us when I was a kid. Then my high school girlfriend left me when my dad caught us going at it, though I already lacked most respect for women at that point. I didn't really have the best examples in the trailer park."

He doesn't wait for Avery’s response - not that she could have given one, judging by her widened eyes and slack jaw. She can hear the hurt in his voice, even though it’s clear he’s trying not to convey it. Hearing his pain sends a quiver through her throat for the little boy that was beaten and that missed out on so much.

"I prayed every day to get out of that hell hole. I worked my ass off in school and went to both undergrad and medical school on full scholarships. In college, I met Shannon and I thought she was my game changer and that we'd be together forever. I was so in love with her that I didn't notice any of the signs that she was cheating until it was too late…” He pauses briefly, staring at nothing, then resumes, “And boy was she cheating. I found her in her dominatrix getup on top of her plaything in our apartment, the day I had planned on proposing."

A gasp escapes the barrier of Avery’s mouth at his heartbreaking revelation. She brings her hands to her mouth to cover her reaction.

"At that point, I didn't want to consider another relationship and would sleep with any woman that threw herself at me. One of the girls in my residency program would come over occasionally and we would go at it. Man, she would do things I didn't even think were possible."

The thought of Logan having sex with another female causes Avery to cringe and that feeling alone makes her shake her head.

"I had thought we were exclusively screwing each other, apparently she didn't, because she told me she had been fucking other guys in the program too. Of course, that is after she told me she was pregnant and had aborted what she thought was my baby."

"Oh my God," Avery murmurs just loud enough for Logan to hear.

He turns his saddened eyes in her direction and places his hand on her cheek, wiping away tears she hadn't known seeped from her eyes.

"Women have done shitty things to me and I don't trust them. I haven't considered a relationship in a long time, Avery. But for some reason I trust you and I want a relationship with you, even if it is just a friendship," he says as his thumb brushes against her bottom lip. "You don't have to tell me anything now, but I hope that you'll be able to share with me one day."

"You don’t even know me," Avery sighs as she closes her eyes relishing the feel of his hand against her face.

“Don’t need to. I can feel it,” he replies gruffly.

Seconds later she feels his hand slide into her hair and tilts her head upward. His lips softly brush against hers in the gentlest kiss she’s ever felt. Before she realizes what she’s doing Avery matches the movements of his mouth as her hand comes to rest on his wrist.

The kiss is beautiful. It's a first kiss girls dream about and movies try to recreate. If there was a chorus of angels singing hallelujah, now would be the moment they would crescendo.

They continue to kiss, Logan testing her boundaries, as he tastes her lips with his tongue, but before she is able to respond in return a high-pitched screech coming from the movie startles them and they jump apart.

Chests are heaving as they both work to catch their breath and Avery sends a mental thank you to Wes Craven for his perfectly timed distraction that kept her from continuing down a path she knows she would regret.

"I'm sorry, Avery. I got carried away. You just had this otherworldly look about you with your eyes closed and I couldn't help myself."

"That's ok. It won't happen again. I mean, friends don't kiss like that, right?"

Logan looks at her closely, analyzing the situation.