Logan's Salute

Chapter 1

Kristin's POV

Kristin Stevens rushes out of her house, as her parents shouts at the top of their lungs. At least this time it was not at her, but for her sister Paula Stevens, who has just announced her engagement. Paula has been dating Jacques Lamont, a French exchange student, for a little over three years now and has finally agreed to marry him. Jacques is a sweet guy, quite thin and tall with ash blonde hair, with the kindest light brown eyes Kristin has ever seen. Paula absolutely adored him and Kristin could see his adoration for her sister as well. Jacques adoration is quite understandable, as Paula has shoulder length  dark hair, dark brown eyes with sharp features, kissable lips and the build of a gymnastic athlete. Her spirit was like that of a tiger, untameable but very fierce. Paula was average in height, so Jacques basically towered over her.

In the last few months, Jacques has announced that he needs to return home as his Study Visa is expiring. He refuses to leave the country without his darling Paula. He has insisted that his life without Paula would be very flavourless croissant in May, whatever that means. Their parents, however, are against the idea of Paula leaving the country after marrying Jacques as Paula would then immigrate after the wedding. They fear that Paula would not be able to handle living in a foreign country, where Kristin believed that France was far from ready for Paula. She was truly a wildfire.

Kristin could still hear them shouting as she takes the corner, making her way to her school, further down the road. Kristin was slightly taller and slimmer than her sister Paula. Kristin's pitch black hair reached the middle of her back and was very curly. Her eyes were more a chocolate brown with long beautiful lashes, sharp features and full lips. Paula and Kristin were olive skinned, like their mother, with their fathers wavy hair. Paula had a more exotic taste in boys whereas, Kristin preferred the local boys. 

Kristin has been seeing Matthew Gabriel ever since she started high school. Matthew was the most popular boy on the school and everyone liked him, even the guys. He had red hair with green eyes and a smile that could stop traffic. He has a slim muscular build, like that of a professional soccer player. Matthew is easy on the eye and Kristin has been receiving many admiring glances from the girls everywhere they went. Matthew was also her first serious boyfriend, in every aspect of that words.

Her smile broadens when she enters the school gates and hurries to their 'special spot' where they sit normally together. She has not seen Matthew the whole weekend as he was on a trip with his father. Mr. Gabriel's, Matthew's father, was not a fan of hers and always finds ways for Matthew to avoid her, regardless of what his son feels for her. She speeds up as she passes the principal's office.

"Kris! Hey, wait!" John Logan, Matthew's best friend, calls after her just as she enters the school yard. She ignores him and waves after glancing over her shoulder to look at him. John, or Logan as he preferred to be called, came running over to her from a spot the school children call "the smokers corner". Logan is tall, with straight black hair, gelled to the back, muscular, as he was a rugby player, chiselled features and black eyes. "You're early!" Logan says as he catches up to her with his ridiculously long legs. 

Kristin's stops as she says, "Morning, Logan. Yes, I am early this morning. Is that problematic for you?" He looks at her with confusion. "Should I have okayed my schedule with you first, before coming into school at this hour?" Kristin gives him a sarcastic smile and continues to make her way to her destination. Logan jumps in front of her and stops her. 

"Wait! Let's catch up," he says, adding, "I haven't seen you for such a long time." Kristin folds her arms in annoyance and looks up at the giant. Kristin was about to contradict him when she realised that she did not see him for three weeks of the school holidays.

"Logan, we can catch up later," She says and sidesteps, but he blocks her. "Oh, come on! I want to see Matthew!" She shouts, slips pass him and runs. Logan follows calling out to her the whole time. Enjoying the chase, she smiles and speeds up, however Logan cuts her off and puts his hand up in the air stopping her again.

"Wait, Kris! I need to say something to you." Kristin frowns up at him, crossing her arms. 

"What is it Logan!" She asks him irritated. His jaw clenches and he looks at her with a blank expression. 

"I forgot," He says. She rolsnher eyes and moves pass him again. He grabs her arm and they spin to the ground. Kristin lands on top of him, with her head in his shoulder. His hands gripped her wais as they took the tumble. "Are you okay?" He asks, in a thick voice. Kristin's hands pushes on his muscular chest as she tries to free herself. She could feel every muscle in his body as she lay on him. He smelt of cigarettes and aftershave. Kristin makes eye contact as his scent overwhelms her senses, Logan's gaze moves from her eyes to her lips. He swallows hard and then asks, "Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine," she whispers, with another attempt to free herself. "But you have to let me go," she adds. He smiles up at her, displaying beautiful teeth and he releases her. She gets up and dusts herself off. While Logan gets up she runs pass him once again.

"Oh come on, Kris," he calls after her and runs after her. Kristin only stops when she reaches her destination. Kristin's blood runs cold as she stops dead in her tracks. Logan reaches her seconds later and stops a distance away. The spot was a private little lane where the school started to build another classroom but for some reason they just stopped, leaving a wall on an empty lot at the top of four brick stairs.

On the stairs is Matthew, with his pants at his ankles, and sitting straddled over him was Lisa Riley. Lisa is a natural blonde, with blue eyes and a body to die for. Kristin knew that Lisa liked Matthew, but never actually thought Matthew reciprocated the feelings. Kristin could here by the sound of his and her moans, they were about to climax. Her school blouse was open and Matthew momentarily kisses and licks Lisa's huge breasts. Kristin watches as her boyfriend successfully climaxes with another girl. She was so horrified that she could not move. The touch of Logan's hand on her shoulder makes her finally look away. 

"Come, let's go." He whispers and takes her hand, leading her away. Logan and Kristin end up behind the school assembly hall. He lights a cigarette and passes it to her. "Here," he says. Kristin silently takes the cigarette with a shaky hand and smokes it. Logan lights another one and faces her. Kristin takes a few shaky drags of her cigarette, trying to make sense of it all.  

"I have to go," she says, dropping the half smoked cigarette to the ground. 

He grabs her arm as she moves pass him and asks, "Go where?" 

She had a blank expression on her face as she says, "I don't know." He takes another deep drag on his cigarette and then kills it. 

"I know where," he says and takes her hand. Logan looks her in the eyes, asking, "Do you trust me?" She nods, still dazed. He also nods, turns around and leads her by the hand out the back yard of the school and over a field. There stood a motor vehicle, Toyota make, and he pulls out a key and opens the passenger side. "Come," Logan says and  extends his hand towards her. 

She stares back at him and asks, "Whose car is this?" 

Logan drops his hand and says, "My dad bought it for me for my eighteenth birthday. Now, come!" Kristin looks back at the school and then at Logan. She has never skipped school in all her years at high school, but going back to class was not an option for her right now. Kristin walks towards him, gets very close and places her arms around his midsection, hugging him. 

"Thank you." She says and gets into the car. Logan slowly closes the door and makes his way to the driver's side.

Within minutes they were on the highway, approaching the city. Logan is one of those strong silent types. Kristin stole a glance at him as he drove wondering why he removed her from th scene, instead of covering up for his best friend, as he always does. His strong jaw clenched each time he changed gears as his dark eyes remained focused on the road. Kristin remained silent the hole drive, mostly not knowing what to say after finding Matthew and Lisa like that. Even though she knew him as long as she knew Matthew, they were never left alone together. Matthew never did encourage the idea as Logan had a reputation with the ladies. He basically screwed everything in a skirt. 

Logan catches her glancing at him and his gaze softens, giving her an empathic look. Kristin looks away and her cheeks become flushed. Logan abruptly pulls up at a changing room on the coastline and turns off the engine. He gets out and walks to the back of the vehicle. He returns to the passenger side door and opens it, after removing a duffel bag from the boot. 

"Here," He says handing her the bag. Kristin takes the bag and opens it. Inside is a pair of blue jeans, in her size, and a teal T-shirt with a pair of black flip-flops. 

"Whose are these?" Kristin asks, pulling her nose up.

Logan shrugs and says, "Does it matter?" 

"Yes!" She exclaims. "This could be one of your unsavoury hook-up-sluts clothing." Kristin says and then sniffs the clothes. 

Logan smiles and shakes his head, saying, "It belongs to my sister, Gabriella. You know her. She is about your size." Kristin places the things back in the bag, refusing to make eye contact with Logan. 

"Oh," Kristin says, feebly. 

Logan gives a little chuckle and then says, "She left it in the boot over the weekend. We were at the beach together with my parents. Don't worry, they are clean. She's never wore them." Kristin gets out of the vehicle and closes the door slowly. "Women's changing room is over there. We cannot be seen in our school clothes out here this time of day. If we are caught out here, they will lock us up." 

She looks up at him apologetically and says, "Sorry and thank you." Logan smiles and points to the changing room in silence. Kristin then walks into the direction he points.

Kristin very nervously look around the changing room, which appears to be empty, and enters the nearest cubicle. Kristin sits down, clutching the bag tight to her chest. Kristin bursts into tears as hopelessness overwhelms her. The vision of Matthew and Lisa, seen in that compromising position is burned into her memory. Bitterly she cries for what seemed like hours. 

"Hello, there?" A voice of, what sounded like, an old woman came from outside the door. Kristin stops sobbing, more shocked by the fact that there was another woman with her. "Are you okay in there, dear?" 

Kristin sniffs, trying to contain herself and says, "I'm okay, thank you." 

"Well, there is a very nervous young man waiting for you outside," the aged woman says. "He sent me in to check on you." 

Kristin wipes her face, saying, "You can tell him I will be out soon. Thank you, ma'am." 

"Okay dear," the lady says and Kristin listens to the elderly woman leave. Kristin then got undressed and placed her school clothes and shoes into the duffel bag. The clothes fit her like a glove even though they were not her style. The crop top made Kristin aware of her very exposed belly. Once done changing, Kristin takes a glance at herself in the mirror. Her eyes were puffy, her nose was red and her cheeks flushed. Even here hair was a mess. Kristin then loosens her platted hair and then brushes her fingers through. After washing her face Kristin leaves the changing room, finding Logan smoking a cigarette. He was leaning against the car facing the road. He had his back to the changing room.

"I'm done," Kristin says and Logan turns around to face her. His eyes sweep over her body and lingers at certain places. She blushes, as the expression in his eyes change. 

"Perfect fit." He says, with a slight smile. 

"So? Where to now?" She asks to shake the awkward feeling in the pit of her stomach. His gaze went over her body one more time, before he asks her to pass him the bag. He places the bag back in the boot and climbs in the car beside her. 

Twenty minutes later Logan pulls up in a different parking lot, facing the very loud and unsteady ocean. "It looks like high tide." He makes an observation. "Come," He says and exits the vehicle. Kristin follows him out of the vehicle and down to the beach. He moves pass a few rocks and what looked like stairs formed with smaller rocks. At the top of the rocks he helps Kristin up, as the rocks are wide apart. "Look!" He says pointing to the beautiful scenery behind her. The endless Atlantic ocean. Waves fighting to get back to shore with foamy water and the blue sky. It was breath-taking. The sun was warm and the ocean brought a refreshing cool breeze.

Kristin sat and just stared at the marvel for hours. Logan did not speak and neither did she. She wipes a tear away ever so often, but he did not bother her with words. His rumbling stomach made the first sound, making both of them giggle. "Let's go eat something," he suggested and she nodded in agreement. They make their way back to the vehicle and decided to buy a gatsby cut in two, as both Kristin and Logan spotted a roadhouse on their way there. Kristin checked the time and saw that it was already one pm. They returned to the parking, finding that there were more vehicles parked. 

"So how did you find this place?" Kristin asks before she takes a bite of her delicious sandwich. 

"By accident, actually," Logan mumbles, already chewing, He swallows and adds, "I found it when my family and I came here one afternoon. I was sick of my fathers constant nagging and took a walk. It is the best place to think." 

After taking a sip from her foam cup, Kristin asks, "So you and your dad don't see eye-to-eye?" Logan shakes his head. 

"We have our moments," he says, smiles and takes another huge bite of his gatsby. 

"Mm, this is so good." Kristin says, joining him in taking another bite. Logan nods in agreement with a mouth too full to answer back orally. 

Logan eyes her and smiles after finishing his meal. "Feeling better?" He asks. 

"Yes, I am stuffed," she says and looks out over the ocean. 

"You know that is not what I meant," Logan says and takes a sip of his cup. 

Kristin shrugs, saying, "I cannot un-see them together." 

Logan very neatly packs all the papers and plastics in one bag, saying, "I tried to stop you." 

"Whatever good that did," she mumbles under her breath. Kristin shoots him a look and asks, "For a rugby player, you are bad at blocking." Logan pulls a face and shrugs. "You wanted me to find them, didn't you? Why?" Logan stops what he is doing and looks at her square in the face, giving a sigh. 

"Would you have believed me otherwise?" he asks. Kristin reluctantly shakes her head. Logan nods and exits the car to throw the garbage in the bin nearby. Kristin watches him. He catches her eyeing him as he turns around and makes his way back. He climbs back in the car and asks, "Want to go home?" Kristin shakes her head. "Okay," He says. "So what happens now?" 

Kristin puts her head back up against the headrest and sighs. "I don't know," she says. Logan is quiet. She closes her eyes and sighs again. "I can't believe he did this." 

"Do you love him?" Logan asks softly. Kristin opens her eyes and looks at him. He is staring at the ocean, with an odd expression on his face. 

"That is none of your business," Kristin says. He turns to her making eye contact.

"Answer the question." He says and continues, "Do you love him?" Kristin feels offended by the question. 

"I don't have to answer anything!" Kristin shouts at him. "Besides, this could have been just a one time thing!" She did not believe her own words as they exited her lips. Logan pulls a face and inclines his head, as he looks at her. 

"Really!" He asks and she shrugs. "Ask me questions."

"Like what?" She asks, feeling agitated.

Logan eyes her for a while and asks, "What do you want to know?" 

Kristin thinks for a while, swallows and then asks, "How long?" Logan takes a deep breath. 

"Since his eighteenth birthday party," Logan says.

"That was four months ago!" Kristin exclaims, horrified. Logan shrugs. "Why not tell me then?"

Logan shrugs, saying, "He was my friend." Logan's comment has hurt her and she flinches. 

"Was your friend?" She asks, noting the change in his tone. Logan looks away.

"He told me that it was just for that night," Logan says, adding, "but she kept turning up at our parties, and always after you left." Kristin wipes a tear running down her cheek. He then says, "I didn't like what he was doing. Matt knows this. So, we fought three weeks ago and our friendship ended." Logan hits the steering wheel and she flinches again. "I'm sorry, Kris. I should have told you." Kristin wipes her tear stained face and sniffs. Logan reaches for the glove compartment and takes out some tissues for her.

"I think we should go!" She says finally. Logan looks at her for a long while. 

"You didn't answer my question, Kris." Logan says. 

Kristin closes her eyes and asks, "What question?" 

"Do you love Matthew?" Logan asks the words slowly. 

"Does not matter?" She asks softly.

"To me it does, yes," he says in a tone that makes her look at him. He was looking at the ocean at first, then turned his head to look at her. "I would never hurt you like that." Logan's gaze drops down to her lips.

"Logan," she pauses as he makes eye-contact. "What are you trying to say?" 

"Why is it so difficult for you to answer the question?" He asks. Kristin shifts in her seat feeling nervous all of a sudden. Logan reaches for her hand and she makes eye contact again. "Either you do or you don't." He says, making it sound so simple. He places her hand on his left pectoral muscle and she feels his heart beat. "Feel that?" He asks softly. Kristin nods and her cheeks become flushed. Logan smiles. "It beats for you." Kristin looks at him and after a while she pulls away.

"We need to go!" She says and exits the car.

Kristin was more shocked by the fact that she enjoyed the feeling of his warm, muscular chest beneath her hand, than the fact that he declared his feelings for her. Not looking where she was going, Kristin trips over some rocks, as she walks towards the beach. She hears Logan call after her, but does not respond. She moves to her knees on the sand, feeling ridiculous. 

"Kristin!" Logan shouts again, as he catches up to her. "Kris, please get back in the car." Logan says and she refuses. 

"No!" She shouts back, stands up and starts walking. Logan walks after her and grabs her arm, forcing her to turn around. 

"Kristin, please listen. I..." He stops talking. 

"I think you said enough!" Kristin says, and turns to walk away again. Logan grabs her arm, spins her back to face him, bends down and places his lips onto hers. He gently parts her lips with his tongue, slowly exploring her mouth. With each flick of his tongue, he pulls her closer to him, allowing her to feel is arousal. Her arms circle around his neck as his kiss deepens. Her mind going twenty different directions as she allows his hands slip beneath her crop top, pulling her up against his frame. Everything within her ached for him. Slowly, Logan pulls away, leaving both of them breathless. 

"I have wanted to do that for so long now," Logan says, his fingers teasingly running up and down her back. He opens his eyes and looks down at her lips. She looks up at him with flushed cheeks and an aching desire to kiss him again. He bends down but stops, closing his eyes. "We need to go," Logan says, releasing her slowly. "It's getting late." Kristin felt dizzy and hot all over. She could hardly breath steadily, let alone stand. 

"I'm dizzy," she says to him and he smiles.

"Don't worry, I got you," Logan says, picks her up and then carries her to the car. 

The drive home was as silent as the drive to the beach. Kristin, feeling confused, realizes that she had to process what had just happened. She has never before felt once with Matthew in all their years together, what she felt in those seconds kissing Logan. The intensity of desire, the spinning world and the undeniable ache she felt in her loins. Her cheeks become flushed again just thinking about it. Again, she steals a glance of him as he drove and sees him in a different light. He was always the strong, silent type, but never did she see him as desirable. That kiss was amazing! Kristin close her eyes, remembering the feel of his lips on hers, his body pressed up against hers, his arousal wreaking havoc with her loins. Kristin wanted more of that. Those feelings were definitely addictive.

"Oh, no!" Logan says in a disappointed tone and Kristin opens her eyes. Logan slowly pulls up in front of her house and turns off the engine. Matthew's car is parked up front. Logan flashes a look her way and says, "Just be calm, okay." Kristin nods in agreement. Logan exits first and walks to the passenger side and helps her out of the car, Matthew comes running out towards her and Logan. 

"Babe, where were you? I was so worried." Matthew says, eyeing Logan suspiciously Just before he reaches her, Logan steps in between them. Kristin's anger flares up, at the sight of his face. "What are you doing bruh?" Matthew asks, looking confused. Logan puts his hand up when Matthew tries to move pass him. 

"I'm doing this for you, bruh," Logan says and blocks Matthew from Kristin. 

"What do you mean?" Matthew clearly did not know that he was caught red-handed. 

"How's Lisa doing, Matt?" Kristin speaks finally. Matthew directs his attention to Kristin. 

"Lisa?" Matthew asks, confused. 

"Yes, Matt. Lisa Riley? Your breakfast v****a that you had at school this morning?" Kristin says, almost hissing at him over Logan's shoulder.

"What?" Matthew asks, still not understanding. "What are you talking about? Babe, Logan is lying. There is nothing between us! I love you, babe!" 

Logan takes a step closer to his ex-best friend and whispers, "She saw you, bruh." All the blood left Matthew's face. 

"Yes, Matt! I saw you! She made you scream with pleasure, at the school. Disgusting!" Kristin says walking pass Logan and entering the yard of her house. The neighbors began gathering at the sound of her voice. After closing the gate behind her she turns to Matthew and says, "I hope you are very happy with her, because you and I are over! I never want to see you again!" She tugs at the promise ring he gave her and throws it at him. "Leave, Matthew Gabriels!" She shouts and goes into the house. 

Logan's POV 

Logan watches her stomp off and smiles proudly. He turns to walk back to the drivers side of his car. "Why didn't you stop her?" Matthew asks as he turns towards Logan, who is getting ready to leave.

"No, Matt! You screwed up! Don't put this on me!" Logan says, gets into his car and speeds off. He watches in his rear view mirror as Matthew stays for a few minutes and then leaves. Logan smiles again and takes the corner to drive home. 

Kristin's POV

Kristin and Paula watched the boys through the window. "What the hell happened, Tintin?" Paula asks, using her pet name for her sister, after Matthew left. 

"You don't want to know," Kristin says, moving away from the window. She knew her sister would have her back, but did not feel the timing was right to discuss the matter. Meanwhile, memories of Matthew and Lisa play through her mind again, but this time she does not feel sad. Kristin smiles as she remembers the kiss, between her and Logan and places her fingers on her lips.

"Oh my!" Paula says and glances at Kristin over her shoulder. "The drama continues. Its not over yet! Logan is back."

"What?" Kristin asks and goes to the nearest mirror to check her appearance. 

"What are you doing? It's just Logan!" Paula says, as she catches her little sister pinching her cheeks in the mirror.

"Shut up, Paul!" Kristin says. 

Paula retorts, "Make me, Tintin!" 

Kristin makes a face at her sister before darting out of the house to meet Logan. When she came outside, he just closed the boot and was making his way to the gate. He flashes a brilliant smile at the sight of her. "You forgot your school clothes," he says passing her the bag of clothes. She takes the bag and thanks him for his trouble. Their hands touch momentarily and sends a shock wave through both of them. "Ouch!" They exclaimed, simultaneously and they both let go, dropping the bag in the process. Kristin opens the gate and reaches for the bag and at the same time, Logan reaches for the bag and they bud heads. "Ouch!" They exclaimed simultaneously, again. They both of begin to laughing. 

"Wait, let me." Logan says and bends down to pick up the bag. Kristin giggles at their awkwardness. After Logan has given her the bag for the second time, he flashes a magnificent smile at her and says, "I'm glad you didn't go off at him." 

"What do you mean? I yelled at him like a drunk housewife," Kristin says and Logan laughed. 

"Yes, but you didn't kill him." Logan says. 

"Yes well, when I saw him, I didn't feel so angry anymore." Kristin says, not revealing that the real reason behind her "calmness" was due to their kiss. 

"So, how are you feeling now?" Logan asks, his eyes focused on her lips. Kristin licks her lips subconsciously as she blushes. He notices her cheeks reddening and moves closer, slowly. 

"I am, uhm...I," She begins but does not finish as he pulls her close to him and bends down to kiss her. His kiss was slower this time. He parts her lips gently, softly sweetly. She quivered as he pulls away. 

"You taste good." He says, smiling handsomely. Kristin shaken by his kiss grabs a hold of the gate to steady herself. "I will see you tomorrow, at school." He bends down to kiss her cheek softly. "Have sweet dreams." He then walks to his car, smiling brightly. Kristin stayed as he pulls away and until she could not seen him anymore. After closing the gate, she turns around only to find her very confused sister, staring open mouthed at her. She smiles as she makes her way back into the house, her heart singing with joy. 

Logan's POV

Minutes later, Logan pulls into the driveway, parks his car behind the house and locks the gate. He greets a few neighbors as he walks to the house and looks up, into, Jonathan Logan, Logan's father's grim face. All good feelings disappear at the site of his father. 

"Pa," he says as he approaches the door, where his father stood watching him. 

"Where were you?" His father asks him. Logan side glances the order man and shrugs. "You left your sister alone!" Logan looks t his father with a shocked expression. 

"I forgot about her," Logan says, grabbing his head. "She walks with her own friends anyway!"

"That is not the point, Joh," his father says and begins to cough uncontrollably. 

"Pa!" Logan exclaims and takes one step to reach his father, before her falls to the ground. "What is wrong?" Logan asks. His father contains himself, and looks at his son.

"You need to be there for them," Jonathan says. "I am not going to live forever." 

"Nonsense!" Logan says, rubbing his fathers back as they move into the house. "You still have a hundred years ahead of you." Jonathan laughs as they enter the house.