The Logan Brothers

Chapter 16 - Camping Begins

Chapter 16 - Camping Begins

I had finally made up my mind. There was no going back; I refused to chicken out at the last minute. I was going to date both of the Logan brothers.

If they actually wanted to date me, that is. My self-esteem wasn't that great, and when I didn't hear from Grayson all day Friday I wondered if he had changed his mind about me. Granted, I was with his brother at Walmart, but I didn't even receive a measly text. Maybe it was selfish of me, but I had made out with him and it had gotten pretty intense. Didn't I at least deserve a 'sup'?

I wasn't too focused on it, though. Wesley kept me busy and laughing all day long. We went to the store and got all our necessities for camping; hot dogs, buns, sodas, all the smore's fixing we could eat. Even though I tried to help, Wes insisted on paying for the whole thing like the gentleman he is. When we were done with Walmart, he took me out for ice cream and we walked along the shops at our local outlet mall while we ate. It was nice, I think he even forgot about me rejecting his kiss.

I would never forget.

When I woke up on Saturday morning, my stomach tightened. It was here, I was going away with Wesley. My alarm went off at 5:30 AM, and I was barely able to roll out of bed and throw my hair into a messy bun before Wes rang the doorbell. He was a morning person and always on time, which I found to be extremely annoying.

"Hey," I grunted as I opened the door, letting him in. "Let me get dressed real quick, 'kay?"

"'Kay," He called after me, shaking his head. "Hurry up, we have to get on the road." Stupid Logan's and their stupid traditions. For some reason, they insisted on driving five freaking hours instead of going to the perfectly good camping site in our town.

When I saw myself in the mirror, I almost had a heart attack. Wes thought that was attractive?! I had forgotten to take my makeup off the night before, so I had raccoon eyes and my hair basically looked like a bomb explosion tied into a knot. Something had to be done, so I hopped into the shower and cleaned my hair the fastest I could, and scrubbed my face clean.

"Imogen, you don't have to shower!" Wes called through the door, sounding impatient. "It's almost six already."

"I'm almost done," I called back, wrapping myself in a towel. "If you want to help, bring me some clothes. I don't care what," I heard him shuffle off, so I dove for my makeup. I must've set some kind of world record, because by the time he knocked on the door again I already had my foundation and eyeliner on, and was halfway through mascara. "Just a second."

"I swear Immy, if you're putting makeup on," He threatened, banging on the door. I rolled my eyes and tightened the towel, throwing the door open. For a minute he stared at me, then his eyes trailed down my body. I hadn't thought about how awkward it would be for him to see me in a towel; his eyes were roaming every inch of my body without the slightest hesitation and suddenly, I was self-conscious.

"Uh, thanks," I stuttered, grabbing the clothes from his hands. "I'll be right out." He gulped before I slammed the door closed, and then I heard him let out a long sigh. I took a deep breath before letting my towel drop and pulled on the clothes he had brought me.

Obviously, he was a guy, because he had brought me pink running shorts, a pink sports bra, and a red tank top. I almost shuddered at the sight and tossed the shirt aside. There was no way I was wearing that.

"Wes, close your eyes," I called through the door. "I need a different shirt."

"What's wrong with the one I gave you?!" He protested, obviously exasperated.

I rolled my eyes, what a guy thing to say. "It doesn't match, smart butt. Now close your eyes!" For a moment it was silent, so I figured he had done as I asked. I opened the door and walked out, hurrying towards my closet. Halfway there Wes made a choking sound, and out of the corner of my eye, I saw his eyes widen. "I said to close your eyes!"

"I-I thought you just didn't want me to see the clothes that didn't match," He said, still staring at me. Squealing in frustration, I stomped into the closet and slammed the door loudly. "Calm down, you're more covered than you are in a bikini."

Great, now I wouldn't be able to wear the bikinis I had packed.

After pulling on a black tank top, I slipped on my pink Nike's and walked out of the closet. Wesley was laying on my bed, scrolling through his phone. "Well, are you ready?" I asked, placing a hand on my hip. "You're the one who was complaining."

He sat up, giving me a blank look. "You better be joking."

"Maybe I am, maybe I'm not," I said with a shrug, scooping my duffle bag from the ground. It was stuffed to the brim, mainly because I hadn't known what to pack. Before I had just brought pajama's and swimsuits, but now I thought about it way too much. I must look cute at all times, at least, that's what I told myself.

Wes groaned and stood up, grabbing my bag from my shoulder. "I'll carry that," He said with a smile. My heart skipped a beat and I felt my cheeks blush. What a gentleman.

"Thanks," I squeaked, ducking my head. He chuckled and ruffled my hair, making me blush an even deeper shade of red. I had never felt these feelings before; I was nervous and yet I didn't want it to stop.

"Hey kids," My mom called when we were in the hallway, poking her head out of her room. "Are ya'll heading out?" I didn't understand how she could be so perky at six in the morning. She was dressed for work and ready to go. Maybe it was a surgeon thing.

"Yes ma'am," Wesley said, nodding his head. My mom clicked her tongue and shook her head, laughing lightly.

"Wes, Hun, how many times do I have to tell you to call me Helen? Ma'am makes me feel so old," She sounded just like a teenager flirting with a jock. It almost made me gag, but I held in my reaction and covered it up with a cough. I guess I couldn't really blame her, she had me at such a young age that she hadn't had time to live out her teen years. But that didn't mean she had to flirt with sixteen-year-olds.

"Sorry Helen," He corrected, shifting my bag onto his other shoulder. For a moment I felt guilty for letting him carry it because I knew for a fact that it was heavy. When my mom let out a playful giggle, I decided it was time to intervene.

"Okay, we should go now," I said loudly, shoving Wes so he started down the stairs. "Bye mom, love you!"

"Why are you in such a hurry?" Mom asked, trotting down the stairs after us. "Stay and have breakfast with me."

"We never have breakfast together," I deadpanned, giving her a knowing look. She barely caught it and looked away so she wouldn't feel guilty. I knew exactly what she was doing; if she didn't have a chance with Wesley, then she was going to make damn sure to set me up with him.

"We really should get going," Wes said, giving her an apologetic look. "Maybe when we get back on Monday." A weight lifted off of my shoulders, thank god he thought of something before I did.

"I'll hold you to that," She said with a wink. "Be careful out there."

"We will," I called, nudging Wesley again. He seemed to get the hit because he walked out the door, allowing me to close it before my mom could speak again. I groaned. "I'm sorry about her."

"Immy, I've known you forever. I'm used to your mom," He shook his head, casually grabbing my hand as we walked over to his house. My breath hitched; this was a test, I could tell. If I pulled away, he would give up on me. This was it, the turning point. It took all the courage I had to lace my fingers through his and look up at him with a smile.

"I know, but that doesn't mean I'll ever stop apologizing," I couldn't help but notice the way his eyes lit up when he realized I wasn't going to reject him again. At that moment I didn't know how I had pushed him away before. If he had leaned down to kiss me right then and there, I would've let him and kissed him back with as much force as I could muster. I wanted it. I longed for it.

Unfortunately, we reached his car and he released my hand. "I already loaded the cooler and my stuff, so we're ready to go. Is there anything else you need before we go?" He asked, stuffing my bag in the trunk. "If there is, let me know and we can stop on the way."

"No," I said, for the first time getting genuinely excited about the trip. I was about to go away for the weekend with this boy; how lucky was I?! The only thing that stopped me from kissing him right then and there was the fact that we were standing in front of Grayson's house. The thought made my stomach clench. "I just want to get there so we can go swimming."

"That sounds great," Wes sighed, swinging himself into the front seat of his blue Toyota Supra. I followed him inside. "I promise we'll swim after we set up the tent."

I leaned my head against the headrest and groaned. "I hate setting up the tent," I wined, sticking out my bottom lip. He laughed and rolled his eyes, pulling out of the driveway. Unlike his brother, we drove at a reasonable speed and I didn't feel like we were about to die. It was nice.

"Maybe if you're nice to me I'll set it up for you," He said, grabbing my hand and steering with the other. I smiled without meaning to, unable to take my eyes off of him. He really was beautiful. "I know you'd enjoy the view."

The moment was ruined. I pulled my hand from his and slapped his shoulder, making him roar with laughter. As much as I wanted to flip him off, I knew he was right. I would enjoy the view, especially if he took his shirt off.

**********

Five hours later, we drove up to our camping site. The gravel road crackled as we came to a stop, and then there was no sound at all. Everything out there was so peaceful, I had almost forgotten how calming it was.

"Well, here it is," Wes said, hopping out of the car. I got out too and took in the view, swiveling around.

There was a large, round clearing that held the reminisce of our fire pit from the year before, the tree logs we had rolled out for chairs, and large, full trees of all kinds surrounded us for miles more. The lake was about a mile downhill hike, but once you were there, it was totally worth it. The whole thing was beautiful.

"Are you going to help me, or are you going to stand there reminiscing?" Wes grunted, pulling the heavy cooler from the trunk. It fell to the ground with a large thud.

I jumped. "Oh, sorry," I exclaimed, hurrying to grab a bag. The tent was the first thing I reached, so I slipped it onto my shoulder and grabbed my duffle as well. Wes was dragging the cooler through the dirt. "Gosh, how much food did we pack?"

"Probably enough for an army," He laughed, sitting down on top of it. "But that's okay, I bet we'll eat it all." The thought of stuffing myself full sounded really appealing, especially because I was getting hungry. But I couldn't eat a ton if I was about to wear a bikini. A belly bulge was a definite no-no.

"Come on, let's get this tent set up," I said, letting the bag fall to the ground. The metal polls clanked around inside and almost landed on my foot.

"I'll set it up, why don't you get some lunch?" He smiled, grabbing the bag from my feet and unzipping it. For a moment I stood there, mouth open slightly. He had never offered to set it up by himself before. It was a fairly large tent and was a lot easier to set up if you had two sets of hands.

"No way," I finally snapped out of it, shaking my head. "I'm not letting you do all the work! That's not fair to you."

"I really don't mind, Immy," He insisted, unfolding the plastic fabric. I grabbed one end stubbornly and stuck a pole through the hole, feeding it through to him on the other side. "Always the stubborn one, I see."

"You should've known better," I laughed, waiting for him to pull the pole all the way through. When he did, I grabbed a stake and the hammer. "You know I'm too independent for that."

"I know, that's one of the things I like about you," He said casually, completely catching me off guard. I brought the hammer down and, because I was distracted, it landed directly on my thumb. I yelped in pain, falling down on my butt. Wes was by my side in a second. "Imogen, what happend?!" He cried.

Despite myself, tears were welling up in my eyes. I couldn't help it, it was a natural reaction. "I-I just accidentally hammered my thumb. No big deal." No big deal?! Yeah right, it hurt like a mother lover. The skin underneath my nail was already starting to turn blue.

"Here, let me get you some ice,-"

"Wes, I'm fine," I insisted, grabbing his arm. He crouched next to me, pulling my hand into his. Carefully, he examined my thumb. He was gentle and didn't touch it, but he looked at it with such intensity that I thought he was going to burn a hole through my finger. Finally, he lifted my hand to his mouth and brushed his lips against my thumb.

"There," He whispered. "All better." The idea that a kiss could make anything better was ridiculous. Even as a child I hadn't believed the superstition and would have continued blubbering like a little baby. Now, it didn't make the pain lessen, but it did take my breath away. My eyes locked with his, and he smiled kindly.

After a moment of just staring at his beautiful eyes, I shook my head. "We should finish setting up this tent," I coughed, mentally slapping myself. I couldn't let him control me like that! If I melted because of a simple touch or was mesmerized by his eyes, he would have complete control over me, and that would be dangerous. I refused to let him become my puppet master.

His eyebrows wrinkled slightly, but he nodded. "Of course, then we can get to that lake."

"Mhm," I hummed, standing up and wiping the dirt from my butt. It was sweltering hot outside and I was already sweating, so I couldn't wait to hop into the cool, crystal water. This time while hammering the stake into the ground, I was careful. "So, what are our plans for the weekend?" I asked just to get a conversation going.

"I have a few tricks up my sleeve," He said mysteriously. I couldn't see him on the other side of the tent, but I pictured his eyebrows wiggling up and down. "Who knows what the Master has planned?"

I couldn't help it, I burst out laughing. "So you're calling yourself the Master now, huh? What's next? Wesley, King of...Logansberg?"

"Well, if there was such a thing as Logansberg, I would totally be the king of it," Wes sounded arrogant, which made me laugh even harder. It wasn't good quality on him; it reminded me too much of his brother. "There, all done," He announced, coming around the side of the tent. "That wasn't too hard, was it?"

"Tell that to my thumb," I said sarcastically, rolling my eyes. "Don't come into the tent, I'm going to put on my bathing suit. I mean it this time!"

"Yeah yeah yeah," He waved me off, returning to his car. I dragged my bag into the tent and immediately zipped it open, pondering my options. All of my suits were cute, all of them were good choices. But I couldn't wear just any bikini. Even though Wes had seen me in a swimsuit a million times before, this time felt different.

You're just over thinking it, I told myself sternly, pulling a random bikini out of my bag. Since when had I become such a girl about these sorts of things?

The bathing suit I picked was a black, strapless top with a floral print bottom. I pulled it on and then yanked my striped cover-up over my head. It was mostly see-through, but it was the only cover up I had brought. Then I twisted my hair into a knot on the top of my head and shoved some sunglasses onto my face.

"Took you long enough," Wes complained, but he smiled so I knew he was joking. "Come here, I'll put sunscreen on your body," I froze. Well, that escalated quickly. He gave me a weird look. "Not like that, Imogen. I just don't want you to burn."

"Okay," I squeaked, turning around and pulling the cover-up off. Even though I wasn't facing him, I could feel his eyes trailing up and down me, judging every imperfection. I squirmed uncomfortably.

"This might be cold," He warned, starting with my shoulders. I stiffened, but soon relaxed and let him cover my back with sunscreen. I would be lying if I said I didn't enjoy it. "Now do me."

Wes wasn't as muscular as his brother. He didn't have a six pack and his muscles didn't bulge out every time he breathed. But he was toned and firm, and, if I may say so, sexy as hell. My heart rate sped up as I rubbed the lotion into his skin. God, there really was something wrong with me. Was it possible to contract some sort of mental illness from boys?

When I was done, Wes spun me around. He drew his fingers across my cheeks, leaving two lines of sunscreen. "There, now we're ready." He smirked, rubbing some onto his own face.

"Was that really necessary?" I groaned, attempting to rub the sunscreen in. There was way too much and I had to spread it to my neck and chest.

"Yes, because otherwise, you would've forgotten," He stated matter of factly. "Now, let's go swimming." When he didn't reach out for my hand, I felt my heart drop. He just started walking into the woods, not waiting for me to catch up. I scrambled to pull my cover-up back on, and then sprinted after him. I was determined not to get left behind again, so I grabbed his hand and held it firmly with mine.

I didn't look too closely, but I'm pretty sure I saw him smiling as he stared straight ahead.