The Logan Brothers

Chapter 19 - Being Told

Chapter 19 - Being Told

After I hurried to shower and put on some date-worthy clothes, I skipped downstairs, smiling. This was a big deal - I was going on my first ever date. I knew I had done date-like things with Grayson before, but this was the real deal. Surprisingly, I wasn't that nervous. Excited was a better word for what I was feeling.

Grayson was waiting for me downstairs; he had turned the TV on and was sprawled out on my couch. It was nice to know he felt so comfortable and welcome in my home, even though the past few years we had been anything but friendly towards each other. Though I had a feeling Grayson made himself at home anywhere.

"Hey," I squeaked, poking my head through the doorway. Grayson's head turned slowly, and his eyes widened slightly when he saw me.

I hadn't put on anything too extravagant, so I didn't know why he was looking at me like that. I had blow dried my hair and left it hanging naturally, which meant I had a few waves here and there. The makeup I had kept to a minimal - just foundation and some mascara, and I was wearing a sundress I had never worn in my life even though it had been sitting in my closet for years.

It was this bright, forest green color, and had lace down the sides to my waist, showing my skin beneath it. It came down to almost my knees but showed a bit more cleavage than I was used to. Honestly, it had taken me a few minutes to muster up the courage to wear it. I was more of a sweat pants and baggy shirt kind of girl, and showing that much skin was a bit out of my comfort zone.

"Ready to go?" I asked after I had been squirming in his awestruck look for a while. He shook his head, snapping his jaw shut. I would've laughed, maybe, if I wasn't the subject of his staring.

"You look beautiful," he told me, kissing my cheek. He took my hand and pulled me towards the door.

"Where are we going?" I walked happily beside him, still clutching hand. If I knew Wes he had gone to bed the second he walked in the door, so I didn't have to worry about him seeing us. Not for now, at least.

"Lunch," Grayson said cryptically, opening the passenger door to his mustang for me. I gave him a look as I slid into the seat, not happy with the answer. "It's a surprise." he laughed.

"I don't like surprises," I grumbled, crossing my arms. "Why don't you just tell me now?"

"Because that ruins the point of a surprise, Ginny," he teased, nudging my shoulder. I sighed, leaning my elbow against the center counsel. The roof was up today, which I was grateful for. I hadn't just spent all that time getting ready for nothing. "So what's up with Leah and Elsie?"

"What do you mean?" I asked, wrinkling my eyebrows. The conversation had taken a turn that I wasn't prepared for.

"They were just acting weird," he shrugged, pulling out of the driveway. He zoomed off, and suddenly I remembered what a life-threatening experience riding in the car with Grayson was.

"They're always weird," I pointed out, squirming. We both knew that the ice cream excuse was a lie and that they wanted me to have some alone time with Grayson. He just wanted me to say it out loud.

He nodded. "I guess that's true. But Leah doesn't usually pin you to the ground."

"You'd be surprised," I muttered under my breath, smiling. He heard me, but he chose not to comment on it. Instead, he focused on his driving, hopping on to the highway and speeding down the road. I didn't recognize the route we were taking, so I had no idea where he was taking me. As the minutes ticked by, the more squeamish I got.

"You look like you're about to pee yourself," Grayson laughed after a few minutes of silence. Rolling my eyes, I slapped his arm.

"If you would tell me where we're going then I wouldn't." My gut was twisting nervously, and maybe it was because I still didn't trust him. The old Grayson would drive me hours away and then abandon me there. It was kinda scary.

"We're just going to lunch, Ginny," he finally admitted, giving me an annoyed look. "There's this little place called Burger Central in Greengrove. The whole top floor is outdoors and there's this really pretty view of the beach."

I had been to Burger Central before, once when I was like, twelve. Wes and I had spent the day on the coast, and when we got hungry we thought the building looked cool. The view was spectacular, especially when the sun was setting.

I didn't want to tell Grayson that, though. "Sounds cool," I lied, pretending I had never been there before. He smiled at me.

Suddenly, my phone beeped.

Wes: Whatcha up to?

Oh no. I glanced out of the corner of my eye, but Grayson wasn't paying attention. He was too busy exiting the highway to avoid the suddenly busy traffic. Biting my lip, I typed a reply.

Me: Just out for some ice cream with Leah and Elsie.

Ever since I had started lying to Wesley I felt like there was this weight on my chest. We didn't lie to each other, it just wasn't our style. I felt like a b***h.

Wes: Cool. When you get back do you wanna go see a movie with me?

My heart started to thud. I checked again, but Grayson still wasn't paying much attention to me. Since it was summer the coast was crazy, he needed to navigate the traffic. It's a good thing too because I was close to a panic attack.

Me: YES! I just don't know when I'll be back...

Wes: Well be back by eight, because our movie starts at eight thirty.

Two seconds later, my phone beeped again.

Wes: And don't even ask what it is, I'M NOT TELLING YOU! ;)

I snorted, rolling my eyes. Typical. Grayson looked at me, raising an eyebrow.

"Something funny?" he asked as we pulled into a parking spot. I jumped; for a minute I had forgotten he was there.

"Oh, uh," s**t, I thought, wishing I could jump from the car. "Just texting your i***t brother."

Grayson's eyes narrowed. "What'd he want?"

"Nothing," I lied again, leaning forward and planting a kiss on his cheek. That always seemed to distract him. "Come on, let's go get some food. I'm starving."

I really hoped I could figure out my feelings soon because this whole dating both Logan brothers thing was eating me alive. I literally felt like there was a monster eating me from the inside out.

As soon as we were out of the car, Grayson took my hand. He opened the door for me and lead me inside, never once letting go. A huge smile seemed to be permanently etched onto my face.

The inside of the restaurant was beautiful. It was made of wood, like a barn, with Christmas lights wound up the wooden posts. People were everywhere, a loud hum filling the room. I could hardly hear the waitress when she asked us if we'd like a table or a booth.

We were lead up the twisty stairs that opened onto a magnificent balcony. You could see people lounging on the sand, and the crystal blue water lapping up onto the shore. It was breathtaking, even if the sun was still high up in the sky.

Grayson pulled the chair out for me so I could sit down at our little table for two. "Thanks," I muttered, ducking my head to hide a blush. He sat down across from me, immediately pulling my hand so it lay across the table just so he could hold it.

"What can I get you two to drink?" The waitress asked, giving us a huge grin. She was wearing a deep plunging V neck, displaying her very distracting boobs. Even I had a hard time not staring, so it wasn't a surprise when Grayson's eyes dipped to her chest before snapping back up to her eyes.

It still stung, though.

"Water, please," I said, slowly slipping my hand from Grayson's. It was childish - how was I to expect a teenage guy not to look at boobs when they're on display for all to see? And who was I to judge? I had kissed his brother just a few hours before.

Jesus, I was turning into a hypocrite.

"Same," Grayson muttered, eyeing me suspiciously.

The girl nodded, smiling brightly again. "Alright, I'll have those right out. My name's Crystal, by the way. Just holler if you need anything."

"We will," I forced a smile, picking up a menu. I tried to hide behind it, but the second Crystal walked off Grayson shoved it down, raising an eyebrow at me. "What?"

"What?" he gaped, frowning. "Ginny, what's wrong?"

"I hate when you call me that," I snapped, yanking the menu back from him. His eyes widened slightly, and I cringed. That had come out a lot harsher than I had intended. "Sorry," I muttered, running a hand over my face. "It's nothing."

"It doesn't seem like nothing," he said but didn't push any farther. Instead, he picked up his own menu and started scanning the items.

I felt like punching myself in the face. Since was I one to get jealous? It was hard to focus on anything other than Grayson; any small reaction I picked up on. He was chewing on his bottom lip, which meant he was nervous. He was also angry, I could tell by the way he narrowed his eyebrows every time I made a sound.

"Here are your drinks," Crystal said, appearing out of nowhere. I hated that she was so peppy. "What can I get you to eat?"

I ordered a turkey burger, and Grayson got a double cheeseburger. Thankfully Crystal left in a hurry, so I was able to talk with Grayson. Clearly, I needed to clear up the air.

"Look, I'm just self-conscious, okay?" I muttered, looking at my hands. Looking him in the eye seemed way too hard.

"What?" he asked, unable to hear me. Internally, I grimaced. Did I really have to say it again?

It took all my strength took look him in the eye, and with a gulp, I said, "I'm self-conscious. I don't know what we are or what we're doing and I just worry that I'm going to get hurt. I've never done this," I gestured between us, "before."

In a matter of seconds, his whole appearance changed. His face morphed into understanding, and slowly, his eyes softened. "I know you haven't Ginny, that's one of the things I like about you. You're so...Innocent. Other girls take elaborate measures to get my attention and you're just you."

Slowly, I nodded. I wasn't sure if that was a good thing or not.

"And we're on a date, that's what we're doing," he smirked, giving me a wink. Well duh! "As to what we are...You're my girlfriend, of course."

My heart literally stopped for a second. My eyes widened to the size of tennis balls and sat straight up, choking on the sip of water I had just taken. Grayson didn't beat around the bush, that was for sure. "Girlfriend," I choked out.

His face wrinkled up. "Well, yeah. If you don't have a problem with that." I swallowed, taking a deep breath. My first boyfriend, this was a big deal. Clearly, he had considered us to be together for a few days now, which made me feel even more guilty. If we used titles, I was officially cheating. And I wasn't a cheater.

I opened my mouth to say I wasn't ready for us to be official yet, but somewhere from my brain to my lips the message got confused. "Of course don't have a problem with that, Mr. Boyfriend," came out instead. Grayson smiled widely, and I tried to smile back even though I was freaking out inside.

What the flipping hell had I gotten myself into?

***

When we got home, it was starting to get dark outside. We had spent hours at the restaurant just talking, and then we went for a walk along the beach. There may or may not have been a couple of intense makeout sessions as well.

We pulled into the driveway, and Grayson leaned over to kiss me. I smiled and grabbed the back of his head, running my fingers through his hair. When he pulled away, I sighed. "Wes wants me to go to a movie with him now."

Grayson frowned. "Why can't you just spend the evening with me?"

"Because he's still my best friend and I said I would," I said, hopping out of the car. "Speaking of which, I think it's best if we don't tell Wes that we're together."

"Why not?" he exclaimed, wrinkling his eyebrows at me. "He should know."

"Because, Grayson," I sighed, running a hand through my hair. My stomach was in knots. "He told me he likes me, and I don't want to hurt his feelings." That much was true, I didn't want to hurt either of them.

"He has feelings for you?" he asked, slowly walking towards me. "Well, now I really don't want you spending time with him." Possessive much? Placing a hand on my hip, I gave him a look that clearly said, are you insane?

"We're best friends, Gray. If you want to be my boyfriend you're going to have to accept that."

"Fine," he sighed, dragging out the 'e'. He put his hands around my waist and pulled me to him. "We can keep it a secret for now. But eventually, we'll have to tell him."

"I know," I said, wrapping my arms around my neck. I had to stand on my tip toes to place a peck on his lips.

When he pulled away he was smirking at me, eyes sparkling. "I like it when you call me that."

"What?" I frowned, confused.

"Gray," he smiled, nuzzling into the crook of my neck. Goosebumps popped up on my skin as I shivered. "It's cute."

Oh my god! I hadn't even realized I had called him that. Where had the nickname even come from?!

Blushing, I mumbled, "Then I'll have to call you that more often, Gray."

The front door opened and closed, and I jumped away from Grayson as if he had suddenly burst into flames. No sooner than we had separated did Wesley jog down the stairs, waving at me. "Hey, Imogen!" He called.

"Hi," I called back, waving. Grayson took that as his cue to leave because he suddenly walked off without saying a word. I blinked at his back as he walked into the house, huffing. It was amazing how quickly his mood could change.

"Were you talking with Grayson?" Wes asked, coming to a stop in front of me. I nodded, and he shook his head. "It's so weird that you two are getting along now."

I couldn't help but blush. "Yeah well, he's not so bad now that his life goal isn't to kill me."

He chuckled, reaching for my hand. "Come on, if we don't leave now we'll be late for the movie."

"What are we going to go see?" I slid into his car, closing the door behind me. For some reason, it smelt like clean laundry.

"I told you it's a surprise," he teased, pulling out of the driveway. "But I know you hate surprises, so I'll tell you anyway. We're seeing The Fault in Our Stars."

I gasped, slapping his arm. "You know I didn't want to see that."

"Yeah, but only because you cried your eyes out when you read the book. That's not a good enough reason." He countered, giving me a look. I sighed and crossed my arms, pouting. I hadn't even worn waterproof makeup!

"You better be prepared to hold me while I bawl my eyes out," I mumbled.

"Don't worry, I have tissues in my pockets and everything," he smiled, and I smiled back. As much as I didn't want to look like a blubbering mess in front of Wes, I was excited. At least I had an excuse to cuddle up next to him for a whole two hours.