The Logan Brothers

Chapter 10 - Finding the Right Words

Chapter 10 - Finding the Right Words

The ride home from the beach was excruciating. I was once again shoved next to Candy, who spent the whole ride trying to convince me to give her Wes' number. Apparently, he was hot and just her type, although I was quite certain she was not his. Wesley had never really been all that into dumb, bubbly blonds.

We pulled up to my house an eternity later, much to my immediate relief. I flung the door open with all my might and leaped from the moving hell bus. Elsie stuck her head out the window and shouted, "See you later, Imogen! Text me!" before they drove off, skirting around the corner with a screech of the brakes.

It turned our Elsie was really sweet, I wouldn't have minded hanging out with her again. But her friends I would definitely be avoiding.

As I turned around to head inside, I noticed the shadowy figure sitting hunched over on my front steps. I gulped. The sun was just starting to sink below the horizon, I had been gone almost all day, so I had no idea how long he had been sitting there, waiting. As I stared, Wesley stood and smiled, "Hey," he shouted, sending me a friendly wave.

Oh, good lord, my heart was pounding like crazy. Still, I smiled and responded, "Hey, how long have you been sitting there?"

He shrugged, "A while," As if it was the most common thing in the world, he brushed it off. I was baffled, beyond stunned, and a bit startled. He had been avoiding me for so long I had become accustomed to life without him. But here he was as if nothing had ever happened. "Are we going to go inside, or...?"

"Oh!" I exclaimed with a jump. Holy crap, I hope he hadn't noticed how intently I had been staring at him. With shaking hands, I lifted up my keys and hurried to the front door. Since it was getting darker, the temperature was dropping, and my clothing choice was not meant for the dark. Shorts and a bikini top was not enough to keep me warm.

And yes, I was fully aware that I was essentially wearing my undergarments in front of Wesley. It was all I could do to keep from blushing as bright as a tomato.

I pushed the door open quickly and scurried inside, knowing that Wes could let himself in. It was something we used to do every day, but now it felt weird, foreign. Soon after I turned by back, though, I heard the door close and his thundering footsteps following me down the hall. After depositing my dirty beach clothes into the laundry room, I found Wesley waiting for me by the living room couch.

"Hey," He said again, a slight smirk playing at his lips. His dirty blonde hair was falling into his eyes slightly, the blue t-shirt he wore clung tightly to his skin. Despite myself, despite everything we had been through, the sight of him made my stomach squirm. This was not good, this was not good at all.

"Hi," I squeaked, awkwardly wrapping my arms around myself in an attempt to cover my bare stomach. By the way, Wes' eyes swept up and down my body, I knew I wasn't doing a very good job. God damn it.

"So, how was your beach day?" He asked, leaning against the back of his sofa. His arms were crossed, making his arm muscles bulge out ever so slightly.

"It was good," I walked to stand next to him after mustering all of my bravery. Being so close to him was a little uncomfortable, but it also made my heart race. "How was your day?"

He sighed dramatically, "Boring since you decided to ditch me." I gasped, whirling my head around to stare at him with an open mouth.

"I didn't mean to! You didn't text me until after I had already left!" I exclaimed, horrified. I thought he was actually upset with me. "And even then you could've come up and hung out with us, I'm sure no one would've minded! We were just swimming and talking, you could've joined in on that and-" Suddenly, Wesley burst out laughing.

"I was kidding, Imogen," He chuckled, shaking his head. "Gosh, you need to lighten up. Laugh a little!"

"I do laugh," I huffed, crossing my arms stubbornly, "But I thought you were actually mad at me and-" Once again I didn't get to finish my sentence as Wesley pushed me backward, and we both fell over onto the couch. He landed on top of me, hovering just a few inches above my body. My mouth parted slightly, and I stared into his eyes - which were a mere few inches away, I might add.

His eyes were sparkling. "You're not laughing now," He whispered, eyes darting around every inch of my face. Oh god, this was not a good situation. Especially not with the things I was starting to feel in the pit of my stomach.

I couldn't find any words. I tried my hardest to speak, but literally, the only thing that came out of my mouth was a little breath of air. It wasn't even audible. All I could do was stare at Wesley's face and hope beyond hope that he didn't try to kiss me. Everything would be fine if he just rolled off of me and we laughed this off like nothing ever happened.

But no, the world was against me. Wes' eyes darkened a shade, and suddenly everything in the air was tense. I stiffened under him, which I'm sure he felt. Without any warning his face was inching towards mine, his eyes fixed on my lips.

I wanted to kiss him, don't get me wrong. Everything in that moment was perfect, unlike the night before when Grayson had kissed me so roughly. It would've been sweet and gentle, not rough and forced like my first kiss. But the only thing I could think of, the only person I saw when I closed my eyes to prepare myself was Wesley's brother, and I knew I couldn't kiss him. Not like this.

A moment before his lips touched mine, I pressed my hands to his chest. "I need to take a shower, Wes," I whispered, eyes still closed. I couldn't bear to look at him, I knew he would be hurt. Hell, any guy would've been offended.

He cleared his throat, "Oh, right. Okay." Slowly, he rolled off of me and stood up. When I looked at him, I felt like I had been kicked in the gut. It was like I had just betrayed him in some way. Even though he didn't know I had kissed Grayson, and even though Grayson wasn't my boyfriend, I felt like I had been cheating on both of them on some level.

"Wes, I-"

"Just go take your shower, Imogen!" He snapped, turning his back on me. I flinched, biting my lip. He hardly ever lost his temper, but when he did, he was really pissed off. If I had known he was going to try to kiss me I never would have let him in the house.

Scared to speak, I scurried up the stairs as quickly as I could. As a child, when I had gotten into trouble, I would sprint to my room and cry my eyes out. I was such a goody-goody that even the slightest raised voice brought tears to my eyes. Now was no different, except I was able to hold back the water works.

Once in my room, I took a deep, steadying breath. My hands were shaking and I was starting to feel light headed. Damn Wesley, making me feel all weird inside. I couldn't even really describe it, except it felt like a bunch of worms were crawling around the inside of my body.

Yeah, a shower was definitely what I needed.

I hopped inside the shower and turned the water on, cranking it up almost all the way. It stung and bit at my skin because it was so hot, but at least it was taking my mind off of other things. Wes and Grayson were becoming big problems in my life, but before they had been like annoying brothers. What the hell was wrong with me?

On one hand, there was Wesley Logan, my best friend since forever. All of my firsts had been with him; my first time on a roller coaster, my first time diving off of a diving board, and, when we were fifteen, my first alcoholic drink (at a crazy high school party, of course.) There were so many great memories I shared with him that was a major part of my childhood. I had a connection with him that I wasn't sure I would have with anyone else again.

But then, on the other hand, there was Grayson Logan. The infamous pain in my ass. He had pranked, teased, and tortured me pretty much since the day he could walk, and yet I still had a soft spot for him. I didn't know when it had developed or how long it had been there, but I had discovered that when it came to Grayson I had almost no will power. One look with those sad, big blue eyes and my heart melted unceremoniously. And he had taken my first kiss, a very important first that Wes and I hadn't shared.

"Oh my god," I groaned to myself, leaning my head back against the tiled wall. My head was spinning.

How do you even know if you like someone, anyway? Do they make you smile? Do they give you butterflies? Do they make you feel like the happiest person on the planet? Or do you just know? Because both Logan boys definitely made me feel all of those things - at least some of the time - and yet I wasn't sure which one I liked. In fact, I wasn't sure I liked either of them at all.

After taking my own sweet time in the shower, sulking and soaking in the steam, I reluctantly shut off the water and wrapped myself in a towel. My fingers and toes had turned into prunes, which meant I had been in there for longer than I had originally planned. I assumed Wesley had already left, which meant I was free to unwind for the night.

I put my wet hair in a messy bun and pulled on some pajama shorts. They were bright pink, standing out against my baggy, black sweater that hung off of one shoulder. When I was dressed, I trotted downstairs, heading straight to the medicine cabinet in the kitchen. My head was pounding, and I obviously don't have to explain why.

But as I walked through the living room, I realized I wasn't alone in my house. Wes was still here, standing in the exact same spot I left him. He heard my footsteps and slowly looked up at me, biting his lip. I froze, stunned.

"You're still here," I breathed, placing a hand over my racing heart. I wasn't sure if it was because he had scared me, or simply because of him. Stupid emotions. "I thought you left."

He smirked slightly, almost like he didn't mean to, "I meant to, but I couldn't." He said cryptically. I furrowed my eyebrows, crossing my arms over my chest. "I was a d**k earlier, I shouldn't have treated you like that."

No, no he shouldn't have.

"It's fine," I shrugged. This was getting awkward really fast. "I mean, I kinda..."

"Pulled away when I tried to kiss you?" Wes chuckled, running a hand through his hair. "Yeah, that happened. And don't think I feel any less awkward than you do saying that." And just like that, the awkwardness faded, and I laughed out loud.

"Yeah, it is kind of a funny thought," I admitted, plopping down on the couch. Wes followed suit, although he purposely sat as far away from me as possible. "I mean, you're like my brother."

"Ouch," Wes winced, still with a hint of a smile, "That hurts. Use the b-word with a guy that admitted his feelings for you yesterday. Now that's cold." Rolling my eyes at his dramatics, I slapped his arm playfully. This felt right, this is what was natural between the two of us.

So why was I itching to inch closer?

Suddenly, Wes' face turned serious, "Look, I stayed because there are things I need to tell you. I wasn't sure how to say them, hell, I'm still not sure how to say them, but I just need to get it off my chest." His forehead was creased with worry lines, something that only happened when he was really nervous.

"Okay, shoot," I tried to sound happy, light. But honestly, I was scared. He was scaring me and I wasn't sure if I wanted to hear what he had to say.

He sighed deeply, "Yesterday I told you that Grayson has a crush on you. That was wrong of me." I opened my mouth to respond, but he cut me off. "No, this is my time to speak. It'll be your turn in a minute." Wesley smirked, knowing that he was getting on my nerves. By the looks of things, he enjoyed it, too.

"Anyway, I shouldn't have told you about Grayson's feelings. I'm his brother and I shouldn't have betrayed him like that. I don't know what ya'll talked about, but Grayson's been in a weird mood all day. And I don't want to know what you guys talked about, just so we're clear, but whatever it was it must have been important.

"I'm sorry I put you in that awkward position, I know how much you hate him and all that. This would've been so much easier if I had just kept my mouth shut." At this I frowned, tilting my head to the side slightly. What would've been easier? "I couldn't sleep last night because I was agonizing over what happened between you and my brother. As stupid as that sounds because I know all ya'll probably did was fight, I was still jealous."

"Wes-"

"No, it's my turn to talk. Remember?" His eyes were kind, but I could tell he was growing anxious. My heart was about to pound out of my chest I was so nervous. "The point is that I don't care anymore. I don't care if my brother's f*****g in love with you, I know he doesn't have a chance in hell. And I like you a lot, Immy. This might hurt Grayson and he might hate me forever, but I can't keep protecting him. Not when he destroys everything for himself."

Oh my god.

What was happening?

Why was the room suddenly spinning around me?

"Imogen, will you go on a date with me?"

Those were the last words I heard, along with seeing Wesley's scared, hopeful face, before my vision went black and I felt myself fall to the floor, hitting my head hard.

And then I lost consciousness, officially embarrassing myself to the end of eternity.