"I'm so nervous," she said, her gaze focused on the cars stopped beside them at the traffic light.
As her chocolate eyes drifted over to meet his own, Logan couldn't help but find it ironic that her words were a perfect description of how he felt. It was that same anxious nervous excitement that he was beginning to feel every single time he was around her.
The more time he spent with her, the more he began to become addicted to that feeling. That high he got from her unpredictability, the way she kept him alert and on his toes because he couldn't figure her out in the same way that he could everyone else.
"I'm sure you'll do great," he said, offering her a smile as his hands gripped the steering wheel. Though he could detect the waver in his voice, she didn't seem to notice. Her arm hung out the window as her fingertips grazed the dusty red paint.
She responded with silence, and though her eyes were trained on the glare of the red light in front of them, he could tell her thoughts were somewhere else.
Words weighed heavy on his chest, and in that perfect moment of silence, he wanted so badly to release them, but he was just too scared. Scared of being shot down, scared that she didn't feel the same way, scared that he'd lose the one person in his life that made him feel real. The only person who saw him for who he really was instead of who he pretended to be, that could look past his brains and his awkward mannerisms and see the true Logan buried underneath. He'd rather suffer the consequences of being just friends than to risk losing her completely.
He had already gotten a taste of losing her, and it was more bitter than he'd ever expected. He hated who he was without her, just some lovesick boy slumped over hopelessly on the couch while his friends tried to pry the reasons from him. They could sense he had feelings for her, but they'd never let on. It was always something better left unspoken, though sometimes Logan felt like he just wanted to go up to the roof of the Palm Woods and scream it for everyone to hear. Maybe Kandi would hear it, and she could take it or leave it just as long as he could pull himself out of this limbo.
Kandi, I'm in love with you. I'm crazy about you, and I know you probably don't feel the same way, I just thought you should know.
The words echoed in his head, even though they never left his lips.
Glancing at her from the corner of his eye, he watched as she mouthed the words to the Fuel song humming from the speakers. It was her favorite song. The lazy summer breeze blew her brunette waves away from her face. Her legs were curled up in the seat beneath her; her toes dug into the cream leather, her flip-flops lying empty on the floorboard.
She was so aware of everything around her, was she aware of his feelings for her?
Logan sat in the waiting area on one of the stiff leather sofas, his brown eyes focused on the door across from him. It was her first audition since she'd moved to Los Angeles, and he wanted nothing but the best for her. He didn't think he could stand to see her leave the room empty-handed, didn't want her to lose faith in her dreams.
The minutes seemed to drag by as he flipped through the glossy pages of a fashion magazine. As soon as he heard the door begin to creak open, his eyes immediately darted upwards from the pages, almost allowing the magazine to fall to the floor.
Kandi seemed to bounce out of the room, a wide grin on her face and a small spark of optimism in her eyes.
"So how did it go?" the words gushed from his lips excitedly.
"I think it went really well," she replied, biting her bottom lip as soon as the words escaped. "Probably just jinxed myself. Anyways, I don't find out until five."
The energy and excitement buzzed between their bodies, and sparks seemed to shoot off in every direction. How could she not feel that chemistry? It was perfectly obvious to him.
In an instant, her arms wrapped around his neck, pulling him into a platonic hug. He could feel the warmth of her skin as his hands grazed her back and smell the scent of coconut shampoo in her hair, and for a moment, she was his. He got a taste of what it was like to feel her, to breathe her into his life, and it only left him craving more.
Maybe on the drive home, he could work up the nerve to say those words, and maybe, just maybe, she was crazy about him.