Not So Smart: A Liley Story
"What are you reading?"
Logan Mitchell looked up from his copy of War and Peace and smiled at one of his oldest friends, Riley Jackson, as she sat down next to him on the grass. He was taking part of his day off from working at Rocque Records, by sitting in the Palm Woods Park and reading. He didn't get a lot of time to himself and when he did, he wanted things to stay as quiet as possible. So when he found out that he had the day off he grabbed his book and left his friends to go to Palm Woods Park, and leaned against a tree and started to read.
He didn't realize how long he was gone until Riley had walked over to him.
"War and Peace," he replied as he set the book down on his lap, smiling warmly. "Have you read it before?"
"Maybe," Riley shrugged and gave a half smile. "I don't really pay attention to school stuff." She wrinkled her nose. "It's kind of pointless. If we did read it, then I don't remember a thing."
"Well, you should pay attention," Logan replied and started to go off on one of his longwinded speeches. "Reading books like this is a staple of your education, and with a good education you can get good jobs like-"
"I'm not sure if you're aware of this, smarty-pants, but I already have a job." Riley interrupted and smirked at him. "And that job keeps me preoccupied for most of the day." She added as she brushed her hair away from her face.
Logan smiled as he watched her pick at the grass. He had known Riley, and her twin Rhuben, for a long time, since he was nine. The three of them used to live in Texas together until the two of them moved away to California and he moved to Minnesota before moving to California with his friends and band mates. He remembered having a small crush on her when he was younger, and since he had met up with her again, his crush had returned and gotten bigger.
"Besides, I'd rather watch the movie than read the book." Riley added. She raised an eyebrow as Logan gasped and placed a hand on his chest, his features twisted into an expression of shock. "What?" she questioned in deadpan. "Is there a shortage of air?"
"How can you say that you would rather watch the movie than read the book?" he demanded as he shook his head. "In a movie, sure you can see the adventure and passion that's in it, He got a faraway look in his eyes as he continued to explain. "But you can't feel the emotion when you're watching it."
"Thank you Professor Mitchell, I really needed a lecture today." Riley replied and Logan couldn't tell if she was serious or joking.
"Ok, how about I read you an excerpt from it then?" Logan suggested and lifted the book again, clearing his throat as he did so. "Ready?"
"Mhm" Riley muttered in reply as she sat close to him and look at it over his shoulder.
Logan blushed a little bit, cleared his throat again, and started to read out loud. "At eight o'clock Kutuzov rode to Pratz at the head of Miloradovich's fourth column, the one which was to take the place of the columns of Przebyszewski and Langeron, which had already gone down." He smiled as he continued to read. "He greeted the men of the head regiment and gave the order to move, thus showing that he intended to lead the column himself..."
Riley closed her eyes and focused on the words as Logan spoke them. His voice was hypnotic, and, not that she would admit it, she was entranced by it. She hung on every syllable. She opened her eyes and watched his lips move.
His perfect lips.
She wasn't tired, she was just enamored with the mumbly voice he used as he read, and with the barely-there movement of his lips that naturally curved upward in an automatic smile.
She blushed and looked away as his eyes flicked over towards her. "Are you sleeping?" he asked, sounding a little offended.
"No." Riley shook her head and picked at her nails, refusing to meet his gaze, knowing that he could tell whenever she was lying. "Keep reading."
"You're lying." Logan commented, causing Riley to sneer back at him. He smiled teasingly back at her. As odd as it sounded, he loved to look at her face. Her dark blue eyes were entrancing and he always caught himself getting lost in them. "Are you watching me read?" he chuckled as he shook his head.
"Shut up and keep reading!" Riley snapped, as she jabbed at the book with her index finger. Logan could tell that she was embarrassed and loved to tease her about it. The fact that she snapped at him didn't faze him, as she was the kind of person that would rather deny, and snap, and demand instead of just going out and telling the truth.
He started reading again, and his lips blurred into a mental movie of the words he was saying. Riley was instantly caught up in Leo Tolstoy's world and she was amazed by it. When he finally stopped and closed the book, it took her a moment to realize what he'd done.
"Why'd you stop?" she asked, looking confused as he placed the book neatly aside.
"I'm done." Logan replied as he turned his head to look back at her. "I didn't have much left to read." He smirked. "That's what happens when you watch my lips." He buffed his fingernails on his shirt and smirked. "But don't worry; I know that they're irresistible."
"Psssht," Riley waved a hand. "They look more like duck's lips to me."
"Ducks don't have lips."
"Exactly."
"Take that back," Logan warned. And in true Riley fashion, she just shook her head and crossed her arms over her chest, sticking her nose into the air. "You can be as stubborn as a mule, you know that."
"Yep." Riley replied simply as she stretched her arms over her head. As she raised her arms, Logan noticed that her shirt slipped to expose her belly button. As Logan looked over a grin crossed his face and he reached out and softly tickled the exposed flesh.
Riley instantly brought her knees up to protect from the assault as she was overcome by a fit of giggles. (But if you asked her flat out, she would deny that she had ever giggled in her entire life.)
Through quick breaths and more laughter Riley exclaimed "No, stop! I'm too ticklish, Logie!" Logan stopped, his hand still resting on Riley's sensitive skin as the last of her giggles wore off.
"Sorry, I couldn't help myself, Landy." He smirked, using her old nickname "Besides, I already knew that you were ticklish. That's why I did it. Besides," He moved forward and brushed the bark off of his back. "It's not my fault you're incredibly ticklish." He smirked again, causing Riley to blush a little. "It's not my fault you're an easy target."
"You are such a weirdo, Logie" Riley laughed giving her friend's shoulder a push, trying to hid her blush.
"You know, one of these days I am expecting you to tickle me back." Logan stated.
Riley rolled to face Logan and ran her fingers across brunette's stomach, a smile tugging at her lips when she felt the hard abs under his shirt. "But, see?" She stroked her fingers faster. "You're not as ticklish as I am" she said, a touch of annoyance in her voice.
Logan tensed at the contact, hiding how ticklish he actually was. "You don't know that, you've never tried." A playful smile crossed both their faces, as they each mentally prepared for the attack that was to follow.
Riley jumped on top of Logan, straddling his legs. She tickled every spot she could reach, as Logan's laughter filled the area. Logan didn't attempt to fight his friend off too hard, although he was fairly ticklish, he enjoyed this playful side of Riley more, compared to the tough façade she put up all the time. The black haired girl stopped and allowed Logan to catch his breath, but Logan took this to his advantage and hit Riley with his own wave of loving tickles, tickling her hard enough that tears sprang to her eyes as she laughed hysterically.
"Logan, stop," she tried to catch her breath.
"Fine," Logan replied and moved his hands away from her stomach, waiting. Suddenly he started to blush and babble out a string of words that made no sense. Riley looked down at him, confused, and then blushed when she realized that she was still straddling his waist.
As the two stared at each other, Riley moved forward a little bit and Logan stared at her, a question in his eyes. Riley wondered if she should try moving her face a little closer, but became suddenly shy, and simply stared at him.
One of them moved, but instead of their lips meeting, as she expected, she found their foreheads together, their noses in their places. The two of them just sat there, just breathing, and Riley knew that this was her last chance to say no. The last time he would ask. She stared down at his lips instead.
Waiting.
Their lips met, pressing together with a great force, at least half of which came from Logan. His mouth opened over hers, and she leaned deeper towards him, allowing her own lips to part. His head pulled back a little, as he turned his body towards hers, and she turned herself towards him as well, before their mouths latched again. As his mouth moved over hers, their left hands gripped, and the foremost thought on Riley's mind, was that she wanted to spend the rest of my life with him. He paused slightly, and she kissed him gently before his lips grasped hers once again.
After a long while, their heads separated, and she let her head fall forward across his chest. As Riley recovered her breath, and let her heart slow down, (she felt as though she had just run a marathon) he said softly, his voice in that soft tone that says I love you, "Are you alright?"
"Fine," Riley replied and then must have realized what she had done, for she quickly scrambled away from him, her face blazing red. "Just fine."
"What's wrong?" Logan questioned as he sat up and ran his fingers through his hair, trying to get the grass blades out of his hair.
"For someone so smart, you can be so dumb sometimes" Riley stated as she looked at him with disdain.
Logan raised an inquisitive eyebrow, trying not to show that he was offended. "What's that supposed to mean?" he questioned.
"You weren't supposed to kiss me." Riley stated.
Logan tilted his head to the side as a cute confused expression filled his face. "So?"
"And I wasn't supposed to like it."
"Again I say, so?"
Riley made a scoffing sound in the back of her throat as she rolled her eyes as the two of them stood up, facing each other. "You weren't supposed to kiss me and I wasn't supposed to like it because…well…because…"
"Because you weren't sure whether or not I liked you and you didn't want to do anything to ruin our friendship?" Logan guessed and smiled when Riley nodded, looking like a little kid who had just been embarrassed by his mother. "You're easy to read, don't forget that." He stated before smiling and placing his hands on her shoulders. "You may not have been aware of it, but I've liked you for a long time."
"Why?" Riley looked genuinely confused.
"Well, because you're everything that I'm not." Logan replied as he gently brushed grass from her hair before cupping her face. "You take risks while I'll sit back and think things through. You speak your mind about everything when I try to make people happy while not saying what I want to say. You're like, my complete opposite and I like that about you." He smiled. "Plus, I love it when you blush." He stated and kissed her again. "And I love you."
Riley smiled against his lips. "I love you too."