I could hear the sound of the ocean hitting the shore even with my earbuds in. The combination of the music and the tide were extremely calming, and I felt my heartbeat slow back to a normal pace, if only for a moment.
"Hey, short stuff." I felt a hand placed on my shoulder, and I nearly jumped out of my skin. I opened my eyes, and Logan was sitting next to me, smiling. I felt my heartbeat quicken again, as if it never slowed. Despite my anxieties bubbling in my stomach, I smiled.
"Hey, Logan. How long were you sitting there?" I asked. He shrugged.
"Just a few seconds. You looked really peaceful, so I decided not to bug you." He removed his hand from my shoulder, and part of me was disappointed. "So, what do you wanna do?"
"I dunno, it was your idea to hang out, you should've planned it out." I said jokingly.
"Ha ha, very funny. Pointing out my lack of preparation, how very Louise of you."
"What's that supposed to mean?" I arched an eyebrow, hoping he wasn't insulting me.
"Don't take it personally, it was actually a compliment." He rose from the bench, and extended his hand to me. I looked up at him, confused and riddled with nerves. "C'mon, take my hand. Let's go have some fun." I blushed a deep shade of pink, before I took his hand and followed him into the neon lights of the warf.
Logan and I walked hand in hand for a bit before we stopped in the middle of the wharf.
"Would you like to eat first, play games, or ride rides?" Logan asked politely.
"Um, I haven't eaten, but we can do whatever you want. I'm good with anything." I said, smiling. He smiled back instantly, with a little tinge of crimson on his cheeks as he gazed upon me.
"Well, let's grab something to eat then." We walked over to one of the small restaurants on the wharf named Pasta-tively Italian! They just added it to the wharf last summer, and it's always packed. I've never tried it, so I was excited to go somewhere new. We walked in, and the host greeted us.
"Hello, welcome to Pasta-tively Italian! How many for you today?" The hostess chirped.
"Just the two of us, thanks." Logan replied, looking over at me with a smile. The hostess nodded, and walked us over to a booth in a cozy corner of the restaurant.
"Your server's name is Geoff, and he'll be right with you. Thank you for choosing Pasta-tively Italian today! Enjoy your meal!" We thanked the hostess before she skipped back to her post.
"So, what have you been up to these last few years since I saw you last?" Logan asked.
"Well, I graduated high school not too long ago, and I've been looking through college pamphlets for places around here. I wanna stay at home, so I'll likely stick to a college within a few miles. I've also been working for part-time work. My parents pay me well, but I kinda wanna get out there and get experience doing something else. It'll be a second job, and I only view it as a win-win. My father will be really flexible with my availability, and that way I can make extra money. What about you?" I asked.
"Wow, sounds like you've got everything figured out for the most part. Me? I went to college right out of high school. I moved away junior year because my parents divorced. I matured really fast in the last two years of school, because I realized how childish I still was, and I didn't want to be like that anymore. So I worked hard, got on the honor roll both years, and graduated in the top 10 of my class. Then I got my associates degree in science, and now I'm not sure what I want to go back to school for. I've been taking a little time off to work and save up some money. I work as a full-time teller at the bank over by Jimmy Pesto's." I was in awe. This boy, the one that took every chance he had to antagonize me, had grown up and found a passion in expanding his knowledge. I never thought Logan would turn into such an educated and mature person. I was lost in thought, smiling ridiculously to myself, before our server broke my daydream.
"Hello, welcome! My name is Geoff and I'll be taking care of you today. Anything I can get you to drink right away?" The server asked.
"I'll have a glass of water with a lemon wedge, if I can." Logan said.
"Of course. And for you?" The waiter looked down at me.
"Um, can I just get some raspberry tea?" I asked.
"Of course! Do you two still need time to look over the menu?"
"Yeah, we could use a little more time, if that's okay." Logan said.
"You got it, I'll be back with your drinks!" The waiter scooted off, and Logan returned his gaze to me.
"You got awfully quiet, did I say something wrong?"
"No, not at all. I'm just in awe of how much you've changed. You've matured so much since I last saw you, and I never thought you'd turn into the kind of person to value your education so much. Don't take that as an insult, because I'm not trying to insult you, I'm just kinda proud at how much you've grown." I was getting kind of tongue-tied around him. I felt my cheeks get hot, and I knew I was blushing. Logan chuckled a little.
"I know you're not insulting me, Louise. Your compliments mean a lot." He reached across the table and put his hand on mine, and I felt the hair on the back of my neck stand up. Why does he make me so nervous? "You've matured a lot too. I can still see the same funny, sarcastic Louise, but you're also very mature and really driven to your goals, too."
"T-thank you." I tried to ignore the fact that I stuttered. "I just look up to my parents and how hard they work. I may not want to follow in their footsteps as restaurant owners, but I do want to match their ambition and love for what they do. I'm just not sure what it is I want to do yet that will make me feel the way running the restaurant makes them feel." Logan smiled at me.
"I think I could learn a lot from you, Louise." I blushed again, and before I knew it, the waiter was back at the table.
"Here's your water with lemon," he placed the glass in front of Logan. "And raspberry tea for you." He placed my glass in front of me and dropped two straws on the table. "All ready to order, then?" Logan looked at me, and I nodded. I didn't really look much at the menu, so I scanned it quickly and found something I wanted without much thought.
"Yeah, I'll just have the ravioli." Logan said, folding up his menu and handing it to the waiter.
"Sounds great, and for you?" The waiter looked back over at me.
"Uh, I'll have the chicken parmesean." I said smiling, handing the menu back to the waiter.
"Thanks guys, I'll go put that in to the kitchen right now. If you need anything, just let me know." Geoff took the menus and took off.
"So, what do you wanna do after this?" Logan asked.
"Um, that's totally up to you. You're the one that wanted to take me out. I'll do anything you want to go do. I'm pretty open-minded." Logan laughed.
"It was never like you to go with the flow so effortlessly; that'll take some getting used to." I kicked him gently from under the table.
"Shush, you." I giggled. He makes me feel like a little girl. I hate it so much, but at the same time, it's something I've never experienced, and I love every moment of it.
We eventually got our food and chatted a bit about life, just catching up from the years we spent apart. I learned that Logan was an animal lover, and that his mom Cynthia had another child with her new husband, so Logan helped a lot with watching his sister Kate. He told me that he still plays baseball in a league with his friends, and that he lives on his own in an apartment near the wharf. We finished up our dinner, and he insisted on paying the bill, so after a little strife, I agreed to let him. He took my hand again the minute we stood up, and I couldn't help but smile.
We got back to the salty air of the wharf, and I looked around the pier to examine the activities. I've grown up with this wharf around me, but every time I come here it seems like there's something different. There's just so much to do, that it can be hard to keep up with remembering everything that goes on. Logan and I walked around the pier a bit before he dragged me over to the ferris wheel.
"Two tickets for the wheel, please." Logan said to the man in charge of the ride.
"That'll be two dollars." The tall, musky man said. Logan handed him two dollars, and in exchange, opened the gate to let us in. We took a seat on the wheel, and I positioned myself across from Logan.
"Ah, no. Come here." He patted the space next to him. I instantly tensed up, and couldn't move. "Hey, I said come here." He grabbed my arm to drag me from my seat, and I sat next to him. A few moments later, the wheel slowly began to move. Logan pulled the hood from my head, and tucked my hair behind my ear.
"You know, you're just as beautiful without your ears as you are with them. I think you're beautiful no matter what you decide to wear." He smiled warmly at me, and I had to turn my face away to hide the beaming smile that crept across my face. "Nope, don't you look away from me." He put his hand on my cheek and gently brought my face back toward him so I could meet his gaze. My face was a bright shade of crimson at this point, and I had more than just butterflies running through my stomach. "Hey, look at that view. Isn't it amazing?" He still had his hand on my face, but he was now looking over the wharf, to the ocean where the sunset was causing the water to sparkle in shades of orange. I didn't realize we were already at the top of the wheel. The wheel came to a gentle stop, probably to let someone else on. He turned his gaze to me again, and opened his mouth to say something, but stopped himself. I looked at him with a confused look on my face, and he just smiled. He put his other hand on my other cheek, and leaned into me. I closed my eyes, and felt his soft lips on mine. I felt like my heart could pop out of my chest, it was unreal. I felt every nerve in my body tingle, and he moved his hands from my cheeks. He wrapped his arms around my neck, and deepened our embrace. I felt like I was melting into him, and I never wanted this moment to end.
We got off of the ferris wheel a few moments later, and I didn't stop smiling for the rest of the night. He kept my hand in his for the remainder of our date, and eventually walked me back home.
"Thank you, Louise. Thank you so much for giving me the time of day to take you out. You'll be hearing from me again soon, and I'll think of something just as fun for us to do next time." Logan said, smiling. He grabbed my other hand in his, and kissed me on the lips. When he pulled away, I couldn't stop myself from wrapping my arms around his neck and pulling him in close.
"No, thank you, Logan." I managed to say quietly, under my breath. My heart was still pounding. He had an effect on me that I never imagined anyone could ever have. "You showed me an amazing time and made me feel so warm inside... I can't thank you enough for that. And thank you for paying for dinner." I felt him sigh, as he pulled away a little and looked me in the eyes.
"You deserve it, beautiful. But, you need to get that heartbeat on track, or your heart might just pop out of your chest." He teased. My face turned red, for the thousandth time that night.
"Oh don't pick on me, I can feel your heartbeat too, and it can get just as rapid."
"I guess you just have that effect on me, you beautiful thing, you." I rolled my eyes, but my smile was bigger than ever. "I should get going though, my dog is probably ready to go outside and I've got work nice and early tomorrow. Thank you for tonight, love. I had the time of my life."
"Me too, Logan." I went up on my tippy-toes to give him one more lengthy kiss goodbye, then gave him a hug, and let him leave me. I didn't want him to ever leave, and that scared me.
