Oh wow, I am so sorry about the ridiculous delay. You guys are going to think I'm the biggest idiot alive when I tell you what happened. I went through the chapter, proof read it and added my author's notes, like I always do then got it uploaded to my account but not published. Then, just as I was about to publish it, my mom called me and I had to leave to go shopping. And by the time we got back I remembered uploading it and didn't remember that I hadn't published it yet. So this whole time I thought the chapter was uploaded. Again guys, I am so, so sorry.
Here's chapter 8. There's only four more to go after this! Maybe five, but I'm thinking it's only going to be four.
Enjoy!
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Logan doesn't know why he's so nervous about this. It's really not affecting him in any way so there's no reason to be so nervous. Except, he realizes, that it sort of is, because he's discovered over the course of a week that he really likes Quinn so it's kind of a big deal for him too if she burns her ex's belongings and says good-bye to him once and for all.
Quinn nods and drops the duffel bag in front of the fire pit. "Yes, definitely." She turns to face him, grinning. "I'm ready to be done with Mark DelFiggalo once and for all."
He can't help but grin as he lights the fire. It will take a little while for it to get big enough that it will actually burn anything in her duffel bag, but neither of them minds. It's a beautiful night out and they're both comfortable enough around each other now to just sit in silence and enjoy it. Quinn plugs her iPod into the stereo that's already set up by the fire pit and Logan smirks at her as more One Direction pours out from the speakers.
She smiles guiltily at him. "They've really grown on me. I like them, a lot."
Logan shrugs. "They're alright." He's not going to admit that he kind of really likes them too, because, well, he's a guy and he has to keep up some pretenses of manly-ness, even around Quinn.
She shakes her head and laughs and he can't shake off the feeling that she can see right through him. But she doesn't say anything. Instead she just lies down on the grass, looking up at the night sky. He joins her after a minute, because they have time before the fire is ready and he's not really sure what else to do. "I love looking at stars." She confesses.
He turns his head to face her. "Really?"
She nods, still looking at the sky. "They amaze me. How there can be so many and they're all a hundred times bigger than our own sun. And how they can be so beautiful and dangerous at the same time. Not that we really have to worry about being hurt by a star, but, theoretically, if you were ever able to see a star up close, you'd burn up before you even got close enough to touch it."
Logan grins. "You're rambling." He informs her.
She stops and takes a minute to think about his words. She blushes. "Yeah, sorry. You know how I get about science."
"It's fine." He tells her, before glancing at the fire. "I think you can start throwing stuff in there now."
She jumps up, grabbing the duffel bag and digging through it. She comes out with a stack of papers. "Notes." She explains when she sees Logan's curious glance. "That Mark and I wrote each other." She tosses them into the fire and they disappear in a matter of seconds.
She pulls out a sweatshirt that is obviously Mark's, as it's at least two sizes too big for her. "I was going to give this back but," she grins almost deviously, "this will much better." And the sweater joins the notes in the fire.
She empties the rest of the duffel bag into the fire, one item at a time and with each item she can feel her last bits of attachment to Mark slip away, floating into the sky with the smoke. The last item she pulls out is smaller and silver and she can hear Logan's breath catch in his throat.
"Is that-?"
She shakes her head. "It's just a promise ring. He got it for me for Christmas last year. It wasn't anything more serious than that. I don't know if it will even melt in here," she tosses it in anyways, "but it's worth a shot and I certainly don't want it anymore."
"I can't believe I never saw you wear it." He admits.
Quinn shrugs. "I didn't wear it that often to be honest. It's not really my taste. I wore it when we went on dates but otherwise," she shrugs again, "Mark's not really all that observant, so I don't think he even ever noticed."
They stand there in silence just watching the fire dance and flicker. "Thanks." Quinn turns to face him and smiles. "This is was a really good idea."
"You're welcome." They both turn and make their way towards the pool and back to the house. "You should listen to me more often." He shots her a smirk. "I'm usually right."
Quinn rolls her eyes and shoves him playful. He looses his balance only slightly, but it's enough to get him caught in the foam noodle pool toy that he's walking over. She watches half horrified and half amused (okay, partly horrified and mostly amused) as he waves his arms frantically to try and regain his balance. This doesn't work, however, and he falls straight into his family's large swimming pool.
He surfaces a moment later and Quinn's laughter is the first thing that greets his ears. He glares at her from underneath his sopping wet hair, but she is too busy doubled over in laughter to notice it. "Are-are you okay?" She manages to choke out between laughter.
He pretends to grumble, but he's not really mad about it. She offers him her hand to help him climb out and is too busy laughing to realize what a mistake she's just made. He smirks and grabs her hand, yanking her into the pool with him. She shrieks when she pops back up and Logan can't stop laughing. "I'm sorry," he tells her grinning and not sounding sorry at all. "But you walked into that one."
She pretends to be mad, but she knows he's right. She's glaring at him, or he thinks she is, then he realizes she's squinting because her glasses had gotten knocked off when he'd pulled her in with him. "Hold on." He tells her. His pool has lights and he can see the frames sitting on the bottom of the pool beneath them. He dives down and grabs them, surfacing just in front of her.
"Here." He moves some hair out of her face and slips her glasses back onto her face. "Better?" He asks softly.
"Much." She whispers and he's momentarily mesmerized by the way the light from the fire is illuminating her face.
And then he's kissing her with a kind of intensity he has never kissed anyone with before. He's got her pinned against the pool wall and her face cupped in his hands. Her hands go straight for his hand, tangling themselves in his hair and he tries to get as close to her as possible (which is surprisingly difficult since he's treading water). His lips leave hers as he begins planting kissing down her jaw line and then back again. She tastes like coconut flavored lip gloss and a little bit like chlorine, but he honestly doesn't mind because she does this thing with her tongue and he literally looses all ability to think coherently.
This might honestly be the greatest thing he has ever felt in his entire life and he sort of can't believe it took him almost the entire week to do it.
And there you go! They finally kiss. But don't worry the story isn't over yet!
Send me a review and let me know what you think!
