►Chapter Nine◄
"Uncle Lo!" The little boy, who must be Max, squealed, jumping into Logan's outreached arms as soon as he opened the door.
"Hey, buddy." Logan chuckled, lifting Max up and carrying him by his hip.
"Good afternoon, Uncle Logan." A soft, graceful voice came from the girl standing by her mom, holding onto her hand. Callie, I assumed, smiled up at Logan with big, brown eyes and a finger glued to her mouth.
He laughed and reached to smooth her blonde hair. "Good afternoon, little princess."
Seeing a completely different side to the man I'd known last night, I watched with a smile.
"Don't bite your nails, honey." The girl's mom gently nudged her hand away. Callie clung onto the lady's hips, while darting glances at me and Logan.
The lady was decked out in an impeccable grey blazer with her light blonde hair pulled neatly into a bun. A kind smile touched her face along with faint lines around her eyes as she looked at Logan, and then at me. I could have sworn her eyes squinted slightly, as if in curiosity. Feeling nervous under her scrutiny, I gave a smile.
Stepping forward, she pulled Logan into a hug with the boy still in his arm. "Hey, little brother. How've you been?"
"Not too bad." He held her at arm's length. "You're looking good, Honor. I see Josh is taking good care of you."
"Please." She gave him a playful slap. "As long as he's not causing trouble around the house along with the kids, I'm happy."
Logan chuckled as he moved to a side. "I want you to meet my friend." He gestured towards me. "This is Rory."
Honor's face lit up at the introduction. She immediately extended a hand. "Nice to meet you, Rory." Her pitch rose as her eyes danced in their sockets. "I'm Honor." Clearly, Logan didn't introduce female friends to his sister much.
I took her hand with a smile. "Hi Honor, it's really nice to meet you."
Holding my hand, her eyes grew wider along with her grin. From the way she was looking at me, I felt like a new, interesting species at the zoo.
"I invited Rory to join me and the kids at the park today." Logan's voice seemed to startle her out of her daze as she retrieved her hand. "We can play some Frisbee."
"Frisbee!" Max squealed, flinging his little arm in the air.
"Yeah, you like Frisbee?" Logan laughed, tickling Max's belly.
The boy giggled, nodding his head furiously.
"That sounds great." Honor patted Callie's head. "I hope you guys have fun with these two." She grinned from me to Logan, her gaze staying on him for a few seconds.
Through her smile, I could see her brain reeling at meaning of my presence. Well, that made two of us, since I was still bewildered by the thought of spending the day with Logan.
Leaning down, she said to Callie. "Be good and listen to Uncle Logan, all right?"
Callie nodded while Honor brushed a strand of hair out of her eyes.
"Uncle Logan?" The girl edged towards him, her voice small. "Do you have a princess Frisbee?"
"Princess Frisbee? Well, I have a couple Frisbees in the game room. How about you pick one out with Max?" He held out an arm towards Callie while his other supported Max's weight.
She gave a small smile and nodded, slipping her hand into his.
"I want to pick!" Max wiggled in Logan's arm until he let him down. "Frisbee! Frisbee! Here I come!" Giggling, he ran across the vast foyer, towards the living room.
Callie laughed softly, tugging on Logan's hand. "Come on, let's go pick."
He turned to look at Honor and me, giving an apologetic smile. "You guys want to come? Or you can chat a bit on the couch."
Before I could reply, Honor spoke up. "It's okay, you guys go ahead. Rory and I can wait. I've to get going soon anyway."
His eyes locked with mine before he left, pointing a finger at his sister. "Don't talk bad about me behind my back, Honor."
"I'll try." Her voice was that of amusement as she rushed to my side, ushering me towards the loveseats by the fireplace. "Here, Rory. Have a seat.'
"Thanks." I nodded with her close behind.
►It's about time◄
We sat down at the large sofas, facing each other. She crossed her legs and sat up straight. "So, Rory. Pardon me for prying-" She flashed a friendly smile. "-but, how long have you been seeing my brother?"
Surprised by her straightforward question, I stuttered. "Uh, oh, no. We're not seeing each other."
"You're not?" Her brows knitted.
My face began to flush. I felt like a giant gorilla in the room. "No, Logan and I are just friends." Friends who had sex 'till three in the morning last night, but she didn't need to know that.
"Oh." If I wasn't mistaken, she looked disappointed. " I thought you must be someone really special if he wanted us to meet."
Really special? I knew I wasn't any more special than his next date. "Well, nope. Not any special." I gave a light laugh and shrugged. "Just your average friend who you hung out with on a Sunday afternoon."
Honor scooted closer. "It's just that I've never seen him with any girl before, ever. He keeps that part of his life really private." She smirked, resembling her brother in a way. "If I didn't know better, I would think he was playing for the other team."
I chuckled. "Wow, I'm surprised." The Logan I knew was always on dates. The fact that he's never brought those girls to any family gatherings, even social events, shocked me. "I guess he did say he doesn't really have female friends."
Her head nodding, she beamed at me, as if I was a newly discovered miracle drug. "So, you're the first."
Nodding back awkwardly, I shifted in my spot. "Yeah, I guess I'm the first." Seeing her continued stare, I quickly changed the subject. "Thanks for letting me join Logan and your kids at the park later. Are you okay with it?"
She waved a hand, while looking down to adjust her blazer. "Oh yeah, it's fine. I completely trust Logan." Smoothing her hair, she added. "He's really great with them."
Remembering how natural Logan was holding Max and walking off with Callie's hand in his, I smiled. "Yeah, they seem to really like him."
"Oh, you don't know the half of it." She laughed, throwing her head back. "Every time after he babysits, I have to hear about him for days from Max and Callie." Her head shook. "It's always Uncle Lo this, Uncle Lo that. They totally think he's way cooler than Josh and I."
Giggling, I felt myself relax. "They're really adorable."
She smiled at me before starting nonchalantly. "So, how did Logan and you meet?"
Oh crap. I tried hard to keep the smile on my face without looking like a deer in headlights. How was I going to explain that we met on a dating website, and almost had sex right after, but then decided to be friends, only to have sex the second date?
Racking my brain for some partial truth, I answered. "We-"
"Mommy! Look! We're using a Spider-man Frisbee today!" I turned to see Max running through the archway, elatedly waving a blue and red disc in the air.
I let out a breath of relief at the interruption. Honor stood up and caught Max as he ran into her legs. "That's awesome, honey." She rubbed his cheeks that were pink with excitement.
"And we have the pink Frisbee I bought just for this little girl here, too." Logan walked over, holding Callie's hand.
"Aw, did you say 'thank you' to Uncle Logan?" Honor reminded her daughter.
Callie looked up at Logan, tilting her head far back. Sweetly, she murmured. "Thanks, Uncle Logan."
"You're welcome." He grinned.
"Well, I need to get going now. Josh is waiting for me." Honor smiled at me before turning to Logan. "As always, I'll be on standby if you need any rescuing."
"What are you talking about? We're going to be having tons of fun." He smirked and nodded to the kids. "Right, guys?"
Max jumped up and down, bursting into giggles in response. Callie bit her nails while she nodded subtly.
"It was really nice meeting you, Rory. I hope to see you around." Honor and I shook hands once more, her eyes twinkling into mine with sincerity.
"You too, Honor." I smiled gently.
Releasing my hand, she said to Logan. "Josh has been wanting to get together. You should bring Rory next time."
Logan cocked an eyebrow, probably finally catching on to his sister's delight over my presence. "We'll see if Rory wants to come." His statement turned their attention on me.
"Uh, well, yeah I would love to, to hang-." I gulped, before ending my sentence. "-out." Her suggestion caught me off guard. I could only answer politely, albeit in stutters.
Surprise dawned on Logan's face as his brows shot up. He chuckled with his eyes boring into mine. "Well, then, we'll find a time and…hang."
Hearing his amused mockery, my skin heated. Did he really have to annoy me in front of his sister as well? "Perfect." I tried hard not to snap.
Honor glanced from me to Logan and back, watching us like we were cute, apple-juggling monkeys at a performance. "That's fabulous." She clapped her hands together. "We'll set a time."
It was clear that she was over-enthusiastic about the idea of Logan with a girl. I feared how she would react when she realizes that Logan and I were nowhere near the adorable, fuzzy couple she'd imagined. We weren't even a couple, period.
When Honor headed for the elevator, a whimper filled the air. "Mommy…" Callie's lips quivered as she followed her mom.
Stooping down, Honor hugged her. "Be good, baby. You're a big girl now, remember?"
"Mm." With tears rolling down her cheeks, Callie nodded.
"Bye Mommy!" Max screamed, climbing over the couches and waving at his mom.
"Bye, honey. Be good and listen to Uncle Logan." She blew a kiss at Max, who returned the gesture with a loud smack.
When the elevator came, she looked at me and Logan before stepping inside. "Have fun, you two."
"Honor." Logan said her name as a warning. "I believe Josh is waiting."
"Yes, yes. I'm going." She waved. "See you soon, Rory."
I nodded with a smile, waving as the elevator doors closed.
►It's about time◄
Wow, in just two days, I managed to snag my first one-night stand, and then made plans with the guy's sister and brother-in-law. I was also about to babysit his nephew and niece. Ironically, this was more commitment than if I was in a relationship. For a guy who feared commitment, Logan was oddly calm about this.
Though, I had to admit. This messy situation was kind of exciting. It's sad to think that in my thirty years, this was the most eccentric and exciting thing I'd come across. But, I suppose it's never too late in life to stir things up.
Looking up at Logan, I gave a smile. Thank you for being the weirdest person I know and turning my world upside down.
Thanks for reading and please leave a review! I would love to hear your feedback!
I think Rory's got herself into a pretty interesting situation. But, the good thing is, she seems open about it. I think it's because of her reserved years with Dean that, now, she's looking forward to something different.
Logan's actions are obviously conflicting with his words. He's never had a relationship before and I feel he doesn't understand his feelings for Rory. He just knows he wants to spend more time with her, but he's scared he'll screw things up, so he asks to be friends. So that's my take on the situation so far :P I usually refrain from telling my opinion because I'm afraid it will influence your own take on the story. But, I couldn't help it this time because this is such a weird situation, haha. So what do you guys think? Do you agree or disagree with my thoughts?
Thanks for the reviews and follows! I really appreciate them.
I love reading your reviews and love it when I see new readers. Please let me know what you think, whether you like the story or not. I don't even mind if you give me a paragraph about why you hate it :P I just love to hear from the readers!
