He was already waiting for me when I got home from class.
"Hey."
I sighed heavily and dropped my backpack to the ground near the dining room table, not bothering to make sure my computer wasn't jostled too much. His eyes followed me until I reached where he sat on the sofa and collapsed next to him.
"How was the test?"
My eyes sank closed and I leaned into him. "I failed."
Logan lifted his arm and draped it over my shoulders. I slid down a bit more, resting my head solidly on his chest.
"I'm sure you did fine."
I hadn't. I knew I hadn't. That test was a brutal SOB and even after spending every evening in the library for the past week, I still didn't understand half of the material. Logan had done his best to help, and to a point he had, but there was just something about multivariable calculus that wouldn't stick with me. Yesterday I thought I had it. I thought I had gotten enough of a grasp on it that I would be okay and could possibly scrape by with a 'C'. Now, I wasn't sure I even got a 'D'.
"Are you alright?" His voice was soft, it was always soft, but there was an extra splash of concern.
My frown deepened and I didn't answer. I just wrapped my arms around his waist and pulled closer. Logan's hand settled onto my side and stroked back and forth in lazy motions. My eyes drifted closed as I willed myself to stop dwelling on the test, there was nothing I could do now, and to focus on the steady cadence of his heart against his chest and the even thrum of his breathing.
"Come on," Logan murmured after a few minutes. "Let's go."
"Go where?" I grumbled, straightening up.
He gave me an easy smile. "Just grab a sweatshirt and come with me."
"Fine." I would humor him. I wasn't in the mood to start a fight anyway.
I grabbed an old hoodie from my closet and then let Logan lace his fingers through mine and lead me out to his truck. He opened the door for me and then jogged to the driver's side and slid in.
"Are you ever going to tell me?"
He just smiled and gazed intently out the windshield, his pale blue eyes shining. It didn't take us long to reach wherever we were going. Logan took the highway to a small road, turned off it, followed a gravel path for about a half a mile and then cut the lights and shut off the engine.
"Let's go."
He hopped out of the truck and I followed, wondering why in the world we were in the middle of nowhere at nine o'clock at night. Logan flipped down the tailgate and climbed up. He reached a hand down to me, which I accepted, and hauled me into the bed of the truck. A couple picnic blankets were spread across it and he sank down, puling me with him.
"Logan," I started to whine.
"Shh..." He pulled me between his legs and up against his chest, wrapping his arms tight around my middle. "Look," he whispered, his breath tickling my ear as he pointed up.
The sky looked like God had spilled glitter across it. Stars twinkled from millions of light years away, the moon was rising steadily, burning full and bright, and there wasn't a cloud in the sky to obscure the view.
"It's gorgeous," I breathed as my body relaxed against his and I sank just a little deeper into his arms.
"Just take a deep breath, forget about the test for now, and relax..." He drew the two syllables of the last word out.
I obeyed. The air was heavy with the scent of grass and trees, a breeze fluttered through the leaves, carrying with it hints of the oddly scented river water flowing in the Brazos nearby, and I could vaguely make out burning wood, a hint at the destruction the wildfires were causing to the southeast of us.
"Feeling better?"
"Much," I admitted breathily.
"Good."
For a long time we just sat snuggled together, staring at the sky, listening to the cicadas and crickets, the distant call of a passing train, and the rustle of foliage as the wind flitted around and through it. Somehow Logan had known exactly what I had needed and I loved him for it. His fingertips traced mindless patterns across the exposed skin on my hip, I could feel his heart beat steadily against my back, and he hummed softly. There was no way for me to know whether it had been ten minutes or an hour before my eyes drifted closed, my bones turned to jello, and my mind drifted off to dreamland. I had been so tired...so very tired...
I was roused a bit as someone scooped me into his arms, cradled me against his chest, and carried me down the breezeway to my apartment. My head lolled against his shoulder and I caught a whiff of the scent that was just so Logan. It was a deeply masculine aroma; the rich smell of his soap mixed with a musky outdoorsy fragrance that didn't make him smell dirty, more like sunshine and lake water, but contrasted perfectly with the soap.
"You're smiling," he told me quietly as he nudged open the door to my bedroom with his foot.
"You smell good," I admitted, still half asleep. "Like..." I yawned, and that derailed my train of thought.
"It's okay," he chuckled, laying me down. "You can tell me tomorrow."
I hummed an agreement as Logan tugged my quilt up over my body, tucking it securely around my shoulders. "T'morrow," I mumbled.
"Tomorrow," he agreed again, brushing a soft kiss across my forehead. "Sleep well. I love you."
"Love..." I yawned again and turned over, "...you too."
I didn't hear what his response was because I had slipped off to sleep for the night.
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