Chapter 26

MAGGIE

~FIVE YEARS AGO~

Carter drives to the beach. At first, I think we’re going to another party, but I’m wrong.

It’s just Amelia and Dawson sprawled out on a picnic mat with beers and food. Since it’s late at night, there aren’t many people there, which is great, because I’m not in the mood to be in a chaotic place.

Dawson and Carter do that fist-bump thing again.

“My girl is here!” Amelia comes forward to hug me. “I was so bummed when you told me you wouldn’t be able to come.”

“Yeah, change of plans. Logan’s got work to do.”

“Well, good, because now I have more time to spend with my best friend.”

“Right.” I smile, but I feel guilty for not telling Amelia about my relationship with Logan or situationship.

She’s always shared everything with me, but I just don’t feel comfortable sharing things about Logan and me. Those feelings are private to me, and I don’t want someone to judge me for them.

“Let’s go swimming!” she suggests.

“I didn’t bring a swimsuit.” I pouted.

“Lucky for you, I brought an extra one, so you can wear mine!” Amelia dug inside her bag and pulled out a two-piece bikini suit, which was a little too suggestive for my taste.

“I think I’d better sit this one out. I can’t even swim.”

“Carter will teach you to swim.” Dawson pokes him with his elbow, giving him a wink. “Right, Carter?”

Even in the dark, I can see Carter blush. “Of course. I can show you the basics.”

“I’ll be so mad if you sit alone here in the dark,” Amelia says and grabs my hand, forcing me to follow her.

“Okay, but I don’t want to go far.”

“Cool,” Carter says. “Don’t worry, I’ll watch over you.”

Amelia strips off her dress, revealing her bikini inside. I go to the showers at the beach to change.

This is a bad idea.

The suit is hot pink, and since Amelia is slimmer than I am, the suit is an inch too tight, which makes my boobs spill out of the bikini top, and the bottom is racy too.

When I walk out of the showers, Carter’s waiting for me outside.

He grins and gives out a low whistle. “Hot.”

I laugh. “Thanks.”

I almost feel naked in this, but Carter is being nice. His eyes don’t drop to my chest, which is a relief.

I’m sure this swimsuit was Dawson’s idea.

When we get to the beach, the couple is already inside the water. They are being obnoxious, as usual, screaming and laughing loudly. Amelia clings to Dawson’s arms as if she’ll drown if she lets go.

Carter gives me a look. “They are always so lovey-dovey and cringe, aren’t they?”

I laugh. “Yeah, most of the time.”

“Makes you feel kind of lonely.”

“Is that why you wanted me to come tonight?”

“Yup. I feel better now since you’re here. It’s always nice to share the loneliness with someone else.”

I stay behind with a float while Carter and Dawson go for a swim.

When they get back, Carter insists on teaching me how to swim.

“Good…just paddle your legs,” he says. “You’re a fast learner, Maggie. Don’t know why you were so scared to do this.”

It’s too late when I realize we’ve gone deeper into the water.

“Carter…I can’t feel the ground…”

“Just hold onto me, and you’ll be fine. I promise to not let you go.”

“Okay.”

Carter is a patient teacher, and I’m sure I notice something different in his eyes, but when I look closely, it’s gone.

“Let go of the floater and hold my hand. We’ll see if you can handle this.”

I almost drown, but he doesn’t let me. Before I know it, his hand slides to my waist and he pulls me against his chest and smiles. “Told you I won’t let you drown.”

We’re the first ones to get out of the water.

“I’m starving! Hope you like fried chicken.”

“Sounds good.”

Carter and I end up sharing a bucket. While we eat, I notice him sneaking glances at me.

“What?”

“There’s some ketchup here.” He swipes his thumb across my lower lip and then licks it.

I stare at him. “Why did you do that?”

“’Cause I wanted to.”

Amelia and Dawson are at a distance, and they aren’t paying attention to us, and I’m thinking how nice it must be to freely love someone. Unlike me, who has to keep it a secret because of the obvious age gap.

I’m preoccupied by my thoughts when Carter leans in, and I know at once he’s going to kiss me.

I press my palm to his lips. “I’m sorry…I can’t.”

He looks surprised. “Oh…no, I guess I should be sorry for misinterpreting this. I just thought maybe you were into me too.”

“You’re a nice guy, Carter…”

“Wait, stop right there.” He chuckles. “I’m not used to getting friend-zoned by beautiful girls.”

He stares off into the distance, and it’s apparent that I’ve hurt his feelings.

“This guy that you like, he’d better make sure never to make you cry, or I’m coming for him.”

“He doesn’t.”

I realize I have received no more calls from Logan yet. Maybe he’s really busy at work and doesn’t have time to check his phone.

It’s a little after eleven when Carter drives me home. Amelia and Dawson are drunk and lying in the backseat. No wonder Carter wasn’t drinking much. He knew he would be driving our drunk asses home.

Since I told him I liked someone else, he’s been silent the entire ride home.

I mean, Carter is nice. He’s funny, sweet, and good-looking. But he’s not Logan.

I use the spare key to get inside the house. The foyer is dark, and the lights in the living area are switched off, too. I take off my sneakers and go upstairs when a large body blocks my entrance.

“Oh gosh, Logan, you almost gave me a heart-attack!” I screech.

He switches on the light, and when I glance up at him, he looks as furious as hell, like he’s going to blow through the roof.

He doesn’t say a word, just throws daggers at me with his eyes. It’s the same look he gives in his office, which makes ninety percent of his employees shudder.

“I…I was just going back to my bedroom. I figured you would be tired, so I didn’t want to wake you up.”

“Where were you?” He folds his arms across his chest and stares me down.

“Amelia invited me to join them at the beach.”

“I saw you get out of someone’s car, and it wasn’t Amelia,” he snaps.

“Yeah, it was Carter. You saw him the other night, didn’t you?”

“Maggie…if you want to hang out with your friends, the least you could do is let me know! I called you several times, left you text messages. Why couldn’t you answer your damn phone?!” he yells.

“I didn’t get any calls from you.”

“Stop lying, Maggie!”

“Why would I lie to you?” I ask. “I left a note for you in the kitchen.” I walk into the kitchen area and pull out the little sticky note on the refrigerator. “See!”

“You think I would check the fucking kitchen?”

“But I left you a text too.”

He pulls out his phone and shows me the chat box. Shockingly, there’s no text from me, so to prove him wrong I rummage inside my bag and show him mine for proof.

And then I realize my phone’s dead.

“I didn’t realize that my phone—”

“Was this some kind of revenge?” he asks icily.

“Revenge?”

“Yeah. Since I couldn’t take you out to dinner for the last few days, this was your idea of getting back at me.”

“That is not true!”

“We both know it is.”

He doesn’t give me a chance to explain myself as he storms out of the kitchen and goes upstairs. I hear the sound of the door banging shut.

Later that night, I sneak into his room, strip off my clothes and slide into the covers. His back faces me so I start kissing his shoulder blades and whisper, “Loagie, I’m sorry.”

He stirs in his sleep and looks at me with beady eyes. “What the fuck are you doing here, Maggie?”

“I came to apologize.”

“Okay, you’ve done it so now go back to your room.”

It’s like a slap to my face. “But why?”

“I don’t have patience for this, Maggie.” He’s using the authoritative voice with me again. “You don’t want to piss me off even more, and I don’t want to say something that I don’t mean so go back to your bedroom.”

He picks up my discarded bra from the floor and hands it to me. I snatch it from his hands.

“Why are you acting like this?” I ask, but he doesn’t respond.

Logan is usually calm when he knows he has control over the situation, but I think this time, he’s making it seem like it’s my fault, and I think I might have messed up big time.