20. The Love

Logan

Logan followed Hunter and Erin to the end of the exhibit room and down a long corridor to the left. The place was a maze, and he struggled to keep up, making sure they didn’t hear his slippery shoes echoing behind them.

Finally, they entered an empty gallery area where romantic portraits lined the walls, and a golden elevator dinged at the far end. He rushed to the elevator to see if it told him what floor they got off on. It didn’t. Sitting at a stone bench beside the doors, he extended his feet in front of him. The fancy shoes that looked good, but hurt, now felt more symbolic than ever.

With his elbows on his knees, he sank his face into his palms. Images of Hunter kissing and undressing her littered his mind. Would she be on top? Would he pin her against the wall? Sickness spread from his stomach to his throat, feeling an urge to cry. Why would he bring me here if he’s so ashamed of me?

Less than five minutes later, the elevator doors dinged, making Logan sit up. Out came Erin, as flawless as ever. She almost didn’t notice him sitting there as she walked by.

“Was he good?” Logan’s voice echoed throughout the room.

A yelp escaped her mouth, her eyes grew wide as she covered her lips. “I didn’t see you there. You fucking scared me.” She laughed; perfect white teeth. Logan’s glare did nothing to her. “I was about to come get you,” she said casually, grabbing his arm and pulling him into the elevator.

“What? What do you mean? Where are we going?” The elevator stopped on the top floor, and when the doors opened, Hunter’s face looked back at him.

“That was crazy fast,” Hunter said, stunned.

“I work miracles.” Erin smiled at him, extending her arm to hold the doors open. “The guard said thirty minutes.”

“What’s going on?” Logan asked, stepping off the elevator and looking around. It looked like they were about to head outside. He could see the rooftop through glass doors.

As soon as the elevator doors closed, taking Erin away with it, Hunter pulled Logan into a kiss. Logan wasn’t ready for it and pulled back a bit, caught by surprise.

“I’ve been dying to kiss you tonight. You look so good in that suit,” Hunter said in a husky voice. “Come on.” Hunter took a firm grasp of Logan’s hand and led him through the glass doors and out to a deserted rooftop garden.

“What is this?”

“Just thought we could be alone for a little bit,” Hunter said. Logan’s heart fluttered. He almost thought he had lost him just minutes ago. “Sorry, I left you alone there for a while.”

They walked to the edge of the garden, the millions of bright lights of the towering buildings around them overtaking their view. The city came alive in the dark, just how Logan had pictured it would, but not quite the same as the photographs. The view was overwhelming and somewhat empowering.

They sat on a bench with the best view, and Hunter took Logan’s hand in his. “Thank you for coming. You have no idea how much I missed you. Like, I can’t function without you.”

They absorbed the night, communicating through their shared silence.

“So, what did you think of my friends?” Hunter asked Logan, breaking a rare quiet moment.

“Are they really your friends?”

“My colleagues?”

Logan gave his words some thought before responding, not wanting to offend him. “They’re … interesting. Neil is a funny dude.”

“He keeps things light.”

Hunter extended his arm across the back of the bench and lightly stroked Logan’s shoulder. “I have to show you something,” Hunter said, pulling his phone out of his pocket.

Logan scooted closer to Hunter on the bench, glancing at the phone. “What is that?” Logan took Hunter’s phone and scrolled through. It was a two-bedroom waterfront apartment right in the downtown area of their college town. “This is super nice. Look at that view. Crazy.”

“It isn’t within walking distance of the school; don’t want too many people over,” Hunter said.

“That’s all fine and good, but, dude, I can’t afford that. Did you check out the ones I sent you? Open your email, there were some decent ones nearby—more in my price range.”

“My mom already got it for us.”

Logan’s mouth fell open. “What?”

“Paid up the whole year. The lease starts August first, twelve months. It has two parking spots and a heated pool.”

Logan’s mouth remained open in disbelief, and he felt a tightening in his throat, as emotions welled up inside him. “No way, I can’t let her do that.”

“Don’t worry, it’s done. It’s less than my room and board anyway. Her thing was no parties, drugs, or smoking, and if she gets one complaint, we’re out. I was going to wait to tell you. She called me on Monday to make sure you’d like it before she moved forward,” Hunter explained.

Logan struggled to form a coherent sentence, feeling silly for having doubted Hunter’s intentions. Logan couldn’t hold it in any longer; he leaned forward and kissed Hunter, a real kiss. “I love it.”

Hunter wrapped his arm around him tightly and turned Logan’s head toward his with his free hand, cupping his chin. Logan’s heart flipped in his chest, and eyes darted around. “It’s okay, no one is watching,” Hunter whispered before placing a deep, wet kiss on Logan’s mouth. The stresses of the busy day melted away with each passing second. They pulled apart slowly, their eyes locked in a lingering gaze. The intense kiss left Logan breathless, his senses heightened as he stared into Hunter’s piercing blue eyes.

“I love you,” Hunter said, moving his hand from his chin to the side of Logan’s face.

“What?” Logan asked, his eyes filled with wonder, his heart pounding in his chest. His brain couldn’t process the malfunction of his ears.

“I’m in love with you,” Hunter repeated with a soft smile.

Logan’s emotions reached their breaking point, and he couldn’t hold back any longer, releasing a burst of pent-up energy. With each nightly call, it became increasingly difficult to stop himself from saying the words. “Wow, I—uhm—I,” Logan tried to find the words as the lump in his throat made its way down. “Oh god.” He exhaled a nervous chuckle and tapped his foot against the green turf.

“It’s alright,” Hunter reassured him, with a hand on his knee.

“I love you, Hunter, so much,” Logan finally made out. “I’m so in love with you. I’ve been wanting to say it for a while now.”

Hunter’s smile grew to his eyes, the widest one Logan had ever seen. “Same here.” Hunter took Logan’s hand and stroked it lightly. “Being away from you made me realize.”

“Realize what?”

“How much I love you, and how life without you would suck,” Hunter said with a chuckle. Logan kissed him suddenly and passionately with his arms wrapping around Hunter’s neck. Hunter embraced him tightly with his fingers digging into Logan’s back. It was almost as if every kiss between them became stronger over time. “But seriously, Lo,” Hunter said, pulling away. “I can’t do another summer away from you. If I get asked to come back, come with me. There is plenty to do here. We can be ourselves here. I just—love you so much.”

“I feel like my heart is gonna explode,” Logan huffed into Hunter’s mouth, which made Hunter smile.

“Don’t die on me,” Hunter said before kissing him again—lost in their little piece of the city.

They took in the city a bit more before Hunter looked down at the time on his phone. “We should head back. It was hard to get this place to ourselves. Erin told security she was proposing to me tonight. She’s waiting for us downstairs.”

Logan laughed, his guilt for misjudging Erin taking over him. “Power moves. That’s awesome.”

Hunter got up and then pulled Logan up with him by his hand into a kiss. “So, do you want to go down first or should I?”

“You go, I’ll wait here,” Logan said, before kissing him again. “I love you.”

Hunter smiled sheepishly and pulled away. “I love you, too.”

With the sounds of the busy city and the Central Park trees moving in the night summer breeze, Logan felt a small tear fall to his cheek. There was only one other person he wanted to share the moment with. Pulling out his phone and hitting a contact in his favorites, he held the camera up to his face.

“Hey, Dad. Guess where I am?”