She releases her bottom lip, the plumpness returning to its natural pink shade, and takes a deep breath.
“I think something is wrong with Nikki.”
“What makes you say that?”
“I heard her tell Dr. Fields that she was quitting. And now I have this note from her,” she says, holding up a ripped piece of notebook paper, her trembling hands shaking the flimsy parchment. “I’m scared to read it. Will you do it?”
“Sure.”
Taking the folded paper from her fingers, Logan skims the neatly written lines.
“Seems she is going to stay with Melanie for a while, but she has paid a year’s worth of rent on the apartment so you didn’t need to sublet.”
“Isn’t that weird - that all of a sudden she is going to up and go without an explanation?”
“It’s a bit strange, yeah,” he says more to himself, but Avery’s shoulders slump as he agrees with her assessment.
“I think her and Austin had a falling out. He hasn’t come by in a week or so and I thought I heard her crying the other day. I questioned her about it, but she just brushed me off.”
They sit and stare at each other for a few minutes, both waiting for the weirdness of the day to subside. When he notices the clock finally turn to five, Logan smiles warmly at Avery and stands behind his desk.
“Do you have your bag in your car? Did you want to change?”
“I have my bag in the breakroom. Can I use your office to change my clothes?”
“Definitely, I’ll help Dr. Fields close up while you get ready.”
Fifteen minutes later, Logan heads back to his office just as Avery steps from behind the door and he finds himself rooted to the floor. She looks breathtaking in a short black dress that hits her mid-thigh, showing off mile-long legs. Her hair is swept up onto her head, elongating her slender neck, which has become one of his favorite parts to kiss.
“Wow, Avery. You look…” Logan trails off, still mesmerized by her appearance.
She twists her hands in front of her body, nervously looking down at the floor.
“I look what?”
He steps forward and brings his hand forward to rest on her cheek.
“You look stunning. Absolutely stunning.”
Leaning forward he presses his lips against hers.
Whispering against his lips, but making no move to pull away, she says, “Logan, someone will see us.”
“Everyone’s left. It’s just you and me. Open up for me, baby.”
Following his instructions, she opens her mouth against his kiss, letting his tongue dance against hers. She grips at his shirt, pulling it tight against his back in her need to pull him closer. Breaking off the kiss he pulls his head back, only inches, and sees clearly the desire swimming in her eyes.
Logan lunges forward, bringing his mouth to Avery’s again, more forceful than before, and he pushes her against the door jamb where she stands. The heated exchange only fuels him further and he removes his hand from her face and trails it up her thigh, inching closer to her center as he moves higher. When his fingers meet the wet silkiness of her panties, she lets out a ragged cry of pleasure. Before he’s able to slide his digits through her heat, the alarm on his phone goes off, letting him know th
at they need to head out for their reservation.
They pull away from each other and he finds himself drawn to the heaving of her chest beneath her scoop neck top. And then Avery giggles - one of his favorite sounds. Logan joins her with a chuckle and scoots past her to enter his office.
He makes quick work of changing out of his work clothes and replaces them with dark dress pants and a gray button down. When he’s ready to go, he grabs Avery’s overnight bag and ushers her out the building toward his car.
They arrive at the restaurant an hour and a half later, and the hostess seats them immediately. Logan makes a point to ignore the subtle touch on his arm from the hostess as she seats them, but it doesn’t go unnoticed by Avery, who rolls her eyes at the gesture.
“Is it going to be like that every time we go out?” she asks in an unexpected surly tone.