Persuasion

Thinking Out Loud

When I woke up, Logan's arm was heavy, wrapped around my waist. I blinked my eyes awake and looked at the clock. 4:03 am. My mind drifted off to last night, Logan had given me every opportunity to say no. I just couldn't do it. A pang of guilt hit me and I knew that I was not going to be able to fall back asleep. I rolled quietly out of bed, careful not to disturb him and went to take a shower to wash off last night's sins. As the water rushed over me, I tried to think of how to talk to Logan about everything. I didn't want to just come out and ask him if he was seeing someone, I didn't think I could handle the answer if he was. On the other hand, if he was single I wasn't sure that I would be able to go down that road again. We both end up broken hearted when I turned down his proposal. Was there any way that he could forgive me for saying no? Am I capable of forgiving him for walking away? The shower grew cold and none of my questions had answers so I got out and dried myself off. As I moved the towel over my skin I smiled, acutely aware of everywhere Logan's hands had been the night before.

I dressed quietly, putting on a simple forest green blouse and a black pencil skirt. I combed my hair pulling it neatly back into a bun and put on a little makeup. I went to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee. While I waited for it to brew, I sat at the counter and reviewed my notes.

"Good morning Ace" his voice made me jump. "I didn't mean to scare you" he said kissing me on the cheek.

"Too focused on my work I  guess. I didn't wake you did I? I'm sorry. I think my nap yesterday threw me and I am nervous about this meeting. I was trying to be quiet" I rambled.

"No, no you're fine" he assured me.

"Can I get you some coffee at least?" I asked hopping down from the counter and walking over to the coffee pot.

"I'm actually going to go out for a quick run."

"Run?" I laughed.

"Yeah, you do know some people perform physical activities?" he teased.

"On purpose?" I feigned surprise. "I guess I didn't know you were a runner."

"There's a lot you don't know about me" he said with a wink "save me a cup for when I get back?"

"I can't promise anything" I said with a smile.

I took my cup of coffee, notes, and a pastry over to the couch and sat down. I turned on the news on the TV and tried to calm my nervous energy. My meeting was at 9 am. I still had three and a half hours before I had to leave. I started doing some deep breathing. I had taken a yoga class a couple of months back to try and help me relax. The class made me feel ridiculous but the breathing had a calming effect, unfortunately I couldn't ever seem to replicate it in real life. Maybe it was the Yanni music in the background, I definitely wasn't going to stoop that low. After a couple more breaths I opened my eyes, it didn't work. I pulled my book out of my bag and started to read. The familiar words of the story rushed over me and I instantly felt better. I was so focused I didn't even notice Logan come back.

"You are reading that book again?" he asked causing me to jump.

"God, you need a bell or something."

He laughed.

"How was your run?"

"It was good." He paused realizing that he needed to explain further "I got into running in California, I think it's a requirement when you move there" he said pulling his shirt over his head and wiping the sweat off his forehead with his shirt. "Plus, it's a great stress reliever."

"Mmm and it's good for the body" I said pausing for a moment to watch him.

"Oh yeah?" he said grinning.