Summer Series 01: Fresh Cut

"Asia."

She flipped her long braids over her shoulder and turned away from him. In just a few more achingly slow minutes, the bus would pull onto Darden Court.

"Asiiiiaaaaa."

She adjusted her book bag on her shoulder, rolling her eyes as she listened intently for the squeaky hot metal sounds of the bus's brakes one street over.

It wasn't like this was a new annoyance. He did this almost every morning that she wasn't able to catch a ride with a friend or Uber to school.

Tires slowly rolled over gravel, as the bright red paint flashed in her peripheral vision. He was becoming so much more persistent as the year was coming to a close. And Asia Wilson was finding it more and more difficult to ignore him.

She turned and looked towards the blonde boy with a messy undercut and the makings of a perfect summer tan hanging out of his Jeep window. The car had been an early graduation present and the catalyst for the daily invitations.

"Fuck off, Logan. I'm not driving anywhere with you."

This only incited a larger grin to spread across her neighbor's face. He pushed a hand through his hair before laying his head on his crossed arms, shooting a pouty look her way. "Please let me give you a ride? It's the last day of school and you have yet to let me drive you anywhere."

"Because I'd actually like to live to see graduation." She punctuated her over dramatic statement with an eye-roll.

Logan chuckled, sitting up and back into his seat. "Suit yourself... but I'm going to get you before the year is over, Asia."

She couldn't help but smile at the way he said her name and the little wink that accompanied it before he drove off. She watched the red Jeep move down the street until it was out of view and the large yellow school bus pulled around the corner.

The smell and unjustified volume of the bus instantly made a pang of regret bounce around her chest, but she swung into a seat near the front. As per her normal routine, she tuned her phone to a favorite playlist and popped in her headphones, drowning out the sound of the rowdy underclassmen behind her.

Sometimes, when she thought about it... Asia didn't understand her relationship with Logan Anderson. They had been neighbors since kindergarten, moms forging a relationship as they were the youngest on the street. Afternoons and weekends throughout their childhood were spent together. And for a very long time, she considered Logan her best and only friend.

But as things go, people get older. And high school brings a whole new set of unfamiliar feelings and emotions. But the weird soft spot Logan had for her since they were kids had never changed.

Despite different groups of friends. And both of them becoming popular in their own right, there would never be a time when she saw Logan in the hallway or at a football game and she wouldn't get his full attention. In their early high school years, it had been annoying when her loud lanky best friend would yell from across the quad, drawing out her name in that irritating way that only he could.

But as they grew older, like some typical Disney movie montage, Logan grew into... what he is now. And study sessions that were once joke-filled and fun, became awkward and tense. Asia would stare a little longer, and notice cringey things. Like how the closer to summer they got, the more freckles would appear on his shoulders. Or how his impossibly long lashes fluttered when he would concentrate on tapping out an equation on his TI-83.

As they pulled into the school's parking lot, she caught a glimpse of Logan and his group crowded around his car. She recognized a few of her friends among the girls who were nearly hanging off of him as he spoke and rolled her eyes.

Her friends would constantly ask her how and why she remained just friends with Logan.

"You spent like every day together the summer before sophomore year... Y'all never hooked up? Like nothing? Not even kiss?"

She would always annoyedly shake her head at the aghast faces of her friends. There were always a few moments that would come to her mind when these questions would come... but nothing that was anyone else's business. And to be honest, before she could even start thinking about it... their study dates had become non-existent, being replaced by practices and meetups of their respective after school activities.

As she stepped off the bus, she moved past the crowd around Logan, only glancing over to see if any of her friends had noticed her arrival. They all still leaned against his car, wrapt in whatever mind-numbing babble they undoubtedly assumed would endear them to Logan.

This day could not end sooner and her last summer before college couldn't start fast enough. It would only be a few more weeks before her internship started in the city and she was more than eager to get out of here. She had turned 18 last fall and was more than ready to explore life outside of her starry-eyed friends and uncomfortable relationships with her friend turned B.M.O.C.

*************

U awake

Asia stared quizzically at the notification that popped up on her phone beside her. She had been spending her first night of freedom from highschool reading a book suggested by her soon to be college English professor; the buzz of her phone had startled her.

She sat up, sitting the book on the bed beside her. The phone buzzed again as she picked it up, signifying again that she had an unread message.

As she swiped it open, Logan's familiar contact photo appeared, displaying their thread. Asia glanced at the time. It was almost midnight.

Im up. what do you want?

She swiped up to review their thread history. Sporadic messages of holiday well-wishes and asking if spare key copies were available was pretty much what their recent textual conversation had been made up of. A random late-night text was odd.

Come outside.

She began typing a snappy response- but was halted when the phone buzzed again.

Please? Don't make me start callin your name.

Asia rolled her eyes, deleting her message. She sighed and stood up from her bed, pulling on some white volleyball shorts and her flip flops with the tank top she already wore before heading downstairs.

As she closed her front door behind her, she saw Logan across the lawn. Arms crossed, leaning against his Jeep.

She walked slowly across her yard to meet him at the curb. "I should have let you yell. My parents would have loved that."

Logan smiled, dimples fully engaged. "They probably would have invited me in."

Asia rolled her eyes and mirrored his crossed arms. "What do you want?"

Another large smile, but this time with slightly pleading eyes. "Go for a ride with me."

"It's like 11:30-"

"I know, I couldn't sleep. And I saw your bedroom light on, so I figured you couldn't either."

Asia was sure on the first night of summer Logan would have been celebrating at some nearby house party. Yet, here he was. She weighed the idea before responding. She eyed him suspiciously.

"Fine." She uncrossed her arms walking towards his car as he quickly pulled the passenger door open. "But make sure I'm back by 1:30."

*************

"So." Asia watched her friend lean back into his seat. He tipped his head backward, looking up at the ceiling of his jeep. "Can I ask you something?"

She shifted her weight, shrugging. "Of course." They had only been driving for a few minutes listening to music before he had parked in a spot overlooking their neighborhood's tennis courts and clubhouse.

Logan thought for a moment, teeth biting his lip as he seemed to weigh asking his question or not. He didn't turn to look at her when he asked, "Why was it never me?"

Confusion knit her brow. "What do you mean?"

He turned his head slightly and eyed her before smiling softly. "Like how come you and me never got together?"

Asia's ears were instantly hot, and she was sure her mouth was hanging open in shock. Did she hear him correctly?

"Got together?"

He laughed. "Asia, don't make this shit any more awkward... How come you and me never hooked up? Dated? Kissed? You know."

She glared at him. "When would it have been you?"

"I don't know... but I've been around for all of the goofballs you've dated and crushed on... I know that I'm way better looking than most of them. Not to mention more athletic and smarter." He turned his body so that he was fully facing her. "Like all those years we would spend all summer together... sleeping in the same bed, talking forever and cuddling each other to sleep every night. How come you never thought about dating me?"

This felt like an episode of the Twilight Zone. And she couldn't figure out why Logan was voicing every quiet thought she had had all through high school. The "we are just friends" mantra had been repeated by them for so long, that she really never would have thought in a million years that Logan may have been feeling anything for her.

"I guess I just always figured you were... off-limits." Asia looked out the front window, avoiding his gaze for a moment. "Like it seemed like you were just content with being friends, so when I felt things I wouldn't push it."

He nodded slowly. "So you felt things?"

Asia rolled her eyes. "Of course I did... I'm not an idiot. But things would happen... and the next day we would just drop it. Move forward like it didn't happen."

"Like after that dickhead, Calvin cheated on you at homecoming." He sat up in his seat. "I was messed up about that night for a minute."

Asia flushed. That night had been journal fodder for months. She could even admit that that night may have been the point when her lifelong crush had morphed into something with much more depth.

Calvin had been a dick head. Her 11th-grade homecoming had been made after she had walked in on him fucking his biology partner Anna in one of the stalls of the women's bathroom during a break from the dance floor. She hadn't even said anything, but turned on her heel and ran out of the bathroom. She had bumped into Logan and his friends making their way into the building. Her obviously tear-stained face and smudged mascara made him take immediate action, saying goodbye to his friends and walking her home.

At first, things had gone as they usually had. It wasn't uncommon for her and Logan to share a bed. They always had since they were little. And that night was no different. Logan had let her cry and listened to sad music with her while she shit-talked her now ex. Logan had offered a hug, pulling her down onto the bed with him. He pulled her in tightly, his body hard against hers. At first, it felt good to just be held by someone she trusted and felt safe with. But feeling him breathing softly against the skin of her neck as he nuzzled her made her flush.

She held in a moan when she felt his strong hand press across her waist, fingers splaying so that he gripped her hips. She involuntarily pressed back against him, ass curving against his hard length.

Logan had helped her grind her hips into his, warm panting breaths on the back of her neck as his fingers pressed deeper into her skin. She ached to remove the fabric barriers between them, wishing that his fingers were caressing her flesh. Her hips began moving in a circular motion, eliciting a groan from him.

She had turned under the covers so that she looked up at him. Logan had held her gaze as he pressed his hand against her side, gripping her waist and rubbing small circles near her navel. His head had dipped down and she felt his lips wet against her neck. Logan's tongue had darted out lazily tasting the flesh there. She moaned softly, her body arching into his hands.

They had danced like this on and off for the rest of that night. At times, Asia felt like she would have her release just from how he was touching her. She had been with a few guys, but none had been able to nearly satisfy her without even getting her naked or kissing her.

But the next morning, they had regarded each other quietly, silently getting ready for school and walking to the bus stop together. Eventually, Logan had made a joke and made things comfortable again. And that was that. They had never brought it up again.

Similar moments had happened a few times before, but the intensity of that moment had overwhelmed her at the time. Asia had written pages in her journal speculating if that moment had meant the same thing to Logan that it had to her.

"Yeah... I was kind of messed up over it too."

Logan kept nodding slowly. He held the steering wheel with one hand, still facing her, but still thinking her admission over.

"It's been a while since anything like that has happened."

Asia nodded. "It has." She shifted in her seat facing him, deciding how candid she should be at this moment.

"I may not act like it when I see you, Logan... but I do miss hanging out with you."

A small smile spread across his lips. "Me too. Why do you think I've been tryna give you a ride every morning since my birthday?"

Asia slumped against her seat, rolling her eyes. "I just thought you wanted to flex your sick new car on me."

He responded with a slow grin, but the car quickly fell silent again. Logan was looking out the front window for a few seconds before nodding to himself. "Alright, fuck it."

Asia stared confused as Logan righted himself in his seat and raked a hand through his hair a few times. He shook his head, then faced her again looking her directly in the eye. "Asia, I like you."

"Wha-"

"I like you so fucking much... like since like 5th grade, ok?" The hair mussing didn't stop, it was clear this was a nervous reaction. "I swear, you're so fucking perfect to me... like, I like- I love everything about you... shit that no one even knows about you, like every part of you-"

"Logan... what?" Asia was sure she was sweating. This had to be some kind of fever dream. What the fuck was happening?

"What do you mean what?" Logan laughed. "I'm just telling how I feel... how I've felt... forever."

Asia could only stare slack-jawed at the boy in front of her. The boy who she had crushed on and lusted over for literal years, who was now casually professing his like- did he say love? Love for her after years of near silence.

"Why are you just now telling me?" She probably sounded angry, but it was shock that was tightening her voice.

"Because I play too fucking much... so whenever I would hint at it or joke about it- you would just brush me off." Logan sighed. "How many times have I asked you to go out with me or to dances and you've told me to fuck off?"

She was silent because he was right. But that wasn't totally on her. "I never thought you were serious."

He shrugged. "Well, I was. And you would shoot me down and I would just take the L. And assume you weren't really feeling me like that."

The car was quiet again. Logan continued to hold eye contact with her; a move that suddenly unnerved Asia a bit. She began pulling at the hem of her shorts, suddenly finding the contrast between their white fabric and her chestnut skin more interesting than meeting his gaze.

She couldn't help but think over all the times he had flirted with her over the years, teased her and threatened to take the place of guys she was dating. It also occurred to Asia while Logan had definitely dated a few girls, none of those flings ever lasted more than a few weeks before he cited some minor irritation as a cause for a break-up.

"Are you upset?"

Asia couldn't stop the laugh that escaped her in response. "No Logan... not at all." She struggled to remain cool and hide her absolute elation.

She watched as Logan moved to lift his open palm over the center console. "Forgive me for not telling you sooner?"

Asia placed her hand in his, fingers lacing together tightly. "Yes, Logan."

Before she could let go, she felt him pulling her hand toward himself. He brought it to his mouth, brushing the skin of her knuckles against the softness of his lips. He kissed her softly. "Is this ok?"

Asia couldn't breathe. No matter how close they had gotten in the past, this was the first time she had felt his lips on any part of her body. She was sure she was melting as she felt the breath from his words against her flesh. She nodded.

"Can you come closer?" Logan lightly pulled her towards him as he asked. Eyes soft and pleading, the nervousness of before was gone.

She looked down at the space between them before moving over the middle seat in the least awkward and overly eager way possible. She slid across his lap easily, straddling him. Standing, he towered over her five-foot frame- and even in this small space how much bigger he was than her was apparent. His hands wrapped around her waist, helping her adjust so she sat back on his legs.

Up close, he smelled warm and like whatever piney smelling soap he had used before he came to pick her up. It was hard to avoid eye contact now. Logan stared up into her eyes as she felt his hands slip under her t-shirt. She flushed at the feeling of his thumbs rubbing circles into her lower back.

"Is this weird?"

As new as the feelings were, nothing felt weird. Asia had dreamt about so many scenarios with Logan over the years that this almost felt normal. "Not at all." She punctuated her statement by running a hand through his messy blonde hair, pushing it out of his face. She traced his face with her fingertips, watching him close his eyes and exhale as he leaned into her touch. "I've liked you just as long Logan. I just never thought you saw me that way."

Logan's arms came around her then, pulling her into him. "How the fuck could you think that?" He nuzzled her neck, lips moving against the skin there as he spoke. "Asia, I don't even know how to act around you... why do you think I'm such a goofball?"

He began placing soft kisses up her neck, occasionally licking and sucking between his words. Asia couldn't help but press into him, bringing both hands up into his hair. She couldn't find the words to respond to him, only able to moan softly in response.

Logan continued to kiss her, moving up her neck along her jaw. "I can't believe I waited this long." As his mouth neared hers, she lightly tightened her grip on his hair causing him to groan as his lips claimed hers.

Asia has dreamt of their first kiss thousands of times. But nothing could prepare her for the way that she would melt when his lips touched hers. She leaned into him as their kiss deepened, his tongue darting out to lick along her bottom lip, softly gaining entrance into her mouth.

Asia couldn't stop herself from grinding against Logan as his hands gripped her waist tightly. She remembered feeling him during their moments before, but straddling him now, his size and arousal were obvious.

She sucked his lip into her mouth, almost growling as she lightly bit it. He moaned, encouraging her, as she moved to wrap her arms around his shoulders. As she steadied herself, she found a rhythm rocking the soaking wet fabric of her shorts along his length.

Logan stopped her suddenly, shocking her as he pushed her back against the steering wheel behind her. "Asia, I swear I don't want to let my first time with you happen in this car..." Even apart, his hands were still roaming her body, pushing up the fabric of her shirt to reveal her flat stomach.

She giggled. "I always pictured a bed at some hotel on prom night."

Logan was leaning forward now, moving in to kiss her before pulling her white vee neck over her head. "Oh, definitely a hotel room... somewhere in Buckhead..." He moved his hands up her now bare sides, speaking between kisses. "... Champagne for sure..." Another kiss. "You like roses?"

Asia grinned against his lips. "I like roses."

She felt his returned smile. "Then rose petals all over the bed." As he deepened their kiss, his hands moved behind her back to unhook her bra, slipping the straps down her arms and tossing it in the front seat beside them.