“She wants to go out with you.” Brooke wiped her face with napkin. “Stop dragging your feet and text her. Trust me. Women want the guy to make the first move.”
“We certainly have unfinished business, but it doesn’t necessarily mean I care to dip my toes back into the water when it comes to her. Shelby broke my heart once. I don’t think I could handle it if she did it again. But then the not trying— well that eats me up inside too.”
She shot him a pointed look. “I understand first loves are hard to get over. They linger with you far after they are gone. Many people marry their first loves, because being in love is intoxicating. And once it’s no longer there, it’s like a gut punch. Then you question if you’ll ever find anything that good again. The problem with first loves is you compare everyone that you meet for the rest of your life to that person.”
“Spoken like a woman who has experienced the same thing?” He raised an eyebrow. “What about you? Who was your first love?”
“Oh, some guy in college.” Brooke brought up her foot and propped it against the wall. “He doesn’t matter now, but I was hung up on him for a good year after we broke it off. I thought I’d never love anyone as much as I loved him. I figured I’d have to settle for a person I loved second best.”
“What about Justin?” Logan finished his food and tossed the wrappers into the trash. “Did you love him too?” He picked up his soda from the ground and sipped.
“I was in love with the idea of him.” Brooke bent down to fetch her soda then shifted to face him, leaning her hip against the building. “I hate admitting that. It makes me sound so desperate.”
“How so?” He sipped again.
Brooke sipped her soda. “I wanted to be in love. I wanted to be with someone. So, I decided he was good enough. Honestly, as more and more time passes, I realize I never loved him, and he never loved me. We were simply place holders for one another until something better came along. Sad but true.”
“At least you know now it wasn’t meant to be.” Logan finished his soda and tossed it and his other trash into the bin. “I hope you find love, real love someday. You deserve it.”
“Thanks.” Brooke finished and threw it away too. “I hope you find it too, if not with Shelby, then someone else.”
“Thanks.” He smiled.
Brooke checked her watch. “We’d better head to the theater or we’ll miss the openers.”
“Then let’s go.”
They weaved through the people walking on the sidewalk then made their way to the line already in front of the theater. Twenty minutes later they were in their seats only a few rows from the front.
“These seats are incredible,” Logan commented after they sat down.
“Thanks.” Her cheeks reddened enough for him to notice even with the dim lighting. “I bought them as a birthday gift to myself, a bit of a splurge.”
“Sometimes you have to treat yourself.”
“I know, if I didn’t, then most of my birthdays and Christmases would pass with little fanfare.”
Before Logan responded, the lights in the theater dimmed. The openers made their way onto the stage. Everyone in thetheater erupted in applause. Brooke leaned forward on her armrest and listened with rapture. He found himself far too aware of her nearness. Her signature sweet scent radiated off her. A few times their shoulders bumped or fingers knocked. Being a fake date, he resisted the urge to take her hand or wrap his arms around her shoulders.Friends, friends, friends.
When the main band came on stage, everyone in the audience rose to their feet to clap and dance to the beat. Brooke sang along to the words, and he found himself mainly watching her watching the band. A few times she playfully shoved him to get him to dance. Eventually, he loosened up. By the final song, he joined in with Brooke and sang the words of the familiar melody. When the curtains dropped back down, ending the night, he wished for it to linger a bit longer. And to his pleasant surprise, he realized that he hadn’t thought about Shelby once.
People shuffled out of their seats. They were smack dab in the middle, and they had to wait for the seats to clear before moving. Brooke dug into her purse and removed a hairband as they waited.
“Here, can you hold this for me for a minute?” She held her purse out to him. He clutched it against his chest. “Thanks.” Then she proceeded to gather her sweaty hair up into a loose knot on top of her head. Once in place, she secured it with the hairband and dropped her hands down. “Much better.” She smiled, making her eyes glimmer under the lighting of the theater lights.
He forgot about her purse in his hands as he stared back at her. “Gosh, you’re beautiful.” He blurted out without thinking.
“Oh,” Brooke removed her purse from his arms. “Thanks. I don’t think I’ve ever been given that type of compliment when I’m this sweaty.” Then she shot him a crooked smile as she put her coat back on.
“That’s a shame.” Logan retrieved his own jacket from the back of his seat and slugged it on. “I loved watching you tonight. I think that was the best part. You lit up each time the band played one of the songs you liked.”
This didn’t feel like pretending, and Logan didn’t care to fight his growing attraction for her. But then he had no idea what any of it meant. Shelby popped back into his mind.
Her cheeks splashed with color. “Come on.” She gripped his elbow. “Let’s get out of here.” Then she motioned for him to exit.
They filed out of the row and then out of the theater. A crowd gathered outside of the L train station, and they waited to catch the next train back to her apartment. The temperature had dipped even lower. A chill nipped at him. They both shuffled their feet to stay warm. Brooke’s teeth chattered, and she rubbed her gloved hands together.
“Here, let me help you stay warm.” Logan stepped closer and covered his gloved hands over hers. He rubbed them between his hands. “My mom used to do this for me when I was little.”
