Armadillo Crossing

"It's not like that at all. If you just answer my question this will just all go away."

"I don't believe you," he said. "I think you're seeing this guy. I'm leaving now, Sydney. You need to make up your mind. I'm going places. I thought you were, too. Maybe I was wrong."

He got up and left without another word. Sydney was seething. This was a dead end and she'd wasted a lot of time and emotion on that dead end. She drank her wine and turned on some music. She just relaxed for a while and went and ran a bath. She soaked for a while and went to bed with a clear head.

She heard a lot of noise outside when she got up in the morning and when she peeked out, the crew was working on her garage. Logan wasn't there and she ate a muffin and drank a cup of coffee. She worked on her book some more and went to the grocery store. She made a couple of stops, and she noticed a white van that seemed to be following her. When she got home, the van was still behind her and it drove past her house and parked in the next block. She went inside and put her groceries away. When she was done, she took a thermos of coffee out to the crew working on her garage. They took a break and she poured them coffee and talked with them a while. They were bending metal on a large machine and she thought it was fascinating. She watched them work a while and when she went back inside, she noticed that the white van was still there.

The crew was putting away their tools and packing up when her doorbell rang. It was Logan. She hugged him and they walked around to look at the framework of her garage. He was satisfied with their progress and she invited him to stay for dinner. He accepted and they grilled burgers. She enjoyed herself tremendously and when he left she felt like she was glowing. He made her laugh constantly and he seemed to enjoy talking to her. She knew he didn't need to check on the garage, and she was pleased that he had come by just to see her.

She had a book signing in Tallahassee the next day and she drove down and spent the night. Logan texted her at five and asked if she was away from home. She told him where she was and he said he had dropped by and missed her. She hadn't thought about him coming by, and she was touched and felt a little guilty she hadn't told him. She thought for a minute and texted him again. She was doing a writer's workshop in Mobile, and she asked him if he wanted to go. They could drop by and see his sisters in the evening and drive back that night. At first he told her he couldn't go, but an hour later he texted again and told her he had postponed some things and he would love to go. She was thrilled and the drive home passed quickly.

Ronald called just before she got home and it was ugly.

"So who is the white man you've been seeing?" he asked her.

"I'm not seeing anyone, I already told you," she said.

"I know that's not true," he told her. "I have a picture of you hugging him at your front door."

"Have you been spying on me?" she asked. "Did you hire someone to follow me? I can't believe you! The man you took a picture of is a contractor that's building my garage. He also happens to be a friend of mine who I know well enough to hug. You're a fucking creep, Ronald. I am breaking up with you. It's over. Don't call me again!"

She pushed the button and turned off her Bluetooth. Her phone rang immediately and she ignored it. The crew was hard at work on her garage and it was coming together nicely. She parked and talked to them for a minute. They thought it would be three more days and it would be done. Logan didn't come by that evening and she was a little disappointed. She didn't sleep well, but she felt good the next morning when Logan pulled up.

They took her Charger and she dropped him at his parents' house while she went to the workshop. She was out by two, and she drove back to Logan's parents' house feeling excited about meeting them. Shey came out of the backyard when she pulled up, dressed in a bikini.

"We're around on the deck," she said. "We're having a party. Come on; everyone's dying to meet you."

"Why on earth?" Sydney asked.

Shey took her arm in hers. "Because they want to see what Logan is so crazy about," she laughed.

Sydney was shocked and Shey laughed. "He didn't say that, Sydney. I just told you that to see the look on your face. It was everything I'd hoped for. You've got it bad, girl."

Sydney was blushing furiously when Shey pulled her through the gate. There was a large deck on the back of the house and Logan, his parents and Kris were lounging around in chairs. There was a large barbecue grill and smoker there, and a delicious smell was coming out of it. It was easy to see where the kids got their red hair. Logan's mother was a little older version of her daughters. She was tall and slender and her hair was nearly orange. You could see that it was turning almost blonde in streaks, and that was going to be her grey. She had a big smile on her face and she hugged Sydney like they were old friends. She had a deep southern accent when she spoke.

"Sydney, we're very glad to meet you. I'm Kim and this rude creature," she gave the man next to her a dig with her toe, "is Beckly. We call him Beck."

Beck was a tall, deeply tanned man with brown salt and pepper hair. He got up with a groan and Sydney liked him right away. He had a twinkle in his eyes and a look of good humor about him.

"Excuse my laziness," he told her in that deep drawl. "You're as pretty as a peach, Sydney. I'm going to like you."

"You old lecher," his wife told him. "Don't let him close to you, Sydney."

He hugged her anyway. "Pay her no mind," he said. "She's all Southern Belle out here, but behind closed doors, she's Southern Comfort."

"Quit embarrassing Sydney and go look at your brisket," Logan laughed. "Mom, don't you have something to do?"

"No, I don't," she told him. "I'm going to make Sydney a drink and we're going to get acquainted. Go help your father."

"What would you like, honey?" she asked Sydney.

"I have to drive home later, and I don't drink much," Sydney told her.

"I like you already," Kim said. "You're going to be here a while. You'll have time to metabolize before time to go. We'll have one drink and then stick to non-alcoholic stuff, okay?"

Sydney went in the house with her and Kim poured them both a Scotch on the rocks. "Do you really want to show the guys something?" she asked.

"What do you have in mind?" Sydney asked.

"Do you smoke?" Kim asked.

"No," Sydney laughed. "Do you?"

"No, but I enjoy a good cigar every now and again," Kim told her. "Have you ever smoked a cigar?"

"No, I thought only rich old white men did," Sydney laughed again.

"Well, we're going to take our drinks outside and smoke a cigar," Kim said. "Beck won't let me smoke them in the house. This will be fun."

She took Sydney into her bedroom and got two long cigars out of her humidor. She clipped the ends and got a box of wooden matches. They took the cigars out on the deck and lit them up.

"You don't inhale," Kim whispered. "Just puff on it."

Logan noticed what they were doing and burst out laughing. "Unbelievable, Mom. She hasn't been here ten minutes and you've got her drinking and smoking! I'm never bringing her up here again."

They had a wonderful time. They ate barbecue, which Beck turned out to be very good at, and Kris found Sydney a swimsuit she could wear. It was a one piece that fit fairly well. Sydney had a little more butt than Kris, but she didn't feel naked. They swam and played water volleyball until the sun started to go down.

Sydney felt very much a part of something she had never experienced before, and she didn't want to go home. When they all hugged her goodbye she felt like crying. Shey and Kris were coming to meet her on Friday for shopping, and she was really looking forward to it.

She was a little pensive on the drive home and Logan noticed her peeking at him. "Is something wrong, Sydney?" he asked her.

"No, well yes, sort of," she said. "I really, really like your family, Logan. I just can't help wishing they were my family. I've never enjoyed a day so much in my life. I hope you know how lucky you are."

"I do," he told her. "You can borrow them any time you want."

She laughed. "You have a way of making me feel good, Logan."

"Thanks. Sydney, I know I told you that I wouldn't ask you out. I'm dying to do it, though. Maybe it isn't such a good idea for us to spend so much time together. I like you more than any girl I've ever met. You're funny, you're smart and you're unbelievably hot. I don't think I can just be friends with you."

"Why not?" she asked. "I like being your friend."

"I like it, too," he told her, "but I just want to kiss you every time I look at you."

"So, kiss me," she said.

"What... what about your boyfriend?" he stammered.

"I don't have one. I dumped him last week," she said. "I gave him a chance, Logan. I asked him if he saw any future for us and it just pissed him off. I'm 25 and I'm ready for the rest of my life to start. I want to find someone I can love and be with long-term. I don't want to waste my time, energy and emotion on a relationship with a man that has no chance of ever being anything more. Do you understand?"

"Yes, that's what I was telling you the other day when you asked me if I had a girlfriend. I want a girlfriend, but not just any girlfriend. I'm only interested in girls that I can be something more than a date with."

"Do you think we could be something more?" she asked him. "I'd like that. It's not going to be easy, Logan. There are a lot of problems I can see."

"Like what?" he asked.

"Well, I travel a lot," she told him. "You have a business to run, I have a writing career. You're white and I'm black. You like an old Pontiac and I like new Dodges. Oh yes, I also like cigars."

Logan threw back his head and laughed. "I'm going to kill my mother! Sydney, let me tell you something. I know we're very different people, but let me tell you what I like. I like the cutest little sexy girl I've ever met. I love your smile and your voice. I love how smart you are. I love your skin, and the way it feels under my fingers. I love that curly mop on your head. I love those boobs and the way your nipples try to tear out of your shirt every time I touch you. I love your butt and the way it jiggles when you're walking in front of me. I love your lips and I imagine how they'd feel crushed against me. I like the way you smell, except for cigar smoke, but you could smoke like a chimney and I'd put up with it because I like the total package. There, I'm done now."

Sydney didn't know what to say. She pulled off on the shoulder and unbuckled her seat belt. When she looked over at Logan he smiled and she tangled her fingers in that red bushy beard and pulled him across. Their lips met and she felt like she had experienced an electric shock. A current seemed to be flowing into her whole body and her nipples felt hard enough to shatter. When she felt his hand slide down her shoulder and settle over one breast her breath caught in her throat, and when he gently pinched that nipple she felt her pussy flood and her panties dampen.

She pulled away with a moan. "Logan, you're going to have to drive," she told him. "I don't think I can."

"Oh, no; this is your car," he chuckled. "I'm going to sit here and play with you all the way back. Take off your bra, Sydney."

"No!" she objected. "That's not fair at all."

"Come on, I know you can do that magic trick thing. Off with it!"

Blushing furiously, she wiggled around until her bra came out one arm of her blouse. He took it and grinned at her.

"I have no idea how you did that, but buckle back up and let's get moving."

She pulled back onto the highway, and by the time she had the cruise set he was undoing the top three buttons of her blouse. His hand slipped inside and cupped one of her breasts. She squirmed and wiggled as he caressed her and ran his thumb back and forth over one milk chocolate nipple. It felt so good that she almost pulled off the road again to attack him. He gave the other breast some love, too, and she was desperately horny. As she turned onto her street she noticed the white van parked on the nest block. She pulled to the curb and pushed his hand out of her blouse.

"Logan, stop for a minute. See that van sitting there? It's been following me. My boyfriend was an attorney and they have some private investigators. I think he's got one watching me."

"Stay here," he told her.

He got out and walked down the sidewalk. When he got to the back of the van he crouched down and crept up to the driver's door. He jerked the door open and hauled a small, blonde woman out of the van. She fought like a wildcat, but Logan's size and strength made her helpless. He seized her by the seat of her pants and her shirt collar and frog marched her back to Sydney's car. He opened the back door and pushed her in, slamming the door behind her. He got in and locked the doors.

"Turn off the door locks," he told Sydney, and she pushed the button.

"What the hell is wrong with you?' the girl screamed. "You're kidnapping me! I'll have you arrested."

"Calm down," Logan told her. "We aren't taking you anywhere. Why are you following Sydney?"

"It's my fucking job, asshole!" she shot back.

"Your job is stalking people?" Sydney asked her.

"No, it's catching cheating sluts in the act. When wives cheat on their husbands, or the other way around, they should expect to get caught!"

"I'm not married," Sydney told her.

"What? What are you talking about? Of course you are. You're married to Ronald Green. He hired me to check up and see who his wife was cheating with."

"I'm not married," Sydney told her again. "I dated Ronald for six months. We were never even engaged. I'm not married. I've never been married."

"Bullshit, that's what all the cheating sluts say," the girl snarled.

"We're not kidnapping you, but if you talk to Sydney like that one more time I'll get back there with you and spank your ass until you can't sit down for a week," Logan told her.

"Logan, I had no idea you were so kinky," Sydney laughed. She unlocked the doors. "Go back to your van and check your facts," she told the girl. "Ronald lied to you. You should really get the facts before you take jobs. What's your name, anyway?"

"April Sander," the girl said. "Are you really telling me the truth?"

"She's not married," Logan told her. "Check the records. Call her publisher. Do whatever you need to do, but do it away from here. If you bug her again, it's going to get ugly."

April got out of the car. She tapped on Sydney's window and she rolled it down. "If you're telling the truth, I'm sorry," she said. "If you aren't, I'm coming back here with a bunch of goons, big boy. It looks like I'll need a bunch, but I'll beat your ass for manhandling me like that."

Sydney laughed. "Maybe you two should start an S&M club. Go home, April. Call me if you want. I'll be waiting for that real apology. I kind of like you. You've got spunk, but you're wrong here."

April went back to her van and left. "Jesus, Sydney; evidently your boyfriend was way more into you than you thought," Logan told her.

"Well, if being a creepy stalker is being into me, he was," Sydney said. "This is kind of scary, Logan. I'm kind of afraid of him. What if that had been someone dangerous?"

"I don't know. I'm not really afraid of people."

"Yeah, but you're a freaking truck," she said. "I'm not like you, Logan. This scares the hell out of me. I'm afraid to go in my house."

"Ah, I get it now," he nodded. "You want an excuse to go home with me."

"You asshole! Stop making jokes! I'm serious."

When he turned her chin to look in her face there were tears in those black pools. He quickly pulled her into a hug. "I'm sorry, Sydney. I didn't realize... Jesus, honey; you're shaking. Pull up to your house. I'll go in with you and you can pack some stuff. You can stay with me tonight, and tomorrow we'll figure out what to do, okay?"

She nodded into his chest. "Yes, thank you Logan."

She quickly packed a bag and got some hanging clothes. He got in the Trans Am and she followed him. She had no idea where he lived and they drove for twenty minutes, leaving town and driving down the beach road. He turned off onto a secondary road and stopped at a gate set in a stone fence. He punched in some numbers on a key pad and the gate swung open. They drove a quarter mile up a winding asphalt driveway between palm trees to the top of a small hill. A large stone house stood at the end of the driveway, and he pulled into a two story garage. Another door opened and she pulled into the empty bay. The light came on and she saw a motorcycle, four kayaks and a jet-ski in the next bay.

They went inside and Sydney carried her hanging clothes while he carried her bag. They went through a laundry room into a huge living room. It opened into a large kitchen and they went across the living room to a hall. He led her past several doors and he opened one at the end of the hall. She stepped in and caught her breath. The back wall was glass and it looked out over a large pool down the hill to the beach. The ocean shimmered in the background and they were a few boat lights out there. The pool was softly illuminated and she could see a hot tub beside it. The rippling of the water caused lights to dance in the room.

"This is your room," he said. "Make yourself at home. There's a bathroom through the door to your right and the closet is on the other side of the bed."

He lounged in the doorway while she hung up her clothes. She felt his eyes on her as she moved around and it brought heat to her cheeks. She turned to face him and she could see desire in his eyes.

"Come here, Sydney," he said.

She walked slowly toward him, her heart fluttering and butterflies in her stomach. He pulled her close and closed his arms around her. She rested her cheek on his chest and she could hear his heart beating. He just held her for a minute, her head tucked under his chin.

"Do you feel better now?" he asked. "Safe?"

She nodded. "Yes, Logan, I do."

"Good," he squeezed her. "Are you tired; sleepy?"

"I'm tired, but not sleepy," she said. She looked up at him. "Logan, could we get in your hot tub?"

"Did you bring a suit?" he asked.

She shook her head.

"Really? Oh my God, yes!" his voice shook a little.

"You go and get in," she told him. I'll be along in a minute."

He left and she put on a long t-shirt. He was in the tub and there were two glasses of wine sitting on the edge when she came out. His eyes followed her as she walked to the tub, barefoot and beautiful in the soft light. She pulled the t-shirt over her head and she heard him gasp. She stepped gracefully into the water and slid across to sit beside him.

"Oh, my God, Sydney; you're even more spectacular than I imagined," he told her as he put his arm against her and pulled her against him.

His arm felt very heavy and Sydney pressed herself against him, feeling her left breast crushed his side. His fingers traced a line up her arm, down along her collar bone and down into the water to cup her other breast in his hand. Sydney didn't have small breasts, but she felt tiny as his huge hand held her. Her nipple sprang erect and she shuddered as he rolled it between his thumb and forefinger. He took his hand away and she missed his touch immediately. He reached back and handed her her glass. She sipped a very dry white wine and they cuddled together as the water rolled around them. They talked; just little soft things that meant nothing and everything. She felt like everything was moving in slow motion and she never wanted this moment to end.

When they finished the wine, she was getting very hot and she went over and dove in the pool while he watched her. She swam a lap or two in the cool water and he got out and slipped in, too. After a minute in the cool water she got out and went to a wicker hamper that held towels. She rubbed her hair and wrapped the towel around her. He was climbing out and she took him a towel. He wrapped it around his waist, she retrieved her shirt and they walked back up the steps to the house with his arm around her. She stopped in the living room.