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physical attraction, neither one of them acted on it. Much to
Charlotte's surprise and frustration, they remained friends…but with a strong
underlying physical current between them.
    Later that week, they
enjoyed a movie at the cinema, leaning into each other and sharing popcorn and
drinks. He took her out for another meal. On one special evening, he took her out
to three different places. They had drinks together, a wonderful meal in a
fancy restaurant and then expensive cocktails in a ritzy bar.
    Much to her dismay, Logan
was a perfect gentleman, every time. In less than two weeks, they’d been on
five dates. Well, Charlotte considered their outings to be dates. She wasn't
sure if Logan did. However, throughout all of their time together, he hadn’t
even attempted to kiss her on the lips. She wished he would. She really wanted
to kiss him.
    Charlotte wondered if
Logan was holding back advances because of her telling him she didn't want any
relationship when they'd first began spending time together. It seemed very
respectful, if not frustrating, of him. However, she'd been going out of her
way since that night, to give him all kinds of signals she wanted more from
their relationship. She was getting bolder over time, flirting with him almost
shamelessly.
    Logan had always paid for
everything they did together. He insisted on it. Charlotte was fine with him
paying, at first. However, eventually, that started to make her feel uncomfortable
and self-conscious. It seemed unfair to her, as if she was taking advantage of
him. He often took her to expensive places, always of his choosing, of course.
She began to feel as though she should order only the most reasonable things
possible. Otherwise, she'd feel as if she were taking advantage of his
generosity. She eventually decided to take matters into her own hands.
    “ I’m taking you out this time,” she said to him over the phone.
    Charlotte was still at Nyland's
when he called her to arrange picking her up outside her office for coffee at
the end of her day.
    “No, no, don’t be silly,
Charlotte. I insist on paying,” Logan responded.
    “At least let me pay for
the coffee,” she objected. “Really…I mean, it’s only coffee. It’s not as if
it’s going to break the bank or anything. I can afford it.”
    “I couldn’t possibly
allow you to pay,” he continued to say, dismissing the idea.
    “Please, Logan. It's
important to me,” she said, quite firmly this time. There was a significant
pause over the other end of the phone.
    “You’re very kind,” he
said eventually, his voice quiet. “I don’t deserve you.”
    She gave a surprised,
little laugh. “Logan, it’s only coffee.”
    This time, however, it turned
out it wasn’t ‘only’ coffee. After enjoying some time in a local coffee house,
they took a walk—hand in hand—to an apartment where an associate of Logan’s
lived. There, they picked up Max. Logan said he was helping his associate with
his dog, as he does on occasion. Max needed a good run.
    Naturally, Charlotte
suggested they take him to the park. Once they’d arrived in a large meadow with
nobody else around, Logan let Max off his leash. He ran off barking and jumping,
probably after a squirrel or rabbit. Max was good for that.
    “Will he be OK?”
Charlotte asked with a little chuckle. “He’s not going to just… disappear or
anything, right?”
    “Oh, no. He'll be fine.
He's just enjoying himself. You're very sweet,” Logan smiled, sliding his arm
around her waist.
    She tensed ever so
slightly and then relaxed into him. Despite all of the time they'd spent together,
they’d had very little actual physical contact, with the exception of holding
hands and the occasional brief embrace to say goodbye when they parted company.
In reality, having his arm around her was like a hug. She turned her head to
smile up at him. He was a good four inches taller than she was. She liked tall
men. Charlotte wrapped her arm around his waist in