Free Of Love & Regret by S. H. Kolee

posture was now relaxed.
    “So you agree that
we’re not crossing any boundaries?” I asked in a neutral tone.
    “Of course.” Logan
turned to me with a smile. “We’re friends. If other people misconstrue our
friendship, that’s their problem. We know everything between us is strictly
platonic.”
    “You’re right,” I
said, but my stomach dropped at his agreement. I fiddled with the knob to
change radio stations so that I had something to do. By the time I stopped on a
song I liked, I was feeling less unsettled. I told myself I was happy we had
agreed our relationship was just platonic, and that we wouldn’t worry about
what other people thought. I was also happy that Logan apparently thought
enough about our friendship that he wasn’t willing to end it just because a
potential girlfriend frowned upon it, although I told myself it had probably more
to do with him being scared shitless about meeting Ella’s parents.
    Our banter remained
light for the rest of the drive, but the coil of tension in my stomach tightened
as we got closer to the Brooks’ home. When we finally arrived, Logan parked in
front of the house and turned off the ignition.
    “Ready?” he asked
as he turned to me. I didn’t miss the concern on his face, and as much as I
wanted to smile brightly and reassure him that I was fine, the most I could
muster was a half-hearted smile that was more of a grimace.
    “Not really,” I
admitted. “But sitting out here won’t make it any better. Let’s go.”
    I grabbed the
white lilies from the backseat and climbed out of the car. Logan got out, opened
the trunk, and took out a huge bouquet of flowers, much larger than mine,
encased in a beautiful glass vase. It was a gorgeous explosion of vibrant
colors, made up of hydrangeas, tulips, roses, and a variety of other flowers I
couldn’t even name. I glanced at my small bouquet of white lilies that were
dwarfed in comparison.
    “We can say mine
is from both of us,” he ventured, looking a little discomfited by the disparity
of our bouquets.
    I shook my head.
“No, it’s okay. White lilies were Cassie’s favorite flower.” I nodded my head
towards his vase. “Those are beautiful, too, though.”
    “Right. Lilies.”
It was clear that Logan didn’t remember Cassie’s favorite flower, but I hadn’t
expected him to.
    We walked to the
front door, but before we could ring the doorbell, the door was flung open and
Mrs. Brooks greeted us with a large smile. She looked perfectly coifed with her
dark blonde hair pulled up in a twist. As far back as I could remember, she had
always looked effortlessly put together, and today was no exception. Her gray slacks
and cream sweater offset her slim figure, making her look much younger than her
years.
    “Come in, come in!
Madison! It’s so good to see you! It’s been too long.” She immediately
enveloped me in an enthusiastic hug, and I returned it warmly. Despite all my
trepidation about making the trip to Laurenston, I couldn’t forget how much
Mrs. Brooks had done for me over the years.
    “It’s good to see
you, too, Mrs. Brooks.”
    She pulled back
and studied me from head to toe, nodding approvingly. “You’ve grown up to be
such a beautiful young woman. I remember when you were just a little thing with
those big green eyes of yours.”
    She glanced behind
me and her smile widened when she saw Logan.
    “Logan!” she
exclaimed. “I barely recognized you! It’s so good to see you, too!”
    Logan returned her
hug awkwardly as he tried to balance the vase of flowers in one hand.
    “Thanks for having
us over today, Mrs. Brooks,” he said when she finally let go of him. He thrust
the vase of flowers between them, almost as a barrier. “These are for you.”
    “They’re
beautiful,” she said with an impish smile. “Cassie will be jealous that I’m
getting flowers from such a handsome boy.”
    My stomach dropped
at her mention of Cassie, but it was to be expected. She ushered us into