Afraid of Falling - Logince & Logicality

Chapter Three

It was Friday, the fateful day had arrived. I got into my car, a sensible blue BMW. I typed in the address Roman texted me and followed the GPS, eventually arriving at his house, a beautiful modern complex. Big windows and flat roofs greeted me as I pulled into his garage.

"Wow," I breathed. Locking my car, I went and knocked on his door tentatively.

"Hey," Roman said, opening his door with a wide smile.

"Hello Roman," I said, fidgeting a little. "So what will we be doing today?"

"Well, since you've never watched The Lion King, I'm going to show you how good it is." I chuckled, glad we were just doing something casual.

"Sounds perfect," I told him, genuinely excited. I didn't know what it was about Roman, but the idea of simply sitting and watching a movie sounded really appealing.

"After you," Roman said, allowing me in. He had polished chocolate brown floors, complimented with spotless white walls.

"Do you want a drink?" He asked, snapping me out my daze.

"A drink sounds nice. Do you have sparkling water?" I asked, examining a "floating" lamp, that was really just magnets repelling each other. Roman bustled about in the kitchen and I leaned against the marble counter. He handed me a glass of sparkling water and led me downstairs to his basement.

A large TV hung on one wall directly in front of us with a black leather couch in front. To our right was a pool table and next to that was a rack with pool cues, all in top notch condition. On our left was a small bar. I stared at the basement in wonder.

"This is all yours?" I asked, running my hand along the pool table.

"Ha, yeah," Roman said bashfully, clearly a little embarrassed about all his

belongings. I spotted a book on his bookshelf labeled "Family Album". I retrieved it while Roman set up the movie and started absentmindedly flipping through it until I gasped.

"What did you find?" Roman asked, casting a confused glance towards me from the couch.

"Nothing! Just a picture of Baby Roman," I teased.

"Give it back!" he said, grasping for the album.

"Never!" I squealed, running around Roman to the other side of the room.

"Can we just watch the movie?"

"Okay!" I said, sitting on the couch with a grin, putting the album on the coffee table. Roman snatched it up and placed it beside him, out of my reach. The opening theme of The Lion King started and he clapped his hands quietly.

"What is it saying?" I asked. Roman shrugged.

"Who knows! Just watch." The movie continued, Roman singing along to every song, his expression changing with the movie. About halfway through the movie, I felt Roman shift closer to me, causing a light blush to rise on my cheeks. He moved ever closer until our shoulders were touching. I gasped when I felt his arm around my shoulders.

"So-sorry! I-I just thought, um, sorry," Roman apologized, tripping over his words as he removed his arm. I rolled my eyes, grabbing his arm and placing it back around my shoulders.

"You're missing the movie!" I said with a giggle. Roman relaxed as I leaned into him. His arm drifted lower and he side-hugged me around my midsection producing a small squeak from me.

"You okay?" he asked, tearing his eyes away from the movie to look at me.

"Yep!" I said quickly, avoiding eye contact. Roman cocked his head then pressed around my middle again, another squeal coming from me.

"Logan," Roman said slowly.

"Yeah what's up?" I refused to look at Roman, though a smile played on my lips.

"Are you," Roman shifted away slightly, "ticklish?"

"What? No! Me? Ticklish?" I replied with a nervous giggle.

"You are such a bad liar." That was all the warning I got before Roman lunged at me, drilling his fingers into my ribs. I erupted into laughter, trying to swat Roman away, but I was no match for his strength. We tumbled to the floor, both laughing uncontrollably. Finally, Roman stopped, towering over me, my cheeks pink, both from the laughter and the close proximity.

"Hey," I said with a breathy giggle.

"Hey," Roman replied. He started leaning closer, a hand cupping my face. Our eyes slipped close as our lips connected in a slow, sweet kiss. We finally pulled away, breathless. Roman smirked.

"Told you The Lion King was good."