Boyfriend

Her hand grasped his arm as he led her through the maze of hallways, the harsh fluorescent lights overhead giving their fair skin an eerie celadon glow. A faint smile formed across his lips as he watched her try to soak everything in, her narrow eyes darting back and forth into each of the different rooms they passed. It was his first time bringing her to the set, though he’d been meaning to for quite some time, but he still couldn’t believe how intrigued she was over the small things that he passed everyday. Her excitement and curiosity brought back that old bubbly feeling in the pit of his stomach, transporting him back to his first day on the lot.

Logan couldn’t believe that it had been over a year since the show first premiered; it felt like ages ago when he’d first been cast. Though the show was only midway through its second season, its four leads were instantly thrust into fame. Logan was still trying to get a grip on it all, but luckily, he had Kandi to bring him back down to earth.

When he noticed her mouth fall open and saw the look of wonder in her deep brown eyes, Logan’s own gaze immediately fell to the scene on the lot. He’d gotten the message that they’d be filming outside, but he hadn’t exactly counted on the elaborate scene that stood before his eyes.

A fully functioning fairground was laid out in the small lot, complete with a Ferris wheel, game booths, and other various carnival activities.

Kandi turned towards him, her eyes widened in surprise. “Did you know about this?”

He chuckled as he shook his head. “Nah, I’d like to take credit for all this, but I really had no idea. Looks like you picked an interesting day to come visit.”

His cast mate, who he also happened to share an apartment with, James, quickly rushed over to meet them, his face glowing with childlike enthusiasm.

“Isn’t this the coolest?” he asked, his honey eyes shifting from Logan to Kandi expectantly.

“Definitely,” Kandi agreed.

“So what’s the deal with all this stuff anyway? What’s going on?”

James flipped his thick mocha-colored hair out of his eyes. “Apparently we’re shooting a little mini-music video thing for the show today, so they set all of this stuff up. Scott’s letting us play around on it until it’s time to film.”

“Sweet!” Kandi’s face lit up as she glanced over at Logan. “Can we go ride on the rides?” she asked, begging him with her puppy dog stare. For a second, he imagined what she must have been like as a little girl.

“Sure,” he replied with a shrug, taking her hand as they walked towards the set. “What do you want to do first?”

She looked around once more, fiddling with her split ends as she decided. “Don’t laugh, but the little Tunnel of Love thing looks fun.”

Logan rolled his dark eyes dramatically, but he couldn’t keep himself from grinning. “How cheesy are you?”

“Shut up!” she laughed as she gave his shoulder a playful shove. “The little Jeeps are so cute.”

Glancing at the miniature bright yellow Jeeps, Logan had to admit that if he was Kandi, he’d probably think they were cute as well.

They stood together at the back of the car. “Let me guess, you want to drive?” he teased.

“Nope, you can drive,” she replied innocently as she looked away. Kandi refused to let him drive her own SUV, which always threw Logan off because he was so used to being with girls that wanted to be chauffeured around. Kandi actually enjoyed driving, even in the hustle and bustle of Los Angeles traffic.

“Not gonna lie, I’m a little surprised,” he joked as he climbed into the driver’s seat, his hands gripping around the steering wheel as he waited for her to join him.

“Don’t press your luck.”

Logan laughed as he revved the engine, sending the car careening into the dark tunnel.

“Ya know, I’ve never been in one of these before,” she admitted as her fingers clutched at the edge of the seat.

“Me neither,” he said, grinning sheepishly. “I think we’re supposed to make out.”

“Who needs a ride for that?”

As they drove further into the tunnel, dim lights triggered on, filling the small space with a rosy glow. Kandi inched closer to him, resting her head on Logan’s shoulder. As he leaned down to kiss her, romantic music gushed from the loud speakers, startling them both and causing them to burst into giggles.

Kandi sat up in her seat, her eyes darting suspiciously around the tunnel. “Okay, so Tunnel of Love equals Tunnel of Awkwardness. Let’s go do something else.”

Logan couldn’t have agreed more, and they were still laughing as they stepped down from the Jeep. James shot them a suggestive glance as he walked past.

“Hey! Let’s go play that shooting game!” Kandi said excitedly, pointing towards a booth across the lot from them.

Logan thrust his hands into the pockets of his jeans. “What, so that I can beat you?”

“Pssht,” she waved him off. “In your dreams.”

Logan had to admit that it was nice to get away from everything, if only for just this moment in time. An escape from his increasingly hectic work schedule that was beginning to put more and more tension on their relationship was just what he needed. Even though he loved Kandi and knew they were great together, sometimes he just longed to know where he stood with her. He’d never really been big on slapping labels on relationships, but even the slight mention of those labels scared Kandi away.

He just wanted her to call him her boyfriend and to be able to call her his girlfriend, he wasn’t trying to complicate things.

Once again, he shrugged his negative thoughts aside and joined Kandi at the booth. She flashed him a mischievous smirk as she clutched her gun in her hand.

“You’re going down, Henderson.”

Logan slowly shook his head as he reached for his own gun. “We’ll see about that.”

The guy running the booth quickly explained the rules before counting down from three, allowing the pair to let loose.

Though Logan tried to concentrate on popping more balloons, he couldn’t keep his gaze from wandering towards Kandi. The expression on her face was priceless: brown eyes squinted as she focused in on her target, her nose scrunched up in frustration. Her competitive streak was shining through as she squeezed the trigger repeatedly, the pop and squeal of the fallen balloons piercing through the air.

“Looks like she whipped you pretty good,” the man remarked, smiling warmly at the two of them.

Kandi immediately threw her hands into the air, fists clenched in victory. “What, whaaat! BAM, LOGIE! SUCK ON THAT!”

“You could win a little more gracefully, ya know,” he chuckled, her happiness bringing out the dimples in his own cheeks.

“Okay, what would you like as your prize, miss?”

Kandi squinted her eyes once again against the blinking yellow lights as she scanned the array of stuffed animals lined up along the sides of the booth. “I’ll take that giraffe right there, the pink one.”

“Nice choice,” the man replied as he handed over her prize.

“Thanks,” she offered him a smile before she and Logan began to walk away.

“So what are you going to do with your stuffy pink giraffe?” Logan teased as they stopped near the edge of the set.

She hesitated for a moment before looking up at him from under her soft eyelashes and pushing the stuffed animal into his chest. “I want you to have it,” she mumbled, a faint smile turning up the corners of her lips.

And it was then that Logan realized that they didn’t need the labels.