Logan Henderson x reader.
In which a girl kisses a stranger upon a dare. book currently on wattpad (bigtimeale)
Takes place in his pov.
I never planned on falling in love with anyone.
At least, not again.
But there was always her. The one who slipped through the cracks of time and memory, only to reappear every night when I closed my eyes. I couldn't shake her. She wasn't just a memory anymore ā she was an ache I'd learned to live with.
Sometimes, I wondered if I had imagined her entirely.
Maybe she was nothing more than a figment of my imagination ā a ghost from a childhood I'd romanticized too much. A girl I once promised I'd never forget.
We were eight when we traded clumsy confessions behind her grandmother's porch. I remembered the way she smiled ā shy but sure ā as she told me she liked me. I said it back, meaning every word, even if we were too young to know what love was.
Then I moved away.
And just like that, she was gone. No letters, no calls. Just a promise whispered in a backyard under the glow of porch lights: I'll find you again someday.
Now, being back in our hometown after all these years, that promise felt heavier than ever. Finding her seemed impossible ā like searching for a single star in a sky full of them.
"I'll be right back," Kendall said, pushing his chair back from the table. "You okay? You've been kind of quiet tonight."
I nodded, forcing a smile. "Yeah. Just... feeling nostalgic. It's weird being back here."
He chuckled. "Understandable. Don't go zoning out too much ā I'll be right back."
"Got it."
As soon as he disappeared toward the bathroom, my mind drifted again ā back to her.
I wondered what she'd look like now. What kind of life she lived. If she'd ever think of me the way I still thought of her. Maybe she'd even forgotten me completely. And maybe that was fair.
I was so lost in thought that I barely noticed the group of girls sitting a few tables over. Their laughter rose above the music ā loud, teasing, the kind of laughter that made you feel young again.
At first, I ignored them. But something about the girl sitting with her back to me caught my attention. She wasn't laughing like the others. Her shoulders were tense, her movements awkward ā like she wanted to disappear.
Then suddenly, she stood.
When she turned around, I caught my first real glimpse of her.
Her eyes darted between her friends and the floor before landing on me. For a heartbeat, she froze ā then started walking my way, nervous energy radiating off her.
I smiled without even meaning to. "Hey, pretty lady."
She stopped just inches away. Her voice trembled when she spoke. "Just... play along, please. I'm so sorry in advance."
Before I could ask what she meant, her lips were on mine.
It happened fast ā the kind of fast that leaves you dizzy and stunned and strangely breathless. Her mouth was soft, warm, tasting faintly of something sweet and cheap. My hand instinctively found her waist, grounding her ā grounding me.
For a second, I didn't want to pull away.
Maybe it was the alcohol. Maybe it was her.
When she finally broke the kiss, her face was flushed pink, her hands covering half of it like she could hide from what just happened.
"IāI'm so sorry," she stammered. "I don't even know why I did that. I can buy you a drinkāno, wait, I don't even drinkāugh, I'm so sorry."
I couldn't help but laugh. "Let me guess ā someone dared you to kiss a stranger?"
Her eyes flickered with guilt. "Technically, I was dared to talk to one. Or get one to buy me a drink. But I wanted to prove a point. I even drank alcohol tonight, and I hate alcohol."
Her honesty caught me off guard. She didn't try to play it off or make it flirty ā she was just... real.
I smiled. "That's a first. Tell you what ā since you don't drink, can I buy you... a cup of water?"
That earned a small, embarrassed laugh from her. "Sure. Water sounds great."
A minute later, I handed her the glass. "No worries," I said softly. "Glad I could help you prove your point."
She smiled faintly ā almost apologetically ā before rushing back to her table. I caught her friends' wide-eyed stares just as she hurried toward the door, the others scrambling after her.
Kendall slid back into his seat, wiping his hands on his jeans. "The weirdest thing just happened to me," I said, still half in disbelief.
He raised an eyebrow. "You're back in town for less than an hour, and something's already happened?"
He followed my gaze toward the exit, where the group of girls had just disappeared. "Does it have anything to do with them?"
"Yeah," I said, chuckling under my breath.
"Apparently, they dared one of the girls to kiss a stranger. I was the lucky one."
Kendall grinned, lifting his glass. "My man. Not even an hour back, and you're already making memories."
I laughed, shaking my head. "Yeah, yeah. Don't get used to it. I'm just focused on my presentation tomorrow morning. Last thing I need is getting caught up in something messy."
He smirked. "Still the cautious one, huh?"
"Always," I said.
He leaned back, sipping his drink. "It's good to have you back, Logan."
"It's good to be back," I replied. And it was ā mostly.
But as Kendall started talking about something else, my mind wandered again.
Back to her.
The stranger with the nervous smile, the soft voice, the spark that felt oddly familiar.
Because somewhere deep down, something about her didn't feel like a coincidence.
It felt like I'd seen that smile before ā in another lifetime.
And for the first time in years, I wondered if maybe my childhood promise hadn't been so impossible after all.
