“She abandoned you?”
I touched my cheeks. I should’ve been blushing, but the alcohol had already given me perma-blush. “I had to switch sections.”
“She couldn’t handle me anymore, Sam. I must’ve broken her heart without even realizing it.”
“Logan!” The guys called him for the game again.
He gazed down at me as if we had our own private joke. “Actually she broke my heart. She left me all alone. I’ve got no one to plot evil schemes with now.”
I couldn’t keep from grinning. “I don’t think you have a shortage of people who’d love to do that with you.”
“Logan!”
He ignored them, leaning down to grab my beer. He took a drink, his eyes on me the entire time, before he put it back down and murmured so only I could hear, “But no one like you.”
“Logan!”
He gave me another wink before going back to the pool table. He rolled his shoulders and lifted his cue in the air. “Chill, fuckers. I’m going to win now or five minutes from now. Why do you need to hasten my victory?”
Nate started laughing, but the others grumbled. My eyes lingered on Logan a moment longer than they should’ve as he leaned over and sank one more ball. I turned back into the table, only to realize Samantha had been watching me the whole time. She had a knowing expression in her eyes.
I coughed and stood up. I didn’t want to see the pity that would come next. She didn’t know me, even though in that moment, she probably knew me on a level no one else did. She saw feelings I was still trying to lie to myself about.
“Excuse me,” I said. Her friends gazed up with similar, owl-like dazed looks. I kept my eyes averted from Samantha as I pointed over my shoulder. “I, uh, I have to go to the bathroom. Be back in a bit.”
“Taylor.” Logan came around the pool table as I was heading for the stairs. He caught my hand.
A tingle raced up my arm, burning all through my body. I looked down at our joined hands before I forced myself to pull mine free.
“I have to go to the bathroom, and I should call my dad, let him know I’m safe. You know, just in case.” My lie sounded stupid, even to me. I needed to compose myself.
“You okay?”
I nodded, not meeting his gaze. I could feel the weight of his eyes. “Yeah,” I mumbled. “I’ll be back.”
“I’ll win this game, and then we can go,” he told me. “Nate talked about heading back to the house and doing a bonfire. Sam will probably go to bed, but he and I don’t have an early class tomorrow. We were going to stay up and have a few more beers. I thought maybe if you wanted, you could come, but if you need to get home—”
“No.” I looked up to meet his eyes. “I want to do that.”
“Yeah?”
I nodded. A bonfire with him and Nate and no one else? I couldn’t pass that up. After tonight, I’d stay away from Logan, I promised myself. Hell, I’d even go on a date with Jeremy Fuller if I needed to—anything to erase Logan Kade from my mind. But first, one night.
One more night.
“I should still call my dad.” I held up my hand. I thought my phone was there, but it was a beer instead.
Logan grinned. “I’ll be up in a bit.”
I nodded. “Okay.”
I made no phone call, but I did use the bathroom. Then I sat outside on a picnic table that had been carried to the front of the house. It was almost in the same place I’d been the first time I was here with Jason and Claire. Only this time I was sitting alone, and it wasn’t Jason I was waiting for, it was Logan.
“Logan’s coming in a minute,” said a voice behind me. “He said you were up here waiting for us.”
I closed my eyes and didn’t look at Samantha as she slid onto the bench a few feet away. There were no other sounds so I knew she’d come alone. I sensed she wanted to say something, but I didn’t want to hear it. She didn’t know me. She didn’t know anything about me. She hadn’t earned the right to tell me what to do, or warn me away from Logan, or whatever she felt the need to share. I had this under control… Mostly… But I didn’t need a thing from her, no matter how nice she seemed.
“You know…” she started. Her voice faded, and when I looked over, she stared down at the table. “Logan’s hurt a lot of gir—”
“How many times have we met?” I interrupted her.
She looked up, slightly surprised. “Logan told me you were here the last time Blaze had a party.”
So she’d been asking about me. I could tell she was full of wisdom about Logan. Maybe I should hear what she had to say. She didn’t strike me as someone malicious, but she was too much for me right now.
“We’ve only officially met tonight.” I held her gaze, making sure she couldn’t look away. “When you meet people for the first time, do you usually force a heart-to-heart with them?”
I didn’t want to be confrontational, but I needed to push her back, get some breathing room.
Her mouth opened. She had a response, but she held it. No sound came from her until a rueful laugh slipped out. She hung her head, her eyes closing for a beat before she looked back up at me. Her cheeks were pink now. “You’re right. I’m out of line. But just so you know, it’s not because of you. I don’t know you. You’re right about that, too, and I have no place telling you what to do. It’s just…” She trailed off, shifting to look out at the street. The moonlight lit up her face, and I was reminded once more how beautiful she was. An ache dug its way inside my chest, making a hole there. Logan cared for her in a way that I wanted him to care for me.