Chapter 8
I was holding a red plastic cup in my hand as I stood in the corner of the party watching everyone else get piss drunk. Maybe Nolan had been right. Maybe I should have gone to their party instead of this one. At least there, I would’ve gotten answers.
“You need to turn that frown upside down,” Celia said as she walked over and stood beside me. “Come on, Quentin’s friend keeps asking about you. He’s hot, he thinks you’re hot, it’ll be a match made in double date heaven.”
“No thanks.” I laughed, sipping my lukewarm beer. “I’m just not in the mood. Besides, I just got out of a relationship with a basketball player. The last thing I need is to get in another.”
The door opened wide and a shirtless guy walked through with his hands thrown in the air as he screamed, “Party’s here.”
It was one of the hockey guys who was always with Logan. My heart skipped. I stood a little taller. Was he here too?
“Oh. I see. You want to rebound with a hockey player.” Celia laughed at the warning look I shot her. “Hey, I’m not judging. They’re definitely wild.”
“I need another drink.”
She held up a black flash. “On it.”
I took a swig and coughed. “This tastes like something a pirate would drink.”
“That’s because it’s whiskey.”
“Why is it hot?” I took another swig.
“Take three more and you won’t care what temperature it is.”
I took one more and handed it back. “I think I’m good.”
She took one. “Well, I have to go check on Q. You gonna be okay here?”
“Yep.” I shook the red plastic cup and leaned back against the wall.
When she walked away, the door opened again, and Nolan walked in, also shirtless, also throwing his hands up screaming about partying. What in the world were they on? I didn’t know but I couldn’t help but laugh. Three girls trailed behind him, a blonde, a brunette, and a redhead. He seemed to have all bases covered. They were all laughing at him as they walked toward the kitchen. The third guy they were always with walked in, this one with a t-shirt on that pressed against his muscles, and no screaming. He kind of looked around quickly and headed in the same direction as the others. Lastly, Logan walked in. My heart jumped into my ears. He was wearing a loose black t-shirt and jeans. His gaze did a sweep of the room, landing on me momentarily. Two girls walked in right behind him, both with long brown hair, like mine. Both with tanned skin, like mine. He tore his gaze away as one of the girls jumped on his back with a laugh. He didn’t smile, not even as he walked over to the kitchen and set her down on the counter before walking away, without further acknowledging her.
Any idea of asking questions about my brother went out the window as I watched Nolan make out with two of the girls he arrived with, at the same time. It was something I’d only ever seen in illicit videos, but I guess it was a thing. I couldn’t imagine him handling three girls at once. My gaze shifted to Logan, who was talking to the other guy in their group with a shirt on, by the keg. The two girls he’d come here with went over to them. Something akin to jealousy bloomed inside me and I forced myself to look away. Pushing off the wall, I decided to leave. I walked outside and emptied the beer on the lawn before tossing the cup into the trashcan on the side of the house.
“Just when I thought I couldn’t like you less, you go and waste alcohol.”
I jumped at the voice beside me and turned to see Logan standing beside me. My brain struggled to come up with a comeback for what he said, but I kept tripping on it. He couldn’t like me less? I hadn’t even given him a reason not to like me. I turned and kept walking. At the sound of footsteps behind me, my heart began to race. I looked over my shoulder.
“If you dislike me so much, why are you following me?”
“I’m not.” He scowled. “I’m walking home.”
“Okay, well, walk beside me and not behind me like a creep.”
He looked amused as he shrugged. “Okay.”
We started walking side by side. He was much taller than me, even in the three-inch wedges I wore. We walked in complete silence for two desolate blocks. When we reached the stoplight, there was a group of drunk people who instantly lit up and started shouting and yelping when they saw Logan.
“We’re just on our way to Q’s party, why’d you leave?” one of the guys asked.
Logan shrugged. “Got bored.”
“Bored?” One of the girls stepped forward, placing a hand against his chest. “I’ll make sure you’re not bored if you go back with us.”
“Or we can meet you at the pool in your apartment building again,” the other girl suggested.
I glanced away, focusing on the streetlight, which was still not changing to give us the walking signal.
“Seriously, Fitz,” the first girl said.
The scene was making me restless. Worse, it was making me jealous and even worse, it was making me wonder if this was what Travis was up to in North Carolina. Late nights with an unattainable jock will do that, I guess. The second the light flashed for us to walk, I took off, not bothering to tell him I was going ahead without him. It wasn’t like this was a thing, or he was walking me home or anything. I heard the voices behind me grow louder but didn’t turn to see what the commotion was about. I had one goal in mind, and that was to get back to my place, shut the door, and go to bed. At the sound of fast-paced footsteps behind me, I glanced over my shoulder and caught Logan jogging toward me. By this point, I was far enough from where I’d left him, but he looked completely at ease and not out of breath at all with his slow jog.
“You call me rude, but you walked away without so much as a goodbye.”
“I was bored of the whole let’s see who can convince Logan to party with us or fuck us bit.” I stopped walking and faced him. “Where’s your harem of groupies anyway?”
“Why does it matter?”
“I don’t know. You’re over here lecturing me on being rude, but you got to the party with two girls and left with none.”
“They’ll survive.”
“Why’d you leave?”
“I got bored.”
“Bored,” I repeated. “Because I’m curious, what part were you bored of? The harem or the rambunctious friends you were hanging out with?”
“Both.” His eyes were still twinkling, still amused.
“Interesting,” I said. “I find it interesting that you left all of that boredom behind to come after me, especially after you said you don’t like me.”
“Does that bother you?”
“Does what bother me? That you said it or that you meant it?”
“Both.”
“No.” I grit my teeth together. “I could care less.”
“Really?” He raised an eyebrow. “Because you look a little upset to me.”
“You obviously don’t know anything about me. I always look upset.”
He threw his head back in laughter, and it caught me so off guard that all I could do was stare at his thick neck and the way his Adam’s apple bobbed with his amusement. When he was done laughing, he pointed those piercing green eyes at me and grinned.