“You’re not just anyone.”
“We’re not hooking up.”
“We’re not hooking up,” he repeated.
I shrugged and started walking because what the heck. The library could wait a couple of hours.
Chapter 18
“What’s your major?” I asked as we waited for the crosswalk to give us right of way.
“Business, with a minor in journalism.”
“Journalism?” My brows rose. “Really?”
“I have to do something once I’m done playing professionally, don’t you think?”
“I guess so.” I eyed him with a new appreciation. “Why don’t you work for the paper?”
“No time. Sadly. I’m a little jealous of Paper Boy’s job, but I can’t complain about being on the ice.”
“Right, because you would be great at asking people questions. Whenever I see you, outside of people begging you to party with them and stuff, you’re quiet and you look like you’d kill someone if they tried to talk to you.”
“Not very forthcoming, huh?” He smiled. Sort of. I laughed.
“Not forthcoming at all.” We started walking across the street.
“I wouldn’t complain about my assignments if I was Paper Boy though. He gets to work with you.”
I glanced away from him and looked forward, nearly freezing in the middle of the street when I caught sight of the red cloaked figure crossing in our direction. On instinct, my hand shot out to grab Logan’s arm.
“What happened?” he asked.
“Those people creep me out.” I stared at the red cloaked person as they walked by. I could’ve sworn they were looking right at us. His head turned in our direction and I could see the outline of his face, but couldn’t make out what he looked like. I couldn’t understand how I couldn’t see their faces even in daylight. The hood of the cloak was too big. It didn’t mean that anyone couldn’t just walk up to them and pull it off though, but because I hadn’t heard anyone else suggest that, I assumed nobody would. I wouldn’t. My nails dug a little deeper in Logan’s arm.
“The reds?” Logan asked. “Have they approached you?”
I shivered.
“Amelia.” Logan’s voice was stern, but not loud as we reached the other side of the street. “Have they approached you?”
“No. They haven’t.” I shook my head. It hadn’t been them, per se. The ones who approached me were wearing black cloaks.
“Stay away from them. If they do try to approach you, I need you to tell me right away.”
“What?” I let go of his arm and looked up at him. “Why?”
“Just trust me, okay?”
“Do you think they’re up to no good?” I asked tentatively.
“I know they’re not.” The tone of his voice didn’t leave room for question.
“Do you think they had something to do with Lana Ly?”
“The girl who disappeared?”
“Yeah.”
“I don’t know.”
“Did you know her?”
He side-eyed me. “I didn’t know her personally, but I saw her around often.”
“She was really popular in high school. I wonder how she fared here.”
“How’d you fare back in North Carolina?”
I shrugged a shoulder. “Fine, but I wasn’t popular in high school.”
“You weren’t?”
“Why do you sound surprised?” I laughed. “I literally have two friends. Three if you count Max, or Paper Boy, as you like to call him. And you, so that makes a whopping total of four friends.”
“Friends, huh?” Logan pulled open the door to our building.
As soon as I walked in, I shimmied and let out a burring breath.
“Cold out there, huh?” Gary asked from behind the desk.
“Freezing.”
Logan laughed. “It is not freezing.”
“Canadians have a higher tolerance for the cold,” Gary said, laughing, “I’m from Florida. This weather is cold.”
“I spent my entire childhood in Mexico City,” I said. “I’ve never been able to get used to this weather.”
We waved at Gary as we reached the elevators. Once inside, he punched in the number of our floor and I thought maybe this entire thing was a dumb idea. I could just go to my apartment and sleep there. I had a perfectly good bed. That I hadn’t gotten any sleep in in weeks, I reminded myself. When the elevator door opened, Logan let me step out first. I did, and stood there, in front of the elevator, unsure of what to do. He started walking toward his apartment. He was halfway there when he looked over his shoulder.
“Come on, Amelia. I won’t bite.” He winked and turned around.
That should’ve been my indication to run the other way. I should have thrown in the towel and gone to my own room then, instead, I followed after him. Once inside, I shrugged off my coat.
“You thirsty?” he asked. I shook my head and watched as he took a jug beside his fridge and downed half of the contents faster than I ever could.
My eyebrows rose. “No wonder you get so drunk.”
“I get drunk and then spend the next two days apologizing to my liver.” He shook the jug before setting it down. I laughed. “Do you drink?”
“Occasionally.”
“Not much of a party?”
“Not really.”
“Because of your boyfriend?”
I laughed. “If I had a boyfriend, would I be here right now, ready to sleep beside you?”
“We already established boundaries.” He shrugged. “What’s the harm in just sleeping?”
“I don’t know. It’s weird.” I frowned. “If you had a girlfriend, you would think it’s okay to sleep next to another girl?”
“No, but I don’t have a girlfriend.”
“I’ve noticed,” I said. He grinned. I felt myself go hot all over.
“So, it’s safe to say you don’t have a boyfriend?” He started walking toward his bedroom. I followed.
“I don’t have a boyfriend,” I repeated because obviously, he needed to hear this.
“So, if we take a selfie in bed together and you post it on Instagram, nobody is going to try to kick my ass?”
“I like that you said try to kick your ass as if he couldn’t.” I laughed as I kicked my shoes and socks off. “You’re sure you’ll win that fight?”
“Positive.”
“What makes you so positive?” I pulled the sheets back and climbed into one side of the bed.
I was wearing jeans and an oversized gray cable knit sweater. Not the most comfortable thing to sleep in, but also not the most uncomfortable, and I wasn’t about to take off my jeans. Logan had black sweatpants and a black t-shirt on. He kicked off his shoes and climbed into the other side of the bed.
“Your bed is so comfortable.” I closed my eyes with a sigh. “Are you going to set the alarm?”
“Yes, master.”
I smiled, eyes still closed. I knew I was going to fall asleep in under five minutes. As I turned over and got even more comfortable, bringing my knees up to my chest, I remembered I’d asked him a question and he’d never answered.