Logan Kade (Fallen Crest #5.5) (10 page)

“That’s my water.”

I opened it and took a drink. “It’s mine now.” I gestured to the coffee booth. “I have to get a latte for Sam.” I lifted her bottle. “I’ll grab you one of these. You want a coffee or something else, too?”

“No.”

I stood, frowning down at her. “I’m not that big of an asshole, I swear,” I told her, waving her water in the air as I walked away. “I’ll buy you another one. I just need a little something while I wait in line. My throat’s parched.”

She eyed me with her usual look, a mix of wariness, curiosity, slight amusement, and something else. I hoped it was sexual attraction, but this girl was different than the others.

“Why’d you turn Jason down for the gambling thing?” Taylor asked when I returned to the table.

I sat down and slid a coffee over to her, along with her new water. I flashed her a grin. “See? I keep my word.”

She scowled. “Answer me about Jason.”

I snorted. “Impatient much?” I pointed to the water bottle. “I’d like you to note that I follow through on my word.”

She looked down at the water and coffee. “What is that, and why are you making a big deal about it?”

I ignored one of her questions. “That’s the stuff you drink, right? Or did I get the wrong kind? You had it in class, though I think you forgot it when we left.”

“You got me coffee?”

“I told you I would.”

“You didn’t have to do that.” She stared down at it, her hands around the cup.

I heard the wonderment in her voice and I frowned. “It’s nothing. It’s coffee.” I placed another cup on the table. “I have to take this to Sam anyway.”

Her eyes lingered on Sam’s cup before she murmured, “Oh, yeah.” Then she shook her head and refocused on me. “Jason. Why did you turn him down? He’s blaming me for it.”

“He is?” The corner of my mouth lifted. I hadn’t expected that. “Delray’s some little shit, isn’t he? I kinda like him.”

The corners of her mouth were twitching, like she couldn’t decide to laugh or glare. “You asked for his competitor’s number?”

I remembered how Delray had sputtered over the phone. “Oh, yeah. Good times, but no worries. You’re not to blame. I was never going to use him. I just wanted to make him jump through some hoops—revenge for turning me down last year.”

“The whole thing was a lie?”

I nodded. “You weren’t around last year, but your friend worked for a major piece of shit. When I saw him at the party last weekend, I was surprised. I didn’t think he had the balls to come around one of my friend’s parties, he or those other assholes. It was my way of sticking it to Sebastian, just a little bit, even though the guy is gone.”

She still looked confused. I’d mentioned Sebastian before, and I was sure Delray had filled her in, but it was hard to explain the magnitude of the guy’s asshole. He was a
dark hole into the abyss.

I shrugged, standing back up. “But don’t worry. Next time I see your friend, I’ll let him know it wasn’t because of you. I was being an asshole all on my own.”

She looked out the window, frowning slightly. “Thank you for the coffee.”

I studied her for a second and gave her one last parting grin. “See you in class tomorrow. Don’t let some other douche sit next to you.”

I heard her say “What?” as I headed out, but I didn’t turn around.

I liked Taylor Bruce. I thought again about how she’d been ready to defend Sam. If another girl did that, I’d figure she had an angle—she wanted to use Sam to get to Mason, or even me, or use Sam herself for recognition and power on campus. My brother was a sports god, so his girlfriend was known, too. We all were. Just me sitting at Taylor’s table had drawn attention. I don’t think she was aware of it, but she would’ve realized it eventually and gotten uncomfortable.

Something happened that made Taylor avoid the limelight. I’d grown up in the spotlight around other people who wanted the spotlight too. Seeing someone like Taylor Bruce was refreshing. Hell,
she
was refreshing.

I wanted to bang her, but I wanted to bang a lot of girls. If the opportunity arose—I paused before pushing open the second door and stepping outside—, but there was something else in Taylor, something I didn’t sense from other girls. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was, but heading toward the communication building, I didn’t think about it again. Sam waited for me outside and her eyes lit up when she saw the coffee. “Give me. Give me. Give me.” After taking a sip, she closed her eyes with a contented smile. “Thank you, Logan.”

I threw my arm around her shoulders. “See, that’s how I’m supposed to be thanked for doing something nice. Getting coffee for someone—that’s a nice thing to do.”

“What?”

“Nothing.” I squeezed her against me for a second. “Let’s go to class.”

See? I could be a nice guy. Sometimes.

TAYLOR

“You’re friends with Logan Kade now?”

I’d been lost, still surprised by his generosity, when Claire’s voice distracted me.

“Huh?” I looked up to find her standing in front of my table. Her bag hung from her hands, which were cupped together in front of her. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she glanced back over her shoulder. I followed her gaze. Her entire table watched us with mixed expressions. The girls’ eyes were big. One had a dreamy smile on her face, and most of the guys looked mystified. Their leader seemed stoic, his face unreadable, but I caught a flash of hardness in his eyes before it shifted. When he caught me studying him, a warm smile transformed his features. His eyes grew friendly and welcoming. It was such an abrupt change that I didn’t know how to process it. Instead, I shifted back to Claire.

She sat across from me, grabbing a water from her bag and placing it on the table. “So, are you?”

“What?”

“Friends with Logan Kade now?” She turned to look through the window, where Logan had gone.

As we watched, he handed the other coffee to that girl, the one from the party. Her eyes lit up, and she inhaled it, a blissful expression on her face. She said something, and he threw his arm over her shoulders as they went into the building. Whether she was his girlfriend or not, his utter devotion was evident.

My stomach churned slightly. I wanted that. But as soon as I had the thought I stopped myself. It wasn’t the devotion I wanted from Logan Kade. I wasn’t jealous about that; it was the loyalty. Eric hadn’t been loyal. He’d left me, literally. And my dad… No. I wasn’t thinking about my crap right now.

I forced a smile. “Has Jason texted you today?”

“You’re not going to talk about Logan Kade?”

I shrugged, glancing to the side. “I have no idea. I think he just likes to mess with me or something.”

“Oh.” Her eyebrows pulled together. “That’s all?”

I focused on her again. “I didn’t think you liked him.” I glanced over at her table. The guy she’d been sitting with was still watching. “What’s his story?”

She cast another look over her shoulder. “That’s Ben, and before you ask, I have no clue what’s going on with him.”

“But you want something to go on with him?”

Her head did another little shake. “I have no clue, like I said, and I’m over thinking about it. He pays all this attention—sits next to me, calls me, wants to study together, go get food together. But then when we get around other people? Nothing. I have such a hard time reading him. I don’t know what he wants, or if he even wants anything.” She began picking at the edge of the table. “You were here before, right?” She tilted her head and looked at me. “That’s what Malia said. She saw you first. Well…” She rolled her eyes. “She saw Logan first, but she said the girl was already there when we got our table.” She paused, her eyes flicking down to the table and back to me. “Why didn’t you say anything? You could’ve sat with us.”

I inclined my head toward her. “I thought about saying something, but you were with your friends. You know me. I’ve not been the most social creature lately.”

Her eyes grew sad.

“I didn’t want to bring you down,” I murmured. “Me and lots of people don’t mix well.”

Her eyes lowered, and she began picking at the table again. “I could’ve come over to sit with you. You didn’t have to sit here alone.”

I gestured to the empty seat next to her. “I wasn’t alone, remember?” Logan had occupied that seat. “Unfortunately.”

Her lips pinched inwards, giving her a thoughtful and almost disgusted look at the same time. She moved to the edge of her seat, her hand now weaving figure eights on the table. “Yeah. That’s…weird, huh?”

I sat back.

“Logan Kade’s kinda taken a liking to you or something.” She jerked up a shoulder. “I mean, that’s what it looks like to me…” Her voice trailed off, like she wanted to say something else.

I sat still as the realization hit me. Claire was jealous, and her friends were, too—the girls anyway. I scanned the food court. There were more than a handful of girls watching us, watching me. This wasn’t a normal reaction. I didn’t know what it was, but I knew it wasn’t normal. If Eric had come to Cain University and become popular, I wouldn’t have gotten this reaction from people. Others might’ve noticed me, but I couldn’t imagine this envious, suspicious, and somewhat guarded scrutiny. It’s like they were trying to decide if I was a threat or not.

Shit
. I let out an abrupt laugh. “Does this guy have semen made of gold or something?”

“What?”

“Nothing.” I started gathering my stuff. Staying here meant another girl might come over with questions. I didn’t want to chat. So I stood, hoisting my bag onto my back. “I have to go to class.”

YOU’RE BAD

TAYLOR

The rest of the week passed without drama. Thankfully. Classes ran on a Tuesday/Thursday or a Monday/Wednesday/Friday schedule, so I had to see Logan one more time. I expected debauchery, lecherous jokes, or a crapload of innuendos, but when he dropped into his seat Friday morning, I got none of that.

I tried to tell myself the feeling of being let down had nothing to do with him, but it did. I was disappointed. In just a few days, I’d grown accustomed to Logan’s…well, to
Logan
and how he was. There wasn’t a word to describe him perfectly, so I went with
Loganisms
to explain encounters with him. And I didn’t get any of them that morning, and I missed them. Somehow, Logan made me forget the things I needed to forget.

When class was over and he offered me a nice “see you later” as he got up to go, I almost called him out. He looked tired. He’d run his hand over his face a few times during class, and his eyes seemed heavy. Something was wrong…. But I couldn’t handle my own stuff, so how could I take on someone else’s? And Logan was gone before I could ask if he was okay or not.

In class, Jeremy, who I now tried to call Mr. Fuller because using his first name made me uncomfortable, mentioned the Honors Study Group one more time. And as I opened my mouth to tell him again that I couldn’t, he interrupted. He placed a hand on my shoulder and said, “Just think about it. It helps to have friends in high places sometimes.”

It did. I couldn’t deny that, but my dad… Finally, I nodded. “I’ll think about it.”

“Great.”

After that I ducked out of the room, and now here I was, filling out my third job application. The first had been for the university library, the second for the coffee shop on campus. This one was for a small pub a couple of miles from my house. It was off-campus, had nothing to do with Cain University, and though the owner said she knew my dad, she didn’t seem to care one iota about him. It was perfect.