The guy stood back, two bottles of beer in his hands as he turned around.
“Oh, hey man, I didn’t know anyone else was here.”
“And you are…?” My tone was firm, my stance firmer as I folded my arms across my chest. I wasn’t letting this guy think he could rummage through my fridge.
“Oh, yeah, I’m here with Ava.” He tilted his head to the ceiling, to upstairs.
And he still hadn’t answered my question.
That was when I came to the realization that he was shirtless and sockless. Barefoot in his sweats in my kitchen.
He waswithAva.
Why did that fucking piss me off? I wanted to punch the smug look off this guy’s face. He was cocky as he stood in my kitchen, almost taunting me with his stare. Soaking wet, he was lucky if he weighed 160. But as I approached him, he didn’t back down.
“I could ask you the same question, dude?”
The guy had the audacity to ask me who I was? In my own house?
“Well, I’m Logan, and Ilivehere.”
“Oh, cool, man. Nice to meet you, I’m Devon.” His attitude changed immediately, as if he really thought I was the intruder. He balanced both bottles in the crook of his arm and reached the other hand in my direction.
Of course, I was the asshole if I didn’t shake his hand.
“Yeah, nice to meet ya,” I said. His handshake was lame, which I expected.
“I better get back upstairs,” he said. Then he smiled as he rolled his eyes.
He fucking smiled, like I was in on his little joke. It didn’t warrant a response. I went about my business, taking out the pans I needed to continue cooking my meal. He stood in the middle of the kitchen, as if needing permission to be dismissed. When he didn’t get it from me, he eventually took off for the stairs.
She told mewewere working on our project tonight. And I was nice to her when she asked. Because she fucking looked cute, and I thought I was being too much of an asshole.
But nowIwas made to look like the asshole.
And the kicker was…it all bothered me way too fucking much.
CHAPTER 8
Ava
Today was all kinds of fucked up. First, seeing Logan with Xander and Lanie really confused me. They really did get along. When I got in the truck in the morning and understood where we were headed, Logan’s nervous behavior made me curious. He wasn’t talking, not even insulting me. I thought I was going to witness him being shunned by those two. But it was the complete opposite.
They welcomed him with open arms.
I didn’t know Xander that well, but what I did know was how protective he was of Lanie Montgomery. The sheer fact that he moved her in with him because her ex couldpossiblycome back looking for her was proof. So, I guess I was the asshole for thinking Logan didn’t deserve their loyalty.
Then, Logan had multiple moments of being normal, even borderline nice, to me. First, he walked with me to class rather than leaving me in the dust. Then, he literally agreed to work on our project tonight.
With a smile.
The coup de grace was he actually asked me how I was getting home. What the fuck? Like, why did he have to do that?
I think I liked him better as an asshole. Because I didn’t like how his politeness affected my emotions. It made me think back to the day I first saw him in the registrar’s office. The wordless connection he and I had as we stared into each other’s eyes was so strong. I left that office with a renewed vigor that maybe, just maybe, I was ready for a relationship. Ready to put myself, and my heart, out there in the hands of someone else. The feelings he stirred up inside me with just a look were overwhelming.
And then the moment of discovery. Lo and behold, Logan, the guy my heart suddenly longed for with a single glance on campus, was indeed my roommate. The roommate that Macie and I agreed neither of us would pursue.
The roommate who put his hands on a friend of mine, unsolicited.
