Page 158 of Fraternizing with the Enemy
With my arm still wrapped around his, I squeezed myself even closer. “I’m super chalant about you,” I told Logan quietly, so that Maisie and Connor wouldn’t hear.
Logan didn’t immediately say it back. At first, I thought he might not have heard me. He stopped walking, halting the two of us while Maisie and Connor continued on, unaware. Logan turned to me, his features soft in the lamplight, his attention only on me. “I love you,” he said suddenly, simply.
The world, as it had so many times before withLogan, suddenlyquieted. I had a feeling it’d always be this way, where everything else faded into the background. The three words settled over me like the world’s warmest blanket, wrapping around me. For so long, I’d been chasing love that looked good from the outside—love that came with conditions, rules, and the need to be someone else. There were no conditions in Logan’s eyes, no rules in his words, and no need to be anyone else.
And then Logan’s lips quirked up into his adorable, boyish smile. “Did I catch you off-guard again?”
I couldn’t hold myself back. I reached for him out of pure need, my palms bringing his face down to meet mine. Our lips were both cool, but in seconds, warmth bloomed between them, spreading across my skin. I kissed Logan deeply, showing him how the words felt before saying them aloud.
In a way, I’d always be grateful to Jade Dyer. She was the reason Logan and I met. She was the reason Maisie and I stopped being friends, but she was also the reason Maisie found Rachel and Ava. Ultimately, too, Jade was the reason Maisie and I had found each other then, and along with her, I’d found so many more new friends.
Jade Dyer was a name I’d always remember—not for the pain she caused, but for all the beautiful things that bloomed in its wake.
“Always trying to one-up me,” Logan murmured against my lips, the words pulling out of him with a gasp.
I swallowed them.
Logan broke away again. “Your friends?—”
“I don’t care.” My fingers curled around the strings of his Bobcats hoodie. “Just kiss me.”
And Logan did. Many, many more times.
Connor and Maisie ended up having to call out to us,laughing, and we caught up with them. Reed and Ava scolded us for running late while in line for snacks, and Logan made sure to stock me up on all my favorite movie-watching snacks. Gemma and I decided to split an order of cheese sticks, while Hudson and Rachel both decided they wanted cola slushies. Lacey even texted our group chat a picture of her and Landon holding a bag of Twizzlers, addingWe’re with you in spirit!
Our friend group was big, loud in the movie theater lobby as we all laughed together, and perfect.
As we walked hand-in-hand toward the movie theater, Logan leaned in to whisper in my ear. “What are you doing tomorrow?”
I smiled up at him, my beautiful blue-eyed, golden-haired boyfriend, and knew, without a doubt, that whatever dweeby date idea Logan had in mind, I’d be so down. “Anything with you.”
Most Likely To: Peak in High School? Nah.
Most Likely To: Live Happily Ever After?
That sounded about right.
There was no reason a coffee shop should’ve been open until eight at night.
I leaned against the counter behind me, staring at the glass doors as if prolonged eye contact would bring someone through them. Not that I reallywantedmore customers. I’d already cleaned and closed out one of the espresso machines—fifteen minutes earlier than I should’ve—cleaned the bathrooms—thirty minutes earlier than I should’ve—and swept the floors—forty-five minutes earlier than I should’ve. For a Friday, we wereslow. So much so that in the entirety of my shift, I think I’d made ten drinks total.
The tip jar on the counter only had coins. But there was still an hour ’til closing—maybe I’d get lucky.
Looking back, I would not, in fact, getlucky. But at that moment, I was so bored that I just wantedsomeoneto walk through the door.
It dinged as it opened, and I jumped straight. “Welcome—” And then my cheerful voice broke off with a sigh. “Hey.”
Noah wore one of his Jefferson Bulldogs cutoffs fromtwo-a-days last year, loosely tucked into the band of his jeans. “Quiet?”
“Extremely.” I now shifted forward to lean against the front counter. “The last hour is going by so slow.”
“It’ll be nice when hours shift in October,” Noah said, shoving his hands into his pockets. “Because, really, who wants a coffee at eight at night?”
I scoffed at that, completely agreeing. Most of the time, the only people in the coffee shop past six were people working on their laptops or reading books. I rarely ever made a coffee past seven.
The door chimed then, startling us both, and we turned to find a blonde girl walk in. She wore a bright blue tank top with a gold skirt, and her blonde hair fell perfectly over her shoulders. Something about her was slightly uncanny, though, and I had a feeling it had to do with the almost plastic way her face looked. She held her chin up, kept her lips pursed out, and held it, as if she were a mannequin and this was her mask.
I instinctively gave her a welcoming smile as she approached. “What can I get started for you?”
