Page 154 of Fraternizing with the Enemy
“Not long at all. After you found out that I went to Jefferson, I stopped everything. I’d done my part—she could go to hell for all I cared.” Logan ducked his head an inch, voice firm. “After that, everything I did, I did because I wanted to.”
“You didn’t block her?”
Logan flinched slightly, guilt flickering across his face. “No. I thought about it. But I didn’t know what she’d do if I did—if she’d twist things, threaten Noah again, or come after you. I wanted to be ready if she tried something.” He exhaled, raking a hand through his hair. “But then… she started texting places she knew you’d be. Allen’s Alley. The Wallflower. And I told myself it was just so I could make sure you were okay, but really…” His voice lowered. “I was too selfish to stay away. I didn’t want to.”
Something shifted inside me, slow and unsteady. He hadn’t appeared at those places unknowingly. He’d taken the day off from work to go bowling… to see me. He’d gone to Wallflower, even though he knew Jade could’ve blown his secret, just to have one more glimpse.
“So… we both chose,” I said quietly, the words tasting tentative but real. “To go back. To each other.”
Logan’s eyes lifted to mine, something fragile flickering there. “Yeah,” he whispered. “We did.”
And just like that, the guilt that had been pressing against my ribs loosened. Somewhere in the mess of it all, we’d both chosen each other.
“Jade’s always been a master at this,” I said quietly. “Getting inside my head. Making me doubt myself, tearing me apart from the inside out. But I see it now. And I’m done letting her—or anyone—decide who I am. I get to choose. I get to make things right.” My voicesoftened, and, inexplicably, pressure pricked behind my eyes. “I don’t need you to tell me who I am, Logan. I just… I want you next to me while I find myself.”
Finally brave enough, I reached for his hand. Logan’s fingers slid through mine instantly, like he’d been waiting, like he’d always regretted letting go.
“I want to be with you,” I said, no tremor in my voice. “And I don’t care what anyone else thinks.”
Jade. The Top Tier. Brentwood High. They could all cry a river for all I cared. I wasn’t giving them space in my head anymore. From here on out, I’d live my life on my own terms—and I knew, without a flicker of doubt, that those terms included Logan Castle.
His breath caught like I’d knocked the air out of him. Then, slowly, his hands came up to frame my face, thumbs trembling against my skin. “You’re stronger than you think, Madison. You always were.” His forehead pressed to mine, his words a whisper. “And I’ll always be right here. Just with you, every step of the way.”
I reached out and touched his hip, fingers brushing over where his puffy shirt was tucked into his pants. “Because you’re still chalant about me?”
“I’m the most chalant person to ever live,” Logan murmured, voice like a confessional. “I’m chalant at sunrise. Chalant at lunch. Chalant when you double text me. Chalant about Madison Oliphant? I might as well make it my middle name.”
“Okay, Romeo.” I scrunched my nose, but my heart felt so bright, like someone had reached inside and turned on all the lights. “But, hang on, hang on.I’mthe double texter? Isodisagree?—”
Before I could finish, Logan dropped down the scant inches between us and pressed his lips to mine. The kisshit me like a current straight to my chest, sparking heat and a dizzying thrill I hadn’t known I’d been starving for. My hand, which was hovering uncertainly at his hip, curled around him, clutching as if anchoring myself to him.
Logan pressed me impossibly close, every inch of him claiming me, and I moved willingly—greedily—into him. His lips glanced against mine with a fierce, urgent tenderness, as if he’d been holding back for far too long. I kissed him back like I’d been gasping for air underwater, finally finding it in him. Every heartbeat and every shiver of touch screamed that we’d been chasing this moment far too long.Finally.
When Logan pulled back, he pressed his forehead to mine again. “It’s been the longest week of my life,” he whispered.
I tried to discreetly catch my breath, but my pulse still thundered underneath my skin. “I’m sorry I made you wait so long for me to figure myself out.”
Logan’s chest rose unsteadily. “I would’ve waited forever for you.”
We both met each other halfway this time, but we only had a few seconds to savor the taste of the kiss before a fist pounded on the dressing room door. “What is going on in there?” a feminine voice demanded. “I’ve told you students time and time again to not lock this door! Charlie, go get my key from my office.” The fist pounded once more. “You are both insomuch trouble!”
Logan sucked in a breath through his teeth. “Busted,” he whispered to me.
“Students aren’t allowed in here?”
“Aren’t allowed to bealonein here.” Logan had a boyish smile on his face. “I wonder why.”
I smacked his chest. “Logan!”
But he only just laughed, ducking his head to press a kiss to my cheek. “You won’t get in trouble, because you don’t go to school here.”
“But you will!”
“You’ve started my life of delinquency, remember?” he murmured into my skin, now pressing a kiss to my temple. “Unfortunately, you have to own up to the consequences.”
I tried pushing at his chest again, but my efforts were weakening. “Sliding me free mochas is so different than making out in a closet?—”
Logan kissed my lips again, silencing my pathetic protests. His pressure was light, but it wasn’t enough; I’d become addicted. So even though there was a teacher banging on the door, and in a few minutes, it’d open to reveal dozens of gossip-hungry eyes, I clung to Logan, kissing him so deeply that I forgot my middle name.
