Page 52 of Fraternizing with the Enemy
Logan’s shoulders slumped, looking down at his now-useless mass of tickets. “That’s just wrong.”
I laid my hands on his shoulders—his beautifully firm shoulders,holywow—and turned him. “Here, I’ll pay for a few rounds of the claw machine. You can try and win your prize.”
He didn’t seem thrilled. “Aren’t these things usually rigged?”
“We can try anyway, can’t we?”
Rigged or not, the thing was depleted, as if once upon a time, someone had stood here and pilfered the claw machine of all the good prizes. There were a few plushies and mystery boxes left, and after I plugged in a dollar, Logan begrudgingly grabbed the joystick.
He went for the mystery box first, to which the claw immediately denied. The second time he tried, the claw lifted the box an inch before it slipped from its grip. The third time, he tried a different box, and missed it entirely.
He glared at the machine with one try left. “You want a try?”
“Nope.” Instead, I put my hands on his shoulders again, pretending itwasn’tfor selfish reasons, and leaned in. There was something so intoxicating about a simple touch that it nearly made me giddy. I could see our huddled reflection on the mirrored back panel of theclaw game, and watched as Logan’s eyelashes fluttered. “It’s all you, Romeo.”
“Romeo?”
“Because you’re into theater.”Duh. “Would you rather I call you Troy Bolton instead?”
“Troy Bolton sings. I do not sing.” Logan gave a little scoff, likeduh. “Let’s stick with Romeo. Does that make you Juliet?”
My heart totally shouldn’t have skipped a beat. “As long as we don’t die in the end. Now—focus.”
He obeyed, swallowing and zeroing back in on the claw game. This time, as he moved the joystick, he bypassed the mystery boxes entirely. Instead, he tapped the joystick centimeter by centimeter until it hovered over a stuffed goose wearing a pink dress. Its body was thick, which made it the perfect size for the claw to grab onto. The timer ticked down, but Logan tapped the joystick until the very last second.
The claw dropped, but instead of wrapping around the goose’s body, it hooked its long neck.
I squeezed Logan’s upper arm, gasping. “Oh, oh, oh!”
Logan had his eyes squinted until they were nearly shut, too afraid to look. I watched eagerly for him as the claw dragged the goose over the machine’s barrier, opened, and let the stuffed plushie fall into the return hole.
I let out a little shriek at his final success, and Logan turned and wrapped his arms around me easily. I curled my own arms around his neck as he spun me in the middle of the arcade, our laughter its own kind of music that paired with the melody pumping from the games.
Logan’s body tensed, and as soon as the rotation was over, he placed me abruptly back on my feet. I swayed alittle, dizzy. “That—that was super dramatic,” he said, and his ears were blazing red. He ducked into the claw machine return, pulling out the plush goose. Still dodging my eye, he offered it to me.
I raised an eyebrow. “You won that fair and square.”
“What am I going to do with a goose dressed like Barbie?”
“Think of me when you see it.”
Logan’s lips parted, and I could see him practically curse himself in his head. “Somuch better at flirting than me,” he muttered, but still pushed the goose into my arms. “You can think ofmewhen you see it. Are you someone who sleeps with plushies?”
I hugged the stuffed animal to my chest. Its filling was light, which caused its head to flop over my arms, and it smelled like dust, but it was perfect. “I am, actually.”
“Well, good. Because it’d be the perfect addition to your bed. Not—God, not that I’m thinking about your bed. Or about you sleeping.” He abruptly squeezed his eyes shut. “I’mnotthinking about you sleeping—no, I’m seriously,seriouslynot thinking about that?—”
I pushed up onto my tip-toes and pressed a quick kiss onto his cheek, falling back on my heels before I even could fully register what I’d done. I couldn’t help it, though. Hearing him fumble over his words caused a surge of affection within me, one that tingled each one of my nerve endings.
Logan’s eyes popped wide, and I watched his pupils contract in the light. I ducked my head to bury my grin in the goose’s head, but I was sure it still sparkled in my eyes. “You’re ridiculous, Logan Castle. You know that?”
Logan pressed his hand against his cheek, shieldingpart of his expression. It was no use. The flush that’d migrated from his neck to his cheeks gave him away. “I know.”
Even though he’d put me down moments ago, it still felt like I was spinning, my world tilting one way, and then the other. Under Logan’s hopeful stare, I wasn’t sure I’d ever feel steady on my feet again.
In that moment, I’d forgotten all about the world outside of the arcade. I’d forgotten that there were more difficult things than rigged claw machines and hand-eye coordination. I’d forgotten that liking Logan Castle had bigger implications than the fact that he’d take all my orange arcade tickets. I’d forgotten that Logan was a Bulldog and I was a Bobcat.
Logan had been wrong before. I didn’t just like the idea of a boyfriend holding my hand in the hallways, one I could be the next It-Couple plastered all over Brentwood Babble with. I didn’t just like the idea of him. And this wasn’t just exposure therapy.
