Page 78 of Fraternizing with the Enemy
“Wait!” Mom’s voice halted me in my tracks, and when I turned, I found that she’d picked my varsity jacket up from where it hung over the back of the chair, offering it out to me. “It’ll be cold.”
“I’ll just wear my other jacket?—”
“YouknowJade will want you wearing your spirit gear.” Her voice was tired. “Might as well take it to avoid a fight, don’t you think?”
I knew it was a bit of a red flag that Mom could so accurately predict Jade’s moods—because not having my varsity jacketwould’veirritated Jade, had my excuse been true—but now wasn’t the time to overanalyze. I grabbed my jacket from her outstretched hand, slowly threading my arms through it. I couldn’t come up with a viable lie fast enough, so I gave her a pinched smile before heading out.
It was ridiculous, the shot of electricity that jolted through me when I could see the outline of Logan’s bodythrough the tinted windows. To think that he was here forme. Part of my brain was stuck worrying that Mom would peek out the window out of curiosity, that she would see a boy she didn’t recognize behind the wheel.
The other part of me was squealing like a ten-year-old.
I rounded the front of his car, but when I reached for the handle, the door suddenly popped open. Logan leaned halfway into the passenger seat, and our eyes immediately locked. “I can at least open it from the inside,” Logan grumbled, his bottom lip sticking out ever so slightly.
“If I didn’t know any better, I’d almost say you werepouting,” I said with a laugh, sliding into the passenger’s seat. Logan’s car smelled like him, in a way that I wanted to just discreetly pull in big breaths. “Just because you weren’t allowed to open my door. It was just this once.”
Logan’s adorable little pout didn’t immediately vanish, but his eyes did lighten as he looked over at me. He rested his hand on the gearshift, like he was about to put it into reverse, but he hesitated. “There she is,” he said belatedly, a soft smile touching his mouth.
“Here I am.”
“I thought someone said they’d never wear spirit gear on a date,” he murmured, putting one hand on the seat rest behind my head to turn around. His eyes glanced down at my varsity jacket, a corner of his lips tugging higher.
“My mom thought she was doing me a favor.” I shrugged off my jacket and discreetly looked over at him while his attention was consumed with reversing. He had on a pair of dark wash jeans and a simple dark redshirt, one that was a little baggy on his frame but stretched taut over his shoulders. “Am I overdressed?”
“You’re perfect, Juliet.” Logan, now on the roadway, glanced over as he shifted the car into drive. A lock of blond hair fell into his eyes as he did so. “You look beautiful.”
I curled my fingers in my varsity jacket on my lap to keep from reaching out and pushing his hair back. “You’re learning,” I said appreciatively, trying to tamp down the butterflies. “I’m proud.”
A small smile tipped up Logan’s lips, like a child who’d gotten complimented at school.
“So, what’s on our agenda?” I asked him. “What do you have planned for our next therapy session?”
“How seriously are we taking exposure therapy?” Logan glanced over, gauging my reaction. “Because I have something we could do, but it might be outside your comfort zone.”
“Do not tell me it’s playing one of those nerd role-playing games.”
“That’s Saturday.”
I looked over at him sharply. With the sunlight streaming through his side of the window, he looked almost angelic, as radiant as a ray himself as he grinned at his joke.
“It’s something that starts at seven,” he went on with a faint chuckle. This time, when he reached over, he let himself go all the way to pat my knee. Mybareknee. The touch was chaste, but it still sent a shock of electricity through me. “But if you want, we can do something else. Something more lowkey.”
My curiosity ate at me. “I trust you,” I told him,deciding to let myself be surprised. “I’m game for anything.”
“You can take it back later,” Logan told me generously. “At any time.”
Both of Logan’s hands were back on the steering wheel, and I stared at his right hand, willing it to come off again. If it were anyone else, I’d have had no trouble in reaching over and prying his hand off the steering wheel, claiming his fingers. Heck, even with Logan, I’d never struggled with making the first move before. But this time, my hands only fidgeted in my lap.
The rain decided to pick back up, first starting off as a sprinkle of drops on the windshield before increasing to something steadier. Logan flipped on his wipers as I settled into the passenger’s seat, the atmosphere feeling just… perfect.
“Is this Untapped Potential?”
“I wondered if you’d notice.” Logan reached for the volume knob on the radio. “I put it on shuffle since I know you like them, too.”
The one playing right now was “Dancefloor,” which was a song the lead singer had written for his girlfriend. Again, justperfect.
I looked at Logan’s hand again. Would it be weird to just grab it? Probably. Maybe I could crack a joke, likeare you not holding my hand because I didn’t let you open my door?Then again, I didn’t want to force him into holding my hand. I was probably so overthinking it. I just needed to?—
“Have you ever danced in the rain?” he asked suddenly.
