Page 84 of Fraternizing with the Enemy
“I didn’t know I needed to,” she said, shifting onto her other foot. She looked at me wearing Logan’s varsity jacket again. “You never come to the middle school games.”
“Curtis asked,” he told her while tipping his head toward the field. “I thought I’d swing by.”
I watched the exchange silently. Jade would’ve said that they were obviously flirting. Jade would’ve interjected into their conversation long ago. Jade would’ve gotten upset. Jade would’ve?—
No. I would not react how Jade would’ve reacted.
The exact second I took a step forward, ready to introduce myself, Logan reached back and grabbed my hand. “This is Madison,” he said, sliding his fingers in the open spaces of mine. His pressure was firm, pulling our hands out as if to show them off. “We’re on a date.”
And all at once, the anxious cloud hanging over me disappeared.
“You brought her to a middle school football game for a date?” The girl raised an eyebrow at him, and then her gaze slid to me. I could see the teasing in her expression. “Are you here against your will?”
Well, actually— “It isn’t the cringiest place he’s brought me to,” I replied with a smile of my own.
She laughed at that, a light and happy sound.
Logan gave my hand a squeeze. “Madison, this is Danielle. She’s my best friend’s girlfriend.”
“Nice to meet you,” I told her, genuinely meaning it. His best friend’s girlfriend—who was his best friend again? He rarely ever talked about his friends, at least by name.
“Likewise,” Danielle returned with a smile. “Well, I won’t keep you. Madison, did Logan invite you to our bonfire on Friday?”
“Oh, uh—no. He didn’t.”
“Just a few of us from theater are getting together. He can’t come until after his game, but he still promised.” She raised her eyebrows at him expectantly.
“I said I’d be there,” he insisted, letting out a breathy chuckle before he turned to me. He rubbed the side of his neck with his free hand. “I didn’t mention it, because…”
I could guess where his thoughts went instantly. He didn’t mention it because it would be his Jefferson friends—a Jefferson bonfire. Much like coming to the football game, he probably thought I’d say no.
I turned back to Danielle. “I have a thing with my friends after our game,” I said apologetically, and that was true.
Danielle’s eyes lit up. “Oh, where do you go to school?”
Oh,crap. My lips parted, but the answer didn’t immediately tumble out.
“Haven High,” Logan replied before my silence stretched too long, and while I hesitated, he didn’t. The lie slipped off his tongue easily, as if he’d always had it prepared. For some reason, hearing him lie settled over me as heavily as his jacket, weighing me to the grass.
If Danielle noticed anything off, she didn’t comment on it. “Did you tell her about the play?”
Another thing that I knew nothing about. For some reason, it hit me like a blow. Logan drew in a short breath, something in his eyes shuttering.Caught, they said. “It—hasn’t come up.”
“It’s, like, all you talk about,” Danielle said with a snort, turning to me. “Our theater department is doing a limited run ofRomeo and Julietin a few weeks. We put it on last year, and it was such a fan favorite that the community practically bullied our teacher into putting it on again for homecoming week. You definitely should come.”
I smiled on instinct, but it was my cheerleader grin. Believable, realistic, but a mask. “That sounds like a lot of fun,” I said, but wasn’t sure if my voice sold it.
It’s, like, all you talk about. But Logan hadn’t mentioned an upcoming play to me once. Sure, he had talked about being in theater, but the fact that he was in a play coming up? If he was excited, wouldn’t that have been something he’d share with me?
Not if he thought you’d make fun of him.
And just like that, all of the wind evaporated from my sails.
“Well, we’ll have to plan something soon.” Danielle’s voice was still cheerful. “Logan, organize something, or I will.” She pointed at him threateningly.
Danielle walked away with a wave. I should’ve asked Logan if she had a little brother playing, but I couldn’t bring myself to speak. He wrapped his arms back around me, but I felt stiff in the embrace.
On the field, Curtis was plowed down by the mountain of a boy, and Logan tucked me tightly against his chest as he sucked in a breath through his teeth. “That was a rough one. He’ll feel that tomorrow.”
