Page 41 of The Star

He tries to pull me behind him again, but I press down on my feet to keep myself in place. When he can’t get me to move, he spins around, dives down, and throws me over his shoulder in a swift movement, making my beer pour onto the floor.

I drop the cup, since it’s empty anyways, and wiggle my body to try and get free. “Get. Off. Of. Me.”

He smacks a hand down on the back of my bare thighs as he walks across the house and out the front door. “Shut up, Logan.”

“God, you’re annoying.” I relax my body to the point where I’m essentially a corpse, trying to make it harder for him to carry me, but he doesn’t show any indication that I’ve made this process more difficult.

Of course, because his muscles have muscles.

He finally drops me on my feet, making my back fall against the passenger’s side door of his jeep. “Get in.”

I meet his gaze. “No.”

He slams his hand on the glass behind me, making me jump a little. “Logan, don’t push me.”

I wait a heartbeat, studying his face as it flexes in anger. There’s something else behind his features – sadness or confusion or… something. Something I can’t put my finger on, but it looks like he’s struggling, like he’s plagued with something.

“Why are you doing this?” I ask, meeting his eyes once more.

His hand curls into a fist against the window behind my head, then he presses his eyes closed and lets out a small breath through his dropped-open lips.

“I don’t want you here.”

“Yesterday you were asking to fuck me.” He snaps his eyes open at my words, so I continue. “And today, you’re throwing me out of a party. Pick a fucking lane, dude.”

He leans forward, close enough that I can feel his breath when he speaks. “I don’t want you mixed into my life, I don’t want you at my best friend’s house, and I don’t want you in my fucking friend group.”

“You aren’t my fucking keeper,brother. I can be friends with whoever I want,” I snap.

He presses closer, almost close enough that his nose touches mine. “Not Levi.”

I huff a laugh. “I can fuck whoever I want.”

His nostrils flare and his gaze flicks down to my mouth for a heartbeat before he takes a step back. “Get in the car, Logan.”

I follow him, stepping forward to slap a hand on his chest. “Are you jealous? Is that what this is? Some caveman, bang on your chest bullshit to show some sort of ownership over me?”

He scoffs. “I don’t think anyone could own you even if they tried.”

I grin. “But you want to.”

He looks at me, really fucking looks at me, and presses his lips together as he thinks over my words. Standing there, we stare at each other, and something clicks inside me. Carson is plagued with the fact that he wants me. I can see it now… I can feel it.

And maybe there’s a part of me that wants him right back, even if just for tonight.

“Can we go somewhere?” I breathe.

“Get in.”

twenty-one

CARSON

With all the windows down and the music blaring, I make the fifteen-minute drive out to the beach.

Logan is in my passenger’s seat, her legs kicked up on the dash of my Jeep like she owns the place, and usually I would tell her to get her feet off my interior, but I don’t care right now. I don’t care because she’s singing under her breath, her hand hanging out the open window as she feels the rush of the wind passing us by, her hair fanning out around her.

We don’t speak for the entire ride, just let the music consume the atmosphere as I drive. I keep glancing at her out of the corner of my eye, but she’s never looking at me when I do. It’s like nothing exists around her, like nothing can touch her. She’s carefree, and that’s something I’ve wanted for myself for so long.

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