by Bailey B
Logan grunts against my neck. His hand slides under my shirt. His shirt that I fell asleep in. He stops at the center of my rib cage, fingertips grazing the swell of my breast.
Logan lifts his lips, dark eyes staring into mine. We’re nose to nose and I'm hyper aware of my morning breath. He doesn’t seem to mind.
“Go out with me, Danika,” he whispers.
“That’s a big commitment, Logan. One I don’t take lightly.”
He tilts his head, kissing my nose. “Me either. You’d be my first.”
“I thought Melody was your first.” I press my hand against Logan’s chest. He sits back on his heels, pinning me to my bed.
“She doesn’t count,” Logan grunts as his hands slide to my waist. All of the sudden his fingers start moving over my shirt, tickling me. I scream with laughter but he doesn’t stop until I’m out of breath and happy tears stream down my cheeks.
Logan’s thumb finds the bare skin of my hip. My shirt bunches up by my waist, exposing my belly and the elastic of my panties. He traces circles, waiting for me to answer.
“I need time. Go slow with me and we can see where this goes.”
“So…girlfriend?”
I run my fingers down his chest, feeling every divot between those hard muscles, not stopping until they’re tucked beneath the band of his shorts. “No, but I can be a girl, who promises not to see anyone else, and enjoys kissing you.”
He sighs but smiles. “Not exactly what I was hoping for, but it’s a start.”
36
Logan
I pound my fist against the front door, then shove my hands in my pockets. It’s early and Sunday. Both of which work to my advantage. No one’s here yet. Not even his parents.
Jake opens the door and glares. We haven’t talked since that party. I wasn’t avoiding him or anything. I've just been preoccupied. “You owe me three hundred dollars, cocksucker.”
I step through the door before Jake can close it on me, not that he would. He’s my brother from another mother—so to speak—bonded through abandonment.
I’ve been to this house more times than I can count. Mostly because of parties, but also to check on Jake. His parents are gone more often than they’re home, leaving him to fend for himself with nothing but an empty house and a credit card.
Nowadays, it’s a fucking dream come true but the first time they left Jake he was a scared twelve-year-old with a nanny who only visited at dinner time. Sure, back then things could have been worse, but they also could have been a hell of a lot better.
“Whatever. I’ll get you your money if you’re that hard up about it.”
Jake closes the door and shrugs. “Not really.”
“Didn’t think so.” I walk past the kitchen, towards his dad’s office. It’s off limits and always locked, but I know Jake has the key. “I need the footage from the party two weekends ago.”
Jake’s jaw tenses. He crosses his arms and squares his shoulders, naturally on the defense. I’m not supposed to know about the cameras. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Cut the shit, Jake. It’s me. I know every room in this house is under surveillance.” I turn, searching the walls until I find what I’m looking for. I point at the dark spot that looks like a hole from a screw up hanging a picture. But I know. “Those are in every room. I don’t care about the whole house; I just need the room I broke into.”
Jake looks at me curiously, probably wondering what else I’ve figured out over the years. I know enough. Dirty money. Coverups. Crooked cops. And those are just the pieces I’ve put together. Whatever it is his parents actually do for a living—and I highly doubt it’s porn—they’re doing Jake a favor by keeping him out of it. “Why? What happened?”
“You don’t watch the footage?”
He drops his arms to his sides and shakes his head, “Nah, my parents set that shit up for security reasons. Honestly, I forget it’s there half the time.”
I want to smile because I know once Jake sees what went down, he’ll give me the video. But I can't find it in myself to feel the least bit happy. I’m going to have to watch Danika’s suffering multiple times for my plan to work. Not because I’m a twisted bastard, because I need other people to see it for my plan to fall in place; and I’m not letting that tape out of my sight.
I sigh, a deep frown falling. “Just watch. Then you’ll understand why I need it.”
Danika’s already at the lunch table with Cooper and Piper by the time I arrive at school. It's been a long, busy forty-eight hours, but finally everything has been set in motion. Danika looks up at me as I approach. I bend down, giving her a quick kiss before taking my seat at the table.
“I missed you this morning,” she says, her big brown eyes full of adoration. I love the way she looks at me, like I’m the only person in the world. “It was weird getting ready without you hovering nearby.”
“Are you calling me a helicopter boyfriend?” I tease. Piper’s brows arch as she exchanges a silent look with Cooper. They know I usually run from relationships. Too bad when I’m finally ready, it’s the girl running. Whatever. I’ll wait. She’ll come around eventually. Besides, it’s just a label. That girl is mine in every way that matters.
“I would, if you were my boyfriend.” There’s a playfulness in her tone, I’m hoping means she’s coming around to the idea.
I nudge Danika’s side with my elbow as she splits a peanut butter and banana sandwich in half. My insides flip and flutter. I’m already anxious to see how today plays out, but she brought me a sandwich. To anyone else this is no big deal, but to me it’s huge. “I have a surprise for you.”
Excitement dances across her face. She’s probably thinking it’s jewelry or a trip somewhere, but what I’ve done is better. “What?”
“It’s gonna cost you.”
Danika’s smile falls and she sighs. “I already told you, Logan. I need time.”
“What? No.” I’m kind of offended Danika thinks I’d pressure her into anything. Let alone something she’s already told me she’s not ready for. I push back my frustration and intertwine our fingers, bringing her palm up for a kiss. “I need you to throw Sarah a bone. She’s massively losing her shit since you've started avoiding her.”
Danika looks over her shoulder at our old table. I know what she sees. Melody and Rachel gossiping about the news I’m about to break. Jake acting surprised as Tad gives his opinions on the matter. And then there’s Sarah, who’s probably staring at us like a lost puppy. That girl has texted me every day, sometimes twice a day, asking about Danika.
Danika sighs and pulls out her phone, shooting a quick text message. Her phone dings almost immediately. “Done. We’re going to the mall after school today.”
I rest my hand on Danika’s lower back and lean in, kissing her cheek. It’s hard as hell not touching her when we’re this close but she wants to take things slow and I’ll respect that. I need to let her call the shots and dictate when it’s okay to do what. She’s nothing like the girls I usually screw around with. The last thing I want to do is mess up what we’ve got going.
“Good.” I reach across the table and steal one of Piper’s french fries. Not like she’s going to eat them. Her appetite is smaller than a bird lately. “So, what’s the latest gossip floating around?”
Cooper and Piper look at me like I’ve got three heads. I know they hear everything, but I’m sure they’re assuming I’m talking about Piper’s rumors or possibly Danika’s. Yes, there are rumors about Danika, but most of them are speculating as to what we are. “You mean, you guys haven’t heard?”
All three of my tablemates shake their heads. I’m full on grinning now. I can’t help it. I’m like a kid on Christmas who got the latest PlayStation and every game known to mankind. Fucking elated. “Gunner has been expelled.”
“What?” Danika whispers, all color draining from her face. I thought she’d be excited. I thought she’d feel some sense of relief knowing that prick can’t
hurt her again. Instead, she looks terrified.
37
Danika
I lean against the trunk of my car, smiling down at my phone. Logan sent me a gif that says: you’re pretty, dazzling, wonderful, stunning, and a whole bunch of words. There are too many compliments, flicking from one word to the next after less than a second. Every time I look at it, I find another colorful word I didn’t notice before.
Me: Feeling guilty?
Logan: More like grateful.
Logan: Sarah there yet?
I lift my gaze and look around the parking lot. We agreed to meet by the movie theater entrance at four. I’m parked in the front row and it’s four-oh-five. As soon as she crosses into the mall-space I’ll see her.
Me: Not yet.
“Hey!” Sarah yells, waving her arm in the air. She jogs over to my car as I send Logan one more text, letting him know she got here. “Sorry I’m late. Melody wouldn’t stop crying in the bathroom. I felt like a total bitch leaving Rachel to deal with her but I didn’t want to be any later than I already am.”
“What happened?” I ask, tucking my phone into my back pocket. I don’t actually care about Melody, but my mamma raised me better than most.
Sarah shrugs and shakes her head. “Gunner. Apparently, he ended things and is moving out of state.”
I bite my tongue, literally, until it bleeds. I don’t want to hear about Gunner, especially if it’s in relation to him and Melody. But I asked and true to her nature, Sarah rambles on, throwing more tidbits of gossip into the conversation as she goes. She talks the whole time we’re shopping. Throughout our food court dinner. Even in the bathroom. I’d forgotten just how much Sarah loves the sound of her voice.
A few hours later, I’m standing by my car, keys in hand, exhausted. I didn’t actually buy anything, but I’m tired, nonetheless. There are a few moments of awkward silence where I don't know if Sarah is going to hug me or shake my hand and say goodbye. She doesn’t do either. Instead, she sets her bags on the ground and leans against the side of my car. “So, you and Logan.”
“Yup,” I say, popping the P. I’m ready to slip into my pajamas then curl up in Logan’s bed and fall asleep for the night. Dad’s given up trying to make me come home most nights. I’ll be eighteen next week, so there’s not much he can do either way. Out of respect, I tell him where I am every night and he always responds with “I’m too young to be a grandpa. Wrap it up.”
“No one talks about the Harris twins,” Sarah starts, staring at her feet. “But they’re not as perfect as they seem.”
“Every family has their problems,” I tell her, thinking about what mine was like before the cancer took over. We were happy, but Dad worked too much and Mom complained a lot. She wanted to take family vacations and have movie nights and things like that. With Dad working so much, we’d just go on without him. Our family wasn’t perfect, we had our own issues.
“True, but theirs is extra wonky. For starters there’s Piper. She’s lived with them on and off for the past ten years. Not to mention she just got out of rehab for—”
“Don’t talk about Piper,” I snap. “I can guarantee you don’t know what’s going on with her. We can’t be friends if you’re going to talk shit.”
Sarah’s gaze flicks over to me then back to her feet. “Sorry. I wasn’t meaning to, I was just…it won’t happen again.”
“Thanks.”
Sarah’s quiet for a beat, then continues like nothing happened. “Anyway, so there’s that and the Harris divorce, but there’s more. You know my dad is one of the few Judges in this county, so he sees a variety of cases. Well, when I mentioned Logan’s name freshman year at dinner one night he flipped out. Warned me to stay away from him.”
I step in front of Sarah, kind of forcing her to look at me. I don’t like her talking about Logan. “Why are you telling me this?”
“I don’t want you blindsided again,” she huffs. I’m glad she thinks she’s doing me some big favor, but without verifiable details, this is nothing more than gossip. “Look, I don’t know for sure what happened with Logan, but I think there had to have been some kind of legal issues for it to make its way to my dad. I tried asking about it once, but he refused to tell me anything else.”
“Probably because it’s none of your business.” It’s none of mine either. I can only assume this has to do with the secret Logan thought I knew. Whatever it is, Sarah needs to stop snooping before she uncovers something no one is meant to know. “It’s probably not what you think.”
Sarah bends down and grabs her bags. “You’re probably right, but you should be careful. Cooper’s a total hothead who’s in love with Piper and always getting into fights, and Logan is straight trouble.”
38
Danika
I amble onto Logan’s back porch and stare at his kidney shaped pool. It’s been years since I’ve been swimming. The houses in my old neighborhood, they were lucky if they had garages or a fence. An in-ground pool was unheard of and above ground pools were far and few between. There was a community center, but it was run by the local gang and I didn’t want to get shot.
Besides, it's not like I had a lot of spare time to go swimming, or to hang out with friends. With the exception of the Friday night football games—mom insisted I go—and school dances; every moment was spent with her. Not that I’m complaining.
Logan presses his lips to my shoulder, running his fingers down the back of my arms. A shiver of lust runs through me. I bite my lip, closing my eyes.
“You okay?” Logan asks, his voice a deep whisper. “You’ve barely said anything since coming over.”
“How’d you do it?”
“Do what?”
“Gunner. How’d you get him expelled?” I stroll over to the patio set and sit. Logan follows, a cheeky grin on his lips.
“He actually withdrew, but I like the rumor that he was kicked out better.” He waits for me to respond. When I don’t, he continues. “There was a video.”
“What?” Panic squeezes my throat. I swallow the lump, but it sticks going down. “Someone recorded what happened to me?” I run my hand through my hair, scratching the back of my head. I bet it was Melody. She’s an evil whore like that. But if she had a video this whole time, why hold onto it? Why not put it out there for the world to see? Girls like her have ulterior motives for everything they do.
Logan sets his hand on my thigh and squeezes. Tiny tingles spread from his fingers, momentarily distracting me from my silent freak out. “Relax, baby. It’s not what you think. Jake’s whole house is wired. I had him give me the surveillance video and took it to my dad. He may be a total dick, but he agreed to help me.”
I swallow hard, my insecurities peaking. “So, your dad’s seen it?”
I haven’t seen Mr. Harris since we moved away. Drugged and passed out in a stranger's bed is not how I want anyone to see me.
“Yeah,” he says curtly. “Sheriff Tomlinson too, I needed my threat to be as real as possible. Dad approached the matter as if you were pressing charges. We gave the Wells family an ultimatum. Withdraw Gunner and keep him as far away from you as possible and this all goes away.”
I look out at the water. The clear blue glass rippling, pushing the floats across the surface. A bead of sweat drips down my cheek. It’s freaking hot out. “And if they refused?”
“We threatened his parents with a good time in court. After showing them a tiny clip of the video and dad stressing that Gunner could be charged with a minimum of thirty years in jail for attempted rape, they agreed to our terms.” Logan smiles triumphantly.
I chew on the corner of my lip. Even though it sucks people have seen what happened to me, Logan’s plan was brilliant. I don’t have to look at that monster anymore. I don’t have to beat myself up for not seeing Gunner for what he really was.
Logan’s hand falls from my thigh as I scoot the chair back and stand. He eyes me curiously as I walk to the edge of the pool. Wordlessly I peel my shirt over my head and st
ep out of my shorts. I level with myself, being in my mismatched bra and panties is the same as being in my bathing suit. Still, my skin pricks from self-consciousness because I’m sure Logan is taking in every inch of my backside.
I cannonball into the pool, the water shocking my body. It’s not cold, but I wouldn’t call it warm either. I swim to the surface and take a breath. Wiping my eyes, I hear a splash and feel water moving beneath me. Logan pops up to my left, fully clothed, shaking his head like a dog to clear the water from his eyes.
I swim over to him and wrap my legs around his waist and my arms around his neck. Logan is treading water, but if he’s struggling, I’d never know.
“Hey, beautiful,” he purrs in that deep, husky voice.
I press my lips to his. His body stops swaying. I think he’s at a point where he can touch because his arms wrap around me. I pull back, pressing my forehead against his and whisper, “Thank you.”
Logan replies with another kiss. I take his hand, which is resting on my side, and slide it under my bra. My heart pounds in my chest, ready, waiting for a reaction.
Logan squeezes, pinching my nipple between two fingers at the same time and I moan against his lips. We stay like this for a while, kissing and touching when I feel his other hand slide under my ass. His finger inches painfully slow over the cotton of my panties and brushes against my center. I gasp against Logan’s lips, shocked not at the touch but at the heat rippling through me. Effing grenades.
He pulls back, lust-drunk eyes smiling at me. “Should I stop?”
I swallow hard but shake my head. Logan sinks his teeth into my shoulder. I arch in pleasure. He moves his hand off my chest and holds onto the back of my neck. A single finger slips under my panties, brushing against my folds. He peppers my neck in kisses and presses the tip of his finger inside me.
It’s been months since I’ve let anyone touch me like this. My last boyfriend and I fooled around, a lot, but he never made me feel the way Logan does. Pressure builds inside me that I’ve never felt before. I claw at Logan's back, arching my spine, instinctively trying to get away because the feeling is too intense. My whole body is tingling and the pressure at my center is only growing.
