Logan chuckled. “You went here last year, right?”
Her gaze cut to mine, questioning.
I stepped to the side, away from Logan. I didn’t want to move. No, actually I did, but my body didn’t. I almost cursed myself, but I felt Logan’s gaze on me. It was like he could see inside of me, right past the walls I erected.
“Uh, yeah, I did,” Claire said.
“So you know Delray turned me down last year.”
“Turned you down…?” She glanced at me again.
“The gambling circuit he used to run for Park,” Logan prompted. “Is he still running it?”
“Uh…” Claire had become a statue. She was on the spot, particularly because I was present. Jason promised to quit gambling after we graduated. All three of us made a promise to each other, and that was his. I now knew that he lied, and so had Claire. She knew he hadn’t quit.
“Yeah. He’s still running it.”
“This is what’s going to happen.” Logan clapped his hands together and rubbed them back and forth. His eyes were gleaming, but it wasn’t malicious. He was being more mischievous, and that same expression of laughing at the world was there. “I’m going to take Taylor’s number down.” He pointed with both of his hands to me. “And yes, I’m using Delray to get your number. No shame in my game. I want your number bad, Bruce, but I have a message for Delray, too. He’s gotta get in touch with me via my new sociology bud here.” He put his arm around my shoulder, pulling me to his side.
A tingle shot through me at his touch.
He kept talking, “Tell him I want him to take some bets for me at a party I’m going to throw. And no, it’s not negotiable. He has to do it. I let him off last year. I understood the conflict of interest, but Sebastian is gone. The numb nuts has been squashed. So, do we all know our roles now?” He looked at both of us.
Claire seemed wary. “You’re going to call Taylor?”
“Yep.” He held his hand out. “Phone please, Miss TayTay.”
I handed it over, but tried to keep a firm scowl on my face. “I’m doing this under protest. I don’t approve of Jason gambling.”
Logan took the phone and paused, glancing at me. A slight smile flashed my way. “Why do you think I’m going through you for this?”
I didn’t reply. My gut told me to let it go. Logan Kade was even more of a whirlwind than I’d realized he’d be, and I felt a little like I was in the damn Sahara. My mouth watered, and my lips were dry. I licked them, an unconscious habit, but when Kade’s gaze lingered there, I realized what I’d done. I sank my teeth into my lip instead and forced my gaze away. It felt like I was fighting against a rubber band, stretched tight from me to him. The more I tried to break free, the stronger it became.
“Okay.” He handed my phone back, and his eyes were laughing at me. A darker promise surfaced there too. My heart picked up. “I’ve got your number,” he added. “I’ll call you later, and I want Delray’s answer through you.”
“Why are we helping you?” Claire tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear. She was trying to be stern. She was failing. “Jason’s our friend. Not you. Neither of us wants him to be part of the gambling world.”
Logan smirked at her. “You’re helping because I’m not one of those morally upstanding guys. I’m completely fine with blackmailing you, and you’ll help because I may not know your name, but I remember the dudes you were flirting with last night. My friends can get to your friends, and when that happens? Well, I won’t take your friends away, but I will ban them from campus parties. And not to be a dick, but something tells me your guy friends are a little desperate when it comes to getting into parties.”
“You’re a dick.” Claire gasped, her hand covering over her mouth. “I can’t believe I said that.”
He was, but he didn’t seem to care. In fact, I think he was loving it.
He began walking away, backward again, that smug grin still on his face. He lifted both shoulders. “Like I said earlier, I’ve been called worse. I’ll be calling later.” He wasn’t talking to Claire, and we both knew it.
He started to walk away, but his gaze held mine, and I was looking back. I shouldn’t have been, but I was...and I didn’t want to think about that either.
LOGAN
“What are you doing?”
I was walking to my next class, but swung around. Sam was standing there, her bag on her back with her hands holding on to the black straps around her shoulders. Her brown eyes were annoyed, and her mouth pressed into an irritated frown. She wasn’t looking at me, though. Her gaze was trained on the two girls I just left.
“Hey there, sister soul of mine.” I held a fist up. “How’s it hanging yourself?”
She ignored the hand and shifted, one of her hands falling to her hip. “I mean it, Logan.” She nodded to the girls. “What are you doing?”
“What?” I twisted around to look, too. The blonde seemed agitated, and the other one, Taylor, aka the hot one, looked...well, she didn’t look like anything. I paused and frowned, focusing on her even more. That was surprising. Girls usually liked it when I said I’d call them. This one didn’t seem too happy about it. “Huh.” I scratched behind my ear.
“Huh?” Sam punched my arm. “Huh what? For the third time, what are you doing?”