I sat down and slid a coffee over to her, along with her new water. I flashed her a grin. “See? I keep my word.”
She scowled. “Answer me about Jason.”
I snorted. “Impatient much?” I pointed to the water bottle. “I’d like you to note that I follow through on my word.”
She looked down at the water and coffee. “What is that, and why are you making a big deal about it?”
I ignored one of her questions. “That’s the stuff you drink, right? Or did I get the wrong kind? You had it in class, though I think you forgot it when we left.”
“You got me coffee?”
“I told you I would.”
“You didn’t have to do that.” She stared down at it, her hands around the cup.
I heard the wonderment in her voice and I frowned. “It’s nothing. It’s coffee.” I placed another cup on the table. “I have to take this to Sam anyway.”
Her eyes lingered on Sam’s cup before she murmured, “Oh, yeah.” Then she shook her head and refocused on me. “Jason. Why did you turn him down? He’s blaming me for it.”
“He is?” The corner of my mouth lifted. I hadn’t expected that. “Delray’s some little shit, isn’t he? I kinda like him.”
The corners of her mouth were twitching, like she couldn’t decide to laugh or glare. “You asked for his competitor’s number?”
I remembered how Delray had sputtered over the phone. “Oh, yeah. Good times, but no worries. You’re not to blame. I was never going to use him. I just wanted to make him jump through some hoops—revenge for turning me down last year.”
“The whole thing was a lie?”
I nodded. “You weren’t around last year, but your friend worked for a major piece of shit. When I saw him at the party last weekend, I was surprised. I didn’t think he had the balls to come around one of my friend’s parties, he or those other assholes. It was my way of sticking it to Sebastian, just a little bit, even though the guy is gone.”
She still looked confused. I’d mentioned Sebastian before, and I was sure Delray had filled her in, but it was hard to explain the magnitude of the guy’s asshole. He was a dark hole into the abyss.
I shrugged, standing back up. “But don’t worry. Next time I see your friend, I’ll let him know it wasn’t because of you. I was being an asshole all on my own.”
She looked out the window, frowning slightly. “Thank you for the coffee.”
I studied her for a second and gave her one last parting grin. “See you in class tomorrow. Don’t let some other douche sit next to you.”
I heard her say “What?” as I headed out, but I didn’t turn around.
I liked Taylor Bruce. I thought again about how she’d been ready to defend Sam. If another girl did that, I’d figure she had an angle—she wanted to use Sam to get to Mason, or even me, or use Sam herself for recognition and power on campus. My brother was a sports god, so his girlfriend was known, too. We all were. Just me sitting at Taylor’s table had drawn attention. I don’t think she was aware of it, but she would’ve realized it eventually and gotten uncomfortable.
Something happened that made Taylor avoid the limelight. I’d grown up in the spotlight around other people who wanted the spotlight too. Seeing someone like Taylor Bruce was refreshing. Hell, she was refreshing.
I wanted to bang her, but I wanted to bang a lot of girls. If the opportunity arose—I paused before pushing open the second door and stepping outside—, but there was something else in Taylor, something I didn’t sense from other girls. I couldn’t put my finger on what it was, but heading toward the communication building, I didn’t think about it again. Sam waited for me outside and her eyes lit up when she saw the coffee. “Give me. Give me. Give me.” After taking a sip, she closed her eyes with a contented smile. “Thank you, Logan.”
I threw my arm around her shoulders. “See, that’s how I’m supposed to be thanked for doing something nice. Getting coffee for someone—that’s a nice thing to do.”
“What?”
“Nothing.” I squeezed her against me for a second. “Let’s go to class.”
See? I could be a nice guy. Sometimes.
TAYLOR
“You’re friends with Logan Kade now?”
I’d been lost, still surprised by his generosity, when Claire’s voice distracted me.
“Huh?” I looked up to find her standing in front of my table. Her bag hung from her hands, which were cupped together in front of her. Her eyes narrowed slightly, and she glanced back over her shoulder. I followed her gaze. Her entire table watched us with mixed expressions. The girls’ eyes were big. One had a dreamy smile on her face, and most of the guys looked mystified. Their leader seemed stoic, his face unreadable, but I caught a flash of hardness in his eyes before it shifted. When he caught me studying him, a warm smile transformed his features. His eyes grew friendly and welcoming. It was such an abrupt change that I didn’t know how to process it. Instead, I shifted back to Claire.
She sat across from me, grabbing a water from her bag and placing it on the table. “So, are you?”
“What?”
“Friends with Logan Kade now?” She turned to look through the window, where Logan had gone.
As we watched, he handed the other coffee to that girl, the one from the party. Her eyes lit up, and she inhaled it, a blissful expression on her face. She said something, and he threw his arm over her shoulders as they went into the building. Whether she was his girlfriend or not, his utter devotion was evident.