It was so perfect, I almost thought I
’
d planned it all.
I breezed through the rest of my classes that day with little event. Nothing exciting, like boys rolling into me or strange, cryptic texts from my mother or a strong, defined arm blocking my way to the classroom.
Nothing. Just boring old classes.
I stayed for a little bit after Ethics to talk with Professor Keith again. I told him which topic I was leaning towards, and he agreed that it was one of his favorites, too. As I was leaving, I noticed that several girls were glaring in my direction, and remembered once more that Professor Keith was one of the more popular teachers.
I waved it off, though, and made my way towards home. I waited at the edge of campus for Kass to meet with me, so that we could walk home together. Briefly, I thought about avoiding her and just walking home on my own, but I liked the company and she hadn
’
t been privy to my crazy outbursts yesterday, so I didn
’
t think there was any harm in walking with her.
But as time passed, I was beginning to wonder if she was interested in walking with
me
. I waited for nearly thirty minutes, arms wrapped around myself for warmth, when I got a text message.
I froze, thinking it was another warning about Miranda and debated for a full minute on whether or not I wanted to answer it. When I received a second text, I decided I had to.
When I unlocked my phone, I found that it wasn
’
t my mom at all and there was no mention of Miranda. It was from Kass.
Have a date with James! Don
’
t wait up. Details tomorrow lady!
I let out a relieved breath. Thank goodness.
The second text was from Kass also.
Don
’
t be mad. Won
’
t ditch you tomorrow.
I shook my head and smiled. I sent her a quick text back telling her I was fine and definitely not mad. Wishing her a good time, I slipped my phone back into my pocket and realized that I would be walking home alone after all.
One foot in front of the other. At least it wasn
’
t a long walk, I reminded myself, and more than that it wasn
’
t raining. I
’
d decided that that was the main factor in deciding whether the walk home was going to be bearable or not.
It was one thing to walk home while it was cold. It was another thing entirely to walk home when it was cold and
wet
.
I walked for a couple of minutes, focusing mostly on my paper topic, when Old Main came into view. Frowning, I couldn
’
t help but think of Logan. Was he waiting for me? I glanced down at my watch. Fifteen until seven. So he probably wasn
’
t there yet, but he was definitely on his way.
And she was on her way, too. On her way home.
No, "sorry I
’
m not going to make it". No, "hey, don
’
t waste your time, I
’
m not coming". Nothing. Just silence and not showing up.
“
That
’
s a pretty shitty thing to do,
”
I mumbled to myself, my eyes still locked on Old Main.
I stopped, turning so I was facing it, and just stared. All I could think about was Logan and how serious he had been earlier that day. I
’
d spent all day avoiding him and avoiding the topic of him. I didn
’
t want to think about him asking me to come see him, or the way he looked at me or made me feel. I didn
’
t want to think about what had possessed me to kiss him in the hallway that day
…
But those were the things I couldn
’
t help but think of. He occupied so much space in my brain, that I wasn
’
t sure what to do anymore.
With a sigh, I closed my eyes, and turned around.
“
I can
’
t believe I
’
m going to do this.
”
Walking back the way I came, I headed back towards campus so that I could loop around and head to Old Main.
I walked quickly, glancing down at my watch every minute it seemed. It was five until seven and I wasn
’
t sure I was going to make it. Although Old Main was easily seen from most places on campus, it was actually on the north end and meant that I had to walk quite a ways in the opposite direction of my house to get there.
When the building was finally just ahead, I let out a breath of relief and half jogged the rest of the way. When I made it to the steps, I found myself standing alone. My heart sunk in my chest, and I realized that he wasn
’
t here.
Had I been played?
“
I didn
’
t think you were going to show,
”
came Logan
’
s smooth, rich voice from behind me.
I swiveled around to face him, a little surprised and a little relieved all at once. I found myself fighting back a smile that might match the one he was wearing.
“
Well,
”
I began. I was about to tell him that I didn
’
t think I
was
going to show, but changed my mind at the last minute. I was afraid that I would have to then explain why I wasn
’
t planning on coming
—
and then why I changed my mind. And that seemed like a really bad idea. So instead, I said,
“
I thought we should clear things up tonight before you actually make me late to class one of these days.
”
His smile didn
’
t falter for even a moment, even though I put a little bit of acid in my tone.
“
Okay, you
’
re right,
”
he said, not near as nervous as I had thought he might be.
“
We should settle this tonight. If you
’
re not impressed, if you think this is just a complete waste of your time and you don
’
t have any fun at all, then I
’
ll leave you alone. Period.
”
I narrowed my eyes at him.
“
Fun? What are you up to?
”
His smile widened.
“
Come with me, and let me show you.
”
He offered me the crook of his arm.
I hesitated.
“
Give me a chance,
”
he pleaded with me not for the first time.
The girl I was supposed to be was supposed to tell him no, to go home and never look back. But then, the girl I was supposed to be never would have met with him to begin with. So instead of walking away, I looped my arm through his and let him escort me around the corner.
When we walked along the side of the building until the back corner came into view, I started to frown a little bit. I glanced over my shoulder, looking back towards the front of the building and the rest of the campus, but I didn
’
t pull away from him.
He felt warm next to me, solid and strong, and whatever I was pretending to be, I couldn
’
t deny that whenever I was near him I
felt
something.
“
What are we doing?
”
I asked, my voice quiet.
He glanced over at me, grinning now, and just gave me a wink.
“
You
’
ll see.
”
When we reached the back of the building, he let my arm slip from his, leaving me with a cold feeling suddenly. He knelt down near the wall of the building, tapping at it a few times. It took me a moment, but when he cracked it open, I realized that it was a window into one of the basement classrooms.
Glancing around to see if anyone was watching us, I knelt down beside him and whispered,
“
What are you doing? We could get in so much trouble for this!
”
He placed his index finger against his lips, indicating for me to be quiet, and then sat down on the ground, his feet pushed through the now open window.
“
Follow me.
”
I straightened up and folded my arms across my chest, shaking my head. No. Definitely no. There was no way I was going to do this. We were definitely breaking into a building on private property, and whether we were students or not, that would carry some serious repercussions if we got caught.
And breaking and entering was most definitely
not
part of the good girl image I was cultivating.
“
No way!
”
I told him sternly, incredulous that he would even ask me to do this.
Holding onto the top frame of the window, he looked back at me.
“
Addy, c
’
mon,
”
he said in a soft, quiet voice that wasn
’
t mocking or teasing or threatening. It was soft, tender almost.
“
I won
’
t let anything happen. You won
’
t get in trouble for this, I promise.
”
I hesitated for a fraction of a second longer, then I let out a sigh and let my arms drop down to my sides.
“
This had better be important,
”
I muttered to him, glancing around once more to see if anyone was coming.
He grinned widely at me.
“
It is. Very important.
”
Using his grip on the top of the frame, he swung himself down and through the window. I heard him land with a thud and rushed over to him quickly, kneeling beside the window to try and peer inside. It was dark, and I couldn
’
t really see anything, but there was enough light filtering in from the outside through the window that I could see him standing right beneath it. He seemed alright, but I called down anyway,
“
Logan? Are you alright?
”
“
I
’
m fine,
”
he answered.
“
Come down now. I
’
ll catch you.
”
I hesitated. I wasn
’
t supposed to be doing this, but as I glanced around one last time, I couldn
’
t deny the thrill that rushed through me and the smile that crept across my face.
Before my more reasonable half could tell me what an idiot thing I was about to do, I knelt down again by the window. I turned around though, knowing that I wouldn
’
t be able to count on upper arm strength to swing myself inside like Logan did. Laying on my stomach, I slid my legs through the open window. When I was bent in half, I started to wonder how I was going to get down, when I lost my grip.
With a tiny cry escaping my throat, I braced myself for the fall.
But instead of falling, two strong arms caught me around the waist and I fell against Logan
’
s strong, hard chest. For a moment, we stayed like that. His arms wrapped around me and my back pressed up against his chest. I realized that for only the second time, his hands were on me. They were pressed to my stomach, holding me so that I wouldn
’
t drop.
Apparently, the only time he was okay with touching me was when I was falling
…
When I turned my head over my shoulder to look at him, I saw his eyes staring down at me.
“
Thanks,
”
I whispered in a small voice.
He leaned forward slightly and I felt my eyelids begin to flutter closed. I thought for a moment that
…
well, that maybe he was going to kiss me. But then he pulled back, his hands snapping quickly away from me.
Once again, I noticed his absence immediately. I felt cold and shaky. I heard him moving around behind me, fiddling with something. As he did so, I took a moment to straighten up. I pulled down my shirt, which had been rucked up by my fall, and tried my best to smooth down my hair.
When I heard the familiar flick of a lighter, I spun around and let out a small gasp.