Wrecked Book 4 (3 page)

“
Who
’
s hanging out with Lexie?
”
I asked, coming over to lean on the counter, careful to stand by Kass and not Derek.

Having effectively inserted myself back into the conversation, Kass glanced over at me. She had a weird look on her face for a moment, but then shrugged and said,
“
You know. That girl. From the other night.
”
She hesitated, and when I still didn
’
t get it, she sighed and said,
“
Miranda
.
”

I froze, my coffee half way to my lips. Kass was confirming the thing I was most afraid of. Any hopes that this was maybe just a coincidence flew out the window. They were definitely friends.
“
Miranda
is hanging out with
Lexie?
”
I asked just to be sure.

Kass nodded her head.
“
Yeah, Mark said he wasn
’
t sure what to think of that. Said that Lexie is so trashy and just seems to get worse all the time, you know?
”

I did know. And more important than being trashy, I also knew she was a liar.
“
I thought you said Lexie was okay,
”
I told her pointedly.

She pursed her lips together.
“
It was in context,
”
she defended, lifting her chin slightly.
“
I really just meant that she probably wasn
’
t lying or making it up. Not that she wasn
’
t a tramp.
”

Letting out a little laugh, I shook my head.
“
You
’
re a little unbelievable sometimes, you know it?
”

“
What?
”
she asked, gesturing with her hand to indicate that she was being completely normal.
“
She is a tramp, but tramps aren
’
t liars.
”

“
And tramps are better than liars, right?
”
I added.

She shrugged her shoulders nonchalantly, returning to her coffee.
“
I didn
’
t make the rules,
”
she told me taking a quick, dainty sip.

Derek glanced between the two of us as though we were speaking a foreign language. Given that he hadn
’
t been present for our last conversation about Lexie
—
thank god, because I didn
’
t know how I would have done with the both of them there
—
he had no way of understanding what we were really talking about.

“
About all I got from that conversation just now was that Lexie is a tramp.
”

Both Kass and I laughed, and I took a moment to appreciate that not everything was complicated or the plot to some bad teen horror movie. Moments like these were precious, and I kept forgetting that I was still lucky enough to have them.

“
It
’
s a long story,
”
I told him, but Kass finished for me.

“
But that
’
s pretty much the important parts of it.
”

I didn
’
t get coffee with Derek that night, mostly because me, Derek, and Kass spent a couple of hours hanging out in the kitchen and I didn
’
t feel the need to add my fourth coffee of the day to my system. I was fairly certain that my body was already going to be pretty upset with me for putting so much caffeine and sugar into my system
—
most of it well into the evening, too.

But we did talk and laugh together. I got to know him a little better, and all of what I learned reinforced my belief that he was a good guy. He was, in a way, like a male version of Kass. Fun and outgoing, full of life, but also responsible. Just not to the point where it was obsession (like me).

For a few hours I was able to push Logan and his confession from my mind, as well as the image of Lexie and Miranda swaying together.

Eventually, we called it a night though. I didn
’
t think I
’
d fall asleep anytime soon, but I wanted to use the time I was going to be up to be productive at least, and I felt like Derek staying wasn
’
t conducive to that. Plus, Kass wanted to call James before it got too late
—
and they
’
d talk for at least an hour, probably more.

But Derek and I did confirm plans for tomorrow. A coffee date between classes was exactly the sort of pick me up that would get me through the day
—
and remind me that Logan wasn
’
t the sort of guy I needed in my life, confession of love or no.
Derek
was.

Tonight only reaffirmed that.

We said goodnight at the door. He ventured a kiss to my cheek, which got a smile out of me and a snicker out of his sister. I think we both agreed that no one wanted to be making out in front of Kass.

“
I
’
ll text you tomorrow,
”
he told me, smiling as he waved good night and left.

I waved also,
“
Yeah. I
’
ll respond this time, promise.
”

He gave a quick laugh, making it down the steps to the sidewalk. I closed the door behind him. Kass squealed from behind me.
“
Oh, you guys are so cute together! I knew this was the perfect match!
”
she told me excitedly, and I realized that this had all been a set up from the get go. She
’
d
always
wanted me to date her brother, and knew that all she had to do was throw us together to make it happen.

I rolled my eyes at her.
“
You are weirdly invested in your brother
’
s future. You do realize that, right?
”
I teased her.

She shrugged, letting it roll down her back without doing any damage.
“
Meh. He needs some investment. Besides, this way I don
’
t have to deal with you bringing home some jackass that I don
’
t know and I don
’
t have to scare away whatever bimbo he ends up picking.
”

“
Are you saying you don
’
t trust his judgment?
”
I asked as we both headed up the stairs towards our separate rooms.

She glanced over her shoulder at me.
“
Well, duh.
”

I stopped on one of the middle steps, putting my hands on my hips.
“
Hey! He picked me, didn
’
t he?
”

Turning around, she rolled her eyes at me.
“
Oh, please. Don
’
t even pretend to be all offended. He picked you because I told him all of the awesome things about you before he even saw you. Then he saw your cleavage and the deal was sealed.
”

I dropped my mouth open at her and did my best to be offended, but she knew I was only kidding. She did laugh at my expression though and ran the rest of the way up the stairs as I chased her. She disappeared into her room just as I slung a rubber band from my wrist at her. It hit the door.

She poked her head back out quickly and said,
“
You
’
re welcome and good night.
”
Then she closed her door again lest I have any more ammunition.

I let out a sigh, but smiled a little anyway. Derek was a good guy and I
should
have been thanking her. She really did do me a favor. My smile faded a little.

I just hoped that I deserved that favor.

Closing the door behind me, I stripped out of my clothes and pulled out my favorite sleep shirt. Then I grabbed my text books and piled them open in front of me on the desk. Pulling up a chair, I got cracking.

I stared down at the words in my book for hours. The words on the page began to blur and I yawned heavily, desperately trying to stay awake and concentrate.

I closed my eyes for just a moment
…

I opened them and took a deep breath. Trying to get back to my book, there was a knock on the door. I was surprised. It was late and I couldn
’
t imagine who would be here this late. Pushing back my desk chair, I got up and moved towards the door.

“
Kass?
”
I asked, because who else would it be?

But when I pulled open the door, it wasn
’
t Kass. Standing in front of me was Logan. His hair was hanging loose around his face, blonde strands falling into his eyes. They were stormy, swirling with emotion and passion.

I opened my mouth to say something
—
what was he doing here? Hadn
’
t I just told him that I couldn
’
t do this?
—
but before I could get a word out, he
’
d stepped forward his hands going to my face. He cupped my cheeks, holding me in place as he leaned down to press his lips against mine.

I didn
’
t even try to resist; I couldn
’
t and more importantly I didn
’
t want to. His mouth was warm against mine and it felt like he was breathing life into me. My eyes fluttered closed, I couldn
’
t help it, and I felt passion race through my body as his tongue slipped between my lips.

My hands thought for themselves, reaching out for him. They found his muscled body, taut with passion and intensity and need. My hands started at his shoulders, but couldn
’
t stop there. They slid down along his chest, the muscles tight and tense beneath my fingertips. He continued to kiss me as my hands went lower, trailing over his abs until they hit the waistband of his jeans.

His hands were large, shifting so that his right hand could weave into my long hair, tangling up in the strands, while his left hand went the opposite direction. He found the small of my back and pressed on it, making me shift forward suddenly. My body collided with his, my breasts pressing against his chest and our hips lined up perfectly.

He broke the kiss so that he could trail smaller ones along my face, down my neck and along my shoulders. He kissed and licked and nibbled at my skin, pulling back the already loose, low collar of my nightshirt so that he had better access to my bare skin.

I couldn
’
t say anything. My mind was too filled with him
—
the way he smelled like car batteries, shaving cream, and body wash. The way he tasted like salt and something tangy, but rich. The way he felt hot and hard and tense against my body. My senses were on fire with everything that made up him.

No, I couldn
’
t get a word out, even when his lips were occupied elsewhere on my body. All I could do was let out a low moan of pleasure.

My hands found the hem of his tight black t-shirt and began to tug at it. I pulled it up partially, exposing his cut abdomen to the hot air swirling around us. My hands pressed flat against his skin and he sucked it a sharp breath.

Straightening up, he pulled his shirt off the rest of the way, tossing it to the floor. Then he went to my shirt and asking without words, he pulled it up over my head. I wasn
’
t wearing a bra and didn
’
t have anything on but my boy shorts. I felt bare before him, but not embarrassed. We
’
d done this before and as soon as he closed the distance between us, crushing my chest against his, I knew it would be great again.

We found the bed, kissing and touching the entire way to it. He laid me down carefully on my back, crawling over me. His pants were gone and soon there was nothing between us. We came together and fire burned inside me.

All I wanted was him. All I wanted
…

My eyes snapped open, my heart beating heavily inside my chest as I woke up in a sweat. My sheets were pushed off and tangled around my feet. My hair was matted down, damp and sticking to the skin of my neck.

It had felt so real
…
and worst of all, though I was awake now, all I wanted was to feel Logan inside me again.