Chapter 9

When he’d said he was done with fighting with me, he hadn’t meant it. And I stupidly went and believed him. What was even more vexing was the fact that I’d run to the girl’s bathroom to cry privately in a stall because I just didn’t know how not to make the tears come out.

God, how embarrassing. I had no doubt at all that he’d sent Cameroon. Even if he hadn’t, he’d enabled them. Before our beef got to this point, Cameroon would have never done something like that. Who knew what nonsense Logan had fed him with that made him think I had feelings for Logan.

Crush? Had he been serious? If I hadn’t been so angry and disappointed, I would’ve laughed. Me, like Logan? Even if hell froze over and pigs began to fly, I would never see Logan for anything more than what he was; an annoying piece of shit.

There was an abrupt knock on the door.

I sniffed, wiping under my eyes with the back of my eyes, wondering when it was that I’d become so pathetic as to cry over something Logan Hernández had done. “Give me a minute.”

“Lexi.”

My heart skipped a beat when I heard the voice. “What are you doing here, Logan?” If anybody saw him in the girl’s bathroom, it might become a problem and the fact that he’d even bothered to come after me was strange in itself.

“Please come out. I’m sorry about Cameroon.” His voice was soft, almost foreign. The Logan I was used to sounded harsh, constantly annoyed. This Logan was apologizing to me for something that had been out of his control. I didn’t know what to think of him.

“You didn’t send him?” I asked against my better judgment. Who cared? They were still friends anyway and I was sure it was a conversation they’d had countless times. “Making fun of me is your thing, isn’t it?”

“Of course, not. Not like this,” his voice was harsh again. “Look, just come out so I can talk to you.”

I almost didn’t until I figured I couldn’t hide in here forever. Besides, I had class to get to. I made sure I’d dried my eyes enough first, before getting up from the seat.

Opening the door, I came eye to eye with him. I raised my chin in the air, to give a look of aloofness. I was not going to let him see how hurt I was.

“Cameroon won’t disturb you ever again,” he said, holding my gaze. “I made sure of that.” I watched him run a hand through his hair and then grab somewhat forcefully at the ends like he was fighting an internal battle. “Don’t listen to any of the crap he said. There’s nothing wrong with your body.”

I was taken aback, as this was the first time Logan had said something remotely close to a compliment to me. Did he just imply that I was… perfect? Was it just me or was there something different about Logan? Wasn’t the air lighter?

“You just complimented me,” I murmured, the awe in my voice evident. “Why?”

He held my gaze for a few seconds then looked away as he bit on his lower lip. My eyes followed the small movement and I found myself wondering what he tasted like.

Whoa.

“I’m sorry I made you cry,” he finally said, meeting my eyes again. “I didn’t mean to. It’s not fun when you cry.”

I blinked. What the hell was happening? Everything was moving too fast. Why was Logan being so nice to me and why on earth was I wondering what it would be like to kiss him?

“It wasn’t your fault.”

“Don’t you see?” He suddenly took several steps in front towards me and I backed away until he had me cornered and pressed back against the wall. “Cameroon wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t been—” He paused, maybe suddenly realizing he was extremely close to me. His hot breath fanned my face and his gaze dropped to my parted lips.

For some reason, I couldn’t think straight. Heat engulfed me. Never in a million years did I ever think I’d be in this position with the boy I hated most in the world. In fact, at the moment I could barely remember why I hated him so much.

“Lexi,” it sounded more like a groan than a word.

I licked my lips in anticipation because who was I kidding? I wanted him to do it; I wanted him to kiss me.

“Shit,” he whispered. “Don’t do that. Don’t lick your lips like that or I’ll do something you might regret.”

I’d never considered myself a wanton, but right now it was all I could think about. And so I did it again. And again. And again.

Logan grabbed the back of my neck and slowly brought my lips closer to his. Letting out a small sigh, I shut my eyes and waited for the impact of lips I knew would be soft to hit me—but it never came.

Instead, the door to the girl’s bathroom immediately burst open and Aimee appeared in sight, her voice shrieking, “AH!”

I panicked, jumping away from Logan like I wasn’t about to surrender my lips to his devices a few seconds ago. Shit. Crap. I couldn’t believe it had almost happened.

“Fucking hell,” Logan cursed, then made past me and Aimee and left the bathroom without another word. I had no doubt he was as confused as I was. Jesus.

Aimee, on the other hand, stood by the door staring at me with eyes as wide as saucers. I knew what she was thinking because I was thinking it too. My hands wouldn’t stop shaking and my heart was beating as hard as a drum.

I’d almost kissed Logan Hernández.

Shit.

“What the fuck,” Aimee said slowly, unmoving. The size of her eyes remained the same, the rest of her body tensing. I knew she was expecting me to say something but how could I when I was at a loss myself? Shit. Trying to gather my confidence, I willed my feet to move one step at a time until I walked past her and out of the bathroom.

I would deal with Aimee later but currently, I didn’t know what I was supposed to do. How was I going to face him after this? Most importantly, how was I going to look myself in the mirror after this? It was only when I heard myself that I realized I was hyper ventilating.

“Okay,” I breathed, recognizing the environment as the hallway leading to history class. I was three minutes late, but I didn’t really care about that now. “Calm down. It was nothing.” I told myself.

Nothing happened. Right? I mean, yes, Logan had almost performed the horrendous act of kissing me and I’d almost let him but still, nothing had happened. So, it shouldn’t matter. What had taken place earlier in the bathroom had merely been a biological response of our bodies to being in the same space as the opposite sex.

But even as I tried to convince myself of the words, I knew something had shifted between us and there was no turning back from this.

For the rest of the day, I avoided everyone as much as I could like the plague. Logan didn’t approach me and neither did Aimee or Darren. I supposed I should’ve been a little concerned about that, but I was too embarrassed to care. I ate my lunch in the girls' bathroom and went home as soon as the last bell rang. I didn’t even care to think about the animal shelter.

It was only when school ended for the day that I heard the rumor: Logan Hernández had punched Cameroon in the face for humiliating Lexi Hale.