Her eyes moved back to him, now glued to his face. She didn’t look like she was breathing.
Logan grinned. “For real, be honest. I know you’re a Mason superfan. The thing we really need to know is if he boned Sam in your dorm room, would you pretend it was you instead?”
“Logan!” I hit his chest.
He was undeterred, still studying my roommate.
Her cheeks flooded with color. “The asshole part of your reputation is true.”
“You didn’t answer the question.”
“Logan.” That was enough. I started to get off my chair.
He grabbed the chair and blocked me from sliding off it. I had to stay or be forced into brushing against him in an awkward position. I loved Logan but not like that. I sat there, captive by my almost-stepbrother, as he interrogated my roommate.
“Yes,” she croaked out. “I’m a fan of Mason’s because he’s a god in football, and I’ll continue to be a fan when he goes pro. But will I daydream that he’s screwing me when he screws my new friend and roommate? Hell no.” Her eyes sparked at him, heated. “And how dare you even insinuate that of me. Who are you to ask a question like that?”
Logan moved in closer to her, his face impassive. “I’m her family, and I have every right to make sure she’s not getting screwed over.”
“Logan.” It was time. I tapped his arm. “Move.”
He didn’t.
“Logan!”
He relented and slowly stepped back. He was still holding her gaze, an unspoken threat going between the two.
Well, if my roommate hadn’t already hated him before, she did now.
I stood from my chair and tried to give her a reassuring smile, as I latched on to Logan’s arm. “Excuse us for a bit. I have to go and chew my family member out.” I turned and shoved him forward. I added over my shoulder, “In private.”
Logan motioned at Nate, pointing to Summer. Nate frowned but went over and took my empty chair.
Once we were outside, I whirled on him. “What are you doing? She’s my roommate.”
“I want to establish the boundaries early on.” He climbed on top of a table, his feet resting where people would normally sit. His elbows went to his knees, and he clasped his hands together, watching me with an unrelenting intensity.
He didn’t care. That stopped me. Whatever lecture I had stored up, ready to deliver, would fall on deaf ears. I’d be wasting our time. I sighed instead, sitting down next to him. “Did you have to be such an ass to her?”
“Yep.” He grinned at me, moving an arm to hug me to his side. “Like you would be for me.”
He was right. I would. “Still.”
He squeezed me to him. “I like her.”
Of course, he did. “I’m not surprised.”
“She’s got balls.” He grinned, laughing to himself. “She’s kinda like Heather, but Heather’s tougher. That make sense? And she’s got a football boner for Mason. I can tell. Every time Nate and I talked about football stats, her eyes would light up. She was listening to every word.”
I frowned. “You were talking about football stats?” What had I been paying attention to? Oh, right—all the girls who were starting to watch him like adoring fans. I was looking out for future Logan Kade stalkers. “Never mind.”
“Hey.” His voice dropped.
A tingle of awareness ran down my spine. The serious side of Logan was coming out. I sat up.
“I’m kinda glad you’re here tonight.”
“You are?”
“Yeah.” He frowned at me. “You didn’t let Mason know?”
I shook my head.
He shrugged. “Listen, don’t feel bad about that.”
For real?
He saw my look and grinned. “I mean it. Mason wants you to have a normal college experience, and yes, that means going to parties. Why do you think I’m here? He knows you’re smart, and you can take care of yourself—”
“Do you?” I cut in. “Because I wasn’t getting that sense when you were being an ass to my roommate.”
“Sam.” His eyebrows pinched together. “You don’t even know her. Why are you defending her?”
He was right. She wasn’t my best friend, but I was trying to make myself believe she was. “I’m sorry. Thank you. You were right to do what you did.”
“She’s not Heather,” he said softly.
I shot him a look. “Speaking of which…”
He leaned back, hearing the suspicion in my voice.
I asked, “You’re not going to fuck up my friendship with Heather, are you?”
“What are you talking about?” He glanced away.
I saw the guilt in that one movement. Logan completely knew what I was talking about.
I poked him in the leg. “I know you two slept together.”
He cursed under his breath, rubbing a hand over his jaw. “Mason told?”
“Mason knew?”
“Uh.” He looked back, alarmed now. “I mean—”
I waved that off. It didn’t matter. “I’m not an idiot. You two were slow dancing half the night, and you both disappeared at the end. I texted you guys, but neither of you answered. I’m not dumb. She and Channing are on a break anyway, and you two always had chemistry.”
He leaned forward, dipping his head, and he raked his hand through his hair before letting it drop back to his leg. “I’m sorry, Sam. I didn’t mean for you to know that.”