Page 82 of That Last Secret

“Why?”

“I didn’t want you to be rushing this morning.” He shrugs. “Besides, what if you ran into someone else in the coffee shop?”

My lips twist in a grin, but I roll my eyes as I walk into the kitchen to grab my drink.

“Also,” he continues from behind me. “I’m taking you to class.” My head snaps around in his direction, and he’s already walking toward me. “I had planned to take you all along. It’s why I stayed.”

“You really don’t have to do that, Logan,” I tell him.

“I know I don’t, but I want to.” He lifts his hands, fingers trailing along the braid draped over my shoulder before he smirks. “Besides, what if a skater boy tries to take you out? Can’t have you missing this test because you got run over.”

I give him a light shove on the chest, and he barks out a laugh.

“Would Skater Boy even be out when it’s this cold out?”

Logan lifts a shoulder. “You never know, Emiline.”

I scan his features and realize he’s serious. His protective nature is showing, and I’m not mad about it. “Fine. You can take me if it will make you feel better.”

“It would,” he replies quickly.

I don’t understand what’s happening, but I like this. Being with Logan feels good. Even if we have to hide this ‘friendship’ from the world. Even if it means staying in our own little bubble.

This feels really fucking good.

Logan, true to his word, surprised me by getting me to class on time.

I thought we would walk because that’s what I always do, and with the skater-boy comments, it just seemed like that would happen.

Instead, we took his truck. The short drive was filled with a random conversation about our favorite snacks and candy, keeping me laughing the entire time.

Logan likes Twizzlers. I pegged him as more of a Kit-Kat type guy or any kind of chocolate. But he actually hates it, which we playfully argued over because who hates chocolate?

When we pulled up to the curb, Brooke was waiting for me on the stairs. A smile stretched across her face, seeing that I was with Logan. She looked proud of the fact that she had been right about him the whole time.

Logan didn’t wish me good luck on my test or tell me to break a leg.

He told me, “You got this, Emiline. You’re going to ace it with flying colors.” His confidence in me is why I walked in with my head held high and ready to finish the final.

It’s the first time I’ve walked into the classroom without doubting myself.

Leaving the exam, I find Brooke in the hall waiting for me.

“We did it.” Brooke shimmies. “One more semester to go. Can you even believe it?”

“It feels surreal,” I say honestly as we make our way down the hall and out the front doors to walk home. “How did this fly by while simultaneously taking forever?”

“Beats me. But can we move on to more pressing matters?”

I narrow my eyes.

“Logan dropped you off?”

I shrug. “It was nothing.”

It was everything.

“It wasn’t nothing! What was he even doing with you this early in the morning? When I saw him at the coffee shop last night, he was heading to work.”