Shh! (7 page)

With that, Savvy trotted off to get her man. She’d had a crush on Dane for as long as I’d known her. Of course she pretended not to, but if they’d finally hooked up the other night then I wasn’t wrong in thinking he liked her too. I leaned against the wall, which felt nice and cool against my back. Logan hadn’t said boo to me all night; maybe I should go talk to him too. Yes, that’s what I’d do. Find out exactly how he came by my email address.

I downed the rest of my drink and blinked. My eyelids were made of lead. I wasn’t drunk though. Nah-uh, not me. When I opened them, the guy from the bar stood before me, his black shirt hung loosely over his chest, which was right at my eye level. Some sort of tattoo snaked around his arm; maybe it was a snake, I couldn’t really tell.

“Hi there,” he said, moving a little closer.

Whoa, dude, personal space.

“Hey,” I answered slowly, making sure my words flowed. “Do I know you?” He didn’t look familiar; I was certain that I didn’t know him at all.

“Would you like to?”

He was a bit cute with the whole bad boy ...
Oh, great.
That was why he was in my face. I glanced past him, trying to see Molly. “Um, I better go back to my friends.”

“I know you.” He slammed his palm against the wall near my shoulder, then his other one came down on the other side, trapping me between them. He leaned in so close I could smell the tang of beer on his breath. “You’re the night nymph.” His gaze slid along my neck to rest on my mouth. “I’d like to see that.”

“You’re not seeing anything.” I ducked to sneak under his arm, but he was too fast and bent his elbows, his rough cheek scraping against mine.

My heart tried to pound right out of my chest; this guy was a douche, and jeez, there’d been a lot of them lately. He made a growling noise that was probably supposed to be sexy, but it sent an icy shiver right down my spine. It was dark, and seedy, and by golly, I needed to get away.

“Come on, let’s go back to my—”

“Leave the lady alone.” Logan’s words came at the same time as the guy jerked backward, out of my space. I sucked in a huge breath.

“Back off,” the dude growled. “I was just talking to sweet pea here. There’s no problem, right darlin’?”

He moved toward me with his arm extended to drop it over my shoulders or box me in again.
Not on your life, buddy.
Grabbing his arm, I twisted it down and away; the guy grunted. But I ducked toward Logan. “We’re done, so no problem.”

His face twisted into something unpleasant, and his voice dropped to a sneer. “Go stroke your own pussy. I hear solo’s your style anyway.”

With a swift movement, Logan swept me behind him and lurched forward, his fist connecting with the guy’s chin.

And the dirtbag came up fighting. Time felt like it crawled into slow motion as his head swung back around to face us, and his tongue glided across his split lip, pushing the pooling blood onto his chin. Then he smashed forward into Logan, shoulder first. Only he didn’t make contact, because Logan stepped aside and swung his fist again, stopping the guy before he ploughed into me. Logan didn’t miss his mark. The dirtbag stumbled back and Logan raised a fist once more.

Then Dane was there, saying something into Logan’s ear. Logan shook his head and Dane said, “It’s not worth it.”

“You!” A bouncer, dressed from head to toe in black, closed a hand over Logan’s shoulder and shoved him through the ring of people who stood, mouths open, watching the fight.

Dane turned to me and shook his head, then disappeared into the swell of people.

Heart pounding and feeling like all this was my fault, I slumped against the wall. My head buzzed. If alcohol was my friend then we were having an argument. In fact my stomach and head both felt like they were arguing with the rest of me. Maybe my legs were gonna join in too.

“God, Liv.” Savvy pushed through people to reach me, her face drawn and frantic. “What happened?”

I couldn’t answer; maybe I was in shock, or maybe the alcohol had slowed my thoughts because I couldn’t pull them together.

“This douchebag … Logan came, and then Dane …”

The room felt as if it were moving and my stomach churned.

“How about we go get you some fresh air?”

I nodded, and Savannah hooked her arm through mine. People blurred into a sea of indistinguishable faces as we made our way to the door while the music pounded through my body. Only it felt bad, not good. Everything echoed in my head.

The bouncer on the door looked right up and down Savvy, blatantly checking her out. “You leave, you’re out, girls. I can’t let anyone back in.”

“Thanks.” I conjured up my best smile. “Awesome night.”

It wasn’t really, but if we played nice maybe he’d let us back in anyway. He seemed to like the look of my friend.

The frigid night air hit me and I sucked in a breath. The air felt so much fresher. I hadn’t realised how stuffy it was inside. Even though my ears rang, there was blessed silence. Fewer people were around; there was only a form pacing by the fountain and another stood right by it.

I squinted to make them out. Logan and Dane. Savvy stiffened where our arms were connected and I slid my arm out of hers. I wasn’t certain what to think, but I needed to make sure Logan was all right. He had, after all, stood up for me.

Logan’s hands curled into tight fists as he paced the length of the step while Dane watched.

“Remember who you're doing this for.” Dane’s words were kind of harsh, and I wondered what he meant. Who Logan was outside for? … Was it a girlfriend … table thief girl? Being seen defending me sure would have caused problems for him.

Logan hurled a kick at the solid base of the fountain and pulled both hands through his long hair.

“You don’t want to be like him,” Dane warned.

“Shut up!” Logan’s head snapped up and his gaze landed on me. “I already am.”

“Everything okay?” I asked, walking toward them.

“Hell no,” Dane said.

Logan stopped his measured march. His blue eyes were fiery as they met mine then cut to Dane.

“Just walking it off,” Dane said.

Logan blew out a long breath which fogged in the cold air. Then he dropped to sit on the step. “That asshole shouldn’t have touched you.”

“He didn’t,” I said, not sure if I should sit beside him or keep my distance. To be perfectly honest, part of me was flattered he’d jumped in to defend me, but the other part was a bit scared of what that might mean.

Dane looked past me to watch Savannah staring at her phone from a safe distance away.

“Shouldn’t have said the crap he did either.” Logan glared toward the wall of glass that was The Bar.

I winced, covering my face with my hands. It was an attempt to stop my head from spinning, but nothing could stop my stomach from dropping with a feeling of dread. I hadn’t felt embarrassed about those damn rumours in days, but knowing Logan had heard what that guy had said made me want to fade into the darkness.

Warmth under my elbow tugged my hand from my face. “Hey.” Logan’s voice was soft. “The guy was a jerk.”

Suddenly mute, I just nodded.

“Shh.” Logan’s hand curled around my head, and he pulled me in toward him. “It’s over.”

My whole body tingled and a single shiver rippled through me. Logan smelt as divine as those raspberry drinks, maybe even better. I shifted my nose toward his wavy hair and inhaled deeply. Must have been his shampoo, or maybe it was just him, but that breezy, oceany scent was intoxicating. His chest rose against mine and his hand continued smoothing my hair. I tipped my head back to look into his face and Logan’s gaze was on me. His Adam’s apple bobbed as he swallowed, and an irrepressible urge to kiss this sweet guy swamped me.

His perfect lips called to me like a siren, so I closed the gap between us and planted one right on them. I wasn’t prepared for the heat that came with our connection, how something so soft could be hot at the same time. His lips felt like heaven and hell all at once.

With a hand on my shoulder, Logan pushed me away. “You’re drunk. We need to get you home.”

Ouch.
The tingle jumped to my face, heating my cheeks to near boiling. What in the heck was I thinking? Logan didn’t like me; had never liked me. I shook out of his hold and flung a hand toward The Bar, in Savvy’s general direction. “She’s way more drunk than me.”

His arm swept around my waist, and Logan pulled me into his side.

I pulled away. “I don’t need help to stand.”

“Olivia.”

I wouldn’t, couldn’t look at him. He’d see my burning cheeks and know that attempted kiss actually meant something to me. Wait … it meant something? My heart squeezed. Tipsy or not, this was all too much. It wouldn’t have made a difference, because coming here tonight was a bad idea.

“I’m going home.”

Logan’s hand snagged mine. “I’ll walk you.”

THE FALLOUT

CHAPTER SIX

Twilight hockey was on, and I shouldn’t be there the way I felt. After sleeping until almost lunchtime, I woke up feeling like I’d crawled through the desert with no water. Black patches marred my memory of last night. That’s precisely why I didn’t usually drink. Losing control was bad for public image and with the upcoming student council president campaign that wasn’t good. Heck, it wasn’t good, period.

I was pretty sure I’d walked home with Savvy, Logan, and Dane. But after that, nothing … I’d woken sometime in the early morning hours with my PJs twisted around me and my door wide open. Not the most graceful end to the night.

The ref’s whistle blew, indicating a penalty shot.

We were in the lead, despite my terrible playing. I’d lost us a goal when mid-pass I completely fumbled my stick and nudged the ball with the curved side. Then later, I totally missed a pass, letting it roll straight into the opposition’s hands. Both stupid, dumb mistakes.

I was completely off my game.

Probably had something to do with the churning in my stomach—all I’d eaten today was a slice of toast, and only half of that. Maybe it also had something to do with the half-memory I had that I’d made a pass at Logan and he’d flat out rejected me.

I clenched my jaw and dashed after the ball along with half the field of players. I trailed my stick along the astro turf and swept it in to steal the ball out of play, then ran for all I was worth toward the goal. The goalie set her feet wide, bracing herself for the shot. The others were catching me. A green blur sped past and swung around, her stick battling with mine for possession. I fought back. Out here I felt like a different person. One who could be as rough, hard, and unguarded as she wanted. One who could fight for what she wanted.

The other player’s stick crashed into my shin pad, and hooked around my ankle in a completely illegal move. I fell; my face slammed into the ground, hard. Spots burst into my vision and pain echoed through my head. A stampede pounded past me.

That cow, she’d tripped me on purpose.

I pushed onto my hands and got up, my head spinning. The umpire blew the whistle and yelled, “Foul.” She pointed back at me. “Free shot to Oxley.”

The girl who’d knocked me over stormed past, and the look she shot me could have killed a healthy ox. Well, she has another thing coming if she thought that dirty move would stop me fighting to win. The cow was going down. She slugged the ball in my direction so hard it made a loud crack as it hit my stick, and I struggled to get it under control. She kept her five-metre distance exactly, scowling while I set up the shot from the sideline.

I aimed up and held. Waited. The whistle blew.

“Ohhhhgasmicoooo … ooo … ooolivya.”

I fumbled the ball, my dribble into play totally out of sync. My mind flipped, reeling to figure out what the other payer had said. She swooped in, stealing it right out from under me.
Orgasmic Olivia?
She didn’t … right, that was it. The bitch was so gone. Anger surged through me, but she passed the ball off to her teammate, and the look she threw over her shoulder was nothing but gloating. “Can’t hold it together on the field either, hey? Just one touch.”

Lifting my stick, I ran at her. “What the hell did you say?”

She met me glare for glare. “Have a naughty night, Oliv-
oh-ah
?”

Oh, she didn’t.

“Watch out; here comes the game.” She turned and ran toward the stampede of players headed our way. The rumours surrounding Christian and I had spread far and wide; it seemed nowhere was off-limits. If I couldn’t escape it on the hockey field then nowhere was safe.

The horn sounded for half-time and I was more than ready for a break before I got sent off for fighting.

My team headed for the sidelines where we gathered to discuss our tactics. Once we were all there, I said, “Their wings are strong. Maddy, I think we should sub you out for Aleisha.”

The brunette who was our fastest player looked at me and shook her head. “I think you need to sit this one out, Olivia. That Evan’s Hall girl is obviously getting under your skin, and you’re letting her. Besides, after—”

“Shh,” someone cut her off. “I agree, Olivia needs a rest.”

A murmur of assent spread through the circle. What was this? I was their captain, for heaven’s sake. They didn’t sub me out. I opened my mouth to say just that, but Maddy glared me down. “You need the break.”

My team sat me out for the rest of the game. I was a failure. Those dumb rumours had spread all the way to the other dorms and they were being used against me on the field.

Just freaking great.

****

I tipped my head back and let the warm water run over my face. I hadn’t seen Molly or Savannah since last night. If they felt anything like I had before hockey then they were probably still curled up in bed, swearing they’d never drink again.

Not only had last night left me feeling worse than a three-day-old cheeseburger, it was a bit of a blur. Hopefully Logan got home all right. I had no idea where he lived, but surely he’d caught a cab or something.

After rinsing out my hair, I turned the water off and grabbed my towel. Thankfully, the exercise had actually done me some good. I must have sweated it out or something, because I felt better than I had all day.