I had feelings for Logan. There it was. I admitted it to myself.

“You’re different,” Sam said quietly. “Logan’s never acted this way around a girl, and I’m sorry, but that’s why I’m acting like a pushy mother, or a pushy big sister.” She swung her dark eyes over to me and I was surprised to find a haunting quality in them.

My irritation with her melted. Whatever haunted her, my own pain responded. I was looking at myself, then she blinked, and it was gone. The connection we’d had broke.

“I told Logan I’d be a friend to you,” she continued. “So I’d like to do that, and I’d like to do it the way I’d want it done for me: No opinions. No judgments. Just an easy acceptance.”

That sounded wonderful.

She ducked her head and gave me a half-smile. “If you’d like that?”

“I would.” A rueful laugh followed my words. “Being friends with people is work. You have to give, and you have to be okay with not getting back. I’ve been friends with Claire and Jason since seventh grade, and we’ve all had times when we haven’t been the best. The last nine months have been my selfish time. I only took from them. I didn’t give back because I didn’t have it in me to give back, but since starting school…”

I shrugged and looked down. We sat side by side, both turned toward the street. “I was going to only be friends with them and make a point of giving them whatever they needed. But all that went out the door when Logan sat next to me in sociology. Somehow, and I truly have no idea how, he’s become my friend.” I gazed over at her. “And having said all of that, yes; I’d love to have one more friend this year.”

People didn’t usually proclaim that they were going to be friends. But this felt like the most natural thing in the world.

“That’s great.” Sam smiled so warmly at me, then said, “And if you hurt him, I’ll become your worst enemy.”

My grin faltered. “Oh.”

Her smile grew and she never looked away, and just then, Logan came around the house. He lifted his arms in the air. “There you are. Let’s go get our bonfire going.”

Nate was behind him, and Sam stood up to meet them. Logan’s arm came down around her shoulders. He paused, waiting for me to stand. I still sat at the table, blinking for a moment. Sam’s threat wasn’t a threat. It was a promise, and as I looked up at her, an eerie shiver went down my spine.

“Come on, Sam,” Nate said. He touched her arm, pointing to the street. She broke away to go with him. “We’ll meet you guys back at the house,” Nate called as they left.

Logan nodded before turning back to me. “You okay?”

“Yeah.” I stood. “I’m good. The bonfire’s still a go?”

“Yep.”

I watched Nate getting into his car. Sam rounded to the passenger side. “Can you guys even drive?”

“Nate and I didn’t drink tonight. We just let the others think we were.” He winked. “It’s easier to win that way.”

I shook my head, not really surprised at all, and stepped into his side. His arm came over my shoulders as naturally as breathing. As we walked to Logan’s vehicle, Nate drove past. Both he and Sam waved.

When we got in, Logan asked, “What was going on with you and Sam?”

I paused. “What do you mean?”

The corner of his mouth lifted. “I know when Sam’s just delivered a bomb. I can recognize the look by now. #Chickshowdown. It’s hot, but seriously, I know she said something. What was it?” All his joking and teasing vanished. “I don’t want you to get the wrong idea about her. Mason, Sam, and me—the three of us have been through a lot. She’s been put in the hospital because of us, stuff like that. I could tell she was paying more attention to you than she normally does to girls I bring around, but it’s just because she’s protective of me. That’s it. I’m the same way with her.”

“Yeah.” I willed the tension in me to dissipate. “You guys all love each other. That’s obvious.”

He didn’t let up. His eyes only narrowed. “What’d she say?”

I shook my head, my hands lifted from my lap. “Nothing. She just said that if I hurt you, she’d become my worst enemy.”

His head back moved an inch. “That was it?”

I nodded. “Yeah. That was it.”

“Oh.” He shrugged that off, starting his Escalade. “That’s nothing then.”

“That’s normal for you guys?”

He pulled away from the curb. The glow from Nate’s rear lights was still visible, and he headed toward them. “Oh, yeah. Hospital visits. Car wrecks. Car explosions. Fights. Lots of fights. You’d be surprised what our normal is.” He smiled to himself. “Good times.”

I sat back, stunned, and then I remembered—I still hadn’t met his brother.

#RIPROARINGDRUNK

TAYLOR

Nate was in the back building a fire when we got to the house. I knew it was late, and I could have checked my phone to find out the time, but I didn’t want to. I didn’t want to think about anything. I just wanted to be. Reminding myself to focus on the moment, I looked around at Logan’s place. They had a nice setup, an impressive setup. The house was big, so I knew the back would be nice, but when I stepped out there, I was still taken aback.

In the corner of a massive porch was a fireplace made of all different colored rocks. Around it were a bunch of padded benches, but Nate had started our bonfire in the yard, farther down from the porch. They had a huge circular bricked area with an oversized metal container right in the middle. Nate piled wood there, and as Logan shut the door behind me, Nate lit a match. He flicked it on the pile and oomph! Just like that, the entire south section of their backyard was bathed in light.