Shh! Page 7

  Dear Ms Dean,

  We regret to inform you that your campaign to run for student body president for the student’s association has been suspended in light of recent allegations.

  Keith Ramage

  Academic Board

  Blood stilled in my veins. Everything grew sluggish and my future flashed before me.

  Campaign suspended?

  Someone slid into the next seat along.

  Oxley’s social committee wasn’t enough. No council position meant no exceptional extracurricular activities on my resume, and that equalled a mediocre CV. Nothing to set me apart meant no Deakin Parry Associates. I was already behind by not studying at one of the big city universities, so I needed an outstanding record to put me back in the game. No president position was bad. All of this would add up to not following in my father’s footsteps as a renowned attorney. I drew a shaky breath that rattled on the way out.

  I am a failure.

  A hand closed over mine.

  No job meant I was a disappointment. One my parents wouldn’t want around. I’d be nothing but a small-time lawyer, relegated to settling disputes in the family law court. I could feel my future slipping away.

  “Liv.”

  And if that happened, where would I be?

  “Olivia.” Something dug into my side and I flinched, turning to see Logan’s concerned gaze studying mine. “You okay?”

  My thoughts spun. Everything felt too tight inside me, and surely I was going to throw up. I returned my focus to the front of the room. “Yeah.”

  Logan leaned in and whispered, “Follow me.”

  My brow tightened as Logan stood, grabbing my hand in the process. I barely had time to scoop up my tablet and bag before he lead me out of the lecture hall while Professor Monotone drawled on about who knew what.

  “We can’t leave,” I hissed, but Logan kept a firm grip on my hand and ignored me. “We’ll miss the rest of class.”

  “Shut up.” A girl in the back row gave us both a filthy look. “Some of us are actually trying to listen.”

  With his free hand, Logan pushed the huge wooden door open and led me out into the hall. My drunken text was right; his butt did look mighty fine in jeans. Shaking that thought away, I stopped. Everything tumbled out of my bag onto the floor. Damn him for making me look like a klutz again.

  My tablet better not be broken. It had all my lecture notes, favourite eBooks, and a ton of photos. It was precious beyond replacing. Clamping my mouth shut to stop the expletive that sat on the tip of my tongue, I bent at the knees to pick up my things.

  Logan’s head crashed into mine.

  This guy sure made me a walking disaster.

  He chuckled. “I got this, Butterfingers.”

  Everything was already in his hands, so I stood. “We can’t leave.”

  Maybe he didn’t hear me the first time.

  He shot up and held my bag out, his sparkling eyes pinning me to the spot. “Live dangerously. You might find you like it.”

  A wild fluttering tickled my tummy like I was at the top of a rollercoaster waiting to fall. No. I shook my head. This was a bad idea. It felt all kinds of wrong. But then Logan’s mouth tipped up, and he leaned so close his breath skated over my ear, making that flutter inside me free-fall. “It’s just one class.”

  Spend time with Logan or sit through a boring lecture? The fluttering in my tummy was pretty convincing. I wanted to be near him. The feeling his presence created was better than the way I felt when he wasn’t there, when failure and humiliation were running a dual dictatorship. Besides, maybe he was right. It wasn’t like I’d get anything out of the lecture anyway with my head spinning the way it was. Besides, I had the text book. I could catch up later tonight, like I had after every Socio class since Logan first took the seat beside me.

  “Okay,” I said.

  Logan’s lips grazed my cheek as he pulled away and my heart tried to take flight, but I tamped it down. We couldn’t have any of that, not after he’d rejected me. I drew a shaky breath and damn him, by the smirk he sported, he knew exactly what he’d done to me.

  “Let’s get out of here.” He tossed his head toward the building’s side exit.

  With a small smile, I turned after him, and it looked like we were headed to the arts building car park. “So what’s the plan, Stalker Boy? Where are we going?”

  He grinned and made for a red Corolla. It certainly wasn’t new, but it wasn’t ancient either. Probably a model from when we were kids.

  “It’s a surprise,” he said, opening the passenger door.

  “You expect me to hop in? What if you actually are a stalker … or worse?” I shook my head in feigned fear. “Never let the attacker take you to a secondary location, everybody knows that.”

  Logan laughed and guided me into his car with a hand on my back. “Get in the car, Butterfingers.”

  Smiling, I buckled myself in and settled my bag on my lap while Logan jogged around the front of the car and climbed in behind the wheel. I had no idea where he intended to take me. Impulsiveness was something I generally avoided like the measles. My life was mapped out so that every choice served a purpose. Surprises made me feel uneasy. Changing plans made me feel like I wasn’t in control. Sitting in Logan’s car, my palms were sweaty and my tummy swirled, but it didn’t feel bad—it felt kind of exciting. Like I was at the precipice of that rollercoaster again, and this time I wanted to fall.

  As he pulled out of the parking lot and away from the university, I snuck a sidelong glance at Logan. He was tapping his pointer fingers on the steering wheel and sucking in his bottom lip.

  “Where are we going?” I asked for the second time.

  A smile crept onto his lips, part mischievous, part genuine, and it made my tummy flip. It was so gosh-darn sexy. “To get away from it all.”

  Sighing, I tipped my head back and closed my eyes. “That sounds perfect.”

  And it really did. With everything that had happened lately I’d love nothing more than to find someplace quiet where all the embarrassing stories wouldn’t follow and nor would all the stress and worry.

  We rode in companionable silence as Logan drove through town. My heart beat too loudly, and although I took even breaths to try and calm it down, it was a lost cause. Thoughts of where we could be headed sent it right back to its crazy beat. Every time Logan took another turn, I shuffled in my seat. I tried so hard not to feel antsy, but it just wasn’t working.

  I chanced a look at him. The way the sun reflected off his jaw, making the blond stubble dance in its light was almost mesmerising. There were flecks of red in there, and brown. Who knew stubble could be more than one colour? His gaze flicked to mine, his clear eyes clouding in concern. Maybe I had imagined that rejection on Friday night. If he wasn’t interested we wouldn’t be heading goodness knew where to do goodness knew what.

  Alone.

  I swallowed the liquid pooling in my mouth. We were headed out of town, following the country road that wound off to the east. Surely, he wasn’t taking me all the way to the beach; that was clear over the mountains and at least a four-hour drive. But there was nothing out here, and he’d said we were going to get away from it all.

  Being friends with Dane and me being the hottest gossip this side of the latest hook-ups … Logan full well knew what it all was. I shifted uncomfortably in my seat. There was a very good chance he’d heard the rumours, but I hoped he hadn’t heard the latest one. Fire blazed across my chest and up my face, all the way to my hairline.

  “What’s up?”

  I clamped my teeth to stop my squeal. We’d been quiet for so long, the sudden noise startled me. After taking a deep, calming breath I said, “It’s nothing.”

  “By the way you were blushing, I’d say it’s something.” Logan’s gaze felt like it could penetrate my secrets. Any minute he’d say something about my alleged public masturbation.

  I sighed and readjusted my ponytail. “I was thinking about Friday night.”

/>   “Oh.” He looked back to the road. “What exactly about Friday night were you thinking?”

  Good lord, why had I said that? He probably thought I was thinking about the rumour, or worse, throwing myself at him only to be pushed away. Deflect. Deflect. Deflect.

  “I was wondering how you know Dane. I mean, I’ve known him for over a year and I’ve never met you or seen you around campus, yet you guys seem kind of tight.”

  Logan sucked in his bottom lip and started tapping his fingers on the wheel again as the minutes passed. It didn’t look like he was going to answer. It wasn’t that hard a question, so why was he stalling?

  “I took a year off.”

  Ahh, Molly had said that once. I waited, not wanting to jump in and interrupt lest it stopped him from talking altogether. Strange, most people took a gap year between high school and uni, not after they’d started tertiary education.

  “Dane and I met in first year; the year before last. I lived in college then. I wasn’t there for long though, only the first semester. We hung out a lot and partied too hard. You know how it goes.”

  I sure did. I saw it happen to many of the fresh wave of students each year. The party atmosphere was just too appealing when you were out of home for the first time. “Is that why you took a year off?”

  Logan’s grip tightened on the wheel until his knuckles turned white. There was another long pause. Eventually, he veered off the sealed road and onto a dirt track. We were well out of town and looked to be heading bush.

  This was crazy.

  Stupid.

  Unsafe.

  No one knew where I was or whom I was with. What if something went wrong? He’d watched me in class for weeks without introducing himself. He’d heard those damn rumours. He’d found my email address and he was taking me out into the middle of nowhere.

  “Where in the heck are we going?” This time I expected a straight answer. I grabbed hold on the side of my seat to stop my arms from trembling.

  “Hey.” He reached out to place his large hand over mine. “You don’t really think I brought you out here to have my way with you, do you?”

  I swallowed. What if he did? Every muscle in my body went rigid.

  “God, Liv, I was only joking. After that tool on Friday night and the way you looked in class this morning, I thought some time away from all the crap might be a good thing.” He pulled the wheel around one-handed as the road took a sharp turn. “This is Dangarsleigh Road and we’re heading out to Dangar Falls, where I promise not to get all handsy.”

  Logan winked and shot me one of his cheeky smiles.

  I let out a long breath that turned into a laugh. Gosh, I was paranoid. When I looked at Logan he was laughing too, so hard that the corners of his eyes crinkled, morphing him from hot to cute. How one guy could be both was a mystery, but I was starting to think Logan was all that.

  “Okay,” I said, very aware—in a good way—of his hand still covering mine.

  “That’s okay?”

  “Yes.”

  It was kind of nice to know he was only doing this because he thought I needed to unwind. People didn’t think about what I needed. Heavens, I didn’t normally think about that either. Life had no time for luxury.

  I glanced out the side window, and we were coming into a state forest. “I didn’t even know there were waterfalls out here.”

  Logan raised his brow up then down quickly with one of those cheeky half-smiles I was starting to think of as his trademark. “Then you’re in for a treat.”

  We finally reached the end of the road and Logan cut the engine. There wasn’t much to see here, just bush. An abundance of gum trees with the odd ironbark scattered between them, all bedded in with thick scrub undergrowth. A few picnic tables stood in a cleared area. My door opened and Logan’s hand awaited mine in a gesture I wasn’t at all prepared for.

  “My lady.”

  A grin spread across my face. He was hot, cute, and gentlemanly.

  Logan dipped his head. “The stunning view awaits your presence.”

  I placed my hand in his as I climbed out of the dust-covered Corolla. The scent of wildflowers, and gum, and an earthy smell that was entirely native to the Aussie bush hit me the second I was outside. I drew in a long breath, savouring the country.

  Logan led me past the picnic area and toward a lookout. I walked to the edge and planted my hands on the wooden railing. Gorges and ravines so deep they looked to be carved out of the mountain range were laid out below us like a stunning picture.

  A stream of water plunged over the side of a ravine, rushing down to meet a wide pool. Mist sprayed out from the clear mountain water creating a myriad of tiny rainbows and an absolutely spectacular sight.

  “There’s not a lot of water going over at the moment ’cause it’s been dry. If you come out here after we’ve had rain, it’s breathtaking,” Logan said.

  “It’s stunning right now.”

  The sight had captured my breath with its beauty.

  Logan crossed his arms atop the rail while he leaned against it, completely relaxed as he looked out at the view. I stole a glance at his hand curled over his forearm. There was something about his hands that made me stare. Defined with tendons, I could watch the muscles work with each movement. Today though, that glorious hand nursed a yellowing bruise and nasty scab right across the knuckles. Impulsively, I moved closer to Logan and I ran my thumb over the sore spot.

  He tensed, his hand gripping the rail instead of resting on it.

  “That bloke was a dick.” A pulse ticked in his jaw as he tensed up again.

  I should have thanked him for stepping in, but instead my mind took a turn back to that damn email. Maybe this was what it was about. I’d assumed it was related to the rumours, but that made no sense. Even if they were true it wouldn’t be a big deal—unless I was charging for the show. I’m sure the board would have a problem with prostitution. I did hurt that guy before Logan, though. It was like a light flashed on in my mind. My hand dropped to my side.

  “Suspended for violence …” The words left my mouth on whisper.

  Logan pulled back from the rail. His gaze flicking over mine, concern brewing in the inky depths. “You can’t get suspended from uni.”

  “My presidential campaign was suspended, and I bet that’s why.”

  “Because you pushed some guy to stop him assaulting you?”

  “Maybe …”

  “That’s screwed.”

  He leaned over the rail again. This time his boot scuffed at the pebbles covering the ground while his hands fisted. He looked kind of angry. Well, I was frustrated; of all the dumb things for me do. I should have thought before I laid a finger on that jerk. Should have used my tongue to cut him down instead of my hand. Logan was right; I was screwed.

  “I need to get on the student representative council. If I don’t, then everything really is messed up.”

  “It’s just the council; why is getting on it so important?”

  “Do you know how competitive Law is? This is about the best thing I can do to improve my standing in the eyes of potential employers. Everything’s screwed.” Well, when combined with the rumours, but I wasn’t about to bring that up with him.

  “Oh, come on, Liv. Not everything’s bad.”

  A soothing touch ran down my arm and I chewed the inside of my cheek. Well, not everything was bad. I was standing here by a waterfall with the sweetest guy, and good lord was he hot. The way the sun hit his hair made it look almost golden, the scruff along his jaw only made it more defined, and the deep blue of his eyes felt like it captured my soul. I couldn’t breathe. The longer he held my gaze the more intense it got until it felt like he was going to pounce on me. At least, that’s what I wanted. Prickles crept up my arm from the place his hand sat. They tingled all the way to my lower belly where they burned like a glowing fire.

  The urge to kiss him was almost irrepressible. His teeth grazed his bottom lip and I all but moaned.

  But a f
lash of Friday night’s rejection burned through my mind, snapping the hold he had on me and I pulled my arm away from his touch, reefed my gaze away from his.

  “Forget it for now,” Logan said. “We’re getting away from it all … C’mon, Butterfingers, let’s go see the falls.”

  Shaken from the moment, I nodded, and Logan turned toward a dirt path, well trodden into the ground it wound downward, disappearing into trees. He led the way down the steep incline, which was fine by me. The view as he placed each step carefully was just as spectacular as the waterfall I could hear. His shoulders, legs and rear worked together magnificently as he trekked down the hillside.

  My foot slipped on a loose stone, and I almost tripped. Damn, I needed to pay attention to what I was doing or I’d have another butterfingers moment, and Logan sure didn’t need any more material on me. For several hundred metres, the trail wound its way to the base of the hill and at the end stood the pool we’d seen from above. Logan walked over to a smooth patch of grass and sat under the trees facing the stunning natural landmark. I sunk to the ground beside him.

  My phone dug into me, so I tipped to one side and fished it out of my jeans pocket. Logan snatched it right out of my hand.

  “Hey!” I made a grab, but he rolled to the side, holding the phone out of my reach as he hit the power button, awakening the screen. I held back a cry, as I dove for it again and Logan started laughing. God lord, what if he saw the message history between Molly and me?

  I made another panicked dive and my chest thumped into his solid shoulder as my hand clamped around his wrist, my arms not long enough to reach the whole length of his. “Darn it, Logan. Give it back.”

  “Do you ever swear properly?” He laughed while his thumb worked furiously over the screen, typing out a text. Then he hit send.

  A trill sounded from near his groin, and my gaze flew there before I could stop it. He wriggled his hand into his front pocket and good lord, my next breath hissed past my teeth while tingles stole all other sensation within me. He pulled out his phone, slid it open and smiled like the cat that caught the canary.