Page 58 of Attractive Forces

“Nothing. Just have fun hanging out with geek boy.”

My hands immediately ball up. “Don’t call him that,” I growl.

Brewer takes in my fists, and his eyes widen. “Fuck, what is with you at the moment?”

I take a deep breath, forcing myself to unclench. “Nothing is with me. He’s a good guy. It’s not his fault he’s smart.”

I see the look on Brewer’s face before he masks it. Hurt. He thinks I’ve replaced him as my best friend. And while that’s not exactly what’s happening here, I can’t deny spending time with Jake comes at the expense of my other friends.

“Whatever,” he says, stalking off.

I stare after him. Shit.

I probably need to make nice with Brewer sometime.

I’ll deal with it later.

Because right now, there’s a lopsided smile somewhere out there that I desperately need to track down.

17

Jake

Why did I wait so long to do this?

That’s the question I find myself asking over the next week as Logan and I sneak every opportunity to get hot and heavy. The picnic spot by the river is becoming a favorite, and using our combined smarts, we’ve worked out that relocating to the back seat makes for a more comfortable experience.

Although he seriously needs to invest in something to de-steam the windows.

But then, even as I curse all the years I’ve wasted, I’m glad I waited until I found someone like Logan.

I’m not even talking about the fact he’s so gorgeous.

It’s the way Logan’s face lights up whenever he sees me, the way he messages me constantly, the way we can talk about everything and nothing for ages, and I never get bored.

Logan comes around for his usual chemistry tutoring on Thursday, and it takes everything I have not to touch him as soon as I see him.

Unfortunately, my house has become a no-go zone for fooling around, as I have a sister permanently implanted here for the next two weeks.

I thought having Annaliese home would break the tension between Mum and Aaron, but so far, she’s spent most of the time glued to her phone and not engaging with anyone. Mum hasn’t said anything about her antisocial behavior. I’m not sure if it’s because she hasn’t really noticed, or she doesn’t want to start a battle on another front when she’s already deep in the trenches with Aaron.

To me, it feels like Annaliese has wiped her hands of us and is counting down the hours until she can go back to university and resume her real life.

But as Logan comes inside, it feels wrong to head straight upstairs and not introduce him to my sister. So I lead him into the living room.

“This is Logan,” I say. “Logan, this is my sister, Annaliese.”

Annaliese raises her gaze from her phone. It’s almost comical how her eyes widen as she takes in Logan.

“Oh, hey.” Pigeons have cooed less than the way she delivers those two words.

Logan thrusts his hands into his jeans pockets. “Hey.”

Annaliese flicks her hair over her shoulder. It looks casual, but I know for a fact she used to practice that move in front of the mirror for hours when she was fourteen.

“It’s so nice to meet you, Logan.” Annaliese has changed from cooing like a pigeon to purring like a kitten. I’m almost fascinated to discover what animal she morphs into next. “So, you and Jake are studying together, huh?”

“Yeah, he’s…ah…tutoring me for chemistry.”