Page 19 of The Player Next Door

“I don’t like having debts,” Logan said. “And besides, you’re fun.” He glanced around her apartment like he was looking for something. “No Kiki today?”

“I only have her when Aunt Peg is out of town, so no. But did you . . . want something?” Clare said, deciding to cut to the chase.

Logan looked startled. “Want something?”

“I know you said before you didn’t need me to do your homework, but seriously, why are you here?”

“Can’t I just want to hang out with you?”

“I mean, no offense, but isn’t that like . . . your whole thing? Not returning to the scene of the fuck, or whatever?”

Logan laughed and shook his head. “Couldn’t I have another reason? Don’t you have, like, friends? You can’t play thatSulzurisgame alone,” he said.

“Of course I have friends. They just don’t look likeyou.”

“What, devastatingly handsome?”

“In a word, yes.” Silence surrounded them and Clare cursed her inability to keep her damn mouth shut.

Logan, however, looked delighted. “You think I’m handsome?”

“You have a mirror.”

“I do, but it doesn’t tell me I’m handsome nearly enough.”

“Something tells me you don’t need a lot of verbal reassurance,” Clare said, unable to stop her grin.

“That doesn’t mean it isn’t nice to hear,” he said, and he winked, like that was a thing people actually did. “But you’re right, I did have an ulterior motive for stopping by. I’d understand if you’re, uh, busy—” he gestured at her onesie then, “—but if you’re free, I was thinking of going out tonight with a few friends.”

Clare raised her brows. “Define ‘going out,’ because I don’t know if you’ve caught my vibe, exactly, but it’s not really ‘clubbing.’ ”

He leaned his hip against her counter, arms crossed. “We’re not going clubbing, just out for drinks,” he said. “And you’re more than welcome to wear that, if you want.”

“And who is ‘we’?”

“Myself, my friend, Sam, and Brooks. Well, his name is Aiden, but we call him Brooks, because there’s another Aiden too. And one of Brooks’ friends, I dunno who he is.”

Clare mentally counted on her fingers. “So, me and four guys?”

“Three. Sam’s actually a Samantha.”

“And two are named Aiden?”

“Sometimes. I mean, sometimes there’s two guys named Aiden, but tonight it’ll just be one, and he goes by Brooks.”

“This feels unnecessarily complicated.”

“And this feels like stalling,” Logan said, cocking his head to the side in an imitation of her posture.

“Where would we go?”

Logan grinned like he’d just won something. “Pour. The one on Hennepin and Lake.”

Clare sagged exaggeratedly against her couch. “Oh no, no. Please, no. Don’t make me go to Uptown.”

“What’s wrong with Uptown?”

“Everyone there is named, like, Chad, or whatever.”