Shh! by Stacey Nash

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