Page 167 of Riding the Sugar High

“Your jacket? No—it’s your favorite, Logan.”

“That’s okay.” A tear falls down my cheek, and I harshly wipe it with my thumb. “Because we’ll meet again, and you’ll give it back to me.”

The security guard tells Primrose to advance, and after a moment of hesitation, she takes my jacket. “What about you? I don’t have anything to give you, Logan. What—” She opens her bag and frantically looks inside, mumbling something about her cowgirl boots. I’d never take them from her anyway.

“I already have something of yours,” I say as I bring a hand to her arm to stop her. When I show her my wrist, she grimaces as she stares at the pink flamingos.

“But that’s just a scrunchie. You gave me something so important, and I...”

She drifts off as I pull the scrunchie up, revealing the wonky horse beneath it. “Trust me, it’s important. And it wasn’t easy to convince the tattoo artist not to fix that line,” I say as I point at the deformed ear.

“Logan,” she breathes out. “When...when did you do this?”

“Yesterday. It was fading, and I needed it to stay there.”

She brings a hand to her mouth and nods frantically before throwing herself against my chest. “If you ever need someone to save you...” Holding my wrist up, I force my lips to bend into a smile. “I’ll be there in a minute. With my white horse.”

“I love you,” she mouths, and once I mouth it back, she turns around, eventually disappearing into the crowd.

Gone.

* * *

I walk, then walk some more, until I’m looking at the departures board, and I’m not even sure how I got back here.

Glancing around, I find an empty bench and sit. Her flight leaves in an hour, and I have nowhere else to be.

I cup my face, and for a while, I exist. I try to process the fact that she’s gone. It feels like it’s all been a fever dream—like it happened in my mind. Finding someone so imperfect for me that it just made sense. Finding her in such a weird way, then finding her again and again.

I kept finding her, and now, I’ve lost her.

“Hey.” Someone sits beside me, and I turn to my brother with wide eyes.

What is he doing here?

Resting his back on the chair, he exhales. “Prim asked me to come. She figured you might need the support.”

I look down, blinking hard and fast to stop the overwhelming emotions I feel from taking over.

I didn’t lose her. She’s right here.

She’s still saving my life.

I let out a heavy sigh, and when my brother’s hand rests on my shoulder, all my sadness and gratitude and relief erupt into tears.

fight for me

Six months later

Primrose

“Really,I love your style. I’ve always hidden behind big sweaters and baggy jeans, but you’ve inspired me to dress how I want, regardless of what people say.”

I smile at the woman in front of me, looking gorgeous in a fitted dress that hugs her curvy body. “Well, great choice. You look fantastic.”

“I think so too,” she says before grabbing the signed box of Uncandy and waving. “Tell your cowboy I say hi.”

With a chuckle, I focus on the next person in line, a shy teenager whose mom keeps gently urging forward. The woman tells me about her daughter, how she’s just taken up veganism, and though talking to fans is one of my favorite parts of the job, I get distracted by the thought of Logan.

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