Page 83 of Hypothetical Heart
“Come stand in front of your window.” He stands, walking across his room. I do the same. “Now look me in the face and tell me you’re seriously thinking of going to a party wearing that.”
Mustering every ounce of courage to lock eyes with him. “I don’t see anything wrong with it.”
“I don’t either. I think you look good.” His change in demeanor stuns me momentarily before he adds, “Too good to go anywhere by yourself.”
“I’m going with Eloise and Evie.”
“Yeah, and when they get drunk, they will be no help fending off creeps.”
“Woah, woah.” He has shifted the entire narrative. “What are you suggesting is going to happen?”
“There are horrible guys out there, Winnie, and I can’t with good conscience let you go to a party by yourself.”
“Just because of what I’m wearing?” I appreciate his concern, but the way he’s making it seem like guys will only want me because I’m dressed like this is starting to hurt my feelings.
“Have I ever let you go to a party by yourself?” He doesn’t even wait for my answer because he already knows it. “No. I’m not starting now. I’ll meet you in the car.” Then he hangs up the phone.
I think Genevieve, Eloise, and I all have our jaws on the floor, not knowing quite what to do. I don’t think any of us have seen him that close to bursting a blood vessel before.
“Oh, he’ssoobsessed with you!” Genevieve laughs.
“Well, I guess we’re going to a party.”
“I have a bad feeling about this,” I say, and the slight guilt I felt earlier comes back tenfold.
“It’s going to be fine,” Genevieve reassures me. “Just enjoy yourself because watching Logan be your bodyguard all night is going to be the best thing I’ve witnessed in a while.”
What have I done?
“Are you ready to leave yet?” Logan whispers in my ear after fending off the fifth guy to approach me tonight.
Turns out, this was a bad idea.
I knew it from the moment I stepped in the door when I caught about twelve different guys staring at me, and Logan moved from where he was standing at my side to protectively in front of me.
The rest of the night he spent with his hand splayed largely across my bare lower back, and hiseyes haven't left me all night. He’s watched every move I’ve made, every guy who has tried to approach me. It’s like he can’t help himself, like being this close to me isn’t enough.
“I think so,” I tell him, glancing around the room to see if I can spot Genevieve and Eloise. I’m moreannoyed than ever, and on top of that, I can’t even get a drink because every time I try, a new man approaches me.
“This is why I didn’t want you coming alone,” he says over the music. “It’s not that I don’t trust you. I just don’t want you to be put in difficult situations where telling a guy no could be dangerous.”
He’s right, so many piss-drunk men have come up to me, and it’s hard to know how they would react to me rejecting them if Logan wasn’t here. Good thing the plan was to have him with me all along.
“Let’s find Gen and Eloise so we can get out of here.” Logan places his hand on the small of my back, guiding me through the massive crowd toward the dance floor.
When we find the girls, they are both drunk and surprisingly, that makes it easier for us to convince them it’s time to leave.
We make it back to the house without anyone throwing up, which is a chore within itself, and by the time we pull into Logan’s driveway, Jameson is already on the porch, ready to take his girlfriend upstairs.
“Will you take care of me?” Genevieve asks drunkenly, her head lulling every which way as Jameson wraps her in his arms.
“Yes, love,” he says quietly, carrying her up the stairs toward his bedroom.
“Are you going to marry me?” she slurs, making Jameson laugh.
“Not tonight.”
“One day?”
