LOGAN

It took a while to get out of the house. It seemed like every guy I knew stopped me as I made my way through the backyard and attempted to give me a hard time about leaving so early. But I was done and ready to call it a night.

I went upstairs to grab my bag from Ryan's room, letting out a sigh of relief when I found it empty and not occupied by some horny couple going at it. My bag was across the room on the floor by the window and just as I was bending over to pick it up, the bathroom door swung open. The darkened bedroom flooded with light and I froze, standing there like an idiot as Maisy walked out. She was wiping her face with her hands like she'd been crying but when she noticed me she startled and let out a surprised yelp.

"I was just getting my stuff. I'm taking off." I felt like I had to explain myself, worrying that she'd think I was some sort of deranged stalker who followed her up here to make a move or something. I held up my gym bag to make my point. Maisy's red eyes flicked over the bag in my hand and then she nodded; she didn't say anything though. I guess there was really nothing to say, so I turned towards the door, ready to leave.

"Can you drive me home?"

The question came out of nowhere and my pulse started thundering through my veins in response. I stopped short of the doorway and then slowly turned back to her. Her arms were folded around her, like she was trying to hold herself together, and she was looking down at the ground, not at me.

"You need a ride?" I asked, unsure if I misunderstood. There were about a million people at this party that would gladly drive Maisy Jacobs home, including her boyfriend, but for some reason she was asking me.

She nodded again, letting her hair tumble over her shoulders, and I found myself nodding right along with her, even though I wasn't sure if it was such a good idea. I may have had a crush on Maisy Jacobs forever, but there was only so much a guy could take. But the power she had over me was undeniable.

"Let's go." I threw my head towards the door as I headed out of Ryan's room and down the hall. I could feel Maisy behind me but didn't turn around to see if she was still there; I was afraid she'd disappear if I did. I bounded down the stairs and out the front door, holding it open for her to walk through. Her shoulder brushed against my body and I swear I felt a current pass through me, just urging my obsession on.

I opened the car door for her and let out a jittery breath as I closed it and walked over to the driver's side. This whole moment felt surreal. If you would have told me twenty minutes ago that I'd be giving Maisy Jacobs I ride home tonight, I'd have thought you were fucking with me. Yet here we were.

When I put the key in the ignition I tried to remind myself to be cool, but it was almost impossible with Maisy's scent filling up my car. I imagined it'd be lingering in there for weeks and internally smiled at the thought. I wouldn't mind that. I put my arm around the back of her seat as I turned around to back out of the driveway. Maisy's eyes swooped up to me and I felt her watching me again.

"Do you remember where I live?" she asked when I finally backed out of the driveway. I nodded my head and turned the car in the direction of her home. "Off the corner of Hill Grove and New--"

"Barton, I know." I kept my eyes on the road and not down on her short jean skirt that was slowly riding up her thighs every time she moved and exposing more and more of those long, tanned legs. I knew if I let my eyes linger too long I'd be done for.

I leaned down and turned the radio on, needing something to distract me, but a slow, melancholy song filled the car that did nothing to help the situation. She rested her cheek against the window next to her and closed her eyes. Her breaths came at a steady rhythm and her chest deflated in a content sigh. She looked peaceful.

I wasn't sure how Maisy Jacobs ended up in my car tonight, or where her boyfriend was, but at that moment I was thanking the heavens that she was here with me.

I didn't say anything for a while; I didn't know if she was sleeping or had passed out. But when we stopped at a red light I made the mistake of glancing over at her once more. I let my gaze linger over the freckles that dotted her face and the perfect bow of her pink lips. Her lashes began to flutter and she opened her eyes, catching me in the act.

"You're always staring," she whispered in a woozy voice. "Sometimes I wonder what it is that you see."

I wasn't sure how to answer, but thankfully I didn't have to. Maisy adjusted her head and closed her eyes again just as the light turned green. My mind was racing for the rest of the ride and I did my best to calm myself down. I was humiliated that she knew how much I watched her, but curious as to why she didn't seem all that bothered by it.

When we pulled up to her house, none of the lights were on inside. Maisy opened her eyes and self-consciously tugged her skirt down, smiling politely at me. "Thanks for the ride Logan."

I nodded my head as I looked back up at the house. There was something ominous about how it looked in the streetlight, empty and cold. "You gonna be okay?" I asked, thinking that I should probably walk her to the door. Heck, I wanted to walk her to the door.

"I'll be fine," she told me.

"Where's Justin?"

It was crossing the line, but I had to know. I knew I'd be up all night replaying this moment over and over again in my head and it'd drive me insane not knowing where her boyfriend disappeared to tonight, or how I ended up being lucky enough to drive her home. Maisy paused, like she wasn't sure how much she wanted to say and then began to shake her head as she looked down at her hands in her lap.

"Justin and I broke up."

The words I had waited to hear for almost four years we're finally out of her mouth but all I could do was just gape back at her in open disbelief. I didn't know what to say. It was like the end of an era and I all I could think about is the opportunity it meant for me. Maisy squirmed uncomfortably in my silence and then continued to speak.

"It's been a long time coming." She looked up from her hands and turned her gaze out the window. "I wanted to end things with him like a zillion times over the last four years, but... I knew what to expect with Justin. I guess I just got comfortable in the monotony of it. I thought monotony would be a good thing." She let out a humorless laugh. "That it'd be stable..."

I didn't know what to say. I didn't know where any of this was coming from, or why she had decided to open up to me. It had to be the booze. All I knew is that I didn't want Maisy to stop.

"I don't understand why you wouldn't think you deserved more," I told her, pulling my eyes from the street and over to her.

Maisy turned back to me, her expression saddening slightly before she shook her head and let out another empty laugh. "Yeah well, Justin apparently didn't see it coming and totally flipped out when I told him. He said that I was drunk and would see things more clearly in the morning." She rolled her eyes at the idea.

"Are you?" I asked.

She tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear and tipped her head back towards me. "Am I what?"

"Drunk."

That finally got a genuine smile out of her as she shook her head and let out a hearty laugh. "No! I may be a little buzzed, but I'm definitely not drunk. I knew what I was doing tonight. I just finally got the courage to actually do it." She stopped laughing and her smile disappeared. "Justin didn't understand."

"He's probably still in love with you. Maybe he just needs some time."

Maisy made a face and I didn't blame her. Why the hell was I defending the guy? Justin Bennett's always been cool to me, but I had always only seen him as one thing-- competition. He was the guy with the girl I was infatuated with and it only served my interests if he was out of the picture. But this seemed like it came out of the blue. Even I couldn't help but wonder if Maisy really knew what she was doing.

"Please." She rolled her eyes again. "Justin's not in love with me. Besides, I'm not naive enough to think that he's been faithful this whole time he's been away. I didn't expect that. I guess I was kind of hoping he'd prove me wrong though." She let out another sigh and gazed out the window again, looking up past the house and towards the inky sky.

I couldn't believe what I was hearing. It completely threw me. First off I couldn't even comprehend how cheating on Maisy Jacobs would ever be a possibility in anyone's mind, and second, I couldn't believe that Maisy knew yet still stayed with the dickhead this whole time. Once again this girl confounded me.

"That didn't bother you?" I asked.

"Of course it bothered me, but what did it matter?"

"You could have broken up with him earlier..."

"I didn't want to."

"Why?"

"Because Justin was comfortable, he was predictable, he was--"

"You said all that." I raised my hand dismissing her excuses, not really believing any of them to have any merit. "But I still don't get it. I don't get why you were settling for predictable, why you wouldn't want something more."

She rested her head in her hand against the window and smiled over at me. ""You surprise me Logan. Every time I talk to you l you say something that I wouldn't expect."

I smiled back at her. "Yeah, well, you don't really know me."

"But I've gone to school with you for the last five years; I've seen you around, and people talk." I ducked my head, letting my hair fall into my eyes, wondering exactly how often she noticed me staring at her over those five years. My cheeks stung with embarrassment and I was grateful that the car was dark enough so that she couldn't see.

"Besides," she continued, "isn't that what people do? Settle for mediocrity? I'm mean look at everyone at the party tonight. Isn't that what they were doing? Randomly hooking up, settling? Is that what you were doing?"

She was bringing up the sophomore again and that surprised me, but I didn't have an answer for her, because she was right. I was settling tonight. But that was only because Maisy was invading my brain and I needed to distract myself. I certainly couldn't admit that to her.

"I didn't settle," I tell her. "Do you see me with anyone right now? Maybe I was talking to a few girls, flirting a little bit--"

"Making out in the pool with them," she interjected with a laugh.

I tightened my hands around the steering wheel and stared straight ahead. She really had been paying attention. I don't know why I felt guilty. I hadn't been doing anything wrong. But for some reason I did.

"Nothing any other red-blooded American male wouldn't be doing." I tried lightening the mood, turning and flashing a smile over at her, but it probably looked as forced as it felt.

Maisy glanced over my shoulder and back up at her house, but didn't make any move to get out of the car. "Do you wanna go somewhere?" she asked, distractedly still staring at her front door. "It's not that late."

It was after one actually, but the time didn't matter. Maisy wanted to go somewhere else and there was no way in hell I wasn't going to take her. I gulped down my nerves and nodded my head, trying to act nonchalant even though I was reeling inside.

"Where do you want to go?" I asked, resting my hand on the keys.

"There's a park a couple blocks up. We could walk."

I turned off the car and pulled the keys from the ignition. As I opened up my door, I couldn't believe that this was really happening. I was about to hang out with Maisy Jacobs. Walking over to her side of the car, I tried to help her with the door, but she was already shutting it by the time I got there. Quickly hitting the locks, I shoved my keys into my pocket, and followed behind her down the sidewalk.

I looked back at her house, half expecting either her mom or dad to come out and stop us, but no one did. Both the neighborhood and Maisy were silent as we strolled together in the moonlight towards the park.