He wasn’t by the bar. He wasn’t at the table. And he definitely wasn’t sitting on the couch nearby in the living room, where a bunch of people were now making out. I searched the house high and low for him, but I had no luck. I’d been to countless parties in this house. I knew every corner as well as I knew my own childhood home.
Logan wasn’t here.
My chest tightened as my eyes danced over the crowd over and over again, to no avail.
Shit. I’d been trying so hard to make sure he was okay all night, and now he might have left the party altogether and I didn’t even know why.
I pulled out my phone and saw no messages from him. I dialed his number as I headed out into the front yard, searching for a little more quiet so that I could call him up.
But as I was walking down the steps on the front porch, I hung up.
He was there. Just sitting outside in the cold air on the steps, running his fingers through his hair like he usually did.
Relief flooded through me, and suddenly I felt silly for how worried I’d been.
“Hey,” I said, walking down the steps and taking a seat next to him. He was nursing another drink. The sound of the party was still plenty loud enough out here, but it was muffled by the house. The thump of the bass was still there. The occasional peal of laughter. But the front porch always felt like a safe haven, and right now, Logan was the only person out here.
“Hi,” he said softly, showing me his phone in his hand. “I was just about to answer. Am I missing out on some sort of epic phone call?”
I sighed, giving him a half-smile. “You sure are. You want to do the phone call anyway? Even though I’m here, now?”
“Sure. Let’s do it.”
I held my hand up to my head in a mock phone-call gesture. “Ring ring. Ring ring.”
“Hello?” Logan said, playing along with his hand up to his head.
“Hey. Logan,” I said. “Man, I am so glad you answered. I’ve been walking around all over this party trying to find you. Where’d you go?”
I could see him trying to hold back a smile now. “Parties can be a little intense for me, I’m realizing,” he said. “I’m just taking a breather out in the front yard. Didn’t even know you’d realize I was gone.”
I let out a breath. “Cool. You see any aliens coming down from the sky, by chance?”
He let out a small laugh. “Maybe a couple. And weirdly, they’re carrying cookie dough.”
My heart squeezed in my chest. I dropped my hand, stopping the phone-call act, and he did, too.
“Of course I realized you were gone,” I said. “I missed you, Logan. I told you I’d stay by your side tonight.”
He pulled in a deep breath, looking out to the street as a group of students walked by on the sidewalk, the faint sound of their laughter echoing down the street.
“I don’t want you to have to worry about me in there,” he said. “I want you to have a good time with your friends.”
“Well, you’re one of my friends, now, too,” I said. “And I’m much more in the mood to hang out with you than a bunch of my teammates. I already spend enough time with those weirdos.”
Logan shook his head gently, taking another sip from his drink. “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again. You’re way too nice to me.”
I scooted in closer toward him, leaning the side of my body against his. “You know it’s only because I want to be, right? You’re awesome.”
He puffed out a quick, sharp laugh. “I can’t even go to a normal college party without being overwhelmed. I’m not sure how ‘awesome’ that is.”
“Are you kidding? Do you know how many times I’ve come out to this front yard to decompress during a party? Hell, even when I’m having a ton of fun, I need breaks, too. And it’s okay to be introverted, you know.”
He glanced over at me. After a moment I realized he was shivering, just a little. I could hear the faint chatter of his teeth in the cold night air.
Immediately I popped off my hoodie, handing it over to him. He was still just in his sweater and my jersey.
“What?” he protested. “No. You’re going to get too cold.”
“I won’t,” I said. “It’s one of my superpowers. It takes a lot for me to actually feel any semblance of cold. Blame it on the adrenaline in my blood from all of the football.”
He hesitated for a moment, but I saw a small smile on his face as he took the forest-green hoodie from my hands, pulling it on over his head.