The Morning After

Her eyelids fluttered open.

A sharp pulse hit her head as she opened her amber eyes, scanning the room she was in.

No.

This wasn't her dorm.

Her heartbeat quickened as she took in the environment—messy, cluttered, and faintly scented with cologne.

She placed a hand on her head, trying to soothe the ache.

What happened yesterday?

Harper tried hard to remember, but nothing seemed to slip into her memory. Her memories felt like static—blurry and incomplete.

She looked around.

At least she hadn't done anything with a stranger since her clothes were intact.Relief washed over her.

With her head pounding, Harper got up from the bed and dipped her hand into the back pockets of her baggy jeans to find her phone—but it wasn't there.

She frowned.

Thanks to Tyla for this mess. She'd skin her alive when she returned to her dorm—literally!

"Little princess is awake."

A voice snapped her out of her thoughts.

Harper turned to see Logan Hayes leaning against the cardboard, staring at her.

She rolled her eyes.

Wait—

Logan. Hayes.

She was in his dorm!

Her pulse quickened as she suddenly remembered accidentally stumbling into his room.

Harper's eyes widened in shock.

"I—you—" Harper was speechless and quickly averted her gaze.

This was so embarrassing.

Really.

"I'm fine," she said quietly.

That's nice," Logan said, pushing off the doorframe. "Since you're fine, you can leave now, princess."

Harper scowled at the nickname. Princess. She didn't know why, but everything about him irritated her—his voice, his smirk, his whole existence.

"Don't call me princess."she snapped ,"And where's my phone?" Harper asked.

Logan raised his hand in surrender. "You never gave me your phone, did you?"

"How would I know? I was—" She bit her tongue before she could admit she was drunk. That would make her look irresponsible, and she refused to give him any ammunition.

"Drunk?" Logan finished for her, his smirk deepening. "Yeah, I figured. You even puked."

Harper's eyes widened in horror.

Did he just say she vomited in his room?

She was so embarrassed that she denied it. "No, I didn't!"

She felt her cheeks burning with embarrassment .

Logan chuckled, clearly enjoying her reaction.

She glared at him, mortified. She had never been this reckless before, and the fact that Logan of all people had witnessed it made it ten times worse.

Logan observed the girl who frowned before him.

Her long dark hair was tied up in a bun, slightly messy. She had the most beautiful amber eyes he'd ever seen, and her thick eyelashes framed them perfectly.

She had full lips—he'd say were kissable—and a slender body with slight curves he could see because of her crop top and baggy jeans.

She was cute.

That was undeniable.

"Aight, aight. If you say so," Logan said in surrender, and she rolled her eyes.

"I'm leaving," she said.

"Yeah, you were supposed to be gone long ago, you know," Logan teased.

"Yeah, right," she said sarcastically. Logan just shook his head, amusement visible.

Harper began walking away.

"Hey,"

She turned.

"You forgot something," Logan said.

"What? My phone?" Harper asked, eyes searching for it.

"No," Logan corrected. "My thank you."

She blinked. "Excuse me?"

"I kept you here because I knew you wouldn't make it back to your dorm. So I deserve a big thank you, and you know it."

Harper stared at him blankly, blinking a few times.

She often found it easy to thank people, but why was it so hard to just say thanks to Logan?

Oh, she knew.

Because Logan was... Logan!

The trouble she should stay away from.

The person who hadn't harmed her but was still her nemesis for no reason.

How was she supposed to thank him when even his voice annoyed her?

The fact that she even had to consider thanking him made her want to scream!

"Yep, I'm waiting, princess," Logan teased, moving towards her, his gaze unchanging—locked onto hers.

"When will you stop calling me that?" she asked in frustration as he stopped in front of her, towering over her.

"When you thank me," he replied smoothly.

She stared at him, her eyes daring him, but inside, she shivered under his unwavering gaze. Harper swallowed, willing herself not to be affected by his presence.

Logan just smirked, a glint of amusement dancing in his eyes.

Harper forced a smile.

Then, she exhaled deeply and looked at him.

Thank you," she muttered through clenched teeth. "For keeping me safe," she added begrudgingly. Then, under her breath, she mumbled, "…even though I never asked you to."

Logan's smirk deepened.

"What was that?" he asked.

"Oh, nothing," she said and turned swiftly.

"Goodbye, princess," he teased.

Harper shit him a dull look.

He was still going to call her princess.

It was inevitable.

Harper exited his room, leaving Logan smiling.

He enjoyed disturbing her, although yesterday was his first time speaking to her.

He had seen Harper around campus before. The dean's daughter, the girl who always had her nose buried in books, the girl who stayed out of trouble.

And yet, here she was, stumbling into his room, giving him a reason to bother her.

He had a feeling this wouldn't be the last time.

His phone buzzed.

Logan grabbed his phone from his pocket.

50+ messages.

Kennedy: Bro, have you heard?

Logan: About?

His eyes widedned when he scanned the next message.

He smirked.

Oh, this was about to get interesting.