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fidgeted
nervously, wanting to fling the car door open and run to my apartment, away
from this uncomfortable situation.
    “Okay,” Logan said
finally, turning towards me. He tried to smile but it was half-hearted. “We’ll
just blame it on your hormones.”
    I tried to laugh
but it sounded forced. I made my voice cheerful. “Well, thanks for driving me
home. I’ll talk to you later.”
    Logan nodded, an
inscrutable expression on his face. “Sure. Talk to you later.”
    I hesitated,
feeling like I should say more, but I wasn’t exactly sure what. Instead, I just
opened the car door and stepped out, closing it behind me. I awkwardly waved at
Logan through the car window and then turned around, forcing myself to not run
to the entrance of my apartment building and away from his piercing gaze. After
I unlocked the front door, I turned around and gave one last wave, but Logan
just watched me without returning the wave.
    I was relieved
when I closed the door behind me and he was out of sight. I ran up the flights
of stairs to my apartment, careful to hold the handrail since all the beer I
drank was still affecting me. The first thing I did when I got to my apartment
was walk over to the living room window that faced out onto the street. Logan’s
car was still parked there, and I held my breath as I waited for him to leave.
    Minutes went by
and still the car just sat there. I was starting to wonder if he was planning
on staying there all night when he finally pulled out into the street and drove
off. Instead of feeling relieved, my chest tightened as I watched the tail lights
of his car disappear.

Chapter Four
     
    I woke up with the
mother of all hangovers the next morning. I groaned as I covered my eyes
against the offensive sunlight that streamed through my bedroom window. I had
forgotten to close the shades last night before collapsing into bed, and now I
was paying the price.
    I gingerly turned
my pounding head towards my alarm clock on the bedside table and saw that it
was already almost noon. I closed my eyes, deciding that Sundays were meant to
laze about and there was no shame in sleeping in until the late afternoon.
    My attempt to go
back to sleep was interrupted by my cell phone ringing. All sleepiness vanished
at the sound, and I grabbed my phone. I didn’t know whether I was disappointed
or relieved when I saw that it was Emily, not Logan.
    “Hey,” I croaked
out. “I think I’m dying.”
    “What’s wrong?”
Emily sounded alarmed. “Are you sick?”
    “Yes. It’s called
death by imbibement, and I have a severe case.”
    “You’re just hung
over,” Emily scoffed, her concern disappearing. “Here I thought you were
actually ill.”
    “I am,” I
insisted. “I think my liver has stopped functioning.”
    “I’m sure all your
major organs are working fine,” she said dismissively. “Meet me for brunch. I’m
starving.”
    Despite, or maybe
because of, my hangover, I perked up at the thought of greasy breakfast food.
    “Okay, but give me
an hour. It’s going to take a while for me to haul my ass out of bed and crawl
into the shower. How about one o’clock at Ann Sather?”
    “Sounds good,”
Emily chirped, her sympathy for my condition having completely disappeared.
“See you then.”
    By the time I
stepped out of my apartment building, I was feeling like a human being again.
The aspirin and copious amounts of water I drank did wonders to make me feel
better. Ann Sather was a short walk away from both my apartment and Emily’s,
and she had already snagged a table when I arrived.
    “You look like
crap,” she announced when I plopped into the seat across from her.
    “Thanks,” I said
sarcastically. “It’s good to see you too.”
    “Let’s hurry up
and order, and then you can tell me all about the foolish things you did last
night.”
    After we had given
our order to the waitress, Emily leaned back in her seat and studied me
speculatively. “Did you go out with Adam last night?”
    I