Page 14 of A Reputation Dark & Deadly

"What?" he asked, a subtle hint of surprise in her tone. "Don't got anything to fucking say?"

Peyton took another breath. She hated herself for what she had to do, she hated him for being right about it.

"You're right," she murmured. Her voice wasn't as strong as she wanted it to be but she made up for it by locking eyes with him.

"I'm what?" He genuinely sounded shocked now. He took a step toward her and she did not back down, did not take a step back.

She clenched her teeth together and narrowed her eyes at him. "You're right," she growled, "but you could've been nicer about it."

"Nice?" Logan asked with a furrowed brow and an amused smile. "Do I look like a nice fucking guy?"

"Do you think I care what you look like or your stupid reputation?" Peyton asked. "Do you think I care that Karla, of all people, comes to me at the CC and tells me to sleep with you because you're a great lay and you'll take care of me. Like that's any justification for you being a dick."

"Karla did what?" Logan snapped, crossing his arms over his chest.

It was only then that Peyton realized there was a good chance that Karla's actions weren't exactly sanctioned by Logan. It wasn't as though he needed someone to recruit possible fuck biudies for him, considering he was older, more experienced, and dangerously attractive. In fact, Karla thought she might have been doing Logan a favor when, in reality, he might take it as the gravest insult on his person that she would even make contact with Peyton in the first place. And Peyton had just ratted her out.

"It doesn't matter," Peyton said, shaking her head, her voice losing a bit of steam. "What matters is you don't have a great attitude. I'm not asking for much when I request - not demand but request - that you be a little bit nicer when you talk to me or you tell me what to do. I don't know how you worked with other TA's, but I think it would be mutually beneficial for both of us if we work out some kind of compromise we both agree to." She pressed up her brows, searching his eyes imploringly. She had no idea if this was going to work but she could hope, couldn't she?

"I'm sure you already know how I work with other TA's," he said slowly, "considering Karla fucking came to talk to you about everything. The girl talked a hell of a lot more than she was worth in the sack, let me tell you. Just because you have fucking legs up to your neck does not mean you're God's gift."

"Stop trying to change the subject," Peyton said. "And stop playing the victim."

"Me?" he asked, now completely surprised. "You think I'm playing the fucking victim. Do you know who you're fucking talking to?"

"Stop complaining about Karla," Peyton told him. "Who cares what she says? The fact of the matter is we can come up with something that works for both of us, can't we?"

Logan clenched his jaw. He looked like he wanted to argue. He looked like he was going to say no. But then he rubbed his hand over the lower half of his face before dropping it.

"What did you have in mind?" he finally asked and Peyton could tell it took a lot for him to even say that much.

"Let's sit," she said, gesturing at her desk.

"This isn't fucking mediation," Logan said but he took the seat she offered and she sat right across from him. They were so close, their knees were touching.

"What more do you want me to say?" Logan asked, furrowing his brow. "We already fucking met over this, okay? What do you want?"

Peyton felt her entire face turn red at the mere mention of their meeting two days ago, of what he had pushed her to do and what she had actually done. She knew he saw it, too, but instead of actually saying something, he seemed more focused on their conversation at hand. Although, if Peyton was being honest, she did notice a little twinkle in his hazel eyes.

"I don't want you to be such an asshole," Peyton said. "You wear it around like a badge of honor. Like, did you have to call the kid Bow Tie?"

"What?" Logan asked, raising one deadpan brow.

"The kid in class," Peyton explained. "Did you really need to call him out for what he wore? Okay, call him Bow Tie because he wears a bow tie. Who cares? But you pushed it further than that. You started to criticize who he was for his choice in clothes. Now you're just being a jerk."

"What, you want me to be some kind of fucking bleeding heart?" Logan asked, furrowing his brows. "Are you fucking kidding me?"

"No." she shook her head. "No, that's not what I want."

"Then what do you want?" Logan asked, "because you're sure as shit making this more complicated than it needs to be."

"Just, forget it, okay?" Peyton pinched the bridge of her nose. There was no use in trying to argue or fight or anything else. From now on, she would just keep her mouth shut and do her job. She didn't need to communicate with Logan unless she absolutely had to. She was smart and since Logan predominantly did scantron tests, she would only be responsible for recording the grades.

"No." He shook his head, leaning back in his seat as he crossed his arms over his chest. "You want me to be fucking nice. What the fuck does that even mean?"

"I want you to respect me," Peyton said. "I want you to have one conversation with me without antagonizing me. You're not an idiot. I'm sure you've wooed girls before."

"Now you fucking want me to woo you?" Logan asked.