CHAPTER 10
R ory walked back out from the kitchen carrying a plate of nachos in one hand and a plate of calamari in the other.
“The food’s really selling, huh?” Candace asked.
“Yeah. I think I’ve brought out ten plates of nachos since I got here.”
“Think I should add more or change up the menu? I’ve got calamari, but the menu doesn’t exactly scream New Orleans. I added the burger last-minute, but it’s selling, so I think I’ll keep it, even though everything else is an appetizer.”
“Well, it’s only been two days, and Mickey seems busy enough back there, but you might want to wait a bit to see if things keep selling after your opening weekend.”
“Yeah, you’re right. I’m just excited,” Candace said with a smile.
Rory smiled back at her and went to deliver the plate to the customers who ordered the food before she turned around to find Keith sitting at a table, talking to the customers there. She could see it now. He and Candace could own this place together, pop out a few kids, if they wanted, and pass it down to one or all of them one day. Rory had trouble seeing those things for herself, though. Candace was so far ahead of her, even though they were only a year apart. The woman had her own business. She had a boyfriend who was about to move to town and in with her, probably, before he proposed, if he could find a job here fast enough. Rory was still in school, had nothing but debt, and had no girlfriend to speak of because just talking to Logan about sex earlier had given her anxiety and heartburn.
She had no idea where that had come from. She hadn’t planned on bringing it up, but the words had just been coming out of her mouth, and Logan hadn’t seemed to mind talking to her about it. Then, she’d come out to her almost to spite Logan, who had suggested that she would want some cookie-cutter life just because she’d worn a sundress in a bar, which wasn’t all that uncommon, anyway. Soon after that, Rory had watched Logan give the woman a nod that likely meant that they’d be leaving together.
Rory had planned to go home then, but she’d ended up in the office with Keith for a few minutes, talking about rings for Candace. Then, Mickey had needed help in the kitchen, so Rory had stayed on because helping him meant helping Candace build a successful bar. Now, she was really ready to go home, but the bar had gotten busy again, and Keith wasn’t as fast at making drinks as Candace or Logan, so Candace needed her to stay.
“Hey.”
Rory turned around and saw Logan walking toward the bar that Rory was standing behind, trying to get beer to come out of a tap that was not cooperating with her.
“What are you doing here? I thought you left?”
“The keg’s out.”
“What?” she asked.
“The keg. Just–” Logan paused and reached over to pull the handle toward her. “In the back. Want me to change it?”
“You left.”
“I came back,” Logan said.
“Logan?” Candace asked, walking up to them. “You just went home.”
“Yeah. I came back. I thought I’d get a drink. The keg’s out. Want me to tap another one?”
“You’re off. I’m pretty sure that’s against all the insurance rules.”
“Rory could do it. I’ll just show her how,” Logan offered. “And I can always clock back in, if you need me. It looks like it got busy again.”
“We’re okay,” Candace replied. “But if you don’t mind showing her, that would be great. I don’t think she’s ever had to change a keg before. Have Mickey make you whatever you want in the back.”
“Cool. Thanks,” Logan said. “Ready?” she asked Rory.
Rory followed her into the walk-in fridge, and Logan moved out of the way to show her where the kegs were connected.
“So, you’ll need to move the new one over to the hookup, and I’ll show you how to disconnect it. It’s not as easy as it looks.”
Rory found a full keg and attempted to push it into position, but it might have been heavier than she was. She tried again and stopped when she heard Logan’s laughter.
“Are you laughing at me right now?” Rory asked.
“Yeah. Sorry. It is pretty funny, though.”
“It’s really heavy, and I have no upper body strength. My arms are basically useless noodles.”
“I’ll get it,” Logan said, moving next to her.
She more turned than lifted the keg little by little until it moved to where she needed it to go while Rory admired the muscles that she could see in the somewhat tight black T-shirt Logan was wearing. Rory’s head even tilted on its own to take in some of the actual rippling she saw when Logan rolled the thing into place.
“There. So, this part might get messy,” Logan told her.
“What?”
“Beer is going to come out of here a little, and if you do it wrong, it’ll come out a lot.”
“If I pay you whatever Candace is paying me for the hour, will you just do it?”
Logan laughed again, and with a few fluid motions, she had the new keg tapped and the old one pushed aside.
“Thank you,” Rory said.
“I’m getting paid in nachos, so keep your money,” Logan replied. “Just remember, when you get out there and pull the handle, it’s going to spurt and foam in the beginning, but then you should be good. I’ll show you that, too, if you need it, but you can also put an empty pitcher there until you see yellow, and you’ll be fine.”
“Okay,” she said. Then, she bit her lower lip and added, “I thought you left with that woman.”
“I did,” Logan replied.
“But you’re back here?”
“Yes.”
“Was it… that fast?” she asked and instantly blushed.
What was wrong with her? Why did she keep bringing up sex with this woman whom she could barely look at because she was so hot?
Logan laughed and pushed open the door to the walk-in. Then, she smiled over at Rory when Rory managed to look up and meet her eyes. It felt as if Logan had waited for her to look up before she spoke.
“It can be, but it wasn’t tonight.”
“I’m confused…”
“I didn’t sleep with her, Rory. She had a family thing, I guess, and I didn’t feel like going home alone to stare at my ceiling or driving around, picking up rides, so I came back here, thinking I’d get a drink and some food.”
“Oh,” Rory said as they walked through the kitchen.
“Hey, Mickey? Can I get some nachos with extra jalapenos?”
“Sure,” Mickey replied to Logan.
“You like spicy things?” Rory asked.
“Jalapenos aren’t spicy.” Logan laughed again and held the door leading to the bar open for Rory.
“Yes, they are.”
“You’re from New Orleans, and you think jalapenos are spicy?”
“I think ginger is spicy,” Rory offered in response.
“Ginger? Really?” Logan asked.
“My tongue thinks so, apparently,” she replied, wishing she hadn’t just brought up her tongue.
Logan’s eyebrow lifted at that, and she sat down at the bar as Rory walked behind it. So, Logan had noticed the mention of her tongue, too. Rory tried to focus on anything other than Logan’s lifted eyebrow and searched the bar.
“Just put a pitcher under there and hold it.”
Rory found an empty pitcher, held it under the tap, and pulled on the handle. It spurted, and a few drops of beer hit her face. She scrunched up when one drop hit her in the eye, causing her to close both, and she opened them back up when she heard Logan laughing at her.
“I told you,” Logan said.
When the beer started to pour normally, Rory changed out the pitcher to a glass and tipped it a bit to make sure that she didn’t serve the customer all foam.
“So, she put you to work?” Logan asked.
“It got busy, and Keith is about as useful behind the bar as me,” Rory explained.
“Do you want me to clock back in? I can help.”
“That’s a Candace decision,” she replied. “I’ll be right back.”
As she walked around the bar, she realized how happy she was to hear that Logan hadn’t slept with that woman and that she had come back.
Rory dropped the beer off, and the next hour went by quickly. She had no time to go back and keep up her conversation with Logan because every time she had to go back to the bar, it was either to make an easy drink or pick one up to then deliver. When they finally hit last call, Rory was dead on her feet, and the place had calmed down enough that she could go home if she wanted to, but Logan was still sitting at the bar with a nearly finished plate of cold nachos and an almost finished beer.
“You getting out of here?” Candace asked.
“Um…” Rory looked from Candace to Logan.
“Go. Talk to her,” Candace told her and winked at her. “Order yourself some food.”
“I should go home. I’m exhausted, and I have so much work to do for school.”
“I’ll have Mickey make you a burger and fries, so just ask Logan if she wants one and hang out for a few. If you want to take your food home with you, you can.”
“Okay,” she said softly and then headed over to Logan. “Hey, Candace is having Mickey make me a burger. Do you want one?”
“No way. I’m stuffed,” Logan replied and pushed her plate away before she finished her beer. “Want some company while you eat, though?”
“You don’t have anywhere to go?”
“I told you I only have a ceiling to stare at, remember? It’s not that interesting.”
“Do you not own a book or a TV?”
Logan laughed and replied, “No, I do. I just don’t watch much TV, and it’s been a while since I’ve read a book.”
Rory sat down on the empty stool next to her and said, “You’re not tired?”
“I started driving Lyft a while ago, and I usually start driving late because you make more money before and after everyone goes out at night than during the day. Besides, day riders usually want to go outside of the city for swamp tours or something. I drove a couple to Baton Rouge once, and it took me three more rides to even get back near New Orleans before I called it a day. Night riders are interested in getting from their hotels to the Quarter and back again. Short rides, mostly, more tips that way, too, and I’m closer to home.”
“Are you still doing that now that you work here?”
“That’s the plan. I was just too wired after work tonight to get trapped in my car for a few hours.”
“Because your plans got canceled?”
Logan turned to her, and her expression changed from playful to serious.
“Yeah, that,” she said, but Rory could tell there wasn’t all truth there.
“There are three women in that booth over there. Want to see if any of them are interested?”
“Are you trying to get me laid, Rory?” Logan asked on a laugh. “I’m good here.” Her face changed again after that, and Rory wondered what she was thinking.
“Hey, I have an idea,” Candace spoke, standing behind and between them all of a sudden. “I’m thinking about adding a few of those tabletop game machines for the ends of the bar. People love to sit and throw money into those, and they drink while they do it.”
“Okay,” Rory said.
“I could start with one and add another if people play it a bunch,” Candace added.
Rory looked over at Logan, who had looked away from both of them.
“What do you think?” Rory asked her.
“Not my bar,” Logan replied.
“Do you think people will play them, though?” Candace asked.
“Probably. But I don’t know that you need them in here. Unless you turn the noise off, they’d mess with the vibe, and if you keep the noise off, people who play them won’t get to hear the sounds when they win.”
“It’s just sound, though,” Rory replied.
“It’s part of the experience that people like. I guess you could just turn the volume down a little or something. Hey, I think I’m going to go home,” Logan added that last part very quickly.
“I thought you didn’t want to stare at your ceiling,” Rory said.
“I have a burger coming for you. Didn’t Rory tell you?” Candace asked.
“I’m not really hungry. But I can take it home for later, if that’s okay.”
“Sure,” Candace replied. “Just tell him to box it up for you.”
“Thanks, Candace,” Logan said when she stood. “Rory, if you want to go, I can walk you out. It’s pretty late.”
“Oh, I was going to–”
“Get your burger to-go, too,” Candace interrupted her. “We’re good here. Go home and get some sleep or do that homework, at least.”
“Okay,” Rory said. “Yeah, I guess.”
They made their way into the kitchen, where Mickey was pulling the burgers off the grill. Logan asked him to box them up instead, and he added fries and condiments to two plastic bags, handing them each one. They thanked him and walked out the back, even though neither of them had parked there.
“Thanks for walking me out,” she said into the silence.
“No problem. It can get dicey around here at night, and you have no upper body strength to defend yourself.”
Rory laughed a little and said, “But I was a track star in high school.”
“Really?”
“Yeah, sprinter. I got a scholarship to college, but I tore my ACL in my last race in high school. I lost the scholarship, and it didn’t rehab well, so I stopped running competitively, but I’m still pretty fast.”
“Okay. Race me to your car,” Logan said.
“What? No way.” Rory laughed.
“Why not? Afraid I’ll beat you?”
“You’re wearing tennis shoes. I’m in ballet flats.”
“Yeah, you really shouldn’t wear those when you work in a bar. Not really slip-safe.”
“I wasn’t planning on working. I only came in because my friend Enid said she might show, but she decided to stay in and study instead.”
“Enid is the one you mentioned earlier, right?”
Rory was a little surprised that Logan remembered something that she said, but it warmed her a little that she had.
“Yes.”
“She knows you’re gay.”
“Yeah. I just told her today, actually.”
“Really? You came out to two people in one day?”
“I guess, yeah.”
“Was she cool about it?” Logan asked.
“She was. Well, she’s gay, too, so it’s pretty easy to be cool about it, but she knew before, technically.”
“How so?”
“I kissed her.”
“Oh,” Logan said.
“Yeah. It was a while ago now. I was still figuring things out, and I had a gay friend whom I was crushing on hard. I just went for it, which is so not like me. I don’t usually go for anything. She didn’t kiss me back and told me she thought of me as a friend, so it was really embarrassing, and we didn’t talk about it much until today when I confirmed what she already knew. So, there’s my story.”
“That’s your story? The whole thing?” Logan asked.
“I’m pretty boring,” Rory said with a shoulder shrug.
“That’s one event in your life, but it’s not your whole story.”
“Well, what’s your whole story, then?”
Logan stopped walking and told her, “This is me.” She pointed to a car parked on the street.
“Oh,” Rory said.
“Where are you?” Logan asked.
“Just two cars up.” She pointed.
“Okay. I’ll see you later, then.”
“Yeah. Okay.”
“Have a good night, Rory.”
“You too,” Rory said, wishing they could’ve continued their conversation and wondering why Logan seemed to bob and weave her way around questions about herself while she seemed to have a whole bunch about Rory.