CHAPTER 14
“Y ou need a job?” Melinda asked.
“Part-time,” Rory replied.
“Don’t you have, like, five jobs?” Jill asked.
“No, I have two regular families that I nanny for, and I help Candace out at the bar. I’m on a babysitting app, too, but I thought I’d come here to see if I could pick up some tours. Jill told me the tips can be really good; more than I’d make babysitting for a few hours. One of the families I work for no longer needs me. They’ve just hired a full-time live-in nanny and called me this morning to let me know.”
“Dick move,” Jill said.
“They told me that they needed someone full-time, but I couldn’t do it. I helped them screen candidates, though, so I knew it was coming. I just didn’t expect them to find someone so fast.”
“Well, we’re about to get pretty busy,” Melinda replied. “How many tours could you do a week?”
“Maybe four or five,” she said. “Depends on how long they are.”
“Most of them are an hour, but we have a few, like the food tour, that are two hours,” Jill said. “That’s the best one because you get free food and usually good tips from happy people.”
“You’d have to go through training,” Melinda added. “You’d be shadowing for a week or two, and then, one of us would shadow you.”
“That’s okay,” Rory said.
The three of them were sitting in the back office of the NOLA Guides’ building. Rory still didn’t know Melinda or Jill all that well, but she’d spent a little time with them when they had helped Candace get the bar ready, so when she had gotten the news that she had lost a regular job, she’d thought about seeing if Melinda needed a new guide. She’d remembered Melinda mentioning that there was decent turnover and that she was pretty much always hiring, so she’d thought she would take a chance.
“You can start next week if you want,” Melinda said.
“Really? That would be great.”
“I’m grabbing lunch with Kyle, Monica, and Bridgette, if you’re interested.”
“I can’t go. I have a tour,” Jill added and shrugged.
“Oh, you don’t have to invite me.”
“Linden and Asher will be there, too.”
“They’re wedding planning,” Jill explained, leaning over to Rory. “You might want to skip it. It’s going to be a lot of cake talk.”
“Shut up.” Melinda laughed.
“It’s true,” Jill replied.
“Wedding planning? That’s exciting,” Rory said.
“It is. We really only just started, but it’s been good so far. Kyle is really low-maintenance. I’m the higher-maintenance one, but I don’t think I’m a bridezilla. Bridge is actually turning into one a little, which is really funny.”
“You’ve known each other for a long time, right?”
“High school,” Melinda said. “She’s my maid of honor, and I’m hers.”
“That’s nice,” Rory replied. “I think Candace would be mine.”
“Are you close to a wedding I don’t know about?” Jill asked. “I thought you were single.”
“Oh, I am,” Rory replied. “Just in the future. And I’ll be hers, too. She’ll get married first. She’s been with Keith for years.”
“No one special?” Melinda asked.
“Not–” Rory stopped herself, thinking about Logan.
“Oh, I know that face,” Jill said, pointing at her. “You like someone.”
“No, it’s not like that. I just…” Rory blushed how she always blushed.
“Who is it? Do we know him?” Jill asked. “We don’t really know many hims , do we?” she asked Melinda, who just laughed.
Rory swallowed and said, “No, it’s not a him, actually. It’s a her . She’s a her, I mean.”
Jill’s eyebrow lifted. Melinda was expressionless.
“Oh,” Jill said. “Yeah?”
“I’m… gay,” Rory revealed.
“I didn’t know that,” Melinda replied.
“Candace does, and my friend Enid, but that’s it. Well, Logan knows, too, and now you know, but that’s it.”
“Logan?” Jill asked.
“Candace’s new bartender.”
“You told him?” Melinda asked.
“No, Logan is a her,” Rory said, feeling a bit like she was doing the Abbott and Costello’s routine, Who’s On First .
“Logan is a girl-Logan?” Jill asked.
“Yeah.”
“And she knows?” Melinda asked.
“Yeah.”
“Is there a reason you told her?” Jill asked with a little smirk.
“It just kind of came out, really. But yes, she’s also the person I like,” Rory replied.
“Does she date women?” Melinda asked.
“Yes,” Rory confirmed.
“And you’ve not asked her out?” Jill asked.
“No, she asked me.”
“When’s the big date?” Jill asked, sounding excited.
“I said no.”
Melinda looked confused.
“She’s into casual. I want a relationship,” Rory explained. “And besides, she’s got a lot of experience in areas I have no experience in, and she’s just so sexy. I’m anything but. There’s no way she really wants me. I’m sure we’d go out once; she’d be bored to tears with me talking about school or Simon and Stacey, and that would be the end of it.”
“Simon and Stacey?” Melinda asked.
“The kids I babysit for.”
“She asked you out, though. That means she likes what she sees and at least what she knows so far,” Jill pointed out.
“She doesn’t really know me yet, so that will change.”
“Hey, babe. You ready?” Kyle asked when she walked into the office. “Bridge and Monica are outside, talking about the chairs they want at their reception.” Kyle laughed a little. “Hey, Jill. Hey, Rory. Are you coming to lunch with us?”
“Tour.” Jill raised her hand.
“I have class,” Rory replied.
“We’ll be late. Linden and Asher are probably already there,” Kyle said.
“Yeah. Sorry to cut this short, Rory, but we’ve got to go,” Melinda said. “Talk later, though?”
“When do you want me here for work?” Rory asked.
“Oh, I meant about Logan.” Melinda winked. “Jill, can you get her set up?”
“Sure,” Jill replied.
◆◆◆
“You have another job now?” Candace asked when Rory got to the bar later.
“It won’t interfere with when you need me here. I don’t think so, anyway. I might have to do some night tours, one or two nights a week, but I don’t know yet. Those don’t usually go too late, according to Jill, so I could come over after, if you’re busy.”
“I’m not worried about the bar here, Rory. I’m worried about you . When do you sleep?”
“I only have three classes this semester, so I’m only on campus for a few hours a week. It’s a lot of studying and papers, but it’s not like undergrad, where I was taking five to six classes at a time. I’m okay.”
“Are you sure? You’ve still got Simon and Stacey. How many hours a week is that?”
“Ten to twenty, depending on the week.”
“And the tours now?”
“Ten to twenty, depending on the week,” she repeated.
“So, that could be a forty-hour week if they both were twenty. You’re here all the time, too, Rory. I mean, I’m here all the time, but I own the place, and I only have two real employees so far, so I also have no choice, but I need to stop depending on you so much.”
“No, I like that you depend on me. I like working here, Candace. I made decent tips the other night. Plus, there’s free food in it for me.”
“You can have free food whether you work a shift or not.” Candace shook her head. “If you need to say no to me at any time, promise me that you will do it. I don’t want you failing out of school or not sleeping because you’re helping here. Keith is moving soon, hopefully. He thinks he found a job that’ll pay him what he’s making there, working fewer hours, so he’ll do that for a while and help out here when he can until we know that this place is stable and we talk about the future where he’s here full-time, too. Logan is great. She’s one of the better bartenders I’ve seen who’s had no serious training, and she’s fast. That’s the big thing. Mickey’s good in the back. I’d be okay if you need to tell me you can’t help out one night.”
“I promise, I will let you know, but I’m okay for now,” Rory said.
“Hey, boss.”
Rory turned when she heard Logan’s voice from behind the bar.
“Hey. Clocking in?” Candace asked.
“I’m a little early. Is that okay?”
“Yes. And we’re completely out of limes after last night. Can you maybe run to the store after you clock in and pick some up for the night to get us through? I’ll give you cash. Lemons, too, but at least three big bags of limes, I’d say, to get us through until the next delivery.”
“Sure,” Logan replied.
“I can do that,” Rory offered.
“I’ve got it,” Logan said. “I’m early anyway. I’ll be back in thirty. Anything but lemons and limes?”
“No, that’s it,” Candace said. “Let me grab you the cash. Be right back.”
Candace stood up from the table and walked into the kitchen, leaving Rory to sit at the table in an empty bar, with Logan standing behind the bar, looking at her expectantly. Just staring back at her seemed wrong, so Rory turned away and heard her doing something. Then, a minute later, Logan was standing over her and placing another Shirley Temple in front of her.
“I don’t only drink these,” Rory said through her laugh.
“Well, tell me what else you drink, and I’ll make that next time.”
“Coke. Root beer. Sparkling water, I guess.”
“Okay. I’ll alternate, then. This time, you get a Shirley Temple. Next time, it’ll be Coke. Where are you on Arnold Palmers?”
Rory laughed again and replied, “They’re fine, I guess.”
Logan nodded and sat down across from her.
“So, are we really okay?”
“Yeah, we’re okay,” Rory told her.
“Because I don’t know what else to do to make it okay, so if there’s something I should be doing, let me know.”
“Well, the extra grenadine helps,” she replied and held up her drink.
“Oh, don’t do that to me.” Logan leaned back, placing a hand over her heart. “No winking.”
“What?” Rory asked, confused at what she’d done.
“You can’t wink at me like that.”
“I winked?”
She hadn’t even noticed that she’d done it.
“It’s sexy,” Logan noted.
Rory swallowed and said, “It’s just a wink.”
Logan shook her head and said, “Not when you do it.”
Rory stared at her then because she didn’t know what else to do. Logan stared back at her and didn’t remove the hand from her heart. Something passed between them, but Rory wasn’t sure what it was, exactly. It felt powerful and tangible, but it couldn’t be tangible at all.
“You have no idea, do you?” Logan asked.
“Probably not. But what are we talking about?”
“You are just my type, Rory. You are very sexy to me.”
“Me?”
“Stop doing that.” Logan chuckled a little and leaned forward. “Yes, you. That dress you wore in here for that piano recital… Hot.”
“I saw the woman you left with the other night. I’m not like her at all.”
“I only had sex with her.”
“You didn’t find her sexy?”
“Not really.”
“But you had sex with her?”
“Yes.”
“But I’m your type, even though I’m not like her at all? I’m so confused.” Rory put her face in her hands and shook her head. “Why are we talking about this? We’re friends.”
“I had sex with her, yes, but you are my type.”
“So, you don’t want to have sex with me?”
“What? No, of course, I do.”
“What?!” Rory said a little louder than she had planned and uncovered her face.
“Rory, casual sex is just that: it’s casual. It doesn’t mean that I find the woman sexy or that I want anything else with her. It’s just sex.” Logan’s face softened. “It wouldn’t be just sex with you. That’s what I mean when I say that you’re my type. I like you. That woman, the other night – I said maybe ten words to her after we left here. I like talking to you. Hell, I like looking at you, too. You’re pretty nice to look at.” Logan smiled at her. “I haven’t had this in a while, okay? Someone I like. It’s been…” She looked away. “Well, it’s been hard these past few years, and I’ve made a lot of mistakes that, if you want to keep being friends, I’ll tell you about sometime, but I’m working on it. I’m working on myself.”
“Okay. Here’s the cash,” Candace spoke, walking back into the room.
“Really, Candace?!” Rory said, also louder than she had intended.
“What?” Candace asked.
“Nothing,” Logan replied with a little laugh before she stood up and took the cash Candace was holding out for her. “Will you be here later?” she asked Rory.
“No, she has studying to do,” Candace said for her.
“Candace!” Rory glared at her best friend. “I might be. I don’t know yet,” she said to Logan.
“Okay. I’ll see you later, then. Maybe.”
“Okay,” Rory said. “Maybe we can keep talking about that thing.”
“Which part?” Logan asked, quirking a sexy eyebrow.
“The last thing. Not the other thing.”
“What are you two talking about?” Candace asked. “Do you have a code or something?”
“Yes. And nosy friends should mind their own business,” Rory stated.
Logan laughed again and looked at her with something in her expression that told Rory that she felt a little exposed and vulnerable right now, so Rory smiled back at her, hoping that would somehow help. Logan nodded at her as if reading her mind, turned, and walked out the back.
“What did I miss?” Candace asked.
“Nothing.”
“ No way that was nothing.” Candace sat down across from her again. “What’s going on with you two? I thought you said nothing was happening.”
“Nothing is happening.”
“So, what I just saw was nothing, then?”
“We were just talking, Candace. She’s nice.”
“I know she’s nice. I hired her.”
“Well, you did a good job. Congrats to you,” Rory said.
Her phone buzzed on the table then, and she checked the readout and saw a message from Enid.
“Oh. Enid said she might come by tonight.”
“She said that last time, too. I’ll believe it when I see it,” Candace said.
“I’ll get her here,” Rory replied and typed a response. “And don’t tell Logan I have to study.”
“You do have to study.”
“You’re not my mom, Candace. I study when I need to study.”
“You’re hanging out here tonight because you want to hang out with Logan, right?”
“No. Enid is going to be here.”
“Sure. We’ll pretend that’s the reason.”
“Shut up.” Rory laughed.