CHAPTER 22
S itting in the classroom, Rory couldn’t think about or process anything the professor was saying. She was sure that it was important and that she should be paying attention, but she couldn’t stop thinking about Logan sitting in that diner when she left to get to campus.
They had sat there eating, mostly in silence, for several minutes while Rory attempted to process. Logan had given her the space to do so, and when the check had come, Logan had picked it up quickly, not letting Rory pay. They’d started talking again after, but only for a few minutes because Rory needed to get going once she had checked the traffic on her phone and realized that it would take her longer to get to her campus parking lot than she had initially thought. Logan had offered to walk her to where she had parked, but Rory hadn’t accepted, choosing to let Logan finish her coffee instead.
She had hurried to her car then, needing to get inside it, for some reason, and stared ahead blankly while she considered everything Logan had just shared with her. It was a lot. Logan had been right to be nervous. It was scary, and Rory hadn’t ever been friends with an addict that she knew of, at least. Logan was definitely the first person to tell her about it. And yes, Logan had done some pretty messed up things to people she cared about, but when Rory looked into her eyes, as much as anyone could ever know that another person was telling the truth, she believed Logan when she told her that she’d never make those mistakes again.
She couldn’t really know that, of course. Addiction was nothing to mess with, and Logan could relapse at any time. If they were only friends, it would be better. Rory could be there for Logan as a friend, no problem. Well, until Logan started dating someone. Then, it would be hard, but it would be because Rory wanted it that way. Logan had made her feelings clear. She wanted to give them a chance. But Rory wasn’t sure how to do that. She was an awkward, sometimes shy grad student who had no experience with women. Logan was almost the opposite. It wouldn’t work. Rory had kept telling herself that repeatedly the entire drive to campus and then repeated it again as she sat in the classroom, just waiting for class to be over because she wasn’t processing anything the professor was saying. When the professor dismissed them, she packed up her things and drove home to drop off her stuff before she quickly left again to go to her second training shift with Jill.
Truthfully, all of this back-and-forth was starting to get to her. Rory hadn’t ever needed a full eight hours of sleep a night or anything, but she had been up late helping Candace nearly every night, and with school and still doing her nanny shifts, it was a lot. She knew she needed to slow down, but Candace had already texted her that morning that Rory was not allowed to enter the bar that night. Keith was back in town and would be there to help. Mickey would be in the back for a couple of hours, too, and Candace also had that new hire. Rory was looking forward to having a night off. She hadn’t picked up any babysitting gigs, and Simon and Stacey were with their dad, which meant she could actually just relax for the first time in a long time.
“Do you want to grab lunch?” Melinda asked Kyle just as Rory walked into the back office and saw them sitting in the chairs next to each other.
“Hi,” Rory spoke.
“Oh, hey,” Melinda said.
“Yes, to lunch,” Kyle replied. “It’s the least you can do to pay me for my services.”
“She means her translation services,” Melinda said, putting an accent on the word for Rory’s benefit. “Not the other thing.”
“Um… Okay.”
Kyle laughed and explained, “There was a group of people from France who spoke some English, but I was here, so I hopped on the tour with Jill and did some translating for her.”
“That’s cool. I wish I spoke another language fluently. I took Spanish in school, but only because I had a foreign language requirement, and I was bad at it.”
“It comes in handy here,” Kyle said. “And she owes me lunch because I volunteer my services. Translation services, to be clear this time.”
Melinda laughed and told her, “Jill is in the bathroom. She’ll be right out to take you. Do you want anything from wherever we go, though? We can bring something back. I know Jill’s favorites, but not yours yet.”
“No, thanks. I had a big breakfast,” Rory replied.
“We’ll be back in about an hour, then. Well, I will be. I’m dropping Ky off at home.”
Melinda and Kyle stood and left the office. Rory didn’t know where to wait, so she left the office as well and hung out by the counter, checking the brochures for the tours while she waited for Jill.
“Hey. When did you get here?” Jill asked as she came out of the bathroom.
“A few minutes ago. Melinda and Kyle went to lunch.”
Jill laughed and said, “They went upstairs.”
“Upstairs?”
“Yeah. Mel’s old apartment is up there. They live at Kyle’s place, which is now their place, really, but they’re upstairs. I saw them sneaking up the back staircase. They’re having sex. Then, they’ll go to Henry’s and grab something quick.”
“Oh,” Rory said.
“Ever since they started planning their wedding, they’ve been going at it like rabbits. Maybe they’re trying to get prepared for the sexless part of marriage. Who knows?”
“Do you really think that?”
“Them having as much sex as possible now because–”
“The sexless marriage thing,” Rory clarified.
“That all marriages are sexless? Not really,” Jill replied. “I’m sure that’s an exaggeration. Wouldn’t know myself. Never been married.”
“Do you want that?”
“Someday, yes. Not the sexless part.” Jill winked. “Interested?”
Rory laughed and said, “Yes to the marriage, I think. No to the sexless part. And no to you.”
“I tried.” Jill shrugged. “Okay. So, we’ll start in here by learning about the register and how to get people checked in when they pay online. When Sammy gets here in thirty, we’ll head back out and do the Quarter tour.”
“Sure,” Rory replied.
Thirty minutes later, Sammy, another part-timer, arrived and took over at the register for them, checking in the next tour. Jill would lead it, and Rory would shadow her. As Rory watched Jill talk to the people who showed up early, Jill was smiling a lot. Rory should probably smile, too. Jill said she made good tips. Maybe smiles helped with that. When the tour began, Rory focused as much as she could on watching Jill and trying to remember everything in the book that she’d been given, but she also kept thinking about Logan, who was probably wondering if things were okay with them. They’d left everything okay, but if she were Logan, she’d be wondering what she was thinking right about now.
When they got back to the tour building, Melinda was in the office. Jill went back there to check in with her, and Rory pulled out her phone, preparing to text Logan to let her know that they were good and that they should talk soon, but she looked up just in time to see the woman she was about to text walking across the street, carrying a crate of something that looked like bottles.
“Jill?” Rory asked.
“Yeah?”
“Um… Can I have, like, five minutes? I’ll be right back.”
“Sure. We’re good here.”
Rory put her phone back in her pocket and went outside, crossing the street and catching up with Logan.
“Hey,” she said.
Logan turned and smiled. “Hey.” She stopped walking and asked, “What are you doing here?”
“Shift at NOLA Guides.” Rory pointed to the building.
“I forgot you had a seventh job now.”
“It’s not a seventh–” Rory shook her head. “What are you doing here?”
“As part of my groveling to Candace for being late yesterday, I’m running a couple of errands for her. I’m off tonight, so I’m just dropping this stuff there. I guess she needed some specific top-shelf stuff and couldn’t get any in tonight, but one of the new regulars always orders it, so she worked out a trade with one of the bar owners she knows.”
“You don’t have to grovel. You were late once.”
“I know, but I still feel bad. I just have to bring this over there, and I’m done for the day. What about you?”
“I’ve got one more tour to shadow, and then, I’m working the register for a bit to show them that I can do it.”
“And then, Candace’s?” Logan asked.
“No. She told me in no uncertain terms that I was not allowed to even hang out tonight. Keith is back, I guess, and she has help. I assumed you’d be there, too.”
“Nope. I’m off,” Logan replied, shifting the crate.
“That’s heavy. Do you want help?”
“No offense, Rory, but you look like you have the upper arm strength of maybe the towel I use to wipe off the bar. I also remember you mentioning something about useless arm noodles.”
“Hey, I used to work out.” Rory laughed.
Logan laughed, too, and said, “Used to.”
“What are you going to do with your night off?” Rory asked and swallowed. “I don’t mean to suggest that you would do something specific or anything.”
Logan smiled softly at her and replied, “I have no idea. I was thinking about calling Ava, but I don’t know. You?”
“Studying, maybe.” She shrugged.
“Do you ever do anything but work or study?”
“Not really.”
“Do you want to?” Logan asked.
“What do you mean?”
“Come over to my place. We can hang out.”
“Hang out? Tonight?” Rory asked.
“Yeah. I can buy actual food so that I have more than just ketchup. I’ll make sure I have Coke, too.”
Rory smiled and replied, “I don’t need to be enticed by soda.”
“What does entice you?” Logan asked.
Rory cleared her throat, knowing the blush was on its way, and instead of answering that question, asked, “What do you want to do?”
“I don’t know. Hang out,” Logan said. “We don’t have to do anything. That’s sort of the idea, Rory. Do you really never relax?”
“Not really, no,” she said.
“Okay. Well, come over tonight. If we must do something, we can watch a movie. I’ll pick up popcorn, too. Butter or no butter?”
“I haven’t agreed to come over yet.”
“Then, I’m getting butter, and you’ll either eat it or you won’t.”
“To watch a movie?”
“If we must,” Logan repeated.
“Take those to Candace,” she said of the bottles. “And I’ll think about it, okay?”
“If you really need to study, Rory, it’s fine. I’d help you, but I’m not sure I would be able to offer much. If you need to learn how to replace a toilet, though, I can teach you.”
Rory laughed and said, “I have to get back, but I’ll text you.”
“Rory?”
“Yeah?”
“We’re really good, right?”
Rory smiled at her and said, “We’re good. I’ll text you. I just want to see how I feel after my shift, okay?”
Logan nodded, and the crate shifted again.
“Go. You’re about to drop those, and I think that would be strike two.”
“I’ll see you later,” Logan said.
Rory watched her walk down the street and turned her head to admire Logan’s ass in tight jeans.
“Busted.”
Rory turned to see Jill standing behind her.
“I mean, I can’t exactly blame you,” Jill added, tilting her head.
“Hey!” Rory laughed.
“What? You’re just friends, right?”
“Yes, but… It’s different.”
“You can objectify her, but no one else can?” Jill asked.
“I wasn’t objectifying her.”
“Sure,” Jill said, not believing her at all. “Mel asked me to grab you. Now that you have finished staring at your not-girlfriend’s ass, would you like to join us inside the office?”
Rory shook her head and said, “She’s beautiful, right?”
“Yes. We’ve already discussed how hot your not-girlfriend is.”
“Will you stop calling her my not-girlfriend?” Rory said on a laugh.
“But she’s not your girlfriend.”
“Yes, and that’s called a friend, Jill. She’s a friend, just like you’re my friend.”
“No, we are not the kind of friends you are with Logan,” Jill argued as they started walking across the street. “You don’t check out my ass; that I know of, at least.”
“It’s one time. I’ve checked out her ass one time.”
“And it’s good, right?”
“Yes, obviously,” Rory said. “I’ve never really checked out a woman’s ass before. I was attracted to Enid, but I don’t remember ever thinking about her ass like that.”
“Like what , exactly?” Jill asked, pulling open the door.
“Like… You know,” Rory faded out and walked through the door.
“No, I don’t know, actually.”
Jill followed her inside.
“I liked Enid, and I was definitely interested in her, but with Logan, it’s like there’s just more.”
“You have the hots for her.”
“Yes, I just told you–”
“No, I mean you want her, Rory. Attraction is all well and good, but there’s this other thing when you just want someone. It’s another level. Did you want Enid?”
“I thought I did. I wanted to kiss her.”
“And had she kissed you back and suggested you take things further?”
“I would’ve done it, I think. I might have told her that I wanted to wait,” Rory replied.
“But what you felt for her is different than you checking out Logan’s ass, isn’t it?”
“Yes,” she admitted. “It’s complicated, though.”
“I wasn’t trying to spy on you two or anything, but I saw how she looked at you just now, Rory. And yesterday, too. She’s into you,” Jill told her.
“I know. It’s just–”
“No, she’s into you in that way that makes the reason you’re worried not matter at all. She’s into you in that way I wish someone was into me. She wants you, Rory. I bet she’d be willing to give up the whole casual sex thing, and I don’t think she’d care one bit about your so-called lack of experience. Do whatever you want, but she might be worth that risk you’re worried about taking, you know?”