CHAPTER 24
R ory hadn’t wanted to appear dressed up since it would have sent the wrong message, so she’d gone home only to change her shirt, reapply some deodorant, and check her hair after work. By the time she was done, she had a text from Logan with her address in it. The drive only took about fifteen minutes, but there wasn’t a parking spot by Logan’s building, and Rory didn’t see any guest parking in the small lot behind it, so she drove around the block and found street parking. Having to walk a bit made her a little late, but she hoped Logan wouldn’t mind too much.
Truthfully, Rory needed this walk, too. She was a little nervous. It had already been a long day. Her shift at NOLA Guides was only supposed to be for a few hours, but they’d gotten busy in the office, and Melinda had asked if she could stick around for a little longer. Rory hadn’t wanted to say no on her second day at work, so she’d stayed later than she’d planned. She thought about asking Logan to postpone their evening because she was tired and could use the night alone, but something told her that she should go; that Logan didn’t extend invitations for people to come to her apartment often, if ever, so this one mattered, and Rory might not get another one if she didn’t show tonight.
As she approached the building, Rory wished she had thought to bring something with her, but she hadn’t known what. She hadn’t had time to stop anywhere anyway, but she felt empty-handed and like she could use something to hold between herself and Logan when Logan opened the door because Rory had no idea how to greet her. Had she brought a bottle of wine, she could have held it against herself and handed it to Logan while she entered the apartment. Without it, she’d just be standing there, wondering if they were going to hug, high-five, shake hands, do that weird cheek kiss thing people did, or just do nothing at all. The likelihood of a high-five was probably pretty slim, though. Rory knocked once, and before her knuckles could hit the door a second time, it was pulled open. She hadn’t been prepared for that and had put a little too much weight on her front foot, planning to knock again, which meant she kind of tipped over a bit before she was able to move her feet in time.
“Whoa!” Logan reached for her elbows and held her up.
“Hey,” Rory said. “I wasn’t expecting you to be right by the door.”
“Sorry.” Logan chuckled and rubbed Rory’s arms for a second before she let them go. “You were late, so I was going to walk downstairs to see if you were on your way in.”
“I had to park around the block,” she revealed and took a step back.
Logan moved aside to let her in then, so Rory walked in a little more while Logan moved around her and closed the door.
“So, this is my place,” she said.
“Is it cold in here?”
“Yes! Thank God!”
“I thought you said your AC doesn’t work.”
“I fixed it. Then, another one was on discount, and I could afford it, so I might have gone overboard. Sorry. I’ve had no reliable AC for months now, so I kind of cranked it. Let me adjust it.” Logan rushed over to a window unit in the living room and pressed something on it.
“You just fixed it?” Rory asked.
“Yeah, I could have all along. I wasn’t…” Logan turned to her. “I don’t know, honestly. I’ve been thinking about it since I got home. I think I might have been punishing myself again.”
“Logan…”
“I know,” she replied. “I’m going to leave the bedroom one on if that’s okay. I just can’t wait to fall asleep in a frozen tundra tonight.”
Rory laughed and said, “I didn’t bring anything. I should have, though. I just didn’t have time.”
“It’s okay. I don’t need anything. I didn’t know what you’d eat, but I got things to drink and popcorn. I bought frozen potato skins because I’ve seen you eat those at the bar, and I got stuff for burgers because I know you eat those. The fries are frozen, but the meat isn’t. There’s also more than just ketchup now. I have mustard, barbecue sauce, and I even grabbed Worcestershire sauce to add to the burgers. My dad used to do that.”
“Logan?”
“Yeah?”
“You’re kind of rambling.” Rory smiled at her.
“Sorry,” Logan said with a laugh and shook her head. “I’m a little nervous.”
“Why?”
“Because you’re here in my apartment. I’m not really good with entertaining.”
“Did you buy the new AC because I was coming over?”
“Not exactly,” Logan said. “I was cleaning up because the place was a mess, and I kind of stared at the broken one in my room for a while. I started by trying to fix it, but I needed a part, so I went to the store. I bought it, but they had units on sale, so I got one of those as well because I realized that I’ve been punishing myself in more ways than one, and I could maybe start to work on that. I didn’t think you would burn up in here. It’s only May. But it does get hot. The laundry room is right under me, so I get all that residual heat, and, I don’t know, I didn’t want you to be uncomfortable, either.”
“You’re rambling again,” Rory noted.
“Just sit down and tell me what you want to drink.” Logan laughed a little and walked into her open kitchen.
“Whatever you’re having.”
“I’m having water.”
“Water’s fine.”
“I bought things for you,” Logan said, looking disappointed.
“What? Why?”
“Because I wasn’t going to make you drink this tap water, and that’s all I had here. I got bottled water today, but I also got you Coke, root beer, Sprite, ginger ale, and they had a bottled Arnold Palmer.”
Rory laughed and said, “Do I live here now? How will I ever drink all of that?”
“You could always come back,” Logan replied softly. “I have grenadine, too.”
“You didn’t?”
“I did. No cherries, but they were out. I checked.”
“You didn’t have to do any of that.”
“I wanted to,” Logan said. “It made grocery shopping fun for once. What do you want first?”
“Well, you got grenadine, so…”
“Shirley Temple coming up,” Logan replied.
Rory leaned over the counter and watched Logan work. She loved watching her work, and this was just like at the bar. Logan got the ice into a short glass, but instead of using the soda gun, she poured Sprite from a two-liter. Then, she opened the grenadine and poured a little of the syrup in. Lastly, she opened a can of ginger ale and added a splash.
“That’s why yours tastes different,” Rory said.
“Huh?”
“You add ginger ale,” she noted. “I’ve never watched you make one all the way.”
“Yeah. Sometimes, it’s just Sprite, and in other places, it’s ginger ale, but I was taught to make it with both.” Logan placed the glass in front of Rory and asked, “Do you like it?”
Rory smiled and said, “Yes.”
Logan went to pull a bottle of water out of the fridge, opened it, and took a long drink of it before she recapped it. Then, they stood there staring at each other for a minute before Rory turned around and took in the living room.
“It’s not much,” Logan said. “Sofa’s old. TV isn’t fancy.”
“It’s nice, Logan.”
“No, it’s not.” Logan laughed. “But it works for now. I can start cooking, if you want. Are you hungry?”
“I am, but you don’t have to cook anything. We can order in. I’ll buy.”
“I’d like to,” Logan offered. “My dad’s famous burgers. I have an old George Foreman grill that works well, so they should be close to the same.”
Rory turned back around and nodded.
“Good. Find something for us to watch, and I’ll get the fries in the oven and the burgers on.”
“Okay,” Rory said and took her drink into the living room.
Then, she placed the glass on the table directly when she found no coasters and a few rings on the table, indicating that Logan likely didn’t have any. She sat on the sofa and picked up the remote control, trying not to think about the fact that Logan was behind her, cooking them dinner. Ten minutes later, she had Netflix pulled up and a few options ready for them to choose from. Logan was still preparing the beef, so Rory yelled them back to her one by one.
“Not that one. I’ve seen it,” Logan told her.
“Okay,” Rory replied and found another option.
“I just watched that the other day,” Logan said of that one.
“Really?”
“I told you I’ve seen all of Netflix.”
Rory laughed and gave Logan the third option.
“I haven’t watched that in years.”
“Yeah?” Rory asked.
“Yeah. Let’s do it.”
Rory got the movie ready to start playing and heard a sizzle coming from behind her. Within a few minutes, Logan was sitting next to her on the sofa, and they began silently watching a movie while their food cooked. Not long after that, Logan was up again and finishing up their late dinner. When she brought it out to Rory, they ate sitting on the floor, using the coffee table as their dining room for the night while they watched the movie.
“These are really good,” Rory said.
“Yeah? My dad would be happy to hear that.”
Rory watched the expression on Logan’s face change.
“You still don’t talk to them, huh?”
“They don’t talk to me ,” Logan corrected. “I get it. I’m not mad at them about it. I used to be, but that’s because I was blaming my parents for my own mistakes.”
“Do they know you don’t gamble anymore?”
“They do,” Logan replied. “But I think they believe that I’ll relapse, so they keep their distance.”
“Do you have any siblings?”
“No,” Logan answered. “Just me. My mom’s an only child, too, so no cousins on that side. My dad had a brother, but he died a few years ago. I’ve got two cousins on his side. They don’t live here, though, and we’re not really close.”
“So, you have no one?”
“I have Ava. And now, I guess I might have you, too.” Logan cleared her throat. “And I might have a sponsor.”
“Already?”
“I met her last night, but she was at a meeting today, too, and she’s been clean for fifteen years. She’s married, and it seems like she’s managed to turn her life around. We’ll be grabbing coffee to see if there’s possibly a match, but if not, she told me she knew other sponsors who might be able to take me on.”
“And that’s what you want?”
Logan nodded and said, “It’s part of working the steps, and I’m ready to get serious about that.”
“I don’t know much about it,” Rory shared. “Should I do some research?” she asked.
Logan smiled over at her and said, “You can ask me.”
“Yeah? I don’t want to make you talk about it if you don’t want to just because I don’t know anything.”
“It’s okay.”
“I also don’t want you to think that our friendship has to be all about this just because I’m asking questions. I just want to get to know you, you know?”
“I don’t think that, Rory,” Logan replied. “How about tonight, though, we just take the night off? We can finish the movie and talk about anything you want, but I wouldn’t mind talking about other stuff, too.”
“That sounds good to me,” Rory said and returned her attention to the movie.
They sat on the floor until they finished their food. Then, Logan picked up their plates and refilled Rory’s drink before they moved to the sofa. Rory didn’t know what time it was, but it felt late. Her eyes were getting heavy, so she knew she needed to go home.
“Hey,” Logan said softly. “You’re getting sleepy, huh?”
“Yeah. I think I need to go.”
“You can stay,” Logan suggested.
Rory turned to her.
“No, I mean… I can sleep out here. You can have my bed.”
“In the frozen tundra room? No, thanks,” Rory said with a tired laugh.
“I can turn it off.”
“It’s a fifteen-minute drive. Probably ten right now.”
“You’re sure you’re okay driving?”
“I’m sure,” Rory replied.
“I can drive your car home for you and take a Lyft back here,” Logan offered. “I’m awake.”
“Logan?”
“Yeah?”
“Thank you for worrying about me,” she said. “And thank you for tonight. I had fun.”
“You did?”
Rory nodded, leaned over, and before she knew what she was doing, she pressed her lips to Logan’s cheek.
“Yes, I had fun,” she said and moved back. “You stay here and enjoy your frozen bedroom. I’m going to go home and get some sleep.”
“I’m at least walking you to your car,” Logan stated and stood before she pulled Rory up by the arms.
“Fine. I relent. You can walk me to my car.”
“And you’re texting me when you get home.”
“I will text you,” she agreed as they walked to the door.
“And maybe when you’re in bed, ready to fall asleep.”
“Okay,” Rory said, smiling at the thought.
“And if you wanted to text me in the morning, that would be okay, too.”
“My morning is not your morning,” Rory joked as they walked out of the apartment.
“Doesn’t matter,” Logan said. “It’s you.”