CHAPTER 33
L ogan decided to focus on the customer bathroom while the bar was closed because if she had to do repairs there, she would need to do it when no one had to use the thing. The two toilets were pretty old and could use replacing, which wouldn’t take long at all, but Candace said that would have to come later. Logan re-sealed them to ensure there were no sewage fumes getting in and let that set in while she checked out the sink. That was the women’s bathroom. The men’s one needed more work. Each urinal needed a deep clean, that was for sure, but there were only two of them, and everything seemed to be working fine. The sink in there had a bit of a clog in it, so Logan took care of that and checked the water pressure.
Once that was done, she went into the employee bathroom, which she knew needed more work. It only had one toilet, so she checked on it first and re-sealed it since she wouldn’t be replacing it anytime soon. The sink needed a new faucet, but she didn’t have one on hand, so she fixed the water pressure issue. Then, it was time to check out the kitchen. While she was looking at the dishwasher that also needed replacing, she made a mental list of what she would need from the store.
When she remembered how she’d started her day, she smiled, thinking about Rory underneath her, ready for more. Logan couldn’t believe she’d had her hands on soft breasts. She’d gone over the shirt, but she had wanted so much more than that. When she’d started kissing Rory lower, she could tell Rory needed her. She could smell her. She could feel Rory trying to move against her. It took everything in her to move back up Rory’s body, kiss her lips, tell her that they shouldn’t because they both needed to go, and then leave after giving her a kiss that only made Logan want to go back in that bedroom and tear off all of her clothes.
“Hey!”
Logan wasn’t expecting anyone, so the sound of a voice caught her off guard. She promptly smacked her forehead on the open cabinet door next to the dishwasher.
“Shit. Sorry,” Candace said. “Are you okay?”
“Yeah,” she lied. “I didn’t know you’d be here.”
“I wanted to check on you.”
“Bored at home?” Logan guessed.
“Yes,” Candace replied and laughed. “Now that I own a bar, I feel like I need to be here all the time.”
“I get that. My dad was the same way with his shop.”
“Yeah?”
She nodded.
“Was?”
“Yeah, he… got rid of it a while ago.”
“You didn’t want it?”
“I did,” she said, sitting up. “Just didn’t work out.”
Candace squinted at her and said, “I hope you’re not this cagey with my best friend, who adores you.”
Logan shook her head and replied, “I’m not. I tell Rory everything.”
“Already? It took me, like, two years before I told Keith everything.”
Logan laughed and said, “She’s just… really special.”
“That she is,” Candace agreed. “She’s also been working here a lot less. Should I assume that’s because she’s spending her time with you?”
“Some of it, yeah. Sorry.”
“No, don’t apologize. We’re doing all right, and I want Rory to have actual fun. She works too hard.”
“Says you.”
“Yeah, well… Do as I say, not as I do. How is it?”
“You could use a new one, but I just need a couple of things from the store, and I’ll have it running better. I’d say six months, though, and you’ll want to replace it.”
“I need to get an industrial one. This is for a house.”
“Yeah, but you’re not doing that much in food, and we wash the glasses up front.”
“I want to do more food eventually, and I have the space. I’ll look into it. Let me get you some cash for the store.”
“Thanks,” Logan said.
She cleaned up and got what she needed from Candace before she climbed into her car. She thought about what she hadn’t told Candace about the family business that she had ruined. She would talk to Rory soon and see what she thought about her telling Candace more. That would also give Rory the chance to talk to her best friend about the woman she was dating.
Were they still dating? Rory made it seem like they were together now. She would have to get some clarification on that later, too.
Logan took out her phone and pulled up her contacts, thinking about calling Rory just to check in, but she stopped at another contact in her phone instead. Before she could talk herself out of it, she placed the call. Then, she waited. One ring. Two rings. Three rings. Four rings. Logan almost hung up but waited.
“You’ve reached my voicemail. I know people don’t leave voicemails anymore, so thank you for doing it because I don’t like those text messages,” her mother’s recorded voice said, and that made her smile before she heard the beep in her ear.
“Hi, Mom. It’s me.” Logan closed her eyes. Of course, it was her. “Um… I was just thinking about you and Dad. I know it’s been a while, but I’m doing okay. I haven’t gambled in almost two years. I’m going to meetings every day. Sometimes, twice a day. And I’m going to get a therapist, too. I’m going to keep sending you money. Oh, I have a job. I’m not just driving the car anymore. I’m a bartender at this new bar in town, and the owner is really cool. It pays well with the tips I make. Ava’s good. She might have a new girlfriend. It’s new, though, so I don’t know.” Logan paused. “I have a girlfriend, too. It’s real. Her name is Rory, and she’s amazing. I know what you’re going to say. No, I didn’t meet her in the program. Yes, she has a job. She doesn’t need money from me. And yes, she knows I’m an addict. She’s also in graduate school and wants to be a social worker. She’s a good person, Mom. I’m kind of completely and totally crazy about her. She makes me want to be better, but I want to be better for myself, too. I want to be better for you and Dad because you deserve that from me. Anyway, I just wanted to call and tell you that everything’s okay. Everything is good. I hope everything is good there, too. If you ever want to call me, you can. I know you hate texting.” Logan laughed a little and added, “I’d love to just hear your voice, even if you want to yell at me. I love you. I love Dad. I’m sorry for what I did,” she said and hung up.
◆◆◆
“Hi, sexy plumber.”
Logan looked up. Rory was standing in the empty bar, smiling at her as Logan walked in from the kitchen.
“What are you doing here?”
“Jill and I are on a break,” Rory said. “You look filthy,” she added, laughing.
“Yeah… The dishwasher and I had a disagreement,” Logan replied, looking down at her dirty black T-shirt and her jeans that were now a little soaked. “I’d hug you, but…”
“Kiss?” Rory suggested.
Logan leaned in and kissed her, careful not to touch Rory’s uniform with her dirty clothes.
“Wait. You’re wearing a uniform today?”
“Yeah, it’s new. What do you think? It’s a polo shirt. Not great, huh?”
Logan looked her up and down and said, “It’s working for me just fine.”
“Really?” Rory asked.
“You could unbutton that top button if you wanted to,” she said. “Only if you wanted to, though.”
“Keep your pants on, Logan,” Jill said as she exited the bathroom. “We’re just here to get these drink coupons from Candace so that we can hand them out at work.”
“I thought she wanted this place to be locals-only,” Logan said, confused.
“Locals- mostly ,” Rory replied. “Am I still seeing you tonight?”
“Yes,” Logan confirmed. “Hey, I did something today.”
“I’m going to wait for you out there,” Jill said, motioning to the kitchen door. “Something tells me I’m not going to want to hear what this is about.”
“What do you think this is about?” Logan asked.
“Well, I know what you two didn’t do this morning, so maybe you’re about to tell Rory here what you did to yourself . I don’t know.”
“Jill!” Rory yelled as Jill walked into the kitchen to find Candace.
“You told her?”
“Just that we had to stop because of work,” Rory said as her signature blush crept up her cheeks.
“She thinks I got myself off after that?” Logan asked. “I should have. I could use it.”
“Hey!” Rory laughed a little. “No, don’t do that.”
“I didn’t,” Logan replied. “Do you have a problem with that, though, because I don’t do it often, but I–”
“What? No, I did it the other day.”
“You did?” Logan asked.
“That’s not why I said, ‘Don’t.’ I…” Rory went to wrap her arms around Logan’s neck.
“I’m gross, babe,” Logan said.
Rory just smiled at her and wrapped her arms around her neck anyway.
“I want to be the one to do that to you,” she whispered.
“You do?” Logan asked.
Rory nodded and said, “Yes. Is that okay?”
“That is very much okay,” Logan replied with a strong nod. “And that’s not at all what I was talking about, by the way.”
“Okay. Well, what did you do, then? Fight with a dishwasher?”
“Yes, that too, but I won,” she said, wrapping her arms around Rory’s body but still keeping distance between them. “I called my mom. She didn’t answer, but I left a voicemail.”
“You did?”
“I heard her voice on the recording. I haven’t heard her voice in a long time. It was nice.”
“That’s good, Logan.”
“I told her she could call me back. I don’t know if she will, but it was a good first step, right?”
“Definitely,” Rory replied and kissed her quickly.
“You look really cute in your new uniform,” Logan said, looking down at her. “Your boobs look… I mean…”
“Really?” Rory asked, looking down. “They just look normal to me.”
“They’re anything but normal. I’d know: I’ve touched them now.”
“You touched my shirt. Trust me, I would know if you touched them directly.”
Logan pressed her lips to Rory’s again and kissed her longer this time, only stopping when she heard Jill clear her throat behind them.
“I’ll see you later?” Rory asked.
“Later,” Logan said. “I will have showered and changed by then.”
“I still think you look hot,” Rory replied.
“And we’re leaving.” Jill pulled Rory away from Logan.
Rory laughed, and Logan knew then as she watched her be pulled out the door and look back at her with a wide smile: Rory Winter was the one . She was Logan’s person. This sweet and innocent woman she’d met not all that long ago was the person she had been waiting for her whole life, and she had never even known she had a person out there to wait for.
“Did they leave?” Candace asked, emerging from the kitchen.
“Yeah,” Logan said.
“Why do you seem sad all of a sudden?”
“She left.”
“Oh, you’re totally into her, my friend,” Candace said, laughing.
“I am,” she said. “I know.”
“Treat her right, okay?”
“I plan to,” Logan replied. “Forever if she lets me,” she added to herself after Candace left the room.
A few hours later, she had a text from Rory telling her that she was off work and heading home. Logan finished up with the back sink and clocked out before saying goodbye to Candace and driving home to shower and change. It was odd, but it felt good to not just get her hands dirty but to be dirty again because she’d fixed things. She decided that she would go back and check on her credentials to see what she needed to do to get back to the job she’d loved doing before she had messed it all up.
Having hopped out of the shower, Logan searched for clothes to wear, slipped into her dark jeans, a T-shirt, and her jacket, grabbed her wallet and phone, and headed over to Rory’s with no plans as to what they would do tonight. She didn’t need plans with her. She just needed to be with her. As she locked her door behind herself, she heard another door open and turned her head to see her neighbor standing there.
“Been a while,” the woman said.
“I was just on my way out,” Logan replied.
“Aren’t you always these days?” she asked as she walked closer to Logan.
“Hey, I know I said, ‘Next time,’ the last time, but–”
“No, I get it. I know your style.”
“I don’t have a style,” Logan said.
“Yes, you do. Unfortunately for me, I think the whole mystery thing is hot.”
“Well, I’m leaving, so I’ll see you around,” Logan said.
“We can have a next time right now , if you want. I’m free the whole night.”
“No, thanks,” Logan said and stuffed her keys into her front pocket. “I’m on my way out.”
“You were last time, too,” her neighbor noted.
“I have a girlfriend now. Okay?” Logan said. “I’m not interested.”
“You have a girlfriend? Since when?”
“That’s not really your business, but I’m on my way to see her now.”
“Does she know you fuck anything that walks?”
Logan swallowed hard and replied, “Do me a favor: if you hear my door open or close, don’t take that as a hint to come out of your place. It’s not.”
She walked by the woman and decided that she needed to find a new apartment if this continued. When she pulled up to Rory’s building, still a little shaken by the comment, she considered texting Rory to tell her that she needed to cancel tonight and thought about an excuse she could use. Obviously, sickness was the easiest, but knowing Rory, she’d just come over with a bucket of homemade chicken noodle soup and want to take care of Logan all night. Deciding that lying wasn’t an option, she got out of her car and knocked on Rory’s door.
“Hi,” Rory greeted her with that smile Logan loved.
“Hi,” she replied. “I didn’t bring anything this time. I’m not sure how many dates you bring stuff for. Should I have more flowers?”
Rory laughed, pulled Logan into the apartment, and said, “No, just you.” She then wrapped her arms around Logan’s neck in that newly familiar way Logan loved now. “Do you want to go out or stay in? I can make us something if you’re hungry.”
“Did you eat?” Logan asked.
Rory shook her head.
“Okay. Well, let’s order something. I’ll buy.”
“I can cook, you know?”
“Yes, but I would rather you be sitting next to me on the couch while we wait for food to magically appear at your front door.”
“You order, then,” Rory said, looking her up and down. “You look nice,” she added.
“Better than earlier?”
“Different than earlier. But I told you that I thought you were hot before. I need to change. I’m still in my new lame uniform. Order, and I’ll be right out.”
“Put on those pajamas again,” Logan told her as Rory hurried off to her bedroom.
She heard Rory laugh as she moved to the couch and opened her delivery app. Finding something that she thought they’d both like, she placed the order and looked up, preparing to tell her that the food would be here in twenty minutes, but her jaw dropped before she got the chance.
“What?” Rory asked her. “Do I have something in my teeth?”
“No, it’s…” Logan shook her head. “It’s a tank top and shorts.”
“Yeah,” Rory said. “You made me sweat through those pajamas, among other things. They need to be washed.”
“Other things?” Logan asked with a lifted eyebrow.
“Can you cancel that order you just made?”
“I can, but you don’t even know what I ordered.”
“Logan…” Rory moved until she was straddling her on the couch. “Please.”
“You want me to cancel the food?” she asked.
“Yes.” Rory nodded. “And I want you to take off that jacket even though I really like it on you.”
Logan swallowed and sat forward a bit to remove her jacket. Then, she handed Rory her phone and watched her focus on pressing the screen a few times until she tossed the phone onto the couch next to them.
“Canceled,” Rory stated and wrapped her arms around Logan’s neck again.
“You know we don’t…”
“I know.”
“Are you sure? Because I don’t mind waiting, Rory. I promise, I–”
“I’m sure,” Rory said, interrupting her.
“Can I just tell you something first?” Logan asked as she wrapped her arms around Rory’s waist.
“Yes.”
“Um… So, I ran into my neighbor before I came over here, and well, she and I–”
“Logan?”
“Yeah?”
“Babe, I don’t need you to tell me every time you run into someone you’ve done this with unless you really want to, okay? I trust you.”
“Are you sure? I don’t know what the right thing to do is here. I want to be so honest with you, Rory. I want you to know that what we’re about to do matters so much to me. It’s not just sex.”
Rory shook her head and said, “No, it’s not.”
Logan slid her hands up Rory’s back and told her, “I’m nervous.”
“Me too,” Rory replied.
“Maybe we should go in there.” Logan tilted her head toward Rory’s bedroom.
“Maybe you should just kiss me right here.”
Logan smiled at her and tried not to let her hands shake as she moved them to Rory’s hips and held on to them while she leaned in and kissed her slowly. Yes, they would take their time tonight. There was no rush, and Logan wanted to touch Rory all night long. She didn’t care if she was exhausted tomorrow. This would be worth it. This was everything.