Chapter 17
Logan
On this fine Wednesday afternoon, I was meeting Asher at the new bar.
By fine, I meant it was stupidly hot outside, and dogs were panting even in the shade. I was thankful to have an indoor activity, for sure.
The parking lot was sort of an overflow for other nearby businesses.
I didn’t mind for now, as I was still closing on the property, but I’d definitely need to post a sign or something to make it clear this parking was for the new Blackbird.
The parking lot was at least a third of the reason why I’d bought the building.
I spotted Asher’s parked car, and he waited by the front door. Excellent, he was punctual. People who were chronically late roasted my nuts.
“Hi, Asher!” I hailed as I walked toward the door.
“Hi, hi.” He held a tablet in one hand, messenger bag perched on his other shoulder, visibly ready to work. “I brought a few paint sticks based off those Pinterest boards you sent me.”
“Great. I would love to nail down a few design elements today if we can.”
I’d been given the code specifically to let Asher in today, per my real estate agent, so I hummed a little ditty and let us both in.
“Sadly, all the walls are still up, ’cause I haven’t closed on anything yet.”
Asher waved this off. “I knew what I was walking into, no worries. This is pretty typical at the beginning of the project. Also, don’t feel locked in to anything we decide today.
If you change your mind for some reason after demolition happens, please tell me then.
Not after I’ve bought materials, or when we start painting. ”
“I sense some frustration there.” I paused to close the door behind us. “That happen often?”
Asher sighed, shoulders slumping.
“I’ll take that as a yes. Well, I promise I won’t do that to you. Really, the Pinterest board captures my aesthetic pretty well.” I waved a hand to indicate the foyer we stood in. “Under all these false walls and old paint, there’s a cool building with history. I want to showcase those elements.”
“Oh-ho, that’s the sort of direction I need.”
“Plus, there’s something in here I really want to keep.”
I opened the door leading to the foyer, letting him into the right side where the massive wooden bar still lived.
Somehow, the bar had stayed with the building through all its iterations, but I thought this bottom apartment had perhaps been a store of some sort, so the counter had been something they could use.
Asher stepped in behind me as I flicked on lights, and he let out a whistle as his head panned, taking in the space. “Wow, yeah, I can see elements lurking. And that bar is fantastic.”
“The bar stays.”
“Of course it fucking stays. Do you know how much it would cost to replace it? It does need a little TLC.” Asher moved in closer, then bent down to get a better look at the bottom area.
“Some sanding, a little stain and touch-ups, and it’ll look grand.
Not too much, though. I want to keep the historic look. ”
“You read my mind.” I felt pleased he already understood some of my vision here. “I don’t want it to look industrial, or new age, I want to keep as many historical elements of the building as possible. I don’t want a cluttered look, either.”
Asher straightened and came back to me, flipping through his tablet for a second before standing hip to hip with me to show the screen. “So these are some mock-ups I’ve made, just knowing the size of this main room and what your Pinterest showed.”
I studied the mock-ups. Wow, he was good—damn good.
This was precisely what I had in mind, with the high ceilings, polished wood floors, and masculine touches in the choice of tables and chairs.
Asher had placed TV screens with care, so they weren’t cluttering up every wall, but there were about four scattered throughout the area.
“Yes,” I hissed, feeling almost triumphant to see what I’d imagined captured in a single frame. “Yes, Asher, this is precisely what I wanted.”
He beamed. “What I love to hear. All right, I put a shade of green on the walls. Thoughts?”
“It’s close to what I would choose.” Not quite right, although I couldn’t seem to find the words to explain why.
“Color is a feeling thing, not a word thing.” Asher walked toward the bar, set down his tablet, then fished a huge ring of paint swatches out of his bag.
He had several tagged with sticky notes, and he flipped through them like a pro before pulling out a swatch and placing it flat against the bar. “Now, come see if this sparks joy.”
I could tell from here. “Close, but not quite?”
“I kinda agree with you, to be honest. It’s not quite right. Almost too dark for this space.”
Yeah, that had bothered me. “The lighting in here is very mellow to begin with, not many windows, so a dark color would just make this feel like a cave.”
“Hmm, yeah,” he agreed almost absently, still flipping through swatches. “It’s why I like to walk the space before ordering anything. I’ve got to get a feel for lighting and such. Too dark, too dark, not the right tone for this wood…Ooh what about this one?”
“Now that I like.” It was a pretty green. I didn’t know colors or names, but I liked it.
Asher’s eyes were on me like he was still waiting for a judgment. “I’m looking for a love, here.”
“I don’t know if I can say I love it, but I do like it.”
“Then it’s not the right one. Okay, take three.”
“You normally have to do multiple takes?”
“Eh, depends. Some people have specific colors in mind when they start a project, some people don’t care and leave it up to me, others—like you—want to weigh in on things.
I don’t mind going through paint colors.
It’s one of my favorite things to do, actually.
And I’d rather flip through paint swatches for an hour and get this right than for you to hate the color a year later and want to repaint. ”
“Fair enough.”
Asher kept flipping. “Hmm, I do love that hunter green, but it’s a little too dark.”
I pointed to the swatch two down from it. “What about this light olive green?”
Asher went huh, held the swatch against the bar, then immediately shifted to place it against the wall, before he dropped down to all fours and put it against the floor.
Was this reaction a good or bad sign in the land of Asher? I couldn’t tell.
“Logan, I really like this one. It’s masculine, it’s not too dark, it’s matching well against your wood tones—what do you think?”
“I love it, personally. My first Jeep was very close to that color.” I’d stupidly rolled the vehicle by taking a curb too fast, which I still kicked myself over. I’d fucking loved that Jeep.
“Then I’d say we’re sold, for now. I do want to come back in and paint samples here and there, so we can see how the color looks in different lighting.”
“I’m good with that.”
“You still want a dark stain on the floors?”
“Yup. Dark stain hides stains, if you get my drift.”
“That I do. We’ll need to get all this flooring and the walls taken out so I can actually see the hardwoods, do some test staining on them, see what they take best. Wood’s finicky sometimes.
” Asher lifted a cautionary finger. “If they are too thin, say they’ve been sanded before, we’ll have to either lay something down over them or tear them up and lay down new hardwood.
I have budgeted for that, just in case.”
“We can talk solutions when we get to that point, if we do.”
“All right by me. Let’s walk the second story next.”
“Sure.”
I followed him up, watching as he poked his head into the different rooms. Trying to get some feel for space again, I guessed.
“Same color up here?” he asked as he poked his head into another room.
“Yes and no. From about”—I walked four steps forward before spreading my arms to either side like I was a giant, temporary wall—“here onward, I want these rooms to be my office and storage rooms. All the space behind me will be a large party room.”
“Ah-ha, you did mention you wanted an office up here, but I wasn’t sure where you wanted to put it. Back of the building makes the most sense to me.”
Asher pulled out his tape measure and quickly marked out the space. It was nice, honestly, working companionably with him. I knew he was fun to play games with, but I hadn’t expected we’d work well together, too. I knew he could be silly, but serious Asher was a pretty cool guy.
“Walk me through what your office should look like. Do you want shelving in there, built-in desk, what? Should the storage area have cabinets and closets built in?”
“Oh god, closets sound amazing. Instead of those dumb wire shelves I bought. That’s in my budget?”
“A-yup.” Asher winked. “Because I do look out for you.”
“I appreciate you so much right now. I didn’t even think of the possibility.” He really was a pro.
We walked both rooms, me laying out how I wanted things to look, how everything should be organized. Asher sketched out what I said on his iPad, and it was great seeing my thoughts drawn out. It gave everything a bit more solidity.
“I’m going back to the office and mocking this all up while it’s fresh in my head,” Asher said. “If you think of something else you want, just text me.”
“I will.”
We headed back down, but Asher stopped at the top of the stairs and turned back. “Logan, I want to say something on a personal level. Thank you for how you’ve approached Gage. I’m not sure how much he’s said of his dating history?”
“CliffsNotes, mainly.”
“Okay, so you know it sucked royally. It never made sense to me, honestly, why he struggled so hard to find someone worthy to date. He’s gorgeous, insanely smart, and one of the most giving people I know.
My occasional urges to strangle him aside, he’s one of my favorite people in the world.
My heart broke for him, some days, as I knew he hated being single but couldn’t seem to find someone worth dating.
Mixed in with all of that is his trust issues because of his family.
Most guys took it personal when he didn’t immediately warm up to them.
When really it had nothing to do with them. ”
I nodded because I got that. It had nothing to do with me. It was bad history and relationship drama that made him wary. It was why I could be so patient with him.
Asher looked heartened at my ready agreement. “Oh good, you figured that out too. When he met you, I started praying that this time wouldn’t play out like in the past. It hasn’t, because you’ve proven you’ll wait for him. And that’s all he needed to know—that he’s worth waiting for.”
“Damn, Asher. You’ve got me all choked up.
” I had to clear my throat and look away for a second, because my heart felt overwhelmed.
It was easy to see how deeply Asher loved Gage and wanted the absolute best for him, as only a best friend could.
I knew Gage was a pretty amazing man, but to inspire this level of love said volumes.
“I hope the two of you last. He’s so incredibly happy being with you. I’ve never seen him so excited. You complement him in the best of ways.”
“I hope we last too. I’ll never meet another man like him. Any tips to help me?”
Asher put a hand on my shoulder, a wicked gleam in his eye. “Why don’t you treat me to lunch and a beer, eh? Because this is going to be a conversation.”
I’d be a fool to pass up his offer. “Bet.”