Chapter Twenty-Five #3
“You bring a few dollars? We might need to get another bottle,” Trent asked Joey, glancing at him out the side of his eye.
“Nah nigga, I'm tapped. I got the car, the gas, and the weed.”
“Here.” Sage pulled out five twenties. “What can we get with this?”
“Shittttt,” Trent dragged. “That’s more than enough. We about to get a fifth of Tito’s and pour it in those empty 1942 bottles.”
“Is that a good thing?” Sage was confused.
“It’s a great thing.” Joey grinned, handing him the blunt. “We about to pull all the bitches tonight. What time you gotta be home?”
“I’m out here.”
“That’s what the fuck I'm talking about!” Trent clapped his hands and cut up the music.
Sage slouched in his seat and stared at his sister’s name dancing across his screen. Instead of answering her, he shot her a text and powered his phone off.
???
Tyler rode in the passenger seat of Logic’s truck as he whipped through the city.
Xscape played in the background, cooing about being someone’s little secret.
Tyler wasn’t surprised by his song choice because he was really an R&B lover and she loved that.
His thuggish ass was driving through the city singing to her and Tyler was all in.
One of his hands controlled the steering wheel while the other one rested on top of hers.
Every so often, he brought her hand to his lips, placing a kiss on her palm.
The gesture was simple, and Logic had unknowingly unlocked a love language Tyler didn’t know she had.
Tyler didn’t ask where they were going because she didn’t care.
Logic was good company, and she’d ride around the city with him all night if he asked.
They talked about her court case, his sisters’ homecoming dance, and his album.
Thus far, Tyler had only heard the songs on the radio, but now that she was off the tether, Logic planned to take her to the studio with him.
“So what’s next?” he asked, glancing over at her. “You gone get back in the studio? I know your fans miss you.”
“Um, I don’t know,” Tyler sighed, allowing her head to fall back on the headrest. “I don’t even know where to start.”
“Shit, go back to the basics.”
“What do you mean?”
“You still wanna sing?”
“Sometimes.”
“Then go back to where it first started.”
“YouTube?” Tyler quizzed.
“Yea.” Logic nodded. “That was your safe space, right?”
“Yea.”
“Then revisit it. Listen to those same songs that had you dreaming of being on the main stage. Fall in love with the words that had you wanting to write your own music. Watch the videos that gave you chill bumps. You gotta reignite your passion, baby girl, don’t let it die.”
“I hear you.” Tyler smiled.
“No pressure though baby, move at your own pace.” Logic winked, pulling into the crowded gas station. Shifting the truck into park, he turned to face her.
“You want something out of here?”
“I’ll take a water.”
“What kind?”
“It don’t matter...wait, no Aquafina…or Smart Water or...just get me a Fiji.”
“All that shit tastes the same.”
“No, it doesn’t but being that you were smashing faces with mold mouth, your taste buds might be a little off,” Tyler teased.
“Yea aight,” Logic chuckled, stepping out of the car.
“I’m playing.”
“Nah, keep talking shit. It’s only going to make me fuck all that sassy shit up out your ass,” he grinned, closing the door.
Giggling to herself, Tyler slouched down in her seat, placing her foot on the dashboard.
The motion caused her lip gloss to slip from her pocket and fall between the seats.
Reaching down, Tyler tried to grab the lip gloss but froze when her fingers brushed across a pill bottle.
Her stomach dropped and suddenly the intense feelings she experienced earlier that day returned.
A lump formed in Tyler’s throat as she slowly pulled the bottle from between the seats.
Georgia Smith. Oxycodone 30 mg. Take every eight hours.
Glancing up at the door, Tyler watched Logic converse with a small group of men.
As if he could feel her stare, Logic peered in her direction and winked.
Almost immediately, Tyler was hit with a wave of guilt.
He believed in her. Shane and Aria believed in her, and while that should’ve been enough to put the bottle back, it wasn’t.
Tyler pressed down and twisted the cap off.
The tart smell caused her mouth to water.
Tears filled her eyes as she tilted the bottle and shook four pills into her palm.
Replacing the cap, Tyler put the pill bottle back in its place and popped two pills into her mouth.
Opening her purse, she unzipped her wallet and slid the other two pills into a small pocket just as Logic opened the door.
“My fault, baby girl. This nigga long winded, give me two minutes,” he explained, handing her the water she asked for. Reaching between the seats, Logic discreetly retrieved the pill bottle and turned away from her.
Tyler fumbled with her phone, pretending not to see what he was doing, but out of the side of her eye, she watched him scrape off Ms. G's information and place the bottle in his pocket.
“I’ll be right back,” Logic promised, closing the door.
Tyler watched him coolly bop back over to the men and step off to the side with one of them. She watched as they exchanged money and pills before they embraced in a quick brotherly hug before Logic made his way back to her.
“My fault,” he apologized as he pulled into traffic.
“You sell pills on the side or something?” Tyler turned in her seat to ask.
“Nah. I mean I’ve dabbled in shit here and there, but not for real.”
“Oh ok.”
“That was the last time for that though. I just needed to get that shit off real quick. I didn’t mean to do all that in front of you, but that nigga wouldn’t stop calling.”
“It’s cool, I mean you gotta do what you gotta do, right?”
“Right.” He peered over at her. “Do you need anything before we head in?”
“If you make one more stop I’m going to think you’re scared.”
“What?” Logic cocked his head to the side.
“He scaredddddddddd,” Tyler teased. “He scared of this pussy.”
“I mean shit, after you told me you have orgasmphobia, I might be.”
“I hate you,” she snickered. “It’s called anorgasmia and it’s a real thing.”
“Yea, yea, yea. Let me be the judge of that.” Logic smirked at her and stepped on the gas.
???
Thirty minutes later, Logic stopped in front of a newly remodeled house in Ferndale. He pulled into the driveway and shifted the truck into park. Tyler lifted up from her seat, gazed at the house and then back at him.
“Who lives here?”
“Come on.” He opened his car door.
“You rented an Airbnb?” Tyler questioned, following his lead.
Logic ignored her twenty-one questions as he made his way to her side of the truck. Silently, he took her hand and guided her up the walkway and onto the porch. Using a key, Tyler watched curiously as Logic opened the door and stepped to the side so she could enter first.
“Uh, you might wanna get your money back because they don’t have any furniture in here,” she stated, flicking on the lights. “It’s nice but empty.” Then it hit her. “Wait, is this your house?” Spinning around with her mouth wide open, she gasped. “Oh My God Logic! You bought a house?”
“I did,” he grinned. Standing against the doorframe with his hands in his pockets. “It’s not much, but it’s a start.”
“Not much?!” Tyler squealed, running her hand across the brand-new mantel. “Logic.” Her eyes bounced from the big bay windows to the high ceilings. “This is beautiful,” she praised. “Are you going to give me a tour?”
“Yea.” He stretched his arms out, reaching for her hand. “Come on.”
Hand in hand, they explored the four-bedroom, three-bath home with a fully furnished basement.
Tyler cooed at the stone fireplace and fell in love with the large windows.
The open floor plan stole her heart and the backyard was breathtaking.
Tyler listened to Logic talk about his plans of putting in a basketball rim for Sage and a content room for the girls.
His enthusiasm was contagious, and even after he stopped talking, Tyler was still smiling.
“The piranhas are going to lose their shit when they see this.”
“I know.” Logic rubbed the top of his head. “I wanna get some shit in here before I bring them here though.”
“Boy,” Tyler disagreed. “They’ll be ok with sleeping on air mattresses. This is nice and it’s theirs...bring them home.”
“Aight...I’mma do that.” He nodded. “Let me show you my room.”
“I thought I saw it.”
“Nah, that was the guest room. The master bedroom is ducked off back here. It’s one of the reasons I picked this house. I’ll have my own bathroom and there's a huge walk-in closet that I plan on turning into a studio.”
“A studio,” Tyler cheesed, loving his vision.
“Yea, it’ll be nice to just roll out the bed and go empty my thoughts from the comfort of my room,” Logic explained, stopping in front of his bedroom door. Pushing it open, he stepped to the side so she could walk in ahead of him.
“Oh, you think you’re so slick,” Tyler blushed, examining the setup.
In the center of the large, empty bedroom was a candlelit pallet, surrounded by pillows and blankets. Off to the side was a bouquet of roses, a bottle of champagne on ice, a platter of sandwiches and bags of chips. It was super corny but super fucking cute.
“How this get here?” he joked, approaching her.
“I don’t know, you tell me.” Tyler turned around, wrapping her arms around his neck. Are you trying to seduce me, Logic?”
"Hell yea.” Logic kissed her neck. “Can I taste you?” He kissed her again. “Can I put this dick in you?” His hands slipped under her jacket. “Can I have this pussy, baby girl?”
“Yessss,” Tyler moaned.
“You answering too fast. I need you to think about what you're saying.”
“I am.” She pulled at his jogging pants. “I want you to fuck me.”