Some Kind of Hell (12 page)

Before I could move away, Jared said, “We were around here, shopping for wedding dresses.”

“Nice,” I said.

“I just became a partner in my father’s construction company.”

“We get to plan a big, expensive wedding,” Chloe added.

They were ganging up on me again.

“My first project is building my own house,” Jared right. “I bought a few acres off Mom and Dad...”

The way he rolled it off his tongue -
Mom and Dad
- was a direct shot at me. He could have said
my parents
or even used their name. But by saying it that way, he was trying to tease me, hurt me.

I swallowed and felt the emotion rush up.

I had a moment right there.

To run away.

To cry.

“Oh, hey, there you are.”

I looked and saw Logan coming right at me.

Right there, at Jared and Chloe’s table.

“I’m sorry to interrupt,” Logan said. “Is this a bad time?”

“No,” Jared said.

“Wait a second,” Chloe said. “Are you...”

“I don’t mean to bother you here,” Logan said. “But I have a plane to catch. My band is flying to LA. Getting ready for some studio time.”

“Band?” Jared asked.

“Logan plays bass in...”

“DownCrash,” Chloe said. “Yeah. I know you guys.”

“Nice to meet you then,” Logan said. He pointed to Chloe’s stomach. “Future DownCrash fan?”

I laughed, a much needed laugh, and stared at Jared as I did so. His face was red and angry.

“I just wanted a kiss before I leave,” Logan said to me.

“You two?” Chloe asked. “You’re together?”

“Yeah,” I said. “He played guitar for me once, stole my heart.”

Logan shook hands with Chloe and thanked her for supporting the band. He nodded to Jared and then walked away.

Logan had saved me, again.

I left the table and found Deb, telling her that I was taking a fifteen minute break. I told her to take care of Jared and Chloe and to keep whatever tip they left, if any. She agreed and I went to find Logan.

He waited for me in the corner where he had found me.

I jumped at him, wrapping my arms tight around his neck. I took a deep breath and surprised myself that I didn’t cry.

“Thank you for doing that,” I said. “That was...”

“That guy’s an asshole,” Logan said. “I feel bad for the girl. She’s got a fun life ahead of her.”

“Yeah, she does,” I said.

I don’t know why, but a sense of peace came over me. Kind of like being afraid of a monster under your bed, worrying for weeks, and then finally looking and finding nothing but dust under the bed. That’s how it felt. I’m sure Jared and Chloe - and their baby - would have an easy life financially but that didn’t mean they would be happy.

Staring at Logan, I was happy.

I kissed him. He kissed me.

I broke the kiss.

“I thought you were flying,” I said.

“Supposed to be,” he said.

“What happened?”

“Tripp and Tatum flew out. I stayed back. I had to see you, Annie. I went to your place and Maggie said you were working.”

“You skipped your flight because of me?”

“I switched it,” Logan said. “I do have to go soon though. Need to get to the airport.”

“You did that for me?”

“I couldn’t stand going to LA and not talking to you in person,” he said. “The other morning... that was...”

“My fault,” I said. “That was the first time I had...”

“It’s okay,” Logan said. “I get it now.”

“No. Listen to me. What we did the night before. That was the best... like... the best ever.”

Logan smiled. He put his hands to my waist and pulled me in. He kissed my cheek and put his lips to my ears. “It’s only going to get better...”

I shuddered and my body warmed up. I couldn’t stop thinking about Logan’s body. How it felt. How much I wanted it again.

“You know,” I whispered to him, “I’m on a break.”

“Is that so?” he asked.

“And we have a private bathroom upstairs. Really nice...”

“You’re getting crazy,” Logan said. “Even for a rockstar like me.”

“Let me show you crazy,” I said.

I took his hand and walked him against the back wall of the restaurant. Nobody noticed as we slipped up the steps. My body was on fire by the time I reached the top of the steps. Every part of me wanted Logan. I opened the bathroom door and turned on the light. It was a really fancy bathroom, with a couch, comfortable lighting, and was probably half the size of mine and Maggie’s apartment.

“Wow,” Logan said.

It was the only word he’d get to say about the bathroom.

I came at him, slamming him against the wall. He tried to groan but my mouth was there against his. We kissed and my hand wasted no time grabbing between his legs. He had a plane to catch and I had a job to keep. We both didn’t have time to spare.

My fingers pulled at his zipper, wanting him.

I never moved so fast in my life to touch someone as I did then. I found him thick and hard inside his boxers, my fingers touching all I could.

With my free hand, I reached back and pulled at my apron string, letting it fall with the sound of loose change jingling. Logan pushed at me, forcing me back. He didn’t stop until I was against the wall. I cried for him, begging him to have me. I took my hand out of his pants and hurried to drop my pants. Logan’s hand was then there, between my legs, his eager fingers rubbing over my panties. I moaned and pushed my panties down. When they were at my knees, I opened my legs and waited for Logan. I looked down and watched as he pulled himself out of his pants. He pressed his thickness against me and I put my left foot on the arm of the couch to balance myself. Logan’s hands gripped my ass, holding me in place as he thrust at me.

He entered me with an explosion of pressure and pleasure making me out.

The large bathroom took my voice and threw back a sexy echo.

All of our breaths and noises became echoes. The naughtiness was intense.

We were in a busy restaurant... with Jared and Chloe just below us.

So hot.

So passionate.

Logan kissed me, his tongue savoring my mouth as he thrust at me.

The sex was incredible. I was on my toes on my right foot, rocking my body at him, wanting more speed, more Logan, more everything. He sped up, his hands cupping my ass tighter, pulling at me. We were connected in so many ways.

Logan stared at me.

Both our mouths were open, breathing heavily.

We focused on nothing but the scene around us. We tasted each other’s breaths, felt the pleasure from each other’s bodies. I felt Logan thickening, preparing to finish.

I whispered to him, “Yes...” and a second later he started to come. My body climaxed with him, my throbbing center pulling at him, accepting it all.

Our mouths came back together in another hot kiss as Logan gently fucked me even after we were done. He then broke the kiss and growled.

“What’s wrong?” I asked.

“Fuck LA,” he said. “I don’t want to...”

“Go be famous,” I said. “I’ll be waiting.”

Logan looked down at my nude lower half. “Just like this?”

“Oh, I’ll be waiting...
just like this
...”

We laughed and dressed, casually looking at each other, trying to touch each other with each second that passed, knowing an uncomfortable goodbye was inevitable. I turned the light off in the bathroom as we left and I told Logan to go down the stairs first, just in case.

“Is everything okay, sir?” I heard Dale, my manager, ask Logan.

I froze. If Dale caught me upstairs or had any idea of what I had just done with Logan, I’d be out of a job. Not that I worked in a lucrative field, but the job was nice and I made good money. In fact, tonight was the worst night, thanks to the asshole Jared.

“I, uh, I’m looking for the bathrooms,” Logan said. “Someone said back here...”

“Oh, no, the upstairs is for private,” Dale said.

He laughed, his usual fake laugh.

I hated Dale.

“Let me show you,” Dale said.

“Sure, thanks,” Logan said.

I gave it a minute and then peeked around the corner. I made it down the steps and  walked out to the front of the restaurant, looking for Logan. I knew I was coming to the end of my break, but I needed to see Logan again. One last time. To actually say goodbye and wish him and the band luck in LA. I darted right and tried to stay out of the sight of the crowd out front. It looked bad if the employees were out front - or at least that’s what Dale would tell me if he caught me - so I kept going. Where the building ended, I turned to a small alley and saw Logan standing there.

Hands in his pockets.

Smug look on his face.

His sexy eyes controlling me.

“Logan,” I said and ran to him.

“That was fun,” he said.

“And close,” I said. “That was my manager you talked to.”

“Looks like an idiot,” Logan said.

“He is,” I said, “but he’s still my manager.”

Logan paused for a second, before saying the obvious. “I have to go. Cab is waiting for me right now. The guys are in LA...”

“Go,” I said. “Have fun.”

Logan hugged me, held me. I didn’t want him to go. I thought about begging him to stay for a second, but I didn’t because part of me knew he’d probably stay. And if he really cared that much about me, then he deserved to chase his dream.

When we kissed, I finally felt it.

That connection. That spark.

I wanted to cry as Logan walked away but I couldn’t.

He looked so cool and his ass looked so good.

By the time I had said goodbye to Logan, Jared and Chloe were boxing up their leftovers and paying their bill. And in typical Jared fashion, he had tipped over fifty percent, just to show he had the money to do that.

The rest of night went by in a blur.

~13~

In the days since, Maggie became the one with the obsession with calendars. She lasted one day before she appeared in my room and looked around. When I asked her what she wanted, she tried to whisper that she wanted a calendar for her room. To hang up. To look at.

I, of course, gave her the kitten one, but it didn’t stop there.

Granted, it had been four days since I saw Logan, so it didn’t surprise me as much when I saw the large desk calendar on the dining room table. Maggie sat there nursing a glass of orange juice, staring at the daily newspaper.

“You’re not reading that,” I said.

“Nope.”

“Did you buy it?”

“Not really.”

“Not really?”

“It was in the stairwell.”

“That’s someone’s paper,” I said.

“Good. Then they’ll understand how to miss something.”

I laughed and Maggie couldn’t keep a straight face either. She folded the newspaper and threw it at me. I sat down across from her and touched the large calendar.

“Work,” she said. “I stole it.”

“I see that,” I said. “Did you hear from Tatum?”

“It’s too early,” Maggie said. “They were probably recording all night.”

“Just recording,” I said and took Maggie’s hand.

“I’m not worried about that. I just wish he was here. Or I was there.”

“I can’t believe they wanted them to record a song out there. I thought they were doing the demo here.”

“That’s what they thought too...”

I talked to Logan yesterday and he explained it to me. He was so excited, it made me smile the entire time he talked. It seriously made me feel guilty I wasn’t there to share those moments.

The band had met with Jason and after talking for a little while, they ended up at Jason’s house, playing some music. Logan and the guys broke out into the new acoustic song and according to Logan he saw Jason’s eyes
light on fire
. Jason called in a favor and  told the guys that they should cancel their plane tickets home. Jason wanted the acoustic song recorded along with one of the popular DownCrash songs. He wanted a quick recording and then they guys could come back and take their time recording the full demo. The best part was that it was all on Jason’s dime. He believed in the band enough to pay for all the costs. To fly them. To feed them. To get them in a studio.

Logan told me the only catch was that Jason wanted the full demo in a few months. He wanted to shop the two song tape around with some producers and labels but the real demo would be the one that did it.

I barely got a word in with Logan and that was quite okay. My life was nothing compared to his right then. Right before we hung up there was a slight pause like something else was going to be said. I understood what I wanted to be said, but also understood why Logan didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to add to the emotions of everything.

“Maggie, they’ll be home in a few days,” I said.

“Then they’ll be practicing and playing like crazy.”

“That’s good.”

“I haven’t heard from Scarlett either. I think she went to visit a friend or something, I don’t know. I might go into work today, kill some time.”

“It’s the weekend. Relax a little.”

Maggie looked at me and we both knew that was impossible. Those guys in DownCrash were sexy and addicting.

Dale called me an hour later and begged me to take a shift that night. It would have made me happy to tell him no and picture him panicking on how to fill the shift but I took the work. I needed it. The money. The ability to kill time.

I worked that night, which turned out to be super busy. When I came home at two in the morning, I found Maggie on the couch, clutching her cell phone, the TV on. I turned the TV off, covered her up, and put her cell phone on the floor next to her. I crashed hard that night and as much as I wanted to dream of Logan, I didn’t.

It was a nightmare.

I stand in front of the mirror and touch my stomach. It’s big. Like... killer big. My hair longer, with curls at the ends. Thick curls. It doesn’t make sense at all. I’m in a bedroom, but it’s not mine. I feel the roundness and hardness of my stomach and that’s not mine either.

I’m not pregnant... but I am...

The door opens with a little creak.