Just then, the band members walk out from the back of the building. The lead singer walks toward me and slaps a small pile of bills in front of me. He sits down on a stool next to me, his shoulder a little too close to mine for comfort. I shift away. He doesn’t take the hint.
I look down at the stack of money. “What’s that for?” I ask.
“That’s your cut of the door.”
“What’s that mean?” I ask.
He nods toward the front door. “We get a percentage of the cover charge. That’s your cut. We split it five ways.”
A grin steals across my lips. “Seriously?”
He smiles and nods. “Seriously.” He lays a hand over mine. “You did a good job tonight.”
I slide my hand from under his and wipe it on my jeans. He doesn’t notice. He looks at me like he’s hungry and I’m cake.
I pick up the stack of bills and fan them out in my hand. There’s more than three hundred dollars here. My mouth falls open. “Thanks,” I say. I can live for weeks on this much money.
He shrugs. “You earned it.”
Abby jumps in. She’s watching Logan across the room. And warning me by shooting her eyes in Logan’s direction. “Logan’s girlfriend is an amazing guitar player, huh?” she asks.
“Girlfriend, huh?” he asks me quietly.
I smile and nod. “Girlfriend.” I look over and see Logan walking toward us. He’s not smiling. He’s doing the opposite. I get up and step between him and the lead singer. I didn’t even get his name. Nor do I really want it. I tuck the money in my pocket and put my hands on Logan’s chest. He looks down at me and tries to brush me to the side, but I won’t let him. “When can we go home?” I ask, purposefully tugging him toward me by the loops in his jeans. He finally looks down at me. His brow is furrowed as he glares at me. “What’s the sign for home?” I ask.
He shows me, looking into my eyes as he signs it. I point to me and then repeat the sign. Logan nods.
The lead singer walks by us, and says softly so that I can hear, but Logan can’t see his lips. “When he’s done with you, give me a call, sweetheart,” he says.
Abby gasps. He looks over at her and winks and she flips him the bird. He laughs louder, and then he leaves, taking his band mates with him.
Logan wants to talk to me, I can tell. But he won’t do it with everyone looking. “When can we go home?” I ask.
He looks around. The chairs are all put up and Ford took over with the mop. Logan claps his hands at Pete and Pete turns around. He makes the sign he just showed me for home and Pete nods. He’s still pissy but he comes with us.
I wave at Abby and she waves back. She’s lifting her purse from beneath the bar, so I think she’s about to leave, too. “Don’t be a stranger!” she yells at me. I smile back and nod. She’s nice. I like her.
We walk through the bar to the back exit, and let ourselves out. It’s after four in the morning, and I’m tired, but the cold air wraps around me, and I feel more invigorated than I have in a really long time. I just got to play with a band for hours. And I have over three hundred dollars in my pocket.
Logan takes my hand in his and looks around. The streets are dark and more than a little scary at this hour. I’m suddenly really glad I’m with these two men. They’re both built like mountains, and the tats make them look much fiercer than they are. I want to talk to Logan, but I know he can’t walk beside me and see my lips. So I stay quiet all the way to his apartment. He motions for Pete to go up the stairs, and we stand in the stairwell for a moment. He brushes back a strand of hair that’s stuck to my lip. “You really enjoyed tonight, didn’t you?” he asks as soon as Pete’s gone.
I nod, and bury my face in his chest for a moment, squealing inside with excitement. I want to bite his chest, but I lift my head and say, “Thanks so much for taking me with you.”
“What did Bone want with you?”
I shrug. “Same thing he always wants.”
“Have you ever worked for him?” He appraises me closely, his blue eyes searching my face.
“Never.” It’s true. I have never fallen that far. Although I came close more than once.
He takes my hand in his and starts up the stairs. I kind of like holding hands with him. It’s nice. He pushes me up the steps before him and I turn around to say, “Do you know this is the first time I’ve ever walked up these steps of my own free will?”
He turns me around, slaps me on the ass, and I hear him chuckle. It’s more of a murmuring sound, but it’s all Logan and it warms my heart.
Logan
I’m so pissed at Pete that I can barely keep from running up the stairs and strangling the living shit out of him. He has something going on with Bone, but he won’t tell me what they were talking about. Bone’s no good and Pete knows it. So I have no idea what his purpose is for talking to the loser. He should have stayed far away from him.