Chapter 17

I was so tired that I was no longer responsible for my actions. But, somehow, I didn't think that defense would hold up in court.

"Well, shall we?" he asked.

I nodded, and then turned toward Bobbie Jo. "Thanks, again."

"Just remember what I said," she said, rearranging the same stack of papers on her desk, obviously trying to look busy.

I laughed. "I will." Then, I nodded toward Logan and he followed me out the door.

It was already dark outside as we walked through the sliding glass doors to the parking lot. I was glad that Logan was there to walk me out as I stopped and looked around. "Well, it's a good thing I'm taking you home because it looks like the guys left you."

Logan laughed. "Yeah. They were pretty tired."

I smiled as we headed toward my car, my guitar case suddenly feeling like a lead weight.

"So, you have a place now, huh?" Logan asked, curious. Even though it didn't seem that way, his question was innocent.

"Yeah," I said as I smirked, not giving any more away.

One corner of his lips curled into a sly smile. "Well, are you going to tell me where?"

I shrugged. "You'll see."

He laughed. "Oh! So you're kidnapping me and taking me to your apartment."

I shrugged again. "Something like that."

Logan smiled, clearly enjoying the banter as he slid his guitar into the hood of my car along with mine.

"But if you'd rather go home" I teased. "I can always take you home."

"No, no," he said, placing his hand on the top of the car. "Now you have my curiosity up."

I laughed as I slid into the driver's seat and he slid in beside me. "What did Frank want to talk to you about?"

He took a deep breath. "Let's stop somewhere for coffee and we can talk."

I looked at him out of the corner of my eye. "That good, or that bad?"

He shrugged. "No; it's not bad."

"Then, tell me," I said, taking my eyes from the road. "What did Frank tell you?"

Suddenly, Logan's eyes grew wide. "Hey. Look out!"

I looked back at the road just in time to slam on my breaks at a red light. I crowd of people walked past. "Man, you scared the tar out of me!"

"Me?" he said in disbelief. "You need to keep your eyes on the road!" He took a minute to catch his breath. "You want me to drive?"

I shook my head as I laughed. "No. I'm just tired." I watched the people pass for a minute, and then asked, "What did Frank say?"

"He offered us a recording contract."

"Really?" I said, my voice filled with excitement. "That's great! Why didn't you want to tell me?"

He shrugged. "I didn't want you to think that we were trying to steal your thunder."

I laughed as I shook my head. The light turned green, so I accelerated. "Why would you think that? I'm happy for you!" Then, a thought occurred to me. "Why? Aren't you happy for me, too?"

"Yes; of course I am," Logan said as his eyebrows pulled together in concern. He took a deep breath and ran his fingers through his hair. "Thank you so much for inviting us here today. I'm so sorry that we won't be touring with you."

"Why don't you tour with Tasha and me? You'll be your own band."

"That's something I need to talk to you about." Then, he looked up and saw a convenience store, its bright neon lights breaking through the darkness of the night. "Can you pull in here? I'll only be a minute."

I pulled in and shut off the car. "Actually, after singing all day, I'm kind of thirsty. I was going to get a soda."

He placed his hand gently on my arm. "I'll get it." A heartbreaking smile spread across his lips. "Diet Coke, right?"

I smiled. "You remembered," I said in mock admiration.

He laughed. "I'll be right back."

I locked the doors and leaned back against the headrest while I waited. Actually, it was good to have a moment to relax. The trip and the whirlwind ride were taking its toll on me. I could usually go a few days with little sleep, but then it catches up with me and I have to crash.

I had just closed my eyes for a second when there was a knock on the passenger side window, causing me to jump. I looked over and Logan was already back. "Hey. That was quick," I said as I reached over and opened the door.

"Well, to be fair, it's been a half hour," he said as he slid into the passenger seat. "Sorry it took me so long."

"What time is it?" I asked, suddenly wide awake. "I must have dozed off." I reached up and turned the key in the ignition and the car roared to life.

"It's eleven thirty," he said as he placed a bag of groceries on the floorboard at his feet. "Listen: you're tired and we can do this some other time. It's getting late."

I smiled as I pulled back onto the street. "What's the matter? I thought musicians stayed up late and slept all day."

He laughed. "Yeah, but you're still a lightweight. Your body's not on that schedule yet."

I nodded. "Yeah. I guess you're right." A moment later, I pulled into the parking lot of our apartment complex, Somerset Apartment Community.

Logan let out a breath. He said nothing, but when I looked over, he was clearly disappointed, obviously thinking that I had changed my mind and was taking him home. Then, I turned in the opposite direction of his apartment.

"Hey. My apartment is over there," he said, pointing in the opposite direction.

I suppressed a smile, revealing nothing. "I know."

"Okay." A mischievous smile spread across his face.

A moment later, I pulled up in front of my apartment, turned off the engine, and then looked over at him.

He smiled. "No way! You got an apartment in my complex?"

I laughed. "Our complex," I corrected. "And, yes. I got it this afternoon." Then, I looked at his bag of groceries. "But I can take you home if you need to put that away."

He shook his head as he lifted it from the floorboard. "Well, actually, they're for you."

"Really?" I asked, surprised. "Thank you! That's very thoughtful of you! Actually, I just got my apartment before I went to the studio and I haven't had time to get anything yet." I looked into his eyes. "You want to come up?"

He let out a deep breath. "I'm not sure that I should."

I nodded, understanding. "Okay yeah I was thinking that you could just come up to see my apartment, and I wanted to talk to you about your contract, but we can talk some other time."

"Well, since you put it that way" he said as a mischievous smile spread across his face. "But if you change your mind"

I hit him lightly on the arm, laughing. "Come on. Let's go."

We locked up the car and grabbed our guitars and the bag of groceries, and Logan followed me up the stairs to my new apartment. It was my first apartment, my first time away from home, and the first time that I had a guy in my apartment alone. Over the last few days, I'd had a lot of firsts.