No one u know.
Home. Now.
Coming.
Irritation swept over me as I thought about how incredibly stupid a curfew actually was for someone who would be eighteen in a few short months. Logan’s sleepy eyes were already on me when I turned to wake him.
“Are you in trouble?” he mumbled.
“No, but I need to go home now.”
We both stayed silent as we walked out the door. When we got in the car and began to drive, I replayed the evening in my mind, becoming even more irritated as I thought about how it ended. I couldn’t believe I had fallen for Logan’s crap. I let out one single chuckle and shook my head at the realization of how gullible I had been.
“You okay?” Logan asked.
“Oh yeah, I’m fine,” I retorted.
He eyed me with hesitation. “Are you mad?”
“No. I’m not mad,” I huffed. “It’s just…” I tried to remain calm, but I was not the type of person to keep quiet when something was on my mind. “What the hell was that last night?”
“What was what?” he asked as if he were completely oblivious to the event I was referring to. He probably did this sort of thing with all the girls, and I was just one of many who fell for his stupid charm. And beautiful eyes.
“Are you kidding?” I asked.
Then, as if I weren’t already fuming enough, he grinned. “Are you mad that it started, or mad that it stopped?”
My jaw dropped. I was speechless for a moment…but not long. “What kind of question is that? Is this what you do with girls? Get them to your apartment and then fuck with their minds? You said you were cool with being friends. You told me you weren’t going to ‘put the moves’ on me!” I said that last part with my fingers in the air as quotations.
His humored expression converted to one of frustration. “No, Liv, when girls come to my apartment, it’s pretty straightforward. No ‘mind’ fucking involved!” Now his fingers were in the air for quotations.
That shut me up.
He let out a deep sigh and ran his fingers through his hair, keeping his eyes on the road. “Shit, that came out wrong.”
“Pull over.”
“What?”
“You heard me, pull the fucking car over. I’m walking home.” What the hell was wrong with me? I didn’t want to walk home. This man was making me crazy. Or maybe I was just tired and still a little buzzed.
“You’re not walking home.”
“I can’t believe I fell for your shit, Logan. I have to admit, that last part, with the music, was pretty smooth. I bet that gets the girls to your bedroom every time.”
“What the hell? Liv…I had no intention of getting in your pants last night! I’m the one who stopped, remember?!” He took a deep breath to calm himself. We stopped at a red light, and I placed my hand on the door handle, ready to bolt at any moment.
He continued, “What I meant to say was…I’m sorry. You’re right, I don’t know what happened last night…when we, you know…but it wasn’t my intention.” He looked me in the eye and took my hand. “I think you’re fun, Liv. I had fun with you last night, and I really do want to be friends.”
As much as I wanted to stay mad, he said exactly what I needed to hear, in exactly the way I needed to hear it. I let it sink in as the light turned green and the car moved forward. It took the rest of the drive home, but I calmed down and felt normal again by the time we pulled into my driveway. I thought about our night together. I had fun with him too. In fact, I don’t remember ever feeling such a connection with anyone else. Not even Melody.
“What was your intention, Logan?” I asked as his car idled in front of my house. “Why did you take me there?”
He brought his hand to his chin and brushed it back and forth as he contemplated what he would say. Then he looked me in the eye with a nervous expression. “Please don’t take this the wrong way. You just seemed a little…closed off. I thought if you saw a little of my world, you would open up yours.”
“Your apartment is your world?”
A chuckle escaped him as he shook his head. “I never planned on taking you up to my apartment! You asked me about my family last night, and the first thing that came to mind was the shop. My dad and I spent a lot of time there together.”
He sighed, then his expression turned serious. His eyes were intense, with sadness behind them, when he looked at me. “I don’t know why, but I wanted to show you the Nova. I haven’t taken the cover off it since…The last time I saw it was with my dad standing next to me.”
“Oh…” I wasn’t sure how to respond to that, and for the first time since the bonfire, there was an awkward silence.
“Hey, are we good?” He gave me a hopeful look.
“Yeah, we’re good.” And it was the truth.
Chapter Nine
Logan and I really were good after that night. Great, actually. As the days passed, we began spending more and more time together. We saw each other every weekend, and if we didn’t see each other during the week, we spoke on the phone or texted every day.
Some days he would pick me up after work and take me for ice cream at Milo’s. Other days I would see him at Gavin’s where he and Gavin would work on their cars while I did my homework on the couch in the garage. The more time we spent together, the easier it was to shake the attraction I had for him, but the electricity I felt when he touched me never fully went away.
I had mentioned to him one single time that I hated doing my homework in a quiet, empty house, and he had made every attempt since then to make sure that didn’t happen anymore, inviting me over to “study.” His version of studying was working on cars or reading instruction manuals, while mine was actual school work.
Today, since I didn’t have to work after school, I had plans to go to his shop. I hadn’t been there since the night I fell asleep on his shoulder, almost four weeks ago. As I pulled into the parking lot, I noticed that in contrast to the last time I was here, all four garage doors were open and several mechanics were busy at work on different cars. I parked my car in the lot and began walking towards the garage. I didn’t see Logan at first, so I didn’t know if I should enter through the side door or one of the front overhead doors. I decided on the latter.
Several of the grease-covered men stopped what they were doing and turned their heads as I approached. One of them whistled.
“Shut-it Carter. Get back to work,” Logan yelled as he appeared from behind the covered Nova and began walking toward me. He had been sitting at the desk in back of the shop. “Dipshit.”
“Show the lady some respect, man. Jesus–this is a business.” another guy said. Carter laughed, and the men returned to what they were doing. It only took me a second to remember that Carter was the one with Logan on the night I met him. I glanced over and noticed that the other guy who came to my defense was the same one who was carding people in front of the beer tent that same night.
“Don’t worry about Carter,” Logan assured me as we met inside the garage. “He’s harmless.”
I shrugged. “No harm done.” My gaze shifted from Carter to the other guy, who nodded to me with a friendly smile. “Isn’t that the bouncer from River Fest?” I pointed.
The man came over, wiping his hands on a rag as he approached. He looked much less creepy in his mechanic’s clothes. “I’m Matt. I’d shake your hand, but you probably wouldn’t like that too much.” He held up his blackened, greasy hands. “Bouncing is my side job.”
I giggled. “I’m sorry, I’m picturing you physically bouncing,” I replied. He laughed. “I’m Olivia. And thank you,” I motioned to his oily hands.
Logan pointed individually to each of the men. “Carter’s the ass-munch. That’s Casey, James, Jimbo, and Steve.” Each of them stopped what they were doing to give me a friendly wave as they were introduced. We walked to the back of the shop, and I dropped my backpack on the metal desk.
“You can do your homework here,” he pointed to the desk. “My uncle couldn’t be here to
day, and the shop is overloaded with work, so I’m helping out.”
“Okay, let me know if I’m in the way. I can leave anytime,” I said.
He looked at me with a reassuring smile. “You’re never in the way, Liv. I like having you around. I work better, actually.”
I welcomed the clinking noises and zoot-zoot sounds of the power tools accompanied by the hard rock/heavy metal music that was playing in the background. Any background noise was better than quiet.
After finishing my homework an hour later, I walked around to watch the men work on the cars. I quickly found out that Logan was the go-to person for questions. He went from car to car, motivating the mechanics and giving encouraging instructions, while helping hands-on when and where he needed to. He managed them well, and they clearly had respect for him, despite most of them being years older.
Carter began to struggle with the car he was working on. “Dammit!”
I stepped over to take a look. I had seen that model of car before. In fact, I had spent a considerable amount of time in my preadolescent years observing the reconstruction of one.
“Hey, Carter,” I said.
He grunted in response, then appeared to feel bad about it. “Hey, Liv.”
“Everything okay?”
“Fuck no. Shit. Sorry. I mean no, it’s not okay. I’m stumped. I replaced the starter and the ignition switch and this bastard still won’t fu…it still won’t start. All the wires to the starter look fine. The battery is fine. The radio, lights, everything works when you turn the ignition, just not the starter.” He looked at me, remembering that I was a girl. “Sorry. Just rambling.”
I grabbed the little flashlight that was sitting on Carter’s Craftsman tool chest and looked under the hood, instantly remembering all those times helping Adam. The familiarity of the engine brought back memories of our talks. Maybe I could help Carter. Who knows, maybe something about the actual reconstruction of Adam’s car stuck in my mind. It wouldn’t hurt to try.
Carter’s face lit up as he watched me study the machinery under the hood. Clearly entertained, he chuckled. “You gonna save the day, princess?”
The power tool noises from the bay next to us stopped, and I noticed heads turn our way out of the corner of my eye.
I rolled my eyes at him and continued to examine the under-hood. As I tilted my head to get a better look at the back of the engine, I shined the light way in the back and noticed a white, rusty corroded wire attached to it. I remembered Adam talking about this same ground wire when he was replacing the engine on his car, and I instantly realized that this was the reason the starter wasn’t working for Carter.
“You’ve got a corroded ground wire here, Carter.”
His amused expression quickly morphed into a WTF expression. “Huh?” He came up next to me and looked at the spot where my flashlight was shining. Reaching down to grab the wire, it broke into pieces from his touch.
“Well, fuck a duck. You’ve got to be shitting me.” A dumbstruck Carter said, shaking his head as it dropped down. “I can’t believe I didn’t look back there.”
“Oh, now I’ve seen it all!” yelled James, as he walked toward us with a grin from ear to ear.
“Carter just got schooled by a girl!” shouted Casey, erupting in laughter.
Carter stood upright and pointed at Casey. “Fuck you, shithead!”
On the other side of the shop, Logan stopped wrenching under the hood of one of the cars and walked over to us. “What’s going on?”
“Your girl knows cars, that’s what’s going on!” Jimbo laughed. “She just gave Carter a lesson!”
Logan studied me attentively as a smile crept onto his face. “Really?”
I shrugged. “No, not really. It’s no big deal.”
“My ass it’s no big deal!” Casey interrupted. “Carter was all ‘oh what to do? What to do?’ then Liv strolled over and dominated his ass in zero point two seconds! She’s all ‘it’s the ground wire, dumbass!’” He used a feminine voice to portray Carter, and deep, manly voice for me.
The others all laughed hysterically at his remarks. Logan grinned and his eyes were slightly squinted as he watched me like he was processing information.
“It literally took her less than 30 seconds to figure that shit out, dude.” Casey continued between laughs.
I shook my head. “As much as I love that interpretation, Casey, it was just a corroded wire, anyone could’ve missed it. It’s no big deal!”
Casey’s laughter filtered down to chuckles. “If you say so sweetheart.”
After several more stabs at Carter, the commotion eventually died down, and the men went back to their work. Logan stayed by me. “Damn, a pool shark and you know cars? Any other surprises I should know about?”
“Nope, that’s it,” I replied. “And I don’t know that much about cars!”
Defeated, Carter looked over at me, then Logan. “That was pretty fucking cool. For a girl.” He patted Logan on the back. “She’s a keeper.” Then he excused himself to go have a cigarette out in the parking lot.
“We’re just friends.” Logan and I called after him in unison. Carter turned around and chuckled, then kept walking.
“Care to explain?” Logan asked.
I rolled my eyes. “There’s nothing to explain!”
“It’s not everyday someone like you”—he looked me up and down—“can school an experienced mechanic on auto repair techniques.”
I sighed. “It was just a corroded wire,” I said for the hundredth time. “Carter would’ve seen it eventually.”
He remained silent, waiting for me to continue.
I looked down at the floor. “Someone my mom dated for a few years considered it a good bonding experience to have me watch him work on his car. It happens to be the same model as that one.” I pointed to the car Carter was working on. Logan waited for me to continue. I shrugged. “Let’s just say he ended up leaving us for a newer model.”
His eyes narrowed. “What an ass.”
“It is what it is. Nothing’s forever.”
Studying me, he leaned against the tool chest, crossing his arms and nodding slightly. “Yeah. I guess you’re right. That’s why it’s important to live in the moment.”
I smiled. “Life is for living, right? No regrets.”
“No regrets,” he repeated.
We were silent for the next moment. I looked over at the grey canvas-covered Nova. “Hey, Logan?”
“Yeah?”
“You know you have a pretty awesome car under there right?” I said, pointing to the canvas cover.
“Yeah, I guess it is.” He looked at the covered car, then at me with a hint of anxiety behind those beautiful hazel eyes.
“What if today is the day you take the cover off and start fixing her up?”
He took his eyes off me to look at the Nova and stared at it intently for a moment. “I don’t know, Liv.”
“Come on,” I said, taking his greasy hand, walking him over to the car. “A car like this is not meant to sit under a cover. Listen, she’s calling to you! ‘Logan, fix me. Drive me. Fix me, please!’ How can you say no to that?”
He chuckled. “I can’t tonight, I’ve got to help the guys…”
“We’re good, man!” called James. “Just finishing up.”
“Yeah, we’ve got it covered, Logan,” Jimbo chimed in.
They must’ve overheard our conversation. I sat down in the swivel chair and twirled myself around. When I stopped, I was facing the John Wayne movie poster. Logan sat beside me on top of the desk. He looked at the poster, then at the car. His eyes stayed glued on the covered car for several moments.
I leaned over and placed my hand on top of his. “There’s no better time than now,” I said, giving him an encouraging smile.
With apprehension mixed with warmth in his eyes, he looked at me. Forcing the corners of his mouth up, he shook his head and took a breath in. He slid off the desk and stepped to the car then began removing the cover.
After it was completely off, he placed it on the floor next to the desk, leaned against the desktop, and crossed his arms, staring at the Nova.
With a peaceful grin, he eyed me with an expression that was as though an enormous weight had been lifted off his shoulders. “I’m going to have to start ordering parts.” His smiled widened. “You know what that means, right?”
It meant he would need money for parts…which meant…“More racing?”
“More racing.”
“Logan…” Oh crap, what have I done? “Are you sure that’s a good idea? Isn’t there a better way?”
“Other ways? Yes. A better way? Not really.” He was amused now.
I hated the thought of him putting himself at risk. “Just be careful, okay?”
He grabbed the arm of the chair and swiveled me to face him. “I’m always careful, Liv.” Then, with a gleam in his eye, he grabbed both arms of the chair, rolled me closer and quickly kissed my forehead. A chuckle escaped him as he let go of my chair, took a few steps to the Nova, and lifted the hood.
Chapter Ten
Women lusted after Logan wherever he went, and although he toned it down a bit when I was nearby, he was a natural-born flirt. I had accompanied him and Gavin to several more races and although Logan always insisted I be the flag girl, he had no problems mingling with his admirers before and after the races.
As he flirted with a group of three women, I stood near Gavin while he spoke with another man about the next race. Usually Logan raced at least three or four times in a night.
An attractive man with an athletic build, sky blue eyes framed by dark lashes, and medium-length caramel hair approached me.
“Are you having fun yet?” he asked.
I must’ve had a bored look on my face while I waited for Gavin to finish his negotiation. “I was having fun before…this is the boring part,” I replied.
“I’ve seen you around a few times. Aren’t you Logan’s girl?”
Apparently, everyone knew who Logan was. An unsettling feeling overcame me at the thought of a rumor going around that Logan and I were involved in any way other than friendship. I looked over to Logan who had his arm around one girl as he flirted with the other two, wearing a charming grin.
The Fine Line Page 6