Logan's Story: A Sand & Clay Prequel (3 page)

What am I doing?  
 

Logan was confused, but he wanted this woman whose name he didn’t even know.  He rounded the corner so fast, he didn’t have time to look at what he was rushing into.  His mystery woman was leaning against the brick siding, one long leather boot pressed against the brick below the hem of her short skirt.  She was wearing a red plaid skirt, wrapped high on her waist with a tiny black sleeveless top covering her upper half.  Her hair covered her face as he approached her slowly from the side, watching her fire up a lighter and dip the cigarette between her lips in to the flame.  

“Nobody ever told you that those fuckers will kill you?”  Logan said in a low, ominous tone. This mystery woman may have some sort of hold over him, but he was going to take back control now.  She glanced up at him and a quick flicker of fear slipped through the deep, green pools of her eyes.  Then she pulled the still unlit cigarette from her lips, holding it between two fingers, and smiled at him.  

“Nobody ever tells me anything.” She grinned back at him, her eyes turning into a darker hue as she looked at the figure before her.  The perfect embodiment of masculinity with his long, wavy brown hair and tanned skin, that chiseled jaw line littered with stubble, and a body that most weight lifters would envy.  

“You owe me.” Logan said, his voice turning husky as he grabbed the cigarette from her fingers and tossed it to the ground.  He placed his hand on the brick wall beside her head and the other in his pocket as he leaned his massive figure over her tiny, thin frame.  

“For what?” She cocked her head to the side and her voice accidentally squeaked as she tried to sound irritated. She was irritated he had tossed her cigarette, but she was having trouble remembering that when she looked into his stormy, blue eyes.  

“The beer.  And the attitude.” Logan said, pressing his body slightly closer to hers as he growled the last part of his statement. She felt his breath on the side of her neck as he whispered the last part into her ear. That was all she needed, she leaned up and her lips met his.  Softly, she slipped her tongue out and slid it across his lower lip as she kissed him, but he didn’t move.  His breath hitched and he couldn’t refrain any longer.  

Logan slid his hand behind her neck and crushed his lips down on hers, pulling her tight against him.  His other hand slipped around her back and immediately grabbed her cheek, pressing her into him as he pushed his hips against her.  She felt a shudder pass through her body as she felt how excited he was against her. She wrapped her arms around his neck, mostly for support since her knees were threatening to turn into rubber at any moment.

“Name?”  Logan grunted as he pulled his lips away from hers for a moment.  He felt weird enough that he was allowing himself a moment of no self-control, he should at least know her name.

“Gina.”  She said breathlessly, blinking as she attempted to focus her eyes even though her head was spinning from the sensations he was causing her.  

“Logan.” He growled back in response against her skin.

“Nice to meet you.”  Gina giggled in response, sliding her fingers through his hair.  

“You don’t know that yet.”  He flashed her a fiery look, no smile on his face.  

She felt a flash of fear rush through her at the potential threat, but it also just excited her more.  She wasn’t one to give away control though and she knew that she still held all the cards in this game.  He had no clue what he was in for yet.

His hand slipped lower down her backside, grabbing her thigh and lifting her leg to wrap around him as he pressed her harder into the wall.  Their lips were moving fast, devouring one another, as if this would all disappear if they didn’t hold onto it for dear life.  Logan reached up behind her and tugged her hair back hard, but it didn’t hurt Gina. It exposed her neck to him for further exploration which he quickly took advantage of.  He moved further south and shoved the neckline of her shirt, not even thinking through his actions as he allowed their encounter to progress at a lightning pace.  

“Well, this is awkward.”  A voice said behind Logan, causing his head to shoot up and swivel around.  He was staring at a grinning Dylan, attempting to keep an innocent look on his face, as Rock stood beside him snickering behind his hand, completely failing to mask his laughter.

Logan rolled his eyes and caught Rock with a soft, but swift punch to the arm.  Gina scrambled behind him, readjusting her clothes to cover herself as she peered over Logan’s shoulder at his two band-mates.  Both men were full on laughing now as Logan’s face went bright red.

“So, you comin’ to sound check, dude? Or do you have something else you need to check first?”  Dylan continued his snarky commentary as he leaned to look around Logan and wink at Gina.  

“Shut the fuck up, man.  I’m comin’.   You jackasses are the ones that were late.  You expect me to sit there like a schmuck and wait for your sorry asses?”  Logan quickly followed his band-mates, leaving Gina standing where they had been making out, watching after them with an irritated look on her face.  

“Oh no, you definitely found a way to keep yourself busy.”  Rock chimed in, earning himself a second punch to the arm as the men headed back into the bar.  Logan was the last one to walk in and he glanced in Gina’s direction before entering, seeing her walking around the corner of the building.  He gave her a sheepish smile and nodded his head in her direction, which seemed to perk up her scowling expression.  

He felt a twinge of guilt for just dropping her like that, but he hadn’t known how else to react.  His band-mates had never seen him with a woman before because of how busy his life was. He just didn’t have the time to devote to flirting or dating.  Taking care of his family and playing gigs took center stage and groupies and all the drama that came with women just got in the way of that.  

Why did I just let Gina sidetrack me like that?
Logan wondered, scolding himself, as he turned away from her and followed his friends into the bar.  Dylan and Rock were already hollering across the bar to the stage where Charlie was setting up his keyboard. Like a bunch of teenage girls, they were eager to gossip and embarrass Logan with what they had just witnessed.  

“...just going to fucking town, man!  Didn’t even hear us come up behind him!”  Dylan was recanting to Charlie, who was smiling at the antics.

“Hell, at least we know he still likes girls.” Rock joked, just as Logan caught up to them, and all three men burst out laughing at Logan. A few patrons looked their way, then went back to their drinks.  

“Why don’t you fuckers just shut the hell up? Stop busting my balls just ‘cause you’re jealous.”  Logan smacked Dylan in the back of his head and stalked over to his gear on the side of the stage and picked it up.  All the men calmed down and began assembling their instruments and electrical equipment on stage, while still throwing in the occasional barb at one another.  

Logan purposefully avoided any eye contact with Gina who was now sitting back at the bar, turned to look at them, with a martini in her hand.  He did not need a distraction tonight, not when the record label scout would be here.  All the players occasionally glanced around the bar during sound check, wondering if the scout was already there, no one knowing what he would look like.  Tonight was the night.  

This was his chance.

CHAPTER THREE

Their first set was only eight songs and the bar was still only partially full since it was earlier in the evening.  None of them knew when the scout would be coming, but they had figured it best to save their best songs for later on in the evening when the crowd was thick and cheering.  McGinny’s patrons loved Logan and even though they had no official band name or logos, they were well known locally.  

“Take five, guys.” Logan told his friends as he slipped the guitar strap over his head and placed the instrument gently onto the stand.  He loved his red electric guitar more than anything else he owned, the Fender Stratocaster went everywhere with him and he carefully cleaned and polished it regularly.  

“More like ten, bro. I need a beer.  Or three.”  Dylan, always the loud mouth, slid his drum sticks into his back pocket and stalked off to the bar.  Rock was fast behind him, always eager to pound away a few drinks. Logan took a deep breath, releasing it slowly as he contemplated joining them.

“Relax, man.  They still play just as good hammered.  Hell, maybe even better.”  Charlie slapped Logan on the back as he walked past him to go grab a drink himself. Logan knew he was right.  Charlie was always the level headed one in the group. The guys were as nervous as he was about the scout and a drink or two would probably only benefit them.  

“What’ll it be?”  The female bartender leaned across the bar, purposefully showing off her cleavage to Logan as her eyes raked the length of his body, pausing a bit too long on his tight, black jeans.  He felt a sudden confidence boost at the thought of this pretty blonde flirting with him, even though she was definitely not his type. She looked like she dunked her head in makeup every morning and her face was a different shade of color from the rest of her body. Definitely not his type.  

“Jack and coke.” Logan smiled back at her, politely as she moved around gathering the ingredients, intentionally putting on a show for him.  He pretended to be interested even though his mind was already thinking about the chords in the next song.  

“Switching to hard liquor, baby?”  Gina was suddenly beside him purring, her arms wrapped around his waist as she looked up at him, grinning mischievously.  He had completely forgotten about her until just then, having been so focused on the set. The bartender took one look at Gina hanging all over him and dropped the glass down on the bar with a hard thunk, sliding it to him.  She tossed her hair over her shoulder and waltzed away.

“Oh, hey Gina.”  He said awkwardly, pushing his arm down to detach her from him, while pretending he was just reaching for his drink. She visibly pouted and scooted around to stand in front of him.

“You mixed up some chords in the last song, you know.”  She declared, the purr of sensuality no longer in her voice. Her hand was on her hip and she cocked one eyebrow at him.  Logan was taken aback, genuinely surprised that she had noticed that, let alone called him out on it.  He tilted his head to the side to look at her, narrowing his eyes.  

For the life of him, he could not figure this woman out.  Something about her was so irritating that he couldn’t stand it, yet there was also something sultry and unexpected that made his heart quicken and his pupils dilate when he saw her.  She was absolutely obnoxious and unusually clingy, but when her eyes blazed into him he could feel the heat in his very core.  Desire thundered through him at her defiance and spunk and he knew that he wanted her right then and there.  

“What’s your point?”  He snapped back at her, angry at himself for how he was letting this woman affect him. She shrugged her shoulders and looked down at her hands, fidgeting slightly.

“You’re going to need to be better than that tonight.”  She stated simply.  It wasn’t a question or an encouragement, it was just a fact. Logan took a step toward her, closing the gap between them and causing her to step back only to find the bar behind her preventing that.  He looked down at her, his towering figure shadowing her beneath him, and he felt a shiver go through her body.  He wasn’t sure if it was fear or arousal but it was all he needed.  

In a flash, his mouth was on hers and she might have fallen back upon impact if his hand hadn’t already grabbed the back of her neck.  He tossed his already empty glass onto the bar then used that hand to press her lower back forward, crushing her against his pelvis.  She responded instantly, snaking her tongue against his and letting out a slight moan at the feeling of their hips pressed together.  Just as quickly as he took her, he let her go and Gina stood there with a surprised look on her face at the sudden parting.  He had taken a few steps back from her, but then quickly changed his mind and wrapped his arms around her, grabbing her hair and pulling her head back slightly.

“Meet me outside after the show. You’re mine tonight.”  He growled into the groove of her neck below her ear as he bit down, causing her to yelp, then following it with a soft kiss.  Gina’s entire body was on fire as he let go of her and strutted back toward the stage.  She leaned back against the bar and took a deep breath, trying to slow her pulse to normal.  She doubted her plan for a moment, but then shook the thought from her head.  This was the road she chose.

~*~*~*~*~*~

The liquor, plus the surge of adrenaline from his encounter with Gina, had been just what Logan needed to amp up his performance during the second set.  It was later in the evening now and the bar was full of twenty-somethings, downing drinks and cheering on the band.  The atmosphere was lively and intoxicating, only feeding more into the band member’s excitement as they focused on their music and poured their soul into the notes.  

Logan was lead vocal as well as guitar and moved all around the stage, which gave him the perfect opportunity to scope out where the scout was sitting.  He expected him to be a bit older than the crowd and there were a few possibilities in the crowd, leaving him unsure of which man it might be.  He also kept a close eye on Gina who sat on a barstool off to the side, watching him, as she rested her chin in her hand and propped her elbow on the bar.  She smiled and winked when their eyes met, but he didn’t acknowledge her back.  At least not in a way anyone else could notice.  

He was just finishing up their third song when he saw Gina motion to someone at the door, hopping off her barstool to head to him.  A surge of jealousy hit Logan and he cleared his throat in surprise, as he announced the name of their next song-
Thief in My Bed
.  He smiled at the crowd and masked his emotions immediately, introducing the audience to his band members as they cheered for each one.  He swaggered back to center stage and grabbed the microphone, belting out the first lines of the song as the band surged in with loud and intense harmony.