Sand and Clay (5 page)

She turned from him and walked out.
Jackie and Aralia were right on her tail supporting her, but both looking
bewildered as to what had just taken place. Logan followed them out into the
hall but didn’t chase her down the hallway.

“Caroline! Please!” He shouted
after her. It wasn’t going to do any good, she was already through the double
doors and leaving him and his world behind. Caroline didn’t cry over guys.

Chapter Six

There was a full line of yellow
taxis still picking up concert attendees, so the three girls added themselves
to the back of the line of people waiting their turn. Everyone was dressed in
varying degrees of night club clothing ranging from fishnet stockings to bright
neon colors.

The girls blended in with their
outfits, Caroline was still rocking her skinny leather pants and her green top
had fallen even further off her shoulder during her encounter with Logan. As
the girls waited in line, inching further towards the front, Caroline’s friends
couldn’t stay silent any longer.

“Caroline, are you going to tell us
what happened in there? You rushed us out of there like the place was on fire
or something.” Jackie said to her, Aralia nodding in agreement. Caroline turned
to face the girls, dropping her left hip so her weight was being supported on
her right leg. She looked down at her hands, fidgeting again.

“It really wasn’t that big of a
deal. I was just ready to go home.” Caroline said, attempting to stay vague.

“Caroline, Logan Clay, a famous
musician, was calling your name down the hallway as we rushed away like we were
fleeing the scene of a crime.

I mean, if your shoe had fallen
off, it would be like the rock and roll version of Cinderella.” Aralia scoffed
back at Caroline, refusing to let the issue drop at vague.

“I thought we had a moment, I thought
there was something there. It was stupid. I should have known better, just like
you said he is a famous musician.” Caroline said, sighing.

“What does that mean? Shit,
Caroline, did you hook up with Logan Clay. THE Logan Clay?” Jackie interjected,
her eyes lit up like a kid on Christmas morning.

“No! Of course not, I’m not like
that. I mean, not really, there was just a quick moment where I thought we were
going to kiss but, I don’t know, we didn’t. Okay?” Caroline stammered, trying
to explain herself, but how could she explain to them what had happened when
she didn’t understand it herself?

“Caroline, what happened?” Aralia
probed again.

“I thought something was going to
happen, he gave me this whole speech about how he couldn’t stop thinking about
me since we met on Monday. It was all so romantic, I just got caught up. I
should not have let my guard down like that. Just when I thought something was
going to happen, he pulls away and then his girlfriend walks into the room.”
Caroline said, speaking faster with every syllable she uttered as she felt the
anger rushing back to her, sitting like a rock in her stomach that she would
rather of grabbed and thrown right at his face.

“His girlfriend?!” Aralia and
Jackie gasped in unison, as they balked at her, begging for further details.

“Yeah, the girlfriend he didn’t
mention. Of course. He is just a player, stereotypical musician. I shouldn’t be
surprised. She walks right in and they kiss right in front of me and then he
leaves with her. I mean, the nerve of him to try and seduce me, pretending he
has feelings for me, drawing a painting of me, telling me that he never felt
this way before. Seriously? Those are such lines. Stupid me, I fell hook, line,
and sinker until Gina walked into the room. BAM, fantasy shattered.” Caroline
was ranting now.

“Wait, wait, who is Gina?” Aralia
asked.

“He drew a painting of you?” Jackie
asked at the same time.

“Gina, his girlfriend. Well he said
it was of me, but it’s probably just a ploy he uses to get women.” Caroline
said, taking a deep breath and calming down. Aralia and Jackie stared at her,
their minds trying to absorb the breadth of information that she had just
rained on them. At that point, they were at the front of the line and the cab
driver opened the door for all of them. They squeezed into the backseat and
gave directions back to Caroline’s place. The car took off in the typical
unsafe New York taxi jerk into oncoming traffic, pulled a u-turn, and headed in
the direction of Caroline’s apartment.

“Don’t brush him off so quickly,
Caroline. I mean, the guy is a rock star. That kind of scores him some bonus
points, you know. Plus, I know you pretty well and your judgment is rarely off
base. If you thought he meant those things he said, then maybe he really did.
Aside from the entire girlfriend fiasco, it sounds unbelievably romantic.”
Aralia said to Caroline in the cab.

“I guess, but the girlfriend part
is a pretty big part to leave out.” Caroline responded. Jackie and Aralia both
nodded in agreement and then began chatting about their night and the men that
they had met. Jackie had met a security guard whose phone number was written
down the side of her arm and Aralia had met a group of gay men that she was
going to go clubbing with next weekend. It wasn’t long until the taxi jolted to
a stop in front of Caroline’s apartment building. She climbed over Aralia and
hopped out of the cab, waving goodbye to the girls as they smiled and shouted
goodbye to her, then turning to give the driver the next address.

Caroline waved until the taxi
pulled away, then walked over to her front door and thanked the door man as he
opened it for her, then climbed the several flights of narrow stairs until she
reached her apartment door. She had a large apartment for New York, but that
still wasn’t saying very much.

 She let herself in and dropped her
keys on the front table. The apartment was dark and she didn’t turn on any of
the lights. Instead she stepped out of her heels, wiggled out of her leather
pants, and tossing off her shirt, leaving a trail of clothes on the floor to
her bedroom.

Once in her room, she threw on the
t-shirt that she had stolen from Logan, that hung very loose and baggy on her
small frame, and climbed straight into bed. She was already asleep when her
head hit the pillow. The commotion, exhaustion, and emotions had zapped
everything that she had.

~**~

Caroline woke up to a stream of
sunlight stealing its way into her room through a gap in the blinds where they
were tangled. She scrunched her eyes back closed, trying to ignore Sunday
altogether and just go back to sleep. After about an hour of willing the sun to
disappear and it’s defiant refusal to do so, Caroline yawned and lifted herself
out of bed.

She had no plans today and could
just relax, which was exactly what she planned to do. The events of last night
were behind her and she was back to real life and ready to move on.

She trotted into her kitchen and
began rummaging through her fridge, finally settling on yogurt mixed with some
granola. Grabbing a spoon, she balanced the yogurt in one hand and scooped up
her sketch pad and a pencil and went to the living room. Her favorite part of
her apartment was an alcove jutting out of the building that she had turned
into a window seat with comfy pillows. It was the perfect spot to sit and
people watch, looking for inspiration for what to draw that day.

She settled herself onto the bench,
leaning her bare legs against the window, as she was still wearing just the
large t-shirt. Her sketch pad sat behind her as she dove into her yogurt,
enjoying each bite as she watched people walk by on the sidewalk below. She was
on the second floor, so she was at the perfect angle that most people couldn’t
or wouldn’t notice her, but she could see all around her.

After a few moments of just
enjoying the view, Caroline spotted an older woman sitting on a bench reading a
book. For no particular reason that she could pinpoint, she knew that that was
what she wanted to draw today. So, she put down her yogurt and started on her
sketch pad.

First forming the shape of the
woman’s body position and the bench, then going back to add the more specific
details like her hair and clothes, then lastly drawing in the final aspects of
the scene like the look in the woman’s eyes, the turning pages of the book, and
the surrounding scenery.

As she had been working, the sun
had risen further in the sky and was now burning bright above her causing the
window seat to become too hot. Caroline hadn’t realized that so much time had
lapsed, but she looked down at her portrait and smiled with pride at the piece.

She put the sketch pad down and
stretched out her arms, preparing to get up. Just as she was unfolding her
legs, she noticed a swift movement on the sidewalk close to her. She realized
what she was looking at and jumped up like lighting had just hit her. She
pressed her face further against the window to get a better view, but it only
confirmed what she had seen.

She jumped back from the window,
afraid of being spotted. She turned to look at her apartment and immediately
saw a million things wrong with it. She quickly tossed her yogurt away and
picked up her clothes off the floor, rushing to her bedroom to toss them in the
laundry bin. She was scrambling around the living room when her doorbell rang.

She came to an abrupt halt and
looked down at the newspaper she had been taking to the trash and didn’t know
what to do. She quickly tossed it behind a couch cushion and took a deep
breath, walking over to the front door. She quickly tried to brush down her
hair with her hands, hoping that she looked somewhat presentable. Her hand
grabbed the knob, just as the bell rang a second time. She closed her eyes,
took a deep breath, and opened the door.

“Hi.” Her visitor said gently, a
smile in his words.

“Hi back.” Caroline exhaled,
standing awkwardly in the door, leaning against it for support in case her
knees buckled in a rebellious attempt to embarrass her. The two stood in
silence for a moment, just looking at one another.

“May I come in?” He asked.

Caroline nodded and stepped out of
the way, her eyes glued to Logan as he walked into her apartment.

“How do you know where I live?” she
asked him. He turned back to look at her, clearly looking up and down enjoying
the view of her barely clad frame under a large t-shirt.

“George, from the Java Jolt. Then
your nice door man downstairs helped pin point the specifics.” Logan told her.  Caroline
made a mental note to have an angry talk with both Jeremy and George. But she
couldn’t focus on that right now. Logan Clay was standing in her living room. LOGAN
CLAY WAS STANDING IN HER LIVING ROOM. She took another deep breath, then tossed
her hair behind her shoulder, putting on a look of nonchalance as she walked
past him further into the living room.

“Well, why are you here? I think I
made myself pretty clear last night. I have no interest in being another
groupie or notch on your bed post, especially when you are already committed to
another woman. I am not that kind of girl.” She said crossly, folding her arms
and dropping her right hip as she looked at him with accusation.

He didn’t respond and she couldn’t
read his face. Part of him looked sad, the other part looked amused. They stood
there in a standoff for a few moments until Logan took a step closer to her.

“That shirt looks better on you
than it ever did on me.” Logan said, giving her half a smile with his head tilted
as he looked down at her. Caroline paused and then realized what he was talking
about, causing her face to turn bright red. She had completely forgotten that
not only had she stolen his shirt, but she had worn it to bed last night and
was still wearing it now.

She didn’t even know why she had
stolen it, all she knew is that the smell of him against her skin had been the
best part of her night and was the sole cause for the amazing night’s sleep
that she had. She pulled down at the bottom of the shirt, trying to cover
herself further. She was blushing wildly and cursing at herself in her mind.

“Oh, I’m sorry.” Caroline didn’t
know what else to say, she certainly couldn’t explain it to him since she
couldn’t explain it to herself either. She had stolen the man’s shirt. There
really wasn’t any coming back from that kind of embarrassment.

“I was wondering where I had left
that shirt.” He told her, this time chuckling and smiling, taking another step
closer to her.  Her heart felt like it was going to beat out of her chest when
he took that step and her nervousness was clouding her head.

“I’ll be right back, I shouldn’t be
standing here in nothing. Hold on.” She said very quickly and then slid around
him, heading into her bedroom. He had tried to reach out to her but she had
slickly avoided his grasp and skated past him. She shut the bedroom door behind
her and rested her back against it for a moment, calming her breathing. She
couldn’t believe he was here, that he had just showed up! Why was he here? Where
was his girlfriend? She closed her eyes and let out a sigh, she had no idea
what she was going to do. She liked this guy, but he had a girlfriend and
Caroline isn’t that type of girl.
Or am I?
She thought for a moment then
smacked herself and assured herself that she was not.

She stepped forward and grabbed a
pair of leggings that was on the end of her bed and pulled them on under the
shirt. She quickly slipped on a bra and some socks and then pulled her hair up
into a ponytail. She glanced at herself in the mirror, she looked like she was
heading off to yoga or something. Exactly what she was going for, she didn’t
want to look like she was dressing up for him or like she cared. He had a
girlfriend after all. She closed her eyes as she grabbed the door knob to her
bedroom door and just repeated
girlfriend, girlfriend, girlfriend
in her
head. She couldn’t let herself forget. Logan has a girlfriend.

She walked into the living room
where Logan was lounging up against her window seat, holding her sketch pad in
his hands. He looked up at her and smiled, causing her to pause in her steps
because his smile was just electrifying.

“You drew these?” He asked her
inquisitively, pointing to the picture she had sketched earlier of the older
woman. She blushed, she didn’t usually show her sketches to anyone.