chin on my fist, letting his voice melt over me.
“Tonight, I have someone I’d like you to meet.”
The words take a while to register in my mind. I sit up and stare at him. Slowly, that knowing smile I’ve grown accustomed to creeps across his lips.
“Say hi to the awesome listeners, Wonderful Wendy.”
#15
Logan pushes the microphone on its stand toward me. I look from him to the mic, then shake my head. He nods. I shake my head more fiercely, but he nods more. I mouth the words “I hate you,” and he grins.
“Hi,” I say into the mic, but I’m apparently too close. Logan jumps and scoots the mic away a little. “Sorry,” I whisper.
He leans in to speak. “So, Wonderful Wendy, what has been awesome about your day?”
I get close to the microphone, too, expecting him to move back, but he doesn’t. “Nothing really.”
“Come on, something had to be awesome.”
I shake my head.
He points at the mic.
“Nope, nothing.”
“That’s too bad, but then again, life is all about yin and yang, right? Things can’t always be awesome. So, let’s go with that. What was so not awesome about your day?”
I make sure to keep my eyes on his as I speak. “Well, I’ve been feeling bad about hurting someone. I said something I really didn’t mean, and now this person probably hates me, which sucks. A lot. This person was right, and I should have admitted it.”
A few seconds of silence goes by. We’re sitting so close our knees are not only touching but are interlaced.
“That does suck.” The way he says it is like he’s not speaking to the audience. He’s talking just to me. “What do y’all think, listeners? Got any advice for Wonderful Wendy or want to commiserate? Give us a call.”
Logan flips a switch on the microphone, and a haunting woman’s voice begins to sing through my headphones. He moves one side of his headphones off his ear, and I do the same.
“So?” He doesn’t sound accusatory anymore. He sounds more…hopeful.
“You were right. There have been moments between us.” I look down at our knees and notice a worn hole in his jeans. I touch the exposed skin with the tip of my finger.
“And?”
I tap my foot, anxious about what he’ll think of this next part. “And… If you’re willing to forgive me, I’d like for there to be more of our moments.”
“So, you and Eric? Is there still a you and Eric?”
“Nope, that’s over.” Eric has to have listened to the voice mail by now and is too busy having fun to call back. I didn’t expect him to be very concerned about us breaking up. There are plenty of other cheerleaders to act as his arm candy, thank God.
A crease forms between Logan’s brows. Maybe it’s the heartbreaking ambiance the music is creating, but I get this feeling like he wants to reveal something important.
“Maddie, I have to tell you…” He leans even closer to me and whispers, “I’ve…”
“Yeah?”
“I’ve… Never been lucky. With girls. With relationships. That whole thing. I guess, maybe, I overreacted the other night. I’m sorry. It’s just, you’re you, you know?”
“You didn’t overreact. I was being a jerk.”
He frowns even harder and opens his mouth like he’s about comfort me, tell me I wasn’t being a horrible person, but I shake my head.
It takes me a bit to get my words straight. “I like you, Logan. I like who I am when I’m around you. You’re fun and considerate. And I trampled all over that. Like you said. I’m me and I’m trying to…fix that, but—”
He holds up his hand for me to stop. “No, that’s not what I meant. I didn’t mean it in a bad way. At all.” He emphasizes those last two words and covers my hand with his, his thumb rubbing slightly, soothingly. “Let’s just…forget all that even happened. Okay?”
Ben’s voice buzzes over the speaker, and we both jump, “And we’re back in five, four, three…”
Logan doesn’t miss a beat. “Man, I love that song. What about you, Wonderful Wendy?”
I grin. “One of my favorites.”
Ben waves at us and makes the international hand gesture for phone with his thumb and pinky finger.
“Looks like we have a caller. Hello, awesome listener, what’s your name?” Logan says.
“Hey, Awesome Logan. This is Dan-the-man.”
Logan rolls his eyes but keeps his voice steady. “All right, Dan-the-man, what’s on your mind?”
“Well, Awesome Logan, there are always a lot of things on my mind, because I’m extremely intelligent and always contemplative, a