crashing at his place. And he’ll be the perfect wingman to help me get Lily.
I knock at the same time I throw the door open to Logan’s apartment. I’ve been down a handful of times but not as much as I would like. North Carolina is a nice place to get away to when I need to relax, but I prefer the hustle and bustle of a big city like New York. And Logan is a bartender. Not exactly bringing in the big bucks, so he usually comes up to New York when he wants to have a good time.
“The fun has arrived!” I holler as I step into his apartment.
Logan gives me a bro hug when he sees me, slapping me hard on the back.
“I didn’t expect to see you back here after last time,” Logan says with a chuckle.
I frown, thinking about the last time I stayed here and how it took my chiropractor a month to fix my back after sleeping on his horrible futon. “I couldn’t miss an opportunity to see you. But, if you haven’t bought an actual bed for your guest room yet, then I’m turning around and getting you one right now. I’m not sleeping on that twenty-year-old futon again.”
“Relax. My sisters already beat you to it and bought me a mattress for Christmas last year.”
Images of Victoria and Amber pop into my head. Amber is older than Logan and me, and she wasn’t around much. But Victoria…she was the annoying little sister that I never had. Logan and I loved torturing her. I haven’t seen her in years, and the few times I’ve been back to see Logan, we have both been too drunk to talk about how his family is doing.
“How is Tori doing?” I ask.
Logan smiles. “She’s been better. Just lost her job. But I wouldn’t call her Tori. She hates that nickname.”
Tori never did have the career ambitions. She’s probably back at her mother’s house now, living the good life on the beach in California, until she finally decides she needs a little cash, like her brother, and gets a bartending job or something.
“Trust me, I don’t plan on seeing her anytime soon, so you don’t have to worry about me calling her Tori.” I pick up my suitcase. “You working tonight, or do you have time to go grab a drink?”
Logan glances at his watch. “I’m already five minutes late to work. I should go, although I’d really rather be here.”
“Don’t worry; I’ll be here for at least a couple of weeks. We will have plenty of time to grab a drink and hang out.”
Logan grins as he walks backward toward the door, still looking at me. “I’m not worried about having time for us to hang out. I’m just disappointed that I’m going to miss the fight.”
“Fight?”
Logan just continues to grin like the bastard that he is. “Have a good night. You might need to call a chiropractor for tomorrow. The couch is worse than the futon—or so I’ve been told.”
Logan leaves me standing alone in the living room. I eye the couch; it looks ancient. A large indentation is on the cushion on one end; it’s clear that Logan sits there every single time. The other end is scratched up from where his dog used to sleep. There is no way I’m sleeping on that couch. I don’t know why I would anyway if there is a perfectly good bed just down the hallway.
I prepare myself for what is waiting for me down the hall. I know my friend too well. We always pulled pranks on each other as kids. So, I’m sure he did something stupid to the bed after I complained about my back last time. If the bed is unusable, I’ll just buy a new one.
I carry my bag down the hallway, trying to think of what I would do to him if I wanted to prank him. Pour beer in his bed. Put books under one corner of his bed, so it’s crooked. Just remove the mattress completely.
I reach for the handle of the door just as it turns.
I frown.
The door swings open, and the last person I expected to see is standing in the doorway.
Tori.
Except this woman can’t be Tori. Tori is an awkward high schooler with braces, frizzy hair, and oversized clothes that don’t fit her body. The person standing before me is all woman. Her dark jeans make her legs look long as they hug over her curvy hips.