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The Sudsy Lady Laundromat was the last stop on the main drag before you crossed the railroad tracks, which was the dividing line that designated what was “in town” vs. not. Most people preferred to work in town and closer to the interstate. Lisbeth, of course, was a creature of her own devices; when Liam demanded that she find a job, none of the in-town businesses would do, except for the Sudsy Lady.
Which was why I, a woman with her own washer and dryer, was cajoled into checking up on Lisbeth by her suspicious brother.
I parked the car and hauled a hamper full of clothes out of the backseat. The door to the Laundromat was propped open, and I immediately knew why upon walking in. Even with the afternoon sun beating down on the earth, it was still much cooler outside. I spotted Lisbeth easily leaning against the counter, looking miserable with her dark hair stuck to her forehead and neck.
“Carmen!” she uttered in surprise.
I raised my eyebrows, feigning surprise. “You work here?”
Lisbeth nodded and smiled. “Yeah. I mean, it wasn’t my first choice, but...” She followed me to the washers where I began loading my clothes. “I wanted to work at Amazon, actually, but my brother said no. Noah even said they’re always hiring, pretty much.”
“Hiring dancers. If I were Liam, I’d say no, too.”
“What about bartending? I’m nineteen now, so I can legally serve alcohol.”
I got the feeling this was exactly the conversation she’d had with Liam. I sighed. “Well, there are plenty of other bars in town where you can actually wear clothes, with air conditioning to boot.” I grabbed a sock and wiped my damp forehead before tossing it into the washer. “I must’ve passed a dozen ‘help wanted’ signs on my way here. Why’d you choose this place?”
Lisbeth sank into a plastic chair, her shoulders sloping downward. For a split second, she looked just like the little girl I used to babysit almost ten years ago. But then I blinked, and the little girl was gone. When she gazed back up at me, there was a weathered hardness in her eyes, clearly the look of a young woman who’d seen and been through a lot. She kept rubbing her forearm with her right hand. There was a strange tattoo there, the lines of a compass over the outline of a rose.
“I’m trying to keep a low profile. I got in a little bit of trouble,” she said.
“What do you mean by that?”
Lisbeth exhaled slowly. “Look, don’t tell anyone, okay? But the reason I came back to Canyon City was because...I did something. Or they think I did something.” She began talking faster, and I struggled to catch her every word. “Now, I have no idea of they’re looking for me or not, but I figured this was the safest place to hide, with Liam and the MC here and all, and—”
“Whoa, hang on for a sec,” I said. I put my hand to my forehead, feeling overwhelmed all of a sudden. “Who’s ‘they,’ Lisbeth? What exactly did you do?”
Hearing a sharp edge in my voice, Lisbeth’s eyes went wide. “Never mind. Forget I said anything.”
I caught her elbow just as she stood up. “What the fuck? You don’t get to drop a bombshell like that and tell me to forget it. What kind of trouble are you in, Lisbeth?”
Lisbeth wrenched her arm out of my grasp. “Nothing I can’t handle, okay? Jesus, I was just venting. I thought I could trust you, Carmen.”
What a brat. “Look, you’re still pretty young—”
“God! You, too, huh? I’m so sick of everyone treating me like I’m still ten. The moment I come back, all anybody wants to do is ask me about what happened during every spare minute I spent outside of this stupid town. First Liam, then that Logan guy, now you—”
“Logan?” I said, taken aback. “What does he have to do with this?”
Lisbeth scoffed. “Yeah, Logan. He’s such a creep. He took one look at me at the barbeque and kept coming back to ask random questions.” She hid her compass tattoo under her hand as she recalled their conversation. “He asked me how old I was, about my sisters, whether I had other tattoos under my clothes...all sorts of stuff. Maybe Liam put him up to it, who knows? But he’s sticking his nose in my business, and I don’t even know him.”
Suddenly, the heat and humidity of the Laundromat was becoming too much. I could feel my mouth opening and closing with nothing coming out. Lisbeth watched me for a second or two, rolled her eyes, and reached past me to start my wash.
“Look, it’s supposed to take forty minutes for one load, but on hot days it might be an hour or more. Maybe you should leave and go get something to drink.”
“Fine.” I had a million thoughts in my head, but I could barely sort through them. “I’ll see you later.”
Back outside, the breeze passed over my damp skin, cooling me down. I closed my eyes with my hand on the car door, breathing slowly. Then, for some reason, I decided to glance across the street, and it was as if it was meant to be. I saw him straddling his bike under a tree, nearly invisible in the shadows. I was relieved to see him. Not happy, but relieved. I marched across the road.
“Hey, Car. What are you doing all the way out here?” Logan asked casually, as if it was perfectly natural for him to be parked in the dry grass on the side of the road, hiding behind a tree.
“Cut the shit. What are you doing here?”
Logan slipped off his sunglasses. “I’m on official Skull Kings duty. Liam asked me to keep an eye on his sis.”
“That’s a load of bull. Liam asked me to do the same thing.”
Logan grinned. “Well, maybe he wanted us to run into each other.”
He began leaning in. For what, a kiss? A sour taste rose up in my mouth, and before I could stop myself, I felt my hand dart out and slap him across the face.
“Lisbeth told me you’ve been asking all sorts of inappropriate questions,” I said quickly. “And now, I find you spying on her from across the street? She’s Liam’s youngest sister. How do you think he’d feel if he knew what you were up to? If he knew that you kept trying to chat her up at the barbeque...”
My voice cracked, and I swallowed. While we were together, I’d almost said. But maybe in Logan’s mind, we weren’t actually together. Physically, sure. But that’s probably all he’d wanted from me, after all.
Logan waited silently for me to finish my thought. When I didn’t, he opened his mouth to speak. “Is that what you think this is about?”
“I think that you’re just a sleazeball that I never want to see again.” I clenched my fists at my sides, trying to force the hurt out of my voice. “Stay away from Lisbeth. And stay away from me.”
I ran back across the street to my car, started the engine, and drove onto the road. Logan stayed under the tree the whole time, disappearing into a mere smudge in my rearview mirror.
* * *
Great. After running into Logan, I was too flustered to know what to do with myself. Lisbeth had told me an hour, but I was sure she’d need two before she cooled herself back down. I still had to put my laundry in the dryer.
You owe me, I texted Liam once I got myself back home.
The afternoon sun slanted in through the windows, and my skin became sticky with sweat. I decided to make some iced tea. A strange humming noise hovered in the air as I searched the cupboards for my box of Lipton bags. Only a moment later did I realize the humming was actually the buzzing of a motorcycle engine. Then, the doorbell rang.
I had a good idea of who it could’ve been, and it didn’t make me happy.
Logan’s silhouette was immediately recognizable through the small window of frosted glass in my front door. I made sure to open it with a frown. “What do you w—”
He didn’t give me a chance to finish. He swept in, pushing me back as he slammed the door behind himself. There was a look in his eyes that made my stomach clench.
“What do you want?” I tried again, but in a markedly feebler way.
“I want you.”
“What?”
“I fucking want you, Carmen. Isn’t it obvious?” He began stepping closer with each word. “I can’t wait anymore.”
I gasped as I bumped my back against the wall. I’d been drifting backward, and now I was trapped. Logan planted his fists on either side of my head, corralling me in. When he dipped his face toward mine, his gentle breath blew against my cheeks.
“But it’s your call, Carmen. Just say the word and I’m gone.” A thin, oily smile spread quickly over his lips. He raked the fingers of his right hand down my left arm, making me shiver. His grip closed gently around my wrists. “But this is what you do to me, Carmen.”
Logan drew my hand up against his body, leading it against his crotch. I stiffened as I felt the hardening knot in his pants. He let me go, giving me the opportunity to snatch my hand back, but I was mesmerized. He was rock-hard down there because of me. For me.
My heartbeat pounded in my throat.
“What do you say?” he whispered.
My mind fought to regain control. I tried to think about how I’d felt when I caught him sneaking away to talk to Lisbeth at the barbeque. I recalled how annoyed Lisbeth had seemed, my own feelings of quiet rage as I scolded Logan under the tree. But all those feelings were as elusive as smoke, drowned out by the heat of Logan’s hard, lithe body and the intensity of his gaze.
When Logan put his hand on my chin, tilting my face up toward his, I wanted only one thing. I gave my answer in a deep, hungry kiss.