The Fine Line by Alicia Kobishop Page B

being an idiot.
     
    *
     
    The talk never came.  It had been three days with no call or text from Logan.  I didn’t try to contact him either.  We had been spending so much time together, and logically, I knew we both needed some space.  The problem was that I missed him.  It took all my strength not to pick up the phone and call him.  He had become just as good of a friend to me as Melody had, and in the past several weeks since I met him, it had become a natural occurrence to speak with him at least once a day.  And the more time that passed without a word from him, the more I thought about him.
    “Hey, Liv,” a man’s voice called.
    I turned my attention away from the shampoo and conditioner bottles that I was stocking and directed it to the voice.   I instantly lit up when I saw Evan standing before me.  “Hey!”
    “Everything okay?  You look deep in thought,” he inquired.
    “Stocking the shelves is serious business, you know,” I replied with an extra serious face.
    He smiled.  “Well, I would hate to keep you from such serious business.  How would you feel about doing something a little less serious when you get off work tonight?”
    “What do you have in mind?”
    “I’m thinking…a Haunted House.  If you think you can handle it.”
    I smiled.  Melody and I talked about hitting up a number of haunted houses this year.  “Do you mind if I bring friends?” I asked.
    “Yeah, no problem.  The more the merrier.”
    “Which Haunted House?” 
    He gave me the info.  “I’ll pick you up after work.”
    “See you then.” 
    After he left, I took a quick break to text Mel.  As expected, she was all for the plan, and she was going to tell Nate, Isaac, and Jess about it.  They planned on meeting Evan and me there.  My mind drifted to Logan.  I wanted him to come, but he hadn’t made any effort to call me lately, so I quickly brushed away the thought.
    Evan was leaning against the side of a dark grey Nissan Altima, smoking a cigarette, as I walked out of Frank’s after closing.  A cold front had come through, and the autumn air had turned too brisk to be riding a motorcycle.  A grey hood stuck out of the collar of his black leather jacket and a smile formed on his face as he watched me approach. 
    I gave him a hug.  “Hey.”
    He took my hand and motioned for me to lean against the car beside him.  “Hey.  Before we go anywhere, I just need to touch base with you about something.”
    “Okay?” I said in more of a question than a statement.
    “I need to let you know that I have a girlfriend back in Denver.”  He glanced at me to observe my reaction.  I stayed neutral and quiet.  He continued, “We decided to try an open relationship before I left, so she’s cool with me dating…but…I made a commitment to her.  I’m not going to get involved in any other serious relationships…emotionally.”
    I let out a giggle.  Laughter was my inappropriate defense mechanism for uncomfortable situations—and this was awkward.  “I’m totally fine with that, Evan.  No worries.”  I continued to smile.
    He looked so uncomfortable.  It was kinda cute.  “You seem cool, Liv.  I just didn’t want you to have any…expectations.”
    Oh, the irony.   “You have no idea,” I mumbled.
    “What?”
    “Nothing.  It’s fine, really.”  I brushed my hand on his arm. “I think it’s cool that you’re clearing the air right away.  More guys should do that.” 
    “You still want to hang out?”
    “Yeah!  Let’s go get the crap scared out of us!”
    During the car ride, I found out that before leaving school to help his family, he majored in bugs.  Bugs!   He had some big long scientific word for it, but the gist was that he studied bugs.  Although it impressed me that he was incredibly attractive and extremely intelligent, I had an issue with the bug thing.  It grossed me out.  But he was cool and fun, so I would try my best to overlook it.
    When we arrived,