Page 50 of Yo Ho Ho
"What can I get for you?" the cashier asked from behind the counter.
Logan started picking a few things — a croissant and two different kinds of muffins and a piece of banana nut bread. He figured that Max would find something appealing and whatever she didn't want, he would take with him.
"And what about drinks?"
"A medium black coffee and a medium vanilla latte."
He handed his card over to the cashier and she stared up at him. "Do I know you from somewhere?"
Ugh.He was trying to avoid someone noticing him this morning, but he had forgotten a baseball hat, which was usually his go-to if he wanted to have some anonymity while walking around Detroit. He could avoid this whole production most days with just a baseball hat, but today was not going to be one of those days.
"Well, I—"
"You're Miller's brother."
Logan gave her a perplexed look. "Miller's brother?"
"Yeah, we met at that bar a few weeks ago. I know Miller from college."
Logan shook his head. "Nope, sorry. I actually don't have any brothers."
The cashier looked disappointed as she ran his card through the reader. "That's a bummer," she said. "Miller looked hot the other night. I wish I had his number."
Logan chuckled and took his card back, stuffing it in his wallet. "I can't help you with that. Sorry."
"Oh well," she said. "Your drinks will be ready over there and I'll get your food."
He walked over and waited for the coffees. He couldn't help but smile about the exchange. Someone recognizing him but confusing him with someone else happened on occasion too. Logan figured he had a memorable face but not "Jordan King memorable," for example. People would think they knew Logan from somewhere else, and he wouldn't tell them who he really was so as not to create a scene.
Miller's brother. He would have to share that with Max.
The idea made him smile. Telling Max about something trivial from his day may sound boring, but it was something he never had with anyone else. He didn't tell women he slept with about his day or share something about his everyday life. Max was the first woman that he wanted to stay with the next morning and buy coffee for her and tell her a stupid story.
He was getting in deeper than he expected, but he wasn't sure if that was a problem. Hell, he felt like he wanted that to happen, like it was OK. Sure, Max had rejected him once before. Her job was still going to be an issue for another week and she didn't know what would happen after that. What if she decided to go back to writing again and her new job would have an issue with Logan?
For now, he wasn't going to think about that. He wasn't going to care. He was just going to enjoy this time with Max and hoped he wouldn't have to over think any of it for now.
The cashier handed over his bag of pastries, which he tucked into the large inside pocket of his leather jacket, and he picked up the two warm cups of coffee for the trek back to Max's apartment. It was even easier walking back to her place than it was to walk over. Maybe it was because he knew what was waiting for him when he got there.
He figured out how to open the door into the lobby without spilling the coffee cups, but getting back into Max's apartment was going to be an issue. No keys, hands full with warm cups, pastries tucked into his coat. He was just going to have to do the kicking-the-door routine he reserved for Alex when they were on the road.
Logan got to Max's door and stood there, staring at it. This was bad. He was starting to over think this. Was Max going to be weirded out that he got coffee? That he knew what she liked? Was she going to be awake enough to even answer the door? He had the whole walk back to worry about this and only realized these were issues when he arrived here. He finally just took a deep breath and gently tapped the toe of his boot on Max's door. He waited, hearing footsteps on the other side, before she opened it and gave him a surprised look.
"Hey, you're here."
He smiled. "I'm here and I brought coffee."
Logan walked past her as she closed the door behind him. Then he turned and handed her a cup. "Vanilla latte." He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out the bag of pastries. "I didn't know what you would like so I got a little of each."
He offered her the bag, but she just stood there staring at him. It was then that he finally got a glimpse of her. Dark blue jeans with purple socks, a black long-sleeved shirt with "Detroit" in block letters. Her hair was pulled back in a ponytail.
"You're dressed already?"
"I have to go to work." She grabbed the bag and held on to it without looking at what was inside. "I woke up when I heard the door closed behind you."
"I didn't mean to wake you up," he said.
"I didn't expect you to come back."
