smokin' | louigan

twenty-seven

that night, after closing the restaurant with tired sighs and a few strips of gauze, logan and louise retired upstairs. rudy had left a while ago leaving louise with a few scrawled numbers on a slip of yellow memo paper.

the two sat on the couch, the scratched bottle of wine between them. the television was playing a commercial for wood cleaners. the lights were off, only the moon guided logan to louise's eyes.

"so, who was that guy?"

"what guy?"

"the one you were cozying up to earlier, the redhead." logan sounded gruff. louise looked over to him, taking a sip from the bottle.

"that was rudy."

"rudy?"

"yeah, rudy."

"oh."

"oh?"

"it's nothing." logan stood with a firm grasp on a new pack of cigarettes.

louise tried to grab his hand. his palm was rough on her curved fingertips. he ripped his hand away and stuffed it into the pocket of his jeans. he paced to tina's room and louise stared at the streak of moonlight falling down his back. she flinched as the door slammed shut.

louise was confused, and a tad angry. sure they had kissed and smiled and laughed and partied, but nothing was official. she didn't owe him anything, if anything he owed her for not killing him out of annoyance on the first night.

louise walked to her sister's old bedroom and quietly knocked. after a few seconds with no response, she slowly opened the door. a shirtless logan lay on the pink and purple bed, an unlit cigarette between his teeth, the half-empty bottle of wine in his hand. streaks of moonlight striped across his bare abdomen.

"louise." he didn't even look at her. the cig remained in his mouth. voice low. she stepped in closer and adjusted the black strap of her camisole on her shoulder. her fingers plucked the cigarette from his lips and put it between her own. logan couldn't watch her, he couldn't bare to. he would feel her lips on his while her arms were around someone else and he just couldn't look at her.

he winced at her fingers brushing across his shoulders, eyes closed as they glided up his neck, exhaled as they rushed along his scalp. the bed dipped beside him as she sat down. louise plucked the cigarette from her mouth and threw it on the floor.

"y'know," logan's eyes remained closed, "someone once told me that littering is bad."

"yeah, well at least it's not as bad as your attitude." logan's eyes opened and met louise's. the color of tree bark sunken into tan skin. logan pulled louise into his side and pulled the purple blankets over their bodies.

they smiled and laughed and melted into each other, all cigarettes forgotten.