"Dude, I am all for hitting the bars tonight but that is the worst idea you have ever had. That chick is rich man kryptonite. You're better without her," Dick called from the next room.
"I'm gonna call Mac. She'll be on my side," Logan shot back.
"This isn't about sides man, it's just a horrible idea. I don't know if I can be seen with you if you drag me along for this wreck and embarrass me. I have a rep. to maintain, I'm not sure if you aware of this or not but chics love me." Dick pointed to the black block letters printed across his chest.
Logan grabbed his phone pressing the send button and rolling his eyes at Dick, "Hey, It's Logan… No nothing is wrong with the website…I have an idea and you have to tell me if it's horrible. I already ran it by Dick and he thinks I am completely insane…So I was thinking, I know Piz and Veronica split and she is only here a couple more days before she heads out for that FBI thing," Veronica and danger never settled well with him and adding a gun to the mix made his stomach turn, "Do you think you could get her to come out with you tonight as a kind of going away thing?…yea?…" he smiled at Dick sitting on the couch next to him, "Maybe that little karaoke bar just off campus?… I know you hate karaoke but…yeah maybe a little tipsy…meet us at about 10? Thanks Mac!"
"Dude, this is a bad idea," Dick was downing the last of his beer and shouting at Logan from his bedroom.
"It's the perfect song."
"Do you really think Ronnie listens to country music? My dog ran away and I lost my left boot…" He laughed, "nothing good ever happens in those songs."
"This is about a guy who wants her just the way she is. I am drunk enough and sad enough to admit that I miss her Dick," Logan's perch on the couch provided him a clear view of his bedroom, his night stand visible through the open door. Her picture staring back at him. Some waitress had snapped it one night when he convinced her to go out to club with him. She was wearing a short blue dress with her signature little vest over her shoulders. He was standing behind her holding her protectively around her tiny waist. She was smiling, they both had big stupid grins on their faces, her hair curled, her eyes the most perfect shade of blue. They had left the club early that night, not being able to keep their hands off of each other- then she had found out about Madison and all was lost. He had tried to move on, dated Parker, felt guilty every time he kissed her, wishing he were kissing Veronica instead, thank God I never slept with her, he thought. "The look she gave me and she broke up with Piz. That's got to mean something right?" Logan tipped his head back as he killed the last of the scotch in his tumbler.
"Well, if you really want to do this, we are pre-gaming it to the max tonight my friend," Dick tossed a brew in Logan's direction.
"I really don't feel like going out tonight, Mac," Veronica whined when her friend insisted she put on her dancing shoes.
"Come on it will be fun! We can sit in the back and make snide comments about all the tone def losers performing tonight," Mac really was not that excited to go to a karaoke bar, but she had a bottle of Ibuprofen in her purse and a desire to see Veronica and Logan happy again. Truth be told, she was pretty excited to see Logan sing. Logan had locked himself in his room to get ready and Dick had called her to fill her in on Logan's idiocy. "You are kidding? You have to be kidding? Is he that desperate? Country music?" She had laughed for fifteen minutes before she got herself under control, "Can he even sing?"
"You promise you are not going to make me get up and sing?" Veronica remembered the last time she was at a karaoke bar. She had been following Duncan and the Tridents and they had forced her to sing. There was a time, before Lilly died that she would have been more than happy to perform to a drunken audience. Of course, Lilly would have stood beside her belting out some ridiculous song at the top of her lungs.
"I promise. Wallace is going to meet us too," Mac paused not sure if she should say what she was thinking, What the hell, "Dick might come too…"
"Dick as in Richard Cassablancas Jr?" Veronica raised an eyebrow. She wanted to ask if Logan was coming but stopped, "What's going on with you two?"
"Oh. My. God. Nothing!" Mac grabbed a pillow from Veronica's bed and threw it across the room.
Veronica dodged the pillow and laughed, "Someone's got a crush."
"Yes, Dick, Dick has a crush. Mac has a physical reaction to the thought of her dead boyfriends brother," She grabbed her stomach as she spoke.
"Physical?" Veronica smirked, "Physical is one word for it."
"Let's go! I told Wallace we'd be there by ten," Mac shook her keys as she urged Veronica out the front door.
"Ok, so karaoke is one thing- but Honkey Tonk Night?" Veronica was aghast as she read the marquee over the bar doors.
Two frat boys were on stage giving a drunken rendition of a song Veronica did not recognize. The sight of them, with arms slung over one another's shoulders wearing cowboy hats and each holding a beer as they belted out the unfamiliar tune sent Veronica into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.
"…Wise man next to me did say about the one that got away,
son I missed my 't you let regret take place of the dreams you have to chase,
ask her to dance...go on son.
You might fall down on your face.
Roll the dice and have some faith…
Don't be falling in love as she's walking away,
When your heart won't tell your mind to tell your mouth what it should say.
May have lost this battle,
Live to fight another day,
Don't be fallin' in love as she's walking away…"
"I didn't know about the country thing. Scouts honor," Mac smiled, she knew, Dick had told her and she had proceeded to look the song up on you tube. She had to admit it was kind of sweet.
"Mac-a-licious!" Dick shouted from little table in the center of the room, "Over here." Mac made her way through the mediocre crowd and took a seat next to Dick, "Logan will be up soon." He smiled at Veronica.
"Logan is here? And he's singing?" she burst out laughing, "Logan sings now?"
"Oh Ronnie," Dick rubbed her shoulder, "I swear to God if you make fun of him and turn him into a pile of mush again I will kill you with my surf board."
Veronica was speechless, Did Dick Cassablanca just threaten me?
"Shhhh.." Mac was looking at a nervous Logan in the spotlight.
"This one is for you," he pointed to Veronica from the stage and smiled at the crowd.
The house lights went down and the music rose. Veronica had never been a country music fan. She could probably name three artist, if that, one of them being Dolly Parton and well, everyone knows who she is. Veronica was also fairly certain Logan had never been to a rodeo in his life but there he stood in the spot light, a foamy beer in his right had and a microphone in his left, bobbing his head to the upbeat rhythm of a song he had picked especially for her. She couldn't turn her face away, it was like she was on the interstate and there had just been a terrible accident. Her head screamed don't look at the train wreck but her eyes could not be deterred.
He lost her in the crowd as his eyes adjusted to the spotlight. He could make out Dick's holler over the crowd and he focused in the direction it sounded from. He raised his mug of beer to his lips, took a deep breath and started singing:
"Hang up that red dress,
Let down your hair,
Cancel those reservations,
There's no need to go nowhere.
As good as you're looking right now,
Girl I bet you're thinkin' I'm crazy,
There's a side of you that I wanna see,
That never ceases to amaze me…
Gimme that girl with her hair in a mess,
Sleepy little smile with her head on my chest.
That's the you that I like best,
Gimme that girl…"
"He's getting into it, Whoooooooooooo!" Wallace shouted and clapped along with the room.
"Where did he find this song?" Mac was whispering into Dick's ear.
"He channel surfs a lot. I caught him watching the country music countdown this morning," he smiled and stood up to dance, taking Mac's hand in his, turning her around as he rubbed his hips against her butt in an attempt to make her sway with him.
Veronica's eyes were still fixed on Logan's face when Wallace's voice pulled her out of her trance, "He's not bad is he?"
"No, he's actually pretty good." She rested her elbows on the table her chin atop her hands.
"…Gimme that girl lovin' up on me,
Old t-shirt and a pair of jeans.
That's the you I wanna see,
Gimme that girl.
Gimme a girl that's beautiful
Without a trace of makeup on
Barefoot in the kitchen,
singing her favorite song.
Dancin' aroun' like a fool.
Starin' in her own little show.
Gimme the girl that the rest of the world ain't lucky enough to know…"
Dick still had a firm hold on Mac's hips, swaying along to the music letting out a holler to occasionally let Logan know they were still there and egg him on. Mac was secretly enjoying herself though every time Dick took a swig of his beer she would attempt an escape to no avail, a flirtatious smile crossing her face and lighting up her eyes when he caught her. Logan was now living up to his status as a movie star's son and was dancing about the stage singing off key and at the top of his lungs- obviously enjoying himself.
"…Gimme that girl with her hair in a mess,
Sleepy little smile with her head on my chest.
That's the you that I like best,
Gimme that girl.
Gimme that girl lovin' up on me,
Old t-shirt and a pair of jeans.
That's the you I wanna see.
Gimme that girl.
Gimme that girl…"
A guitar solo broke into the music and Logan chugged the rest of his beer. Veronica's eye still firmly planted on his silhouette as he crossed to the front of the stage and pointed in what he thought was her direction:
"…Gimme that girl with her hair in a mess,
Sleepy little smile with her head on my chest.
That's the you that I like best,
Gimme that girl.
Gimme that girl lovin' up on me,
Old t-shirt and a pair of jeans.
That's the you I wanna see.
Gimme that girl.
Gimme that girl."
The crowd erupted in laughter and applause. The house lights came up and Logan looked to where Veronica had been sitting. She was there smiling as she cheered and jumped up and down for him. He jumped off the edge of the stage and ran to her scooping her face up in his hands and kissing her deeply, "one more try?" he looked her square in the eyes looking to see what she was really thinking, what she was feeling. She nodded. She wrapped her arms around his neck and the two were lost in each other's embrace, "I love you, Veronica."
"I know you do," she smiled, "I…"
She was cut off as the drunken tones of Dick Cassablancas resonated from the stage, "I would just like to thank Juaquin Pheonix and that little hottie Rene Witherspoon for opening my eyes to the joy that is country music! This one is for you Macaroni!" She blushed.
"Arg," Logan knew what she was going to say, "Perfect timing Dick, as always." But it didn't matter he knew how she felt. He saw it the way she looked at him, the way she carried herself around him. He grabbed her hand and led her out of the club at the same time Dick was pulling Mac up on the stage with him and serenading her with the only country song he knew:
"I keep a close watch on this heart of mine
I keep my eyes wide open all the time
I keep the ends out for the tie that binds
Because you're mine, I walk the line…"