Bending Steele

Chapter Fifty-Five

Abby's eyes flicked nervously from Adam who was wearing an extremely smug and proud of himself expression, to Logan whose face had turned into an utter blank slate except for the slight twitch of his lips. The tic had been so subtle, she couldn't be sure she actually witnessed the movement or if she had only imagined it. Her eyes skipped over to Jonathan who was clearly in a state of shock. With the way his jaw had fallen open wide enough to park cars in at Jo Jo's arrival, she was surprised they hadn't heard it clatter to the floor. Obviously, he had never encountered Jo Jo's alter ego and she had hold back a giggle at his reaction.

Her roommate was all a sparkle in his iconic Cher outfit. And she meant that literally. The sheer see-through ensemble with bits of material strategically placed to cover the important parts, had so many crystal rhinestone accents, he looked like a glittering disco ball. But, she had to hand it to him, with those leather boots and jacket, garters and perfectly teased wig of inky, black ringlets...he was the spitting image of the sultry singer. Leaning back a bit, she could see everything about the get-up was a perfect reproduction of the original one. Sadly, his bared bum was probably finer than Cher's. Disgustingly enough, Abby knew it was better than hers would ever be no matter how many squats she did.

The lovelorn look he was sending Logan's way had her blushing. He was definitely smitten with the hunky detective. Though he didn't do anything for her, Jo Jo did have a thing for blonds and, unfortunately, straight men. Even if it only ended up breaking his heart later, he would still find himself hopelessly attracted to them. But, right now, she was grateful for his over the moon reaction. He was a distraction which she desperately needed and she could kiss him for it. Between the bickering between Adam and herself, the arrival of the flowers and the discovery of the note mixed with the sudden arrival of Jonathan and Logan, the air had turned thick with tension. For the first time in what seemed like hours, she was finally able to take a full breath. The panic she had felt sneaking up her spine, had eased some in a swirl of glimmering leather.

Too bad it wouldn't completely disappear. Her eyes skirted back over to Logan. He continued to stare at Jo Jo with a vacant expression and it worried her she couldn't tell what his reaction was going to be. She loved Jo Jo dearly, but sadly, not everyone was accepting of his career choice or his blatant homosexuality and she had become very protective of him over the time she had known him. Most gay men kept their lifestyles to themselves, but not Jo Jo. He didn't only let everyone know he was out of the closet, but he made a flamboyant entrance wherever he went with enough fanfare to put Cirque Du Soleil to shame. At times, she secretly wished he would tone it down just a little. Not that she thought he shouldn't be proud of who he was or that she was somehow embarrassed by it, far from it. But a nagging fear always pricked at the back of her mind that one of these days, he would pay the price for being loud and proud. She dreaded he would get really hurt by some homophobic asshole who didn't appreciate the wonderful person underneath all the glitz, glitter and sassy talk.

Logan still stared at Jo Jo with those cold, accessing, green eyes that reminded her of hard cut emeralds. He stood stock still, not making a single movement and she had to wonder if he even breathed. Sensing she was watching him, his gaze drifted over in her direction, observing her. Those eyes didn't miss a single detail as they roamed over Abby, as if they were judging her and she immediately felt exposed. Nothing in his regard warmed or gave an inkling of what he may be thinking and it was unnerving. Fidgeting uncomfortably from his silent scrutiny, she eased against Adam's side wishing he would look at someone else.

"I'll be damned," Logan barked, slapping the counter with an opened palm causing Abby to jump from the sudden sound of his voice. He jabbed a fast elbow into Jonathan's ribs making him grunt. "It's Cher." He smiled broadly and cocked his head towards Jo Jo who beamed, flipping some of his hair over his shoulder.