"I bet he popped something, all right." Jubilee snickered.
Marie grinned, "Well he sure wasn't holding onto that jacket of his in case he got cold."
Despite popular Logan-belief, Marie wasn't as innocent as he thought. Heck, she was twenty-two after all, had two men and a horny teenage boy running around in her head and an active imagination all on her own . She may have been a virgin, but her thoughts were far from pure - especially where Logan was concerned.
Although he may not have understood, she knew why he had stayed away for four years. She had absorbed a lot more thoughts than he knew, that night on the statue. The sensation had been faint - almost as if he hadn't even been aware of the feelings himself - but under the concern and fear for her, there was a current of need and desire. At first she wasn't sure whether or not it was just wishful thinking on her part or something that was truly there, but the dreams she started having a few weeks after he left -not her dreams, although she had her share of those as well- but the ones where she was naked and writhing on her hands and knees in front of him while he took her roughly from behind, had cemented her belief that his feelings for her were as far from friendly as one could get. She could feel herself getting wet on the memory alone. He had other ones too. Nicer, gentler ones where he made love to her on a bed. Where he was the one on his knees worshipping her body. She knew from the residual Logan bits left in her head that he didn't know quite what to think of those dreams. He had always been the type that liked it hard and fast and -hey, that was fine with her. So did she - or at least she thought she would if she ever got around to doing it.
"All right. Phase one is complete. What's next on the agenda?" Kitty grinned widely as she inquired. Marie wondered if they were still trying to sway Logan's thought or achieve world domination.
She smiled as she thought of their plan… or their idea anyway. They hadn't really done much actual planning yet. She already knew he wanted her and not just because of the Logan loving that occasionally made a guest appearance in her fantasy life. He tried to hide it, but when a guy walked around in skin tight jeans and an almost constant 'Mr. Happy', as Jubes liked to call it, a gal couldn't help but notice. The fact that he couldn't control his reaction to her made her feel all the more powerful, but getting him to act on that attraction was the hard part. She knew he felt guilty about it . Being gone for four years, he had definitely noticed the way her body had matured and ripened, but he failed to grasp that her mind had as well. He definitely didn't treat her like a kid -had even stopped calling her kid altogether- but he didn't really treat her like a desirable woman either. Hence the current problem and cause for action.
Jubes held up what appeared to be two very small scraps of olive green army print. "Well, we've got the itsy, bitsy combat bikini."
At that, Kitty snorted. "I don't think we're quite at that stage yet, babe. Coronary, much? Think subtle."
Unfortunately, subtle didn't particularly have a place with the rest of the words residing in Jubilee's vocabulary . This, Marie knew quite well from experience. "Fine, dude. Whatever. We'll forget about the ab-fab artillery that I oh so generously provided my expertise for and work on direct contact. How 'bout you cop a feel of his boys during those extra combat lessons he's been giving you? That would, like, totally get his attention."
"Jubes! I said subtle. I mean, should she ask him to turn his head and cough while she's at it?"
Mm... Playing doctor with Logan, Marie thought lustfully. Contemplating for a moment, she spoke. "Wait. That might be a good idea."
Kitty's eyebrows rose so high up, they almost disappeared into her forehead. Coupled with her gaping mouth, she looked a little like that Munch painting she had recently acquired a replica of. Jubilee just sat there looking smug. It wasn't often Rogue -or anyone for that matter- went along with her ideas.
"Calm down, Kit." She still looked a little weary. "I didn't mean I should go around grabbing his prized property, or anything. Just, you know, maybe rub up against him more than usual. Let my touches linger a little longer than normal."
Kitty looked thoughtful. Jubes, less smug, more annoyed. She rolled her eyes " But, you like, already touch him all the time. Even before you could like, really touch. You know, without the Amish pilgrim gear."
Pilgrim? When have I ever dressed like a pilgrim?
Jubes continued on without noticing Marie's questioning look. "Big Burly so won't pick up on that."
Still mulling over the Amish pilgrim comment, Marie thought about it. Maybe she was right. About the touching, not the pilgrim gear. Logan had always been one of the only people who Marie had been comfortable with touching. He never flinched away like other people and seemed to almost relish the fact that her hands only sought out his. Not that there was anything sordid going on between them yet. No, heaven forbid his reciprocating touch was anything but platonic. She knew he tried really hard to keep it that way too. That was definitely going to change real soon if she had anything to say about it.
"What about flirting a little more openly with him? A little innuendo thrown in with it? Think that'll be a little too much, Kit?"
Before Kitty had a chance to answer, Jubilee piped in once again. " Hey, Roguey. Babe. My opinion chopped liver or something? You know, you use the word little a lot when you're talking about Wolvie. Something you're not telling us, chica?"
Marie chose to ignore the last comment. " Nah. Kit's just more of an observer, you know? Better at feeling things out."
"Comes with the mutation, I guess" she grinned. "what can I say, I'm stealth." She thought about what Rogue had said. "You know, I think that could be a good idea. You've got that new catsuit packed, right?" Marie nodded. " Don't you give Logan massages after his training with you sometimes? I think that would be a good time to start. You know, with him in nothing but a towel and no place to run and hide?" Jubes waggled her eyebrows up and down and Marie blushed a little in response. She didn't tell either of them that he always wore clothes when she rubbed away his tension or that he only ever let her do his neck and shoulders. She hadn't done it for him since she had regained control of her skin, but she thought she might be able to convince him to take his shirt off this time. If she claimed the need for skin to skin touch after being denied it so long, it wouldn't really be lying, even if her motives were less than pure.
She looked at her watch. "Crap! Speaking of training, I'm gonna be late if I don't get cracking." Jubes and Kitty got off her bed and made for the door. " I'll fill you both in on how it goes, tomorrow. Logan's takin' me down to Marty's tonight to watch him fight again after supper. I don't think I'll see you later."
Kitty lifted an illustrious eyebrow. "And how exactly did you manage that, girlie? Didn't you cause a bar brawl last time you were there? I could have sworn I heard Logan say he'd drag and I quote: 'your sweet little ass' out of there, legal or not if he caught you frequenting that place again."
Yeah… she was still a little miffed at him for that. She kind of liked it when he was all gruff and manly and grr, but he went a little overboard sometimes. He called it looking out for her. She pretty much just called it possessive. He had been collecting his winnings from the barkeep, when one of the seedier customers grabbed her. She had been about to tell him where to go with a knee to the groin when Logan out of nowhere threw him off her and started pounding into him.
She got off the bed and grabbed her training gear. I'll change downstairs in the locker room. Kitty opened the door and as the three of them walked down the hallway, she could see they were both still waiting for an answer.
"It wasn't that hard. I told him he couldn't keep an eye on me all the time and if he wouldn't let me go with him, I'd just go on my own. Heck, the bar fight was Logan's fault anyway. If he hadn't hit that guy with the wondering hands none of it would have happened. I told him that too. He just kind of whined and growled at me until he said fine and then he growled and whined some more. Made me promise to stay at the back of the bar and be quiet." She grinned. " Told him I'd think about it."
They were at the end of the corridor that led to the stairs. Jubilee and Kitty were both still in university so they didn't have a room on the same floor. Marie, who had accepted to stay on as a substitute teacher and X-Man in training had the luxury of her own sleeping space on the same level as the other permanent residents. Her friends' temporary rooms were currently upstairs while the workout room, where Logan and Marie practiced, was down a floor. Before they parted ways, they said their goodbyes.
"Good luck, girl! Have fun tonight."
"I still say you grab onto his man bits and give him a nice juicy squ-"
"Jubes!"
"Yeah, yeah. I get it. Fine." She huffed. "Have fun with the Wolvinator, chica."
Marie waved goodbye as she headed to the lower level. She had ten minutes until training and didn't want to be late. Ugh. Last time she had missed their meeting time by a minute and a half and he'd made her run a lap for every ten seconds she was late. She thought he just liked to see her bouncy parts jiggle. Logan would sure be in for a shock when he saw her new training outfit.