A/N - Thanks to everyone who's been reading. I really do appreciate all the kudos and comments. And as always, thanks to Bondopoulos for always for doing her beta magic on my writing! Additional comments at the end of this chapter.
Disclaimer: All original VM characters belong to Rob Thomas.
When Logan and Veronica made it back to the house, Sully let them know that Sabrina and Sterling were locked away in Sabrina's room under the guise of getting ready for dinner. Veronica had commented to Logan as they walked up the stairs that she wanted to sneak in a shower before getting ready to go, but since there was only one guest bathroom on the second floor, she could wait if he wanted to use it first. He'd politely declined and said she could have it first before they separated and went into their adjacent rooms.
As Veronica walked back into her room after her shower, she found Sully stretched out on her bed, tossing some sort of squishy ball up in the air and catching it before tossing it again.
"Are you lost? I'm pretty sure your room is downstairs," she teased as she wandered in, closing the door behind her.
"I missed out on some quality Sonica time this afternoon, so I'm here to make up for it," he countered with a smug grin.
"Fair enough," Veronica replied, setting her bag of toiletries down on a dresser before joining him on the bed.
"So how was all that alone time with your ex?" Sully asked with his eyebrows raised and a devilish grin on his face. "First a long flight yesterday and now time alone sightseeing?"
Veronica snickered and shook her head at him. "Did Sabrina coerce you into intel gathering?" she asked with a cocked brow.
"Nooooo," he answered a bit unconvincingly. "I was curious too."
"It was actually... fun. Maybe all this time apart and him being unavailable... it just feels nice being able to talk to him again. We used to just be good friends for years before we got involved. Today with him actually felt more like it did back then."
Sully raised his eyebrows skeptically at her.
"What? You and I decided we were better off just being friends rather than ruining that with anything else. Why can't that be what works for me and Logan too now?"
"Well, Sabrina's going to be terribly disappointed by this report," Sully replied with a smirk. "Maybe I'll make up something better to tell her—he begged you to take him back, and even after you refused, he made a pass at you and tased him?"
Veronica laughed and shook her head. "You just want to imagine him getting tased don't you?"
An evil grin formed on Sully's face even though he tried to shake his head in disagreement.
"I'd better let you finish getting all beautified for dinner. Promise you'll dance with me tonight?" he asked as he stood up from her bed and tossed the squishy ball on top of one of the dressers.
"Of course," she replied as he leaned in and pressed a quick kiss to her temple. "But I hope you're planning to actually get a bit more dolled up if you expect me to be seen with you in public," she added teasingly.
He laughed and shook his head in amusement as he kissed her on the cheek one more time and headed out the door.
"I'm glad you can't actually shoot laser beams out of your eyes, or poor Livy might just be a pile of ash right now," Sully laughed as he slunk down in the chair next to Veronica.
"I have no idea what you're talking about," Veronica quickly retorted, shifting her gaze down to the glass of wine in her hand. She twirled the crystal goblet slightly and watched the red liquid swirl around close to the edges. Of course Sully would laugh at her response.
"Sure, Vee. You were not just sending eye daggers across the room at Olivia for talking to your ex–who a little over an hour ago you claimed to be happy just being friends with."
"Maybe I'm still mad at her for hitting on—and going home with—a guy at your graduation party that she knew I liked."
"Come on, I've hit on—and gone home with—a guy you liked too, and you didn't get that mad at me. I think this is more about you being jealous she's flirting with Logan."
"A - the guy was way more into you than me, so I forgave you. And B - I'm NOT jealous."
Sully snickered, but appeared to be trying to make her think he agreed with her, nodding his head unconvincingly.
"She does know he has a girlfriend right?" Veronica asked, unable to hide the irritation in her tone.
"When has that ever stopped my cousin from shamefully flirting with a guy. At least the girlfriend isn't actually here this time because we both know that can get ugly—entertaining, but ugly."
"She seemed pretty cozy with him from the minute she walked in. I take it she was here for Sterling's birthday too?"
"Regretting not accepting your invite for that weekend now?" Sully countered with a mischievous smirk. His smile softened when Veronica glared at him. "Well, at least Logan seems to be pretty good at fending off any advances," he added, glancing across the room where Logan and Olivia were standing near the bar talking.
"Yeah, he always was faithful when he was in a relationship," Veronica responded, conflicted suddenly about what that implied about Logan's feelings for Paisley.
A deep frown formed on Sully's face before he spoke. "Unlike Quincy."
"The wine's delicious," Veronica quickly tossed out with a grimace, positive that Sully would pick up on her unsubtle attempt to change the topic.
Sully gave her a knowing look and reached for his halfway empty glass that he'd abandoned next to her when he'd gone over to talk to his grandfather. "Yes it is. Here's to moving on from past failures."
Veronica narrowed her eyes slightly. Definitely not the toast she would have made, but she still reached out to clink her glass against his.
"So I think we're about done here at the country club. Sabrina wants to move the party to Speakers. We took you there once or twice, right? The shitty nightclub in Marlborough that Sabrina and McKinley insist is so bad it's good?"
Veronica smirked and nodded. She knew Sully loathed the place, but just like many other visits before, he never argued with Sabrina about going there. And other than driving back into Boston, there weren't really many other options for live bands and dancing anyway. McKinley and Sabrina had graduated from high school together and had been sneaking into Speakers with fake ID way before they were old enough to legally go in.
"I'm sure Liv's looking forward to grinding against your ex on the dance floor," Sully continued, apparently unable to resist needling her. Her 'seriously' look made him laugh again. "Sorry... I'm sure she's not?"
"We both know she likely is, but you didn't need to mention it," Veronica chided.
"Well if it makes you feel better, you can grind against me," Sully countered as he wiggled his eyebrows suggestively, earning a scoff and eye roll from Veronica.
Speakers had been fairly crowded when they arrived since it was a Saturday night and there was a live band performing. As Veronica had expected, Olivia had continued her pursuit of Logan once they'd all arrived. Veronica had reminded herself on the drive over with Sully that it really wasn't any of her business, but that still didn't quell her annoyance. Sully had dragged Veronica out to dance a few times, which helped put some physical distance between them at least. It hadn't escaped Veronica's attention that Logan hadn't gone out to dance with Olivia, or anyone else in their group either.
"Sully?" a masculine voice called out over the music on Veronica and Sully's way back to the corner that they'd all been congregated in.
"Hey, Preston!" Sully loudly greeted as the two men exchanged a quick, but hearty hug.
Veronica momentarily wondered if she was about to lose Sully for the rest of the evening before Preston turned to her with a magnanimous smile and extended his hand to her.
"Hi, I'm Preston," he shared as her hand slid into his. "Thought I should introduce myself since Sully has shitty manners."
"Whatever," Sully retorted shaking his head in disagreement. "Did you ever think I purposely never introduce you to people to save them from enduring your bullshit?"
Preston clutched his chest as if he'd actually been injured, causing Sully to scoff.
"I'm Veronica, and Sully does have shitty manners." Veronica never could stop herself from giving Sully a bad time.
Sully let out an over exaggerated sigh before he spoke again. "Preston went to highschool with us," he explained, gesturing in Preston's direction. "And Veronica was Sabrina's roommate at Emerson," he continued, pointing at Veronica.
"Well it's a pleasure to meet you," Preston replied as Veronica pulled her hand away. "I need to go and make sure one of my overly intoxicated friends gets into a cab okay, but when I'm back, would you be kind enough to dance with me?"
Veronica glanced at Sully before answering. She knew if he actually cared, or if the guy was a major jerk, he'd definitely let her know. He gave her a reassuring smile as he shrugged, which meant he didn't completely object at least. "Sure, if you bump into me again, you can ask."
"Oh, I'll be sure to find you then," Preston said with a warm smile before waving to Sully and disappearing into the crowd.
"He's not actually an asshole, right?" Veronica confirmed as they continued walking back to the corner.
Sully chuckled and shook his head. "No, I would have interjected if he was. Preston's a good guy. Actually I'm a little surprised to see him here because I thought he was living in LA these days. I guess I'll have to find out what's up with him being out here when he gets back."
As they neared the corner booth that the group had been using, Veronica could tell that Olivia was still cozying up to Logan. She wasn't overtly hanging all over him, but was definitely still working her charms as much as she could. Logan gave Veronica a small smile when she was close enough to make eye contact. Sully started telling Sabrina, McKinley and Olivia that he'd just ran into Preston which drew pretty much everyone's attention to him, other than Logan who kept looking at Veronica.
"Save me," Logan mouthed silently, raising his eyebrows pleadingly at her.
Veronica couldn't help but smirk and immediately flashed back to rescuing Logan—or rather rescuing Gia from Logan's verbal attack—at Sadie Hawkin's their senior year at Neptune High.
Luckily Logan was sitting at the edge of the booth which made it easier to carry out a rescue mission. "Dance with me," Veronica ordered more than asked, reaching out her hand to him.
"Thank you," he whispered after standing up next to her. "She's so freaking persistent."
Veronica laughed and nodded as they made their way through the crowd to the dance floor.
"Do you think the fact I'm dancing with you, after turning her down several times, might be enough of a clue for her to leave me alone the rest of the night?" he asked, leaning in close enough so she could hear him over the din of the club.
"Nope," Veronica answered, loudly popping the 'P' at the end.
"Well I appreciate you providing me with a brief reprieve at least. I'm trying my best not to act like an asshole since we're both in the wedding party, but she's not making it particularly easy."
"That must be tough," Veronica teased with a wink, causing him to chuckle at her. "At least she's not Maid of Honor, so you won't have to walk her down the aisle."
Sabrina and Sterling had surprisingly decided to keep the wedding party small and so far there was just McKinley, Olivia, Logan and Sully, with McKinley and Logan getting the top spots. Although Veronica wouldn't be surprised if the list expanded before the wedding date several months away.
Logan let out a humorless chuckle and shook his head. "Maybe I can convince Sterling and Sabrina to just elope and skip the whole wedding thing?"
Veronica gave him a dramatically skeptical look, which caused him to laugh more genuinely as they walked out onto the dance floor.
After a few minutes of dancing, Logan glanced back at the corner before leaning into her. "So is Sully going to be pissed I stole his dancing partner? He seemed to be monopolizing your time tonight."
Veronica was a little taken aback by Logan's comment, but it was true that she'd mostly just been talking to Sully all night, even at the dinner. She hadn't really thought much about it since that's how they normally were whenever they were together. No one else ever seemed to mention it, though. She was actually surprised Logan had even noticed—or cared—given he'd been talking to Olivia all night. Although to be fair, she'd assumed he'd been enjoying Olivia's attention prior to his request for her to save him.
"I'm sure he'll only pout for a little while," she replied with a mischievous grin, earning a chuckle as Logan nodded understandingly.
After two songs, they decided to head back to the table. Veronica was a little surprised that instead of being unhappily waiting for their return, Olivia wasn't anywhere to be seen. In fact, Sully was the only one still at the table. Veronica scooted across the booth to sit next to Sully while Logan took his spot on the outside edge where he'd been sitting before they went out to dance.
"What happened to everyone else?" Veronica asked, snagging the beer Sully was drinking out of his hand and taking a long drink.
"McKinley convinced Olivia to go with her to ask a couple hot guys that were hanging out at the end of the bar to dance. I suppose after she struck out with Logan," Sully continued with a smirk and a nod in Logan's direction, "that she was up for an easier target."
Logan had a less than pleased expression on his face as he fidgeted with the label on the beer bottle in front of him. Veronica couldn't help but wonder if there was any way the two of them were ever going to actually get along. She was glad that Logan seemed to have matured enough to restrain himself from a rude rebuttal directed at Sully, but it was clear that neither one of them seemed to like each other much.
"Sabrina and Sterling went out to dance too. I guess you and Logan were too preoccupied to notice them," Sully continued, arching his brows suggestively.
"It's pretty crowded out there," Veronica countered with an irritated glare.
"Mm hmm," Sully replied, still smirking at her.
"Now that we're back, you should go ask that blonde who was flirting with you earlier to dance. I need a break and we can guard the table," Veronica suggested, although based on her tone, it likely sounded more like an order.
"Ah, Monique?" Sully said thoughtfully, scanning around the club apparently looking for the tall blonde who'd said hello to him when they'd first arrived.
Veronica didn't wait for Sully to say anything else before she slid out of the booth and gestured with her hand for him to get out. He hesitated for a few seconds before sliding out.
"Rest up so you can dance with me when I'm back," he told her as he pressed a kiss to her temple and then headed off into the crowd.
"Sorry. Sully can be a pain in the ass sometimes," she told Logan apologetically as she sat back down in the spot across from him. She reached back to where she'd sat Sully's beer and grabbed the glass, taking another drink from it.
"You don't need to apologize, Veronica," Logan replied with a slight shake of his head. "I've acted like an ass myself a number of times, so I can certainly handle being on the receiving end."
"Well, that doesn't really make it right." She paused and looked down at the table, feeling a bit unsure of herself for some reason. "Actually, when I first met Sully he reminded me a lot of you." She slowly glanced back up at Logan to gauge his reaction. He looked more intrigued by that than annoyed, so she gave him a faint smile.
"Hey, there you are," Preston said as he suddenly appeared out of nowhere. "Sully said you were back in this corner. I'd still love to dance with you if you're willing," he directed at Veronica with a hopeful smile.
Veronica glanced at Logan, who gave her a tight smile and gestured with his hand toward the dance floor. "Go ahead, I can watch the table."
"Are you sure?" she asked, feeling a little guilty leaving him there all alone.
"Positive," he answered, smiling reassuringly as he nodded.
Veronica thanked him quickly and then let Preston lead her out to the dance floor.
Veronica was surprised at how much she was enjoying talking to Preston. After dancing for a few songs, he'd asked her if she needed a drink and they'd ended up somewhat sequestered in the opposite corner of the club from where the rest of the group had been. Since they'd passed by Sully on their way there, she wasn't too worried about anyone looking for her.
As Sully had mentioned, Preston was living in LA, but had flown home that weekend for his mom's birthday. He'd shared with Veronica that he worked for a marketing firm in LA and had just been assigned a new account for a custom surfboard company, but was totally clueless about anything related to surfing. After telling him that she had a brilliant idea, she took his hand and dragged him back across the club to the booth where she'd left Logan.
"I didn't properly introduce you two before," Veronica started as she slid into the booth across from Logan after waving for Preston to slide in first. "Preston, this is Logan, the best surfer I know in California."
Logan's eyes opened a bit wider in amusement as he reached across the table to shake Preston's hand. "I can't recall you ever introducing me that way, so I've got to admit my curiosity is definitely piqued."
"Have you heard of Baja Boards?" Preston asked, a hopeful expression on his face.
Logan's eyes opened a bit wider as he nodded, glancing quickly at Veronica before looking back at Preston. "Yeah—they make some pretty kick ass surfboards. Top of the line for what's available right now. They're actually in pretty limited distribution currently, so it's hard to get your hands on one."
Preston smiled broadly as he acknowledged Logan's comment with a nod of his own. "What would you say if I offered you a deal to get one if you'd impart some of your surfing knowledge upon me? I work for a marketing company that Baja just hired to put a campaign together and I could really use some help. I know there's a waiting list for the boards, but they should have better availability soon and they offered me one IF they like what I come up with."
"And IF they don't?" Logan asked, looking a bit more sternly at Preston.
"Logan!" Veronica quickly chastised.
"I'm just kidding," Logan retorted, giving her one of his 'you should know me better than that' looks.
Veronica wasn't sure if Logan had really been interested in helping Preston, or if it had just given him a good excuse to avoid dancing with Olivia. But regardless of what his motivation actually was, Logan had spent a fair amount of time talking with Preston while Veronica resumed dancing with Sully. She'd also gone out to dance a few more times with Preston, who was extremely grateful that she'd hooked him up with Logan. Her spending time with Preston hadn't gone unnoticed by Sabrina who decided extending an invitation to Preston to join them all for brunch in the morning was a good idea. Sully had given Veronica a knowing look while that was happening, of course both of them realizing Sabrina was likely moving on from trying to reconnect Veronica with Logan to fixing her up with Preston instead.
Waking up so early combined with a full day of activity started to hit Veronica shortly after midnight, and she ended up practically falling asleep at the table, resting her head against Sully's shoulder, while Sully and Preston caught up on happenings in each other's lives since the last time they'd seen each other.
"I'm pretty beat," Logan suddenly announced, causing Veronica to sit up and stifle her own yawn. "I was traveling last week and my body is definitely not liking all these time zone changes," he added, giving the others an apologetic look.
Sully glanced at Veronica as she unsuccessfully stopped herself from yawning a second time. "You too?" Sully asked looking a bit amused by her current condition. "I wondered why you were so cuddly all of a sudden. We can go—"
"I could take Veronica if you wanted to stay longer," Logan offered, quickly cutting off whatever else Sully was going to say. "That is if you don't mind me driving your car and you riding back with Sterling and Sabrina."
Sully looked conflicted about whether to stay or go, glancing between Logan and Veronica a couple of times.
"You should stay," Veronica told Sully with a reassuring smile. He seemed to be enjoying his chance to catch up with Preston from the fragments of their conversation that she did catch. "Logan will be careful with your baby, I promise," she added teasingly.
"I wouldn't want anything to happen to my car either," Sully countered with a smug grin and quick wink.
Veronica chuckled and shook her head at Sully before leaning in and placing a kiss on his cheek. "No waking me up at the crack of dawn tomorrow, buddy. I did bring my taser along and I'm not afraid to use it this time," she threatened, narrowing her eyes at him. She knew Sully wouldn't actually take her seriously, but she forgot about Preston not knowing her that well and noticed his eyes widened at her comment.
"Anyone who knows you and still thinks waking you up when you're sleeping is a good idea, deserves whatever fate may fall upon them. I always made sure to move your taser into the other room whenever you stayed over," Logan interjected with a sly grin, catching Veronica a bit off guard. Over the last two days, they seemed to have completely avoided any comments that even hinted at any of their past intimacy. She caught a slight eyebrow raise from Sully and worried about what he might decide to add so she quickly tried to change the conversation.
"I guess we'll be seeing you in the morning for brunch," she directed with a kind smile at Preston. "Thanks for dancing with me tonight, it was a lot of fun."
"Yeah, my pleasure," Preston replied, the surprise at the prior couple of comments erased from his expression.
"Keys, please?" Veronica continued, holding her hand out to Sully.
She could tell by his expression that Sully knew she was trying to escape before he had a chance to say something that she likely wouldn't be happy about. She was actually surprised that he kept his mouth shut and simply handed her his keys with an amused grin.
"And thanks again for all your help," Preston directed at Logan appreciatively.
"Don't I get thanked for anything?" Sully asked petulantly.
"No," all three of them answered in unison, causing them all to laugh and Sully to let out a huff of exaggerated annoyance.
Preston was close enough to slap his hand on Sully's shoulder as he mumbled that he was just kidding. Veronica gave them both a little wave and then followed Logan through the crowd toward the exit.
"Did you want me to drive if you're all messed up from bouncing between too many time zones?" Veronica asked as they reached the car. She could tell by the contrite look that formed on Logan's face before he looked down at the ground that he must have lied as an excuse to leave.
"You um... You looked a bit uncomfortable trying not to fall asleep at the table, so I thought I'd speak up in case you were ready to call it a night," he confessed as he slowly tilted his head to glance up at her.
She certainly appreciated his concern, even if she hadn't expected him to worry about her at all. "Well, thanks." She could tell that her response must have put whatever concerns he had at ease, based on the small smile that tugged at the corner of his mouth. "I really am exhausted, so I'll gladly turn the driving over to you," she added as she held out the keys for him.
"Anytime," he replied as he clicked off the car alarm and opened the passenger door for her.
"Veronica?"
"Mmmm?" she mumbled, her brain trying to process who had just said her name. The familiar sounding masculine voice was barely above a whisper and for a moment she wondered if she'd just dreamt it.
"Hey, we're here."
She felt a warm hand gently squeeze her shoulder, pulling her further out of the sleepy haze she was in. She opened her eyes to see Logan's warm brown eyes staring back at her. Oh right, not a dream.
"While this car is pretty comfortable, I'm pretty sure your bed upstairs is probably even more comfortable for sleeping," he continued, looking at her with a bit of amusement.
And in another life, it would be more comfortable for other things too. She shook her head slightly, not happy with where her half-asleep mind had gone.
"I'm going to charge you extra if I have to carry you inside," Logan continued, his voice taking on an even more teasing tone.
"Like you're getting paid at all," she countered, unbuckling and then stretching in her seat as she started to wake up more. Unfortunately since they hadn't eaten for several hours, as she stretched her stomach rumbled loudly.
Logan seemed to try to hide his snicker, but he wasn't particularly discreet about it. "I'm thinking you're not going to survive until brunch are you?" he teased, eliciting a slight glare from her. "Oh come on, don't try to pretend you're not hungry. I know you too well for that," he continued with a smug grin. "Wasn't there a twenty-four hour diner that we passed on the way to the cemetery, and if I recall correctly, they had something in their window about the best pie in town."
Veronica's stomach involuntarily growled again at the mention of pie.
"Unless you're too tired to eat?" Logan asked, raising his eyebrow in a challenging way.
"You had me at pie," she replied with a sly grin, as she reached for the seat belt and buckled it back in place.
They'd completely lost track of time, sitting in the diner enjoying their desserts while they reminisced about the good parts of their past—most all of them being pre-Lilly's death. She couldn't quite figure out why it seemed so much easier to talk to him now than it used to be. She hated to admit to herself that maybe it was because he was so past being interested in her that he didn't have to be on guard now. That he finally saw her as he used to, back before they had dated, back when she was just Lilly's best friend and he was Duncan's—when things were much less complicated than they ended up years later.
She had cringed slightly as she heard an alert from her cell phone for an incoming text message. Given how late it was, she wasn't terribly surprised to see a 'Where are you?!' message from Sully. It also wasn't surprising that he was sitting on the front steps of the house, waiting, as they finally pulled into the driveway thirty minutes later.
"I promise she's in the same pristine condition as when we left," Logan assured him, sounding a bit annoyed as he tossed the keys to Sully when they reached the porch.
"She'd better be," Sully grumbled as he caught the keys and shot a serious glance in Veronica's direction.
Veronica was behind Logan a few steps and shook her head at Sully, not wanting him to get into anything with Logan.
"I'll see you two in the morning," Logan muttered as he continued past Sully and disappeared into the house.
"What's with the waiting up for us routine?" Veronica asked with her arms crossed defiantly in front of her chest. "I texted you that we were fine and just grabbing dessert. You didn't have to lurk out here waiting for us like an overprotective dad or something."
Sully let out a defeated sigh and stared down at the ground for a few seconds before meeting her gaze again. "I'm sorry… I just don't trust him, I guess… I know you do, but I don't."
Veronica let out a disbelieving scoff. "Look Sully, I'm sorry that he reminds you of Quincy, but he's not him and it's not fair for you to treat him the way you have."
This time Sully was the one to loudly scoff. "Come on, Vee, we both know he's not exactly a saint either. As I recall from several late night conversations, the two of you didn't just amicably end things and go your separate ways. I know you never imagined I'd actually meet him when you told me all about your past with him, but that doesn't change the facts. You can't deny that his jackass behavior definitely played a key role in the demise of your relationship with him."
"Well, it was a hell of a lot easier to share all the shitty stuff he did, so I wouldn't actually miss him being in my life," Veronica growled in frustration. "It hurt too much to share all the good things he did for me because he wasn't there anymore and I didn't want to have to admit that I ran away when things got tough instead of staying and trying to fix them. And those problems weren't all his fault." Veronica paused, taking a deep breath while she glanced up at the star-filled sky. "I'm too exhausted to have this conversation with you," she told him a few seconds later, looking back at him. "But I want you to stop being a dick to him. He doesn't deserve it."
Veronica could tell from the way Sully's brows furrowed and the set of his mouth that he hated that she was angry with him, but as usual he was being too stubborn to admit he was wrong and apologize, but she was confident that by morning, he'd change his tune. This wasn't the first disagreement the two of them had experienced since becoming friends, and she knew the bond they shared was stronger than any single argument could sever. She really was just too exhausted to deal with him anymore that night so she stomped past him toward the front door.
"I'm sorry, Veronica," Sully muttered, surprising her with how quickly he'd actually admitted he was wrong this time.
Veronica glanced back over her shoulder at him with an irritated scowl. While she appreciated the gesture, it still wasn't enough. "I'm not the one you should be apologizing to," she told him before opening the door and heading inside.
When Veronica made it to the top of the stairs, the door to the shared bathroom was just opening. Logan stepped out into the hall but stopped and leaned against the doorframe when he spotted her.
"Everything okay with you and Sully?" Logan asked in a low tone, his forehead creasing worrisomely. "I certainly didn't mean to piss him off even more by offering to take you home early or taking you for pie. Although, I'm guessing from the look he shot me downstairs that he probably thinks I'm purposely being an asshole and trying to sabotage his time with you. I'm obviously going to be the least popular member of the wedding party after this weekend, aren't I?"
"No it's not—" Veronica started before Logan let out a humourless scoff.
"Oh come on, Veronica. It was pretty clear at breakfast—and the rest of the day really—that Sully doesn't like sharing you with anyone else and that he really doesn't like me. I suppose being as close as the two of you are, if he even knows a fraction of the shit I've done to you in the past, he's never going to like me anyway and I don't blame him."
Veronica sighed deeply and shook her head emphatically before she spoke again. "No, Sully's issues with you lie more in the fact that you remind him of his ex-boyfriend who was an even bigger asshole than you ever were. Unfortunately you two seem to have an uncanning resemblance to each other, but I've already told him to stop being a dick to you because that's not your fault."
"Oh… I didn't realize…" Logan stuttered slightly as his concerned expression became more bemused. "Sterling didn't mention…"
"That Sully dates guys too?" Veronica asked, raising her brows questioningly.
"No… I knew that… I didn't know that I look like one of his exes. I figured it had more to do with you."
"Oh… well I sort of doubt that Sterling ever met him, so he may not have known." Veronica paused, sighing slightly. "I'm sorry that the two of you are off to such a rocky start. And you're probably partially right that some small part of his behavior is due to me. He can be a bit..."
"Possessive?" Logan offered when she stopped for a second to figure out what word to use.
"No… I'd say more protective… actually, that's what I was going to say earlier at the club—how the two of you reminded me of each other—just like you he's fiercely loyal and very protective of the people he cares about."
Logan smirked slightly before he continued. "Well I still think there's a little bit of possessiveness there too, but I can understand being protective over the people you care about." His smirk softened into a more affectionate smile before he continued. "Even if I did piss him off, I'm still happy I got to spend some extra time with you tonight. It was fun catching up and just hanging out. I um…" he paused and looked nervously down at the floor before he glanced back up at her eyes. "I know we sort of failed the last time we tried being friends, but I really hope you'll give me another chance."
Even if they'd failed before, this time things really did feel different between them. She certainly hadn't expected this opportunity to arise when Sabrina had cajoled her into flying out for the weekend, but she was definitely grateful now for this chance. Of course she still wasn't very comfortable being too serious about it in front of him. "How can I pass up the offer to be friends with a guy that has his own plane," she replied with a playful wink.
Logan chuckled and shook his head. "Good thing for you that I have a really reasonable rate for friends. It's much cheaper than my friend of friends rate which you would have at least otherwise qualified for."
Veronica bit on her lip to keep from smiling too broadly. He'd certainly heard her own friend of friends rate offer several times back when they were together. Before she could respond, that crooked half smile of his that always seemed to make her feel all warm and fuzzy inside had formed on his face. And like all the times before it still had the same effect on her. Maybe being just friends is going to be a lot more work than I'd thought.
"Sweet dreams, Veronica," he told her with a small wink as he pushed off the wall, glancing back over his shoulder at her for a second before he disappeared into his room.
A/N - So I thought I should mention that this is the end of part one. I'm sure I may get a few complaints about that, but Veronica will be back in California when the next chapter picks up again. I hope you all enjoyed the first part of this story and will come back for more!