Rory and Logan parted ways after the failed proposal and Rory is trying to get ready to start her career as a reporter following the Obama campaign. She finds the rocket, the one that meant 'true love' and that he would always wait for her she became furious, she packed it in its box and sent it back to him at his apartment. Now she can really move on.
Disclaimer: Still not mine, sigh.
A/N: I am so excited with how well this is being received and that so many of you have gone back to enjoy my earlier writings! It just makes me feel great and encourages me to keep writing; so really, a HUGE
THANK YOU!
Rocket Racket
Chapter 4 – Palo Alto Explosion
The trail would lead Rory to Palo Alto, by way of Sacramento. It had been a difficult few weeks, speculations of her being a reporter and why ran high at first; then it was accepted that she was just a young reporter; albeit with some influential friends and a hefty trust account; but still just a young reporter. There were still occasional photos of her in the gossip pages, but they were mostly following her friends and not her. Hugo had been right, her voice was strong enough to carry her through. As a strange perk of being the wallflower, she got to meet Michelle Obama and discuss her policies if she were to be first lady, her platform for the health and nutrition of the nation's children was admirable, as a mother she knew the importance of the health, welfare and education of our nation's youth. After her in depth interview was so well received, Rory knew it was time to deal with Logan as she promised when they would occasionally talk, she insisted the 'rocket talk' had to be a face to face. It was time now to face the music and explain to him why she had returned the rocket.
Rory stood outside his door she was nervous, she was trying to build up the courage to just ring the bell, her mind recalled the many times she avoided ringing the bell for Friday night dinner. It had been six months since she had last seen him, three weeks since last they spoke at any real length, and even after all that time she still missed him terribly. She was just about to knock when the door sprung open and a young boy, probably in high school or first year college, was exiting the door.
"Okay Mr. Huntzberger, thanks again, I will see you next week!" he bounded past Rory smiling, "Aren't you a bit old for a mentor?", he said giving her the once over before he dashed to the waiting car.
Rory gaped at the open door as Logan approached, "Hey Ace, good to see you what brings you by?"
"You are a mentor?" She said in surprise.
"Come in Ace, yeah I am a mentor, it is something to keep me busy on the weekends and the local journalism club set me up. What brings you to my neck of the woods?" Logan led her to the sofa and she noted the rocket on the mantle.
"Actually, I am here for the campaign, but I hoped we could talk, you know about IT?" She indicated the rocket with a tilt of her head while wringing the handle of her bag.
He reached forward, pried her bag from her nervous hands, and indicated her to take a seat. He then went to the kitchen and retrieved two bottles of water and a bottle of some coffee drink. He handed the coffee and water to her then sat across from her, "Why did you send it back Ace, did it really mean nothing to you?" Logan set his bottle on the table and looked at her expectantly. "Why didn't you call first, I may not have been here."
"Finn..." She began.
"I should always suspect Finn, he was being a bit to persistent about my schedule lately, but you know you don't need him in the middle, right?" Logan scooted beside her and made sure to maintain eye contact, carefully grasping her hand.
"Honestly, I don't know; you walked away, you never looked back. You said all or nothing, and I died a little. I was so hurt, sad and then angry, so the day before I left for Iowa, I packed it up and sent it back to you. If it was meant to mean true love and you could just walk away, it wasn't meant for me at all. It helped me move on to return it to you, and I had to move on - didn't I?" She sighed removed her hand from his, and reached for her coffee taking a long drink allowing the coolness of the beverage to soothe the heat in her heart. "Only I didn't move on, I feel like I can never move on."
Logan looked at her, she was thinner than she had been, she looked pale and had a tiredness to her eyes.
"Are you okay Ace, you don't look well." He watched her carefully taking a sip of his water.
"I hate this, I really hate this." She sighed and took another long drink.
"What's to hate, you are a rising star in the news biz. You graduated top of your class from Yale – heck even my dad counts you a feather in his cap; I hear even mom says what a shame it is we aren't to be married. You my dear are going places – everyone says so." He patted her back soothingly.
"It's not that, it's..." she sighed heavily and chugged the last of the sweet coffee drink, "We aren't kissing, you and I can't kiss, make love, just cuddle in the afterglow – I miss that the most. I miss the day to day of us, the smell of your soap on my towel, the soft scent of your cologne on the sheets. I just miss us. I can't believe you walked away, I hate that I let you – but I needed a little time – just a tiny bit and you – you said all or nothing – so I had to take nothing. I should be on top of the world – instead I..." she was cut off as he wrapped his fingers in her hair and pulled her in for a mind-blowing kiss.
"Ace", he said pulling away, "I'm an idiot – I stupidly walked away from the absolute love of, my life. I wanted everything with you, I promised with that rocket, that I would wait – I wanted to show you the world, but you were happy to do it alone – and that hurt." He kissed the top of her head as she leaned towards him.
"Logan – I wanted that too – but..." again he silenced her with his kiss.
"Like I said, I was an idiot – but I got better. It took seeing my best friend with my best girl; but I get it. You need to try your wings and I need to let you." He sighed, and she interrupted.
"Who – wha – how?" She stammered at his revelation.
"Finn – he is my best friend for a reason; despite his drunken antics, he is the most genuine person I know. He may seem all - devil may care; but he is so much smarter than... well - all of us. I really should have run the proposal past him first; he would have stopped me, not because he is against us; but because my motivation was all wrong." her eyes went wide at the implication, "Before you jump to conclusions – I was stupid – I was afraid I would lose you – afraid we couldn't do another 'long distance' thing; but I was wrong, I didn't think of …" this time his rant was ended by her kissing him. They kissed and groped and tugged at each other's clothing trying desperately to get to each other, to once again feel skin on skin.
Rory woke, and the room was dark, she felt the familiar hold on her waist, the weight of his arm comforting and reassuring. She cuddled into him and lightly kissed his chest. Her mind was jumbled, they really hadn't resolved anything, just filled that ache, that void that she had felt since he walked away, but what did it mean? Was this the goodbye they should have had or was this hello again and where have you been? She didn't know what to think. Just as she decided to get up her stomach growled, and he chuckled.
"I guess I need to feed you if I want another go." He lifted himself from her and scooped down pulling up his sweats. "I have a set of your sweats in my bottom left drawer, a few other things too – I just couldn't get rid of them and now I am glad I didn't."
She smiled at this revealing information, she had some of his things too and still slept in one of his t-shirts. She rose and slipped over to the dresser to grab the items he mentioned and dressed quickly.
"I guess we got carried away huh?" She blushed at his bare chest as she noted the frantic scratches. She leaned over and kissed the markings. "Sorry, I didn't realize..."
He cut her off with a gentle kiss, "Never apologize for anything you do to me; it was my pleasure – really." He lifted her chin, so he could look into her eyes.
She looked at him and saw the mirth in his gaze, he had such a loving and mischievous look about him.
They sat at his table enjoying pancakes, eggs and breakfast sausage, she was always impressed that he cooked; and that he was even happy to do it for her. The sound of forks hitting plates as they dug in was all that could be heard, she was mostly finished when she noticed the scrapping on his side had stilled. She looked up at him.
"Logan?" She looked at him puzzled at his pause and uncomfortable I the silence. "Is there something wrong?"
He cleared his throat and took a sip of his juice. "Why are you here Ace, what happened?"
"I told you, I missed you, I missed us, I have been happy enough; well more busy enough, but I missed talking to you, hearing your voice, your laugh. Hell, I even missed your rants about Mitchum or the antics you got up to with the boys. I would get somewhere and experience something and want to call you then remember I couldn't, that you didn't want me to anymore, that you didn't want me." She quieted as he came around to her and rubbed her back gently.
"I'm sorry you felt that way, I am so sorry I made you feel that way. Still, it has been months, why now; what changed?" He soothed.
"I don't know, seeing Finn, staying in the nicer hotels, having to deal with a security guard everywhere I go," She trailed off and just looked at him, "I just wanted to feel safe again, like I did when I was with you. When we were together I never had these concerns, I didn't have to deal with strange men groping me, or the lecherous comments. I just haven't felt the same safety since you walked away."
"Why didn't you call sooner? I could have helped you, even if we weren't together, I could have helped." He began clearing the table giving her time to gather her thoughts.
She stood and helped him in the kitchen scraping plates and rinsing them before loading his dishwasher. "Why didn't you call me?"
"I didn't think you'd want me to; I thought it would be easier for us if I just let you go, especially after you returned the rocket, it felt so - well - final." He said, and she could hear the regret in his tone. The dishes now done they moved to the sofa. "How long are you here, where are you staying?"
She quirked her head at him thoughtfully, "We head to Los Angeles tomorrow, then Texas, basically we are crisscrossing America, it's not the globe, but it's still reporting all over the nation." She sounded disheartened and tired.
He observed her carefully, "Not what you expected is it?"
"Huh?" she paused.
"Being so far from everyone and everything, it's not what you expected?" He clarified.
"The work is fine, but I guess you are right, it isn't what I thought it would be." She lay her head on his shoulder. "I miss school, isn't that strange, I miss the studying and the schedule. We have a set schedule for the speeches, debates and even some meet and greets, but it isn't the same, I am at odds most of the time. I have made a few friends, and I meet up with Finn as you know, but I am lonely. I didn't expect to feel so alone all the time." She said with her head on his shoulder as her held her. "Maybe, this isn't for me, maybe I was wrong for all of those years. Maybe your dad was right, and I just don't have it."
Logan was taken aback by that last statement, "Whoa Ace, what would make you think you don't have it? Your articles are well received and even the radio and tv news guys are known to pull a quote or two from you specifically now and then. It's only been a few months and you haven't had the support you need. Then there is the whole heiress thing, you and I both know you hoped to be better established before that came to light. I get that you are lonely. We were together while I was in London, so even though I was lonely I wasn't alone. You may have your mom, but you told me before, you miss me, us and what we had." He kissed the top of her head, "I am sorry about that, if it helps, I have been lonely too, it's why I agreed to mentor those kids. Kids are easy, they are just happy for the attention and don't know about all the grownup stuff. It's is a nice distraction."
She turned away from him slightly, so she could look him in the eyes, "Isn't that what blondes are for?" she teased, isn't your bed frequently warmed by some starlet or model?"
"You are the only one to warm my bed since I walked away, it just didn't feel right – you?" He held her hands carefully in his. He had no right, he knew that, but he held out hopes.
"Only Finn, and that was an accident, we were talking all night and we fell asleep, so waking to Finn in my bed, both of us fully clothed, was as close a call as I have had. Any other advance has been rebuffed and so unwanted. Still; I've been 'accidentally' bumped into and all out groped; but haven't felt like dating." She smiled shyly.
"Well, aren't we fools, all of this time and we have remained faithful even though we were over. What does that say about us? Tell you what, I say we go back to long distance, get together when we can, and when the election is over, we see where we are and decide what is next." He gazed at her hopeful.
She felt her heart swell at the prospect, "Really, I thought it was all or nothing? You want to get back together, try again, even if I am traveling all around right now and we have to do the whole long distance again?"
"If you want it, then I want it. What do you say Ace, where do we go from here?"
"My stuff is in a room in Sacramento, I asked my roommate Brooke to make sure it got on the bus and I would be there in time to get myself on it..." She looked at him hopeful for the first time in so very long, "So, if it's okay with you, if we aren't always together? If I stay on the campaign?"
"Of course not, we will be together, really together, like when we were together in London, your texts got really good after a while. I didn't tell you, but I kept every single one, they are better than the Penthouse Forum." He winked and pulled her towards him until she was compelled to straddle his lap. "Right now, we are together though, and I need some visual aids to help when you are away." He stood, her legs still wrapped around his middle and he carried her back towards the bed, as she wrapped her arms around his neck and peppered his face with kisses as they laughed. He had missed that laugh; their lovemaking was always so joyful. After they lay together her head on his chest, his hand on her waist. "I'll take that as a yes." He teased.
"I believe that was an absolute yes." she placed a kiss on his chest.
The next morning Logan insisted on driving her back to her hotel to meet up with her travel mates he argued that the two plus hour taxi ride must have cost a week's worth of coffee to get to him, so it was the least he could do. She held his hand over the gearshift as they sped along the 1-80 freeway, talking about any and everything as if this wasn't goodbye for a while, as if she and he were just taking a random road trip as he had dreamed before the failed proposal. His heart clenched as he thought, this wasn't goodbye forever, this wasn't like before, this was like London. He raised her hand and kissed it as he had so many times before. She turned and gave him one of her sweet smiles. The drive ended all too quickly and Logan handed the key to the valet, wanting to spend a few last moments basking in her presence.
Rory stopped in front of the travel van, it had been a compromise from the all-out tour bus her grandparents wanted to hire. He pulled her close and kissed her sweetly and she pressed her forehead to his. Brooke looked on with a face splitting grin. One last kiss and the driver honked with impatience.
"I guess that's me", she blushed, "Since Finn outed me I was moved from the big bus to this, but I have Brooke to ride with me so it's not so bad."
Logan's eyes lit up, "This is better, you are probably more comfortable and if I know Emily it has a kitchenette for you to have coffee and I am sure you have a stash of pop tarts." he winked and placed a chaste kiss on her nose, "Call me when you get to LA." He said, and he released her to the waiting van." "I love you" he whispered as she slipped through the door, she jumped back down and flung herself into his arms.
"I love you too, and I will call tonight!" She quickly boarded the van and the door closed as the driver pulled away from Logan, she turned and stared out the window until she couldn't see him anymore then turned and sat with her head on the back of the seat looking up at the ceiling willing her tears not to fall.
"Wow, you play in the big leagues girlie, was that Logan Huntzberger, the son of my boss?!" Brooke fairly bounced in her seat. "I thought you two called it quits, spill!"
Rory looked at her friend and sighed with the thought, "Yeah, that's him, but I need to make a quick few calls back home first then we can dish." She gave her friend a hopeful glance.
Brooke pretended to pout, "This means you need to take me out with you the next time Finn is in town, it's no fair of you to hog all the yummy rich boys."
Rory laughed and began the string of calls she needed to make to update her status, her first had to be to her mother.