Day 3 – Part 2
Logan lay in his bed, his thoughts full of Veronica Mars in a dripping wet t-shirt. With perfect clarity he recalled the exact shape of her round breasts, the lace of her bra, her hard nipples clearly rubbing against the cloth. He nearly needed to excuse himself right there in the cafeteria to take care of business but reigned himself in to make it through the second - and last - apology he would ever offer her.
As his mind conjured up the image of her, he took himself in hand. He'd waited long and hard (literally) for this moment of release. He pictured her riding him, looking down at him with soft eyes, quietly moaning his name… creamy white skin and slim hips slowly undulating in a tantalizing rhythm. After only a few embarrassing strokes, he spilled all over his stomach, her name on his lips.
I am so screwed.
He couldn't recall the last time he'd sincerely apologized to anyone. For her to just run out on him after that, well… it spoke volumes. He had to face facts. Veronica Mars was out of his life for good. She would never forgive him and the sooner he accepted it the better.
Can I blame her? But she got me ARRESTED for fuck's sake. That seems to be pretty substantial retribution. Not to mention the additional punishment my dad doled out. At what point are we going to be even?
His post-masturbatory haze was broken by Mrs. Navarro knocking and calling through the closed door to tell him he had a visitor. He scrambled to clean himself up, jogged downstairs, and stopped short when he saw who was standing there.
"Well, well, well. If it isn't Angela Lansbury at my doorstep." Though his heart was still thundering from his orgasm, Logan leaned causally against the door jamb, the picture of nonchalance. "Miss me? It's only been two hours, Veronica. Sheesh. Some may call this a bit desperate."
Veronica tilted her head in confusion. "What happened to the contrite 'I miss you' Logan?"
"He left the building. Having his heartfelt admission go ignored tends to have that effect."
"I didn't ignore you," she mumbled. She found something interesting to look at just behind his shoulder. "I heard you. I just need time to process."
He rolled his eyes. "Yeah, okay. Let me know when you've processed. In the meantime, I'll just keep writing everything down in my feelings journal. Now, what do you want, Mars? I'm sure you have somewhere better to be, digging around in people's private lives and ruining their marriages."
"Aren't you going to invite me in?"
"That depends. You think you can keep your hands to yourself? I HAVE recently been featured in People Magazine's issue of most beautiful celebrity children, right next to Kate Hudson."
Veronica snorted. "I must've missed that issue. I'll do my best to control myself. There's something important we need to talk about."
Logan led the way to the pool house, not wanting his parents to overhear. Who knows what crazy shit Veronica thinks is important these days?
Veronica leaned awkwardly against the wall while Logan moved to sit on the arm of the sofa. "The night at the Camelot... my dad figured out that I didn't take the pictures from my car so I had to tell him I was in the backseat of yours."
Really? Sheriff Mars' precious baby girl admitting she was in a backseat with me at night? That must have gone over well.
"And he decided that given the uncertain nature of this case, and that one of the possible suspects could identify your car, and the fact that your jackass yellow SUV is pretty much the only one in a three-state-radius could potentially put you in danger. So, he's going to call your parents in the morning to explain everything and I thought you should know beforehand."
Great, am I in for another punishment session with dear old dad?
"Look, I'm, uh, sorry if this causes problems for you. You're probably going to have to drive something non-descript for a while until the case is solved. I know it seems extreme given that we don't know what happened to Shannon Hastings but…"
Logan looked up at the ceiling for a minute, sighing. "It's okay, Veronica. I'll explain everything tonight. Is that all? You can go now. Don't let the door hit you on the way out."
"Wait, do you, um, want me to help you explain? I mean, would it help if I was there? Maybe your dad wouldn't get mad."
Fuck! Does she know about my dad?
Logan glared at her. "I SAID you can go now. I can handle my dad."
Veronica straightened up. "Okay. I guess I'll, um, see you tomorrow."
Logan merely nodded and Veronica let herself out. Time for a drink. There's no way I'm telling my parents without at least three shots in quick succession.
Logan moved the food around on his plate with his fork, not wanting to eat anything until he could get through his story and wait for the aftermath. If only his dad were predictable. Even after all these years, Logan couldn't always foresee what would set him off. On rare occasions, he would surprise Logan with a show of genuine concern. Please let this be one of those times.
After clearing his throat to get his parents' attention, Logan recounted the whole tale including his trip to the sheriff's department. Of course, he embellished a bit about Veronica being in danger and swooping in to save the day, pandering to his audience. His dad definitely appreciated a good hero story. Usually the hero gets the girl, though.
Lynn beamed at him. "Oh, honey. That was so wonderful of you to worry about Veronica's safety. I miss seeing her around here. Please tell me you two are friends again?"
With a slight shake of his head he said, "Um, no, mom. I'm not sure we'll ever be friends again. A lot has happened in the past year that-"
Aaron's voice interrupted him from the other end of the table. "Well, son, I can't say I'm happy to hear that you were at some two-bit motel in the ghetto. That's no place for you or Veronica to be spending time. But I'm glad you were able to offer her assistance and make sure she was safe. Obviously, driving the XTerra is out of the question until further notice. I'll give the auto shop a call tomorrow. I'm sure they can give us a loaner for a while until this blows over."
He doesn't seem that mad. Thank God. Please, please do not let the loaner be a piece of junk.
Day 4
Veronica took a deep breath as she left the school after her hour in detention. She and Logan spent some time in Ms. James' office writing "one thing they wanted the other to know about them." Ms. James said she would have them write something to each other every Friday, seal them, and keep them all until the end of the month. At that point, they could share them with each other. Veronica struggled with what to write since Logan knew almost everything about her. At least about the old her. She saw Logan writing something down and quickly sealing it in an envelope. After some hesitation, she decided to be honest with this exercise and wrote to him while he looked on from across the room.
They were split up for the rest of the hour and Veronica was grateful. Logan was sent to wash the windows in the back of the school while Veronica worked in the front. She wasn't sure, but Logan seemed different today. He barely looked her way all day.
I guess Logan's apology was time stamped and required an immediate response. His apology will self-destruct in 5, 4, 3….
She ran into Wallace as he was finishing basketball practice and they walked to the parking lot together.
"Hey Supafly, you doing anything tonight?"
"Not sure yet, I'm sifting through all of my invitations. Why, you have something in mind?"
Wallace rubbed his palms together. "Yes. Yes, I do. See, there is this FINE, FINE girl in my English class and I overheard her talking about some party at the beach tonight. You feel like hittin' it with me?"
Veronica batted her lashes. "Why, Wallace Fennel, are you asking me to be your wingman?"
Wallace slung his arm around her shoulders. "Now don't go gettin' ahead of yourself. I'm just seeing what my best friend Veronica is up to tonight. It's time you had some good old-fashioned teenage fun. And no one is more fun than yours truly."
"Yeah? I totally agree. That's why you're my BFF. So, about this party… can you promise overly-muscled men in assless chaps? Ooh, or maybe jugglers?"
"No and I'm not even gonna comment on the chaps thing. But I can promise you will have the flyest escort on the beach. But one who doesn't have a car and needs a ride home now and a ride to the party later?" Wallace looked at her with a dopey, hopeful expression.
Veronica laughed. "Wait, is this party an '09er party? If so, you may want to find another ride."
"Don't think so. Jada's not an '09er and she's going with her friends. C'mon, I promise you a good time."
"Okay. I'm only doing this for you. I still plan to be home by 9:00 for Dateline and a giant ice cream sundae. It's what all the hot high school girls do on Friday nights."
"No Dateline tonight, Supafly. Tonight, we have FUN."
Veronica and Wallace approached the throng of teens gathered around the bonfire. Since the party was at Dog Beach, she just parked at her apartment and walked there with Wallace. Scanning the parking lot full of luxury cars, she knew the party would be heavily populated with '09ers.
"And I thought you said this wasn't an '09er party?" Veronica narrowed her eyes at him.
"Yeah, um, I wasn't real clear on the details. But you're with me, I got your back. Now let's go find the fun." He led her through the crowd. Some of his buddies from the basketball team called him over.
"Can I just go say hi to them? I'll only be a minute." He held up one finger.
Veronica waved him off. "Yeah. Of course. I'll just be here standing by myself."
"You, Veronica Mars, need to mingle. Go on now, try it."
Veronica looked around, hoping to find a friendly face in the crowd. She saw Duncan, who turned away when they made eye contact. And, oh goodie, there were Madison and Dick making out. Turning to slip away to walk toward the ocean, she ran into Meg.
"Veronica! I can't believe you came," Meg said as she gave her friend a hug. Veronica, thankful to find the only friendly face she could hope for, smiled back.
"Yeah. I was sort of dragged here under false pretenses. I may just head back if Wallace can catch a ride with someone else."
"No way. You're staying with me. I need a real person to talk to. If I have to hear about Madison's ZONE diet one more minute, I'm going to barf. Do you want a drink? There's beer in the keg and random bottles of alcohol being passed around."
"No, I'm good, thanks. I brought some water. Gotta drive Wallace home later so…"
Meg nodded. "Me too. I drove here to show Cole I wasn't pining away after him."
"Well then I guess we're just two single ladies on the loose tonight."
"Exactly. Who needs a guy to have fun? C'mon, let's dance." Meg took Veronica's hand and led her to the area where a bunch of kids were dancing. After a few minutes, Veronica forgot about her anxiety, allowing her body to take over. She and Lilly used to dance like this all the time and it had been so long since she let herself feel like this, consumed with the music, hips pumping to the beat. She and Meg goofed around, occasionally dancing close to each other while drawing admiring stares from many of the boys nearby.
Meg leaned close to Veronica's ear. "I think you have a fan."
Veronica leaned in. "Please tell me he's tall, dark, and handsome."
"More like tall, medium, and super handsome. Wanna guess?" Meg giggled as Veronica thought it over.
"No, the reality always lets you down. I'd rather have the mystery."
"Well, if he doesn't stop staring, it won't be much of a mystery."
The girls continued to dance until they were out of breath and their muscles were aching. Veronica eyed Wallace across the crowd who gave her a thumbs up and mouthed the word "mingle." When the girls stopped for a water break, Cole came over to ask Meg if he could talk to her.
"I'll be right back, Veronica, okay?" Meg asked her friend.
"Sure, Meg. I'm going to catch my breath down by the water. Come find me when you're done."
"Absolutely. One minute, I swear." Meg leaned in and whispered, "If he thinks we're getting back together, he's crazy."
Veronica gave her a knowing nod and turned toward the ocean. As she moved away from the bonfire, the sand was cold and the breeze blowing in off the water made her shiver. She found a spot to sit, close to where the tide was coming in. Pulling her knees into her chest and wrapping her arms around the back of her thighs, she made a futile attempt to keep warm. Why didn't I wear something more substantial than a short skirt and thin top? After a few moments, she heard movement behind her and, without looking back, she asked, "So did you stay strong and resist temptation?"
A soft chuckle. Oops, it's not Meg.
"Lately, I've had a lot of practice at resisting temptation."
Veronica knew the voice, of course. She kept her eyes on the infinite blackness ahead of her and said, "With the bevy of beauties surrounding you tonight, I'm guessing you won't have to do much resisting."
"Oh, so you did notice me?" Logan walked a few steps closer and pointed to the sand next to her. "Can I sit?"
Veronica looked up at him and nodded. God, does he get better looking every day? It's not fair. Even wind-tousled hair looks perfect on him.
Logan sat close. So close, in fact, that her entire upper arm from shoulder to elbow was touching his. Normally, she would complain but he was warm and it felt nice to share some body heat. Really, really nice. And I can smell his cologne. Mmm. Warm, musky, Logan-smell.
Logan turned his head to look at her. "Penny for your thoughts?"
Should I share with him my internal musings on body heat and his delicious scent?
She playfully shoved his shoulder with hers. "You're gonna have to do better than that, Echolls. My thoughts are worth way more than a penny."
"Very true. In fact, I would give a small fortune for a tiny fraction of your thoughts. You are an enigma these days, Mars."
"Who? Moi? I'm an open book." Time to change the subject. "So, did everything work out with your parents?"
"Yeah, they're gonna get me a loaner car this weekend."
Veronica looked alarmed and turned her gaze on him. "Wait, does that mean you drove here tonight?"
"Um, yeah. I had to. Dick's car was full and they needed the XTerra to haul the keg."
Jackass! Stupid, stupid jackass!
"Logan! Do you not understand? There is a woman out there who may have been KILLED by a guy who could identify your car. He's probably been called in for questioning and shown, or at the very least TOLD, about the pictures I took. Hopefully he thinks he only has one eyewitness to worry about. Neptune is not a big town. You CAN'T drive it back to your house in case the guy spots you, then he'll know who you are and where you live."
Logan put his arm around her shoulder and she could feel the warmth of his hand and his thumb rubbing soothing half circles. "Relax, it's fine. I'm not going to drive it after tonight. Just one more trip home. Don't be paranoid, nothing bad's going to happen."
She stood up, annoyed. "You don't get it. ONLY bad things happen to us. It's like you're tempting fate."
"I can think of a few good things that have happened lately."
"Good, well, you go ahead and think your happy thoughts but text me as soon as you get home. I'm going to be worried until you do. Promise?"
Logan gave her his brightest smile. "Yeah, I promise. You leaving? I can walk you back."
"No, that's okay. Stay and have fun with your harem. Wallace and I came together and I have to drive him home."
"Okay then. Goodnight, Veronica. I'll text you later."
About an hour later, Logan wanted to get home so he could text Veronica before it got to be too late. He was slightly tipsy and spent the whole drive to his house thinking things with her might not be as bleak as he feared. Definite progress had been made tonight.
She's worried about me! She let me touch her shoulder and didn't even try to punch me.
He never once checked his rearview mirror, entirely missing the car that had been following him all the way from the beach. He entered his code in the security gate and drove the XTerra into the garage.
From Logan 11:16 PM:
Made it home, safe and sound. Thanks for worrying about me. Sweet dreams. :)
From Veronica 11:17 PM:
I FEEL relieved you made it home, Logan. Goodnight.