Chapter 10: Pillow Talk
(Jews and Chinese Food)
"The numbers may have risen slightly; fact is, though, that the production has gone back."
"I think we're targeting the wrong group of people. We have to think younger, hipper."
"But we can't forget our regular subscribers! If we simply change…"
Bored out of his mind, Logan listened with half an ear to the discussions. It wasn't as if he hadn't heard this before. Year after year, they had more or less the same discussion. It needed to be done more for the young people. The progress or regress of numbers and production. Was it wise to focus more on the local or more on the international news? How could they get in more advertisements without reducing the paper to a cheap magazine? Just how much sport and business news was not too much and boring? What new feature could bring on more readers? And so on and on. Basically, the topics were interesting and of course very important. But if you could only listen in and never contribute anything then it got old pretty fast. A tiny part of him had hoped that his father would let him contribute more this time than in previous years but he wasn't surprised that once again he was reduced to only listening and watching.
But he could definitely not wait until this meeting was over because then, these four boring days would be over and they'd head over to the airport to finally go back home to the States. And tomorrow evening, he could finally take Rory out for their first date. He had already made reservations for them in the little Italian place Rory had taken him when they had been in the city on their saving-the-day book trip. Somehow, he found it fitting to return to that place where they had ate their first meal together and gotten to know each other a bit better. Besides, the food there was excellent and he at least could be sure that Ace would get enough to eat there. Not something he could be sure of with the restaurants he usually dined at with his dates. Not to mention that he knew she would feel comfortable there whereas he could imagine that she wouldn't feel so much at ease in some of the fancy places he frequented. And above all, he wanted her to feel comfortable.
For later that evening, he wasn't quite sure what to do. So he had decided to let Rory choose, having the feeling that she would like to have a say-so in their program as well. To let them have every option open: he had placed reservations for a play, a stand-up comedy show and a concert taking place in New Haven and couple of movies he thought she might be interested in as well. Now, she just had to decide what she would want to do and more. Though he wouldn't be surprised if she suggested something else entirely. With his Ace, everything was possible and that was just one thing that attracted him so much to her.
And then he was assured that Lanny wouldn't be home this weekend, a guarantee that they would have at least one place where they could be undisturbed for a certain span of time.
Oh yeah, he couldn't wait to finally get back home to his Ace and their date.
It was the only thing that kept him from going up the walls with boredom.
"Okay, gentlemen, I think that's all for now. I expect a report of this meeting by tomorrow, Keith. And a draft of the new features within a week," his father said, standing up.
Keith Jamison, manager of the London branch of Huntzberger Media Corporation nodded and stood up as well.
Suppressing a sigh of relief, Logan stood up also.
Finally!
And now, back home!
Impatiently, he waited for the last of the people to leave the conference room. Once he and his father were alone, his father turned towards him. "So… what do you think?"
Surprised, Logan looked up with a slight frown. What did he think about what? Since his father didn't elaborate his question, he shrugged in the end. "I think the meeting went well. The new feature about the party scene should get you some more young readers, as long as Keith isn't so stupid to give the story to one of the usual staff."
Seemingly deeply in thought, his father gathered together his papers. "Who else then?"
Logan's frown deepened. What did his father want to achieve with these questions? He wanted home, not play twenty questions! But he played along, for now. "I don't know the staff well enough but I'd say any one of the interns or, if there's no one suitable, go and hire a freelancer for now. If it's a success, we can always hire that person full time."
Absentmindedly, his father nodded, but asked nothing further. "Okay, let's go."
That's what Logan had been waiting for like forever. He gave a short nod and headed outside. His suitcase was already waiting in the car, so apart from the few words of goodbye they had to say, there stood nothing between him and going home anymore. Perhaps half an hour later, the limousine picked Logan and his father up to drive them out to the airstrip where their jet was already waiting for them. They didn't talk with each other, his father reading some documents and Logan trying to concentrate on his Business Management book in order to get in some studying for the exams in a couple of weeks.
But honestly, he had a hard time concentrating. Too often his thoughts drifted towards tomorrow and his date with Ace. He mentally went over the details time and time again to check if he hadn't forgotten anything. Once back home, he would have to do a little shopping so he could get his dorm room and himself ready. Not much, thank God, otherwise he would have had to ask Colin or Finn to make a few errands for him and that was something he definitely wanted to avoid. And he was still not sure if it was better to take her out in his Porsche or if it would be wiser to call Frank and let him drive them. Basically, he wanted them to finally be alone so he tended more towards using his own car. But depending on what they would do after dinner, it would be more practical to use the limo service. Drinking wasn't an issue this time. Tomorrow night, he wanted a clear head. He wanted every single moment with his Ace to be without any intrusion, interruption, interference.
Well, as clear as his head could manage to be with Ace close to him.
It may have been already four days since he had last seen her, kissed her – but it sure had done nothing to his self control where she was concerned. But hopefully, after this weekend, it wouldn't be so bad anymore.
God, he hoped so. He wasn't sure how much longer he could live in this constant state of need.
Not just for sex, though that undoubtedly was a big part. But, as he had had to learn over the past few days, there were many other needs in relation to Rory. The need to see her again, to talk with her. It had taken him until Wednesday night to give in and call her, just so he could hear her voice again. He had used the excuse of wanting to settle things for Saturday, well, not really an excuse, but sure not the main reason for his call either. From then on they had talked some more, about the latest craziness of Paris and Doyle, about her classes, about Colin and Finn being Colin and Finn, a short discussion about the use of golf sneakers, about the first few episodes of 'The Office' he had managed to watch before he had to leave for London and a million other things. It had been a long call. And another novelty for Logan.
Never before had he simply talked like that over the phone with a girl he dated. He'd settle their next rendezvous or cancel on it, he'd have a brief, very suggestive conversation with her, but just random talking and enjoying it? Nah, never.
Not that that surprised him anymore. He had come to terms with the fact that Rory simply was different from any other girl he had ever dated before. That she was full of surprises. And he couldn't wait to find out even more, to get even more surprised by her. After all, how many more surprises could she have in store for him?
He wasn't sure, but his gut told him that with his Ace, there might be quite a lot in store for him still.
"How did you like it here in London?"
Pulled out of his thoughts, Logan looked over to his father. "Hmm?"
An impatient frown appeared between his father's eyebrows. He hated to repeat himself. "London. How'd you like it here?"
Puzzled by the strange question, Logan shrugged. "Okay, I guess."
"Our business here is doing fairly well," his father mentioned.
"Looks like it," Logan nodded, keeping his eyes on his father. What had gotten into him all of a sudden? They didn't do small talk, never had, and never would.
"I thought that maybe, London would be the right place for you to get into the business, once you graduated. A bit of time away would do you some good and I believe, with the way things are going here, London would be perfect," his father said, his eyes resting on Logan.
Frowning, Logan looked away. He knew that it was expected of him to do several 'internships' after graduation in order to learn the ropes of the business. A year here, a few months there, something like that. He didn't really want to think about that right now, after all, graduation was still so far away, way more than a year. How was he supposed to say now if he agreed that London would be a fine place to start his active involvement in the family business or not?
Again, he shrugged. "Sure, maybe. Looks cool," he answered, trying to evade the question.
His father nodded, obviously pleased with Logan's answer that left Logan a bit uncomfortable. In his experience, nothing that pleased his father meant anything good for him. Before something else could be said though, the cell phone of his father rang and relieved, Logan looked back down to the page he was trying to read.
He managed to read perhaps one paragraph before an agitated "What?" of his father distracted him again. Curious, he looked over to his father who wore a deep frown.
Looked like bad news.
"No, no, I'm already on my way. Try to get to the bottom of this mess but don't do anything until I get there," his father barked into the phone and ended the call, obviously angry with something. Before Logan could ask what was wrong, he dialed a phone number. "Alfred? Change of plan. Instead of New York, we're heading to Los Angeles. Do what's necessary," he ordered and closed the phone.
Alarmed, Logan stared at his father. Los Angeles? No, no, no! They didn't have time for a detour to L.A.! He had little enough time to get back to New Haven in time for his date with Ace. No way could he afford a side trip to L.A.!
"Dad? L.A.?" he asked. Trying not to sound too panicked.
"Some idiot there is suing us. If he gets through with it, it will cost us millions," his father informed him darkly. "I've got to get there and see how much substance this lawsuit has."
Okay, Logan could see why this news angered his father. He still hadn't time to go to L.A. "That's annoying. Well, in that case I'll better see that I get a ticket on the next regular flight," he said, reaching for his cell.
"What?" his father asked, frowning.
Logan met his father's eyes. "To get back to New York. If you go to L.A…"
"You're coming with me," his father simply said, looking back to his papers.
Fuck!
'Okay, stay calm,' Logan ordered himself, knowing that he wouldn't gain anything if he lost it now. "Dad, I can't. I have plans for tomorrow. And like I already told you, the exams are in a couple of weeks and I really need to get back to Yale. So…"
But his father shook his head. "I'll talk to the Dean, I'm sure they won't mind giving you a little extra time, should you really need it. After all, we don't know how long this will actually take. But this is an excellent opportunity for you to see how we handle such things, as a nuisance this ridiculous lawsuit is."
Fuck, fuck, fuck!
"But tomorrow is really important f…" Logan tried to reason.
His father gave a short snort. "I'm sure you can reschedule."
Logan shook his head. "No, I really…"
"Logan, you're coming, and that's final," his father interrupted him again, sending him a stern look.
Seething, Logan gritted his teeth together and turned his head away. Damn it all to hell! There was no way out of it and he knew that. Or rather said, he knew his father well enough to know just how boneheaded he could get, once he had set his mind. And once again his family had successfully ruined his plans with Ace. What was it with his family interfering with his dates with Rory? Now he had to cancel on her, for the second time in a row. God, he just hoped she wouldn't think that this had been his idea, that he had lost interest in seeing her. Nothing could be farther from the truth!
Shit, shit, shit.
How he hated his life sometimes.
He'd have to call her and soon. But definitely not right now. He'd wait until he was in the plane and could excuse himself and find a place from where he could phone her without his father hearing every word. That's what he had planned anyway, but certainly not for him to find the words to cancel on her. Quite the contrary.
He really hated his life.
"You've got three minutes tops or I'm going to be too late for my dinner with my mom which she won't let me forget for the rest of the evening, reciting awful jokes and suggesting harebrained speculations why I was too late and believe me, you don't want me to have to suffer through that," Rory answered the phone, sounding a little out of breath.
Despite the bad news he had to tell her, Logan smiled. "I guess I don't."
"Right. But it's good you called now so I can grill the goddess of the right outfit for the right occasion for the perfect company with which I'll surprise you tomorrow. But of course for that I need information like how formal my attire is required, how warm do I have to dress, do I need to move much in it or is a skintight leopard bodysuit the right thing for tomorrow," Rory fired through the phone.
For a moment, Logan was frozen as a vision of his Ace in a skintight leopard bodysuit came into focus and he let out a soft curse. "Now you're just cruel, Ace."
"Why ever?" her voice floated over, innocently.
"Careful, Ace. You don't want to tease the tiger," he warned her, his voice have taken on a slightly rougher tone.
"Tiger? I thought it's a wolf?" she gave back and he could hear the smile in her voice.
Letting out a little laugh, Logan shook his head. "Nope, definitely a tiger," he assured her, but then grew serious. "Listen, Ace, about tomorrow…"
"What? You actually going to give me some information? I'm shocked!" she gasped. "Are you sure you're all right? Perhaps the height making you a bit light headed?" she continued to tease him.
"Cute, Ace, really cute," Logan said and sighed. God, how much he hated to say what he had to say. "But I fear there might be a slight problem."
There was a slight pause before Rory answered, the teasing gone from her voice. "And what problem would that be?"
"Oh well, just the slight problem that the plane's headed to L.A. and not New York," Logan told her, unable to keep the bitterness out of his voice. "There's some problem with our branch there and Dad insisted on me accompanying him. I tried to get out of it, really, but he wouldn't hear any of it."
This time, the pause was longer. "So… no date tomorrow?" Rory asked, resigned, and, if Logan was correct, also a bit disappointed.
"No, I fear not," Logan answered softly.
"I guess such things happen. No can do, right?" Rory said after a moment and Logan cringed at the tone in her voice.
She did believe that this was totally against his will as well, didn't she?
"Hey, rain check, okay?" he asked quietly. "It's not like we just forget about it, we just postpone it. Right?" he wanted to know after a short moment.
"Sure," Rory said with a sigh but Logan was pretty sure he could hear her cheering up a bit again. "Already have a date in mind?" she asked.
Puh, that had been close.
"I'm not sure how long this stupid business trip will take, could be a few days, could be another week," Logan thought out loud. Resigned, he finally shook his head. "I don't want to reschedule for something else and then have to cancel again. How about this: I'll call on you the minute I'm back and we'll schedule something for the next possible time? This way we perhaps can actually make it to our date, not giving anything else a chance to intervene," he added darkly.
This really sucked.
Rory gave a dry chuckle. "Wouldn't bet too much money on it, Mister." There was some commotion in the background and Logan could hear Rory call out she'd come right away. "That's Mom. Gotta go. So I'll hear from you?"
Disappointed that their time together was already over, Logan nodded. "Definitely. So you and your leopard bodysuit better be ready," he told her, his voice falling back to a teasing tone.
"You wish!" Rory laughed and hung up.
Slowly, Logan put the phone away and closed his eyes, the image of leopard Ace appearing again. He grinned.
Oh yeah, he definitely wished.
To his chagrin, the situation in Los Angeles wasn't resolved within a few days. As it turned out, the lawsuit had more than just a little substance and in the end, his father had grudgingly decided to agree to a settlement. The man suing Huntzberger Media Corporation would not pursue his lawsuit and in return, he'd get a lot of money. Logan should have been able to tell his father that this would be the end result anyway right from the first day he saw just what it was all about, but no, his father had of course tried to find some way to get around paying even a cent. His father didn't like loosing.
By the time they had agreed on the settlement with the guy, it was Friday evening and a whole week had passed, filled with more boring meetings with lawyers, the manager of their L.A. branch, the reporter who had given the grounds for the lawsuit and who no longer worked for them, nor for anyone else if his father had any say so about it and long conferences with the guy and his lawyer when they were negotiating the deal.
To say that he had enough would be an understatement. He wasn't sure what his father's plans were now, all he knew was that he was headed home. So he had left his father a short note the very next morning and then had headed out to the airport where he took the very first flight out to New York, not having been able to find one to New Haven directly. He was tired and his nerves, after two straight weeks with his father, were pretty much bare.
But it was over now and the moment he stepped out of the security zone and saw, to his surprise, Finn and Colin already waiting for him, he felt energized.
"Man, you have no idea how good it's to see you two guys," Logan said sincerely, meaning every word. "But how come you two are here?"
Finn hooked his arm around Logan's neck and stretched out his other. "Now that the lady of my heart, the beautiful, wonderful Rosemary, has finally agreed to a date with me, I of course had to buy myself a new outfit in honor of this extraordinary, world shifting event to look my absolute best, not that there's much to achieve anymore with the perfect looks I have and you know that nothing will touch this smooth skin than the best from the best shops in the best cities of this world and New York was the closest."
"And since you told us yesterday when you'd be arriving we thought we would as well come and pick you up," Colin added and gave him a long look. "Though have no qualms, buddy, my main reason is that I need you to assure me that I'm not yet completely lost in Finn-land. Never, ever again leave me alone for two weeks straight with Finn, got that? I'm not sure how much of my sanity has survived."
Logan gave him a sympathetic look. "Was it that bad?"
"You have no idea," Colin groaned. "It was barely bearable before Rosemary agreed to go out with him, well sort of, but ever since then? I was very tempted to let the nice men in white simply have him."
"I'd be offended by remarks like that, but today, nothing can dim the glory of this formidable day!" Finn exclaimed, hopping a few steps forward and stretching out his arms.
"See?" Colin pointed out, exasperated.
Grinning, Logan nodded, glancing at all the passengers who threw from curious to mistrustful looks at Finn's way.
"Uh, Finn? Want to tell me about your big plans for tonight?" Logan asked, trying to get Finn back to Earth. "Car's waiting outside?" Logan asked Colin more quietly.
Colin nodded and took the lead while Finn bounced back to be at Logan's side. "No big plans, that's the big plan, mate," he told Logan.
Surprised, Logan raised an eyebrow. "What? No big plans? No fireworks, no hired performance group, no backstage passes to her favorite singer or group, no little meeting with her movie idol?"
"Rosemary's not yet convinced to really go out with Finn," Colin mentioned dryly.
"Smart girl," Logan remarked with a chuckle.
"Save yourself the chuckle," Colin said, looking meaningful at him. "While I tend to agree with you, it changed when I heard the conditions on just how she'll agree to go out with him, sort of."
Getting a sense of foreboding, Logan frowned. "Which are?"
"She wants to go out in a group," Colin told him.
Now it was Logan's turn to groan. "Oh, no…"
"Oh, yes. So we decided we go dine at the China Palace in New Haven. Me and Rosemary, Colin and Juliet, who is Rosemary's best friend I think, and you and Reporter Girl," Finn enthusiastically told Logan.
Logan came to an abrupt stop. "Uh… no," he told Finn, shaking his head.
"Come on, it will be fun! It will be great! It will be the night of all nights! It will…" Finn tried to convince Logan.
"Okay, let me think again… No!" Logan told him firmly.
"I don't see why not!" Finn grumbled, glaring at Logan. "Here, your best friend begs you on his knees to do him a tiny little favor and you want to refuse him that?"
Logan shook his head, refusing to let himself be shoved into the guilt trip. "Nothing against you, Finn, but I had two very long weeks. And I promised Ace that next time we meet, it will not be a group thing. Since I already had to cancel on her last Saturday, I will for sure not show up and break my promise." He looked into his friend's eyes and smiled. "And as you always were such a big supporter of Ace and me going out I'm sure you'll understand why I don't want to screw it up – again, right, buddy?"
Judging from the pout on Finn's face, Logan guessed that he had won this argument.
Sadly though, the victory didn't stand for long.
"Now, not that I would want to drive a wedge into your blooming relationship with Rory," Colin said casually. "But may I ask if you and Rory have already made plans for this evening?"
Logan threw him a dirty look.
"Actually, did you two set a date for tonight at all?" Colin asked further, the smile on his face very self-satisfactory.
Logan glared as Finn cheered up again. "Yeah, buddy, have you?"
Still glaring at Colin, the traitor, Logan grinded his teeth. "No, not yet. I was about to, though."
"Oh, well, then it's no problem at all!" Finn exclaimed happily. "You'll just tell her that we all go out together and she'll be okay then. And if not, just let me talk with my Love, I'm sure when I explain to her just how world-saving important it is that she comes along, she'll understand."
"Exactly," Colin agreed. "And if she already has other plans, I mean, it is a Saturday night after all, right? Well, if she has, I'm sure you'll find someone else in your little black book to call and who'd just love to come with us, right, Logan?" When Logan said nothing, he smiled mischievously. "I mean, you're only casual with her after all, so there's no problem with the two of you going out with others, isn't it?"
"Yeah, though I'd really prefer if Reporter Girl comes along. She's a real girl you know, I bet she can help me convince Rosemary that I'm the man of her dreams," Finn jumped in with a smile as well.
His jaw clenching, Logan shouldered his bag and marched off.
Bastards.
As if he had needed a reminder that Ace may perhaps have plans for this night already. And if she really had, then they could forget about him coming with them. But he didn't think that she had. After all, the exams had almost begun and the way he knew her, she'd barricade herself in her room to study, study, study. Hadn't she? Still… she seemed to have been okay with going out with him. So perhaps, if another guy had asked her out…
His hands flexed in the urge to ball into fists.
"Relax, Logan, if you want my opinion, I don't think she has other plans at all," Colin said quietly, catching up with him. "Every time we saw her these past two weeks she had her nose buried deep into a book. Or was downing coffee to quickly return to the open book in front of her. Actually, I'm not sure she even remembered that there are actually two genders existing right now. If she has plans then I bet it is to stay home and study."
Calming down considerably, Logan looked at Colin, held his eyes for a moment, and then, looked away again to spot the limo that would drive them. "Thanks a lot for not letting me get out of this thing tonight," he said sarcastically.
Colin gave a short laugh. "What? And suffer through this evening alone? Sorry, mate, I love you, but if it is me alone with Finn, his fling of the moment and the fling's best friend who's supposed to be my blind date, or having you along to suffer with me, then it's clear where my loyalty lies."
Logan sighed and looked back to Finn who was having fun explaining to an old tourist couple the way to Liberty Island. From what he could hear, Finn was sending them through New Jersey instead of sending them to Battery Park in Manhattan to take the ferry. Oh, well, the taxi driver will have a field day. He glanced back to Colin and shook his head.
Sometimes he really asked himself just what kind of friends he had.
Logan pondered during almost the entire ride back home whether he should call Rory ahead or not. In the end he decided he would just show up at her doorstep. After all, she could say no to him on the phone rather easily. But if he stood in front of her, she would have a harder time saying no to him.
He was, after all, pretty good in convincing people to do things they initially perhaps didn't want to do.
So, after arriving back on campus, he quickly went up to his dorm to put away his suitcase, took a quick shower and dressed into some fresh clothes while Colin and Finn did something similar and went to go get the girls. When he rejoined them they were already waiting by the limo that would drive them around for this evening.
"Logan, this is Rosemary," Finn introduced the redhead at his side, then nodded over to a thin, blond girl standing on Rosemary's other side. "And this is her friend Juliet. Ladies, this is my mate Logan here."
"Nice to meet you," Logan nodded, taking a secret look up and down the girls. It was no wonder that Finn was so hung up on that Rosemary – she was exactly his type. Juliet… well, she was okay, actually, she no doubt looked nice – if you looked past the fact that she looked as if she would break down from hunger any moment now. Glancing at Colin's unenthusiastic face he judged that she didn't meet his friend's standard either. Great, he thought with a sigh.
"Hey, where's Rory?" Colin asked with a frown.
Logan shrugged. "I'm on my way to her dorm to go get her," he informed them. "So if you'll excuse me for a moment," he said to the girls, who nodded as he turned away to head towards Branford House.
Five minutes later he stood in front of Rory's suite. He could hear the faint sound of the TV and really hoped that Rory was the one watching. If she wasn't studying it would be a lot easier to get her to come with him. That was, if she was home at all. Sure, he had checked if her car was here, and it was, but that didn't mean that she was necessarily in her room. Shaking his head, he raised his hand and knocked at her door to put a stop to all this unnecessary doubting. Shoving his hands into his jacket, he looked down and waited for someone, hopefully her, opening the door.
When it finally opened, he was relieved to see a smiling Rory looking at him with slight surprise. "Hello stranger," he greeted her, smiling.
"Hey, you're back," she greeted back, her smile growing bigger.
"Just rolled in," he confirmed quietly, drinking in the sight of her in her tight pants, the light pink blouse and that red, tight, tie-front cardigan shrug she wore that was nicely knotted between her breasts, making sure that any guy's eyes would automatically be drawn there. He doubted she knew just how teasing her attire was, though.
And her ignorance of that fact was making her even more irresistible.
"So… How was it? Was it fun?" she asked conversationally.
He frowned. If there was something he didn't want to talk about right now then it was the two crappy weeks he had. Fun. Two weeks in close proximity to his father. Ha! "No, very dull. Let's not talk about it," he told her evadingly. "We're all going to China Palace for food. Grab your coat, let's go," he told her brusquely, thinking that this way, if he talked as if it was a fact that she was coming, she perhaps will protest less, and choose to go.
"Oh, uhm, I can't," Rory though told him, stopping him dead in his tracks to turn back to her.
"What?" he protested with a slight frown. "Sure you can. Come on. I've missed you, let me buy you a fortune cookie," he told her, annoyed. Oh, no. Was she not coming? Now that he had seen her he definitely wanted her with him, even if it was with those two lunatics he called friends and those girls.
"I kind of have company," she admitted though, making Logan's thoughts come to an abrupt halt.
She had what? Company? Company like in a friend was over or company like in a date?
"Really? Anyone I know," he wanted to know with slightly narrowed eyes and took a step forward to get a look inside – and at that company. And there was Marty, standing up from the couch and looking uncomfortable. On one hand, Logan was relieved that it was Marty. He knew that he was nothing else to Rory but a friend, so that meant that he didn't have to be really worried. "Hey, Marty. Good to see you," he greeted the guy, hoping to sound not too unfriendly.
On the other hand… It was Marty. The guy who was hopelessly in love with Rory. The guy who had badmouthed him in the pub. Sure, he had been drunk, but still… he bet that Marty hoped that this evening with Rory was more than just a friendly thing. Which in turn meant that he might try to do something with Ace.
With Logan's girl.
"Uh, yeah, you too," Marty said, uncomfortably.
Logan laughed humorlessly, inwardly. Oh yeah, he'd bet that Marty was anything but happy about seeing him. And the guy was right if he thought that he had come to take Rory away. That was just what he wanted to do, now more than ever. But he knew better than to expect her to simply ditch Marty. Ace was too good a person for that. Not to mention that she thought of this loser as a friend.
That left only one option.
"Well, you come too. The more the merrier," he invited Marty along as well.
"Oh well…" Rory chirped in, sounding unsure.
Logan ignored her protest, his eyes fixed on Marty. "Come on, Marty. If you're going to be hanging with Ace like this, it's time I get to know you without a waiter's uniform on," he told him, making sure that Marty understood two things very well: First, Logan was not going anywhere, and, second, Ace was his now, They may not be going out exclusively, but they were going out and they were going to kiss and sleep together and were going to spend much time with each other and Marty had no business at all in that.
Marty wouldn't be so stupid to refuse going, not now.
He looked back at Rory and his eyes softened. "Let's go," he said, briefly touching her arm before he turned to leave. "Car's waiting outside," he told them and quickly headed out, sure that they'd follow him in a bit.
Logan walked back to where the limo was parked, confident that Rory was going with them but a bit disappointed that Marty would tag along.
"Hey, where's Reporter Girl?" Finn asked with a frown when Logan joined them once again at the limo. "She didn't say no, did she? Or wasn't she home?"
"Oh, she's at home all right," Logan muttered darkly. "Had some kind of movie night going on."
"Really? Then why the sour face?" Colin asked, raising an eyebrow. His eyes went past Logan and widened, before they narrowed. "Oh, I see," he said darkly as well. "What's Margarita Marty doing with her?" he asked ominously.
"He gave her company," Logan said and turned his head to see the two coming towards him. "And Colin, please, be nice to him. I'm not a big fan of his either, but Ace thinks of him as a friend and we'll have hell to pay if we're not civil towards him."
"I don't know what you mean. I'm always civil," Colin muttered.
Finn snorted. "Yeah, right. Just don't talk to him unless spoken to, I think that's the best way to avoid a catastrophe," he said thoughtfully, sharing a glance with Logan.
Logan had just time to give a nod back and throw Colin another warning glare when Rory and Marty came up to them.
"Hey, guys," she greeted Finn and Colin cheerfully.
Finn grinned at her. "Hey there, love. I'm so glad to see you! You've got to help me!"
"I do?" she asked with a smile.
Finn nodded eagerly. "In here," he said, patting the roof of the limo, "sits the beautiful Rosemary, lady of my heart and dreams. The problem is, she's not yet convinced that I'm God's gift to women and that I'm the man of her dreams. You gotta help me convince her!" he begged her, his eyes pleading at her.
Rory laughed and patted his arm. "Okay! Don't worry, we'll see to it that she sees the error of her thinking," she assured Finn.
"Well, if we'll be standing out here in the cold for much longer, we'll all freeze our asses," Colin muttered and opened the door, gesturing for Rory to get in, which she did quickly, probably thankful to get out from the cold into the warmth of the limo..
Logan nodded for Marty to get in after her. He didn't want to, but he figured that he would have to hold back for now. Marty really knew no one but Rory after all and Ace would make sure he'd stay close to her anyway. He got in the limo after Marty though, nodding at the girls who were just introducing themselves to the new arrivals and took a seat across from Rory. By now, Finn and Colin had gotten in as well and after a knock from Finn to the tinted window separating the back from the driver, the limo started to roll away from the parking lot.
Rory was making small talk with the other two girls and Finn and Colin were talking about the party last Saturday while Logan just listened to one or the other conversation taking place. And he watched Marty, how he uncomfortably shifted in his seat. This was probably his first ride in a limo and from the looks of it, he wasn't really enjoying it. Nor did he seem to take any interest in either one of the conversations, not that Logan could blame him for that.
And he wasn't the only one who noticed that. "Marty and I were just having a Marx Brother's marathon, right Marty?" Rory asked, smiling at her friend.
"Sounds like fun," Logan nodded with a smile, trying to help Rory acquaint Marty more into the group. "What did you watch?" he asked Marty.
Marty shrugged. "Just the classics, you know," he answered vaguely.
Rory gave him a look and then quickly turned back to Logan. "Yeah, with the Marx Brothers you can only go with the classics. We just finished 'I love Lucy' when you showed up."
"God, I love that show," Finn sighed. "Don't you just love that show?"
"I don't know, I never could see what all the hype about the Marx Brothers is. Me, I think they suck and are nowhere near funny," Rosemary said, making a face.
Finn and Rory gaped at her and you could see just how much it cost Finn not to call such a remark a blasphemy. Amused, Logan shared a glance with Colin. Usually, Finn would now make a total one-hundred-eighty degree turn and declare that he absolutely agrees with whatever the momentary lady of his heart was saying. Now though they were talking about some of Finn's favorite shows…
"How can you say that?" Rory asked with big eyes. "Have you ever really watched them at all?"
Rosemary frowned. "No… I tried to watch them but they were so annoying I just couldn't go through with it."
Incredulous, Rory shook her head. "Well, there's your problem! You've got to watch them through from start to finish or you'll never understand them! They only make sense after you watched them! Actually, some of them you've got to watch several times before they make sense!" she insisted.
Finn nodded eagerly, his face having lit up a bit when he had heard that his lady had never actually watched the movies. "Love's right. Perhaps we can try it together one evening. I promise I'll make it up to you when you still don't like them at the end of the first movie," he suggested, wriggling his eyebrows at her.
Rosemary arched an eyebrow. "That of course would entail that I would go out with you in the first place."
"Now, don't worry about that, my beautiful rose. Who wouldn't want to go out with a fine male exemplar like me?" Finn asked, sending her a self-assured grin.
Everyone but Finn rolled their eyes.
Ten minutes later, the limo pulled to a stop outside the China Palace. Ten minutes filled with meaningless chatter and a lot of tension, mostly because one grumpy bartender was in a very disgruntled mood, despite every effort of Rory's and the others to make things lively.
Frankly said, Marty got on Logan's nerves big time and his patience was slowly running out on him. Rory was being super nice and he just kept glowering! And Logan and the rest of them really tried to be nice as well, but he could see that if Marty kept his attitude on for much longer, Colin and Finn would stop playing nice, he could see that in their eyes. And they wouldn't be the only ones, he thought darkly.
The others spilled out of the limo and Logan gestured for Rory and Marty to go ahead. Rory looked at Marty and then to Logan, clearly not happy with the situation, and nodded for him to leave before them. For a moment, Logan hesitated, but finally, he decided to comply and got out of the limo into the freezing cold. When he looked up he could see that the girls were already inside while Finn and Colin were waiting for them at the door, frowning when they noticed that Rory and Marty didn't immediately follow him out of the limo.
Logan joined them. "You guys go ahead. I'll wait here for them."
"You sure?" Colin asked, glaring at the limo.
Logan nodded. "Yeah. I'm sure they'll follow us any moment now."
Finn, too, threw a glare at the limo. "Yeah, well, that jealous asparagus better behave himself better than so far. He's ruining the good mood here and nothing and no one is allowed to ruin the good mood tonight," he muttered darkly but followed the girls inside, Colin close behind him.
With a sigh, Logan looked back to the limo. This had been a bad idea. Perhaps it would have been better after all if he had just accepted Rory's initial refusal to come along. And he shouldn't have then made the mistake of even inviting Marty to come along as well. Clearly, Marty and Logan and his friends just didn't get along very well.
Finally, Rory got out of the limo, followed by Marty. Impassive, Logan watched them come up to him.
"You didn't have to wait for us," Rory said, but smiled at him.
Automatically, Logan met her smile with one of his own. "It's okay. We got a table in a private room," he explained as he opened the door for them.
Rory gave him a look and chuckled. "So you thought you'd wait on us so we don't get lost? Sweet. But you know, I could have just asked them about the Big Money Boys party and I'm pretty sure they could have showed us the way."
Logan shook his head. "Wouldn't be so sure about that, Ace. This place's pretty in currently so we're probably not the only Big Money group here tonight," he told her as he helped her out of her coat and handed it to the already waiting restaurant hostess, along with his jacket as well. Uncomfortable, Marty shrugged out of his jacket as well and left it with the maitre 'd.
Rory's eyes went big. "What, and more prestigious than you all?" she gasped in mock shock.
For a moment, Logan pondered her words before he shook his head. "Yeah, you're right. They could have shown you the way all right."
Marty watched their display a bit awkwardly and now took a deep breath. "So… you've been here before?" he asked, rather civilly.
Logan nodded. "A few times. You want the best Chinese food in town, here's the place to come to." He smiled. "And we love Chinese. Come on," he told them and led them to the private room where he and the boys have eaten whenever they were here. "There you go," he said once they arrived and gestured them inside.
Marty went in but before Rory could follow, Logan quickly stopped her by touching her arm. "Hey, everything all right?" he wanted to know.
With slight surprise, she looked back at him and nodded. "Yeah, everything's okay," she answered and looked towards the entrance. "I think it will get better now," she said somewhat apologetically.
Logan shrugged. "Don't worry about it, Ace," he told her. "I wouldn't know what you are talking about."
Rory gave him a smile and turned to go inside the room but Logan wasn't ready to let her go yet. "You know, we didn't have really time so far to say a proper hello," he said, his voice dropping a notch.
Rory turned back to him. "No we haven't," she agreed, her eyes meeting his.
Pleased by her response, Logan stepped closer to her. "Well then," he said quietly, starting to lean down at her.
"Nor have we now," Rory said with a laugh and escaped his arms that had wanted to pull her to him. "Friends waiting, you know. Part of that whole group thing." She sent him a meaningful look and turned to finally go join their friends.
Logan sighed. Damn… he had known that the group thing was eventually going to come back to bite him. And boy, she was really good in those little, mean punishments… Something he should start to remember.
Nevertheless, there was a smile when he followed her.
"I swear, I thought he was never going to wake up," Logan laughed, looking at Colin, remembering only too well the morning after the night Colin had his first experience with tequila.
Colin grinned. "If I knew the hangover was going to last that long I wouldn't have," he declared though probably everyone at the table knew that he didn't really mean it. Though to be fair, ever since then, Colin usually stayed away from tequila – unless they were in Mexico, of course. One couldn't go to Mexico and not drink tequila.
Rosemary rolled her eyes. "There's nothing like a 'you wouldn't believe how drunk I was' story to get the girls all hot."
"It always worked before," Colin answered with a smirk.
At that moment, the waiter arrived with another tray full of food.
Juliet made a face. "Oh God, the smell of this food is making me ill," she groaned.
Inwardly, Logan thought that wasn't too big of a surprise. After all, she looked like she hadn't eaten anything in years. The few pieces of salad greens she had eaten so far seemed to be everything she was going to eat tonight.
What a waste.
"Mmm, I think it's delicious," Rory said and put another forkful into her mouth, causing Logan to smile.
Juliet looked at her with a mixture of envy and offence. "How can you eat like that?" she asked.
In the hour they had been there so far Rory for sure had eaten the most of them all, very much to the surprise of the girls. And envy, if Logan wasn't mistaken.
"Juliet hasn't eaten a meal since 1994," Rosemary explained to the others.
"My metabolism simply doesn't accept food," Juliet answered defensively.
Logan shook his head. "Yeah, that must be it. A modern medical miracle," he said dryly as he poured himself some more beer. "May I?" he asked Rory and already was filling up her glass.
"Sure," Rory said anyway and looked over to Marty. "Hey Marty, do you want some beer?" she asked.
Marty seemed about to decline but Logan quickly took care of it by simply filling his glass as well. "Here you go, man. I got you," he said. After all, he had only ordered that damn beer in order to do Marty a favor. He well remembered that one time at Rick's where they had last hung-out together and had thought, in another effort to make it more comfortable for Marty, to order beer for him.
Logan liked beer, but with Chinese Food? Please…
"Thanks," Marty muttered sarcastically.
Not that it looked as if Logan's consideration for Rory's friend seemed to be appreciated.
"Rosemary's going home with me tonight," Finn declared loudly. "I just thought everyone at this table should know."
Rosemary performed a perfected eyeroll. "Oh, Finn, you do hallucinate," she said, not at all impressed.
Logan had to give it to her that so far, she had showed more resistance to Finn's exotic charms than anyone else before her. Though his gut told him that sooner or later, she too would relent. Otherwise she wouldn't be here.
"Are you going to eat that fried shrimp?"
At Juliet's question, Logan looked over to her as she hungrily watched Rory eating.
"I think I am," Rory confirmed with a nod.
"Oh, God, can I watch?" Juliet asked almost breathlessly, smiling with shining eyes.
"Juliet, just eat something!" Logan told her with an unbelieving smile, exasperated. Why would that girl not simply eat something?
"No!" Juliet protested. "I am not eating until I get married to some gorgeous but very poor man who will sign an iron-clad pre-nup and get very, very fat, but he won't ever leave me because he would be cut off without a penny and die in a trailer park," she elaborated her 'diet' plan.
Well, that was an interesting plan, Logan had to give her that. Totally crazy, of course, and sick, but definitely interesting. He saw something that looked like relief on Colin's face and had to hide a smile. Yep, from the looks of it, every guy at this table was safe from Juliet. Wait no, that wasn't entirely true, Logan remembered and glanced at Marty. He definitely would fall under the category of poor. Logan had his serious doubts about the gorgeous part, but then, he would not be a judge of that, thankfully. So perhaps it was fate that Marty had ended up sitting between Juliet and Rory with Colin as far away from the blond as it was possible. He took a closer look on the somewhat shocked face of Marty – and Rory as well for that matter. Nah… he doubted very much that there was even the slightest chance that Marty and Juliet would ever hook up.
Too bad.
At least then the guy would stop lusting after Logan's girl.
"My God, that is brilliant!" Finn exclaimed in awe at Juliet's game plan for her life.
"That is sick," Rosemary corrected him.
Without even hesitating, Finn nodded seriously. "I agree with anything Rosemary says tonight," he told everybody at the table.
"Not going home with you," Rosemary immediately crushed down his hope.
Boy, that girl really liked to roll her eyes, Logan thought as he leaned towards Rory and, without thinking laid a hand on her shoulder and started playing with her soft, silky-smooth hair, oblivious to both the glares from Marty and the knowing glances he received from his friends for that unconscious action.
With a wary glance at Marty's hurt and baleful expression, Colin changed the topic. "You know where they had the best Chinese food in the world?" he asked. "This tiny little place outside of Zugerberg."
Logan looked up. "Aw, Zugerberg," he remembers with delight. Oh yeah, that was some memorable time he had spent with Colin when he and Finn had visited him in Switzerland.
"The golden days of Zugerberg," Finn exclaimed dreamily as well.
"What's Zugerberg," Marty asked, puzzled.
"Zugerberg is the boarding school I went to in Switzerland," Colin explained.
"Really?" Rory chirped in with interest.
Logan nodded in response, his hand still playing absentmindedly with Rory's hair, twirling strands of her hair around his finger.
"Yep," Colin answered as well. "Grade seven through twelve."
"Wow… living in Switzerland?" Rory commented, impressed. "That sounds exciting."
Hmm, perhaps, if they really decided to go to Europe this year, Logan would ask her to come along with them. They could show her all the great places they had learned to know and love – and discover a few new ones as well. She sure seemed to like to travel; otherwise, she wouldn't want to become an overseas correspondent. Plus, from what Rory had told him, she already had been over on the old continent two times so they could ditch most of the big tourist attractions, concentrate more on the unknown attractions. Yeah, that could really turn their summer to some great holidays…
"Boarding school… Man, that must've sucked," Marty, contrary to Rory, said sympathetically though.
Colin stared at him incredulously. "Sucked?" he repeated, unbelieving. "Are you kidding? Those are the greatest days of my life. Oh my God, the partying that went on there. Insane!" he said with a laugh.
Boy, he would never have thought that mingling with the poor would bring up so many fundamental differences, Logan thought with a sigh and looked at Marty, letting wisps of Rory's hair slip from his finger. "I did a year in Andover. Not bad," he said more calmly and seriously. Actually, it had been several boarding schools, but he didn't think that Marty had to know that.
The concept seemed too foreign for Marty which was proven by his next question. "So you didn't miss your home, your family?" he asked, flabbergasted.
"My family?" Colin asked back, perplexed by the question. "Did I miss my family?" He chuckled and looked at Logan. "Logan, did I miss my family?"
The simple answer was that the day Colin missed his family was the day hell froze over. But Logan decided to play along, perhaps it would get clearer to Marty then. "Huh, let's see…" he said thoughtfully. "Which mom were you on then?" he asked, letting his hand softly touch Rory's hair.
"I believe it was the blonde," Colin answered with a slight frown, trying to remember through the parade of his many step-moms.
"Ah yes," Logan agreed with a smile. Boy, Colin had hated that bitch.
"She was hot," Finn nodded with a lecherous grin.
"You didn't know her," Colin reminded him.
Finn shrugged his comment away. "All your mothers have been hot, Colin," he simply said.
Well, that was true, Logan secretly agreed. The old McCrae sure liked his women hot and beautiful.
Colin looked back to Marty. "No, Marty, I didn't miss my family," he emphasized.
They all laugh, but it was unnoticeable that Marty's laugh was more than just a little forced. Logan sighed. Obviously, Marty hated it here. And Logan couldn't say that he was enjoying the bartender's presence either. His hand on Rory's hair slowly let go of her soft curls and trailed down her back. He only hoped that dating Rory didn't mean that they would have to drag Marty along often. Though, if he judged the other guy correctly, Marty himself wouldn't want to go on another group trip.
Hopefully.
"What about you? Which boarding schools have you attended?" Juliet asked Rory.
Surprised, Rory looked up from her food. "Me?" she asked, puzzled.
"Yeah, who else?" Juliet asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Oh, uhm, not one," Rory answered.
"Not one? Not a single one?" Juliet asked with disbelief.
Rory shook her head.
"How did you manage to stand the parents?" Rosemary asked, apparently stunned by those news as well as her friend.
Rory gave her a puzzled look as well. "It was no big deal. My mom and I get along well. She's my best friend," she explained to the girls.
Logan could see that this answer only amazed the other two girls more – no wonder, in their circle such a thing was next to impossibility. On the other hand, though, he was pleased to see that they hadn't even considered the fact that Rory Gilmore wasn't raised like the rich kids in Hartford. It proved to him once more that Rory could mingle with his crowd without a problem.
His hand reached the hemline of her red shrug and continued his way down to the hemline of her light pink blouse.
"So…" he said in an attempt to change the topic. "Who's ready for the next round?" he asked and looked up for the waiter to signal him that they could bring more food.
"Certainly me!" Finn agreed wholeheartedly.
"You even have to ask?" Rory asked, smiling at him.
Their eyes met and Logan smiled, shaking his head. Instead of going back to look for the waiter, Logan found himself transfixed by her blue eyes and before he even realized it, his hand on her back slid under her blouse.
The jolt the contact to her naked skin gave him reminded him only too well of just what he had dreamed of every single night since their make out session at her grandparent's wedding renewal party.
The kick Logan received from Colin to his shin, reminded him just where he was though – and what he was doing. Damn if he didn't blush a little there! Quickly, Logan let his hand drop away from Rory's back and he brought it back onto the table. A glance sideward told him that Rory too had blushed and was staring intently at her almost empty plate now. Another glance around provided two oblivious faces from the girls, two smirking ones from his friends and a very scowling one from Marty.
Logan just about managed to stop himself from shaking his head. And once again he had lost all sense of time and place while staring into those eyes of his Ace. If Colin hadn't brought him back with his kick, it would have gotten very out of hand, very fast, Logan had no doubt about that. Damn… Why couldn't he maintain any control around this girl? Logan wasn't one to lose control but the last few encounters with Rory for sure had shown that that apparently was far from the case with Rory. Well… at least it seemed as if she had been as unaware of their actions as he had been. That did console him a bit. Still… something needed to be done.
This couldn't continue like this!
"Okay, the night's young," Logan said, taking a sip, and looked around. "Where are we going next?" he wanted to know, grabbing the last bit of his fortune cookie and threw it into his mouth.
Rory groaned. "I don't think I can move."
Smiling, Logan glanced at her. Rory sure hadn't held back this night and he had enjoyed watching her eat with such an appetite. Especially with someone like Juliet at the table.
"You're full?" Juliet asked Rory excitedly.
"I'm full," Rory agreed wholeheartedly with a nod.
"Is it fabulous?" Juliet breathlessly asked, wanting to know.
"You know, Juliet, it doesn't suck," Rory told her nonplussed and in a tone that caused Logan to wonder what she really had on her tongue to say. He got the slight impression that Rory wasn't Juliet's biggest fan. But then, to be honest, neither was he. Or anyone else around the table but Rosemary.
"Let's go to the Alligator Lounge," Finn suggested.
"Yes! Perfect!" Logan agreed, liking the idea. He looked at Rory. "Zydeco music. You'll love this place," he promised her.
"Well, I…" Rory though answered hesitantly, casting a doubtful glance at Marty.
Right, he had almost forgotten the spoilsport, Logan thought grumblingly and looked past her at Marty. "What do you say, Marty? You up for a little Cajun craziness?" he asked him, trying to sound as jovially as he could.
Not at all to his surprise, Marty though started to shake his head hesitantly. It was obvious that the guy wasn't eager to go to the Alligator Lounge. Or rather said to spend any more time with this group. "Uh, I…" Marty started to say.
"Okay, I got it," Colin interrupted him, looking up. "Everybody owes seventy-five bucks. Pony up, please, so we can get the hell out of here," he hurried them on.
"Seventy-five?" Marty asked, frozen, but no one really noticed him as they were too busy reaching for their wallets.
With a nod, Logan pulled out a few bills before he looked over to Rory. "I got you," he told her, briefly touching her arm.
It was the first touch he dared since his little embarrassing show of caressing her from earlier on.
"Okay," she nodded simply, something that pleased Logan. He had halfway expected her to protest and took it as a good sign for their developing relationship that she didn't. Then though he noticed her shooting a worried glance over to Marty. "Are you okay? Do you have enough?" she asked in a low voice so no one who shouldn't especially listen in, like Logan, could hear her.
At her quiet question, Logan took a closer look at Marty and finally noticed his wide eyes and shocked face.
Fuck.
He really should have thought earlier that the bartender probably couldn't afford this place. The thought had never occurred to Logan. There was no single restaurant on Earth that he or any of his friends couldn't afford so such a trivial thing just wasn't something any of them ever thought about. And whether Rory could afford it or not, never had been a question, as he had no intention of ever letting her pay when he invites her, like tonight.
Shit. Now it would really get awkward, he thought ominously, before he spoke up to Marty. ""Hey, don't sweat it, man. I can cover you, too," he offered as casually as possible with such a tricky matter.
Marty's eyes narrowed as he glared at him. "No thanks," he immediately refused with some hostility.
Usually, Logan would bristle at such a reaction to a perfectly gracious offer. Not though this time. Actually, he hadn't expected anything less from Marty. If he were in his place, as far-fetched as that was, he'd be hostile as well if the boyfriend of the girl he fancies has to cover for him. Still, the problem remained that obviously, Marty simply couldn't pay his share. "It's no big deal," Logan tried to reason. "I invited you. My treat."
Perhaps Marty would accept if he put it that way. After all, he had invited Rory as well and she hadn't thrown such a tantrum at letting him cover her share.
"It's okay," Marty though told him frostily and rose from his chair. "I just need to find an ATM. I'll be right back," he told them and left quickly.
"Marty!" Rory called after him in a pained voice.
"An ATM?" Colin asked amused. "My, how quaint," he snubbed, receiving a glare from Logan for that comment.
Not helping!
"I'll be right back," Rory said and got up as well.
Logan looked at her. "You okay?" he asked worriedly.
"Oh, yeah. No, I'm fine," she assured him and started to walk backwards away from them. "I just – I think I remember seeing a bank across the street, so I'll go catch Marty." She quickly turned and vanished after Marty.
Logan stared after her for a moment before he glared back at Colin. "Thanks, man, great thinking," he growled.
Colin shrugged. "What? I just counted what everyone owed."
Rosemary and Juliet exchanged a look and got up. "Bathroom break, guys. We'll be right back," Rosemary said.
Finn nodded. "Can't wait for you to be back, so hurry, darling," he said, shooting her a to-die-for grin, but then his eyes returned to his friends, oblivious to the girl's departure.
"Oh, and it didn't occur to you that Margarita Marty probably doesn't have seventy-five dollars to spend on a meal?" Logan asked Colin sarcastically.
"I doubt he has that much money at all," Colin smirked.
Logan shook his head. "Really Colin, sometimes you're such an ass."
Colin narrowed his eyes. "What did you expect, Logan? That I say, 'everyone, ninety bucks and for you, Marty, let's say ten'? Think that would have worked better?"
"You could have simply let one of us pay the bill and later we'd have divided among us. Like we usually do," Logan told him with gritted teeth and narrowed his eyes, taking a closer look at Colin. "Oh boy…" he said with sudden realization and shook his head. "You planned this, didn't you? That's why you handled the bill this way. God Colin, what were you thinking?"
"Just so you know: I didn't plan it. I just grabbed the opportunity," Colin replied coolly. "And that guy had it coming to him."
"And you just forgot that he's a friend of Ace? Not to mention that he's my guest?" Logan asked angrily. "Since when are my guests open targets for humiliation?"
"For starters, I hardly humiliated him, I've been perfectly nice to him all evening, though he for sure didn't deserve that. It's not my fault that he can't afford to play in our league," Colin answered icily. "But apart from that, this is the guy who badmouthed you big time the other night, nearly managing to ruin everything we've worked hard to accomplish between you and Rory. And great friend he is. All evening, he has been nothing but rude, towards us, towards you, even towards Rory. She tried her best to make him part of the group, the conversations, but every single time he simply brushed her attempt away. And you! You were actually nice to him all evening, not that he has deserved such courtesy, but all he had to give you in return were glares and scowls!" He shook his head and for the first time, Logan could see just how angry Colin was. "It was high time someone put him in his place and I sure as hell am not sorry for doing so."
"Oh yeah? And who gave you the right to that, huh? May I remind you that it was me whom Marty so nicely cussed about at Rick's, not you? It's my girl he's in love with and it's my friends he was rude to all evening. But I invited him Colin. He was out with Rory and the only way for her to come along with us was for Marty to come with Rory. Besides, if Rory and I are spending more time together from now on, we simply have to get used to her friends hanging out with us as well and most of her friends aren't in our league, as you so nicely put it. I don't want her to feel torn between spending time with me, us or with her friends. I don't want her feeling uncomfortable at the thought of my friends joining her friends," Logan pointed out, his anger growing. He pointed after Rory and Marty. "You think she's happy now? Or feels like coming along with Marty in tow was a good idea? You think she's going to blame anyone else for that other than herself? Me perhaps or you or even Marty? You think that she'll agree to let her friends come with us anytime soon again?"
Colin crossed his arms in front of him, unrelenting. "If you ask me, if we never have to see or deal with that guy again, all the better for me."
"I think you managed to achieve that, don't worry," Logan said bitterly. "But what if this evening also destroyed his friendship with Rory? You think she'll forgive us for that?"
Hell, couldn't Colin see that he had risked everything between Logan and Rory, hell, even between them and Rory, just for his little, petty revenge?
"She's better off without him and you know that as well as I do. Not to mention that the least that guy has in mind is being friends with Rory," Colin retorted back.
"That's not for you or me to decide!" Logan protested.
"Jeez, guys, cool down," Finn finally intervened, giving them both a look. "What's done is done. Yeah, Marty hasn't been the nicest person to hang around with tonight but our girl obviously cares for him, so I guess he's pretty cool under normal circumstances. And yeah, guy's head over heels in love with Rory but I guess after tonight, he knows that he has definitely lost her to you, mate, and that realization seeping in probably didn't help to improve his already bad mood." His eyes met Colin. "And yeah, this is the same guy that dished my friend, not saying very much nice things about him and so I'm not exactly his fan either. But deliberately humiliating him, and that you did, my friend, no doubt about that, was pretty low as well and you better pray our girl never gets wind of this." His gaze moved on to Logan. "But then I doubt she'll ever figure it out. You and me both know that Colin here went out of his way to punish Marty a little, but for the others, all our mate did was figure out how much each of us had to pay in order to get the bill covered, something that's, according to my knowledge, a pretty common thing if you go out in a group. So no need to get your panties into such a twist, dude." His eyes slid to the entrance. "And now I suggest you each retract your claws and fangs, 'cause the ladies as well as Rory and Marty should come back any moment now and you two still fighting about this unfortunate matter will be the doornail for this fast becoming disastrous evening."
And sure enough, Finn had barely finished his speech, Rosemary and Juliet came back, closely followed by Marty and Rory. With a sinking feeling, Logan realized the meaning of Rory wearing her coat and jacket in Marty's case. He bet those fucking seventy-five bucks that they weren't going with them to the Alligator Lounge.
Rory smiled at him, while Marty, avoiding anyone's' eyes, wordlessly handed Colin the money. Logan frowned. Quickly, Logan turned his head to Colin to warn him with a death glare to don't even think about making any comment at all. But Colin simply took the money with a nod and rose from his chair.
"Alligator Lounge, here we come!" Finn exclaimed with a grin and jumped up.
Colin nodded. "Everyone has their things?" he asked.
Meanwhile, Rory came over to Logan who had stood up as well by now and looked apologetically at him. "Sorry everyone, but Marty and I are heading back," she said, her eyes never leaving Logan's though. "We still have a couple of movies to watch."
With a sigh, Logan nodded, not even trying to change her mind. He knew it would be futile anyway.
Finn though protested loudly. "Ah no, love, you can't leave us hanging like that! Alligator Lounge! Zydeco music! Fantastic drinks! Dance floor! You even get to dance with me, I promise you that!"
Laughing, Rory broke her eye contact with Logan and looked over to Finn. "Sorry, Finn, another time."
"But…"
"Marx Brothers, Finn. Do I have to say more?" Rory interrupted his protest.
That shut Finn up as he frowned. "Oh, well, I guess another time then," he pouted.
"Sure," Rory nodded and glanced over to Marty who stood in the back, his head hanging low. She looked back to Logan. "Well, I guess we should go then, bus leaves in ten minutes."
Immediately, Logan shook his head. "No, Ace, I'll call a cab for you two. It's too cold outside."
Chuckling, Rory shook her head. "Nah, we're fine, don't worry. You know, I know you probably don't have any experience with such things, Huntzberger, but buses are heated nowadays."
"I could call Frank, you know? He can be here within ten minutes," Logan though tried again with a frown.
"No way will you call out poor Frank for just a little ride. Seriously, Logan, there's nothing wrong with us taking the bus," Rory rejected his offer, her eyes warning him not to protest again.
"Fine," he sighed and looked up, seeing that the others had left out of the room. Resigned, he put his hand onto the small of her back and led her out as well. "I'm sorry," he murmured.
Surprised, she looked up at him. "For what?"
Logan shrugged and looked forward, spotting the rest of the group, putting on their coats. "For bringing you here. For my friends."
Rory shook her head and smiled. "No need to. The food was excellent. And if anyone has to be sorry here, it's me. Marty…" she sighed and looked down. "I knew he didn't really want to come out with you guys. He only agreed because he knew that I wanted to come along. I should have just said no and stayed home with him, not forcing him along."
She had wanted to come with him so much? Logan's heart warmed at that little information and his fingers on her back gently started making comforting circles. "Hey, not your fault either. You said it yourself, Marty didn't have to agree. I probably shouldn't have been so insisting on you coming anyway after I've seen that you already had plans."
He just had missed her so damn much. But he wasn't going to tell her that.
With a laugh, she looked back up at him. "Okay, why don't we agree on the fact that none of us were at fault and both of us were at fault?"
Logan nodded, chuckling. "Agreed."
She smiled a last time at him and then moved forward to stand beside Marty. "Okay, we need to go. Rosemary, Juliet, nice to meet you. Finn, dance a song for me, okay? Colin, keep an eye on these idiots."
"Don't I always?" Colin sighed. "Bye, Rory. Marty."
The others joined in on the good-byes and a minute later, Rory and Marty were gone and the rest of them were ready to spill back into the limo. Before Logan got in, he cast a dark look after the two, moving quickly towards the next bus stop. He didn't like the outcome of this evening. Not at all.
"See?" Colin said quietly as he stepped up to Logan from behind. "No drama after all. He went to an ATM and got the money."
Logan turned his head to look at Colin. "You see any ATM around here?" he wanted to know.
Puzzled, Colin looked around.
"There is none," Logan said. "At least not within a ten minute radius. Now, who do you think loaned the money to Marty?"
For the first time, Colin looked somewhat guilty.
Logan nodded. "Now think about how you'd feel if you had to borrow money from the girl you're in love with." He shook his head. "I don't know why exactly you hate Marty that much, I mean, you never liked him, even before we met Ace and learned that he's her friend, but you sure had your revenge tonight. Hope you're happy."
Without another word, he got into the limo.
Usually, Logan liked the Alligator Lounge very much. The place was exquisite, wasn't too up-town though so you still could have fun and the music usually was good. This time though he hated it here and finally, after barely an hour and only one drink, he decided that this party simply held no appeal for him and he had had enough. Plus, Finn had started to sing in his attempt to impress Rosemary. Yep, definitely high time to leave.
None of his friends protested when he had announced his departure, but then, Colin was still on the outs with him and Finn was otherwise preoccupied. Besides, ever since Rory had split from the group, Logan hadn't been in an especially good mood.
This evening hadn't gone at all how he had wanted it. Most of all, he would have wanted to go with the original plan and go out with Rory and Rory alone. That would have been much better. But both their friends ruined that simple but perfect plan, with Rory already having Marty over and with Colin and Finn insisting that he come along to this thing tonight.
Hell, there hadn't even been an opportunity to kiss her and damn, he so much wanted to kiss her again!
But the one who really was responsible for this mess was his father. If he hadn't insisted on Logan coming along to the West Coast, then Logan would have been able to make it to their date last Saturday. And then he would have made sure that Rory didn't have plans for this night. Or if his dad had just let him know when exactly he could get back to school, then he would have been able to call Rory and set a new date, but no, of course not, his dad had to ruin that possibility as well.
It just wasn't fair!
Slowly, Logan started to believe that some big, cosmic scheme had fun at first pushing him and Rory together, only to then, when they finally were ready to really be together, started throwing things their way just to keep them apart.
With a frustrated sigh, Logan paid the cab driver and slammed the door shut after him, looking at the campus in front of him.
This was ridiculous. It was barely 11pm and here he was, coming back from going out already. On a Saturday! Grumbling, he looked towards his dorm. He wasn't tired. He had been tired of the group company, but he for sure wasn't tired enough to go to bed already. Okay, perhaps he could go watch a movie or start to catch up with what he had missed in these two weeks. Heaven knew that there were more than enough notes from his friends on his desk.
But none of these possibilities held any appeal for him.
Only hesitating another moment, Logan slowly started to walk – to Branford House. He wasn't sure what he would expect, but something just pulled him there, instead of going to his own dorm. After all, if Rory and Marty really had gone back to watch more Marx Brothers there was no use for him to go by Rory's place. He definitely wasn't keen on being in their combined presence again and he guessed that that was the case also the other way around.
Perhaps though they weren't watching movies anymore. Perhaps, after the humiliation of Marty right in front of Rory, Marty had said his farewell right after getting back. That's at least what Logan would have done in his place. No way would he have gone back into her dorm suite to watch a movie with the girl he fancied and from whom he had to borrow money to pay for his dinner. So perhaps, if there was a God after all, Rory was alone right now…
Logan reached his destination and when he saw light in Rory's window, his heart started to beat a little faster. He had been right. She had to be alone right now. Marty may be her friend, but Logan doubted that they'd hang out in her room – and definitely not after everything that had happened tonight.
He was moving before he even realized it.
All he knew was that he wanted to see his Ace – alone, to have the opportunity to talk with her, undisturbed by anyone, to finally kiss her again, to continue where they had left before he had to leave for the business trip.
He just wanted to be with her.
And the way he saw it, the less people with the information that he was with Rory, the better. Less interruptions that way. He had no idea if Paris was at home or not, or even worse, if Doyle was there with Paris, but he had no intention of even risking running into them. And in order to avoid that, there was only one way to get to Rory.
He knocked on her window, seeing her lying on the bed through the blinds. At his knock though, she looked up and rose, coming over to the window to pull up the blinds. Surprised, she saw that it was him and she reached over to open the window.
As soon as it was open, Logan pulled it open far enough to put his head in between.
"Hey," he greeted her in a soft voice.
"Hey," she greeted equally, softly.
"Can I?" Logan asked, gesturing inside.
"Yeah, sure," she invited him in and stood back to give him enough space to get in.
Logan didn't need to hear that twice and swiftly, he climbed in. Even though that it was the ground floor, entering through the window actually wasn't as easy as it looked like. Once inside, he closed the window after him and turned to face Rory, who had her arms crossed in front of her by now. She had changed into some comfortable grey sweat pants and a long-sleeved cotton shirt that looked very good on her, in Logan's opinion. Just hugging the right parts. Then again, with Rory, she probably could wear anything and she would look good in it.
"Huh… that move always seems cooler in the movies," Logan commented, flexing his shoulders.
"No, I think you maneuver your way through a window quite gracefully," Rory said, waving at him.
"Thank you," Logan answered with a nod.
"I assume you had practice," she remarked dryly.
Logan shook his head. "No, first time," he told her, the truth actually. He did prefer using the door.
"I'm sure," she said sarcastically. Apparently she didn't quite believe him. Oh well, Logan thought and briefly touched her arm but let his hand drop away again. "So, how was the Zydeco music?" she asked, brushing wisps of her hair back and letting her arms fall down again.
"Ah, I left when Finn jumped in on vocals," Logan said, touching his eyebrow. Was it just him or was this whole conversation really awkward? Though, with the palpable tension between them that wasn't very surprising. Still… he wished they could get past this – awkwardness.
"Excellent self-preservation instinct," she said smiling, giving a slight nod.
Logan looked down. "I just wanted to make sure you got home okay," he told her softly, with their eyes mesmerized by the sight of the other, he put a hand on her arm, letting his hand slowly caress her arm, his need to touch her was simply too great to ignore any longer.
Rory nodded. "Oh yeah, I got home okay."
"So, I see," Logan replied, his voice getting a notch huskier.
Okay, awkwardness still there but getting overwhelmed by the tension between them. Well, Logan could live with that just fine.
"Thanks for the concern, I appreciate it," Rory said quietly, amusement swinging in her voice.
Deciding that the best approach now was to simply be blunt, Logan smirked. "It wasn't all concern," he admitted with a devilish smile.
Nope, that he definitely hadn't been this time. Concerned a little about her feelings perhaps, but certainly not about her safety. That much he trusted Marty.
She smiled. "Oh, really?" she asked coyly.
"No," he told her, shaking his head and stepped closer to her, bringing up his right hand to touch her other arm. "I don't believe I said a proper goodnight to you this evening," he said, staring down into her eyes.
"No, you didn't," Rory agreed, her eyes smiling shiningly at him and his hands slid to her waist.
"Good night, Ace," he wished her charmingly and drew her up against his body to kiss her.
A long, deep, tender kiss that held no rush, no pressure, no crazed need, but still was no less passionate than their other kisses. It was just a perfect kiss for a beginning to something he had longed for, for weeks now.
When they parted, his mouth kept hovering over hers, having no intention of drawing away from her anytime soon.
"I thought you said a proper goodnight," Rory told him with a smile as her hands reached up to the collar of his jacket to push it over his shoulders.
Giving half a laugh, Logan helped her get his jacket off him and let it drop on the floor, their mouths always close to each other, but never quite meeting again.
With a smile, he drew his head back enough to look down her body. "You want to get changed into something more comfortable?" he asked.
Like into wearing nothing at all?
"More comfortable than this?" she asked, surprised, looking down at what she was wearing.
"I was actually hoping for some feetsie pajamas," Logan instead told her, only half joking. He bet she looked adorable in feetsie pajamas. She sure did in her kitten pajamas.
"Oh, now, you know I'm not that kind of girl," Rory laughed quietly, one of her hands brushed her hair back while the other grabbed his right elbow and started to walk backwards, towards her bed, pulling him with her. She lifted her head and Logan was more than happy to meet her again in a kiss. He felt her arms wrapping close behind his neck as his own arms were wrapping around her up from her waist as well in order to press her against his body and deepen their kiss even further. This time the kiss had lost all tenderness and was all of growing need, quickly gaining the same wild passion they had experienced back in the dressing room at the Windsor Club.
God…
Logan wanted nothing more than to give in to the need that kept growing inside him – and not just inside. But before he lost control altogether, he needed to know something, desperately, so he broke the kiss, as hard as it was for him, and rested his forehead on her forehead and gazed into her eyes, noticing that despite her forward action, she suddenly looked shy.
"Do you want me to go?" he seriously asked.
It was up to her, but she had to make the decision now. If they went any further, he wouldn't be able to stop anymore, he was pretty much sure about it. It was a knowledge that scared him on some level. Sure, there was always a point in sex when you couldn't go back anymore, but if you reached that point there was no physical way to stop. If the girl had second thoughts, some doubts, she would have stopped him long before. But here, with Rory, he knew that he was already bordering dangerously close to that point and that with them both still fully dressed. He feared that there was the possibility that if she would say no later on, he might not be able to draw back anymore – and at the same time, it exhilarated him like only a few things ever had.
Instead of answering him though she leaned up and drew him into a deep kiss again and he instinctively complied, more than happy to kiss her more and deeper. God, he definitely could grow addicted to those kisses, he dimly thought as he flushed her against his body once again and his hands started to roam over her body. Only when he grew aware that the back of one his hands was running lightly over her breast at least part of his sanity returned, long enough for him to break their kiss again.
"Rory, do you want me to go?" he asked again, more urgently this time. He needed to know, needed to hear her answer, the knowledge that this was what they both wanted, that she wanted it as much as he wanted it.
Needed it as much as he needed it.
He was fairly certain what her answer would be. After all, even now, they were still slowly approaching her bed and she kissed him with as much passion as he kissed her.
He needed to hear it nevertheless.
"No," she finally gave him the long awaited answer in a firm, sure voice and smiled.
He had never heard anything more pleasurable.
Yet… here he was, finally about to have what he had dreamed about for months now – and suddenly he felt… nervous.
"Okay, 'cause if you think climbing in that window was hard…" he rambled, all of a sudden unsure how to proceed. What was wrong with him? This wasn't his first time, for heaven's sake, still, right now he acted more nervous than Rory, who still pulled him with her until they reached her bed and she sat down on it. Logan stopped, gazing down at her.
"Shh…" she silenced him and reached up to pull him down to her.
It was a simple act, but somehow it broke him out of his unexplainable, momentary nervousness. He bent down and captured her lips with his own and when she laid down, he followed her, climbing on top of her.
Deepening their kiss, Logan started to slowly run one of his hands from where it had cupped her cheek down her neck, over her breast and stomach until he finally reached the hemline of her shirt and seconds later, he could feel at last the smooth skin of her stomach. From there he let the hand slowly run up again until he reached what he had been looking for – and groaned when he realized that there was no bra that separated him from touching the soft and sensitive skin there. His touch brought her to moan slightly against his mouth and the way Logan felt himself react to that sound told him that this first time would have to go a lot faster than he had planned.
Actually, nothing was like he had started to plan. Sure, they had had dinner together this evening, but neither had they been alone, like he had wanted them to be, nor had the place carried the intimacy he had originally preferred. Then, Marty and his own friends had robbed him of the pleasure to first take her out a little before he could escort her home. No, nothing was anything like he had imagined it over the past few weeks.
But it didn't matter.
All that mattered was that they were here now, that she was here, in his arms and ready to let him ravish her, and that was enough.
It was perfect.
Well, almost perfect, he thought with probably one of his last clear thoughts for the rest of the night. Rory's hands found their way under his sweater, her delicate fingers gently running up his back and Logan shuddered. Letting out a deep growl, he pulled his mouth away from hers and, unable to bear the sudden loss of contact, left a trail of kisses down her neck until he could bury his head in the crook of her neck for a moment, inhaling that scent of hers that he had noticed right at their first, well second encounter and that had engraved itself into his memory ever since then. It was making him crazy but at the same time, it gave him a feeling of comfort he hadn't known before.
Logan could barely imagine what storm of emotions and sensations awaited him, and he couldn't wait to find out, but first, the past had taught them to take precautions. With a sigh, he pressed a kiss onto that particular sensitive spot and then stemmed himself up onto his arms. Reluctantly, he got off from her.
Rory's eyes, that had fluttered close a while ago, opened to look up at him confused. "Logan?" she asked uncertainly.
Having gotten up, he quickly bowed down to give her a chaste kiss onto her lips. "I'll be right back," he whispered.
Her eyes followed him when he went over to her door and realization dawned in her when she watched him turn the lock. From the door he moved over to the window where he let down her blinds again, making sure that no one would be able to look through the blinds. Finally, he stepped to where his jacket had fallen onto the floor and picked it up to get out his cell phone. After he had turned it off and placed the jacket over the next chair, he looked up and met her eyes. "No interruptions this time," he told her determinedly.
With a smile, she slightly turned to her left and grabbed her own cell from the night table to turn it off as well. "No interruptions," she agreed when she turned back to him, her cheeks blushing, causing him to smile. "Paris' sleeping over at Doyle's," she added after a moment and he could see that it was now her turn to be nervous.
Logan made a face. "Though that's good to know I'd prefer if you could restrain from saying those names in times like this in the future," he told her lightly.
She laughed and he could already feel part of her sudden tension dissipating again. Good. Slowly, he moved back until he stood immediately beside her bed again, his eyes never leaving hers, staring widely and a bit uncertainly at him. For a while, they just stared at each other. Eventually, Logan reached up and cupped her face, his thumb gently caressing her cheek.
"I'm not going to hurt you," he promised quietly.
Rory moved her head into his hand and placed one of her hands to cover his hand. "I know," she said quietly. "But you know, I'm not a virgin anymore, if that's what you think." She smiled. "I'm not very experienced, but not a virgin."
Logan let out a laugh and stepped as close to her as he could while still standing. "I kind of figured that out already, Ace," he told her smiling.
"Yeah?" she asked, one of her eyebrows rising slightly.
"Hmm… no girl who can kiss like you is still a virgin," he let her know, still smiling. Then though his smile faded and quietness settled around them. "Come here," he beckoned to her in a low voice and obediently, she got onto her knees and rubbed closer to him.
Once again, he put his hands onto her waist and pulled her into a slow, sensual kiss, one that he could feel made her immediately relax again into his arms. Only then did he grab the hemline of her shirt and started to pull it up. Briefly, he broke their kiss so he could get it over her head with her helping him to get rid of it. Tossing it away, he ran a hand over her hair and moved in to capture her lips for a kiss again. Having picked up on the idea though he could feel Rory pulling up his sweater and soon, they had to break their kiss again so that article of clothing could be removed as well. Her hands came back to lay on his waist, from where she run them up to the back of his neck, pulling him down for a kiss whose passion skyrocketed with every passing second. When she dragged him down to lie on his back onto her bed again, he was more than eager to follow her.
"I'm sorry," Logan murmured softly, running his hand down her back.
For a moment, he wasn't sure if Rory had heard him or if she had fallen asleep but then she raised her head from where it had laid comfortably on his chest to look at him incredulously. "Sorry? What on Earth for?" she wanted to know.
He gave her a rueful smile. "Well, I've been a bit – rushed," he admitted.
Actually, rushed was a bit of an understatement. As soon as the rest of their clothes had been discarded, he had lost control completely. He wasn't sure if it was the beautiful view of her glorious body, or all the time he had waited for this moment, longed for it or if it was just that his Ace was some sort of human aphrodisiac, but whatever it was, it had consumed him, enflamed him, aroused him in a way he couldn't remember ever to have felt before and he had been powerless to fight against it – not that he had wanted to. And therefore, their first time was sadly over a lot sooner than he had planned.
Rory laughed, her eyes sparkling. "Logan Huntzberger, if you had taken any longer, I'd have killed you. And then, I really would have gotten mad."
"So the lady has no complaints," Logan concluded with a grin.
"Fishing for compliments, Huntzberger?" Rory immediately countered. "Wouldn't have thought that the big Master and Commander would need any reassurance."
Logan laughed. "Now, even the greatest like to hear an encouragement here and there."
"Hmm… but you're not going to get lucky this night, mister," Rory answered. "I don't think your ego needs another boost. It's big enough as it is."
"Ah, but do I hear here in your words that it would be a boost instead of a kick?" Logan remained persistent.
"Careful there… anymore fishing here and I'll start to believe you're really desperate," Rory warned.
"Okay, if you don't want to give me an answer, I guess I just have to get it myself," Logan responded with a smirk.
She raised an eyebrow. "So… And how are you going to do that?"
He wickedly smiled and with a quick move, he rolled on top of her. "Simple," he told her. "By repeating the action and examining your reaction closely. Simple physics: Action and reaction."
"Yeah, but you're forgetting that the interpretation of the reaction is just that… an interpretation. You thinking what it means doesn't make it real," Rory reminded him, her breath catching as he lightly kissed her collarbone.
"Hmm, you're right there. So the experiment has to be repeated as often as possible," Logan moved a bit deeper and pressed a hungry kiss onto her left breast, "and if the reaction remains the same," he moved to her right breast, "then one can be pretty safe to assume that," he rubbed back, leaving a trail of small kisses down her stomach until he stopped and let his tongue circle her navel, "his interpretation of the reaction is accurate," he finished and moved up again to kiss her long and deep.
"My, my, never knew you're such a little scientist," Rory said breathlessly when Logan released her lips again.
Logan nuzzled her nose, before he pressed a kiss on top of it and then drew back to look into her eyes, their blueness having put on a very much darker hue than he had ever seen them in so far. But then, he was sure his eyes were dark with lust as well. A certain part of his body had definitely recovered already from the exertion from not so long ago and was quickly rising for action again. "Oh you know, there are certain areas that simply captured my attention," he finally answered her with a meaningful look down at her.
"So I see," she chuckled quietly and then the little devil slightly lifted her hips so her center gently grinded against his hardness.
All thought of teasing banter left his mind and with a groan, he leaned down to kiss her, pushing his tongue deep into her mouth, meeting hers to engage in a duel of passion.
The pressure against his aching penis increased, begged him to enter, screamed at him to take her and Logan felt himself already slightly pushing into her.
With a curse, he pulled his head away from hers. "Rory," he muttered hoarsely, kissing her neck. He really loved to kiss that spot, directly over her pulse, beating fast and strong under his tongue. Looking up, he met her eyes. "You need to slow down," he told her, pleaded with her.
"I don't want to slow down," she protested in a low, but urgent voice though and slung her arms around his neck to draw him in for another kiss again whose heat surged through his body, enflaming him, burning him and once again, reason left him.
But when he felt her legs closing around him as well, he broke the kiss reluctantly. "Yeah, well, when you want us to be safe then you want to slow down, Ace," he whispered into her ear, kissing it.
It took a moment for his words to register, but when it did he felt her let go of him and her hips sank down onto the mattress again. When he looked at her, he had to smile affectionately. She had blushed. And he had been right with his suspicion. When she blushed, she blushed entirely. Why that sight aroused him even more was beyond him, but then, it didn't matter. Well, it did and it reminded him just why she had blushed in the first place. Quickly, he reached over to her night table to snatch himself a condom.
Once that was taken care of, he turned back to Rory, her body still flushed with embarrassment. Tenderly, he stroked strands of her hair off of her face before he leaned down to give her a caring, warm kiss, slow and sensual.
This time, he would take his time. Time to discover every inch of her body, time to show her just how much he appreciated what he found, saw, felt and tasted.
When Logan woke up the next morning – late in the morning – he was a little disoriented at first and it took him a moment to remember where exactly he was. Once he did though, he smiled and lifted his head a little to look down at the girl with dark curls resting on his chest – and his smile intensified while gentle warmth filled up his entire being.
With a contented sigh, he let his head fall back onto the pillow and he closed his eyes again. The night with Rory… it had been… he didn't know how to name it. Fantastic didn't even came close. Incredible would describe it better already, though it was still not a word powerful enough. Amazing, out of this world, extraordinary, magnificent, glorious… all words that could fit, but simply weren't enough. Perhaps there were no words to articulate what had happened between him and his Ace, he thought, his fingers lightly caressing and making circles on her back.
It had been special and that would have to do for a description, for now.
And perhaps this was the reason why he was still here and felt not even the slightest need to leave anytime soon. Perhaps it was also the reason why he actually loved the fact that Rory was cuddling against his body, half of her draped over him, even though he hated cuddling. Actually, as it was, he would be more than happy to stay where he was for the rest of his life. Happily sated and tired after a night full of passion with Rory still in his arms.
If he were somewhere else right now, and, with someone else, he knew that that thought would have made him frown if not even run. And some part of him knew that once he had left this little heaven on Earth, he probably would start to overanalyze this night. It wasn't a usual treat for him but since he had met this girl in his arms, he sure had started to think about a lot of things he usually didn't bother to think about. He preferred to just go with the flow, and for now, he would do just that and enjoy the moment. If he was lucky, he could keep the doubts, thinking and overanalyzing at bay for the time being.
He'd need his Ace for that though. The way he saw it, the only time he started to think was if he was away from her. So he simply had to make sure that they were apart as little as possible in the near future. Starting with today and convincing her into spending the day with him with no break whatsoever. Hmmm… he actually had no idea how big his chances were in achieving that. Yesterday, he still had been convinced that it wouldn't be an easy task. Today though… Rory had surprised him a few times this night. With her forwardness, with the fervor that had been in her and the intensity and passion with what she sometimes went at it. He had pegged her to be the shy type and in a way, she was… but only until her passion was set free and then she lost all traces of shyness, yeah, sometimes she actually had been a flirt.
It was an enticing combination.
Okay, so… how would he best go about convincing her to spend the day with him? Right. First thing, surprise her with breakfast. Now, in a hotel this would have been an easy task. Here though… but he was Logan Huntzberger and he'd be damned if he couldn't get his girl her coffee and some bagels. Hmm… an idea struck him and he grinned. Oh yeah… that would work.
Logan opened his eyes and looked around, careful to not wake Rory. He needed a phone. His phone was still in his jacket across the room and there was no way he was getting out of this bed right now. Rory's phone was on the night table though. And even better, her land line phone as well. Slowly, he reached out to grab that phone. Quickly, he punched in the numbers. He was aware that his voice may wake her – but then again, he counted on her forgiveness, once she had hot, steaming coffee right under her nose.
"Yeah?"
"Wanna make up for last night?" Logan asked as quietly as he could.
There was a long moment of silence. "Logan?"
"Yeah," Logan confirmed.
"Talk louder, I can barely hear you. And what on Earth makes you think I owe you anything?"
"You want to or not?" Logan asked, ignoring Colin's questions. Colin never had been a morning person.
Colin sighed. "If I don't, just how long will you pester me with that damn evening?"
Logan grinned, but said nothing.
"Right," Colin muttered, resigned. "And what do you want me to do?"
"Nothing bad, just a little delivery service," Logan reassured him. "Just get me two, no wait, four large cups of coffee… one straight black, one with milk and sugar, one a little sweetened with chocolate and make the last one my usual. Then I want bagels, cream cheese and a little of that Swiss cheese you keep in your stash. Hmm, and see if you can find me some blackberry muffins as well."
In his arms, Logan felt Rory slightly stir and he looked down at her.
"Anything else?" Colin asked sarcastically. "Why don't you get them yourself? I really…" his voice trailed of. "Wait. Did you say four large coffees?" Colin asked after a moment.
"Hmmm…" Logan uttered, his eyes fixed on Rory, seeing if she was going to open her eyes.
"Oh, my God! You're with Rory, aren't you?" Colin exclaimed, sounding amazed. "How did you end up with her? And you finally did it, didn't you? Not just, I dunno, cuddling the whole time, right? Man, about damn time! I can't wait to tell Finn. Ha, I won the bet! But boy, you've got some telling to do, mate!"
Okay, perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to call Colin after all, Logan thought with a frown. "Just get the stuff and bring it over. Uh… just knock on Ace's window. And hurry," Logan told him. Rory moved a little. "Gotta go. Bye," Logan said and ended the call, putting the phone back on the night table.
When he turned back, two blue eyes, still heavy with sleep, met his. "Hey," he greeted her with a soft smile.
"Hey," she answered back and yawned, laying her head back onto his chest.
Slowly, Logan caressed her back.
"Did I dream it or were you just on the phone?" she asked after a while, still sounding tired.
Smiling, Logan decided to go with distraction and gently lifted her head with his finger so he could give her a long, deep, but tender kiss. "Good morning, Ace," he said once he let go of her lips again.
Her smile was blinding. "Am I supposed to ask if you call that a proper good morning now?" she wanted to know.
Logan smirked as he pushed back some strands of her hair. "I sure wouldn't mind it. It could get like our very own little special routine."
"And what would that routine exactly consist of?" Rory asked, amused.
"Ouch, I think it's perfectly fine the way it worked so far. I wish you a good whatever time of day, you ask me if I call that a proper good whatever and then we engage in a fervent session of passion," Logan summarized.
One of her eyebrows shot up. "Did you just say 'a fervent session of passion'?"
"It even rhymes," Logan nodded.
"Are you always so awfully poetic first thing in the morning?" Rory asked, looking curiously at him.
"Depends. If I happen to have spent a night in zealous ardor I do like to express that in flowery language," Logan told her, trying to sound as serious as he possibly could.
Rolling her eyes, Rory shook her head. "Okay, anymore expression like zealous ardor and you're getting out of this bed."
Now it was Logan's turn to raise an eyebrow. "Well, my beautiful maiden, then you perhaps better find a way to shut me up because once I started on the flowery…"
Rory shut him up by climbing right on top of him and pushing her tongue deep into his mouth.
"So, any plans for this fine Sunday?" Logan asked casually, licking the cream cheese off from his fingers and looked at Rory from under his eyelashes.
Rory reached for the last of her three coffees, the one with a bit chocolate in it. "Well, a shower would be nice for starters," she answered, savoring the taste of the coffee with half-closed eyes.
A sexy sight that aroused Logan on the spot. God, would he ever get enough of this girl? But for now he ignored the slight twitch in his lower body and nodded. "Yeah, I can only agree on that point. A shower would be nice."
Very nice indeed, he thought with a dirty grin.
"I don't remember inviting you to come along," Rory said dryly, taking in said dirty grin.
Logan flashed her a smile. "And I'll show you the error of that negligence later on," he promised her. "You know, I thought it would be nice to spend the day together," he added, looking at her to see her reaction.
Rory finished her coffee and leaned back onto the headrest, looking at the empty bags Colin had delivered half an hour ago – very grudgingly. "Ah… so that's why I had the honor of this breakfast," she said knowingly.
Logan didn't even try to deny it. "That and from what I remember from health class is that a person needs sustenance if one has worn himself out – or is planning to engage in heavy activity."
Her eyes darkened, causing another twitch in Logan's lower region. "As tempting as that sounds…" she said ruefully. "We can't spend the whole day…" she waved at them and her bed.
"Why not?" Logan asked.
"Logan… it just… it's a little kinky, don't you think?" she asked, her eyes downcast as she blushed a little.
"And what's wrong with that? Kinky's okay. Kinky's good," Logan laughed.
She shot him a glare. "Besides, I have to study. Exams are in a week and…"
"Come on, Ace. You can't tell me that you don't already know all your stuff by heart," Logan interrupted her. "I bet all you did the past two weeks was study. Ever heard that you can over study? Take a break, just for today and then tomorrow you can go back to your books with renewed energy."
"I already took a break. Yesterday, this morning," Rory pointed out, but if Logan was correct, not with as much determination as usual.
Attaining hope from that, he moved closer to her. "Okay Ace, how about a deal. You spend this day with me and I promise I'll leave you alone until after the exams, unless you realize you just can't be without that superb guy that I am."
She rolled her eyes, but didn't answer. Still, he could feel victory close. "And if you're a really nice little girl, I'll even help you review for half an hour tonight," he tempted her into saying yes.
"An hour," Rory bargained.
Logan smiled and nodded. "An hour it is and I'll even reward you for every correct answer," he promised.
Rory shook her head doubtfully. "Oh boy…"
Logan just grinned. Yes! He'd have his Ace for the entire day – and night, he would make sure of that.
God, how he was going to enjoy showing her just how great it could be to be a little kinky!
TBC!
(Author's Note: Okay, I've got to leave for Norway in 25 minutes. I finished this 30 minutes ago so no, I didn't manage to read it trough entirely or very carefully. I'll do that when I'm back but I think, most of you will look past the mistakes and just be glad that this chapter's finally out, right? Hope you'll enjoy it and it was worth the wait!)