The weekend following Rory's birthday party Logan surprised her with a trip to New York and tickets to see Wicked and she was finally able to meet Honor and her boyfriend Josh when they met for lunch. Logan was happy that the women got along so well, Honor was the only one in the family whose opinion mattered to him. She was happy that Logan had found someone that challenged him and made him want to be a better person. While Honor had also heard about Rory's reputation after meeting the girl, she saw what Logan saw. Rory was a private person and had not grown up in the jaded world of money but had walked into it and had survived by toeing the line. With her looks and innocence, it was easy to see how some of the more unscrupulous playboys would want her as a trophy and perused her as such. Honor had to admire the way the girl had developed a backbone of steel in order to survive the pressure and expectations of the world, but she still maintained her innocence and heart. The girls made plans to go shopping soon and exchanged numbers with promises to talk later. Logan loved exploring the city with her, she didn't need the fanciest restaurants or to go to the trendiest clubs, so they spend time walking around and discovered a small Italian place and bookstore/coffee bar that they had spent hours in exploring the new releases and older more obscure titles; this trip with her was the most relaxing weekend he had ever spent in the city. Exploring the city with her reminded him of the time they spent in Europe and he couldn't wait to see more of the world with her. There was something about her innocence and joy when she saw things, it made him look at things in a new light.

The following week Rory took him to see the postponed Hep Alien show and Colin, Finn and Steph went with them. The group was surprised at how good the band was and they all hung out after the show. Watching Rory interact with her childhood best friend helped them understand more about why she treated everyone equally. The two girls talked fast and caught up on everything that phone calls had missed, the Yalies had a hard time keeping up with the conversation and instead got to know Zach, Brian and Gill better. Lane told her all about the relationship with Zach and gave Logan her approval, she had never seen Rory this carefree and relaxed and she could see how good these new friends were for her. The group all grabbed copies of their new CD's and Logan thought about writing a review of the band for the paper since he knew Rory wouldn't feel comfortable writing something on her best friend. Before the Yalies left Lane pulled Logan aside…

Rory sat talking to Stephanie and Gil and Lane saw her opportunity and asked Logan to help her get drinks. As soon as they walked away from the group Lane stopped him. "I have to tell you I was worried when Rory told me about you. She hasn't had the best luck when it comes to society guys."

"She told me," Logan replied with a sigh. "I know she was worried about my reputation and I'm sure she told you…"

"Thank you," Lane stated cutting him off and he gave her a shocked look. "I see the way she looks at you, you bring her out of her shell. Rory has always been… slightly introverted. When she was growing up it was just her and Lorelai, she didn't socialize with many kids until kindergarten and then… she was the girl that lived in the shack and didn't have many friends. It was always her and Lorelai against everyone else and Rory has a hard time letting people in, she has this fear of abandonment I guess." Lane gave a small shrug and sighed. "But seeing you two together… I have never seen her so relaxed. You bring out the best of her. But if you hurt her…"

"The shack?" Logan questioned.

"You'll have to ask her about that," she replied shaking her head slightly.

"I will," Logan sighed. "We are trying to get to Stars Hollow soon. And I want to promise you, I won't intentionally hurt her. I'm sure she had told you that she is my first girlfriend, this is new, but I don't want to mess it up."

"That's all I ask for," Lane stated and grabbed his hand pulling him towards the bar.

For Halloween the couple an LDB event and it was a burlesque theme. The girls had convinced Rory to get a navy corset with a lighter blue and black accent, it had a small black skirt that barely covered anything, and she finished the outfit with black stockings attached to a garter and black heels. Her make-up was heavier than normal, and she did her hair in tight curls and pulled it back away from her face…

"Fuck," Logan muttered when he walked into their room, while they were not officially living together, he spent every night at her place. "You can't wear that," he told her, a hungry look in his eyes as he took in her very sexy appearance.

"And why not?" she questioned with an innocent smile.

"I have limited self-control with you and this outfit," he said, his voice husky with want, "is going to test my self-control." He ran his fingers along the top of her breasts that were pushed up by the corset. "I am not going to be able to keep my hands off of you," he told her as he moved his hands towards her thighs and moaned when he felt the bare flesh. His hands moved up and he was slightly relived to feel that she was wearing a pair of boy shorts that covered everything,

She grabbed his hands before he could reach her core, she was already wet from the look in his eyes. "Down boy," she murmured huskily. "Trust me I'm going to have a problem keeping my hands off you," she told him as she admired his bare chest and tight black pants.

"Mmmm," he murmured as he stepped closer to her and lowered his mouth to her exposed flesh and decided if she was going to wear this, he wanted everyone to know she belonged to him, so he spent a few minutes sucking and nibbling on the flesh at the edge of her corset. When she let go of his hands to run them through his hair, he moved a towards her core and felt the heat and wetness. "Fuck Ace," he murmured as he rubbed her pussy causing her to grind herself against him and he moved her underwear and slipped in a finger, feeling how wet and ready she was for him. "We're going to be a little late." He quickly unsnapped her garters before pushing down her underwear, as she stepped out of them, he quickly undid his pants and pushed them off before grabbing her ass and lifting her up, her legs wrapping around his waist. As soon as her legs were secured, he pushed her against the wall and thrust into her. The sudden contact caused them both to groan. He thrust frantically into her and she rolled her hips and pushed down onto him, the feel of his fingers digging into her was the perfect amount of pleasure and pain and she moved her lips to his shoulder and bit down, she knew he was marking her and now it was her turn to mark him. It was hard and fast both of them craving the release, needing to make the other theirs. Soon he felt her clenching around him, and she bit down harder and that was all he needed to push him over the edge. He held her close as they both calmed down.

When she caught her breath she slowly leaned back and giggled when she saw the bite on his shoulder. Gently she traced the mark with her finger and looked into his eyes. "If you can mark me then I can mark you," she stated and moved to kiss the bite.

"You can bite me whenever, wherever you want," he told her as he pulled out of her and placed her on her feet. As soon as he knew she was steady he stepped back and admired her and saw the two love bites he left on her. "And I just love the way you moan when I suck on you, it's so sexy and just has the added benefit of letting everyone know your mine," he murmured as he moved his fingers to outline one of the marks.

"As long as they are not places where my grandparents can see them then I am fine with you leaving your mark wherever you want," she told him and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "But I need to get ready again." She quickly bent to pick up her underwear and went into the bathroom and fix herself. He followed her and cleaned up as well. Before long they were both ready and the sexual tension was relieved for the moment.

The night passed and the couple danced and partied with their friends. Rory danced with the girls but the only guy she would dance with was Logan and he would only dance with her. Them being a couple was becoming common knowledge and most knew that they were committed and would not stray. While their relationship still caused jealousy from some girls the guys seemed to back off with only the occasional comment, but no one outright flirted with her. When the evening ended, they were both drunk and made their way back to the apartment, barely making it through the door before their clothes started coming off, both frantic to touch the other.

The first weekend in November found the group in Stars Hollow for the annual autumn festival. Logan, Colin, Finn, Step, Rosemary and Juliet were all excited to see the town that Rory had talked so much about. Juliet had started dating Robert, so he joined them on the adventure. Rory was slightly worried about this trip; Stars Hollow was a lot different from Hartford, but she soon discovered she had nothing to worry about. Rory took them to Luke's and Rory and the boys enjoyed cheeseburgers and fries while the girls ate salads. The socialites were enchanted by the small town and could see why Rory still visited as often as she could. Even though she and Lorelai had their issues the town still treated her like a princess. They had run into Dean and his wife Lindsey and while Rory made introductions it was obvious that Dean was not happy that Rory was with Logan even though he was now married.

When Logan and Rory found a moment alone, he brought up the subject. "So, I remember you telling me that you dated a Dean."

"Yeah," she replied with a shrug. "He was my first boyfriend, my first kiss. He built me a car after we had been dating for three months, he told me he loved me, and I couldn't say it back. I mean we were 16," she sighed as she thought back to that time. "So, I couldn't say it and he broke up with me. By that point I was getting involved with society, not much but still. The day after Dean broke up with me, I went to a Chilton party and Tristan was there, his girlfriend broke up with him at the party and I ran into him in a room I went to hide in to read. He kissed me and I ran away crying, eventually he convinced me to date him and despite my initial reluctance I agreed. Well Dean wanted to get back together but I was dating Tristan… then after I broke up with Tristan my mom was happy, tried using our breakup as a reason to hate society, that all society guys were like that. Dean tried to get back together with me, and my mom wanted me to," she trailed off as she remembered her mom trying to push the two back together. "Luke, the owner of the diner we ate at earlier, his nephew came into town from New York, he was the rebel without a cause, and we bonded over books. My mom hated him, so I decided to date him, I guess it was an act of rebellion. That didn't last long because I moved to Hartford so was spending less time here. He didn't like that world, didn't see how I could, then all of a sudden one day he was gone, he didn't even bother to say good-bye. I called the diner to talk to him and Luke told me he had left." She shrugged and looked at him. "But back to Dean… He started dating Lindsey when I was dating Jess and they got married last year. He even invited me to the wedding."

Logan had studied her as she spoke and was relieved to see there was no longing or wonder about what could have been, she just told the story, told him about the other guys she dated and it was a part of her past and she left it there, in the past. "Did you go to the wedding?" he asked.

"No, Luke asked me not to, so I didn't," she replied. "I did send them a salad spinner thingy."

"And this Jess character, he just left without saying anything?" he asked. How could anyone be stupid enough to just leave a woman this amazing.

"Yeah," she sighed. "I knew it was never going to work. Fundamentally we were too different, he would have never been able to fit into my world and I knew it from the beginning. He always had a chip on his shoulder, the world was out to get him."

He laughed and pulled her toward him, placing a soft kiss on her temple.

They rejoined the group and Rory took them to a booth Sookie was running and they enjoyed some cookies and other baked good. It was a fun relaxing day for everyone. They were caught up in each other and the enjoyment of the event that no one noticed a black-haired boy watching Rory closely.

The week of Thanksgiving arrived, and Rory sat at a small coffee shop in New Haven reading a book and relaxing. It had been a few stressful weeks and she was looking forward to the break. Logan and Rory were both expected at their family's house for Thanksgiving, but the group would all be meeting at Rory's the Friday after for a Friendsgiving celebration. After much deliberation it was decided that none of them wanted the traditional meal again so Rory was making lasagna and they would have a variety of other Italian dishes and Finn of course would be in charge of the alcohol. There were also plans to decorate a tree and the rest of the apartment in preparation for Christmas.

Marty noticed Rory sitting in the coffee shop and was surprised to see her alone. Since the school year had started, he had rarely seen her without one of the trust fund brats. It was obvious that the Rory he saw this year was different from the Rory he knew last year, and he couldn't understand it. From what he had heard she was living in an upscale apartment off campus and Logan Huntzberger lived with her. Her clothing had also changed, and she was wearing more 'fashion' items. While she still seemed dedicated to school and he saw her by-lines in the paper he didn't understand how someone he thought he knew so well was so different in just a few months, what happened to the small-town girl that he knew.

Rory felt someone looking at her and glanced up to see Marty in the window of the coffee shop. She hadn't talked to him since the meeting at the beginning of they year. There were a few times that she would see him on campus, but he always seemed to turn and go the other direction. As soon as he realized that she had seen him he walked towards her. "Hey Rory," he muttered. "How have you been?"

"Good," she replied with a smile and gestured to the seat across from her. "Why don't you join me?"

"Yeah, sure," he replied as he pulled out the chair and sat. "So, what have you been up to?"

"Classes, paper, the usual" Rory told him with a smile. "What about you?"

"Classes and work," Marty replied. "Umm… so you and Logan?"

"Yeah?" Rory asked questioningly.

"So, you two seem pretty serious… I didn't know you knew him last year," Marty hesitantly stated.

"Yeah, pretty serious," she replied with a soft smile. "We met over the summer in Paris and got to know each other and then when we realized that we both attended Yale… it was like fate."

"You just don't seem like his type," Marty bluntly stated and at Rory's incredulous look he quickly continued. "Well, he normally dates… um… well, it's just you're a small-town girl and he's a trust fund kid."

Rory cut him off before he could continue, "Marty, I'm a trust fund kid," she told him with a sigh. "Yeah, I grew up in a small town, but I've never hidden who my family is, generations of Gilmore's have attended Yale."

"Oh, wow I never realized," Marty stumbled.

She sighed and studied him for a moment, "I'm still the same girl I was last year. I still work and study hard. Just because I'm dating Logan doesn't mean…"

"But you are different," he interrupted. "You live off campus in a ritzy building, you dress differently, the people you hang out with all the time are all…" he paused when he saw the narrowed look in her eyes. "I guess… I liked the Rory I knew last year; this Rory doesn't have time for me, this Rory..."

He trailed off and she shook her head sadly. "I'm sorry you feel that way," she stated her tone resigned. She gave him a sad smile and gathered her things before she stood. "I'll see you around Marty," she told him and walked away from the table.

Marty watched her walk away and wished he would have told her how he felt last year, he had missed his chance. The Rory he knew last year might have gone out with him, but then how much did he really know her. She was from money and he never knew. He wondered why he never got the girl…