"How the hell did you convince me to take a walk in this weather I have no idea," Rory yelled over the loud ocean winds, her face barely showing from under the hood of Luke's windproof winter parka she'd borrowed, her hands pulled into the sleeves. The wind was so cold it almost made it difficult to catch a breath. Visiting Steps beach on a ghastly December morning wasn't probably one of their brightest ideas.
"I recall something about I jump, you jump," Logan teased loudly, adding, "Come one, let's go over there," from the bottom of the stairs.
"Wait up," she called, taking a few quicker steps to catch up.
He did, holding out his hand for her.
They climbed the grey weathered stairs hand in hand over the next dune leaving the ocean behind them. At the bottom of the next dune there was a sudden drop of wind, and the weak sun stroked their cheeks briefly.
"Let's rest a bit," he offered, placing his arm around her as they sat down on the stairs.
"It's actually kind of nice out here," Rory commented, pushing the hood of her jacket back.
"I told you, it'd be," Logan replied.
"So what do you think, we'll do," Rory asked after a lengthy pause. The change of scenery had done wonders, yet she was unable to completely shake the worry.
"About HPG you mean?" he said.
Rory nodded.
"Well I know what we're not going to do. We are not going to let him drive us apart. Whatever we decide, we do it together, and do it so that we have all the facts. And I believe I know an excellent pro/con list specialist," he explained.
"I recently read about something called multiple-criteria decision analysis. I was actually thinking I might upgrade my pro/con lists to that now that we have moved on to the big decisions league," she joked.
"Whatever you want, Ace," he said kissing her temple, making her smile a little.
Despite the unsettling thought that Mitchum was trying to get his way, Logan knew deep down that somehow they'd figure it out. As long as they did it together, they were going to be fine. He knew a lot depended on what he wanted. Was he willing to return to the madness that HPG was? Was Mitchum ever going to let him do what he wanted, both in business and personally, even if Mitchum himself had retreated from the company? Was that something that would make him happy? Could Rory be happy while he worked the crazy hours? They could probably deal with living in London. Rory had liked London after all, though with the baby this idea was less than ideal. The media attention in Europe was an issue, but surely that was something the HPG's PR department could handle if it came down to it. They'd also done long distance before it, and while not ideal, having the HPG jet a phone call away did have it's benefits. And as they now also knew from experience that at least theoretically they could manage on their own in the States. The question there was how easily could Logan find another job after Barney returned and how ruthless would Mitchum get if he didn't get his way. But then again - what would Mitchum truly gain from fighting his son in the end if all he wanted was him to take over his life's work? Having that confidence made Logan feel powerful, probably more so than his father realized.
They arrived back to Hartford the following day, aiming to get some work done in their home office for a few days before the New Year's Eve. Logan didn't have to drive to New Haven on those couple of days and that was already a little special, having him around the house. They worked well together, bouncing around ideas between their workstations.
"Listen to this," Rory asked from the doorway, reading out loud a quote, "Being a Novelist-In-Residence at a riad hotel in the kasbah of an Arabic North African city is a lot like trying to write one's memoirs on a shreds of napkins in a nuthouse," with a sigh. It was a quote by Roman Payne. "That's all I could find about Morocco. Does that work in a quirky way or does that actually drive people away?" she inquired, trying to think up a good quote for a Moroccoan luxury resort.
"Well if you are trying to attract aspiring novelists then probably not the best idea, but there are surely some that look for such accommodations," Logan noted with a smirk. "What is their theme?" he said, putting his own work aside for a few minutes.
"Arabic mountain fortress, luxurious, romantic, private," Rory listed a few keywords.
"Maybe you should just focus on the fortress part, that alone should give you something to work on," Logan suggested, adding, "you know, protecting one's privacy or something."
"Thanks, that might work," she sighed, giving him a brief kiss.
"Have you heard back from any of the publishers yet?" he asked.
"Not yet, I suppose if I am lucky they're reading it as we speak, if not it might be still a few weeks," she noted.
"Hey, how many of the publishers you suggested are under HPG?" Rory suddenly asked, almost beginning to turn to leave. She'd taken his word for, but given the circumstances she was uncertain whether she wanted anything to do with the HPG at all.
"Just a few for backup, I figured you'd prefer to be independent," Logan replied, glancing over Rory. Her home office wardrobe consisted of cosy woolen socks and one of Logan's old Yale T-shirts, her long bare legs flashing in between.
"You know me well," she said, giving him another kiss. He was reluctant to stop. There was an imminent temptation to spend their time in other ways than working, as Logan's deeper and more powerful kiss woke the butterflies in her stomach.
"You should be on the cover of the Yale admissions brochure," Logan laughed. She looked incredibly sexy, her firm nipples showing through the t-shirt, and her small bump complimenting her.
"I'm not sure a 30-something pregnant former editor of Yale Daily News would quite be the message they're trying to get across," Rory replied sceptically, returning another fierce kiss.
"They do want their alumni to reproduce, don't they. They'd be out of students otherwise," he noted playfully, kissing her neck.
"You certainly have a point there," she commented, surrendering, pulling him closer. It was becoming clearer with every second that their working day had taken a slight detour. His hands soon caressed her hips and ass, lifting the worn out Yale t-shirt slightly. Her skin was warm and silky underneath, leaving his fingers unwilling to lose contact. Her hands traced his lower back and abs, soon discovering his arousal. She wasn't truly surprised, but nevertheless it was a welcome compliment. While he continued the kisses down her neck and collarbone, her hand travelled firmly down his sweatpants, stroking him. The yearning was becoming almost too much. After another wet kiss on her lips, he pulled off her t-shirt, revealing her bare breasts. Her nipples were firmer these days, slightly darker, almost as if begging to be nibbled. His lips and tongue grazed over them, gently pulling at them with his teeth. The sensation was almost ecstatic. While she wasn't exclaiming with pleasure, she continued to stroke him demandingly, making him smile smugly. He grabbed Rory up from where she had been standing, holding onto her legs that straddled around him, and placed her onto the kitchen island.
"That's cold," Rory scolded at the touch of the cool marble under her thighs.
"Sorry," he replied apologetically, while trying to hastily remove her panties.
His lips moved lower and lower along her body, to her center, as she leaned back a little. While his tongue teased her nub, his thumb moved around her crevice. Her fingers intertwined into his hair, guiding him. As the moans grew more frequent, he returned to kiss her on the mouth, allowing her to taste herself on his lips. The sensation distracted her enough that she nearly didn't anticipate the powerful shove that followed, making her gasp. Logan observed her intoxicated impression as he repeated that move over and over, adoringly. He could read her well by now, leading her just to the verge of climax several times, until finally driving her over the edge. Her succulent core welcomed the warmth that filled her. As they panted, his cold lips rested on her shoulder as she clinged onto him for a good few minutes after.
"Hey mate! Rory, you look lovely," Finn greeted friendly at the doorway of his dark green Dutch colonial.
"Finn, you're charming as ever," Rory noted, stepping in and giving him a small kiss on the cheek.
"Everybody else here yet?" Logan inquired.
"Colin and Stephanie are, Robert is running a bit late. Oh and I also invited Rose and Cassandra, they might drop by later if their other party dies out early," Finn explained hopefully. His circle of friends was swiftly growing smaller, most of them either pairing up and starting families, or like Colin simply moving further away. However, instead of dwelling on those thoughts he chose to celebrate the moments he could, getting his close friends together whenever possible.
Rory squeezed Logan's hand in assurance. They had announcements to make to Colin and Stephanie, having not seen Colin since New Hamphsire and Stephanie even longer. And with Rory's bump showing prominently from under her stretchy top, there was no way they'd hide it until Robert got there. Their reaction was nothing to fear, yet it was a little exciting to share the news.
"Hey guys!" Rory waved from the doorway.
"Hey!" Logan added.
"As I live and breathe," Colin greeted, raising from his seat and stepping close for a warm hug.
"Now wait, what is this?" Colin added curiously, noticing Rory's stomach.
"A little parting gift from the Kings Head Inn," Rory noted, jokingly.
"They better have good insurance as this type of souvenirs tend to keep me employed," he laughed.
"Didn't you buy the place?" Logan inquired, raising his eyebrow.
"S***, I knew I forgot about something," he muttered, as he dug out this phone from his pocket.
"So you guys…? Seriously?" Stephanie said, still in disbelief, "well, I suppose congratulations are in order," she laughed, hugging them.
"Logan, a drink?" Finn offered, already pouring himself and Logan a glass.
Logan looked a little apologetically at Rory, knowing that with the guys one would quickly turn to several, leaving Roy as the designated driver. She, however, gave a granting smile in return.
"Finn, can you hand me a glass," Rory asked, digging out a bottle of non-alcoholic cider from her bag, handing it to Logan to open. The soft pop followed by a celebratory psssssssssch certainly set the mood. "I get to drink the whole bottle unless anybody else wants this," Rory laughed.
"Finn tell me this is not one of these parties where there's a ton of booze but no food whatsoever," Robert said as he stepped in a moment later. "I knocked, but nobody came, so I took the liberty of letting myself in," he explained.
"Robert!" Rory called, jumping at him with a hug, the cider glass in her hand.
"How are you mate, long time no see," Finn noted.
"Good to see you," Logan said, patting him on the back.
"Did you open the champagne without me?" Robert inquired, noticing Rory's glass, in a disappointed voice.
Rory gave him a sip.
"We're not going virgin tonight, are we?" he asked after swallowing the cider, sounding a little confused.
"Don't you worry, mate," Finn said, handing him a scotch, "Rory's up the duff," he added plainly.
"Finn!" Rory scolded briefly, but it was impossible to stay mad at Finn.
"Cheers to you," Robert lifted his glass. "Who's the father, may I ask?" he continued playfully, receiving a well earned medium strenght punch on his shoulder from Logan.
"You better watch your mouth, Robert," Logan lectured, with a smirk.
"Hey man, that was a fair question!" Robert laughed, "I always get scolded for assuming things," he added.
"So when's the wedding?" Colin asked bluntly, shoving his phone back in his pocket.
"That is up to Ace," Logan replied, glancing over to Rory.
"Oh come on Rory, you're still keeping him on his toes after, what, ten years?" Robert peeved.
"This is peer-pressure, you guys," Rory grumbled.
"We just want you guys happy," Colin added.