Disclaimer: I own nothing

AN: Thank you all for the reviews, I love reading them and responding to them. I think one of you might be onto something with your guess at what I'm putting down...but not completely...tell me if you think you got any hints from this chapter? I will say, I have done my best to research real establishments and locations for this story (Logan's house - 224 Sea Cliff Ave...real house, kind of cool story, actually owned at one point by a disgraced banker, it went into foreclosure proceedings, is currently on the market...), but I am not from California, so it is all what research I can put together on google...but I'm trying my best. Read, review, review some more...enjoy

Chapter Three

"So you met someone?" Emily Gilmore grinned into the camera, much to the dismay of their daughter and granddaughter, Emily and Richard had figured out how to FaceTime and it was a bit tedious to the rest of the family.

"I'm just going to dinner grandma," Rory exhaled. It had been almost two weeks since she had seen Logan but they had texted back and forth, and spoken on the phone a couple of times. Rory had sent him some of her articles from her time at Berkeley and Logan had high praise for the work. It was now Saturday night and Rory had made the mistake of telling her grandmother she had taken the night off from work, which naturally prompted the question of why she had taken the night off work, and much like a dog with a bone, Emily wasn't going to give up without trying to get more out of her.

"With whom?"

"Just a friend of a friend, his name is Logan."

"A gentleman friend?" Emily grinned.

"Yes, he is a man," Rory exhaled, she was frantically looking for an appropriate shirt to wear with her dark skinny jeans.

"What are you wearing?" Emily asked gleefully.

"Jeans and a top," Rory shrugged, I was thinking this," she finally held up the white button down she had found in her closet.

"Rory you cannot wear that on a date."

"Grandma, please," Rory groaned.

"You my be across the country but I still have an obligation to make sure you are upholding the family name, and you cannot go on a date with someone wearing that, do you have something with a little colour? Blue is so lovely with your eyes. Maybe a nice dress?"

"I'm not wearing a dress, and I don't want to wear blue," Rory told her as she picked another option from her closet and tossed it on the bed, "any thoughts on this?" she wasn't sure why she was humouring her grandmother, but here she was showing her the silky black cowl neck camisole that she had owned for a few years.

"Well that is much better. Do you have a shawl or something to cover up with? You don't want to have your arms exposed, that is completely inappropriate." Emily stated.

"I'll bring something," Rory lied.

"Well, dear, I'm glad you asked for my help," Emily continued on before Rory could interrupt and remind the woman that she had not in fact asked for any help, "but the reason for my call. Your mother is celebrating her birthday in six weeks, do you think you'll be able to get home?"

Rory ran a hand through her hair which she had blown dry for the occasion, "I don't know grandma. Six weeks is a ways away, and I have work…"

"Rory you work in a bar, you can certainly take a weekend off. You're off today," Emily stated simply.

"I would have to take the Friday and Monday off of school to make it worth my while," Rory countered.

"Well what if your grandfather and I buy your ticket? Would that help?"

"It isn't about the money," Rory told her, that part was half true. She didn't need her grandparents to buy her ticket, Rory just wasn't sure that she really wanted to go back.

"Then what is it Rory?" Emily asked pointedly, "it has been a long time. We were fractured for so long before you and your mother came back into our lives, and I think we have all come to terms with your decisions, we are family."

"I know we are family, it is just…it's complicated grandma."

"It isn't complicated dear. It is uncomfortable. There is a very big difference. Your grandfather and I aren't getting any younger and I for one would like to spend some time together where you aren't running out the door and making excuses to leave."

"I'll come," Rory agreed, "I'll send you my itinerary once I book it."

"Good, I will pick you up at the airport and we can go shopping, you are clearly in need of a new wardrobe."

"Grandma, I don't need a new wardrobe."

"Rory, consider it a gift. If you would prefer I can just send you the money to shop for yourself but based on your stubbornness which is rivalled only by your mother and just barely, I know you won't accept that. So, I will pick you up from the airport, and we will go shopping. We can buy an extra suitcase if we need to send it home with you."

Rory mumbled her thanks and quickly made an excuse to get off the phone. It was still a bit early but she didn't need her grandmother in her head when they went out. She pulled on the camisole and fixed her makeup before grabbing a small black clutch and a pair of black pumps, she refrained from putting the shoes on though, after all, Logan wouldn't be there to pick her up for another half hour. She had insisted of course that she could walk and Logan for his part insisted that he would pick her up, she imagined if this thing went anywhere beyond the first date, she might need to get used to having someone in her life who was willing to put in a bit of effort for her comfort. Jess hadn't been a bad guy, but he was never meant to be someone she stayed with forever. Jess was a lot of firsts for her and she wouldn't trade that, but Jess lacked dependability, and that was something Rory needed in a relationship. She needed to know that if he said he would be there, he would be there, and Jess lacked that skill. She couldn't count how many times he had told her he would be home for dinner and didn't show, or how many times he swore he would be home at night and he just didn't come back. She didn't doubt that Jess was faithful to her, in fact she was certain he had never cheated, but Jess put Jess first.

Paris was at the hospital, which was happening more and more frequently lately and Rory was left alone for longer and longer stretches with Paris sleeping when Rory was teaching. She scrawled a note on a piece of paper telling Paris she was on a date, and then she felt the uncharacteristic twinge that there was a time she would have told her mom about a date. They had spoken a few times over the last few weeks, keeping things superficial of course, but it was more contact than they had maintained in recent years. Rory pulled out her phone and started to type a message, going on a date tonight. Maybe we can chat about it tomorrow? Rory wrote the message and deleted it, she wasn't sure why she deleted it but it just wasn't a message she was prepared to send, so instead Rory picked up her newspaper and continued reading it. She had done some marking in the morning and made some lesson plans which she had somehow managed to leave a coffee stain on, and then she had gone for a walk. Although exercise certainly wasn't in the Gilmore repertoire, she grabbed a coffee from a local shop and strolled her neighbourhood for some fresh air and a break from work. She still had a little bit of marking to do the next day but it would all be done before Monday and that was all that really mattered. Rory smiled when she received a text from Logan saying he was downstairs, it was a few minutes before he was supposed to be there, and Rory certainly appreciated the punctuality. She slipped her heels on and grabbed her clutch, taking a final look in the mirror before she locked her door and took the elevator to the lobby.

"You know," Rory smiled without even realizing it when she saw him, "you can always just pull up outside and I can come get in the car," Rory told him as he leaned in and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"I could," Logan agreed, "but what kind of companion would I be for the granddaughter of dear family friends Emily and Richard Gilmore if I did that?" Logan smiled at her with closed lips, he could see that her face fell ever so slightly at the same time. "When you tell a man not to google you, it makes him want to google you. So your grandparents know my family…is that a reason we can't hang out?" he raised an eyebrow.

Rory shook her head and tried to get her wits about her, "I just…no, it's fine. I haven't lived in Connecticut in so long, it's just…weird I guess when people have a connection to that life? It feels like a million years ago."

"Seems like there might be a bit more to that story?" Logan suggested, Rory shrugged her shoulders in response, "you look great, by the way."

"Thank you," Rory smiled as he began walking back towards the elevator, "oh…I uh…I thought we were…" she nodded to the front door.

"Colin is out and street parking is a pain in the ass so he let me use his spot," Logan explained, "my car is downstairs."

Rory nodded as he pushed the button on the elevator, "you think of everything, don't you?"

"I try," Logan smirked, "only get one shot at a first date, Ace."

"Well tell me if I blow it, heels start to hurt eventually and there is no sense in wasting my time getting blisters if I've blown the first date midway through."

Logan laughed, she was self deprecating, that was becoming increasingly clear, but he enjoyed her sense of humour, he liked that she seemed genuinely glad that he opened the door to the car for her, but she didn't need it or expect it. "If I were a betting man, I would have to say I doubt I'll be in any rush to say goodbye to you at the end of the night," Logan told her as he opened his car door for her.

Rory smiled and didn't respond as he went around to the other side of the Porsche, "you didn't tell me where we were going?"

Logan turned on the engine and gave her a smirk, "I didn't? Strange," he smiled as he reversed the car our of the spot and Rory rolled her eyes at the interaction. "You mentioned something about hoping Colin wasn't friends with serial killers, right?"

"Funny," Rory rolled her eyes.

"It's not far. Too far to walk, but not far."

"Vague."

"I prefer mysterious, maybe a bit sexy?"

Rory blushed again, "call it what you want," she told him as she gave him a quick once over while his eyes were on the road. He was wearing a pair of black loafers and dark jeans, and a grey Burberry polo. He seemed like the kind of guy who was never seen without looking perfectly together, he was certainly charming and courteous, it did beg the question of why he was single, but Rory wasn't about to complain about that. She had dated since Jess. Not many of her potential suitors lasted beyond a couple of dates, but she did have one relationship with a guy from work that lasted almost a year. They broke up amicably and still worked together, they just wanted different things. Which was funny, because he wanted to move forward, and Rory felt stuck. She wasn't sure how to move forward. There she was with a nice man who cared for her, who wanted a future with her, and she couldn't commit. Rory closed her eyes and let the memory pass, a moment later she turned her head out the window as Logan pulled into a parking lot, the first thing Rory noticed, or rather the first thing she didn't notice was a restaurant in site.

"Come on, have some faith," Logan stepped out of the car and ran over to open her door and extend a hand to Rory, "it's a quick walk."

"Better be worth it," Rory joked.

"I promise to make it worth your while," Logan assured her cooly, he noticed her breath hitch ever so slightly and she bit her bottom lip at his statement.

"You talk a big game," Rory told him as his hand once again went to the small of her back. It wasn't in a creepy or inappropriate way, she could tell he was trying to be chivalrous and she hated to admit that she liked it.

"Oh yeah?" Logan laughed, "gotta make those shoes worth it, don't I?" Rory blushed again, he seemed to be good at doing that, making her cheeks flush and that familiar tingling in the bottom of her stomach at his innuendo. "I can't tell if you find that obnoxious or endearing," Logan admitted of his comment.

"You'll have to see," Rory tried to keep what upper hand she had in the situation as they approached a building with tall, arched windows. "This it?" she asked as Logan opened a door for her.

"It is, have you been before?" Logan asked as they entered the dimly lit and bustling establishment, Union Larder wasn't somewhere he typically brought dates, but he had gone with his sister when she was in town.

Rory shook her head, "looks nice," she remarked as Logan went to the hostess. Unlike their visit to Charmaine's weeks before, there was no reservation here and Rory and Logan agreed to the ten to fifteen minute wait.

"They only do walkups," Logan explained, "but between the wine and the cheese, I think it's worth it."

"If you say so," Rory laughed as her phone began to ring in her purse, "do you mind?" she asked, Logan shrugged his shoulders and shook his head as Rory pulled the phone out and put it to her ear, "hello?", Rory nodded to the door and Logan smiled at her as she tried to hear over the noise of the bar. "Mom?" Rory was surprised to be hearing from her mother.

"Hey kid, catch you at a bad time?" Lorelei started with her signature question, always assuming that Rory was in fact free.

"Actually, kind of," Rory admitted. "I uhm….I'm actually just out."

"Oh I thought you weren't working tonight?" Lorelai thought back to their conversation earlier in the week, in fact the elder Gilmore girl was sure that her daughter had specifically told her she wasn't working. It was a moment later that the realization hit, "oh, you're out out."

"Yup," Rory rocked back and forth ever so slightly on her too high heels. "He's really nice," Rory told her honestly, "I uh…he's not like the guys I've dated," Rory continued, that certainly was an understatement.

"Maybe we can talk tomorrow?" Lorelai was hopeful.

"Sure, I'll call you," Rory hung the phone up quickly and took a deep breath before walking inside to see Logan tucking his own phone in his pocket. "Sorry about that she gave him her biggest smile, "it was my mom."

"Checking in?"

"She didn't know I was on a date," Rory admitted. "I may have omitted that part."

"Something tells me there is a story there? Or maybe you're ashamed to admit you're on a date with me?" Logan asked with a mischievous grin, the hostess was calling them now to go to their table by the window and Logan waited for Rory to choose her seat at the communal, bar style seating that allowed more people a street view to watch the street cars.

"Too much of a story for a first date," Rory teased.

"Oh so now you're trying to lure me in with the promise of a salacious story?"

"It's not all that salacious," Rory assured him as she took a look at the menu.

"Well for whatever it is worth from a guy you've just met…fix it. Life has a funny way of changing on a dime, you wouldn't want to wake up one day and miss out on some huge chunk of life with your family."

Rory gave him a tight lipped smile and kept her eyes on the menu. He was right. He was telling her something she had told herself a million times, but she couldn't bring herself to act on it. "You're right," she told him, "but I screwed up so badly, and…it all worked out in the end, but the collateral damage…it was a lot."

"Did you kill anyone? My google didn't tell me about any murder charges."

"I was at least respectful and didn't google you," Rory joked.

"Anything catching your eye on that menu?" Logan ignored her comment. He certainly hoped she wouldn't look him up, but he supposed he would cross that bridge when he came to it. "If I were the kind of guy who liked to order for his date, I would have some ideas."

"Good thing I'm not the kind of woman who needs someone to order for her," Rory countered with a smile. They fell into a comfortable banter. Back and forth, Rory told him about her job teaching and how she had fallen in love with it, and Logan discussed his job, all of the things that he enjoyed. They both lamented that they didn't get home often anymore, for Logan's part he said he wished he went back East more to see his sister and her daughter, but because of his life here, and his job, he didn't get back often. Rory for her part told him about her apprehension to go home, she didn't get into details, but explained how between her work schedule and everything else, it was a complicated trip to make. "I'm going in April for a birthday though, just decided that a few hours ago," she told him.

"Your mom?" he assumed. Rory nodded her head in response, "Well, now that we've discussed all of the boring things about our day to day life, can I coax you into splitting a bottle of wine with me? I'll even let you pick?"

"You can convince me," Rory agreed, "but maybe you should pick? I don't know much about wine other than that I usually prefer a red with nice legs."

"Nice legs are important," Logan agreed as he looked at the menu, "I can't speak specifically to it's legs, but they have a Pinot Noir from Sonoma that I happen to know that I like, that sound alright?"

"Sounds great," Rory nodded, "I however will be demanding the meatballs, and there is a good chance I won't share because Gilmore's really don't love to share their food. I mean, I love for others to share their food with me, but I don't love sharing my food with others…"

"Is that a rule?"

"Just a trend."

"Well I might have to see if I can break that habit," Logan winked as the waiter came back and they ordered a few things to split and the bottle of wine.

Rory was glad that they had spent the last few weeks chatting back and forth, they had certainly built up a flirtatious banter and it meant there was a certain ease with how they communicated on their first official date. Rory had never considered herself great at dating. Maybe that was why she had dated Dean, and then Jess, and then Jess again, followed by a string of men she went on a couple of dates with and then her relationship with her coworker, and maybe two dates in the year since they had broken up. Logan talked a bit about his time in college, his run ins with Paris and Doyle during his time at the paper. Rory for her part had refrained from telling Paris who her date was with because she didn't care to hear what Paris had to say on the subject. Paris and Doyle were certainly not a beacon of normalcy in terms of their relationship, so she wasn't about to take relationship advice from Paris, even if she had been in a committed relationship for longer than Rory ever had. "What do you do for fun?" Rory asked. The week before Logan seemed to be doing touristy things with his sister and her family, and other than that he was always coming and going from work in their discussions.

"I like the beach," Logan told her with a shrug, "I live near the beach, and I go for runs, hikes…my work keeps me busy."

"How very grown up. Do you like movies?"

"Doesn't everyone like movies?" Logan raised an eyebrow as the wine came and he tried a sip before nodding his head in approval to the waiter who then poured Rory a full glass and then returned to pour Logan his.

"Not everyone likes movies," Rory told him seriously, "some people think they like movies, but they don't like movies."

"And what is the difference? For us uninformed folks."

"Well do you watch it just to say you watched it? Or do you absorb it? There is a rule, you can't talk through a movie. Even if it's one you've seen, even if it's a classic…you need to be quiet to appreciate the art."

"What if you have a question?"

"No questions," Rory told him firmly as she picked up her wine glass. "Maybe we can do a movie night sometime," she suggested, stepping boldly out of her own comfort zone. The comfort zone in which she had never made the next move before, she certainly had never suggested another date while still on the first date.

"I'd like that," Logan agreed. "I don't think I can agree to those rules though. If I have a question I have a question. What if I have to pee?"

"Hold it," Rory stated simply.

"Sometimes nature calls."

"Not if you plan properly."

"Something tells me you've never had a pet?" Logan laughed thinking of all of the nights his dog had demanded to be let out midway through a meeting.

"And you do?"

"I have a dog," Logan told her, "his name is Mac which is unfortunate because my niece is also named Mackenzie. But Mac is short for Master and Commander, so when she is old enough to understand I will explain to her that her and the dog have no relation, and also that I got the dog first, so really she should be laming her mother, not me. He's a golden retriever."

"Sounds cute," Rory smiled.

"The dog or my niece?"

"Both?" Rory responded, not completely clear on whether it was a question or a statement. "So you have one sister?"

Logan nodded his head, "yeah, my sister Honor, she is married, and they have one daughter, Mackenzie. How about you?"

"Well, I'm kind of an only child."

"How can you be kind of an only child?"

"I mean, I guess, no… I'm not an only child. I have a half sister, GiGi, well…Georgia, but she goes by GiGi, I was 17 when she was born, so … she was raised by my dad and I didn't really see her much. I still don't. A couple of times a year my dad will come out here with her, or he'll rent a place in Malibu or something and then I'll visit for a few days."

Logan remembered Rory telling him about how her parents had never really been together except for a short and ill fated marriage when Rory was in her twenties. "Sounds complicated."

"Sometimes," Rory agreed, "but she's my sister, and I love her."

"But a 17 year age gap probably makes it hard to relate sometimes?"

Rory nodded her head in agreement, "Yeah, I'm not really down with things that an 11 year old finds cool." She waited a moment and took a sip of her wine before she spoke again, she didn't want to talk about her family situation, she preferred not to think about it most of the time if she were being honest. "So you live near the beach?"

"Yeah, near Baker Beach, you go often?"

"Not as often as I should," Rory admitted, in fact she had never been to that particular beach. "It's funny, when you live in the cool weather like Connecticut, you swear that you would live in the ocean if you were able to, and then you move near it, and it becomes background noise that you don't even think of."

"I love the beach," Logan admitted, "I try to go as often as I can, just to walk, sometimes get in the water, take Mac."

"You almost make it sound peaceful," Rory laughed, "if you can ignore the hoards of people."

"I uh…," Logan paused, "I live near a pretty private section of the beach," he told her. The truth was he had beach access from his cliffside home. The foreclosed property of a disgraced banker. He had bought the place in 2016 and would spend the next few years renovating the place before finally moving in and continuing some of the smaller renovations over the next couple of years. He had always been uncomfortable with his wealth, he had certainly been alright with spending money, but he didn't discuss it. It was easier as he earned his own money and people stopped looking at him as a trust fund baby, but he worked hard and he played harder, there was no shame in that. "Maybe when the weather is a bit warmer we can go for a walk?"

"It would be pretty at night," Rory smiled, her voice was almost wistful.

"It gets cool at night," Logan told her.

"Sounds nice, pretty," she repeated.

"Well then we can go for a cool, pretty walk at night then?" he suggested, placing emphasis on how pretty it would be.

"If you insist," Rory laughed as she took another sip of wine. "This is nice," she admitted.

"It is," Logan agreed, "I'm glad I got locked out."

"I think I might be glad you did too."

Their conversation flowed freely. Rory told Logan more about her job, she talked about her students and how she had grown to love them, she talked about living with Paris and the friends she had made working at the bar for the last few years. Logan told her some stories about Colin and Finn, the shenanigans they had found themselves in over the years. It was nearly eleven when Rory suggested they should go and Logan reluctantly agreed. The truth was, as he paid the tab and the pair stood up, he didn't want to leave. He didn't want her to leave. There was something about her. She was beautiful, of course, but she was smart, and not in an obnoxious way, in a subtle, can keep up with conversation way. She was on top of current events, she didn't just discuss, she could debate things with him in their few conversations prior to that evening.

"Let me drive you," Logan told her as they walked out of the restaurant and Rory advised him she would order an Uber. "It's on my way."

"I can take a taxi," Rory assured him as they stood in front of the restaurant, light glimmering through the tall windows from the building they had just left, "you got dinner."

"I asked you on a date, of course I got dinner," Logan exclaimed, "you've gotta raise those standards, Gilmore."

Rory laughed as he intertwined their fingers, "fine."

"Thank you," Logan told her, "think I can coax you into a quick walk?"

"You certainly do like to keep a girl on her toes," Rory told him with a smile, "but I guess I don't have anything better to do."

"I like to be a last resort," Logan took a firmer grasp on her hand and began walking, "something tells me you tend not to experience anything fun in town?"

"What is that supposed to mean?" Rory asked as she kept up with his pace.

"Have you been to the pier at night?" Logan asked her.

Rory tried to keep a pokerface before she answered as his eyes were locked on her while they walked, "of course I've been to the pier. It's like a mandatory tourist thing to do in town."

"At night was the question," Logan countered.

"What is the difference between a pier at night and during the day? Boats. Pretty lights. Sea lions. Lots of people."

"It's different," Logan told her as though it was the most obvious thing in the world, "just like you think there is a superior way to watch movies, I think there is a superior way to see the pier."

"You can't use movie night against me," Rory pouted.

"It's less than a mile away," Logan told her as they walked.

"I thought I told you these shoes were not meant for walking?" Rory grinned.

"Do you want to not go?" Logan stopped and looked at her.

"I want to go," Rory told him. She wasn't sure what it was, what compelled her to say yes even if her feet would ache in the morning, even if Paris would kill her if she found out she went walking around town with this man, even if this man was the opposite of the kind of person she would normally date… she still wanted to go with him.

"Let's go," Logan laughed, they continued walking, again falling into comfortable conversation about everything and nothing. He told her random facts about the city as well as some about Yale which Rory was surprised, she was certain that she had learned everything fathomable about the school before she started between her grandpa and her research. "Have you been to Europe?" Logan asked as they reached the pier.

"With my mom," Rory nodded, "after I finished high school…we had this dream to backpack across Europe and we did. It was kind of both of our coming of age because she didn't get to do any of that stuff when she was young because she had baby."

"We used to go every year," Logan told her, "I wish I had appreciated it more," he admitted. "The older I get, the harder it is to get away. My dad had the excuse of going for work, but my job doesn't require that kind of travel of me, so now, to take a couple of weeks off and be in a completely different time zone…it's not as simple."

"I mean…the time, the money…all of it. I guess I could probably save up and go in the summer one year, but it's all just so much effort. It's strange. When you're young, you think that growing up, everything will be simple. You'll just make your own decisions, follow your own rules…but then you grow up, and you realize that you have so little control over your life. I'm accountable to your boss, and my students and their parents. My parents and grandparents have expectations of me. You date someone and they have expectations, your roommate has expectations…it's like all of this freedom is theoretically yours, but then so much holds you back."

"Do you really think your family is holding you back? That the guys you've dated have held you back?" Logan asked as they leaned over the barrier and looked out at the water. You could see the boats in the marina and the lights were sparkling on the water. "You don't think those relationships taught you anything? That you grew from them?"

Rory took a moment to consider his question. she supposed she was being cynical, maybe a bit petulant, the suggestion that her life would've been easier, or maybe better without all of the attachments along the way wasn't true, but it was easier than blaming herself for where she ended up. "I think," she swallowed, "that some of them helped me grow, and some of them were like an anchor holding me back, but not in a good way."

"I get it," Logan agreed, he turned so his body was facing her now. "There was a time in my life that I viewed my dad and his meddling as an attempt to hold me back, ruin everything. With some time, some introspection, I realize that he was trying to give me the right tools all along. His delivery was crap, he can be a dick, but he was doing the best he could. Maybe the same could be said for whatever happened with your mom?"

Rory gave him half a smile. He wasn't wrong, "you know, you're very wise," she told him.

"It is rare that I get that kind of compliment," Logan laughed.

"Take it while you can then," Rory shivered a bit as the breeze hit them off the water.

"Come here," Logan slowly put his arms around her and pulled her body close to his. He put his chin on the top of her head and she rested her head against his chest, enjoying the warmth of his body. "I would like to do this again," he told her.

"Me too."

"I have to admit something," Logan pulled his chin off of her head and looked at her.

"Oh?"

"I haven't dated in a while," Logan began, "and I'm not sure how this works anymore. Do I ask to kiss you? Do I go for it…" he smiled.

Rory blushed for what might've been the thousandth time that night, "I don't think you need to ask me."

"So you're not saying not to," Logan licked his lips as he slowly moved towards hers.

"I'm not saying not to, but I'll warn you that I've been told I'm not great at it," Rory answered, repeating a statement that Jess had made to her a few times throughout the course of their relationship. Reminders that she wasn't enough, she wasn't experienced enough, supportive enough, whatever insecurity it was that he was projecting onto her. Rory blinked the thought away, instead focusing on the moment at hand, tilting her head upwards as his warm lips ever so quickly caught hers. His arms were already around her and her hands quickly went to his shoulders as their lips lingered for another moment. "We should head back," she told him as he pulled away.

"As in get you home so there can be no second date and you can block my number?" Logan asked, resting their foreheads against each other.

"I really hope there is a second date."

"I think I might need to kick someone's ass," Logan brought his lips to hers once more for a quick peck, "for telling you you're not good at that."