AN: I could apologize for the delay, but I think you all know that life is pretty chaotic for me, so I'm doing my best. This story will be my focus for a bit as I plan out the sequel to EHC. Please read, review, enjoy and be happy that I don't have to lay sod this weekend because my husband is doing it with someone else. ALSO! I am double vaxxed! Woo! I should also add, this chapter is rated M for mature content.
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Chapter Twelve
Logan put a hand on her thigh as they rode in the back of the SUV together. Of course Rory had told him that she could walk, she had also told him that she could go on her own, that he didn't need to come with her, that she would be fine on her own. Of course his response had been that he knew she could walk and he knew she would be fine on her own, but they were a team, and she didn't need to do this alone. So as they pulled up to the building where the lawyer Rory had hired was based, he gave her thigh a squeeze and gave her a reassuring smile.
"I'll be back in a couple of hours and we'll go for dinner," he told her as she unbuckled her seatbelt. "Do you want me to walk you in?"
Rory put her hand on his cheek and leaned forward to kiss him. She closed her eyes and inhaled his scent and remembered in that moment that it was all worth it. It was temporary discomfort for longterm happiness. "I'm alright," she told him, "I love you."
"I love you too," Logan gave her a reassuring smile and then watched as she stepped out of the car. The driver hung back for a moment as Logan watched her walk into the office and disappear behind the doors.
Rory took off her long, black wool coat before she stepped on the elevator, folding it carefully over her arms and holding them in front of her body. Her oversized purse held her laptop, day planner, cellphone, wallet, some pens and a notebook full of things she had jotted down over the last few days whenever anything had come to her regarding Dean, Emma, the divorce and the settlement. She was wearing the black sheath dress that hit just above her knee with long sleeves and a bateau neck, diamond studs in her ears and no jewelry on her hands. Rory knew that she could drive Dean up the wall by wearing one of the many rings her grandparents had gifted her over the years, but she wasn't really interested in a fight with him. As she was greeted at reception and brought into a conference room to wait for her lawyer, she took advantage of the moment to put her belongings down and adjust to the new surroundings. It was after all why she had made a point of arriving early. She wanted to be completely comfortable when he walked into the room. Every time she had seen Dean since they officially separated, it had been on his territory, in their old house, in front of their daughter…there hadn't been any meetings that weren't attached to something that had once been theirs. But here, in the office of the very expensive lawyer she had hired it was sterile and there were no sentimental feelings when she looked around. Nothing to tug at her heartstrings and make her question what she was feeling.
A moment later the sound of footsteps interrupted Rory's thoughts, she looked up from her notebook and smiled as she saw her lawyer. Rory stood up and shook her hand, "Jennifer," she smiled, "good to see you."
"Good to see you too Ms. Gilmore," she smiled warmly at her. They had met a couple of times and spoken over the phone more than once. "You got situated alright?"
Rory nodded her head, "I did," she told her, "it's a little…thing I do before big meetings, important clients…just gets me in the right headspace," she explained. Rory had a ritual to get her through almost any situation. Studying ritual? Check. Work rituals? Check. Parenting rituals? Check.
"Well security let me know he is on his way up with his attorney. His name is Andy Talbot, he is from a firm closer to Farmingdale and I can't say I've heard of him but I won't let that discredit him. As you know, Mr. Forrester has come back with a series of requests around the financial settlement as well as the custody agreement. We've gone over the financial paperwork you've provided me and I think we'll be in a good position to make some alternate suggestions. I do wish we could have just done this individually, but Mr. Forrester wanted to have this…meeting."
Rory nodded, she ignored the urge to roll her eyes, "he thinks that I will change my mind if we're together. Whether it be custody or money or throwing out the divorce altogether, he thinks that if he can get me in a room to talk about it, it will make a difference."
"Does it?" Rory looked at her with confusion as they both sat down at the table, "does it make a difference? Does him being here change anything you have told me about your desire to dissolve your marriage?"
Rory shook her head, she understood why he had to ask the question but it seemed like such a silly question. "No. It changes nothing. If anything…his willingness to drag this on…his refusal to believe me…the fact that he doesn't care if I love him or not he just wants to win the prize…it makes me want to be less generous. It makes me want to fight harder for the money, for more custody…"
"I can do that…"
Rory shook her head and smiled, "why don't we see how today goes?" The only person who got hurt with more fighting was her daughter, and that was the last thing Rory wanted if she could avoid it.
They talked for a few more minutes. Rory showed some of the notes and thoughts she had, she had gotten a few more financial statements showing joint accounts, Dean's purchases and spending, he hadn't provided her with his financial statements but she was assured that the lawyers had them. His paycheques were deposited into his own bank account while hers were deposited into a joint account prior to the separation. After the date of separation she had moved her pay into her own account and simply transferred what was required to keep things afloat in Farmingdale. There was a knock on the door that was merely a courtesy from the receptionist and then Jennifer stood to greet Dean and his lawyer.
Rory was surprised. Dean had shaved and fixed his hair, he was wearing a blue suit, it was a suit she had always liked on him, after all, she had picked it out for him almost a year earlier when they had been going to a retirement party together. Rory all but ignored the pleasantries. She didn't stand, she didn't greet him, she just remained in her seat with her hands folded in her lap. She had made sure to silence her phone before the meeting, any calls on her cell would go to Parker who was able to handle anything that came up that mattered, although Rory had told him explicitly that the only thing that mattered that day was anything related to her daughter. Any other calls could wait until the next day.
Dean was now sitting across from her, she saw him trying to make eye contact with her and for a moment, she held his gaze. "Ror," Dean began, she didn't move. She didn't flinch, she didn't fight the urge to smile when he spoke her name, she just sat there, "is this really," he gestured around the room, "this can't be what you want…"
"Mr. Forrester," Jennifer had a voice that commanded attention as she crossed her legs and took a seat, she was wearing a pair of black Dolce and Gabbana dress pants along with a matching single breast blazer from the fashion house and Rory was certain that the woman was confident enough to make Dean's blood boil. "Please direct your comments to me and not to Ms. Gilmore. Better yet, through your attorney. This is a meeting to discuss what we need to move forward with divorce proceedings. As you know, you have rejected the settlement offer that we forwarded to your attorney Mr. Talbot and you were not willing to continue correspondence without yourself and Ms. Gilmore being present. Might I suggest," she turned from Dean to his lawyer, "you let us know what it is your client thinks he needs that the current settlement offer isn't giving him."
Andy Talbot looked immediately annoyed, although both of the women in the room knew it could be because he was in Manhattan, and it could also be because he was being forced to have this meeting in the first place. "I think we can all agree that these two adults who until recently lived together and as far as my client was concerned were happily married can speak to each other. Wouldn't you say Ms. Gilmore? After all you and Mr. Forrester share a child…"
Rory could feel Dean staring at her as Rory kept her eyes on his lawyer. "As long as Dean understands that reconciliation is not on the table, then of course we can speak. But I did not take time out of my afternoon for some far fetched attempt at remaining married. Dean and I are not compatible to continue as husband and wife, and I simply want to reach an agreement that is in the best interest of everyone, especially our daughter."
Dean mumbled something to his lawyer in return and the older man cleared his throat. "Mr. Forrester takes issue with the financial settlement," he pushed a folder across the table which Jennifer opened and perused before pushing it to Rory who followed suit. Once again, the urge to roll her eyes overcame her but instead she took a deep breath. "Fine," she shrugged her shoulders. "Is that it? Is that the last thing you want from me?"
"I don't want anything from you except for things to go back to the way they were."
"That isn't happening. Period," Rory told him. She thought for a moment about how she had felt when she had bought the car. The decision she had made for herself, the decision she had made even though she knew she was going to have to fight with him about it every time he saw it in the driveway. So many of her other choices, her relationship with Logan for instance had been a secret. She didn't have to face his wrath openly about that choice at the time. But this? Her decision to buy a car that he had explicitly told her not to, it had been a life preserver thrown to her that gave her a bit of freedom. From that day she came home with her brand new BMW, she had taken a bit more freedom at a time until eventually that life preserver had gotten her to shore and she had gotten out. She didn't want to give him the car, but she also didn't want to be stuck. That car was the beginning of Rory taking control of her life, and if giving it to him was all she had to do to keep that control, she could do that. At the very least, every time he drove it he would know that it was hers. It was the thing she had done without him, in spite of him even. "Draw it up. Tell me where to sign. You can have it."
"Rory you don't have to do that," Jennifer leaned towards her and Rory simply shook her head.
"What do you need it for?" Dean countered. "You've got a fancy apartment with your douchebag of a boyfriend and all that money. Surely he can buy you another…"
"You hated that car. You were so mad when I bought it. But fine. If you want it, it is yours. I can go buy another car."
"Rory," Jennifer warned her again, "you don't have to…"
"So if I give you the car…we're done. This is over. We can get this taken care of?" She was calling his bluff now, she knew that Dean had expected her to fight which showed exactly how little he knew her anymore.
"We'll look it over," Andy nodded.
"I want my ring."
Rory held back a laugh, "the ring is on the dresser at the house," she told him dryly, "it has been since I left. I don't want it, it doesn't mean anything anymore."
They went back and forth on a few more details and before Rory knew it, they were done for the day. Two hours. Two billable hours had been spent on this. It was more than their mortgage payment had been when they first bought their house together, but Rory naively held on to the hope that she was now one step closer to being divorced. She left first, she didn't even bother putting her jacket on as she made her way to the elevator and pushed the button about twenty times waiting for it to come. She was relieved that she was alone inside and collapsed immediately against the wall, while she was getting what she wanted, she didn't expect the emotional gut punch that she was on the receiving end of as she stood alone after facing off against Dean. Sure it hadn't gone terribly but she wished it hadn't had to happen at all. She wished that Dean would just accept it and make it easy, but instead he wanted to fight about everything and it was exhausting. His last kick of the afternoon was an attempt to stipulate that Rory's visitation with Emma had to happen away from Logan. Rory knew well enough when he suggested it that he was just trying to get a rise out of her, and Dean knew that she would never agree, instead Rory had suggested that they couldn't introduce anyone until they had been together for six months which was irrelevant given the length of her relationship with Logan, but Dean as she expected hadn't agreed to it. He wasn't seeing anyone, but he certainly wasn't going to let Rory try to dictate his relationships. The irony wasn't lost on Rory. He wanted to control her relationship, but he didn't want to give her the same level of control over his when they happened.
Rory smiled as she saw Logan standing in the lobby waiting for her. He was wearing a camel coloured overcoat and Rory had to fight the urge to run and launch herself into his arms. He noticed her as she got closer to him and put his phone in his pocket. Her arms went around his shoulders and he kissed her hair, rubbing her back to assure her that it was going to be okay.
"You alright?" He asked as she pulled away after a minute.
Rory nodded. She wanted to burst into tears because he was the safe place to do it, but she also didn't want to have a full-blown breakdown in the middle of the lobby with strangers walking by. She just wanted to go home. "I just want to go home. I'll tell you about it then?"
"Couldn't find your own way home?" Dean's voice came up behind them a moment later, he must have gotten into an elevator just after her. Rory could tell he was just blowing off some steam and once again trying to get a reaction out of her, she sure as hell wasn't going to give him that. "When should I pick up my car?"
Logan looked at Rory with a bit of confusion as she turned to face Dean. His arm moved instinctively to the small of her back as he looked at the man in front of him. He hadn't seen Dean since the Christmas party and while he knew it would happen eventually, he hadn't expected it to be so soon.
Rory scoffed under her breath and shook her head. "You need it that desperately?" She didn't bother to wait for a response. "I'll drop it off when I pick up Emma next weekend. I just need to get the ownership ready to switch over, and cancel the insurance…and get my new car. Obviously you need it more than I do. But don't forget Dean, while you were at home drinking beer with your buddies, I was having the best fucking orgasm of my life in the front seat. So make sure you have it detailed." Rory felt the rage in her stomach as she saw his eyes darken as he processed what she was saying. "And then we drove it to a little hotel in the Hamptons and do you know what we did after I told you I was with Lane and not coming home? We spent the entire weekend in bed making love, and oh my god you have no idea how good he feels after fucking faking it with you for so long!"
"Ace," Logan warned, "we should go." He didn't wait for a response as he led her away from her ex husband who was left red faced in the lobby. They walked in silence as he opened the door to the car that was waiting for them and then he walked around to get in on the other side. "Car sex, eh?"
"Sorry," Rory mumbled.
"Hey, I'm all for it if you're interested," he tried to lighten the mood and when he saw it wasn't working he reached across and took her hand. "Are you alright?" Rory shrugged and shook her head. She bit her bottom lip in an attempt to keep from crying. She didn't want to cry in the car. She wanted to hold it together until she could collapse in their bed and Logan could hold her until everything stopped feeling like it was falling apart.
"We can talk about it at home?" She managed to tell him and he nodded his head in response. Stroking her hand with his thumb in hopes of providing some comfort, they were both relieved at the least that the meeting had been in the afternoon, Rory didn't have to go back to work, she could just go home and process the events of the day. When they arrived at their building he got out first and opened the door for her. He took her bag from her and put an arm around her waist as they walked in. He nodded to the doorman and they silently stepped into the elevator. The ride up felt long as Logan bore the weight of her body leaning against him. By the time they made it to the front door he was surprised she hadn't burst into tears yet, he could feel the tension coming off of her. "I'm going to take a bath."
"Do you want me to order dinner?"
Rory shook her head, "I think we have some appetizers in the freezer?" Rory recalled how after she had casually mentioned to him that her mother used to have the strangest snack foods available for her, they had miraculously ended up on the shopping list. While it wasn't exactly what she had when she was younger, Rory was certain that Logan had never in his adult life made a Bagel Bite in the expensive wall ovens.
"I'll preheat the oven. Just yell if you need anything," Logan took hold of her hand before she could walk away. "I love you," he told her.
Rory smiled. She didn't quite know what to do. She didn't want to fall apart in front of him about this, but she also knew that he knew she wasn't alright. "I just need to wash this day off of me," Rory told him, "I love you too."
That seemed to pacify Logan as she walked to the bedroom and began taking off her clothes. She kicked her shoes off and then she unceremoniously threw the dress off of her and onto the floor before walking into the bathroom and closing the door. As soon as the door was closed Rory felt the floodgates open. She braced herself against the door and began to sob. She hoped he couldn't hear her. She wasn't crying because she missed Dean, but rather she was crying because somehow a man she once loved had become a vindictive person who was simply looking to hurt her, and that was a tough thing to come to terms with, not to mention the fact that the only person in this situation who would truly get hurt was their daughter, and Emma was the person who didn't deserve to get hurt. Rory bit her lip and grabbed the bathrobe that was hanging on the back of the door and wrapped it around her body before she walked to the shower and turned it on. She couldn't have a bath. A bath was supposed to be relaxing and thinking about the events of the day…she couldn't just relax. As the tears subsided Rory pulled out her phone and perched herself on the edge of the marble soaker tub and held her phone in front of her face as she hit the little camera beside the contact for her mother in her phone.
"Hey!" Lorelai was bubbly of course, Rory knew well enough that she had probably forgotten about the meeting with Dean today. It was a blessing and a curse how quickly things could leave the mind of Lorelai Gilmore. It wasn't as if it was something about importance, it was just that she didn't want to get weighed down by the divorce, and Rory had made a point of not reminding her of the details over and over and over again. Her tone changed though when she saw her daughter with tear stained cheeks and red eyes on the screen, "oh kid. Do you want me to slash his tires? Throw devilled eggs at his car? I mean…I know we did it to Jess but I think it's still a timeless prank and Sookie would make them…"
Rory let out half a laugh, "well as of next week you would be doing those things to my car, so maybe don't."
Lorelai paused for a moment. She never would have pegged Dean for being vindictive about something like a car. "Well then I have to do it. He's taking your car? Didn't Carrie Underwood sing something about a slugger? We could key it… but it's a nice car…"
"Carrie Underwood sang about before he cheats…so technically I think I would be the recipient of that rage…"
"But the eggs are ok?"
Rory let out a small laugh at the thought. "I'm not telling you to egg his car."
"But you're not telling me not to egg his car…" Lorelai grinned, "ok kid…come on, spill."
Rory didn't even know where to begin. She never thought getting divorced would be easy. That is probably why she put it off for so long. Why she stayed in a marriage that made her miserable, she didn't want to go through this. There was after all a time where she didn't think it mattered, she could stay miserable, but that was before Logan. Falling for him had given her the idea that she could be happy, even if they had gone about it the wrong way. "I didn't think it would be easy," Rory admitted. "School and work…that has always come so easily to me, but…relationships, well…"
"Yes, I know," Lorelai nodded, her daughter had been so hyper focused on school as a teenager that dating was barely on her radar, that coupled with the fact that Rory hadn't exactly seen successful relationships in her own home had certainly made relationships complicated for Rory. "And when you were a kid, I think I would take some of the responsibility for that…"
"I'm not a kid," Rory wiped a tear from her cheek. "I just never thought that I was capable of doing this to someone. I turned Dean…sweet, kind Dean into a vindictive man who just wants to hurt me in any way he can…"
"Dean is hurting," Lorelai obviously wanted Rory to be happy, but she had also loved Dean. Maybe it was nostalgia. The idea that Rory and her first boyfriend would live happily ever after was for some reason something that Lorelai enjoyed. "But that doesn't make lashing out alright…and I know that you didn't exactly shout your problems from the rooftops, but I believe you when you say that things had been bad for a long time…so even if you hurt him…Dean is choosing to behave this way."
"I don't know what to do. I can't just give him what he wants."
"What does he want?" Lorelai asked. Sure, Rory had just told her that Dean wanted the car Rory had just bought, but she wasn't sure what, if any other outlandish demands he was making.
"He wants the car, he wants more time with Em, he wants me to have to run everything I do by him, he wants more money, he wants more of my retirement savings…"
"More?" Lorelai repeated. Rory had told her about the settlement offer that was being drafted and by anyones estimation it was more than generous. To know that her soon to be former son in law was asking for more on top of that seemed outlandish. "What does he want to do? Buy a horse and take up polo? A castle? A yacht?"
Rory let out a little laugh and sniffled. Her shoulders relaxed for a moment and then she spoke again, "he thinks that taking the money will hurt me or something. I mean…Mom, I don't want to give him anymore. I don't want to have to start fresh with saving…but I will. If that is what it takes for him to leave and to have there be some peace and for Emma to be able to start to heal and us to coparent…"
"He can't touch anything you brought into the marriage, right?"
Rory shrugged. There seemed to be some grey area on that. While yes, her trust fund from her great grandmother was hers, and some money her father had set aside was hers, she also didn't want to fight anymore and against the advice of her lawyer, she had reached a point that she was willing to split those accounts too if that would make it easier. "I mean…not technically…"
"Ror you don't roll over and give him whatever he wants," Lorelai took a serious tone for the first time in the conversation. "You earned what you have, your grandparents and great grandparents and maybe your Dad didn't earn it, but…they wanted you to have that. Your Grandpa would be rolling in his grave to think that Dean Forrester was spending any of his money…married or not."
"I guess."
"Rory…I don't pull the mom card often…and I certainly don't pull the grandma card often, but I didn't raise you to not fight…I know it hurts. I know you are hurting…but focus on the end goal. You told me you want to be happy. You want Emma to see you happy. You want to start fresh with Logan…so you need to fight for what is yours. You want to show Emma what being happy looks like even if it isn't hard…that doesn't mean giving her father everything he demands…"
"I know."
"Why don't I come to the city on the weekend?" Lorelai had been suggesting it for a few weeks, she also wanted to meet Logan. She wasn't happy to know how quickly Rory had moved on, but she was willing to fake it for the sake of keeping Rory happy.
"We're going to a wedding on the weekend," Rory explained, "so we'll be upstate, and then next weekend Logan is out of town but Em is here…"
"Busy woman!"
"What if you come for dinner one day during the week? Or maybe Logan and I can meet you at Grandma's for dinner?" Emily had already suggested that he come for dinner so that she could meet him as Rory's new suitor.
"Grandma can't meet him first!"
"Grandma has known him for years," Rory countered.
"Well that is different. Unless she has met him in his official capacity as Chief Sexual Harasser, Esquire."
"He's not a lawyer…"
"So?"
"Esquire…it's if you're a lawyer."
"I thought it was just something fancy rich people called themselves… hm…lesson learned."
"I have to go Mom," Rory realized that she had been running the water for a while now and while she hadn't showered, she needed leave the washroom and go see Logan.
"Ok but don't think I'm forgetting this. I'll send you a day next week that I can come for dinner. Should I CC Parker too so he can 'check your schedule'," she added somewhat sarcastically.
"CC Parker," Rory nodded. "Thanks Mom."
"Chin up Rory. You're a Gilmore."
Rory ended the call and stood up to turn off the water in the shower. She put her phone on the counter and washed her face before she pulled her hair up into a messy bun on the top of her head before tightening the tie of the robe around her body and returning to the kitchen where Logan was very clearly making her a cup of coffee. "I called my Mom," Rory told him as she wrapped her arms around him, her chest pressed against his back as she closed her eyes and inhaled. "She wants to meet you," Rory continued. "If she comes for dinner next week before you leave with the kids…"
"I would love to meet your mom," Logan smiled and put his hands over hers. "I thought you needed coffee or wine…and the part of me that is also your boss thought coffee might be the better bet."
"Smart and sexy," Rory squeezed him a bit tighter.
"As much as I like this," Logan told her, "I'm going to need you to let go of me if you want me to give you the coffee, or get the food out of the oven." Rory relented, she dropped her arms and gave Logan the space to turn around. "You look comfortable."
"Too tired for clothes," Rory shrugged as she played with the sleeves.
"Easier to take off of you," Logan raised an eyebrow and winked. He wasn't serious of course, he knew Rory was emotionally drained and the last thing he wanted to do was pressure her to do anything.
Rory tensed a bit and then smiled, "I mean, if you want…I can just lay there," she said it almost casually and then reached around him for the coffee and took a long sip. "Thank you."
Logan could feel the blood rushing to his face and almost involuntarily his teeth clenched and he felt his hands ball into fists. "While you just lay there?" He repeated what she had just said and what was most enraging to him is that she didn't even seem bothered. She was saying it as though it was the most normal thing in the world. "That piece of shit would have sex with you while you were just laying there? Is he a fucking nymphomaniac?" Logan wished she had never said it. He wished he never had to have the visual of Rory being used as what amounted to a warm body with her asshole of an ex husband. "What the fuck is wrong with him? I swear to god I will kick his ass…" Rory raised an eyebrow and Logan shrugged his shoulders, "fine, I would probably have to pay someone to kick his ass because he's unnaturally tall."
Rory leaned forward and kissed him, "I'm sorry I upset you."
"You didn't upset me…I just hate that you had to live like that," Logan explained as he picked up the plate and began walking to the living room with Rory trailing behind him. He took a seat on the couch and Rory adjusted her robe before sitting beside him. "You didn't deserve to be treated like he treated you. It's not normal."
Normal, Rory had to hold back laughter. What was normal and what did she know about it when it came to marriage? The closest thing to a normal marriage she had seen growing up was her grandparents, but that marriage was in essence the opposite of her own - she worked and Dean was mostly the stay at home parent. "You want to hear about not normal…I swear, I don't even know the man I saw today."
"What happened?" Logan asked as he turned his body towards her. "I mean…if you want to talk about it. We don't have to. I get that it is a lot to deal with."
Rory smiled. She appreciated how patient he was being. How he was open to talking about it with her and being supportive but he also understood that she needed to process things on her own. "Well, he asked me to go back home…or be with him…I don't remember how he put it. But all I could think was how pathetic it was that he didn't even care that I don't love him. He would rather have me as some sort of prize than move on and be happy. So then he said he wanted the BMW."
"Which explains the little show in the lobby?" Logan chuckled as he hesitantly took a bite of the bagel bite. He tried not to let on that he instantly regretted the decision as Rory popped another in her own mouth.
"Yes…exactly," she nodded. "I am open to making that happen though…" Logan laughed in response and Rory continued, "he just…he wants more. More money, more stuff. More of my stuff. More time with Em…it's pathetic."
"What do you think you'll do?" Logan asked her. He couldn't even begin to relate. Everything with Abigail had been cordial so far mostly due to the existence of a prenup that benefited both of them. "I mean…I know what you're going to say, but I want you to know…the money doesn't matter. If you have to give him everything, I have more than enough and you will make it all back…"
She shook her head in response. She appreciated it of course, but as he had said, he knew she wouldn't accept it. "I am not giving him more money. He doesn't deserve more money. I've offered him a fair share of my retirement fund, the house mortgage free, and more than generous child support until Emma is eighteen, and paying her tuition…he can fucking get a job and work for something."
"That is what I like to hear," Logan laughed.
"I was going to give it to him," she admitted, "sorry to burst your bubble. I had a minute where I thought its would make things easier…but he'll just ask for more. He will never stop asking for more if I give this to him. My great grandmother didn't leave me money for me to throw it away and…I mean, my Mom and I talked about it…my Grandpa would just be horrified."
"What kind of man…or person for that matter," Logan once again found his blood boiling, "just wants handouts? I mean, sure there is no arguing that you've been the breadwinner, but he has just been a lazy fucking piece of shit."
"Babe," Rory smiled at him, "I don't want you to worry about this. I promise, it will be handled."
"I know it will be handled," Logan admitted. "But I hate that he still has this hold over you and thinks he has this hold over you. Even worse you two have a kid and he wants to treat you this way? How would he feel if someone was treating Emma like this? I would murder a guy if he was coming after Lily like this. Does your Dad know? Your Mom?"
"My mom threatened to throw devilled eggs at his car…"
"Devilled eggs?" He repeated, "something tells me there is a story there."
"That is a story for another night," Rory leaned her head back. "So that is basically it…I told him he could have the car, they will make some changes, send some revisions and then hopefully he will sign off on it and we will be done with this saga."
"You're being too nice."
"No matter what I lose in this…the things, the money…as long as I have Emma, and as long as I have you…I have what I need. I don't want to lose it all…but he thinks he has nothing left so he wants to burn everything else to the ground."
Logan wrapped an arm around her and pulled her body close. "I thought for a couple of weeks that I had lost you and so I am pretty familiar with wanting to do anything in my power to get you back…but only if you wanted to be back."
"Well there you go again," Rory joked, "you don't want to have sex with me while I'm sleeping and you respect my boundaries…aren't you just the whole package."
"The bar is set pretty low with him."
Rory tilted her head upwards and kissed him gently, "please don't spend any time worrying about him…"
Like most evenings they stayed on the couch, Rory caught up on some work e-mails while Logan watched the Knicks, "I'm going to go to bed," Logan told her, she had moved to the other side of the sectional and her feet were sitting in his lap as the game came to an end. "How much longer do you have? Your boss is a real dick…"
Rory laughed and took her feet off of him, "maybe ten minutes? Don't wait up," she told him. It was almost habitual, that is what she always told Dean when she was on her phone or laptop late at night for work, he always complained if she was a minute longer than she had said.
"I'll wait," Logan told her. "You finish up, I'll meet you in there?"
Rory smiled as he stood up and walked away. She finished the e-mail and put down her phone and felt a wave of relief come over here. He had said it…he had said it over and over and over again that she could simply be herself. That he would be happy with whatever she decided. There were no eggshells to walk on when it came to Logan. There was no need to worry about him flying off the handle because of her hours or travel or what she had spent on something….he just wanted her to be happy. Rory flipped her phone to the do not disturb setting and turned off the lights, making sure the security system was set before she walked into the bedroom and dimmed the lights on the wall.
"That was quick," Logan smiled as she walked towards the bed. He had barely gotten his pyjama bottoms on and climbed in bed by the time she arrived.
"I love you," Rory slowly undid the belt on the white robe she had been in since they had arrived home hours earlier. "And I love what a good man you are," she told him as she slowly and deliberately let it fall to the floor. "And it is so hot," she slowly pulled the blankets off of Logan before she straddled him in all of her naked glory, "how angry you get on my behalf." Rory smiled as Logan furrowed his brow and sat up slightly which allowed Rory to pull his grey v-neck t-shirt off of him, obviously he was a willing participant lifting his arms above his head. Rory was wet just thinking about it and she ground her core down into his growing erection. "Have I told you how hot," she leaned forward and pressed her lips behind his ear, "you are when you're angry?"
Logan licked his lips and let his hands make their way to her hips, his palms moving up and down her side and settling on her breasts as her lips worked their way down his jawline. "I can get angry more if this is the response I'm going to get," Logan groaned as her lips slowly made their way to his.
Rory kissed him, her tongue immediately demanding access to his mouth, in his excitement he nipped at her lip and illicit a surprising squeal, "take off your pants," she demanded.
"You're sure?" Logan put a momentary pause on the festivities as Rory moved herself to allow him to remove his pyjama bottoms. "I don't want you to…"
"Logan," Rory raised an eyebrow, "do I look like I'm anything but a willing participant?"
He didn't need more encouragement than that as he used his legs to kick off his pyjamas and then adjusted them so that he was on top of Rory resting on one forearm as the other dipped between her legs. "You don't get to control everything," he told her with a wicked grin as his fingers stroked her wet folds. He waited for a moment as her body writhed against him, he stroked her for another minute before inserting two fingers into her and rubbing her clit with his thumb. "God you're sexy," he murmured against her lips as she managed to get a hand between them, stroking him feverishly while trying to keep her wits about her.
"Oh my god," Rory closed her eyes and moaned at the sensation, her eyes shot open a moment later when she became acutely aware of the absence of his fingers and she let our a groan of frustration as he moved away from her for a moment. They didn't typically find themselves in the missionary position but as Logan waited a moment, teasing her with the tip of his rock hard erection before slowly slipping himself into her fully and allowing her to adjust to his size for a moment, Rory couldn't help but wonder what they didn't do this more often. It was slow and it was sensual as he moved in and out. She put her hands above her head and Logan used his left arm to hold them there as he took a view of her breasts bouncing with each thrust. The sight of her was intoxicating. Rory wrapped her legs around his waist and Logan let go of her arms, instead propping himself back on his elbows as his thrusts went deeper and became slightly more erratic. "That," Rory was barely putting words together coherently as she reached her own climax, "fuck, Logan…right there baby," she told whims her nails dug into his shoulders, she was sure if she looked in the morning there would be a noticeable mark. It didn't take long after, Rory brought her hand between their bodies and rubbed herself as she reached the edge and repeated his name for what felt like eternity, loudly at first, full of ecstasy and then the words slowed as Logan came and collapsed on top of her. "Jesus," she placed a wet, sloppy kiss on his shoulder. "You're good at that."