It was after dinner and all was quiet, for once. Mostly everyone were just bored out of their minds. Julie gave up on conversation because every time either Zach or Logan talked to her she got lots of visions in her head, none of them really good or G rated at that. More like X rated. So to keep from doing anything drastic she rolled into Logan's spare bedroom and grabbed her laptop and a book. Not even looking at the cover she began to read as she rolled back into the living room. She groaned and threw the book back into the guest bedroom with her deadly accuracy of hers.
'Romance, it had to be romance didn't it?' Julie sighed as she turned on her laptop.
Zach walked behind Julie after she had thrown the book back to her room. With a raised eyebrow he looked over her shoulder at her laptop. "What are you doing?"
Julie jumped and looked back at Zach, her face mere centimeters from his. Taking a large swallow of air she responded, "Oh, just my usual stuff. A short story I plan on posting on the internet."
Not even noticing it Zach moved even closer to Julie. She could feel his breath on her shoulder and neck making little shivers going up her spine each time he took a breath.
Softly Zach murmured into her ear so just she could hear, "What is it about?"
Without being aware of it Julie began to tremble at their proximity. 'Please oh please let someone come in and distract him or me before we both do something that we could really regret later!' Julie cried in her mind.
Luckily Max, being the one always alert even when all is well, noticed Julie's discomfort, or even her comfort at the situation. She could just barely make out the movements of Zach's lips moving as he spoke. Enhancing her eyesight she noticed that his lips also brushed against Julie's neck and each time they did Julie took a quick breath.
'I better intervene before our newly found sister faints or works herself into a bout of seizures,' Max thought as she walked over to the two of them. "Hey you two! Julie, whatcha up to? I was planning on going up to the Space Needle, wanna come? Or is it a bad memory for you?"
Julie shot Max a look of pure gratitude. "Sure! I love sitting up there when I come here. It is the best place to just think or to write. Let me say bye to Logan real quick and then we can go." Julie then rolled out of the living room to where Logan had hid himself behind his computers in his office.
Zach gave a slight frown at the mention of Logan's name but kept it inside of him. Max walked over to Zach and looked at him in the eyes.
"Listen, take it slow with Julie okay? She never really felt like she was part of the group when we were in Wyoming. Be careful with her, she isn't as tough on the inside as she seems on the outside," Max warned Zach as Julie rolled out of Logan's office a rather surprised look on her face.
"Ready Max?" Julie asked to cover up the look on her face.
Max nodded and cocked her head to the side. "Yeah, lets go." As soon as they were out of the door and in the elevator Max turned back to Julie, "What has got you?"
Julie bit her lip and turned, looking up at Max. "Well, um, I never realized how many contacts Logan has. Also never realized how much information they have to give him. He knows first of all about us going into heat. And secondly, that I am in heat." Julie sighed and put her head in her hands. "Wonderful," she muttered.
Max's eyebrows shot up at Julie's comment. "No wonder you have been looking at everything male with two legs today! When did you start to go into heat today?"
Julie sat in the elevator for a moment thinking, "Um, I think around ten this morning."
Max nodded, "So before you met up with me and Zach."
"Yeah. But it has been over twelve hours now. It is," Julie stopped and looked at her watch, "eleven-thirty, so I am past the hard part. I wonder how the next twelve hours will be."
The two sibs where walking down the street going to the Space Needle. No one was on the streets because it was past curfew and not that many people were willing to deal with the police. The few people that were out were the kind of people you didn't want to mess with or meet up with in a dark, corner alley. Max and Julie were no exceptions with their training from Manticore. Max finally broke the silence when they where just a few hundred yards from the Needle.
"So, is that a good thing or a bad thing?"
"Is what a good thing or a bad thing?" Max gave Julie a look that said 'Don't you dare play me for a fool girl!' "Oh, that thing…"
Julie sighed, "I'm not sure. I have feelings for Logan, but only as a friend. But then we have Zach."
Max nodded seeing the struggle going on with her sister, "Yeah, he is a hard one to read isn't he?"
The blonde girl nodded, "You've got that right Boo!"
Laughing the two of them looked out at the city of Seattle from their vintage point of the Space Needle. Max and Julie shared their time up there in silence; both deeply emerged in their own thoughts. Some how Julie had managed to bring her laptop with her and was typing softly into the computer.
Max looked over at her sister and sighed. The girl was like an enigma, again. Back at Manticore she was a mystery to them there also. She was often the best fighter on her good days and would always stick up for them about anything. Some how she also was able to get the guards to some days let them talk after they were supposed to be 'sleeping.'
'Why is Julie so different from us? She seemed to have a normal life after the escape and all. Is there something that she did that we didn't try? And how come I never heard anything from Logan about a thirteenth of us escaping?' Max sighed and looked out at the skyline of Seattle.
Julie looked up from her laptop. "Ready to go back to Logan's before those two males kill each other?"
Max laughed and nodded. Slowly they went back to the ground and started towards Logan's penthouse.
"Max, and girl, if you lie to me I will beet you, how do you really feel about Logan Cale?" Julie asked as they got closer to the building.
Max blushed under the cloud of darkness, "Um, well…"
Laughter erupted out of Julie at that moment; "I knew it! I knew it! If I could walk I would be up and dancing circles around you girl! I knew you two loved each other!"
"What? You have to be kidding me Jules!"
Julie snorted, "Yeah, sure, and I am the only one up in that penthouse who sees how Logan looks at you and how you look at Logan!"
Shrugging Max walked to Logan's penthouse door that somehow appeared in front of her, "Whatever!"
The two girls went into the penthouse and rolled their eyes seeing Zach and Logan on separate sides of the living room watching TV. Giggling to each other they made their presence known by snorting in laughter at the two of them. Julie waved to her brother and to Logan.
"Good-night yal! I'm off to bed!" she called holding back more giggles. With another wave she rolled into the guestroom and slid into bed, falling off to sleep.
Zach waved back slowly to Julie before standing, "I better go too. See ya." He looked at Max with a look that meant nothing to both of them. After a glare at Logan Zach left the penthouse to disappear into the night.
Soon it was just Max and Logan left in the living room, looking at each other. There was a silence that seemed to just stretch on and on. A sudden boom of thunder broke the silence for them as rain fell in heavy sheets on to the city.
"And then there was two," Logan laughed lightly at the cliché. "You know you can crash here if you want to tonight." 'Please stay,' Logan's mind screamed at her. But apparently reading minds was something that Manticore didn't teach its soldiers. Not sure if it was an annoyance or a blessing in disguise, Logan decided on the latter. 'No, you don't want her to know the thoughts that tend to run through your head whenever she is here, or even when she isn't here!'
Max shrugged and flopped down on the couch. "You know, it is late and with that storm I think I will take you up on that offer."
Logan nodded and started to roll into the kitchen, "You can have my room and I will sleep on the couch tonight."
"Naw! What kinda person would I be if I let you do that?" Max asked trying to cover up her anxiety at sleeping in the same bed that Logan did every night. The same covers that touched his skin at night, that same pillow for his head. She just knew that the sheets would be soaked with his sent. That smell that was just him; light, airy, citrus, and all Logan. It was just perfect for him and sent her senses on a roller coaster.
Logan just looked over his shoulder at her, "What kinda host would I be if I didn't offer that to you?"
She rolled her eyes and followed him into the kitchen, "Whatever Mr. Eyes Only. Always protecting the downtrodden,"
He rolled his eyes, "Yeah, yeah, I know; blah, blah, woof, woof. As you said so nicely, Max. Whatever. It is okay, I promise you that the couch isn't all that bad if you are afraid that I will awake in pain."
Max just smiled at him and reached for a cup of tea that he had made for her as they had talked. Logan was entranced with her smile. His gaze locked on her full lips that he wanted to kiss so badly.
Shaking his head mentally to get those thoughts of her luscious lips out of his head. 'No Logan. She doesn't think of you like that. But you want her to so badly. Okay, that is it, I'm going to do it. I will make the first move… if I can get my nerve up to it.'
Looking at Logan as he held a silent battle in his head Max studied his profile. He always looked kinda like he had just rolled out of his bed, his hair up in its cute spikes, his perpetual beard of stubble. 'Has that man ever heard of a razor?'
Logan looked up at Max and smiled at her. 'Oh no! He is smiling at me. I'm dead, I can't resist that smile, or his eyes for that matter. Aw hell, I can't resist any of him.'
"You okay Max?" Logan asked concerned, coming closer to her.
Smiling Max nodded, "Yeah, just a bit excited. I found another family member. I'm happy about that."
"I'm happy for you Max," was the soft, murmured reply Logan gave to her, looking into her eyes. "Can I ask you something Max?"
Not able to speak or look away from his ice blue eyes Max nodded. "Can I kiss you Max? Just a single kiss because I have a feeling that if I don't I am going to burst."
With that said and out in the open Logan suddenly felt a huge weight lift from his shoulders. Determined to do as he set out to do he came even closer to the standing Max. Slowly Max sank down onto her knees and looked at Logan, her eyes big.
With his lips just mere centimeters from her own Logan looked from her lips to her eyes. "Max, can I kiss you?"
Giving a strangled moan Max closed the space between their lips quickly. As soon as he felt her lips on his, Logan let his eyes close as he lifted his hands and placed them in her hair, holding her face to his. Angling their heads to deepen the kiss he slipped his tongue into the warm recesses of Max's. Another moan came from deep in her throat as Logan played his tongue over her teeth and her own tongue. Slowly she began to bring her own tongue into play. For the first time Logan saw Max act tentatively. Pulling back from her lips he looked into her dazed eyes.
Her full lips seemed even fuller from their passion filled kiss in his eyes. To Max Logan's lips seemed to be calling back to her. Her frustration in apparent in her eyes Logan laughed.
She frowned, "Are you laughing at me?"
That just caused him to laugh harder, "No, not at you. Come on, let's go sit on the couch for a moment."
Suddenly Max froze. 'Wait, what just happened? Okay, we kissed and I wanted that kiss. I wanted that kiss more than I have wanted anything else before, other than my freedom. And maybe my Ninja… but back to the kiss. Sitting on that couch would mean talking and talking could mean things getting complicated.'
As if he could read her thoughts Logan called over to her, already sitting on the couch, "Things are already complicated Max. They became complicated the day you stole the Bast."
Max had to agree as she slowly walked over to the couch and sat next to Logan. "Okay, you got me there. So why are we on this couch?"
Taking a deep breath Logan began, "Okay, we are on this couch for a reason. And that reason is that I have deep, deep feelings for you Max. I lied with I said that kiss we shared when you were going to leave was nothing. It was everything to me. It was like my heart had been set on fire and it wasn't going to go out if my lips didn't touch yours again. They have and the fire is just burning brighter and hotter. I think I am falling in love with you Max." He silenced her when she opened her mouth with a look, "No, don't say anything yet, not till I am done. I know that you don't want to get attached to anything or anyone because of Lydecker, but you are. Face it, you are connected to this city now. You have friends who you care about and who care about you. And I would hope that I would factor in some where in that equation. Yes, I may need you for my 'leg-work' as you call it for Eyes Only, but I also need you because you are you. You are the most wonderfully beautiful, exotic, aggravating creature ever created and put on this forsaken earth. If you feel as if you can't love me back as I love you I can deal with that." He paused and shook his head with a soft smile and laugh, "Actually I wouldn't be able to deal with it but I will deal with anything so that you stay in my life. I care for you so much Max that I feel as if I could explode and I think I am rambling on…"
Max had to giggle at the last statement he said. 'He is cute when he gets like that.' Taking a deep breath she looked over at him, "Logan, I think I know what I am going to do."
Hanging his head in anticipated defeat, Logan opened him mouth to apologize. But a pair of sultry lips cut him off. Looking up in surprise at Max he opened and closed his mouth a few times looking like a fish. She giggled and cocked her head to the side.
"Logan, I think I love you too, but can we go slow? I'm not sure I am ready for a really deep relationship."
Joy leaped up into his eyes as he smiled at Max. "Sure, anything for you."
With that they hugged and Max snuggled in Logan's arms. Laying butterfly kisses on the top of her hair and head Logan sighed softly. They fell asleep like that soon after.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Julie looked at the couple lying asleep in each other's arms. From her vintage point at the doorway she sighed and tilted her head to the side before smiling largely. "You two are good for each other. May you find true happiness together."
Slowly she rolled into the guestroom again and looked out the window looking at her own reflection. She was in a gray tank top and a pair of long flannel pajama bottoms. Her hair was up in a messy bun, hairs falling into her face and eyes. "I wonder if I will find true love."
With that thought she grabbed a tape recorder from the nightstand and pressed record. Taking a deep breath she started to talk into it.
"Well, Max and Logan have found each other. I wonder if I will find my own true love. Is there someone out there for me? Who knows, definitely not I. Well, g'night."
Turning off the recorder she placed it back on the nightstand and jumped seeing a reflection in the window other than her own.
~~~~~~~~~~~
AN: Cliff hanger I know. Not a good one but hey, can't blame an amateur. Who is there
staring at our Julie? Well, go read the next chapter to find out! Review yals!
~Callisto's Dream