Title:
Love Loss 2
Name:
Joy
Email: SleepingBeauty2@ziplip.com
Rating: PG-13
A/N:
This will be my last post for a while. One of the member's of my family is on
his deathbed. I don't have the energy right now to keep up with my writing. I
appreciate my readers' support.
Logan had been as good as gold at
taking care of things with Normal and now as they traveled cross-country Max
stared at his mother's rings on her finger. Posing as his wife was getting more
comfortable; that made Max uneasier. She glanced over at Logan's sleeping
figure on the plane and hoped this wasn't a huge mistake.
He sensed he was being watched and
opened his eyes briefly. A smile spread across his face, "Hey honey. Come
here…" He put his arm around Max and pulled her to rest her head on his
shoulder. He whispered in her ear, "Try to rest… It will look less
conspicuous."
"Whom are we worried
about?" Max asked only to have Logan ignore her.
For Logan's part, he had lived in a
state of denial about his feelings for Max for so long, he didn't even notice
he wasn't pretending…he told himself he was just acting like a married man when
actually he was giving into all the closely held wishes of his heart. Touching
Max in an easy manner was something he longed for and now gave into freely.
Without Bling's watchful eye to remind Logan of his behavior, he was hopeless.
Max breathed deeply reminding
herself that Logan hadn't any clue how desirable he was to her. She closed her
eyes and drifted into a dreamless sleep held in the arms of her pseudo-husband
and closest friend. She woke only once to find Logan staring at her. She let
her eyes close again trying desperately not to think why he would be staring at
her.
The car ride to the Carolina Inn in
the center of UNC campus was comfortable and quiet as they discussed where they
were going to begin researching. The Inn brought its own set of issues, as
there was only one bed in the room, a king sized one but still just one. At
Cape Haven, they had used two separate rooms claiming they both snored.
"Uh… What are we going to
do?" Max asked nervously.
"About what?" Logan
responded hanging his clothes in the closet.
"The bed… There is only
one."
"Well I couldn't very well
order an extra bed for a happily married couple so a got a large bed… Besides
you don't sleep that much and for a few hours it should be fine. I did make
sure we had a room with a living room so you could watch TV or whatever it is
you do while not sleeping."
"I'll just sleep out
there," Max said grabbing a blanket from the closet and heading toward the
living room.
Logan stepped in front of her,
"Come on Max… There's enough room for both of us…I'll keep my hands to
myself." He wicked grin spread across his face so she hit him with the
blanket.
"Are we going out again this
evening or is this it?"
"I figured sleeping would be
good so we get used to the time change."
"Fine… Then I'm getting ready
for bed," she said as she unloaded her clothes and grabbed her sleeping
attire, which consisted of a tank top and flannel boxers.
Max slipped into the bathroom and
took a long hot bath. This vacation did come with a few perks. She got out of
the tub to the smell of jasmine. She dressed quickly, finding the room
illuminated by several candles. "Are we having a power outage or are you
trying your hand at seduction?" she shot at Logan, who merely smiled.
"Seducing my wife? Sounds like
fun… but it's a power outage," Logan responded. He was in total denial.
"Bathrooms all yours…" Max
said plopping down on the bed. Logan stared at her almost lovingly.
"What?"
"Sorry…You just are the most
beautiful woman I have ever met and sometimes it strikes me," he said
looking deeply into her eyes. He looked away and then said, "Sometimes
you're so striking…like now." He paused, "You're hair all pulled up
and relaxed. I'm lucky I get to see it." He ran his hand through his hair
and rubbed his neck, "Guess I'll be getting ready for bed now…" He
grabbed his stuff and fled to the bathroom. Max sat dumbly on the bed trying to
calm the warm tingle that enveloped her.
Logan stared at his reflection in
the mirror by candlelight. 'Stop it Cale. Just stop… Don't get confused… You're
friends…only friends,' he berated himself. When he reemerged from the bathroom,
he turned to Max and said, "Huh... I think I'll sleep in here..."
pointing to the living room.
"Logan, really its ok. There's
enough room for both of us. Come to bed..."
Logan
hesitantly stepped forward and climbed into bed. They said goodnight and rolled
to the opposite sides of the bed.
Max found it remarkably easy to sleep
next to Logan and was surprised when she woke five hours later. She normal
slept no more then four hours a night. She eased out of bed and headed for the
living room. She pulled out some of the written material about Lysander Moore.
Shortly after getting situated with
the files in one hand and tea in the other, Max heard Logan thrashing about.
She moved back to the bedroom and crawled in bed next to Logan. She saw the
beads of sweat on his brow. "Agh...Nooo...Max.... MAX!!!" Logan
yelled as he tossed in his sleep.
"Logan...Logan," Max said,
as she shook him lightly.
He opened his eyes briefly, blinking
wildly. He wrapped his arms around Max and held her to him, kissing her head,
muttering, "You're ok. I got ya. I got ya." Max didn't fight
him...only let him relax back into sleep and ignoring the caresses he bestowed
upon her. After attempting to remove herself without disturbing Logan, she
reclined into his arms until the early hours of the morning when he stirred.
"Agh...Morning Max... I guess I
didn't keep my hands to myself last night...." he whispered uncomfortably.
"You had a nightmare...something
about me. You were afraid for me. I soothed you, only to have you hug me so
close I couldn't get free without waking you," Max said softly. "I
take it you don't remember your dream?"
"Ah…No,"
he said loosening his grip.
"Maybe you had one of my
Manticore dreams?" Max said with a smile trying to lighten Logan's mood.
He looked at her solemnly and shifted his weight to the other side of the bed
climbing out. Max watched as he hid in bathroom. When she heard the shower
start she knew she shouldn't mention last night's dream again…She didn't want
to piss Logan off. As sweet as he could be at moments, he's self-protective
armor was nearly as refined as Max's. The embarrassment of waking up clutching
Max for dear life was one thing but to have her poke fun was too much for him
to bear, thus the swift retreat.
Logan left the bathroom in only the hotel robe and
averted his eyes from her as he went to his suitcase and grabbed some
toiletries and clothes. He wasn't over the scene from the morning yet.
Max bit her lip as he slipped back into the bathroom
without a word. "Logan, I'm gonna order some breakfast. What would you
like?" she said trying to get him to lighten up.
Logan opened the door to the
bathroom swiftly with an electric razor in his hand, shaving his left cheek.
"I'm sorry Max. I didn't get a word of that."
Getting over her initial shock of
seeing Logan in only a robe for the second time that morning as well as holding
a razor, she said, "I didn't know you owned one of those…"
His face brightened immediately and
chuckled. "I figured there is still a bit of the Old South in the area
where we're going… I better not look scruffy." They smiled at each other
for a few minutes. "You look nice this morning," he commented of the
pale blue sundress she had selected for the day.
"Thanks…" she said
blushing a bit at the intensity of his gaze. "What do you want for
breakfast? I was about to order room service."
"Pancakes and scrambled eggs…
ooww, see if they have any watermelon," he said like an excited child.
"Sure thing," Max said
turning from the bathroom door but still feeling his eyes on her until she
heard the door shut. She called room service who quickly brought them pancakes,
scrambled eggs, bacon, and watermelon. Max marveled at how long it was taking
Logan to get ready in the bathroom. "He's worse then a girl," she
thought to herself, imagining the primping taking place behind that closed
door.
Logan spent a long time debating
where or not to leave a mustache on his face… it was a Rhett Butler thing he
didn't understand. He then spent about five minutes debating asking Max what
she thought only to decide he really couldn't take her laughing at him that
morning. He dressed quickly in kakis and a blue short-sleeved button up shirt.
The debate then became whether to comb his hair straight or spike it up like
normal. After seeing himself with his hair combed down the debt was over. The
image in the mirror reminded him too much of his seventh grade school picture.
When Logan emerged from the bathroom
Max was almost finished with breakfast. She licked her lips to remove the syrup
on them so she could whistle at her counterpart. Logan however was fixated on
her lips for a few seconds, envying her lucky tongue. She whistled at him
bringing him back to reality. "Hey look at my husband. Clean shaven,
sporting a very GQ look about him. I'm gonna have to beat the women away with a
stick," she said to get a rise out of him. The general red coloring in his
cheeks and averted eyes were payment enough.
"Thank you, my lady. I'm glad
you approve… Sorry I took so long. I just couldn't decide a couple
things."
"Yes Logan…It is easier to put
your socks on first and then your shoes," she said in a mocking tone.
"Wow this is good," Logan
said digging into his pancakes. "It was a tough call, you know. Should I
sport a mustache or not; should I comb my hair down or spike it."
"You made good choices on both
counts. Mustaches are just too prickly. And I like your hair… you wouldn't look
like yourself otherwise," she commented watching Logan enjoy his breakfast
with great zest.
Logan realized he and Max hadn't
discussed public displays of affection. If they were to pull off this charade
there would have to be a level of intimacy they didn't enjoy at the moment. He
took a large swig of orange juice and cleared his throat. "Uh Max, about the
mustache thing," he began as she raised an eyebrow at him. She guessed
where he was going with this fairly quickly with the way he was shifting
uncomfortably in his seat and avoided looking her directly in the eye when he
said her name.
"Before you embarrass yourself,
I knew that a certain level of affection would be necessary. Thank you for
shaving the mustache…it's just too in between. You either need to expect scruff
or not…one lip with scruff and the other without is just too weird," she
said trying to be as casual as possible.
"Well… uh… should we
practice?" Logan asked.
"Why Mr. Taylor are you making
a pass at me?" Max asked in a fake southern accent, which promptly turned
Logan's ears a deep shade of red. "You seemed to be handling the general
cuddling fine on the way here so I'll let you initiate that type of
contact." Max looked into Logan's eyes as he looked at her sheepishly.
"Oh…you meant… Oh… ahh… sure. Practice would be wise. Married couples have
an instinct of how the other person would move to… ahh… Ok practice… Go wash
your hands!"
"Excuse me?" he said with
eyes going big.
"Wash your hands… I'm sure you
have syrup on them. The last thing I want is your hand stuck in my hair or on
my arm," Max explained.
Logan obeyed and went to the sink to wash up. He was
actually quite thankful for the suggestion so he could collect himself few a
few moments before giving into to a fantasy. Max on the other hand found
herself with sweaty palms and a knot in her stomach. She took a sip of milk and
breathed deeply. "We're just friends" each thought as they faced each
other in the living room.
They both sat down on the sofa and looked into each
other's eyes for a while. Logan leaned in just a little to Max, which set the
kiss in motion. They drifted into each other slowly with shuteyes. They barely
brushed their lips together as they tenderly kissed. It was short and sweet,
leaving both with a general tingling sensation in their bodies. Logan and Max
separated, leaning back from each other uncomfortably.
"Well…there… We now know what the other person…
We'll just use that as the model of what to do in the future," Max babbled
as Logan savored the feeling of her lips on his. He then looked at her briefly
as she started to say something else, then he placed his hand behind her head
and brought her back for another kiss. This time their lips met a few times
before pulling back. Max looked at Logan confusedly.
"That is a shut up kiss… if either of us start
talking about something the other thinks shouldn't be mentioned, use the shut
up kiss," Logan said very matter-of-factly. Truth was he couldn't let it
be over yet… so excuses, excuses. Max was still bewildered but nodded in
agreement. "Let's get going to the Moore Family house…" Logan said taking
Max by the elbow. The shut up kiss worked really well since she was still
speechless.