Chapter 6

Logan sighed. Dinner was not going well. He didn't understand. Maybe it was the meal.
He poked a piece of meat on his fork and sniffed it. Nope, it wasn't the paprika. He didn't
understand. Both women were fairly reasonable and likeable. He had thought they would
have hit it off. Yet another drawback of being a male...he just couldn't decipher the
female psyche. It was so foreign to him, like those word games people used to play where
they inserted y's or g's between every syllable. He had never been able to interpret the
strange dialogue.He sighed as memories of playground humiliations came back to him.

Max had been snappy all night. She looked at Logan. Yep, clueless...sometimes he just
didn't understand. She sighed. This Sky seemed nice enough. She really wasn't sure why
she felt animosity towards her. Maybe it was a territorial thing...she raised her eyebrow.
Yes, she could always blame it on the DNA concoction that made up her chemistry. After
all, she wasn't completely human, why was she expected to act that way? Perhaps the
real problem was the simple fact that she sensed some sort of intimacy between Sky and
Logan. Jealousy? Max raised her eyebrow...that was so petty, however she still was a
woman. No female could escape her instincts.

"So, Max...how do you know Logan?" Sky's tone was extremely saccharine. It was
obviously a forced effort.

"I work for him."

"Really? Sky looked at Logan sharply. She raised her eyebrow. Logan nearly choked on
his food. His coughs thundered through the room as he tried to regain his dignity and
cease the tickling feeling dancing in the back of his throat. Both women just looked at
him apathetically. It was apparent that all secrets were about to be exposed and one vast
explosion of estrogen was going to be the result. This was not going to be pretty.

"Yes, really" Max tilted her head arrogantly in a way of defiance. "I do some legwork for
him every now then." Sky looked at Logan. He knew exactly what she was asking with
her expression. No words needed to be said. He might as well tell the truth.

"Yes, for Eyes Only."

Sky nodded her head. She was angry and her insides were flaring with the intensity of a
furnace. That was it, the reason she had felt anger towards Max. She was doing what Sky
yearned to. She felt replaced, rejected.

"So..." Max added, feeling the need to satisfy her own questions, "what, are you a
contact? A girlfriend?"

"I already have a husband." Sky snapped.

Max stood up out of her chair and walked over to Sky, her challenge apparent. "So,
what's the dealio? He left you and now you're scrounging around for a little fun." Max
was conscious of her word's nature, but didn't really register the exact phrases. All she
knew was that she was angry. Angry that Logan had never mentioned this woman to her,
angry that Sky shared something with Logan that she may not, angry that she
felt...replaced in a way.

Sky's eyes widened in pure disdain. She didn't care what the girl said about her, but her
husband...that was a different story. No one slandered his name. She stood up and found
herself to be slightly taller than Max. Logan said something that neither woman really
heard...they were too engrossed with each other. Her eyes returned the icy gaze with
pools of green fire. In one swift motion Sky slapped Max as hard as she could. The
impact left a sting on her skin. "Don't you ever say anything about my husband again."
Her voice was reduced to a growl. She turned and stomped towards the elevator.

Logan frantically rolled after her. "Sky."

It was only when Sky stepped on the elevator that she turned to face him. "Working in
solitude huh?" She shook her head as she punched the button for the ground floor. The
emotions had consumed her and she needed time to calm down.

Logan sighed as he turned to face Max. She shook her head. "Gotta blaze." He placed
himself in her path.

"Max." She tried to move around him. Again he called her name "Max."

"What?" she snapped.

"She's my sister-in-law." He paused. Why hadn't he mentioned it earlier? "her husband,
my brother is dead." Max's expression dropped. She looked down as a rush of guilt came
over her.

"I'm sorry, I don't know what came over me." She looked at him, a genuine look of
regret and affection spread itself across her gentle features.

"It's alright." He began rolling himself towards the living room. Max froze. She didn't
know what to do. She had slipped again, letting her temper block all common sense.
Sometimes she wondered why Logan put up with her. She said so many hurtful things
towards him. It was nothing personal, she had never really meant it. It was just that Max
hadn't developed the art of getting in touch with others. She felt awkward and didn't
really know where the line was between playful sarcasm and hurtful words. She walked
cautiously into the next room.

"Logan?" her voice was soft. He turned from the window streaked with rain. His eyes
looked wet with tears. Max slowly walked over as if waiting for permission to approach.
She placed her hand tenderly on his shoulder. He smiled at her. She looked into his face
with care. The tears welling in his eyes made her want to wrap her arms around his body.
Instead she wiped a drop of water away from his eyes and sat down next to him. Her full
attention was focused on him now. She genuinely wanted to know everything, with the
hopes that she could ease some of the pain he felt.