Chapter 38

"So, judging from the snores, I'm guessing you love theater," Rory stated sarcastically, as the two of them walked from the theater department towards Rory's dorm the first weekend back at Yale after school had picked up again.

They'd been inseparable, and the fact that Logan had bought Rory the boxful of books Rory had set aside from Andrews as a surprise, had only added to her genuine show of affection.

"That was not a snore. That was a groan," Logan clarified.

"It was not a painful play," Rory argued. She'd had to see the play in question for an article at the Yale Daily News but they'd combined it with their pre-show dinner date. And as the occasion was fitting Rory had grabbed the opportunity at dressing up a little - having worn the beige and black patterned silky dress from her mother's closet she'd grown to like on this new braver person she believed to be.

"Any play is a painful play for me," Logan replied, walking with his arm wrapped around Rory's waist. It was like that hand belonged there.

"Well, that's too bad, because you're going to miss out on some wonderful things," Rory said, tilting her head playfully.

"Yeah, like what?" Logan replied, amused at her argument.

"My mom took me to see 'Caroline, or Change' in New York. Tony Kushner's musical and it was the most amazing thing we ever saw," Rory explained. Frankly, considering how much they had in common, having a few things that they didn't quite match at was only refreshing. "Tony Kushner wrote 'Angels in America," Rory explained, unsure if this was something Logan was familiar with or not.

"I know who Tony Kushner is," Logan replied as if that was obvious.

"So you've seen his plays?" Rory asked hopefully.

"No, my mom plays Canasta with him every month he's in town," Logan informed.

"Tony Kushner plays Canasta with your mother," Rory reflected, still sometimes being surprised of the life Logan had grown up in.

"Badly, but yes," Logan replied.

Honestly, by now Rory was dying to learn more and more about his family. Sure, she was fully aware that they weren't very nice people - except for his sister who sounded nice. Not that she'd ever talked to her directly but she loved observing Logan speak to her on the phone - there was a whole different dynamic to witness there - lovable yet full of sibling-rivalry. But she almost wished she could study them - the rest of them, learn what they liked so maybe she could somehow be accepted by them once the time came and not be completely blindsighted.

"You kind of have a magical life, you know?" Rory said, knowing there was another side to that coin, but she couldn't deny that there were things that she appreciated about it.

Logan shrugged.

"So, where to next?" Logan asked with a broad smile on his face.

""Oh, I don't know. Mah Jongg with Mamet?" Rory teased.

"How does ice cream sound?" Logan suggested.

"Ice-cream sounds great," Rory beamed back at him, standing there like two love-sick puppies on the street, looking into each-other's eyes.

"Then ice-cream it is!" Logan declared, took her hand and guided Rory towards the dining hall entrance.

"Whoa, Logan! Where are we going?!" Rory exclaimed, staggering on her heels a little. "Slow down!" she fretted.

"Slow down and you die, Ace," Logan warned playfully.

"Yeah, you got too fast in heels and you kind of die also," Rory informed him cleverly, causing him to laugh lightly..

Logan fished out a key from his pocket, yet again surprising Rory, and unlocked the dining hall door.

"What are we doing?" Rory asked in a whisper, as they slipped into the dark hall, giving Rory the ominous feeling they weren't supposed to be in there.

"We're getting ice cream," Logan replied, imitating her tonality.

"But the dining hall is closed. We're breaking in," Rory informed him.

"That's a very negative way to look at it," Logan teased, knowing what a goody-good she sometimes could be. But at least she knew he wasn't about to mock her for it.

"How do you have a key to the dining hall?" Rory just had to ask.

"I just know a lot of powerful people…," Logan replied, having long ago introduced Rory to how he could get people to do various favors for him. Midnight access to the art museum, rooftop picnics, maintenance guys on call, being on first name basis with the coffee cart guy - you name it.

"Well, what happens if we get caught? Could we get suspended? They can't kick you out of school for this, can they?" Rory asked innocently.

"You're so cute when you worry," Logan replied, pulled her close and kissed her, appreciatively. "Hey, relax. Look around! For tonight, this is all yours," Logan said, his voice and touch calming her immensely.

"It is kind of cool," Rory agreed, loving how he pushed her just that extra step out of her comfort zone.

"Wait till you see the kitchen," Logan suggested, his hand gently grazing her hip and ass, urging them to head to the back.

"Whoa! Oh, I've never seen the cereal station completely full before," Rory exclaimed, usually being too late to get to breakfast in the mornings.

"Then go crazy, Ace," Logan urged, loving the fact how these simple things could excite his girl so much.

"No, we're getting ice-cream," Rory hesitated.

"There's no rule that says you can't have ice cream and cereal. Go on, get your Cocoa Puffs," Logan reminded her, knowing by now that Rory had always wondered why they never had them at breakfast.

"First Cocoa Puffs of the day. This is a historical moment," Rory declared, taking a humble bite and began looking around the room for the swipe machine.

"Alright. Next stop - Ice cream!" Logan declared, beginning to move towards the kitchen.

"Come on… wait - what are you doing?" Logan asked her, sensing she was looking for something.

"Looking for the swipe machine, so I can deduct points from my meal plan," Rory said, causing him to outright laugh at her for a moment.

"You're kidding, right?" Logan chuckled. "Trust me. With all the money my family has donated to this school, they can afford to be out of a few cocoa puffs," Logan added, putting things in perspective for Rory. "Now, let's go," he added.

Logan always had a way of convincing her - she hadn't yet had an experience in him convincing her to do anything she'd regretted so she could honestly say, "This is fun!" Rory exclaimed, and ate another Cocoa Puff.

"You're an easy girl to please," Logan said, smiling broadly in the dark space.

"Oh, are you saying I'm easy now?" Rory teased, as they headed onwards to the kitchen, a sexy smile on her lips.

Fifteen minutes later the two were sitting on a row of cabinets at the back of the kitchen, two bowls of ice creams in their hands with Rory's Cocoa Puffs mixed into the three scoops of vanilla as toppings, their legs dangling in the air.

"So next weekend there's Finn's birthday," Logan began, having made it a point to get them more involved in the LDB activities again. "There's a formal part earlier that evening with some of the alumni, considering Finn doesn't have any family in the States the others sort of try to offer him some support, not that he needs it. So there's this cocktail party at this golf club over at Green River. Less fun, but it might be good place for connections for you since you if you're thinking about internships," Logan suggested, constructively. "And later we're supposed to get into costume - it's Tarantino night - and the real party of the night is at this new club back in New Haven. The real party doesn't even begin until like 11 PM so, there's plenty of time for both. What do you think?" Logan asked.

"Well, I do have a Go-go outfit waiting for me in the closet," Rory replied, liking the prospect even if the first part didn't sound quite as much fun. But she knew Logan did have a point there about the internships. Even if she didn't want to work the whole summer, getting her leg between a door somewhere was definitely high on her list.

"You're going to make me relive my school-girl fantasies, aren't you?" Logan teased, watching Rory lick the ice cream off her spoon especially teasingly at that question.

"Hey, I can't control what goes on in that brain of yours?!" Rory replied innocently.

"So I can say, we're coming to both?" Logan confirmed.

"Yes!" Rory declared. "The cocktail party is formal, right?" Rory half assumed.

"Yes. And honestly this very dress would knock everyone dead, especially after you open your mouth," Logan said, meaning it as the highest compliment. It was the kind of dress that would lead people to underestimate her, which was ridiculous, but he had real faith in her and believed she would make a killer impression with both her looks and brains.

"I can't possibly wear the same dress three times in one month, can I? Besides it's my mom's… she'll want this back. But I assure you, I'll find something equally elegant, alright?" Rory assured, loving that after sticking out the week, working for Andrew, she felt she could actually do a little spending. She knew damn well that Logan kind of loved how the dress was a little slutty even, definitely sexy… and she intended to find something equivalent - she just herself preferred to call it with nicer words.

"I'm happy to have the shopper get you something to choose from, I know you have a busy week," Logan suggested.

"Logan, I'm fine.. I like to do my own shopping, thank you very much," Rory replied, rolling her eyes at him. She loved getting gifts from him, but she was still firm on providing for herself and she knew that once Logan's shopper got involved it would suddenly become very hard to do that.

"Just a suggestion, Ace," Logan said generously.

"Hey, who are you going as?" Rory asked instead.

"I was thinking Butch Coolidge," Logan replied.

"Oh...With the robe I hope?" Rory replied, biting her lip seductively, her legs tucked under her.

"Uh-uh," Logan nodded, having ice cream in his mouth.

"Can't wait…," Rory hummed against his ear, not needing to say she would be dying to take it off of him all night if he would end up strolling around with his muscular chest bare all night in that.

Logan's cold lips - from the ice cream - kissed her neck then, making it very clear he was already rather hungry for her. And while Rory was all for trying out some unusual places around campus with him, she wasn't quite sold on this particular forbidden location.

"Hey, hold up… not here... There's something else I wanted to talk to you about..," Rory said, not pushing him off sternly but just letting him know she was serious.

"Oh-oh, nothing good ever began with those words," Logan said, appearing slightly frustrated but nothing he couldn't manage.

"It's just something I've been thinking about…," Rory began.

"Well, what?" Logan asked, putting his ice cream down.

"Well… considering what you said about us maybe...moving in next fall… I know that's a long time from now still… but that got me thinking how we probably can't keep hiding out this way if we want to do that, right?" Rory discussed, hoping he hadn't just said that but had actually meant that.

"Yeah, I guess," Logan replied.

"So maybe, I don't know - little by little we could start getting people used to seeing us together. I mean not outright tell them that we're exclusive, but maybe in a way that they wouldn't see it as this big surprise? So I don't know, maybe start with your sister? She already knows about us… Because honestly I'd love to get to know her. I think if I knew her and your family a little better maybe I could be more prepared," Rory explained.

"Ugh..," Logan sighed, clearly not loving the idea.

"I just feel like if something happens and they find out about us I'll just be in a much more vulnerable position by not knowing what I'm dealing with, than I could maybe be if I knew them a little better," Rory added. Logan wasn't exactly eager to talk about his family either.

"Rory, you have to realize that even if they find out that I'm just dating you, they are going to assume things, jump into conclusions and get ahead of things. I don't want them meddling, sabotaging us or on the contrary rushing us," Logan explained.

"You'd really think they'd actually sabotage us? How?!" Rory exclaimed, not quite being able to picture us. It felt to Rory like they were already rushing things themselves - they were talking about moving in together for god's sake, they were in love - that too had been established, so she couldn't really imagine what it would take to split them apart or ruin them by rushing them. It was not like they could force them to get engaged or something.

"I don't know - but they might. I've seen my mother meddle with dad's mistresses for one… she knows how to make people's lives a living hell," Logan explained with a shrug.

"Whoa..," Rory reacted, getting several less-than-pretty facts at once.

"Yeah, like I said… you're being spared, believe me," Logan replied assuringly.

"Yeah, but… that's not going to change if we wait, will it? She'll still be like that?" Rory discussed.

"Yeah, but I just… I want to savor this," Logan said, taking her hand. "I don't want to risk us. The minute they know things will get complicated. I love what we have," Logan insisted, not yet having thought everything out as perfectly concerning the moving in part. He'd just liked the idea, because they now spent almost every night together anyway and as a rather typical male specimen he hadn't thought about the details nor the fact that Rory would like to pitch in on the rent.

"Don't you think we're solid enough? I mean I love you… I won't just stop loving you if your parents hate me," Rory suggested, hesitantly.

"I love you too… I'm just concerned about what they might say to you, how they might treat you… you don't deserve any of it," Logan replied.

"Yeah… but the chances for that will be the same six months from now..," Rory sighed, disappointedly, feeling stuck, and she was letting her discouragement show.

They sat there in silence for a moment.

"Hey, are we okay?" Logan asked, after watching Rory, looking very discouraged, finishing up her ice cream like she'd lost her appetite.

"Yeah," Rory replied half heartedly.

"My sister you could meet… she's overbearing and very intense, but she at least won't hate you…," Logan offered. "But I'm not sure when she'll be in town," he added.

Rory took what she could, thinking having at least one other person from his family over on their side could only be a good thing.

She replied with a sweet kiss, allowing their cool, ice-cream flavored, tongues to taste one-and-other with no hurry in the world. She wasn't completely satisfied with the outcome, but this was a step forward at the very least.