Reaching for the Moon by ThePekingNoodle

Chapter 6: Poetry in Motion

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In which Logan finds out there's more to Max than meets the eye…

Max's dreams that night were of a tall handsome man who smiled down at her as he gently teased her over a game of chess.  She never really slept much, and dawn saw her out of her bed, dressed in loose shorts and a tank top. She silently left her room by way of the French doors that led to the second floor veranda. She walked quietly along it until she came to a point where a tree spread its branches within five feet of the railing. She clambered onto the railing and with the ease of long habit she jumped lightly across to a two footed landing in a convenient crook of the tree. From there she quickly made her way to the ground. 

Unbeknownst to her, someone else was awake at the early hour. As she passed his doors, Logan caught a glimpse of movement on the veranda. Curious as to who might be up so early he went to his doors and was in time to see Max leap to the tree. Logan wondered what she was up to that she needed to sneak out of the house, and making a quick decision, he went to the closet and pulled out a pair of casual slacks and a polo shirt.

Once Max was on the ground, she spread her arms wide and stretched deeply, enjoying the early morning solitude. She took a moment to center herself and then spent a few minutes making sure that all of her muscles were well stretched out. Satisfied with that, she launched into a series of exercises. Her movements were graceful and fluid and seemed to be a combination of several martial arts styles

After she had run through the stylized movements and poses of her routine she stopped a moment for a breath.  When she had rested, she resumed her exercise but this time there was nothing slow about her movements. Athleticism was the predominant theme of this set as she executed a series of flawless handsprings and cartwheels. She continued with several astonishing leaps upward, somersaulting as she came down from each one, and her final move was the highest leap of all. She executed a perfect half twist at the peak and landed lightly on both feet. An Olympic gymnast would have envied her grace and power. There was a very faint sheen of sweat on her face and bare arms, but her breathing was light and even, as if she had barely exerted herself.

She dropped into a cross-legged position on the soft grass, which was still wet with the morning dew, and closed her eyes, enjoying the physical satisfaction that she always received from her exercise routine.  She was just about to let herself fall backwards to lie on the grass when the sound of soft applause caused her eyes to snap open.

Logan was standing leaning against one of the second floor railings. He smiled down at her as she looked up in surprise.

"Bravo." He called down to her, being careful not to raise his voice loud enough to wake those who might be sleeping.

Max flushed slightly, embarrassed at having him see her in one of her more unladylike moments. She knew her parents preferred her not to display her considerable athletic abilities to outsiders, and that was why she took care to confine them to times and places where the chance of anyone seeing her was slim. She had been careless this morning but in her favor, was that fact that her parents had never before had a houseguest for her to worry about.

Deciding that she should brazen it out with Logan, she grinned up at him. "Why don't you come down here and join me?" she challenged. He looked around for stairs leading down, but she shook her head mischievously.

"There are none outside. You could to go in and come down that way," she paused, "but of course you might wake my parents if you do."

"Or I might…?" Logan queried.

"You could always come down that tree as I did." She didn't really expect Logan to take her up on it and her mouth dropped as he easily stepped up onto the wide railing. Unlike Max, he didn't jump directly on to the tree, but instead used the advantage his height gave him over her, to reach up and grasp a strong branch that overhung the veranda.  He easily swung himself over to the tree and within moments he stood over her, laughing at her surprise.

"I've escaped my own house a few times in my checkered past," he explained. "Although my adventures were usually at night, and not nearly as harmless as yours."

Max laughed at the thought of a young Logan sneaking out of his house in the dead of night to get into whatever kind of trouble young men did. "Why do I think that girls may have been involved?" she guessed.

"That would be telling, and a gentleman never kisses and tells." Logan teased back, enjoying this fresh young girl more than any of the cool sophisticated women who were his normal companions.

Max laughed and Logan once more felt a strong jolt of awareness of her. The easy open happiness on her face as she leaned back and turned it up to the sun was enchanting.  He dropped to a sitting position next to her and Max gave into impulse, falling backwards to lie stretched out in the grass, enjoying the sun's warmth on her tired muscles. Logan could have almost sworn he heard her purring.

"That was amazing. What you did," he ventured. "Have you had many lessons?"

Max kept her eyes closed and replied vaguely, "I had a few when I was young, but my parents say it's just a natural talent that I seem to have. It's nothing special."

Logan regarded her thoughtfully. "A lot of people would be thrilled to have that kind of talent. Have you never competed?"

Max sat up and looked at him in alarm. "Oh no. My parents don't think that would be appropriate." She waited a beat, "In fact, if they found out you saw me, I'd be in trouble. It isn't exactly what a lady does."

Logan smiled reassuringly, "Then it will be our secret. Not even the pain of death will drag it from these lips."

Max giggled, although she felt a tingle shoot through her belly as his words caused her to look involuntarily at his mouth. A thought crossed her mind of what it might feel like to have him kiss her, but she quickly banished it.  To Logan she was a little girl, the daughter of his good friend and she knew, without him saying it, that he would never abuse that friendship.

Logan was looking at her curiously, wondering what had suddenly caused such a serious expression to cross her face but before he could ask, she sat up and was back to her smiling self.

"Would you like some breakfast? Cook knows I come out early and she always has something wonderful ready about now. There'll be plenty for two."

Logan hesitated but was unable to resist the pull of those big brown eyes looking up into his. "Lead on then."

Max jumped to her feet and without thinking, reached out for his hand as she might do with a close friend. Logan paused slightly but then shrugged, letting her grip his fingers and pull him along with her. 

As they walked casually along holding hands lightly, Max chattered about her school and her friends. Logan half listened as he let his mind wander to the display he had seen earlier. Despite Max's light words and his apparent acceptance of them, her abilities were extraordinary. He wondered exactly how she had learned some of the movements she had made, as they spoke of intense training, not some casual long ago lessons given to a young child.

They were about to reach the kitchen entrance when Max suddenly stopped.  A bright blue butterfly was perched on an open flower and she paused to admire it. As she looked down her hair fell forward, baring the back of her neck to Logan's eyes.  He frowned at what he saw there. Across the base of her neck Max had an unusual tattoo. It almost looked like a bar code.  Before he could study it closely, Max straightened, tossing her head as she did so, and her hair fell back into place. Logan quickly averted his gaze as he wondered what escapade she had gotten into at that exclusive eastern school of hers, which had resulted in her marring her lovely skin that way. 

He thought of asking her but before he had a chance they reached the kitchen door, and Max hurried in to be embraced by the smiling cook. The moment was lost and Logan decided he would think more about what to do before he brought the tattoo up to Max, or possibly to her parents.  The delicious scent of waffles and fresh coffee further distracted him and soon the two were enjoying the wonderful breakfast Max had promised, as the cook beamed at them both.

End of Chapter Six…TBC…