Hi! First of all, sorry it took us so long. But we have been kinda busy and didn't really feel motivated to get it ready for posting.
Okay, I think, even though some of you won't like this and will comment on it for sure, I should just mention it again: we are capable of accepting criticism, and we actually do try to incorporate any constructive advice.
We would just like you guys to understand where we are coming from: we wrote this story because we enjoyed doing it, and we thought it would be nice to share this with you folks, at least to offer you the choice of sharing it. We know that it's not perfect and that it is often not as smooth running as we would like it to be.
We are really happy that there seem to be some people out there, who enjoy it despite the shortcomings (we never intended to write a perfectly thought out story, we just wrote what we felt like. I know that there are more talented writers out there, whose native language happens to be English, too).
Just please don't make us lose all our motivation and fun!!! This is what it's about for US!
And now you either hit the reverse button on the upper left, or try to enjoy what we did!
Thank you.
Barbara
**
¿HABLA ESPANOL?
The next day, Logan got busy assembling the information on the new lead in LA, so he could send it to Matt Sung for further investigation. Max, exhausted from the seizures she had gone through the night before, slept surprisingly long. She stirred a couple of times, but Logan's constant tapping on the keyboard didn't seem to disturb her. When Logan had put together all the information Matt would need, he moved on to the tiring job of encoding everything so nobody but the detective could read it.
When he had finished the job, he went over to the reception office in search of a coffee. Inside, there was a rather small table right next to the reception where cups and a pot of coffee were waiting for the guests. Sighing, he filled one mug. It didn't seem to be very hot anymore. He quickly gulped down the caffeine and then frowned at the basket with donuts and muffins that stood next to the coffee pot, but as his stomach rumbled he decided to risk it. He took one muffin and one donut and put them on a paper napkin on his lap. Then he made his way back to the room to check on Max.
To his surprise, the bed was empty and he could hear the shower running. Feeling the need to make sure she was okay he called out to her just to get a snappy reply as to why he hadn't woken her earlier. Logan grinned to himself; she was obviously her old self again.
After Logan had given her the heads up on his last hours' work, with Max munching her 'breakfast', Max urged Logan into going to the beach for the rest of the day. They were both pretty strung out, so a relaxing day in the sun would be just what they needed.
"Come on! Please..." Max put on a pleading look and nudged him in the shoulder.
Logan frowned. His dislocated shoulder was still hurting and he would have preferred to stay in the cool motel room for the rest of the day. Besides they didn't have any bathing suits, towels or sun lotion.
"Ah, I don't know Max. I'm feeling kind of tired. Besides, we didn't bring anything...Or are you gonna swim naked?" He winked at her.
"Oh come on, that's what shops are for! I never got to go to a beach like this!"
"I don't know," he mumbled. He resented being in such a bad mood, but he was sore and tired and not really up for having fun. Though they seemed to be safe for now, he was still worried they would track them down and he was increasingly worried about Max's condition.
She grinned, realizing what he had proposed earlier. "Or...we find a really empty beach and actually do swim naked."
Logan sighed, gradually accepting the fact that Max wouldn't let him get away. He put on a little pout and wheeled into the bathroom.
"Well, whatever you say," he said slightly unnerved. "I'll come with you. But don't expect me to do anything, except sleep maybe," he murmured. "Just gimme a couple of minutes," he ended, closing the bathroom door behind him.
Max grinned from ear to ear. Quickly she went to pack some towels and food before Logan had a chance to think about it again.
They would have to pass by a shop no matter what, Logan would need sun lotion, and actually having bathing suits wouldn't be that bad an investment either. Not if they would stay here a few more days. Logan could always wear boxer shorts, there would be hardly any difference, but she definitely needed- and wanted something to dress.
When Logan emerged from the bathroom, Max was already waiting for him, waving a bag in front of him. "Ready?" she asked cheerfully.
"Sure." Logan said shortly, taking the bag from her and putting it onto his lap. "Let's go shopping."
He gave his wheelchair a push towards the door and winced at the pain in his shoulder. He turned around to Max who was locking the door. "I'll be your mule and you'll be my chauffeur in turn. Deal!?" he said.
"You got it, honey." Max giggled and pushed him outside.
They found a little shop near the main beach, which was so crowded with colourful towels, swim wear, sun glasses, hats and huge plastic animals that they nearly missed the shop's owner who was sitting in the corner, reading a magazine constantly munching sunflower seeds and ignoring his customers quite successfully.
Max coughed slightly to get the guy's attention. "¡Hóla!"
"¡Hóla! ...You need help?" the man said in a lame tone that clearly conveyed that he actually didn't want to help them.
"Well, I just wanted to get sun-lotion and some bathing suits, but if you are too busy doing nothing we could go to another shop." Max snapped, annoyed by the unfriendliness.
Logan really wasn't up for a discussion, even if he knew Max was right. So he quickly scanned the bikinis within his reach and took out a few that he thought might fit and handed them to Max. "Why don't you try those on? I'll go find something myself," he said quickly, before the man could respond.
Max looked at him for a long moment, she was just about to enjoy having a little discussion like she always had them in Seattle hackling and arguing with vendors. But finally she nodded.
She grabbed the bikinis and disappeared in a small dressing room.
Logan watched her retreat into the small dressing room in the corner of the shop and went flipping through a stash of boxers, picking out a black one and a dark blue one in his size. Then he wheeled over to the shelf with the sun lotion and picked one with quite high sun protection and one with a lower.
Max checked out the bikinis and then decided to dress a black one with a triangle top first. Either Logan had just been lucky reaching for nice ones or he had a really good taste.
Logan looked around if they'd need something else. The huge beach towels that were hanging from a rack by the door would be nice, he thought. They only had the small towels from the motel and those were big enough for both of them. He grinned and chose one with a huge flower and some tropical birds on it. Having everything he needed, he waited for Max to be ready.
Max decided that the black bikini looked good but that it couldn't hurt to have another one. So she quickly slipped into a white one, too.
Logan hadn't actually thought Max would stay in the dressing room very long, as he assumed that he couldn't have picked the right size anyway. But obviously, he was still good at estimating women's size and taste, he chuckled to himself.
"Max! Come on, hurry up!"
"Yeah! Don't bother me or I'll kick your ass!" Max peeked through the curtain, sticking out her tongue.
"Found anything?" Logan asked, trying to peek in through the curtain.
"Hey!"
"What?" Logan asked innocently, cocking his head to the side.
She playfully slapped him. "Behave!"
"I vaguely remember something about me being your fashion adviser," he grinned back at her.
"When did I say that?!!"
"Back in San Francisco?! Or maybe that's just my imagination..." Logan answered
"Must have been." She seriously looked at him then closed the curtain forcefully. "Don't disturb me, you can't have it both ways, you know. Tell me to hurry up and then bother me!"
Logan rolled his eyes and carried on, looking through the shop. Maybe he'd find something else useful.
Max quickly slipped into the black one again and then pulled on her shorts and shirt. She had clipped off the price tag before and hoped the 'friendly' shopkeeper would be okay with that.
Logan let his gaze roam around and saw a bunch of flip-flop sandals on the floor. Maybe Max would like to have a pair of those if she didn't want to ruin her new shoes on the beach.
Max finally came out of the dressing room and looked for Logan.
He picked up a pair of pink ones with flowers approximately Max's size and returned to Max.
"Hey. I'm done."
"Thought you might need those," he explained, holding out the sandals to Max.
"Cool." She took one and tossed off her own sandals, then slipped into the flip-flops.
"What do you think?" She noticed she had just again asked him about fashion and tried to hide her grin.
"Perfect." Logan smiled at her. "But you have to like them. Looks like they are pretty uncomfortable," he added.
"Nah, I think I'll get used to it. Feels just a little weird between the toes, you know."
***
Minutes later, they were back outside in the sun.
"So where to?" Logan asked.
To his surprise, Max stepped up to a young Mexican woman, who was passing them by on the street, obviously heading for the crowded beach.
"¿Perdón, Señora?… ¿Sabe donde hay una playa ..más..tranquilo que esa?" Max asked her in fluent Spanish, pointing her head towards the packed beach. Logan just listened in disbelief.
"Donde no hay bastante gente. …" she added. The woman looked at her in surprise.
"Es que mi esposo es un poco… tímido. " Max explained with a wink.
The woman smiled and answered something, rambling on at such a high pace that Logan couldn't even pick up a word, but Max seemed to have understood perfectly.
She nodded, repeated some directions and finally thanked the woman.
"¡Muchas graçias!"
"De nada. ¡Qué se divieren!" The young woman smiled and went on winking at Logan who still sat their speechless.
When Max turned around, beaming at him, Logan found his voice again. "I didn't know you spoke Spanish!" he said confused.
"Never said I didn't." Max quipped and gave him an innocent look.
"So you were just going to let me sweat each time we had to say or organize something?" he asked.
Max pretended to think hard. "Who knows, I think you look cute when you're nervous." She grinned and bent down to look him in the eye. "You get that boyish look then." She said with a wicked grin.
Before Logan could respond, she drew away from him abruptly. "Anyway, she told me about a nice secluded beach not far from here." She said, rounding him. "So let's go, chico! I'm up for a cool swim. And some more maybe…" She said cheerfully, pushing the chair into the direction the woman had told her.
TBC…
Okay, I think, even though some of you won't like this and will comment on it for sure, I should just mention it again: we are capable of accepting criticism, and we actually do try to incorporate any constructive advice.
We would just like you guys to understand where we are coming from: we wrote this story because we enjoyed doing it, and we thought it would be nice to share this with you folks, at least to offer you the choice of sharing it. We know that it's not perfect and that it is often not as smooth running as we would like it to be.
We are really happy that there seem to be some people out there, who enjoy it despite the shortcomings (we never intended to write a perfectly thought out story, we just wrote what we felt like. I know that there are more talented writers out there, whose native language happens to be English, too).
Just please don't make us lose all our motivation and fun!!! This is what it's about for US!
And now you either hit the reverse button on the upper left, or try to enjoy what we did!
Thank you.
Barbara
**
¿HABLA ESPANOL?
The next day, Logan got busy assembling the information on the new lead in LA, so he could send it to Matt Sung for further investigation. Max, exhausted from the seizures she had gone through the night before, slept surprisingly long. She stirred a couple of times, but Logan's constant tapping on the keyboard didn't seem to disturb her. When Logan had put together all the information Matt would need, he moved on to the tiring job of encoding everything so nobody but the detective could read it.
When he had finished the job, he went over to the reception office in search of a coffee. Inside, there was a rather small table right next to the reception where cups and a pot of coffee were waiting for the guests. Sighing, he filled one mug. It didn't seem to be very hot anymore. He quickly gulped down the caffeine and then frowned at the basket with donuts and muffins that stood next to the coffee pot, but as his stomach rumbled he decided to risk it. He took one muffin and one donut and put them on a paper napkin on his lap. Then he made his way back to the room to check on Max.
To his surprise, the bed was empty and he could hear the shower running. Feeling the need to make sure she was okay he called out to her just to get a snappy reply as to why he hadn't woken her earlier. Logan grinned to himself; she was obviously her old self again.
After Logan had given her the heads up on his last hours' work, with Max munching her 'breakfast', Max urged Logan into going to the beach for the rest of the day. They were both pretty strung out, so a relaxing day in the sun would be just what they needed.
"Come on! Please..." Max put on a pleading look and nudged him in the shoulder.
Logan frowned. His dislocated shoulder was still hurting and he would have preferred to stay in the cool motel room for the rest of the day. Besides they didn't have any bathing suits, towels or sun lotion.
"Ah, I don't know Max. I'm feeling kind of tired. Besides, we didn't bring anything...Or are you gonna swim naked?" He winked at her.
"Oh come on, that's what shops are for! I never got to go to a beach like this!"
"I don't know," he mumbled. He resented being in such a bad mood, but he was sore and tired and not really up for having fun. Though they seemed to be safe for now, he was still worried they would track them down and he was increasingly worried about Max's condition.
She grinned, realizing what he had proposed earlier. "Or...we find a really empty beach and actually do swim naked."
Logan sighed, gradually accepting the fact that Max wouldn't let him get away. He put on a little pout and wheeled into the bathroom.
"Well, whatever you say," he said slightly unnerved. "I'll come with you. But don't expect me to do anything, except sleep maybe," he murmured. "Just gimme a couple of minutes," he ended, closing the bathroom door behind him.
Max grinned from ear to ear. Quickly she went to pack some towels and food before Logan had a chance to think about it again.
They would have to pass by a shop no matter what, Logan would need sun lotion, and actually having bathing suits wouldn't be that bad an investment either. Not if they would stay here a few more days. Logan could always wear boxer shorts, there would be hardly any difference, but she definitely needed- and wanted something to dress.
When Logan emerged from the bathroom, Max was already waiting for him, waving a bag in front of him. "Ready?" she asked cheerfully.
"Sure." Logan said shortly, taking the bag from her and putting it onto his lap. "Let's go shopping."
He gave his wheelchair a push towards the door and winced at the pain in his shoulder. He turned around to Max who was locking the door. "I'll be your mule and you'll be my chauffeur in turn. Deal!?" he said.
"You got it, honey." Max giggled and pushed him outside.
They found a little shop near the main beach, which was so crowded with colourful towels, swim wear, sun glasses, hats and huge plastic animals that they nearly missed the shop's owner who was sitting in the corner, reading a magazine constantly munching sunflower seeds and ignoring his customers quite successfully.
Max coughed slightly to get the guy's attention. "¡Hóla!"
"¡Hóla! ...You need help?" the man said in a lame tone that clearly conveyed that he actually didn't want to help them.
"Well, I just wanted to get sun-lotion and some bathing suits, but if you are too busy doing nothing we could go to another shop." Max snapped, annoyed by the unfriendliness.
Logan really wasn't up for a discussion, even if he knew Max was right. So he quickly scanned the bikinis within his reach and took out a few that he thought might fit and handed them to Max. "Why don't you try those on? I'll go find something myself," he said quickly, before the man could respond.
Max looked at him for a long moment, she was just about to enjoy having a little discussion like she always had them in Seattle hackling and arguing with vendors. But finally she nodded.
She grabbed the bikinis and disappeared in a small dressing room.
Logan watched her retreat into the small dressing room in the corner of the shop and went flipping through a stash of boxers, picking out a black one and a dark blue one in his size. Then he wheeled over to the shelf with the sun lotion and picked one with quite high sun protection and one with a lower.
Max checked out the bikinis and then decided to dress a black one with a triangle top first. Either Logan had just been lucky reaching for nice ones or he had a really good taste.
Logan looked around if they'd need something else. The huge beach towels that were hanging from a rack by the door would be nice, he thought. They only had the small towels from the motel and those were big enough for both of them. He grinned and chose one with a huge flower and some tropical birds on it. Having everything he needed, he waited for Max to be ready.
Max decided that the black bikini looked good but that it couldn't hurt to have another one. So she quickly slipped into a white one, too.
Logan hadn't actually thought Max would stay in the dressing room very long, as he assumed that he couldn't have picked the right size anyway. But obviously, he was still good at estimating women's size and taste, he chuckled to himself.
"Max! Come on, hurry up!"
"Yeah! Don't bother me or I'll kick your ass!" Max peeked through the curtain, sticking out her tongue.
"Found anything?" Logan asked, trying to peek in through the curtain.
"Hey!"
"What?" Logan asked innocently, cocking his head to the side.
She playfully slapped him. "Behave!"
"I vaguely remember something about me being your fashion adviser," he grinned back at her.
"When did I say that?!!"
"Back in San Francisco?! Or maybe that's just my imagination..." Logan answered
"Must have been." She seriously looked at him then closed the curtain forcefully. "Don't disturb me, you can't have it both ways, you know. Tell me to hurry up and then bother me!"
Logan rolled his eyes and carried on, looking through the shop. Maybe he'd find something else useful.
Max quickly slipped into the black one again and then pulled on her shorts and shirt. She had clipped off the price tag before and hoped the 'friendly' shopkeeper would be okay with that.
Logan let his gaze roam around and saw a bunch of flip-flop sandals on the floor. Maybe Max would like to have a pair of those if she didn't want to ruin her new shoes on the beach.
Max finally came out of the dressing room and looked for Logan.
He picked up a pair of pink ones with flowers approximately Max's size and returned to Max.
"Hey. I'm done."
"Thought you might need those," he explained, holding out the sandals to Max.
"Cool." She took one and tossed off her own sandals, then slipped into the flip-flops.
"What do you think?" She noticed she had just again asked him about fashion and tried to hide her grin.
"Perfect." Logan smiled at her. "But you have to like them. Looks like they are pretty uncomfortable," he added.
"Nah, I think I'll get used to it. Feels just a little weird between the toes, you know."
***
Minutes later, they were back outside in the sun.
"So where to?" Logan asked.
To his surprise, Max stepped up to a young Mexican woman, who was passing them by on the street, obviously heading for the crowded beach.
"¿Perdón, Señora?… ¿Sabe donde hay una playa ..más..tranquilo que esa?" Max asked her in fluent Spanish, pointing her head towards the packed beach. Logan just listened in disbelief.
"Donde no hay bastante gente. …" she added. The woman looked at her in surprise.
"Es que mi esposo es un poco… tímido. " Max explained with a wink.
The woman smiled and answered something, rambling on at such a high pace that Logan couldn't even pick up a word, but Max seemed to have understood perfectly.
She nodded, repeated some directions and finally thanked the woman.
"¡Muchas graçias!"
"De nada. ¡Qué se divieren!" The young woman smiled and went on winking at Logan who still sat their speechless.
When Max turned around, beaming at him, Logan found his voice again. "I didn't know you spoke Spanish!" he said confused.
"Never said I didn't." Max quipped and gave him an innocent look.
"So you were just going to let me sweat each time we had to say or organize something?" he asked.
Max pretended to think hard. "Who knows, I think you look cute when you're nervous." She grinned and bent down to look him in the eye. "You get that boyish look then." She said with a wicked grin.
Before Logan could respond, she drew away from him abruptly. "Anyway, she told me about a nice secluded beach not far from here." She said, rounding him. "So let's go, chico! I'm up for a cool swim. And some more maybe…" She said cheerfully, pushing the chair into the direction the woman had told her.
TBC…