"After you, milady," Logan ushered Rory in the door he held open for her with a wide sweeping arm gesture. Rory just rolled her eyes and walked into the Golden Griddle, a quaint restaurant a few blocks away from campus. She walked over to a podium with a sign that said "Wait Here" while Logan became a doorman for the couple and their kids that came a few seconds after they did.
"Hey, don't worry about it… just go find a seat yourself and I'll be with you folks in a minute," a blond girl address Rory and the other family in passing as she carried trays to a nearby table. The family immediately headed to a small booth a few feet away but Rory noticed that Logan hung hesitantly by the door.
"Hey Rory, let's go someplace else; I've changed my mind about this place…" he trailed off, his voice barely maintaining its normally cool tone.
"Rory? What happened to Ace?"
"Sorry, Ace," he emphasized, "let's find somewhere else."
"And where do you suggest we go? The closest restaurant is another ten or fifteen minute walk, and in case you haven't noticed: it's freezing out there." Logan tried to protest but she held up a firm hand to silence him, "Now, I'm craving pancakes and you promised me some breakfast. If you even try to weasel yourself out of buying then… then the weddings off." As she spoke she strode purposefully over to him and grabbed him forcefully by the collar of his shirt. "Now com'on," she led him to a booth in the corner of the room and pushed him down into one of the seats before sliding into the adjacent one herself, Logan kept shooting fervid glances behind them as they went along.
"I like a girl who plays rough," he waggled his eyebrows and smirked, turning his attention back to her. Rory kicked out randomly under the table and grinned delightedly when she connected with his leg. "Oww," he whined as he leaned down to caress his injured shin, "I thought you said you couldn't play soccer…"
"I thought you liked it rough," she countered without missing a beat. Logan wisely chose not to respond to her directly but instead raised his menu in front of him while grumbling incoherently. Rory quickly followed suit and positioned herself over the menu. "You're buying right?"
"Well I was going to, but I fear my resources just shrunk due to doctor fees to fix my broken leg…" he pouted over the top of his menu.
"Hey, you asked for it!" she defended.
"Funny. I don't recall saying, 'Hey Ace, you know what I'm sick of? Being able to walk properly…'"
"Baby."
"Sadist."
"A real man could take it," she baited.
"A real woman would be making me my breakfast rather than dragging me here," he shot back. He immediately regretted it when she saw her features contort into obvious distain and her eyes flare up with fury. He pulled his legs into a crouch position on the seat next to him just as Rory's foot crashed with a resounding thud into the baseboard where his shins used to reside. "Ah! I was kidding," he cried, his voice sounding a little too high-pitched for his own liking. "I'm paying! Anything you want!"
He watched with interest as her face displayed the myriad of emotions before she nodded her approval and accepted his offer. He hesitantly put his feet back to the floor, but remained cautious because the flames were still present in her sapphire eyes. "Truce?" he offered weakly.
"I suppose, but only because I'm really hungry… but you had better watch what you say from now on…" her voice contained a dangerous edge.
Logan held up his middle and index finger side by side and place the other hand resolutely over his heart, "Scout's honour," he swore solemnly.
"Fine," she refocused her attention on the menu. He watched her contently for a moment while she seemed to go into 'business mode.'
"Are you two ready to order?" the blond from earlier wandered over to their table.
"I am… you?" she peered across the table but was met by a wall of menus. Logan had scrambled to hide his face behind the pages of food.
"Yea, I'm good," his short reply sounded muffled and he had obviously made an attempt to make it come out deeper than usual. "I'll have scrambled eggs, bacon, and toasted white bread. And a glass of OJ," his voice remained 'disguised' as he hurried through his order. Rory stared at the menu that he hid behind with a puzzled expression. Then she sighed and shook her head, turning back to the waitress.
"Okay, well I'll have what he's having plus a short stack of pancakes, a few waffles, a large black coffee, hash browns, and… yea, I guess that's all," she hummed thoughtfully. "Oh, no wait! A chocolate milkshake instead of the OJ. And can you make sure that the pancakes are chocolate chip pancakes? Thanks." The waitress quickly scribbled her long list of items.
"Are you serious?!" Logan stammered as he dropped the menu from in front of his face to look at her in disbelief. "Are you sure, Ace? Is that all? You wouldn't like a large bowl of fruit shipped directly from the tropics as well?"
"Are you serious? Me? Fruit? You have a lot to learn Huntzberger!" Suddenly the waitress' head snapped up from her order pad. She looked over at the customer that had been blocked by the menus.
"Huntzberger!" the blond spat venomously as her eyes narrowed to mere slits. Logan winced under the uncomfortable stare.
"And then the clouds opened up and God said 'I hate you, Alfalfa.'" Logan muttered. He flashed what he hoped was a charming smile towards the pretty waitress. "Charlotte, how've you been…"
