The members of the LDB cheered in mindless drunkenness as they once again lifted their shot glasses in the air and knocked back another shot of tequila. Logan had lost count of how many he'd had, but he was feeling so wonderfully loose and exhilarated that it didn't matter. The faces around him were laughing and animated. Everyone had a good buzz going, and no one had a care in the world. Life didn't get much better than this. And Logan loved his life.
"Hey, mate," Finn weaved and wobbled his way past people and furniture towards Logan. He slung his arm around his friend's neck and yelled over to the bar. "Robert, get my friend here a whiskey would you, man? He hasn't had enough to drink. I can still see only one of him," he explained jovially.
"Finn, gotta love your logic," Logan chuckled. "Thanks, Robert." He gladly accepted the proffered glass of whiskey and took a hearty sip. "Ah, yes, Johnny Walker Red."
Oddly enough, Logan thought of Ace and the night when she had tried a sip of his whiskey on the rocks. It had burned her throat and she had the funniest look on her face as she exclaimed that it tasted like lighter fluid. Of course, that sure didn't stop her from finishing his drink just to prove to him that she could. A part of him wished she were here. Ace would either be reading quietly in the corner while everyone partied around her or making him laugh with a running commentary of Finn's antics.
"I'm partial to Jack Daniel's, myself," Finn proclaimed, interrupting Logan's thoughts.
"Of course, you are," Colin butted in. "Jack is the everyman's whiskey, whereas Johnny Walker is for the established and stately. Clearly, your palate is not refined enough for the Red label."
"Whatever, Colin," Finn scoffed. "You're lucky I'm in a dancing mood, otherwise I'd wipe the floor with your established and stately, little ass. Speaking of dancing," he nodded over to a group of girls who were swaying merrily to the music blaring in the background, "Shauna has been checking you out all night, Colin. Maybe you'll finally do the horizontal mambo with her tonight. Or do you prefer the jig?" Finn giggled like a maniacal schoolgirl.
"Don't disparage the jig. It is a fine dance and the pride of my people. Along with Guinness and stout, of course." Colin retorted amicably. He glanced surreptitiously at Shauna, the pretty brunette with the deliciously long legs, only to find her periodically gazing adoringly over at Logan. "Ah, Finn," he said, a bit dismayed, "Clearly, you are in dire need of a new pair of eyes. Shauna, not to mention Erica, Alexa and Daniela, all worship at the altar of our man here. Seriously, Huntz, the LDB might as well stand for Logan's Delicious Babes."
Logan lifted his glass in a toast. "I'll drink to that. Besides, you know you two hangout with me strictly for the girl factor. Friendship be damned. You boys are in it for the hunt. Relax, Colin," he slapped his friend affectionately on the back, "you'll get hooked up one of these days."
"Yeah, Colin, buck up, mate," Finn said. "I don't need any help with the ladies, of course. I have my hands full with those lovely women in the Geology department. Those earth girls sure like to get freaky. But now that Logan's got Gilmore, there are even more for us."
Logan's head shot up in puzzlement at Finn's offhand remark. What the hell did that mean? He didn't have Ace, nor did Ace have him. They, most definitely, were not in a "relationship." Sure, he enjoyed spending time with her. She certainly wasn't like any girl he'd dated before. Ace got so excited over the weirdest thingsā¦things like Chinese food and Ab Fab, whatever the hell that was. One minute she'd be gushing over the newest pens at the student store and in the next breath she'd be railing about the injustice in Burma. Ace definitely intrigued him. He loved to alternately exasperate her and make her laugh.
Wait, love? Even in his thoughts, his mind recoiled against any use of the L word. A cold, prickly feeling suddenly shivered up his spine and exploded somewhere in the vicinity of his neck. Logan took a long, hard swig of whiskey. He quickly followed it with another.
"Hey, Robert! Keep the whiskey coming."
Rory let out a long angry hiss and punched her pillow once more for good measure. Glaring at the clock, she realized she'd been tossing and turning for nearly two hours. It was almost two o'clock in the morning and she had not gotten so much as a wink of sleep. Needless to say, a sleepless Rory was a very cranky Rory.
She couldn't stop thinking of Logan. Where had the LDB gone this weekend? What was he doing right this very second? Was he even thinking of her? Her mind played evil games and treacherously tortured her with images of Logan surrounded by a bevy of brilliant, beautiful girls. Clever, witty girls who knew how to play the game. Those damn Bond girls. Rory sighed. Logan was James Bond and she was Miss Moneypenny. She was the safe, loyal girl that Bond would always respect, but never dare to love. Miss Moneypenny was girlfriend material and Bond simply did not do girlfriends.
Her poor pillow took another hit.
Sleep. She needed sleep. She needed to stop thinking about Logan. Turning over onto her stomach, Rory closed her eyes tight hoping to force her mind into submission. But there he was. And there he remained. Logan was in her heart now. A curl of fear unfurled itself somewhere deep within her. It went beyond gathering the courage to tell Logan the truth. This was about the possibility of losing him. Losing him before she ever even had him.
The sudden shrill ring of her cell phone jolted her out of her maudlin thoughts. Her heart suddenly hammering wildly, Rory glanced at the caller ID, shocked to see Logan's name in the little window. She prayed that nothing was wrong. Calls in the middle of the night usually did not bode well.
"Hello?" she answered cautiously.
There were some muffled sounds and Rory waited with bated breath until finally Logan's voice came over the line. "Acewhereareyou? I'vebeentryingtofindyouwhereareyouhiding? Comeoutcomeoutwhereveryouare."
Rory let out an audible sigh of relief. "Logan? You sound totally sauced!" She laughed at the sound of his slurred, drunken voice. Ha! Even in his inebriated state, Logan was thinking of her. Her heart lurched in a moment of triumph. "Why, Logan Huntzberger, are you drunk calling me?"
"NotsoloudAce. I'mnotdrunkIjustdrankalot. Alotalotalot. Somethingswrongwithmyhead."
Caught up in the surreal turn of events, Rory felt like jumping for joy. "I should record this phone call. Imagine all the blackmail possibilities. The cool, self-assured ladies man calling Miss Moneypenny in the middle of the night."
"WhatAceyoujustwantmeformypennies?"
"Oh, I want more than just your pennies, Logan," Rory flirted unabashedly. She gloried in the freedom of the moment. It wasn't often that she'd have Logan so drunkenly unguarded. "I want you. All of you. Love and strings and everything." The words leapt out of her mouth before her brain could stop them.
More muffled sounds. "IloveyourstringstooAce."
Rory stopped breathing.
The world came to a blissful stand still as every cell in Rory's body sang with joy at the utterance of those six nonsensical little words. Yes, Logan was clearly drunk off his ass. And, yes, who knows what those words meant in the harsh light of sobriety, but for now Rory would cherish those six words and the possibilities they held.
"Logan, darling, put the phone away," a very female voice crooned on the other end of the line. "It's time to come to bed."
"AceIgottago. Imbeingunbuttoned."
And just like that her perfect moment was shattered. Rory felt like a huge wave had just crushed her against the side of a cliff. She felt so small it was like she was disappearing.
