Veronica got home late after meeting with Mac and she quietly tip toed into the apartment. After a quick pit stop at the fridge, where she pulled out a bottle of water, Veronica walked into her room and placing her palm against the edge of the door, muffling the thud as it closed, dropped her bag on the floor. With a deep sigh Veronica sat on the edge of the waterbed, which yielded to her body and conformed itself around her small frame. She brought the plastic to her lips and poured its cold liquid into her mouth. If she had been her mother's daughter, as Logan had once hinted at sitting behind the wheel of his Xterra, she would have been pouring a stronger liquid down her throat, drowning her problems for just a moment in a fog of alcohol.

When she was satisfied she got up and put her water next to the green, digital numbers which reminded her that it was almost quarter of twelve and she was exhausted. She wriggled out of her jeans and kicked them to the side of the floor and were soon followed by her pink cami and her bra. She lifted up the pillow on her bed to reveal a man's navy blue long sleeved shirt with white words that read, 'If I gave a shit you'd be the first I'd give it to.' She smiled a little to herself as she held the soft cotton of the shirt to her face, closed her eyes and breathed in deeply. It still smelled of him, the perfect mixture of vanilla, cologne, and sea salt, and Veronica could never get enough of it.

Her bare skin was cold and covered with goosebumps as she placed her arms in the sleeves and then pulled the shirt over her head. The sleeves were a foot too long and the shirt hung to mid thigh and she felt like a little kid again, trying on mommy's clothes. She smiled again at the memory that she could never hide if she tried for the evidence was in her dad's office in the form of a 4X6 glossy.

Oh the good old days...

Veronica loved this shirt and it was starting to show. The 's' in 'shit' was beginning to peel away and there was small pieces of thread hanging off the sleeves where they had started to unravel, but she would just not let the shirt go.

"Veronica... don't you even think about it"

"Too late," Veronica said with a coy smile as she pushed Logan into the pool, Logan grabbing her sleeve and pulling her with him at the last second.

They plunged deep into the water, tangled in each others arms, before swimming to the surface, breaking the silence of the night with giggles and gasps.

"Logan I honestly can't believe you," Veronica whispered through trembling lips.

"For being one to initiate trouble you certainly have a knack for pinning the blame on others," Logan replied with a big grin on his face, "especially me... I'm still trying to clean this target off my back, but it won't go away."

"Well maybe you should start with your forehead," Veronica sarcastically remarked. "I think most people see 'sucker' stamped there and decide you are the perfect fall guy."

"For that you're going down," Logan said out of the side of his mouth before jumping on top of Veronica and pushing her underwater.

Veronica maneuvered herself out of Logan's grasp and swam away, shedding her jeans as she went. When she was safely on the other side she turned and laughed at Logan as he stood holding her jeans on his index finger with a smug smile on his lips.

"Now this... this is not sanitary..."

"Oh please..." Veronica said, shaking her head, "you were already in the pool. My pants don't hold a light to you."

"Well in that case," Logan said before ducking under the water and swimming over to where she was, pinning her against the side of the pool, "we should keep the contamination to a minimum."

Before Veronica had a chance to respond Logan's lips were pressed against hers, pushing his body closer to hers, wrapped in his arms.

They climbed out of the pool, shivering in the cool air as they climbed the stairs to the empty apartment.

"Don't think that I'm wearing any of your mini skirts or halter thingys...whatever they're called," Logan whispered into Veronica's ear as they walked toward the door.

"No? Well that's okay, I was thinking more along the lines of a thong and a tube top," Veronica laughed.

"Funny... you always did have a great sense of humor, Logan stated as he opened the door letting Veronica in first before following and closing the door behind him.

Dripping wet, they both ran to the bathroom and into the tub. Veronica stripped down to her bra and panties as Logan watched in amusements and ran into her room, pulling a t-shirt over her head and a pair of comfy pajama pants over her shaking cold legs. After she dressed she opened the drawer in her dresser all the way in the bottom left corner and pulled out a big, gray pair of pants, an extra large t-shirt and a red pair of boxers.

She brought them into the bathroom where she found Logan still in the tub, standing only in his boxers and handed him the clothes. With a confused look on his face Logan asked, " Your dad's?..hmm.. I had him pegged as a tighty whitey kind of guy.

"Oh...he's got jokes, Veronica said through her purple lips that were curled into a sideways smile. "No, she said on a more serious note, they were Duncan's. He left them here the time I made waffles and Lily spilt maple syrup all over him and he left them here. I washed them but I never gave them back, but I guess that's a good thing because now you can use them and not my mini skirts though I know you were dying to try them on.

"Am I that transparent," Logan sardonically asked.

"Only sometimes," Veronica said, turning around so that Logan could change. Veronica was still standing facing the wall when Logan's hand gently caressed her back and turned her around so that they were standing face to face as their lips met and were entranced in a deep kiss.

Then it had been Logan's turn to leave his wet clothes at her house and she had washed them. And only on dark, lonely nights she would dig them out of their forbidden drawer and pull them on, longing for him.

Tonight was one of those nights as Veronica crawled into bed and fell into a light sleep, her last moments of consciousness spent yearning for him. His scent, his touch, his kiss.

To Be Continued...

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