Chapter 3: In the cold light of day.
By noon, Logan's hangover had subsided. He went out to the farmers market. The economy had improved in the last few years, but it was still take what you can get and try to make something from it. He found some good tomatoes, fresh pears, and mint. It would be an interesting meal. Good thing he figured out ages ago that Max wasn't picky. She was always so grateful and happy with anything that he cooked for her. Logan smiled to himself as he considered, belatedly, that maybe it wasn't the food making her happy all this time.
Logan tried to remain optimistic, to push aside thoughts of how he had made an ass of himself. Unfortunately the memories of him groping Max last night when she wasn't herself were hard to put out of his mind. Logan eventually resigned himself to the fact that the feel and taste of her was seared into his mind for all time. He just hoped that she wasn't too mad at him for any of it.
∞∞∞
Max breezed into the apartment she shared with Original Cindy, who had been home all day with the flu. "Howareyou?Doyouneedanything?" Max asked as she rushed by to her bedroom. Max couldn't decide what she was going to need in the morning, so she threw everything into her bag.
Original Cindy had a stuffed nose, but Max thought she made out, "I'm fine." Original Cindy had given up asking where she was going long ago.
"CoolHopeyouarefeelingbetterImgoingovertoLogansdontwaitup." The door slammed, but Max did remember to lock it after her.
Original Cindy just smiled. "'bout time."
∞∞∞∞
Max let herself into Logan's apartment. Her stuffed backpack was over one shoulder; a discreet black bagcontaining an indiscreet black lace... nothing inside. Her broad grin died on her face when she saw Logan staring out the window, obviously unhappy. Logan turned one moment too late to see the smile; he only saw confusion and sorrow which seemed only to confirm the doubts that had be quietly nagging him all day.
Max running and never seeing her again had been one of Logan's greatest fears for longer than he cared to think about. The full bag only seemed to confirm that. He'd blown it.
"I'm sorry," they said in unison. "For what?" they asked in perfect unison. Logan looked even more irritated; it always frustrated him when they did that. Max simply took out a coin, tossed it, and showed Logan the 'tail' result. She waited quietly for him to proceed.
"I'm sorry. Obviously I was drunk last night … and if I behaved badly … I am very sorry."
"IF? You don't remember?"
"…no…."
Max knocked him on his ass with a right cross. "We discussed what was going to happen next time you lied to me." It had taken Max months to learn how to read Logan; and more months to accept the fact that the man she loved, adored and admired, lied to her whenever he felt it was necessary, but she did learn.
"Yes, we did." Logan rubbed his jaw, but made no attempt to stand.
"Why?"
"Because … I thought maybe if I didn't remember you wouldn't hold my behavior last night against me."
"You want to just forget about it?"
Logan hesitated. He hated it when Max's shields went up and he couldn't tell what she was feeling or thinking. This time he couldn't even think that he didn't deserve it. "That might be for the best. I know you weren't yourself. I wasn't myself. It just wasn't …I'm sorry."
Max just stood there, wishing that her emotions were as resilient as her body.
Eventually the silence became too much for Logan. "What's with the bag? Going somewhere?"
Max assumed he was upset because she was practically moving in on him. How pathetic was it she could fit everything important in a back pack? Who was she kidding? Everything important to her was laid out at her feet.
"No. I wasn't going anywhere ... in particular. Well, it is my vacation, I probably should go ride around. Maybe out to the cabin? Want to come?"
"No, I can't."
"Right. The downtrodden." Max nodded and turned away before Logan saw the tears that spilled despite her best efforts. "I gotta bounce." She turns and walks away.
"Max, wait, please …don't go." Logan finally got up and chased after Max. He knew that she could out run him if she wanted to, the fact that she hadn't was a good sign. "At least stay for dinner. I scored some tomatoes." Logan put his hand on her shoulder; she stopped but would not look at him. "Max, what's wrong?"
"I believed you."
"I'm sorry I lied to you about not remembering. I just thought it would give us both the easy way out. … It was wrong. I'm sorry. I just got so used to living a double life. Lying got to be … second nature." Logan took a deep breath. "But it was wrong to lie to you. You deserve the truth, all the time. … I won't do it again. Please forgive me?"
Max still wouldn't look at him. "I can tell when you're lying to me Logan. I won't do you any good to try it again. It's just … last night you were drunk, I was …in heat. My judgment was shot; your judgment was shot. I should have known that … I'm sorry. You said you wanted to forget the whole thing. Fine."
Max started to leave. Logan grabbed her hand and encountered the little black bag. Max made a strange sound and let go of the bag. Logan opened the bag and slowly pulled the little black lace something out of the bag. As he stared at it he realized what Max had believed, and that she had shown up hoping to collect on the night of her life, and he had screwed up again. Logan looked up to tell Max he did mean that, but she was gone.
TBC