Title: Logan's Little Lunch Date
Author: Karen
Disclaimer: Sara is technically Scott and Marie's, but shouldn't Logan get joint custody by now?
Rating: R – Sara says the F word
Pairings: Logan/Sara and Logan/Hayley
Summary: Logan takes Sara to McDonald's and meets someone new.
Author's note: These bittersweet little vignettes always end on such a sad note for poor Logan, so I hope I've rectified that a little with this entry in the series, even if he still isn't with the one he really wants.
Thanks to my previewers extraordinaire: Terri, Heather and Taryn. And a second thank you to Heather for the 'dumpster' contribution to the linen closet sentence.
Logan's Little Lunch Date
Logan's POV
Ever since the confrontation with Scott the day of Sara's attempted kidnapping I'd been making myself scarce around the mansion. I'd kept myself occupied with a variety of women who hung out in the dives I patronized. I thought back over the past few years about the women I'd used to try and get over Marie. The longest relationship I'd had since messing things up with her had been 72 hours and that was only because we'd gone away for a long weekend. Well, 51 hours to be more precise, 'cause we'd gotten into a fight on day three and she'd packed up and gone home. Not that she hadn't been justified; during sex I'd moaned "Marie" as I came and apparently that wasn't close enough to Abigail for her not to notice. After that I considered fucking only women named Marie in order to avoid the same problem. Realizing that would seriously limit the pool of bedmates, instead I just got into the habit of calling every one of 'em darlin'.
I was coming up the driveway heading towards the garage after a night in the arms of Bambi - or was it Fawn? - something to do with deers, not that it mattered, it's not like I was gonna do her again, when I noticed the tiny form of 'mini-Marie' sitting on the front steps, watching the skies above the mansion. Even at this distance, I could smell her tears and a knot immediately formed in my stomach. Whoever was responsible for my angelface being so upset was gonna find themselves on the business end of my claws.
So instead of turning toward the garage I angled the bike to the front door. Hopping off the bike, I walked over to the small figure sitting with her knees drawn up and her hands cupping her face.
"Hey, angelface, why the Eeyore mood?"
"My daddy isn't back yet and he pwomised to take me to Mickey D's for a Happy Meal and now I gotta have a P&J sammich here and it's gonna be an unhappy meal," Sara said quietly as fresh tears slid down her face.
Christ, I think my heart was breaking.
Okay, I knew what I had to do. I scooped her up, wiped away the tears and kissed the top of her head.
"Ya know I was just thinking about going to McDonald's myself," I lied, "How about you be my lunch date?"
Her eyes lit up and I was rewarded with a dimpled grin that revealed tiny little teeth.
"Yeah, you like that idea?"
Sara just nodded enthusiastically and I shifted her up so that she was now slung over my shoulder.
"Okay, then – let's just go find your mommy and tell her we're leaving."
I strode back into the house with a now giggling Sara and headed for the Art Room where I knew Marie was conducting a class. Opening the door and poking my head in I motioned for Marie to come over. At first she threw me a quizzical look until she noticed Sara.
"Hi, why do you have Sara? She's supposed to be with Scott," Marie asked, as she glanced up and down the hall. What was she expecting to see - if I had Scott bound and gagged and propped up somewhere? If I'd done that I would've hidden him in the linen closet … or the dumpster.
"I guess he got delayed and so I offered to take the munchkin to McD's."
I could see Marie hesitate; she knew how much it bothered Scott when I did things for Sara that he considered to be his job. I'd been extra considerate about his delicate feelings ever since the confrontation with him after I'd saved Sara from the blue bitch and her mangy sidekick, but damnit he wasn't around and why should the kid's day be ruined just 'cause her father had territorial issues.
"Come on, Marie, it's just a fuckin' Happy Meal."
Sara had turned around and noticed the look on Marie's face, too.
"Yeah, Mawee, it's just a fucking Happy Meal," she repeated.
Oh, Oh. I was in trouble for that one. Five, four, three, two, one…"Logan, I've asked you repeatedly to watch your language around Sara, you know she parrots everything," Marie said evenly.
Hey, that wasn't as bad as I thought. I figured I'd be checking my ass for the bite marks by now.
"Sorry," I mumbled like the reprimanded little boy I'd suddenly become.
Marie just let out an annoyed little huff and fixed me with a look that did more damage than if she had chewed me a new one. If my enemies could master that look, I'd be toast. Good thing Marie and I are on the same side – most of the time. She fished in her pocket and retrieved her car keys, which meant it was okay for me to take Sara.
"Okay, say bye-bye to mommy," I told Sara, wanting to get out of there before Marie changed her mind.
"Bye, mommy," Sara said as I turned and started toward the garage.
"Get her milk instead of the soda," Marie called out after us.
I just waved my acknowledgment and kept going. Once we reached Marie's SUV I strapped Sara into her booster seat in the back and climbed into the driver's seat. Not able to drive with my knees under my chin, I adjusted the seat and smiled when I thought about how tiny Marie was in comparison to me. I had a flash of her naked and writhing beneath me and pounded my head on the steering wheel to clear away that image. I started the car and looked over my shoulder to reverse out of the garage and was slightly disappointed not to see Scooter standing there just begging to be run over. Scooter the speed bump. Okay, I really need to stop fantasizing about killing him. And I had to be careful not to project around Chuck unless I wanted to spend a good deal of my time getting lectured about the futility of that particular little dream. With a resigned sigh I put the car into reverse and backed out.
As we were driving along Sara decided to sing.
Wittle Bunny Foo Foo
hoppin' fwough the fowest,
scoopin' up the field mice
and boppin' em on the head.
And down came the Bwue Faiwy, and she said:
Wittle Bunny FooFoo
I don't wanna see you
scoopin' up the field mice
and boppin' em on the head.
I turned around and gave Sara a funny look.
"My daddy sings it to me all the time," Sara explained.
And Marie's worried about me saying 'fuck' in front of the kid, when obviously her precious husband is teaching her to abuse small woodland creatures. Oblivious to the irony, Sara continued singing.
Wittle Bunny Foo Foo
hoppin' fwough the fowest,
scoopin' up the field mice
and boppin' em on the head.
Thank God we'd arrived at the restaurant 'cause I'd had just about enough of the mouse bashing.
We'd gotten our food Yes, all six Quarter Pounders and four orders of extra large fries are for me, why do you ask? And now we're making our way to the playground area. I opened the door and the noise was like a locomotive was plowing through the building. Christ, how could toddlers and pre-schoolers make such a loud racket? Apparently when there are about fifty of the ankle-biters, that's how. I think every kid under five in Westchester County was in here. Just then a blonde boy of about four plowed right into me practically knocking the tray outta my hand.
"Hey, watch it!" I growled without thinking.
The little bastard just stuck his tongue out at me and kept going.
"Sorry about Joshua, he's had a little too much sugar today," a cute blonde woman, I assumed was his mother, tossed out as she dashed past me after him.
I glanced around and noticed that some of these kids had some pretty nice looking mommies – Hmmm, lunch and a show. Maybe this wasn't going to be so bad after all. I found an empty table in the corner and set the tray down. I could see that Sara was jonesing to go play, but I was determined to stuff at least a couple of Chicken McNuggets and a few fries into her first. Sara musta really been anxious to play 'cause she practically inhaled her food and I was barely able to wipe the ketchup off her face before she was making a beeline for the ball-pit thingy. Okay, so now that she was occupied, it was time to scope out the action. After all, statistically speaking probably half these women were divorced, not that I'd ever let a wedding ring stop me before – except in Marie's case. MARIE! I've gotta stop thinking about her. About all that beautiful, creamy skin. Soft skin. Touchable skin – thanks to the suppression bracelet. Skin that someone else, namely that prick Scooter, gets to touch every night and probably a few mornings, too. Ugh. I needta refocus and not think about Marie. Big doe eyes, full pouty lips that I'd love to kiss and then have wrapped around my…….
If I start banging my head against the wall behind me, I wonder if anyone will notice?
Just then I noticed that a few of the women were looking at me rather intensely. Is this place crawling with telepaths or somethin'? Why are they starin' at me? My legs were shoved under the table hiding my lap, so it's not like any of 'em could've noticed the effect thinking about Marie had on me. I smiled and gave a little nod in acknowledgment. Now they're all smiling back and shit, one of 'em just winked at me and another just licked her lips. Then I got assaulted with the scent of arousal coming from several different sources and suddenly it hit me. Christ, I could be so in with any one of 'em. Lemme see, eeney, meeny, miney,….. Just then the cute blonde with the rude kid walked into my line of vision. I think we have a winner. And no ring, either. Well, hello darlin'.
My attempts to refocus my crude thoughts were interrupted by a scream I'd recognize anywhere as Sara's and I was immediately on my feet and heading in the direction of her crying. I found her in the ball-pit thingy, rubbing her head and sobbing. Scooping her out of the pit I pulled her into my arms and hugged her close.
"What happened, angelface?"
"That boy hit me wif a wed ball," Sara informed me as she pointed out the same brat who'd slammed into me earlier. That little bastard was leaning on my last nerve.
His cute mom came charging over, all apologetic for her demon child. Bet she gets a lot of practice at that. I'd checked Sara and no lumps were forming on her head, which was lucky for Satan Jr. The cute mom was still babbling.
Hey, sweetheart, have you ever seriously considered medication for your bundle of joy?
"I really am so sorry about your little girl."
"She's not my little girl," I replied and before she thought I was some kinda kidnapper, I added, "I'm just babysittin'."
"Well, aren't you just the sweetest thing," she said, her blue eyes all soft and dewy.
Shit! I think I'm actually blushing. When the hell did I turn into pansy-assed Scooter?"Not to be rude, but your son's a bully," I blurted out to cover my embarrassment.
"Oh God, he's not my son," she retorted sharply, "I'm just his nanny. And between you and me, after six months on the job with the spawn from hell, I'm seriously considering getting my tubes tied."
I couldn't help it; I let out a low chuckle, which made her smile too. She had a great smile and her nose wrinkled in a cute way as she did. I guessed she was around five foot five with one hellava nice body which was currently poured into a pair of tight Levi's that hugged all those soft curves and an even tighter black shirt that clung to a nice pair of….
"I'm Hayley, by the way," she said, interrupting my train of thought, as she extended her hand out to me.
"Logan," I replied as I shifted Sara in my arms and shook her hand, "and this is Sara."
"Hello, Sara. I'm very sorry that Joshua hurt you. Are you okay?"
Sara nodded positively and then wiggled in my arms to get down, so I guess she was okay. I put her down and she scampered off in the direction of the slide.
"I really try and limit Joshua's sugar intake, but he got a refill on his soda and well, I'll be peeling him off the ceiling for the rest of the day."
"I sure hope you're gettin' paid a lotta money."
"Yes, I am actually, which should've been a big fat warning sign when I took the job," she said with a dimpled smile.
Her whole face just lights up when she smiles. Damn, she's cute. I found myself grinning at her and not in my usual 'I'm picturing ya naked' kinda way, either.
Okay, I just smiled twice in one day – that's gotta be some kinda record. I gotta think of some way to keep this conversation goin'.
"Say, would you like one of these apple pies?" she asked as she held out a little brown box, "They were two for a dollar, but I definitely don't need to eat both of them."
"No one would ever accuse me of turnin' down food," I replied as I took the box from her, "Thanks."
She moved to sit down on a bench across from the slide and I parked myself nexta her. Two bites later my pie was gone, but she was still nibbling daintily on hers. She had a nice mouth and for the first time in I can't remember how long I actually fantasized about someone else's mouth besides Marie's on my cock. Then my imagination really kicked inta high gear and I was hurtling towards Smutsylvania.
Shit! I've known her for two minutes and I'm already imaginin' her writhin' beneath me and moanin' my name as we worked up a nice sweat.
I leaned towards her and gave a quick sniff. She smelled tropical, like that suntan oil all the women at Chuck's were always basting themselves in every summer, and I suddenly had the urge to lick her. Whoa. Down boy. This ain't no whore you can drag out inta the alley behind Jack's bar, press up against the brick wall and fuck the shit outta.
"So, what do you do when you're not babysitting?" Hayley asked.
Since I couldn't exactly tell her I dressed up in dominatrix-style leather and fought bad guys for a living, I opted for the safe answer.
"I'm a teacher at the Xavier School for the Gifted," I replied.
She gave me a quizzical look, which I'd seen before when I'd given that answer. Okay, so she's probably thinking that a school for gifted kids must require their teachers to be extra smart and this guy doesn't look like he knows jack shit.
"I teach phys ed," I explained, leaving out the part about combat training, 'cause there's no plausible explanation for why a bunch of supposedly high IQ nerdy kids would need to learn to kick the crap outta anyone.
Yeah, that she bought. I'm not sure what to say next as I suck at this small talk shit. The majority of the women I meet, the most I do is buy 'em a drink before asking 'em, 'So, do ya wanna?' and they knew exactly what I meant. Then it's out to the alley or sometimes back to their place if it's raining or snowing. Damn, now that I think about it, I really gotta start hooking up with a higher class of broad. And think I'll start with the tasty little number sitting nexta me. She's looking at me with those deep blue eyes and I casually threw her the smirk that apparently only Marie was immune to. Her scent immediately changed. I'm da man. We're just sorta sitting there staring at each other.
Just then Satan Jr. came bouncing over and ruined the moment. Did I mention how much I hate the little bastard?
"I wanna go to Toys 'R Us – NOW!" he said and stomped his little hoof for emphasis.
"I better go before he has a full blown temper tantrum," Hayley said as she stood up.
"Maybe you'll get lucky and one day someone will kidnap him," I replied only half-jokingly.
"It would be like the ransom of Red Chief, the kidnappers would pay his parents to take him back," Hayley responded with an eye roll and a chuckle.
"I'd really like to see you again and 'er…." I started to say and found I was stumbling all over myself. Shit, I can't remember the last time I asked anyone out on actual date and my brain was refusing to be cooperative. Great. All I needed to do now was start twitching and have little specks of drool coming out the corners of my mouth and the picture of a retard would be complete.
"A little rusty, are we?" she asked, sensing my inability to ask for a simple date.
"Uh huh," I answered lamely.
Hello, county home for the mentally challenged, I'd like to report an escapee.
Hayley reached into her bag, drew out a little notepad and pen and began scribbling quickly.
"Here's my phone number and address. Shall we say seven thirtyish tonight? And I'm game for anything except bowling."
"Damnit, there goes my whole date strategy. Guess I'll need a plan B," I replied with a grin.
"You're very cute," she said as she leaned toward me and lightly brushed her lips over mine, "See you tonight, Logan."
And then she was gone, her tropical-scented fragrance lingering behind deliciously.
"I need a nap," a little voice just about knee level announced.
When we got back to the mansion, Sara bounced in ahead of me brimming over with news.
"Wogan's got a hot date," she informed her mother.
"What? You managed to pick up someone at McDonald's? Gah, no wonder you were so eager to take Sara there – you were using my child as bait so you could trawl for women," Marie said with a trace of disgust in her voice.
"I was not usin' her to trawl for women," I answered and then added, "It just happened to be a nice side benefit."
"So who is this hot little number? Some divorcee, or perhaps a married woman with no morals."
"Why? Jealous?" I asked with a naughty grin.
"In your dreams."
"You know, in my dreams you do a lot more interestin' things with that mouth of yours."
Then I turned and walked away leaving her standing there with that luscious mouth of hers hanging open.
Later as I was leaving to go pick up Hayley, I popped into the rec room to say goodnight to Sara.
"See you later, Logan," Marie said politely.
"Or if I get lucky, not until tomorrow."
And for the second time that day, I left Marie standing there with her mouth open.