The clinking of glasses brought Logan abruptly back to the moment and he glanced around quickly to reorient himself to his surroundings. It was Friday night of finals week and the Pub was packed wall to with triumphant, swaggering college students flush with the thrill of victory over the tyranny of the pedagogues of Yale. The party was in full swing and the participants were reaffirming with every jubilant shot downed and beer guzzled the successful re-emergence into the land of living after subsistence in the dungeons of the Yale library. As with any long fought battle won the mood was celebratory, exultant, rhapsodic and uninhibitedly gleeful, the entire crowd was high on the buzz of combined adrenaline, chemical stimulants and long repressed hormones.
It was the kind of atmosphere that any hot blooded young male would consider prime hunting grounds and in the tradition of collegiate life it was all but written on the unspoken rulebook that it was one of the few nights when nary a soul went home alone no matter how reclusive they might be in the normal light of day. This night no holds were barred, no social standings were observed. They were all equals and they were all out to have some fun.
Usually Logan was in the throbbing center of that mass of humanity, simply needing to pick from the plethora of ripe temptations hanging from the tree to find his companion of choice. Tonight he felt disconnected from the heartbeat of the group. He felt a little like a stranger on the outside looking in the fogged up windows and observing the ritual of reaffirmation. To make matters worse he had just found his mind yet again straying from the confines of the raucous party to a certain brunette who was conspicuously absent.
When his eyes focused again it was to see a hand waving mere inches from his face and an astute smirk on the face of one of his table companions. "Hello...Hello...Earth to Hansberger." The hand now balled into a loose fist and knocked on his forehead like one might a particularly stubborn door. "Anyone home in there?"
Logan swatted away the hand with irritated eye roll in Finn's direction. "I'm sitting right here you drunken maniac."
Finn nodded sagely with one eyebrow raised "Sure, your body is here but I'd wager everyone one of my curvaceous friends here..." he paused and waved an eloquent hand at the blonde occupying one knee as if she had ascended some highly sought throne and the red head who appeared to be reading the palm of the hand he was not waving about and the brunette who was draped somewhere in the vicinity of his left shoulder then tilted his head to one side "Well, maybe not the fortune teller...I'm rather partial to the mystical type...but I'll ante up the rest and wager that your mind was about a million miles from our current locale." He cocked his head and paused as if reconsidering "Or should I say about ten buildings south."
Logan was not in the mood for this conversation. "No thanks...I think I'll pass on that bet."
Finn raised his eyebrows in mock horror and gasped "Huntzberger the Hound Dog turning down willing females...it's unheard of, it's quite possible that we have just encountered a complete reversal of the space time continuum, next you'll be telling me the floor is actually the ceiling and vice versa. Although I would have to saw that I would not be adverse to the idea. The floor as the floor has been done, it's past it's prime, methinks we are ripe for a revolution and I say power to the ceiling." He raised a fist and gave a rebel yell, which barely made a dent in the cacophony of sound around them.
Logan rolled his eyes "I'm here, I'm drinking, " he gestured with his third half empty Guinness "I'm just not interested in your leftovers...something I don't find at all unusual."
Finn clapped his hands over the nearest girl's ears as if to protect her from such blasphemous accusations "You are really off your game my amigo." He shook his head sadly "and you've completely missed the point of my metaphorical wager."
Logan sighed and took a deep gulp of his beer before settling back in his chair with an ever suffering look on his face "I know I'm going to regret this but I suspect you will torture me with the details regardless so please Swami Finn enlighten me with your great wisdom."
Finn took in his friend's somewhat belligerent stance and clearly irritated face and turned to whisper to the girls as a group. "Why don' you ladies leave us along for a bit. I'll find you later." He winked at them as a collective "I promise I'll make it up to you."
They giggled but quickly dismounted and disappeared into the crowd. Finn turned back to his friend with a sigh "Why are you here Logan?"
Logan looked surprised; he hadn't expected exactly that tack. His brows furrowed. "What do you mean? It's a tradition, we come every year."
Finn nodded in the affirmative. "True, but the tradition usually involves hedonism and good old fashioned dance on the table tops ideally involving nudity fun not moping in your beer like some aspiring country western singer, so you're not exactly playing the part correctly."
Logan narrowed his eyes in annoyance "I have no idea what you are talking about, I am having a perfectly marvelous, shirt ripping time so just go back to your bimbo club and leave me alone."
Finn waited a beat as Logan pushed his glass around the table with an angry twitch of the hand and then he started to clap. "Good effort but I have to say as a long time critic of the theater, you didn't really sell it. For your own edification let me tell you where you went wrong. For a little recap of the evening lets start at the beginning shall we, the trouble really started when I contemplated sending the next Apollo mission out to retrieve your brain in the middle of your conversation with Heather the perky brunette, you all but tossed poor Cindy the tantalizing blonde on her ass when she attempted to reach across the table to get some peanuts and accidentally touched your arm and you seemed to have gone deaf and dumb when it comes to speaking to women about anything even remotely interesting. I mean I've known you a long time and I have to say I was caught unawares but your very thorough knowledge of the history of the peanut. Not to mention the fact that I'm worried you might be developing a good case of carpal tunnel from your constant watch checking."
Logan glowered and fiddled with the handle of his beer mug. "What's your point? It's been a long week, I'm tired, some of us actually had to study for our finals rather than just right pansy ass papers on the meaning of life."
Finn laughed out loud at that one which was the complete opposite of the intended reaction and made even Stephanie and Colin who had heretofore been engaged in a rousing game of tonsil hockey on the opposite side of the table break apart to see what was happening. Finn just pointed at the sullen Logan and both Stephanie and Colin smiled, in clear enjoyment of his irritation, a reaction that Logan did not find amusing in the least.
Logan glared and all but snarled, "What in the hell is so funny?"
It took Finn a moment to contain his laughter but eventually he answered with a knowing nod of the head "I never believed I'd see the day but you my friend are on the critically wounded list. I'm talking ICU for the commitment phobic. You are exhibiting all the classic symptoms of a fatal case of love. You are all twitchy and cranky and discombobulated... it's kind of cute actually."
Logan snorted and slammed back the rest of his beer. "You know for a guy who avoids commitment like it's some sort of Ebola virus you sure have a lot of advice for the rest of us."
Finn just shook his head "And you my friend are a case in point for why I avoid it. I'm not saying it's a bad thing but once it's got you in it's clutches you are different...not worse, just different and you my friend have crossed the line into uncharted territory."
"You are just blowing smoke now you have no idea what you are talking about." Logan scoffed.
Finn cocked his head to one side "Where is she right now?"
"In the library studying for her Game Theory exam." Logan answered before he thought about it and then quickly clamped his mouth shut when Finn gave a triumphant "Ah ha, I rest my case."
He hunched his shoulders in a defensive posture and frowned into his beer. "Okay, so I know where she is, you had better be getting to your point."
Finn smiled broadly "My point dear sir, which you so neatly proved, is that not only did you know where she was and I'm sure you could pinpoint the exact carrel, you knew why she was there and what she was studying for, which would have been unheard of with any other girl you have dated. Usually you are lucky if you remember their name. However, the most incriminating evidence of all is that you knew whom I was asking about without me ever specifying. I could have been talking about Stephanie or Paris the Goblin Queen, I never specified Rory, and you just assumed that was whom I was referring to. That is very telling my friend...very telling indeed."
"Great, you can be the next Johnnie Cochran." Logan's tone had turned sulky.
Finn seemed to be pondering this "Actually I think I'd prefer the Supreme Court. Defense lawyers are just so... slimy. Just think of me on the bench influencing opinion's making public policy. Besides, I bet I could go commando under those robes and no one would ever notice."
Colin piped in on this one "God save us."
Stephanie gave him a sad look "I think it's too late for divine intervention. Finn is pretty much God's version of a practical joke on the rest of us."
Finn sailed right past that comment and waved them away "Please resume your previous activities, we don't need any help from the peanut gallery lest it engender another lecture on the subject of snack food manufacturing from the damned over here."
Logan snorted but as usual Finn had somehow hit the nail on its rather precise head with what seemed little effort. "You know you are a conceited prig sometimes I don't know why I'm friends with you."
Finn gave him a dead solemn look for a split second "You are friends with me because I am the voice of your subconscious, I say what no one else will and because much as you hate it I'm usually right." Then his devilish smile lit his face "Besides I'm irresistible, it's impossible not to like me."
Logan rolled his eyes "Never say impossible...it's like issuing an all out challenge."
Finn wiggled his eyebrows "You'd never win. I have magical powers."
Logan gave up. He knew where he wanted to be and he was done fighting it. "Go work your spells on some unsuspecting conquest. I've got to go see a girl about a thing."
Finn grinned and slapped him on the back "Good, I win. Give Woodward a big smackeroo for me."
"No way." Logan sent him one last disgruntled look "I hope you have the mother of all hangovers tomorrow."
"Never happen, my blood has a symbiotic relationship with alcohol. Ethanol is my old and well-loved friend, unlike the flesh and blood versions it would never turn on me. Now do me a favor and get lost I am seriously behind on my quota tonight and I have a lot of catching up to do." Finn waved a hand behind him as he slipped off his stool and wandered into the morass of bodies muttering "So many beauties, so little of me to go around."
Logan slid off his own seat and donned his jacket before heading away from the table with a last little wave that he doubted that Stephanie and Colin even saw. Perhaps it was time for the making of a new tradition.
He took a deep breath as he stepped out into the frosty night air and contemplated the unexpected turn of events. It was probably the first time he had ever left the post finals party at the pub before midnight and without a doubt the first time that he had left alone but for the first time he had somewhere he would rather be.
He headed off at a smart pace thinking about the person who had changed some indefinable thing in him.
It had been a month since that night when she had awakened him in the dead of night and made his dream world come to life. Thanksgiving had come and gone along with the annual wretched third degree from his parent's about the direction of his life and sundry rants about his irresponsible actions and his many screw ups. He had mostly tuned it out and had been amazed at how the simple thought of Rory had somehow given him a measure of calm that was unprecedented in the face of the storm. By that night after a complete regaling of Thanksgiving in Stars Hollow complete with ambulance trips for Sookie, a re-enactment of the first Thanksgiving with Kirk playing the rather neurotic turkey and the hilarious tales of the pumpkin pie incident in which one or both of Michel's prized shoe eating dogs were likely implicated all memory of the cold uncomfortable meal he had suffered through with his own excuse for a family were nothing but dim recollections. The rest of the days had seemingly sailed by with not even the slightest hitch. She fit seamlessly in his world in a way that was slightly eerie but he chose not to question it.
It was a month that was different than any other he had ever experienced. With most girls, even the ones he had liked, it didn't take time to chafe at the bonds of commitment, to feel that little niggle of resentment at the time, the energy, the attention that they demanded. With Rory he found himself thinking of her out of the blue, and unlike his past experiences these weren't all mental images of her body, of their intimate time together although that came to mind quite easily as well. What he found distracting was the predilection of his mind for tracing her day and imagining her activities. He knew her routines, he knew her little quirks and mannerisms, could with the mere trigger of a thought see her in his minds eye sipping coffee, the little smile playing on her lips when she was reading a particularly good part of whatever book was her new mind candy. He could effortlessly picture the way her teeth worried her bottom lip as her fingers flew over the keyboard when she was in a creative spurt and the words were flowing. He could picture that sexy little whole body shiver she did unconsciously when she took the first bite of ice cream or the first sip of coffee and it gave him the most incredible high every time she did when he kissed her. He secretly thought that she looked her most beautiful, innocent and alluring all at once when she was just waking up with her hair tangled and her blue eyes dreamy and soft and he had almost gotten used to the little slam against his ribs when she came striding into view across a courtyard or the library or the newsroom. He wasn't just critically wounded; he was on his way to the morgue with his toe tagged. He really didn't know why he even fought it anymore, he guessed it was the ingrained independence in his nature but it was a losing battle and truth be told it was a battle he didn't want to win.
The library came into view and he jogged up the step in anticipation. He found her with predictable ease. One thing he had learned about Rory was that she was a creature of habit. She had a specific way of fluffing her pillow before she fell asleep, she had a favorite yellow highlighter, she always put her socks on right side first and she always studied in the same carrel in the library unless someone beat her there and then she sulked for the rest of the day.
He stopped at the foot of her chair and took in her position sprawled across an armchair with arms and legs akimbo and her head rolled to one side. When she let out a soft snore he let an amused smile curve his lips before he backed away. He guessed she had been at the studying gig for a while and he figured it was about time for a little study break. He grinned to himself as his plan took shape and his footsteps quickened as he went in search of supplies.
Life was good.
The lazy thought floated like lone sailboat on calm water towards the slowly lapping shores of her mind. The warmth of the sun kissed her skin and left her lethargic and lackadaisical without a care in the world. She could almost taste the tang of salt on her skin and the breeze against her flushed face. It was paradise.
Then an annoying buzz started in the back of her awareness like an angry irritating fly that was always out of reach but kept circling, buzzing in her ear only to disappear in a wink the second she turned her head.
She groaned and opened one eye with some effort closing it quickly at the scene that met her eye. She squinched her eyes shut and prayed with all the misbegotten hope of the impious for the white sandy beach and a frosty drink with a tiny pink umbrella. She winced at the glaring harsh white light that met her eyes on her second attempt and raised her head an excruciating inch from it's crooked position to survey her surrounds.
It was the Friday morning of finals weeks but she of course, being born under the dark curse as she was had a final on Saturday, no doubt some commentary on the evil deeds of her past lives or some such nonsense. She sighed and cursed silently to herself as she recognized surroundings that had become all too familiar in the past week. She was not, regretfully, in Tahiti or Jamaica or whatever other tropical utopia most of her classmates were halfway to. No...she, Lorelai Leigh Gilmore had fallen asleep in the library again for the third time this week. Life was rotten.
She struggled to right herself from the sprawled position that defied several laws of gravity and surely qualified as some sort of new act for the Cirque du Soleil. Sadly she was no contortionist and she was going to be feeling the effect of the Game Theory textbook on her sternum for quite some time. She only hoped that a bit of diffusion had occurred while the pages had been in such intimate contact for such an extended time.
The buzzing started again and this time she recognized it as her cell phone which she had set to vibrate to avoid murderous looks from the other lingering martyrs to the gods of finals. She finally located it stuck under her left butt cheek on the chair and flipped it open quickly.
"Hello?" Her voice came out a little croaky and her mouth felt dry and chalky from all the coffee that she had imbibed in the past hours. Coffee that it must be noted had failed utterly in its assigned duty of keeping her awake.
"I don't know about you but I generally find it more useful to have my eyes open when I read. Although the osmosis method may deserve more study." The playful voice was entirely too chipper for midnight in a library and sounded slightly slurred.
"Logan? Shouldn't you be studying rather than prank calling me in the library?"
"Nope." There was no doubt at this cheerful syllable that he was slightly tipsy. There was a little cackle of glee on the other end of the line to which she responded with an ill-humored glower despite the lack of a physical target "I'm finished. Turned in my last Ethics paper this evening, I am without responsibility, unfettered, emancipated, released form the bonds of servitude, living the American dream...free at last, thank god almighty, I'm free at last."
Her voice was edging towards irritable now, one did not particularly enjoy having one's nose rubbed in the dark forces of evil that had contrived to punish her with a Saturday final. "You're drunk and I hardly think that one of the greatest civil rights leaders of our time would appreciate you co-opting his sentiments to celebrate your night of dabaucherous self-indulgence."
Logan laughed on the other end "Sounds like sour grapes to me...luckily my good mood is to formidable a shield, to be dented by a few smart alec remarks."
"Did you call just to harass the poor unfortunate souls still suffering in the purgatory of finals week or did you have a reason for bothering me?"
His voice took on an arch tone "Keep it up and I'll keep all my smuggled contraband all for myself." With that cryptic remark he suddenly materialized from behind a large column about twenty feet away from her and waved jauntily with what looked like a large backpack swinging from one hand.
Rory's eyes widened slightly as he caught her eye and her head snapped up to fully take in his appearance. She continued to whisper into the phone now with a hint of censure mixed with curiosity. "How long have you been there?"
She could see the smirk from across the room and rolled her eyes out of habit. "Long enough to hear you do a rather good impression of the Texas Chainsaw Massacre soundtrack through your nose." He grinned but kept his distance as he watched the blush flood her face. She was such an easy mark sometimes he just couldn't help but tease her.
Her voice dropped to a mortified whisper "Are you saying I was snoring?"
He saw her glance from side to side as if assessing the damage this might have done to her standing as an accepted resident of the sacred land of the bibliophiles and he couldn't quite stifle a laugh as he teased "Like a buzz saw or a chain saw in this case."
She was glaring as she rose from the chair now and snapped the phone closed as she stalked towards him. She reached him a minute later and it was with some effort that he maintained his position leaning nonchalantly against the pillar. She put her hands on her hips and sized him up trying valiantly to ignore the little flush of heat that crept into her blood as she eyed him, secretly enjoying the lines of his body in the tight jeans and dark brown turtleneck. It was a body that she had become quite familiar and equally enamored of in the past weeks but she wasn't about to let that derail her head of steam. She glared at him and tried for indignation "I do not snore."
"What ever you say Ace." He grinned at her cheekily and she had the strong impulse to either strangle him or kiss that smirk right off his delicious lips. She reigned herself in with effort. She really did have studying to do and no time for the kind of dalliance that he was dangling in front of her like a worm on a hook.
"That's slander...you know that's a punishable offense." She managed to hold on to the glare but couldn't quite contain the slight tip of her lips.
"Will you accept a settlement?" He proffered the backpack with a boyish look of chagrinned innocence that she wasn't buying for a second.
She arched an eyebrow at him but grabbed the bag "Depends on what you are offering."
He gave her a completely guileless smile "Only the best for my cuddle muffin."
That got a hot glare "I thought we determined that you were not allowed to use any sickening diminutives to refer to me."
"I recall no contract as such, I'm sure if there had been one I would have gotten some good terms in return."
"It was a verbal contract and I believe you accepted the terms on pain of death."
"Ah. I do recall a conversation along those lines...difficult to make it stick in court though...your word against mine you know." He stuck his hands in his pockets and rocked back on his heels.
She rolled her eyes at him "I'm ignoring you now. You had better just hope that this contraband lives up to its name."
"Oh it does. Open it and behold my offerings."
She opened the bag and gave a surreptitious glance around the high ceiling room before glancing inside. A smile split her face when she saw a thermos, chocolate bars and red vines but her eyes widened when she saw the ice cream. She snapped the bag shut and looked around with a slightly panicked look "We can't have this in here. If we get caught they'll throw me out. I'll be banned from the land of books. This would be the end of life, as I know it. "
He rolled his eyes and grabbed her arm and turned and began to pull her after him with a wicked smile in her direction "Well then we'll just have to make sure we don't get caught."
She was tripping along behind him with the bag clutched to her chest even as she protested "But...I have to study...I have a final and..."
He gave her a skeptical look "Consider it stolen time. If I hadn't woken you up you would still be deep in dreamland...besides you look like you need a study break."
She sputtered and glanced back over her shoulder, as the table with her stuff piled on it disappeared from sight behind a bookcase "My stuff...I can't just leave all my stuff there...what if someone steals it?"
This got another exaggerated eye roll "I'm pretty sure the juvenile delinquents don't even know where the library is and trust me Ace even as competitive as Yale is I hardly think that some note stealer is just lurking in wait to abscond with your Game Theory notes as fascinating and color coded as I'm sure they are. Relax, give me ten minutes...I guarantee you won't regret it."
She glanced back one last time just before he pulled her through a door into the dimly lit stacks and began to wend his way back through the maze of dusty tomes. "I regret it already." She muttered but the protest was half hearted and even she knew it. "Fine ten minutes but then I really have to study."
He came to an abrupt stop and then pulled her to the left down an even darker narrower aisle amongst the towering shelves. Another ten feet and he came to a stop in a darkened corner of the cavernous room. "Perfect. No one will find us here."
He grabbed the bag from her and dropped to the floor and settled into position with his back to the wall and his legs stretched out before him before he opened the bag and gestured with a flourish for her to join him.
She glanced around once more slightly uneasily but it did appear that they had the echoing space to themselves so she slid with her back to the wall down to a position on the cold cement floor next to him.
She made a little face as her butt hit the chilled stone and her brow wrinkled "Not the most luxurious accommodations but I guess they'll do."
He sent her a sardonic smile as he rummaged in the bag "Not my first choice of locations, I'd offer you the Ritz but I have a feeling you'd have a problem with gallivanting off to New York with a final tomorrow."
She crossed her arms "I hate it when you're right...causes tears in the whole space time continuum."
"You want ice cream or not Euclid?"
"You know for a very bright boy sometimes you do ask the stupidest questions."
He grinned as he pulled out two tubs of Ben and Jerry's. She turned the containers to read the labels and smiled in appreciation "Chunky Monkey and Phish Food...my..."
He interrupted her with a grin as he offered her a spoon "Your favorite, I know. Hard not to know with the constant odes being sung to them."
She smiled as she popped the lid off the first one and dove in with the spoon. "Mmmm." She closed her eyes and sighed as the chocolaty goodness melted on her tongue then her eyes winked open again as she looked at him with a serious expression "You know I believe in equality and I do try not to play favorites, to give all the flavors their due diligence but I have to say there is just nothing better than Phish Food. You know it tastes even better than I remembered."
He smirked at her "It's the whole secret high that comes from participating in the illicit act of food smuggling...always tastes better than normal food."
She cocked her head and considered "You may have a point there Mr. Thrill seeker."
"I'm an expert on the creation of a high stakes adventure." He grinned at her and took the bit of ice cream that she so generously offered with her spoon. "Speaking of which, you know what the only thing better than smuggled Phish Food is?" he pulled out the thermos and wagged it at her.
"Smuggled coffee and smuggled Phish Food? That's a no brainer."
"Exactly."
"I have taught you well Skywalker." She said with an approving nod. She held out her hand for the coffee but he playfully held it just out of her reach.
"What's it worth to you?" he asked with a sly smile curling his lips.
She pondered for a second "Another bite of ice cream?"
He gave her a look that implied she was slightly off her rocker "You're offering me my own ice cream? You really wouldn't last long in a barter economy."
She pouted, "Okay... my left ear."
He gave her a raised eyebrow lock of half disgust and half laughter "What happened to an arm and a leg?"
She shrugged as if this were an obvious explanation "I need my arms and legs, the ear seemed more expendable as body parts go and I've go another one."
He cocked his head "How did you pick the left one...do you have a favorite ear?"
She sighed "It was arbitrary... so what's the verdict."
He shook his head thoughtfully "Nope, gotta be better than that."
She was indignant now "What's better than a person's ear? This isn't some medieval fairytale, I'm not giving you my first born child."
He shivered "I am neither a masochist nor a fool so you don't need to worry about that one. Last thing I need is another Lorelai."
She smiled with a hint of pride "We are a lot to handle."
He shook his head and laughed "And only a Gilmore girl would take that as a compliment."
She grinned but asked pointedly "So what are your terms for negotiation?"
"Patience my dear, it is but a simple request. A kiss per cup of coffee seems a fair bargain to me." He grinned with a wicked glint in his eyes.
Her eyes widened as she laughed "You know I never thought I'd say this but you are a push over Logan Huntzberger."
"What can I say, finals week has made me a desperate man and after all I am just a simple man with simple pleasures." He said with a little wink and she rolled her eyes in a look of complete disbelief.
"Yeah right, you've never been just a simple man in your entire life. Okay, I'll play your game. A kiss per cup." She held out her hand "Shall we shake on it?"
He put his hand in hers but then used it to pull her towards him until their lips met. The first touch of lips was brief and sweet and Rory had barely registered the flutter in her stomach when they broke apart. "Hmmm." She said on a satisfied hum and then held out her hand "Coffee please."
"Oh no, you're going to have to do better than that for a cup of coffee, that was just the shake on the agreement kiss." He gave her a teasing grin.
" I see." She blinked twice as if surprised by this comment then put down her ice cream carton with deliberate slowness, brushed off her hands and just when he was least expecting it she launched her self at him pushing him back against the wall as she slid over to straddle him. He felt the flash of heat tingle clear to his toes and his heart raced as their tongues dueled. It seemed that no matter how many times he kissed her it never ceased to pull him deeper, sucking him into that vortex where only the two of them remained as all the rest of the universe winked out of existence. Her hands came up to cup the sides of his face and his hands spread under the edge of her sweater to splay on the warm flesh of his back.
It was the footsteps that had them freezing in place and her mouth falling away from his in surprise as they zeroed in on the location of the rhythmically beating footsteps that were coming closer and closer. She looked down at her position straddling his body as he leaned against the wall and a blush washed up her cheeks in a crimson wave. Her eyes widened and darted up to meet his warm brown orbs. There was no way to move or change position without alerting their visitor so they were stuck and Logan was quite certain she would never let him forget it if they were found. The thought of it suddenly seemed ridiculously funny and he felt a tiny bubble of laughter rising in his chest. She must have caught the rumble of slight sound because she slapped a hand over his mouth and her eyes widened even further in panic taking on the appearance of a cartoon character and speaking loud and clear of the horrors of mutilation and dismemberment that she would wreak on him were he to utter a sound.
They were frozen in that tableau for a long moment until the footsteps stopped mere aisles from their hidden corner. She closed her eyes now and he suspected she was praying to whatever deity might listen to repentant bookworms.
The prayers must have worked because a minute later the footsteps started again, this time a rapid tattoo in the other direction, with each beat carrying the interloper farther from their secret spot. She felt his lips curve under her hand as she dropped her forehead to his and sighed once they heard the door squeak open.
"That was close." She said on a breath still feeling her heart race in panic.
He clasped her wrist and pulled her hand from his mouth before he started to laugh.
She glared at him in a huff forgetting for a moment that she was still sitting on him and attempting to look intimidating as she crossed her arms across her chest "I don't see what was in slightest bit amusing. We could have gotten in big trouble, we could have gotten black listed from the library." Her voice held such horror that he laughed even harder. Her voice took on a petulant edge "hey, I've heard it can happen." She watched him as he shook with laughter his hand still clasping on of her wrists and she gave him a disgruntled look "I'm serious Logan, it maybe funny to you but I do not consider library access a joking matter." Her voice was prim and disapproving.
"Your... face" he choked the words out but then succumbed to another fit of laughter "So...funny. You looked like..." he searched his brain for an appropriate picture "Tweety Bird. You know...I twat I taw a puddy tat." This inspired another gale of laughter during which she began to twitch her foot in its shoe in irritation.
When she made a move to climb off of him is hand tightened on her wrist and held her in position and finally he sobered slightly "Sorry Ace but it was damn funny. You make the library sound like the Catholic Church or something. Like you're going to be excommunicated for the slightest infraction."
She sulked "maybe it's ridiculous to you. You can probably buy your way out of a black list but if I get banned from the library I'm sunk. I'm stuck having to study in the room listening to sickening Star Trek analogies from Doyle and Paris ranting at the NPR commentator. I would happily kill to avoid that."
"Point taken." He gave her his most winning smile "How about you forgive me my sins and assign me a few bloody marys or whatever they are and I'll promise to be on my best behavior hereafter."
"It's a Hail Mary you dolt."
He grinned, "Okay...so if you'll just mete out my punishment we can move on."
She sniffed and tried to look haughty "I don't know I have to think of a fitting castigation. "
He nodded solemnly "Of course. Well while you're thinking I'm just going to get back to our interrupted activities."
Before she could protest he pulled her flush against him and was kissing all thought of punitive measures clear out of her mind.
She pushed slightly away for a breath and gave him a disapproving look that failed utterly when her eyes landed instead on his enticing bottom lip. "Hey, I thought you said you've be on your best behavior."
He grinned that wide triumphant smile that always made her stomach drop to the vicinity of her feet "I figure I'm already paying for this sin so I might as well enjoy it while I can. Besides you have to admit it's not my entirely my fault."
"What do you mean?" her eyes were mesmerized by the shine of the chocolate brown that seemed to ooze warmth into ever pore until it radiated in her very bones.
"I mean you have to take responsibility as well, it's not fair for you to sit there tempting me like Eve with the apple with that sparkle in your eyes and that alluring come hither glare and expect me not to want to kiss you. That should be against the Geneva Conventions or something; no man; sinner or saint could withstand that. "
She rolled her eyes but flushed a little at the heat in his eyes. "Oh please."
He smiled as he kissed her chin, her nose, and her cheek with feather light touches and felt her melt slowly against him. He raised his eyes back to hers and gave a little apologetic shrug. "I can't resist you when you are so full of fire Ace. You know that. "
She did know that and the knowledge made her tingle with something more than mere lust. She was the one who grabbed his hand and recklessly dove back into their own personal maelstrom.
The ten minutes turned into forty five and the were looking dusty and slightly disheveled by the time they rescued their now milkshake consistency ice cream and scuttled back into the fluorescent light of the library and headed for her carrel. Sure enough all of her things were still in their same positions no made note snitch had happened by with sticky fingers and light toes. She sighed in relief and leaned back against her chair suddenly feeling a bit self-conscious as she smoothed her flyaway hairs.
"Uh. Thanks." She was looking at him but her eyes were focused somewhere in the vicinity of his chest which she watched shake a bit with what she suspected was a chuckle.
He tipped her chin up with his finger and leaned forward to place a feather light kiss on her lips. "No, thank YOU Ace."
She flushed but she met his eyes. "So will you still be here tomorrow evening? I get done with my final at three." Her fingers played with the edge of his turtleneck, as she looked up at him "I was kind of hoping to see you before you left for break."
He smiled "I'll be here, I'm not heading home until tomorrow night. Call me when you are finished with your final."
"Okay." She smiled and suddenly felt the weight of finals float away as she fell into his eyes.
He gave her hand a little squeeze and pulled her in for another quick kiss. "Good luck on your final, I'm sure those econ snobs will never know what hit them." He produced the thermos from the bag after a little glance around to make sure they were not being watched "Here's a parting gift." He sent her a droll wink "I'd say you've more than earned it."
She laughed helplessly as she watched him walk away with a jaunty step and then settled back into her chair with a sigh. Maybe despite the evil of finals life wasn't so bad after all.
