AN: I am quite keen on sticking to the timeline of the big external things so, it's not time for poker yet and I am not even sure how much of that original I'm keeping. Keeping things flexible as far as the storyline goes. I do want to do the male Yale party, as some of you have already sensed coming. But I guess one thing I am struggling with is the drama in the end of that party which would give them that different kind of moment to connect, considering there is no Dean in the picture. So ideas are welcome! I am making this thing up as I go.
Also so sorry if you find mistakes in this chapter. I only had a chance to reread it once today. Work calls.
Chapter 20
Rory's slightly curled hair bounced as she made it to the third floor of the Berkeley College dorm, feeling once again relieved her room was on the first floor, never having been a huge fan of stairs. Timing wise she believed to be right on schedule - 7.35 PM was a good time to just casually stop by, wasn't it? Though that too, like many things that evening, had provided her with a conundrum.
It had taken Rory about an hour to decide on what to wear, very nearly causing her to call her mother for advice. What did one wear for hanging out, watching a movie and eating pizza, with a guy you were hoping to hook up with - something comfortable but sexy, supposedly? It was not like she could google advice on 'Netflix and Chill' outfits - the term having not yet been invented. But since the weather was on the chillier side, the final choice had ended up being a skirt and tights or jeans, sweatpants not quite feeling good enough since they had yet to fall into that comfortable stage she'd experienced with Dean, having hung out watching TV with him a million times at her home couch regardless of what either wore.
Rory knocked, and quickly looked over her outfit of a comfortable denim skirt, tights and a low-cut henley shirt. She could hear the stereo somewhere playing Coldplay, and by the sound of it being turned on low, she assumed it was Logan's.
Rory realized quickly she was a little overdressed though as Logan, dressed in some simple gray jersey sweats and a navy-colored Yale hoodie, stood at the doorway. She couldn't quite recall him ever wearing something so casual, if one didn't count being in his birthday suit or in a robe, that is. He seemed to have a thing for collars on most days, even in Florida and Rome.
"Hey, Ace. Come on in," Logan invited.
"Hi..," Rory replied, trying to not put too much emphasis on wishing she'd worn sweats too. But then again, she recalled her sweats really were more like her pajamas, hardly something she'd want to be seen in publicly.
Logan had once again made some effort - the place certainly looked more clean than an average male dorm room, the coffee table already held a bowl of spiced nuts and a bowl of string lights, supposedly for creating a romantic mood.
Though the primary thing was here that the room looked very little like an average dorm room, period. Dark wood furniture mixed in with stainless steel, a dark leather couch and a bunch of designer furniture Rory knew to be famous but had no idea about the names. There were bravely painted blue and white walls, huge wooden bookcases full of books, CD-s and DVD-s from floor to ceiling. A fancy liquor cabinet stood on one wall - definitely not one would see in every dorm room. The bicycle, hanging on a wall, unknown whether his or his room mates - he did have one, right? - indicated a love for at least some sports, as did the set of golf clubs in the corner and the two gym bags on a bench by the door.
Rory was pleasantly surprised by the amount of art in this room - sculptures, gorgeous photographs and street signs, one referring to the Rue Louis Braille and the other to Buckingham Palace Road, making her feel relieved at least not to find any cheap-looking erotica on his walls, something her mother had once warned her then again - this was just the common room, the rest remained to be seen.
"I like your place," Rory commented, studying the room around her. It was a part of who he was, at least in part.
"Here, let me take your coat," Logan offered, and Rory shed her cognac-colored leather jacket, handing over her purse as well on automatic.
"Thanks," she replied, already feeling like she'd missed the precious moment for a more physical 'hello' that she certainly wouldn't have minded.
"So, how about we order some pizza. I wasn't sure what time you'd get here and I had a hunch that ordering for you might be a little risky so...," Logan began to explain, strangely enough sounding a little nervous.
"Since when are you so cautious about risks?" Rory teased.
Logan just raised the corner of his mouth.
"But in case you hadn't learned yet, I'm the easiest person with food. As long as it's delicious and not vegetarian, I'm good to go. Never been much of a salad fan. Oh, and I'd rather not eat anything weird like pancreas, rabbit or snails…," Rory trailed off, occasionally looking up, listing a long row of things her grandmother had gotten her to try but had grossed her out. "But I just usually bring quite an appetite," Rory explained, smilingly, no longer caring if it wasn't ladylike, believing he must've known she could eat by now.
She didn't really know what it was, but she figured it must've been he just wanted to stop her blabbering, doubting it could be anything else.
"That I do remember," Logan said, taking the decisive step towards her.
Rory's hips hung slightly forwards, appearing all casual, but it came off incredibly sexy. The casual brush of her hair behind her ear just added to it.
"And you are awfully cute when you talk like that," he added, several seconds later, gently brushing her shoulder and arm with his thumb. From there it was already much easier for her to place her hand on his chest, vaguely feeling his heartbeat and him to slip his hand around her waist while the two inched closer and closer together.
"Aw..," Rory voiced, smiling humbly.
"And you also look really good tonight," Logan said, milliseconds before his lips met hers. Not hungrily, but calmly enough to just let the tension, the tingle in her stomach, carry the moment for at least a minute.
"Not bad yourself," Rory hummed, as the kiss broke, quite liking this relaxed version of him.
"Now, how about we order that pizza and pick a movie, or we'll never get to that part..," Logan suggested huskily, his reasoning already being crystal clear to Rory. Just a few steps left and there would've been his bed, the door to his bedroom being wide open right there.
Rory chuckled, definitely being a little tempted to continue this, but he was so right - delaying this a little was only the smart thing to do. "Alright..," she added, discovering again this other side of herself who was not just the 'good girl' Stephanie had said she was. At this point she truly did consider that maybe it wouldn't be the worst thing in the world if she just had her fun with him, at the same time protecting her heart a little too. Maybe she was a girl who could just have fun? The thought certainly took some of the pressure away, recalling how much easier sleeping with him in Rome had felt with no other expectations beyond privacy required.
They settled onto the couch, going back and forth a little over the pizza menu, eventually going for two whole pies from Pepe's - a meat-lovers's special and their special white clam pizza, Logan insisted was amazing.
For wine Logan needed to go no further than his second minifridge, giving a whole new meaning to college dorm room drinking, having proper wine glasses and all.
"How on Earth do they let you have all these things in here?" Rory just needed to ask, gesturing towards the very visible bar cabinet.
"Well I am 22 for one, and usually I can be pretty persuasive. It doesn't hurt to have friends in high places," Logan explained, sneakily.
"Ah… so you just buy your privileges? Bribery is an ancient way of getting things done…" Rory nodded, half assuming it. She tried not to judge, it was not like she didn't knew these things happened, but she just was enjoying the moment getting to know him a little better.
"Not always. I mean sometimes it's sort of indirect, I suppose - I just make sure they get invited to all the good parties or conveniently tell them I have some concert tickets left over that I won't be using, and that suffices. Sometimes popularity and semi-genuine generosity is worth more than money," Logan replied, smugly.
"And that you certainly are. Popular, I mean," Rory commented. "So how was the party last night?" she asked, inside also dying to know what he'd spent last week doing when he'd been out of town.
"Ah.. the voicemail," Logan said, for a moment having sounded unsure how she knew about that. "It was nothing special. Just poker night with the guys," he added.
"Hm-hm," Rory nodded.
"And I guess I'm just curious… and you don't have to tell me if you don't want to, but where did you go last week? You said you were out of town and I couldn't help myself picturing you in all types of places… maybe you were on a beach somewhere or maybe just planning the assembly or working on something…" Rory blabbered again.
"It wasn't for fun," Logan replied. "My dad was in Asia for a week and he asked me to sit in on a few board meetings. He's taking my preparation pretty seriously," Logan added, sounding a lot less enthusiastic than he had before.
"Oh..," Rory replied, feeling embarrassed for having prided. It wasn't her business, and he didn't owe her an explanation.
"I read the article," Logan said, recovering from a moment of silence, laying out the selection of movies to watch for them to decide.
"You did?" Rory asked, excitedly, having half assumed he did.
"Yep, not bad," he replied.
"Thank you," Rory replied graciously.
"Caught the spirit of the thing, I'll give you that," Logan added.
"But..?" Rory hesitated.
"No, no buts. You've got good style. Liked how you'd blended things together, close to the truth - almost verifiable but not too close. It definitely had a Joseph Mitchell thing going for it, I like that," Logan explained.
"I'm surprised you even bothered to read it," Rory replied, teasingly.
Logan chuckled, obviously that being very far from the truth.
"So, which one is it going to be?" Logan asked instead, spreading out a selection of Netflix's mail-order DVD-s and some of his own.
It was not a bad list of movies - not at all, containing a couple of generic rom-coms like 50 First Dates, 10 Things I Hate About You, The Notebook and When Harry Met Sally, making Rory think how she really hadn't spoken much about her love for movies with him before. And this was definitely a date-worthy list, just not with someone who guzzled the classics and other less-generic stuff in her spare time.
Thankfully there were also more refined movies such as Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Pulp Fiction, Edward Scissorhands, Eyes Wide Shut, Fargo, Truman Show and the Gladiator. And having seen almost all of them before, except Eyes Wide Shut, she was actually leaning towards that, taking a moment to read the synopsis.
"How did the talk with your grandfather go?" Logan inquired.
"Well, I suppose. I'm just not that comfortable with the secrets. But sure, I'll keep them… It's strange to know he has kept the LDB from my grandmother for - what - 40-something years?" Rory discussed, slight distaste in her voice.
"I guess that's a little controversial… but I don't think unless the secret is hurting anyone it's not that big of a deal," Logan shrugged.
"So, what other big secrets are you keeping?" Rory asked, teasingly, not actually expecting him to reveal anything else.
Rory placed the movie back on the coffee table, willing to give it a try, despite suspecting mildly erotic content. But that was where she was expecting things to lead anyways so, why not?
Logan took a lungful of air before replying.
"I've been wanting to refer to you as my girlfriend this past week, when talking to people - Finn mostly," Logan admitted, catching Rory off guard.
Rory laughed from disbelief - it was a nervous reaction.
"What - am I so far off base?" Logan asked, sounding like he was just laughing on his own expense. "It's not like I've ever even thought about it before… so I don't know maybe this is just the one time this guy, here, is knee deep in something I don't understand but..," he added, with a shrug, clearly nervous himself.
"There are so many things you could call me…," Rory began, slipping her palm onto his neck and intertwining her hand to the back of his neck, not knowing what else to say to something like that, feeling so deeply flattered at his nervousness.
"Now that's an opening..," Logan chimed, welcoming her body that was beginning to move over his lap to straddle him.
"But girlfriend is fine too," Rory added, humbly, just before kissing him. Maybe she had worried for nothing?
Logan's arms pulled her firmly against his body, clearly enjoying the close proximity. Tongues battled, the open-mouthed yet unhurried kiss, definitely opening some subconscious plane to them. It was so easy to forget all time and place like that.
"But there is this one thing…," Logan said, clearing his voice, after holding her for several minutes like that, admiring her face up close.
Rory pulled back a little, hesitating.
"It's just that I can't have my parents find out about this. That also means your grandparents. I mean - it doesn't mean we can't go out, but they just can't know that we're exclusive..," Logan explained.
"I kind of got that the other day…," Rory said, recalling how he'd released her hand in before her grandfather saw them.
"I just…," Logan began, picking his words carefully. "They are very particular about whom I date publicly and… it's this whole big thing to them. And once they know it'll mean either putting all that pressure on us or… at the worst case - beginning to meddle," Logan explained with a deep sigh.
"Oh, " Rory reacted, unsure what all of this meant.
"They're just horrible about things like that, and they've driven away girls I've liked after I've simply been to functions with them a couple of times, assuming we're serious. Even if that was not the case. And I just don't want to subject you to something like that, especially considering your aspirations in the field. I desperately want them to not try to control my life, but clearly I can't really do much about it until I graduate and get the entirety of my trust fund. Then can breathe a little easier," Logan explained, speaking quickly, opening up in that little speech more than he had about his finances as well, which was already way more than Rory had expected from tonight.
"So what does this mean…?" Rory asked, disheartedly.
"It means… We can go out, and amongst close friends we can be together, but formally we can't really be seen together much beyond appearing as friends. And… this might mean that if I go to some fancier functions which I am requested at, I might have to bring dates to them. I usually just take a friend, but you know how it is…," Logan explained.
"Um… no, I don't," Rory replied, hesitantly.
"Right. Sorry…," Logan apologized. "What I just meant is that sometimes people can get the wrong idea or even once or twice the press has begun to speculate about things that aren't there.. So it's just messy," Logan admitted. "I hate asking this, but would that be something you'd be willing to consider? And I mean if that means that you also want that same kind of freedom, to see other people or something, that's something I'm willing to consider…," Logan continued.
That suggestion felt like a cold bucket of water being poured over her. A definite turn off.
"No, I don't want to see other people," Rory replied, climbing off his lap. "This just sounds like you asking for my permission to date others, which frankly is just what I assumed from you in the beginning. I mean if this exclusivity thing is not something you can do then why even go through the trouble with me? I told you I didn't want to be one of the many… I was very clear about that," Rory grumbled, suddenly no longer feeling as affectionate.
"I don't want to date anyone else. I just said that in case you did…or if you considered it unfair to you. I want to get to know you, spend time with you! I do not want to sleep with anyone else…But I just don't want my parent's to meddle or start asking us questions we are not ready to answer," Logan explained, pleadingly.
Hearing him say those earlier words certainly made her feel more confident about herself, the latter not so much.
"Are you sure?" Rory asked. She wasn't happy about having yet another secret. But she just needed more assurance.
"I am positive," Logan assured, taking her hand. "It doesn't stop us from going out, spending time together - and I do want you to be my girlfriend even if that's only a term I can throw around around my friends," Logan added.
"Secrets have a tendency to come out..," Rory noted worriedly
"Yeah, but at least by that time we've had a chance to know each-other a little better," Logan made a valid point.
"My mom sort of knows about you, but she's very reluctant to give my grandparents any intel either way so all she needs is me to talk to her, I guess," Rory decided to inform him.
"Then we'll just have to trust her;" Logan shrugged.
"Okay then…," Rory sighed, a little reluctantly. It is what it is, right? - Rory thought to herself.
"Okay," Logan said, squeezing her hand again. "We'll hammer out the details, I promise…," he assured and gave Rory a quick kiss.
"So, did you pick a movie yet?" Logan asked.
"I guess we could give Nicole and Tom a chance," Rory suggested, raising the corner of her mouth with a hint of seductiveness.
"Well alright then," Logan replied, approvingly, clearly having a fair guess about its content already.