The Fortune Cookie's Always Right
Disclaimer: I own nothing but my imagination.
Author's Note: Hey, that whole "if you review it, she will write" thing works! So yay for you guys! This chappie isn't quite as pop culture driven, but don't worry, I've got tons of references stashed away for certain character interactions. Right now, I bet you're all dying to know what happens when a scheming Emily throws an unwilling Rory in Logan's path…with the promise of an overnight trip! Have fun! (And don't forget to check my profile for Gilmore-isms should you find a head-scratcher.)
CHAPTER 8: PASS THE RED VINES
"So…" Logan said as he drove down the road. He flashed Rory his patented charming smile. Rory looked away.
"Beautiful evening," he offered. Rory just stared out the window.
"I hear the new Ephalba is fantastic," he said. Still, Rory said nothing.
"Do you have a preference of radio stations?" Logan asked, gesturing to the dash. "Or I have a bunch of CDs if you'd like to choose one." Rory merely sighed, but gave no indication that she intended to respond.
Logan was running out of ideas, and was frankly miffed that Rory was not going to submit to his charm. "So, are you gonna Marcel Marceau your way through the evening, or what?"
"Not necessarily," Rory said, flipping down the visor and adjusting her hair. "I could communicate by whistle."
"Yeah, I don't think the Harpo approach is really gonna work for me," he said dryly.
"Oh, I'm so sorry," Rory said sarcastically, violently flipping the visor back into place. "What is going to work for you?"
Logan sighed. "If you really want to turn around and go back home, I'll understand, but we already have the tickets, and we're meeting other people there, so I'd rather not be rude if it's all the same to you."
"Fine," Rory said, tucking her hair behind her ears.
"Look," Logan said, "obviously you're not thrilled, which I can understand, but what exactly is it that pushes you into the land of the pissed off?"
Rory finally looked at him. "Oh, gee, I don't know, the fact that you arranged this… with my grandmother!"
"Ah," Logan said, suddenly understanding her animosity. "So… not the best way to get back into your good graces?" he offered.
"Possibly the worst," Rory agreed.
"Hm. Point taken," he said, pulling up to a stoplight. He tapped out a rhythm on the steering wheel with his thumbs. He suddenly noticed Rory was looking at him with a rather suspicious look on her face.
He looked around, making sure Rory was looking at him. "What?" he asked, laughter in his eyes.
"You're not going to kiss me now, are you?" she asked, one eyebrow raised.
"What?" he said, staring at her.
"Well," she said reasonably, "it just seems that when whatever method you're using to seduce me isn't working, then you just decide to kiss me. I was just going to say that it wouldn't be a good idea right now."
"Um… and why's that?" Logan said nervously.
"Because," Rory said simply, "the light's green."
Logan laughed, laying on the gas. "Rory Gilmore, you are somethin' else."
Rory allowed a small smile, but only because the ice was now broken. He still had a lot of work to do before she'd even consider dating him again.
"So, what did you think?" Logan asked as the house lights went up in the Gershwin Theater.
"Hey, I'm flying high, defying gravity!" Rory quipped from her seat.
"Aw, Ace, you gotta sing when quoting songs," Logan said. "But for a musical, I'd say it was pretty good. What say you, boys?"
"Well…" Colin said thoughtfully. "Glinda was hot."
"I concur," Finn said seriously. "Where's the stage door, hm?"
Rory rolled her eyes. When Logan said they were meeting other people at the show, she should have known he meant Colin and Finn.
"I am not going to help you stalk that poor girl," Rory said, hands on her hips.
"Alright, alright. So: what's next?" Finn said, rubbing his hands together.
"Well, I say we go for drinks, what do you think?" Logan suggested, standing up.
"Um, I'm not really in the mood for drinks," Rory said as Logan helped her with her coat.
"I'm sorry, love, I don't think I heard you right. How can you not be in the mood for drinks?" Finn asked incredulously, leading the group out of the theatre.
"Not all of us drink like fish, Finn," Logan chided, casually slinging his arm over Rory's shoulders and trying not to look affected when she shrugged it off.
"What about a club?" Colin suggested.
"Now it would take some serious drinking to get me footloose and fancy free," Finn said, making a face.
"Whaddya say, Ace?" Logan asked.
"Let's hear it for the boy," she responded dryly.
Colin laughed. "Seriously?"
Rory smiled. "Actually, I'm a little tired," she admitted as their car pulled up.
"11:00 on a Saturday night and she's tired? Can you believe this, boys?" Colin said.
"Unbelievable," Finn agreed.
"Hey," she said defensively, "I stayed up pretty late last night. It was movie night at the Gilmore house, which meant movies until 3 a.m. complete with every kind of junk food imaginable. If Pinky and the Brain over here wanna go conquer the world, be my guest, but I'm down for the count."
"Now there's a good idea," Logan said, thoughtfully rubbing his chin.
"What?" Rory asked warily.
"A movie night," Logan said.
"I'm listening," Colin said as they all piled into the car.
"Where to?" asked the driver.
"Times Square, Frank," Logan said.
"Good Lord – why are we going to Times Square?" Finn asked in disgust.
"Because that's where the Virgin Megastore is," Logan explained.
"Ah," said Finn. "And do they have cocktails there?" he asked in a businesslike fashion.
"Or virgins?" Colin asked, wiggling his eyebrows. Rory hit him with her purse.
"They have coffee," Logan offered.
"Mate, we are having two totally different conversations here," Finn said, patting Logan on the shoulder.
"How about a compromise," Colin offered. "We can pick out the movies here, then destroy the minibar in the room, hm?"
"Well…" Finn said, considering the proposition.
"You can empty the entire minibar of my room…I won't be drinking it," Rory suggested as they exited the car.
"A kind offer indeed, miss," Finn said, clasping Rory's shoulder. "And one I shall most definitely be taking you up on."
Logan rolled his eyes. "After you," he said, gesturing for Rory to enter first. They walked into the store and headed for the DVD section.
"So what kind of movies are we feeling tonight?" Colin asked, browsing the shelves. He picked up a few DVDs. "Charlie and the Chocolate Factory? Transporter 2? Mr. and Mrs. Smith? Red Eye?"
Rory raised her eyebrows, clearly not agreeing his choices.
"No no no," Finn said in disgust. "We need a quality film. Like…" he perused the shelf. "Aha! Priscilla, Queen of the Desert."
Everyone looked at him.
"What?" Finn said innocently. "Too much Abba? Fine," he said, accepting their rejection gracefully.
"And that brings us back to my suggestions. So, Charlie or Red Eye?" Colin said, holding up the two DVDs.
"You know, I never did see Charlie and the Chocolate Factory," said Logan.
Rory couldn't hold it in any longer. "Oh my God! Don't you people know how to watch movies?" she said, grabbing the movies from Colin's hands and putting them back on the shelves. "First off, we are not getting Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. If you're gonna do Roald Dahl, then we're going with Willy Wonka. Gene Wilder is the true Willy Wonka, and don't you forget it," she said, finding the 1971 version. "Ah, the songs," she sighed. She realized Colin and Logan were giving her weird looks. "Ok, moving right along…" she said, moving to another aisle. "Aha! Another classic. A Streetcar Named Desire."
"Ok, now I'm pretty sure that's a chick flick," Colin protested.
"Are you kidding me?" Rory said, holding it up. "It's Tennessee Williams! And let me tell you, Marlon Brando did not do chick flicks. Besides," she said, "if I'm going to coerced into spending time with you lot, at the very least I should get to choose the movies," she said airly.
"Alright, alright," Logan said, holding his hands up. "So what is a Gilmore-approved movie night choice?" Logan teased.
"Well," Rory said, continuing to browse. "There's always Saturday Night Fever, especially appropriate since it's Saturday night."
"And we're in New York," Finn pointed out.
"But not Brooklyn," Colin said.
"Right, well, two out of three ain't bad," Rory said wryly. "What else… well, there's always Dirty Dancing if we're going with a theme," she said, considering the movie.
"Hey, did you hear that Patrick Swayze wants to cut a hip-hop album?" Logan said.
"Ridiculous!" Rory said.
"That's what his agent said," Colin said. "Hey, can't we have some guy movies? You know, good old-fashioned violence?" he whined. "Blood and guts, anything."
Rory made a face, putting Dirty Dancing back on the shelf. "Well if we're going to watch scary movies, it's not going to be one of these formulaic new ones," Rory scoffed. "You gotta go with the classics: let's see…aha, here we go. Rosemary's Baby and…The Shining. That ought to do it."
"Works for me," Colin said.
"Me as well," Finn said.
"Ok, I think we got enough movies for tonight," Logan said, taking the DVDs from Rory.
"But wait – how are we going to watch them?" Rory asked, confused.
"With the DVD player we're going to request at the hotel…duh!" Colin said.
"Right, of course. I forgot what it was like to be rich and privileged – my bad," Rory said wryly.
"Hey, don't knock it 'til you've tried it," Logan chided as they waited in line.
"So where are we going to get the food?" Rory asked.
"Well, the minibar ought to have some snacks in it," Colin said.
Rory laughed humorlessly. "Oh ye of little experience; I highly doubt the minibar will be stocked with the kind of food we're going to be eating."
Colin looked at her questioningly.
"Enlighten us, Ace," Logan said.
"Well," Rory said, "we need to find a mini-mart. Only there can we get the requisite comestibles." She began a list on her fingers. "We'll need cookie dough, marshmallows, peanut butter, M&Ms, popcorn, trail mix, and Red Vines. Gotta have the Red Vines."
"My God!" Colin said.
"Oh yeah. And that's just for Willy Wonka. We order pizza for Saturday Night Fever," Rory said nonchalantly.
"Well, you do have sophisticated tastes, don't you?" Logan teased.
"Hey, one more comment from you and I come down with the flu like this," Rory said, snapping her fingers.
"Ok, ok," Logan consented, paying for the DVDs before they all walked outside.
"Where's the car? I'm hungry now!" Finn cried.
"There," Colin pointed as Frank pulled up in front of them.
"Let's go!" Logan said, grabbing Rory's hand before she could protest. They ran to the limo and slipped inside, finding shelter from the cold night.
"Alright," Finn said. "Let's get this party started!"
"Ok, so there are two adjoining rooms, and the DVD player is in this one," Logan said, opening the door to a hotel room. He led the group inside and closed the door behind them, setting Rory's overnight bag next to the entertainment center. Finn immediately went to the minibar as Colin unwrapped the first movie, and Rory went to hang her coat up in the closet.
"You know who we should have invited?" Finn said, opening a tiny bottle.
"Glinda?" Colin said suggestively.
"Well, yes, but not who I was thinking of," Finn said, taking a swig.
"Who?" Rory asked, perching on the edge of one of the two double beds.
"Your hot friend!" Finn said, offering her a sip. She declined with a shake of her head.
"Who, Paris?" Rory asked incredulously.
Logan guffawed, but stopped himself. "Sorry, go on," he said, sitting down on the other bed.
"No, love, your Asian beauty," Finn said, as if it were obvious.
"Ah, Lane. Not gonna happen, Finn," she said, tucking one leg underneath her.
"Oh, come on, why not? She's exotic, I'm exotic, it's a perfect match," he argued.
"Two good reasons, my friend: one, she's got a boyfriend, and two, you're not a Korean doctor," Rory explained again.
"Is her boyfriend a Korean doctor?" Finn queried.
"Well…not exactly," Rory said. "He's kind of in a rock band."
"Ha! Bloody brilliant!" Finn crowed. "When we get back, you call her and tell her I want to play MASH. She can be the Korean peasant, and I'll be the dashing young doctor who sweeps her off her feet despite the fact that we speak different languages," Finn said, getting lost in his fantasy.
"Hopeless; completely hopeless!" Rory said, standing up.
"Hey, where are you going?" Logan asked. "We're about to put in the first movie."
"Well," Rory said, rummaging through her overnight bag, "I can't very well enjoy movie night in a dress, especially considering the company, so I'm hoping Grandma packed me some pajamas." She looked through the bag. "Aha!" she said triumphantly. "Back in a moment," she said, going to the bathroom to change.
Once the door was shut, Colin and Finn looked at Logan.
"So…what's the next step in your grand plan?" Colin asked.
"Um…" Logan said, running his fingers through his hair. "Not entirely sure. Apparently she was none too thrilled about my working with her grandmother on this one, so I'm not clear on how to proceed at this point."
"Don't worry, mate, I've got an idea," Finn said.
Logan groaned. "Look, if it's anything like what you used to get that redhead last summer, I'm telling you right now, it is not gonna work on Rory," he warned.
"Oh, give me some credit," Finn said. "Now listen," he stage whispered to Colin. "When sleepytime comes, you and me will be passed out on the beds, alright?"
"Right," Colin whispered back. "Leaving you free to get your freak on next door," he said with a conspiratorial wink to Logan.
"Hey, I never said I was gonna try - " Logan started. He immediately stopped speaking when he heard the door open.
"Not gonna try what?" Rory asked innocently. When she found that all the guys were staring at her, she tugged on her top self-consciously. Trust her grandmother to only buy her the finest of silk pajamas. Perhaps she should have left her bra on, though it would have defeated the comfort issue.
"Um…" Logan said, his mouth suddenly dry. "Not gonna try…"
"My next little bottle here," Finn said, choosing a new bottle from the minibar. He took a sip. "Ugh! It's rubbish. Good thing you passed on the offer. Bloody disgusting," he said, setting it down. "Right: what's up first? Oompa Loompas or Stellaaaa!" he asked, flopping down on one of the beds. Colin grabbed a bottle for himself and settled on the other bed.
"Right, um, toss us a couple of pillows, would you?" Logan said, regaining control of his faculties.
"Sure," Colin said, throwing down two pillows. Logan offered one to Rory and they settled down on the floor at the end of Colin's bed.
"Let the fun begin!" Logan said, pressing play.
"Pass the Red Vines," Rory said enthusiastically as they settled back against the bed.
Two movies later, and true to their word, Colin and Finn were passed out on the beds. Logan was the last one awake; Rory fell asleep about ten minutes earlier. Logan glanced at her. She was still sitting beside him, but she had slumped over a bit, her head leaning on his shoulder. He smiled. She didn't seem quite so ferocious when she was asleep. He reached for the remote and turned off the movie, staying as quiet as possible.
"Ace," he whispered, lifting his shoulder a bit, nudging her head.
"Mmphf," she mumbled, shifting her head closer to his neck. He grinned, filing that away under things he wouldn't let her forget.
"Ok, come on," he said, sliding her off of his shoulder and standing up. "Time for bed," he said.
"Nooo," moaned Rory, trying to lay down on the pillows.
"Come on," Logan repeated, pulling her up with him.
Rory seemed to wake up a little more. "Nooo, sleep…" she said, trying to lay down on the nearest bed.
"No!" Logan said, pulling her with him. "Someone's already sleeping there, Ace." He sighed. "Oh…what the hell," he said to himself, picking her up. She instinctively put her arms around his neck. Her head drooped onto his shoulder. He smiled and carried her to the door that joined the two rooms, managing to open it with the arm that was underneath her legs. He pulled the door closed behind them and surveyed the room in the moonlight.
"Oh no," he groaned.
"Hmm?" Rory said, pulled awake as Logan set her down.
"Um…ok, so, just so you know, I didn't plan this, ok? So don't read anything into it?" he said cautiously.
"Logan, it's late, I'm tired, and…" Rory trailed off when she saw what he was referring to. "Aw, man!"
They both stood there, just looking at the king size bed in the middle of the room.
"If you want, I can sleep on the floor," Logan offered.
Rory yawned and thought for a moment. "No, that's ridiculous. We can share," she said sleepily, climbing onto the bed and slipping under the sheets.
Logan's eyes lit up. "Well, alright then!" he exclaimed, starting to take off his shoes.
"But," Rory said.
"But?" Logan asked, looking up, one foot in the air.
"You stay on your side, got it?" she warned.
"Got it," Logan agreed, pulling off his shoe. He started to unbutton his shirt.
"Whoa whoa whoa!" Rory said. "What are you doing?" she asked in alarm.
"Getting ready for bed," Logan said. He noticed her look. "What?"
"You don't by any chance…um…" Rory said nervously.
"What?" Logan asked, a blank look on his face. He suddenly guessed at the source of her discomfort and began to laugh. "No, Ace, I don't sleep in the nude. Geez, are you always this jittery in bed?"
"No," Rory harrumphed, sliding further underneath the covers.
Logan smirked and finished unbuttoning his shirt, draping it over a chair. When he started to undo his belt, Rory squeezed her eyes shut, her cheeks turning pink. She didn't open them until she felt the bed shift under Logan's weight.
"So…" Rory said.
"So…" Logan replied. "Here we are," he said softly.
"Yep," Rory said succinctly. "Um…you weren't kidding, right? I mean, you are wearing…"
"Boxers, yes I am," Logan said dryly. "Is that ok with you?" he said with a smirk.
"Yes; I don't care what you wear," Rory said huffily, turning so she lay on her side facing away from him.
"Uh huh," Logan said in a tone that let her know he didn't believe her. "Just wanted to make sure I wasn't getting you all hot and bothered," he said.
Rory snorted in derision. "Oh please. Don't flatter yourself."
Logan smiled. He knew that he was getting to her. He leaned up close, not quite touching her, but close enough that if she moved even an inch they would be touching from top to bottom. "Goodnight, Ace," he whispered in her ear. He grinned before rolling back to his side of the bed.
Rory shivered, feeling his breath so close to her ear, remembering what it felt like when he used to kiss her there. But before she had time to contemplate that, she drifted off to sleep…
Logan woke up first. He yawned and then started to stretch, back flat on the bed, until he realized that something was impeding his movement. He shifted slightly and realized that somehow in the middle of the night, Rory had rolled over to his side of the bed. She was currently draped over him, one leg thrown over his and one arm across his middle. Her head was resting on his chest in the crook of his shoulder, her ear right over his heartbeat. Logan was surprised to find that he had one arm wrapped around her and the other was resting on her hand. He looked down at their hands, and slowly intertwined their fingers. Rory shifted and snuggled closer. He grinned as he contemplated how best to wake her for maximum embarrassment.
"Ro-ry…" he whispered in a sing-song voice, kissing her forehead.
"Mmm," she mumbled.
"Ro-ry," he sang again.
"Five more minutes…" she groaned. As her awareness grew, she began to realize where she was…and more importantly, who she was with. Her eyes flew open as she realized that despite all her harsh words the night before, she was currently wrapped around a very smug Logan Huntzberger. She started to pull away.
"Oh no you don't," Logan said, tightening his grip. "I like you like this," he said, laying his head back down. She reluctantly relaxed against him, trying to ignore that his thumb was tracing slow patterns on her palm, and more importantly, trying to ignore the fact that a very thin layer of silk was separating her from a practically naked Logan.
"Like what," she said, closing her eyes again. She could hear his heartbeat.
"Just… quiet. Relaxed. Beautiful," he said. A slow smile spread across her face, though she hoped to God he couldn't feel it against his chest – which, of course, he could.
"You like your women tranquil and submissive?" she deadpanned, just in case.
"Ace, can you just enjoy the moment sans sarcasm?" he asked. He felt her grin.
Logan closed his eyes. "You wanna know something funny?" he asked.
"Ha-ha funny or weird funny?" she said.
"I suppose weird funny," he replied.
"Always," she said.
"This is the first time I've ever woken up with a girl," he said frankly.
"Seriously?" Rory said, lifting her head to look at him.
"Seriously," he said, his eyes remaining closed. "I mean, not to be all male and talking about former conquests or anything, it's just that…I've never been much of the intimacy type. I've never wanted to wake up with a girl, or really just… just hold a girl before," he admitted.
"Wow," Rory said, not knowing what else to say. They lay there for awhile, neither wanting to break the unspoken truce that seemed to have come about.
The moment ended when there was a knock at the room-adjoining door. "Oy, you got any aspirin over there? It's just that Colin's puking his guts out and he's giving me a splitting headache and we can't find – what? Where? Well why didn't you say so? Bloody hell, we could be interrupting…right, um, nevermind!" Finn said from the other side of the door. They heard his feet padding away.
Logan groaned and opened his eyes. "Way to ruin a moment, Finn," he said.
"Um, that's ok, I think I'm going to take a shower anyway," Rory said, sitting up. Logan reluctantly let go of her hand, bringing his free hand to trace her face.
"I meant it, you know," he said.
"What?" Rory half-whispered, her eyes locked on his.
"You are beautiful," he said, staring intensely at her.
Rory was mesmerized, but needed to break the spell. After all, he couldn't just sweet talk her and make everything okay again. She was just confused; he sounded so sincere.
"Logan," she said softly.
"Right, shower," he said, slowly dropping his hand from her face. "Go," he urged her. "I need to check on the guys anyway. Besides, we've got to plan the day."
Rory slid off the bed. "Plan the day? Aren't we just going back home?"
"Hey, the date ain't over yet," Logan said with a wink.
"Hold on, I only signed up for a show," Rory teased. "You're lucky I'm still here."
"I sure am," Logan said with a wink. "Now go take your shower already. Or do you need some help?" he said suggestively, sitting up.
Rory took one look at his naked torso and backed toward the shower. "I'm going! I'm going!" she said, slipping into the bathroom.
As soon as the door closed, Logan flopped back down on the bed, resting his hands behind his head and grinning widely. His plan was back on track: now he could start Phase II of his scheme…
Well, goodness gracious me! What could Phase II be? Looks like Rory might be letting her guard down, but Logan's gonna have to work for it. And what is going on with all the other characters in the Gilmore universe? I mean, Dean knows that Rory and Logan never slept together. Do you think he's going to exploit that fact? (You'd better believe it. Homeboy's not gone for good!) Haha! I'm evil and I know it. Now pretty please review so I know you think this story is worth continuing. (Ok, so I'm gonna finish it anyway because I can't abide unfinished fics, but don't you want the next chapter to come out before we're 80? I thought so.)
