She had touched him, not even a few hours after he opened the doors to the mansion. A briefest of touches, something of a whisper had her skin been able to speak. She'd caught him off guard when she wrapped her arms around him in an embrace, at least that's what she thought. Her lips hadn't sent him into the tremor she normally caused when she touched anyone, but pressed against his long enough to gain some of his…unusual habits. A simple kiss for such a simple girl is hardly the explanation. A kiss for the seven years departed, for the tear stained pillows and for the very second she knew she was letting him go. She'd wanted a glimpse into his world again; she hadn't seen since she was younger. To see what he saw, what he felt and what he wanted in a woman had overwhelmed her since he took off. For a moment she'd looked into his hazel eyes and seen the truth. While he was away, he'd found what he was looking for.
With a flick of her wrist, she'd sent the bourbon down her throat and with a frown she ordered another. She inhaled and allowed her eyelids to close; she could see what was happening around her. A girl, no more than twenty-five chatted and noisily popped her gum in the far corner, her perfume assaulting Marie's nose. No wonder the man preferred his women au natural, Marie smirked to herself but inside she was torn. She didn't wear any scent this night, she would have suffered immensely. Besides, the only scent she vowed to wear was his. Sounds so animalistic, she thought soberly.
The bartender raised an eyebrow as he placed her shot down on the bar. "Hittin' it a little hard tonight, ain't you?" He asked placing the bottle down gently on the wooden surface.
Marie raised her eyes to meet his and nodded, and reached forward to pick up the glass. "Got a couple years to make up for." She didn't sound confident with her answer, but it was true. She stretched her legs from the stool but remained seated. Marie watched the others in the bar. A woman stood at the rattled jukebox and slid a quarter in, lazily pressed a button and started to sway when a young female voice crooned over the speakers. A ghost of a smile crept on Marie's face while she watched as the young woman beckoned a man with the crook of a finger out on the dance floor. The pair danced and Marie simply watched. The beast in her head was oddly silent at this scene and she pretended to ignore, but deep inside her heart she noticed.
Several men at a table in the back had noticed the brunette saunter in well after ten that night, each surveying her well-toned curves and dip of her hips as she walked. One man's grin grew wider when he noticed the streaks of white. Bobby…her first boyfriend, her closest friend from when she arrived in New York, apart from Logan, was seated with his friends passing the night away with a couple pitchers. He excused himself from the table and stepped up to the bar, beside Marie.
"Didn't think I'd see you here tonight Rogue." He leaned against the bar and flashed a lopsided grin, the drink apparent in his eyes. Marie turned and returned his smile, though her eyes portrayed something else.
"Are you here alone?" Bobby asked, his smile slowly vanishing when he noticed no occupant beside her. Marie chuckled and threw back the remainder of her shot and signaled for the bartender. "I guess you could say that. But then I'm never really alone am I?" She trailed off and winked, tapping a finger to her head. Bobby nodded slowly and broke her gaze.
"Look, me and the guys are sittin' right over there. You don't need to sit here alone." Bobby shrugged over his shoulder to the table, lightly placing a hand near hers on the bar. Marie smiled and shook her head. "Bobby…" She sighed looking at her gloved hands. "I appreciate the offer…but I'm alright."
"It's Logan, isn't it?" She knew the question would come, but she still found herself unprepared for her answer. She inhaled slowly. "I'm sure you heard. He's back…few nights ago." She was determined to not allow her voice to quiver; for a moment her vision was blurry and she bit her lip until she tasted blood. No tears would fall for his sake tonight.
Bobby sighed and placed a bill on the bar, and took the beer the bartender offered him. "Yeah I heard. Kitty sent the message along the other day. Seven years huh?" He took a gulp and nervously looked in her direction. Marie straightened up in her seat and nodded, while taking another deep breath. The alcohol was starting to really kick in. "Yeah, seven years." She said softly, finally turning to glance at him. The music from the jukebox played another of its selected songs and Marie smiled bitterly at its choice. Bobby opened his mouth to say something but was cut off when there was a horrible scraping of metal and a few men started to cheer. The cage was being set up by a few guys in flannel work shirts lifting the metal bars that would close off the occupants inside. The announcer, a short dumpy man in a dirt streaked wife beater brought out the microphone and began to untangle the cords and hook it up to the massive speaker situated outside the cage.
The crowds, mainly men with a few women, began the move from the bars and tables to the cage area. Men carried their drinks and women clung to their sides, cheap perfume and makeup completing the scene. Some stragglers were just entering the bar, arriving specifically for the savage cage fights held every Friday night. Marie had closed her eyes and lowered her head, in attempt to fight off the first wave of dizziness that threatened to consume her.
Leather, cigar and a faint whiff of soap. It screamed Logan.
Marie snapped her head up and opened her eyes wide. Those smells were like second nature to her, and the Logan inside her head welcomed those scents eagerly. Bobby turned towards the door and saw who strolled in. He swore under his breath and turned back to his beer, taking a rather large gulp. Marie turned her head a fraction of an inch and through a curtain of hair, watched Logan approach the other side of the bar and order a beer.
Clad in his leather jacket and with a cigar tilted in his mouth, he pulled out a twenty and tossed it on the bar ledge. The bartender opened a beer and handed him the change. Logan grumbled his thanks and started on his drink.
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