The bartender placed a glass of Macallan scotch on a napkin in front of Logan Huntzberger. Logan was tapping the keys on his laptop and barely noticed. He did a double-take and then furrowed his brow at the bartender. All he said was, "From the woman in the blue dress" and gestured with a head tilt in the direction of the lower club chairs in a seating area.
Logan's eyes followed the gesture towards a slender brunette wearing a modern sheath dress in Tiffany blue. She turned in his direction and his mouth dropped open. Rory Gilmore sat there, while she bit her lower lip and stared at him. He couldn't manage to close his mouth, instead he left the computer and drink at the bar. Their eyes met and Logan was powerless. He felt a magnetic pull to her as he crossed the room to her.
Rory took a sip of her martini then a deep breath as Logan approached her and said, "Rory."
"Hello, Logan. How are you?" she asked, never breaking eye contact with him. She stood up and suddenly they were standing about 2 inches apart from each other.
Without warning, she threw herself into his arms and he wrapped her in a warm hug. They stood there in an embrace for several minutes, just holding each other. Logan kissed her on the temple without even thinking. "Ace, I've missed you so much," he whispered into her hair.
She sighed and said, "I've missed you too," then she slid her hand behind his neck to pull him closer. She kissed him softly, then pulled away.
Logan kept his hand on her waist, silently willing her to not go too far away. "I didn't know if I would ever see you again… What are you doing here?" he asked her. 'Here' was a boutique hotel in Seattle. They had not seen or spoken to each other in over six months, when Rory rejected his marriage proposal at her college graduation.
Rory looked up at him through her lashes as he put his arms around her waist again. She replied, "I'm working. I'm on the Obama Campaign and we're here for a few days." Their lips were almost touching as she asked, "What are YOU doing here?"
Logan smirked at her and said, "I'm here for work too. I had a meeting with a code developer earlier." He kissed her again and deeply inhaled her scent. "You are stunning. I love the dress."
The bartender tapped Logan on the shoulder. He motioned to a side table and said, "I brought your things over for you." He indeed had brought Logan's laptop, drink, and laptop bag. "It looked like you might not return very soon," he said as he grinned at Logan.
Logan nodded at him. "That was very kind of you. Thank you."
Once he left, Rory said, "It really is good to see you."
Logan was still holding her close and asked, "So? Now what?"
Rory shrugged. "I have no idea. I noticed you at the bar and I wanted so badly to talk to you. The drink is as far as I got." She sat down on the edge of the chair that she previously occupied, looking a little distraught.
Logan pursed his lips, carefully considering his next question. "Do you want to go somewhere and talk? I feel like we need to talk."
Rory looked down at her hands in her lap while he stood in front of her and waited. "Sure," she agreed. "Gimme a minute," as she grabbed her martini and downed it.
Logan put his laptop in his bag and drank his scotch in 3 gulps.
"Okay," she said. As she stood up, she declared "Let's go."
Rory grabbed her check folio to sign to pay for her drinks and charge them to her room. She placed it back down next to her empty glass.
As she walked towards the elevator bank, in typical Logan-fashion he placed his hand on her lower back and walked with her. He waited while she pressed the up button to call the elevator. It took everything he had to not take control and whisk her up to his room. He was prepared to carry her if he had to, but he held back. The last time he pushed too hard it blew up in has face and he lost her.
The doors opened and she walked in and pressed the button for her floor. He followed and stood across the elevator from her. He was trying to keep his hands off of her and not attack her with his lips and body – Logan had never wanted anyone as much as he wanted Rory at right this minute.
Rory stood facing the doors, watching the numbers rise and specifically NOT looking in Logan's direction. She wanted him like no woman has ever wanted a man in the history of the world. She glanced at him a couple times. He was watching the numbers go up as well.
They both stole glances at the other person the entire elevator ride. The tension and anticipation were ridiculous. Once the doors opened, Rory stepped out and he followed. She pulled her key card out of her handbag and gestured for him to follow. Silently, he followed her until she stopped at a random door. She stopped and looked up at him, bit her bottom lip and turned to open the door.
"Um…Rory," Logan started to say.
"Yes?" she said as she held the door open for him.
He walked inside and she followed as she closed the door behind herself. He stood about a foot away from her. He looked in her eyes and began to reach out for her. Instead of letting him reach for her, Rory decided that letting him take the lead was not an option. She dropped whatever she was carrying and grabbed his face with both hands. Rory kissed him with everything she had. Logan wrapped his arms around her and reciprocated with just as much passion. They kissed for quite a while, just holding each other in the entryway of the hotel room. Once they both needed air, she asked, "Sorry. You were about to say something?"
Logan had nothing but lust in his eyes as he looked down at her. "I have no idea…." He leaned in and kissed her again, this time pushing her against the wall behind the hotel room door. "Ace….." he murmured as she moaned against his touch. Rory wrapped her arms around his neck and tangled her fingers through his hair. Logan moved down to kissing her neck as she arched her back into him.
The room was dimly lit with only one standing lamp on in the corner by the desk. Logan stopped long enough to look into her blue eyes. He needed to try to figure out what was happening between them. Rory froze and asked, "What?"
Logan wanted to talk about 'them' and what was happening between them. But he chickened out and went with, "This is every fantasy I've had for the past six months."
Rory blushed and giggled. "Yeah, me too," she admitted. Then she pushed him over to her bed and pushed him into a sitting position on the edge of the bed. She stood in front of him as he stared up at her. She reached up behind her back and unzipped her dress. As Logan's mouth watered and his pants became increasingly tight, she pushed her dress off her shoulders and let it pool at her feet. He sat there still fully dressed while she only wore her black lacy bra, thong, and high heels. "Logan…." She said as she stared into his eyes. Slowly, she placed each of her knees on either side of his legs until she was straddling him, and they were face to face.
Logan was speechless. He'd never known Rory to be so forward about getting naked in front of him. All he could do was blink at her in disbelief. Finally at the same time he said, "Rory" and she said "Logan."
They both stopped and he let her speak first. "Logan, please give me another chance," she whispered as she looked into his eyes. His eyes became huge as she continued. "I made a huge mistake. I have no idea how we can make this work, but I need you in my life." Logan took a deep breath at her admission then she said, "Logan, I love you." This is what Logan wanted to hear since the last time he saw her at Yale. He pulled her against him as hard as he could in a tight hug. He was stroking her hair as she pulled away so that she could look at him. A few stray tears ran down her face as she asked, "Don't you still love me?"
He placed both hands on either side of her face and kissed her deeply. Once he pulled away, "Of course I love you! The biggest mistake I've ever made was walking away from you." He kissed her again while he put both of his hands under her ass. He picked her up and lay her on the bed with her head on the pillows. He pulled away long enough slip off his clothes and shoes. Rory watched him while she took off her shoes. He returned to the bed wearing his boxer briefs and lay down next to her on his side. He propped himself up on his elbow and gazed at her. Rory sat up and unclasped her bra. She tossed it on the floor then she pushed Logan on his back. She kissed him again and again and again. He reciprocated until they just couldn't keep their hands off of each other.
Forty-five minutes later, all of their clothes were off, and they laid together under the covers. Logan lay on his back, completely spent. He rubbed Rory's back while she lay with her head on his chest. Rory spoke first and said, "That was….."
Logan nodded, still breathless. "I know." He kissed her on the head and wrapped her tightly in his arms.
Rory picked her head to look at him. "I feel like we still need to talk."
Logan sighed and replied, "We probably should."
Rory crawled on top of Logan so that she was laying on top of him, resting her chin on his upper chest. His arms immediately encircled her.
"Well, I've really missed you…." Rory began timidly.
Logan smirked at her shyness. "I've missed you too, Ace."
"Logan, I truly love you with all my heart. But you have to understand that there is no way that I could have just agreed to move to the west coast, be your wife and plan out my life in a couple minutes. I've been wanting to be a journalist since I was little. I couldn't give that up. And I couldn't become a Huntzberger before I knew if I could do it on my own." Rory tried to explain to him why she said no.
Logan frowned and said, "I know."
"I wasn't saying no to you. I was saying that I wasn't ready to get married." She looked in his eyes and tried to find reason in his deep brown eyes.
Logan sighed and took a deep breath. "I know."
"You do? Then…..?" She furrowed her brow at him.
"Rory, once I realized that I had been such a dick, I couldn't face you. I really wanted to, but I figured you needed to chase some dreams and you didn't need me getting in the way. You deserve better than a life tied down to me." Logan closed his eyes and waited for her reply while he stroked her hair.
She frowned and said, "But I want YOU. I don't want anyone else. Ever."
He tightened his arms around her and kissed her. "I want you too. But, Ace, you need to live your life."
"I've tried. Will you please give me another chance?" She rested her chin back on his chest and pushed out her lower lip in a pout.
"Ace…" She crawled a little further up his body and nuzzled his neck. "Ace…." She nibbled on his earlobe and sucked on it a little. "Ace, you're doing your thing. I don't want to get in the way of that. Your dreams are important to me. That's why I didn't fight you. I want you to be happy." He took her face in his hands and kissed her.
"Can't I have both? I know I'm traveling right now, but I have to have a home base. I have to have a place where I live and go home to. I want to go home to YOU." She trailed kisses from his jawline down to his chest. "I'm not happy without you. Please?"
"Its so hard when we're apart. When I was in London, missing you, I was miserable. I don't want to do it again. I can't." Logan's eyes filled with tears.
She narrowed her eyes at him. "So, the past six months have been better? You sleeping with hundreds of different women, trying to be detached and cool? And we have no contact whatsoever?" She couldn't look him in the eye, so she pushed herself off of him and rolled away from him with her back to him. "Fine."
"Ace. No." He rolled himself behind her so that he was in the big spoon position, and he wrapped her in his arms.
She shook her head and tried to push him away. "Logan, stop. If you don't want me, then stop with your empty gestures."
He pulled her close again and whispered in her ear. "You feel like home. Rory, YOU are home to me. Please don't go." He kissed the back of her neck. "I thought it would be better this way, but the second you pulled away from me just now, I couldn't breathe."
She turned over in his arms to face him. "What are you saying, exactly?"
Logan looked deep in her eyes and asked, "I'm asking you to please move to Palo Alto and live with me. Please? Do whatever you want, work wherever you want, and come home to me."
"Really?" Rory's eyes were wide. He nodded. "Logan! That's all I've ever wanted." She kissed him deeply, slipping her tongue into his mouth. They kissed for a while and then she asked, "What about marriage? Do you still want….?"
Logan kissed her again. "Ace, I'm not going anywhere. When you're ready to get engaged, let me know."
"You're okay with that?" she asked incredulously. "What happened to all or nothing?"
Logan pursed his lips and looked away. "Well, I've experienced that for the past six months and I've been miserable. I'm sorry, Ace. That was the dumbest thing I've ever said in my whole life."
She nodded and agreed. "Yep, damn right it was."
He pulled her as close as he could in his arms. "I love you so much. And I've missed you so much." He brushed his lips against her neck.
"Wait! Are we really okay?" She asked him.
Logan chuckled and nodded, "You tell me. Are we?"
She nodded and buried her face in his neck. "Yes, we are." She looked up at him and grinned. "Best night ever." He smirked at her and nodded. "I've never been so happy to see your messy hair. It was how I noticed you in the bar."
He held her close and rubbed her back. "Definitely the best day ever." He kissed her again and eventually rested his face against her shoulder. With his face still buried, he whispered to her, "There wasn't anyone else."
"What?" she asked softly.
"I know what you expected, but that's not me anymore. I've been working a lot, hiking and I learned to surf." He didn't even know how to explain that no one compared to her.
"Logan…." she breathed into his chest. She was shocked at the idea that he had been celibate while they were apart.
"And you?" he asked.
She smirked at him. "Me what?" She knew what he wanted to know but she enjoyed teasing him.
He smirked back at her. "You KNOW what…."
She gave him a shy smile. "Okay, I've actually dated a few people." Logan blinked at her, waiting for more information but afraid of the answer. "But it never went farther than dinner."
"Ace, its okay if you did. I would understand," he said quietly.
She shook her head. "Nope, it was never more than company and conversation. I think one guy kissed me on the cheek. That's it."
He pulled her close again and sighed over her shoulder. "So, you missed me, huh?"
She turned, kissed his temple, and said, "More than you will ever know."
Logan rolled her over onto her back, rolling himself on top of her. "I think I know exactly how much," as he began to kiss her again and again.