AN: Ok, before everyone gets pissed at me, I want you all to remember how I said "10 chapters max" and clearly we will be over 10, so LOVE ME! Anyway, I digress. Thank you, every single one of you for the love and the reviews and the PMs, I appreciate it so muc
Disclaimer: I own nothing
Part Eight - July 2, 2021
If Rory kept her eyes closed, she could replay all of the events of the prior evening. The couch, his lips, his body. She could see the clothing that had been discarded on the floor, she could feel his touch on her body. She could practically hear the furniture as they banged into it, dancing in each others arms to the bedroom where where Rory was fairly certain no man had ever paid that much attention to her body before. Not Jess, not Dean, not the boys she had dated at Harvard or the men she had dated after. Logan had a gift, and apparently that gift was making Rory Gilmore want to spend an entire night having sex. She exhaled, her eyes still closed and she felt his grasp tighten around her waist. They weren't exactly cuddling. Rory was acutely aware of the fact that the sheets were around their waist, she was on her stomach clutching a pillow, if she opened her eyes she would be staring out a window that looked at the back of the property. Logan for his part had left his arm draped on her waist as he he slept, his side of the sheets were tangled at his feet. "Don't," Logan murmured after he heard her exhale.
Rory laughed and opened her eyes, turning her head so that she was looking at him, his eyes still closed but a smile played on his lips, "morning," she told him softly, "I'm going to make a coffee," she told him. It wasn't awkward, she had expected some awkwardness, but things certainly had shifted between them.
"No," Logan told her.
"No?" Rory repeated with a laugh, she liked seeing him like this. His hair was everywhere, and she could see some faint indents from his pillows on his face, he must've rolled over recently.
"Stay," he told her, his eyes slowly opening and Rory came into focus, "you're gorgeous."
Rory blushed and tried to hide her face further into her pillow, "you're not so bad yourself."
He used the arm wrapped around her body to pull her closer to him and she squealed ever so slightly as they came into contact, just like the night before, her body was cool and his was an instant warmth that enveloped her as he kissed her gently. "Stay in bed," he told her as he rolled himself on top of her, "I'll make it worth your while."
Rory grinned as she felt him pressed up against her, "fine," she captured his lips in hers and his hand found its way between her legs, "but just once."
"I can't make a promise like that, Ace," Logan told her as his lips found her neck, her shoulders, her breasts, "plus I seem to recall someone begging for more."
xxx
By the time they started their day it was already the afternoon, Rory smirked when she saw on her phone that it was nearly two in the afternoon. Her only plans for the day were to relax and meet with Colin, Steph and Finn later in the day. Rory had to fight the urge to talk with Logan, she had to fight the urge to label it, to discuss the mind-blowing sex they had, Rory was old enough that she didn't particularly romanticize sex. She didn't need to be in love with a person to have sex, but having been in love before, she knew that there was something different about having sex with a person you loved versus simply meeting a need and satisfying an urge. This, she thought, having sex with Logan, it had been somewhere in the middle. It wasn't just meeting a need, there was a softness, a gentleness to their time together that Rory knew they needed to discuss, but not yet. They could enjoy the weekend, they could talk about it later, once they were back in the city.
She was brought out of her thoughts by the sound of a knock on the door and a blonde haired woman entering, "you guys must've been partying late last night?" Honor looked at her watch, "where's Logan?"
"He went fishing with Josh, your dad and the kids…" Rory explained, it had been a last minute plan that had only just come together a half hour before. Logan had been adorable, he had wanted to reassure her that if she said the word, he would stay and they could hang out, but Rory had told him to go. She had a little bit of work to do and would be happy relaxing and catching up on a book.
"Oh, yeah…I forgot," Honor laughed, "Jude was going to ask him. What're you doing?"
"Just finishing an article," Rory gestured to her laptop, she was glad they had opted to clean up their trail of clothing from throughout the space before Honor had come in.
"Come lay out with me," Honor told her, "I'll go get a pitcher of sangria, we can chat, you can read, we can swim…it's much nicer without three terrors running around throwing things. Not that they aren't cute. My children are very cute, and I love them…but a moment to relax and chat with a friend and no other distractions is a rare occurrence."
"Let me finish this," Rory told her, "I'll meet you in twenty?" Honor nodded her head and said goodbye, leaving Rory to finish hammering out the last few words of her piece that needed to be submitted, and then she returned to the bedroom and pulled out the black two piece bathing suit that Abigail had insisted Rory bring with her. Rory for her part couldn't find a bathing suit, she thought she might've left it at her grandparents the summer before and given that she had frantically called Abigail on Wednesday night, she wasn't in a position to question when her friend had dropped off an itsy, bitsy black bikini. When Rory had looked at it, and declared quickly that she had underwear that covered more, and now that she was wearing it, she was confident that the statement had been correct. She looked around for a moment to find a towel and didn't see one so she had to assume that the pool towels were out by the pool, having gotten to know the Huntzberger family, she imagined that Shira employed someone specifically to ensure that pool towels were available at all times. When Rory got outside, her suspicion was confirmed when she saw a pool towel perched on each of the lounge chairs, and Honor was playing on her phone, based on the changing music outside, she assumed that Honor was changing the playlist. Rory walked over and took a seat beside Honor who simply glared at her, "what?" Rory laughed.
"How do you still have that body?" she laughed, "I've had three kids and the best plastic surgeons imaginable, and no matter how much I spend, I will never look like that again. You have the body of an eighteen year old, your boobs don't sag…how is this fair?"
Rory laughed, "stop it Honor, you are gorgeous, and you have had three kids, I would say that is a pretty remarkable thing. These hips," Rory looked down, "they are good for nothing."
"You should have to wear a moomoo," Honor pouted.
"Stop," Rory rolled her eyes.
"So, are you enjoying yourself this weekend?" Honor asked as she handed Rory a glass of sangria.
"It's been nice," Rory nodded and took a sip of the drink it was much too fruity in her opinion, she had never been much of a sweet drink girl, she enjoyed gin and vodka and their bitterness. "This property is amazing," Rory looked around.
"Mom and dad developed it a few years back. We used to have a place closer to the water but it was smaller, not as much room to grow, so when Jude was born they wanted more space in case there were more grandkids, so construction took forever, but we've been here for about five years," Honor explained.
"It's remarkable."
"You're having fun with Logan though?" Honor asked with a smile.
"He's a good guy," Rory nodded, keeping her eyes focused on the pool, "I really…I'm glad that we're friends."
"And friends," Honor put extra emphasis on the word, "that is all you two are? Nothing else outside of this little show you put on for our parents and your family?"
"We're friends," Rory told her. "He's a good friend, a dear friend."
"He likes you," Honor told her in a sing song voice, "and I," she took a sip of her drink, "think you like him too."
Rory put her sunglasses on her eyes and shook her head, "Honor, your brother and I are two people who mean a lot to each other platonically, and that is it."
"Would you ever be interested in more with him?" Honor pried.
"I'm not talking about this anymore," Rory laughed. She opened her book and went through flipping the pages. They had chatted a little bit, Honor had asked Rory about her job, expressing some jealousy over the fact that Rory had a life of her own, independent of being someones wife or mother. "They love you," Rory told her, "those kids and Josh, they love you so much."
"Well sometimes it would be nice to walk into a room and command respect because of your work, not just because of money, or in the case of my children, fear."
Rory laughed as her cellphone rang and she saw her mother was calling, "I just have to," she held it up and Honor nodded her head as Rory walked back towards the guest house, "Hello?"
"Rory, hey, it's me."
"Mom, hey, how are you? Enjoying the weekend? You should see it here," Rory grinned as she sat down on the couch, settling into her normal repertoire with her mother, "honestly it's like…the nicest house you've ever seen but times thirty."
"Rory, it's your dad," Lorelai began, "wait, no, don't panic. Uhm…his dad. Your dads dad, he died."
"Straub died?" Rory repeated, she didn't really have an emotional response to the news that her grandfather had died, he had been a stranger to her, but she could feel her heart breaking for her father. "How is dad?"
"He's a mess," Lorelai admitted.
"Um…shit," Rory exhaled, regretting her decision not to drive, "ok, I'll be there. I will take a train to the city, and then I will drive, ok?"
"Kid, you don't have to cut your weekend short, I just wanted you to know."
"Mom, I'm coming. Dad must be so upset, I mean, sure, I didn't know the guy, but he was still his dad. And the only reason that dad didn't have a relationship with him is because of me, and so of course I have to be there for dad because if I hadn't of been born, they never would've been estranged, and then…then maybe dad wouldn't be feeling like this right now. This is…it's just…"
"Rory, stop it," Lorelai told her, "this is not on you, Straub was a jerk, no one is denying that, but he wasn't a jerk because you existed, you existing just let him really show his jerkiness."
"I'll be home soon,"
"Be safe, I love you."
"Give dad a hug for me." Rory hung up the phone and exhaled. She quickly changed into her outfit from earlier and started shoving her belongings in her bag before requesting an Uber on her phone. It was maybe ten minutes before she was standing outside again, "Honor, I'm so sorry, but I have a family thing. I've gotta go. An Uber is almost here, and I'm going back to the city, and then I have to drive to Connecticut."
"Is everything alright?" Honor sat up.
Rory shrugged, "it's complicated, but…it's fine. I will leave Logan a message, tell him I'm sorry. I tried to call but there was no answer."
"Crap reception," Honor explained.
"Please thank everyone for me."
xxx
Rory exhaled, by the time she got back to Manhattan it was after seven, she needed to get back to her place, grab some appropriate clothing, get in her car and head to Stars Hollow, she figured it would be late by the time she arrived, and she had yet to answer one of the many calls from Logan since she had left the Hamptons. She had called, of course, she left him a message saying that Straub Hayden had passed away and she needed to go be with her family. She would talk to him soon, she had thanked him for a wonderful weekend, and then she had chosen not to answer his calls or text messages. The further she got from the little bubble they had been in, the more conflicted she became about their decision to muddy the waters of their arrangement. Suddenly, Rory didn't know how she would walk into her childhood home without her boyfriend but she also didn't know how to just bring him around given what had happened between them. She got back to her building and greeted her doorman, telling him she would be heading home for the week if anyone asked, and then she packed her things and made her way back down the same elevator to get in her car. The drive could have been worse, of course, most people were already out and about on their weekends, so the drive didn't become longer than it needed to be.
By the time she pulled in the driveway at her childhood home, she almost burst into tears. It wasn't that she was upset about Straub dying, the truth was she wasn't bothered at all. She felt sad for her father, but more than anything, Rory was feeling sorry for herself. How had she let things get this out of control? So out of control that when her family needed her, she was tanning in the Hamptons after spending the night having sex with a man she was pretending to be dating. She didn't even know how she would explain that. Where was Logan? Was Logan coming? Would she just tell them the truth? Would she lie? Tell them he would be there in a few days and then hope he would step up? Rory shook her head, she knew her mother would be waiting for her so she turned off the engine and grabbed her bag before walking in the front door. "Mom? Dad?"
"Hey kid," Chris appeared, his eyes were a little bit puffy and Rory pulled him in for a hug.
"I'm sorry dad, I know things were…"
"Don't," he interrupted her, "I'm glad you're here, but my dad didn't treat you right and you don't have to pretend to be anything you're not."
"I'm just sad for you," she admitted.
"Come on," Chris kept his arm on her shoulder, "lets get a drink. Mom ordered enough food to sit Shiva."
"We're not Jewish, and I don't think that is exactly how Shiva works? Other people would be coming…"
"We're not actually sitting Shiva," Chris laughed, "but your mom has ordered every takeout item she could get her hands on."
"We're mourning!" Lorelai glared at them.
"You hated my dad," Chris chuckled as he grabbed three beers from the fridge, "come on, I just want to be with my girls."
"Is Logan coming?" Lorelai asked Rory as they sat down on the couch.
"No," Rory shook her head as she took a sip of her drink.
"No?" Lorelai repeated, she had just seen Logan two days earlier.
She paused, this felt like maybe one of the moments that they had taken things too far. She was about to explicitly lie to her parents. Option one was to tell them the truth, that she and Logan were just close friends who attended events and did things together, it would probably be best to leave out the things they had done together the night before, but option two was to continue with the facade, to make an excuse with a family obligation that Logan had and tell them she was sure he would be there soon, and then call, after ignoring him for the better part of the day and beg him to come have her back."Not tonight," she shrugged, apparently there was a third option, which was to be vague and not commit to anything one way or another. "Have you talked to Grandma and Grandpa?"
Chris nodded, "they've been great, Emily offered to help with the arrangements and Richard has said he would help out with the insurance stuff. Which really…it's more than they deserve given how my parents behaved."
"Chris," Lorelai rubbed his back as she popped a chip in her mouth, "your parents weren't perfect, trust me, I'm not going to argue that fact, but they were still your parents, and my parents love you. So of course we are all going to help as best we can."
"He wouldn't do it for any of us," Chris looked at his wife, "sorry," he rubbed his forehead, "you know…"
"Dad, you should go to bed," Rory suggested. "Things will make more sense tomorrow…with more sleep."
"You just got here," Chris protested, "and there's all this food."
"Mom," Rory smiled at her mother who was looking at Chris with a certain amount of worry, "why don't you take dad up to bed, I'll clean all this up and we will start tomorrow with a fresh slate? We'll go to your parents house," she told her father, "figure out the arrangements. I will help grandma and grandpa if they need it. I told work that I'll be working remotely until the funeral, so that is fine."
"What about your place?" Chris countered.
"I emptied the fridge before I left for the Hamptons, and if I need to I can ask Abigail to water my plants."
"It's true, I have seen the inside of that fridge. Not a perishable to be found," Lorelai remarked with pride.
"She's your daughter," Chris laughed a little and stood up, "thank you for coming, kid."
"I love you, dad," Rory hugged him and her mother before they went upstairs, leaving her to put a plate of food together and look at her phone. She sighed as she ate a bagel bite and put the phone up to her ear.
Hey, Ace, it's me. Call me back
Ace, it's me, just want to make sure you got to Manhattan ok. Call me from the car on your way to your parents
Rory, I'm sorry about Straub, I'm worried about you. Please call me.
Alright, this is officially pathetic. Four voicemails and six text messages, so I will stop after this. If the reason you aren't calling me back is because of last night, Ace, I'm here for you. I'm your friend and I know this is tough on you, so please, call me back, let me help.
Rory sniffled as she listened to the final voicemail and heard the desperation in his voice. She tossed her phone on the counter and focused her attention on cleaning up. She put the takeout back in the containers and loaded them all back into the fridge, and gave the table and counter a much needed wipe before she walked into her childhood bedroom and pulled on a pair of pyjamas. After completing every task she could possibly think of, Rory grabbed her phone and walked quietly through the house to the front porch where she sat on the front steps and stared at the phone in her hand. She needed to call him. Not only was he someone who cared about her, but he had clearly been worried, and it wasn't fair to leave him hanging like that. Rory dialled his number. Her heart was racing as the phone rang and she waited for him to pick up.
"Hey," he breathed and Rory was certain she could see the relief wash over his face.
"Hi," Rory whispered, "sorry I didn't answer."
"Hectic day," Logan acknowledged, "where are you?"
"Stars Hollow."
"Are you alright?"
Rory swallowed, "I'm ok," she told him. "Logan…we can't do this anymore."
"Rory if this is about last night," Logan began before Rory interrupted him.
"No," she managed to choke out before she started to cry, "this isn't about last night. I can't lie. I can't lie to my parents or my grandparents about you. They are attached to you, and it was all for my own selfishness, and I…I just can't. I'm sorry. We need to stop this. Whatever it was, it needs to stop. I'm sorry."
