AN: Not much to say except I hope you enjoy the chapter and please leave a review, they make me happy ;)
Logan drove down a narrow street looking at the numbers on the houses and trying to find the right one. Colin had not been lying when he called this place a small hick town. He had learned a little about the town using the "Official Stars Hollow Webpage." He was amazed anyone in this tiny hamlet even had a computer, let alone knew how to make a webpage but nonetheless there was one; updated and maintained by a man name Kirk. Unfortunately, he didn't find anything on there that would specifically help him to figure Rory out. He did get some helpful information from other sources though. Colin had managed to subtly weasel some details out of his cousin, for example. It turned out that Rory was on the student government with Francie; she was student body vice president. That was good; he could talk to her about politics. He didn't think he'd ever been out with a girl whom he could talk to about politics before, but there was a first time for everything. His investigation had also told him that she was in fact, as Richard had said, at the top of her class in Chilton. Her writing featured prominently in Chilton's newspaper, The Franklin and he had read several articles of hers; he had to admit, she really was a good writer. She had actually had a coming out party, though her date had not been a man of society; she had apparently gone with her boyfriend at the time, a boy from her hometown whom he had also found out had just recently broken up with her.
There was one fact about her that he had been unable to uncover. No one he spoke to seemed to know who her father was. Colin assumed that the sperm was courtesy of the gardener. Logan secretly thought that Colin had been watching too many episodes of Desperate Housewives. He wondered if Rory knew her dad. He wondered what it would be like not to know; not to have to live up to crazy expectations and have your life planned out for you.
His thoughts dissipated as he located her humble abode and pulled into the drive way. Humble abode; that was definitely one way to describe it. He figured it wasn't a Richard and Emily approved residence with its tiny size, feeble looking porch, and slightly unkempt lawn. He liked it; it actually felt like a real home, something he never associated with the house he grew up in. Of course, he thought all those garden gnomes next door were a bit much. He got out of his car, grabbing the bouquet of flowers he had brought with him, and made his way up to the door.
On the other side of the home's threshold, Rory heard the doorbell ring but made no rushed attempt to answer the door. He could wait in the cold for all she cared. He was probably used to girls who were all too excited to be another notch in his bed post, so much so that they practically threw themselves through the door the second he appeared. She wasn't one of those girls. She wasn't going to be a notch in his bed post that was for sure; she wasn't his date.
Rory put on her boots, taking her own sweet time, before taking one last glance in the mirror. She didn't know how she'd let Lorelai talk her into this outfit, it was ridiculous. Rory had playfully toyed with the idea of simply meeting him in jeans and an over-sized Harvard sweatshirt while wearing her hair up in a messy pony tail—tthat would show him. But Lorelai had a different idea; knock his socks off gorgeous were the words her mother had used. Rory had no idea how that was supposed to get her "not interested" point across but her mom had somehow convinced her; persuasiveness was a trait that Lorelai Gilmore was blessed with and Rory was still waiting for those genes to kick in. Lorelai had an evil plan, get him all hot and bothered at the site of her and then shut him down cold, and she had made it sound like such a wonderful idea when it came out of her mouth but now Rory was having serious second thoughts. Playing the part of the tease was not in her nature. It was too late to change now though, so she'd just have to go with it.
Rory finally made her way to the front door to meet Logan. The door opened and the mere site of her made Logan's mouth dry up like the Sahara. His eyes raked her over. She had been beautiful in her casual clothes the other day, but tonight, in her short corduroy skirt, low cut halter top with a denim jacket providing just enough cover to provoke mystery, and knee high boots, she was truly a site to behold. He forced himself to swallow and plastered a wry grin upon his face. "Hello," he greeted her. "I come bearing gifts." He extended the bouquet of flowers towards her and her eyes looked at the posies for a split second before meeting his through narrow slits. "I didn't know what kind of flowers you liked so I got a mixture; I hope they meet your approval," he continued on, ignoring the not so friendly expression on her face.
"This isn't a date Huntzberger," she practically growled.
He knew that her angry tone and harsh words were meant to turn him off but something about her ire was seriously turning him on. His eyes raked over her ensemble one more time before he looked her in the eye with a smirk on his face. "No, I bet you dress that way for all the boys."
She was seriously going to killher mother. "It's a free country, I can wear whatever clothes I choose; that doesn't mean your getting any tonight so don't be entertaining any ideas."
"I wouldn't dream of it," he winked at her. "Are you going to put these flowers in some water or would you rather carry them around with us all night to let the world know how very much in love we are," he joked.
She glowered at him before ripping the bouquet from his hands and dropping them haphazardly on the table by the front door. "Let's get this over with."
Shaking his head with amusement he reached his arm out and placed his hand gently on the small of her back to lead her away from the house. 'Aww, Ace. You really know how to make a guy feel wanted."
"Let's get a couple of things straight here Logan," she said, letting out a sigh of frustration. "First of all, I suggest you keep your hands to yourself if you intend on keeping them." As she said this, she grabbed his hand with hers and ripped it away from her back, making sure to twist it just a little harder than necessary.
"So you like to play rough, do you, Ace," he replied with a laugh.
She glared at him angrily. "That brings us to my second point. My name is Rory; only two syllables, should be nice and easy, even for a dolt like you. I'm not really sure why pompous, blond haired, miscreants seem to have so much trouble with it."
"Everyone gets to call you Rory, where's the fun in that?"
Rory shook her head. "Just get it right, buster."
"Buster? But my name is Logan. Two syllables; should be easy enough to remember for a star reporter like you," he replied, mocking her words.
"Buster is a term used to denote annoyance. You're using Ace as a term of endearment. You don't get to use terms of endearment unless you're endeared to me, which you are very much not."
They had reached his Porsche by this point and he opened the door for her, motioning for her to sit. She looked the sleek, silver sports car up and down before turning her gaze back upon him. "Oh yay, I get to ride in the penis metaphor," she huffed before reluctantly taking her seat. As he closed the door, she caught a glimpse of his annoyingly smug face. It was going to be a looooong night and she was definitely not looking forward to it.
He walked around to the driver's side of the car, looking at her through the windshield as he passed. She was in a very defensive pose, slumped down with her arms folded across her chest as she stared out the window and away from him. It was going to be an interesting night and he was definitely looking forward to it.
The ride to the restaurant had been mostly silent. Logan concentrated on the road and Rory sat in the same defensive pose she had first assumed upon getting in the car. Perhaps she was too busy fuming to notice any awkwardness but the silence had, surprisingly enough, not been that uncomfortable.
Logan opened her door to let her out of the car before leading her into the restaurant. It was a fancy, Italian place called Mama Lombardi's. A Maître 'D dressed in a tuxedo greeted them at the door and began to lead them to the back of the restaurant. They reached a door and Rory looked at it curiously. "Where are we going?"
"Private room, Ace," he responded, ignoring her previous instructions not to call her that.
"Oh no, I don't think so. It was bad enough I had to spend 20 minutes alone with you in your car, I'm not about to spend 2 hours alone with you in a private room." She turned her attention to the Maître 'D. "Do you have any tables on the main floor?" she asked him.
Logan held a finger up to the man, indicating that they needed a moment. "I think I should be insulted that you don't want to be alone with me," he mock pouted.
"Well it is an insult so that's not an unwarranted response," she retorted.
"C'mon Ace, I don't bite...unless you asked me to," he grinned smugly.
She shot him a death glare. "In your dreams, Huntzberger."
"Those will be some very pleasant dreams indeed," he smirked. "But seriously, Ace, it's noisy out here. How do you expect to have that business talk if we can't hear one another?"
"Please, I'm not naive enough to think you have any intention of even mentioning newspapers tonight; just remember that I'm not here of my own free volition. My grandparents can be very persistent and I didn't want to spend the rest of my life hearing about how if I want to succeed in the journalism business I have to take advantage of every opportunity and contact I can. You see, they actually think you have an interest in helping me out."
"So what you're saying is that you came here to take advantage of me?" he asked, raising his eyebrows suggestively.
She rolled her eyes at him for what was probably the hundredth time already that evening. "Just watch yourself, Logan. My boyfriend might not be quite as big as you are but he's crafty and I'd hate to have to sic him on you."
Logan felt a sudden wave of disappointment, "You have a boyfriend, Ace? I'm crushed," he tried to play it off lightly. Hadn't Colin said that she'd just broken up with her boyfriend? Maybe they got back together and the news just hadn't spread around Chilton yet. Then a thought occurred to him, it wasn't time to throw in the towel just yet. She was clearly trying very hard to spurn his advances, this was probably just a decoy to get him to back down. He wouldn't fall for it.
"Why? It's not like you have a chance either way," she told him.
"Whatever you say," he shrugged, feigning indifference. He turned to the Maître 'D, slipping something into his hands. "Could you perhaps do something about the seating arrangements as per my date's request?"
The man quickly glanced down at the stack of bills in his hands before responding, "Very well sir, follow me."
They were seated at a table on the main floor but slightly hidden from view and the Maître 'D left them. Rory finally spoke again. "You really think you can just buy people off like that?" she asked incredulously.
"Hey, it got you the table you wanted, didn't it?"
"That is so not the point."
"Really because I think that's exactly the point. You wanted something, he wanted something, an exchange took place and now everyone is happy. I don't see where the problem is."
"No, I don't suppose you would."
"What's that supposed to mean?" he asked defensively.
"It means you've gone your whole life always getting whatever you wanted with just a little bit of charm and a little bit of money. You have no idea what it's like to have to work for something. I bet you don't even know anything about the business you're going to be taking over; you've probably been too busy screwing around to learn the first thing about journalism," she shot at him.
"You'd be surprised what you learn when you get dragged to work with your father every day all summer long starting at the ripe old age of seven when all your friends are away at camp. You'd be surprised what being forced to sit in on business mergers, when you should be in class, can teach you. My life isn't all fun and games, Rory, no matter what you think."
Rory looked up at him in stunned silence. His words weren't angry or full of frustration. He was very matter-of-fact and maybe even just a tad bit wistful. She didn't know how to respond to this moment of sincerity; she'd come prepared only with defensive retorts and angry accusations, so she chose to remain silent, burying herself in the menu.
"You watch Buffy the Vampire Slayer?" Rory asked him incredulously on the ride home.
"What? Sarah Michelle Gellar is hot. And just think of all the things a girl that flexible could do in bed." He smiled at her with false innocence.
She glared at him. She was seriously going to have wrinkles at the tender age of 18 if she kept scrunching up her face in disapproval at him. "I should have known you only watched it for its sexual implications. I wouldn't expect a misogynistic pig like you to appreciate its strong girl power message."
"Hey, I am not a misogynistic pig. That would mean I hate women, I love women."
"You love having sex with women, that doesn't mean you love women; you think they're below you."
"That is not true. OK, maybe I feel that way about the about the stupid bimbos who throw themselves at my feet because they want to be my damn trophy wife and only came to school to get their MRS and not their BA. But hey, it's their choice; if they want to act like all they have to offer the world is sex then that's how they're going to be treated. There are plenty of great women in this world who deserve and receive my utmost respect, whether they be vampire slayers, doctors, politicians...journalists," he shot a sideways glace at Rory to gauge her reaction.
She looked at him with wide eyes, Logan had surprised her for a second time that night. "Damn straight," she replied with a smile.
This had been how the entire dinner had gone. They had bickered and bantered practically the entire night. She had scolded him on his choice of Veal Parmesan as an entree. Didn't he know that they took poor baby calves away from their mothers and put them in tiny little cages, in the dark where they couldn't even turn around? He had simply responded by reminding her that the birds used to make her chicken francese had been kept in similar conditions, the only difference was that they were older and therefore treated badly for much longer. She had harrumphed and crossed her arms in front of her chest angrily but subsequently called the waiter back and changed her order to penne ala vodka. She was certain that this sudden case of vegetarianism wouldn't last long but she just couldn't go through with eating the chicken tonight.
Despite all the arguing, after his confession about being dragged into his father's world, Rory's retorts had been lacking the same scorn they had contained earlier in the evening. It was true that they had agreed upon almost nothing all night, but a part of Rory suspected that he had simply been playing devil's advocate in an attempt to get her all riled up.
They pulled back into the driveway of her house and Logan began to unbuckle his seat belt. "No, stay here," she told him.
"I know, I know, this isn't a date," he responded dryly, not stopping his movements to get out of the car. "That doesn't mean I can't be a gentleman and walk you to your door."
"No, it's not that it's just..." she pointed to her porch and Logan noticed a shadow moving around. "Jess is waiting for me. He wasn't too happy about me getting shanghaied into this as you can imagine. I don't think he'd appreciate your gentlemanly gesture."
"Right," he said, trying to hide his surprise. Apparently the boyfriend story hadn't been a decoy after all. "Well then, I guess that good night kiss is out of the question." He smirked at her.
She slapped his arm and rolled her eyes; he wasn't quite sure if the gesture was playful or hostile, he supposed it was a mixture of both. "Good-bye Logan."
"Night, Ace," he replied as he watched her get out of the car. He re-buckled his seat belt and started the ignition, practically in slow motion as he watched her run up to the porch and kiss her boyfriend. He tried to suppress the strange feeling in the pit of his stomach as he saw this. If he didn't know any better, he would think it was disappointment and jealousy. It couldn't be, Logan didn't get jealous over girls and the idea of him being disappointed was laughable. So he didn't even get so much as a good night kiss, so what? He could go back to campus and have another girl in his bed this very night. He wasn't going to...but he could.