"It looks dirty," he commented, looking at the plant before him.
" Logan," Rory scolded.
"Well it does. I mean, come on Rory, this cactus is totally shaped like a giant penis—even more so than the others."
"Is that all you can think about? This is a beautiful work of nature."
"Well personally, I like to think of my…"
"If you even finish that sentence, I will never speak to you again."
"You're no fun," he whined. She just glared at him until he relented. "Fine, fine, I'll keep my comments on the phallic nature of the cacti to myself."
"Good. Ooooh, look at this," Rory suddenly exclaimed, noting the next plant over. She grabbed his hand and pulled him with her until they were standing directly in front of it. "This is the Polaskia chichipe."
"Chichipe?" he repeated, eyebrows raised in amusement.
"What?"
"Nothing, it's just fun to say. Chichipe. Chichipe…" he smirked.
"OK, I get it; it's fun to say," she said in annoyed voice. "Now, as I was saying. This is the Polaskia chichipe. Its common names include chichibe, and chichituna."
Logan tried to suppress his giggles at the ridiculous plant names—unsuccessfully. Rory shot him another glare and he immediately shut up.
"The plants natural habitat is central Mexico where it is cultivated for its edible fruit. It also produces creamy to yellowish green night flowers and can grow up to fifteen feet tall."
"Yo, Nathanial Lord Britton, you forgot to mention how long it lives."
"I prefer John Bartram, thank you very much," she replied sarcastically.
"I'm just saying, why'd you drag me to the Jardin Exotique if you already know everything about every cactus that grows here?"
"I did my homework, this way we can see more because we don't have to take the time out to read the plaques," she responded huffily.
"Well maybe I want to read the plaques, huh? You ever think of that?"
"You don't even want to read the menu when you go to a new restaurant, Logan."
"Well, I want to read the plaques," he insisted.
"No you don't," she scoffed. "You just want to piss me off. Now come on, we need to hurry up or we won't get through the whole garden."
"I'm sorry; I'm still reading the plaque. You know, this reading thing is kind of unfamiliar to me, so it might take me a little while."
"You know what? Fine. You take all the time you want. You can catch up with me when you're done acting like a big baby."
Logan watched with a smirk as Rory walked off in a huff, headed to another plant a few yards away. He loved her angry walk—she had this way of swinging her hips that drove him crazy. He turned his attention back to the cactus in front of him, deciding that he would, in fact, read the little placard in front of it—not that it told him anything that Rory hadn't. He decided to take a few more minutes before going back to Rory and playing nice, so he went to the cactus on the other side of the path, and read up on it as well.
Meanwhile, Rory stood in front of a different cactus, but she wasn't really paying attention. How could Logan make her so angry and so turned on at the same time? She hated the way he made her feel—like she had no control over her own emotions. Seriously, he was acting like an idiot, talking about penis shaped cacti as though he were twelve and she could still barely control the urge to kiss him—if only to shut him up.
"You are very lucky."
Rory turned around to face the owner of the voice that had interrupted her thoughts. She couldn't help but admire the man standing before her. He was tall and well-muscled without being overly built. He had olive skin and shaggy black hair the fell into his green eyes.
"Why is that?" she asked with a smile.
"To be here when the Silver Dollar flowers. It is a rare occurrence." Rory looked at the cactus in front of her; a clump of five petaled, white flowers were indeed growing from the succulent leaves of the Crassula arborescens, or Silver Dollar. She had read that plants in cultivation rarely bloomed.
"It's beautiful," she commented.
"Very," he replied, not taking his eyes off of her.
"Oh come on now, tell me you did not just use that line on me," she smiled at him.
"Yes, it is a bit cliché, but I also speak the truth. You have hypnotizing eyes."
Rory blushed and looked down. "Thank you," she said.
"My name is Nicholas, by the way."
"Rory," she introduced herself.
"Well, Rory," he smiled at her, flashing his perfect, straight, white teeth. "Did you know that the Silver Dollar usually grows in crevices between stones of quartz and granite?"
"I did," she nodded in the affirmative. "Did you know that the Silver Dollar, along with other plants of the genus Crassula, use a specialized form of photosynthesis called Crassulacean Acid Metabolism, or CAM?'
Nicholas laughed. "No, I do not believe I knew that. You are both beautiful and intelligent. It is a refreshing combination."
"Rory, I'm back. This place is a maze; it took me forever to find the bathroom. Did you miss me?" a familiar voice broke into the conversation, as an arm suddenly draped possessively over Rory's shoulder.
"No," she replied shortly.
"Isn't she just hilarious. Always joking around," Logan commented to the other man. "Logan Huntzberger, nice to meet you," he held his hand out in introduction.
"Nicholas Theophilus," the other man replied, holding his hand out as well, though in obvious displeasure.
"Nice to meet you. Thanks for keeping my girl busy, otherwise she might have gotten bored and wondered off without me, and that would have been bad."
Nicholas' narrowed eyes wandered from Rory to Logan and back again as Logan squeezed Rory's shoulder, drawing her closer to him. Rory remained emotionless. "Your girlfriend is very pleasant company. She knows much about the garden."
"Well, that's my girl. Sharp as a tack, and beautiful to boot."
Nicholas once again looked at the pair and noticed a faint blush building on Rory's cheeks. "Yes; that she is. I should be going now. It was a pleasure, Rory," he took her hand and placed a kiss on the back of it, before turning and walking away.
"You know, if you keep pretending to be my boyfriend, I'm going to actually start to believe it," Rory said, once Nicholas was gone. "Which is all good and well until you go out and sleep with one of your floozies and I'm forced to sneak into your room in the middle of the night and perform heinous acts of bodily mutilation while you sleep as revenge."
Logan shuttered. "That doesn't sound good."
"Just what exactly were you trying to accomplish?" she asked in annoyance.
"I was rescuing you," he defended.
"Rescuing me? You mean from the nice, handsome, charming man who actually wanted to have a conversation with me about the beautiful flora all around us? Yes, you got here just in time. Thank you, Logan," she replied sarcastically.
"Oh please; it's the nice, handsome, charming ones you have to look out for. Next thing you know, they've charmed you straight into their hotel room and seduced you straight out of your clothes."
"Well then, I guess I better stop talking to you, otherwise I might follow in the footsteps of dozens of girls before me, and wind up naked in your bed."
"Exactly," Logan exclaimed.
Rory looked at him through narrowed eyes, before turning and stomping off yet again. "Oh come on. You know I didn't mean it that way." She continued walking without a word. "I'm just saying, I know how guys like that work." He continued to chase after her but stopped speaking for a moment, hoping for a response from her. He got none. "I was just looking out for you, Ace. Please, just talk to me."
Rory stopped short, and Logan almost slammed right into the back of her. "Ice cream. Two scoops. With sprinkles." She turned around to face him. "And M&Ms."
"And then I'm forgiven?"
"I'll consider it," she replied, her facial expression unreadable.
Logan smiled brightly, knowing he'd already been forgiven. "Deal!"
Rory stood off to the side of the room, sipping at her soda. Steph was talking, but Rory wasn't really paying attention. Her eyes were glued to a certain blond boy on the other side of the room. She didn't get him; he was so hot and cold with her. One minute he didn't want her to even come on the trip with them, then suddenly he's all about spending time with her, teaching her how to play blackjack, pretending to be her boyfriend, and chasing off other guys, and then, next thing she knew, he was ignoring her and flirting with some blonde with the fakest boobs she'd ever seen. She should have known it was too much to expect he felt something for her—that the way she was feeling was due to a mutual, deep connection, and not just because she was a sea of hormones and he was good looking and charming. She felt like such an idiot.
Stephanie noticed how quiet her friend was being, and she followed the brunette's gaze across the room to see what she was looking at. She didn't know whether she should be mad at Logan for being an idiot, or happy that Rory was clearly jealous. Then again, the jealousy thing could always work two ways. "Come on," she said with a smirk, as she grabbed her friend's hand. "Let's mingle."
"What? No, Steph, I'm not a mingler."
"Well, tonight you are. Come on, let's go flirt," Steph pointed to a couple of guys who were clearly checking them out.
"OK, I am definitely not a flirter."
"Just follow my lead." Stephanie dragged her off towards the guys. "Hi boys," she cooed. "I'm Stephanie, and this is Rory. What'd you boys say you buy us a drink?"
Logan stood in the middle of the room; a blonde on one arm and a brunette on the other. They were both beautiful—in an obvious sort of way, and they were both annoying the crap out of him, chattering mindlessly into his ears. He'd tuned them out ages ago. His eyes were trained on another, more subtle beauty across the room. He'd noticed almost two hours ago, when her and Steph had started talking with a couple of guys. He'd resisted the urge to march over there and tear the arms off the guy flirting with Rory, and instead he'd just taken a soothing gulp of his scotch, letting it burn its way down his esophagus. Even when Colin had shown up and dragged Steph away, leaving Rory alone with the bastard, Logan had resisted—but he made certain to keep a close watch on her all night.
The guy took her empty glass and headed off in the direction of the bar. Rory had already had three of whatever concoction had been in her glass and she was clearly not sober. He once again had the urge to stomp across the room and drag her out of the party by her hair. God, how ridiculous did that sound? So caveman-esque, like he should be grunting and carrying a club to beat away any man that tried to go near his precious Ace. So what if she was talking to another guy, what did he care? It's not like he couldn't find himself another girl. Hell, he already had two. He watched as the guy returned and handed Rory another drink.
"Here you go milady," he replied, as she took the drink from him.
"Thank you," she cooed.
"You know," he said, placing one hand on the wall next to her head and leaning in close. "I can think of a few ways you could show your appreciation."
Rory giggled. "Oh, and what ways would that be?"
"How about like this?" he whispered, bringing his lips down to hers.
Rory froze. She hadn't actually expected him to kiss her; she thought he was just playing around. He was good looking and all, and she'd been having fun with him—even forgetting about Logan and his flock of bimbos—but she barely knew the guy. She stood there, not fighting him, but not kissing back either. The guy put his free hand on her hip, pressing her against the wall. His thumb slipped under her shirt, making small circles on her skin just about the waistband of her skirt. He moved his lips away from hers and started kissing down her neck.
"Anthony," she finally hissed. "Anthony, stop." She tried to wriggle free from his grip on her hip, but he just pressed her further into the wall.
"What's the matter, baby?" he asked between kisses. His lips were making their way over her collarbone and down towards the tops of her breasts, just above the neckline of her shirt.
"We can't do this." She tried to shrug him off again unsuccessfully.
"You don't like public displays of affection? We can take this somewhere more private, if you want."
"No," she hissed. "I just want you to stop."
Suddenly Anthony was no longer in front of her. She turned her head to the left just in time to see him slam face first into the wall next to her.
"Maybe your English isn't so good, but I believe the lady said 'no.' It's a word that even an imbecile like you should understand."
"Yo, man, get off me."
"Apologize," Logan growled, shoving Anthony even further into the wall.
"I'm sorry," he yelped. "I'm sorry, I was out of line."
Logan let go of the guy. "Get the hell out of here." He took one good look at Logan, before quickly disappearing into the crowd.
Logan turned to Rory. "What the hell were you thinking?" he growled.
Rory didn't know what to say, she just stood there silently, still in shock.
Logan spoke again, his voice suddenly soft. "Are you OK? Did he hurt you?" He placed his hand comfortingly on her arm.
Rory nodded her head. "Yeah...yeah I'm fine," she assured him.
"Good," he nodded. "I think you've had enough for one evening. Why don't I take you back to your room," he suggested.
"Yeah," she agreed. "Thanks."
Logan led her out of the bar and through the hotel lobby. The elevator ride to their floor was filled with awkward silence, neither sure what to say to ease the obvious tension.
When the lift reached their floor, they got off it and quietly made their way to the rooms. Rory fumbled with the key a little, but managed to let them in.
"Are you sure you're OK?" Logan asked, once they were inside.
"Yeah," she nodded, slumping back against the wall. "I was just caught a little off guard, that's all. Besides, we were in a crowded place, nothing too bad could have happened, right?"
"Thank god for small favors," he mumbled, taking both her hands in his. "When I saw what was happening…I just…"
"Hey, it's alright," she soothed. "I'm OK. It was just a couple of kisses. He wouldn't have done anything more, Logan. It was fine. I'm fine."
"Yeah," he nodded, placing a hand gently on her waist. "Just…I told you, Rory. I told you this morning with the guy at the gardens. You're too trusting. You could have gotten hurt."
"But I didn't," she assured him.
"I won't always be there to save you."
"But tonight you were, and everything turned out fine."
"I'm glad," he told her.
More awkward silence filled the air. "Well, if you're alright, I guess I should go." He started to walk away.
"Logan," she stopped him.
"Yeah?"
"You think you could stay for awhile? I don't think I can sleep yet. Watch some TV with me?"
"Of course," he smiled at her and made his way back to the sofa in the middle of the room. He sat down and she sat next to him, cuddling into his side. They turned the TV on, flipping through the channels until they stopped on a showing of Office Space. It was already nearly over but they decided to watch it anyhow
"I love this movie," Rory smiled. "Well, that may be, but at least I never slept with Lumbergh," she quoted along.
They settled into the movie, the tension being slowly washed away by laughter.
Finally the credits rolled, and Logan straightened up on the couch. "You alright if I go now?" he asked, looking down at her.
She looked back up into his eyes, and she didn't answer him. " Logan?" she asked instead, suddenly emboldened by the alcohol that was still coursing through her veins.
"Yeah?"
"Why did pretend you were my boyfriend this morning?"
"To chase off Mr. Handsome and Charming, remember? So he wouldn't charm you right out of your clothes."
"But why did you care?"
"I don't want to see you get hurt…like tonight," he responded gently.
Rory nodded, conceding the point. "Well what about last night?" she asked.
"Umm..I don't know," he admitted.
"You said I was special."
"You are," he smiled at her.
There was a pause. "Hey," she said suddenly. "Did I ever thank you for saving me tonight?"
Logan laughed. "Don't worry about it, Ace."
"But I should thank you properly," she replied, placing her hand on his knee.
He swallowed the lump that suddenly formed in his throat. "Well, if you wanted to buy me a 'thank you' coffee sometime, I wouldn't be completely opposed."
"That's not what I meant," she smirked at him.
"No?" he swallowed again.
"No." She shook her head, sitting up straighter so they were eye to eye.
"Oh, well then…" but the rest of the words were cut off as she pressed her lips gently into his.