AN: Merry Christmas guys. I think I'll just conveniently ignore the fact that I haven't updated in 4 months and just go on with the story. Enjoy.

"See, I told you shopping was therapeutic," Stephanie beamed as she and Rory made their way down the hall towards their room, their arms brimming with shopping bags full of clothes and accessories.

"You really shouldn't have bought me this stuff," Rory reminded her for the umpteenth time. Every time Steph just saw Rory looking at something that might have caught her eye, she insisted on buying it. She literally picked it up off the rack and delivered it to the cash register herself.

"Nonsense, shopping isn't nearly as fun if I'm the only one who gets to take anything home." Steph struggled to fish her key out of her purse without toppling all of her new possessions onto the floor. Rory succeeded in getting her key first, having slid the slim piece of programmable plastic into the back pocket of her jeans, and foregone a purse all together.

The girls made their way into the room and dropped their heavy load. "I see you put Daddy's credit card to good use." Stephanie turned to see Colin sitting on the couch, idly flipping through a magazine with his feet up on the coffee table.

"What are you doing here?" she asked curiously.

"Waiting for you," he stated the obvious, setting the magazine down and standing up to approach the blonde. "Rory, do you mind?"

"No, I'll just, uh, go…" she stumbled over her words, pointing nervously towards her room. She was feeling slightly uncomfortable with Colin's presence since she knew that he knew all about the events between her and Logan the other night.

"What's up?" Stephanie asked once Rory was gone.

"Oh, just checking to make sure you were still alive and hadn't gotten thrown into an international prison."

"Hey, that was one time and it was a complete misunderstanding," she pouted. "I got my Italian mixed up; I totally didn't mean to offer my 'services' to that very attractive Venetian cop."

"That's not the point, Stephanie," Colin groaned. He didn't need to think about her offering her 'services' to anyone else, especially when she didn't even seem to be offering them to him the past couple of days.

"Then what is the point?"

"The point is I haven't seen you in almost two days."

"Rory and I have been bonding."

"The girl is eighteen, Steph, she doesn't need a babysitter."

"She's had a rough couple of days, Colin. She may not need a babysitter, but she does need a friend. Besides, I'm the one who convinced her to come with us, I can't just abandon her."

"And why did you want her to come in the first place? Oh right, to set her up with Logan. That plan would go a lot more smoothly if you'd actually let him see her." Stephanie had been giving Logan the brush off since the incident with him and Rory two days earlier, so that Rory could have some time to recover from her embarrassment and postpone the inevitable awkwardness.

"So that's what this is really about? Logan sent you over here?"

"No…well, yes," Colin admitted. "He wants to talk to her, and I would actually like to spend some time with my girlfriend while we're here so, really, it was a mutual agreement to put an end to this insanity."

Stephanie stood completely still, her eyes wide. Colin's face had morphed into his best impersonation of a deer caught in the headlights. "What did you say?" she finally asked after an extended pause.

"It was a mutual agreement to put an end to this insanity?" he replied hesitantly.

"No, before that," Steph said, never breaking eye contact.

"He wants to talk to her?" Colin tried, lamely.

"After…"

Colin took a deep breath. "Girlfriend," he admitted. Before he knew what was happening, he felt a sharp sting on his left cheek. He looked at Steph who was shaking her right hand and gnawing on her lower lip, a myriad of emotions displayed on her face. "What the hell was that for?" he asked, when his brain caught up to the situation and he realized she had slapped him.

"You think you can just manipulate me into doing what you want me to by calling me your girlfriend? It doesn't work that way, Colin. You don't get to just use that word whenever it's convenient for you and forget it whenever it's not."

"What? Stephanie, no, that's not…"

"No," she cut him off. "Don't you dare, I've put up with all of your stupid games because deep down I actually believed you cared, but this is just too much. You don't just get to play with my emotions like this…"

"Steph…"

"You're such an asshole, Colin McCrae." She turned away and began to stalk off, but Colin reached out and grabbed her.

"Stephanie…" he tried again.

"Let go," she tried to shake out of his grasp, but he just held on tighter and pulled her towards him.

"Stephanie," he repeated, his tone softer. "I wasn't playing."

She felt her jaw go slack as she stared into his eyes, which were only millimeters away from hers. She saw sincerity in them. "Colin," she whispered.

He closed the distance between them, slipping his tongue into her already open mouth, and moving his lips languidly against hers. He felt a sudden drop of moisture on his face after a moment and he pulled back slightly to see her eyes glistening with more moisture. "Oh god, don't cry," he said nervously. "It's a real blow to my ego after all of this."

"I'm happy, you dummy." She slapped him playfully on his shoulder, sniffling back her happy tears.

"Really?" he asked hopefully, letting out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

"Really," she admitted, burying her face into his shoulder.

"Good," he whispered, pulling her a little bit closer, and holding her there for a few perfect moments.

"Why?" she finally broke the silence that had descended upon them. She remained in his embrace.

"Why what?"

"Why now? Why this sudden interest in becoming a boyfriend?" she asked, speaking into the cotton of his shirt. She felt him shrug.

"I don't know. It just came out, and I realized that it didn't scare me. It felt right. It feels right. We've been doing this forever, Steph. You know how much you mean to me. I've got to stop acting like a frightened, little kid eventually, right?"

"Right."

"Listen," he said, finally pulling away. "You should go back to Rory. I'll tell Logan to forget about it. She'll talk to him when she's ready."

Stephanie took a minute to think about this before making her decision. She exhaled sharply. "No, I'm starting to think she'll never be ready at this rate. I want my friends to be as happy as I am, damn it. If that means we have to lie and manipulate to make it happen, well then, that's just what we'll have to do." She finished with conviction.

"Oh thank god," Colin breathed out. "I was trying to do the good boyfriend thing, but if I had to listen to any more of Logan's pathetic whining I was going to have to shove his Ipod down his throat."

"His Ipod?"

"He was actually playing depressing, country music on it earlier. It was pitiful. We seriously need to get those two idiots together before they become irreparably pathetic."

"They're really lucky to have friends like us who are willing to help them out," Stephanie added happily.

"So what's the plan?" Colin asked.

Stephanie thought about it for a moment. "OK, here's what we're going to do."

You're sure you don't mind if I go out to dinner with Colin tonight?" Stephanie asked her friend as she sorted through the closet full of clothes in her hotel room.

"Of course not," Rory promised her. She had been hogging Stephanie for days and it was only right that she let her friend go enjoy a romantic dinner with her 'boyfriend.' Rory was so happy for the blonde girl. Despite Stephanie's many adamant statements to the contrary, it was obvious to the brunette that her friend wasn't entirely happy with the arrangement she and Colin had. It was good they had finally sorted things out. Besides, at least someone was having some luck in the love department. "You and Colin deserve a nice night out to celebrate. I'm perfectly happy curling up with some Red Vines and The Power of Myth." She was already in her pajamas anyhow; she wasn't in the mood to do much spring breaking.

Stephanie stopped sorting through her clothes to look over her shoulder at Rory. "Normally, I would make it very clear just how pathetic it was that you brought Bill Moyers with you on spring break, but this time, I'll let it slide since it's in my best interest." She chanced a quick glance at the clock as she turned back around, noting that it was officially after six o'clock; perfect. "How about this?" she asked, picking up a pink halter top and spinning around to show Rory. "With my khaki mini-skirt?"

"It'll look good," Rory replied with a smile.

"You know what would really go well with it?"

"What?"

Stephanie hesitated for a moment before shaking her head. "No, never mind, forget about it. I wouldn't want to intrude."

Rory rolled her eyes at her friend. Stephanie wasn't worried about intruding, it wasn't her way; she was just pretending to be polite. "What do you want to borrow, Steph?"

"Well…" Stephanie drawled out. "It's just that that those brown, high heeled boots you have would look so perfect."

Rory laughed at her friend. "It's fine for you to wear them tonight," she insisted.

"Oh thank you, thank you, thank you," Stephanie squealed, rushing to give Rory a big hug. "They'll knock Colin's socks off—and hopefully his pants as well," she grinned madly. Rory shuddered at the unpleasant imagery. Stephanie just stood there, staring back at Rory.

"And…I'll just go get those for you," Rory finally replied, once it became clear that Stephanie was expecting them immediately.

"You're the best," the older girl beamed as she skipped back towards the closet to gather her outfit.

Rory left Stephanie's room and headed towards her own. She went straight for the closet and began rummaging around trying to find the footwear in question when she heard the door to the room click shut and a familiar voice speak. "Looking for these?" he asked, standing in front of the closed door, dangling a pair of boots before him.

"Logan!" she startled, standing up quickly and spinning to face him. "What are you doing here?"

"We need to talk," he replied flatly, putting the boots down and taking a few steps towards her, making sure to stay between her and the door to block her escape route. Rory took a few steps back, trying to put as much distance between him and her as possible. She should have known she couldn't avoid him forever; at the very least, they had to share a ten-hour plane ride in a couple of days. Still, she could at least try to postpone the inevitable awkward and embarrassing conversation she had in store for her.

"About what?" she asked as innocently as possible. She could have kicked herself for going the 'playing dumb' route—that never worked. A few more steps found her successfully backed into a corner. He continued his slow approach until he was so close that she could feel his chest rising and falling and the beating of his heart disturbed the air around them.

"About this," he whispered as his left hand anchored itself on her hip and his right gently cupped her cheek. Logan closed the distance between them, covering her lips with his own. She instinctively arched her back and let her arms circle his neck as she responded to him fervently. Kissing him; she was kissing Logan Huntzberger—again. She was kissing him in nothing but her Happy Bunny pajamas, boldly declaring 'please go suck someplace else.' In all honesty, she was perfectly happy with him continuing to suck just where he was. It wasn't until his hand started migrating up from her hip and she realized that soon there would be nothing but the very thin material of her tank top separating his hand from her breast, that her panic from before began to resurface. How was it that a single kiss from Logan could make her forget everything? Could make her lose control? That wasn't her—she strived off control; she needed it; she was completely lost without it. She finally pushed him away.

"I should really get those boots to Steph," she whispered breathily, trying to steady her erratic breathing.

"She's not there anymore," he replied, moving his hands to the wall on either side of her so that she couldn't run away.

"What?"

"She didn't send you back here for boots, Rory. In fact, I'm fairly certain that her plans for the evening not only don't include boots, they don't require much clothing of any sort."

"You planned this with her," Rory said, finally realizing just how she'd been played. Of course he hadn't been waiting for her, holding a random pair of shoes, just out of coincidence.

"You were avoiding me," was his response.

She didn't reply. She was suddenly feeling very claustrophobic in that little corner with his arms around her. She tried to push him away to escape but he held tight.

"You can't keep running away from this, Ror; we kissed."

"It was a mistake." A really, really wonderful feeling mistake that she never wanted to end, but a mistake nonetheless. She had pretended to be mad at him for 'rejecting' her, but she couldn't even think about what would have happened if he hadn't. She very well might have actually gone as far as having sex with him. She knew Logan cared about her, but he wasn't exactly the relationship type. It wouldn't have meant to him, what it would have to her, and that would have crushed her. She could have lost her virginity and one of her best friends in one fell swoop. Then, all of a sudden, he's kissing her again with his soft lips, his agile tongue, and the gentle caress of his hands. What exactly did he think he was doing?

"But see, I don't think it was."

"That's easy for you to say," she replied defensively. "You do this kind of thing all the time."

"Not really." She looked at him incredulously. Logan sighed. "Okay, so the kissing thing I've done a lot of, yes. And sex…" He squeezed his eyes shut uncomfortably for a moment. "Yeah, I guess I've done my fair share of that as well, but this…" He opened his eyes to look at her, and moved one hand off the wall to motion back and forth between them. "This is completely new."

"Logan," she started, but he continued on as though uninterrupted.

"You're scared, I get that." He told her. "You're scared because I make you feel a way that no one else ever has—uninhibited, carefree, bold. I'm scared too, because you make me feel a way that no one else ever has. You make me feel like maybe a little bit of stability isn't a bad thing. You make me feel like maybe being with just one person isn't a sacrifice, even if it means giving up a few things."

"What are you trying to say?" she whispered.

"I want to be your boyfriend."

She blinked several times, wondering if maybe it was just a very convincing Logan clone standing before her. Clearly the real Logan would not have said the words she'd just heard come out of his mouth. "You what?"

"You heard me."

"You do realize what the word 'boyfriend' implies, right?"

"I think I've got the general idea," he smirked. He finally took his hands back and crossed them over his chest, leaning back on the heels of his feet to get a good look at her incredulous face.

"Monogamy, for starters."

He laughed. "So I've been told."

"That means you can't sleep with anyone else," she reminded him.

"Really?" he feigned shock.

"And despite what happened the other night, I'm not really ready to…" she trailed off.

"Have sex." He finished bluntly. "I get it, Rory, really, I do."

"Are you prepared for that? I mean, you honestly think you can…"

"I haven't been with anyone in months, Rory. Not since before you and Jess broke up. In fact, not since the night you showed up at my dorm after your fight with him. It wasn't a conscious decision, it's just—none of them were enough. None of them were you. You don't have to worry about me sleeping with anyone else. I don't want anyone else."

"Why now?" she asked. "If you've felt this way for so long, why are you just telling me all this?"

"Because I stopped you."

"Huh?"

"I'll admit I freaked out when I found out you were still a virgin."

"Gee thanks," she replied sarcastically.

"It's not like that. It's just, well, I don't think you realize this, Ace, but you're incredibly hot." Her face warmed considerably as the blush crept over her cheeks. He couldn't help himself; he leaned in to place a chaste kiss to her lips. "Have I ever told you how cute you are when you're embarrassed?" Her face heated up even more.

"Point, please," she reminded him.

"I want to have sex with you. I wouldn't be much of a heterosexual male if I didn't. And let's face it; being with you is only going to make me want you that much more." She was looking straight down at her shoes now, the redness in her cheeks practically clown-like at this point. She wasn't used to guys talking about her so explicitly, except maybe Tristan, but he was generally just being an ass. Logan lifted her chin to make her look at him. "Stopping you the other night was one of the hardest things I'd ever had to do, but I did it because I knew you weren't ready for that.

"You see, the thing that scared me the most, was the thought that once I started kissing you, I wouldn't be able to stop. I've never had to exercise much self-control in my life, and being with you without being with you, is going to take a whole lot of self-control. But when push came to shove, I did it. I put your needs above my own desires."

Rory didn't even know how to respond to this. Logan Huntzberger was standing in front of her, practically begging her to go out with him.

"What do you say, Ace?"

"Are you sure about this?" she asked.

"If I haven't made myself clear by now, I might actually have to start going to class so I can learn how to get to a point."

"Logan Huntzberger in class? What will the teachers say? They might actually make you take a test." She grinned.

"I'll take that as a yes." Bantering Rory was always a good sign.

"You're so cocky."

"Someday, Ace, I plan on showing you just how cocky I am."

"Pig."

"Oink, oink," he smirked.

She shook her head exasperatedly before wrapping her arms around his neck, and bringing him in for a kiss. Apparently, Paris was right; she was Annette Bening after all.

Review please O:)