Thanks for the reviews, everyone! Glad to know you're anticipating the next chapter.
Chapter Two
Having a fight with your boyfriend in the summer sucks. Without school to throw you together, you just might never speak again. I guess that means we've broken up.
It had been a week since Logan had walked out. He hadn't called, and she sure as Hell wasn't going to call him. Her Dad was gone again and this time around she didn't look forward to having the house to herself. What was with all these trips, anyway? Her Dad was being very secretive about this case.
Dick was having a party that night. She knew Logan would be there. Maybe she should go. Show him she wasn't going to hide at home. Yeah, everyone knew how well it went last time her stubborn pride took her to a party where she wasn't welcome.
But in spite of what had happened last year, in spite of what happened last week, she wanted to see Logan. Try to figure out what was going on with him. He seemed to care about her – most the time. And she knew he wanted her – that much had been clear when he'd been lying on top of her. Why had he run off that night? Veronica couldn't let it go. Couldn't let the whole thing just end without knowing what happened to their epic romance.
Veronica took a deep breath and pushed open the front door of the mansion. Here goes nothing.
Inside, the polished floors were littered with beer cups and the occasional unconscious oh-niner. Music blasted from giant speakers. Veronica looked around. A bunch of people she didn't want to talk to. But no Logan. She wandered through the house. He had to be there someplace. It was quieter near the back of the house. She started opening doors.
"Hey!"
"Get lost!"
"Go watch someone else, you perv!"
God, how many bedrooms were in this house? She suddenly felt sick. What if she found Logan…behind one of those doors? Better to know. Easier to forget about him that way.
She opened another door. A naked body attached to a scrappy blonde head writhed on the bed. No Logan and on top of that she has to see Dick's hairy ass. Not a good evening so far.
"Yo! Mars. You planning on joining us?"
Veronica started to close the door. Blech!
"Leave Logan alone. He doesn't need you screwing with his head anymore."
Veronica paused. "You don't have any idea what you're talking about."
Dick jumped out of bed, grabbing a pillow to cover himself with. A pink pillow but better than the alternative vision burned into her retinas.
The girl sat up in bed, deer caught in the headlights, clutching the sheet to her. She looked no more than 13.
"Nice jailbait, Dick. Can't find anyone older than that willing to sleep with you?"
A quick glance back at the girl and then he pushed Veronica out of the room, shutting the door behind him. "Get the Hell out of my house. You've already dumped Logan. What else do you need to torture him with?"
"I dumped him?"
"Yeah, just like you dumped him all those other times. I told him he couldn't trust you."
"What makes you think I'm the one who dumped him?"
Nobody is that fucking bummed out when they do the dumping." He tapped the side of his head. "You aren't the only one with detective skills. Just call me Private Dick." He threw the pillow away. "And if you'd like a piece of this Private Dick I promise you won't get inside my head like you did Gloomy Boy's."
Ugh! Veronica hurried down the hall. Retina burn. Retina burn! Dick was an idiot. But maybe he was on to something. Why would Logan trust her? She accused him of drugging and raping her and then she dumped him. Suspected he was about to create a Paris Hilton video of the two of them…so she dumped him without even asking if it was his camera. Suspected he'd killed Lily so she turned him into the police. And then as the final icing on the cake, dumped him when he was totally messed up in the head and soon after started dating his best friend. Veronica groaned. I'm a horrible girlfriend.
She skittered around a corner and slammed into someone.
"Logan," she breathed.
He'd grabbed her arms to steady her. Now he dropped them like they were burning him. "What are you doing here?"
A hundred smart-ass comments came to mind but now wasn't the time. "Looking for you."
Logan cocked his head to one side, weighing her words. His eyes had that glazed drunken look she'd seen on him too many times. "Well, you found me, so you can go now." He wobbled past her and headed into one of the rooms she hadn't yet checked.
She followed him in. Pool table, dart board, Foozball. He may not want to see her but at least he wasn't in bed with anyone else.
Logan picked up a pool cue and broke with an unsteady hand. Balls bounced around the table but he sunk none of them.
Veronica grabbed a second cue. "Six in the side pocket." A crack and the six spiraled down the hole.
"Why are you still here?" Logan asked.
Veronica motioned towards the two and pointed at one of the corner pockets. "Because I want to talk to you. Figure out what went wrong," With a snap of her arm the two ricocheted off the side rail and disappeared down the corner pocket. "and try to fix it."
Veronica lined up her next shot…
"Why?"
…and scratched.
"Because I think we had…have something worth saving."
Logan closed his eyes. "Don't."
"Don't what?"
"Pretend you care."
"Logan, I do care. Would I be here at this crappy party if I didn't? Look, I know—"
Laughter from the hallway. The door crashed open and a couple spilled onto the floor.
Logan spoke through gritted teeth. "This room's occupied."
"Look, man—" the guy started.
Logan raised the pool cue. "Get. Out."
The couple scrambled out the door.
Veronica felt a fragment of hope. Maybe Logan was ready to talk to her. "This is a lousy spot to talk," she said. "Can we go someplace else?"
He turned back to the table. "I'm busy shooting pool at the moment." He lined up another shot.
Veronica sighed. Logan was a tough nut to crack. "Tell you what. We play one game. If I win, you leave with me and we talk. If you win, I walk out and quit hassling you"
Logan straightened up from the table. "You'd hustle a drunken man?"
"Hey, if you know you're going to lose we could just leave now."
Logan smiled. "No, I'll play." He went back to his shot. Off two rails and into the pocket.
Veronica felt a stab of worry. This was one game she couldn't lose. And maybe Logan wasn't as drunk as she thought he was. "Um, so I'm solids. Those two I already sank, they're mine."
Logan's playing continued its miraculous improvement. Soon there was only the 8-ball left on the table. They batted it around the table for a few minutes.
The next shot was a difficult one. Veronica wouldn't risk it. She'd just place it someplace equally impossible for Logan. She picked the perfect awkward corner and lined up the shot.
"We aren't worth saving."
The cue ball hit the eight. It didn't go the direction it was supposed to. Damn. "You're right, Logan." Veronica said angrily.
"Good." Logan hesitated. "I'm glad we agree."
"If you're not even willing to try, then no, there's nothing here worth saving, because I can't do it by myself." She threw the cue on the table.
"Um, Veronica?"
"What?" she snapped.
"Your cue is blocking my shot." He motioned to the table.
Veronica snatched up the pool cue and got her first look at the lay of the table. Her shoulders slumped. She'd left Logan with a fairly easy shot.
"Eight-ball, corner pocket."
Veronica moved behind Logan as he lined up the shot. His line was good. But was it good enough? She stepped closer.
Logan stood abruptly, bumping into her. "You're hovering."
"I'm not hovering." Veronica wrapped her arms around herself.
"You are." Logan's eyes were on her mouth.
Veronica realized she'd been biting her lower lip. She stopped. "Just make your damn shot."
Logan turned back to the table. Again, his line was good. He pulled back on the cue and the angle changed a fraction as he pushed forward. The cue ball hit the eight a bit off, putting a spin on it as it moved down the table. A soft bounce off the rail and it came to rest a hair's width from the corner pocket.
Veronica exhaled a long breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding.
"Guess I'm going with you," Logan said quietly.
"Yeah, guess so."
They didn't speak in the car. If Logan was curious where she was taking him, he didn't ask. That was fine with Veronica. She hadn't figured out what the heck she was going to say to him anyway.
Logan let out a huge yawn.
Veronica smiled. "Am I boring you?"
"Sorry, I didn't sleep well this week."
"Neither did I."
"Veronica, I—" He stopped, and then rolled towards the window. "I think I need a nap. Wake me when we get there."
"Good idea. You'll need all your strength when I start yelling at you later."
Logan chuckled and that was the last sound Veronica heard from him until the snoring started a minute later.
Veronica drove around town for a while. Did she have a game plan? No. She pulled up in front of her house. A good a spot as any to talk. Veronica shook Logan's arm gently. "Wake up. We're here."
Logan opened one eye a crack. "You've brought me here to take advantage of me while I'm drunk, haven't you?" He closed his eye again.
Veronica shook his arm again, a little harder this time. "Get in the house. Sleep it off and we'll talk in the morning.
Logan struggled to sit up and shake off the sleep. "No, I'm good. We can talk tonight."
"Forget it. You're half drunk and half asleep. I want your full attention when we talk."
"Logan climbed out of the car. "And I prefer to be drunk and numb when we talk." He yawned again.
Veronica glared at him. She didn't know how drunk he really was but he was doing a good job of keeping her at a distance. "Fine. But I'm putting coffee on while you shower to wake yourself up."
"Oh, a shower. Are you going to join me?"
Veronica's eyes narrowed. "And what would you do if I said yes?"
Logan turned towards the house. "Call me when the coffee's ready."
Veronica had just flipped the switch on the coffee maker when she heard the special chime on her computer. She ran to the computer and typed in her password. "Look at these very, very, very cute babies" was the subject line. Another password and the e-mail opened. A PowerPoint file. What the heck? She clicked it open and sure enough, an entire Powerpoint presentation of Anne Geddes type babies. He wouldn't risk it for a generic email…unless... She read the subject line again, and then forwarded through the screens.
She smiled. Aww, cute. Now she knew how she was going to prove to Logan that she could be trusted – and that she trusted him.