A/N - I sincerely apologize for the delay in posting, but as recompense, I bring you not one, but two chapters! Hope you're ready! :)
Thursday I woke up still smiling about the night before. I really wanted to tell my mom about last night's little revelation, but when I sent her a text all I got in reply was, "Bride's missing." I took that to assume there was a crisis regarding the wedding she was hosting at the Inn this weekend, and not instructions to put out an APB on Uma Thurman's whereabouts.
I had a meeting with Gerry that morning, and managed to convince him to greenlight my space shuttle stuff as a series, rather than a single feature. It was a great opportunity, but seeing as my only contextual knowledge of the space program involved Ben Affleck, Liv Tyler, and a giant asteroid, it also meant that I had some serious research to do.
I had all but climbed into my computer screen when Leslie abruptly put takeout boxes on top of everything on my desk. "You gotta eat, Gilmore."
I looked at the clock and realized it was way passed when I had promised to meet her for lunch.
"Oh crap, I'm sorry, I was just…"
"Caught up… Don't worry, I recognized the face the first time I walked by, and took matters into my own hands…" She handed me a box, "Gyros from the Greek place down block."
"Opa!"
"My thoughts exactly… Now, how was last night?"
"Like you don't already know." I still couldn't believe that she hadn't told me.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." She was a terrible liar.
"Knock it off, Les. Your new best friend sold you out."
"Okay, fine. I knew where he was taking you, but that's it I swear. And I told you what to wear, so it's almost like I told you… Besides, where you went is not the important part."
"It's not entirely unimportant…" I let her know our history with the place.
She shook her head, "Is he always Mr. Smooth Moves?"
"Worse." If I knew Logan, he was just getting started.
"Okay, so we have established that he is wooing you, but how'd it go?"
"Good. Progress was definitely made…"
"…Toward the bedroom?"
"Are you ever not thinking about sex?"
"Occasionally pesky things like work get in the way… but fine, my celibate friend… what kind of progress are we talking about?"
For Logan to have stood up to, and now be working with his dad again was a big deal, and for him to trust me and be comfortable enough to talk to me about it, was even bigger. I just didn't know if Leslie could appreciate how important of a thing it was for us, especially without knowing all of the details of the Logan-Mitchum chronicles.
"He has some really big stuff going on in his life and he finally opened up about it. He's being honest."
"He better be."
I glared at her, imagining what else she might have threatened him with. "I didn't mean that I expected him to be dishonest, but we're both letting the other in more, talking about things that matter, so maybe we can move forward."
"To the…"
"Stop." I rolled my eyes at her, but I had to laugh.
"Hey, I told you, if it were me…"
"I know... Don't you have your own love life to obsess over?"
"Eh… I'm supposed to see this guy on Friday. Dena from layout set me up with him, and I assumed that you would already have plans that didn't involve me, so I figured what the hell."
"You do not get to blame me for your accepting a blind date."
"What else am I supposed to do? Ever since Blondie rolled into town, our friendship has been reduced to tzatziki sauce at your desk." She was being dramatic, but I had been spending a lot of time with Logan.
"Don't worry, Les. I have room for two blondes in my life. You and me, Saturday."
"Deal."
I spent the rest of that afternoon and a good part of Friday morning compiling as much information for my series as I could, before diving into the initial piece.
Late in the afternoon I got a call from Dominic.
"Gilmore, I've got good news and…"
"Bad news?" It kind of slipped out of my mouth.
"No, not bad news… I was going to say a potentially interesting offer."
An interesting offer?
"The good news is a couple of online papers want your article."
Hearing the term online papers, it suddenly occurred to me that keeping Logan out of my career would probably be easier said than done… but somebody wants my article.
"And the interesting part?"
"Well, I've got a friend over at The Times, and you should know that I only send him stuff that won't be a total waste of his time…"
The Times?
"…anyway, I meant what I said about you having good stuff, so I sent it his way. He agreed with me, but he wants more. If you can keep the hard facts, but spin it in terms of ramifications these problems would cause on something people care about, like oil prices, he said they might consider it..."
The New York Times might consider my article.
"That being said, even if they take the rights, there's a good chance it won't make print. There's more competition to get ink in The Times than any paper in the world, so they have their pick of the best. It's up to you… take the risk, or go with one of the other offers that pretty much guarantee a byline, but I need a decision or you'll lose both shots."
"I want The Times." I have always wanted the times.
He laughed a little at my lack of hesitation, "Okay, we'll go for it. You've got the weekend to get it done, they need it Tuesday, but I'll want to look it over."
"Yes, sir."
I put down the receiver in disbelief. Odds were definitely against me, but there was a chance. I could see my name in The New York Times. They turned me down for the fellowship, and they weren't hiring when I came to the city… this could finally be my shot.
I had to prioritize. I needed the first installment of my space shuttle series by Friday, which was well after Dominic's deadline, but I wanted to give the piece for The Times some undivided attention. I decided to tackle the space shuttle first; I had been working on it all morning, and if I stayed late I should at least have the bones of it together, and be able to flesh it out next week. In the meantime I could spend the weekend focused entirely on Saudi Arabia.
An hour and a half later, when my desk phone rang I jumped; I had developed tunnel vision.
"Gilmore…"
"Hey, Ace."
"Hey… is this a business call?"
"Sorry. Your desk was the first number my secretary had for you."
"Aw, your secretary called me… I feel so special."
"Hey, I'm lucky I'm getting to call at all. Today's turning out to be more of a nightmare than I expected, but I wanted to see if we're still on for tonight?"
"We are, and I checked the schedule… they're playing Hitchcock tonight."
"Perfect. It will fit right in with my day…"
"Yes, but only if you can pull of a pill box hat better than Tippi Hedrin."
"Well, I can't make any promises; Tippi is a hard act to follow. So The Birds it is then… Incredibly strange concept, rudimentary special effects, should be excellent fodder for criticism."
"We'll be the new Statler and Waldorf."
"Who the hell are Statler and Waldorf?"
"The old guys from The Muppets… step up your game Huntzberger."
"Well, my apologies to Mr. Henson, but I really gotta get going. I'm still not sure what time I'll make it out of here; can I meet you at the theater?"
"I'll get the tickets."
"See you tonight, Ace." He rushed off to get back to work, and since I still had a long afternoon in front of me, so did I.
Around six Leslie was passing my desk on her way out, "I thought you had plans with the man candy tonight?"
"Midnight movie… He's working late."
She eyed the stacks of paper on my desk, "Well, at least you're not the only workaholic in this relationship."
I rolled my eyes. "Good luck tonight."
She waved behind her as she walked to the elevators, "Thanks, I'm probably going to need it."
After a stop at home to eat and change my clothes, I headed to the theater. I was surprised to find Logan waiting by the ticket booth.
"Hey, I didn't expect you to be here yet…"
"Yea, well I pulled the boss card and left them to finish up."
"Such a slave driver…"
"Yea, well… I had other priorities."
He leaned in with a smile and kissed me.
"I guess I can support your delegation."
He raised his eyebrows, "You guess? I better try that one again…"
He leaned in again… God, he can kiss. I could tell by the cocky smile on his face that he knew that one had done the trick.
"So do you want to be Statler or Waldorf?"
"Which one has the mustache?"
"I have no idea."
"Well now who needs to step up their game?" He put his arm around my shoulder and steered my inside.
After the movie, we left the theater and began walking in no particular direction, "So, does watching a movie that we've already seen qualify as date number three?"
I laughed a little as I nodded; it was cute that he was counting.
"Oh! You know what would make this an excellent third date?"
He rolled his eyes exaggeratedly, "Uh, oh…"
"Uh, oh? What would I say that could be that bad?"
"I dunno… the mind of a Gilmore Girl can be a dangerous thing…"
I offered a face of exaggerated indignation. "And you say I'm the one that can be a real pain in the ass?" He got too much enjoyment out of teasing me.
"Alright, Ace… What would make for an excellent third date?"
"Ice Cream!"
He laughed and rolled his eyes at my childish enthusiasm, "Ice cream it is…" He looked over his shoulder toward the street, hailed the cab that was about to drive past us, and led me to it, "Come on, I know a place."
He gave the cab driver an address, and for a second I wondered if he had a master key to a dining hall kitchen again, but we were headed uptown, and pulled up in front of a very nice building.
"What kind of ice cream place is this?" I had a pretty good idea of where this was heading.
"Oh a very exclusive one…"
He took my hand as we walked through the lobby of the building. The man at the concierge desk greeted him with a nod, "Mr. Huntzberger."
As we passed him on the way to the elevator, Logan returned the gesture with a smile, "Tommy."
"An ice cream parlor with a doorman? This is exclusive."
He pulled me into the elevator, "Only the best for you, Ace." He followed up a sly smile and a long kiss.
His hands were on my hips, holding me close to him, but I leaned away with playful skepticism, "Do you actually have ice cream, or is all this just a ploy to get me upstairs?"
He responded in all seriousness, "Would I lie to you about ice cream?"
"I hope not."
He shook his head to affirm my conjecture, before leaning with a smirk and whispering, "Besides, risking that kind of disappointment would completely work against my otherwise entirely dishonorable intentions." The elevator chimed and the doors slid open, but he snuck in one more kiss before we exited.
His was the only door at the end of the hallway. As he led me inside, I looked around it became acutely aware to me how different our lives were. "Toto, I've a feeling we're not in Kansas anymore…"
Logan had always lived a life of luxury thanks to his family… trust funds, boarding schools, the whole nine yards. But this was somehow more impressive… He had built this all on his own.
He laughed. "Not bad, huh?"
"Not bad? Logan, what happened to 'still living out of a suitcase'?" I followed after him past the stairs, through the dining room, into an impressive kitchen… It was all impressive.
"I told you, plans changed…" He said it and shrugged his shoulders like it was no big deal. He tilted his head towards the breakfast bar, "Sit."
I sat on one of the stools with my back to the granite counter; I was admiring the view through the floor-to-ceiling windows across the adjacent living room.
He set down two bowls of ice cream, "As promised."
When I didn't turn around right away he laughed as he reached across the counter to grab the chair back and spin the stool himself, "Come on Ace, it's gonna melt… I'll give you the grand tour later."
He had undeniably made good on his ice cream promise, complete with sprinkles and chocolate syrup, and as I took my last bite he asked, "Satisfied?"
My spoon was still in my mouth when I nodded in response. I could feel that I had smeared chocolate on my lip and reached for the napkin on the counter, but he leaned towards me with a grin, "Here, let me get that for you…" before kissing the chocolate off of my lip.
It was a very pleasant surprise. "I must say, this place has excellent service…"
He flashed a smug smile as he cleared our dishes, "Well, we aim to please."
While he was still in the kitchen I walked toward the windows to take a better look at the view. It was spectacular; the epitome of a New York skyline.
He caught me off guard when he wrapped his arms around my waist from behind, and I was about to come up with some comment about giving me a heart attack, but then he began softly kissing the back of my neck and I lost all train of thought.
I let my head fall against his chest as goose bumps spread down my back. He moved his kisses along my cheek before turning me towards him. He leaned in close, inches away from a full-fledged kiss, but then he stopped, and with a devious smile shook his head, "Ready for that tour now?"
I dramatically dropped my arms from where they had been resting on his shoulders and took a step back from him, "That was just plain mean." I knew this was payback for the other night in my doorway.
He struggled to keep a straight face, "I don't know what you're talking about?"
"Logan…"
He mimicked my tone, "Ace…"
"You know that's not fair… If we had really just started dating you wouldn't…"
"What? Know how to tease you?" He couldn't hide how proud of himself he was anymore, "Hey, you said it yourself, we aren't actually starting from scratch… you cannot hold my previously gained knowledge against me."
In a futile effort to abate his ego, I attempted an indifferent attitude, "Fine, let's see the place."
Before I could move further away, he pulled me back to him; if it were possible, even closer than we had been before, "You don't really think I'm that mean, do you?"
As hard as I had tried to fight it, I was no match for the Huntzberger charm, "Just kiss me, already…"
He did… He really kissed me. He kissed me across the living room; he kissed me all the way up the stairs; he kissed me into the bedroom and over to the bed. He only stopped kissing me long enough to give me a look, wordlessly asking if this is what I wanted. It was absolutely what I wanted.
Eventually we found ourselves cuddled beneath the plush bedding, his arm under my head and my hand tracing circles on his bare chest. I couldn't have stopped smiling even if I wanted to, and though the act that had just transpired was definitely smile-worthy, it actually had very little to do with it. Just being this close to him, being us, felt so good.
"Care to share with the class?" I hadn't noticed that he was looking at me, apparently curious about whatever was running through my mind.
"You just give a hell of a tour, that's all…"
He laughed and rolled onto his side to face me. "To be fair, you handed me the edge before we even walked in here tonight…"
"Oh really? How do you figure?"
"The ice cream is what actually opened up the playing field…" His trademark smirk snuck across his face. "Junk food has really been working in my favor lately."
I laughed, knowing he was talking about the tacos. "Well, what can I say? I'm a girl of simple pleasures."
He gave me a sweet kiss before lying back against the pillows. I scooted closer to him and rested my head on his chest. I could feel him let out a contented sigh as he ran his fingers through my hair.
After a minute or two of happy silence, his voice broke the quiet, "Ace?"
I had been on the edge of drifting into sleep, "Hmm?"
"Can I tell you something?"
I sat up; awake again, "Is it about your fortune?"
He let out a laugh, clearly amused by my unwillingness to let this one go, "No, it is not about the damn fortune."
"Pleeease? What is the big…"
"Rory…" He still had a big grin on his face, but the use of my real name usually meant he really wanted my attention, so I stopped my whining.
He breathed deep and looked into my eyes, "I love you."
There they were… those three words.
The second that I had paused to process must have made him start to worry…
"I know we're supposed to be dating and taking things slow, but I need you to know… I wanted to say it at dinner the other…"
I put my finger on his lips to stop him from continuing, "I know. I could see it on your face."
He bit his bottom lip and for a second he almost looked embarrassed.
"You're not always as smooth as you think you are, Huntzberger."
"Well, now you tell me…"
Before we got too far off track on one of our tangents, I kissed him.
"I love you too."
** I do not own any characters or content relating to Gilmore Girls, Armageddon, The Muppets, The Birds, The Wizard of Oz, or any other entities mentioned**
A/N - Well, big things are happening... What do you think? Please comment and let me know! xx