A/N: I think you guys are really going to enjoy this chapter. It's incredibly long, longer than I expected. But I'm pretty satisfied with how it turned out. Enjoy!
Chapter Three – Unadulterated Loathing
In all honesty, Rory hadn't really expected to call Steph for anything, especially so soon after their run in. But a lot of things made Rory rethink the whole situation. More specifically though was Rory's current dilemma as to what to wear on her date tonight.
Originally, Rory had brushed off the encounter, wanting to put the whole bad morning behind her. So naturally, things only got worse as the day went on. It started out slightly awkward when a boy named Trevor from her English class asked her to dinner that Saturday, but Rory decided to politely turn him down. He just wasn't her type. To start with, he was a bit too preppy for her taste. True, he supported her points of view during class discussion, but what would happen if things didn't go well? And she already knew that he planned to study in Barcelona next year, so nothing could really come out of it anyway.
Things seemed to go a bit more smoothly after that, until later that evening when Rory was doing her laundry. Apparently she had waited a bit too long to retrieve her clothes from the dryer. There were her nice clean clothes, tossed haphazardly all over the dirty laundry room floor. Rory grumbled in frustration as she threw her clothes into her laundry basket. She'd have to wash them all over again now. This additional annoyance did wonders for her mood.
At that point, Rory just needed to get away from New Haven for a little while. Between Paris and Janet's bickering, her embarrassing encounters with boys, and the time she wasted doing laundry, Rory was tired of other people. So Rory packed up her car with her laundry and the books she needed for that night's bout of studying, and headed back to Stars Hollow for the evening to rewash her clothes.
It was Lorelai, naturally, who had her rethinking the way she'd been conducting herself around guys lately. Rory had just finished telling her mom about Paris and Janet's quest to murder each other when the story was brought around to her run in with Steph and Logan that morning.
"It was humiliating, and awkward, and a couple other adjectives thrown in."
"Which one is Logan again?" Lorelai asked.
"The blonde one who you claimed was checking me out."
"So not naked guy?"
"No, not naked guy. Naked guy is the Australian."
"Right, got it. Well, sounds to me like he's still checking you out. Twice while in your pajamas, I have major respect for you."
Rory wasn't in the mood for this conversation. She picked up the laundry basket that she'd previously dropped on the floor, carrying it into the kitchen in an attempt to put up her laundry. Of course, this tactic didn't work on Lorelai, who followed her daughter and refused to drop the subject.
"So are you interested?" Lorelai asked.
Rory sighed. It was just like her mother to poke the topic with a stick, not allowing Rory to put it to rest.
She placed her laundry basket down on the kitchen table and took a seat in one of the chairs, turning to face her mother. Lorelai pulled out a chair as well, settling herself in for what looked like a difficult conversation with her daughter, mostly because Rory seemed to be in a stubborn mood.
"I don't see what difference that makes," Rory said, pushing a stray piece of hair behind her ear and folding her arms across her chest. "Steph pretty much said that he doesn't mean anything by it."
Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Hmm…"
She knew that look. "What?"
"What is it really, Rory? Is he not cute?"
Rory blushed. "No. Objectively he's… very attractive." There was no use in denying that fact; Lorelai would see right through her. Logan was one of those people whose blonde hair accomplished that perfectly messy look; he could probably roll out of bed each morning, hair sticking up in weird directions, and still manage to look good. He was clean cut and a sharp dresser. But it was his smile that really did it. Rory could tell from the way he smirked at her that he was used to girls going weak at the knees with that smile.
It was part of the reason Rory didn't flat out hate him. His words made her feel uncomfortable, but that smile through her off. She'd never seen anyone with such a perfect smile before. It was hard to hate someone who could smile at you like that. One flash of those perfect, white teeth and you could forget why it was you were angry in the first place.
Rory wasn't going to be played by that smile. She wouldn't be one of those girls who just fell for every boy who so much as smiled in her direction. Rory could – and would – rise about it.
"Okay, so what's the problem?" Lorelai asked.
"He's just…"
"Oh my god," interjected Lorelai. "If you say that he's not your type, I swear – "
"He's just trying to push my buttons; that's all," Rory ended lamely. "It's really not a big deal at all. I'm making the whole thing seem more than it was. He's spoken maybe five sentences to me, all of which contained some kind of innuendo. He's doesn't mean anything by it."
Lorelai's forehead wrinkled in thought, as though she didn't really believe Rory's rationalization.
"Fine, Logan's a no go. Are there any other prospects, then? What about Naked Guy, or that other kid?"
"One, I haven't seen either of them since that night. Two, if Logan's night my type, his friends are even less my type. Three, there was this guy named Trevor from my English class who asked me to try out this restaurant with him on Saturday, but it was completely casual. I told him I have plans."
"So not cute, huh?"
"Why is that your response every time I say I'm not interested in a boy?"
Lorelai sighed. Where to begin? "I'm just trying to figure out why you're being so resistant. Hun, I know you've never really dated – "
"What are you talking about? I've dated!"
"No, you haven't. You've had relationships; that is not dating."
Rory did not like the way this conversation was going. "Yeah, well. You don't date either!"
"Of course I do!"
"Oh really? Who have you dated?"
It took Lorelai a while to come up with an answer for her daughter. "Oh! What about that guy from my business class? Or that really bad date I went on with that guy from the auction? The one where mom forced me to go on a second date with him because she's friends with his mom."
"You just brought up two examples of really bad dates."
"Okay, what about Alex? We dated."
"You went away with him for a weekend! And you broke up after you kissed Max, remember?"
"But it was never really serious. And all of that is beside the point; we're talking about you here. The point is, I have dated. And, while I may not be the best example here, you've gotta go on some bad dates to find the really good ones. Max and I started out just dating, and it would have never turned into a relationship if we hadn't. So you're not into Steph's friends; that's fine. What about the guy who asked you on a date?"
"Trevor," Rory corrected.
"Right. How do you know that Trevor's not something special if you don't at least have dinner with him? If it's not right, no big deal."
Rory knew she had lost this round. "I hate dating."
Lorelai reached across the table, touching Rory's hand comfortingly. "I know, kid. You've been very lucky with guys. They've always just sort of been there. It was bound to get a little harder eventually."
So despite her initial reservations, Rory agreed to the date with Trevor. She was actually quite impressed with the way in which she made it known to him that she had reconsidered his offer. Unfortunately, it wasn't until she was getting ready for the date that she realized that she had no idea what to wear, and no clue who to ask.
Her roommates were no help. Paris was obviously out. Besides the fact that she was on the warpath lately, Paris had come to Rory on more than one occasion with the same problem that she was having now. Then there was Janet, whom Rory had rarely seen wearing anything other than athletic apparel. Janet might be of some assistance to her, but Rory wasn't about to get in the middle of her fight with Paris. That left Tana, who was barely capable of dressing herself, let alone someone else.
It was out of desperation that Rory called Steph, who immediately rushed over to Rory's aid.
"Thanks for coming," said Rory when she answered the door, stepping aside to allow Steph to enter.
"Of course." Steph was grinning widely. Dressing up for dates was her specialty. "You called the right person for advice. Where's your room?"
"It's this way." Rory lead the girl to her bedroom, where Paris was sitting at her desk attempting to study. Attempting being the key word, since Paris had just thrown her pen across the room angrily.
"Who are you?" Paris questioned, glaring at Steph suspiciously.
Rory sighed. "Ignore her. Paris, this is Steph. Steph, my roommate Paris. Steph's here to help me pick out something to wear for my date."
"Hey – " Steph began, but before she could finish whatever it was she intended to say, Paris gathered her things up and headed to the common room.
"Don't forget about the roommate meeting!" Paris yelled abrasively as she slammed the door behind her.
Steph turned to look Rory, a questioning look on her face. "Wow. That was…"
Further expansion was unnecessary. "I know."
"Is she always like that?"
"Most of the time, yes. It's pretty bad right now though. My other roommate, Janet, gets up at 5:30 every morning to go running, and Paris is such a light sleeper that it wakes her up. Then they argue and wake the rest of us up; it's a vicious cycle."
"Hence the roommate meeting."
Rory nodded. "That's only half the story. Paris has this craft corner to help calm her nerves; believe it or not she was much worse when we were in high school."
"You were friends with her in high school?"
"I'm not sure if 'friends' is the correct word to describe us. I've known Paris for three years – we spent most of that time fighting. Anyway, the smell from Paris's glue gun drives Janet insane. It's practically World War 3 in here."
Steph took a seat on Rory's bed. "Wow. I can see why you didn't want to Paris up that night with Finn. But enough about her; tell me about the guy."
Rory pulled her desk chair around to face Steph, sitting opposite her. "Right. His name's Trevor. Tall, really dark hair. He's in my English class. He always takes my sides in the debates, but that could mean anything. And he's pretty preppy."
"Where's he taking you?"
"Pancia di Lucca."
Steph bit her lip in concentration. "Right. So you'll want something more on the casual side, but nothing too casual." Without another word, Steph sprung up from the bed and began rummaging through Rory's wardrobe, muttering quietly to herself. At first, she didn't pull anything out as she quickly glanced at each article of clothing in turn. After considering every article of clothing Rory owned, Steph dove back in and pulled out a coral top, a white sweater, and a khaki skirt with a set of black buttons down the front.
"Put this on while I find you some shoes," Steph insisted.
But Rory hesitated. She wasn't sure how comfortable she felt getting changed in front of a girl she hardly knew.
Steph sensed reluctance. "Oh my god, what are you, twelve? If it makes you feel any better, I won't look while you get changed."
Rory sighed. Of course she was being silly. Before she had a chance to feel embarrassed, Rory pulled her clothes off in exchange for the new outfit as Steph rummaged through her extensive shoe collection.
"You don't do this very often, do you?" Steph asked when Rory was properly dressed. Steph gave her a quick once over as she handed Rory a pair of flats, nodding in approval.
"How can you tell?" Rory asked. Did her body language really show her inexperience?
"You've got the pre date jitters."
Rory sighed. "No, I haven't really done much dating. I'm more of a relationship person."
The comment made Steph laugh. Of course Logan would choose to casually flirt with a girl who didn't do casual. She really hoped that he meant it when he said that he was just teasing Rory for the hell of it. He didn't stand a chance with her.
The laughter threw Rory off. "Well, I'm glad the fact that I don't date much is so amusing to you."
"Sorry," Steph said, shaking her head slightly to clear it. She needed to recover from her screw up. "I'm just so used to hanging around guys who treat relationships like the Bubonic Plague. You know – any sign of commitment and they run away screaming. This is refreshing."
It seemed that Rory got her answer as to that little piece of the puzzle. She now knew, without a shadow of doubt, that any possible signs of flirtation she might have witnessed from Logan didn't mean anything. It didn't really matter to Rory one way or the other. At least now she knew that Logan was just another arrogant jerk not to be taken seriously. It would make any future encounters with him much less awkward for Rory, knowing where she stood.
"You mentioned an ex boyfriend," Steph continued. "What happened to him?"
"Dean? We dated for about two years. He was my first boyfriend; first kiss. First crush too, really."
Steph motioned for Rory to sit down in her desk chair again as she pulled Rory's makeup bag onto the bed. Rory obliged, allowing Steph to put on her makeup.
"Was he your first time?" Steph asked as she dabbed concealer over Rory's face.
"No!" Rory exclaimed a bit too loudly, jerking away slightly.
Steph raised her hands up in surrender. "Hey, just trying to get to know you a bit here. So why'd you guys break up?"
Rory relaxed a little bit. "I sort of started having feelings for this other guy, Jess. But Jess was so standoffish and he ran hot and cold all the time, so I could never really figure out if there was really something going on or if I was just imagining it. Eventually Dean got fed up and dumped me in front of the entire town at a dance marathon; it was humiliating."
"But you got together with Jess?"
Rory nodded.
"And did you sleep with him?"
"Um. No," Rory stammered, blushing slightly. "Once we almost…but it wasn't the right time. We were upstairs at this party and I got freaked out, and then somehow it lead to this huge fight. At the time I thought it was because I stopped him, but he was going through some other stuff. He found out that he wasn't going to graduate, and instead of talking to me about it he just…took off. I haven't seen him since."
"Just like that? He just left?"
"Didn't say a word. I think he called me a couple of times, but he never said anything. That was it."
Rory wasn't sure why she was telling Steph all this. In all honesty, it just felt good to talk to someone about it why didn't know anything about the situation. Someone who wouldn't judge her, or Jess, based on everything that they knew about the two. And it was nice to talk about it now that she had some distance and perspective on the situation.
"So…" Steph said as she rummaged through Rory's makeup looking for some eye shadow. "Does that mean you're still a virgin?"
Rory's blush was answer enough.
"Hey, don't be embarrassed. You've never had sex, and I've never had a relationship that's lasted longer than a couple of months. No big."
"Oh joy, what a great consolation prize," Rory muttered as Steph brushed the eyeshadow carefully over her eyelids.
Steph was smiling in glee. She changed her mind. Now, she wanted nothing more than to see Logan attempt to charm his way into Rory's bed, just so she could watch what would inevitably be the resulting slap across his face.
"So why the sudden urge to start 'dating' if it's not your thing?" Steph asked, trying to change the subject. She pulled out Rory's mascara and began applying it carefully.
"I dunno. Something my mom said. She said that the only way to find the ones who are worth it is to go on a bunch of really crappy dates."
"Your mother is a wise woman."
"You have no idea. Anyway, Trevor asked me, so I figured, what do I have to lose? Plus, Jess and I broke up months ago. It's probably about time I get back out there and go out with someone else."
As Steph searched for some lipgloss for Rory, she figured she had a pretty good idea as to this girl's personality. She seemed a little cautious, but not so cautious that she wouldn't try something that made her feel a little uncomfortable. If Rory really hadn't wanted to go on the date, she wouldn't be doing so.
"Well, I think you're all set," Steph finally said as she handed Rory the correct lipgloss for the occasion.
Rory let out a huge breath. "Thanks for your help. Really."
"Any time." Steph rose from her seat on the bed. "And hey, call me when the date's over, okay? I want to hear how it went."
The sound of Paris's fists pounding on the door interrupted them.
"Roommate meeting – now, Gilmore!"
Rory sighed. "You better go. I don't think you want to be around for this. I'll call you afterwards."
The minute Steph stepped out of Rory's room, she felt her phone buzzing in her purse. It was then that Steph remembered she was supposed to meet the guys at the Pub right about…well, now.
"Are you coming out with us tonight?" the sound of Colin's voice rang loudly in her ear. "It's my turn to watch Finn and I need a buffer."
"Why does it have to me?" Steph asked as she walked briskly out of the building and heading towards their usual bar. "It's not my turn to watch him."
"Because you won't be just helping me, you'll be protecting Rosemary. Finn is determined that tonight is the night Rosemary will finally agree to go home with him. He's very persistent tonight."
"How many times can one girl say, 'no' before he takes a hint?"
"Don't know, don't care. Just hurry up and get here already. Finn's on his way to getting pretty drunk; I'm not sure I'll be able to keep him in check on my own tonight."
Steph sighed. "I'll be there soon."
Logan took a long swig of his scotch, downing most of the glass quickly. It had been a long, stressful week for him. His father had started putting the pressure on Logan to write some articles for the Yale Daily News, just like he did every year. But Logan hated the paper. It reminded him too much of the life he wanted nothing to do with, I only because it was his preordained destiny. Logan wasn't sure how much longer he could put off dealing with his father before Mitchum pounding on Logan's door himself, making sure that Logan knew exactly how big of a screw up he was.
He took some heart in the fact that it was now Saturday, and he was coping with the situation by a night of drinking with all his friends.
Steph plopped down at the table that where Colin and Finn were sitting.
"Hey, where've you been?" Logan asked.
A mischievous grin flashed across her face. "I had to help a friend get ready for a date. You know, girl stuff."
Logan tossed a sidelong glance at Colin. Steph was being cryptic, which could only mean trouble. "Everyone's here, who was it?"
"You don't know everything about my life, Logan. I do on occasion interact with people that you don't."
"What are you talking about?" asked Colin. "We see you every day. We have the same friends."
But Steph wasn't giving in. "So where's Finn?" she asked, attempting to change the subject.
Colin pointed across the room to where Finn was attempting to dance with Rosemary, who was having none of it. She skillfully avoided his touch every time he tried to reach out and pull her closer.
Steph rolled her eyes. "I'm on it." Leaving her purse behind at the table, Logan watched as Steph sauntered across the room to join Rosemary, successfully pulling her out of Finn's reach. Relief passed across Rosemary's face as Steph kept herself between Finn and Rosemary, although this did nothing to discourage him.
"Do you get the feeling that Steph is up to something?" Colin asked as the two watched their friend strike out with Rosemary for what must have been the hundredth time.
Logan shrugged. "Possibly." But he didn't care enough to enquire further. Instead, Logan signaled a waitress over to their table, instructing her to send a drink over to the leggy blonde sitting at the edge of the bar.
The date was awful, there was no other way to describe it. It started out awkward, with Rory managing to successfully put an end to every single conversation Trevor had attempted to start. But the awkward just continued from there. They were sitting on the same side of the table, and even Lorelai's suggestion of making up a fake draft in order to move to the other side had backfired. Although Rory's nerves had somehow calmed down a bit as the date wore on, it hadn't worked out.
Oh well. Not every date was going to be a good one.
Rory collapsed on the couch the minute Trevor dropped her back at her dorm, grateful that the whole experience was over. The suite was miraculously silent. She assumed that her roommates had all gone out for the night after the Roommate Meeting drama; a small blessing for her.
She thought about heading to Stars Hollow to tell her mom about the rest of the date; maybe catch the end of movie night. But then Rory thought about how nice Steph had been to her earlier. She had helped Rory get ready, and let her vent a little bit about her ex boyfriends without really prying too much. It had been nice having a sympathetic ear to talk to face to face. But more importantly, it was nice talking to someone about Dean and Jess who'd never actually met Dean and Jess, and therefore had no preexisting opinions about the situation.
Maybe Rory could overlook her choice in friends for the time being.
Remembering that she was supposed to call Steph, Rory took out her cell phone and gave her a call.
It was noisy on the other end of the line. Rory could barely Steph over the sound of the music playing in the background.
"Hey, how'd the date go?" Steph yelled.
Rory frowned at the noise. "Where are you? It's so loud."
"I'm at the Pub. Where are you, in your dorm?"
"Um, yeah. The date sucked. Go outside so I can talk to you for a minute."
"Sorry, can't. I'm trying to keep Finn away from Rosemary, I can't leave now."
"Who's Rosemary?"
"Just come meet me here," Steph insisted, ignoring Rory's inquiry. "Come on, I could really use the help. Finn's feeling really aggressive today, and alcohol's only making him more determined."
She hesitated. Rory wasn't really sure that she wanted to go back out.
"Come on, Rory. Please? Come hang out!"
Rory sighed. "Okay, I'll be there soon."
Things were going very well for Logan that night. So far, he knew three things about the blonde girl at the bar: her name is Tiffany, she was a sophomore, and she was very interested in sleeping with Logan. It was almost too easy, really. The least amount of work he'd ever had to do in order to take a girl home.
It wasn't for lack of trying though. Logan tried to at the very least find out what her major was, but Tiffany had somehow managed to steer the conversation away to other things, such as implying that she would very much like to see Logan's yacht. It was the only indication he needed to know that she was only interested in him because of his last name. That was fine; Logan was only interested in her because she had nice legs.
It was too bad; Logan could use a couple additional girls to bring with him as dates to boring functions his father forced him to go to. Unfortunately, Tiffany wasn't going to be one of them. No, this girl was only going to be a onetime thing. Logan would be bored with her by tomorrow morning.
Colin approached Logan and Tiffany at the bar cautiously.
"Hey, isn't that the girl who found Finn naked?" he asked, gesturing towards the brunette standing in the doorway.
Logan smirked. This night just got far more interesting. "Yeah, her name's Rory. Wonder what she's doing here."
But Logan knew what she was doing there. He put together Steph's mysterious behavior from earlier that night with Rory's sudden appearance, and it all added up. Now Logan's interest was piqued. He wondered why all the secrecy.
Across the room, Rory glanced around in search of Steph. She was easy enough to spot, being the only girl who was forcibly holding a guy away from a second girl.
"So when you said that you're having Finn trouble, this wasn't the picture in my head," Rory said when she wove her way through the crowd of people to reach Steph.
Steph rolled her eyes. "It's not even my turn. He's just being very unreasonable today."
"I resent that!" Finn said. "But I am willing to forgive you, love, on account of I will be going home with Rosemary tonight."
The redheaded girl that Steph had been trying to keep Finn away from took a step closer. "And this is Rosemary telling you that that's not going to happen, Finn!"
"Finn, why don't you find someone else?" Rory suggested. "There are plenty of other girls in this bar."
He turned to face Rory, a confused look on his face, as though he'd suddenly just realized she was standing there.
"Do I know you?"
Rory blinked. Was be he being serious?
"You met her a few weeks ago, Finn!" Steph said in an exasperated tone. "You were passed out naked in her common room."
But Finn just stared.
"I had to call Colin and Logan to help carry you home!"
"Right," he said, although it was clear from his tone that he only half remembered the situation.
"Rory's right," Steph continued. "There are plenty of other girls out tonight. Why don't you take one of them home?"
"They're not redheads."
Rory casually pointed towards a table in the far corner. "There's one right over there."
Steph was impressed. Not everyone could just waltz in and have a handle on Finn. Rory was a natural.
"There, see? Go talk to that one. Save Rosemary for another time."
Without waiting for a response, Steph grabbed Rory and Rosemary each by the hand, leading them over to the previously abandoned table.
"Thank you!" said Rosemary as the girls sat down. "You're a lifesaver. Seriously, I'm having a monument built in your honor tomorrow."
"It was nothing," she replied, although she was smiling slightly.
"No way, that was impressive," insisted Steph. "That's another one I owe you. Let me buy you a drink; what'll you have?"
"Just a cappuccino, please."
"Rosemary?"
"Something alcoholic and strong," said Rosemary.
Steph smiled and made her way over to the bar to order.
Logan had watched the whole interaction from his spot at the bar. He was only half paying attention to Tiffany, which was an easy feat considering that the girl was saying nothing for consequence. Colin had begun speaking with Tiffany's friend, making it even easier for Logan to avoid participation in the conversation. A well placed "yeah" and "uh huh" turned out to be all he really needed to act like he was paying attention. It didn't matter, anyway. He'd still be going home with Tiffany when the night was over. In the mean time, he could afford having a bit of fun pushing Rory's buttons.
He took his opportunity when he saw Steph slip away from the table towards the bar, leaving Rory alone with Rosemary.
Logan finished off the rest of his scotch, placing the empty glass back down on the bar. "I'll be right back."
"So you're the infamous Rory," said Rosemary in a rather suggestive tone. "Huh. Not what I expected."
Rory shrugged. "What exactly were you expecting? Wonder Woman? What did Steph tell you, anyway?"
"Not much, really. You found Finn, you didn't call the cops. You helped Steph get him out of your room. Logan made you uncomfortable. Twice. That's all Steph told me."
"That about sums it up," Rory said lamely, blushing slightly.
"Don't worry about it, Logan does that all the time."
"He seems kind of…"
"Cute?" Rosemary asked.
"Um, no."
Rosemary raised her eyebrows in disbelief. Steph had already filled her in on the unusual way Logan was behaving in the two run-in's he'd had with Rory. In a whispered conversation they'd had while waiting for Rory to show up, Steph and Rosemary had decided to fill Rory in on a few choice facts about Logan, mostly in the hopes of seeing him get slapped across the face.
"No?" she questioned.
"Well I mean, I guess yeah. But I was going to say arrogant."
Rosemary laughed. "That's just part of his confidence. His head isn't nearly as big as it seems. His arrogance comes from the fact that he doesn't really have to try to pick up girls."
Rory frowned. "Oh come on. "
"No really," Rosemary insisted. "There's a line to get to him. Although," she said, her voice trailing off slightly as she glanced off towards the bar. "It seems that he's taken a particular interest in you."
"Huh?"
Before Rosemary could respond, Logan slid smoothly into the seat next to Rory, the one that Steph had abandoned moments before.
She reminded herself of what she'd heard from Steph, and what Rosemary had just told her. He was a compulsive flirt who picked up girls because it was fun, not because he had any interest in them. Rory wasn't going to let him charm his way into her head just because he's good looking.
"So I take it Finn struck out again," said Logan with a grin, looking directly at Rosemary and completely ignoring Rory.
Rosemary rolled his eyes, crossing her arms over her chest. "If that boy seriously thinks he'll wear me down, he has another thing coming."
"So you've said."
Logan turned to face Rory then, smirking. "Rory, nice to see you again. And properly dressed, I see."
"Well, all of my pajamas are in the laundry. Darn."
Logan had to admit, the girl had spunk. While the sight of her in pajamas amused him, he definitely was enjoying this vision of her all dressed up. He tried not to stare down at the long expanse of her exposed legs, remembering his promise to Steph to at least try to behave.
"So what brings you out on tonight? This doesn't seem like you're kind of thing."
Rory raised her eyebrows. "And what would you know about my kind of thing?"
He hadn't expected her to give dish it right back to him. "You just don't seem to know anyone here."
"I know Steph. And you, though through no fault of my own."
Rory watched as Logan glanced back towards the bar. She thought he was checking to see where Steph was, but then she noticed him looking at where Colin was talking with two girls, one of whom was looking at Logan with an annoyed expression on her face. It was clear from the way the girl was tapping her foot that Logan had abandoned her to come talk to Rory.
It didn't take long for Rory to connect the dots. The blonde had to be Logan's conquest for the evening; or at least, she had been until Logan set his radar on Rory. Maybe she still is; it was hard for Rory to tell.
"You didn't answer my question," he said, shaking her from her thoughts. "What brings you out tonight?"
"I had a date," Rory said flatly. "Steph wanted to hear about it. That's it."
"A date huh? Must not have ended well, if you're out here with us."
Rory's insides were boiling with anger. Who was he to pass judgment on her date? Sure, it hadn't been the best date of all time, but it had ended well enough.
"My date ended fine," Rory snapped.
Logan studied her annoyed expression carefully, unsure of what he'd said this time to piss her off. His smile didn't waver. "You don't like me. You don't know me, but you don't like me."
She scoffed. "I know enough."
He turned his body to face her fully, resting one of his elbows on the table. He stared directly into her blue eyes, alight with anger, trying to throw her off balance a bit. "Then please, enlighten me."
"Huh. Gee. I wonder why it is that I don't like you," she said, sarcasm dripping off of every word. "Maybe it's because you treat picking up girls like its all one big game to you. We don't matter to you, as long as you get laid, right?"
"I haven't heard any complaints so far."
"Like that would really make any difference to you. You look at girls like you're so sure they're going to wind up in bed with you, just because that's the way it's always been for you. But here you are, passing judgment on my date just because I didn't go home with him when it's becoming quite clear that you've never had a meaningful conversation with a woman without imaging her naked first. And who are you to look at a girl like that, huh? It's not a woman's god given right to go to bed with you, just because you smile at her."
"I never said it was," said Logan. He was starting to get annoyed. "In fact, sleeping with a girl just because it's my 'god given right' eliminates the woman's choice from the equation. I never force anyone to go home with me, they go willingly."
"That still doesn't give you the right to treat women the way you do."
"Women being you?"
Rory hesitated. "What?"
"You're mad because of the way I looked at you the two previous times we've met, not because of my chosen lifestyle."
"No, I'm mad because you don't treat any women with respect. Including me."
"Not true," he argued back. "I have a lot of respect for women, especially those who have the courage to tell me all the reasons they don't like me to my face, such as you're doing right now."
"That's not called courage," Rosemary interrupted. "I do that on a regular basis."
Logan glared at her, warning her to stay out of the argument. She put up a hand in surrender, and Logan turned back to face Rory.
"Wow," he said. "That was impressive. So basically, your argument is that you don't like me because you think I'm a misogynist."
He was putting words in her mouth now. "That's not what I – "
"Because you're basing your argument on the fact that I enjoy having casual sex over long relationships. Which sounds to me like you're the one passing judgment over my way of life, not the other way around. Tell me, are you mad because I'm the one having casual sex, or because I sleep with girls who do it as well? Because if it's the latter, then I've gotta say, that's a bit of a double standard."
Rory looked positively livid now. "That's not what I'm saying at all!"
"Then what are you saying?"
Honestly, she was a little confused herself. "Picking up girls isn't a game. We're not disposable, we're actual people. You can't just disregard one girl because another one came along."
"I agree."
"Oh really? Then what's with the girl standing by the bar, glaring at you like she's imagining you on fire for talking to me?"
Logan had almost forgotten about Tiffany. Damn. "I came over to say hello. It would have been rude not to."
"Right," said Rory with a roll of her eyes. Her arms were folded tightly across her chest.
Logan couldn't help the smile that spread across his face. It had been a long time since a girl had spoken to him like that. But instead of feeling put down, Logan was rather amused. He surprisingly enjoyed the fact that Rory wasn't falling down at his feet; it was refreshing.
"Wow. That was some debate."
"I wasn't debating with you. You asked me why I didn't like you, so I told you. It's not my fault that you're so argumentative."
"Just trying to defend my honor, here. You paint me out to be some kind of Casanova, but I can assure you that I'm quite the gentleman."
Rory scoffed. "Please!"
Logan leaned in closer. "Only for those who deserve it." He didn't give time for Rory to expand on his comment. Instead, he pushed himself away from the table, leaving her there to ponder what he meant.
Just as he'd expected, Tiffany was still willing to go home with him, despite having ditched her briefly to push Rory's buttons. He kept replaying the conversation over and over again in his head as the two walked in silence back to Logan's suite. He'd had a lot of fun arguing with her, a fact which surprised him. In all honesty, he found Rory to be fascinating.
She was beautiful, that was clear. But her beauty wasn't something that could just be seen; it had to be experienced. It was the way her beautiful, blue eyes darkened with anger the more annoyed she got with him. It was how she wrinkled her nose in annoyance. It was how she carried herself, returning all his retorts with such confidence, which contrasted with the doe eyed innocence he remembered from their first encounter, the one where she looked so uncomfortable at finding a naked stranger in her room.
She positively loathed him. That was fine. She didn't need to like him. What Logan wanted was to experience having another discussion with her, much like the one they'd just had in the Pub. He wanted to watch as he threw her off balance with his comebacks. He didn't need her to like him for that, all he needed was to find another excuse to run into her so he could see what other buttons of hers he could push.
It was so very un-Logan like, wanting to keep a girl around who hated him, just so he could argue with her.
He reached his suite and Logan lead Tiffany into his room, closing the door behind him. Thoughts of his plan to intentionally piss Rory off slowly slid away as Tiffany pulled her shirt over her head. Logan smirked. He'd continue planning tomorrow.
As the last image of Rory's annoyed expression drained away, he made the decision to ignore Steph's advice. He wasn't going to back off. There were girls like Tiffany, who could barely hold a conversation with him, who bored him senseless in all aspects of his life except his bedroom, and then there were girls like Rory. Girls who were special. Girls he could see himself talking to for hours, and walking away completely satisfied. No, he wasn't going to just leave her alone. He'd find as many ways to push her buttons as possible, if that's what it took.
Let the games begin.