Chapter Twenty-Three

For the second time in a week, Veronica was in Logan's sleek convertible with him. She smiled to herself when she thought of how things had played out the last time. At least, until she remembered how it had ended.

"Am I forgiven for how I left things with you?" Veronica asked, looking toward Logan from the passenger seat as he drove them toward his home in Santa Monica.

"Do you think I would have called if you weren't?" Logan asked, lips twitching with the start of a smile.

"I don't know. You've asked me for help when you've hated me before," Veronica quipped with a grin.

Logan chuckled and glanced at her. "I've never hated you. You should know that by now."

"Maybe not but you were very good at convincing me otherwise," Veronica returned fondly. Then she changed the subject by asking, "So what do you think Dick will be able to help with? Anything?"

"Maybe," Logan responded, watching the road carefully. His beach house was right along the PCH but with the traffic, it could be very tricky to get into the drive. "At the very least, he should be able to provide me with an alibi."

Veronica turned to Logan sharply, "Heaven help us. Dick is your alibi?! Was he even home? Or sober?"

Wincing without turning, Logan said, "I guess we're about to find out." He turned into his drive and what Veronica saw surprised her more than she could express. She was unable to hide her surprise. Or else Logan had just been paying attention enough to catch her reaction. As he parked, he turned an amused smirk on her and asked, "Not what you expected?"

Grinning, Veronica replied, "Guilty as charged," then she grimaced and said, "Sorry. Bad choice of words."

Ignoring her apology, Logan asked, "What makes it so...not me?"

Thinking about his question as they both got out of the car and moved around toward the entrance through the garage, Veronica said thoughtfully, "It's not that it's not you," she paused, "It's almost...too you," she stopped and shook her head, "I'm not making any sense."

He stopped at the doorway and turned to her, taking her left hand in his while he cupped her face in his right. With a teasing glint in his eyes, he said affectionately, "Since when have you ever made sense, Veronica Mars?"

She grinned and impulsively stood on tiptoe to kiss him lightly on the mouth. He pulled her close, however, and deepened the kiss. This spurred her on and soon she was gasping for air. Her hazy blue eyes were filled with need, lust, and desire when she breathed shakily, "I think...we should...talk to Dick. Before we talk about this. Or take it any farther."

He wasn't nearly as flustered as she was but there were so many emotions in his dark gaze that she wasn't sure she could define them all. He nodded, kissing her forehead and brushing several strands of hair from her face, sweeping them behind her ear. "Ok. But I'm gonna hold you to that." His eyes smiled at her and she hoped she managed to hide the shiver from him that went up her spine.

Reaching a hand behind him, he opened the door and swept her inside with a classic spin that made it feel like they were dancing. It also effectively achieved his goal of reminding them both of other moments when they'd been swept away with what others thought was a simple high school romance. He chuckled at her gasp but then turned her in his arms and smoothly guided them toward the great room while he called, "Hey Dick!"

There was no answer. Logan frowned, gave Veronica a squeeze, and went back to the three car garage to be sure he hadn't missed something. Turning back toward Veronica, he said, "Dick's Mercedes is gone. Do we want to find him at the club? I can always text him and let him know he needs to come home after."

The prospect of alone time with Logan, in his home, was very tempting. But the responsible side of Veronica decided she had to ask, "If we wait for him to come in, will he be too drunk to speak?"

Logan shook his head with certainty, saying with confidence, "Nah. He drinks enough to get buzzed but not enough to get wasted. Anymore."

Tilting her head to the side, Veronica gave Logan a questioning look. Logan responded by taking her hand and leading her into the living room as he said evasively, "It's a long story and not mine to tell."

They plunked themselves down on the fabulously plush sofa. Sitting close and facing each other, Veronica suggested coyly, "If you send Dick that text, we should have plenty of time now."

"Always persistent," Logan chuckled, shaking his head with admiration in his eyes.

"I am," Veronica agreed confidently, a sparkle of mischief in her eyes. "Which is why you might as well tell me now. You know I'll just pester you and everyone else till I find out."

He laughed and tugged on a curly blonde tendril playfully before asking with lighthearted defiance, "And what if that's my plan? To have you pester me for a very, very long time?"

"Then I'd say you're a sadist who deserves whatever you get," Veronica answered cockily with a grin.

"Stop, you'll make me blush," Logan volleyed in return.

Veronica did stop, her mood shifting rapidly as she gave Logan a serious and searching look that was both vulnerable and guarded at the same time. "How the hell did we end up here again?"

Rubbing a strand of her hair through his fingers, Logan responded, "Is it wrong to say I don't know but I'm glad we did? Not saying I'm glad Carrie's dead, but..."

"You don't seem all that broken up about it," Veronica observed thoughtfully.

"We hadn't been dating long," Logan explained, "Probably around the time you saw the article in Entertainment Weekly was when we first started hanging out. She'd found out about the Casa and wanted to know what we needed. Said it sounded like a place that might have helped her friend, Susan Knight, once upon a time." A flash of recognition and remembrance lit Veronica's eyes for a moment and Logan continued, "We started hanging out so I could show her how things were set up and what the plan was. When she had local gigs as 'Bonnie', she'd plug us so I asked if she'd consider being the face of the Casa. She said she'd think about it. We started dating. And the rest is history.'

"But why did you stop seeing her?" Veronica asked, unable to stop herself.

"Come on, Veronica," Logan said, giving her a look that said she should already know the answer to that, "Why else would I stop seeing her? You know that all I've ever wanted is you."

Hearing him say it, the same thing she'd heard him say nine years before in their freshman year of college together when he'd given her his room key as a present, nearly made her shudder. She couldn't speak as she held his intense gaze. Of course, her eyes broke away from his first. She was flustered and nervous and afraid she'd start trembling, but for once she had no desire to run.

He finally broke the silence by asking her the same that she'd asked him: "Why did you stop seeing Piz?"

Her eyes came back to his and she tried to calm her erratic breathing as she said, "Because even with the entire country between us, I still couldn't get away from wanting you."

"I don't know if that's a good thing or a bad thing," Logan snarked in reply.

Veronica edged closer to him and took his hands in hers, saying shakily, "I'm here, aren't I?"

He leaned in and kissed her and she was unable to keep herself from responding. He eased her gently back on the couch and everything disappeared for them but each other.

They were still locked in each other's arms when Dick arrived home without ever having received a text or message from either one of them. The only thing that Dick knew was that he'd seen Logan's car in the garage. When he entered the house the same way that Logan and Veronica had come, he called out, "Dude! No good parties tonight. You wanna hang?"

The pair on the couch immediately sat upright with guilty looks on their faces. Veronica couldn't help but think of the time that Logan's dad had caught them in a similar position. She gave him a horrified look and from the return glance that he sent her, she was sure he was thinking the same thing.

"Uhhh, sorry, Man," Logan said huskily, "Was a little occupied there. We were actually waiting for you to get home so we could talk to you."

"Making good use of your time, I see," Dick grinned and nodded approvingly, "Yo, Ronnie! What's up? Figured you'd be back in the Big Apple by now."

"Logan called me, Dick," Veronica explained tersely.

"Nice," Dick replied, his grin broadening even more as he continued to nod in delight, "So it's like, what, reverse psychology for a change? He calls and you come running." He turns to Logan and holds up a hand for a high five as he approaches, "Payback is sweet, right, bro?"

"Dick," Logan says in a warning tone, refusing to acknowledge the hand held out for the 'five'.

"Sorry, sorry," Dick held up both hands in surrender and backed away a bit, "Don't have to be so touchy about it."

Logan nodded his acknowledgment and Dick asked gamely, "So what did you guys want to ask me?"

"Did you see who Carrie took off with after the reunion, Dick?" Veronica asked, hoping to get the interrogation over and done with quickly.

"Nope," he replied before looking pensive a moment, "Wait, yeah, I did. Or at least I thought I did. For awhile, I thought she left with Casey but then I saw him after the big fight went down and she was nowhere around."

"Did you see her with anyone else?" Veronica asked, squeezing Logan's hand as an acknowledgment of this new information.

"Mmmm...you mean besides Logan there?" he mocked, again receiving a menacing glance from Logan himself. "Ok, Ok...there was a guy there that I barely remember from school. Think his name is Cobb. 09er but not of the flashy variety. Just there, hanging and chill. Guess he must've seen Carrie sitting alone cause he went over and started flirting with her. Next thing I knew, I looked over and they were both gone."

Logan and Veronica shared a look before Veronica asked, "Can you think of anything else that might help us out with Logan's case?"

"Nah," Dick replied, moving through the kitchen to the refrigerator. He pulled out a carton of ice cream, turned to grab a spoon, opened the container and dug in. "If I think of anything, though, I'm pretty sure I can find you, Ronnie," he added, clearly trying to bait her.

Veronica did not disappoint. Her eyes flashed and her mouth opened to say something biting in return but Logan touched her arm and shook his head. "Hey man," Logan said with a clear warning in his tone, "Remember, Dude, she's here to help."

"Yeah, right," Dick scoffed, still digging into his ice cream. He looked at Veronica and said in the most serious tone she'd ever heard him use, "Don't break him this time, ok?" Then he turned to Logan and said fiercely, "And don't you dare let her!"