Chapter Twenty-Six

Logan was showing Veronica around the house when her phone rang. They stopped in the upstairs hallway for her to answer. Looking at the screen, she mouthed to him, "It's dad," before hitting the 'call' button to answer, "Hey, Dad. What's up?"

"Are you still at Logan's place?" Keith asked, his voice coming through loud and clear on her iPhone 4S.

"Uhh, yeah," Veronica replied, hoping he wasn't going to make a point about how late it was and getting home or anything like that.

"Good," he returned, confusing Veronica and causing her to say impatiently, "Ok, Dad? You're going to need to give me more than that. I thought I was about to get a lecture about the birds and the bees."

At her remark, Logan gave her a questioning look that clearly said that was not something he'd expected her to bring up right then. She shook her head and whispered, "Never mind. He was asking if we were still here, that's all."

He quirked a brow at her and said slyly, his tone low so that Keith wouldn't be able to hear on the other end of the phone, "I was about to say. I know I've been easy in the past, but don't think you're gonna get me back in bed with you that quick, Mars! A guy's gotta have some dignity!" he paused as she rolled her eyes, then he grinned and said, "Wait, scratch that. I'm an Echolls. I have no dignity."

She laughed out loud at his self-deprecating humor, touched his left cheek with her right hand and stood on tiptoe to kiss his left cheek, whispering near his ear, "You have dignity. You've just been lacking in self-respect."

"What's that, honey?" Keith asked from the other end of the phoneline.

Veronica looked both embarrassed and guilty at the same time but quickly said, "Nothing, Pops. I was just sharing a moment with Logan here."

"Stay focused, Sweetheart," Keith responded in an acerbic tone, his eye-roll clear in his voice even without being able to see it.

"Sorry, Dad," Veronica said unrepentantly, rolling her own eyes as Logan waited patiently for her to finish the call.

"Ok," Keith continued, "Have you talked to Dick yet?"

"Yeah, got a bit of info out of him. Not much but at least a couple things to follow up on," Veronica answered, playfulness set aside for business now.

"Is he still around? I have a few more things for you to follow up on with him," Keith asked, a hint of urgency to his words.

"Yeah, he's still around. He may have crashed already, though," Veronica added, then asked with concern, "Why? What's going on?"

"We've gotten some information that leads us to believe that he's the one that Bonnie - err, Carrie - was cheating with," Keith stated grimly.

"What?!" Veronica exclaimed in confusion, looking up at Logan with alarm while he looked back at her, obviously wishing he could hear what she was hearing.

"I know, Sweetie," Keith returned soothingly, "But we have to check into it. Talk to Logan, talk to Dick. And as much as it pains me to say this, I know it's late. I won't expect you home till morning so you have plenty of time to wade through whatever you find."

"Thanks, Dad," Veronica said gratefully but with a frown. This was definitely NOT how she wanted to spend her first overnight with Logan in nine years! Granted, she didn't exactly know how she DID want to spend it, either. The thought made her giddy and uncomfortable all at once which made her want to run but she shoved it aside and decided to do as her dad said: focus. On business. Personal insecurities and thoughts of a late night scandalous rendezvous could wait.

Momentarily, Veronica disconnected the call and stared at the phone before pocketing it. When she looked up, Logan's eyes met hers and she knew she couldn't let him linger with a lack of knowledge for very long. She leaned back against the hallway wall and took one of his hands in hers before asking, "How sure are you that Carrie wasn't cheating? I mean, before the reunion?"

"Pretty certain," Logan answered with furrowed brow, "Why?"

"Well..." she started slowly, looking down at where their hands were connected instead of up into his dark and searching eyes, "It seems that, maybe, perhaps, she and Dick were doing the deed as well..." she winced and held her breath as she waited for him to respond but when she heard him laugh quietly, she looked up at him quizzically. "There's something funny about that?" she asked, almost sounding as if she were demanding an answer. She'd been so concerned about him and how he'd respond. This was definitely not what she'd expected.

"Yes," Logan confirmed, squeezing her hand reassuringly, "Because Dick and Carrie were dating first. That's how she and I reconnected in the first place. He brought her back here after a few Hollywood parties and one morning when I was up early to go surfing, she woke up before he did and we ended up having breakfast together. We bantered and bickered for a while before we ended up talking about what we were up to now. I made fun of her music. She put me in my place. And that was the beginning of that." He shrugged before continuing, "I talked with Dick and he didn't care if I dated her. He just wanted to party and have sex. That worked for me since I wasn't ready for anything serious. So we both dated her until Dick stuck his foot in his mouth and she got tired of his shit," Logan chuckled and shrugged, "I guess we were fairly serious, at least after she found out about the Casa and we started working on that together, but we never actually talked about whether we were exclusive or not. Not the way the tabloids made it sound anyway."

"You weren't in love with her?" Veronica asked in a small, very vulnerable voice even as she looked into his eyes and mentally berated herself for asking such a petty question instead of sticking to what was important. But it was important. It was more important than she cared to admit.

His eyes held hers and her heart raced wildly as she waited with baited breath for his response. He leaned in close, his nose almost touching hers as his hands moved down her arms and then settled at her waist. His voice was soft but certain when he said, "I wasn't built to love anyone but you."

Her arms went around his neck. Their lips met in fervently searching passion. He lifted her, turning them so her back was against the wall and her legs went around his waist. He held her there for what seemed like hours, their lips and tongues tangled while her fingers caught themselves up in his soft hair. When they had to break their mouths apart at their lungs' insistent need for air, he found that tiny sweet spot on her neck just below her ear and sucked it until she squealed.

Hearing footsteps from one of the bedrooms down the hall, Veronica murmured with breathless urgency, "Move. Bedroom. Now!"

Logan did as he was told and spun them away from the wall, carrying her effortlessly down the hall and swiftly into a bedroom on the right. Slamming the door closed with his foot, he bumped into a dresser, a chest at the foot of the bed, and nearly knocked over a lamp before they got to where they were going.

Veronica's laugh as they landed on the bed together was more genuine and carefree than it had been in a long time. She shook her head and brushed her fingers along his stubbled jaw in amazement. Her wide eyes glowed with all the emotions that caught at her heart, causing a lump to form in her throat and unshed tears to sparkle like sapphires. "How the hell do I still merit this after everything I put you through?" she marveled before catching his lips with hers again, losing herself as they wrapped themselves around each other, still fully clothed.

He ignored her question, kissing her doubts away. Then he pulled back and searched her eyes. A question of his own was on his lips as he touched her face in a tender caress. Speaking softly, he asked in a husky tone full of vulnerability and need, "You won't regret this? In the morning, when the sun is up and you're thinking clearly...?"

The love that shone in her eyes before deepened exponentially as she shook her head and kissed him soundly in response. She kissed his eyes, his face, his forehead before she could finally manage to speak with words anything that remotely came close to what she was feeling in her heart. "The only regret that I have when it comes to you, to us, to this, is how long it took for me to stop running and recognize that what we have is real and not going away no matter how much I've tried to force it to," she paused and brushed her fingers through his hair before cupping his face tenderly to say, "I love you, Logan Echolls. I'm pretty sure I always have. And in spite of myself, I'm damn sure I always will."

Her words sparked a fury of them ripping each other's clothes off, tossing them to the floor, leaving any and all hesitation behind as they once and for all were able to share without doubt in that ultimate expression of intimacy and adulation.