Chapter 19

It was the third day in a row that Rory had set an alarm clock and was up and making coffee by 6.30. Like on the two previous days she was also now, planning on taking the two cups of coffee down to her coast steps, along with a towel.

Logan went to do his laps, she sat there, watching him, and they'd have coffee together on her steps, the towel draped over his shoulders. They were out of sight from the Huntzberger house, yet nowhere far.

It was their morning hour of talking, flirting… occasionally also kissing and sensual touches. They weren't quite as thirsty as some teens might've been to just do it out there or desparate enough to sneak back into Rory's house, feeling like they needed to grab every opportunity. But it all seemed to form a nice foreplay regardless, which never seemed to stop, carrying over to their texting sessions.

Or at least, that had so far been the precedent.

"So, what do I have to do to convince you to come into the water with me one of these days," Logan hummed, having finished his coffee, and set the empty cup down on the step.

"Make the water 15 degrees warmer?" Rory replied, pushing her nose up in the air in a cute way.

"Come on… where's your sense of adventure," Logan teased.

"I might squeal and wake your kids," Rory cautioned. It took so little for her to genuinely consider it.

"I'd rather you didn't…," Logan replied, hoping to get a few more moments with her before that happened.

"You know, you could just sneak out and come over one of these nights," Rory suggested, saying in her own words how she missed having him in her bed. These past few days Logan had decided to keep a low profile, wanting to respect his children's wishes and stuck to texting and their little morning meetings, not wanting to push them, hoping it'd just take a little time for them to come to terms with him seeing Rory.

"Now that's an opening," Logan hummed, inching closer to kiss her neck.

Flirting shamelessly like that made Rory feel incredible… and young. It was like the grays in their hair didn't even exist, and out of everyone's sight they could've well be in their twenties right now. It was part of the reason why whilst allowing Logan to continue kissing her clavicle, Rory slipped her robe off her shoulders and stood up, leaving Logan looking up at her with surprise.

Rory did him one better though, and let her nightgown slip down her shoulders just the same. Even with her panties remaining on for the time being, the sight was still incredible.

"Here goes," Rory inhaled in a whisper and stepped down the stairs into the water. It was that kind of person Rory wanted to be when she was around him - the bold and fearless kind. It almost felt like it was a hidden part of her, that she hadn't properly let out until now.

She held her breath as she dipped her body into the water, little by little, and tried her very best to let out a sound as little as she could. She could just feel Logan's eyes on her. Never once did she feel like his eyes were judging her, but watching, observing... studying.

Rory whimpered as she dipped her shoulders below the surface, and Logan could tell she was holding back her yelps. He didn't wait to join her, and that he did with a broad, husky smile on his face.

"It's much colder than I thought it would be," Rory commented, swimming in place, trying to stop her teeth from shaking.

"All I feel is hot," Logan murmured, swimming up to her. He slipped his arms around her naked waist and pulled her up close to him. His touch felt indeed soothing, calming her.

Rory felt like putty in his hands and honestly, there were much better things in her mind than the cold. Her stomach felt hollow as she hung so close to him - both her body - her legs going around him, and her face, almost not daring to looking him directly in the eyes. His gaze was almost scary, the emotion and pull of it being so powerful, and she could feel it even without looking at him for long.

She thought she was imagining it, she still did. It was so easy to believe that she was just fantasizing this whole encounter as she sat on that porch of hers typing word after word.

The apprehension of the kiss to come, Logan taking good time to move his lips closer little by little. It wasn't the first time his lips touched hers, but it was now less hurried, even less casual than some of their kissing had been the night that they'd spent together. But this was about cherishing the moment, a deeply intimate private moment, with just the thin fabric of Logan's swim shorts between them.

The kiss was electric, and lingered in a way that while sexy, was in no hurry, unlike they'd been the other night.

"I guess I never knew what I was missing," Logan murmured, leaving Rory momentarily in awe of him. How was it that he could think up such perfect things to say?

Rory was wordless, feeling something oddly similar. But she didn't yet know how to put any of what she felt into words - everything she felt like saying, felt too soon. And this felt too fragile for any major slips with words. The only way she could handle herself in that moment was to giggle, and bury her face in his neck, and enjoy the feeling of his hands on her sides, close to the sides of her bare breasts.

Their little moment was interrupted by a distant motorboat, motoring by. Thankfully it was not quite close enough to see Rory's state of undress, but close enough to see them, so while this made them giggle yet again, it killed the moment a little.

"But seriously… it's cold," Rory said, hating to part, but rather hoped to lure him inside her house. It didn't matter if he came now or later… She knew this much about fooling around in a body of water to know that it was more fun in theory than practice. That didn't stop Logan from continuing to kiss her neck, delaying her a little.

"I'll see if I can slip away later… I was hoping to take the kids out on the boat today," Logan said.

"Sure, text me," Rory said, nearly adding - "Anytime", which would've sounded perhaps a little too desperate. She didn't like the idea of sitting around her house waiting for him to come and fuck her, but as long as there was no-one else around to judge her for it, she was all for enjoying herself.

"Can't wait," Logan said, kissing her goodbye quickly, before he made his way towards his deck. He hung out on his deck, drying himself up a little, sneakily waiting for Rory to come climbing out onto her deck, hoping to get a glance of her. She no longer showed herself off unfortunately, the passing boat having made her a little bit more cautious, and she covered herself up quickly.

It was a few hours later, as Logan had taken over the kitchen, making his kids breakfast, he felt incredibly excited for his day to come. If its beginning had been any indication, it was a very good day.

"There you are!" Logan greeted his second-born, Theo, seeing him make his way down the stairs. "Good morning!" he added.

"Morning," Theo muttered, having gone back to his usual indifferent self.

"Excited about our little outing today? I was thinking we could even stop and watch the water skiing competitions over at… what was it...," Logan began, struggling remembering the name of the place he'd looked up last night.

Nothing more than a low mumble followed.

"Hungry?" Logan asked, swallowing his disappointment for his reaction.

"Starving," Theo replied, grabbing the giant juice bottle from the fridge. His first instinct was to drink straight from the bottle, but at his dad's reprimanding glance much like Camilla's had once been, he went for the glass instead.

"Did you finally finish that level you were on yesterday?" Logan inquired, knowing the game had taken the guys longer than anticipated to complete. He was trying to talk about things that they cared about, but he wasn't sure if he was doing a terribly good job at it.

"Yeah," Theo replied, making it sound like a less big of a deal than it probably was.

Logan plated his son breakfast and called out for Liam and Eléa.

Liam arrived within moments, his blonde hair freshly showered, looking like he'd walked straight off a movie set of some sort. To Logan the boy reminded much of his younger self, but honestly, he believed him to be a lot more mature than he'd been. Sure, the boys had gotten into some trouble, but nothing like he had. No stealing the principal's cars, no heavy partying as far as he was aware. To him that was the definition of having done something right, raising him, even though it could well be that the only real thing he'd done right was hiring Camilla to look after them.

"Why do we have to be up so early?" Eléa groaned, coming down the stairs.

"It's not that early," Logan replied, and continued to make sure everyone had plates and glasses around. He was pretty competent in the kitchen, even if taking on the leading role in the kitchen had only recently become the norm to him.

"My stomach feels funny…," Eléa complained, sounding very much like she was looking to excuse herself from the day he'd planned.

"It'll feel better once you get some food in there. You hardly ate last night," Logan replied. At the same time, he tried to think about their coming outing more practically - maybe he should even pack a small first aid kit in case they were to encounter stomach issues on the boat. It really wasn't an ideal scenario, but he really didn't want to entertain the idea of canceling their outing, feeling like he had a lot riding on this one.

Logan continued to pack some snacks for them, as well as beverages, stocked up on sunscreen, sailing jackets and other essentials, wanting to be much better prepared than during his last outing with Rory.

Rory spent her day writing, and unable to help herself - looking forward to the evening. She'd seen Logan and the kids ride off around the peninsula, and she'd stayed on her back porch most of the day hoping to also see them return and getting even just a little glimpse of him. It was odd - even just knowing his eyes were looking for her, or that he was watching, made her feel special.

She did hope that Logan's little outing was working out for them. She didn't know the whole story yet, but based on what Logan had told her, she could guess that mostly Logan was just trying to make up for lost time and do better than his own parents. She felt he was already doing that by wanting to do it. She just hoped his kids would see it.

Rory was just finishing up her dinner, a simple quinoa chicken salad, straight from a jar that she'd prepped the day before, whilst texting with her daughter about this and that. She hadn't revealed yet that there was something going on with her and Logan, even if her daughter wasn't oblivious to her attraction towards him. She felt this was an in-person kind of conversation to be had, and if Eléa had indeed said anything to her, she was just hoping for her to ask. It was sheepish, she knew, but she didn't want to go on declaring it as something, when she herself struggled to put a label on it. Besides, they'd agreed not to, and she wasn't sure Corinne would actually understand 'having fun'.

"Finally!" Rory heard Theo groan, seeing the boat quietly motor towards the boat deck, nearly having missed its landing by having her nose in her phone.

Rory got an ominous feeling, not everything was quite as jolly as one might have hoped.

"Pick up those blankets, will you?" Logan instructed one of his kids, a second after tying the boat up properly.

Hasty steps on the boat deck followed, and the surprised reactions of three of the men were audible.

"Eléa!?" Theo objected, as if being a little annoyed with his sister for not helping them clean up.

"Where's the hurry!?" Logan asked, only seeing the back of his daughter making her way up to the house in a hurry.

"Dad…," Liam said, getting his dad's attention.

Rory couldn't quite see what was up from where she was sitting.

"Shit," Theo mumbled, the reason for the comment remaining a mystery for Rory.

"Eléa..," Logan said, and from the sound of him, he seemed to be headed towards the house as well.

Had something happened? No doubt did this make Rory curious, but she mostly just hoped Logan would sort things out and that it wasn't anything serious. A little part of her also hoped, selfishly, that whatever this was, wasn't a big deal, and that perhaps he wouldn't end up canceling on her that evening. But she figured since it was still early, her odds were still pretty good.

Doing her dishes, Rory saw a glimpse of Logan make his way along the side of the house, like he usually did when he would be heading out somewhere, or, alternatively, coming to see her.

Rory was hopeful, it was the latter, even despite having not yet gotten around to showering for the second time that day and dressing up a little like she'd planned. You know, changing the simple underwear to something a little bit more special.

The knock on her door answered her question and she met him with a broad smile on her face, breathing out a deep exhale at the good nervousness in her gut.

The look on Logan's face wasn't what she'd expected, however.

"I need your help," Logan said, stepping in without waiting for an invite. "I don't know what to do," he replied.

"What's wrong? Everyone, okay?" Rory asked, worriedly.

"No, yes. I don't know," Logan replied, by now pacing around her foyer and kitchen.

Rory wasn't following.

"Well, the trip was a bust. None of them wanted to be there. But who am I kidding. Maybe I'm just too late with all this anyway…," Logan blurted.

"I'm sure that's not the case. But what happened exactly?" Rory inquired.

"Eléa… she... I think she got her period, or I don't know… she could just be bleeding but that's way worse, right?" Logan exhaled, sounding a little panicked.

"Like her first one?" Rory reflected.

"I don't know," Logan replied, shrugging his shoulders.

"Does she have like… a period kit or something?" Rory asked, but Logan's empty stare answered the question for her. Truthfully, she would've expected better from him, him being such a worldly man that he was, and he was certainly familiar with the female anatomy. But of course, she understood, that when discussing one's daughter's intimate business, one might get a little phased out the first time.

"She's 12, right?" Rory asked. "So, it could well be…," she added.

"She was complaining about her stomach feeling funny and she's been grumpy all day. And then she just bolted off the boat like it was on fire. The seat had this big stain on it… so either she's hiding something way worse… or she's…," Logan began.

"She's just embarrassed like hell," Rory ended his thought.

"Or that," Logan agreed.

"Well, did you talk to her?" Rory asked.

"I tried. But she's locked herself in her room and she's not letting anyone in. She's changed the music a bunch of times, so I guess I know she's conscious… but she doesn't want to hear of me, or her brothers," Logan replied.

"Maybe she can just call your sister or something. Or her mom…?" Rory suggested, adding the latter rather hesitantly, not knowing what the situation was exactly.

"Honor's not picking up. But that's expected - she's having some surgery done today," Logan said, making it sound like it wasn't anything serious but rather some elective thing. "And the other… is not an option," he added, dismissing the other option.

"But she's gotten sex ed in the UK, right?" Rory discussed, hoping the girl was clever enough to at least know what was going on. "I mean, if it's feminine products you're after, I can give you some stuff, but I don't really have a lot lying around…," Rory added.

"I guess, whether that's been enough, I don't know," Logan shrugged.

Rory began to look through her spare bathroom for some pads and tampons, having only used menstrual cups herself for the past decades along with special underwear.

"Maybe you could talk to her?" Logan suggested, knowing this was far from the ideal course of events, biting his lip. He was at a loss, to be honest. And despite his sons being well informed, this was not a conversation any of them wanted to have with their baby sister.

"Me?" Rory reflected, not believing her ears.

"I don't know what else to do!" Logan begged. "I'm worried about her…," he added, in his mind already having considered way worse scenarios of what could be going on. This was just proof that he was a failure at this, wasn't it? He really hadn't thought these things through when applying for full custody.