AN: Thanks for all of your comments and reviews.

Some answers to them:

I know the Huntzbergers could probably afford something even fancier with more acerage, but I went by actual real-estate listings in the area and they're pretty close by to their neighbours. And still those places are not cheap. Also since this belongs to Honor, it may not actually be up to Mitchum's/Shira's former standards. I imagine Honor prefering location over acerage for example, and since the neighbours have not really around all year I think it could be possible they own something like that. Besides, I do hope it has been made clear that their house is a lot fancier than Rory's even if the lot is more or less similar.

Chapter 22

Logan and Rory had become pretty good at finding their little moments that were at least mostly guilt free. And that mostly because they were brief. They had their morning coffee, with occasional dips, they had their little glances over the fence, going on about their business, their texting and Logan didn't turn down her invites past bedtime. Truth be told, sneaking around, seeking for most of all the physical comfort in the other person, was kind of fun, making them feel young again.

That morning Rory had, however, been to Boston to pick up her daughter, and had reluctantly missed watching Logan's morning swim.

She'd used the morning to have breakfast with her dad, meeting up with Corinne on neutral ground. Somehow, after becoming close with Logan, she was even more avoidant to face Tucker.

She'd cleverly hid her excitement coming from the generous dose of happiness-hormones, by claiming it to be mostly about her writing. The latter was going alright, even if her attention was more scattered than she'd hoped.

The drive back to the house was surprisingly positive, Corinne going on and on about what she'd been up to with her Boston friends. The contrast was sharp compared to how she spoke about her few friends over at Chilton, causing Rory to seriously think that maybe the best thing for Corinne wasn't what she'd always thought it was. But then again it was summer, school being very far from Corinne's and her friends' minds.

"So, were you in touch with Theo or Eléa at all?" Rory asked tentatively as they crossed the state line, being curious whether the news of her involvement with Logan had reached her daughter's ears (or rather eyes) yet. She was going to tell her, she always told her about what was going on in her life, and ideally, she wanted to tell her before they made it back to the house.

"Just a little," Corinne replied. "Oh, actually, I meant to ask you," she added, drifting from Rory's original topic.

"Yeah?" Rory reflected, already sounding a little ominous.

"They're actually going to this concert next weekend, in Thompson's point…," Corinne began.

"What band?" Rory asked, much like her mother would've back in the day. But Rory could already guess the majority of the request. She was sure, they'd invited her to come and Rory actually was kind of happy about that. She was glad that despite her two-week absence, she was included and she actually had friends. She was also glad that her involvement with Logan was yet to influence the relationship.

"The Revivalists, Band of Horses…. A few others," Corinne replied.

"Oh, really? Since when do you..," Rory mused, finding it curious that all of a sudden she was into bands like that.

"Fine, I hadn't heard of them before, or at least I hadn't connected the name and the music in my mind. But Theo sent me some links and they're not bad," Corinne explained with a sigh, revealing she'd actually been in contact with Theo rather than Eléa. Rory wasn't sure whether to be glad about that or not, considering the hot and cold she'd complained about before leaving, and what Logan had told her about questioning his sexuality. Mostly she just didn't want her daughter to get hurt if the latter really was true.

"And I assume Liam's going to drive?" Rory inquired.

"Or Theo," Corinne replied.

"I'd feel more confident if it was Liam, who hasn't just gotten his license," Rory replied, not liking the idea of the 16-year-old driving them all the way to Portland.

"Yeah, fine… I'm sure, he can drive just as well. And then we were thinking about staying over at an Airbnb for the night, so we wouldn't have to drive back so late," Corinne continued.

"Whoa-whoa," Rory called the whole thing to a halt. "What time does this thing begin?" she asked, not understanding why staying over was so vital for them. Portland wasn't that far.

"7-ish, I think," Corinne shrugged.

"So, I'm sure, you can drive back, just the same… or what's the problem?" Rory discussed.

"Why do you have to be so uncool, mom!?" Corinne groaned.

"And I assume, their dad is just fine with letting Eléa come along?" Rory replied, dubiously. "I'm sure that kind of event has an age restriction, you'll be lucky if you get in in the first place," she added.

"It's not like we're going there to get wasted," Corinne whined.

"Yeah, that's a relief," Rory replied, unable to hide her sarcasm.

"And besides, Eléa might not even be coming, I don't know," Corinne added.

"Oh, just you and two guys? Overnight?" Rory reflected, not believing her ears.

"We're friends, that's all," Corinne replied, and Rory knew that could mean a number of things. Her daughter didn't generally lie to her, but there was always a first time and when it came to guys the line was often a fine line between not wanting to share. She'd done the same when she'd first gotten together with Dean, hadn't she. "Mom, please - can you at least think about it? Please!" she begged.

"I can think about it. But I'm really not making any promises," Rory replied, knowing that in contrast to many of the liberties Tucker had likely given their daughter over in Boston, she was better off not shattering her idea straight away. At the very least she needed her emotions to cool down. Maybe the weather would be bad or she could come up with something even better? Maybe they'd think up a compromise?

At that Corinne went on to make polite chit-chat, wanting to be on her best behavior to win Rory over. Rory could see right through her, however, but she couldn't deny it was nice to drive with actual discussion, not just silence that would've followed had she said a straight up 'no'.

As they talked, Rory tried to gather her courage though, not finding a good moment to break the news to her daughter so she wouldn't go finding out from the neighbor's.

It wasn't until Rory parked their car, when she finally tore the Band-Aid off.

"Hold on a sec, will you?" Rory said, as Corinne already reached for the door handle.

"What?" Corinne asked.

"I just want to be honest with you and tell you that… I've been sort of seeing Logan," Rory said, gesturing towards the house next door, referring to the house in question. She needed to clear her throat after saying that.

"Yeah, I know. I sort of figured," Corinne replied.

"And I know it's a little weird, but it's not like I expect this to be anything serious. We're just having fun, you know?" Rory tried to make it sound light and innocent.

"By 'fun' you mean sex, right?" Corinne asked straight up, catching Rory off guard.

Honestly, for a few seconds Rory couldn't quite get her words out, being not used to such topics with her daughter.

"No. Not just sex," Rory corrected in a high pitched tone, shaking her head but felt it was kind of useless.

"Whatever. Can I get out now?" Corinne asked dismissively.

Having this conversation over with was a relief, regardless of the amount of detail revealed. But Rory couldn't help but to realize now more than ever that her daughter was growing up very fast. Now she just needed to figure out how to balance being a good mom and something closer to what Logan was to his kids. And do that, without destroying any relationships in the process.