The next morning in Rome arrived rather quickly. Neither of them had slept well, or at all, for that matter. Logan didn't stay at the party for too long; as soon as it was polite to leave, he did. However, staying alone in his room was equally as depressive, especially considering that two nights prior, he had Rory in his arms, on a yacht, away from any annoying interruptions.
Rory woke up, or rather, Rory got out of bed before her alarm at 7 even had a chance to ring. She thought to herself, if nothing, she could spare herself the loud annoying noise so early in the morning. A cold shower seemed like exactly what she needed. She was in the middle of her long, relaxing morning routine, applying on her moisturiser, when all of a sudden someone frantically and nervously started banging on her door.
Rory opened to find a incredibly stressed looking Alison, completely out of her breath, like she ran a marathon.
„Rory! Where have you been? We have to be there in 5 minutes!" She practically screamed, holding her phone out to show Rory that it was indeed that late. Rory took a step closer to check Alison's phone. She couldn't believe her eyes, she hadn't woken up before the alarm, she had slept through it.
In one swift motion, Rory took the first clothing items she could find, realising that she didn't steam the outfit she planned on wearing today. Unfortunately, she ended up grabbing a pair of grey jean shorts and a black Rolling Stones T-Shirt. She quickly put her hair up in a messy bun and ran outside while slipping on her sneakers. Her only argument being that this was certainly better than running outside in her robe.
„Coffee!" It was a cry for help, and Alison obliged by handing her a cup.
„It's cold now." Alison said with a sad undertone.
„I'd drink it even if it were poisoned, Ali." Rory replied, taking a sip of the coffee, almost sprinting downstairs to the cab.
Once the two of them arrived, the conference had already been going on for 15 minutes. This was definitely not how she planned this, but considering the stressful night she had, she hadn't expected the harsh reality to hit her as hard as it did.
Instead of looking like she is about to take the journaling world by storm, she looked like she was a sweaty groupie, battling for the first row of a rock concert. All heads turned as they took their seats next to Mark and his assistant. Logan was sitting at the very front of the room together with his business associates. A smile crossed his face upon seeing her, for a little while he doubted that she would even show. Seeing Rory Gilmore was the highlight of every day for him. Her fashion choice seemed rather questionable to him, but it was likely a part of the reason for her tardiness.
„So many people here." Alison whispered to her as she took a seat, looking around the room fully intimidated.
„Just picture them naked" Rory suggested and Alison responded with her best disgusted look.
„I see you've dressed to kill again" Mark observed as he checked Rory out, making her feel slightly embarrassed.
„In a gangster street fight, obviously." Rory rolled her eyes, the rodeo was in town again. Mark smiled like a young schoolboy next to Rory. He was amazed by her, how witty and funny she was; she was a force he could never just ignore. He was more than excited that he gets to do this big journalistic adventure they were embarking on together, they have been colleagues at the New York Times for almost 3 years now. He tried repeatedly to make a move on her, to muster the courage to ask her out, but it was simply never the right time. Besides, the fact that she made him incredibly nervous and shy around her didn't help. She was also always busy with assignments, working her way up. He always felt like he was just seeing her at the wrong moment.
Logan witnessed their interaction and his initial excitement of seeing her walk in rapidly faded. Carrie raised her hand, prepared to ask the next question. The assistant in charge of selecting questions pointed at her and she stood up, deliberately moving extra slowly, perhaps hoping that Logan would take his time observing her slim figure and bouncy hair.
„Mr. Huntzberger, Carrie Heathrow from the Boston Globe" She gave him a flirty smile, finding it especially clever and mysterious of herself to introduce herself like that in front of him, knowing their history. However, the slight nod she received from him was rather disappointing.
„The grand opening of the headquarters in Rome was postponed for a couple of days. Does that have to do anything with the upcoming writers' strike this week?" She was well-prepared, it drove Rory insane.
„We've postponed the opening due to personal reasons, I wouldn't miss our big day, so instead of missing it, I decided to postponed it." Logan's answered confidently and smoothly. He was skilled at handling tricky situations. She asked him two more questions, rather dry ones about the major success he had with the past two openings in Europe, challenging him with a level professionalism he had only encountered a handful of times before.
Seeing the two of them interact like that pushed Rory to a point where she almost wanted to get up and leave the scene immediately, despite how much she would deny ever feeling like that. Rory understood how unhealthy it was to compare herself to this woman, but when she looked down at her own outfit, it became difficult not to do so. It was painfully obvious that seeing this fierce and confident woman in front of Logan was bothering her, knowing damn well she used to be the one who would impress him with her intellect.
With the start of the first break, Rory and Alison walked over to the coffee cart to grab some fresh coffee.
„What kind of a name is Carrie, anyways? Who in the world is called Carrie?" Rory rolled her eyes while adding sugar to her coffee.
„Carrie Fisher, Carrie Underwood, Carrie Bradshaw…" Alison began naming a few, taking a sip of her coffee.
„Carrie the horror movie" Rory said, and they both giggled. She knew the poor girl had done nothing wrong, she was simply flirting with a single attractive man and no one could blame her. The fact that, in Rory's mind, Carrie had a great chance with Logan, looking like a supermodel and being smart at the same time, made her feel extremely… well… how should we put it… jealous.
Mark walked over to them.
„What are you two laughing about?" He asked with a smile, pouring some coffee for himself as well.
„About how terrible this coffee is." Rory answered, her undeniable charm showing again.
„How would you girls like to trade this dreadful coffee for Limoncellos tomorrow?" Mark asked, raising an eyebrow.
„You've got my attention Blackmann" Rory looked at him, intrigued.
„Thomas and I thought about using our free day to go to Positano. Maybe you two girls would like to join us?" He asked, hoping they would agree.
„Amalfi Coast?" Alison asked, already excited, and Mark nodded. She looked hopefully at Rory, who returned a rather skeptical look.
„C'mon Gilmore it will be fun! A day at the beach, cocktails, seafood?" He pleaded and Rory's first instinct was to say ‚no', but realising how that would make Alison very sad, she gave in.
„I guess we could do a day trip" Rory said and Alison smiled wider than ever. However, Rory turned to her.
„But you'll be preparing the conference summary on the beach!" Rory said, trying to remain serious as Alison nodded vigorously, like she's being electrocuted.
After the conference and another press meeting, Alison and Rory decided to go bikini shopping in the bustling streets of Rome. Rory truly cherished her time with Alison. The late-night brainstorming sessions and early morning coffee runs can really bring two girls together. Alison admired Rory, and Rory saw her as her second little sister. They made a good team, successful in their endeavours, but Rory was also protective over Alison and, wanted to see her become the journalist that she aspired to be.
The next morning, they would all met outside of the hotel. It was a sunny day, and driving alongside the Italian coast seemed like the perfect plan. Rory packed the essentials: her bikini, sunscreen and sunglasses. She was looking forward to it; the weather was beautiful and hot, and she was ready to be sun-kissed and feel the salt in her hair. As she walked outside, she saw Logan talking to the other two guys. He was wearing a light blue and white stripped button-up and white chino shorts. Rory liked his coastal look, it was very different than his usual business attire. She liked ‚Leisure Logan', his whole attitude changed, it was a glimpse of the playful, carefree Yale Logan she got to meet first-hand.
„Good morning everyone." She smiled and then looked at Logan.
„Logan" She raised an eyebrow at him.
„Ace" He winked at her, very obviously checking her out. He loved seeing her in dresses. Rory gave Mark a questioning look, not recalling Logan being on the invite list.
„And what brings you here, Logan?" It felt strange addressing him like that in front of her colleagues, but there was a high chance that everyone already knew about their past.
„He invited me." He said, pointing to Thomas „and he promised Limoncello shots" He chuckled while putting his sunglasses on.
„Ready Ace?" He asked, taking her bag.
„She can ride with me." Mark said taking Rory's bag out of Logan's hands. Thinking that Rory can ride with whoever the fuck she wants Logan looked at Rory to decide who she wanted to ride for the next three and a half hours.
„I can ride with Logan" Alison said, diffusing the situation. In his promise to himself to be on his best behaviour for Rory, Logan agreed.
Alison got into Logan's car, thinking he probably had one in every major city. Logan watched Rory got into the car with Mark and Thomas and let out a silent but deep breath. Alison still noticed Logan's mood shift once Rory was out of his sight. A couple of minutes into their ride to Positano, Alison broke the silence.
„Rory wasn't feeling sick when she left with Mark the other night." She admitted, and Logan lowered the volume of the music that was playing in the background. He let out a little chuckle, thinking about how silly it was to assume that Logan believed her when she said that.
„I know that, Alison." it wasn't about the fact that he knew when she was lying; he wasn't particularly proud of that. It was the fact that he could sense how she was feeling, he knew her body that well. He took his time and noticed the little things, the little secret codes to Rory's life. However, none of these mattered anymore, it put him into no advantage over the sweet guy Mark.
„I don't know what the deal is with the two of you, but it's not healthy." Alison said truthfully, taking a sip of her iced coffee that Rory got for them before they hit the road.
„There is no ‚deal'. It's not that deep." Logan replied, looking straight ahead at the road. Once Alison let out an annoyed sigh, he could almost head her eyes rolling backwards.
„I think it's way deeper than either of you care to admit." Alison said, almost feeling sorry for the two.
She was initially going to let it slide, leaning back into her seat and crossing her arms. However, she simply couldn't, she leaned back forward and turned to him.
„I just don't get it; it's like you don't want to be happy." She added, being very honest with her boss's, boss's boss.
„It's not about that." Logan started opening up to her, a complete stranger, someone who will probably run to Rory with the first opportunity that arose and report about everything they talked about. He needed to have some blind faith to believe that wouldn't happen, he needed to trust a stranger.
„But.. you could have gone after her? She could have walked up to you at the party? It's like you're both intentionally trying to sabotage this." Alison rambled. She wasn't feeling especially comfortable talking about this, but it frustrated her seeing them push and pull like that, only hurting each other in the process.
„You're right." He simply answered, his words carrying a bitterness to them, a sense of defeat. He couldn't manage to explain these actions to himself, let alone to her.
„What do you get out of it?" Alison asked, looking at him.
„I don't need to get anything out of it, I love her." He said, holding tightly onto the steering wheel of his Porsche. His words were honest, but that didn't mean they didn't hurt just as much. It was the undeniable, inevitable truth. He took a deep breath before continuing.
„and to slowly realise that I will never be what she needs, is the single most painful thing to live with."
„Then, why don't you just let her go? Why did you come here?" Alison asked, not trying to be being rude but protective over Rory.
„I can't help it, Alison, I'm the happiest when I'm around her."
The conversation came to a crashing halt. They both knew there was not much that needed to be said on that topic. It was the ugly reality of two souls that fit perfectly together, just never at the same time.
„You have a horrible taste in music, just like Rory." She quickly changed the topic and connected her iPhone with the stereo to play some of her favourite songs.
The Italian coastline was beautiful, the sea was so crystal clear and mesmerising. Rory gazed out of the window for almost the entire ride, amazed by the beauty around her. She had a couple of discussions about various topics with Mark and Thomas, none of which got heated, Mark just wasn't the type for that, he didn't argue with her and he usually said she was right, even though you could easily tell he didn't truly think so.
„Why did you invite Huntzberger anyways?" Mark asked Thomas all of a sudden.
„He is actually pretty fun" There was no denying that, Rory thought to herself.
„That's not an excuse to invite our boss for a beach trip" Mark rolled his eyes, and Rory giggled. She didn't mind Logan tagging along; she enjoyed his presence and knew that he was a people person, he could fit into any crowd.
Logan parked his car and Mark followed right next to him. They all walked out and made their way to the famous ‚Spiaggia Grande' beach, which had a perfect view of the whole city. Logan and Rory were walking a few steps behind the rest of them.
„I thought you didn't have the time for a day off" Rory said suspiciously as she looked at him.
„I must have an ulterior motive then" Logan smiled at her, and she thought that all of the sunshine around them was nothing compared to the brightness of this smile.
„Why does everything you say sound like you're flirting with me?" Rory asked.
„Because I am." Logan answered and chuckled, but it wasn't a joke.
Alison turned around to see Rory and Logan catch up like old friends, thinking to herself how incredibly stupid they were. The way Rory was invested in telling him stories exactly as they happened, gesticulating with her hands, her eyes gradually turning into an ever lighter shade of blue, and the way Logan would just look at her like she is the most incredible thing he has ever laid eyes on.
They rented five lounge chairs and changed into their swimwear. Logan tried his best not to look at Rory; he glanced only a few times ever so quickly for her not to notice. Rory wasn't having the easiest time either; both Mark and Logan had worked out, and they both looked attractive without their shirts on. Alison and Thomas ran into the water instantly, and knowing how important it was to Rory, Logan said:
„Come here." He said and patted on the spot in front of took a seat in-between his legs, her back turned to him.
Before taking her sunscreen, he moved her soft hair away from her back. He put some of the sunscreen on his hands and started massaging it onto her shoulders first. Her skin was warm, so the cold sunscreen gave her goosebumps. Logan already knew the exact position of every birthmark and loved touching her bare skin. Rory closed her eyes, feeling relaxed being so close to him, listening to the sound of the waves and breathing in the salt air.
„Thomas has a thing for Alison" Logan observed, he already put enough sunscreen on Rory, but allowed himself a few more minutes of rubbing her back up and down. He moved a few inches closer to her, breathing in the comforting smell of her hair.
„She knows, she loves it." Rory said, watching the two of them swim around and talk.
Rory turned around and saw that Logan was done, she was very close to his body and the intimacy between them felt natural, to say the least. She stood up, his gaze not leaving her blue eyes.
„I'm going for a swim." She said, making her way to the water.
Logan leaned back and took his phone out of his bag, ready to finish up some work before committing to his free day when Mark sat down one lounge chair closer to him.
„I think we should talk" Mark said, his body turned to Logan, his feet in the sand. Logan leaned back in the lounge chair and he pulled his sunglasses further down his nose to look at Mark, signalling that he had his attention.
„I really like Rory." Mark said in his moment of honesty.
„It's really hard not to like Rory." Logan responded, his annoyance towards him softened, as he was trying to have a heart-to-heart talk with him.
„I know I don't have a fighting chance with her when you're around, which is why I need you to give us the space to figure things out." Mark started rambling, frustrated in finding the right words, trying to benefit as much as possible from this situation.
„And why should I do that?" Logan asked, putting his phone away.
„Because I can make her happy; I'm good for her." Mark answered. Logan raised his eyebrow, not believing what type of a conversation this turned out to be.
„How about we let Rory decide who she wants to make her happy?" Logan responded, finding it hard to comprehend where in the world Mark got the audacity to come up to him with such a request. How low did his self-esteem need to be?
Logan stood up and walked over to the water, leaving Mark confused by the outcome of this conversation. Logan saw Rory swimming towards the deep waters by herself and hurried to catch up with her. He was an excellent swimmer, so he reached her in no time. The water was refreshingly cold, but seeing Rory made Logan all warm and cosy again.
„It's so beautiful here" Rory observed, watching the city with its colourful houses.
„We should take a walk later; the city has so much to offer." Logan said, and Rory nodded.
„What did you talk about with Mark?" Logan knew Rory saw the two of them talking, and he suspected that she would be curious.
„Just guy things" Logan answered, knowing that this answer would annoy her but also knowing she wouldn't believe the honest version of this answer.
„Yeah? And what's that? Football? Burping? Beer?" She rolled her eyes, the little feminist in her having the urge to drown him.
„You forgot ‚girls' in your list of stereotypes" Logan said and she giggled, unaware that he wasn't just kidding around. She jumped on top of him, trying to get him under the water, but without success. He was a very strong swimmer, and this only resulted in her being wrapped around his body, feeling his muscles and being incredibly close to his face.
„Ace, you don't have to start an argument to wrap yourself around me." He said in his cheekiest voice ever, wrapping one arm around her, supporting himself under the water with the other. His lips were so close to hers, and he smiled at the sight of that.
The two of them swam back, and the others were already out of the water, getting cocktails. Once they got out, Logan wrapped a towel around Rory and handed her his water bottle, knowing how hot it was outside. She dried herself off and lay down on the lounger next to Logan.
The others returned soon after with cocktails
„Long Island Iced Tea, it's still your favourite, right?" Mark asked, handing one to Rory, who nodded. Alison gave Logan one as well, and he thanked her.
„We thought about going to a wine tasting up on the hill later on. Do you guys want to come?" Alison asked the two of them.
„Rory and I wanted to head into the city later." Logan answered.
„We can meet you guys after?" Rory said, leaning back into her seat, pulling out her current favourite book. Mark was perplexed at how quickly the tables have turned. He couldn't understand how things have shifted to Logan's advantage in no time. He had to think of a way to win Rory over, he was in love with this girl, has been for so long.