Chapter 23

"You know, one of these days the lack of sleep is going to catch up with me," Logan commented, panting heavily, basking in post-coital bliss.

They'd snuck into the backseat of his car after his morning swim, having in the past few days been trying out different locations for sex that weren't in the vicinity of their children. The children were aware that they were involved, but they kept it to themselves as well as they could, not wanting to rub it in.

"Now you complain?" Rory giggled, straddling his lap with her dress crumpled up to her hips. She hadn't initially loved the idea of doing it in his car, but the tinted windows did give them more privacy than sneaking around either of their houses did. Getting a hotel room in town was their go-to place generally, but that took some planning since usually they had errands to run during daytime which meant it was an inconvenient time between check-out and check-in time. Rory's garage had only been fun that one time, being kind of dirty and stuff, and Logan's was just too often in use to seem like a safe place. And at their age they were too conscious about the vicinity of their children to attempt any outdoor activities.

"No, I'm not complaining," Logan said, wrapping his hand around her face and pulling her in for another kiss.

"It sure sounded like you were," Rory chimed.

"I promise you; I wasn't. I just really wish we'd be in bed with you right now so I could just go to sleep…," Logan replied, letting out a small yawn. Last night they'd stayed up late, texting. But neither had wanted to miss their private time in the morning.

"Uh-huh," Rory hummed, not minding that thought at all.

"You know, we could give your bedroom another try one of these days?" Logan suggested.

They had discussed their kids' reactions to the news of the two of them but in few words. Actually, taking this inside still felt like something they wanted to stay clear of to be on the safe side, not to step on any toes. But they both knew that if anyone, Corinne was the one taking this the lightest. There were just too many odds for Rory's liking that Corinne might casually mention to Tucker about her running into a half-naked Logan in the middle of the night.

To Logan, Rory's house felt like the guilt-free zone, having a lot less strings attached, not knowing everything about Tucker and Rory. Truth be told, talking about serious things hadn't really been on their agenda ever since they'd begun exploring the physical side of things.

"We could… or we could not," Rory replied, hesitantly, not giving him much of an explanation. "But Corinne's off to her dad's again in just a little more than a week," she added, hoping that would be enough for him. She just didn't want to complicate things. The walls weren't that thick, and she didn't want her daughter thinking Logan was in any way there to begin to replace her dad.

Logan didn't want to complain, and right now he just stretched his neck again to kiss her, wanting to assure that that was more than fine. Hell, he hadn't gotten laid this frequently, this well, since the time his daughter had been conceived, and while tiring, he was not in any position to complain. Rory was addictive, in the best possible way, and it really wasn't just about the sex. He found her gorgeous, fascinating, and funny, he just wasn't in any hurry to have to think about what they were supposed to mean or become.

"While I'm enjoying this, believe me," Rory began, climbing off his lap, and sitting down to straighten her dress on the back seat.

"We should get back before they wake and roll their eyes at us," Logan finished her sentence.

"That," Rory added, proudly. "Just one thing though," Rory suddenly remembered wanting to talk to him about something.

"Uh?" Logan encouraged, getting his condom off, before pulling up his pants again. The one time they'd skipped protection, Rory had thankfully just gotten her period a day later, taking away any nervousness in regards to getting knocked up at her age, even if there had been low odds to begin with. And while they'd both enjoyed the urgency, they'd felt that night, they didn't aim to make a habit of it for the sake of convenience cleaning up and reducing risks.

"Corinne said something about your boys inviting her along to Portland for some concert this weekend," Rory said, having been meaning to ask him about it.

"Oh yeah, I think they mentioned something. I think they have some other friends coming as well… Liam went to a summer program here at the SELF once so he knows a couple of people," Logan shared.

"Yeah, but are you really okay with them going overnight?" Rory asked. She didn't know what SELF was but it didn't seem relevant at the time.

"Well, yeah. I mean, just because we're in the States doesn't mean I'm gonna start treating them like we are, since they've been going to places and staying on their own for years. Liam's a responsible guy. He's smarter than he looks," Logan explained.

"Yeah, well… your guys might have done that, but Corinne hasn't," Rory explained.

"So don't let her go, if you're not comfortable with it," Logan shrugged, not seeing what the big problem was.

"Easy for you to say," Rory replied.

"What do you mean?" Logan asked.

"You have boys. It's just different with girls, you know?" Rory said, fixing her hair.

"I do have a girl, remember?" Logan noted.

"I know, but she's not asking you to go away overnight with a bunch of teenage boys, is she? And trust me, I wish I could just turn off that part in my head and be the cool mom, you know? I just don't know how you do it - you make it look so effortless," Rory commented.

"Make what look?" Logan inquired, not quite following.

"All I'm saying is that we have vastly different parenting styles. And I just see it as a matter of time before Corinne starts claiming how I'm the lamest mom in the world and your guys would never have to deal with the kind of rules I want to impose on her," Rory replied.

Logan didn't want to fight, but he couldn't help hearing a trace of criticism in her tone. Honestly, the sense of conflict made him want to debate things with her even more, knowing how feisty she could be. That was half the fun of it. Not fighting, just… having an argument, a debate.

"Well, I'm sorry…," Logan shrugged, not knowing what to say.

"Yeah," Rory sighed, feeling like her only option was to go into that house and crush her daughter. She could still remember how important something like that could seem in Corinne's age.

Logan was about to say something more - explain how he found it difficult to say 'no' to his kids, and how there were so many layers of making up for the past and the present in how he was around them. He didn't feel like a father, truth be told. But his mouth opened and closed before he could get any words out, seeing Theo walk towards his car.

Logan ducked.

"Duck," he whispered to Rory, who hadn't noticed Theo yet.

"Crap," Rory whispered, hiding behind the seat. Thankfully the car was spacious and the windows were tinted, so unless they were caught in their hiding places, they had a good shot at staying hidden.

They could hear Theo getting something out of the other car, possibly having forgotten something there the day before.

"Is he gone?" Rory asked, feeling like she was in a spy movie or something.

Logan tried to peek up, and caught his son glancing right at him as he was about to slam the door of the other car shut.

"I'm so riding shotgun the next time," Theo groaned, rolling his eyes, making the logical conclusion. He walked off without another word.

"Now that was awkward," Rory commented.

Logan agreed, but actually sensed some hint of acceptance. Maybe his kids were actually going to get used to this sooner than he'd thought. Maybe his house could soon become an option too? Either way, it was safe to say that while the weekend's entertainment was high on Rory's mind, it wasn't on his, thinking the whole thing was pretty straightforward. If anything, he saw the weekend as a chance to have most of the house to themselves or a chance to spend some time with his daughter if Corinne didn't go. Those were both good options, and he really wasn't very worried about his sons, who were known to travel all over Europe together. He considered them quite capable of being careful yet knowing how to have fun just like he had at their age.

"I'll see you," Logan replied, sealing it with a kiss, and they both slipped out of the back seat, and quietly made their way to their respective houses, not wanting to make any more of a fuss if they could help it.

Later that same day, Rory just hadn't been satisfied with Logan's response. She wanted to understand how his mind worked or did he generally not worry about his kids getting into trouble. But texting just didn't seem like the mode to have that conversation. And each time they usually met in person, they couldn't wait to get out of their clothes.

So, she decided to try something different.

"Are you busy tonight?" Rory texted Logan.

Logan couldn't help but to smile, already thinking of a number of dirty jokes to write back, assuming that she wanted him for his body again. It was one thing to be wanted by some socialite wanting to be seen at his arm and have rumors spread about bedding him, which had also on an occasion or two happened, not that he was terribly proud of that; but with someone like Rory Gilmore, master of the withheld librarian look, and having a somewhat Audrey-Hepburn quality about her, that was something very intriguing indeed.

"What did you have in mind?" Logan asked, adding a smirk emoji.

"I know that it might be kind of weird…," Rory began, deciding a few times how to put it and Logan watched with anticipation what she was suggesting.

"But I on occasion take part of this trivia night over at the Gritty McDuff's and I was thinking maybe you wanted to tag along?" Rory suggested, definitely not writing what Logan had expected.

"It's kind of lame. But besides that, I just figured we haven't had a lot of chances to just… you know… hang out. Talk. Whatever," Rory added.

"Yeah, we never got that date, did we?" Logan typed, chuckling to himself.

"I didn't mean it like that…," Rory added, truly thinking Logan might want to go all out on this as he had the last time. But she had something a lot less romantic in mind - how else would she define a discussion on parenting issues. She missed venting about these things to someone, having someone to just express thoughts to without being judged nor condemned as a result as she felt with Tucker these days.

Naturally, it didn't hurt if they talked about other things as well, or by some odd chance also had a bit of fun in the process. But mostly she just wanted a break from the sneaking around and whispering.

"So, you genuinely need someone to be on your trivia team?" Logan inquired, skeptically. All of this just truly sounded hard to believe, rather an excuse if anything.

"Ugh… are you coming or not?" Rory typed, groaning to herself.

"What time?" Logan shot back, becoming curious to what this really was going to be about.