Chapter 11

Days passed with Rory getting used to this new normal. Logan was her friend. Especially if he was around her in small doses. He was her ex, but he was her friend too. Having Christopher, Sylvie, Finn and Gigi around actually helped keep the mood casual and the topics lighter than they tended to get when it was just the two of them. With effort to keep things casual, no land mines had been stepped on, no painful memories had been ripped out or no buried feelings had been brought to the surface. They were two successful, determined and stubborn people, after all, who generally managed to achieve what they set out to do.

Their days were filled with nature outings, fantastic outdoor meals each night, tourist attractions, mostly art and culture-related so far, and here and there wedding and Christmas preparations which they could help with. Logan had also had his share of work engagements to handle, giving Rory a chance drop her guard.

This day had taken Rory out of her comfort zone, however. She wasn't even entirely sure why she'd insisted on coming along, but at best she figured it was something that had changed about her with time and especially since becoming a mother - for the company, she was willing to step out of hiding, and do things she wouldn't normally do.

Hence, there she was, dressed in a two-part swimsuit, a black high waisted pair of briefs and a striped bikini bra that had a twisted gathering in the front, sitting under the sun sail, at Woorim beach. With her toes in the sand, Rory watched Logan and Finn, looking like teenagers from afar, rushed into the ocean waves with surfboards. Frankly, she'd nearly forgotten Logan knew how to surf, but the stories of his travels to South American beaches soon came back to her, giving her a moment to reflect on the way it had been between them a long time ago. Logan had been her first boyfriend with whom she'd actually had something resembling pillow-talk - having actual time, space and intimacy to talk. It was also the first time she'd ever felt brave enough to do it. It was odd how that had been stripped away from them during their second, or technically third, time around. Partly as self-protection, partly because she had felt like she didn't deserve it anymore. So many years of misconception, feeling pitiful about oneself, could've maybe been avoided had she been over those emotions. But the past was the past – there wasn't much point to dwell on it, was there? That was what Rory tried to convince herself of.

"Here," Gigi said, returning to her with a lemon slurpy.

"Thanks," Rory said, really not minding the refreshment. "The guys are at it again," she commented, indicating to Gigi where the guys had gone off to. She'd seen Gigi surf too, or try to at least, but she'd given up a lot sooner than the guys saying the waves were a little too much for her today.

They'd been here for several hours already, and if it hadn't been for the sun sail and a thick layer of sunscreen, someone like Rory would've already been pretty sunburnt. But compared to Boston, Rory preferred to be here right now – soaking up the sun, even if not directly exposing herself to it.

Gigi looked like a completely different person after nearly a year in Australia - her skin having permanently tanned to a healthy light brown, freckles scattered around her sweet young face. She was definitely not the uptight little Parisienne she'd once been teasingly called with her designer bags and fancy shoes. Rory liked this new Gigi.

It was just the four of them that day, the beach not really being Christopher's scene.

"I swear, I forget sometimes he's older than me, you know…," Gigi commented. It had not gone unnoticed to her how in some ways both Rory and her dad were still evaluating her relationship with Finn from that angle.

"Well, it's not exactly hard when he looks like that," Rory replied, knowing Gigi would appreciate such a comment.

Gigi giggled, indeed approving of her sister's comment.

"And just think how it could've been the four of us…," Gigi said teasingly, intentionally hitting a gentle spot, and bit her lip. Gigi was utterly intrigued by the coupling that had once existed.

Rory couldn't argue that it was definitely making her pause her thinking each time she was faced with Logan's well-toned body in front of her. Even with the rashguard on, the sight was pretty inescapable here at the beach. The years had been easy on him and he certainly took care of himself like he always had. If anything, it was her fretting about the added curve on her hips and the occasional stretch mark on her stomach, and therefore she didn't parade around much without covering up. Being prone to sunburn gave her a good excuse for that, too. But secretly Rory was very aware how Logan's eyes had studied her figure in return too. In part surely it was just the familiarity - having seen literally every inch of the other thousands of times over the years. It didn't even seem to matter that they'd been their younger selves the last time.

Rory was not supposed to admit that she liked his attention, even if it was the silent, observing, kind. Even if it was mostly about curiosity, wonder and nostalgia.

She knew what she was supposed to reply to her sister and that she did.

"Ah, shut it…," Rory said, pretending to slap her shoulder.

But despite saying it, she continued to rest her eyes on the waves, and every now and again on Logan between them as he was putting his muscles into good use. He was nowhere near as good as Finn was at this. But even seeing him plummet into the waves was amusing to her. He looked good either way. She couldn't deny either that the lack of a sex life this past year wasn't exactly helping her keep her mind in check. But a little daydreaming never hurt anyone, did it?

"All I'm saying is that maybe you should explore your options," Gigi said, naughtily suggesting.

"Gigi, it's not that simple, and you know it. You're not so naive to think that in my situation it's just this easy," Rory replied, annoyedly.

"Hey, Jess dug his own grave. At the very least you could consider evening the playing field a little. It doesn't have to be him…," Gigi said, gesturing to Logan. "I could even try to set you up with some of my friends from college. So, what if they're a little younger - it's not like you're looking for someone permanent right now. But of course, I get it, he's right here," Gigi added, giving a very meaningful look as Logan and Finn returned from the waves, their bodies glistening from salty ocean water.

"I think you're forgetting that he's married," Rory said, quietly, wanting to shut her sister up. She knew it wasn't like that. It was not like Logan hadn't just explained to her how he was free to have his own life, which she assumed meant relationships. But to get her sister off her back, the excuse seemed like the easy one.

"Ah… but I had you thinking about it, didn't I?" Gigi added, teasingly, just as the guys returned to hearing distance.

"I'm completely noodled," Finn exhaled dramatically, falling onto the beach towel next to Gigi who squealed from the water dripping on her.

"I might be getting too old for this too. Especially keeping up with Finn, here," Logan said, and sat down next to Finn.

Rory almost wanted to add, that he looked good trying to, at least, but held her tongue, still having enough sanity in her.

"Oh, nonsense!" Gigi replied with determination. "You two don't look a day over 25!" she said, sounding almost Lorelai-like, causing everyone to chuckle.

"You guys need more proof of why I love this girl!?" Finn commented, pulling Gigi close for an intimate kiss. It was a little awkward, having a kissing couple sitting between them. But the two others just laughed, keeping their eyes elsewhere.

Later as they were packing up, Finn and Gigi got into a little argument which was not so much worrisome to watch as it was hilarious. The two had a very interesting dynamic, the perfect balance one could say. Especially considering that the fight was about something so insignificant as who ate the last Cherry Ripe.

While Logan was changing out of his rashguard and shorts, suddenly Finn got a phone call, and seeing it was work-related, took it aside to the shade to talk. Gigi had gone for a last trip to the bathroom, before the drive home, leaving Rory shaking off the sand from her soles by Finn's jeep. Everyone was kind of tired from the day, but pleasantly so.

"Is it your phone that's buzzing here in the back?" Logan asked, noticing a sound coming from the trunk of the car.

"Uh? What?" Rory said, having been completely zoned out of the real world. Despite everything she'd still gotten some sun that day, and she could feel her skin radiating it.

"Your phone?" Logan said again, having gotten as far as taking his rashguard off.

Rory, tiptoeing carefully on the hot asphalt, having not gotten around to putting her sneakers on yet, went around the car, and reached for her bag that held her phone.

Logan just stood there, drying his upper body off, and unknowingly gave Rory a whiff of his familiar scent mixed in with the saltiness of the ocean. For a split second their eyes met up close, forcing Rory to consider that maybe Logan was standing his ground so close to the car on purpose, showing his cockier self, lazily forcing her to step into his space. The chemistry was still there, that same mystical energy that had always been there. One could almost imagine an electrical current buzzing between them.

Rory's throat felt dry and her fingers suddenly became clumsy, dropping her purse onto the ground, but thankfully leaving her buzzing phone intact. The phone stopped ringing, allowing her to lose one stressor. She didn't even bother to check who it was in this moment.

Both Rory and Logan crouched down on instinct, causing their tension to carry on a little while longer.

"I'm such a clutz," Rory commented, feeling embarrassed and for more reason than one.

Logan just barely chuckled at the fact, finding it cute as always. Could one truly miss even such things about the other? Things one might normally see as weaknesses or quirks?

But what Rory didn't know was how intense the flashback Logan got from her closeness was. This was turning out to be a lot harder than he'd thought, having struggled to take his eyes off her the entire day. It wasn't that he had a lack of beautiful women in his life. He had plenty of opportunity, but he wasn't the shark in it for the hunt like he might've once been. Rory didn't look like just some average model either. Not like Odette, who could've easily walked down a catwalk and not really stand out. Rory was beautiful, but her beauty was different - it was delicate, understated, innocent and…. He had to admit it - feminine in the way the modern beauty standard didn't quite embrace. There was just something about the fact that Logan now knew Rory to be a mother, that she'd actually carried a baby in her belly and breastfed her, that made her truly gorgeous in his eyes. It pained him that he hadn't seen her like that. It pained him an unexpected amount how much he hated the fact that it hadn't been his child. Even without knowing who the guy was who'd been so lucky as to father her child, he hated his guts. He couldn't fit it into his brain, how someone could've risked losing Rory to something 'complicated' like Rory had said. It wasn't until a moment later until he realized how silly he was thinking that, having done plenty of mistakes in regards to losing Rory in the past himself.