Match made in a boardroom

Chapter 9

Rory awoke with a start the next morning, head pounding and confused by her surroundings.  She slowly began to stir in the unfamiliar bed and felt an arm tighten around her waist.

"Morning, Ace," came his gravely voice before he reached down and kissed her forehead.

"Umm...morning?  I'm a little confused.  I thought we agreed..." she said timedly.

"Relax, Rory.  You're fully clothed, I'm fully clothed.  Nothing happened.  You let Tristan sleep in your dorm last night and I offered to let you crash here with me.  I tried to go sleep on the couch, but you asked me to stay in here with you.  That's it," came Logan's reply.

"That's it?"

"That's it, Ace.  I promise."

"Thank you, for letting me stay here and for being a gentleman," Rory replied as she relaxed back into his arms.

"Hey, no problem.  This will probably happen a lot more often in the future, so might as well get a system down, right?  It will be expected that we'll spend nights together.  It's kind of typical dating behavior."

"Right, that's true.  So..."

"You know this doesn't have to be awkward, right?" Logan says with a chuckle.

"Right, doesn't have to be awkward.  Okay.  Want to grab some breakfast?  I need coffee before I can function."

"Sure.  Let's go by your dorm and grab Tristan and you can change and then we can all head out to breakfast.  I'm sure you'd like to see him again before he heads back to Princeton, right?"

"You know, Huntzberger, I have a feeling you're going to be very good at this boyfriend thing.  You seem to have an uncanny knack for it, frankly.  If I didn't know better I would swear you've had experience," Rory said with a laugh.

"I assure you, no prior experience here.  You just make it easy."

"Are you calling me easy?"

"No, never.  You're just...different."

"Different isn't necessarily good, Logan."

"You're right, it's not.  But your kind of different is definitely good."

"What's so different?  I'm just a girl."

"Nope, you're definitely not just a girl, Ace.  You're a stunning, intelligent, witty woman the likes of which I've never met before."

"You know you don't have to resort to flattery, right?  I mean, you've got a copy of the signed contract.  I'm not going anywhere for a year and a half," she replies with a giggle.

"Ah yes, the contract.  Perhaps my aim is something better than just a contract," he says as he winks at her.

As he says those words, the look in his eyes is so intense that it literally takes her breath away, and before she knows it, his lips are caressing hers with the sweetest, most tender kiss of her entire life.  After a few seconds, he pulls away and sits up, leaving her momentarily dazed.

"Now, out of bed, Ace," he says as he offers her his hand to help her up.  "It's time for breakfast with your boyfriend."

"Confident in yourself there, aren't you, Huntzberger?"

"For once in my life, not at all, but I do have the contract, so either way I get to call you my girlfriend, right?" he asks with a smirk.

"Alright, mister.  Let's get out of here so you can feed your girlfriend," Rory replies with a laugh.

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Twenty minutes later, Rory and Logan walk in her common room to find Tristan sitting on the couch, flipping through television channels.

"Morning, Tris!" Rory calls out as she walks in the room, but Tristan just looks at the two and raises an eyebrow questioningly, leaving a long moment of awkward silence before he finally speaks.

"Morning, lovebirds.  Do I dare ask where you've been all night, Mare?" Tristan asks angrily.

"I crashed at Logan's.  How drunk were you last night?"

"I think we were all pretty hammered, right?  I mean, I could have sworn that you guys were holding off on anything physical for at least a couple of weeks, but apparently I heard that wrong if you were where I think you were all night."

"Hey, it was nothing like that!  We shared a bed, completely clothed.  Nothing happened, Tris," Rory responded as she crossed the room to sit down next to him.  "I promise, Tris.  Nothing happened.  Everything is just like we told you, okay?"

"Alright, if you say so," he answers with a sigh as he wraps his arm around her shoulders and she leans into him.  "What's the plan for this morning?  I need to head back pretty soon."

"I'm going to go change and then we wanted to take you to breakfast before you leave.  Sound good?"

"Get your cute butt in there and change so we can all go have breakfast, Mary."

As soon as Rory shuts her bedroom door, the two men look at each other tensely.

"Look, I swear nothing happened, man," says Logan with a sigh as he runs his hand through his hair nervously.  "I gave her some sweats and a t-shirt to change into, I came back in the room after she changed to make sure she got settled okay with every intention of sleeping on the couch, and she begged me to stay with her.  That's it."

"I know that's it.  Mary's a horrible liar.  She's too sweet and virginal to be good at that," Tristan replies with a laugh.

"She's a..." Logan begins, trailing off, not knowing how to ask what he wants to ask.

"No, not anymore, but she'll always be that to me.  Has she told you how we met?"

"Not exactly.  I've heard bits and pieces, but not the full story," replies Logan.

"She walked into her first day at Chilton and looked like the picture of virginal innocence.  I immediately dubbed her Mary and started pursuing her, intent on making her another notch on my bedpost, but at some point she became so much more to me.  She turned me down and resisted every step of the day, and before I knew it I had gotten myself sent off to military school.  I messed up any chance I had with her at every turn because I was an arrogant asshole.  I'm just grateful that we ran into each other the summer after graduation and were able to move past that and become friends."

"Wow, that's pretty intense," replied Logan. 

"That might just be the understatement of the year.  She's one hell of a woman.  She has no idea the effect she has on men, and the men who fall for her never seem to be able to fully get over her once it's over."

"So, how long have you loved her?"

"Since the minute we kissed on the piano bench our junior year at Chilton.  I've made peace with our situation, and I'm good with being the best friend.  If you screw this up, though, it will be me who picks up the pieces for her and helps her put herself back together, and I can't promise that I won't pursue something more if that happens."

"Understood, man.  So, how many of her exes would come running back in a heartbeat if she asked?" Logan asks nervously.

"Every damn one of them.  She's like an addiction, apparently.  A man would have to be crazy not to do everything in his power to make her happy.  She's gorgeous, witty, intelligent, and one of the most caring people you'll ever meet."

"You're right, she is all of that," Logan replies as the door to Rory's room opens and she emerges ready for the day.

"Are you two handsome gentlemen ready for breakfast?  I'll be the envy of every girl we see!" Rory says with a laugh as she walks between Logan and Tristan and takes each of their arms.