The Thrill of the Chase

nine

Sunday morning arrived and the same as the previous week, Rory decided to start her day by going to get a coffee and pastry in the quad. She decided to take a walk, she wanted to think and she figured a walk would maybe be the best thing to clear her head. It had only been a week since her talk with Robert but already she could tell her feelings were beginning to change. She had really enjoyed every interaction that she had with Robert over the course of the week, whereas she found herself becoming suspicious and questioning Logan's motives as time went on. A few weeks ago when she was spending time with Logan it was relaxed and friendly, this week it had felt different. She couldn't understand why, he had said he didn't want anything more from her, so why was he putting the effort in with fancy dinners. Unless it was as her Mom thought and he was trying to use her as a relatively respectable front to improve his image. She needed to know which it was as the answer would impact any decisions she would make.

Rory looked up and realized she had done almost a complete lap of campus, seeing her favorite coffee cart up ahead again, she decided to grab a new coffee before she returned to her dorms. As Dan handed her her caramel macchiato, she heard someone shout her name, looking up she saw Logan walking towards her.

"Hey Rory!"

"Hi Logan," she replied, taking a sip of her hot coffee.

"How are you? I stopped by last night but you were busy."

"Yes Robert told me, you could have waited, I would only have been a minute," Rory asked, giving him a pointed look. She knew why he didn't wait, she just wanted to see what he would admit to.

"Well, you seemed busy," he said, rubbing the back of his neck. "I didn't want to interrupt a date."

"It wasn't a date, we were just watching some movies, as neither of us had wanted to go out last night."

"Well I was sorry to hear you didn't want to go out, even if you didn't answer my message," Logan said, watching her.

"I just-" Rory's cell started to ring. "Sorry I need to get this," she stated after looking at the number.

"Go ahead," Logan said, waving at the phone, trying to subtly listen to the one sided conversation.

"Hey, I didn't think I'd hear from you this weekend?"

"I'm on campus."

"No, I'm not busy."

"Really?"

"You're in New Haven already!"

"Great, I'd love to. I'm going to start walking towards my dorm car park. You know where to go. I'll see you in ten?"

"Okay, bye."

"Sorry about that, Logan. I've got to get going, I'm meeting someone in ten minutes." Rory said, speaking absentmindedly as she put her cell back in pocket.

"Can I walk with you towards the car park? I'm heading there myself," Logan spoke, waving his Porsche keys at Rory.

"But is your car not closer to your dorm?" Rory asked, confused. "Anyway, sure you can walk with me."

"So Rory, would you like to hang out tomorrow night?"

"What do you have in mind?" she asked, looking at him as they walked.

"We can hang out at my dorm, go to the pub or we could go out?" he asked, watching her for clues.

"How about we go out, but something casual?"

"That should work, can I pick you up at seven tomorrow night?" Logan asked as they reached the car park.

"That should work," Rory starts to answer, before she is interrupted by the loud revving of a motorcycle engine. Logan and Rory both stop to watch the bike as it peels into the carpark, but for two very different reasons.

"Nice bike," Logan says, as he notices her watching it.

"Yes, it is," Rory repeats. "So seven tomorrow at my dorm?" she repeats as she starts walking forward again.

"Yes, where are you going? I thought you were meeting someone here?" Logan queried, looking around to see if he had missed anyone waiting in any of the vehicles.

"I am," Rory replied with a smirk as the bike came to a stop beside them.

The rider climbed off, and without removing his helmet, pulled Rory into his arms for a tight hug. He handed her his spare helmet and checked her jacket was zipped to the neck before he climbed back onto the bike. Rory turned back to Logan, she winked at him and said " Bye Logan." Before pulling the helmet on, as the guy revved the bike, she climbed on behind him, and with a roar they were gone.

"What was that?" Logan asked himself out loud, as he watched them disappear in shock, he apparently had more competition than Robert. He was going to have to rethink everything.

That night found Logan, Robert, Colin, Finn and Seth all playing poker in Logan and Colin's dorm.

"So how is Reporter Girl?" Colin asked, looking between Logan and Robert. Finn and Seth both looked up at the question, surprised that it was Colin broaching the subject.

"She was good when I saw her last night," Robert said, taking a sip of his beer, before looking at Logan.

"And she was fine when I saw her this morning," Logan countered, smirking at Robert.

"This morning? I thought you went home with that blonde last night? MIndy? Mandy?" Finn asked.

"I did, but I bumped into Rory at the coffee cart this morning when I was walking home, and went for a walk with her."

"And just what did you and reporter girl do last night Robert?" Colin queried with a raised eyebrow.

"We had a movie marathon and had some food, nothing out of the ordinary."

"Ooo what movie?" Finn asked in an excited tone, he loved movies.

"The three Lord of the Ring movies." Robert said matter of factly, as if he wasn't just revealing that what Logan thought had been a three hour date was really a twelve hour session.

"That's a long evening," Seth said with a low whistle.

"Yep, but it was fun." Robert answered simply.

"And how was she this morning?" Finn asked Logan.

"It was fine, I just bumped into her. But it was strange, she got a phone call while I was with her to meet someone in the car park. I had to get something from my car so I walked with her. When we got there, this obnoxious motorcycle came revving in. Then to my surprise, the rider jumped off, gave Rory a hug and she climbed on behind him and off they went." Logan finished his story, taking a sip of his scotch.

"Did you recognise the rider?" Colin queried, looking curious at the new information.

"Nope, he didn't take his helmet off."

All the guys looked thoughtful at this information. None of them knew anyone with a motorcycle, and they didn't think Rory was the kind of girl to know someone with a motorbike.

"So you two have competition then?" Colin said with a smirk.