The Maine Event

Chapter 17

The next couple of weeks passed in a haze. Rory truly felt like her life was on hold in a way. There was quiet on the book front and while she continued to write something, it hardly met her expectations. There were a few shorter stories Jess had asked for her help with, and those she had edited. Still, it didn't feel like she was doing enough. She hadn't gone for the substituting position, just feeling like she didn't want to be around Owen daily and not knowing where she'd be in a couple of months. It wasn't as if she didn't get along with Owen anymore, but she felt the friendly balance that they'd regained was somewhat fragile. She'd given Catherine a lot of freedom, and was doing her own shopping, cooking and even cleaning most weeks. She just didn't feel like asking for help anymore, being a guest as she was, that already seemed to her like she was overextending her welcome.

Logan had dived head first into some new project, making his schedule horrible, even so that Odette had complained audibly during one of their evening phone calls, having to take care of some of Logan's family events by herself.

Rory continued going to therapy, but she hadn't really gotten around to the elephant of all issues with Dr. Abbot, sticking to the family topics she was just merely discussing but not really dealign with. She counted days and hours to when Logan was coming. She still felt guilty - guilty for what had happened during the snowstorm and that she hadn't told him. She felt like it wasn't a phone conversation, but it was getting harder and harder to not show her hesitance.

The day finally arrived, Logan arrived,and Rory picked him up at the local airport on that cloudy winter day.

"Hey," Logan said as he held her by the waist under her coat, feeling her hip bones through her thin layers of clothing brush against him. She felt fragile somehow, he could sense that something about her was a little off, even though she tried to not show it.

She replied with a slow and deliberate kiss - this was the real stuff, she recalled - electric and almost paralyzing, wanting to stay in his arms frozen in time.

"God, I missed you," Logan sighed, interlinking his fingers with hers as she lead him towards her car, kissing her temple several times on their way over.

"So... today we have like 4 hours before we have the session and then I am cooking for you. I have all the items in the car, we'll just drop them of at the house. And tomorrow, I have a surprise for you," Rory declared, excitedly.

"Are you sure you want to cook?" he asked, looking at her dubiously.

"I might not have made up with Lorelai, but Luke has been teaching me a few things over the phone. Owen pointed out to me that I've been acting a little spoiled, and it has been a good incentive to try to do things a little differently," she explained.

"Well, I guess no harm in that," he said smugly, trying to picture Rory cooking on her own. She didn't mind doing it along with him usually, but he'd rarely seen her at it alone.

"So you've really been hanging out with Owen a lot, haven't you?" Logan inquired, after Rory had told him all she'd found out about Owen and Catherine during their ride, just as they pulled up at the house some thirty minutes later.

"Well, not a lot, but when Catherine was out sick he kind of took over," she began. "Listen, I've been meaning to tell you something else... You're probably not going to like it, and I'm not even sure I should tell you, but in the name of full disclosure I think I should," she breathed out nervously. They had promised to be honest with each other after all.

"What, Ace?" he insisted, seeing her go a little pale in the face.

"He sort of kissed me," Rory confessed, wanting to hide herself. Her hands still held onto the steering wheel tightly.