London

Vegas, Baby

Hamburg, Germany
Winter 2014

I checked my watch after leaving the historic expensive building behind me. 10:47am. My meetings done for the day, I walked the streets of Hamburg wearing a dark purple dress shirt, sharp gray tie, and black trench coat, proper business attire. The looming and beautiful buildings of Germany peered down at me as I paved the path to a local cafe across the street. A flash of red caught my eye through the window of the coffee shop as I turned and stared. Even after all these years, she never failed to take my breath away.

"I sure hope my eyes aren't deceiving me, Ace."
Logan.

It had been years since I'd seen her face. Her deep brown hair and bright blue eyes, always tinted with a certain sparkle. Captivating. Beautiful. The only woman I'd ever loved.

My back was to him, my fourth cup of coffee in my buzzing hand, raised to my mouth to take a sip. Is this real? I set the cup down and stood up slowly. Closing my eyes and taking a deep breath, I turned around and was inches away from Logan Huntzberger. The man I was almost engaged to.

The man I'd always secretly hoped I'd find my way back to.

My breath hitched at the sight of his gorgeous face. His honey blonde hair and his deep brown eyes, with a hint of blonde stubble on his perfectly shaped chin.
"Logan Huntzberger, what a pleasant surprise."

Her voice. Her voice I'd longed to hear again for eight years. Her red lipstick stained mouth curved into a small smile, her bright blue eyes gaining a familiar sparkle. I moved to sit down across from her and she sat too, looking over at the waiter and signaling for another cup of coffee. I opened my mouth and spoke, for the first time in a while, to Rory Gilmore.

"We've got a lot to catch up on, Ace. What brings you to Hamburg?"

The words bubbled up to my mouth before I could think of them. Familiar.
"Work. Fresh off the campaign trail, believe it or not." I explained my whole situation, Logan chiming in a couple times with his own job.
He strayed off his fathers path and settled in London, a multi millionaire no doubt. We found ourselves talking and talking until the waiter flipped the door sign to "closed" and waved us out.

We trailed outside and our conversation never faltered, until we realized this is where we said goodbye. His voice seeped off into nothingness, a sigh escaping his body. I slowly turned in a circle taking in the night sky around me in a foreign city, coincidentally bumping into a person I think of every single day. My gaze landed back on him as he took a step closer, my back to the brick wall of the cafe.
Logan grabbed my shoulders with his warm hands and pulled me towards him, our faces just millimeters apart. "Tell me when to stop, Ace." His husky low voice rumbled, as he pulled me into a kiss igniting our past. I felt a small shock as I closed my eyes and melted into him, his arms traveling down my body and resting on my hips. I threw my arms around his neck and pulled him closer to me, our kisses intensifying as we moved towards the brick wall. We moved back until we could move no further and he had me pinned up against the wall, only kissing me harder. Logan pulled away and rested his forehead on mine, our cold noses just barely touching.
"Don't stop." I said, his face immediately scrunching into a grin. He suddenly pulled me close and lifted me up into the air, his kisses never faltering. I smiled against his lips as he set me down, and we walked together towards his hotel.

I can't believe it. The girl I've wanted since I let her go. Rory Gilmore was laying in my arms, her hand in mine. Her shining brown mussed hair shimmered in the dark, the only light being the bright city lights in the dark of night. She laid on her stomach and had her head resting on my chest, her bright blue eyes ever so alert at this late hour. A feeling I haven't experienced in a long time fluttered into my stomach. Happiness.

I held the hand of the man I'd crossed paths with at a local cafe in a foreign country. While the country was foreign, the man was exactly the same as I'd left him.
As he'd left me.
I keep forgetting that he was the one who broke it off, he was the one who'd made me choose between him and my career. A net of emotions swirled in my stomach. Anger. Lust. Sadness. All of that was outweighed by the fact that he was laying under me, tracing small circles in my palm. His murmured voice cut me out of my thoughts.

"I'm sorry I made you choose, Rory."

I looked up at him as he stared me back, a look of deep regret swirling in his eyes. "I should never have done that."
"Logan-"
"No, Rory," he cut me off, determined to apologize. I let him go on.
"I was so blinded by love I was so fearful of losing you. I thought by proposing that you'd immediately say yes and follow me out to California. Although I thought I had, I didn't even consider your side. You needed to put your brilliance to work and follow your own path. I was going to weigh you down."
A million thoughts swirled through my mind. Should I forgive him? I can't just let him go. I struggled to find the words to say to the one man I've ever felt a connection with. He continued.
"Not one day has gone by where I haven't thought of you. I kick myself everyday for letting you go, Ace. I know it's hard and I know you're most likely very mad at me and don't want to forgive me. Just think of our past. Think of the times we shared before the engagement. I can't just let that go, Ace." His voice faltered at the end of his sentence as I felt my heart crack just a little. I took a deep breath and spoke my next words, careful not to let my gaze fall upon him in fear of breaking. "Let's make a deal, Logan. I'll stay with you when I come to London, which is very frequently as I am starting a new project. What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas."
He lifted my chin up so my eyes met his and pulled me in for a long kiss, the touch of his lips making me melt yet again. "I love Vegas!" He exclaimed against my lips as I let out a laugh.