They rolled into town a little after half past five, Logan immediately headed for the seedier side - near where he knew the fight bars were located. Spotting a decent looking motel, a little nicer than he normally went for, he pulled in. Hauling the girl out of the truck with him he headed into the office and secured them a room for the two nights; one room, two beds. He ignored the leery looks the proprietor kept casting at the girl, dragging her back out into the chilly evening the minute he had the key in his hand.
The room he'd secured was right down the end of the building so he moved the truck down, before reaching over the back to grab his own bag, and the girls. He kept hold of her bag as he unlocked the door to let them in, it wouldn't do to have her trying to slip away now.
"You take the shower first, I'll order food," Logan said, as soon as the door was shut and securely locked behind them. "Don't use all the hot water," he added, as she pushed the bathroom door shut. He was relieved to note the bathroom door didn't have a lock, she wouldn't be trying to hide from him in there. He was ordering food to be delivered as he heard the shower start up.
After a few minutes, once he was certain she would be distracted, he slipped soundlessly into the bathroom and swiped the pile of clothes she had dumped on the bathroom counter, she wouldn't need those tonight. He left his own shirt in their place, the idea of her walking out fresh and clean and wrapped in his scent enough to have him salivating, and if she chose to forgo the shirt, well, having her walk out stark naked would be just as good. He tucked her bag out of sight into the wardrobe, with his own, and sat back to wait.
Ten minutes later he heard the shower shut off, the squeak of the shower door opening, the rustle of fabric as she picked up the towel, and then... a loud knock on the door. Swearing under his breath he got up to collect the delivered food. A few minutes later the bathroom door opened and the girl came out, dressed in his shirt. She immediately caught him staring at her and blushed, shifting uncomfortably under his scrutiny. She didn't say anything about her missing clothes.
"Food?" he offered, holding out a warm takeaway box to her. Tentatively she stepped forward and took the box from his hand before perching on the end of the bed, tugging the hem of his shirt down her thighs as she sat, to try and cover herself more.
"I'll be a couple of minutes, make yourself comfortable," Logan said, as he moved toward the bathroom. He rushed through his own shower, stepping out only three minutes later only to realise there was only one towel... and it smelled like her. Clamping down on a satisfied purr, he used the same towel, marking his own body with her scent. He dragged his jeans on once he was dry enough, and walked back out into the room. Chucking his t-shirt into the wardrobe, he continued to rub the water out of his hair with the towel before he sat down across from the girl, and grabbed his own food. She was halfway through her burger but at the rate she was eating he would finish before her.
"I suppose we should introduce ourselves," Logan said suddenly, without looking at her as he began to eat. He wanted a name to go with the memory of her, something he usually didn't care about. "My name's Logan," he said, smiling at her in a way he hoped was friendly and encouraging.
"When does this night start?" the girl asked shortly, her sassy streak coming back to the fore as she began to get comfortable.
"When we arrived," Logan replied, continuing to eat, watching her closely as her eyes widened in surprise.
"And... when does it end?" she asked next.
"Mm ... breakfast?" Logan asked. He was oddly proud of the fact the girl was not going to wilt away and let him just walk all over her, she wanted boundaries in place, he could work with that.
"I'd rather have a specified time, are you a person that has breakfast at six am or one in the afternoon?" she asked pointedly.
"Fair enough, breakfast or ten am, whichever comes first, that okay with you?" he asked, glancing over with a grin. The girl considered for a moment, before nodding in agreement and going back to her food.
"You still haven't told me your name?" he reminded her, a few minutes later, as he set aside his empty burger box.
"... Rogue," she replied, looking him straight in the eye as if she dared him to call her on it.
He chuckled. Her sass was cute but some aspects would need to be nipped in the bud really quick, and he was not about to back down from a challenge like that. "That's not fair darlin, I gave you a real name, I expect the same in return," he replied, throwing in a mildly amused but not impressed raised eyebrow.
The girl tried to suppress a grin of her own before she murmured softly, "M-Marie."
"That's a very pretty name for a very pretty girl," Logan replied, grinning when a blush suffused her cheeks. "Might want to do something with your hair before it dries, you got a brush in your bag?" he offered, pointing to the wardrobe where he had stashed her bag.
With an almost shy smile Marie dove for the wardrobe and pulled out her bag, digging through it for a few minutes she finally pulled out a hairbrush, and a toothbrush, and an almost empty tube of toothpaste. She made a move toward the bathroom before Logan stopped her.
"Leave the brush here, go do your teeth and then come back," he said gently. She opened her mouth to object but he just cocked a brow as he held out his hand. "Whatever I want goes," he reminded her.
With a scowl she handed the hair brush over before darting into the bathroom. A few minutes later she was back, tucking the toiletries away in her bag she turned back to him and eyed the hair brush still in his hand.
"Can I brush my hair now?" she asked.
"Mm, no, sit here," he gestured for her to sit on the edge of the couch in front of him. She hesitated momentarily but before he could prompt her again, she moved over and sat in front of him, her back toward him. Gently as he could he carefully brushed her hair out, he had no idea how he knew what to do, he'd never had waist length hair, as far as he could remember, but this was a familiar process accompanied by a very welcome comfortable feeling. For half an hour he worked his way through her hair until it was all glossy, smooth, and knot free. He was going to enjoy brushing it out again in the morning, after he had tangled it all up, he decided with a grin.
He set the brush aside before he moved on to gently stroking and massaging Marie's scalp, down her neck, across her shoulders. She let out a soft sigh, a moment before his lips touched the side of her neck. He could feel her melting in his hands. He had thought her scent was intoxicating before but that was nothing compared to the sweet arousal that was flooding the room as his hands moved over her body, and he hadn't even gotten past her shoulders yet.
In short order he slowly and gently moved her back toward him until she was leaning back against his chest, while his hands began to work their way along the line of buttons down her front. Slowly he popped one button at a time, peeling the shirt back as his hands moved underneath the fabric. She was so responsive as she let him explore her body, hesitating only momentarily as he moved her into the position he wanted her. Pulling her legs open until her knees were hooked over his, one hand moving to her folds as the other moved back to her breasts, while his lips teased her neck. She was mumbling incoherently, bucking against his hand, within minutes as he brought her over for the first time.
As she lay limp against him, he gently scooped her up and carried her to the bed. Laying her down he moved over her, kissing her gently as he waited for her to turn her attention back to him.
"Um... wow," she finally whispered, blushing when he chuckled in response.
"It's gonna get better yet darlin'," he replied, as he worked his lips across her collarbone.
"Um, Logan..." she said softly a moment later, the sass was again gone and she sounded shy and uncertain.
"Yeah Marie?" he asked, pausing his movements and turning his full attention to her so she could speak.
"I- I've, um, I've never done this before," she whispered, nervousness, with just a hint of fear, permeating her scent as she watched him closely, chewing nervously on her plump lower lip.
"Okay, if you need me to go slower, or give you time to get used to something you let me know," he replied, with what he hoped was a reassuring smile. It seemed to put her somewhat at ease as she smiled back at him before he reached up and kissed her, gently at first but with growing intensity until they were both short of breath. He left her gasping for air as he moved over her body again.
Oh yeah, he was going to make this so good, and not just for her, he had all night - sixteen hours if he could hold breakfast off - to lose himself in her. The sudden thought of what would happen after that time was up sent an unwelcome chill through him. He didn't know why, he'd never even kept a woman around until the next morning before, so why was the idea of letting Marie go bothering him so much... Shrugging it off as tomorrow's problem, he refocused on the girl in his arms now.
--
Two days later, they were both lounging in the motel, both trying to ignore the growing tension in the atmosphere between them. They had not discussed past the 'second night', Logan was heading out shortly to fight, from there, he was leaving town but what about Marie. He didn't want to leave her behind, he didn't want to send her off with someone else, he didn't even know where she was heading yet. Could he dump his plans and take her where she was going? Did she even want him to?
Eventually it was bothering him so badly he flicked the TV off, they needed to talk about this, now. Marie looked over at him, a curious frown on her face.
"So, where are you headed kid?" he asked. "Where are you trying to get to?" he clarified, when she began to get up as if to leave.
"Alaska," she answered after a pause, slowly and uncertainly retaking her seat when she realized he wasn’t trying to kick her out. "Always wanted to go, it seemed like a good time," she shrugged.
"What are you gonna do when you get there?" he asked curiously. There wasn't much up there, he usually ended up there at some point during the year, following the fights.
"Get a job and an apartment, I guess, see if a southern girl can hack the cold I suppose," she replied. "Assuming I ever get there," she added resignedly.
"I can get you there," he heard himself offering before he had even considered the logistics.
Marie giggled. "It's okay, you don't have to, it's ages out of the way, I don't want to inconvenience you, that's why I'm trying to grab rides with people headed in that direction, when I can."
Logan felt an irrational anger flood over him when she declined, implying she was too much trouble for someone to do something for her, it made him mad. She was the kind of sweetness that deserved to have the sky laid at her feet just to know what it was like to walk through the clouds. He would get her to Alaska, come hell or highwater.
"It's no trouble, there's fights up there too, I usually pass through once a year as it is, won't be any inconvenience if you don't mind taking the slow route, it'll probably take me about three weeks to get up there but you're welcome to the ride," he offered, hoping she would just accept so he wouldn't have to beg. He was at the point where he was almost ready to do just that, anything to get her to stay with him a bit longer.
"Well..." Marie blushed, "I would like that... what'll it cost me?" she asked coyly.
Logan grinned. "Donations are acceptable," he replied cheekily. In other words, the ball was in her court, if she chose to warm his bed he wasn't going to complain but it was important to him, now, that she chose to, really truly chose to be with him, not just because she wanted to get to the next town. Her brilliant smile, and the pretty flush of colour in her cheeks, told him she understood.
He flicked the TV back on. "If you want to come with me to the fights tonight, be packed and ready to go by seven," he added, catching a movement out of the corner of his eye as Marie checked the time, before she got up and gathered up all their belongings.
In the wee hours of the next morning as the camper rolled out of town heading North, Logan glanced at his sleeping passenger. The feelings she stoked in him still confused him, he would have to give them some more thought. Thankfully they had a lot of open road between them and Anchorage, plenty of time to get his head straight.
--
He managed to get them to Anchorage without doing too much thinking about 'them'. They rented a long-term motel room, and for the first time in his life, that he could remember, he settled in one place. A few days turned into a week, turned into three, and now, as he sat in the dull moonlit room watching Marie sleep, he couldn't help the realization that they had been together now for nine weeks. Six of those in the same motel apartment.
He had helped Marie find a job, a fulltime position at a small family run grocery store. It was a fairly dead-end job but she was ecstatic, a stepping stone she called it, enough to pay her way until she could find something better or work her way up. As for him, the fights had moved on after only a couple of nights, as they did, they wouldn't be rolling back through for months, so he had largely spent his time drinking, thinking, and buried in Marie. They weren't traveling anymore, she wasn't paying her way to the next town but she had warmed his bed every night since they had set out. Or was he warming her bed, given this was now her home?
All his thinking time since they had arrived had led him to one conclusion, somehow, somewhere, he had fallen in love with Marie. It was that thought that had pushed him out of her bed tonight. He loved her, he wanted to love her, he didn't want to leave her... but... there was always a 'but'. He wanted her to love him, and he couldn't see any way to know if she truly did, or could love him, if he was here, day in, day out, fucking the daylights out of her. He needed to leave, give her some time to get on her feet and go it alone, to decide if she wanted him, for good.
"Hey, what are you doing up?" Marie's soft, sleepy voice floated across the room to interrupt his musing.
"Just thinking," he murmured back, watching as she got up and came over towards him. She sat herself across his lap, and nuzzled her head into his shoulder.
"About what?" she asked softly, though he could hear an underlying sadness in her voice. She knew.
With a sigh he wrapped his arms around her. "It's time for me to move on," he stated haltingly, his throat constricting tightly with emotion before he could say more.
"I thought you might say that," Marie replied, looking up at him, a sad smile on her lips and tears in her eyes.
"Don't cry darlin', you don't need me around here, you got this, I'll come back to visit though, the fights will be back next year, I'll come check on you, make sure this southern girl survived her first northern winter," he chuckled, as he wiped a wayward tear from her cheek. "If you want me to that is," he added, throwing the ball back to her court.
"I want you to," she replied immediately, the brilliant smile he had grown to love lighting up her face.
"Alright then, it's the beginning of July now, I'll be back next year, around the middle of May, I'll hit you up for a place to stay," he told her, tucking her head back against his shoulder as he held her tighter.
"I'll be here," she replied brightly.
"I hope not," Logan replied with a chuckle, "You better have found somewhere nicer than this to live by the time I get back, leave your forwarding address with the office, make sure you remind them not to lose it, or I'll have to kick their asses, either way, I'll track you down," he assured her.
For a time, they sat in comfortable yet sad silence, just enjoying holding each other, neither wanting to part but knowing this was a necessary step. Marie knew Logan was a drifter, and he would leave before too long, he was happy with her but he still needed his freedom, she could live with that, she would wait for him, hopefully he would keep his promise and come back. For his part Logan was hoping she would still be here, still be his when he came back, but he wouldn't push that on her, it had to be her decision. He would be back.
After about half an hour Marie stood up, tugging his hand gently she encouraged him back to bed. She had a feeling he wouldn't be there when she woke in the morning, and she didn't want to waste these last few hours.
--
The next morning, as the sun glinted brightly through the crack in the bedroom curtain, Marie's eyes opened to an empty bed.
He was gone.
Lying on the bedside table was a brief scribbled note; 'See you in May. Love, Logan'.
She smiled as she ran her finger over the word she had come to realise summed up her feelings for the man she had started out disliking, despite her physical attraction to him. When their first interaction had been him propositioning her for sex, she had thought her dislike was justified, but now...
She didn't care how it happened, it happened. She just hoped he loved her the same way she loved him.
May would bring her answer.
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