Marie slowly opened her eyes and peered at the unfamiliar clock on the nightstand. 9:35. She closed her eyes and groaned. God, they felt like sandpaper and her mouth felt like it was stuffed with old cotton balls. She reached back and pulled the pillow over her head. What in the world had happened last night? She vaguely recalled having a few beers and way too many shots of whiskey. How did that saying go? Liquor then beer, have no fear. Beer then liquor, never been sicker. What about when you did it both ways in one night? She rolled onto her side and became aware of the feel of the cool sheets against her bare legs.
Hadn’t there been flannel sheets on the bed before? Grandma must have changed them last night. Where were her pajama pants anyway? She must have been really out of it when she got back. And who had helped her get upstairs and into bed? Maybe Jubilee could explain things to her. All she had to do was find the strength to sit up. Jubilee had been drinking just as much as her and was probably still lying in the bed next to hers. Maybe she could just holler at her without having to move. “Jubilee?” she mumbled through the pillow.
No answer. “Jubilee, wake up,” she said a little louder. Too loud if the pounding in her head was any indication.
Still no answer. “Rise and shine, Jubilee. If I’m going to be up, so are you.” Now she really would have to sit up. She pushed the pillow aside and scooted back against the headboard.
Jubilee was obviously not feeling as bad as she was if she was already up. She combed her hair back from her face and stopped to look at the sleeve of her pajama top. Something didn’t look right. The pajamas she’d brought with her had consisted of a tank top and pajama pants with ducks on them. This top was a long-sleeved blue plaid. Marie had a strange feeling and took her first good look around. Where Jubilee’s bed should have been to the right of hers, there was only a closet and an old dresser. Marie suddenly came fully awake and took in the rest of her surroundings.
She was in the middle of a big, heavy, carved four-poster bed covered with a thick quilt in varied shades of green and blue. A huge stone fireplace took up the wall opposite the bed with a beautiful landscape of the Rocky Mountains above the mantle. In front of the fireplace was a big plush chair and ottoman. The only other furniture in the room was an old travel trunk pushed into a corner. Arranged on top of it and on the wall were a varied assortment of trophies, plaques, and belt buckles. The polished wood floor was covered with a beautiful woven rug done in jewel tones.
This was definitely not her room at Grandpa and Grandma’s. In fact, she didn’t think she’d ever seen this room before. Through the open closet door she saw an assortment of cowboy boots and men’s shirts. On the floor were a few discarded pairs of jeans and a cowboy hat. Laid neatly over the back of the chair were her own familiar jeans and blouse. She looked down and realized that she was wearing a man’s western flannel shirt, the snaps done up haphazardly.
Dear God, what had she done? She remembered dancing at the bar with Mike Johnson and then she’d danced with Logan Howlett, hadn’t she? She thought hard and had a vague recollection of having left the bar with Logan. Why would she have left with him? Where were Jubilee and Bobby? Or even Scott for that matter. She had a bad feeling that she was in Logan’s bedroom half-naked in his bed. She glanced down at the shirt she was wearing and realized that she had nothing on except for it and her bra and underwear. Had she slept with Logan last night? All the evidence seemed to point in that direction.
Marie lowered her head onto her raised knees and tried to slow her spinning thoughts. She needed to calm down and think for a minute. If she'd had sex last night, she would surely remember it wouldn’t she? You didn’t just forget about something like that. Especially since it would have been her first time. She shifted and noted that she didn't feel any different. Jubilee had told her that after the first time, you could feel it for a day or so. Suddenly it dawned on her that she’d better be getting out of Logan’s bed and getting her clothes on before he came back.
Moving as quickly as her pounding head would allow, she got up and checked the door on the other side of the room. Thank God it was a bathroom. She didn’t think she could function clearly until she brushed her teeth. She borrowed Logan’s toothbrush and a comb and then searched through his medicine cabinet in vain for a bottle of aspirin. Of course the man with a healing factor wouldn't have any use for aspirin. She grimaced as her head throbbed and remembered the reason she had quit hanging out at bars when she was in college.
She looked longingly at the shower but new she didn’t have time for that now. Instead, she went back out to the bedroom and gathered up her clothes. She needed to get out of here before Logan came back from wherever he was. She was just pulling on her jeans when the bedroom door began to open.
****************************************************************************
Logan had risen early to help see to the chores and had taken his horse out to check the fence he had fixed the day Marie had arrived. He decided Marie had probably slept long enough and headed back to check on her. He couldn’t believe that he had brought her home with him last night. The smart thing would have been to take her to her grandparent’s place but he couldn’t see waking them up in the middle of the night to put their toasted granddaughter to bed. The way she had passed out on the way back to his place had decided the question of what, if anything, might have happened between them.
He had carried her in and laid her down on his bed and then quickly and efficiently stripped off her boots, jeans and shirt before slipping one of his own flannel shirts on her. The sight of all that lovely, pale, and oh so dangerous skin was something he wouldn't soon forget. He slid the sheet over her and then stripped off his own shirt before laying down on top of the blankets only to have her snuggle up against him with a quiet sigh. He had debated with himself before wrapping his arms around her and placing a chaste kiss on her forehead.
He had woken this morning to the delectable feel of Marie’s backside pressed intimately against his groin. The resulting erection he had received hadn’t been nearly as comfortable. If he hadn’t been afraid that Scott would have shown up to urge him out of bed at the crack of dawn, Logan might have woke Marie then with some more of those mind-blowing kisses they had shared last night. The other drawback to that scenario was that regardless of how she'd acted last night, Marie's feelings for him probably hadn't changed in the harsh light of day.
Logan was grateful he'd avoided any questions from Scott this morning. He probably assumed Marie was safely tucked away in bed at their grandparent's house. If he knew she was actually sleeping in Logan's bed just down the hall it would have been a different story. Although Scott knew Marie was an adult he was still compelled to look out for her. As it was, Scott had taken it upon himself to bring Jubilee and Bobby both back here last night. As far as Logan could tell, they were sleeping it off in either the guest room or the bunkhouse.
Logan couldn’t help smiling as he recalled the way Marie had looked this morning when he had left her. She had been both tempting and innocent lying in his bed wearing nothing but his blue flannel shirt and her lacy pink panties. Curled on her side with her hands tucked under her chin and one shapely leg protruding from the covers, it had been difficult to leave her sleeping. He couldn't recall a time when he'd ever woken up with a woman in his bed, especially after doing nothing more than sleeping with her. He made it a policy to always go back to her place and he definitely never stayed the night. That put the wrong kind of ideas into a woman's head.
When Logan reached his room at the back of the house, he eased the door open slowly and was surprised to find Marie standing in the middle of the room. She had her back to him and was pulling on her jeans. He took a moment to appreciate the curve of her derrière before he said, “Mornin’, darlin’. I wasn’t expectin’ you to be up.”
Marie whirled around with a gasp. She glared at Logan a moment before turning away to zip and button her jeans. “Good morning, Logan,” she acknowledged stiffly, her voice coming out rather deep and rusty with disuse. She may be pissed at him but she was raised to have manners. She grabbed her boots off the floor and sat down on the edge of the bed yanking the first one on over her bare foot. No way was she going to spend time messing with socks.
Logan grinned at the way his borrowed flannel shirt seemed to swallow her whole.
Marie glanced up and glared at Logan through the curtain of her hair. She wasn't happy about the difficult time she was having remembering what had transpired after they left the bar last night. She pulled the other boot on and stood up too quickly. She grimaced as fresh pain lanced through her skull. Although it galled her to ask she said, “I don't suppose you have any aspirin, do you?”
Logan realized Marie must have one hell of a hangover after last night. He'd never had to deal with one that he could remember but had heard enough people complain about them. “I'm sure Scott's got some around here somewhere.”
Her gaze fastened on the weathered black cowboy hat he wore. What was it about that hat that seemed so familiar? There was something there on the edge of her memory if she could just remember. She vaguely recalled settling that hat on her own head and then something about her keys. Trying to think was making her head pound worse so she finally gave up. Quite possibly, she didn't want to know what foolish things she had done.
“The aspirin, Logan?” she croaked.
“Right. Sorry. Let me go check in Scott's bathroom.”
Marie followed him out and wandered down a short hallway into a large family room. This room opened into a sunny kitchen. The bright light hurt her eyes and she wished desperately for the dark sunglasses she kept in her purse. She would have also liked an elastic band for her hair but then decided that might just escalate her headache. She was standing in the middle of the room thinking absently about where here vehicle was when Logan walked in behind her.
“Here you go, darlin'. Sorry I didn't think of it before.” He dropped two small white capsules in her hand. Marie mumbled an incoherent thank you and headed for the kitchen and a glass of water.
“Stupid man and his stupid healing factor,” Marie muttered to herself.
Logan was pretty sure he wasn't supposed to have overheard her but responded anyway. “It comes in handy from time to time.” When she looked at him askance, he gestured toward his head. “Enhanced senses, remember?”
“I know,” Marie snapped and slumped onto a stool at the counter. Her head dropped onto her folded arms and she groaned. “What happened to me last night?”
Logan filled a glass for her and sat it on the counter. “I'd say the liquor got the best of you.”
“What was I drinking? Paint thinner and gasoline?”
“From what I could tell, beer, whiskey, and more beer.”
Marie shuddered. “God, no wonder I feel like shit.”
“If it's any consolation, I'd bet Jubilee and Bobby aren't faring much better this morning.”
“Where are they?” Marie managed to raise her head enough to glance at him where he stood at the counter scooping coffee grounds out of a container and into the coffee maker. Thank you, God, for small miracles.
“Don't know. Scott brought 'em back here last night but I haven't seen them.” He poured water into the automatic coffee maker and almost immediately the scent of hot coffee began to fill the room. “The firecracker usually sleeps in the guest room when she stays over.”
Marie rested her cheek on her folded arms so she could watch Logan as he moved around the kitchen. Every movement he made was precise and efficient. She'd overheard him talking with Scott and Caleb one time about cage fighting up in Canada. She could only imagine he would make a formidable opponent. He never seemed to miss anything and watching him even at the simplest of tasks was like poetry in motion. He pulled a loaf of bread out of a drawer and dropped four slices into a toaster on the counter. Plates and coffee mugs were retrieved from a cupboard and knives from a drawer.
Logan's muffled voice came from behind the open refrigerator door. “You want butter and jam?”
She'd been so focused on watching him, she wasn't prepared for him to speak.
“I'm not eating anything,” Marie protested without raising her head.
“You're gonna eat,” Logan contradicted her. “Toast will help settle your stomach.” He sat the containers on the counter and placed the warm toast on a plate. Then he proceeded to butter the toast and handed two to her. He filled a coffee mug with steaming black coffee and slid it in front of her. “This won't hurt either.”
Marie sat up and grabbed the coffee mug, trying not to seem too desperate for it. She cradled it gratefully between her palms, took a deep breath and inhaled the fragrant steam. She could have sworn she felt every one of her senses sit up and take notice. The first sip was delicate and testing. The second was deep and satisfying.
“God, I needed that,” she moaned, her eyes closed as she savored the flavor of the black brew on her tongue.
Logan stood transfixed, watching the emotions flit across Marie's face. That was what a woman should look like when she was making love, not when she was drinking a half-assed cup of coffee.
Marie took another deep swallow and felt herself starting to perk up. When her eyes opened, Logan moved quickly to get his own mug filled and sat down opposite of her with his toast. He ate in silence while Marie continued to sip her coffee. She watched him over the rim of her cup, wondering if she should say anything about last night. Although she was almost certain nothing had actually happened between them she wanted to be positive. She and Logan didn't get along the best on a good day. They didn't need the awkwardness of a one night stand to complicate things. Okay, so admittedly it probably wouldn't make Logan feel awkward but it would definitely do so for her.
“Something you wanna say?” Logan asked after he finished his toast. He could smell the nervousness coming off her in waves and new what she was thinking.
Marie sat her mug down and then fiddled with the handle, trying to find the best way to phrase her question. There really wasn't an easy way to ask someone if you'd had drunken sex with them and if so, let them know how deeply you now regretted it.
Marie blew out a breath and straightened on her seat. There was no sense in hiding from it so she looked him square in the eye. “Did we sleep together last night?”
Logan watched the emotions flit across Marie's expressive face. He could sense her determination to face up to whatever she had done and her apprehension that it was worse than she thought. He took his time before he said, “We did sleep together.” Her face fell. “Unfortunately, it was with our clothes on.” And then brightened.
Marie gaped at him. “We didn’t do anything? I mean other than what I vaguely recall happened in the parking lot. Which shouldn’t have happened to begin with.”
She paused and her relieved look turned to a glare. “What were you thinking anyway? Taking advantage woman who's drunk too much is even a little below you, isn’t it, Howlett?”
“I only took what you offered, darlin’, and stopped when you wanted me to. Besides, when I make love to you, I want you completely sober and able to participate. And I’d rather not have an audience.”
Marie wasn't sure whether she should be offended or thrilled at his words. “Thank God nothing happened,” she muttered and pressed her fingertips against her throbbing temples. When was that aspirin going to start working?
“You don’t have to sound so relieved. I haven’t had any complaints before.”
“Please, Logan. You know that sleeping with you is the last thing I would want to do. And don't you think I might like to enjoy my first time with a man I actually like?” Marie slapped her hand over her mouth, mortified that she had just told him she was still a virgin.
Logan's eyebrow hitched up at her admission. “You seemed to be enjoying yourself enough last night in the parking lot.”
Marie felt her cheeks heat again. “Don't be crude. I can’t believe we did that in public. What if somebody saw us?”
Logan grinned. “If they did, the rumor will already be around town that we’re sleeping together.”
“But we’re not!”
“We know that but everyone else will only believe what they hear.”
“What did everyone hear?” Jubilee croaked from behind Marie. “And give me some of that coffee. I think there's a mariachi band playing in my head.”
Marie's startled gaze swung to her cousin who was looking a little worse for wear this morning. Her short black hair was sticking up haphazardly and she was wearing a pair of flannel pajama pants and a tee shirt that were both at least three sizes too big for her. Jubilee collapsed onto the stool next to Marie and her head met the counter with a soft thud.
“Ow. Somebody pass the aspirin, please. Or better yet, Logan, pop the claws and just cut my head off and put me out of my misery.”
“That bad, Firecracker?” Logan grinned and twisted the cap off the aspirin bottle and set two on the counter in front of Jubilee.
Jubilee cracked one eye open and snarled at him, “Don't you fucking laugh at me.”
“Who's laughing?”
“I can hear it in your voice, Mr. I've-got-a-healing-factor-so-I-don't-have-to-worry-about-hangovers.”
“You're lucky I like you,” Logan muttered as he sat a steaming mug of coffee in front of Jubilee.
Clutching the coffee mug like a lifeline, Jubilee eyed Logan as she took her first sip. The sound she made was somewhere between a moan of pleasure and a groan of agony. With both hands wrapped around the warm mug, she drained the entire thing in under a minute. She sat the mug down and looked up to find Logan and Marie both staring at her. “What?”
“My God, Jubilee. If you drink coffee like that all the time you'll have an ulcer as big as your fist.”
“Right now I'm more worried about my head than my stomach. Why'd you let me drink so much, Chica?”
Marie snorted. “Like anybody could have stopped you if they'd wanted to. You forget how much more stubborn and bull headed you are when you have a few too many.”
“I'll have you know I'm no more stubborn and bull headed than I am any other time.” She eyed the uneaten toast in front of Marie. “You gonna eat that?”
Logan swatted her hand away. “Yes, she is. You want some?”
“Have you ever known me to turn down food?”
Logan grunted and added four more slices to the toaster. When they were done, he added butter and jelly and slid the plate toward Jubilee, taking one for himself.
“Making breakfast, Logan? If I didn't know better,” Jubilee said around a mouthful of toast, “I'd think you were starting to get domesticated. I guess you can teach an old dog new tricks. A really old dog.” She grinned at Logan's warning growl and devoured the toast. When she was done, she asked, “So besides getting all Suzy Homemaker on me and learning how to get Marie to loosen up, what else have you been up to?”
“Jubilee!” Marie hissed, irrationally panicked about what Jubilee was talking about.
Jubilee rolled her eyes. “Relax, babe. I just want to know if you got lucky last night because really? It's about time.”
Logan managed to stifle his laughter at the horrified look on Marie's face. He snatched up his hat from the counter and headed for the door. “I've got work to do. I'll see you two later.” As the door was closing behind him, he hollered back, “Eat your toast, darlin'. It'll help.”
“Aw, isn't that sweet? Logan's worried about you,” Jubilee grinned.
Marie suppressed her urge to grin and gave her cousin a dark look, having a pretty good idea who had suggested Logan take her home last night. “How could you do that to me, Jubilee?”
Jubilee was surprised by the change in topic. “Do what?”
“Let Logan bring me home last night. You know how I feel about him!”
“You mean hot and bothered? Anybody could see that. So did you jump him?”
“Jubilee Summers! Nobody jumped anybody!”
“Then what were you doing sleeping in his room? And don't tell me you didn't, babe, because I was in the spare room and Bobby's on the couch in the den, so that only left one place for you to be.” She looked at Marie expectantly and recognized the blue flannel she wore. “And you're wearing his shirt. Looks pretty incriminating to me.”
“I....we....nothing happened,” Marie stuttered, her face flushing.
Jubilee noted the color in Marie's cheeks and hedged, “You're telling me, you left the Spoke, hanging on Logan's every word, holding onto him like a woman totally in lust, and nothing happened? Not even a little kiss and a quick grope?”
Marie blushed deeper at her words.
“Ah ha! I knew it! Come on, Chica. I need details.”
Marie was incredulous. “What happened to your hangover?”
“Juicy gossip trumps a hangover every time, swear to God.”
“Will you leave me alone if I tell you?”
Jubilee thought for a moment. “I can't promise you that. It depends on how good this is.”
“Forget it. If you're going to go blab it to the entire world I'm keeping it a secret.” Marie groaned and buried her face in her hands.
Jubilee grabbed Marie's wrist, pulling her hands down and really looking at her. “Come on, Marie, if you can't tell me who can you tell? I'm your best friend.”
“Fine,” Marie relented, “but only because I don't think I can keep this to myself.”
Jubilee's eyes widened. “Ooo, it must be good! If you're regretting it that much it must have been fun! What's tall, dark, and hairy like in the sack?”
“I did not sleep with him, Jubilee!” Marie winced at the volume of her own voice as it echoed in her head. “Well, I did sleep with him but I didn't have sex with him. And I don't even remember most of what happened, I just know there was some kissing and maybe some touching but nothing else, I swear!”
Jubilee looked confused. “So what's the big deal, babe? You didn't do anything wrong.”
“It was Logan, Jubes! I don't even like him and I let him kiss me, again! He's going to get the wrong idea.”
“I don't think you have to give him any ideas. Sounds to me like he's got that covered all on his own.”
“Thanks, Jubilee. That makes me feel so much better.”
“That's what I'm here for,” Jubilee grinned.
Marie sighed. “Can we go home now?”
Jubilee slid off the stool and wrapped an arm around Marie's shoulders. She sounded so unhappy. That was the last thing she wanted her to be. “Sure we can, babe. Just let me get my things.”
Marie followed Jubilee out of the kitchen to the spare room she'd slept in. “Is Scott going to drive us back to Grandpa and Grandma's?”
Jubilee's voice was muffled as she pulled the tee shirt over her head. “I doubt it since your Jeep's right outside. I thought we'd just take it. Do you have your keys?”
Marie automatically felt her pockets and was assailed by images of Logan doing the same thing followed by some seriously steamy kisses and ending with her legs wrapped around his waist and her breasts bared to the world in the middle of the parking lot. “Oh my God,” she moaned. “Jubes, I think I did something very bad. I think Logan and I almost did more than just make out in the parking lot last night.”
Noting the look on Marie's face, Jubilee grabbed her arm and towed her out the door. “As long as it was almost you've got nothing to worry about. I'll drive and you can tell me all about it.”
“But I don't want to tell you about it! Up until now I was ready to write it off as too much alcohol but what if I'm actually attracted to him?”
“Alcohol can make anyone attractive, Marie. You should know that. Remember that baseball player you swore you were in love with in college? That was the alcohol talking.” Jubilee squinted against the bright sun when they stepped outside. “Then again, I don't mind letting Logan fuel my fantasies every once in a while. Just for some variety, you know?” She ignored Marie's surprised gasp and pushed her into the passenger seat before sliding behind the wheel, smiling when the keys were there in the ignition. Leave it to Logan to assume nobody would touch a vehicle he was driving. “But you'd better think about how you feel because you're going to be seeing him again tomorrow. Grandma wants to have Sunday dinner together before you leave. Just soup and sandwiches or something and Logan's pretty much part of the family now so I'm sure he'll be there.” Jubilee glanced at her cousin as she backed around and started down the long driveway. “And I'm guessing he'll want to see you before you leave anyway.”
Marie slouched down in her seat and and closed her eyes. “You know just how to make my day, Jubilee.”
Jubilee only grinned in response.
The Wolverine & Rogue Fanfiction Archive
Barely Legal Since 2000
Author's Chapter Notes:
Disclaimer: I don't own them. Apparently they now belong to Marvel, Stan Lee, and Disney. Let's hope they don't mess up a good thing! Thanks for letting me borrow them so I can manipulate them and make them do whatever I want!
A/N: I just want to say thanks again for all the wonderful reviews. They really really make my day and make me want to write more and more! And I love it when I find out someone added this story as a favorite or an alert. That must mean I'm doing something right!
A/N: I just want to say thanks again for all the wonderful reviews. They really really make my day and make me want to write more and more! And I love it when I find out someone added this story as a favorite or an alert. That must mean I'm doing something right!