Logan thought the best place to teach Rogue how to ride would be somewhere deserted enough that she wouldn't risk killing anyone—or damaging the bike much. So he picked a pretty remote area about an hour away from the school. He wasn't counting on the torture he would be putting himself though. Of course, part of it was her fault. In fact, all of it was probably her fault. Not only did she feel wonderful with her arms and thighs wrapped around him, not enough ten minutes into the ride she decided to play Explore Logan. One hand left the relatively safe zone of his waist to rub small circles up his chest before clutching at his shoulder when he swerved a little. She rested her head, safely encased in a helmet, against his shoulder for a minute before straightening again. He wondered if she was done.
She wasn't. Next the hand still at his waist began to migrate lower, tracing the muscles of his abdomen with just enough pressure not to tickle. He found himself wishing that hand was rubbing somewhere a little further down, and then it was. The surprise made him jerk the bike to the left, which sent them into the oncoming lane, thankfully empty, for a few seconds before he was able to regain control. He growled, and he felt her giggle. Her hand found a slightly safer place to play on his thigh, although the way she was massaging up and down really didn't help, especially when she would get just a little too high before slowly wandering back down. Logan gritted his teeth and did his best to keep the bike steady, although there were a few more close calls.
Finally they reached the spot he had in mind. It was the very large parking lot of a little-used metro park north of Salem, and thankfully it was empty of other visitors. Logan drew to a halt, grabbed the wrist of that adventurous hand, and with a quick yank pulled Rogue around so that she was draped over his lap. She just removed her helmet and grinned at him, wrapping one arm around his neck. He kissed her until they were both breathless.
“So, are you gonna teach me how to ride this thing, Logan?” she purred sweetly when they managed to break apart.
Logan closed his eyes briefly. “Sure, darlin',” he said in resignation.
He let her jump up, stifling the urge to pull her back. He could think of plenty of other things he'd rather be doing with—or to—her. The idea of her on his bike...he wouldn't shudder, he wouldn't.
Logan reluctantly got off of the bike and turned to look at it. “Okay, darlin', hop on,” he instructed. He watched her clumsily straddle the seat and kept the wince he felt from reaching the surface. “Now, adjust your mirrors.” He noted that this, at least, was established competently. Next he took her through the controls so that she would know how to do simple things like, oh, accelerate and brake, for now, as well as how to use the clutch and how to shift between gears. Finally, he thought she might be ready to do a small test drive. That's when he got his next big shock.
Rogue hit the kill switch, turned the key and the bike started back up. That's when she took off, with far more control and speed than he would have thought possible, and proceeded to do figure eights around him in the parking lot for a couple of minutes. When she finally tired of that and stopped next to him, he put his hands on his hips.
“You've done this before, haven't you, Marie?” he accused, trying to fight back the smile that wanted to pop out in response to her mischievous smile.
Rogue shrugged. “Scott was so insistent that I wait until my eighteenth birthday to learn, but then he kept finding reasons not to teach me. After a week of that, I decided screw it. Since it was summer break, it was sooo easy to drive into town for lessons for a week or so, just to get the hang of it. A...friend drove me to the DMV and let me use his bike,” she said. Logan wondered if that friend was the fucker she'd been sleeping with or just one of the others she'd toyed with. He shook his head to dispel the thought. It wasn't worth fighting about that all over again, and she had deliberately glossed it over, probably hoping that he would let the matter drop.
“In that case, what do you really want to do?” he asked, crossing his arms.
She smiled back, to his surprise looking a little shy. “Well, we're at a park. Why don't we just take a walk around? I bet there are some nice paths here,” she replied.
Logan returned her smile. “I'd like that. Why don't you park that thing, and we'll see what we can find,” he told her.
They wandered the peaceful grounds of the park, walking the paths that wound through trees and over streams. Their conversations ranged over many topics, some they had discussed before and others they hadn't, some of the little “getting to know you” details that they hadn't managed to get to before things went so far off course. Finally they ended the morning sitting on the bank of a small lake, absently trying to skip pebbles along the surface, which Rogue was very good at and Logan, surprisingly, wasn't.
Rogue rested her head on Logan's shoulder, feeling content for the first time in over a month. She'd been so restless, seeking something beyond these feelings she thought would never be returned, that it was so strange to just sit and feel at peace, especially in the presence of a man whose life wasn't exactly defined as peaceful. That was okay, though. Too much peace could be boring.
“What are you thinking?” Logan's voice was quiet as he slipped his arm around her.
“That I'm happy,” she told him truthfully. “I was kind of worried I wasn't going to find that again.”
“Weren't you happy these last few weeks?” he asked, rubbing his against her silky hair.
Rogue grimaced. “I think was trying really hard to be happy, but there was a part of me that knew I was just kidding myself. I...it was difficult to be happy when I hardly saw you,” she confessed.
Logan reached over and turned her face towards him, his fingers lightly caressing her cheek. “I'm sorry I made you feel like you couldn't be around me anymore, Marie.”
She smiled at him. “I'll let you keep apologizing on that one for a while, I think,” she teased him. Then her eyes dropped to his lips. “Of course, you could try persuading me to forgive you a little sooner...”
The kiss was softer than any they had shared so far, and it went a very long way towards healing the hurt in both of them. After they broke apart, Logan pulled her into his lap, cuddling her against him, and they stayed that way until their bodies reminded them that lunch would probably be a good thing.
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Author's Chapter Notes:
A little personal time...
(Yeah, I know it took me a while. I had a little distraction, if you couldn't tell.)
(Yeah, I know it took me a while. I had a little distraction, if you couldn't tell.)
Chapter End Notes:
Okay, I have decided that this will be the last chapter of this. However, I am toying with the idea of a sequel, especially a very smutty one. Please tell me what you think.