Rogue glanced up when the door opened. He stood framed in the door, filling it, before walking to one of her tables and taking a seat. He'd become a regular of sorts the last week, but never ate at the same times as most regulars. He preferred to eat when the diner was mostly empty.
At first she thought he was simply bored and that was why he watched her. She'd been slightly flattered that he continued to choose her tables to sit at, after all he tipped well. Something about the way he looked at her, and admittedly the wildness of his hair, put a smile on her face. She'd had to tamp down the temptation more than once to flirt with him.
Then yesterday when he'd come to her aid at the motel… he hadn't been a knight in shining armor and Rogue most definitely wasn't a damsel in distress. Deep inside she knew she wasn't trading one bad situation for another. It had been something else that had brought him in to 'rescue' her. She thought she had seen a flicker of empathy in his eyes. He recognized a person in a tough spot and he was equipped to help out.
But when Rogue found out he had the room next to hers, coincidence seemed unlikely. She would need to do something about any ideas he might be conjuring up in regard to her. There was no time in her life for things that didn't deal with working or making sure she was able to work.
Sleeping, yes.
Showering, yes.
Laundry, yes.
Eating, when she could afford it.
Boyfriend – she stole a glance at him. Scratch that. All man, no boy in that one. No matter how much she wanted time for him, she couldn't afford it.
Rogue had gotten him coffee, taken his order, and served his breakfast. She peeked up at him again; he was halfway finished. It was now or never. She reached in her apron pocket and pulled out the other twenty from yesterday.
Stopping at his table she laid the twenty down next to his plate. "Thanks…" she paused, trying to find the right words, but nothing came to her.
He picked up the money and handed it back to her. "Found it on the ground. Thought it was yours."
That smile she only showed him, creased her lips. "Liar," she said teasingly. "I have a feeling you're good at it when you want to be and you're not even trying."
His eyes softened and if she hadn't been paying attention she would have missed it. His face returned to schooled indifference. "I don't know what you're talking about."
She held the money toward him again, but he ignored it as if it weren't even there. "Can I sit for a minute?" she asked finally.
He indicated the seat opposite him. She put the twenty back in her apron; she'd find a way to give it to him later, and pay back the other twenty.
Rogue sat down and cleared her throat. "I appreciate what you've done for me…" She lifted her eyebrows.
"Logan," he supplied for her.
"Logan." She rolled that name around in her mouth, liking the feel of it. The smile was starting to appear and that wouldn't do, especially as she was sure he was focusing on her mouth. Rogue put on a stern look her mama would think appropriate.
"Really, I do appreciate it. But anything else you might have designs about…" She floundered around. She didn't want to out right accuse him of wanting sex. "You'd need to see Pamela for that kind of thing."
Logan's eyes shot from her to Pamela, who was flirting (to put it mildly) with the customer on the other end of the diner. Her uniform always unbuttoned two buttons too low for all the cleavage it was trying to hold in.
He pushed his plate away and stared out the window. His jaw was firmly set and she could see a muscle on the side moving.
Rogue was suddenly sorry. She was dumb, so wrapped up in her own little world that she'd transferred her own budding feelings onto him. She sighed heavily.
"You remind me of someone," he said, turning back to her. He was studying her, and she thought he was listening to something. She hoped her stomach wasn't betraying her. It had been growling, but not too badly yet this morning. She didn't have the money to eat, pay him back, and make rent this coming week. "You can have the rest."
Rogue scrutinized the plate in the middle of the table. He hadn't touched the pancakes, the sausage, or one of the hash browns. She looked at him doubtfully.
He smiled at her. "It's not like you're Persephone." For a second she got lost in the thought of 'having' to be a consort for Logan. She must have looked bewildered, because he quickly followed up. "Forget it."
"Oh, I get it. Greek mythology." She glanced at the food again. "Was she family? The girl I remind you of."
"No." He gave a short laugh. "She hid in my truck and ate all my jerky."
Rogue took a fork from the extra silverware and started on the pancakes. She was obviously safe if he had a habit of feeding hungry girls. Eyeing him, she noticed he seemed to have a relaxed or at least wasn't as tense as usual. "We went through a lot of shit together."
"Where is she now?" she asked before taking another bite.
Logan shrugged. She could tell he was holding something back, trying to decide exactly what to tell her. "It was a war torn area. Things got bad and I lost track of her. Don't know where she ended up."
She studied him. "You were in the military?" There was something about him that reminded her of the older soldiers that came in occasionally.
"No, not military."
Not missing a beat, because it wouldn't surprise her. "Mercenary?"
"Not that time," he stated with a wry smile.
Now Rogue was truly interested. "Should I be worried about you stalking me?" she teased as she finished off the pancakes.
He laughed and it sent a warm tingle down her spine. "Not stalking you. I'm going to be here for a while and I need a place to eat. It's nice to talk to you and think things turned out okay for my friend."
"What do you do, that you're in this part of Jersey?" She felt like she was slacking on her work duties, but she couldn't help herself. She wanted to know more about Logan. Maybe she would find out that he was a serial killer or something equally dark and she would be able to quash these feelings that were growing in her heart.
"On a sabbatical of sorts, from teaching."
"A teacher, huh." That surprised her a little, so she ventured a guess. "Greek Mythology?"
"History." He gave her a genuine smile that made her smile in return.
Rogue glanced at her watch. It had only been a few minutes, but she really needed to get back to work. "Will you be back in later?"
He looked a little shocked that she would ask. "I can be."
"Good, I look forward to it." She'd added the last part without thinking and blushed at how it sounded like she was leading him on after telling him to see Pamela.
Logan cast a sideways glance at Pamela then looked back at Rogue. His eyes softened again for a second and he gave her an understanding smile. "See ya' soon, Darlin'."
Darlin'. Something about the way he said it gave her a tingly feeling. She quickly turned back to busing the table as he left. Rogue spent the rest of the day trying to keep busy so that she wouldn't daydream about Logan. Although she was having trouble hiding the little smile that kept threatening to break into a full-blown grin.
~*~
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