logan echolls will always believe in epic love (09erjackass) wrote in brightlightlogs, @ 2010-06-02 13:55:00 |
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Entry tags: | logan echolls, veronica mars |
Who: Logan Echolls and Veronica Mars
Where: Tijuana beach!
When: Backlogged to their Tijuana trip.
What: Logan teaches Veronica how to surf. Snarking and flirting take place.
Rating: Let's say PG-13 to be safe.
Status: Complete
Logan had not realized how much he missed the beach until they arrived in Tijuana. He practically dove into the sand and hugged it like it was an old friend. Las Vegas was a barren wasteland, and he was relieved to find out that this Tijuana was basically the same as the one he remembered. It had the same clubs and bars and locations, and since the city was like a second home for him, he was able to show the others a pretty good time so far. It wasn't always about getting drunk and causing trouble ... or at least this trip wasn't. Logan was on his best behavior and stuck with the group, and his good mood never seemed to falter even with Piz in attendance.
In fact, he was friendly enough to Veronica's boyfriend, and cut back on the sarcastic remarks since they weren't taken as easily. He wasn't one to curb his tongue usually, but the beach drinks and rolling waves made him relaxed about the whole thing. Logan promised to play nice and he was doing just that ... for now. It did seem to make things less tense with Veronica, and he knew if the boyfriend chilled out, he'd be able to spend more time with her. So far, so good.
The waves were mild at this point in the day so he felt confident Veronica could get a lesson in. He'd been trying to get her out on the water with him for a long time, and his delight was tangible when she finally said yes. He inspected the rental boards carefully before heading out into the water, not taking a chance for her to get a bad board on her first try. He taught her the general movement of it on the beach, but honestly there was only learning by doing at a certain point. They floated out in the beautiful green water on their boards, and he smiled warmly over to his current partner in crime. "We're going to start with you just standing on a board and not falling over. And you'll probably fall over a few times. You ready to inhale some sea water?"
Veronica had put off learning to surf for years while living in California. She couldn't bear the thought of being a beach blond California cliche. However, spending the weekend on the beach with her friends, relaxing and not thinking about Las Vegas or weird kidnapping plots, she finally let her guard down and let Logan convince her to try surfing. Dressed in a black swimsuit and a pair of board shorts Veronica had humored him as they practiced on the beach first. To his credit, he'd been a surprisingly good teacher and only teased her a few times.
So by the time they got out into the water, sitting on their boards in the beautiful water, she was actually feeling okay about everything. Her legs dangled in the water on either side of the board. She shifted her weight and felt the surfboard wobble beneath her. "This was your master plan all along, wasn't it?" She asked, her blond ponytail swinging around her shoulder as she turned to look at him.
"It's not every day I get to school Veronica Mars in something she doesn't find criminal." Logan was intelligent and there were plenty of things he picked up from Veronica and her detective agency. His own skills were limited in the way that she wouldn't want to learn them even if they were useful. Getting into trouble was an art; getting out of it even more so. He shadowed his eyes with a hand to look at the waves coming in, but where they were right now was calm. That was for the best until she got the hang of things.
He reached down into the water and playfully splashed it at her. "I have several master plans, so I'm not sure which one you're referring to." At least a portion of them ended with them living mostly-happily-ever-after. Logan didn't think the classic storybook ending would ever work for the two of them, but he figured they could write their own version of it. "You think you can handle this, Mars? You can still back out if you're chicken."
"You think I'm so easily manipulated?" She scoffed. "Call me a chicken and I'll jump right up to prove you wrong?" She huffed, averting her gaze from his bare chest. She turned and glanced at the waves. The sunlight actually sparkled off the water. She closed her eyes for a moment and tried to pretend that this was the beach back home in Neptune. Backup chasing a ball down the shoreline, Wallace flying his remote control airplane on the beach. She was almost there for a moment, but it faded quickly. Veronica's days of dreaming had ended when she'd seen Lilly's murdered body. But hey, her present wasn't so bad. Why not enjoy it? She opened her eyes and grinned back over at Logan. "Clearly you know me too well. Alright. How do I get up on this stupid thing without killing myself?"
"That's exactly what I think." Logan saw that peek at his chest and smirked. He wasn't the most musclebound man in the world, but he had a well defined chest and good arms from years of just keeping active and energetic. He'd taken plenty of peeks at her over the course of the day behind his sunglasses, and thought it was cute she didn't go for the more revealing bikinis that most of the women on the beach chose.
"Just like I showed you on the beach. Watch me." He was more patient teaching this than he'd ever been before, as if surfing gave him a rare sense of zen. He lay down on the board in the center with his feet touching the tail end of the board. His hands wrapped around the sides of the board and he did a partial push up, one foot coming underneath to the center and then simply stood up. It was all one very fluid movement, natural to him from years of training, and he didn't expect it to be so easy for her. His balance was uncanny on top, and he smiled down to her with very little wobble. "Your turn." He fully expected her to get knocked off balance the first one or two times. He had warned her!
Veronica had watched Logan do this hundreds of times before. Growing up. Playing hookey at the beach with Lilly and Duncan. When they had dated. But there was a huge difference between watching him from a towel on the beach as opposed to a wobbling surfboard in the water, knowing full well she was going to have to try it next. She quelled the nervous feeling in her stomach and tried to take in all of Logan's movements while he popped up on his board.
Trying to ignore him grinning down at her, Veronica took a deep breath, and lay down on the board. She was too far forward at first and she felt the nose of the board begin to dip under the water. She heard Logan start to say something, but she knew what was going wrong and quickly adjusted her weight further back on the board. She took a moment to steady herself, and then used her arms to push herself up and arch her back, like she had watched him do. She actually managed to bring her front foot forward to the center of the board, but lost her balance in an attempt to stand up and flew forward into the water.
She shut her eyes and held her breath as the water enveloped her. The world got quiet as the water blocked out the rest of the noise from the beach. She flipped around under the water and swam back up to the surface. Her head broke above the water to the sound of Logan chuckling. She gave him a look as she swam over to retrieve her board.
It wasn't that Logan wanted her to go face first into the water, but that there was no way to keep it from happening. They could practice all day on the beach, and she still wouldn't be ready for the water. Even experienced surfers got thrown off guard, because the ocean had a mind of her own. He watched her feet rather than her face as she got up, and she was doing pretty well to start with. He should've expected Veronica to be a quick study, and she might get the hang of this much faster than most people.
When she flew off he almost went in after her, the anxiety of watching her go under more difficult to accept than he liked. Logan had a possessive streak that was at least 60% protective, but he kept calm and crouched down on his own board carefully, sitting on top of it. His feet dangled over the side. He was only graceful out on the water like this, but it could be uncanny if someone didn't know he spent most of his free time enjoying the surf and turf. She knew that, of course, but he secretly hoped she was still impressed.
He was chuckling when she resurfaced, mostly because of the look on her face, and he squinted at her. "I told you it'd happen at least once or twice. But that was a great first try, honey bunch. You almost had it there for a moment." Logan ran a hand through his wet hair and waited for her to retrieve the board. "The important thing is not to panic when you get off balance like that. It'll make your movements more jerky and it's a surefire way to end up choking next to a lifeguard." Hopefully one that could star on Baywatch.
Pulling herself back up onto the board Veronica paddled her way back over to where Logan was waiting, perfectly balanced on his board. She tried to scrutinize the way he held himself, to see if there was some secret about balancing on the water that he wasn't telling her. But she knew there wasn't. His ease on the water came from years of practice. She'd be more impressed with it if her competitive edge wasn't there in the back of her mind, egging her on to do better.
"I didn't panic." She said, still laying flat on her board, knowing that she'd be trying again in just a few moments. "Did I?" She thought back to a few moments earlier. She'd gotten her foot in place, and then there had been a searing moment of triumph, before she started to push herself up. Then, as the board had wobbled under her foot..."Ok, maybe there was a little panic."
Without waiting for Logan to tell her to go again, she took another deep breath to steady herself and tried again. Grab the board. Arched back. Foot forward. Stand. She was able to fully stand up for about two and a half seconds. Just long enough to register her shock and glee before the board shifted and she fell backward this time, her back meeting the water before the rest of her body. For the second time, she swam back up to the surface, wiping the water from her eyes when she reached it. She immediately went after the board again. Anyone who knew her, and probably even those who didn't would be able to easily recognize the determined glint in her eye. Veronica Mars was going to surf or die trying.
He knew that gleam of her eye and just shook his head, grinning ruefully. She'd have to learn the hard way then. "You panicked. Everyone does in the beginning. Maybe you should ...." But she was already scrambling back onto her board and crashing to the water again. It would've been hilarious if Logan didn't know this was going to take a long time. The more frustrated she'd get, the less balanced she would be.
"Hey, hey, alright, simmer down there, Xena. I know you're a fierce warrior princess, but you're going to get yourself unconscious soon." Logan slipped into the water and reached out to put a hand firmly on her board when she came back, leaving his board for now to transfer to hers. They were close for the moment, bobbing in the water, but for once he wasn't actually doing it just to aggravate her. He was actually trying to help. "Everyone has trouble the first few times. My father took me out when I was eight for my first time. It was a photo op, of course, and I was determined to prove I was better than him. It was at least twenty times before a lifeguard had to come and get me." His memories about his father were almost always bitter, but he didn't sound too snarky this time, just reciting what happened in an attempt to reassure her that not even Logan Echolls was perfect at it the first time.
"This is going to sound weirdly zen, but work with me here. Just ... float for a few moments, okay? The waves are going to move you, so you have to move with them. You can't go against the water, it's stronger than you." Logan patted the top of her board and swam back just a foot or so to his, leaving her personal space now that he got his point across. "Before you jump up, lay on the board and get a sense for how it's moving under you. It'll help."
Veronica sighed. As much as she liked to think that no one understood her, Logan could read her like a book. And not even a complicated book like War and Peace. He could read her like The Cat in the friggen Hat. Of course she was going to try to fight against the water. It was her nature, she wasn't exactly a go with the flow type of gal.
However, his sudden closeness caused her to still. At first it was fueled by surprise, then by the need to quiet her quickening pulse, but then she realized he was actually making sense and she tried to focus on his words and not his extreme closeness to her in the water. When he swam away from her, she let out her breath. Feeling a little silly, she pulled herself back onto the board and lay there for a moment. She closed her eyes, knowing that a glimpse of Logan or of the people back on the beach would break her concentration. Still breathing slowly, she rested her forehead down on the board and let her tense muscles begin to relax. It took a minute or two. Veronica wasn't exactly a very relaxed person by nature, but eventually her limbs were more loose, and she began to get a sense of the movement of the water. Third time's the charm. She thought to herself as she pushed herself up, and slid her foot forward to stand up.
Miraculously, it worked. Veronica was actually standing up on the board. She was in no way as steady or as comfortable as Logan was when he had done it. But she wasn't plowing headfirst into the ocean. So she called it a win. "Ha!"
It worked both ways. As unpredictable and facetious as Logan could be, Veronica always seemed to get him. She might not always be able to know what he was about to do, but she'd look right through him every time he did something. As if she could pinpoint all of his reasons and thought he was being stupid. Which he was, but it still annoyed him. Logan spent a lot of time building up walls, even longer than Veronica. He'd hid his tumultuous home life from everyone for years and masked it with a sarcastic smile. How she got in was beyond him. He didn't even know when it happened!
He watched as she stubbornly fought his advice at first, but then relaxed when he saw that she was accepting it. This would save them both a few more tumbles, and honestly, he'd only be able to stop from laughing openly at her for another turn. Especially if she kept doing it to herself! Logan waited for her to collect herself and said nothing while she prepared to stand, not wanting to break the moment and cause her to blame him for falling. But instead she did exactly what he expected: surprise him. His smile was natural and honest, without bitterness or derision, and he golf clapped at her teasingly.
"Nicely done, Mars. You get a gold star. Keep it steady. Don't get overconfident." Logan folded his arms over the top of his board and blinked away the sea water from his eyes. He was used to it and it still stung. "We're in still water here, it won't be the same on a wave. All you have to remember is to feel the board move underneath you and react accordingly. It's like ... riding a horse. Only the board isn't alive." But the sea is. Saying that sounded stupid so he kept it to himself.
Veronica definitely would have blamed Logan for falling if he had interrupted her concentration. Whether it was his fault or not, she would have sworn that it was. Luckily for both their sanity, she made it up on her third try, and flashed him a smile that was part excitement, part surprise, and part satisfaction.
She tried to heed his advice, and didn't let the victory go to her head. All she needed to do was remind herself of how spectacularly stupid she must have looked falling off the board just a few minutes earlier. Yeah, that image popped any ego that might have been rising. She bent her knees slightly, and tried to concentrate on moving her body with the water. However, her thoughts were briefly interrupted when she heard the phrase It's like riding come out of his mouth. She glance over at him, preparing herself to hear something dirty, but he surprised her. A horse. She fought back her smile, and didn't say anything. He'd just tease her about her mind being in the gutter. No matter that it was his influence that had even put it there in the first place.
She stood on the board for another minute or two, beginning to feel more at ease. Finally she looked back over at him, his arms propped up on top of his board while he treaded the water lightly. "So you just going to push me in the direction of the waves?" She joked, still balancing on the board. "Cause who knows if I'll ever get back up here again."
He saw that little annoyed look shot his way, and almost chuckled, mostly because she knew him too well. Logan's wicked tongue had wanted to say something else entirely, but he was being a good boy. As long as he kept on his best behavior, she would put up with him and show up when he was arrested and her boyfriend wouldn't growl at her for seeing him. He knew what he was doing.
But being good was boring for too long, and a gleam of mischief shone in his dark eyes. Oh she was going to regret giving him ideas. "You'll get back up. This is just the start. We haven't even gotten to the wave part, where you'll be crashing constantly. So enjoy your victory now, little blonde one." She looked so cute standing up there, balancing on the board, petite and delighted that she succeeded. Logan gave a warning friendly smile, the kind a shark would give a flounder, and he reached out to touch the back of her board. With a sharp tug he knocked her balance off and sent her back into the water. What? She had to get down sooner or later, and he figured she'd just get more frustrated when she fell trying to sit. Plus it wasn't fun being out in the water if he couldn't tease her, and Logan was one hundred percent certain she'd get him back one way or another.
By the time she came back up though, he was already back on his board and paddling deeper into the water. Since she no doubt would follow him, they'd get to the waves in no time ... with him trying to escape and her trying to get him for her vengeance!
Veronica's stomach gave a lurch when he flashed her that smile. She knew that smile. That smile was as good as a neon warning light flashing DANGER above his head. But there was nothing she could do! Not only did she not have enough time to properly react, but she didn't have many escape venues that didn't involve inhaling a bunch of salt water. The board shifted under his touch, and she went toppling back into the water. Oh, she was going to get him for that! She quickly bobbed back up to the surface and grabbed her board to paddle after him.
"You are not getting away that easy!" She yelled as she and her board skimmed along the surface of the water.
Logan's laughter carried on the breeze behind him, but he was leading them both out farther away from the shore and where the wave broke higher. They could still bob along the surface safely, but it was getting less calm. Logan paddled out to what looked like a reasonable spot, just behind where the waves started to crash so they could ride one when she was ready, and he moved into the water, putting the board between him and her. Eventually she'd catch up and he was going to be in soooo much trouble.
His grin was wicked, setting his chin on top of the board and fluttering dark eyelashes at her. "Admit it, I did get you out here faster." Logan was sure she'd get him back sometime, and that didn't really worry him. He liked her vengeance.
Veronica could feel the droplets of water from the splashing water running across her skin as she finally caught up with him. He lay there on his board, innocently batting his eyelashes at her and she scowled, trying not to let it morph into the grin that was threatening. Once she had reached him and the two of them had stopped, she pushed herself back up into a sitting position, one leg straddling either side of the board. She wasn't going to launch her attack immediately. No. He was more comfortable out here in the water. And right now he was expecting it. He had the advantage. She knew the only hope she had of getting him back out here was with the element of surprise. So she would bide her time for now, patiently waiting for her moment of vengeance.
"That was the master plan, was it?" She asked, raising an eyebrow at him. "It had nothing to do with watching me flail around like a drowning rat?"
Oh nooo, he hated when she waited. Veronica got steadily more dangerous the more she was allowed to mull over something, and then she'd wait until two weeks later when he'd forgotten and get him back. Oh well. Logan regretted nothing! He would picture that look on her face before she went down for awhile. And probably tell a story about it later. He hopped up on his board in the same way, shooting her a suspicious look, but he gave up on figuring out her plan for now.
"It had everything to do with that, but the making you follow quickly part was a side bonus." Logan glanced back to the beach which was a distance but still within a reasonable sight range. "So from here is where we'll actually try to surf. You can tell they're behind us not and starting to crash right there." They bobbed higher in the water from a wave as it started its rise. "What you're going to do is point the board in the direction of the shore. We're going to move up a little until we see the whitewater, and lay on the board flat like we were in the still water. Then what you do is wait for the whitewater trail on the top of the wave to get a few feet away, and start paddling forward." He tapped his hands in a random rhythm on the front of the board, looking over at her to see if she was paying attention.
"You'll feel the shift under you when the board starts catching the wave. It'll take you whether you want it to or not. From there it's just remembering to do what I said before, feel the movement underneath, and stand when you're feeling stable. The board and wave move for you, all you have to do is stand. Keep your knees bent and use your hands to balance you out. Bending a bit lower to the board is smart, it'll make you feel centered." Logan had taught a few others how to surf, but it felt important to him to get this one right. "If you do crash don't panic, it can get really confusing because the wave spins you around. Give yourself a moment to figure out where you are. People have started swimming deeper because they thought that was the way to the surface. Obviously, not a great idea."
"Mmhmm." Veronica watched him. She could tell by his expression that he was waiting for her retaliation. He knew her too well to think that it wasn't coming. Veronica had always been of the eye for an eye mentality. They both were. Well, he would just have to suffer and wait. Then she'd extract her revenge.
She pushed thoughts of surfboard sabotage out of her mind as she listened to his instructions. She heard the words, and they made sense, but she had a feeling all his careful instructions were going to fly right out of her head. She was beginning to get the distinct impression that this was very much going to be a trial and error sort of learning experience. Heavy on the error. The wet, salty, error.
"Are you sure they weren't just trying to get away from you and your zen surfboard philosophies?" She teased him.
"Mock away, little shoe fly, but you're going to wish you had my zen surfboard philosophy when you're underwater." Logan would usually prefer to wait and have Veronica go first so he could dive in after her if anything went wrong, but if he didn't go first she wouldn't have the right demonstration. They couldn't surf at the same time because it potentially could cause an accident, so he was going over the options in his head.
"Here's what we're going to do. I'm going to go first so you can watch, then you're going to wait until you see me even out and I'll wave to you. I can't go with you because if we collide it's curtains for us both." Yes he said curtains like a noir detective when they were floating out on the Tijuana ocean. "If you go down and have trouble I can swim out fast enough. Just in case." A glimmer of concern showed in his eyes when he glanced her way. They'd never had a serious wipe out in their group, but now that it was Veronica potentially in danger, Logan took it more seriously.
"Shoe fly?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at him. "Who you callin' a shoe fly?" She sat up straighter on her board and watched him as he explained what they were about to do.
"Wave to me?" She said in a snarky tone. "I thought all you surfers did the Hang Ten, man!" She adopted her best surfer boy voice accompanied by the hand gesture in question. And afterward she stuck her tongue out too. Just for good measure.
She gave him a smirk when he used the phrase curtains. If anyone else had said it, they would have sounded like a complete tool, but on Logan, it just seemed cute. She shook her head.
"My hero." She said, ignoring the protective glint in his eye. "I think it's all an act to cop a feel and perform mouth to mouth."
"Shoe fly, don't bother me. A popular children's rhyme that always reminds me of you." It did too. It started because she was an annoyance after Lilly died that he had to torture, but once he fell in love with her it was a different kind of bothering she represented. It sounded like an insult, but in reality, it really wasn't. Not like he'd explain that to her.
"Don't compare me to a common surfer, Veronica, you know I always prefer the peace sign." He made it to her and laughed at her gesture, peeking up at the sun. They could probably get in a few rounds before they had to go in, and while she likely wouldn't stand for very long in the waves, Veronica was stubborn. She'd probably be a good surfer in a few days just from sheer force of will.
"Would I do that?" He gasped at her, brown eyes wide, pressing his hand to his heart as if shocked, shocked, she'd imply such a thing. "Alright, keep your eyes on me, Daniel-san."
Veronica rolled her eyes at him, and tried to ignore the feeling in her stomach as Logan prepared to head toward the waves. She did enjoy their banter, it was one of the things she loved liked best about him. When his wit matched up with hers, the two of them could never be bored. But she may have been milking it this time in order to put off the inevitable. She sighed and watched him carefully. "If you say Wax on, Wax off, I'm leaving!" She called to him as he paddled away from her.
Logan wanted to show off to Veronica, and usually that might make him nervous, but surfing came naturally to him now so he wasn't worried in the least. He planned on being a little more careless than usual or to wait for a challenging wave, but that wouldn't exactly help teach her anything. So he was going to sacrifice looking cool for helping her, not like she would care anyway!
He paddled out, the waves starting to rise him higher, and he followed the instructions he had given her. The whitewater was to the side and he caught it in his vision, floating with the board toward the shore and waiting patiently for the wave to carry him up. Once it did he balanced easily onto his front foot and stood, leaning low to the board with his hands outstretched to give him the edge, and he purposely rode it only half as long as he usually would so he could branch out and stop. Following it all the way down would take him too far from Veronica, and that would defeat the purpose. Another time he could do a flip and surprise her.
Once he curled out of the wave and back into the calmer waters, he stood on the board and waved at her, indicating it was her turn to give it a try. He'd paddle to a safe distance from her so if (when) she did wipe out he'd be close at hand.
Veronica watched Logan, unaware of his heroic sacrifice of looking cool just so he could show her how it was done properly. No, she was too focused on her nerves and going back over her past conversations with him, wondering how the hell she had ever let him convince her to do this. Things seemed a lot simpler back on the beach. Paddle out on a board, stand up, ride the wave. How difficult could it be? But out here...had the waves always been this big? She swallowed with a little bit of difficulty.
Pull yourself together, Veronica. She snapped at herself. You've done a lot scarier things than surfing. She forced her nervousness to the back of her mind, as she focused on what he was doing. Her critical eyes catching every movement he made. Did he have to make it look so easy? Her mouth pulled itself down into a frown. Here he was making it look effortless, and she knew that the second she tried, she was going to get tossed like a salad.
And there it was, he waved at her, signaling that it was her turn. Letting out a low growl to vent some of her nerves, Veronica lay down on the board and began paddling toward the wave before she could chicken out. In her mind's eye she visualized what she had just watched her ex-boyfriend do. She waited until the wave began to carry her, then focused on forcing herself to stand up.
Not a chance. She put her weight way too far forward and tumbled forward over the front of her board. She half half a second to brace herself before she crashed into the water. Remembering what Logan had told her, she took a few seconds to get her bearings underneath the water before she began swimming back toward the surface.
Oops, well, she did manage to at least stand before the water hit her, and that was better than he expected. Some people didn't even make it past kneeling for their first time. Logan was a fast and strong swimmer when he needed to be, and he made it over to where she crashed in record time. He went under and was glad to see her swimming in the right direction, smiling underwater and maybe it wasn't necessary for him to get involved. She looked just fine. But when could Logan ever not take a chance given him?
He reached over to grab her arm as she was swimming up to the surface, pulling them both up to break into much needed air, and he was much closer than he had to be. Her hair was a bit mussed and soaked now from being tossed into the wave, so Logan chanced brushing his hand against the strands, pulling them out of her face. "Not bad, Mars," he murmured to her, "how did it feel?"
Veronica had opened her eyes for a second to make sure she was swimming in the right direction, but had shut them again once she knew she was heading for the surface. Still, she wasn't surprised to feel Logan's hand on her arm, pulling her up the rest of the way. Not only did she pretty much expect him to be right there the second she crashed, but his hands were almost as familiar to her as her own. She was sure she could recognize them anywhere.
The two of them broke the surface, and Veronica sucked in a large breath of air. She blinked the water out of her eyes, and took note of how close the two of them were in the water. She smiled as he his fingers brushed her hair away from her face. They had a strict no touching policy these days, okay...mostly it was her who had the no touching policy...but still, she forgot how much she enjoyed the feeling of his touch. Which is exactly why she instated the policy in the first place.
"Fantastic." She said snidely, not moving his hand away from her face. "Very relaxing. I'm thinking of setting up a bi-weekly appointment to have myself hurled into ocean, I love it so much.
He enjoyed pushing boundaries, and he especially enjoyed causing himself pain. Because that's exactly what it felt like to be close to Veronica and be incapable of kissing her. She had a few moments of blinking the water out of her eyes and getting calm again, so Logan could look at her without feeling guilty. She had color in her cheeks and he knew if he tried to taste her skin it would come up salty. Damn Piz for showing up. If he hadn't, Logan would've been able to persuade her to give him another chance. He knew it. Now she was so determined to have a 'normal' relationship that she'd resist him just on principle alone.
Get it together, Echolls. The mental reminder was enough for him to let go of his darker thoughts and smile at her. This was supposed to be fun time with them, not dwell about their many, many problems time. "It's good for your skin, you know. That's why they sell sea salt stuff everywhere." He trailed his hand from her hair down her cheek, and then swam back to catch his board.
"Hold this." The board was put between them so he could stop being distracted by her body, and he swam off briefly to get her board. He'd seen it float off before going under to catch her, so he was able to bring it back without much fuss. "You did fine, you see how it's all about balance? Remember to keep lower and use your hands. You ready to go again?"
Veronica chewed on her bottom lip, tasting the salty tang the water left there. Logan wasn't the only one with his mind on kissing. They were only a few inches a part, and this was Logan. Anyone would have been having those thoughts. At least that's what she told herself to feel less guilty about her urge to kiss someone who was not her boyfriend.
She'd been about to unleash a catty remark about Logan's knowledge of sea salt's effects on the skin. But the words tumbled out of her mind as his hand trailed across her cheek. He turned to swim after his board and Veronica held her breath and sank under the water. Outwardly, it should have been an attempt to wash her hair back, out of her face. But it also served the duel purpose of giving her a second alone to try and clear her thoughts. To stop focusing on the feel of his hands on her, of being so close to him here out in the water, where no one was going to see them. Damnit, Veronica! She cursed herself. She mentally conjured up an image of Piz to keep herself in check. Sweet, adorable Piz who had never done anything but love her. She pushed her head back above the water in time for Logan to return with his board.
Her heart rate calming, she propped her elbows up on his board and tred water while he swam after hers. She studied the board so she wouldn't watch his back and arms as he swam toward her escaped surfboard. When he returned, she slipped off of his, and traded him for her own. She held onto it with one hand, considering his question. She didn't see how catapulting into the water was fine, but she trusted him. He wasn't one to sugarcoat things for her sake. She nodded. "Alright. Let's try it again."
Logan would've laughed off anything about the sea salt. He was always too confident in himself and his masculinity to be bothered by suggestions of girly interests. And yes that included being pampered from time to time. He was the child of actors obsessed with their looks and aging, he knew everything there was about skin care and plastic surgery. His mother used to take him out with her when he was a child and get him pedicures. He found it amusing rather than embarrassing, and sometimes it was a nice memory of his mother he didn't mind having.
He did a very stupid thing when he got back his board. He tried to imagine that if he put his hands on it, he could feel where her hands had been and it was almost the same as them touching. Now that he got space between them, he missed it. He missed her. And it wasn't like that with anyone else. He hadn't given a second thought to Parker since coming to Vegas. Yes, he had Lilly here, and he was thankful for that. Logan was glad she was alive, and the sex was great but he'd honestly be happy with or without it, just as long as Lilly Kane breathed air into her lungs. They had no illusions between them and he was straight forward with her about his love for Veronica. Of course she knew it; she'd seen it as a 'ghost' first hand. He was determined not to give up too easily, but the more time passed and she stayed with Piz, the more he was starting to accept he might have to just move on for real. It was hard to keep that in mind when he was alone with her in this setting.
"Alright, I'm going to go again, but this time do not do what I do. Otherwise you'll break your neck." He grinned at her and set off again, but this time when he caught the wave he sharply turned his board into the water instead of against it, and actually managed to do a 360 spin into the air, dropping back onto the wave like nothing had happened. It wasn't the best trick he was capable of, but it was a good one, and he knew it was showing off. So what? He had Veronica's full attention and he was going to be awesome. Just to show her.
This time he gave her the peace symbol like they joked about before, indicating it was her turn.
Veronica desperately clung to the image of Piz when Logan returned, but it was beginning to feel like a lost cause. The mere presence of Logan could make her almost forget everything else around her. And the more they became friends again, the more blurred the lines were getting. It was easier when she could hate him. But here they talked nearly every day, and she saw him all the time. He was giving her surfing lessons for god's sake. It made her chest ache to think about it too much.
Veronica propped her elbows up on her own board this time, shielding her eyes from the bright sunlight as she watched him. His warning was enough to tell her that he was about to do something stupid, all in the name of showing off. She gave him a look and waited to see if he was going to kill himself or not. Not that she actually believed he'd hurt himself. She knew Logan was an extremely competent surfer.
Her face broke into a large grin as she watched him pop up off the water, spinning his board into a 360. Her upper body leaned forward onto the board as she let out a laugh. And her laughter continued when he looked back at her, flashing a peace sign. She lifted her hand up in the "Rock on" gesture and let out a yell of approval before she pulled her body back up onto the board for her second try.
She was feeling better this time around. Less nervous now that she'd already crashed once. And determined to prove to Logan that she could do this. She paddled toward the wave less hesitantly than she had the time before, and focused on feeling the water moving underneath her. When it felt right, she started to pop up, bringing her front foot forward and keeping her legs steady while she stood. She moved her arms out for balance, and kept her body low. She actually rode the wave for about three seconds before tumbling off to the side and crashing back into the water again.
Ha. See Piz do something like that. Logan saw the look on her face and knew he managed to impress her, and his joy was real and sudden. He so rarely got such open approval from Veronica, and it was like giving water to someone crawling through the desert. It was a moment like that, when she was laughing and they were in a good space, that Logan told himself he would never give up on her. Never never never.
This time she did much better and he could see that she was determined to get it done. She might not be able to handle a proper dismount at this point so she was bound to be disappointed, but this wasn't their last day in Tijuana. They could go again. Veronica was picking up enough that in time she'd be comfortable enough to go with the flow, and she was showing less restraint than he expected. He was always impressed with her moxie.
Logan watched her crash again and was right there moments later like before, gripping her arm and pulling her to the surface. He laughed and smiled at her, shaking the water out of his hair like a dog and keeping his hand on her elbow for now. "That was better! I saw you keep low. This is just one of those things you need to practice at until it becomes secondhand. You'll be a champion yet, Mars." Brown eyes moved to try and track her board down, his hand dropping down to her waist and he tugged her with him to his board. That way she could use that to float with for now. His fingers certainly lingered on her side, not swimming off so fast this time, looking closely at her. "Are you even having fun? I know it's intense at first."
Veronica let him help her back up to the surface yet again. She was actually glad of him that time. Falling off the board sideways had thrown her off, and she actually had gotten a little disoriented under the water. She was sure she would have been fine, eventually, but it was nice to know he was there.
When they reached the surface again, Veronica allowed herself to enjoy his words of praise. Hey, it was the fourth time she had just crashed into the ocean. Her ego could use a little bit of a boost. "A champion, you say?" She said. "Tell me more. Will there be trophies? And pretty pretty ribbons?"
She felt his hand drop down to her waist. It seemed such a natural movement, that at first she didn't even realize that it shouldn't be there. His hand had rested on her hip so many times throughout the course of their relationship, and here...now...they were behaving and having a good time. It felt so normal. She allowed him to nudge her toward his board and she propped her elbows up on it again, folding her arms and resting her chin on them. They were still close.
"Yes." She smiled. "I am. I mean, the ego has taken some serious blows, and I'm pretty sure I'm not going to be able to move at all tomorrow without the aid of motorized wheelchair, but it's good." She paused to readjust herself on the board, they were even closer now. "It'll be worth it when I can actually stay up." She said. "And besides, there's other fun." She shifted her arms again. Now she was only holding onto the board with one hand while the two of them faced each other in the water. "Getting to hang out with you. Watching your ridiculous attempts to show off, and, well, of course there's this."
Moving quickly, Veronica took her other hand off his board and threw her hands up on his shoulders, pushing him down with as much strength as she could muster, dunking his head under water.
"No ribbons, but I'll chip in for a tiara. Then you'll look like the pretty pretty princess you've always aspired to be." Logan liked it when Veronica dressed up. He enjoyed her personal style, of course, but the few times he saw her in a dress or even a nice skirt, it never failed to keep his attention. Somehow even in a poofy dress with a Disney tiara on, she'd probably still be adorable.
Veronica wasn't trying to swim away immediately, and Logan was grateful. A few more moments feeling close would be nice. Sometimes he had dreams about the few times it was easy for them. When things were still new and happy, or when they first went to Hearst and were that high school couple that was certain they'd make it through college. After all they'd made it through before that, what could possibly shake them? Apparently a lot more than he'd ever bargained for.
"You probably will feel bruised, yeah, but we'll get you a wheelchair or something, granny." Logan didn't remember how much it stung to crash off, but he still had his spills sometimes. Usually they were even worse than what Veronica went through, because he was trying a stupid stunt at the time. He'd pulled or sprained more muscles than he'd ever admit, because it was cool to act like this all just came easily to him. "Getting to hang with me? I'm touched." He was also suspicious. She was never that sweet for no reason. He narrowed his eyes at her, about to ask what exactly she wanted, when she pushed him under.
Logan came up a moment later and spit water at her like when it came out of a fountain, hair plastered to his face and chuckling. "Oh, you're going to regret that." He reached out to snag her.
"Motorized wheelchair." She corrected. "These babies aren't going to be rollin' no wheelchair around tomorrow." She said, indicating her arms. He was right. They weren't even through with their first lesson, and she could already see a bruise beginning to form on her arm. She'd make sure to stock up on pain killers before heading to bed that night. And hey, they were in Tijuana. Maybe she could coax Logan into going out and getting her some of the good stuff with a few well timed painful whimpers and some batting of the eyelashes. She grinned to herself. Like she would ever let him see her in pain. Her head could be on fire, and she'd still be insisting she was fine.
She noted his narrowed eyes and knew her window of opportunity was small. So, she grinned with triumph when his head sank underneath the water with a splash. When he came back up, squirting water at her, she held up her hand to divert the spray while turning her head. Which was the wrong move, as it left her completely vulnerable to him being able to grab her. She let out a shriek and struggled to get away from him. "You started it!" She yelled.
"Like I'd get you the cheap outdated kind, please. I'd find you a flying wheelchair." Logan always went for the biggest and most expensive option, even if they were joking around. He would go and get her painkillers, if she'd ever let him see her in pain, but she had Piz to do that for her. The times Veronica let him see her weak were few and far in between. Logan always prided himself on being hard to crack, but she'd seen him vulnerable far more times than the other way around. He was weak when it came to women. They were more dangerous to him than any thugs, drugs, cops, or drinks..
"You're a toddler, I swear. Soon you'll be smudging dirt in my hair and demanding my blocks." Which meant, of course, that she liked him. Logan didn't add that portion of this analogy. He grabbed her by the arm and had every intention of dunking her under, but he hesitated instead. They were all alone out on the water, other than the odd swimmer or fellow surfer that kept their distance. His hand released her arm and moved around to touch the small of her back, swimming a little closer. Brown eyes were intense as they searched her face, looking for something he couldn't quite put his finger on, and he leaned in until their noses touched. "I'm sorry for knocking you off your board into the water," Logan murmured to her.
"Flying wheelchair, huh?" She said. "Well, you do know how much we witches love to fly." Despite the bruises to both her body and her ego, Veronica was glad that she had agreed to come out here with him. Maybe this was the proof she needed that they could be normal together. That it didn't have to be all fighting and mind games. Well, she was glad for now she'd make a more concrete decision in the morning when she was stuck immobilized in her bed.
"I told you," She said. "I stick with the classics!" She didn't feel the need to mention that she had briefly considered attempting to steal is swimming trunks by way of retaliation instead. But had immediately thought better of it. Out here in the ocean where no one could see them? Add in a lack of even the minimal clothing they had now, and bad things might start to happen.
When he grabbed ahold of her arm, she tensed her muscles and closed her eyes in preparation of being dunked under the water. So she was a little surprised when she felt his touch shift to her back. She opened her eyes and turned to look at him. He watched her with an intense gaze that made her heart pound more than she'd like it to. He brought his face to hers, and their noses touched.
She should have pushed him away. Should have told him he was going too far, crossing too many lines. But she couldn't. God damnit, her whole body ached to have him closer to her, and she just couldn't bring herself to put space back between them.
"No you're not." She said, giving him a small, but adorable, smile. "You loved it."
"Damn, why didn't I think of that? Whenever I want to insult you, I can just wait and you'll do it all on your lonesome." Their witty banter was usually just foreplay for them. Even before they got together their verbal back and forth was intense and funny and it was like no one else existed in those moments but one another. Then when they dated the snark was affectionate, and he'd be taunting her one minute and kissing the next. Except now they were in some strange middle ground where they could tease but not kiss, and it was hard to ignore what felt so natural.
She wanted him. Logan knew she did. He studied Veronica Mars extensively and he knew the telltale signs, and she wasn't swimming away from him either. She was willingly in his personal space and Logan felt a surge of triumph knowing that she couldn't resist him. If he wanted to, he could kiss her. And he wanted to. What he really wanted to do was take her back to shore, strip off their wet clothes, and shut out the world for a few days. Or weeks. Or, you know, whenever they were forced to come up for air.
"I do love it." He wasn't talking about the prank. It was because he loved Veronica Mars that he didn't kiss her. She would give in and they'd have a few minutes of heaven, but she'd feel guilty and probably get more determined than ever to prove she didn't want him. Logan wanted her to choose him of her own free will. Damnit all to hell and son of a bitch. This is why he never liked being the good guy. It sucked.
Abruptly he pulled away from her and disappeared into the water, partially to get that smile out of his mind and also to find her wayward board. He dragged it back with him a moment or so later, looking up at the sky and acting like nothing had just happened. Because it hadn't. Nope. "It's a bit late, so we can pick it up tomorrow or something. But I'm impressed you stuck it out this long, Mars. You ready to head in?"
Veronica was there. She absolutely would have let Logan kiss her in that moment, and she would have enjoyed it too. No thoughts about Piz or Lilly. Nothing but the two of them. She'd been resisting for so long, she wanted nothing more than to give into him.
She was smacked back into reality when Logan pulled away from her and dove under the water. With him no longer clouding her senses, the full weight of reality pummeled back into her. She felt like she'd been punched in the stomach. What was she doing? What had she been about to do? Guilt and frustration washed over her. Not at Logan, but at herself. As she watched him returning with her board, she was actually extremely grateful to him. He'd been the strong one when she couldn't.
His feelings weren't exactly a secret, and neither were hers in that moment. Veronica knew that Logan would have liked nothing more than to kiss her. But he hadn't, and she knew why. He'd done it for her. To protect her from herself. To stop her from doing something she shouldn't. It was these moments especially that Veronica couldn't deny how much she still loved him.
She played along with his ruse. Grateful that for the moment they could just pretend that there hadn't been anything between them. "Easy for you to say." She said, the playful lilt back in her voice. "You're not going to be the one hobbling around with a half-broken body tomorrow." She would have liked nothing more than to continue their lesson another day, but it was clear she couldn't exactly be trusted. "Stick a fork in me. I'm done." She said, taking her board from him and pulling herself up onto it. She had that part down at least. She propped herself up, her forearms resting comfortably against the surface of the board, and looked over at him.
"Thank you." She said, clearly meaning for more than just the surfing lesson.
"Race you back?"