A Summer of Sunsets
Chapter #9, Choices and Decisions, pt.4
Southampton, The Xavier Estate
July 2nd, 2004
The “non” party was in full swing, after Bobby had brought out a portable stereo to blast some fast-paced tunes at them. Some of the guests were enjoying the music and/or dancing on the patio, while others were down below on the beach, trying to figure out the fireworks Jubilee had gotten from the Emporium. The spunky teen was warned by more than one adult not to take matters into her own hands”literally. With her explosive mutation, Jubes was sure to have some sort of delusions of grandeur about being a pyrotechnic expert; with her track record for disasters, however, the older guests were more concerned that she could manage to find some way to burn the house down.
At the moment, Piotr and Scott were down there monitoring the preparation for the display, keeping a close eye on their resident ‘firecracker’. Above them, Bobby had his hands full with Marie and Beth, who were more than willing to burn up the impromptu dance floor with him. As Brian and Hank watched from the sidelines, the young man grinned with boyish glee as the two attractive sisters danced around him to the music.
I'm the kind of brotha
Who been doin' it my way
Gettin' my way for years
In my career
And every lover
In a normal life
I've hit, loved and left in tears
Without a care
Until I met this girl who turned the tables around
She caught me by surprise
I never thought I'd be the one breaking down
I can’t figure it out why…
As the trio laughed loudly, dragging Hank and Brian into their dance party, Scott looked up just in time to see Ororo come out of the door. His breath caught in his chest as he stood up from the kneeling position he’d been in previously. Shamelessly he watched her descend the ramp, looking around herself at the gathered party before her.
I'm so
Caught up
Got me feelin' it
Caught up
I don't know what it is
But it seems she’s got me twisted
I'm so
Caught up
Got me feelin' it
Caught up
I'm losin' control
This girl’s got a hold on me
Scott’s footsteps led him to the base of the patio’s stairway, as he came for a closer look”despite the objections of Jubilee and a couple of the other kids waiting for him to finish the fireworks set up. His attention, however, was decidedly elsewhere.
Her London jeans were a darker blue than her eyes, and hugged every delicious curve as they rode her shapely hips down to flare out just below the calf. A pale yellow, silk charmeuse cami hugged her full breasts, but flickered open just above the navel, flashing a smooth, tight abdomen at the wind’s whim. There was a small ponytail of curled hair at her crown, while the rest of her silken tresses fell in waves around her shoulders and down her back.
He watched speechlessly as a brief wind caressed her bare shoulders, lifting her hair up to dance a moment before she brushed most of it behind her shoulders. As she came up to Marie and Brian, who were closest to her, she graced them with one of her natural, dazzling smiles, laughing at something her sister had said.
“Yo, Mr. Summers..! Earth to The Captain…” Jubilee peeked around his shoulder to see exactly had gotten his attention, and an evil grin broke out over her teenaged face, even as Scott apparently still didn’t hear her, and started walking away toward the patio.
Emmett rushed forward to stop him, but Jubes yanked the guy by his arm, whispering sharply, “Hey, hold on; we ain’t missin’ the real fireworks just yet.”
Above, Ro thanked her sisters for the compliments on he wardrobe, and dolled out several in response. The three stood a few feet away from the men as Hank thankfully escaped the dance floor once more, and Brian moved away only momentarily to retrieve some drinks. Bobby was the only male left in close proximity to their conversation, and he stood there listening with no shame, and also strategically blocking their view of Scott as he came up the winding steps.
Consequently, Ro didn’t notice his presence until he was practically on top of her. “Hey there Ro…”
She turned, smiling up at him in a polite but platonic way; the wind chose just that moment, however, to rise up slightly, lifting her hair as well as the bottom tails of her shirt. Unbothered, she captured a long strand behind her ear as she gazed up at him. “Hey Scott. Having a good time?”
He tried to ignore the somewhat ordinary tone she took with him, and turned on the charm, gesturing to their party surroundings. “Pretty good turnout, hm? Looks like we got everything just right.”
“Looks that way.”
“You and I are a great team. I want to thank you for helping to wrangle the kids earlier today at the store.” He leaned against the rail behind her, never taking his eyes off of her.
Behind them, Marie was sipping a plastic cup of something sweet when she overheard his last comment, and nearly spit it on his back as she choked. Beth slapped her gently between the shoulder blades as Marie sputtered, “(cough) And Ah guess the rest a’us were just window shoppin’.”
Beth poked her sister’s arm, stifling a chuckle. Nearby, Scott pretended like he hadn’t heard that, continuing to give Ororo an appreciative once (or twice) over. “Hey, by the way, you look”“
“AAAAIIIEEEEE!!”
The gathered adults on the patio reacted, all heads turning to the beach just a few yards away, as a group of the younger students who’d been standing in a close circle moments before suddenly dispersed like cockroaches in a Raid commercial. Only a split second later, a fury of lights, sparks and color erupted from the spot they’d been standing, as the unmistakable sound of small fireworks reverberated in the air.
As the youngsters dove for cover, a couple errant lights sailed over the patio, sending the older partygoers ducking beneath the refreshment tables. After the noises stopped, Scott stood up immediately. “Is everyone alright?”
A chorus in the affirmative greeted him, and it was all he needed to turn his attention to searching the surprised guests for the culprit. “Jubilee!!”
Guilt written all over her face, the spunky teen lifted her head from the sand where she, Kitty & Monet had huddled together. After a second where it was clear she wasn’t getting away with anything, she slowly rose, taking a step toward the patio before stopping dead in her tracks, her eyes widening.
“What in the world”“ Scott’s face was flustered as he came to stand at the rail, damn-near hanging over it as he began to lay into her.
“Uh, M-Mr. Summers…”
“”were you thinking?! You could’ve really”“
“Mr. Summers”“ Jubilee tentatively pointed past him, but Scott wasn’t done ripping her a new one, so he was hardly in a mood to pay attention.
“Scott!” Ororo grabbed him by the arm, forcing him to turn around and see the patio umbrella behind them, which had just recently caught ablaze from a runaway spark. In a sudden panic, Bobby threw out his hands and a blanket of ice shot out toward the parasol”just as Ororo had called up a gust of wind, which picked up the charred patio accessory and sent it flying over the other side of the rail into beach sand beyond…Complete with the table it had been attached to.
A dead silence followed, as the gathered members rushed to the opposite side of the patio to watch the charred remains of the deck ornament.
“I thought I heard some fireworks,” Charles’ voice surprised them from the ramp door of the back of the house. As his family turned wide eyes to him, he ignored the psychic chaos hammering him and asked coolly, “Did I miss anything?”
His casual demeanor was met with a cacophony of laughter as he joined them. Behind the group, Jubes cringed despite the levity, wishing (not for the first time) to switch powers with her good friend Kitty.
Several hours after, at a sort of hole-in-the-wall place just before you hit the ferry to the mainland was a quaint little bar that sometimes fancied itself a nightspot, depending on the clientele. It wasn’t too rundown”this was Long Island, after all”but neither was it one of the upscale hotspots usually associated with the bold & beautiful heirs and heiresses of the Island’s elite. More to the point, it’s where the rich came to slum it, and the not-so-rich came to avoid the rich, if that made any sense. Needless to say, the folks that frequented this place were an eclectic bunch, who most times respected each other’s reasons for being there, if they didn’t necessarily agree with them.
That sense of neutrality was due largely to the place’s proprietor, Malcolm Hunter. “Mac”, as he preferred to be called, took no nonsense from trouble makers; he didn’t have to hire bouncers, though, because his 6’ 6” frame of hard muscles and piercing blue eyes got the job done on more than one occasion. Of course, the imposing double-barreled shotgun hanging from the back of the bar also helped.
Standing behind the counter at that moment, he was wiping some shot glasses dry as he kept an eye on a small group of celebrators in the corner, who’d obviously not wanted the holiday to end. Not far away on the impromptu stage, a local band that frequented the bar was taking requests, keeping the mood in constant party status.
Turning to the quiet body before him at the bar, Mac snorted, “Sorry bout all the noise t’night, man. You know how it gets ‘round here on holidays.”
Throwing one back, Logan only shrugged. He and Mac had been through this sort of thing a lot in the past year, since Logan had become a regular at Lolita’s. (Named after his beloved mother, Mac had toyed with changing the name for a short time, after he started getting prank calls and stupid requests for interviews following a certain highly publicized incident twelve years prior…)
At any rate, Logan barely gave the partiers around him a second glance, as he kept to himself and continued to put down shots of whiskey. It burned only for a second as it went down, and though he’d started on his second bottle, and intuitive Mac knew a long time ago that Logan was a mutant”one of some special ability to take large amounts of liquor, so he wasn’t that concerned with stopping his patron’s somewhat vain attempt to get whatever was bothering him off of his mind.
Moving away to tend to another couple who’d just come up to the bar, Mac left Logan alone with his thoughts. He’d initially thought it was a good idea to get away from the house for a little while, come to Lola’s (his nickname for the joint) and toss a few away w/ the owner, who often managed to distract him with some inane conversation, but after he’d gotten there his mood didn’t seem to improve the least bit, despite Mac’s best efforts.
Sighing heavily, Logan poured another shot of whiskey and threw his head back sharply as he took it down. When he opened his eyes again and looked into the reflective mirror behind the bar, his drink nearly caught in his throat, causing him to choke a little as he watched the group at the door just coming in.
His still-sharp grey eyes fixed on the tall, white-haired beauty immediately, as she was crowded by her friends, all laughing at some private joke as the four guys accompanying the three women took their jackets. He couldn’t help but laugh to himself sardonically; even if he’d believed it a coincidence before, he was sure as hell not gonna be that naïve now.
Just as he’d seen at the grocery store, the taller brown-haired man beside her was ever vigilant, his hand at the small of her back the whole way to their booth. Logan’s eyebrow raised at his red-tinted glasses, but otherwise didn’t pay too much attention to them; he could tell they were all mutants, especially the young blue-skinned man with the tail who didn’t seem the least bit aware of some of the looks he was getting. ‘Hrmph. Why ain’t I surprised?’
Across the bar, Ororo & company settled into their seats, chatting the whole time as the server came up to get their order. The young woman gave Kurt a wink as she asked him what he wanted, causing the young man to blush beneath his dark navy skin. Bobby elbowed him beneath the table as the girl left, giving him the ‘go-ahead’ look.
“Ah can’t b’lieve ya’ll talked me inta this place,” Marie crossed her arms at the somewhat quaint surroundings of the dive, used to much more upscale surroundings in a nightspot, like Club Space or Brazil.
Chuckling, Ororo gave Scott a private look, knowing that his suggestion of this particular spot was meant as a joke between them. Squeezing Marie’s shoulder, she replied, “Give the place a chance, Marie; I think you’ll like it by the time we leave.”
To that, her sister only huffed, giving Scott a completely murderous glare for a moment; she knew exactly what the significance of this place was, and didn’t appreciate her sister’s cool acceptance of Scott’s attempt to drag them all down memory lane in some lame attempt to get in Ororo’s good graces. “Ah sincerely doubt it, Sug.”
As their drinks came, the band was gearing up to take another request from a patron; the speakers hummed for a second as they began the intro to a popular new dance song they were famous for covering. Recognizing the beat, some of the young mutants moved to the rhythm in their seats as they continued to talk. They were having too much fun to notice they were being investigated.
Across the room, Logan watched them a little longer, unsure himself why he couldn’t seem to keep his peepers off of the woman he’d been mysteriously running into so often lately. Watching their reflection in the mirror, he found his brows furrowing at the obvious interest her male companion showed. He couldn’t put his finger on what it was about the guy that left a bad taste in his mouth (and no, he wasn’t confusing it with the whiskey). Shaking his head a little at his own odd behavior, he returned his attention to the depths of his mind and the emptiness of his glass, lowering his gaze from the group’s excited movements.
Several minutes later, Scott excused himself, getting lost in the sea of bodies on the dance floor. He’d been cryptic and vague about his destination, but Ororo hadn’t been too concerned. As she giggled from the Cosmo in her hands at something silly Bobby had said, she heard the song ending from the stage, and the bar was temporarily quieted.
Marie took that opportunity to swat Bobby’s arm, jerking her head toward Kurt. “Hey Mister, when’re you gonna stop tryin’ ta get yer buddies hooked up and get yer own girl?”
With a purely devilish grin, the guy leaned in over the table to fix Marie with an appreciative once over, murmuring, “When’re you gonna get off “Gumbo” and start looking for a real man?”
As Marie sat back, temporarily speechless, the table erupted in hoots and chuckles. Ororo patted her sister’s leg, yet still laughing, as she watched Marie’s cheeks turn bright red at Robert’s suggestive stare.
“Hey, We got a request for somethin’ just a bit older, so youse guys grab a girl and have a little fun t’somethin a bit different!” The lead singer gave a thumb’s up to Scott as he turned away.
Suddenly, Ororo put down her drink as she heard a familiar tune start by the band. Her eyes brightened tremendously as she instantly recalled the number, and looked around. It only took her a couple seconds to spy Scott coming her way, gesturing to her already. “No he didn’t.”
The others looked up, mostly unaware of the significance, as Scott reached their table, and offered his hand out Ororo to stand. “May I have this dance?”
As they stepped onto the dance floor, they could feel the quick, deep drumbeats in their chests, initially sounding like a big-band era track. It had a catchy rhythm, and the lead vocalist of the no-name band did a wonderful job mimicking the faux-60s sound of the original performer.
Scott spun Ororo out to his arm’s length, then pulled her back in as the song got underway. “Remember this one?”
She grinned at him as memories of being sixteen flooded her mind; this song had been a favorite of theirs at that age, and she remembered dancing to it in a light, flowing skirt when it'd been played at Scott’s prom.
Sing your life
Any fool can think of words that rhyme
Many others do
Why don't you?
Do you want to?
Oh...
Sing your life
Walk right up to the microphone
And name
All the things you love
All the things that you loathe
Oh, sing your life
The things that you love
And the things you loathe
Oh, sing your life
Oh, sing your life
She had to admit that Scott Summers had not lost his impeccable dance steps; one of the things about him few knew outside the close-knit group they were with right then. Their imitation of a sock-hopping couple got a few appreciative looks, and soon others joined in on the dance floor.
La, la-la, la-la, sing your life
La, la-la, la-la, sing your life
Others sang your life
But now is a chance to shine
And have the pleasure of
Saying what you mean
Have the pleasure of
Meaning what you sing
Oh, make no mistake my friend
All of this will end
So sing it now (sing your life)
All the things you love (sing your life)
All the things you loathe
Oh, sing your life
The things that you love
And the things you loathe (sing your life)
Oh, sing oh...
Oh, sing oh...
If the simple little bar had had a spot light it surely would’ve been cast upon the two, who by now had gotten most of the patrons involved in dancing to the infectious tune or gathered on the sidelines to watch them.
Even Bobby managed to drag a less-than-willing Marie onto the floor, squeezing her leather-gloved hands as he held her close in an adaptation of The Charleston. Rogue was surprised more from his gentleness than his sure feet on the floor. The sometimes-pompous always skirt-chasing Pre-Med student was going to show the haughty belle a thing or two about men.
“Well, ya don’t see that everyday, do ya?” Mac chuckled, stopping from wiping down the bar, going around Logan who seemed a million miles away. As the colonel looked up, puzzled, Mac gestured to the dancers behind him.
“Those kids look too damn young t’know that kind’a dancing, man. That shit’s old as I am, practically.” He chuckled, admiring their ode to happy days.
Logan looked up in the mirror, unable to see through the crowd initially. All of a sudden, he got a glimpse of bright white, then someone moved into his way. A couple seconds later it reappeared, and he recognized it as long, thick locks of the woman’s hair, as her partner twirled her around.
Turning in his chair, Logan’s gaze seemed to part the onlookers, who just happened to move from obstructing his view. Her shapely body moved easily to the music, and Logan soon found himself really looking at her, and liking what he saw.
La, la-la, la-la, sing your life
La, la-la, la-la, sing your life
Don't leave it all unsaid
Somewhere in the wasteland of your head, oh
Head, oh, head, oh, head, oh
And make no mistake, my friend
Your pointless life will end
But before you go
Can you look at the truth?
You have a lovely singing voice
A lovely singing voice
And all of those
Who sing on key
They stole the notion
From you and me
So, sing your life (sing your life)
Sing your life (sing your life)
Oh, sing your oh...
Oh, sing your
Sing your life
Sing your life
Sing your life
As the song faded and the crowd cheered and applauded the dancers and band alike, Logan saw the slim man by her side graciously bow to her, and she dipped her head at him, her face beaming with a wide, beautiful smile as she laughed in exhaustion. Waving a little sheepishly at their audience, she turned then and by purest chance had a direct line of sight straight to the bar, where she caught Logan’s eye.
When she looked at him, Logan was mildly surprised; not because of the distance, but because of the beat his pulse skipped. Her eyes widened as well, her smile still there, but different now. Wordlessly, he lifted his shot glass, toasting her performance also, and nodded just once. She bowed her head in return, but was then distracted as Scott stood close behind her, his hand at her back once more.
Logan turned back to his drink, but not fast enough that he didn’t miss the man’s re-appearance. He wasn’t looking for any trouble that night, despite his rotten mood (a fight usually got the demons off his back a little while), so he decided he wasn’t going to find out what that smile meant.
Unaware, Scott got Ororo to turn around, beaming down at her. “You haven’t lost a step, Ro.”
“Neither have you,” She smiled up at him, but her mind was elsewhere. “Scott, do me a favor? Order another Cosmo for me; I’ll be right back.”
His expression was clearly puzzled, but he nodded, squeezing her hand before disappearing back toward their table. Once she was sure he was gone, Ororo turned back around to the bar, but the seat was now empty. Her eyes darted toward the door on instinct, and saw the man’s back as he headed to the exit.
Rushing forward through the people, she had to stretch her long legs in order to catch up to him. She didn’t want to call out ‘hey you!’, and risk being heard by her friends. Just as his hand reached out to grab the door, she called, “Leaving so soon?”
Logan had felt a presence behind him, but didn’t want to startle her too much by whirling around at her. He stopped in his tracks, and just barely turned his head enough to be able to see her out of the corner of his eye. With a crooked grin he responded, “What, savin’ the last dance fer me?”
Ororo completed the distance between them, and stood there in front of this man suddenly feeling very self-conscious. Maybe it was the fact that she really didn’t do things like this to strangers, or maybe it was the Cosmos…Or maybe it was the way he was looking at her now…
“I think my sock-hop days are over,” she amended, then raised her eyes to his once more; a chill running down her spine at his close gaze. “It’s just…well when I saw you there, I thought since we keep running into each other, I might as well introduce myself. My father did teach me to have better manners.”
His face actually changed when she said the word ‘father’, but Ororo mistook its meaning that maybe he had no intention of actually dispensing pleasantries. Unsure of herself, she almost took a step back then, but his hand moved to wipe the back leg of his jeans and then came forward, extended toward her.
She took it, and felt the little charge, but spoke over it. “Hi. I’m Ororo.”
“Logan.” He held back the smile from feeling the mild current go up his arm, raising the hairs there. He didn’t need to know what that meant; and besides, Logan could fairly sense the curiosity rolling off of her. He held her deep blue gaze for a moment; she couldn’t know that he was trying hard to figure her out, and why she’d decided to come up to him.
“Well, um, I don’t want to keep you…” She broke their handshake, looking a little uneasy then, “…but it was nice, finally, to meet you. I mean, meet you meet you.” ‘Agh, untie that tongue, girl!’
He just barely grinned at her lack of articulateness. “Yeah, same here.”
As Logan turned for the door, he felt himself turning back around and in a voice he didn’t recognize said, “Maybe I’ll see you around.”
It was the opening she’d been looking for, and Ororo held up a hand to stay him a moment longer. “Actually, if you don’t mind, I’d like to see you again”“
He looked back at her sharply.
“”uhm, I mean, I may be in a position to help you. And not just cleaning, this time.” She sort of chuckled to herself.
Logan had absolutely no idea what she could mean by that, but he was definitely intrigued. He couldn’t help but be curious about this woman; he though he was figuring her out, but she kept changing the game on him every time they ran into each other. Her motives were just as mysterious as his own in this respect, but since he didn’t sense any danger coming from her, he thought maybe he could indulge the itch (of curiosity) he was feeling right then. Raising a brow, he asked, “Do I look like I need help?”
She wasn’t sure at all if he was joking or not, and her confused expression told him so. “Maybe I didn’t say that correctly…”
He crossed his arms, waiting. Inwardly he was laughing his ass off, watching her fidget like that. Logan wasn’t really the type to give you a lifeline in these sorts of situations, and besides, he thought she looked even cuter all flustered and at a loss for words.
“Goddess, I feel like I’m making a fool of myself.” She muttered, glancing at him.
Logan’s eyes softened a bit at that admission, and he cocked his head at her. He could tell she seemed confused about something”something that had to do with him, but he wasn’t about to get into it right then and there. Stepping a foot closer to her, he said lowly, “Nothin’ foolish in honesty, darlin’…I’ll see ya ‘round.”
His gaze sort of caressed her before he stuck a cigar between his lips, turned and disappeared through the door. Ororo was a little shocked in his wake, realizing that his last words had been more of a certainty than a wish.
She stood there staring at the now closed door for several seconds, willing her heart to stop racing, but enjoying every second of it. Ororo couldn’t understand her complete attraction to this man; the physical part was rather obvious”he was fine as hell, in a rugged, ‘Marlboro’ sort of way”but there was something underlying there she couldn’t quite place. Since their first encounter she kept getting the feeling he was expecting her to say something specific to him, but she had no idea what that was. So she had the feeling that they just kept dancing around each other.
She chewed her bottom lip in thought, as she remembered the way he’d looked at her when she mentioned her father. There was sadness there”and something else she couldn’t place. Narrowing her eyes, Ororo decided right then and there, she needed to find out why this Logan affected her so; she was sure that Little Voice inside her head would get no ultimate rest ‘till she did.
Walking back toward his beachside property, Logan pulled a long drag from the cigar, deep in thought. He couldn’t believe he’d actually had yet another run in with the girl. He was shaking his head, but found himself smiling at her energy, her curious nature…and the pretty package they were wrapped up in.
Chiding himself for that thought, he had to admit”if only to himself as he walked away in the dark”that she was probably the first woman he’d thought of in that way, since he & Jean had split up. ‘Well rest assured, Bub; ‘soon as she finds out the truth, that’ll prob’ly change.’
TBC…
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