Chapter 16 Quarter Moon #2
They drank and then Logan did something he'd been thinking about for six weeks.
He set down his beer and pulled her into a hug.
Not aggressive or presumptuous, just a simple embrace that felt natural and right.
Mara relaxed into it, her arms going around his waist, her head fitting perfectly under his chin.
She smelled like something floral and clean and underneath that something that was just her.
When they pulled apart, Logan kept one hand on her waist because letting go felt impossible. "I've been wanting to do that for six weeks."
"Yeah?"
"Yeah." He leaned in and kissed her. Brief. Testing. Just a brush of lips that sent electricity down his spine and made him wonder why he'd waited so long. When he pulled back, his eyes searched hers. "That okay?"
"That was perfect," Mara said, and her smile told him she meant it.
They took their beers to a corner booth and for the next two hours Logan forgot about everything except the woman sitting across from him.
The conversation flowed exactly like it did over text.
Easy. Natural. Full of laughter and the kind of comfortable back-and-forth that usually took months to develop but with them had happened in six weeks of messages that had become the best part of his day.
Mara told him about the drive in, about how her team had been waiting in the common room when she left and how they'd all known where she was going despite her best efforts to keep it quiet.
Logan told her about Bulldog picking out his shirt and Risk threatening to break his other arm if he did anything to set back his recovery.
They talked about New Orleans and Montana and all the places in between.
About music and food and the way the city felt different than anywhere else Logan had been.
"I've never had real beignets before today," he admitted. "Or listened to live jazz on Frenchmen Street. Or eaten a po'boy. I'm culturally deprived."
"We'll have to fix that," Mara said. She reached across the table and took his hand, her fingers threading through his like it was the most natural thing in the world. "I mean, if you want. You're here for the week, right?"
"I cleared the whole week," Logan confirmed. His thumb traced circles on her wrist and he watched her eyes track the movement. "Told my CO I needed personal time. He didn't ask questions." He paused. "I was hoping you might have time to show me around. If you're not busy."
"I can make time." Mara's smile widened. "I've got some flexibility. Can take a few days. Besides, someone needs to make sure you actually experience New Orleans properly."
"Lucky me."
They stayed at the bar until closing, talking and laughing and existing in a bubble that was just theirs.
When the bartender finally called last call, Logan paid the tab over Mara's protests and they walked out into the warm New Orleans night.
The Quarter was alive around them even at midnight.
Music spilling from doorways. People laughing on balconies.
The smell of the river and jasmine and something frying that made Mara's stomach growl even though they'd had bar food an hour ago.
Logan heard it and laughed. "Hungry?"
"Always. There's a place on Decatur that makes the best late-night po'boys. Want to check it out?"
"Lead the way."
They walked through the Quarter hand in hand and Logan felt something settle in his chest that had been restless since Mosul.
This was right. Whatever this was, wherever it was going, it felt more right than anything had in longer than he could remember.
Mara knew the streets like she'd grown up here, taking shortcuts through alleys and pointing out buildings with stories he'd never hear anywhere else.
They got po'boys from a place that was barely more than a window in a wall. Logan got shrimp. Mara got oyster. They ate them sitting on a bench in Jackson Square and argued about which was better while Logan got hot sauce on his shirt and didn't even care.
"This is the best food I've ever had," he said around a mouthful of shrimp and bread.
"It's a po'boy."
"It's transcendent. This is what I've been missing my whole life."
Mara laughed and stole another bite of his sandwich. "You're easy to please."
"I'm with you. That's all I need." The words came out before Logan could think better of them but he didn't take them back. Just watched Mara's expression shift from amused to something softer. Something that made his heart rate kick up in a way that had nothing to do with nerves.
When they finished eating, Logan stood and pulled her up with him. "Walk with me?"
They wandered through the Quarter with no destination in mind.
Just walking and talking and enjoying being together.
Logan told her about the jazz club he'd found last night and Mara promised to take him to better ones.
She pointed out her favorite restaurants and the bookstore where she'd spent hours as a teenager and the corner where she'd first realized she wanted to do something that mattered instead of just surviving.
Eventually they ended up back near Logan's hotel.
They stood outside the entrance and Logan knew this was the moment.
The point where they said goodnight or took this somewhere else.
He wasn't ready for it to end. Wasn't ready to let go of her hand or stop hearing her laugh or go back to communicating through screens instead of being in the same space.
"I had a really good time tonight," he said.
"Me too."
"Better than I expected, honestly. Which is saying something because I had pretty high expectations." Logan stepped closer, his hand coming up to cup her face. Her skin was soft under his palm and he could feel her pulse jumping in her throat. "I'm really glad we decided to do this."
"Me too," Mara said, and Logan noticed her voice had gone quieter. Breathier.
He kissed her again. But this time it wasn't chaste or brief or testing the waters.
This time it was intense and thorough and made Logan forget they were standing on a public street.
His hand tangled in her hair. Her fingers gripped his jacket.
The world narrowed to just this moment, just them, just the feeling of finally being close to someone who understood what it cost to do what they did.
When they broke apart, both of them were breathing hard.
"So," Logan said, his voice rough in a way that had nothing to do with his injuries. "About that week in New Orleans."
"Yeah?"
"I'm thinking we should make the most of it. See the sights. Eat all the food. Listen to all the music." His thumb traced her bottom lip and he watched her eyes darken. "Spend as much time together as possible."
Mara smiled. "I can work with that."
"Good. Because I'm not ready to say goodnight yet."
"Neither am I."
"Tomorrow we do the full tourist thing? Beignets and jazz and whatever else you think I need to experience?"
"Tomorrow," Mara agreed. "But tonight, right now, I think we should do this some more."
She pulled him back down and kissed him again. And again. Until the hotel doorman politely cleared his throat and suggested they might want to take it inside or at least move away from the entrance where they were blocking traffic.
They laughed and separated but Logan kept her hand in his. "I should let you go. Let you get home safe."
"Probably."
"But I don't want to."
"I don't want you to either." Mara squeezed his hand. "But I'll see you tomorrow. Early. We have a lot to cover."
"It's a date."
"It's a week of dates."
Logan grinned. "Even better."
He kissed her one more time, soft and sweet and full of promise. Then he watched as she walked to her car. Mara looked back twice before she got in and both times Logan was still standing there with his hands in his pockets and that smile on his face that he couldn't suppress even if he wanted to.
The drive back to L'Abri S?r felt longer than the drive in had.
Mara sat behind the wheel with the playlist Logan had sent her weeks ago filling the car and a smile she couldn't suppress on her face.
Her phone sat in the cupholder, and she forced herself not to look at it until she pulled into the compound parking lot just after one in the morning.
She grabbed it immediately and typed out a message.
"Made it back safe. Can't stop thinking about tonight. "
His response came immediately. "Same. Can't wait for tomorrow."
"Get some sleep. You're going to need your energy."
"Is that a promise?"
"It's a guarantee."
The team was waiting in the common room when she walked in, exactly as she'd known they would be. Quinn had her tablet out. Nadia was drinking tea. Winter and Kira were playing cards but looked up immediately when the door opened.
"That good?" Nadia asked.
"Better," Mara said, and couldn't keep the smile off her face. "We're spending the week together. Starting tomorrow."
There was cheering and someone whistled and Quinn pulled up something on her tablet that made Winter groan. "Called it. You owe me twenty bucks."
"Worth it," Winter said, grinning at Mara. "You look happy."
"I am." Mara sat down and told them about the kiss at the bar and the po'boys and the kiss outside his hotel. About the way it all felt so easy and right and like something that could actually work despite all the reasons it shouldn't.
"So what's the plan?" Kira asked.
"Play tour guide for a week. Show him the city. See where this goes." Mara pulled out her phone and saw another message from Logan. Just a photo of the view from his hotel window with the caption "Thinking about you."
She smiled and typed back. "Same. Tomorrow. Eight AM. I'm taking you to the real New Orleans."
"Can't wait."
Mara looked around at her team. At the women who'd become family over the years. At the place she'd built that meant everything to her. And then she looked at her phone and thought about Logan and the week ahead and the possibility that maybe, just maybe, she could have both.
"I'm going to bed," she said. "Early morning tomorrow."
"Have fun," Nadia called after her. "And Mara? We're happy for you."
"Thanks." Mara headed to her room with her phone in her hand and that smile still on her face.
She changed into sleep clothes and climbed into bed and for the first time in weeks, fell asleep immediately.
No nightmares. No restless thoughts. Just the easy sleep of someone who'd found something worth holding onto.
And tomorrow she'd see if it could actually last.