Sweeten The Pot
"You are such a loser." Weevil splayed his cards on the table and smirked in Logan's direction. "Boy, when are you going to learn that you cannot win against me?"
"You have got to be cheating."
Weevil raised an eyebrow and reached across the table, snagging the cigar from Logan's mouth and sliding it into his, holding it in place with his teeth. "I don't need to cheat to beat a punk ass like you. You get your card playing technique from one of your daddy's movies?"
"You're not amusing."
"He's amusing me."
"I forget, who invited you?"
"Well, considering what happened the last time Weevil played cards with you, I thought it best for everyone if I came along. Though if I'm interrupting some sort of," Veronica made quote marks with her hands, "bonding ritual between you two, let me know and I'm out the door."
"Is there a way to shut you up?"
"Just keep playing the way you're playing, Logan. I'll be laughing too hard to talk."
Logan slammed the cards in front of Veronica. "Deal."
"You know, it's almost too easy." She lifted her eyebrows and shuffled, grinning at him. He glared at her, taking a long pull from his beer.
"Like takin' candy from a baby," Weevil agreed. "Come, Mars. Deal `em. Maybe this time we'll make `im cry."
"You know what?" Logan finished his beer and tossed it in the bin beside the door. "Let's make this interesting."
"Takin' your money is plenty interesting," Weevil assured him.
"Fine then, we'll make it interesting for me." He looked at Veronica. "What d'you say, Mars?"
She leaned forward, resting her chin on her elbow. "What'd ya have in mind?"
"Well, we wouldn't want to get too rich for your blood, so I say we up the ante a bit." He pushed a beer in her direction. "Loser of each hand takes a drink, does a dare."
"Ooh, a variation on strip poker," Veronica hunched her shoulders then let them drop in an exaggerated shrug. "Too bad neither of you have anything I want to see."
Logan looked at Weevil. "Navarro? You game?"
"Hell, I don't have to pay for the privilege of seeing Veronicas titties, do I?" He dodged the swing she took at him. "What the hell?" He shrugged then looked at Logan with a raised eyebrow and a look of disgust. "Not that I want to see you in your tighty-whiteys again."
"Don't worry," Logan assured him, passing another beer his way. "You won't."
"All right, Mars. Ready for your dare?"
Veronica yawned and looked both boys over, smirking slightly at their bare chests. "It's about time one of you won a hand."
Weevil looked at Logan then at Veronica. "I don't know, Mars. I don't know what kind of humiliation I want to subject you to."
She glanced at his boxers and gave him a one-armed shrug. "It seems like you're used to living with embarrassment, Eli."
"All right, now that's it." He took a shot then followed it with a long pull from his beer. "You and Echolls."
Logan shot Eli a dangerous look. "What about us?"
"I dare you to kiss him."
"Kiss Logan?"
"Don't worry," Logan snapped. "I haven't had cooties since third grade."
"You haven't had lice since then either," Veronica reminded him. "Doesn't mean I want to take a chance."
"Don't do the crime if you can't do the time," Weevil tapped his finger on the deck of cards. "You don't take the dare, you forfeit."
"Fine." Veronica got to her feet and leaned over the table. Weevil shook his head, tsking all the while. "What?"
"I want a kiss, baby. If I'm going to be subjected to watching him attempt to get it on with someone…"
"Get it on?"
"I at least plan to enjoy the show."
"You touch anything under the table," Veronica warned him, "I'm taking that pool cue to knuckles." She wove to the other side of the table, finishing off her beer as she walked. Logan looked up at her, eyes narrowed and hazy. "The same goes for you."
"Trust me, the though of kissing you does nothing for my nether regions."
She put her hand on the arm of his chair and leaned down, her eyes half-closed. Logan tilted his head back, watching her. She inhaled and closed her eyes, pressing her lips against his. They were warm and moist from the dregs of his beer, salty from the pretzels, sweet from the oregano in the pizza sauce. He shifted slightly, his mouth parting and she slipped her tongue into his mouth, her hand tightening on the chair arm.
Veronica pulled back, eyes blinking slowly. Logan's eyes opened and he looked away immediately, his attention taken up by Weevil's hoot of approval. "Damn, now that's what I'm talkin' about. You all right for a white girl, Mars."
"I'm sure I'm nothing compared to Lilly." Veronica bit her lip as Weevil's face closed down almost as quickly as Logan's. "But then, who is?" She shrugged and slipped back into her seat, opening one of the spare bottles on the table and taking a fast slug from it, coughing as it burned her throat. "Whose deal?"
"Veronica?"
"Shit." She tossed her cards into the center of the table and sighed. "All right." She winced as she took another hit from the bottle. "How old did you say this stuff was?"
"Older than the lines homeboy's daddy used in his last movie." Weevil reached over and took the bottle from Veronica. "Come on now, girl. Do as the man says."
Logan smiled, his mouth curling like the Grinch with a wonderful, awful idea. "Take off your jeans."
"Sure." She stood up and wriggled out of her jeans, her button down shirt falling to mid-thigh. "That all you got?"
"The night's still young," Logan assured her. He shuffled and dealt. "Who knows what'll happen with the next hand."
Veronica laid her cards down after a few moments and grinned. "I guess we know now." Her eyes flashed as she smiled. "Logan?"
He stood up, his thumbs in the waistband of his boxers. "Can't wait to see it, can you?"
"I've heard it's nothing to write home about." Veronica shook her head. "Let's see you put some of that banter-y sexual tension to good use."
"I knew you wanted me."
"Kiss Eli."
Logan stopped mid-stride. "What?"
"Hey, I ain't no goddamn faggot." Eli stood up as well. "Whatever little game you two are playin' here, I ain't…"
"We're playing? You think I'd be in on some bullshit like this with her?" Logan gave him a derisive sniff. "I know you probably think you're funny, but there's no way in hell I'm…"
"Fine then." Veronica reached over and took the cash box. "You guys made the rules, so I'll just make with the cash."
"There's $15,000 in there." Weevil snapped. "You ain't walkin' out of here with my money."
"Then you're just going to have to put your mouth where your money is." Veronica sat back in her chair and crossed one leg over the other. She waved one hand in a small circle. "I'm waiting."
Logan's jaw twitched, the pulse throbbing. He glanced at Weevil then at Veronica, his eyes dark and dangerous. "Fine, Mars. But remember, payback is a bitch like you're going to be mine." He turned his burning gaze on Eli. "Well, Navarro?"
"You better not have no camera, Mars, or I will break you into pieces so small they're going to need a magnifying glass to find `em."
"Wow, enough of the male posturing, gorilla-boys. Next thing I know you're going to start flinging feces." She puckered her lips. "Gimme what I want." The two of them stood staring at each other, neither moving. Veronica sighed. "Logan, you had the worst hand. You make the first move, all right?"
"There ain't gonna be a second move."
Logan grabbed a bottle off the countertop and took a long draught then slammed it down. Leaning in, he caught Weevil by the back of the neck and held him, pressing his lips to his. They stayed like that for a few moments, stock still, lips closed and defiant.
"Wow. That's the worst kiss I've ever seen, and I've seen your dad act, Logan." Veronica laughed as they both sat back down, finishing off the beers in front of them. "Another round?"
Logan smiled wickedly. "And another hand, Mars. Deal."
Veronica laughed, falling against the table as she laid her cards down. "Whoops."
"You're drunk, Mars."
"I am," she nodded. "Very drunk. But so are the four of you." She squinted at her cards. "I think I lost." She began unbuttoning her shirt, letting it fall from her shoulders. Both Weevil and Logan stared at her for a moment, the matching blue satin of her bra and panties holding their attention. "Deal, Eli."
"I don't think so." Logan tapped the table. "You lost. That means a dare."
"But I took off my shirt."
"No one asked you to."
"Oh." She started to giggle then stopped. Her voice was soft and warm, fuzzy with drink. "What do you want me to do?"
"I think our friend, Eli, here needs himself a lap dance."
"A what?" Weevil's eyebrow shot up. "I need a what?"
"Veronica's got some mad dancin' skills, don't you, Mars?"
"Mmm." Veronica got unsteadily to her feet and moved around the table to Weevil's seat. He didn't move until Logan's foot pushed his chair back, giving Veronica room to move in front of him. She grabbed the arms of the chair then stepped up onto it, slowly sinking down, her knees on either side of Weevil's thighs. "I don't have any music."
Logan picked up a remote and keyed the stereo on, something faint drifting out over the darkened pool outside. Veronica released the chair arms and began swaying, moving her hands up above her head. She leaned forward, her breasts even with Weevil's face as she rolled her shoulders, insinuating herself against him. "She's got music, she's got rhythm," Logan drawled. "Who could ask for anything more?"
"Veronica, I really think you should stop," Weevil reached up to grab her hips, gasping as she moved to evade him, her body settling more firmly atop his. Her arms threaded around his neck and she looked down at him, rocking from side to side, her breasts brushing against him, satin sliding against his bare skin. "S…stop, Veronica."
"You didn't say Simon says," she breathed in his ear, her body thrust hard against his.
"Simon…" he gasped, his hands tightening on her hips. "Simon says."
Veronica slipped off his lap and into her own chair, her lower lip stuck out in a pout. "I didn't get to finish the song."
Logan reached over and took her hand, pulling her out of her chair. With his free hand, he started the song over. "Come right on over."
Eli stood up, "No, man. She's drunk."
"She's not that drunk."
"Yeah, the Veronica Mars you know does shit like this for kicks. She takes off her clothes and gives lap dances?" Weevil shook his head and grabbed Veronica's other hand, pulling her away from Logan. "Leave her alone."
"She agreed to the rules."
"She did the dare."
"You know," Veronica's voice was soft enough to catch both of their attention. "You don't have to fight over me." Without another word, she unhooked her bra and let it fall to the ground. "You can share."
"Okay," Logan nodded once. "She's that drunk."
"Her daddy is gonna kick our asses so hard we're going to be flossing our testicles." Weevil closed his eyes and tilted his head back. "Fuck."
Veronica smiled and sank to her knees, hooking her thumbs in Weevil's boxers and lowering them with her. Her tongue darted across the tip of his cock. "That's the general idea, yeah."
Eli reached backwards for balance, his fingers almost white as he grasped the chair. He opened his mouth to protest just as Veronica's closed over his cock. "Holy fuck."
"Mars." Logan sank down beside her, one hand on her back, the other on her arm as he pulled her away. She released Weevil and smiled. "Your turn, Logan?"
"Look, Veronica." She cut him off, her mouth hot and salty as it met his, her tongue inside him. She thrust it deeper, turning just enough to press her bare breasts against his chest. Logan pulled away, panting sharply. "Stop."
"He liked his dance, Logan." She stroked Eli's cock just inches away from Logan, her eyes locked on his as she turned her head and took the thick shaft into her mouth again. Her hand and mouth moved in tandem as her eyes stayed on him. Logan closed his eyes on a groan, tangling his fingers in her hair as he pulled her away from Eli and against him again.
Weevil sank to the floor as Logan found Veronica's mouth with his. He moved behind Veronica, straddling her legs. He bit the curve of her shoulder, licking and kissing his way to her neck as she moaned against Logan's kiss. Logan reached down, stroking her side just below her breast, freezing as his fingertips grazed Eli's chest.
Weevil pulled back as Logan did, Veronica whimpering between the two of them. His jaw twitched as he met Logan's eyes. "You got a problem with this?"
Logan's voice matched the rough hitch of Eli's. "Do you?"
"I asked you first, man."
Veronica turned and brushed Eli's chest with her fingertips before grasping Logan's hand and repeating the gesture with it. "Are we done with the macho posturing?" Both Eli and Logan watched as Veronica controlled Logan's hand, sweeping it slowly along Eli's chest.
Finally, Logan cleared his throat. "Yeah, we're done."
Eli nodded, sliding one arm around Veronica's waist, his fingertips trailing along the edge of her panties. "Done." He turned her slowly, stroking her skin with slow, lazy strokes as he spun her to face him. He met her eyes before flickering his gaze up to Logan's for a moment before finding hers again. "I hope you know what you're doin', Mars."
"She just hopes you do." Logan traced the outside of Veronica's ear. "Word on the street isn't running in your favor."
"The way I see it, I'm the only one properly attired for this event." Weevil's fingers skirted the waist of Veronica's panties again before edging them over her hips. "If you're not careful, you're going to be fashionably late," he knelt at Veronica's feet and stripped the silky fabric down her legs, easing her feet slowly out of them, "and no one's gonna care."
Veronica's body trembled as Weevil leaned in, blowing a soft stream of air that stirred the downy dark blonde hair at the apex of her thighs. "That's what I'm talkin' about," he murmured softly as he formed his hands to the curve of Veronica's hips and pulled her closer, inhaling the musky scent of her arousal.
Logan pressed closer to Veronica, pulling her back against his chest. She relaxed against him for a moment, tensing again as he cupped both of her breasts. He bit her earlobe gently, his breath sending shivers of heath through her. "Relax. You're in good hands."
"His hands may be good," Weevil informed her as he brought his own hands away from her hips to part the swollen flesh of her sex, "but they're nothing compared to mine." He slid a finger along the wet flesh, pressing the curved crook of his first knuckle slowly inside. Veronica gasped then trembled again, only the hard pressure of Logan's body keeping her standing.
She arched her back, her body shifting as she spread her legs wider. Logan's large hands covered her breasts, his palms smoothing over her nipples in slow, deliberate circles. Veronica's head fell back and she met his eyes for a brief moment before he kissed her, his tongue stealing past her lips as she gasped, Eli's tongue imitating Logan's as it stroked over her clit.
Hips rolling forward, Veronica mewled something into Logan's mouth as the instinctive thrust of her body sent her see-sawing between Weevil's thrusting, teasing, stroking tongue and the hard insistence of Logan's cock against her ass.
Eli moaned against Veronica's silky flesh, thrusting two fingers inside her. She stiffened, her body jerking slightly as he sped up the motion of his tongue, flickering it across her clit until she broke away from Logan's kiss to cry out, begging him to stop as her body ground down against his hand. Logan's voice slipped around her words, his hands stroking the length of her body again and again, always coming back to her high, pert breasts and teasing the nipples with his thumbs.
"Come on, Mars," he purred. "You don't want him to stop, do you? Doesn't it feel good? Let go." His voice dropped, barely reaching Weevil's ears as he increased the pressure on Veronica's clit, slipping another finger inside her, increasing his tempo to match the low rhythm of Logan's voice. "I bet you can't let go, can you, Mars? Too much of a good girl. Too uptight?" He paused as she moaned, hips jerking forward as Weevil pressed closer. Nibbling her earlobe, he captured her nipples between his thumb and forefinger, putting just enough pressure on the hard tips to make her catch her breath. "Or are you going to come all over his tongue?"
Veronica gasped, her body tightening in Logan's embrace as she came. Her eyes were wide and staring, her mouth open as Weevil's tongue traced over her skin. She shook with every lash of his tongue, every brush of his lips, leaning into Logan. He nuzzled her neck, licking the perspiration from her skin as she lifted her hands, covering his, increasing the pressure on her breasts. He moaned softly, pinching the nipples slightly harder, as he knelt down, guiding her languid body toward the floor.
"You know, Mars," Logan's voice was thick and rough as they lay on the floor, Weevil sinking down next to them. "I think this is the first time I've ever heard you speechless." He sat up, watching as her hand Weevil lay in front of her, finding her mouth with his as her hand wrapped easily around his cock. Logan reached over them both and grabbed Eli's leather jacket, digging a condom out of the inside pocket before lying behind Veronica, licking the curve of her shoulder as his hand snaked up between her thighs.
She gasped, breaking the kiss with Eli. Logan smiled at the other man over her shoulder, shrugging in lieu of an apology. He slipped his fingers higher, tangling in the dark, wet hair between her legs, watching as her hand slid along the length of Weevil's cock.
"No witty banter, princess?" He found her clit, teasing the slippery nub for a moment before sliding his hand back, fingers brushing the swollen flesh of her labia, across her perineum. She gasped again, her hand tightening around Eli as Logan slipped his hand free and opened the condom packet. "You're disappointing me, Mars."
"You're annoying me," Weevil gasped as Veronica's thumb swept over the damp head of his cock. "You ever shut up?"
"When I have something better to do with my mouth," Logan assured him, sliding the condom on his cock and guiding it against the curve of Veronica's ass. He pressed against her, releasing his cock to ease her leg up, slipping his knee between both of hers and inching his cock closer to her slick opening.
"I got somethin' you could do with your mouth."
"Too bad," Logan smirked and thrust forward slowly, nearly closing his eyes as Veronica's body contracted around him. "I'm going to be using it to make Ronnie here scream."
Veronica trembled, her hand tightening on Eli's cock once again as she stroked the thick shaft. Her eyes were closed as she leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. She sucked in a hard breath as Logan pushed forward slowly, easing his way inside her. She exhaled in a series of short, hard pants, her whole body shaking with the effort. She stilled suddenly and arched her head back, her chest against his as she exposed the column of her neck to him.
"Easy," Logan whispered, the words echoed by Weevil as he reached down, his hand on hers as it moved over his cock. She nodded, fighting to breath as Logan bit the curve of her shoulder lightly, licking and sucking her skin, not moving from the tight heat that surrounded him. "You ready for the ride of your life, Mars?"
"Those your lines?" Weevil asked, his voice catching as Veronica's hand sped up as Logan began to move inside her. "No wonder you don't get laid."
"I'm not the one getting a hand job," Logan panted, the overheated air of the pool house cool against his cock as his hips moved back then thrust forward, her body like liquid fire surrounding him. He glanced down and watched Veronica's hand move then let his gaze drift up to the rise and fall of her breasts, creamy skin flushed, her nipples hard, tight and red, ripe against his palm as he teased one, bracing himself against her as his hips began moving in earnest, the slow, steady rhythm increasing with every stroke.
"The way I see it," Eli bit his upper lip, scraping it with his teeth, his breath hard and harsh, "maybe she just can't stand to look at your ugly mug." He swallowed hard and panted, the quick rush of breath slowing, gasping until he stilled. His eyes closed, his head falling back as Veronica caught the sensitive ridge in the circle of her hand and he came, his orgasm caught between them.
"Yeah," Logan nodded, whispering in Veronica's ear. "Yeah. Come on." The words fell out with every breath, lighting one her skin as his hips rocked harder, faster. He released her breast and slid his hand up her chest to catch her opposite shoulder, holding her body flush against his. She hooked her leg over his and he groaned, his thrusts slowing and lengthening as her body tightened and convulsed, the sudden shudder sending him over the edge, his orgasm flooding to meet hers.
After a long moment, Logan eased away from her, lying on his back and staring at the ceiling. Silence reigned and no one moved in the darkness, the air thick with desire and the residual smoke from Logan's cigars.
Veronica got to her feet slowly, carefully edging around Weevil's silent form. She glanced at the clock and winced, digging through the pile of clothes on the floor for her shirt and bra. She had just buttoned the first button on her shirt when Logan began clapping slowly. She met his eyes defiantly.
"Bravo, Mars. Really. Almost an Oscar-worthy performance, though the critics are panning you on two things."
"Yeah? What are those?"
"First of all, out of character. The Veronica Mars we know and loathe would never get that drunk. Oh, sure, you were tipsy, maybe even drunk, but not so drunk that you'd forget yourself."
"And the other?"
"You forget that I'm not new to your universe. I've known you a long time, even been your friend a time or two." He motioned down to where he was barely covered with the beach towel he'd pulled across his lap. "All you had to do was ask."
"Now that's a lie." She finished her shirt and sat down in the chair by his feet. "If I'd asked you, you'd have laughed in my face. And when you were done with that, you'd have told me that if I wanted a threesome, the least I could do is have one hot girl involved."
Logan laughed softly. "You're right on the last count." He sat up and leaned against the bar. "Why?"
"Why not?"
"Because before Lilly's death, you were a virgin, and I know Duncan didn't get the goods before he freaked out and dumped you. And, call it a hunch, but I doubt you're doin' your friend Wallace, so I want to know what made you jump in with both feet…so to speak."
Veronica shrugged. "Keep your friends close."
"And your enemies closer?" Logan laughed softly. "Touché." He pulled on his jeans then got to his feet, leaving them unbuttoned. "It's not an answer you know." He shook his head as she started to speak. "So you were just going to leave?"
"I'm not a big fan of the post mortem."
"Bullshit, Mars. You like the denouement. It's what you mystery solvers live for." He raised an eyebrow. "The butler did it, that sort of thing. You don't want to know what the morning would bring?"
"You're asking if I want to see you and Weevil try to hold a semi- civil conversation wondering all the while if the fact that you enjoyed it makes you gay?"
"We would never have a semi-civil conversation."
Veronica shook her head. "What are you going to do?"
"Lock up the pool house, go inside and go to bed." He opened the cash box and counted out two-thirds of the money, handing her half. "After, of course, I divvy up the earnings."
"The game is forfeit?"
He shook his head and, surprising her, leaned over and kissed her on the forehead. "I'd hate it if you couldn't afford to sit in on the next game."
"You mean leave you and Weevil alone to play strip poker?"
"Nah, we'd invite Duncan." He grinned and offered her his arm. "Come on. I'll throw you off the property myself."