* * *
Part 30
That night, Lorelai and Rory walked to the diner after they left Sookie's house. Jess was sitting at one end of the counter eating a burger as Luke refilled the coffee cups at several tables. He glanced over to see who had entered. Lorelai smiled at him as she and Rory walked to the counter and sat down. Rory started talking to Jess as Lorelai waited for Luke. He finished pouring the coffee and walked over to her. "Hey."
"Hi." Lorelai smiled. "How's it going?"
Luke shrugged. "Ah, you know. . .not much going on." He held up the coffeepot. "Coffee?"
"Yeah, two to go," Lorelai replied. "Ooh, and I have something for you." She started rummaging in her purse.
"Oh yeah?" he asked, raising his eyebrows curiously. He poured two take-out cups and set them on the counter.
Lorelai finally found the two sets of spare keys and she pulled them out. She smiled and held them up for him to see. "Your very own deluxe set of keys."
Luke smiled. "Oh, good, thanks."
"Okay, let me tell you what they're for." Lorelai set the smaller set aside and held the other one up. She fanned out the keys and went through them one by one. "Okay, so these three are for the main doors: this is for the front door, this is for the side door and this is for the back door." She paused a moment and looked at the three keys questioningly, then wrinkled her nose and shrugged. "I think. I can't really tell."
Luke laughed. "Great, thanks, you're a big help."
Lorelai shrugged. "Well, it's not my fault. These look different than mine because they're brand new and shiny and they all look the same, whereas mine are all worn and I'm used to how they look so I can just tell which door they go to."
"I get it," Luke said. "We'll figure out which is which later. What are the other ones?"
Lorelai pointed to another key. "Okay, this one is for the fireproof safe I have in my closet. You know, it has important papers in it like birth certificates, the deed to the house, a list of all the coffee shops in the continental United States. . . stuff like that."
Luke smiled. "Got it."
"And this one is for the padlock on the shed." Lorelai paused and shrugged casually. "We never lock it anyway so you probably don't need an extra key for it, but if God forbid someone accidentally does lock it and the lawnmower gets stuck inside and starts screaming for help when I'm not home, you'll be able to rescue him. Oh, and this last one's for the Jeep." She smiled and handed the set of keys to him. "There you go, all yours."
Luke smiled and took them from her. "Thanks."
Lorelai picked up the other set and turned toward Jess. "Jess?"
Rory and Jess stopped talking and turned to Lorelai. "Yeah?" he replied.
Lorelai held out the keys. "Here, these are for you."
Jess reached past Rory and took them. "What are they?"
"They're keys to our house," Rory said.
Jess looked down at them and raised his eyebrows. "Oh."
"Yeah," Lorelai said. "One of them is for the front door and the other's for the back door. You know, for when you guys move in."
"Thanks," he said, putting them in his pocket.
"Yeah, so that means you don't use them until you are actually living there," Luke warned. "Understand?"
Jess nodded as he took a bite of his burger. "Uh huh," he mumbled.
"Ready to go?" Lorelai asked Rory.
"Yup," she replied, picking up one of the takeout cups.
Lorelai turned to Luke. "So, in return, I would like a complete set of keys to the diner."
Luke laughed. "Right, and then my coffee supply starts mysteriously shrinking overnight. I don't think so."
Lorelai gasped. "Luke, I'm offended that you think that I would steal from this fine establishment! I would merely use those keys in case of an emergency. . . like what if one night you're sleepwalking and somehow wind up locked in the storage room and I have to come let you out? Don't you think it's a good idea to be prepared for a situation like that?"
"I don't sleepwalk," Luke replied.
"Nice try, Mom," Rory said, patting her on the back. "Let's go."
Lorelai frowned. "Should I even bother going into more scenarios or are you dead set on this?"
"Dead set," he replied with a smile.
Lorelai sighed. "Fine." She leaned across the counter and kissed him on the cheek. "Bye."
"See you tomorrow," Luke replied.
* * *
On Saturday night, Luke walked up to Lorelai's front door and rang the doorbell. Lorelai answered it, then smiled and put her hands on her hips. "Luke, I told you to stop doing that."
"Doing what?" Luke asked, confused. He thought for a moment, then grimaced slightly. "Oh, right, I forgot."
"Try it again," Lorelai instructed. She shut the door and walked into the kitchen.
A few seconds later, the front door opened and Luke walked into the house. He stopped in the hallway and called, "All right, I did it. Where are you?"
Lorelai smiled. "In the kitchen."
Luke walked into the kitchen and shrugged. "Happy?"
"Yup." Lorelai walked over and kissed him. "See, this is all part of the transition process, Luke. We start with something small, like you walking in instead of ringing the doorbell, and pretty soon it'll feel so much like home that you'll be lounging around on the couch in your underwear eating carrot sticks and watching football."
Luke laughed. "Okay, that's one scenario I can guarantee will never, ever happen," he said, shaking his head. He put his hands on her waist and pulled her close to him.
Lorelai smiled and draped her arms over his shoulders. "Good, 'cause now that I think of it, it might scare Rory a little."
"Speaking of Rory, is she here?" Luke asked.
"Nope, she's with Dean," Lorelai replied. "She probably won't be home 'til eleven or so." She batted her eyelashes at him. "Any ideas on what we should do?"
Luke smiled and kissed her. "Um, we could change all the light bulbs." He kissed her again.
"Or we could alphabetize all of Rory's books," Lorelai suggested.
"Mm, now there's something that'll keep us busy for awhile," Luke said, kissing her again.
"Mmhmm," she murmured through the kiss.
"Any other ideas?" he asked as he kissed down to her neck.
"Well, uh, I could teach you how to play Miss Marry Mack," Lorelai muttered, leaning her head back. "That's always fun." She moaned softly as Luke began sucking on her neck. A few seconds later, she grabbed his hand and led him to the couch.
* * *
Later that night, they wandered into the kitchen. Lorelai walked over to the sink and turned around. "Okay, time for a comprehensive tour. Let me tell you where everything is. This is the sink."
"Yes, it is," he agreed.
She pointed to a cabinet below the sink. "That's where we keep the cleaning stuff - you know, dishwashing liquid, soap, stuff like that." She pointed to the upper cabinets. "That one's plates and bowls, that one's mugs and glasses, and that one's a bunch of storage containers."
Luke nodded. "Okay, got it."
Lorelai led him around the kitchen, showing him the contents of the other drawers and cabinets. She finished up by pulling open the refrigerator. "And this is the very large and spacious refrigerator which is currently being used to hold coffee beans, soda, bottled water, leftover takeout containers, a stick of butter, and beer." She shut the door. "I really need to go shopping," she informed him.
"I see that," he said with a laugh. He glanced around. "What's in that thing over there?" he asked, pointing to the large cabinet in the corner.
"Oh, forgot about that, sorry," she said, walking over to it. She opened the doors and gestured to the shelves. "As you can see, this cabinet contains a random selection of things. Dish towels, serving bowls, food, more cleaning supplies. . . lots of stuff. It's basically like the junk drawer I showed you except it's the junk cabinet."
Luke smiled and nodded. "Okay, got it."
Lorelai pointed to the bottom shelf. "And if you suddenly find the power of the Gilmore women unconquerable and need to escape the realities of life. . .well, that's where we keep the hard liquor."
Luke smiled. "Good to know."
Lorelai smiled and shut the doors. She put her hands on her waist and shrugged. "I think that's basically it. Any questions?"
Luke shrugged. "Nope, not really." He glanced around for a moment. "Actually, yeah."
"What?" she asked. She walked over to the fridge and pulled out a bottle of water.
Luke sat down at the table. "What do you wanna do about paying for stuff?"
Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. "What do you mean?" She walked over and handed him the water, then sat down next to him.
Luke shrugged. "I mean, like shopping and paying bills and stuff like that - what do you wanna do about it? I mean, I guess we could each have our own separate money and each pay half of everything but. . . I don't know if I like that." He opened the water and took a sip.
"Oh," Lorelai said. She bit her lip and thought for a minute. "I don't know." She took the water and drank some, then said, "I don't really like the separate money idea either. It'll be like we're platonic roommates or something, you know? Not two people starting a life together."
Luke nodded in agreement. "So, we should just combine all the money?"
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, we'll get a joint checking account. I mean, we're already at the same bank anyway, I'm sure it won't be much trouble to transfer everything. I'll look into it this week."
Luke smiled. "Good."
"Ooh, and we can pick out new checks. Have you seen those new ones with the little puppies on them?" Lorelai asked excitedly.
Luke rolled his eyes. "We are not getting puppies on our checks."
Lorelai frowned. "Well, what do *you* want - baseballs or something?" she asked, rolling her eyes.
"No, we'll just get plain ones," he said.
Lorelai made a face. "Bor - ing," she sang. "Luke, if you're paying bills and you have to write out a really big check to pay off a credit card or something and you have boring checks, the combination of the large payment you owe and the sad checks might make you become really depressed and suicidal. However, if you have cute, furry puppies on your checks, you'll be so happy looking at them that you won't realize that you're thousands of dollars in debt and, hence, you won't become depressed. Therefore, picking out the right pictures on your checks can save your life. Understand?"
Luke exhaled loudly. "Plain checks are fine," he said firmly.
Lorelai gasped. "Did you not just hear my checkbook rant?"
"Yes, I heard the checkbook rant, I just don't think that a piece of paper that doesn't have a puppy on it is gonna make me kill myself," Luke replied.
Lorelai frowned. "But it might, Luke, and I'm trying to save you here!" She paused a moment. "Look, I'll go through the choices and find one with a little subtle design that's not too boring, but it'll still be plain enough to make you happy, okay?" She smiled at him hopefully.
Luke rolled his eyes and sighed. "Fine."
Lorelai smiled and clapped her hands together excitedly. "Yay! Thank you."
"You know, the stupidest things make you happy," Luke remarked.
Lorelai laughed. "I know. You should see me when free samples of cereal come in the mail. It's like Christmas." She stood up from the table. "You wanna watch a movie or something?"
He nodded and stood up. "Sure."
"Mmkay, go pick something out," she said. "I'm gonna make some popcorn."
"Okay." Luke walked into the living room and searched through the video collection. He finally picked one out and put it in the VCR.
A few minutes later, Lorelai walked in and sat next to him on the couch. "What'd you pick?"
"Taxi Driver," he replied.
"Ooh, good choice," Lorelai replied, nodding impressively at his selection. "And because you're letting me pick out the checks, I promise I'll try to keep the movie commentary down to a minimum."
Luke smiled. "I appreciate that."
* * *
A few days later, Lorelai walked into the kitchen of the inn carrying an empty box. "Hey Sookie."
Sookie looked up from the cake she had been decorating. "Hey. Found another one?"
"Yup, I'm just gonna put it with the others," Lorelai said. She walked out the back door and nestled the box into the stack on the back porch. She walked back inside and over to Sookie. "He's gonna come pick them up, then we're going out for lunch."
"Has he started packing already?" Sookie asked.
Lorelai nodded. "I was over last night helping him while Jess was at work." She picked up a spoon, dipped it into the bowl of frosting, and licked it. "Mm, that's good."
Sookie smirked. "You two were alone in that apartment all night just packing?"
"Yup," Lorelai replied. She paused a moment, then smiled. "Well, you know, in between making out and stuff."
Sookie giggled. "Thought so. You guys are like teenagers."
Lorelai smiled. "Well, you know, a wise man once said. . . have sex as often as you can."
Sookie laughed. "Interesting. I've never heard that before."
Lorelai nodded enthusiastically. "Oh, trust me, that guy said it. . . that really famous guy."
"Hugh Grant?" Sookie suggested.
Lorelai laughed. "No, but I think he's one of the most loyal supporters."
Sookie smiled and spread a layer of frosting on the cake. "Okay, so tell me. . . comparing Chris, Max, and Luke. . ."
Lorelai laughed and exclaimed, "Sookie!"
"What, I'm just curious," Sookie said with a laugh. "They all seem like. . .very able men."
"They definitely are all able," Lorelai agreed.
"So?" Sookie asked. "Who's the best?"
Lorelai scoffed. "No contest - Luke, by far. And not just by a little far, I'm talking about a large distance. You know, like a 'from here to Japan' kind of far."
"Really?" Sookie asked, smiling. "Or are you just saying that because you're with him now and you feel like you have to say that?"
"No, Sookie, I'm not just saying it," Lorelai insisted. "I'm being totally honest. The others were definitely good, but Luke's just. . .wow." She stared into space for a few seconds, smiling to herself.
Sookie giggled and snapped her fingers in front of Lorelai's face. "Honey, come back down to Earth."
Lorelai shook her head slightly and blinked several times. "Sorry, the mental images took over my body."
Sookie smiled. "So, okay, you say that Luke's better, but does that also mean he's. . . well, let's just say, if there was a contest between them involving tape measures. . ."
Lorelai smiled slyly and nodded. "Oh yeah, Luke would take home the prize."
Sookie giggled. "Man, he'd kill you if he knew you were talking about this."
Lorelai smiled. "I know, but hey, if he didn't want me bragging to my friends then he shouldn't be so good."
"Yeah, it's all his fault," Sookie agreed.
Michel walked into the kitchen. "You told me to tell you when your mother arrived," he grumbled. "She has arrived."
"Oh, thanks," Lorelai replied. As Michel left the kitchen, Lorelai turned to Sookie and made a face. "Ugh, and now starts the longest thirty minutes of my life."
"I forget, what's your mother doing here?" Sookie asked.
"She wants to look around and make sure everything's suitable for her DAR meeting next week," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. "Remember, she's coming back later this week to taste the soups?"
"Oh, right, right, right," Sookie said, nodding. "I remember now."
Lorelai exhaled loudly as she walked toward the door to the lobby. "Wish me luck that I don't end up locking her in one of the maid's closets."
Sookie smiled. "Good luck."
Lorelai walked into the lobby. Emily was waiting by the front desk, looking annoyed. As she saw Lorelai approaching, she checked her watch. "You told me to be here at 11:30, I was here at 11:30. It's now 11:35. This is the kind of businessperson you are, showing up late for meetings with people? That does not reflect very well on you or your establishment."
Lorelai took a deep breath and forced a smile. "Let me show you to the meeting area, Mom." Emily followed Lorelai through the lobby and into the dining room.
* * *
Twenty minutes later, they walked back into the lobby and over to the front desk. Lorelai looked through her calendar. "So, Mom, when can you come back? Thursday, same time?"
"Yes, Thursday's fine," Emily replied. "Although perhaps I should come at 11:35 this time."
"Oh my God," Lorelai muttered under her breath. She made a note on her calendar, then said, "Okay, Mom, I'll see you on -. " Her voice trailed off as she glanced past Emily and saw Luke walk through the door. She smiled and muttered "Excuse me, Mom" as she started walking toward him.
"Where are you going?" Emily exclaimed. "You don't just walk away when you're talking to - " Emily's voice faded as Lorelai got further away.
Lorelai walked up to Luke and kissed him. "Hi."
"Hey." Luke glanced toward the front desk. "Is that your mother staring at us?"
Lorelai rolled her eyes and looked over toward Emily. "Yes. Come say hello." She grabbed his hand and led him to the front desk.
"Emily, good to see you again," Luke greeted her.
"Yes, same here," she replied, smiling. "How's everything?"
Luke shrugged. "Can't complain. How about yourself?"
"Very well, thank you," Emily replied.
Lorelai cleared her throat. "Uh, Luke, the boxes are out back. You can go through the kitchen. I'll meet you out there in a second."
"Okay. Bye," he said to Emily.
"Goodbye," she replied.
As he walked away and disappeared through the kitchen door, Lorelai turned to Emily. "So, um, I'll see you on Thursday, then."
"Boxes? He came to pick up boxes?" Emily asked.
"Yup, boxes," Lorelai replied. "So, Thursday, then." Lorelai started leading Emily toward the front door.
"Boxes for what?" Emily pried.
Lorelai sighed. "For him to pack his stuff in so he can bring it to my house," she replied quickly. She pulled open the front door. "See you on Thursday."
"He's moving in already?" Emily asked, raising her eyebrows.
"In eleven more days," Lorelai replied.
"You're really going through with all this," Emily said in a surprised tone.
Lorelai narrowed her eyebrows. "What's that supposed to mean?" she asked defensively.
Emily shrugged. "Just that. . ."
"You didn't think I would go through with it?" Lorelai asked. "That maybe I'd call it off like I did with the wedding?"
"No, that's not what - ", Emily started.
"Didn't think your daughter was really ready to commit to something this big?" Lorelai suggested.
"Well, it's not as if you have the best track record in that department," Emily pointed out.
"Yeah, well, push the old track record aside, there's a new one now," Lorelai said. "I'll see you on Thursday, Mom." Lorelai walked away before Emily could say anything.
She walked through the lobby and into the kitchen. Luke was leaning against the counter talking to Sookie. She walked up to him and he wrapped an arm around her waist. "Sookie was just telling me why your mom's here," Luke said.
"How'd it go?" Sookie asked.
Lorelai rolled her eyes and sighed. "As expected."
Sookie frowned. "Aw. Well, it's lunch time now, so go relax and get the frustration out of your system."
"Good idea. You wanna come to lunch with us?" she asked.
"No thanks, you guys go and have fun," Sookie said.
Lorelai smiled. "Okay. I'll see you later." She and Luke walked out the back door and picked up the boxes. They tossed them in the back of Luke's truck, then drove away.
* * *
On Thursday afternoon, Lorelai walked into the diner and glanced around for Luke. Not seeing him, she sat at the counter and tapped her fingernails impatiently as she waited for him. Finally, he walked down from the stairway. Surprised to see her, he smiled and walked over to her. "Hey, what are you doing here?"
Lorelai smiled and pulled a piece of paper out of her purse. She waved it in front of him. "This, my friend, is the moment you've been waiting for." Luke raised his eyebrows curiously and waited for her to continue. She put the piece of paper on the table and pointed to something. "These are our new checks," she said proudly.
Luke looked down at the paper, which contained several rows of checks in various designs. He picked it up and looked at the one Lorelai had chosen.
His mouth dropped open and he lowered the paper to glare at her. "Kittens? I told you no puppies so you switched to kittens? Lorelai!"
Lorelai giggled and raised her hands defensively. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding! Geez, don't go getting all pyscho mad at me." She grabbed the paper and pointed to another one. "It's this one, you big baby."
Luke picked it up and looked at the picture. "Clouds?"
"Yup."
Luke shrugged. "Okay, not too bad. At least it’s not an animal."
Lorelai smiled. "See? And you doubted me. You should know better by now not to doubt me since I always come through."
Luke rolled his eyes and handed her the paper. "When are they coming in?"
"They should be here by next week," she replied.
Luke nodded. "You want coffee?" he asked, turning around to get the pot.
"Hm, can I get a soda?
Luke stood still for a second, then turned around slowly. "What?"
"Soda, I'll have a soda," she repeated.
Luke blinked a few times. "Soda?"
"Yeah, it's cold, carbonated, comes in bottles, you've probably seen it before," she explained, smiling.
Luke smiled. "Yes, I've heard of it, but you rarely order that and if you do, it's usually with a meal."
"Yeah, well, it's kind of hot out today. I need something cooler than coffee and I highly doubt that you can provide me with an iced cappuccino," Lorelai said.
"I highly doubt it, too," he replied. He got her a soda and placed it in front of her. "So you saw your mom today?"
Lorelai groaned. "Yes. My God, that woman is more neurotic than those terrorist guys in Toy Soldiers. You know how they lined up the kids like every half-hour to count them? Nope, that wouldn't be stringent enough for Emily Gilmore. She'd be lining them up every two minutes."
"So, uh. . .bad afternoon?" he asked.
"Yeah, but we got everything set up for her meeting, so she's happy," Lorelai said.
"Good, good," he nodded. He glanced past her and noticed a customer waving for his attention. "I'll be right back." He grabbed his order pad and walked over to the table. A few seconds later, he took the order into the kitchen, then returned to the counter. "So, this Saturday. . ."
"Yup, we'll work on Jess' room," she finished. "I feel bad that it's so small, though. He's gonna hate it."
Luke shrugged. "He probably won't be in there too long. He's been doing really good lately with work and school and stuff."
Lorelai smiled. "That's good."
"Yeah, so. . .you know, it'll probably only be two weeks," Luke said. "I think he's gonna meet his two month minimum and then he'll be out."
"But even after he leaves, we should keep it ready for him. . .just in case he sorta falls out of this responsibility charm you put on him," Lorelai said.
"Yeah, but I don't think he will - especially after he spends two weeks in that room," Luke said. "There's no way he'll risk losing his own place for that little room he has to share with the washer and dryer."
"True, good point," Lorelai said. She finished her soda and stood up. "Okay, I gotta get home. I'm gonna help Rory start studying for exams. I'll call you later."
"Okay." Luke leaned across the counter and kissed her. "Bye."
* * *
On Saturday morning, Luke walked into Lorelai's house. Rory, who was sitting at the kitchen table eating cereal, heard the front door open and called, "Hello?"
Luke shut the door and stepped into the hallway. "Uh, it's just me."
"Oh, Luke, hey," Rory said, smiling. "Come in. Mom just finished eating, now she's in the shower."
Luke walked into the kitchen and sat down at the table. "So. . ." He tapped his hands on the table.
"So. . ." Rory said. "Uh, do you want some cereal or something?" She gestured to her bowl.
Luke waved her off. "Oh, no thanks, I'm good."
"Okay." She ate a spoonful, then asked, "So you guys are gonna work on the junk-slash-laundry room today?"
"Yup," he replied. "What about you? Oh, you have studying to do, right?"
Rory nodded. "Yeah, I'm gonna go to the library. I've got exams all this week. It's gonna be tough."
Luke smiled. "I'm sure you'll do fine."
"I hope so," she replied. "I mean, I've been doing well throughout the year and finals are just basically all that stuff all over again, so it shouldn't really be that hard. I mean, sometimes all the math equations can get confusing while you're studying, but usually when I'm in the actual exam, I realize that they're not really that hard and I can - " She suddenly stopped talking and rolled her eyes. "And you probably don't care about this at all, I'm sorry."
Luke raised his eyebrows and nodded. "No, I do, keep talking."
"Really?" she asked, slightly surprised.
"Absolutely," he replied, leaning back in his chair. "Talk away."
* * *
Twenty minutes later, Lorelai walked down the steps pulling her still-wet hair back into a ponytail. She smiled to herself as she walked toward the kitchen and saw Luke and Rory laughing about something. "Hey, what's going on?" she asked, smiling. She stood behind Luke and put her hands on his shoulders.
"Hey Mom," Rory said.
Luke craned his neck up to look at her and she kissed him. He smiled and said, "I was just telling Rory about when you were coming out of the restaurant the other day and almost knocked over that old lady with the walker."
Lorelai scoffed and nodded at Rory. "Yeah, and then I tried to be nice and apologize but she started screaming at me like a maniac! Good thing Luke was there to hold me back or I would've started a fist fight with that little witch."
Rory laughed. "I bet she warned all of her friends at the geriatric center about you."
"Good, maybe now they'll stay outta my way." Lorelai sat down at the table and sighed loudly. "I don't feel like cleaning today."
"We have to," Luke said. "And we have to get started soon so I can be back at the diner for lunch." He stood up.
"Aw, man, I just sat down," Lorelai whined.
"Fine, I'll go get started without you," Luke told her. "But my style of cleaning is a little different than yours."
Lorelai jumped up. "I'm coming, I'm coming!"
Rory laughed. "What's your style of cleaning?" she asked Luke.
"He throws everything away," Lorelai answered for him. "If he doesn't know what it is, he just throws it away. If he doesn't know where to put it, he just throws it away. If he knows what it is and knows where to put it but he thinks we don't need it, he just throws it away."
"Ah, so he's the exact opposite of you, the queen of the pack rats," Rory said knowingly.
"Exactly," Lorelai said. "It's my opinion that he has secret aspirations to be a garbage man."
Luke rolled his eyes. "See you later, Rory. Good luck with studying."
Rory smiled. "Thanks."
Luke and Lorelai walked upstairs into the small room next to Lorelai's bedroom. Luke put his hands on his waist and glanced around. Lorelai stood behind him and said, "Looks fine to me, I'm gonna go watch tv."
She started to turn around and Luke quickly reached out and grabbed her arm. "Get back here."
Lorelai smiled. "All right, all right. What do you wanna do?"
"Okay, first, we go through all those boxes and see what we can throw away, then we try to compact all the boxes and put them up in the attic," Luke said.
"Luke, no! We are going to be sleeping one day and be woken up by the ceiling falling in on us because we are putting too much stuff up there!" Lorelai complained.
Luke sighed and turned around. He put his hands on her shoulders and looked at her sternly. "Lorelai, I've told you this a thousand times - it's not going to collapse." He pointed to the ceiling. "Those beams up there in the attic are supporting the roof of this house, do you understand that?"
"Yes," she mumbled, folding her arms across her chest.
"Okay, that means that they're pretty damn strong, and putting a couple boxes of clothes and junk up there is not going to make them suddenly give out," he said.
"You don't know that for a fact," Lorelai said. "Maybe those beams aren't as strong as they look."
"I was walking on them last week," Luke reminded her. "I wouldn't have gone up there if I didn't think they could hold me."
"Yeah, well, you just. . .maybe they're. . .we should. . ." she stammered.
Luke smirked. "Okay, now that you've officially ran out of complaints, I'm closing this conversation."
Lorelai huffed. "Okay, okay, fine. But if it does collapse. . ."
"Then it's totally my fault and I will personally rebuild it myself, okay?" Luke asked, rolling his eyes. "Does that make you feel better?"
Lorelai grinned. "Yes, thank you." She leaned forward and pressed her lips against his.
Luke pressed her up against the doorframe and eagerly kissed her back. A few seconds later, he pulled away from her and said, "Okay, come on, let's get this room done."
Lorelai brought her hands to his face and stroked his sideburns. "Maybe we should reward ourselves for our hard work."
Luke narrowed his eyes. "Meaning?"
Lorelai smiled. "Meaning that when we're done with this room today, we move on to my room."
"What? But your room doesn't need to be - " Luke started. He paused, then smiled. "Oh, I get it. Good reward system."
Lorelai smiled. "If that ain't an incentive to clean, I don't know what is."
* * *
Luke and Lorelai went through the room, moving some of the more necessary items to other rooms and putting the less-used items into storage boxes. When all of the junk had been sorted, Luke carried the boxes to the attic. When he returned, he and Lorelai stood in the center of the room, looking around. "It doesn't look so small when all the junk's out of here," Lorelai remarked.
"Yeah, it's not so bad," Luke said. He looked at the washer and dryer. "If something does go wrong and he ends up being here longer than two weeks, we'll have to figure out something with those."
"Like what?" Lorelai asked.
"Well, like, we could take a section of the back porch and close it off, then move the washer and dryer down there," Luke said. "It wouldn't be hard to do. We'd just have to put up some walls and pop on a door, simple as that. You know, it might be good to build some shelves in here for Jess' stuff instead of lugging over a dresser. And you know, the upstairs bathroom could probably use some new shelving, too. I noticed you don't have much in there. And maybe - "
Lorelai laughed and held up her hands. "Okay, okay, calm down! Once you get into that 'I'm a handy builder' mode, it's hard to get you out."
Luke smiled. "Sorry. We'll just stick to shelves for Jess right now."
"Sounds good," she replied. She glanced around the room. "So, this room. . . done for today?" she asked hopefully.
Luke nodded and checked his watch. "We've got twenty minutes before I have to be at the diner."
"Okay, then we'll have to skip the foreplay," Lorelai said. She grabbed his hand and led him to her bedroom, slamming the door behind them.
* * *
Not long after, the bedroom door opened. Lorelai walked out and Luke followed behind her, tucking his shirt into his jeans. They walked down the stairs and over to the front door. Lorelai leaned against it, smiling. She grabbed his collar and pulled him close, kissing him hungrily. He pulled back from her. "I really have to go."
She frowned. "You'd rather spend time with red meat than me?"
"No, but I have to," he replied. "But, you know, if I asked you that same question, I have a feeling you'd probably hesitate before you answered."
Lorelai smiled. "I'll think about it and get back to you."
Luke smiled and kissed her. "Bye."
"Bye." Lorelai moved aside and pulled open the door, then watched as he stepped out onto the porch and walked across the yard.
End Part 30
* * *
Part 31
On Tuesday afternoon, Lorelai called Luke from the inn. "Luke’s", he answered.
"Oh my God, please come rescue me and take me to a far away land where parents do not exist," Lorelai begged.
Luke laughed. "How’re things with your mom’s meeting?"
"Oh, they’re just peachy," Lorelai replied with a sigh. "I swear, if that woman complains about one more thing, we may have to call a doctor to remove my foot from her – "
"Lorelai!" Luke interrupted with a laugh. "Come on, it can’t be that bad."
"Oh, trust me, it’s that bad," Lorelai said. "And if you thought *she* was annoying, just try to picture a dozen other women just like her all in the same room."
"Geez," Luke said. "Well, it’s almost over, right?"
Lorelai sighed. "Yeah, shouldn’t be too much longer."
"Good," he said. "Are you coming by after work?"
"I can’t," Lorelai said. "I’m helping Sookie stuff and stamp her wedding invitations, then I’m helping Rory study."
"Well, aren’t you helpful," Luke said. "So I won’t see you tonight?"
"Probably not," Lorelai replied. "Think you’ll survive without me?"
"I’ll try," he said. "I went over this morning and put up the shelves in Jess’ room."
"Oh, good," Lorelai said. "Has he been packing?"
"Yeah, but he said he’s not bringing much," Luke replied. "Just some clothes, some books, his CD player. . . little things. He’s leaving everything else here."
"Guess he’s planning on moving back there pretty soon," Lorelai said.
"Yeah, that, and he’ll probably spend most of his time here and then just come to your house at night to sleep," Luke said. "Seems kind of useless to even make him move out for two weeks but. . .you know, I want to maintain the rules."
"Yeah, good idea. I’d probably do the same thing," Lorelai remarked.
"Yeah," Luke replied. "I’m just gonna leave all the diner stuff there. The safe, bank records, files, all that stuff. I think before the two weeks are up, I’m gonna maybe build a little room for it either upstairs in the corner of the apartment or maybe in the back of the storage room."
Lorelai smiled. "Here we go with the building again. If you didn’t own a diner, would you have become a carpenter?"
"I don’t know," Luke said. "It’s more like a hobby than something I’d want to do full time, but. . . I don’t know, maybe. It’s fun."
Lorelai gasped. "Fun? Wow, Luke, you just said the magic f-word," Lorelai pointed out.
Luke paused a moment. "Okay, I know you pretty damn well – well enough to know that you’re setting me up for some sort of dirty remark and I’m not falling for it."
Lorelai smiled. "Aw, come on, please! This is where you’re supposed to say, ‘Yeah, well, I like the magic f-word once in awhile.’ Come on, say it!"
"No way," he replied with a laugh. "I’m hanging up now."
Lorelai smiled. "Fine, ruin my moment."
"Sorry. Bye."
"Bye."
* * *
On Saturday morning, Lorelai pushed open the door to Rory’s room. Seeing that Rory was still asleep, Lorelai ran over and jumped onto the bed next to her. "Get up!" she said, patting Rory on the back.
Rory groaned loudly. "Mom!" she grumbled. "Get out."
"Rory, come on, it’s moving day!" Lorelai said. "We have to get to the diner and help."
Rory lifted her head and squinted to look at her clock. "Mom, it’s only eight. We have all day."
"Rory, first we have to move the boxes and furniture over here, and then we have to unload everything and put it all away," Lorelai explained. "Do you have any idea how long that takes?"
"No," Rory mumbled. "How long?"
"I don’t know. You’re the smart one, I was hoping you could give me a rough estimate."
Rory buried her face in the pillow. "Goodbye."
Lorelai tapped her on the back and sang, "Get up my dear, have no fear, your mom is here, she’ll . . . uh, drink a beer."
Rory lifted her head and made a face. "There is a reason that you’re not a professional singer."
"Yes, and it’s because I couldn’t think up a good name for my band," Lorelai said. She climbed off the bed and walked to the door. "Now get up or I’m coming back in ten minutes to sing Kokomo at the top of my lungs. Here’s a little teaser. . . Bermuda, Bahama, come on pretty Mama. . ." As Rory pulled her pillow over her head, Lorelai pulled the door shut and walked into the kitchen.
* * *
An hour later, when Lorelai and Rory pulled up to the diner, there were already boxes loaded into the back of Luke’s truck. Jess walked out of the diner and latched the door so it stayed open. "Hey," he said. "You might wanna stand back."
Lorelai and Rory peeked into the diner. The tables had been pushed aside so a pathway was formed in the middle, and Luke and Jackson were carrying one of Luke’s dressers toward the door. Kirk walked with them, directing them so they wouldn’t hit anything.
"Now, it’s gonna be a tight fit so watch your fingers as you go through the door," Kirk said, stepping outside. "And don’t forget to watch the steps."
Lorelai winced as Luke backed out of the diner and almost missed the first step. "Ah, be careful!" she said worriedly.
"I’m fine," he said. They brought it out onto the sidewalk and Luke said, "Okay, let’s set it down for a minute." They placed it on the sidewalk, and Luke walked over to Lorelai. "Hey."
"Hi, can we help?" she asked, putting her arm around Rory.
"Yeah, you can go up and get all the drawers that go with this. They’re all empty and stacked near the door. You can put them in your trunk," Luke said, pointing to the Jeep.
"Okay. Come on, hon," Lorelai said, grabbing Rory’s hand. As she walked past Jackson, she patted him on the back and said, "Hey Jackson, thanks for helping today."
"Glad to," he replied.
They walked into the diner as they heard Luke say, "Okay, ready to put it on the back of the truck? Jess, Kirk, we’re gonna need your help here. Everyone grab one side and. . ." Luke’s voice trailed off as Lorelai and Rory made their way through the diner and up the stairway to Luke’s apartment.
"Wow," Rory said, her eyes widening as she saw all the boxes. "All this is coming to our house?"
"Yup," Lorelai replied. "It looks like a lot because it’s all in boxes, but most of it’s stuff from his drawers, so it’s not like it’s gonna take up a lot of space or anything."
Rory nodded. She glanced around and pointed to the stack of empty drawers. "There they are." They each picked up two of them and carried them downstairs.
As they walked outside, Lorelai saw Miss Patty and Babette standing nearby, watching the men as they secured the dresser to the truck. Lorelai and Rory put the drawers in the Jeep, then walked over to them. "Hey," Lorelai said, shoving her hands in her pockets.
"Hey dolls," Babette said. "You just missed a good show."
Miss Patty smiled. "Oh, yes, it was quite entertaining watching them get that bureau up the little ramp."
"I’m sure it was," Lorelai said.
Miss Patty smirked. "You know, you’ve got yourself quite a strong man, there, dear."
"Uh, yes, I do," she agreed.
Miss Patty glanced over toward Luke and muttered, "Quite a set of biceps he’s got there. I bet his thighs are just as muscular as those arms." She bit her bottom lip and raised her eyebrows.
Lorelai’s eyes widened and she grabbed Rory’s hand. "Let’s go." She pulled Rory toward the side of the diner. "Geez, you would think I would know by now not to let you come in contact with Patty."
"That conversation was definitely heading in a place I didn’t want to visit," Rory said.
They leaned against the window and waited for the guys to finish with the dresser. When they climbed off the truck, Lorelai walked up to Luke and patted him on the back. "Hon, stay away from Patty. She’s picturing you naked again," she whispered.
Luke rolled his eyes and blushed slightly as he glanced in Patty’s direction. "Thanks for the tip. Hey, how’d you convince Kirk to help out?" Luke asked quietly.
Lorelai shrugged. "I offered him a lap dance but he said he’d be willing to do it for a box of Equal."
Luke narrowed his eyes. "Box of Equal?"
Lorelai shook her head. "I didn’t ask why, I just turned it over to him."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Weird. Okay, let’s go." Luke took her hand and led her back into the diner and upstairs to the apartment. Rory, Kirk, Jess, and Jackson followed behind them.
As the other men walked over to the second dresser, Luke stood with Rory and Lorelai at the door. "Okay, how much room do you have left in your trunk? Can you fit the rest of the drawers in there?"
Lorelai thought for a moment. "Um, I think we can probably fit like three more."
Luke nodded. "Okay, carry them all down, fit whatever you can in your trunk, then put the rest in the passenger seat of the truck."
"Okay," Lorelai said. Luke walked over to the dresser as Lorelai and Rory carried the drawers down and loaded them into the vehicles. They leaned against the Jeep and waited for the guys to bring down the dresser.
After they had loaded it into the truck next to the first one, they secured it with rope and shut the back of the truck. "Okay, this one’s full," Luke announced, tapping the side of the truck. "Jackson, I’ll move it and then you can pull your truck up and we’ll load as many boxes as we can into it."
"Okay," Jackson replied, pulling his keys out of his pocket.
Luke walked over to Lorelai. "Okay, I need you to take the Jeep home and unload everything, then bring it back so we can load some boxes into it."
Lorelai saluted him. "Aye aye, captain."
Luke started to walk away, then he turned around and said, "And make sure your bedroom is clean because the guys will all be in there."
Lorelai raised her eyebrows and smiled. "Hmm, sounds kinky."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Just make sure there’s nothing embarrassing showing."
"So I should take down the framed nude pictures of us that I just hung up on the wall?" Lorelai asked.
Luke rolled his eyes and pointed toward the Jeep. "Just go."
* * *
Later that morning, all of the boxes and furniture had been transported to Lorelai’s house. Several boxes were stacked in the yard and on the porch, and some were strewn throughout the living room and kitchen. One of the dressers was already in place in Lorelai’s room, and as Lorelai and Rory lounged on the couch, the men struggled to bring the second one up the staircase.
Lorelai turned to Rory. "You know, it’s times like this when I’m glad I’m a weak, fragile woman in a town of strong men."
Rory nodded in agreement. She glanced around the room and her eyes fell on the twin bed mattress leaning against the side door. "Are you sure that bed’s gonna fit in Jess’ room?"
"Uh huh," Lorelai nodded. "Luke measured it. Trust me, he’s got everything all planned out. He’s like the love child of Bob Vila and Martha Stewart, I swear to God."
Rory smiled. "Yeah, I can see that. He has a good mixture of masculine and feminine talents."
"I know, right? The man is organized, handy, a great builder, a good cook – it’s really the only explanation," she replied with a shrug.
"And we’re none of those things, so it’s a good thing he’s here," Rory added.
Lorelai smiled and nodded, then glanced toward the staircase. "It sounds like they finally made it into the bedroom, so I guess they’re almost done. Then we have to unload all the boxes."
Rory made a face. "Oh boy, fun times."
"You don’t have to help if you don’t want to," Lorelai said with a shrug. "I’m certainly not gonna make you spend your Saturday unpacking boxes. You can hang out with Lane or something. When’s Dean coming back from Chicago?"
"Wednesday," Rory replied. She glanced toward the stairway as Jess, Luke, Jackson, and Kirk walked down.
Lorelai stood up. "Hey. Everything all right?"
Luke nodded. "Yup, it’s all set."
The phone rang. As everyone else walked to the kitchen, Lorelai walked over to the desk and answered it. "Hello?"
"Lor," Christopher replied. "What’s up?"
"Chris, hi," Lorelai replied. "Uh, just. . .moving day."
"Oh, right, right," he replied. "I forgot that was today. Getting a lot done?"
"Yup. How’s everything with you?"
"Good, good," he replied. "Is my offspring there?"
"Yes, she is. Hold on a sec." Lorelai walked the phone into the crowded kitchen and waved it toward Rory. "It’s your dad."
Rory smiled and took the phone into her bedroom. Jess was sitting at the table drinking a soda as Jackson and Kirk were getting ready to step out the back door. "Thanks for all your help, guys," Lorelai called after them. They nodded toward her and Luke closed the door. He leaned against it and let out an exhausted sigh.
Lorelai smiled as she walked over to him and he wrapped his arms around her waist. They kissed before she rested her chin on his shoulder and hugged him. She closed her eyes as his hands moved slowly up and down her spine.
A few seconds later, Rory cleared her throat. "Uh, mom?"
Lorelai opened her eyes and turned around. "What, hon?"
Rory stood in her bedroom doorway cupping one hand over the phone receiver. "Dad wants to talk to you about me coming to visit him this summer," she said. "Uh, is now a bad time?"
Lorelai walked over to her and gestured for the phone. "No, I’ll talk to him." Lorelai took the phone and walked into the living room.
* * *
As Lorelai hung up the phone with Christopher, she walked back into the kitchen. Luke, Jess and Rory sat at the table talking. "Hey, you guys hungry for lunch?" Lorelai asked.
"Starved," Rory said.
"I could eat," Jess replied with a shrug.
"Pizza?" Lorelai suggested. They agreed, and Lorelai ordered it. As she hung up the phone, Rory asked, "So, what did Dad say?"
"Uh, he said that he wants you to come visit," Lorelai said. She walked to the refrigerator and pulled out a can of soda.
Rory rolled her eyes. "I know that part – what else?"
Lorelai shrugged. "We were just running through some dates. He was thinking that maybe you could go up for a few days in July, then maybe again for a few days in August. What do you think?"
"Sounds good," Rory said, nodding.
"Okay. Well, he’s gonna check to see when he can take off from work and stuff. We’re gonna talk about it again next week." Lorelai opened her soda and took a long sip.
"Okay," Rory replied. She stood up from the table. "Call me when the pizza’s here." She walked into her bedroom and shut the door.
Luke sighed. "We gotta start working on those boxes. Jess, you have to unload your stuff."
"I know, I know," he replied. "I’ll do it later." He stood up and walked into the living room.
Lorelai set her soda on the table and slipped her hands into her pockets. "You wanna go work on the bedroom while we’re waiting for the pizza?"
Luke nodded and stood up. "Yeah, might as well."
* * *
Later that afternoon, Luke and Lorelai unloaded the last of Luke’s clothes into his dressers. Lorelai groaned and fell back on the bed. "God, I never realized how exhausting and boring unpacking is."
"Yeah, well, it’s almost over, don’t worry." Luke carried the empty boxes into the hallway and set them by the stairway. He walked back in and closed the door behind him.
"I physically cannot go through another box today," Lorelai said. "Can we finish the rest tomorrow?"
"Yeah, we’ll do it tomorrow," Luke replied. "I have to get to the diner anyway."
Luke walked over to his dresser and pulled out a t-shirt, then took his cap off and tossed it on the bed. Lorelai rolled onto her side and watched him as he changed his shirt. He dropped the dirty one into the laundry basket near the foot of the bed, ran his fingers through his hair, then replaced the cap on his head. "Listen, come by the diner later tonight and we’ll go to the market," Luke said.
"For what?" Lorelai asked.
Luke let out a small laugh. "For what? Lorelai, there’s practically no food in this house. We’re gonna stock it up."
Lorelai sat up. "Stock it up?" she asked excitedly. "Like buy lots and lots of food?"
"Yup," he replied. "And not just junk food either. We’re gonna buy normal, everyday food."
Lorelai frowned. "Luke, the proportion of people in this house who like junk food to those who do not like junk food is three to one. That’s seventy-five percent, which means that at least seventy-five percent of the grocery purchases should be junk food."
Luke rolled his eyes. "I don’t think that’s exactly how it works, but nice try." He walked over to the door and into the hallway. He stopped at the doorway to Jess’ room, where Jess was unpacking. "Everything okay? You need anything?" Luke asked.
Jess set his CD player on a shelf, then turned around. "Yeah, like twenty more feet of space. I feel like I’m in a freaking closet."
Luke shrugged. "Sorry, but if you keep up your end of the deal, you won’t be here too long." Jess nodded and went back to unpacking. Luke walked down the stairs and Lorelai followed him.
Rory and Lane were sitting on the couch, the CD player and stacks of CDs sat in front of them on the coffee table. Luke smiled at them and walked into the kitchen as Lorelai sat in the armchair. "Hey guys."
"Hey Mom," Rory replied. "What’s up?"
"Nothing much, we just finished unpacking his clothes," Lorelai replied.
"Sounds fun," Lane remarked.
Lorelai groaned. "Oh yeah, tons. Ooh, Luke and I are gonna hit the market later. He apparently wants to keep food in the house at all times," Lorelai said with a shrug. "I don’t know what that’s all about."
Rory raised her eyebrows. "Really? Wow, that’ll take some getting used to."
Lorelai smiled. "I know." Luke walked back into the living room. "You leaving now?" she asked, standing up and walking over to him.
He nodded. "Yup. Bye Lane, see you later Rory."
"Bye Luke," Rory said.
"Bye," Lane replied.
Lorelai and Luke walked to the front door and out onto the porch. They saw the stacks of boxes on the porch – most of them empty but some still waiting to be unpacked. Lorelai groaned. "Geez, I forgot about these."
Luke shrugged. "These won’t take long. Most of this stuff can get thrown into the shed."
"Good," she said, "because we’re running out of room in the house." She ran her hands over his arms. "But I’m sure if that ever does happen, my strong little handyman here can build me a new one, huh?"
Luke smiled. "That’s right."
Lorelai smiled and kissed him. "Bye."
"See you later," he replied.
* * *
Later that night, Lorelai walked into the diner and scanned it for Luke. She spotted him wiping the table in the corner and she walked up behind him. "Hey, you ready to go?" she asked, tapping him on the shoulder.
Surprised, Luke turned around. "Oh, hey." He checked his watch. "Uh, yeah, let me just tell Caesar I’m leaving for a little while."
Lorelai smiled. "I’ll wait out front." She walked out the door and leaned against the front window with her arms folded across her chest.
A minute later, Luke walked out. "Okay, ready," he said. He pointed toward the market. "I parked the truck over there earlier so we wouldn’t have to carry the bags too far."
Lorelai smiled. "Good thinking." They started walking toward the market. Lorelai pulled a folded up piece of paper out of her pocket and handed it to him. "Rory and I started a general list of things we wanted."
Luke groaned. "Oh geez, can’t wait to see this." He read over the list silently, then stopped walking and looked at her. "You’ve got to be kidding me."
Lorelai smiled and shrugged innocently. "What?"
"This is all junk, Lorelai," Luke said. "There’s not one normal food product on this list . . . and not one thing that’s not completely unhealthy."
"Uh huh!" Lorelai exclaimed. "Cheese puffs."
Luke rolled his eyes. "How are cheese puffs healthy?"
Lorelai scoffed. "Hello, cheese contains milk which helps us grow strong, hence the cheese puffs are healthy. There, ha." She smiled proudly.
"Yeah, well, I think the preservatives and other crap they add to those things negates any and all healthiness that might have once been contained in that cheese," Luke said. He looked at the list and shook his head. "I can’t believe this is what you guys have been living on for years," he muttered.
Lorelai smirked. "Impressed that I’ve been able to maintain this figure?"
"No, I’m impressed that you’ve managed to stay alive this long with all the crap that’s been building up on your arteries – which, by the way, will ultimately lead to the failure of your heart," he said, nodding knowingly. He shook his finger at her. "Trust me, one day this will all catch up to you."
She playfully pushed his hand away. "Yes, and until that day arrives, I say let us eat cake."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Fine, kill yourself."
Lorelai grinned. "I will, thank you." She laced her fingers through his and they walked to the market.
* * *
An hour later, they walked through the front door, each of them carrying several bags. Rory was in the kitchen pouring herself a drink, and her eyes widened at the amount of bags. "Oh my God," she said with a laugh.
Lorelai smiled as she set her bags on the table. "And there are like four more bags in the truck." She walked over to Rory. "Can you go help Luke with ‘em? I’ll hold this for you and make sure nobody drinks it." Lorelai took Rory’s cup and drank some.
Rory rolled her eyes. "Thanks." She followed Luke out front and they brought in the last of the bags. They squeezed them onto the table with the other bags, then Rory walked over to claim her drink. Lorelai handed Rory the empty cup and Rory exclaimed, "Mom, that was the last of the iced tea!"
Lorelai smiled and walked to the table. "Aha, but you’ll soon forget how rude that was of me when you see all the great stuff we bought. . . including. . . " She reached into a bag and pulled out a canister. "Tada! More iced tea mix."
Rory smiled. "Okay, you’re forgiven. What else did you get?"
"’What didn’t we get’ would be a more appropriate question," Luke said, rolling his eyes. He started unloading a bag.
Lorelai giggled. "Oh my God, we got so much good stuff. Cookies, chips, soda, ice cream, whipped cream, Pop Tarts, cookie dough. . .you name it."
"Geez, he let you buy all that?" Rory asked, surprised. "What did you do, blindfold him and sneak the stuff into the basket?"
"Trust me, she probably would’ve tried that if I’d argued," Luke said.
Lorelai smiled as she set the iced tea mix on the table. "He let me buy it because he finds me overwhelmingly adorable."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Or maybe it’s because you’d never in a million years let me tell you what to eat so I didn’t even bother to try."
"That too," Lorelai shrugged. She reached into one of the bags and pulled out a package of raw chicken. "Ooh, Rory, look at this. You know how when we go to your grandparents’ house, we have regular, normal meals?"
Rory nodded. "Uh huh."
Lorelai held up the chicken. "Well, we actually bought the types of food that will enable us to have full complete meals right here in this very house. . .you know, with side dishes and stuff. Food that you have to use the oven and stove to cook as opposed to the microwave or toaster."
Rory’s eyes widened. "Really?"
"Yup, hold this." She handed the package to Rory, then rummaged in the bag and pulled out a jar. "You put this stuff on it." She showed Rory the bottle of marinade.
Rory raised her eyebrows. "Looks good. Uh, do we know how to cook stuff like that?"
Lorelai smiled and gestured dramatically toward Luke. "I give you our very own Julia Child."
Luke groaned. "Please – if you’re gonna compare me to a chef, at least make it a man," he said.
"A male chef. . .hmm, let me think. Uh, Graham Kerr? Bobby Flay?" Lorelai suggested. "Ooh, Emeril?"
Luke rolled his eyes. "You know what, Julia’s fine." He stacked several boxes of cereal in a cabinet.
Moments later, Jess walked through the front door and came into the kitchen. He grabbed a soda from the fridge, popped it open, and drank half of it. As Luke crumbled a bag and threw it away, he nodded toward Jess. "Hey."
"Hey." Jess glanced at the girls, who were staring intently at the package of chicken and the marinade. "What are they doing?"
Lorelai showed him the package. "We have chicken."
"Yeah, real chicken that you have to cook in the oven," Rory said, her eyes widening with excitement.
Lorelai held up the bottle of marinade. "And marinade to pour on it," she added excitedly.
Jess glanced questioningly at Luke, who rolled his eyes and shrugged. Jess raised his eyebrows. "Okay, carry on." He walked over to the table and glanced in some of the bags.
Luke walked over to him. "You hungry? We just bought a ton of food."
Jess reached into a bag and grabbed a small bag of chips. "I’ll take these." He walked out of the kitchen and went up to his room.
Luke unloaded another bag, then said, "Okay, I gotta get back to the diner and help close up. You think you two can put the chicken down long enough to finish putting this stuff away?" He gestured to the bags.
Lorelai groaned. "You’re leaving us with all the hard work?"
Luke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I know opening cabinets is tough but I have a feeling you’ll be able to handle it. See you guys later."
"Bye," Lorelai muttered. As Luke walked out the back door, Lorelai draped her arm across Rory’s shoulder. "Okay, kid, where do we start?"
Rory glanced at all the bags. "Hmm, let’s split it up. I’ll do the junk food, you do the normal food," she said.
Lorelai sighed. "Deal."
* * *
Almost an hour later, Luke walked through the front door. He dropped his keys on the hall table and walked into the living room. Lorelai was sitting on the couch watching television, and she smiled up at him. "Hey."
He sat down next to her. "Hey." He leaned his head against the back of the couch and closed his eyes.
Lorelai turned off the television. "Tired?" she asked, rubbing his knee.
He opened his eyes and looked at her. "A little bit." He exhaled slowly. "You know, it was a little strange tonight."
"What was?" she asked.
"Well, I mean, closing up the diner and then. . .not going upstairs," Luke explained. "It was weird to have to walk outside and drive home."
Lorelai smiled. "A bad weird?"
"Is there such thing as a good weird?" Luke asked.
"I’m not sure, I think so."
"It wasn’t bad, it was just. . .different," Luke said with a shrug.
Lorelai moved onto his lap, placing a knee on either side of his legs. "Did you hate having to do it so much that you wanna run upstairs, pack everything up, and move back to your apartment so you can be closer to work?"
Luke smiled. "No."
"Good." Lorelai leaned forward and kissed him. She pulled back slightly, leaving her face just inches from his. "Hey?"
He put his hands on her waist. "Yeah?"
Lorelai smiled. "We’re living together now."
Luke smiled. "I know." She leaned forward and rested her head on his shoulder. He hugged her tightly, nuzzling his nose against her neck. He kissed it softly and smiled to himself. "I know."
* * *
Later that night, as they climbed up the steps for bed, they heard music coming from Jess’ bedroom. Luke groaned. "I’ll tell him to turn it down." He started to walk toward the room but Lorelai grabbed his hand.
"Wait, wait, wait," Lorelai said quickly. She pulled him into their bedroom and shut the door.
"Geez, what is it?" Luke asked.
Lorelai ran her hand over his chest. "Don’t you wanna celebrate our first night together?" She kissed his neck just below his ear.
Luke shrugged. "Yeah, what’s your point?"
"That the walls are thin, Luke," Lorelai pointed out. "We might as well take advantage of the noise."
Luke thought it over for a moment. "Huh, good point," he muttered.
Lorelai giggled and tapped herself on the head. "See, I’m always thinking. You can tell him to turn it down when we’re done." She reached around Luke and locked the door, then smiled up at him. "Now, do you wanna be the superhero, or the poor helpless victim that the superhero saves and then takes advantage of?"
Luke rolled his eyes. "Just get on the bed."
Lorelai smiled. "Yes, sir."
* * *
Later that night, Lorelai finished brushing her teeth and walked back to the bedroom, and she shut and locked the door. Luke was already in bed, leaning against the headboard and tapping his hands aimlessly on his stomach. He stopped tapping as Lorelai dropped her robe and tossed it on the chair. He watched her as she pulled a pajama top out of her dresser and slipped it on. She pulled her hair out of the collar and buttoned the bottom three buttons, then turned off the light and climbed into bed. She pulled the covers up over her, then turned to him and smiled. "Night."
Luke smiled. "Night." He leaned over and kissed her, then turned over on his side. Lorelai rolled onto her stomach and closed her eyes.
* * *
The next morning, the blaring alarm woke Lorelai out of a sound sleep at six o’clock. "What the hell?" she mumbled groggily.
Luke reached over her to turn it off. "Shh, go back to sleep," he whispered.
"Isn’t it Sunday?" she mumbled. "Who uses an alarm on a Sunday?"
Luke yawned loudly. "Someone who runs a diner that’s open seven days a week."
Lorelai groaned into her pillow. "So this is gonna happen every Sunday?" she whined.
"And Saturday," he added.
Lorelai groaned even louder. "Great," she muttered. She turned over onto her back and sighed. "Maybe we should rethink this whole living together arrangement."
Luke let out a small laugh. "Oh, nice, thanks."
Lorelai laughed. "Kidding." As Luke stood up and stretched, Lorelai turned onto her side and watched him. "Did you sleep okay?"
"Yup, perfect," he replied. "You?"
"Mmhmm," Lorelai nodded.
Luke walked to his dresser and pulled out some clothes. He walked over to the foot of the bed and said, "I’m gonna go take a shower."
"Okay," she replied through a yawn. "I’m gonna try to go back to sleep."
"Okay." Luke watched as she rolled onto her back and closed her eyes.
A few seconds later, with her eyes still closed, Lorelai laughed. "Okay, I can feel you looking at me. What is it?"
"Nothing," he replied quickly.
Lorelai opened her eyes and smiled at him. "Luke, what is it?" she repeated. He smiled at her for a few seconds before he crawled onto the bed and lay on top of her. He kissed her cheek, then whispered something into her ear. As he pulled back, she smiled up at him. "I love you, too."
He smiled and climbed off the bed. As he walked toward the door, she suddenly sat up. "Wait, it’s our first day waking up together as official shacker-uppers."
Luke turned to her and laughed. "Shacker-uppers? Is that the technical term?"
Lorelai smiled and slowly climbed out of bed. She walked over to her chair and grabbed her robe, then walked back to him. "Yes, it is, and the first rule of the shacking-up handbook is the obligatory shower together that happens on the first day you wake up as shacker-uppers."
"Oh yeah?" Luke asked.
Lorelai smiled. "Yup. Now, of course, in most normal houses, it doesn’t happen at this insane hour on a Sunday, but dare to be different, right?"
Luke smiled. "Right." Luke opened the bedroom door and they walked to the bathroom.
* * *
Thirty minutes later, the bathroom door opened and they both walked out; Luke was fully dressed, Lorelai was in her robe. They walked to their bedroom and Lorelai collapsed on the bed. Luke sat on the edge of it and pulled his shoes on, then walked over to his dresser. He stuck his wallet in his back pocket and fastened his watch on, then picked up his baseball cap and placed it on his slightly damp hair.
He walked over to Lorelai. "Okay, I’m leaving. You coming in for breakfast?"
She shrugged. "Not sure yet. I’ll probably be in sometime today, though."
"Okay." Luke leaned down and kissed her. "Bye."
"Bye." Lorelai closed her eyes and pulled the covers over herself as Luke walked out of the bedroom and pulled the door shut behind him.
End Part 31
* * *
Part 32
A few hours later, Lorelai walked into the kitchen and knocked on Rory’s bedroom door. "Rory!" she called. When there was no answer, she pushed open the door and peeked inside. Seeing that Rory wasn’t in there, she closed the door and walked over to the coffee maker, which someone had left on to keep the coffee hot for her. Next to it sat a note from Rory saying she had gone to Lane’s. Lorelai poured herself a cup of coffee and sat down at the table.
She rested her elbows on the table and closed her eyes, still not completely awake yet. When she heard footsteps rumbling down the staircase, she opened her eyes, and moments later saw Jess walking down the hallway. He stopped at the entryway to the kitchen when he saw Lorelai at the table. "Oh," he said, burying his hands in his pockets. "I didn’t think anyone else was here."
Lorelai shrugged. "I’m the only one." Jess nodded and shifted his feet, and there was an awkward pause before Lorelai asked, "So. . . did you sleep okay?"
"Not bad," he replied.
"Good." Lorelai nodded and took a sip of her coffee. She set the cup back down and asked, "Uh, did you eat breakfast?"
"Nah, I just got up." Jess walked to the refrigerator and pulled it open.
"Yeah, me too." Lorelai stood up and walked over to a cabinet. She pulled it open and grabbed a box of cereal. "Hey, can you grab me the milk?"
She grabbed a bowl from a nearby cabinet as Jess glanced at the box of cereal she was holding. "Yeah, can you get me a bowl?"
Lorelai, who had just shut the cabinet door, said, "Oh. . .yeah." She opened it back up and grabbed another bowl.
After opening three drawers unsuccessfully, Jess finally found the silverware drawer and grabbed two spoons. They brought everything to the table and poured themselves bowls of cereals. Lorelai sat back down in her seat and Jess slid into the chair across from her.
They ate in silence for a few minutes, then Lorelai poured herself a second bowl and glanced at Jess. "You want more?" she asked, holding up the box.
He shook his head. "Not yet. Not everyone inhales their food like you do."
Lorelai set the box back down and smirked. "You’re just jealous," she said knowingly.
"Jealous of your ability to eat fast?" Jess asked, rolling his eyes. "Wow, you’re right – you got me."
"I knew it," she said with a shrug. "Everyone aspires to be like me."
"Yeah, we get tons of people coming into the bookstore looking for the "How to Be Like Lorelai Gilmore" manual. We just can’t seem to keep ‘em on the shelves," Jess said.
Lorelai smiled. "See, I knew it would be a big seller one of these days."
Jess smirked and glanced down at his bowl.
Lorelai took a sip of her coffee and stared at him for a second. "So . . .do you really hate it here?"
Jess looked up. "What?"
"Here, Stars Hollow – do you hate it?" Lorelai asked.
Jess shrugged and aimlessly stirred his cereal around in his bowl.
Lorelai shoved a spoonful in her mouth and watched him. "So. . . what does that mean?" she asked.
Jess didn’t look up. "Take it however you want."
"I’d take it as a no," Lorelai replied. When Jess didn’t reply, Lorelai cleared her throat. "So, uh, work’s okay?"
"Yup," he replied. He reached for the cereal box and poured himself a second bowl.
"Good, good," Lorelai said, nodding. "So – "
Jess looked up and interrupted, "Look, for some reason, you think you have to make conversation with me, so let me just set you straight and tell you that you really don’t have to. I’m perfectly fine eating in silence."
Lorelai scoffed. "I’m not doing it because I think I have to. Unlike you, I hate eating in silence and since you’re the only one here, you get to be the recipient of all my annoying questions and babble."
"Well, maybe you should just pretend no one’s here because I’m not really in a small talking mood this morning," Jess said.
Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "You really want me to pretend you’re not here?"
Jess nodded.
Lorelai nodded. "Okay, no problem. . . la la la. . . pretending you’re not here now." She ate a few bites of her cereal, then picked up her spoon and said, "So Spoony, what are you doing today?" She paused and brought it to her ear. "Oh really, you’re going to the movies with Forky? That sounds like fun. What are you gonna see?"
Jess slowly lifted his head up and stared at her.
She continued, "Ooh, yeah, if you enjoy the Scooby Doo cartoon on television, I think you’ll like the movie." She put her spoon down and picked up her mug. "And Mugsy, what are you doing today? Are you gonna – "
"What the heck are you doing?" Jess interrupted.
Lorelai put down her mug and shrugged. "Pretending that no one’s here."
Jess raised his eyebrows and gave her a strange look. "When no one’s here, you talk to the objects around you?" Lorelai smiled and nodded, and Jess shook his head slightly toward the table. "Oh geez," he muttered.
Lorelai giggled. "Now, if the person who’s not sitting across from me is finished, I’ll continue with my conversation." She picked up the cereal box. "Toucan Sam, how are you feeling this morning?" She paused a moment, then gasped and frowned. "A touch under the weather? Aw, I’m so sorry to hear that. Try not to get Tony the Tiger sick, okay? He has big plans with Mrs. Butterworth later. Yes, I know she’s married. . .believe me, I told him to stay away from her, but you know how Tony gets sometimes." Jess let out a small laugh and continued eating his cereal.
* * *
A few hours later, Lorelai and Sookie walked into the diner and sat down at the counter. They talked for a few minutes until Luke walked out of the kitchen carrying several plates. He smiled as he walked past them and delivered the plates to a table, then returned to the counter and stood in front of them. "Hey."
"Hey Luke," Sookie said. "Heard you have a death wish."
"What?" he asked with a confused look.
She gestured toward Lorelai. "You plan on waking her up every weekend at six? That’s a huge argument waiting to happen."
Lorelai smiled. "Don’t worry – after a few weeks, he’ll see the crankiness building up and figure out some way to correct this little problem. Like, he could possibly get an alarm installed inside of his head so that only he can hear it."
Luke rolled his eyes. "It might be a tad easier to just arrange for someone else to open up for me on the weekends."
"Hmm, that’s probably safer than the brain surgery I suggested," Lorelai said, nodding.
"I’ll see what I can do," Luke said. He pulled his pad out of his waistband. "You eating?"
"Yes," Sookie replied. "BLT."
"Burger," Lorelai replied.
Luke rolled his eyes as he wrote it down. "Right. Coming up. Drinks?"
"Water for me," Sookie replied.
"Coffee," Lorelai said.
Luke brought them their drinks, then walked into the kitchen. Sookie and Lorelai talked for a few minutes until Taylor walked over and set a piece of paper down on the counter. "Afternoon, ladies," Taylor said.
Surprised, they looked up. "Oh, hey Taylor," Lorelai said.
Sookie picked up the paper. "What’s this?"
"Well, there’s been some concern from the Stars Hollow Community Council that we don’t have enough summer festivals," Taylor said.
Lorelai’s mouth dropped open slightly. "Not enough festivals?"
"That’s right, so this is a flyer explaining that tonight at the town meeting there will be a vote on what kind of new festival we should institute," Taylor explained. "Any suggestions?"
"Ooh, I’m all for some sort of festival where hot shirtless guys massage all the women for free," Lorelai said excitedly.
Taylor rolled his eyes. "I don’t think so. We’re looking for suggestions that have to do with summer, such as my proposal - a summer fruit and vegetable festival."
Lorelai groaned. "Ugh, a whole festival devoted to healthy food? Puh-lease."
Taylor frowned. "And I suppose you have a better suggestion?"
"Yes, I do. The First Annual Stars Hollow Chocolate Festival," she said proudly.
"A chocolate festival?" Taylor asked, wrinkling his forehead. "Um, I don’t know if that’s quite what we’re looking for."
"Why not? You wanted to do a healthy festival, why can’t there be an unhealthy festival?" Lorelai asked.
Luke walked out of the kitchen and glanced curiously at them. "What’s going on? What are those?" he asked, pointing to the stack of flyers on the counter.
"Flyers for the town meeting tonight," Taylor said. "Which, by the way, starts at seven instead of the usual eight o’clock starting time. Make a note so you’re not late."
"You know I don’t allow flyers in here, Taylor," Luke said sternly. "Get ‘em outta here."
"Luke, we need to inform the residents that there will be a vote at the meeting tonight, and that they should come with suggestions for the new festival," Taylor explained.
"New festival? My God, you really think this town needs another stupid festival?" Luke exclaimed.
Lorelai put her hand over Luke’s mouth. "Shh, I’m in the middle of something here." She turned to Taylor. "So, what’s wrong with my idea?"
Luke pushed her hand away. "What idea?"
"Shh!" she said, waving him off. Luke rolled his eyes and walked away. Lorelai repeated, "What’s wrong with it, Taylor?"
"Well, I just don’t think the town will find a chocolate festival to be a good representation of summer," Taylor said.
Lorelai gasped. "Oh my God, you couldn’t be more wrong. I’m suggesting it at the meeting tonight, I bet people will love it."
Taylor shrugged. "Okay, you can suggest it, but I don’t know if the townspeople will go for it." He picked up his stack of flyers and walked away.
Lorelai turned to Sookie and smiled. "Oh my God, a chocolate festival! This is gonna be so fun!"
"Well, you haven’t gotten it approved yet, hon," she pointed out.
Lorelai smirked. "No, but everyone loves chocolate."
Luke walked out of the kitchen and set their plates in front of them. "I don’t," he said.
Lorelai smiled. "That’s because you’re weird."
"Thank you," Luke replied. "Now what was all that talk with Taylor about?"
"I’m suggesting that the next town function be a festival dedicated to chocolate," Lorelai said as she ate a fry.
Luke rolled his eyes. "Right, because the Annual Stars Hollow Summer Barbecue isn’t unhealthy enough, we need to have a completely new festival that’s even worse."
"Oh, come on, it’ll be so great! Brownies, cakes, cookies, pudding, cupcakes, chocolate covered pretzels, chocolate candy. . .there’s so many different things people can bring," Lorelai said excitedly. "It’ll be so fun."
"Yeah, for you," Luke said dryly. "What part of it is fun for me?"
Lorelai smiled and leaned forward on the counter. "The part that directly follows this sentence – ‘Luke, I had too much chocolate and now I can’t fall asleep, what should we do all night?’"
Luke’s face tightened and he gave an embarrassed glance toward Sookie. He shifted his feet uncomfortably. "Yeah, well, have fun – I’m certainly not going."
"Sure you are," Lorelai replied.
"Uh, no, I’m pretty sure I’m not," Luke said.
Lorelai sighed. "You’ll still make something chocolate to contribute, won’t you? Please, please, please!" She tilted her head to the side and pouted.
Luke rolled his eyes. "If I have time."
"Thank you." Lorelai smiled. She took a bite of her burger and chewed it slowly. When she was finished, she said, "You know, you still have boxes to unpack."
Luke nodded. "I know, we’ll get to them later. What are you guys doing after lunch?"
"We’re going shopping and then we’re gonna pick up someone’s wedding dress," Lorelai said, smiling toward Sookie.
Sookie giggled excitedly. "I can’t wait to see it again!"
Luke smiled and nodded. "Sounds good." He exhaled loudly and gestured over his shoulder. "Okay, I gotta get back in the kitchen."
Lorelai took a bite of her burger, then nodded. "See you later," she mumbled through her mouthful of food.
"Bye." Luke nodded toward Sookie before he turned around and walked into the kitchen.
* * *
Later that afternoon, Lorelai and Sookie walked into Lorelai’s house. Lorelai was carrying several shopping bags and Sookie was carrying her wedding dress in a closed garment bag. They brought everything upstairs to Lorelai’s bedroom, and Lorelai tossed the bags on the bed, then made room for the dress in her closet. As Sookie hung up the dress, she said, "I really appreciate you letting me keep it here."
"Aw, it’s no trouble." Lorelai smiled and walked over to her mirror. She ran her brush through her hair, then said, "Okay, ready to go to your house?"
Sookie and Lorelai walked down the steps and out the front door. As they walked toward the Jeep, Lorelai said, "You know what, I don’t think we got the mail yesterday."
"You were probably too busy with moving and stuff," Sookie said.
"Yeah, let me get it now," Lorelai said. She walked to the mailbox and opened it up. She pulled out a few bills, a magazine, and a small package, then Sookie followed her as she brought the mail into the house and set it on the kitchen table.
Lorelai picked up the small package. "Oh, I think these are our new checks," she said. She ripped off the letter attached to the front and opened it. She read through it silently, her eyes widening slightly when she got to the bottom of the page.
Sookie noticed the change in Lorelai’s expression. "What’s wrong?"
Lorelai lowered the paper and said, "Oh my God." She stared straight ahead for a moment, then brought the paper back up to her face and read it again. "Oh my God," she repeated. She lowered the paper and smiled at Sookie.
"What is it?" Sookie asked.
"Our new account balance," Lorelai said. "You know, they combined mine and Luke’s accounts so it’s all one big account now."
"And?" Sookie prompted.
Lorelai laughed slightly. "Uh, well, it’s a lot more than I thought it was gonna be."
"A lot more?" Sookie asked. "Like how much more?"
"Um, like four times more," Lorelai said as she stared at the number on the paper. "Oh my God."
Sookie giggled. "Too bad you didn’t find that out ‘til after we went shopping."
Lorelai’s eyes widened. "Sookie, I can’t believe he had that much money in his account."
"Honey, the guy has a successful business, he rarely goes shopping or buys anything for himself – it makes sense that it would add up after awhile," Sookie deduced.
Lorelai slowly nodded in agreement, though her face still showed signs of shock. She smiled at the paper and shook her head slightly. "Wow."
Sookie took the letter from her and shoved it back into the envelope, then dropped it on the table. "Okay, before you decide to exploit your newfound riches by running out to buy a car, let’s go finish Rory’s dress." Lorelai nodded aimlessly as Sookie grabbed her arm and pulled her toward the front door.
* * *
That night, after Taylor had officially ended the town meeting, Lorelai stood up and clapped excitedly. She tapped Luke on the shoulder. "I told you! I knew they would go for a chocolate festival!"
Luke stood up. "No, remember what the committee said – it’s a general dessert festival, not just a chocolate one. You have to include other non-chocolate products for those people who might be allergic to chocolate."
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Yeah, yeah, yeah, blah, blah, blah. Chocolate will definitely be the predominant flavor, so I’m still calling it the chocolate festival." She turned to Rory. "Does your mom come up with the best ideas or what?"
Rory smiled. "Yes, she does. I can’t believe they scheduled it for this weekend though – that doesn’t give people much time to make stuff."
"Oh, it’ll be plenty of time," Lorelai said. "It doesn’t take long to make stuff."
Rory rolled her eyes. "How would you know? You never make stuff."
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Huh, that’s true." She turned to Luke. "Does it take long to make stuff?"
Luke shook his head. "Nope."
"See?" Lorelai said to Rory. "It doesn’t take long to make stuff."
"Okay, you’ve now said the phrase ‘make stuff’ enough times to officially wear it out for the rest of the year," Luke pointed out. "Can we go home now?"
Lorelai frowned. "Yeah, let’s go home and *make stuff*," she said, emphasizing the phrase loudly. Rory laughed as they walked out of the dance studio and headed back to their house.
When they arrived home, they found Jess on the couch watching television, his feet resting comfortably on the coffee table. Lorelai stood at the entryway to the living room and gasped. "What do you think you’re doing?" she asked loudly.
Startled, Jess jumped and quickly removed his feet from the table. He turned and saw Lorelai glaring at him. "Geez, sorry," he mumbled.
Lorelai dropped her purse on the floor and exclaimed, "I can’t believe you’re watching The Princess Bride without us!" She ran over to the couch and sat down. "Rory, come on!"
"Ooh!" Rory exclaimed. She walked over and sat down next to Lorelai, and they stared intently at the screen. Jess glanced at them with an amused look before he brought his gaze back to the television. A few seconds later, the three of them almost simultaneously put their feet up on the coffee table.
Luke stood near the staircase watching them. He shook his head slightly, then cleared his throat. "Lorelai?"
"Shhh!" she hushed him loudly and waved him off. "Our favorite line’s coming up." A few seconds later, Lorelai and Rory recited with the television, "My name is Inigo Montoya. You killed my father. Prepare to die." They giggled and continued watching the movie.
Luke rolled his eyes and exhaled loudly. "Okay, I’m gonna start unpacking the rest of the boxes. . .by myself. . .with no help."
"Okay, have fun," Lorelai replied distractedly, her eyes glued to the television set. Luke walked out onto the front porch and started going through one of the boxes.
A few minutes later, Lorelai walked out onto the porch. "Hey."
"Tore yourself away from the movie long enough to help?" Luke asked.
She smiled. "Yup, wasn’t that nice of me?"
"Extremely," Luke said. He stood up and carried a box toward the shed, and Lorelai followed him.
"What’s in the box?" Lorelai asked. Luke walked into the shed and Lorelai leaned against the doorframe.
"Uh, just some extra tools and stuff," Luke answered as he set the box down. He walked back across the lawn to the front porch, and Lorelai followed him. As he started going through another box, he suddenly looked up at her. "Uh, were you gonna actually help or did you just come out here for moral support?"
Lorelai smiled. "Moral support."
Luke rolled his eyes and went back to rummaging through the box. "Oh, this box goes in our bedroom."
"What is it?" Lorelai asked.
"Some free weights and stuff," Luke replied as he picked up the box. "Can you get the door?"
Lorelai pulled open the front door and they walked inside. As Luke started carrying the box upstairs, Lorelai detoured to the kitchen where she grabbed the box of checks and the accompanying letter, then walked up to her bedroom.
Luke was kneeling next to his dressers unloading his weights as Lorelai walked in and sat on the edge of the bed. "Hey, uh, our new checks came in."
"Oh yeah?" he replied, not looking up. "Took ‘em long enough. They were supposed to be here last week."
"Yeah, well, it probably just took them awhile to move your million dollars worth of funds into a new account," Lorelai said.
Luke stopped and looked up. "What are you talking about?"
Lorelai pulled out the letter and held it out to him. "I’m talking about this."
He stood up and sat next to her on the bed before he took the letter and read through it. When he finished, he shrugged and handed it back to her. "What about it?"
Lorelai’s eyes widened. "What about it? Luke, what. . .why. . .how do you have this much money in your account?"
He narrowed his eyes. "Excuse me?"
Lorelai looked down at the paper. "Man, this totally explains the big expensive weekend getaway and the offer to pay for Chilton and – ."
"Okay, stop," Luke interrupted, holding up his hand. "What’s the problem here?"
Lorelai shook her head. "There’s no problem. . .it’s not a problem. I’m just not used to looking at my account balance and seeing that I could easily go and buy out the women’s department of Bloomingdale’s."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Okay, first of all, you’re completely exaggerating, and second of all, just because the money’s there doesn’t mean you have to go out and spend it. That’s why the money’s there in the first place – because I don’t run out and spend it the minute I make it. I know how to manage it and build it up – and hopefully that’s not gonna all come to a crashing halt now that you have access to it, right?"
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Right, right, sure. Don’t worry about me." She stood up. "Now I have to go call out of work tomorrow so I can drive to New York and hit Saks and Tiffany’s."
Luke stood up and put his hands on her shoulders. "Okay, maybe a joint checking account wasn’t the best idea we ever had."
Lorelai smiled and kissed him. "No, no, I promise I won’t go crazy."
"Good." Luke kneeled back down and continued unloading his weights.
Lorelai picked up the box of checks and opened it. "Ooh, the clouds look really pretty. Look at ‘em."
"Okay, before I look, you will take back the word pretty," Luke said. "I refuse to have pretty checks."
Lorelai laughed. "Sorry – these checks look so manly," she said in a deep voice.
She held out the checkbook toward him and he turned to look at them. He stared at the pattern for a minute, then narrowed his eyes. "You know, that cloud pattern looks familiar. Don’t you have - " his voice trailed off as Lorelai dropped the checkbook on the bed and unzipped her denim shorts. She pulled them down slightly, revealing the cloud pattern on her underwear. Luke smiled. "Okay, I know what I’ll be thinking about when I’m paying bills from now on."
Lorelai giggled and pulled her shorts back up. "I know. That was going to be my argument if you had originally disagreed with my cloud choice. . .but you didn’t."
"Yeah, well, I must’ve subconsciously recognized the design and decided to just go along with it," Luke said. He turned back to his box and took out the last dumbbell. He stood up and said, "Okay, let’s go finish those boxes. Maybe you can actually help this time instead of just watching?"
Lorelai shrugged. "We’ll see."
* * *
A few days later, Luke walked through the front door just as Lorelai and Rory were getting ready to walk out. Luke dropped his keys on the table by the door and said, "Hey."
"Hey Luke," Rory said.
"Hi," Lorelai said, kissing him on the cheek. "Girls’ night out, bye!" She and Rory rushed past him out the front door.
Luke followed them out the door and stood on the porch. They were already halfway across the yard. "Where you going?" he called.
Lorelai turned around while she continued walking backward toward the Jeep. "We’re not sure yet. We’re gonna drive around the nearby towns until we see something to do. See you later!" She and Rory climbed into the Jeep and drove away.
Luke walked back into the house and into the kitchen where Jess was staring into the refrigerator. "Hey," Luke said.
Jess turned and looked at him. "Hey."
"Not working tonight?" Luke asked.
"Nope, got the afternoon shift this week," Jess replied. He shut the refrigerator, then walked over to a cabinet and pulled it open. He pulled out a package of Pop Tarts, then walked over to the toaster and put them in. He leaned against the counter and folded his arms across his chest as he waited for them.
Luke walked over to the refrigerator and pulled out a bottle of water. He took a long sip, then leaned against the fridge and said, "So. . . you liking it here so far? I mean, this house?"
Jess shrugged. "It’s not so bad."
"Yeah, it’s nice having more than one room to hang out in, huh?"
"Guess so."
"And you and Lorelai are. . .getting along, right?" Luke asked.
"Oh, yeah, we even exchanged friendship bracelets," he replied.
"Jess," Luke said sternly. "Come on, just give me a few minutes of normal talking, okay?"
Jess sighed and pursed his lips. "Yes, we’re getting along."
"Good," Luke replied. "Good."
* * *
As Lorelai drove toward the highway, she gave a quick glance toward Rory and said, "Can I ask you something?"
"You just did," Rory replied.
"Ha, you’re funny," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. "Serious question?"
"Yeah, sure," Rory replied. "What is it?"
"How are you adjusting to having the guys there? I mean, are you okay with everything?" Lorelai asked.
"Yeah, I’m fine with it," Rory said.
"Rory," Lorelai said, narrowing her eyes at her. "Don’t tell me what you think I wanna hear. I want an honest answer."
"I swear I’m not lying," Rory insisted. "I’m perfectly fine with everything. I mean, it’s still a little weird to wake up and. . .you know, see a guy sitting at the kitchen table, but it’s not a bad weird."
"Good weird?" Lorelai suggested.
"Is there such a thing?" Rory asked.
"Luke and I decided yes," Lorelai replied.
"Okay, well, then it’s a good weird," Rory said. "It’s just different. It’ll take some getting used to."
"But you like it so far?" Lorelai asked.
"Yeah, it’s cool having more people around," Rory said. "And as long as we maintain the ‘males and females have separate laundry’ rule, I’ll be fine. I’d rather Luke wasn’t the one washing my intimate apparel, thank you."
Lorelai laughed. "Don’t worry – I think the feeling’s mutual."
Rory smiled. "What about you? Are you liking it so far?"
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "I love it."
"Even having to share your bed?" Rory asked.
"Especially. . .having to share my bed," Lorelai said, raising her eyebrows and smiling slyly.
Rory wrinkled her nose. "Knew I shouldn’t have gone in that direction."
Lorelai smiled. "Sorry. But yeah, it’s been really fun so far. And the fact that Luke can make us breakfast in the morning is just icing on the cake."
Rory smiled. "Yeah, it was weird waking up to the smell of food yesterday."
"But it was great," Lorelai said. They were quiet for a moment before she turned to Rory and said, "Another serious question?"
Rory nodded. "What?"
Lorelai looked at Rory seriously for a moment, then asked, "Do I have something in my teeth?" She clenched her teeth together and grinned at Rory.
Rory laughed and shook her head. "No, you’re good."
Lorelai turned back to the road. "Okay, thanks."
Rory turned the radio on and switched quickly through the stations until she finally found a song she liked. She blasted the volume, then yelled over the noise, "Where are we going?"
"I don’t know!" Lorelai yelled back with a shrug.
* * *
Slightly before eleven, Lorelai and Rory pulled up to their house and walked quietly inside. "Night Mom," Rory whispered, kissing her on the cheek.
"Night hon," Lorelai replied. Rory walked to her bedroom and Lorelai walked upstairs to hers. She quietly pushed open the door to her bedroom, trying hard not to wake Luke. However, when she walked in, she saw that he was still awake, lying in bed watching the small television that sat on her dresser.
Luke smiled up at her. "Hey." He picked up the remote and turned off the television, then sat up in the bed.
"Hey." Lorelai smiled at him as she shut the door. She tossed her purse in the bottom of the closet, then sat down on the bed next to him. He pressed his lips against hers, starting a deep, passionate kiss that didn’t end until she had to break for air. As she pulled back from him, she panted for a few seconds to catch her breath, then smiled and said, "I’d ask why you were still up, but I think I just found out."
Luke smirked. "Yeah, well, I haven’t seen you all day." He leaned forward and kissed her again. As he pulled back from her, he ran his hands down her arms and asked, "Where did you guys go?"
"Danbury," Lorelai replied, climbing off the bed. She pulled off her shirt and tossed it on the floor.
Luke’s eyes widened. "Danbury? What did you do there?"
She kicked off her sandals, then unzipped her shorts and slid them off. She smiled and said, "Auditioned for a play."
Luke laughed. "What?"
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "We drove past this little theater and there was a sign out front that said they were holding open auditions. So, first, I spent a few minutes trying to convince Rory to do it with me, then, after bribing her with ten bucks, we went in and gave them fake names and addresses, then did a scene from The Wizard of Oz."
Luke laughed. "Which scene?"
"Duh, the scene where Dorothy meets Glinda the good witch," she said as if it was obvious.
Luke rolled his eyes. "Oh, of course, I should’ve known." He smiled and shook his head slightly. "I can’t believe you. You know you’re crazy, don’t you?"
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yes, I do. And then we went out for dinner, and then we were walking around and we found this old movie theater and they were having a Marlon Brando marathon, so we caught some of that, and then we got ice cream and came home." She smiled. "Oh God, Luke, we had so much fun."
"Sounds like it," Luke smiled.
Lorelai pulled the clip out of her hair and set it on her dresser. "What did you do?"
"Uh, nothing much. I ate dinner, lifted some weights, watched a little tv," Luke replied.
"Aw, sounds like I had more fun than you," Lorelai said. She undid her bra and dropped it to the floor, then sauntered over to him. She pushed him down on the bed and climbed on top of him, straddling his waist. "I’ll try to make it up to you."
Luke smiled and ran his hands over her thighs. "I’d appreciate that."
* * *
Later that night, Lorelai rolled off of him and fell onto her back on the bed. Her chest heaved up and down as she tried to catch her breath. A few seconds later, she climbed off the bed, pulled on her robe, and walked into the bathroom. When she returned to the bedroom a few minutes later, she locked the door, tossed her robe aside and climbed back under the covers. She snuggled up against him and rested her head on his chest, and he wrapped his arm around her. "So, let me ask again, how was your night?" Lorelai asked. "Fun?"
"Yes, I’d have to say that I did have some of the, uh, magic f-word," Luke replied.
Lorelai laughed and lifted her head up to look at him. "Wow, look at you going for the double meaning there."
Luke smiled and kissed her. "Night."
"Night." Lorelai rested her head back against his chest and closed her eyes.
End Part 32
* * *
Part 33
The next night after work, Lorelai walked into the diner. Rory was already waiting at a table, and Lorelai walked over and sat down. "Hey."
"Hey," Rory replied. She stared at Lorelai curiously for a moment, then asked, "Are you okay?"
Lorelai hung her purse on the back of her chair and shrugged. "Yeah, just tired."
"Aw, you need coffee," Rory said.
"Or a shot of vodka," Lorelai replied.
Rory rolled her eyes. "I don’t think they serve it here."
"Yeah, well, I’ll suggest it to Luke later. I’m sure it’d be a big seller," Lorelai said. "How much time do you have? When’s Dean coming home?"
"He said he’d be home around 5:30," Rory said. She checked her watch. "So fifteen minutes."
Lorelai nodded and glanced toward the counter, impatiently waiting for someone to wait on her. "Geez, the one day I’m craving coffee there’s no one around."
Rory laughed. "The one day you’re craving coffee? Don’t get me started on how incredibly inconsistent with the truth that sentence is."
"Shush you," Lorelai frowned. Lorelai noticed a bag sitting on the floor next to Rory’s chair. "What’s that?"
Rory picked it up. "Oh, I stopped at the bookstore before I came here. Picked up some things for me and a welcome home book for Dean."
"Oh, boyfriends love that. Nothing says ‘welcome home, I missed you’ like a good novel," Lorelai said, nodding knowingly.
Rory rolled her eyes. "Yes, he will love it, but I kinda spent the money I had planned to use for dinner, so. . .can I borrow some so I don’t have to walk back home?"
Lorelai grimaced slightly. "Ooh, I don’t know if I have much on me. Let me check." She set her purse on the table in front of her and started rummaging through it. She pulled out a few wrinkled dollars. "Sorry, this is all I have." She glanced up as Luke walked over with two cups of coffee. "Ooh, but maybe Luke has some."
"Some what?" he asked, setting the coffee cups down. He leaned down and kissed Lorelai on the cheek. "Hey."
"Hi," she replied. She took a long sip of coffee, then gestured toward Rory. "Rory needs some money for dinner with Dean and I’m all out."
Rory’s eyes widened. "No, no, that’s okay. I can just stop home and get some more."
Luke pulled his wallet out of his back pocket. "How much do you need?"
"No, it’s fine," Rory insisted. "I can just go home real quick."
"It’s a waste to go home to get something that I have right here," Luke said.
"Rory, whether you get it from me or Luke, it’s all the same money," Lorelai said with a shrug.
Luke nodded and pulled out a twenty. "Here," he said, holding it out to Rory.
Rory bit her lip momentarily. "Are you sure?"
"Honey, you have five seconds to take it before I claim it for myself," Lorelai said with a laugh.
Rory took the money and smiled. "Thanks Luke."
"No problem," he said, sliding his wallet back into his pocket. "So you’re going out to eat, huh? Does that mean you’re not ordering?"
"Nope, not tonight," Rory replied.
Luke nodded and turned to Lorelai. "So that means you’re eating alone. You want a burger?"
"No. . . actually, I think I’m gonna go home and order a pizza," Lorelai said.
"You’re not eating either? So the point of you two meeting here at dinner time was. . ." Luke prompted.
"Coffee fix," Rory informed him, and Lorelai nodded in agreement.
"Right, okay. . .so, I guess I’ll see you at home," Luke said.
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Bye."
"Bye Luke," Rory said. She waved the twenty-dollar bill and said, "Thanks for this."
Luke nodded. "You’re welcome." He turned and walked back toward the kitchen.
* * *
A few hours later, Luke came home and found Lorelai curled up in the corner of the couch reading a book. He dropped his keys on the hall table, then walked over to her. "Hey."
Lorelai looked up from the book. "Hey." He was carrying a takeout cup from the diner. "Ooh, is that for me?" she asked hopefully.
Luke held it out toward her. "Yeah."
Lorelai smiled and took it from him. "Thanks." She took a long sip and moaned happily. "Mmm, that’s good."
Luke sat down next to her. "What are you reading?"
Lorelai smiled. "Oh my God, only the greatest book in the history of the world." She showed him the cover.
"Motley Crue," Luke read. "Huh – so it’s good?"
"It’s excellent. You have to read it," Lorelai said. She glanced at the page number. "I’m on page 182, remember that." She shut the book and placed it on the coffee table, then stretched her legs out across his lap. He immediately started running his hands over them as she took another sip of coffee. She swallowed her mouthful, then set the cup on the coffee table. "How was work?"
"It was fine," Luke replied, keeping his gaze on her legs. "What did you do?"
"Not much," she replied with a shrug. "Ordered pizza, watched a little tv, read a little. Oh, and Chris called. We set up Rory’s first visit."
"Oh yeah? When is it?" Luke asked.
"Next week," Lorelai said. "Saturday to Wednesday. He has some business trip on Thursday morning so he’s gonna drop her off on Wednesday night on the way there."
Luke nodded. "Does he want us to drive her up on Saturday?"
Lorelai shook her head. "I offered, but he said he can come get her." Lorelai smiled. "You know what this means?"
"What?"
"We’ll have the entire house to ourselves for a few days next week," Lorelai said. "I mean, it looks like Jess’ll be moving back to the apartment, and Rory’ll be in Boston. . ."
Luke smiled. "And the wheels are already turning in your head thinking up ideas about how to fill every second of that time, aren’t they?"
Lorelai giggled. "Maybe."
Luke rolled his eyes. "I knew it. So what’s the first thing that comes to mind?"
"Well, I was thinking we can do this whole sorta movie theme. Like, first, we can smuggle an endangered lizard into another state for the Mafia. Then we can rent a huge ship and you can run around yelling that you’re the king of the world. Then – my personal favorite - we can reenact a scene from 9 ½ Weeks, and then maybe - " Lorelai stopped talking when she heard the front door open.
"I’m home!" Rory called as she closed the door behind her.
"Right here, hon," Lorelai said.
Rory walked into the living room, carrying her bag from the bookstore. "Hey."
"Hey. How was your night?" Lorelai asked.
Rory sat down in the armchair across from them. "Great. We went out for dinner and I gave him the book, which he loved," she said, making a face at Lorelai. "Then we went back to his house and watched a movie."
Lorelai smiled. "Watched a movie? Uh huh."
Rory rolled her eyes. "His parents were home."
"Well, that never stopped me," Lorelai said with a shrug. "You’re living proof of that."
Rory glanced down at the coffee table. "Ooh, how’s that Motley Crue book?"
Lorelai smiled. "Excellent! You can borrow it when I’m done."
"Cool. What page are you on?" Rory asked.
"Uh. . ." Lorelai glanced down at it questioningly, biting her lip. "Um. . ."
"One eighty-two," Luke finally answered for her.
Lorelai looked at him and smiled. "Thank you." She turned back to Rory. "One eighty-two. I’m almost halfway done"
Rory nodded. "Did Dad call?"
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yup. You’re going up there next Saturday and he’s gonna bring you back on Wednesday."
Rory smiled. "Wow, that’s so soon."
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah."
Rory paused a moment. "Are you. . .gonna be okay? I mean, five days. . ."
Lorelai waved her off. "Yeah, I’ll be fine. I have my manly man here to smack me when I start getting weepy," she said, patting Luke on the shoulder.
Rory smiled and stood up. "Good, that’s good." She started walking toward her bedroom, then said, "Oh." She turned around and dug into her pocket and pulled out some money. "Here’s the change, Luke." She walked over and held it out to him. "Thanks."
He shook his head. "No, keep it. You’ve still got a couple inches of space in that room for another book or two."
"But I – " Rory started.
Luke held up his hand. "I mean it, just keep it, really."
Lorelai reached for it. "Hell, I’ll keep it. Give it to me."
Rory pulled it away from her and smiled at Luke. "Thanks."
Luke nodded. "You’re welcome."
Rory slipped the money back into her pocket. "Okay, I’ll be in my room." She walked to her bedroom and closed the door behind her.
Luke stood up from the couch, and Lorelai grabbed his hand. "Where are you going? We’re not done discussing the itinerary for the ‘Luke and Lorelai will have the house to themselves for a long time and need fun things to do’ extravaganza."
"I’m gonna take a shower," Luke said, pulling his hand away. "Go find a pen and write down your ideas and show it to me later, during which time I’m sure ninety-five percent of them will be eliminated for being too ridiculous."
"So the ‘ordering pizza and then answering the door naked just to see the look on the delivery guy’s face’ idea?" Lorelai asked.
Luke groaned and rolled his eyes. "Don’t even bother writing it down."
Lorelai frowned and picked up her book from the coffee table. Luke started walking toward the stairs as Lorelai flipped open the book. Luke was halfway up the steps when Lorelai looked up and said, "Luke, what – "
"One eighty-two," he replied without stopping.
"Thank you."
* * *
That Friday night before dinner, Emily handed Lorelai and Rory their drinks, then sat across from them on the couch with Richard. "So, Rory, what have you been doing with all the free time you’ve had this week?" Emily asked.
"Oh, I’ve been helping Mom at the inn," Rory said.
"Well, that’s good to hear," Richard said. "Instilling a sense of business at this age is a very wise move."
"Yes, but she’s still a teenager," Emily said. "She shouldn’t be working all the time."
"Oh, don’t worry, I don’t work all the time," Rory said.
"No, only a few hours a day," Lorelai said. "She’s gotta earn a few bucks to support her addictions. Do you guys have any idea how much heroin costs these days?" Lorelai shook her head and sighed. "It’s a sad, sad world when you can’t even find a reasonable dealer anywhere. I tell ya, sometimes I just want to go into that business myself and – "
"Uh, Mom," Rory interrupted, patting Lorelai on the knee. She gestured to Emily and Richard. "The looks on their faces are telling me that they want you to stop talking."
"Thank you, Rory," Emily replied, rolling her eyes and taking a sip of wine.
"Well, as inane as that one-sided heroin conversation was, it does bring up a good subject," Richard said.
"That there’s a huge market out there for would-be drug dealers?" Lorelai suggested.
Richard groaned. "No – going into business for myself."
"What?" Lorelai asked, surprised.
"Well, it’s an idea that Emily and I have tossed around the past few days," Richard said.
Emily nodded. "Yes, I think it’s a fabulous idea. He hates being retired and he doesn’t want to go back to his old job, so the next viable solution was to start a whole new venture."
"Wow, that’s cool, Grandpa," Rory said, smiling.
"Yeah, Dad – but what would you do?" Lorelai asked.
"Well, I’m not exactly sure yet," Richard said. "I have a bit more research to do, some options to explore, but it’s definitely something that I can see happening very soon."
Emily smiled and patted Richard on the knee. "Yes, soon would be good."
Richard rolled his eyes and explained, "Uh, Emily’s just a little tired of having me around the house."
Emily gasped. "That’s not true – I just want you to be happy, and the sooner you start this new venture, the sooner you’ll be happy, that’s all."
Richard smirked and nodded. "Mmhmm." He took a sip of his drink and sat back against the couch.
"So, Lorelai, what’s new with you?" Emily asked, changing the subject. "How’s Luke?"
"Fine, I’m fine, he’s fine," Lorelai replied, nodding. "We’re all pretty much. . .you know. . .fine."
"Last week you mentioned that Saturday was the day he was moving in," Emily said. "So, I’m assuming he did, in fact, move in?"
"Yes, he did," Lorelai replied. "He and Jess have been living with us all week. It’s like a big slumber party that never ends."
Emily shook her head slightly. "I’m still not sure about how I feel about all this. I still think it’s way too soon for such a move."
Lorelai took a sip of her wine, then set her glass on the coffee table and sighed loudly. "Okay, I’m so tempted to just start singing a Ramones song at the top of my lungs right now because sedation would be the easiest way for me to deal with hearing you say that over and over. Instead, I’ll just calmly remind you that it’s not up to you, Mother – not even a teeny, tiny bit. The bottom line is that they’re living with us, and Rory and I are both fine with it, so that’s all that matters, okay?"
"Fine, fine," Emily said, shrugging nonchalantly. "I’m perfectly aware that our opinions don’t matter to you."
"Yes, well, then why do you keep offering them?" Lorelai asked in an annoyed tone.
"Because I’m hoping that one day you will come to your senses and decide to listen to them," Emily retorted.
Lorelai scoffed. "Come to my senses?" She exhaled slowly and took a sip of her wine. "Geez, Mom, why can’t you just. . . " Lorelai’s voice trailed off and she mumbled, "Forget it. Let’s go eat." She stood up and walked out of the living room.
Emily stood up and followed her into the dining room. "Why can’t I what?" Emily asked. "Go on, we still have a few minutes before dinner for you to finish insulting me."
Lorelai stopped walking and slowly turned around. She took a few deep breaths to control herself, then said calmly, "Why can’t you, for once in your life, just be happy for me? Instead of offering opinions and commenting on every little thing I do, why can’t you just relax and trust my decisions? I’m not a little kid anymore, Mom."
"No, you’re not, but Rory is," Emily replied.
"Rory," Lorelai said loudly, "is fine.
"Maybe she is now," Emily said. "But what happens when you and Luke discover that moving in so soon wasn’t the best idea and he ends up moving out just as Rory was getting used to having a male figure around full time? What happens to her then?"
Lorelai pursed her lips and said sternly, "Drop it, Mom." Lorelai walked over to her usual seat and pulled out her chair.
Emily sighed loudly. "You just don’t understand how it will affect her if this relationship doesn’t work out. You didn’t think about that, Lorelai. You never think."
Lorelai ignored her and yelled, "Dad, Rory, come in here before I grab this bowl of potatoes and throw it at something – or someone!" A few seconds later, Richard and Rory entered the dining room, and the four of them sat down at the table.
* * *
When Lorelai and Rory walked into their house later that evening, Jess and Luke were on the couch watching television. Luke looked toward the front door and said, "Hey."
Without looking at him, Lorelai muttered "Hey" and walked directly to the kitchen.
Rory walked into the living room and Luke asked quietly, "Rough night?"
Rory nodded. "Just a little."
Luke stood up and walked toward the kitchen. He paused at the doorway and watched as Lorelai poured coffee grounds into the coffee maker. Luke shoved his hands into his pockets and leaned against the wall. "You okay?"
"Dandy," she replied dryly. She placed the pot on the coffee maker, then put the bag of grounds in the refrigerator. When she shut the refrigerator door, she stood staring at it, her hand still clutching the handle.
Luke walked toward her, and when she felt him directly behind her, she turned around and hugged him. He ran his hands up and down her back and said, "What did she do this time?"
Lorelai pulled back from him and sighed. "One guess."
Luke rolled his eyes. "She pulled out the ‘you’re rushing into things’ argument again?"
"Ding ding ding, you win the grand prize," Lorelai said, tapping him on the shoulder. She leaned forward and kissed him, then hugged him again, resting her head on his shoulder.
They were both silent for a moment before Luke said, "You know, that money in our checking account is both of ours."
Lorelai pulled back and narrowed her eyes at him. "So?"
Luke shrugged. "So we can afford to send Rory to Chilton ourselves now."
Lorelai shook her head. "Luke, no – I don’t want you to spend your savings on that."
"I’m serious, I don’t mind. I want to do it," Luke insisted.
Lorelai ran her fingers over his cheeks and smiled at him. "I know you do, and that’s why you’re gonna get lucky later tonight – but I still just. . .Chilton’s a lot of money, and if we have to start mailing in those monthly payments – it’s just gonna deplete all of that money you’ve saved up. We’ll just let my parents finish up this next year and then we’ll work out some sort of payment plan to pay them back that won’t be quite as high as the Chilton payments."
Luke bit his lip with uncertainty. "So you’re willing to go through another entire year of dinners – that’s fifty-two more dinners, fifty-two more nights of you coming home all sad and grumpy."
"Yeah, but it’s also fifty-two more nights of you cheering me up," she said, raising her eyebrows suggestively.
"I don’t know," Luke said, shaking his head. "According to your mom, I probably won’t be here that long."
Lorelai smiled and kissed him. As she slowly pulled her lips away from his, she said, "Wanna bet?"
"No, thanks," he replied with a laugh. "Betting with you is always a dangerous thing."
Lorelai smiled. "True – I think I’ve officially scared you from entering into another bet ever again."
"Yes, you have," he replied. He pointed to a box on the table. "There’re your brownies for the festival tomorrow."
Lorelai gasped and smiled. "You made them?"
"Yup," Luke said.
"Thanks." Lorelai walked over to the coffee maker and poured herself a cup. "So, you’re going tomorrow, right?" she asked casually.
Luke groaned. "No, for the hundredth time."
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Come on, you haven’t changed your mind yet?"
"Nope. I don’t participate in these stupid town festivals, you know that."
"Oh yeah? What about when you bid on my basket?" Lorelai pointed out. "Or when we went to the Founder’s Day festival?"
"Those were different," Luke said.
"How so?"
"Because they. . .I didn’t. . .you were. . ." Luke sighed. "They were just different."
Lorelai smiled. "Good argument there, Jack McCoy."
"I’m not going," Luke said. He turned and walked toward the living room, and Lorelai followed him.
* * *
The next morning, Lorelai woke up alone in the bed and groggily made her way to the bathroom to take a shower. After she was dressed, she walked downstairs and found Rory reading on the couch. "Hey Mom."
"Hey Sweets," Lorelai replied. "What time – " She paused a moment, then narrowed her eyes at a rumbling noise coming from outside. "What’s that noise?"
"Luke’s mowing the lawn," Rory replied, not looking up from her book.
Lorelai walked out the front door and stepped onto the porch. She smiled as she saw Luke, shirtless and sweaty, pushing the mower across the front lawn. As he reached the end of the yard, he turned the mower around and saw her standing on the porch. He smiled at her, then pushed the mower back in her direction. When he reached the porch, he turned the mower off and walked up to her. "Hey."
"Hi. Hot enough for you?" she asked, fanning herself with her hand. "It’s only ten a.m. and it’s already like a hundred degrees out here."
"Yeah, I know," Luke replied. He grabbed the towel that was hanging on the porch railing and he wiped his face with it. "It’s supposed to get even hotter later so I thought I might as well get this done now. Then I’m gonna wash the cars before I go to the diner for the lunch shift."
Lorelai smiled. "Well, look at you with the whole day planned out."
Luke shrugged. "Just trying to be productive – which I’m sure is something you’re not familiar with."
Lorelai scoffed. "Not true – I have a very productive plan for the day."
"Which is?" Luke prompted her.
"Chocolate festival."
"And?"
"And. . .well, that’s pretty much it," she finished with a shrug.
Luke laughed. "Good plan."
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Thank you."
Luke gestured to the mower. "Okay, I’m gonna finish this up."
"Okay, I’m gonna go get some breakfast, then come out and watch you," Lorelai said.
"Watch me?"
"Yup."
"Starved for entertainment?"
"No, you know I love watching you be physical." She smiled and ran a finger over the curves of his chest. "Watching the sweat run down your body, watching the determined look on your face."
"I have a determined look when I’m pushing the mower?" Luke asked.
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Mmhmm. Want me to videotape you so you can see it?"
"No, thanks."
"Ooh, no, that’s a good idea!" she exclaimed excitedly. "We’ll tape you being all hot and physical, and then I can watch it to help get me in the mood."
"That’s the last thing you need help with," Luke replied with a laugh. "Why don’t you videotape me saying that coffee is bad for you, then watch that over and over and see if that does anything for you?"
Lorelai thought it over for a second, then nodded and said, "See, that might work, but only if you say it while you’re showering." Luke rolled his eyes and walked toward the mower. "Guess that’s a no?" Lorelai called. Luke gave her a pointed look, then started the lawnmower. Lorelai smiled to herself and walked into the house.
When she walked back out twenty minutes later, Luke was pushing the mower back into the shed. She sat down on the bench and propped her legs up on the porch railing. A minute later, he walked toward the cars, a bucket filled with soapy water in one hand and the hose in the other. He stopped in front of her and said, "There are two sponges, you know."
"Good, you can be extra-productive and use both hands at the same time," she replied with a smile.
Luke rolled his eyes. "Come help."
Lorelai frowned. "But I just got comfortable."
"It’ll go faster if you help," he said.
"Oh, that’s okay, I don’t mind if you take a long time," she replied, waving him off.
Luke sighed. He put down the bucket and the hose, then walked up onto the porch and over to her. Lorelai removed her feet from the railing and looked up at him curiously. He folded his arms across his chest, pursed his lips and gave her a stern look. A few seconds later, his face softened and he said, "Come on, don’t make me pout."
Lorelai laughed. "Oh my God, you looked so serious!"
Luke smiled and held out his hand. "Come on."
Lorelai grabbed his hand and let him pull her up off the bench. "Okay, but only because I don’t wanna see you pout." Luke smiled and he led her off the porch.
They brought the bucket and hose to the Jeep. Lorelai reached into the bucket and pulled out a soapy sponge, then started lathering up the hood. A few minutes later, she picked up the hose and rinsed off the front of the car. As she was about to put the hose down, she glanced at Luke, who was squatting down washing the back of the Jeep. She sprayed the hose up in the hair, letting it fall on him like rain. Luke jumped up and exclaimed, "What the hell?"
Lorelai giggled. "You looked like you could use some cooling off."
"Thanks for the gesture, but I’m fine," he replied.
"You sure?" Lorelai asked, spraying him again.
Luke’s mouth dropped open slightly and he started walking toward her.
"Uh oh!" she cried. She dropped the hose on the ground and ran around the other side of the Jeep.
Luke picked up the hose and smiled. "Don’t you know you’re not supposed to drop the hose in this type of situation?"
Lorelai peeked from around the back of the Jeep. "I forgot." Luke walked toward her, smiling. She walked backward toward the house wagging a finger at him. "You wouldn’t squirt little old me, would you?"
Luke shook his head. "No, I wasn’t planning on it," he said, lowering the hose.
Lorelai smiled and relaxed. "Good."
"But since you did it to me, I think it’s only fair that you get it back," Luke said, aiming the nozzle at her.
Lorelai gasped as the cold water hit her body and she threw her hands up over her face. "Luke! Oh my God!" she screamed.
He laughed and put the hose down. She removed her hands and looked down at her outfit, which was now dripping wet. "I was going to wear this to the festival," she whined.
"It’ll dry," he replied, walking toward her. He eyed the white tank top that was now clinging tightly to her body, leaving little to the imagination about what was underneath. "Though I kind of prefer this way." He ran his fingers over the thin, soaked fabric that covered her breasts. His thumbs grazed her nipples, which were hard from the cold blast of water.
Lorelai swallowed hard at the sensation and she groaned softly. She let him continue stroking her for a moment, then said, "Uh, Luke?"
"Huh?"
"Are you aware that Babette is standing on her front porch watching you fondle me?" she asked.
Luke’s eyes widened and he quickly put his hands at his sides. He turned his head slowly toward Babette’s house, then rolled his eyes when he didn’t see anyone. He brought his gaze back to Lorelai. "Liar."
Lorelai laughed. "That’s what you get." She leaned forward and kissed him, then pulled back and said, "Okay, I think five minutes of car washing is enough to chock this up as a productive day. I’m gonna go inside and watch television."
Luke grabbed her hand and pulled her toward the Jeep. "Come on, we’re almost done."
* * *
A little while later, they walked through the back door into the kitchen. Lorelai pulled a bottle of water out of the fridge and handed it to Luke, then pulled one out for herself.
"Thanks." Luke glanced at the clock on the microwave. "I have to get to the diner soon. You coming in for lunch?"
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I’ll go with you." She took a sip of water. "So, I think that since you made me wash cars, which was something I didn’t wanna do, you should do something that you don’t wanna do and come to the festival with us. What do you say?" Lorelai asked hopefully.
"Um, I say no," he replied, taking a drink of water.
Lorelai frowned. "Please? I can beg. You want me to beg?"
"Yes." He folded his arms across his chest and looked at her expectantly.
"Please, please, please, come with us!" Lorelai begged annoyingly. "I’ll be your best friend!"
"You are my best friend," he replied.
Lorelai’s face softened and she smiled. "Aw, you’ve never said that before."
Luke shrugged. "You always have been."
Lorelai reached up and gently stroked his cheek. "Aw, I love when you switch into ‘Sweet Luke’ mode."
"I’m still not going to the festival," he said dryly.
Lorelai frowned. "And that was the end of ‘Sweet Luke’ mode. Tune in again next week for another installment."
Luke smiled and walked out of the kitchen. "Sorry, not going," he called.
Lorelai followed him into the living room. "Fine, fine, forget it." Rory was sitting on the couch, still reading. "Have you moved at all since this morning?" Lorelai asked her.
Rory looked up. "Yeah, I got a drink a little while ago."
Lorelai nodded. "Okay, just checking." She sat down next to her as Luke walked over to the desk and looked through some papers. "We’re heading to the diner soon – wanna come?"
Rory nodded. "Sure. We can’t eat too much, though – gotta save room for festival food."
"Ooh, good idea," Lorelai replied. "Luke won’t come with us."
Luke groaned from behind them. "When are you gonna give up?"
"Never," Lorelai replied.
Luke sighed as he walked toward the steps. "I’m gonna take a quick shower." He disappeared up the staircase.
Lorelai frowned. "I’ll get him to go."
Rory laughed. "To a festival dedicated to chocolate and junk food? No way. I bet you can’t even get him to come out of the diner while the festival’s going on."
Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "How much?"
"Five bucks," Rory replied.
Lorelai extended her hand. "Deal."
"Deal," Rory replied as they shook on it.
End Part 33
* * *
Part 34
While Rory continued reading, Lorelai sat quietly on the couch pondering ways to coax Luke into coming out of the diner during the festival. Several minutes passed, and soon she heard Luke upstairs walking out of the bathroom and into their bedroom. Lorelai stood up from the couch and climbed the staircase. She turned the knob of the bedroom door and finding that it was locked, she knocked lightly. "Luke, it’s me," she called.
A few seconds later, Luke pulled open the door with a towel wrapped around his waist and another in his hand. Lorelai stepped into the room and Luke closed the door behind her. As Lorelai sat on the bed and leaned against the headboard, Luke walked over to the mirror and began towel-drying his hair. In the mirror’s reflection, he noticed Lorelai watching him. "What’s up?" he asked. He tossed the towel down and picked up a comb, then turned around to face her as he began running it through his hair.
Lorelai smiled and shrugged. "Nothing. Just hanging out until the festival starts." She pulled her knees up and hugged them tightly against her chest.
Luke nodded and walked over to his dresser. He pulled out a pair of boxer shorts and dropped the towel from his waist. Lorelai stared at his body as he stepped into the boxers and pulled them up. She leaned forward on the bed and watched him pull on a pair of jeans. As he zippered them up and fastened the button, Lorelai remarked, "Those jeans look big on you."
"Yeah, they’re a little big."
Lorelai nodded. "Mmhmm, that’s ‘cause you’ve been losing weight, I can tell."
"Yeah, well. . ." Luke said with a modest shrug.
Lorelai smiled. "Look at you trying to be all shy about it."
Luke laughed. "What? I’m not being shy."
"Uh huh, you don’t wanna talk about how all that working out has made you look sexier," Lorelai teased. "You don’t wanna talk about how your stomach is flatter and your body is more toned and your butt is firmer."
Luke rolled his eyes. "My butt is not firmer. My butt is exactly the same."
Lorelai scoffed. "Excuse me, which one of us has the better view of your butt? Me, and I say it’s firmer, so it’s firmer."
Luke threw his hands up in defeat. "Fine, whatever you say."
Lorelai grinned. "Ah, my favorite words to hear." Luke reached into his dresser and pulled out a T-shirt. Lorelai climbed off the bed and walked over to him. She helped pull the shirt down, then wrapped her arms around his waist. "You know, you shouldn’t get too thin. I like my men to have a little meat." She pinched his stomach through his shirt. "See, look at that – there’s not enough of a love handle for me to grab onto in an emergency."
"Uh, exactly what kind of emergency would you need to grab onto my stomach?" Luke asked curiously.
"Uh, well. . .for instance. . ." Lorelai bit her lips and narrowed her eyes, thinking. Luke stared at her expectantly. Finally her eyes widened and she smiled. "Okay, say we were in a bank that was being robbed and we were being held hostage by this guy who said he would shoot us if I didn’t hold onto your stomach at all times, but because you’re thinner now and there’s not much for me to hold onto, I accidentally let go and then . . .BAM. . .we both get killed." Lorelai shook her head disappointedly. "You really need to bulk up a little more."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Okay, I knew the scenario would be bad, but I thought you would do better than that." He pulled away from her and grabbed his hat from the bed.
Lorelai frowned. "I thought it was pretty good, and I think that maybe you should eat something unhealthy just to get a little of that meat back. You know, maybe I could bring you something from the festival?" she suggested casually.
"No, thanks." Luke grabbed his wallet from the dresser. "Okay, I really have to get to work."
Lorelai wrinkled her nose, then nodded. "Yeah, let me just brush my hair and I’ll be ready. Can you go tell Rory we’re leaving now?"
"Yup." Luke walked past her and went downstairs.
* * *
A few minutes later, Lorelai, Luke and Rory were walking toward the diner. As they approached the town square, they saw groups of people putting up decorations and setting up tables for the festival. As Rory and Luke walked into the diner, Lorelai, with her box of brownies in hand, walked over to one of the shaded food tables and set them down.
She entered the diner and sat down with Rory at a table near the window where they could watch people set up. They drank coffee and shared a plate of French fries, checking their watch every few minutes as they waited for the official one o’clock starting time of the festival.
When it was finally time, Lorelai stood up and walked up to Luke to the counter as Rory walked outside. Lorelai handed Luke a few dollars for the meal, then said, "Do you wanna kiss me goodnight now?"
"Kiss you goodnight?" he repeated, confused.
"Yeah, because I’m pretty sure that no amount of tooth-brushing later tonight is going to be able to remove all the junk food I plan on eating, so if you want to kiss me goodnight with a nice, clean mouth, now’s the best time."
Luke smiled and nodded knowingly. "Ah, I get it." He leaned forward across the counter and kissed her. As he pulled back, he said, "Now, I expect you to pace yourself – don’t try to eat everything all at once."
Lorelai waved him off. "I know, I know. Thanks, Dad."
Luke smirked. "Yeah, well, I’m not gonna be the one cleaning it up when you overdo it and make yourself sick out there."
"Oh, please," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. She tilted her head and put her hands in the center of her chest. "Have you forgotten that I’m a professional junk food eater? I know exactly what I’m doing when it comes to managing the appropriate amount of sugar intake."
Luke rolled his eyes. "A talent I’m so very proud of."
Lorelai smiled and kissed him. "Bye."
"Bye."
* * *
Half an hour later, Lorelai and Rory were walking through the town square, browsing the tables of junk food for the second time. They each carried a paper plate that they loaded up with desserts, and when the plates were finally full, they walked over to a bench and sat down.
Lorelai took a bite of a chocolate cookie. "Mmmm, that’s good," she moaned. She finished chewing it, then shoved the rest of the cookie in her mouth. She chewed it slowly and gazed toward the diner, where she could see Luke inside at the counter. "Now, are there any rules to getting him out here?"
Rory looked toward the diner and thought for a moment. "Yeah, he has to come out the front door, and you can’t tell him that it’s for a bet and you can’t physically drag him out."
"Aw, no fair," Lorelai complained. "That was my whole strategy."
"And," Rory continued, "you have to get him to cross the street to the festival."
Lorelai gasped. "No way! You said I wouldn’t be able to get him to come out of the diner, not to actually come to the festival. That’s why I took the bet."
Rory sighed. "Fine, okay, but he has to at least come off the steps onto the sidewalk."
Lorelai frowned, but reluctantly agreed. "Okay, fine." She glanced toward the line of game tables. "I’ll be right back." Lorelai stood up and walked over to the tables, scouring the many games that were set up. She walked back to Rory and asked, "Which do you think I’d be better at – the Hershey Kiss eating contest or the contest to see who can build the highest cupcake tower?"
"Hershey Kisses," Rory replied quickly. "You can down a whole bag in like five minutes."
"Very true," Lorelai agreed. She checked her watch. "Okay, that starts in ten minutes so I’m gonna go work on Luke for a little bit."
Rory smiled. "Ha, good luck with that."
Lorelai stuck her tongue out at Rory, then walked toward the diner. She pulled the door open and walked inside. Luke stood at the counter with several pieces of paper spread out in front of him. Lorelai walked over and sat down on the stool across from him. "Hey, whatcha doing?"
Luke looked up at her. "Oh, uh, just going over some inventory."
Lorelai glanced down at one of the sheets. "Ooh, looks like you’re running out of bacon there."
"Yeah, I have to order some more," he said. He put the papers into a stack and pushed them aside, then leaned forward on the counter and smiled. "So, how’s it going out there? I haven’t heard any sirens, so I’m guessing you haven’t started any fist fights over the last piece of cake or something."
Lorelai giggled. "No, not yet, but there’s still plenty of time for that." She glanced around the almost-empty diner. "Kinda slow in here, huh?"
Luke nodded. "Yeah, well, since less than one percent of the people in this town eat healthy, the festival’s grabbed most of the townspeople’s attention for today."
"So. . .aren’t you bored in here?" Lorelai asked. "Why don’t you come out for a little bit? I’m about to enter the Hershey Kiss eating contest."
Luke smiled. "And as much as I’d love to watch you shove food in your mouth as fast as you can and then watch disgusting lines of chocolate-flavored saliva dripping down your chin, I think I’ll pass."
Lorelai pouted. "Tsk, come on, Luke. What if I win? Don’t you wanna be there to congratulate me?"
"I’m sure if you win you’ll run in here and tell me," Luke pointed out. "I’ll congratulate you then."
Lorelai sighed. "Fine, okay, well. . ." She stood up. "I better get out there before it starts."
"Good luck," Luke said. He paused and rolled his eyes. "I can’t believe I just told you good luck in a Hershey Kiss eating contest. This town is so screwed up."
Lorelai laughed, then she lowered her voice. "Ooh, you know, they have a whole table dedicated to chocolate milk out there."
"Yeah?"
"Uh huh, so it made me think that next weekend when we have our own little 9 ½ Weeks-inspired love scene, we totally need to incorporate chocolate syrup into the mix," Lorelai said. "You know, rub a little here, rub a little there."
Luke groaned. "Do you have any idea how messy that’s gonna be?"
Lorelai leaned across the counter and smiled. "Hey, the dirtier the better, right?"
Luke waved her toward the door. "Okay, okay, I’ll think about it. Go do your little contest thing."
Lorelai pulled back from the counter. "You sure you don’t wanna watch?" she asked hopefully.
"I’m sure," he confirmed, spreading out his inventory sheets again. "See you later."
Lorelai frowned as she walked toward the door. "Bye," she called over her shoulder.
* * *
Later, Lorelai and Rory were sitting on a bench eating chocolate pudding as Sookie walked over to them. "Hey," Sookie said as she sat down next to Lorelai.
"Hey Sookie," Rory replied.
"Hey," Lorelai said. "Did you just get here?"
"Yup," Sookie replied. "I dropped my pies off this morning, then ran some errands with Jackson. What did I miss?"
Lorelai frowned. "Some teenage kid beat me in the Hershey Kiss eating contest by one stupid Kiss!"
Sookie glanced at Rory. "It wasn’t you, was it? Or else you’ll never hear the end of it."
Rory smiled and shook her head. "No, it wasn’t me, it was some guy from the high school basketball team."
"We don’t know who it is, though," Lorelai said. "We want to go to his house later and throw things at it, but we can’t remember his name. Maybe you can help us."
"Actually, I remembered it a few minutes ago, but I’m not telling you because I don’t want you to get arrested," Rory replied.
Lorelai turned to Rory and gasped loudly. "Holding out information from your own mother! Tell me!"
"Sorry." Rory smiled and shoved a spoonful of pudding into her mouth.
Lorelai exhaled loudly. "You’re so evil sometimes."
Sookie glanced around the crowd. "Where’s your guy?"
Lorelai pointed toward the diner. "Work. He won’t come out, no matter how much I ask."
"You know that he hates junk food," Sookie pointed out. "What makes you think he’d wanna come out here?"
"I know he doesn’t *want* to come out here, but I *need* him to come out here," Lorelai explained.
"Okay, and why exactly do you *need* him to come out here?" Sookie asked.
"Because I bet her five bucks she couldn’t get him to come out," Rory answered.
Sookie laughed. "Really?"
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, so now I need to figure out how to get him out here."
Sookie patted her on the back. "Well, good luck, but I think you’re gonna be owing someone five bucks later, hon."
Lorelai frowned. "Thanks for the vote of confidence, Sookie." She stood up with a sigh and handed Sookie her pudding. "Here, I’m gonna go try again."
Lorelai walked to the diner and pushed open the door. Luke was at a table pouring coffee, and he looked up when the door opened. "Hey," he said, walking over to her. "How’d the contest go?"
Lorelai frowned. "Not good. Some kid beat me out by one Kiss."
Luke smiled. "I’m sure you did your best." They walked to the counter and Lorelai sat down on a stool.
"I need a bigger mouth," Lorelai said.
"Uh, no, I think it’s plenty big enough."
Lorelai smirked. "Well, then, I needed to exercise my jaw more before the contest," she said. She put her hand on her chin and pretended to think. "Hm, what could we have done to exercise my jaw? Oh, man, I can’t think of - wait, I got it," she said, raising her eyebrows suggestively at Luke.
Luke blushed slightly and glanced around, making sure that no one was in earshot. Seeing that no one was, he lowered his voice and said, "Yeah, well, now you know for next time."
Lorelai giggled and patted her chin. "We should probably do it as often as possible so I can build it up nice and strong for next year."
"Hey, I’m not arguing with that," he replied with a shrug. "You want some coffee?"
"No, thanks," Lorelai replied. "It’s like a hundred degrees out there."
"Water?" he suggested.
"Do you have bottles?" Lorelai asked.
"I’ve got a couple in the back," he said, pointing toward the kitchen. "Come with me."
Lorelai smiled and slid off the stool. She followed him through the kitchen to the refrigerator, where he pulled out a bottle of water and handed it to her. "Thanks." She glanced around the kitchen and noticed a few workers mulling around. She smiled up at Luke. "Is there somewhere we can go right now and. . . strengthen my jaw?"
Luke rolled his eyes. "Forget it."
Lorelai frowned. "Fine, but at least give me a little something to last the afternoon." She grabbed his hand and led him out the back door. As the door closed and isolated them in privacy in the back alley, Luke pressed his lips tightly against hers. She eagerly kissed him back and ran her fingers through his hair.
As they kissed, Luke’s hands glided over her back until they slowly slid down and ended up in the back pockets of her denim shorts. Lorelai smiled through the kiss. "Mm, keep them there all day, would ya?"
Luke smiled. "I wish I could." He leaned forward and kissed her again.
When they finally broke apart, Luke reluctantly removed his hands from her pockets and pulled open the back door. He held it open for her, and as she walked in she opened her water and took a sip. They walked through the kitchen to the diner. Lorelai sat back down on a stool and Luke stood across from her on the other side of the counter.
"So. . . any more contests coming up?" Luke asked.
"Well, there’s the one to guess how many M&M’s are in the jar," Lorelai said. "They’re announcing the number at two, and the winner gets to keep the jar of candy," she added excitedly. "You should see it – it’s huuuuuge!"
Luke groaned. "Great, just what we need."
Lorelai laughed. "And later, there’s the super fabulous ice cream obstacle course."
Luke narrowed his eyes. "Do I even wanna know?"
Lorelai smiled and shook her head. "Nope. I just hope it goes fast or the ice cream’s gonna melt and that’ll just make the obstacle course much more difficult. I know from experience," she said knowingly. She paused a moment, then shrugged. "Okay, so I don’t, but I like saying that because it makes me sound more. . .experienced, you know?"
Luke gave her an amused smile. "Yup." He picked up a rag and started wiping down the counter in front of him.
Lorelai stared at him for a moment, then said, "So . . . you sure you don’t wanna come out for a bit?"
"I’m sure," he said, continuing to wipe the counter.
"You’re positive?" she asked. "It’s really fun, and I actually saw some healthy stuff out there, like. . . chocolate covered fruit."
Luke looked up and let out a small laugh. "I know that you hear the word fruit and automatically think it’s healthy, but just to let you know for future reference, chocolate covered fruit isn’t healthy."
Lorelai shrugged. "Eh, it should be." She bit her lip for a second, then said, "Okay, I’m gonna head back out there. You’re positive that you. . ."
"Nope, don’t wanna come out," he answered with a slightly annoyed sigh.
Lorelai stood up from the stool and grabbed her water bottle. "Well, do you want me to come get you when the obstacle course starts? You may never get the chance to see anything like it again."
"I think I’ll live," he replied.
Lorelai lingered by the counter for another few seconds. "Luke, maybe you could just – "
Luke sighed loudly. "Lorelai, I’m sorry – as much as I’d love to spend time with you right now, I have to work, and even if I didn’t, walking around a festival dedicated to junk food in a hundred degree weather is not how I want to spend my Saturday."
Lorelai held up her hands in defeat. "Fine, fine. I just thought that you might want to take a break and hang out. If you want to later, you know where to find me."
"Yeah, well, don’t hold your breath waiting for me to voluntarily leave work to go to a town festival that represents things that I despise," Luke said dryly. "If you couldn’t tell, I’ve already made up my mind."
"Well, you might change it. There’s a first time for everything," Lorelai said.
"Yes, and there’s a last time for everything, too," Luke replied. "And for the last time, no – I don’t want to go. I’ll see you later." Luke turned around and walked back into the kitchen.
Lorelai exhaled loudly and walked out of the diner. She crossed the street to find Rory and Sookie, who were standing near the table of drinks. She sighed loudly as she reached them. "Hey."
"Hey Mom," Rory said. She glanced past her. "I don’t see Luke, so I’m guessing you didn’t have much luck?"
Lorelai shook her head. "No, there’s no way he’s coming out here, and now that I’ve annoyed him to death about it, I have a feeling if I go in there again, I won’t be coming back out either."
Sookie frowned sympathetically. "Aw, sorry. Can’t win ‘em all, though."
"Sure I can," Lorelai replied. "It’s not over yet."
Rory rolled her eyes. "You just said yourself that there’s no way he’s coming out here. Pay up." She held out her hand.
Lorelai pushed her hand away and said, "Hey, now, I’m not giving up yet. I just said I can’t go in there anymore – I still have a few tricks up my sleeve."
"Like?" Rory prompted.
"Well, like, you can go in there and tell him I fainted and that’ll get him to run out," Lorelai said. She turned to Sookie. "Or maybe you can go in there and tell him that I’m out here flirting with some guy and that’ll get him all jealous and he’ll run out here to see for himself."
Rory shook her head. "No way, you have to get him out here yourself, Mom. You can’t get anyone else to do it for you."
"Rats," Lorelai muttered. She wrinkled her nose and glanced around the crowded festival, looking for another idea. Her eyes fell upon Miss Patty and Taylor talking near the gazebo. Taylor was biting into a brownie as Miss Patty smoked a cigarette. Lorelai’s eyes widened. "Oh my God, I got it!"
"What?" Sookie asked.
Lorelai handed her water bottle to Rory and said, "You guys wait here, I’ll be right back." Lorelai walked over to Taylor and Patty. "Hey guys."
"Lorelai, hello." Patty smiled. "How are you, honey?"
"Fine, good, great, how are you guys?" Lorelai asked quickly.
"Just fine," Taylor replied, taking another bite of brownie.
"Ooh, are those good? I think those are the ones that Luke made," Lorelai said.
"Mm, yes, they’re very good," Taylor replied. "I have to say, I didn’t think this festival would work out, but the townspeople seem to be enjoying it very much."
"See, I told you so," Lorelai replied. She turned to Patty and cleared her throat. "Uh, Patty. . . can I borrow a cigarette?"
Surprised, Patty raised her eyebrows. "When did you start smoking, dear?"
"I didn’t," Lorelai replied. "It’s a long story, but you’ll get it back, I promise." Patty pulled her cigarettes out of her purse and offered one to Lorelai. Lorelai took it and smiled. "Thanks."
"Do you need a light, dear?" Patty asked.
"Nope, this is all I need, thanks," Lorelai said. She walked back over to Sookie and Rory.
"What was that all about?" Rory asked curiously.
Lorelai held up the cigarette. "This."
"What are you gonna do with that?" Sookie asked. "You don’t smoke."
"I know I don’t," Lorelai replied. "And Luke doesn’t either – in fact, he hates it. He even told me he’d never date someone who smoked." Lorelai grinned.
"Oh, I get it." Rory smiled. "You really think that’s gonna work?"
"Yup," Lorelai replied.
Sookie glanced back and forth between them. "What’s gonna work? What’s going on?"
"Me pretending to be a smoker," Lorelai said. Sookie stared at her, confused. Lorelai rolled her eyes and patted Sookie on the back. "I’ll take Over Your Head for a thousand, Alex." She started walking toward the diner. "Rory, tell her what’s going on."
As they followed Lorelai to the diner, Rory explained the plan to Sookie. The three of them stood together on the sidewalk a few feet from the large picture window of the diner. "Is he in there?" Lorelai asked, squinting through the window. "I can’t tell."
"I don’t see him," Rory said. "He must be in the kitchen."
"Yeah, that’s where he went when I ticked him off," Lorelai said. She glanced down at the cigarette. "Ooh, I wish I had a candy cigarette. Those things are good."
"Mm, I love those," Rory said. "We need to get some from the store next time we go shopping."
"We definitely do," Lorelai agreed. She glanced into the diner and said, "Ooh, there he is, there he is!" Rory and Sookie both looked into the window, but Lorelai said, "No, don’t look! That’s too suspicious-looking."
Rory rolled her eyes. "And the fact that we’re all standing here in front of the window?"
"Also suspicious-looking, but it seems less suspicious to just be talking than to have our faces pressed up against the glass," Lorelai said.
Sookie giggled. "I can’t wait to see him freak out."
Lorelai smiled. "I know, it’s so fun seeing him get all worked up." She glanced quickly in the window to make sure he was still in view. "Okay, here we go. We’re just gonna casually walk by the window."
Lorelai, Rory and Sookie walked slowly along the outside of the diner, and Lorelai brought the cigarette up to her mouth and held it up between her lips. She took it out and pretended to blow out smoke, then she laughed. "I hope he doesn’t realize that there’s no smoke coming out of it. Maybe I should’ve took the one that Patty had already lit."
They continued walking slowly along the window, then they turned the corner and walked in front of the window on the other side of the door. Lorelai brought the cigarette to her lips and glanced into the diner, watching Luke serve some customers. He casually glanced up at the window at Lorelai, then started to walk back to the counter. Suddenly, he turned around slowly and looked at her again. Lorelai pulled the cigarette from her lips and held it between her fingers, making sure he could see it. His eyes widened and his mouth dropped open, and Lorelai quickly turned around.
"Oh, we have a direct hit," Lorelai said, smiling. Rory and Sookie both turned to look through the window. They watched as Luke set down the plate that he was holding, then walked quickly toward the door.
Within seconds, Luke was rushing toward them down the sidewalk. "Lorelai, what the hell are you doing?" he said angrily. "Put that out!" As he reached them, he grabbed the cigarette from her hand and dropped it on the ground. Rory and Sookie stepped back from them, smiling to themselves.
Lorelai smiled. "Hey, what’s up?"
Luke’s eyes widened with disbelief. "What do you mean, what’s up? You’ve started smoking now? The coffee and junk food addictions weren’t enough bad factors to contribute to an early death, but now you want to add lung cancer and emphysema and the other eight billion problems that smoking causes? Are you nuts? You know how I feel about that crap, why would you even - "
Lorelai interrupted his rant by pressing her lips against his. He tried to pull away, but she pulled him closer and kissed him deeper. When she finally pulled away from him, Luke stepped back from her. "Knock it off. I don’t wanna taste that."
Lorelai folded her arms across her chest and smiled. "Do you taste any smoke?"
"Yes, it’s disgusting," he said, wiping off his lips.
Lorelai bent down and picked up the cigarette, then held it up in front of him. "Really? It must be psychological then because I don’t think you can taste smoke from an unlit cigarette."
Luke took the cigarette from her and examined it curiously. As he slowly brought his hand down, he glanced from Lorelai to Rory and Sookie, all of whom were smiling at him. "What the hell is going on here?" he asked Lorelai. He waved the cigarette at her. "What is this about?"
Lorelai smiled. "I just made five bucks." Lorelai took the cigarette from Luke, then turned to Rory and held out her hand. "Fork it over."
Rory groaned and pulled a five-dollar bill out of her pocket. She gave it to Lorelai, who then handed Sookie the cigarette. "Can you guys take this over to Miss Patty while I explain things to Luke?"
"Sure," Sookie replied. "Come on, sweetie." Rory and Sookie walked away.
Lorelai turned to Luke, who had an annoyed look on his face. "Uh, hi," Lorelai said, smiling. Luke folded his arms across his chest, then pursed his lips and stared at her expectantly. Lorelai dropped the smile, then said, "Mmkay, before I start being all cute and adorable, I guess I should explain things, huh?"
* * *
A few minutes later, Lorelai walked over to Sookie and Rory. "Everything okay?" Rory asked. "He wasn’t mad, right?"
"Nope, he wasn’t mad," Lorelai said. She frowned and added, "But he made me give him the five bucks."
Rory laughed. "Aw, all that hard work and nothing to show for it."
Lorelai shrugged. "Yeah, well – at least I didn’t give up."
Sookie nodded. "Yes, you had great determination to win the bet and you pulled it off."
Lorelai smiled. "Yes, I did. I’m quite proud of myself." She glanced around and her eyes fell on the ice cream table. "Ooh, they brought the ice cream out! Let’s go."
* * *
That night, Lorelai walked into her bedroom to get ready for bed and found Luke sitting on the floor by the air conditioning vent. She sat down on the bed and asked, "What are you doing?"
"The vent’s broken or something, there’s no air coming out," Luke said. He used a screwdriver to remove the vent cover, then looked into the vent. "I’m not sure what’s wrong though, we might need to call someone to take a look at it."
"Is it just this one vent?" Lorelai asked.
"Yeah, the one is Jess’ room is fine, the one in the bathroom is fine, it just seems like it’s this one that’s acting up," Luke said. "And probably whatever else it’s connected to downstairs." Luke screwed the cover back on, then stood up.
Lorelai pulled at the neckline of her T-shirt and made a face. "Ugh, I can feel it now. It’s getting hot in here." She fanned herself with her hand, then smiled. "Ooh, you know what I just said. . .come on, finish it."
Luke pulled his shirt off and tossed it in the laundry basket. "No, thank you."
"Please?" Lorelai begged. "Come on, it’s the only part of the song that I like. Here, let’s try it again." Lorelai stood up on top of the bed and danced as she sang, "It’s getting hot in here. . ." She clapped her hands rhythmically as she waited for Luke to finish it. He stared at her for a few seconds as she jumped around on the bed, and finally a small smile appeared on his lips. He walked over to the door and locked it, then walked back over to her. She smiled and sang it again, "It’s getting hot in here. . ."
"So take off all your clothes," Luke said dryly, rolling his eyes.
"I am getting so hot, I wanna take my clothes off," Lorelai sang in a high voice. She laughed and put her hands on his shoulders. "Man, you’ve got that line down. Nelly’s gonna be calling you up for a duet soon."
Luke slid her shirt up and kissed her stomach, then looked up at her. "No, seriously, take off all your clothes."
Lorelai smiled and pulled off her shirt, then tossed it aside. She jumped on the bed a few times, then landed in a sitting position with a loud thud. She leaned back against the pillows and smiled up at him. As he started to crawl on top of her, she said, "Hey, if you give me my five bucks back, I’ll sleep with you right now."
"You’re gonna sleep with me right now anyway," he said, leaning down to kiss her chest.
"Yeah, well, if you give me my five bucks back, I’ll make it . . .extra good," Lorelai promised.
Luke lifted his lips from her body and rolled his eyes. "Really, how so?"
Lorelai smiled. "Here’s the deal – we’ll do it, and if you agree that it was in fact extra good, you have to give me the five bucks back."
Luke smirked. "Isn’t that a little too close to prostitution?"
Lorelai shrugged. "I’m not an undercover cop, are you?"
"No, I’m not."
"Then who cares? But you have to be truthful about it. You can’t pretend it wasn’t extra good just so you don’t have to pay me. Deal?
Luke stared at her for a moment, then shrugged. "Deal."
* * *
The next morning, Lorelai woke up and groggily glanced at the clock, which informed her that it was almost nine. She stretched her hand behind her to check for Luke, and wasn’t surprised to find that he had already gotten up. She rested her head against her pillow and yawned loudly, then slowly sat up in the bed and rubbed her eyes. She glanced over at Luke’s side of the bed and laughed at what she saw. At the bottom of his pillow sat a scattered pile of five-dollar bills. She smiled to herself, then stood up from the bed and pulled on her robe.
She walked into the bathroom, and a few minutes later she went downstairs to look for Luke. She glanced out the side door and saw him sitting on the porch bench looking through his toolbox. She stepped outside, and he looked up at her and smiled. "Hey."
"Hey." Lorelai walked over and sat down on his lap. She pressed her lips against his and kissed him deeply, then smiled through the kiss. "I take it you were a satisfied customer last night?"
Luke smiled. "You got my tip?"
"Yes, I did," she replied. "Thanks for making me feel like a high-class hooker and not one of those cheap ones on those HBO specials."
Luke smiled and gave her a small nod. "You’re welcome."
"Okay, I’m gonna go eat breakfast and take a shower, and then you can send up the next John, okay?" Lorelai said.
Luke laughed and nodded. "Okay, will do."
Lorelai smiled and kissed him, then stood up and walked back into the house.
End Part 34
* * *
Part 35
Lorelai walked into the kitchen and fixed herself a bowl of cereal. She sat down at the table and read through the Sunday sales flyers from the newspaper while she ate. Luke walked in through the back door and washed his hands at the sink, then sat down next to her.
Lorelai put down the flyer she was reading, then smiled at him. "Hey, whatcha doing?"
"I was getting my tools together," Luke replied. "Now I gotta run to the hardware store and get some wood."
"Get some wood?"
"Get some wood," he confirmed, nodding his head.
"Just randomly felt like going out and picking up some wood?" Lorelai asked.
"Nah, it’s for that little room I’m building in the apartment," Luke replied. "Remember, I wanted to get all the diner stuff together and out of Jess’ way before he moves back."
Lorelai nodded. "Right, right, I remember."
"Yeah, so, I’m gonna get started on that today," Luke said. "Probably be up there all day. What are you gonna do?"
"I’m not sure yet," Lorelai replied. She glanced down at the stack of flyers. "Maybe go shopping – there are a lot of good sales out there."
Luke rolled his eyes. "You women always think that just because there’s a sale, you have to go out and buy stuff. And it’s never stuff you think you need until you see it in one of those stupid flyers, and then suddenly, every woman is thinking, ‘Man, I should really pick up this fifty-nine piece set of picnic basket accessories while it’s on sale just in case I need it someday.’ But they’ll never use it, and do you know why?"
With an amused smile, Lorelai leaned forward as if she was captivated by his speech. "No, please tell me, why?"
"Because men don’t like picnics, and those women who are running out and spending money on the fifty-nine piece picnic basket set are bringing it home, and then their men are shoving it in the basement or a closet or the garbage so the women can’t find it, and then the women forget about it and it’s just yet another thing that turns out to be a complete waste of money." Luke leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest.
Lorelai smiled and shook her head slightly. "Wow. Okay, now I totally have to go out and find one of those picnic basket sets because in the future, when I tell people about your little rant there, it’ll make the story a hundred times funnier if I can follow it up with a story about how, as soon as you were done, I went out and bought one myself."
Luke let out a small laugh. "Don’t even think about it."
Lorelai frowned. "What, you’re telling me that if I went out and bought a basket, you wouldn’t go on a picnic with me?"
"I’ve already gone on a picnic with you, remember? And I believe I paid fifty bucks for it," he added, rolling his eyes.
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "I remember. Okay, so maybe it was a tad expensive for some Pop Tarts and Slim Jims, but think of it this way – if you didn’t spend that money, someone else would’ve won my basket."
"Yeah. . .and?" Luke prompted.
"Well, then, I might’ve hit it off with him," Lorelai continued. "And then it would be him, instead of you, who’ll get to watch me dance around naked on the bed tonight singing Papa Don’t Preach."
Luke smiled. "So that was fifty bucks well spent."
Lorelai leaned forward and kissed him. As she pulled back, she smiled and said, "And if I remember correctly, you had a good time in the gazebo that day."
Luke smiled and shrugged. "Yeah, well. . .maybe I did. Although that’s not the moment of us together that I associate with the gazebo anymore."
Lorelai giggled and shook her head. "Yeah, me either." Luke stood up from the table and walked over to the counter where he’d set his wallet earlier. Lorelai turned around to look at him. "Luke?"
Luke shoved his wallet into his back pocket, then turned around. "Yeah?"
"What would you have done if the cigarette was real?"
Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "What are you talking about?"
Lorelai stood up and walked over to him. "If I had really started smoking. . .what would you do? You said you’d never date someone who smoked. . .so, what would you have done?"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa - wait a minute, what is this about?" Luke asked. "You haven’t really started, have you?"
Lorelai shook her head. "No, I was just wondering what you would do."
Luke shrugged. "I’d help you quit."
"So you wouldn’t . . ." Lorelai let her voice trail off.
Luke rolled his eyes. "You honestly think that I would leave you for that reason?"
Lorelai shrugged. "I don’t know, I’m just going by what you said."
"When I said that I wouldn’t date someone who smoked, I meant it in the sense if I was single and . . .you know, looking for . . ." his voice trailed off.
"A good time?" Lorelai suggested, smiling.
Luke groaned. "No, a date. I mean, I wouldn’t approach someone who was a smoker and ask them out, but . . .ya know, it’s different if you already love someone before they pick up the habit. You’re not just gonna throw them out the door, no matter how much you hate what they’re doing."
Lorelai smiled. "Good answer." She wrapped her arms around his waist and kissed him. Luke brought one hand up to her face and stroked her cheek as he kissed her back passionately.
He reluctantly pulled his lips from hers and said, "I have to go."
Lorelai stepped back from him and nodded. "Okay. Uh, I’ll come by the apartment later. . . you know, after I go out and buy a picnic basket."
Luke smiled and rolled his eyes. "Bye."
* * *
That afternoon, Lorelai climbed the steps to Luke’s apartment. As she neared the door, she heard hammering coming from inside, and on top of that, she heard two male voices. One of them was Luke’s, the other was one she didn’t recognize. It was difficult to hear what they were saying over the hammering, but Lorelai pressed her ear against the door to try to hear them.
"I’m not kidding," Luke said. "She is."
"Right," the man replied sarcastically. "Better than Rachel?"
"Yup," Luke replied. "Hand me that box of nails, would ya?"
"Here," the man replied. "Okay, that’s a little hard to believe. I was amazed that you got Rachel, now you’re telling me you got someone hotter?"
"That’s what I’m saying," Luke replied.
Lorelai smiled to herself. She glanced around nervously, afraid of being caught eavesdropping, before she pressed her ear back against the door.
"Here, that side’s tilting," the man said.
"I got it," Luke replied. Lorelai heard him grunt loudly, then say, "Dammit, I’m dropping it. Can you get it?"
"I got it, I got it," the man said. They were quiet for a few seconds before the man asked, "So you don’t have a picture of her?"
"Nah, not on me," Luke replied. "She said she’d stop by though, so maybe you’ll still be here."
Lorelai smiled and pulled back from the door. She quietly walked down the hallway, down into the diner, out the front door and onto the sidewalk. She pulled out her cell phone and dialed the apartment. After several rings, Luke answered, "Yeah?"
"Hey," Lorelai said.
"Oh, hey," Luke replied. "What’s up?"
"Nothing. Uh, I’m on my way to see you and I . . .just wanted to make sure you weren’t too busy," Lorelai said.
"No, it’s fine," Luke replied quickly. "We were just about to take a break anyway."
"Uh, we?" Lorelai asked. "Who’s we?"
"Oh, me and John," Luke replied. "I think I might’ve mentioned him before, my friend from Woodbury?"
"Uh, no, I don’t recall hearing about him," Lorelai replied.
"Oh, well. . .he’s here, he’s helping me out," Luke said.
"Well, isn’t that nice," Lorelai said.
"Yeah. So, come on up when you get here," Luke replied.
"Okay, see you in a few minutes," Lorelai said. She hung up the phone and slipped it back into her purse, then pulled her compact out and checked her hair and makeup. She put it away and lingered outside the diner for a minute, then finally walked inside and back up to the apartment. The hammering had stopped, and Lorelai knocked on the door. "Luke, it’s me!" she called.
A few seconds later, Luke pulled the door open. "Hey."
Lorelai smiled. "Hi." She stepped into the apartment and shut the door behind her. Luke put an arm around her waist and led her over to the living room area.
A man around Luke’s age with short black hair was sitting on the couch, and he stood up as they approached him. He smiled at Lorelai and extended his hand. "Hey, I’m John."
Lorelai smiled and shook his hand. "Lorelai. Nice to meet you."
"Same here," John replied. Lorelai saw him give her a once over as he sat back down on the couch. Luke sat in the leather armchair across from him.
Lorelai shoved her hands into her pockets and walked over to the corner where they’d been building. "This is coming along pretty well, huh?"
"Yeah, it’s almost done," Luke said. "Should only take a few more hours."
"Goes pretty fast when there’s two people working on it," John added.
"Yeah, I bet," she replied. She walked back over to them and perched herself on the arm of the armchair. Luke brought his hand up and rubbed her back. Lorelai stared at John for a moment, then said, "I’m sorry – you just look really familiar. Have we met before?"
John shook his head. "No, I don’t think so. I’m pretty sure I would remember you."
Lorelai smiled. "There must be someone out there who looks like you, then."
"Maybe my brother," John suggested. "He’s a year younger than me, looks a lot like me."
"Maybe," Lorelai agreed. "What’s his name?"
"Jake," he replied. "Jake Milton."
Lorelai’s eyes widened slightly. "Oh, uh. . .yeah, I do know him, actually."
"Oh really?" Luke asked. "From where?"
Lorelai shrugged. "Oh, you know, just from . . . around." She stood up. "I should get going, let you guys get back to work. Nice meeting you, John."
"Yeah, you too," he replied.
Lorelai started walking quickly toward the door, and Luke stood up and followed her. She stepped into the hallway, and Luke caught her arm. "Whoa, what’s the rush?"
"Sorry, I just forgot that I have to meet Sookie," Lorelai replied quickly. She paused a moment. "Are you friends with Jake, too?" she whispered.
Luke nodded. "Yeah, kind of. I’m closer with John, though. Why?"
Lorelai shrugged. "Just wondering." She kissed him goodbye. "I’ll see you later."
"Yeah. . .later. . bye," Luke said, giving her a curious look. He watched as she walked down the hallway and disappeared down the staircase.
* * *
Lorelai walked out of the diner and walked directly to Sookie’s house. Jackson was out front watering some flowers, and he turned off the hose as she walked up. "Lorelai, hi."
"Hey Jackson," Lorelai replied. "Is Sookie here?"
"Yeah, she’s inside," Jackson said. "Go right in."
"Thanks." Lorelai smiled and walked past him into the house. "Sookie!" she called.
"Lorelai?" Sookie called back. A few seconds later, she walked out of the kitchen door and into the living room. "Hey, what’s up? Are you okay?"
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I wanted to talk to you about something."
Sookie sat down on the couch. "I’m all ears." She giggled and added, "Which is pretty funny because I’ve got some corn cobs going on the stove, so it’s sort of -"
"Sookie," Lorelai interrupted.
"Sorry, go on," Sookie replied.
Lorelai slowly paced back and forth in front of the couch. "Okay, remember the guy I went out with a few years ago who looked a little like Charlie Sheen?"
Sookie thought for a minute, then slowly nodded. "I think so. I never met him, but I remember you telling me about him. What was his name?"
"Jake Milton," Lorelai replied. "Well, I just found out a few minutes ago that Jake and Luke are friends."
Sookie’s eyes widened. "Ooh, and you and Jake . . ." Her voice trailed off.
"Yes, we did," Lorelai confirmed.
Sookie grimaced. "So that’ll be weird if you guys are all. . ."
"I know," Lorelai said, nodding quickly.
"Does Luke know?" Sookie asked.
Lorelai shook her head. "No, Jake’s brother is helping Luke build something in the apartment, and we were talking and he mentioned his brother and when I realized who it was, I left."
"Are you gonna tell him?" Sookie asked. "Or just . . .you know, let sleeping dogs lie?"
"What do you think I should do?" Lorelai asked.
Sookie shrugged. "You know Luke better than I do. Will he care?"
Lorelai thought for a moment, biting her lip pensively. "Hmm, I don’t know. Part of me is thinking that he might. . .I don’t know, be guy-ish about it."
"Guy-ish?" Sookie asked.
"Yeah. You know, it’ll make him get this like whole, ‘oh, look, I have your old girl’ macho attitude thing," Lorelai explained. "It’ll make him feel sort of proud."
"Luke gets like that?" Sookie asked.
"Sometimes," Lorelai replied. She sighed loudly. "I don’t know, what should I do? Tell him?"
"You might as well," Sookie said. "I mean, if they’re friends, you guys will probably meet again eventually and then Jake’ll probably let it slip out eventually, so you might as well just tell him now so that when eventually finally gets here, he’ll have already known before the eventually time reached him."
Lorelai nodded. "As confusing as that was, I understood."
Sookie smiled. "Good." She stood up and walked toward the kitchen. "You wanna stay for lunch, honey?"
"No, thanks," Lorelai replied. "Thanks for the advice."
"You’re welcome," Sookie called. "Bye."
"Bye." Lorelai walked out the front door.
* * *
That night, Lorelai and Rory walked through their front door each carrying several shopping bags. Luke was in the living room flipping through a magazine, and he looked up when they entered. He stood up and walked to the front entryway. "Where’d you guys go?"
"Shopping." Lorelai set her bags down as Rory brought hers to her bedroom. "Rory wanted to pick up some new things for her trip next week."
Luke glanced at the bags surrounding them. "Uh huh, and what did you get? I know you didn’t go with her just to watch her shop."
Lorelai shrugged. "Just a few outfits. I promise I didn’t waste any money." She reached into one of the bags and pulled out a black tank top with pairs of bright red lips all over it. "Cute, huh?"
Luke raised his eyebrows. "Uh. . . I guess . . ."
Lorelai smiled. "I believe the reply you’re looking for is, ‘Yes, it is cute’." She put it back in the bag, then pulled out a light pink sleeveless shirt decorated with random rhinestone designs. "What about this one? Isn’t it so cool?" she asked excitedly.
Luke feigned excitement. "Oh, please tell me you bought me a matching one!"
Lorelai laughed. "Sorry, I checked and they were all out of your size."
"Damn," Luke said, frowning disappointedly. He turned around and walked back into the living room.
Lorelai watched him walk toward the couch, then said, "Um, Luke?"
Luke turned around. "What?"
Lorelai gestured to the front door. "Can you come outside and talk?"
"About?"
Lorelai shrugged. "Uh, just some stuff. . .come outside with me." She walked out the front door and sat on the porch steps, and a few seconds later, Luke joined her. They were both quiet for a few seconds before Lorelai asked, "So, did you get the room done?"
"Yup. Well, we got the walls up. I just have to go buy a door, but that’ll only take a few minutes to put up."
Lorelai nodded. "Was John there all day?"
"Nah, he left about an hour or so after you did. Had some things to do," Luke said. "He likes you, he said you were nice."
"Nice as in friendly, or nice as in . . .nice to look at?" Lorelai asked, smiling.
Luke smiled. "Both."
Lorelai raised her eyebrows and smiled. "Oh yeah?"
"Yup."
Lorelai nodded and stared at the Jeep. "Uh, I wanted to tell you something about Jake."
"Jake?" Luke asked, narrowing his eyes. "John’s brother? What about him?"
Lorelai turned to look at him. She took a deep breath and said, "Uh, I slept with him."
Surprised, Luke’s face tightened up slightly. "What?"
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, we went out a few years ago for a couple weeks and. . . I don’t know, I just thought I should tell you before we somehow all end up in a room together and then it comes out in the most embarrassing way possible." Lorelai paused a moment and stared at Luke, who was staring straight ahead at the chuppah. Finally, she asked, "Are you mad?"
Luke turned to her and shook his head. "No, I’m not mad. Why would I be mad? It’s not like you slept with him yesterday or something."
"I know, but I don’t want things to be weird between you guys or something," Lorelai said.
"It won’t be weird. It’ll actually be interesting – we can compare notes," Luke said.
Lorelai laughed and slapped him playfully on the shoulder. "Very funny."
Luke smiled. "It’s fine, no big deal." He shrugged and added, "I mean, I’m sure there are tons of guys out there you’ve slept with. I’m bound to know one or two of them." He started to stand up.
Lorelai grabbed onto his shirt and pulled him back down. "Whoa, whoa, whoa. What did you just say?"
Luke landed back on the porch steps with a thud. "Geez, what?"
Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. "‘There are tons of guys out there you’ve slept with’ – what the hell does that mean? You make me sound like a female Joey Tribbiani."
Luke shifted on the porch and gestured aimlessly with his hands. "I just meant that, a 33 year old woman who looks like you is obviously gonna have dated a lot of guys and so. . ." Luke tried to explain. "I didn’t mean that you’re . . ."
"No, what you mean is that you think that I’m easy and that I’ve slept with every guy I’ve gone out with," Lorelai said knowingly. She shook her head toward the ground. "Nice. . .that’s a real nice thing to think about someone you love, Luke."
Luke sighed. "Lorelai, that’s not what I meant."
"If you’ll remember, we went out for almost a month before we slept together," Lorelai wagged her finger at him. "Even though I’d known you for over a decade, we still waited awhile."
"I know, I’m sorry, I didn’t mean it the way it sounded. . . but, look, I’ll say the same thing about me," Luke said. "There are girls out there that I’ve been with and . . .I mean, you might know some of them. It’s just a coincidence, it’s no big deal."
Lorelai was quiet for a moment, then slowly turned to look at him. "How many?"
"How many what?" he asked, confused.
"How many women have you slept with?" Lorelai asked.
Luke laughed. "What?"
"Seriously, give me a number," Lorelai said.
Luke’s smile faded. "You give me a number," he retorted.
"I will – but I asked you first."
"I don’t know it offhand," Luke said.
Lorelai stood up. "Me either. Let’s go inside and figure it out, and then we’ll each write down the number so we can’t change it when the other person announces theirs."
Luke rolled his eyes. "This is stupid."
"No, this is fun," Lorelai said. "Come on." She walked into the house and left the door open for him to follow. Luke sat on the steps for a few more seconds until Lorelai called, "Come on!"
He sighed loudly, then reluctantly stood up and walked into the house. Lorelai sat at the kitchen table with a piece of paper in front of her, biting on the end of a pen. She gestured to the seat across from her, where she’d set a piece of paper and a pencil for him. He sat down, mumbling, "This is so stupid."
"Yeah, well, you should’ve thought about that before you called me a slut," Lorelai mumbled.
Luke rolled his eyes. "Okay, you’re being a little dramatic now, don’t you think?"
Lorelai smiled. "It’s what I do. Now get writing."
Luke sighed loudly and picked up his pencil. "You want phone numbers and addresses, too?" he asked sarcastically.
"If you can remember them – yes, it’d be appreciated," Lorelai said.
* * *
A short while later, Lorelai looked up from her paper and announced, "Done!"
Luke was staring at her with his arms folded across his chest. He checked his watch. "I’ve been done for like eight minutes."
"Well, sorry, you must have a better memory than me," Lorelai said. "What’s your number?"
"What’s your number?" he responded.
"Okay, we’ll trade papers," she said. She slid hers toward him as he did the same. They grabbed each other’s paper and looked at them at the same time.
"Eleven," Lorelai read. She lowered the paper. "Ooh, that’s a good number, not too big, not too small."
"Twenty-three?" Luke exclaimed. "Twenty-three? My God, no wonder you’ve always needed so much coffee to get you going. You were wearing yourself out."
Lorelai scoffed and grabbed her paper back. "What? It’s not that many. . . I didn’t start until I was fifteen, so that’s twenty-three guys over an eighteen-year period. When you think about it, that’s not really that bad. In fact, that’s probably kind of low for most people."
"Low for most people?" Luke said with a laugh. "The only people that’s low for are prostitutes and porn stars."
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Please, Luke – welcome to the twenty-first century. Kids are practically having sex in elementary school. Their totals are gonna be way higher than my puny little twenty-three."
Luke grabbed her paper back and stared at it. "Twenty three, huh. You still see any of these guys?"
"Only at the annual ‘We Slept with Lorelai Gilmore’ convention that we hold at the inn each summer," Lorelai said, smiling. "Ooh, and you get to attend this year, won’t that be fun?" she asked, tapping him excitedly on the arm.
Luke crumbled up the paper and tossed it on the table. "Loads," he said dryly.
Lorelai frowned. "What’s wrong? Don’t tell me you’re mad because I’ve been with more people than you," she said with a groan.
"I’m not mad," he said with a shrug.
"Oh yeah, then why aren’t you looking at me?" she asked.
Luke widened his eyes. "I’m looking at you, see?"
Lorelai rolled her eyes and stood up from the table. She grabbed the lists and threw them away, then walked back over and stood behind her chair. "Would it make you feel better if I told you that. . . honestly, no lie, I swear on my own life. . .that you’re better than the other twenty-two?"
Luke shook his head. "No." He paused a moment, then looked up at her. "Seriously?"
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Cross my heart. Be sure to tell Jake that the next time you see him."
Luke smiled. "I will." He stood up and walked over to her. He hugged her tightly and kissed her forehead before he pressed his lips against hers. A soft moan escaped her throat as the kiss deepened with passion, and as the intensity overwhelmed them, neither heard Rory’s bedroom door open.
"Uh, I’ll come back out when you’re done," Rory’s embarrassed voice said. She started to walk back into her bedroom as Lorelai opened her eyes and pulled back from Luke.
"Sorry, sorry, we’re done now," Lorelai said, panting slightly.
Rory turned around. "Are you sure? I can just go wait in my room and you can give me a little signal when you’re done."
Luke gave an embarrassed nod and stammered, "Yeah, uh, we’re. . .I think . . ya know. . .we were. . . I’m gonna. . ."
Lorelai smiled and patted him on the back. "All very good points, hon," she said encouragingly.
Luke gestured toward the living room. "I’ll be in there." He walked out of the kitchen.
"I’m going over Lane’s for a while," Rory said. "Can I invite her back here for dinner?"
"Yeah, what do you want?" Lorelai asked.
"Pizza?" Rory suggested.
"Sounds good," Lorelai said. "Take some money from my purse and pick up a movie to watch while we eat."
"Old or new?" Rory asked.
"Hmm, whatever jumps out at you," Lorelai said with a shrug.
"Got it," Rory said.
* * *
That night, Lorelai was asleep in bed when she felt Luke tossing and turning next to her. She lifted her head up and watched him for a few seconds, and when he settled down, Lorelai rested her head back against the pillow and tried to go back to sleep.
A few seconds later, she heard Luke chuckle in his sleep. She opened her eyes and watched him, smiling to herself. He was still fast asleep and had a small smile on his lips, and Lorelai wondered what he was dreaming about. As she rested her head back against the pillow, she heard him groggily mutter, "Come on, Rachel."
Lorelai gasped softly. Her eyes widened and she lifted her head to look at him. "Oh my God," she whispered. She tapped him repeatedly on the shoulder. "Luke, Luke, wake up!"
Surprised, Luke opened his eyes and quickly sat up. "What is it, what’s wrong? Are you okay?" he asked worriedly.
"I’m fine," Lorelai replied. "What were you just dreaming about?"
Luke narrowed his eyes and glared at her. "You woke me up at three in the morning to ask me that?" He fell back against his pillow and covered his face with his hands.
"Yes, I’m just curious what you’re dreaming about that would make you say Rachel’s name in your sleep," she said pointedly.
Luke removed his hands from his face and looked at her. "I did?"
"Yes, you did," Lorelai said. "What were you doing?"
Luke stared up at the ceiling for a minute. "I don’t know, I don’t remember."
"It just happened a second ago and you already forgot about it?" Lorelai asked.
"Let me think about it," Luke said. He closed his eyes for several seconds, trying to remember the dream. Finally, he opened them and said, "Oh, I remember."
"What was it?" Lorelai asked.
Luke smiled. "Actually, it’s pretty funny. Me and you were standing out front on the porch, and you told me you wanted to meet the other ten women that I had slept with, so suddenly women just started appearing around the house. I didn’t even recognize half of them, but I was lining them up in chronological order along the driveway, and Rachel was the last one and she didn’t want to stand in line with the others because she was too busy trying to take pictures of all of them."
Lorelai laughed quietly. "I can see that happening. What was I doing?"
"You were standing on the porch with Rory and Kirk," Luke said.
"Kirk?" Lorelai asked with a laugh.
"Yeah, don’t ask me how Kirk got in there, but he was there. Anyway, you guys were going to rank the women according to who was prettiest, but you were getting mad because Rachel wouldn’t get in line, so you ran over and grabbed her camera and threw it on the roof. Then I started laughing and Rachel got mad and started to leave. . . .and that’s where it ended." Luke yawned. "Can I go back to sleep now?"
Lorelai smiled and kissed him on the cheek. "Yes, goodnight." She rested her head against Luke’s chest and went back to sleep.
End Part 35
* * *
Part 36
A few days later, Lorelai and Rory sat at the kitchen table talking as Luke stood at the stove cooking breakfast. Lorelai was making out a list of things to do for the surprise shower she was planning for Sookie.
"Where’s it gonna be?" Rory asked.
"Here," Lorelai replied. "I was thinking of asking Babette if we could use her house and yard, too."
"Ooh, that’ll be cool, and it’ll give us more space to work with," Rory said. "Good idea."
"Have I ever had a bad idea?" Lorelai asked.
"Uh, yeah," Rory said with a laugh. "What about the time – "
Lorelai held up her hand. "Okay, stop, we don’t need specifics."
Luke placed a plate of pancakes in the center of the table. "No, I’d like some specifics. Go on."
Lorelai frowned up at him as she grabbed a couple of pancakes from the stack and dropped them on her plate.
Rory smiled. "Okay. Well, there was the time that she bought that Nads hair removal gel from that infomercial and thought it would be – "
Lorelai gasped. "Five bucks if you stop right now!" she yelled, waving her hands wildly at Rory.
Rory laughed and shook her head. "I don’t know, Mom. Luke looks like he *really* wants to hear the rest of the story."
Lorelai grimaced. "Twenty bucks if you promise never to bring it up again for the rest of your life!"
Rory smirked. "Deal." She glanced up at Luke and whispered, "Tell you later."
Luke smiled and walked over to the stove. "Is that enough pancakes or should I do another batch?"
Lorelai and Rory both glanced at the pile. At the same time, they replied "Another batch."
Luke rolled his eyes and mumbled, "Called that one."
Lorelai shoved a forkful of pancake into her mouth. "Mm, you know what’s weird?"
"That they don’t have more 24-hour marathons of the Golden Girls?" Rory suggested.
Lorelai laughed. "Good guess, but no." She stabbed a piece of pancake with her fork, then lifted it up to stare at it. "It’s weird that we’re eating food that we’d normally get at the diner and it tastes like it was made at the diner, yet it was made in our own kitchen."
Rory narrowed her eyes. "Um. . .okay."
"I mean, doesn’t it make you feel special to know that we get to eat diner-tasting food right in our own home? It’s like having a built-in diner chef. . .which is basically what it is, I guess. Ooh, this is what it must be like to live with Sookie!" Lorelai said excitedly.
Luke rolled his eyes. "Well, it certainly makes me feel special that I’m no longer Luke, but just. . .the built-in diner chef. Nice – thanks for that."
Lorelai smiled. "You’re welcome. You know, I bet all of the kitchen appliances are really happy that they’re finally being used after all these years."
"Or else they’re really mad because they’d gotten so used to living a lazy life of nonexistence," Rory commented.
"Hm, good point," Lorelai said. "I’ll talk to them later and find out how they’re feeling." She shoved a forkful of food into her mouth and chewed it slowly.
A few seconds later, footsteps rumbled down the staircase and Jess walked into the kitchen. He set a book on the table and said, "Hey," then walked to the refrigerator.
"Hey," Lorelai said.
"Hey," Rory said. She picked up the book he’d set down. "Reading this again?"
Lorelai glanced over at it and her eyes widened. "Ham on Rye! Ooh, is that a book about food?"
Rory laughed and set it back down. "Uh, no, not exactly."
Jess walked back over with a plate and fork and sat down at the table. He took a couple pancakes from the pile and put them on his plate.
"A book with that name that’s not about food shouldn’t have that name in the first place," Lorelai remarked. "It’s misleading."
"Yeah, well, I’ll bring that up to the author next time I talk to him," Jess said, shoving a forkful of food in his mouth.
"Good," Lorelai said. "Thank you."
Luke slid some more pancakes onto the serving plate, then returned the pan to the stove. He grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and sat down at the table. He took a bite of it, then asked Jess, "You’re working today, right?"
"Yup," Jess replied. He rolled his eyes and added, "Wait, let me guess - you gonna do your little casual drop-by?"
"Maybe," Luke retorted.
Jess sighed and muttered, "Geez."
"Hey, part of the deal is that I check up on you at work," Luke said sternly.
"I know, I know," Jess replied.
"And I’ll still be checking up on you when you move out," Luke reminded him. "You lose that job, you’re right back here, remember?"
"I know," he replied in a slightly annoyed tone.
Lorelai cleared her throat. "Uh, are you excited about having your own place?"
Jess shrugged. "Should be cool."
"You might get bored being all by yourself all the time, though. You can still hang out here. . .you know, if you want to. You’ll still be welcome here," Lorelai said sincerely. "You know, especially since we’ve got the built-in chef and everything."
Jess shoved a piece of pancake into his mouth and nodded. "Thanks."
They ate for a few more minutes before Luke stood up from the table. "Okay, I gotta get to work. I cooked breakfast, so you guys have to clean it up."
Lorelai frowned. "That’s not how it works at the diner."
"Yeah, well, newsflash – this ain’t the diner." Luke leaned down and kissed her quickly on the cheek. "Plus, you like washing dishes anyway." He walked out of the kitchen, grabbed his keys from the hallway table, and walked out the front door.
Lorelai jumped up from the table. "Oh, shoot, I forgot to. . ." her voice trailed off as she ran out the back door to catch him before he left. Luke was already climbing into his truck as Lorelai called, "Luke, wait a second!"
He got into the truck and shut the door. He started the engine, then rolled down the window as she walked over to him. "What is it?" he asked.
"Remember, the air conditioning guy’s coming today," Lorelai reminded him.
"Oh, right, right," Luke said, nodding. "What time?"
"They said between one and four," Lorelai said. "I can probably get here at like. . .I don’t know, two-thirty-ish. Can you be here at one?"
Luke nodded. "Yeah, I’ll try."
"Okay." Lorelai leaned through the window and kissed him. "Bye."
* * *
That afternoon, as Lorelai was driving home from the inn, her cell phone rang. She fished for it in her purse and answered it. "Hello?
"Hey," Luke replied. "They’re here, so you don’t have to rush home to wait for ‘em."
"Aw, well, I took a half day, so I’m gonna come home anyway." Lorelai thought for a moment, then said, "Ooh, actually, you know what? Now that I have some free time, I’m gonna stop at the pharmacy and pick up my prescription."
"Prescription?" Luke asked.
"Yeah, it’s a medical term used when a doctor gives you – " Lorelai started.
"Yes, I know what a prescription is," Luke interrupted with a groan.
"Okay, well, you said it like you’d never heard of it before, sorry," Lorelai said with a laugh.
"Are you sick?" Luke asked nervously. "Because whatever you have, I probably have now, too."
"No, I’m not sick," Lorelai assured him.
"You’re not sick?" he asked in a slightly confused tone.
"Nope." Lorelai paused a moment, then smiled to herself. "Luke? Have you caught on yet or would you like for me to completely spell it out for you?"
"Spell it out," he replied.
Lorelai laughed. "Okay, well, I’m going to drive this thing called a Jeep over to this building called a pharmacy to pick up a little bag, and - "
Luke sighed loudly. "Get on with it, I don’t have all day."
Lorelai smiled and continued, "And inside that little bag will be a container filled with magic pills that enable a certain part of your body to enter a certain opening of mine, all while maintaining a ninety-nine percent guarantee of pregnancy prevention."
"Ah," Luke replied knowingly.
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah."
"Thanks for not being too blunt," Luke said sarcastically.
Lorelai giggled. "You’re welcome. Bye."
"Bye."
* * *
Twenty minutes later, Lorelai walked through the front door of her house and called, "Luke?"
"Kitchen!" he called back.
Lorelai set her purse and keys on the table near the front door, then walked to the kitchen. Luke was sitting at the table writing in the checkbook. Lorelai sat down next to him and asked, "What are you doing?"
"Thinking about your cloud underwear," Luke replied, not looking up.
Lorelai laughed. "Besides that."
"Hold on." Luke finished writing, then closed the checkbook and put the pen down. "I just paid the air conditioning people, so I had to write it in."
"Ooh, did they fix it?" Lorelai asked hopefully.
"Yup, it’s all taken care of," Luke replied as he stood up. "I’m heading back to the diner."
Lorelai stood up and clasped his hand as she walked with him to the front door. Before he pulled it open, he turned to her and kissed her long and deep. Lorelai brought her hands to his face and ran her fingers over the stubble on his cheeks. As their lips pulled apart from each other, Luke fingered the diamond solitaire hanging around her neck.
Lorelai glanced down at it. "It’s beautiful," she said softly.
Luke nodded. "Yeah." He slowly brought his gaze up and locked eyes with hers. "So are you."
Lorelai smiled and kissed him. After several seconds, she pulled back and asked, "Is that coming from the Luke who has to go back to the diner right this second?"
"As opposed to. . ."
Lorelai kissed him again as she slipped her hands up the front of his shirt and ran them over his chest. "As opposed to the Luke who has fifteen minutes to spare," Lorelai said, raising her eyebrows suggestively.
Luke glanced at his watch. "It’s coming from the Luke who said he’d be at the diner five minutes ago."
"Aw, that’s too bad." Lorelai started walking backwards away from him, casually unbuttoning her shirt.
He stared at her for a moment, then smiled and slowly started following her. "But Caesar probably won’t mind if I’m a little late."
Lorelai giggled. "That’s what I like to hear." She grabbed his hand and pulled him toward the staircase.
* * *
Shortly after Luke had gone back to the diner, Lorelai walked through their bedroom and picked up the clothes they had strewn across the floor. She tossed them into the clothes basket and brought the basket to the washing machine.
As she tossed his clothes into the washer, she noticed a slip of paper sticking out of his jeans pocket. She pulled it out and set it on the dryer, then finished throwing his clothes into the machine.
After she had started it, she picked up the piece of paper and unfolded it. As she read it, her eyes widened. "Huh."
* * *
A few minutes later, Lorelai walked into the diner and sat down at the counter. Luke finished with a customer at the register, then he walked over to her and smiled. "Hey, you didn’t say you’d be coming in."
"Yeah, well, I didn’t expect to," Lorelai replied dryly.
Luke narrowed his eyes at her expression and tone. "What’s wrong?"
She pulled the piece of paper out of her purse and put it on the counter. "Who’s Kathy?"
Confused, Luke picked up the paper and read it. "Oh, this is nothing." He lowered the paper and saw her scowling at him, and he let out a small laugh. "Lorelai, it’s nothing, calm down."
"I’m completely calm," she said, shrugging nonchalantly. She picked up the piece of paper and added, "But I was just wondering who Kathy is, and why you have both her cell number and home number." She put down the paper and stared at him expectantly.
"Kathy’s a customer who came in this morning," Luke explained.
"Oh, and customers are just randomly giving you their phone numbers?" Lorelai asked.
"No, I – " Luke started.
Lorelai scoffed. "And if that’s not strange enough, you’re actually keeping them? What, are you saving them just in case things don’t work out between us?" she asked accusingly.
Luke sighed. "Will you just let me talk?" he asked in an annoyed tone. "She and I went to high school together. She moved out of town right after graduation and she just moved back here a few weeks ago. She wants to get together next week for coffee so we can catch up."
"Oh. . .well, isn’t that nice," Lorelai mumbled. "Too bad you hate coffee."
"So, I’ll get tea," Luke replied with a shrug. He tilted his head and smirked at her. "Are you jealous?"
Lorelai scoffed. "No way."
Luke smiled and walked over to the coffeepot. "Yes, you are." He poured some into a takeout cup and placed it in front of her. "I don’t know why you are, but you are."
Lorelai shook her head and rolled her eyes. "I’m not jealous." She was quiet for a few seconds. "So. . . you’re gonna . . .get together with this girl?"
"I don’t know, maybe," Luke replied with a shrug. "Is there a problem?"
Lorelai shook her head. "Nope, no problem. You can hang out with whoever you want to."
Luke smiled. "Good."
Lorelai took a sip of coffee, then stared down at the counter. "Kathy. . .Kathy. . ." Lorelai said. "Why does that name sound familiar?"
"I don’t know, maybe because it’s one of the most common female names in the country?" he suggested, rolling his eyes.
Lorelai stared into space for a moment, muttering, "Kathy. . . Kathy. . . where did I see that name recently?" A few seconds later, she gasped loudly.
"Geez. . .what now?" Luke asked with a sigh.
"Kathy was girl number one!" Lorelai hissed, slapping her hand on the counter. "She was the first name on your list!"
Luke didn’t reply; instead, he started wiping down the counter.
Lorelai gave him a sly smile. "Oh my God! She was, wasn’t she?"
Luke smiled slightly. "Maybe she was – why does it matter?"
"Oh, it doesn’t matter," Lorelai said, shaking her head quickly. "It doesn’t matter at all. If you wanna go out for coffee with the girl who took your virginity, that’s fine with me. Go right ahead. No problem here."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Glad to hear you’re okay with it."
Lorelai stood up from the counter. "Yup, I’m fine, perfectly fine. Uh, just out of curiosity, what’s her last name?"
Luke looked at her curiously. "Why?"
"Just wondering," Lorelai answered with a shrug.
Luke stared at her for a moment, then smiled. "You’re gonna go home and look for my old yearbook, aren’t you?"
Lorelai grimaced slightly, then turned around and walked away calling, "No idea what you’re talking about." Luke shook his head and smiled to himself as he watched her walk out of the diner.
* * *
When Luke arrived home from work that night, Rory was sitting on the couch watching TV, and she looked up as he entered the room. "Hey Luke."
"Hey," he replied. "Uh, how was your day?"
"Good – worked at the inn a little, went shopping with Lane," she replied. "How was yours?"
Luke shrugged. "Eh, can’t complain." He glanced toward the kitchen. "Is your mom. . ."
Rory pointed to the ceiling. "Upstairs."
Luke nodded. "Thanks." He walked up the steps and found that their bedroom door was closed. He was about to walk right in, but then hesitated and decided to knock first. "Lorelai?"
A few seconds later, Lorelai pulled open the door wearing only her bra and underwear. Luke stepped into the room and kissed her hello, and after she had locked the door, she walked over to the mirror. She turned around several times, looking at herself from all angles.
Luke sat down on the bed and watched her for a few seconds before asking, "Uh. . .this isn’t gonna be one of those moments where you ask me if your butt looks big and then, no matter what I say, you get all upset and I have to comfort you and convince you that it’s not, is it?"
Lorelai turned around and smiled at him. She waved him off and said, "No, I know I have a nice butt." She paused a moment, then cleared her throat and gestured for him to say something.
Luke smiled. "Oh, sorry – yes, it’s a nice butt."
Lorelai grinned. "Thank you."
"So, then, what are you doing?" Luke asked.
"Just trying this stuff on. You didn’t even notice that these are new, did you?" Lorelai asked accusingly.
Luke shrugged. "They all look the same to me."
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Why do I even bother buying new things?"
"Got me," he replied. He stood up and walked over to his dresser. He set his wallet on top of it, then sat on the edge of the bed and took off his shoes.
Lorelai pulled on a pair of sweat pants and a T-shirt, then sat down on the bed. "So. . .did you call that girl?"
Luke turned his head to look back at her. "Have you been worrying about this all night?"
"No, I’m not worrying. . .I’m just. . .wondering. I just. . . like to know what’s going on with you," Lorelai said.
"Look, if I do decide to go and meet with her, it won’t be until next week," Luke said.
Lorelai nodded and casually picked lint off of her shirt.
Luke shook his head slightly. "Look, if you’re really bothered by it, I don’t have to go, okay? It really doesn’t matter to me, anyway. I just didn’t want to be rude."
"No, if you wanna go, you should go," Lorelai told him. "I’m not gonna keep you from going."
"Okay."
Lorelai stood up and walked to the door. She pulled it open, then turned to him, "So, do you think you’re gonna go?"
Luke sighed and gave her a pointed look.
She grimaced and said, "Uh, never mind. Forget I asked that last question." She stepped into the hallway and said, "I’ll be downstairs watching tv."
Luke nodded toward her. "I’ll be down in a minute."
* * *
The next morning, Luke walked down into the kitchen and poured himself some orange juice. As he was about to sit at the table, the back door opened and Lorelai walked in. She smiled when she saw him. "Hey."
Luke sat down. "Hey. Where were you? Early morning jog?’ he suggested jokingly.
Lorelai laughed. "Right, yeah." She walked over and kissed him, then sat down next to him. "No, I was asking Babette about using her house and yard for Sookie’s wedding shower. She said it’s fine."
"Good," Luke said.
"So now I have to go buy invitations and everything and get it all set up," Lorelai said.
"When is it?" Luke asked.
"Two weeks from this Saturday," Lorelai replied. "Ooh, it’s gonna be so exciting! Are you gonna be able to bake stuff? Because for big parties like this, Sookie usually does all the cooking and everything, so I’m really gonna need your help."
"You sound desperate," Luke commented.
"I am," Lorelai replied. "Can you help a poor, lonely, desperate woman in need?"
"Well, it’s what I do best," he replied.
Lorelai smiled. "Thank you." She walked over and poured herself a cup of coffee, then walked over to the refrigerator and pulled it open. "You know, we really have to go shopping before this weekend. There isn’t anything good to have our 9½ Weeks scene with."
"Uh, the jury’s still out on that idea," Luke told her.
Lorelai gasped and turned around. "What? No! I’ve been looking forward to it for weeks!"
Luke made a face. "I don’t know."
She walked over and sat down. "Come on! You loved it when we did it with just whipped cream, remember?" Lorelai reminded him. "We’ll use that again if you want – they even have fat free!"
Luke shrugged. "I don’t know, I’ll think about it."
Lorelai frowned. "We’re doing it, even if I have to tie you down." She paused a moment, then smiled. "Hmm, there’s an idea to add to the ‘To Do’ list for this weekend."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Please."
"Okay, I’ll be the one tied up," she offered.
"Forget it."
"You don’t like the sound of it now, but once we get nice and liquored up. . .you’ll be into it," Lorelai assured him. "Trust me."
"So now we’re getting all liquored up, too?" Luke asked in disbelief. "Geez, anything else you have planned that I should know about? Should I tell Caesar I won’t be in for awhile just in case I end up getting arrested?"
"That would be a good precautionary measure to take, yes," Lorelai said, nodding her head. Luke rolled his eyes and sipped his juice. Lorelai sipped her coffee, then said, "Oh, Rory needs the suitcases from the attic. Can you get them for her sometime today?"
Luke finished his juice, then stood up. "I’ll go get them now. How many does she need?"
"Well, she’s going for five days, so I’d say. . .what, one per day?" Lorelai suggested.
Luke rolled his eyes. "We’re talking about Rory, not you."
Lorelai smiled. "Oh, right. I’d say just the two biggest ones, then."
"Okay, come help me get ‘em down," Luke said.
* * *
Later that afternoon, Lorelai walked into the kitchen of the inn. "Okay, I’m back."
"That was fast," Sookie commented. "What did Michel want?"
"He needed me to sign some things," Lorelai said. "I swear, my work is never done."
Sookie giggled. "Yeah, you’re so overworked – the woman who takes the whole afternoon off just so she can pick up something from the pharmacy."
Lorelai laughed. "Hey, I told you, that’s not why I took off, that’s just how it panned out."
"I know, I know," Sookie said, smiling. "I’m just teasing."
"So, where was I before Michel so rudely interrupted?" Lorelai asked.
"Um, you were telling me about your dream last night. . .something about dogs," Sookie said.
"Oh, right, right," Lorelai said, nodding. "Okay, so I’m walking near the gazebo and I see a group of Chihuahuas walking from the other direction and suddenly I get this weird craving for tacos."
Sookie nodded. "Uh huh."
"Right, so I walk toward the diner to tell Luke that I’m gonna go get some tacos and I get inside and the place is totally deserted, even though it’s like right in the middle of the dinner rush," Lorelai said.
Sookie leaned forward on the counter and rested her chin in her palms, captivated by the story. "Weird."
"Yeah. So I walk up to the apartment to look for Luke, but he’s not up there. I come back down and look in the kitchen, and he’s not in there either. So I’m standing at the counter and . . .it’s like, I know he’s there somewhere, it’s this gut instinct that I have that he’s there, you know?"
Sookie nodded. "Yup, go on."
"So I walk to the storage room and the door is shut. I turn the knob and push it open and. . . there’s Luke," Lorelai said.
Sookie’s eyes widened and she winced. "Ooh, please don’t tell me he was all gross and bloody with his limbs only barely attached by one tiny thread of skin or something!"
Lorelai narrowed her eyes and let out a laugh. "Man, what kind of freaky dreams do you have?"
Sookie waved her off. "Go on, go on."
"So, there was Luke. . ." Lorelai paused dramatically, then continued, ". . .having sex with another woman on the floor." Lorelai pursed her lips and folded her arms across her chest.
Sookie gasped. "Oh, that rat! I can’t believe he dream-cheated on you!"
"I know!" Lorelai exclaimed.
"Oh man, what was he thinking?" Sookie shook her head disappointedly. "Who was the girl? Anyone we know?"
Lorelai shook her head. "I didn’t recognize her – but it was one of those things where you *know* who it is, even though you don’t recognize her."
"So who was it?" Sookie asked.
"Kathy," Lorelai muttered.
Sookie rolled her eyes. "Oh God, not this again. Did we not spend half an hour on the phone last night talking about how it’s no big deal that he might possibly have coffee with this girl?"
"Yes," Lorelai mumbled.
"And aren’t you the one who came out and said – and I quote – ‘I know Luke would never cheat on me’?" Sookie asked.
"Yes," she mumbled.
"So, then, why are you so worried about it?" Sookie asked.
Lorelai shifted her feet and sighed loudly. "I don’t know. I’m just. . .I wanna know things about her. I wanna see what she looks like. I wanna know what kind of girl. . ."
"What kind of girl he used to like all those years ago?" Sookie suggested.
"Maybe," Lorelai replied. "I couldn’t find his stupid yearbook anywhere. This is the first girl he slept with, Sookie, and I just . . ." She let her voice trail off as she thought for a moment. Suddenly, she said, "Help me follow them."
"What?" Sookie asked with a laugh.
"Come on, I’ll find out where they’re gonna meet and we’ll just casually - "
"No way." Sookie shook her head. "You have to trust him and leave him alone."
"I do trust him, I just wanna see her," Lorelai said.
Sookie sighed. "I know you do, but if you do something like follow them around, you’re just gonna get him mad at you," she pointed out.
Lorelai sighed and muttered, "I know."
"So you should just forget about it," Sookie said.
"I know."
"Good. Will you?" Sookie asked.
Lorelai shook her head. "Probably not."
"Didn’t think so," Sookie replied.
Lorelai was quiet for a moment, then shook her head slightly. "Okay, he’s not gonna see her until next week, right? So, I’ll just forget about it until next week. I have the weekend to concentrate on," she said, rubbing her hands together excitedly.
"Ooh, big plans, huh?" Sookie asked.
Lorelai smiled. "Yup, it will definitely be a weekend to remember." She reached up and tucked her hair behind her ears.
Sookie glanced at Lorelai’s neck and said, "Oh, finally took off the necklace, huh?"
Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "What?"
"The necklace he gave you – this is the first time I’ve seen you without it since you got it," Sookie said.
Lorelai put her hand on her neck, feeling for it. "What? I had it on this morning." Lorelai ran her hands frantically along her neck and upper chest. "Oh my God, where is it? It’s not there!"
"You sure you had it on?" Sookie asked.
"I’m positive!" Lorelai exclaimed. She pulled on her collar and looked down her shirt. "Oh God, Sookie, that was his mother’s!"
"I know, I know. We’ll find it," Sookie assured her. "Calm down."
Lorelai stared worriedly into space. "Okay, I know I put it on after my shower this morning. . .I’m pretty sure I felt it when I was in the kitchen. . .I *think* I had it on in the car. . ." Lorelai grabbed Sookie’s hand and squeezed it tightly. "Oh my God, Sookie, what am I gonna tell him? Man, now I totally know how Rory felt when she lost her bracelet! This is exactly the same thing. . .except that she lost a piece of leather and some scrap metal that her boyfriend made in like five minutes, whereas I lost a five hundred dollar diamond that was in my boyfriend’s family for like thirty years – other than that, it’s completely the same thing."
"Honey, breathe," Sookie told her. "Just relax, we’ll find it. Why don’t you start off by checking the car?"
Lorelai swallowed hard and nodded. "The car, good idea. I’ll go check the car." She rushed out the back door and headed toward the parking lot.
* * *
* * *
Part 37
A few minutes later, Lorelai walked back into the kitchen and Sookie could tell by the distressed look on her face that she hadn’t found the necklace. "No luck, Sweetie?" Sookie asked.
Lorelai shook her head and bit her bottom lip nervously. Her gaze went to the floor and she scanned the linoleum for the necklace. "Where are you, little necklace?" she muttered.
Sookie put her hand on Lorelai’s back and led her to the lobby door. "Listen, I’ll check in here, you go check in the lobby, okay?"
Lorelai gave one more glance to the floor surrounding her before she nodded. "Okay, let me know if you find it."
"That was pretty much my plan," Sookie assured her. "Go on."
Lorelai walked into the lobby and over to the front desk where Michel was entering some information into the computer. "Michel, I need you to help me."
"No," he replied.
"Michel, I lost the necklace Luke gave me," Lorelai whined. "It’s very old and very valuable and I have to find it!"
"Why would he give you something so important?" Michel asked. "Doesn’t he know that you are very irresponsible?"
Lorelai frowned. "I’m not irresponsible. It was an accident – just like the ‘accident’ involving a local Frenchman that will headline the papers tomorrow if you don’t help me."
Michel gave an annoyed sigh. "Fine, if it will make me stop having to listen to your voice, I will do it."
"Thank you for doing ‘eet’," Lorelai said, mocking his accent. He gave her a stern glare, which she ignored as she added, "Okay, I’m gonna go check my office, you check out here. Check everywhere – leave no stone unturned." Michel huffed loudly as Lorelai walked away from the desk.
* * *
Later that afternoon, back at home, Lorelai and Rory were both searching the house for the necklace. Rory was crawling around on the kitchen floor as Lorelai dug through the sofa cushions. "Anything yet?" Rory called.
"Did you hear me scream excitedly?" Lorelai called back.
"No!"
"There’s your answer!"
A few minutes later, Rory walked into the living room and announced, "It’s definitely not in the kitchen. I checked everywhere."
Lorelai, who was lying on the floor looking under the sofa, sat up and sighed loudly. "Did you check the fridge?"
"Yup," Rory replied.
"Inside all the cabinets and drawers?" Lorelai asked.
"Yup, everywhere. Every possible crevice of that kitchen has been checked and re-checked," Rory said. "I’m sorry – it’s not in there."
Lorelai stood up and glanced around disappointedly. "It’s not in here either. He’s gonna kill me," she said, shaking her head toward the ground.
"No, he’s not," Rory said.
"Yes, he is," Lorelai insisted. "You’re gonna be an orphan and end up at some orphanage and have to eat cold mush three times a day like in Annie."
"Okay, first off, I wouldn’t be an orphan – I’d probably go live with Grandma and Grandpa, and it’d probably be pretty cool since they have all those maids and chefs and stuff. Plus, I’d be right near Chilton, so that would be really convenient," Rory said. Lorelai rolled her eyes and waved for her to continue. "And secondly. . .Mom, he knows accidents happen, he knows you didn’t do it on purpose."
"Yeah, but he’ll still be disappointed!" Lorelai put her arms on Rory’s shoulders and squeezed them. "Dammit, why didn’t I feel that it was missing!"
"For the same reason I didn’t feel that the bracelet was missing," Rory said. "You get so used to wearing it that you forget that you’re even wearing anything at all."
Lorelai fell back onto the couch with a loud sigh. Rory started walking toward the front door. "I’ll check the front porch again."
Lorelai sat on the couch, nervously biting on her thumbnail as she ran over in her mind what she would tell Luke when he got home later that night.
A few minutes later, Rory walked back into the house and said in a loud whisper, "Mom, Luke’s home!"
Lorelai jumped up from the couch. "He’s here? Why is he home so early?"
Rory rolled her eyes. "How would I know? Maybe he lost something and he wanted to come home and search the house for it."
Lorelai made a face, then waved Rory out of the room as she walked to the front door and pulled it open. Luke was walking up the front porch with a questioning look on his face. "Hey. What are you doing home?" he asked.
"Hey. I’d ask you the same thing," Lorelai replied.
"I left my supply ledger here and I need to do inventory later," Luke replied. "Your turn."
Lorelai cleared her throat nervously and looked down at her shoes. "Oh. . .uh, just . . . helping Rory pack." She looked up at him and forced a smile.
Luke nodded, accepting this explanation without question, and walked past her into the house. He picked up his supply ledger from the desk in the living room, then walked back to the front door.
Luke held up the book. "Got it." He smiled and kissed her. "I’ll see you tonight."
"Tonight. . .right. . .I’ll probably see you tonight," Lorelai said, nodding in agreement. "You know, because you live here now, and I still live here, so we see each other at night. . .because we live together." She paused a moment and shoved her hands into her pockets, then added, "Rory and Jess also live here. We all. . . you know, live here. . .in this house. . .together." She rocked on her feet and clicked her tongue. "Yup. . .that’s right."
Luke stepped back and eyed her curiously. "You okay?"
Lorelai nodded. "Mmhmm, fine, great, everything’s fine."
"Lorelai," Luke said sternly.
She gestured toward Rory’s bedroom. "Uh, me and Rory are just gonna go pack some more." She started to walk past him, but he reached out and gently took hold of her wrist. She turned around and looked up at him nervously.
"What’s up with you?" Luke asked.
Lorelai shrugged. "Nothing."
Luke gave an annoyed sigh. "Look, I know I ain’t the most receptive guy all the time, but right now I can tell something’s up, so what’s up?"
Lorelai slipped out of his grasp and said, "Luke, everything’s fine. It’s just. . .you know, helping Rory pack is making me a little. . . weepy."
"Oh," Luke nodded knowingly. "Don’t let it get you down, she’ll be back before you know it."
Lorelai nodded. "I know." She leaned up and kissed him. "I’ll see you tonight."
Luke nodded toward her and walked out the front door, pulling it closed behind him. Lorelai waited a few seconds, then yelled, "Rory!"
Rory hurried out of her bedroom over to Lorelai. "What? Did you tell him?"
Lorelai turned around and put her hands on Rory’s shoulders. "No, but we have to finish searching the rest of this house and then we have to start packing for Boston because I told him that’s what we were doing and if he comes home to two empty suitcases, he’ll know I was lying."
"But I still need to do laundry before I can pack," Rory said.
"Then go do it!" Lorelai cried. "We have to have at least one suitcase packed before he gets home tonight!"
Rory sighed. "Okay, okay, calm down, geez. I’ll go do my laundry, you keep looking."
* * *
Later that night, Lorelai and Rory were searching through the master bedroom as Jess knocked on the doorframe. "I’m done."
Lorelai turned around and anxiously asked, "Did you find it?"
Jess shook his head. "Nope, it’s not in the bathroom. I tore the room apart."
Lorelai sighed, then covered her face with her hands and muttered, "Jesus, where the hell could it be?"
"Mom, we’ll find it," Rory assured her as she searched through Lorelai’s dresser drawers.
"No, we won’t," Lorelai replied quietly. "We’ve been looking all day, we’ve combed this entire stupid house and the yard and the inn and the car and . . ." She let out a long sigh and shrugged. "Forget it, I’ll just have to tell him that I lost it."
Jess shifted his feet uncomfortably in the doorway. "Uh, do you want me to check anywhere else?"
Lorelai waved him off. "No, we’re done. Thanks for your help."
Jess nodded toward her, then walked into his bedroom.
Lorelai sat down on the bed with a groan. Rory sat down next to her and put an arm around Lorelai’s shoulder. "Mom, he’s probably not gonna be mad."
Lorelai’s lower lip trembled slightly. "I know, but he’ll still be disappointed and. . ." Tears formed in her eyes and she looked away from Rory. "I don’t wanna disappoint him."
Rory rubbed Lorelai’s back. "Aww, Mom, come on. Let’s go start packing. It’ll get your mind off of it."
Lorelai wiped her eyes and said, "You go start. I’ll be right down."
Rory nodded and stood up. She walked into Jess’ room and retrieved her clean laundry from the dryer, then brought it downstairs to her room.
Lorelai fell back onto the pillows and stared up at the ceiling. "Jerk. . .you’re such a jerk," she scolded herself. "How could you not feel that it was gone!" More tears fell and she pulled a pillow over her face to hide them.
She stayed that way for a minute before she heard Rory yell from downstairs, "Mom! Come down here, quick!"
Lorelai climbed off the bed and hurried down the staircase. She rushed to Rory’s bedroom. "What, what is it?"
Rory smiled and gestured to the bed, where she had spread open one of the large suitcases. Lorelai walked slowly toward it with a questioning look. "What. . .what’s. . ." Her eyes, puffy and teary, widened as she saw the necklace inside the suitcase. She gasped and grabbed for it, letting out a small laugh of surprise through her tears. "Oh my God!"
Rory smiled. "Told you we would find it."
Lorelai held up the necklace in front of her and gasped. "Wait, this is just the chain. . .where’s the diamond?" She looked back down into the suitcase, and spotted the diamond in the corner of it. Lorelai quickly grabbed for it. "Oh my God." She exhaled loudly as she examined it. "It looks okay." She looked at the chain and noticed that the clasp was broken. "Aw, look, that’s why it fell off."
Rory looked at it. "Yeah, I see." She patted the suitcase. "But how did it get in here?"
Lorelai thought for a moment, then said, "After Luke brought the suitcases down, I opened them up to make sure they were empty. It must’ve fallen off and somehow slipped inside. That’s the only time it could’ve happened."
Rory nodded. "Makes sense. I guess you didn’t – " Her voice trailed off as they both heard the front door open. They glanced at each other and Rory gestured to Lorelai’s eyes. Lorelai wiped them as Rory whispered, "What are you gonna tell him?"
Lorelai shrugged. "I don’t know." She clutched the necklace and diamond in her fist and walked out of the bedroom.
Luke was walking toward the kitchen and he smiled when he saw her. "Hey."
"Hey," Lorelai replied. He kissed her, then hugged her tightly – an opportunity she took to wipe her eyes on his shoulder to make sure no stray tears were present.
As they pulled apart from each other, Lorelai asked, "How was your night?"
Luke walked to the fridge and pulled out a beer. "Long. Had a couple of accidents."
Lorelai’s eyes widened. "Accidents? What kind of accidents?"
Luke opened the beer, then walked past her out of the kitchen. Lorelai followed him to the living room and they sat down on the couch. "Ah, well, I knocked a tray of dishes to the floor and those all broke. Then later I knocked over this huge bowl of rolls so we had to throw all those out. . . and then the cash register got jammed and we couldn’t get it open for twenty minutes." He sighed and took a long sip of his beer.
"Geez, what’s with all the clumsiness today?" Lorelai asked. She reached for the bottle and took a sip, then handed it back to him.
Luke shrugged. "I don’t know, just. . .one of those days." Lorelai nodded as she stroked his arm. He stared at her face for a moment, then narrowed his eyes. "Your eyes are red. . . were you crying?"
Lorelai looked down quickly and cleared her throat, stammering, "What? Oh, no, I was just. . . you know. . .I had something in my eye, that’s all."
Luke tilted her chin up and turned her face toward him. "What happened?"
Lorelai casually pushed his hand away and shrugged. "Nothing, it was probably a piece of dust or something. Or, you know, sometimes bugs can fly around and get in your eyes and make you tear up and stuff. I’m sure that’s all it was. It’s fine now, no big deal." She smiled and nodded. "So. . .what do you wanna do now – watch a movie?"
Luke rolled his eyes. "No, I don’t wanna watch a movie, I wanna know what happened. Your eyes don’t get that red from a piece of dust or a bug."
Lorelai turned her head away and stared at the fireplace. Luke watched her curiously as she brought her right hand toward him and unclenched her fist. She sighed loudly and said, "This happened."
He looked down in her hand and saw the chain and diamond. "What about it?"
"Look at it," she said, still not looking at him.
Luke picked up the chain and eyed it closely. "Oh. . .what, it broke? You were crying because it broke?"
Lorelai turned to him slowly. "No, I – "
"We’ll just buy a new chain, no big deal. What, did you think I was gonna yell at you or something?" he asked with a laugh. "Things break all the time."
"I wasn’t crying because it broke," Lorelai said loudly. "I was crying because I had lost it and spent the past four hours looking for it and couldn’t find it anywhere, and I know how important it is to you and I felt like a jerk for losing it and I didn’t want to disappoint you by making you think that I didn’t care about it because I do! It means everything to me and I –"
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Luke interrupted. "Calm down, geez."
Lorelai continued, ". . .felt so horrible and I got all upset, but then we finally found it a few minutes ago in the suitcase and the clasp was broken and that’s why –"
"Okay, okay," Luke interrupted again. "Take a breath."
". . .it fell off in the first place," Lorelai finished. She took several deep breaths and looked up at the ceiling. "I’m sorry."
Luke let out a surprised laugh. "Why the hell are you sorry? The thing broke, it’s not your fault."
Lorelai sighed. "I know, but I should’ve – "
"Lorelai," Luke said loudly.
Lorelai abruptly stopped talking and turned to look at him.
He shook his head and said, "It’s not your fault, forget about it. I’ll buy you a new chain for it."
A relieved smile appeared on Lorelai’s face and she leaned forward to kiss him. As she pulled back, Luke held out his hand. "Here, give me the diamond. I’m gonna go get changed, I’ll take it upstairs." Lorelai handed it to him, then Luke stood up and walked toward the staircase.
"You coming back down?" Lorelai asked.
"Yeah, I’m gonna get something to eat," Luke replied. "Find something for us to watch."
* * *
The next night, Lorelai and Rory walked into the diner after Friday night dinner. There were only a handful of other customers, and the counter was empty except for Luke, who was intently reading a small booklet. They walked over to the counter, and as they sat down, they noticed a small box in front of him. Lorelai gasped, startling him from his reading. "Geez, don’t sneak up on people," he grumbled.
Lorelai smiled. "Luke Danes, you bought a cell phone."
"Uh oh, looks like you have to take down the No Cell Phones sign," Rory said as she pointed to it behind him. "You don’t want to be called a hypocrite."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Please. It’s not for me, it’s for Jess."
"Jess?" Lorelai asked.
"Yup." Luke turned around and poured two cups of coffee, then set the mugs in front of them.
"You bought Jess a cell phone?" Rory asked.
Luke nodded. "Yup."
"How come?" Lorelai asked.
Luke shrugged. "I don’t know. I just thought it would be good for him to have. . .you know, for an emergency or something."
"Does he know you bought it?" Lorelai asked.
"Yup, he saw it a few minutes ago. He’s upstairs right now reorganizing the apartment," Luke said.
"Oh yeah?" Rory asked. She slid off her stool and picked up her cup of coffee. "I’m gonna go see what he’s doing to it." She walked around the counter and went up to the apartment.
Luke put the instruction booklet back into the cell phone box, then leaned on the counter. "So, how was dinner?"
Lorelai nodded as she sipped her coffee. "Good, it was good. Rory was all excited about her trip so she kept talking about it. . .which kept the conversation off of us and how we’re throwing our lives away by living together."
Luke smiled. "Good."
"Yup, it was good," Lorelai replied. She gestured to the counter behind him. "Is that pie I see?"
"Yup. You want some?" he asked.
Lorelai smiled and held up two fingers. Luke shook his head slightly but turned around and got two slices for her. As he set the plate in front of her, she grinned. "Thank you." She ate some, then moaned happily. "Mmm, that’s good."
As she continued eating, Luke grabbed his order pad and walked over to a table of customers. He placed their check on the table and brought their plates into the kitchen, then walked back over to Lorelai. He lowered his voice and said, "So the next five days. . .they’re gonna be . . "
Lorelai looked up and smiled. She spoke quietly, "All about us. We’ll go out, we’ll do it, we’ll spend time together, we’ll do it, we’ll get drunk, we’ll do it, we’ll be wild and crazy. . .we’ll do it some more."
Luke smiled. "I’m seeing a recurring theme." He leaned forward so his lips were close to hers. "And I have to say, I like that recurring theme." He kissed her.
Lorelai smiled. "Good." She shoved a piece of pie into her mouth and chewed it slowly. "Anything wild and crazy you wanna do? I’m up for anything." She leaned forward and smiled, "And you know I’m not lying when I say. . . *anything*."
"I know," Luke said with a sly smile
"Any time, any place," she said in a seductive whisper.
"I know."
Lorelai smiled. "I mean it. If we’re walking along or hanging out or something, and you get the urge to just jump me for a random quickie, just go right ahead. The element of surprise is always a huge turn on," she added, nodding fervently.
"I’ll remember that," Luke said, tapping his forehead.
Lorelai smiled. "Good." She took a long sip of coffee, then said, "Seriously, anything you wanna do?" She rolled her eyes and added, "Besides the batting cages. . . I know, I know. I promised."
"Yes, you did," Luke agreed.
"So, anything else?" Lorelai asked.
Luke shrugged. "Not really – we’ll just play it by ear."
Lorelai nodded as Rory walked back into the diner. She smiled as she sat down next to Lorelai. "He put me to work."
"Oh yeah?" Lorelai asked. "What’d you do?"
"Helped him move some furniture around," Rory said. She glanced at her watch and said, "I have to get home soon. Dean’s coming over to help me finish packing."
"Okay, I’m almost done," Lorelai said. She shoved the last piece of pie into her mouth and stood up before she finished chewing. "It’s free pie night, right?"
Luke took away the plate and smiled. "Whatever you say."
"Thank you," Lorelai said in a singsong voice. She leaned across the counter and kissed him on the cheek. "See you at home."
"Bye," he replied. "Bye Rory."
"Bye Luke," Rory replied.
* * *
Early Saturday morning, Lorelai woke up on her side with Luke pressed up against her and his arms wrapped around her waist. As she shifted her body around to lie on her back, he groaned groggily. He slipped his arms out from under her and rolled over to lie on his back. Lorelai turned her head to look at him. "Hi."
Luke yawned loudly before mumbling, "Hey."
Lorelai reached down and laced her fingers through his. "I’m starting to get sad."
Luke yawned again and muttered, "About?"
"Uh, about the fact that I don’t have Rosie’s farewell episode on tape." Lorelai rolled her eyes and nudged his shoulder. "Tsk, what do you think?"
Luke rubbed his eyes and thought for a moment. "Ah, right, Rory’s leaving today."
"Yes, she is," Lorelai said wistfully.
"And you’re gonna miss her," Luke said.
"Yes, I am."
"So why don’t you go down and tell her that and let me go back to sleep?" Luke suggested. He closed his eyes and pulled the covers up over him.
Lorelai frowned and snuggled up against him. "Because I don’t want her to know how sad I am because I don’t want her to feel bad about leaving, you know?"
"Mmhmm," Luke muttered with his eyes still closed.
"I mean, she should go and have a good time – she shouldn’t be thinking about how her crybaby of a mother is being all sad and acting like a big loser because her only daughter went away for five long days," Lorelai said.
"Mmhmm."
Lorelai propped herself up on her elbow and looked at him curiously, trying to figure out if he was really listening to her. She continued, "Yeah, and I told her that we’d be having a lot of sex while she’s gone and that she shouldn’t call too much because she might interrupt us."
Luke turned onto his side and mumbled, "Mmhmm."
Lorelai rolled her eyes and shoved him playfully. "Tsk, you’re not even listening to me."
"Mmhmm."
Lorelai sighed and climbed out of bed. "I’m gonna take a shower. . .not that you care anyway. I could be choking to death right now and you’d be lying there going, Mmhmm, mmhmm, mmhmm."
As she pulled on her robe, Luke rolled over to look at her. "Are you choking?" he asked, squinting into the bright sunlight that was shining through the window.
"No."
"Good, just checking." Luke rolled back over as he said, "Let me know if you start."
"Wow, I’m so glad I found me a sensitive man," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. She walked out of the room and into the bathroom.
* * *
A few hours later, while Luke and Jess were at the apartment unloading Jess’ boxes, Rory and Lorelai were at home waiting for Christopher to arrive. Rory lined her luggage up neatly by the front door, then walked to the bottom of the staircase. "Mom, he’s gonna be here any minute!" Rory called.
"I know, I’m almost done!" Lorelai called back.
Rory walked over to the couch and fell onto it with a sigh. She picked up a magazine and leafed through it pointlessly just to pass the time. A few minutes later, Lorelai barreled down the steps. "Okay, it’s done!"
Rory threw the magazine onto the coffee table and smiled up at Lorelai. "What is it?"
Lorelai walked over and handed her a small book. Rory opened it up and discovered that it was a photo album. She flipped through the pages, which Lorelai had filled with pictures of her and Rory. "Aw, Mom, this is so cute," Rory said sincerely.
"That’s so you don’t forget me. . .your mother. . .the woman who birthed you," Lorelai told her.
Rory laughed. "Okay, I don’t think five days is long enough to forget someone you’ve been around for sixteen years, but way to be prepared."
"Thank you," Lorelai replied. "And it’ll also remind you of all the fun times we’ve had together and it’ll make you keep those fresh in your memory so that you don’t replace them with new memories of you hanging out with Sherry, the woman who tries desperately to replace me as your primary female role model."
Rory rolled her eyes and they both continued looking through the photos, each of which seemed to have a funny or memorable story to accompany it. Ten minutes later, after having spent a good three minutes making fun of Lorelai’s hair in one of the oldest photos, they were both laughing on the couch as Luke walked through the front door.
Luke smiled as he walked over and stood behind the couch. "What’s so funny?"
Rory wiped the tears that had formed in her eyes from laughing so hard and showed him the picture. "We were just saying how Mom looks like an extra from Welcome Back, Kotter in this picture."
Luke laughed and nodded in agreement. "Definitely."
Lorelai smiled as she took the album back from him. "That, or a member of Bananarama."
Luke smiled and ran his fingers through her hair. "I’m glad to see you grew out of that phase."
"Yeah, well, I received several disturbing letters from people asking me to please take care of it or else a protest would be started," Lorelai said with a shrug.
Luke smiled and walked into the kitchen. The girls continued talking about the pictures for a few more minutes before a horn honked out front. Rory jumped up off the couch. "That’s Dad!" She clutched the photo album as she ran toward the front door.
Lorelai followed her out onto the porch. Rory had already run over to hug Christopher, and Lorelai slowly walked over to them. "Hey."
"Hey Lor," Christopher said, giving her a kiss on the cheek.
Lorelai glanced inside the Volvo. "Sherry didn’t come?"
"Uh, no," Christopher said. "I kind of persuaded her not to. Last time she talked Rory’s ear off all the way to Boston, so I told her that this time I’d like some father-daughter alone time." He gave a sly smile toward Rory. "I saved you this time, kiddo."
Rory gave an embarrassed shrug. "I didn’t mind, she was just trying to get to know me."
"Yeah, I know, which is nice – but since she was trying to learn your whole life story in a two hour car ride, I thought it might be a little easier for you this time if it was just the two of us," Christopher said.
Lorelai smiled. "So. . .that Sherry’s a little over-talkative, huh?"
"Yeah, aren’t people like that so annoying?" Christopher asked, giving a pointed look toward Lorelai.
Lorelai gasped and placed a hand on the center of her chest. "I hope you’re not hinting at what I think you’re hinting at!"
Christopher smirked, then turned to Rory. "Ready to go, hon?"
Rory started walking toward the house. "Yup, my stuff’s right inside the door."
As they walked inside, Lorelai called, "Luke, Rory’s leaving!" Christopher picked up one of the suitcases and started rolling it out the front door. Rory put her backpack on her back, and Luke walked into the front entryway as she was starting to grab the second large suitcase.
"No, I got it," Luke said, taking hold of the handle. "You hug your mother and try to keep her from crying."
Rory smiled and stepped back. "Thanks, Luke. And I’ll try."
Luke pulled the suitcase past them out the front door. Rory and Lorelai stared at each other for a second, neither of them wanting to say goodbye. Rory saw Lorelai’s lower lip start to quiver, and she quickly leaned forward and hugged her. "Don’t cry, Luke’ll be mad at me."
Lorelai let out a laugh as she wrapped her arms tightly around Rory. She kissed Rory’s head and said, "Ahh, I’m gonna miss you, kid."
"Me too," Rory replied as she rubbed Lorelai’s back comfortingly. "Don’t worry, I’ll call every night."
Lorelai nodded and warned, "You better, or next time I’ll get one of those electronic tracking devices so I can follow your every move on a monitor that I’ll carry around with me at all times."
Rory pulled back from Lorelai and smiled. "And the sad thing is, I have no doubts that you’d do something like that."
Lorelai smiled and linked her arm through Rory’s, whose other arm was clutching the photo album against her chest. They walked out the front door and over to Luke and Christopher, who were talking near the car. Both doors on the driver’s side were open, and Rory set her backpack and photo album into the backseat and shut the door.
"Got everything?" Christopher asked.
"Yup, I’m all set," Rory replied.
Christopher smiled toward Luke and Lorelai. "Okay, we’ll see you guys on Wednesday – I promise I’ll take good care of her." He climbed into the driver’s seat and started the car. Loud music blared from the radio, which became muted when he shut his door.
Rory walked over to Luke and hugged him. "Bye Luke." She kissed his cheek as she pulled back from him.
Luke smiled. "Have a good time."
Rory turned to Lorelai. They hugged tightly and kissed each other on the cheek. As Rory pulled back, she said, "Bye Mom. Love you."
"Love you too, Sweets," Lorelai replied. "Be good."
"I’ll try," Rory replied.
"And don’t do drugs," Lorelai warned, wagging her finger in Rory’s face.
Rory laughed. "Where did that come from?"
Lorelai shrugged. "Felt like a motherly thing to say."
Rory smiled and rolled her eyes, then gave Lorelai one last hug. "Okay, bye."
"Bye," Lorelai replied. She watched as Rory walked around to the passenger side and got into the car. As Rory fastened her seatbelt, Lorelai and Luke both took a few steps backwards and waited for the car to pull away. As it did, both Rory and Chris waved, and Lorelai and Luke returned the gesture. When the car was out of sight, they walked across the yard and went inside through the back door.
As they stepped into the kitchen and closed the door behind them, Lorelai turned around and smiled at him. "And then there were two." She leaned forward and kissed him deeply, pressing him up against the door as she ran her hands over his chest and arms.
Luke smiled through the kiss. "It’s amazing how quickly you can go from the sad and lonely mother to the wild and sex-obsessed girlfriend. That’s quite a gift you’ve got there."
Lorelai smiled. "You like that, huh?" She pressed her lips back against his and kissed him again. As their mouths opened, she used the tip of her tongue to massage the top of his. He reciprocated the motions, and their tongues fell into a gentle rhythm of swirling that made several short moans escape Lorelai’s throat.
When they finally pulled apart from each other, Lorelai turned around and pressed her back against him. Luke slipped his hands under her shirt and ran them over her stomach. He began to kiss the back of her neck, and Lorelai tilted her head to the side to give him better access. She closed her eyes as his hands moved up to her breasts. His fingers expertly pulled at her nipples, evoking several pleasurable moans from her lips. Lorelai swallowed hard and whispered, "Luke. . .right here." She reached behind her and tugged at the waistband of his jeans. "Right now – just take me."
Luke lifted his lips from her neck. "Right here. . .in the kitchen?"
Lorelai craned her neck to look back at him. "Yes!" she urged.
Luke considered it for a moment. He stared into her pleading eyes that were eagerly awaiting his next movement. Finally, he removed his hands from her shirt and said, "No, not like this."
Lorelai turned her body around and frowned. "What?"
"Not like *this* right now," Luke said as he walked past her. "You’re expecting it. You said yourself that being surprised is always a turn on."
Lorelai started to follow him. "I know, but – "
Luke quickly turned around and she almost walked into him. "So. . . I think that a scenario like this. . .well, it’ll be good for . . .a surprise one," Luke told her. He grabbed a grape from the fruit bowl and popped it into his mouth. He chewed it, then smiled and said, "Wait to be surprised."
Lorelai frowned at him. "You’re evil!"
Luke smirked. "I didn’t say I didn’t want to do it right now, I just said not like this."
Lorelai perked up and she grinned. She rushed past him, calling over her shoulder, "Beat you upstairs!"
Luke smiled to himself as he turned and followed her toward the staircase.
End Part 37
* * *
Part 38
As Luke rolled off of Lorelai and climbed off the bed, Lorelai propped herself up on her elbows and watched him. He glanced around the floor for his boxers, which he finally found near the foot of the bed. He pulled them on as Lorelai reached over to the nightstand and grabbed a small box. She pounded the box on her palm a few times, a noise that made Luke turn around.
He rolled his eyes when he saw what she was doing. "You know, you only have to do that with a real box of cigarettes."
Lorelai smiled and opened the box, then pulled out a candy cigarette and took a bite. "I know, but it’s fun."
Luke shrugged. "Whatever. Okay, now, where’s my shirt?" He glanced around the room for it, and finally found it on top of his dresser. As he pulled it on, he said, "You know, getting dressed would be a lot easier if you didn’t throw my clothes across the room."
Lorelai smiled and leaned back against the headboard. "Yeah, but then I wouldn’t get to watch you walk around naked looking for them."
"Oh, so it’s purely for your own enjoyment," Luke stated knowingly.
"Yup."
"Great, thanks." Luke pulled on his jeans, then stood at the foot of the bed. "So, what do you wanna do now?"
Lorelai leaned forward and shrugged. "I don’t know – what do you wanna do?"
Luke walked over to her dresser and picked up her broken necklace. "We can go pick out a new chain," he suggested.
"Ooh, good idea. Can we go into Hartford?" Lorelai asked.
"For what?" Luke asked.
Lorelai stood up and walked over to him. "Well, there’s this really cool party store near the college and I wanna pick up some stuff for Sookie’s shower, and we can go to the jewelry store that’s right on that street."
Luke replaced the necklace on the dresser and shrugged. "Okay, get dressed."
Lorelai smiled. "Okay." She started gathering her clothes as Luke walked over and sat on the bed. As she dressed, she said, "You know what else they have on that street?"
Watching her intently, Luke leaned back on his hands. "What?"
Lorelai grinned. "A liquor store. . .and one of those adult video rental places."
Luke groaned. "What are you thinking?"
"Well. . . " Lorelai pulled her shorts up and walked over to him. She pushed him flat on his back, then lay on top of him. She kissed from his lips over his cheeks down to his neck. Finally, she stared him in the eyes as she ran her fingers through his hair. "I’m thinking that we can maybe pick up some liquor." She kissed him, then added, "And then, maybe pick up some dirty movies . . ."
Luke rolled his eyes. "I don’t think so."
Lorelai ignored him and continued, "And then later tonight we can get drunk, watch the movies, and have some fun imitating them. What do you think?"
"I don’t watch movies like that," Luke said nonchalantly.
Lorelai rolled her eyes and pushed herself up so she was sitting on his stomach. "Yeah, right – I bet. Luke, you don’t have to hide things like that anymore – we live together now. Come on, fess up."
Luke gave an embarrassed smirk. "Well. . .I haven’t watched any since Jess has lived with me."
Lorelai laughed. "I knew it! What did you do, rent them?"
Luke scoffed. "God, no! I just watched the stuff that came on late night cable."
"Like what, Cinemax? They’ve got a wide selection of dirty movies and shows on during the late night hours," Lorelai said knowingly.
Luke shrugged.
Lorelai laughed. "Look at you being all shy about it. It’s no big deal, I’m a big fan of Cinemax myself. But forget those, Luke – they’re nothing compared to the ones you have to rent."
Luke propped himself up on his elbows. "I don’t know, what’s the point?"
Lorelai gasped. "The point? What’s the point? Have you ever watched a really good dirty movie with someone. . .I mean, someone you’re sleeping with?"
Luke shook his head. "Nope – but I’m assuming you have."
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "And it’s f. . .u. . .n." She leaned forward and kissed him. "You’re sitting there watching it and getting all turned on and you’re like, ‘Man, I’m so hot right now’, and then you turn your head and it’s like, ‘Hello!. . . there’s someone right here for me to do it with!’" Lorelai nodded enthusiastically. "It’ll be fun, I promise you – especially with the added effect of the hard liquor we’ll be consuming."
Luke smiled and shook his head slightly. "You know, before we got together, I used to have morals and ethics and some code of decency I wanted to maintain. . .and now – "
"It’s all out the window," Lorelai finished.
"Yes, it is," he agreed. He stared up at her smiling face and laughed. "You’re the craziest person I’ve ever met."
Lorelai’s grin widened. "I know! But you love that about me. Come on, admit it."
Luke’s lips formed into a small smile. "Yeah, I do."
Lorelai leaned forward and kissed him passionately. As she pulled back, she poked him in the chest and said, "That’s why I’ve made it my duty to get you to step out of that restrictive shell of dignity and self-respect and get you to partake in wild activities that would make Jerry Springer gasp with shock."
Luke rolled his eyes. "I have to say you’ve already accomplished that. You’ve gotten me to do things I never would’ve even thought about doing."
Lorelai laughed. "Like singing Tainted Love into a scrub brush as loud as you can while I lathered up your body with strawberry scented body wash?"
Luke groaned. "That’s one of the tamer stupid things you’ve talked me into."
Lorelai smiled. "Hey, I’ve lightened you up a little. It’s not so bad doing crazy things sometimes, is it?"
"Nah, I guess it’s not so bad."
"Now, don’t get me wrong, I don’t want you to become ‘all wild, all the time’ like me," Lorelai explained. "I’m just trying to get you to have a little fun, but I still want you to maintain some of the sweet, thoughtful, reserved Luke-ness that I fell in love with. You still have to keep me grounded so I don’t get arrested or sent off to an asylum."
"I’ll try," he told her.
"Good." Lorelai smiled and nodded. "And just so you know, my next goal is to somehow get us on Taxicab Confessions – to do this we need to hang out in some big name cities late at night and have sex in as many cabs as we can."
Luke rolled his eyes and pushed her off of him. She landed on the bed next to him with a laugh and he rolled over to lie on top of her. She smiled up at him. "Okay, we’ll scratch that plan." He nodded and pressed his lips against hers. She brought her arms up around his neck and moaned softly as their tongues met.
When he finally pulled back from her, he said, "Come on, let’s go."
* * *
Almost an hour later, they parked the Jeep on a side street in the middle of Hartford and began walking down the sidewalk toward a strip of stores and restaurants.
They walked into the party supply store first, and Luke’s eyes widened at the large display of paper plates that was set up near the entrance. He scoffed loudly and gestured to them. "Okay, do people really need paper plates in every color known to man? There are like ten different shades of every color."
Lorelai smiled and grabbed his hand. "Yes, some people are very particular about the color plate their food touches. Unlike me, of course, who has been known to eat things off the floor if the craving’s strong enough."
Luke groaned. "Ugh, don’t say that – it’ll put a whole new image in my head when we kiss."
Lorelai smiled and pulled him away from the display. "Come on." She grabbed a basket and led him through several aisles until they reached the wedding section. She studied the display for several minutes, tapping her finger on her lips as she muttered, "Hm, hm, hm, what to buy. . ." She began tossing invitations, streamers, decorations, banners, and other supplies into her basket.
"Sheesh, okay, you don’t have to buy out the store," Luke said.
Lorelai glanced down at the basket. "Yeah, but it’s not a successful shopping trip until I fill up the basket completely, and there’s still some room in there."
Luke reached into the basket and rearranged the items so that nothing else could fit. "Look, now there’s not. Let’s go."
Lorelai frowned at him. "If we don’t get it now, we’re just gonna have to come back here and get it another day."
"Tsk." Luke rolled his eyes and gestured to the display, encouraging her to keep shopping. Lorelai smiled at him before she picked up a few more items and shoved them into the basket. A few minutes later, they took the items up to the counter and paid for them.
They stepped outside and Lorelai led him down the street to the jewelry store. As they stepped inside, a man in a business suit immediately walked up to them. "Hi, can I help you with something?"
"Oh, yeah, thank you," Lorelai replied. She handed the party store bag to Luke, then pulled the diamond solitaire out of her purse. "We’re looking for a silver chain to put this on."
The man eyed it and nodded approvingly. "Oh, very nice. Right this way." He led them to a glass counter of silver jewelry. He opened the glass case and removed several felt boxes of silver chains, then pointed past them and said, "I’ll be right over there if you need anything else."
Lorelai smiled. "Thank you." As he walked away, Lorelai pulled Luke closer to the counter. "Ooh, look at them all, so many to choose from. See any you like?"
"They all look exactly the same," Luke commented. They stared at the chains for a few minutes, holding them up and seeing how they looked with the diamond. They finally decided on one, and Luke took it over to the man.
As he paid for it, Lorelai wandered over to a case of rings and stared at them. A few minutes later, Luke walked over to her and handed her the jewelry box. "Here you go."
Lorelai smiled and stuck it in her purse. "Thanks."
Luke glanced down at the case of rings. "What are you looking at?"
Lorelai pointed to a diamond ring in the front row. "Oh, that ring – it’s really pretty."
Luke followed her gaze and nodded. "Yeah, it’s nice." He glanced at the other rings surrounding it and was quiet for a few seconds before he said, "Aren’t those. . .engagement rings. . ." His face tightened and he swallowed hard as he looked at her. "Lorelai, I don’t . . .we shouldn’t. . .I’m not really. . I mean, we just started living together. . ."
Lorelai’s eyes widened. "No no no! I’m not talking about that, I’m just saying. . .it’s nice, that’s all – that it’s pretty." She let out a small laugh and put her hand on his arm. "Calm down, take a breath."
Luke’s face relaxed slightly and he nodded slowly, then he turned around and walked toward the exit. Lorelai followed behind him, and as they stepped onto the sidewalk, she grabbed his arm. "But just out of curiosity, have you thought about it. . .even a little?" Luke shrugged, then nodded. Lorelai smiled. "You have?"
"Yeah," he replied.
"Even though you said you don’t believe in the "idea of marriage"?" Lorelai asked, using her fingers to make quotation marks.
"Yeah, well, that was before we. . .before you and I. . ." Luke started, but his voice trailed off and he sighed softly. "I don’t know - I mean, yes, I’ve thought about it a little bit. . .about what it would be like down the line. . . but not now, not soon. . .I mean, we *just* started living together – we should give that time before we – "
Lorelai put her finger on his lips. "Luke, it’s okay – I feel the same way."
Luke gave her a surprised look. "You do?"
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yeah. I mean, what’s the rush, right? We’re already living together – let’s just give that some time first."
Luke let out a breath that he didn’t know he had been holding. He kissed her, then pulled back and smiled. "Okay, good, now that that’s all settled. . .what now?"
Lorelai shrugged. "You hungry? There are a bunch of cute little cafés and stuff around here."
"Yeah, I could eat," Luke replied. "You?"
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Please – this stomach’s ready to eat twenty-four hours a day."
Luke smiled. "Okay, let’s get some lunch. Let’s go put this stuff in the car first," he said, gesturing to the bag from the party store.
They walked back to the Jeep and put the bag in the trunk, then Luke waited while Lorelai put the diamond on the new chain and fastened it around her neck. She used the car window as a mirror and fixed her hair, then turned to him and said, "Okay, ready?" Luke nodded and they walked back down the street.
* * *
A short while later, they walked out of a small sandwich shop. Lorelai was carrying a takeout cup of coffee. She grabbed his hand and led him down the sidewalk to a bench a few stores away. As they both sat down, Luke noticed that they were right in front of the liquor store, and that the video store was right next to it.
Lorelai took a sip of coffee, then smiled. "So, what do you wanna be in charge of – the liquor or the videos?"
"There is no way in hell you’re getting me to go into that video store," Luke said, shaking his head. "Don’t even think about it."
Lorelai smiled. "Okay, answered my question. You get the liquor."
"You’re gonna go in there?" he asked, pointing to the video store.
Lorelai shrugged. "Sure, why not?"
"Uh, because people might see you."
Lorelai made a face. "So what? I’ve been there before. One time I walked out of there and I was walking back to my car and I ran into my mom."
Luke laughed. "No way."
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yup. Luckily, she didn’t actually see what store I’d come out of, and the video store bag is plain so she didn’t know what it was."
"I can just imagine the look on her face if she’d found out," Luke said with a laugh.
Lorelai smiled. "Oh man, that’d be a total Kodak moment." She finished her coffee and stood up to toss it in a nearby trash can. "Okay, you go get the liquor, I’ll go get the videos, and we’ll meet back here. You know what kind of liquor I like?"
Luke rolled his eyes. "You like everything."
Lorelai smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "Good boy. Run along now."
Luke walked into the liquor store as Lorelai walked into the video store.
* * *
Almost forty minutes later, Lorelai walked out of the video store with a bag and found Luke waiting on the bench. He stood up as she walked over. "What the hell took so long? I’ve been waiting out here for twenty minutes!" he said in an agitated tone.
"Sorry, but I . . .where’s the liquor?" Lorelai asked, not noticing any bags near him.
"It’s in the car already," Luke replied. "You were taking so long that I thought you might have went there instead, so I walked over to check for you and while I was there I put the stuff away. Now, what took so long?"
Lorelai took his hand and led him toward the car. "I’ll tell you when we get home."
"Why can’t you just tell me now?" Luke asked, annoyed.
"Because. . .when I tell you, I need to show you something and I wanna show you at home, okay?"
"You have to make everything difficult, don’t you?" he muttered.
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Yeah, it must be really difficult for you to have to wait thirty minutes to find something out. I’m so sorry – wait, let’s stop at a card store on the way home. I’m sure Hallmark makes a sympathy card for people who have to wait since it’s obviously a big problem in the world."
Luke exhaled loudly. "Are you done?"
Lorelai smiled. "Yes, let’s go."
* * *
They arrived home and carried their bags into the house. Luke put the bag from the liquor store in the kitchen as Lorelai put the videos by the television. Luke walked back into the living room and said, "Okay, tell me."
Lorelai smiled and gestured for him to come closer. "Come here." As Luke walked over to her, she turned around so that she was facing away from him. She pulled her shirt up over her head and dropped it on the couch.
"What are you doing?" Luke asked.
"Look down," she instructed, looking at him over her shoulder.
Luke’s gaze traveled down her body until they reached the small of her back. His eyes widened. "Oh my God – you didn’t."
Lorelai smiled. "You like it?"
Luke reached out and ran a finger over the small heart tattoo. She flinched slightly and he pulled his hand away. "Lorelai, you didn’t. . ."
"I was gonna get a little coffee cup tattoo, but then I was thinking, you’re the one who’ll be seeing it, not me, and you don’t like coffee, so I went with something more general," Lorelai explained.
Luke stared down at it in disbelief. "Is this real?"
Lorelai shook her head. "No, but it looks it, doesn’t it?"
Luke nodded. "They did this at the video store?"
"Yeah, there’s this little section in the back of the store," Lorelai said. "And I walked by it, and then I was like, ‘what the hell? Just do it.’ They said it’ll last a few weeks. They also do piercings – maybe I’ll check those out next time."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Please don’t."
Lorelai smiled and turned around. "What, you don’t like it? You don’t think it’s sexy?"
Luke shrugged, but a small smile appeared on his lips. "Maybe."
Lorelai grinned. "See, I knew you’d like it." She kissed him.
Luke pulled back and asked, "Does it hurt?"
"It’s just a tiny bit sore, but they said that’ll go away really soon," Lorelai said, waving it off.
Luke nodded, then he asked, "Are you sure the place was. . .clean?"
Lorelai nodded. "It was fine."
Luke turned her around and looked at it one more time. "It’s actually. . .kind of nice."
Lorelai picked up her shirt from the couch and pulled it on. She turned around and smiled. "Go to work."
Luke glanced at his watch. "Oh, right, I almost forgot. What are you gonna do?"
"Work on Sookie’s invitations," Lorelai replied. "Bring me something for dinner."
Luke nodded. "Okay, I’ll see you tonight." He kissed her goodbye, then walked out the front door.
* * *
Later that night, Lorelai was sitting on the front porch drinking a margarita when Luke pulled up. He walked over to her carrying a bag from the diner, and he smiled and pointed to her glass. "Got started without me, huh?"
Lorelai smiled and took a sip. "It’s only my first one." She stood up and kissed him, then led him into the house. "What did you bring for dinner?"
They walked into the kitchen and he set the bag on the table. "Burgers and fries for you, turkey sandwich for me."
Lorelai opened up the fridge. "Beer? Or do you wanna jump right into the hard liquor?"
"Beer’s fine for now," Luke replied. He took the containers out and set them on the table, then crumbled up the empty bag and tossed it into the trash can. Lorelai handed him a beer and sat down. He sat across from her and they started eating. After a few minutes, Lorelai asked, "Did you check on Jess?"
Luke, in mid-bite of his sandwich, nodded. He chewed for a few seconds, then swallowed and said, "Yup, right before I came home. He went out and bought some food and he unpacked a little bit. He was watching television when I left."
"And. . .you think things are gonna be. . ."
Luke nodded. "Yeah, I think he’ll be all right."
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Good, good."
"Did you get the invitations done?"
"Yup, they’re all ready to be mailed on Monday," she replied. "And I talked to Rory, she got there okay."
Luke smiled. "Good."
Lorelai took a sip of her drink, then smiled and said, "Okay, so I was thinking. . .there are six videos, so let’s watch one of the videos with no contact. . .it’ll be like an aphrodisiac video to get us all hot."
Luke groaned. "You’ve thought about this a lot, haven’t you?"
Lorelai laughed softly. "Uh huh. So the first video, we’ll just watch it and get us in the mood and stuff, and then the second video we’ll start fooling around. Deal?"
Luke shrugged. "You’re the expert."
* * *
An hour later, they were both sitting on the couch and were halfway through the first movie. All of the lights were turned off, all of the doors were locked, and all of the window shades were pulled down. Bottles of liquor crowded the coffee table, and they both stared at the screen intently. Lorelai reached down and grabbed the bottle of vodka. She took a quick sip, then held it out to Luke. "More?"
Luke shook his head, still staring at the screen. Lorelai took another sip, then placed the bottle back on the table. She leaned back against the couch and watched the screen. As a couple started going at it in a hot tub, she swallowed hard and glanced over at Luke. Luke could hear her breathing getting heavier and he turned to look at her. As they stared into each other’s eyes, they each realized how aroused they both were. Luke put his hand on Lorelai’s knee and her body raced with excitement. She turned back to the screen and watched for a few seconds as his hand slowly moved up her thigh.
Lorelai turned to him. "Ready for the second movie?" Luke quickly nodded, and Lorelai jumped up off the couch. She ejected the first video and inserted the second, then walked back over to him. "Time for a clothing change." She pulled off her shirt and shorts, and sat down next to him in just her bra and underwear.
Luke stood up and took off his jeans and T-shirt, then sat back down in just his boxers. They sat close together on the center cushion, and Lorelai picked up her margarita and began gulping it down. Luke pulled the cup away from her. "Okay, okay! I don’t need you throwing up on me." She frowned at him as he set the cup on the table and leaned back against the couch.
The movie started, and soon a couple was ferociously going at it on a pool table. As moans poured out of the television’s speakers, Lorelai and Luke turned to each other, their mutual desire apparent to both of them. Their mouths crashed together in a passionate kiss, their tongues dueling aggressively. Luke’s hands went to her waist and he pulled her onto his lap. She kneeled on the cushion, straddling his thighs, and kissed him long and deep. Luke’s fingers fumbled with the clasp of her bra, but he finally pulled it off and threw it over his shoulder behind the couch.
His mouth went to her breasts, kissing and sucking on them hungrily. Lorelai leaned her head back and moaned toward the ceiling. Luke brought his hands up to her breasts and squeezed them to make them firm up. As her hardened nipples poked out at him, he alternated taking each one between his teeth and tugging on it roughly. Lorelai groaned loudly and her nails dug into his shoulders as the mixture of pain and pleasure overwhelmed her.
Luke continued licking, sucking, and nipping at her chest and neck for a few minutes until Lorelai finally pushed herself off of him and stood up. "Take ‘em off, hurry up before I explode." Luke stood up and they both removed their last remaining items of clothing. Lorelai pushed Luke onto to the couch so he was lying down across all the cushions. She stood next to the couch, running her eyes over his body. He stared up at her with hopeful anticipation as his chest heaved up and down.
She finally climbed onto the couch near his feet. She kissed up his leg to his thigh, keeping her eyes locked with his. He groaned as her fingers traveled up the other leg and her nails dragged over his inner thigh. He clenched his eyes shut tight as she squeezed his balls in her hand, something she knew drove him crazy with pleasure. His mouth dropped open and he let out a small groan as she continued to massage them gently. After a minute, he opened his eyes and reached his arms out toward her.
Lorelai grabbed onto his arms as she adjusted her body over his and lowered herself onto his hardness. Luke was surprised at how wet she already was and as she easily took him in, she closed her eyes and muttered, "Oh my God. . . oh my God." She jerked her hips slightly, allowing him to go deeper inside of her, then sat still for a moment to get used to the intense feeling of pleasure.
She opened her eyes and smiled down at him. He gave her a sly grin and he grabbed onto her waist tightly. She clutched onto his arms for support and began rocking her hips quickly. He thrust into her forcefully, matching the fast pace of her motions. He kept one hand on her waist to keep her balanced, and he brought the other hand to her chest to squeeze her breasts that were bouncing wildly as she rode him. He went back and forth between the breasts, pulling at her nipples roughly.
She leaned down and pressed her chest against his as she kissed him deeply. She slowed her pace down slightly, but continued to grind her pelvis against his as she darted her tongue into his mouth. Luke sucked on her tongue aggressively, not wanting to let it go.
Lorelai pulled away from him and sat back up straight, picking up her pace again and riding him quickly, moaning loudly and mumbling his name repeatedly. A few minutes went by and he watched her face intently. When he finally saw her eyes close and her jaw drop open, he knew that she was close to her peak. He pushed into her harder, grunting loudly as her body jerked up and down on top of him. She arched her back and screamed out loudly with her climax, which was just seconds before Luke released himself inside of her.
Lorelai collapsed on top of him, exhausted and panting uncontrollably. She rested her head against Luke’s chest, which was heaving up and down as he struggled to catch his breath. He brought his hands up around her and hugged her tightly, kissing her head several times. They lay this way for a few seconds before Lorelai finally pushed herself up and allowed him to pull out of her. When he did, she fell back against him and pressed her lips against his. They kissed deeply, neither one of them wanting to be the first to pull away.
Finally, they had to break apart, leaving both of them gasping for breath. She pushed her forehead against his and smiled at him. "Hi."
Luke smiled. "Hey."
Lorelai glanced over at the television, which was still playing the second movie. She brought her gaze back to Luke and grinned. "This is only the second movie – there are still four more to go."
Luke glanced over at the television. "Oh yeah?"
"Yup." Lorelai climbed off of him so he could sit up, then she sat down next to him. She grabbed the bottle of gin and took a sip, then handed it to him. He took a sip, then held it in his hand as they watched the movie.
* * *
Several hours later, Lorelai was dragging Luke up the steps to their bedroom. "Lorelai, I don’t want to do this," he said.
"Yes, you do," she replied, stumbling into the nightstand. She steadied herself, then giggled. "Whoa, when did we put that there?"
Luke rolled his eyes. "You’re drunk."
Lorelai gasped. "I am not!"
Luke made a face at her breath that reeked of alcohol. He sat her down on the bed and said, "Here, just go to sleep."
"No," she said, standing back up. She walked over to her dresser and pulled out a silk scarf. She handed it to him, then held out her wrists and said, "Tie ‘em together."
Luke dropped the scarf on the bed. "I don’t want to."
Lorelai frowned. "Come on, just for a little while?"
Luke shook his head. "No."
Lorelai pointed out the doorway. "Go downstairs and get drunker, then maybe you’ll feel like doing it."
"No, I’m done drinking – some of us know how to limit our alcohol. . .and forget it, I’m not changing my mind," Luke said sternly.
Lorelai pouted and folded her arms across her chest. "Fine, forget it, no tying up. Let’s go watch some more of the movies."
"We watched all of them twice," he reminded her.
Lorelai yawned as she walked slowly toward the doorway. "Oh yeah. . . well, let’s just go watch some TV then." She started to veer sideways, then straightened herself out. "Whoa, did the room just move?"
Luke rushed toward the staircase, cutting in front of her. "Whoa, let me go first in case you fall."
"Ooh, piggyback ride," Lorelai said. She pushed him down a step, then climbed onto his back and wrapped her arms around his neck. He carried her down the steps and brought her over to the couch. She fell onto it with a giggle. "That was fun." She put her feet up on the coffee table, knocking over an empty glass. "Oops."
"I got it, it’s okay." Luke picked it up and set it back on the table, then pushed it and some other glass bottles away from her. He walked over to an armchair and grabbed a couple of blankets, then sat down next to her and covered them both up. Lorelai snuggled up against him and he wrapped his arm around her. He picked up the remote and started to flip through the channels. "What do you wanna watch?" When she didn’t respond, he glanced down and saw that her eyes were already closed.
* * *
The next morning, Lorelai opened her eyes and glanced around the room, trying to remember how she ended up asleep on the couch. She slowly sat up straight and immediately felt a pounding in her head that she’d experienced way too many times before. She glanced at Luke, who was still asleep with his head resting on the arm of the couch. She glanced at the alcohol bottles on the coffee table and the stack of videos near the VCR, and the night’s events came back to her. Barely able to keep her eyes open, she lay back down on the couch and tried to go back to sleep.
A few minutes later, Luke’s eyes opened and he groggily sat up. Lorelai felt him moving, and she opened her eyes. He leaned toward her and said softly, "Hey, you okay?"
"I feel sick," she moaned.
"I knew you would," Luke replied, shaking his head slightly. "I’ll go make some coffee."
Lorelai watched him take his blanket off and get up from the couch. She narrowed her eyes at his boxer shorts. "How come you have clothes on and I don’t?" She gasped and said, "Were you taking advantage of me in my sleep?" She paused, then added, "Not that I would mind, but . . . were you?"
Luke rolled his eyes. "No, I pulled them on before I went to sleep, whereas you were too out of it to even realize that you didn’t have clothes on."
Lorelai groaned. "Well, aren’t some of us goody two shoes?" she muttered. She waved him toward the kitchen. "Coffee. Soon. Hurry."
Luke walked into the kitchen and put on a pot of coffee. While it was brewing, he brought her a cup of water and some aspirin. He set it on the coffee table. "Here, when you finally do get the strength to sit up, take these."
She opened her eyes to see what he was talking about. "Thank you," she mumbled. He walked back into the kitchen and returned a few minutes later with a mug of coffee. Lorelai was now sitting up, and Luke saw that the aspirins were gone. He handed her the cup of coffee, then sat down next to her. She took a long sip, then moaned happily. "Mm, you take such good care of me."
"Yeah, well, I have to make sure you’re feeling better so you won’t be able to get out of going to the batting cages later," Luke said.
Lorelai smiled. "You know, whenever I think you’re being sweet, you go and ruin it."
Luke smiled. "Sorry. So, what else are we doing today?"
"Market," Lorelai replied. "We still need more stuff for our 9 ½ Weeks scene." She pointed at him and quickly added, "Don’t try to back out of it – I may have been half-drunk, but I firmly remember you finally agreeing to it last night."
Luke rolled his eyes. "I know, I know. Okay, the market. . . what else?"
Lorelai shrugged. "I don’t know. We’ll think of something to do. And if we can’t, we can always pop in those videos again."
"It’s good to always have a backup plan."
"Yes, it is," Lorelai agreed. She took a sip of coffee, then smiled at him. "So, the first day of the ‘Luke and Lorelai have the house to themselves’ extravaganza. . .how’d it rate on the fun scale?"
Luke shrugged. "I’d say pretty damn high."
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "I agree." She leaned forward and kissed him. "And we’ve still got three and a half days to go."
End Part 38
* * *
Part 39
Luke stood up from the couch. "Do you want something to eat?"
Lorelai groaned and waved him off. "Ugh, I can’t even think about food right now." She paused, then added, "Check back in ten minutes."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Yeah, I’m sure you’ll be feeling much better by then." He turned and walked into the kitchen.
Lorelai set her cup on the coffee table and lay back down on the couch, pulling the blanket tightly around her. She closed her eyes and buried her face into the soft cushion.
* * *
When she finally opened her eyes, the pounding in her head had calmed down considerably. She sat up slowly and blinked a few times, then rubbed her eyes with the back of her hands. She stood up from the couch and wrapped the blanket around her body like a towel.
She walked into the kitchen looking for Luke. Seeing that he wasn’t in there, she walked to the bottom of the steps. "Luke!" she called.
"What?" Luke’s voice called back.
Lorelai gathered the bottom of the blanket that was dragging on the floor, then climbed up the steps to her bedroom, which was empty. She narrowed her eyes and called, "Where are you?"
"Laundry room," he replied. Lorelai walked to the doorway of the laundry room. Luke was transferring a load of clothes from the washer to the dryer. He turned and smiled at her. "Hey. . . feeling better?"
Lorelai leaned against the doorframe and nodded. "Mmhmm."
"Good," he replied.
"How long was I asleep?" Lorelai asked.
Luke shrugged as he continued changing the laundry. "Not long, like an hour or so." He slammed the dryer door and pressed a button, then walked over to her and put his hands on her shoulders. He kissed her on the cheek, then glanced down at the blanket wrapped around her. "Nice outfit."
Lorelai smiled and glanced down at it. "Thanks. I’m going for that sort of toga-look."
"Yeah, it makes me wanna watch Animal House," Luke replied.
Lorelai smiled and leaned her head against his chest. She kept her arms at her sides as he hugged her. "When did you wanna go to the batting cages?" She lifted her head and rolled her eyes at him. "Speaking of which, are you gonna wanna do that every time we have some alone time together?"
"Probably," Luke replied. Lorelai groaned and leaned her head back against him. Luke sighed. "What’s the problem? You said you had fun last time."
"I know, but – "
"Plus you’ll probably like the cages around here better since they have a snack stand right near the entrance."
Lorelai lifted her head up and gasped. "Really?" she asked excitedly. "With ice cream?"
Luke, slightly amused at her excitement, smiled and nodded. "Yes, with ice cream – is that more of an incentive to go?"
Lorelai grinned and nodded enthusiastically. "I’m gonna go take a shower." She pulled off the blanket and handed it to him. "Here, you might wanna wash this. It sort of has that ‘I’ve been used for several hours by a drunk woman’ scent to it." He took it from her and walked it over to the washing machine as she turned around and headed into the bathroom.
* * *
A few hours later, they had finished batting and were sitting on a bench near the entrance to the batting cages, both of them exhausted and hot from the activity. Lorelai was happily licking her ice cream cone as Luke dug into a dish of fat free sorbet.
Lorelai eyed his dessert curiously as he ate a spoonful. He glanced up at her and narrowed his eyes. "What?"
Lorelai pulled the cone away from her mouth and stared down at the bowl. "What does it taste like?"
Luke held out the bowl toward her. "You wanna try some?"
Lorelai opened her mouth wide, and Luke fed her a spoonful of his dessert. She was hesitant at first, but when she closed her lips around the spoon, her eyes widened with surprise. "Mmm."
Luke slowly pulled the spoon out of her mouth. "So?"
Lorelai swallowed and nodded approvingly. "Not bad." She licked her cone and added, "I’d never voluntarily order it if there was ice cream available within a fifty mile radius, but now I know what it tastes like." Luke smirked and shook his head slightly as he continued eating.
Lorelai glanced over at him and smiled to herself. She watched him for a few seconds, then said, "I had fun again."
Luke turned to her and smiled. "Oh yeah?"
Lorelai nodded. "I think I might start coming here more often." She held out one of her arms and flexed her muscle. "Good for my ‘ceps."
Luke let out a small laugh. "Yes, it is," he agreed. "But I think your, uh, ‘ceps are fine."
Lorelai looked at her arm and wrinkled her nose. "You think? I was thinking maybe I should try to get them a little more buff."
"They’re fine, trust me," Luke told her.
"But those women in those videos last night, they had some good, sexy arms," Lorelai said. "Did you notice?"
"They were okay." Luke shrugged and ate a spoonful of his sorbet, then added, "Yours are better."
Lorelai smiled and nudged him with her elbow. "Aw, look at you being all sweet with the complimenting."
Luke gave an embarrassed smirk. "Yeah. . .well. . . it’s true," he said, staring down into his bowl. "You’re prettier than them, too."
Lorelai gasped. "Wow, two compliments in a row! Now I know you’re just trying to get lucky."
Luke laughed and turned to look at her. "I don’t have to try very. . . " His voice trailed off as he saw her smiling face staring back at him. He cleared his throat and finished, ". . .hard."
Lorelai took a bite of her cone. As she chewed it, she glanced over at Luke and saw him watching her. "What? Something on my face?" she asked, wiping her chin with the back of her hand.
Luke shook his head. She shrugged and brought her gaze back to her food. As she concentrated on licking the drips of ice cream that were running down the side of the cone, Luke continued to stare at her. After a few seconds, she glanced back over at him and let out a small laugh. "What are you looking at? Do you want some ice cream?" she asked, offering him her cone.
Luke shook his head. "I’m just. . .looking at you."
"For any particular reason?"
Luke shrugged. "Just. . .I don’t know. . . because you’re cute."
Lorelai smiled and snapped her fingers several times. "Man, you’re just shooting out the compliments left and right today, hon." She pointed to his bowl. "Is there something in that sorbet that has reconfigured the chemical structure of your body to turn you into a complimenting machine or something?"
Luke rolled his eyes and set the bowl on the ground next to the bench. "I highly doubt it." He moved closer to her and wrapped an arm around her waist. He cleared his throat as if he was getting ready to say something, so she stared at him expectantly. A few seconds passed before he finally turned to her and said, "I was just. . .ya know, looking at you and thinking. . . I mean, you know that I love you, right?" he asked in a soft voice.
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yup, I am very well aware of that, thank you."
Luke nodded. "Okay."
Lorelai tapped on her head. "It’s etched into my brain."
"Good."
Lorelai shook her head. "I’ll never forget it."
"Great."
Lorelai smiled and kissed his cheek. "Guess it seems like a good time to tell you that I love you, too." Luke smiled and laced his fingers through hers.
Lorelai shoved the last piece of her cone into her mouth and chewed it slowly. When she had finished, she leaned her head against his shoulder. "So what was with the random sharing-of-feelings moment we just had there?" Lorelai asked. She quickly added, "Not that I mind random feeling-sharing moments. On the contrary – I love them, I find them quite enjoyable. . .but since this one seemed to just come out of left field, I was wondering what sparked it."
Luke shrugged. "I don’t know. . .I was looking at you and it popped into my head that . . .I mean, I know I don’t say it enough, so now seemed like a good time to tell you."
Lorelai lifted her head and scoffed. "Oh, come on Luke, are you kidding? You say it almost everyday, which is amazing since I know you’re not Mr. I-share-my-feelings-all-the-time Guy." She let out a small laugh and said, "Trust me, you’re a million times better about stuff like that than I’d ever imagined you’d be."
"What do you mean?"
"I mean, that you’re always so gruff and manly and quiet that it’s surprising that you’re so open and sensitive sometimes," Lorelai explained with a shrug. "I mean, you’re always saying nice things to me and telling me you love me and. . .I don’t know, you get into these little zones where you’ll be like a completely different person from your usual monosyllabic self – all sweet and romantic and lovey-dovey." Lorelai pinched his cheek and added, "It’s just so darn cute!"
Luke rolled his eyes and pushed her hand away. "Okay, enough already."
Lorelai giggled. "I think the moral of this babbling is that, yes, you compliment me enough, and yes, I know that you love me," she concluded with a nod. She smiled and added, "But hey, I’m not complaining if you wanna say it more."
Luke smiled and kissed her. They sat there for a few more minutes before they threw their trash away and headed home.
* * *
Twenty minutes later, they walked through the front door. Lorelai kicked off her shoes, then went into the kitchen to get a drink. Luke walked over and sat down on the couch. He grabbed the remote from the coffee table, but before he turned on the television, he glanced toward the kitchen. He saw Lorelai standing at the table. His eyes glazed over her body . . . up her long legs, over her tight tank top that perfectly accentuated her curves, up to her hair that was pulled into a ponytail at the nape of her neck. Luke swallowed hard as he watched her take a long sip from a water bottle. He bit his bottom lip as he thought for a moment, then slowly got up from the couch.
He walked through the hallway into the kitchen and stood directly behind her. She had set the water bottle on the table and was now flipping through a magazine. He reached around her and pushed the water bottle off the table, then pulled the magazine out of her hand and dropped it to the floor
Surprised, Lorelai turned around and said, "What the heck are you – "
Luke smiled and put a finger on her lips. "Shh. Ready for the element of surprise?"
A slow smile appeared on her face, and she nodded. He reached down and unzipped her denim shorts, then turned her around so she was facing away from him. He pulled her shorts and underwear down, and she stepped out of them and kicked them aside. He pulled her shirt up over her head and tossed it behind him, then unclasped her bra, slid it off, and dropped it to the floor.
He pulled out her ponytail holder and ran his fingers through her hair. He slid his hands down her back and traced a finger around the heart tattoo. Lorelai’s breathing rate increased as his strong yet gentle hands glided over her shoulders, arms, back, and thighs. Her arousal was growing, her body was tingling at the sensations of his touch. She reached her hands back and knocked his hat off, then squeezed his hair between her fists.
Luke reached around her and squeezed her breasts as he kissed across her back and neck. He pulled at her nipples, evoking loud approving moans from Lorelai. She covered his hands with hers and held them on her breasts, urging him to continue. As he did, he used his foot to spread her feet apart. He removed his hands from her chest, ignoring her whimper of disappointment, and pushed her upper body forward so she was leaning over the kitchen table. She rested herself on her elbows and covered her face with her hands, her sex already throbbing with unbearable anticipation.
Luke unzipped his jeans and pulled them and his boxers down around his knees. His hardness sprang to life and he immediately entered her from behind. Lorelai clenched her eyes shut tight and a long moan poured from her lips as she took him in. Luke had to maneuver Lorelai’s hips slightly to go deeper, but soon he was completely inside of her.
She started breathing heavily as an intense feeling of pleasure came over her body, and she pressed her forehead against the table to try to control herself. She stretched her hands out in front of her and clutched tightly onto the edges of the table as she waited for him to continue.
Luke started pushing into her, his powerful thrusts causing her thighs to slam hard against the side of the table. Her body glided roughly across the table in short jerks, rocking back and forth with the motions of Luke’s pelvis. He ran his hands over her back and tugged lightly on her hair as he began increasing his pace.
Lorelai didn’t push back at him; she relaxed herself and allowed Luke to have complete control of her body. He slid his hands down and gripped her waist, and instead of just pushing into her, he also began pulling her body against his, sliding her up and down his hardness. The combination of the motions made the impact twice as satisfying for both of them, and their faces showed the extreme pleasure they were both experiencing.
Lorelai’s mouth was gaping open and seemed to get wider with each and every thrust. Luke grunted loudly as he plunged into her, though it was hard to hear him over Lorelai’s even-louder moans. "Oh my God. . . Luke. . . yes. . . oh God. . ." Her words of encouragement were randomly screamed in between her loud moans of pleasure, and made Luke pump into her even harder. The sensations were making Lorelai’s legs weak and she was glad she had the table there to support her body weight.
His motions were fast and rhythmic, and it wasn’t long before she felt her orgasm approaching. Luke felt himself ready to explode but was determined to hold off his peak until Lorelai had reached hers. Finally, Lorelai’s entire body began quivering, and soon a loud scream echoed throughout the house as she climaxed. A few final rough strokes into her brought him to completion, and he collapsed his exhausted body on top of hers.
They lay that way for several seconds, both of them panting loudly, until Luke finally stood up and pulled out of her. He pulled up his boxers and jeans, then took a few steps back as he stared at Lorelai. She lay sprawled across the table, her eyes closed, her body heaving up and down with her heavy breathing. She was too exhausted to stand upright yet, and even so, was trying to put off the back pain she knew she’d encounter once she did stand up.
"Oh my God," she moaned into the table. A few seconds passed before she opened her eyes, and then it was a few more before she slowly pushed herself up off the table. She grimaced slightly at the pain, and she reached behind her to rub her lower back.
She finally turned around and saw Luke leaning against the counter, staring at her with a sly grin on his face. She sauntered over to him and wrapped her arms around his neck as she kissed him deeply. She pulled her lips away from his and rested her head against his chest, still breathing heavily.
Luke wrapped his arms around her. "So. . .uh, how was that element of surprise?"
"Mmm, incredible," Lorelai muttered as she closed her eyes. "You?"
"Can’t complain," Luke replied. He pulled her closer and ran his hands up and down her back. After a few seconds, she pulled back from him and smiled. He smiled back. "What?"
Lorelai shrugged and ran a finger over his cheek. "I was just thinking how no one would ever believe me if I told them what you’re really like."
Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "What do you mean?"
Lorelai gestured to the table. "I mean. . . doing stuff like that, or like how we did it in the gazebo or in my office or just. . .you know. People see you as reserved and conservative, for the most part. They’d never believe some of the stories I could tell them about things we’ve done."
Luke tilted his head and pursed his lips.
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Don’t worry, I’m not saying a word, but. . .there’s this side of you that only I know, and no one would believe some of the things we do. I mean, do you think there’s anyone who would believe me if I said, ‘Oh, Luke just walked up behind me and ripped my clothes off and threw me on the table’?"
Luke glanced over at the table. "Yeah, speaking of which, no food touches that table until I’ve scrubbed it down."
Lorelai nodded in agreement as she followed his gaze. "Definitely." She turned back to him and smiled. "So. . . is it just me who invokes the savage beast in you to come out, or have you always been like that?"
He shrugged. "I don’t know. . . you’re definitely a part of it, but I guess I always sort of. . .ya know. . ."
"Had a wild-Luke inside who needed a little encouragement to come out and play?" Lorelai suggested.
"You could say that," Luke nodded.
Lorelai walked over and picked up her clothes. She pulled her tank top on as she asked, "Did you ever think about doing stuff like that to me?"
"Like what?" Luke walked over to a cabinet and pulled out a dish towel, then stared at her expectantly.
Lorelai shrugged as she pulled on her underwear. "Like, back when you used to admire me from afar. . . when you used to have this wild obsession with me. . . when you used to wish that – "
"Okay, okay, get on with it," Luke interrupted, gesturing for her to continue.
Lorelai smiled. "Did you ever think about doing something really wild. . .you know, just grabbing me and making love to me on the counter or the diner floor or something?"
Luke shrugged. "Maybe."
"Oh yeah?" Lorelai asked, smiling.
"Sometimes, but that’s not what I thought about the most," Luke replied.
Intrigued, Lorelai sat down in a chair and said, "Go on."
Luke leaned back against the counter and folded his arms across his chest. He shook his head slightly and said, "I just really, really wanted to . . . kiss you."
"Kiss me? That’s it?"
"Yup." Luke stared up into space as he continued. "I mean, I’d always glance at you from across the diner, and I’d see you talking to Rory or something, and. . .you know, you’d be smiling or laughing, and I’d just think about how much I wanted to kiss you – to just . . .feel your lips against mine. That’s what I wanted the most."
Lorelai felt a chill run through her body as she listened to him. He was speaking softly and slowly, as though he’d always wanted to tell her this but was still slightly embarrassed about doing it. Lorelai stared up at him as he continued.
"I would think about how, if I could kiss you one time, just once," he said, holding up his pointer finger, "then I’d be happy. I mean, even if things didn’t work out between us, then I’d still be happy that I got to experience that kiss, you know?"
Lorelai nodded quickly as she stared up at him with fascination. He’d fallen into one of those sensitive moods that she loved to see him in, and she wanted him to keep talking.
Luke sighed, then shrugged. "But I could never get up the nerve to do it." He paused for a moment, then smiled to himself. "Well, I almost did." He squeezed his thumb and forefinger together. "I got this close once."
Lorelai raised her eyebrows with surprise. "You did?"
Luke nodded. "Yup."
"You almost kissed me?" Lorelai asked with disbelief.
He nodded again. "Yup."
Lorelai let out a small laugh and asked, "Uh, was I there? Because I have no recollection of it whatsoever."
Luke walked over to the table and sat down next to her. "Yeah, you were there. It was last year when you came to the diner to help me pick out paint colors. . .remember that?"
Lorelai thought for a moment, then nodded. "Vaguely. What happened?"
"Uh, we picked out paint colors," Luke replied.
Lorelai laughed. "Oh, so it was a successful night then."
"Yeah, and then somehow we ended up sitting on the floor behind the counter," Luke continued. "And we were staring at each other, and I remember you were wearing a blue shirt and it made your eyes really stand out. I mean, they were glowing this sparkling bright blue . . . and it was just so incredible," Luke said quietly, shaking his head slightly toward the table. Lorelai stared at him, captivated by the story. "And we were smiling at each other and I had finally worked up the nerve to kiss you, and just as I started to lean forward. . . something happened."
"What? What happened?" Lorelai asked anxiously.
"There was a knock at the door," Luke grumbled, rolling his eyes. "Taylor and some of his stupid cronies were trying to get into the diner and it was locked, so they banged on it, and. . .you turned away and. . .I’ll never forget that feeling of regret that I had. I scolded myself so many times for not leaning in quicker." He sighed disappointedly, then added. "Okay, that story doesn’t have the greatest ending."
"Aww," Lorelai frowned. "I’m sorry. I hope you did something to get back at Taylor."
"Yeah, I spit in his food the next day," Luke said.
Lorelai gasped and clapped a hand over her mouth. "Oh my God!"
Luke laughed. "No, I’m kidding. . .but I did overcharge him for his meal."
Lorelai let out a sigh of relief. "Whew, okay, that’s better."
Luke cleared his throat and stood up. "Okay, well, uh, I didn’t mean to turn that into story hour."
Lorelai stood up. "It was way better than the ones they have at the library, though." She reached out her hand. He grabbed it and she pulled him toward her into a hug, their lips meeting in a passionate kiss. She pulled back and smiled. "See – the story does have a happy ending."
Luke smiled. "Yeah, I guess it does." He kissed her again, then glanced down at the table. "Okay, I really have to sanitize that before I forget."
Lorelai smiled and pulled back from him. "Go on, Mr. Clean, do your thing." She grabbed the rest of her clothes and said, "I’m gonna go take a bath. If you feel like coming up and giving me some entertainment, I’m really getting the urge to see you sing YMCA with all the hand gestures and stuff."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Forget it."
Lorelai shrugged. "Fine, I won’t make you sing and dance, but come up when you’re done so you can sit and keep me company, okay?" Luke nodded. "Maybe you could. . . tell me some more stories?" she asked hopefully.
Luke shrugged. "Maybe."
"Okay, and then we’ll go to the market," she said excitedly. Luke rolled his eyes, and Lorelai smiled at him and walked toward the staircase.
End Part 39
* * *
Part 40
A few minutes later, Luke walked into the bathroom and closed the door behind him. Lorelai was already in the bubble-filled tub and just her head was visible, her hair clipped up on top of her head. She craned her neck back to look at Luke as he walked in, and she smiled up at him. "Hey – how’s the table?"
"Taken care of," Luke replied. "You can practically eat off that thing now."
Lorelai smiled. "Well, that’s the intention I had when I bought it, so that’s good."
Luke walked over to the toilet and pulled the cover down. He pulled a towel off of the rack and draped it over the seat, then sat down and faced Lorelai.
Lorelai leaned her head back against the wall and closed her eyes. Luke stared at her until a small smile appeared on Lorelai’s face, then he asked, "What are you thinking about?"
Lorelai opened her eyes. "Dinner."
Luke rolled his eyes and muttered, "Why am I not surprised?"
"I’m getting a strong craving for Chinese food," Lorelai told him. "What do you say tonight we go to the movies, then pick up Chinese on the way back?"
"The movies tonight? What about your little ‘I want to pour food over your body and lick it off’ scenario that you’ve been waiting weeks for?" Luke asked.
"Change of plans – it’s pushed back to tomorrow instead," Lorelai said.
"How come?"
"Because I got a sudden craving for Chinese food and everyone knows you can’t just eat a little bit of Chinese food – you have to scarf down Chinese food," Lorelai explained. "And since I’ll be scarfing down Chinese food, I probably won’t have room for any other food tonight, hence we’ll need to push back all food-related activities to tomorrow night."
Luke nodded. "Oh . . .okay."
Lorelai stared at his expression, then smiled. "You look disappointed."
He scoffed. "You’re crazy."
Lorelai lifted one of her hands out of the water and shook it at him, sprinkling him with water droplets. "You are! You’re disappointed that we’re not doing it tonight," she said with a laugh.
"Will you knock it off? You’re getting water on me."
Lorelai lowered her hand back into the water and smirked. "You act like you don’t wanna do it, but you’re secretly looking forward to it. Admit it!"
Luke stood up. "Look, I’m only in here to keep you company, not to be annoyed incessantly. I can go if you want me to."
"No, no, don’t go," Lorelai said quickly. "I won’t annoy you anymore."
Luke slowly sat back down and rested his elbows on his knees. "Thank you."
"You’re welcome," she replied as she ran her fingers over the top of the water. "So. . ."
Luke tapped his foot a few times. "So. . ."
Lorelai was quiet for a minute, then started humming the tune to YMCA.
Luke smiled. "Very subtle. Forget it."
Lorelai laughed. "Okay, okay, sorry." She lifted one of her feet out of the water and looked at it. She wiggled her toes and said, "What do you think?"
"I think it’s a foot," Luke replied.
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "I mean, I think it’s time for me to take off the red nail polish and go with that pretty maroon-ish color. Thoughts?"
"Do whatever you want," he replied with a shrug.
"Whatever I want?" She lowered her foot down. "Hm, can I paint your toes?"
"No."
Lorelai pouted her lips. "Please?"
"No," he replied more sternly. "You know, you’re working back up to that ‘annoying thing’ again."
"Sorry," she muttered. She sighed loudly, then closed her eyes and said, "Tell me another story, Luke."
"About what?" he asked.
"About anything," she replied with a shrug.
Luke thought for a moment, then leaned back and propped his feet up on the edge of the tub. "Okay, I got one for ya."
* * *
Twenty minutes later, as Luke walked out of the bathroom to answer the ringing phone, Lorelai climbed out of the tub and pulled on her robe. She drained the bath water, then walked into the bedroom.
Luke was sitting on the bed on the phone. "Is it Rory?" Lorelai whispered.
Luke shook his head and continued talking. Lorelai walked over to her closet and pulled out some clothes. She pulled some undergarments out of her dresser, then brought everything back to the bed and started getting dressed.
A few seconds later, Luke hung up the phone. "Who was it?" Lorelai asked.
Luke stood up. "Oh, uh, Jess wants to borrow my truck this afternoon."
Lorelai, in the middle of fastening her bra, paused a moment before she said, "Oh."
Luke noticed her trepidation, but decided to ignore it. "Yeah, so he’s gonna come pick it up in a few minutes."
Lorelai nodded. "Mmhmm."
Luke gestured toward the stairway. "I’m gonna go down and wait for him."
Lorelai turned toward him and smiled. "Okay, I’ll be down soon and we can go to the market." Luke nodded and walked out of the room.
* * *
That night, after the movie, they walked through the front door with dinner. Lorelai was carrying her bag of Chinese food while Luke carried a bag from the diner containing his chicken salad sandwich and a side salad. They brought them to the kitchen and set it on the table. Lorelai brought out some plates and silverware as Luke poured them some drinks, then they sat across from each other and started eating.
As Luke took a bite of his sandwich, Lorelai said, "Doesn’t that have mayo in it? Isn’t mayo really bad for you?"
"It’s lowfat mayo," he informed her. "I made it myself, I know exactly what’s in it . . .who knows what the hell you’re eating over there." He gestured to her plate and made a face.
Lorelai glanced down at her plate. "I don’t care what it is, I just care that it tastes good."
"That’s the difference between you and me," Luke said with a shrug. He opened up the plastic container of salad and picked out a cucumber. He took a bite, then said, "So, working tomorrow?"
Lorelai groaned and nodded. "All day. And I can’t even leave early because I have a meeting at four." She bit into an eggroll, then smiled. "But at least I’ll have something to look forward to at night."
"Mmhmm," Luke mumbled as he sipped his drink. He set his glass down and said, "Though I’m not too sure about some of those foods you picked out."
"Like what?" Lorelai asked.
"Like honey," he replied. "Do you have any idea how messy that’s gonna be?"
"Exactly the point of this type of thing, Luke," Lorelai replied. "We get all messy and turned on and then we go at it in the shower while we’re getting cleaned up."
Luke smiled and shook his head slightly.
Lorelai let out a small laugh. "You picked out some funky things, too."
Luke looked up and narrowed his eyes. "Like what?"
"Uh, like, yogurt," Lorelai said with a laugh. "Man, I can’t wait to see what you do with that one. I can see you like spreading it on my stomach all neatly with a spoon or something."
"What – is that not how you’re supposed to do it?" Luke asked innocently.
Lorelai’s eyes widened and she sat up straight. "Please tell me you’re kidding!" She shook her head. "Luke, no! You have to get messy, you have to use your hands, you have to – "
Luke laughed and held up his hands. "I know, I know, geez. Come on, I’m not a complete moron."
Lorelai relaxed back in her chair. "Yeah, well, sometimes it’s hard to tell," she muttered.
Luke picked up a cherry tomato from his salad and threw it at her. She gasped laughingly as it hit her on the shoulder. She picked up a piece of chicken from her plate and threw it at him. It hit him on the cheek and Lorelai laughed loudly.
"Hey!" he exclaimed. "Don’t make a mess."
"You started it," she reminded him as she scooped up a forkful of rice and aimed it him.
Luke stood up and said, "I started it with a tomato. They aren’t messy." He took a few steps back and pointed to her fork. "Don’t even think about it."
She stood up, holding the fork in a catapult position, and walked toward him with a sly grin on her face. "Uh oh, I’m thinking about it."
He walked backward into Rory’s bedroom. "You don’t wanna make a mess in Rory’s room, put it down."
"Oh, she won’t mind," Lorelai said with a shrug.
"Yeah, well, I do," Luke said. He reached out and clasped his hand around the fork, and made a face as he felt the rice in his palm.
Lorelai frowned. "I was gonna eat that."
Luke opened his fist and help out the rice. "Go ahead."
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "I’ll pass."
"Thought so." Luke walked back into the kitchen and threw the rice in the garbage, then washed his hands. Lorelai sat back down in her seat, and as Luke sat down across from her, he handed her another fork. "Here, stop fooling around."
"Yes, sir," she said, playfully saluting him. She ate a forkful of food, then said, "What do you wanna do tonight?"
"I don’t know," Luke said. "Play a game or something?"
"A game. . .what, like cards?" Lorelai suggested. She paused a moment, then jumped up. "Ooh, I know!" She walked to the front closet and pulled it open. She stood on her tiptoes and grabbed a box from the top shelf, then brought it back to the table.
"You play Trivial Pursuit?" Luke asked, surprised. "I don’t picture you as a Trivial Pursuit kind of girl."
"Yeah, well, Rory used to be obsessed with this game and she made me play with her all the time," Lorelai said. "The little brainiac used to always win until I started memorizing the cards at night." She smiled and tapped her head. "Smart move, huh?"
"You used to cheat against your own daughter?" Luke said with a laugh.
Lorelai sat down in her chair and shrugged. "Well, it was a motherly thing to do. You can’t let her go through life letting her think that she’ll win at everything, right? So I was teaching her good sportsmanship."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Nice one."
Lorelai grinned. "Thank you." She patted the box and said, "So what do you say? We’ll bust out some beers and play this tonight."
"Yeah, I’m sure the beers will really help in a game that tests knowledge," Luke said dryly.
Lorelai smiled. "No, but it’ll make it more fun. What do you say?"
"Fine by me," Luke replied.
* * *
Later that night, they were sitting on the floor around the coffee table in the middle of the game when there was a knock at the front door. Jess pushed it open slightly and called, "Anyone home?"
"Yeah, come in," Lorelai called.
Jess walked into the living room, twirling Luke’s keys around his pointer finger. "Brought the truck back."
Jess tossed the keys to Luke, who caught them and set them on the table. "Thanks. It’s still in one piece, I assume?"
"For the most part," Jess replied. He leaned on the back of the couch. "Got a hot game of Trivial Pursuit going? Man, you guys are living the wild life."
"Yes, we are," Lorelai agreed.
Jess glanced toward the television. "Hey, you mind if I borrow a video for tonight?"
"Got a hot night of tv watching planned?" Luke asked dryly. "And you’re mocking our Trivial Pursuit playing?"
"Help yourself," Lorelai said, gesturing toward the shelf of videos next to the television. Lorelai glanced down at the board. "Okay, where were we? You need a green question." She glanced down at the card in her hand and read the question to herself, then smiled. "Ha, you’ll never get this one. What country in the 1984 Olympics led the parade in the opening ceremonies?" She smiled at Luke.
Luke thought for a moment, then picked up the dice as he answered, "Greece."
"Ha! That’s wro – " Lorelai started. She paused and glanced at the back of the card, then gasped. "How could you possibly know that? What are you, some kind of freak?"
Luke rolled the dice. "Everyone knows that. It’s a trick question."
"Greece leads the parade for every Olympics," Jess added from behind them. "It’s tradition."
Lorelai frowned and threw the card at Luke. "I knew that," she mumbled.
Luke moved his piece across the board. "Blue question." He sat back and waited for her to get another card.
As Lorelai reached for the box, Jess exclaimed, "Whoa!" Luke and Lorelai both turned to look at him. He was standing at the television going through a stack of videos. "What the hell is going on here, Uncle Luke?" Jess picked up two of the dirty movies and turned around with a sly grin. "Now, I don’t think these videos are appropriate viewing material to have around Lorelai and Rory. What are you trying to do to these poor impressionable girls?"
Luke jumped up from the floor and rushed over to the television. "Give me those!" He grabbed the movies out of Jess’ hands, then grabbed the others off of the television. Lorelai sat on the floor stifling her laughter.
Jess shook his head disappointedly toward Luke. "Man, and I thought you were a better role model that that. I’m deeply ashamed of you."
"Oh, knock it off," Luke grumbled. "It’s none of your business what we watch. And just for the record, they’re not mine – they’re hers." He nodded toward Lorelai. "Tell him."
Lorelai raised her hands innocently. "Luke, I have no idea what you’re talking about," she replied, shaking her head. "You must’ve had too much to drink tonight or something."
"Lorelai!" Luke said angrily.
"I don’t watch that kind of garbage," Lorelai said with a scoff. "Take responsibility for your own guilty pleasures, Luke."
"Luke, why are you trying to blame her?" Jess asked with a laugh. "Like I’m sure she’s the one who wants to watch this stuff. . . right." He rolled his eyes and patted Luke on the back. "You might wanna get some help for your little addiction there, buddy."
Luke sighed loudly. He dropped the movies onto the armchair and pointed toward the doorway. "Go home."
Jess smirked as he grabbed the Fight Club video from the shelf and waved it in the air. "I’m taking this."
Luke gave him a shove toward the door. "Fine, now go home and watch it."
Jess smiled to himself as he walked through the living room. "Later," he called over his shoulder.
When they heard the front door shut, Luke glared at Lorelai. "What the hell was that about? Why’d you do that?"
Lorelai giggled. "It was funny seeing the look on your face."
"Oh, it was funny, was it?" Luke asked, walking toward her.
Lorelai stood up quickly and backed away from him. "Yeah, it was funny." Luke backed her up against the staircase railing. "What are you doing?" she asked.
"This." He picked her up and brought her to the couch. He dropped her on it and she laughed as he climbed on top of her and started tickling her stomach.
She wriggled back and forth underneath him. "Stop. . .Luke, stop!" she laughed. "Oh my God!"
He continued tickling her, keeping one hand on her stomach and bringing the other down to tickle her behind her knee. "Not until you apologize."
"I’m sorry, I’m sorry!" she yelled through her laughing. Tears started to form in her eyes and she smacked his hands away. He finally pulled back from her, and her chest was heaving up and down from laughing so hard. "Oh my God," she panted.
"There, I think you’ve learned your lesson," Luke said, taking a few steps back from the couch.
Lorelai sat up and adjusted her shirt. "Yes, and it’s that your face gets all red when people think you like dirty movies."
Luke walked toward her with his hands out in front of him, poised to tickle her again. She jumped up off the couch. "Kidding, kidding!" she screeched as she backed away from him. He walked over to her and pressed his lips against hers. She kissed him back as she ran her fingers through his hair. Luke brought his hands up around her neck and deepened the kiss by softly parting her lips with his tongue.
Lorelai smiled through the kiss. "Tired of playing the board game?"
"Yup."
"Wanna go upstairs?"
"Yup." Luke grabbed her hand and led her toward the staircase.
* * *
The next night, Lorelai walked into the diner after work. Not seeing Luke, she set her purse on a stool, then walked behind the counter and poured herself a cup of coffee. Caesar walked out of the kitchen with some plates and nodded hello at her as she walked back to her stool and sat down.
Caesar delivered the plates to a table, then walked over and said, "I’ll tell him you’re here."
Lorelai smiled. "Thanks."
Caesar walked back into the kitchen. A minute later, Luke walked back out and leaned across the counter to kiss her. "Hey."
"Hi."
"How was work?" Luke asked.
"Looooong," she moaned. "Very long. You know, when one gets used to just picking up and leaving whenever she wants, it becomes very difficult when she has to actually be there for an entire day straight." She took a long drink of her coffee, then sighed loudly.
"Yeah, well, welcome to the real world," Luke said.
"Ugh, I hate the real world," Lorelai replied. "I want to live my life in fantasy land."
"Trust me, you do," he told her. "You want something to eat?"
"Yeah, I’ll have the ‘I had a long day and I’m ready to relax’ meal," she replied.
"Which is essentially a burger and fries, but with a creative title?" Luke asked.
"Yup."
"Coming right up," Luke replied.
* * *
When Lorelai had finished eating, Luke took her plate into the kitchen while she finished up her second cup of coffee. He walked back out and stood talking with her until she was done. When she was finished, she stood up and asked, "Are you coming home soon?"
Luke checked his watch. "Yeah, I should be home in like an hour. Think you can wait that long?"
Lorelai smiled as she leaned forward and kissed him. "It’ll be hard."
Luke cleared his throat and winked at her. "Took the words right outta my mouth."
Lorelai giggled and nudged him on the shoulder. "Dirty."
He smiled and kissed her again. "See you later."
"Bye."
Luke stood at the counter and watched her as she walked out of the diner, then turned and walked into the kitchen.
* * *
Later that night, Luke walked through the front door and dropped his keys on the hall table. He took his hat off and hung it up, then walked into the living room. "Lorelai!" he called.
"Upstairs," she called back.
Luke climbed the staircase up to their bedroom. Lorelai was sitting on the edge of her bed in her bra and panties watching television. Luke walked over and sat next to her, giving her a kiss on the cheek. "What’s up?"
Lorelai gestured to the television. "Check this out – I usually suck at this game because the questions are so obscure, but this is the high school championship of Jeopardy, and I’m finally able to answer questions in categories besides the ones relating to music, movies, or television. I mean, I actually knew the answer to a question in the Science and Nature category, can you believe that?" she asked excitedly.
Luke nodded and patted her on the knee. "Very impressive." He walked out of the bedroom and into the bathroom, closing the door behind him. A few minutes later, he walked back out just as Lorelai was yelling, "What is photosynthesis!" She clapped her hands excitedly when she found out she was right. "Man, I should totally apply to be on this show! What do you think the cut off is for the high school championship?"
"Uh, I’m guessing eighteen," Luke replied.
"Hmm, you think I could pass for eighteen?" Lorelai said.
"No way," Luke replied.
Lorelai frowned. "You didn’t have to answer so quickly. You could’ve at least pretended to consider it."
Luke laughed. "Sorry." He paused for a moment, then repeated, "No way."
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Hmph."
Luke walked over to his side of the bed and took off his shoes, socks, jeans, and T-shirt. Lorelai walked over to the television and turned it off. "Did you eat dinner?"
Luke gathered up his dirty clothes and dropped them into the clothes basket at the foot of the bed. "Yeah, I grabbed a sandwich."
Lorelai nodded as he walked over to her and hugged her. He rocked back and forth on his feet a few times, swaying her from side to side. She smiled up at him and said, "You’re ready and raring to go, huh?"
He answered her with a passionate kiss, then pulled back and said, "What do you think?"
"I think we should go downstairs and get the show on the road," Lorelai said. "I already put a blanket down there."
Lorelai grabbed his hand and led him down the stairs. As they stepped into the living room, Lorelai said, "Windows and doors." They pulled down all the window shades and checked the door locks, then walked into the kitchen and did the same.
Lorelai had spread a blanket on the center of the floor. She walked over to the refrigerator and began pulling out food, setting it along the edge of the blanket. Luke leaned against the counter and watched her. She kneeled down and pulled out some things from the bottom before she stood up and shut the door. "Okay, I think that’s it."
Luke walked over and grabbed a paper cup from the counter, then opened the freezer and pulled out an ice cube. He set it in the cup and placed it on the blanket. Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Hm, got something in mind with that?"
Luke shrugged. "Maybe." He pulled her close and kissed her. "You’ll have to wait and see."
Lorelai kissed him back and brought her hands up to the back of his neck. She massaged it as they kissed, and he ran his hands from her shoulders down her back. His strummed his fingers lightly on the small of her back, sending a chill up her spine. As they broke apart from each other, he brought his hands up to her bra and undid her clasp, then slid it off of her and tossed it aside.
"Let’s sit," Lorelai said. She pulled him down to the blanket and they sat staring at each other, their legs folded in front of them.
"Close your eyes," Luke said. Lorelai smiled and obliged his command. Luke picked up the largest strawberry he could find from the selection of food and he slowly brought it up to her mouth. When she felt what it was, she opened her lips and let him slide it inside. She bit down, and as her teeth sank into the firm fruit, red juice slowly ran down her lips. Luke pulled the end of the strawberry away from her, and as she chewed what was left in her mouth, Luke leaned forward and softly licked the juice off of her lips and chin.
When he pulled back, she opened her eyes and smiled at him. "Wow."
"Nice?" he asked.
"Very nice," she replied. "Let me try. Close your eyes."
Luke closed his eyes as Lorelai surveyed the food. She picked up a banana, peeled it, and broke it in half. She put it halfway into her mouth, then leaned forward and pressed it against his lips. His mouth opened and he accepted the banana, and was surprised when his lips met hers. They kissed around the fruit before they both bit down and ate their own halves. Luke opened his eyes as he finished chewing and nodded approvingly.
Lorelai smiled and uncrossed her legs. She lay back flat on the blanket and stretched one leg on either side on Luke. "Bring on the messiness," Lorelai said.
Luke picked up the ice cube from the cup and held it over Lorelai’s stomach. A few drops of water fell onto her skin and she flinched at the coldness. Luke brought the ice cube to her lips and she sucked on it lightly for several seconds before he slowly ran it over her chin and down her neck to her chest. She closed her eyes as he moved it straight down the center of her chest to her stomach, where he ran it over her navel. A trail of wetness glistened down the center of her body, and Luke leaned down and licked it from her bellybutton up to her chin.
Lorelai stared at him as her breathing started to increase. Luke brought her left hand up and placed it above her head, then did the same with the other. Holding the ice cube in one hand, Luke took hold of her wrists with the other and pinned them up over her head. Lorelai glanced up toward her hands, then raised her eyebrows. "Mm, methinks Luke’s done this before."
Luke smiled as he brought the ice cube to the center of her chest, then slowly moved it up her left breast. He ran it in a circle around the center of her breast, then slowly ran it over her nipple, which hardened at the touch. Her body jerked at the coldness and she tried to break free of his grasp. Luke tightened his hold on her and moved the ice cube to her other breast, slowly circling her center and then running it over her nipple. Her body jerked again and she moaned loudly. "Uggghhh, my God!" Luke continued running the ice cube between her breasts, watching her body writhe and twitch from the chill of it against her most sensitive areas.
Finally, he removed his hand from her wrists, and her hands immediately went to her breasts and covered them, as if trying to warm them up. She was breathing heavily as she stared up at him, waiting to see what he would do next.
Luke put the ice down, then glanced at the food for a few seconds before he picked up the bottle of chocolate syrup. He held it up and Lorelai’s eyes widened with surprise. "Wow, you’re gonna eat that?"
"Ah, a little won’t hurt me," Luke replied. He opened the lid and held the bottle upside down over her chest. Lorelai watched the bottle anxiously until he gave it a small squeeze and the chocolate slowly dripped out of the container. As it landed on her chest, she felt a surge of excitement run through her body. Luke squeezed a pile of syrup into the center of her chest, and it started to run in all directions.
Luke put the bottle down, then used his fingers to spread the substance over her chest. He covered her breasts with it, massaging them lightly with the syrup as Lorelai let out a soft moan of approval. Her eyes were closed and her chest was heaving up and down as her arousal grew. Luke leaned over her body and placed his mouth over her right breast, sucking on it hungrily and using his tongue to scoop the syrup into his mouth. He moved to the other breast, and Lorelai brought her hands up to his back and stroked it as he continued.
When he had licked most of the syrup off of her, he brought his mouth up to hers and kissed her. When he pulled back, Lorelai giggled at the chocolate covering his face. "Come here so I can lick your face," she said. She pulled him close to her and ran her tongue over his chin and cheeks, licking the chocolate off.
He pulled back from her and hooked his fingers in the waistband of her panties. He rolled them down her long legs and tossed them aside, and when he picked up the can of whipped cream, Lorelai’s heart started racing. She smiled up at him as he shook the can and took the lid off. He leaned forward and squirted some on her lips, then leaned down and kissed her.
He squirted a straight line down the center of her chest and stomach, then drew an arrow at the end, pointing to between her legs. "There. . .that’s in case I forget where I’m headed."
Lorelai lifted her head up and giggled at the arrow. "Nice one." She rested her head back down and watched him intently as he squirted some whipped cream onto his hand and applied it to her inner thighs. Lorelai’s body trembled at the touch and she clenched her eyes shut as he continued. He spread the substance along her thighs, then squirted some more directly between her legs.
Luke started at the top of her chest and kissed his way down, following the arrow. When he reached the bottom, he pulled her legs wider apart and licked up one of her inner thighs, then moved to the other. Lorelai’s body began throbbing with excitement as he extended his tongue and licked up her slit. "Ohhh God Luuuuke," she moaned, covering her face with her hands. Her legs were starting to shake slightly from the intense pleasure as he continued licking her sex.
The phone rang. Luke slowly lifted his head up and they looked at each other questioningly. "Ignore it," Lorelai said.
"It might be Rory," Luke reminded her.
"Oh right," Lorelai replied, frowning slightly. "Get it." He grabbed the cordless phone from the table and handed it to her. "Hello . . .hey Sweets!"
Luke smiled as he lowered his face back down between her legs and resumed his licking. Her mouth dropped open with surprise as she continued talking to Rory. "Uh huh. . . that sounds fun. . .uh huh. . ." Her breathing became heavier and her face grimaced with pleasure as Luke lapped at her swollen lips, and she pulled at his hair to get him to stop.
He ignored her; instead, he began licking her harder. "Oh my God," she muttered, clenching her eyes shut tight. His tongue penetrated her lips and she bucked her hips wildly with the intense sensations as he entered her wetness. She clenched her teeth together and let out a soft moan. She swallowed hard and stammered, "Oh, nothing, hon. . .uh, I’m. . .wow. . .look, I need to call you back. . .okay. . .love you, too. . . bye." She turned the phone off, dropped it to the floor, and smacked Luke on the shoulder. "What are you doing?" she groaned.
Luke lifted his head up and smiled at her. "What, didn’t like it?"
"That was you getting me back for last night in some weird way, wasn’t it?" she said, narrowing her eyes.
Luke smirked and lowered his face down to her stomach, licking the rest of the whipped cream off as he made his way up to her mouth. He lay on top of her and kissed her deeply, and she ran her hands up and down his back as she kissed him back aggressively.
Finally, she pulled back and nudged for him to sit up. She sat up as well, then pushed him down on his back. She kneeled between his legs and picked up the can of whipped cream. "Your turn." Lorelai brought the can to his chest and squirted whipped cream circles around his nipples, then drew a heart around his navel. She made a few random squirts of it around his stomach and chest, then set the can down. She smiled at him as she leaned forward toward his navel. She kissed around the heart shaped design, sucking some of the whipped cream up with each kiss. He closed his eyes and rested his hands on the back of her head as her soft lips worked their way around his stomach.
She licked the remaining residue, then moved her tongue up to his chest. She licked one circle of whipped cream, then used her tongue to flick at his nipple before she began sucking on it. He groaned when she took it between her teeth and tugged at it gently. She moved to the other side and did the same thing, this time evoking a louder groan. She moved her mouth over his chest and stomach, licking up the rest of the whipped cream, then she sat back up.
He opened his eyes and stared up at her. Lorelai picked up a jar of peanut butter and waved it in the air. She smiled and asked, "You know where this is going?"
"No."
Lorelai set the jar down, then brought her hands to the waistband of his boxers. He arched his back to help her remove them, and she tossed them aside. She picked up the jar of peanut butter and said, "Now you know where this is going?"
Luke gave her a sly smirk and nodded as she took the peanut butter jar lid off.
* * *
Later that night, the two of them walked out of the bathroom and into their bedroom. "Now, was that as bad as you thought it would be?" Lorelai asked as she pulled on a t-shirt.
"I didn’t think it would be bad," Luke replied. "It was certainly as messy as I thought it would be." He thought for a moment, then smiled and added, "Though I now have a newfound respect for peanut butter."
Lorelai giggled as she leaned against the doorframe and waited for him to pull on a pair of boxers. When he did, he walked over and hugged her. She wrapped her arms tightly around his waist and pressed her head against his chest. "Mm, I love you," she said softly.
He kissed the top of her head. "Love you, too." He pulled back from her. "But you already know that because it’s etched into your brain."
She smiled. "Yes, it is." She grabbed his hand and led him downstairs. "Let’s go watch tv."
"Absolutely not," he replied sternly. "We are cleaning up the kitchen first."
Lorelai groaned loudly. "Fine, fine. Let’s go."
End Part 40
* * *
Part 41
After work the next night, Lorelai walked into the diner. Luke smiled and nodded toward her from the counter, then pointed to an empty table in the corner. She smiled and walked over to it. She sat down and pulled the most recent issue of InStyle magazine out of her purse before she hung the purse on the back of her chair.
She flipped through it for a few minutes before Luke finally walked over to her. She didn’t notice him until he cleared his throat, and, surprised, she looked up from the magazine and smiled. "Hey."
"Hi." Luke leaned down and kissed her before he sat down next to her. "How was work?"
Lorelai shrugged. "It was okay, same ol’ stuff going on." She suddenly smiled and added, "Oh, Michel got a new pair of shoes!"
Luke rolled his eyes. "How many times did you step on them?"
Lorelai giggled. "Four, and then he started screaming French obscenities at me."
"How do you know they’re obscenities?"
"Oh, trust me, I’ve been hearing them for years. Is it completely evil of me to take joy in watching him get upset?"
"Yes," Luke replied.
"Ah, well, then I’m evil," Lorelai said.
"Yes, you are," he agreed. "Did you take those movies back?"
"Yes," Lorelai replied. "I contemplated dropping them off on the way to Friday night dinner, but as many times as I practiced saying the phrase ‘Honey, wait in the car while Mommy returns her porn’ over in my head, I just couldn’t get it to sound appropriate, so I decided to run up there this afternoon."
"Good choice."
"Thank you. So how was your . . ." Her voice trailed off as she glanced past Luke and saw Caesar walk out of the kitchen. "What’s he all smiley about? Did you get a fun new kitchen appliance?"
Luke turned around to see who she was talking about. "Oh, Caesar?" Luke turned back to her. "No, he’s happy because he just got a promotion."
Lorelai raised her eyebrows. "Really?"
"Yup, and a nice raise to go with it," he added. "You know, since I’d been calling on him more often and putting more responsibility on him, I figured it was only fair."
"Oh, absolutely, he deserves it," Lorelai agreed. "But can I give you a little tip?"
"What?"
Lorelai lowered her voice. "If he’s gonna be doing more cooking, you should teach him how to cook fluffier pancakes. His aren’t as good as yours."
Luke rolled his eyes. "I’ll get right on that. I’ll start up my own little cooking class."
"Good, thank you," Lorelai replied. "You gonna eat with me?"
Luke glanced around the crowded diner. "Nah, I should probably get back in the kitchen. Dinner crowd’s picking up." He stood up. "I’ll bring you a burger."
Lorelai nodded. "Mmkay." As he walked away, she brought her gaze back to her magazine.
A few minutes later, Miss Patty walked over to Lorelai’s table. "Hello dear."
Lorelai looked up and smiled. "Hey Patty. What’s new?"
Patty glanced around before she said, "Well, I got Sookie’s shower invitation today."
"Wow, that was fast," Lorelai said. "I just mailed them yesterday. Can you make it?"
"Oh, I wouldn’t miss it," Patty replied. "Let me know if there’s anything you need me to help out with."
Lorelai smiled. "Well, if you can choreograph a dance routine involving produce, baked goods, and risotto. . .that would be extremely helpful."
Patty laughed. "I’ll see what I can whip together by then," she promised.
"Great."
Patty smiled. "See you later."
"Bye."
Patty walked away as Luke walked over with her plate and cup of coffee. He set it on the table, then glanced back at Patty and said, "What was that about?"
Lorelai shoved a fry into her mouth. "Oh, Patty knows some guy who can get free samples of Viagra and she wanted to see if we needed any, but I assured her you have no problems in that area."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Sorry I asked," he muttered as he walked away.
* * *
Fifteen minutes later, Luke walked back out of the kitchen with two plates. He served them to people at the counter, then glanced toward Lorelai. She was resting her elbows on the table and her hands were covering her face.
Concerned, Luke walked over to her. "You okay?" he asked, narrowing his eyes at her barely-touched plate of food.
Lorelai looked up at him, moving her hands from her face to her stomach. "I just started feeling really nauseous."
"Is it from the food, you think?" Luke asked.
Lorelai shook her head. "No, I was feeling it earlier at work and it went away, but now it’s back." She pushed her plate away. "I don’t really feel like eating anymore." She stood up and grabbed her purse. "I’m gonna head home and lie down."
Luke eyed her warily. "Are you sure you’re okay? Do you want me to drive you?"
Lorelai smiled appreciatively. "No thanks, I’ll be fine." She kissed him and started walking toward the door. "See you at home."
"Bye."
* * *
The next morning, Luke walked out of the bathroom and into their bedroom as Lorelai was waking up. She yawned loudly, then groggily asked, "What time did you get home last night?"
Luke sat on the edge of the bed. "A little after nine. You were already sound asleep."
Lorelai nodded. "I felt really sick. I just had to lie down and not move for a long time."
"Are you okay now?" Luke asked.
"Not really," she muttered as she sat up. "I still feel crampy and nauseous."
Luke put his hand on her forehead. "You feel warm."
"Really? Because I’m freezing," she said as she pulled the blanket up around her. She brought her hands up to her head. "Ugh, my head is pounding."
"You’re not going to work today," Luke said sternly. "Lie back down."
"No, I’ll be fine, it’s just part of the whole monthly ritual," Lorelai insisted. "Cramps, nausea, headaches, extreme irritability – comes with the territory of being a woman."
Luke tilted his head. "Oh, so you’re. . ." His voice trailed off.
"Yup," she replied. "I think that’s all it is."
"Still. . .you don’t usually complain about it this much. You probably shouldn’t go into work until it goes away just in case it’s more than that."
"No, I’m sure it’s not – " Lorelai stopped in mid sentence and she clutched her stomach. "Ow!" She fell back against her pillow and grimaced. "Sharp shooting pains!"
Luke’s eyes widened with concern. "Are you okay?"
"Ugh, these random pains just keep attacking me. They’re like the cramps I normally get, only twenty times worse," Lorelai muttered with her eyes closed.
"All right, forget it, you’re not leaving this house today," Luke said. "You’re probably coming down with a stomach virus or something."
Lorelai opened her eyes and nodded slowly. "Maybe."
Luke stood up. "Okay, so you should call the inn or something."
"I’ll call Sookie at home," she muttered. "Can you hand me the phone?"
Luke picked up the phone. "What’s the number?"
Lorelai recited it and he dialed, then handed her the phone. "Thanks." She rolled onto her side and held the phone against her ear as Luke walked over to his dresser and started getting dressed.
A few rings later, Sookie answered, "Hello?"
"Hey Sookie, it’s me," Lorelai said.
"Hey, what’s up?" Sookie asked. "Everything okay?"
"No, I’m in severe pain. I’m coming down with a virus or something."
"Aw, I’m so sorry," Sookie said sympathetically.
"Yeah, I felt sick a few times yesterday, and then last night it really hit me," Lorelai said. "I just feel really nauseous and have bad stomach pains."
"Uh oh," Sookie replied.
Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "What’s ‘uh oh’ – what was that for?"
"Well, I mean. . . do you think you’re. . ." Sookie’s voice trailed off.
Lorelai paused a moment, waiting for Sookie to continue. When she didn’t, Lorelai said, "Uh, Sookie, if you finished that sentence with sign language, I’m gonna have to remind you that I can’t see you from here."
"Pregnant," Sookie whispered. "Do you think you’re pregnant?"
Lorelai rolled her eyes slightly. "No, I started yesterday right on schedule."
"So maybe that’s why you’re feeling crappy?" Sookie suggested.
"No, at first I thought that’s what it was, but it’s much worse than it usually is."
"Aw, I’m sorry," Sookie said. "So you’re not coming in today?"
She glanced toward Luke as she replied, "No, I’ve got strict instructions from my live-in doctor that I should stay home."
"Aw, okay, honey, I’ll tell Michel," Sookie replied.
"Thanks, Sookie."
"You’re welcome. Feel better. Call if you need anything," Sookie replied.
"I will. Bye."
"Bye."
Lorelai reached over to the nightstand and hung up the phone, then sighed loudly as she rolled onto her back. "Luuuuke, I don’t like being sick," she whined.
"Yeah, well, not many people do," Luke replied.
Lorelai pouted and twirled her hair aimlessly around her pointer finger as she watched him get dressed. After he pulled on his shoes, he grabbed his wallet and walked over to sit next to her. "Listen, I’ll only go into work for a few hours, then I’ll come home so you’re not alone all day, okay?"
Lorelai nodded. "Okay."
"You need anything before I leave?" Luke asked.
"Can you get me something to eat?" Lorelai asked. "I can feel my stomach rumbling for food underneath the pain and I don’t want to starve my poor friend all day."
"All right, I’ll get you something light," Luke said. He stood up and left the room.
Several minutes later, he returned with a plate of toast, a glass of water, and some aspirin. He set it all on the nightstand, then sat down next to her. She sat up and leaned against the headboard, and he handed her the aspirin and water. "For the headache."
She took the pills with some water, then picked up a piece of toast and took a small bite. She chewed it slowly, scared that it would upset her stomach even more. Luke watched her closely as she swallowed it down. "Is it okay?"
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I think so."
"Okay, I gotta go," Luke said. "If you need anything, call me. I’ll be home as soon as I can."
Lorelai nodded. "Okay."
He leaned forward and kissed her on the cheek. "Love you."
Lorelai smiled. "Love you, too."
"Bye." Luke stood up and walked to the door, giving her one last sympathetic glance before he walked through it and went down the steps.
* * *
A few hours later, Luke arrived home from work and immediately went upstairs to check on her. He walked into the bedroom and found her asleep on the bed.
He grabbed a couple of dumbbells from the corner of the room, then brought them downstairs. He walked out the side door and onto the porch, and he began working out with them.
Twenty minutes later, he saw Babette come out of her house and walk toward him. "Hey gorgeous!" she called.
Luke casually nodded toward her, used to the numerous pet names she called him. As she walked up the porch steps, he set down his weights and wiped his face on his T-shirt. "How’s it going?"
"Good, doll, good," Babette replied. "Not working today?"
"Well, I was this morning but Lorelai’s sick, so I came home," Luke explained. "She’s asleep right now."
Babette gasped. "Sick? What’s wrong with her?"
"Oh, it’s some sort of virus that’s going around," Luke said. "You know, stomach pains, nauseous feeling, that kind of stuff."
"Aww, the poor baby," Babette said, frowning sympathetically. "And you came home early to be with her, how adorable is that?" She clasped her hands together and smiled sweetly at Luke.
"Yeah, I feel better being here in case she needs me," Luke said with a shrug.
Babette grinned and patted Luke on the shoulder. "You know, not all women are lucky enough to find a guy like you."
Luke glanced down at his feet uncomfortably. "Yeah. . .well . . ." He looked up and shrugged. "Not all guys are as lucky as me to find a girl like her."
"Ah, my God, you’re so adorable, I wanna eat you up!" She stared at him for a moment, then smiled and pointed toward his face. "You know, your eyes light up when you talk about her."
Luke’s face reddened slightly as he looked toward Babette’s house. "Yeah, well, she’s, uh, . . .I just. . .ya know. . ."
Babette smiled and nodded. "I know. . .trust me, dear, we all know."
Luke nodded as he picked up his dumbbells and gestured toward the house. "Uh, I’m gonna go in and check on her."
Babette squeezed his arm and said, "Tell her I hope she feels better, will ya?"
"I’ll do that," he replied. "See you later."
"Bye-bye," Babette called over her shoulder as she walked down the porch steps.
Luke walked into the house through the back door and set his weights on the kitchen table. He washed his hands, then poured himself a glass of orange juice and walked upstairs with it.
As Luke walked into the bedroom, he saw Lorelai roll over onto her back. He took a sip of his juice, then set it on the nightstand and sat down on the bed. "Hey. . .you up?" he whispered.
Lorelai opened her eyes and saw him sitting next to her. "Hey," she mumbled groggily. "You’re home."
"Yeah. . .how ya feeling?" he asked. He pushed her hair out of her face and felt her forehead. "Still warm."
"I threw up my toast like ten minutes after you left," she said with a frown. "Luckily I made it to the bathroom in time. Then I had that disgusting throw-up taste in my mouth for awhile, which was extremely pleasant."
Luke made a face. "Yeah, it’s pleasant hearing about it, too," he told her. "Thanks."
Lorelai nodded. "You’re welcome. Right after that I went to sleep, and I’ve been doing that all morning. I do feel a little better, though. The stomach pains have lessened. Now instead of feeling like a thousand burning stakes are jabbing me from the inside, it only feels like six hundred."
"Well, uh. . .that’s good, I guess," Luke said. "Babette said to tell you she hopes you feel better."
"Aw, that’s nice," Lorelai replied. "You talked to her?"
"No, she sent me a telepathic message," Luke replied, rolling his eyes. She weakly smacked his knee with her hand, and he smiled. "Yeah, I just saw her outside."
Lorelai nodded and sighed softly. She was quiet for a few seconds before she said, "I’m hungry."
"You shouldn’t eat anything else," Luke said. "You’ll throw it up."
"But it feels a little better," she reminded him.
"I know, but you shouldn’t put food in there yet. You should be drinking lots of fluids." He picked up his juice from the nightstand and held it up. "Here, drink this and see how your stomach handles it."
Lorelai groaned with discomfort as she sat up for the first time in several hours. She took the cup of juice and sipped it slowly. Luke watched her, rubbing her leg through the blanket. She drank half of it, then handed the cup back to him to set on the nightstand. She leaned her head against the headboard and closed her eyes.
"You want me to leave so you can go back to sleep?" Luke asked.
Lorelai shook her head, then opened her eyes. "Can you stay with me?" she asked hopefully.
"What. . .like, lie down with you?"
Lorelai nodded. "Please?"
Luke shrugged and stood up. He took off his shoes, then walked around to the other side of the bed and climbed under the covers. Lorelai snuggled up to him and rested her head against his chest. He brought his arms up around her and held her. "Thank you," she mumbled. Luke kissed the top of her head, then closed his eyes.
* * *
Several hours later, they were both sitting on the bed playing cards while Lorelai snacked on crackers. Luke watched her as she took a bite of one. "You’re getting crumbs all over the bed," he pointed out.
Lorelai took another bite. "Point?"
"That is my point," Luke said. "I don’t like sleeping with crumbs. It feels like you’re sleeping with sand, only it’s worse because the crumbs attract bugs, so then not only are you sleeping with crumbs, but then you’ve also got the bugs in there, too."
"Actually, you probably won’t be sleeping with bugs *and* crumbs because the bugs would probably eat the crumbs, so you’d just be sleeping with the bugs," Lorelai pointed out. "Duh."
Luke pursed his lips. "I’m so glad that you’re feeling better and have gotten that quick verbal thing back."
Lorelai smiled. "Thank you." She lifted up her shirt to expose her stomach and she rubbed it lightly. "Yeah, my pal’s feeling better now. I think by tomorrow it will be completely prepared for a burger and fries."
"No way," Luke replied, shaking his head. "You can’t go putting fried food into it right away. . .you have to give it time to strengthen back up. If you put heavy food in it too soon, it’ll put a damper on the whole ‘getting better’ process."
Lorelai smiled to herself as she collected the cards. "When did you become such a virus expert?"
Luke shrugged. "I took care of my dad when he was sick. I learned a few things."
Lorelai’s eyes widened slightly. "Oh."
"Yeah."
"Okay. . .so, no fried food. Can I at least have some coffee now?" she asked, leaning toward him and pouting. "I’m getting desperate. I’ll do anything you want, pleeeeease!"
Luke stared at her for a moment before he said, "Okay, just a little bit, though." He climbed off the bed. "And I’m not making it strong."
"Okay, anything’ll do, just hurry!" she urged him. Luke walked out of the room, and Lorelai put the cards back in the box and tossed it on the floor. He returned a few minutes later with a cup of coffee, and she took a long sip and moaned happily. "Ahhh, that’s good stuff."
"Don’t drink it too fast, I’m sure that’s not good for your stomach," Luke said. "Especially since it’s not even good for a healthy stomach."
"Yeah, yeah, yeah." She waved him off and set the mug down. She glanced at the clock. "Oh my God, it’s two already?"
"Yup. What do you wanna do now?"
Lorelai shrugged. "Just watch TV, I guess." She picked up the remote and turned the television on. "I think Judge Judy’s on."
Luke rolled his eyes and stood up. "Okay, you watch that while I go work in the yard. Holler out the window if you need me." He leaned down and said, "That’s if you *need* something important – do not call me all the way up here to complain about somebody on the stupid show."
Lorelai frowned. "But it’s always better making fun of people with someone else!"
"Don’t do it," he said sternly. He kissed her cheek, then walked out of the room.
* * *
Twenty minutes later, Lorelai heard footsteps on the staircase and she looked toward the doorway expectantly. There was a knock on the doorframe, then a voice asked, "Are you decent?"
Lorelai smiled. "No, Sookie, I tend to just lie around completely naked when I’m sick."
"Oh, well, I’ll wait for you to get dressed then," Sookie replied. "Tell me when you’re done."
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Get in here, Sookie."
"Oh, that was fast," she said as she walked into the room. "How’re you feeling?"
"Better," Lorelai replied. "Come sit down."
Sookie sat down on the bed facing Lorelai. "I brought you some soup, but Luke said you might not be ready to eat it yet. It’s down in the fridge."
"Aww, thanks Sookie," Lorelai replied. She rolled her eyes and said, "Yeah, he’s monitoring my levels of food intake – I’m slowly building up toward more solid foods."
Sookie smiled. "Wow, he finally gets a chance to control your eating habits. He’s always dreamed of that."
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, well, he better not get used to it." She paused a moment, then glanced toward the door and whispered, "Can you shut that?" Sookie nodded and shut the door, then sat back down.
Lorelai lowered her voice. "He’s been taking care of me all day, and usually when I’m sick, I just like to be left alone, but . . . " She smiled and shook her head slightly. "It’s so cute watching him snap into caretaker mode. He’s been lying down with me, playing cards with me, watching TV with me, getting me whatever I need. It’s just been so great having him around. It makes being sick go by faster, you know?"
Sookie smiled and patted Lorelai’s knee. "I know what you mean."
Lorelai glanced down and examined her fingernails. "You know how when you and Jackson first decided to move in together, you were afraid that seeing each other everyday might make you guys get sick of each other?"
Sookie nodded. "Boy, do I. I worried about that so much."
Lorelai lifted her head to look at Sookie. "Well, I didn’t tell anyone this, but. . .I kinda thought about that, too."
"You did?"
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, and even though I was pretty sure it wouldn’t happen, part of me was afraid that I would get sick of him, and an even bigger part of me was afraid that . . ."
"He’d get sick of you," Sookie finished. "Yeah, I can definitely see how that would worry you."
Lorelai raised her eyebrows and smirked. "Thanks a lot, Sookie."
Sookie smiled. "I don’t mean it to sound like, ‘Oh, you’re so annoying that you should’ve been really worried.’ I just meant that I could understand where that’s coming from because that’s what I was worried about, too. I was more worried about him getting sick of me than the other way around."
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, and I was worried about both, but . . ." Lorelai stared down at her blanket and ran her fingers over the thread lines while she thought to herself. She finally glanced at Sookie and said, "Can I be completely and one hundred percent cheesy with you right now?"
Sookie smiled and nodded. "I love cheese."
Lorelai glanced back down at the blanket as she spoke softly. "It’s like, he’s around me all the time, but I still get so excited every time I do see him, Sookie, and that’s never happened to me before with someone. Not this much, anyway. I mean, when he walks into a room, my heart starts beating quicker and I just get this feeling of relief that he’s there. Just. . .being around him makes me happier than when I’m not, you know?"
Sookie smiled and nodded. "I know exactly what you mean."
Lorelai nodded. "And even when we’re being intimate and stuff. . . I mean, even though we’ve done it so many times, it hasn’t gotten boring or mechanical like it does in some relationships. I mean, even when he holds my hand or strokes my hair or runs his hands over my back. . .even little things like that still make my heart start racing and make chills run through my body. I’ve never had that happen with someone so far into a relationship. Usually those things tend to fade away, but. . .this time it’s different. That’s why I know it’s something special." She sighed softly and glanced up at Sookie, who stared back at her with wide eyes. "Too corny?"
Sookie smiled and shook her head. "No, that’s beautiful, honey."
Lorelai smiled and casually glanced past Sookie toward the closet, and her eyes suddenly locked onto something.
After several seconds, Sookie asked, "What are you looking at?" She followed Lorelai’s gaze and saw the garment bag containing her wedding dress hanging up in the closet. She turned back to Lorelai with widened eyes. "Have you been thinking about. . ." Her voice trailed off as she gestured to her dress.
Lorelai smiled and slowly nodded.
Sookie gasped and clapped both hands over her mouth. "Oh my God! That’s so exciting!" she exclaimed, the words muffled by her hands.
Lorelai shook her head. "He’s not ready."
Sookie removed her hands and frowned. "How do you know?"
Lorelai sighed and leaned back against the headboard. "The subject came up and he said he’s not ready to talk about it."
"And did you tell him that you were?" Sookie asked.
"No, I told him that I’m not ready to talk about it either," Lorelai replied. "I didn’t want to rush him so I told him that I haven’t really thought about it, but the truth is. . ."
"You’ve been thinking about it," Sookie finished.
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I have. I mean, I know it’s only been a few months, but I just. . .I’ve never felt like this before, Sookie. This is what I’ve imagined it would feel like when I’m with the person who I’m supposed to be with, you know?" She was quiet for a few seconds, then smiled to herself. "Sometimes I pretend that we’re married."
Sookie grinned. "I do that with Jackson. I mean, we’re already living together, it won’t be much different, right?"
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Right." She paused a moment, then added, "I think it’ll happen eventually. . .I mean, it’s the next logical step, right?"
"Right," Sookie agreed. "Now all you can do is sit here and wonder about how long eventually is. . .months, years, decades."
"I hate not knowing," Lorelai said.
"It’s a part of life," Sookie said, falling back onto the bed and staring up at the ceiling.
Lorelai groaned and made a face. "That part of life sucks." They were both silent for a few minutes until Lorelai finally said, "Sookie?"
"Hmm?"
"Can you please go sneak around the warden and bring me up some of your soup?" she begged. "I’m dying of starvation here."
Sookie smiled and sat up. "Sure. Anything else while I’m down there?"
Lorelai shook her head. "Nah, that’s it. . .then you can come back up here and tell me cheesy things about you and Jackson."
Sookie smiled. "Will do. Be right back."
* * *
A few hours later, Lorelai, tired of the bedroom scenery, had moved down to the living room. Luke sat at one end of the couch as Lorelai lay across it with her feet propped up on him, and he rubbed them while they watched Footloose.
"You know, this isn’t a good movie to watch when I’m sick," Lorelai commented.
"Why not?"
"Because this soundtrack is like one of the greatest movie soundtracks ever and I just wanna get up and dance every time a song comes on, but the sharp pain in my side is preventing me from doing so," Lorelai said.
"I thought that pain was gone."
"It comes and goes," Lorelai replied. "It’ll be throbbing one minute, then mild the next."
"Oh."
"Can you get up and dance for me?" Lorelai asked.
"No."
Lorelai pouted. "Please?"
Luke stared at her for a moment. "Maybe later."
Lorelai gasped. "Really?"
He shook his head. "No."
Lorelai frowned at him and turned back to the movie.
* * *
When the movie was almost over, a car horn honked from outside. "Agh, that’s Rory!" Lorelai screamed excitedly.
Luke groaned and rubbed his ear. "Yes, and now all of Stars Hollow knows it." He turned off the television and stood up. "Stay here."
Lorelai sat up. "Stay here?"
"Yes, she’ll be in the house in a few seconds, there’s no point in wasting your energy going out there to see her," Luke said.
Lorelai stood up and wrapped her blanket around her shoulders. "I want to." She grimaced slightly, but began following Luke to the front door. He pulled it open and they stepped onto the porch as Rory and Christopher were climbing out of the car.
"Hey Mom!" Rory called. "Hey Luke!"
Luke walked down toward the car as Lorelai smiled and waved from the porch.
Luke greeted Rory with a hug. "Hey, glad you’re home," he said.
"Thanks." Rory pulled back and glanced toward Lorelai, narrowing her eyes at the blanket wrapped around her. "What’s wrong with her?"
"She’s sick," Luke said.
"Aw." Rory frowned as she walked toward the porch. Luke walked over to Christopher and helped him unload the trunk.
Rory ran up the steps to Lorelai. "Hey Mom!"
"Ah, I missed you, get over here!" Lorelai exclaimed, pulling her into a tight hug.
"I missed you, too." Rory kissed her on the cheek and said, "Are you okay? Luke said you’re sick."
"Yeah, it’s just a stomach virus," Lorelai said. "Forget about it. How was your trip?"
Rory smiled. "Good, it was good. I’ll tell you about it later." She bit her lip and narrowed her eyes with uncertainty. "But are you sure you’re okay? You look like – "
Lorelai held up her hand. "Judging from the expression on your face and the tone of your voice, I’m guessing that the possibility of you finishing that sentence with something along the lines of ‘a million bucks’ is less likely then you finishing it with something along the lines of ‘a piece of crap.’ My tip is, don’t finish it."
Rory smiled. "Okay, sorry. Let’s go inside." They walked slowly into the house and headed toward the sofa. Lorelai started to sit down, but then said, "Wait."
"What is it?" Rory asked, taking a step back.
"I wanna show you something." Lorelai dropped her blanket on the couch, then turned around and lifted up her shirt. "Check it out."
Rory gasped loudly. "Oh my God!" She reached out and felt the heart tattoo. "Mom, is that real?"
"Is what real?" a voice asked. Both girls looked up and saw Christopher and Luke walk into the living room with Rory’s luggage. Luke saw what they were doing and smiled. "Oh, that."
"What is it?" Christopher asked, walking over to them. "Oh my God!" His eyes widened and he reached out to feel it.
"Why does everyone always feel the need to touch it?" Lorelai asked with a laugh.
"Because we need to make sure it’s not a mirage," Rory said.
"Wow, Lor. . .nice," Christopher commented, nodding approvingly.
"Thank you," she said as she pulled her shirt back down. She sat down on the couch and pulled the blanket around her. "It’s sexy, it’s cool, its . . . gonna fade away in three weeks."
Rory smiled. "So it’s fake?"
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah." She felt a pain in her stomach and winced. "Ah, pain."
"You okay?" Christopher asked.
"Stomach virus," Lorelai replied.
Christopher frowned sympathetically. "Oh, not good. How long have you had it?"
"Today and yesterday," she replied. "It’s not the ‘throw up all the time’ kind, it’s just the ‘severe nausea and pain’ kind. It’s much better than it was, though."
"Good, that’s good," Christopher replied.
Luke walked over and stood behind Lorelai. "Uh, you want something to drink?" he asked Christopher.
"Nah, I’m good, thanks," he replied. "I better get going, actually." He leaned down and kissed Lorelai on the cheek. "Feel better, Lor."
"Thanks," she replied. "And thanks for returning her in one piece."
Christopher smiled. "My pleasure." He reached across the couch and shook Luke’s hand. "See ya."
"Take care," Luke replied.
Christopher put an arm around Rory’s shoulder. "Come walk me out, kiddo."
Rory smiled. "Okay."
As Rory and Christopher walked outside, Luke put his hands on Lorelai’s shoulders and rubbed them. Lorelai tilted her head back to look up at him, and he leaned down and kissed her upside down. She reached up and stroked his face with her hands as she kissed him back.
When he heard Rory walk back in, Luke pulled away from the kiss, but not before she saw them. She smiled and said, "Sorry, don’t let me interrupt your Spiderman-inspired moment there."
"Get over here," Lorelai said, patting the seat next to her. "Let’s exchange stories."
* * *
Over an hour later, they were still sitting on the couch talking when Luke walked in from the kitchen and sat down in the armchair. "You done gossiping yet?"
"Just about. . .why’d you leave in the middle of the conversation?" Lorelai asked.
"Because when she finished talking about her sightseeing and delved into the personal lives of Chris and Sherry, I decided the basics of the trip were finished and that I didn’t need to hear anymore," Luke said.
"You missed all the juicy stuff," Lorelai said. She yawned and leaned her head against the arm of the couch. "Ugh, I’m so tired."
"Aw, this sickness has been wearing you out, huh?" Rory asked.
"Mmhmm," she mumbled as she closed her eyes.
Luke cleared his throat. "Uh, Rory, what do you say me and you go get some dinner and let your mom have the house to herself for a little while?"
Rory glanced over at him and smiled. "Sure, okay." She turned to Lorelai and patted her on the back. "You want us to bring you back anything?"
"A cheeseburger," she muttered. "I need real food."
Luke rolled his eyes. "No, you’re not ready for food like that yet." Rory walked toward the front door as Luke walked over to Lorelai and kissed her on the cheek. "Bye."
"Bye."
Luke grabbed his wallet from the desk as he walked to the front door, and he and Rory stepped out onto the porch.
End Part 41
* * *
Part 42
Luke and Rory walked across the front yard and climbed into the Jeep. Luke started the car, then said, "Okay, this’ll be your welcome home dinner, so you pick the restaurant."
"Cool, thanks. Um, have any preferences?" Rory asked.
"Well, I’ll probably get a salad, so as long as you pick a place that has that, I’ll be all set," Luke replied.
Rory rubbed her hands together. "Ooh, you’ve just given me so much power, Luke."
"Yeah, well. . .hurry up and use it, I’m hungry," he replied.
Rory rubbed her chin with her fingertips and thought for a moment, then said, "Teriyaki Joe’s."
Luke made a face. "Teriyaki Joe’s?"
Rory frowned. "What’s wrong with TJ’s? They have good food. . . it’s a little spicy for some people, but it’s still good. Plus, they have salad, thereby meeting your criterion for an acceptable dining establishment." She pouted and put her hands together. "Please, Luke, please, please, please?"
Luke let out a small laugh. "You’re an exact replica of your mother sometimes."
Rory grinned. "Thank you. I’ll take that as a compliment."
"You definitely should," he said. "Okay, Teriyaki Joe’s, it is."
Rory smiled at him. "Thank you."
"You’re welcome," he replied. He backed out of the driveway and headed toward the restaurant.
"I feel so bad that Mom’s sick," Rory said.
"Yeah, me too," Luke said. "Though it’s easier to keep up with her when she’s weak since she doesn’t talk as fast. But that’s probably from the lack of coffee."
Rory smiled. "Yeah, probably." She shook her head slightly. "I still can’t believe she got a tattoo. It looks so real."
"Yeah, it does," Luke said. "I thought it was, too, when I saw it for the first time."
Rory’s eyes widened. "You mean, you didn’t know she was gonna get one?"
"Nope, she surprised me with it just like you," Luke said.
"Huh, I thought you were with her when she got it," Rory said.
"Well, I kind of was," Luke replied. "We went shopping and we split up for a little while and went into separate stores, and that’s when she got it. She showed me when we got home."
"Oh," Rory replied. "Did she get it done around here?"
"Uh, no, it was a little. . .uh, shop in Hartford." He glanced at Rory uncomfortably, hoping that she wouldn’t ask any more questions about the store.
"Did you take a picture of it? She should get a picture of it before it fades," Rory said. "You know, just to remember that she went out and got one, you know?"
"Uh, yeah, good idea," Luke said. "We’ll have to remember to do that." A minute later, as he pulled up to the restaurant, he said, "Here we are." He parked on the street out front and they walked inside.
* * *
Ten minutes later, they had ordered their food and their drinks had just been served. Luke sipped his tea, then folded his hands in his lap and glanced around the crowded restaurant. He brought his gaze to Rory and said, "So. . .from your trip recap earlier, it sounds like you had a good time with your Dad, huh?"
Rory shrugged. "Yeah, it was all right."
Surprised, Luke raised his eyebrows. "Just all right? From the way you were talking, it sounded like you couldn’t wait to go back next month."
"That’s true, I can’t wait. . .because Boston’s great, I love it there," Rory said. "The museums, the sights, Harvard. . .there’s so much to do there."
"But?" Luke prompted.
Rory sighed. "But sometimes. . . I don’t know, it’s just different being with my dad than with Mom, you know?"
"What do you mean?" he asked.
"I mean, well. . ." Rory thought for a moment as she took a sip of her soda. "I guess I mean that my dad is just. . .my dad but my mom is. . .my friend *and* my mom, you know? It’s hard to explain," Rory said. "But I always find myself acting differently around him, and especially Sherry, as if I’m trying to make a good impression or something, but. . .I shouldn’t have to do that with my own dad. I should be able to be casual and be myself and not worry about what they think of me, you know?"
"I get it," Luke said.
Rory gestured toward him. "I mean, the way I act with you is the way I should be able to act with him," she said quietly. "I can be myself when I’m hanging out with you. You know me better than he does, you know more about me – you were the one who was there when I was growing up."
Luke shrugged and shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Oh, well, I’m sure he wanted to – "
"No, he didn’t," Rory interrupted, shaking her head. "He could’ve if he wanted to, but he didn’t." Rory stared down at the table for a few seconds, then brought her gaze back up to Luke. "I mean, sometimes it seems like he’s trying too hard to recreate what I have with Mom, you know?"
Luke nodded.
"And. . .I don’t know, sometimes I just feel like holding up a sign that says ‘Never gonna happen’ or something because there’s no way he can have something like that." Rory shook her head slightly. "I’m sorry, I don’t mean to unload all of this on you."
Luke shook his head. "I don’t mind at all. Say what you need to say, get it off your chest."
Rory gave him an appreciative smile. "Thanks." She took a sip of soda, then said, "I mean, I know he’s my dad, and I love him and all. . .but as much as he aspires to have that casual, sarcastic parent/daughter relationship like me and Mom have, he’s never gonna get there. It’s like he thinks I’m gonna say, ‘Hey, you know how you practically abandoned me for the first fifteen years of my life? Well, since you took me to that play last night, all is forgotten.’" Rory scoffed. "I mean, it doesn’t work like that."
"Yeah, it must be tough," Luke said, nodding understandably. "I mean, for you having to always try to push those thoughts aside and focus on the moment."
"Yeah, sometimes it is," Rory said, nodding. Their conversation was interrupted by the waiter bringing their food, and they were quiet for a few minutes while they settled into eating. Finally, Rory looked up and said, "Luke?"
Luke looked up from his plate. "Huh?"
She glanced down at her food and stabbed a piece of chicken with her fork. "I’ve never said this to you before but. . ."
"Yeah?" he prompted.
She placed the piece of chicken in her mouth and chewed it slowly, then said, "I’ve always thought of you as. . .you know, a father-figure type of person."
Luke smiled shyly. "Oh yeah?"
Rory nodded. "Yeah. . .you know, you were the one guy who was always there when I was growing up. I mean, granted it might not have been that way if you didn’t make the best coffee and burgers in town," she added with a laugh. "But that’s how it turned out, so. . .you know, you were always around. You . . .well, you were always more like a dad than my real dad was . . .and now that you’re with Mom, it makes it seem even more like that." She paused a moment, then asked, "I’m sorry, does that freak you out to have me say that?"
Luke smiled. "No, not at all," he said, shaking his head. "Uh, the feeling’s mutual."
Rory smiled. "Oh yeah? You think of me as a father-figure type of person?" she teased.
"No, I meant that. . ."
"You’ve had visions of me taking you to the park and buying you ice cream just like I used to have of you?" Rory asked. "Did you want me to buy you a pony, too?"
Luke rolled his eyes and sighed. "You are your mother’s daughter."
Rory smiled. "I know."
Luke shoved a forkful of salad into his mouth. "It ain’t a bad trait to have."
Rory nodded and ate a few bites of her food. She smiled to herself, then said, "While we’re on the subject. . .what’s the deal with you two?"
Luke stopped in mid-chewing and brought his gaze up to her. "What do you mean?" he asked, his mouth full of salad. He swallowed it down and took a sip of tea.
"Oh, I think you know what I mean," Rory said, smiling. "You guys are living together, all seems well. . .what happens next?"
Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "Did she put you up to this?"
"What?" Surprised, Rory shook her head. "No, not at all."
Luke sighed softly. "I don’t know. . .we just need more time."
"We. . .or you?" Rory asked hesitantly.
"We," Luke reiterated. "It’s definitely we. We’ve talked about it very briefly, and it’s a mutual feeling that we don’t wanna rush into anything."
"But do you. . ." Rory started. She paused and shook her head. "Never mind, it’s none of my business, I’m sorry."
"What?" Luke asked.
"Nah, I don’t wanna pry," Rory said.
"It can’t hurt to ask. If I think you’re prying, I just won’t answer," Luke said with a shrug.
"Okay," Rory said. She took a deep breath, then asked, "Uh, the thing that you don’t want to rush into. . .do you think you want it to happen. . .eventually?"
Luke’s face tightened. He nervously stared down at his plate and began pushing his food around aimlessly with his fork. Rory stared at him for almost thirty seconds before she finally decided that he wasn’t going to answer. Slightly embarrassed, she muttered, "I’m sorry" and went back to eating.
Luke finally looked up from his plate. Rory stopped eating and stared at him expectantly. He swallowed hard before he slowly nodded. "Yes."
A slow smile appeared on Rory’s face and she tilted her head. "You do? Really?"
"Eventually," he said firmly. "That doesn’t mean soon. That means eventually, like . . .you know, eventually."
Rory smiled. "Eventually, yes, I get it." She rubbed her hands together. "Oh my God, that’s so exciting!"
"Rory, do not mention this to your mother," Luke said sternly. "I don’t want her getting all anxious or nervous or anything, okay? I don’t know how long eventually will end up being."
Rory nodded. "My lips are sealed. We never had this conversation."
"Thank you." Luke took a sip of tea, then continued eating.
They ate quietly for a few minutes before Rory said, "Luke?"
He looked up. "What?"
"I just want you to know that. . .I’m glad it’s gonna happen eventually," Rory said quietly. "I mean, you and her. . .it just seems right."
Luke smiled and nodded, then went back to eating his salad.
* * *
Fifteen minutes later, they walked out of the restaurant and climbed into the Jeep.
"Thanks for dinner," Rory said.
"You’re welcome," Luke replied as he started the car.
"Uh, would you mind dropping me off at Dean’s?" Rory asked. "He doesn’t know I’m home yet."
"Oh, sure, yeah," Luke replied. They drove silently toward Peach Street, and as Luke pulled up in front of the house, he said, "Here you go."
Rory pushed open her door. "Thanks Luke," she said as she climbed out. "Bye."
"Bye." Luke smiled as she waved and shut the door. He watched her walk up to the house and knock on the front door. Someone answered, and as she disappeared into the house, he pulled away.
* * *
A few minutes later, he arrived home and found Lorelai asleep on the couch. He picked up her feet from the cushion and sat down, then rested them on his lap. He grabbed the remote from the coffee table and turned the television on.
Almost twenty minutes later, Lorelai stirred slightly and opened her eyes. She blinked a few times before she glanced over at Luke. "Hey."
Luke turned toward her and smiled. "Hi."
She rubbed her eyes as she sat up. "Where’d you guys go for dinner?"
"Teriyaki Joe’s," Luke replied.
Lorelai gave a surprised smile. "Wow, how’d she talk you into that?"
"She has her mother’s pout," Luke grumbled, rolling his eyes.
Lorelai laughed quietly. "Yeah, I’ve told her that pout’s all she needs to get through life."
"Yeah, well, she’s got it down," Luke said. He turned off the television. "How ya feeling?"
"Hungry," she moaned. She slowly stood up from the couch.
"Where are you going?" Luke asked, standing up with her.
"Bathroom. Can you heat me up some more of Sookie’s soup?" Lorelai asked.
"Yeah, sure," Luke said. He walked toward the kitchen as Lorelai walked slowly toward the bathroom.
A few minutes later, she walked into the kitchen, her arms folded across her chest as she shivered. "Man, it’s cold in here."
Luke set the bowl of soup down on the table. "Here, come eat. Or do you want it in the living room?"
She walked toward the table. "No, this is fine, thanks." She sat down and glanced at Rory’s darkened bedroom. "Is Rory here?"
"Uh, no, I dropped her off at Dean’s."
Lorelai nodded and inhaled the aroma of the soup. "Mm, this is awesome soup. Have you tried it?"
"No, but if Sookie made it, I’m sure it’s great," Luke replied. He poured her a glass of iced tea and set it in front of her, then sat down with her.
"Mmhmm." She ate a spoonful of soup, then sat back in her chair and smiled at him. "So. . ."
"So. . .what?" Luke asked.
Lorelai leaned toward him and rested her elbows on the table. "You’re so cute."
"I know," he replied.
Lorelai smiled. "I don’t mean physically."
Luke frowned. "Thanks," he said dryly.
Lorelai laughed and grabbed his hand. "No, no, I mean you are, but that’s not what I meant! I just meant, you’re so cute how you’ve been taking care of me all day." She kissed his hand and smiled at him. "Thank you."
Luke shrugged. "Yeah, well. . .you’re welcome. I just want you to feel better."
Lorelai smiled. "And I do, much better than this morning. There’s still a little pain in my stomach, but I’m not nauseous anymore."
"Yeah, that pain’ll probably be there for another day or two," Luke said. "It’s from throwing up."
"But I only threw up once."
"I know, but when you did, it irritated the actual muscles of the stomach, so it’ll take some time for them to get back to normal," Luke explained.
Lorelai shook her head slightly. "Thank you, Doctor Danes." She smiled and raised her eyebrows. "Mm, there’s a nice little role playing idea. You’re the doctor, I’m the patient. . .could be fun."
"Could be," he agreed. "If we were six years old."
Lorelai smiled. "Oh, trust me, it’ll be fun. And as soon as my womanly duties are over, I’ll show you."
"Mmhmm." He stood up and walked over to the refrigerator. He pulled it open and said, "We need to go shopping soon."
"Make a list," Lorelai said. "Ooh, you know what, actually, grab a pad and pen. We need to start working on the menu for the shower."
Luke closed the refrigerator and pulled open the junk drawer. He rummaged around until he found a notepad and a pen, then he sat back down at the table.
* * *
The next morning, the alarm woke Lorelai up out of a sound sleep and she groaned loudly as she shut it off. She nudged Luke with her elbow. "Time to get up," she muttered.
"I know, I heard," he replied groggily. He slowly sat up and pushed the covers off of him. "You going into work today?"
She rolled over onto her back. "Yeah, I think so. I don’t feel sick except for this little pain right here," she said, patting the side of her stomach. "Which you’ve informed me is a physical pain and not because of sickness."
"Yeah, it’s the actual stomach muscle that’s aggravated," Luke said.
Lorelai rolled her eyes and held up her hand for him to stop. "Don’t go into it again. You explained it three different times last night. Rory and I are both now thoroughly aware of how throwing up affects our internal organs. . .which, I must say, was a successful deterrent from us becoming bulimic."
"Okay, okay, I won’t mention it again," Luke said. He climbed out of bed and walked over to the door. "I’m gonna go take a shower," he said, gesturing toward the bathroom. She nodded. He stared at her for a few seconds, then gestured to the bathroom again. "I’m gonna go take a shower," he repeated.
Lorelai smiled. "Oh, sorry, was that an invitation?"
"Yes, it was. Are you accepting it?"
"Yes, I am," she replied. She threw the covers off and climbed out of bed, then grabbed her robe and followed him to the bathroom.
* * *
Forty-five minutes later, Luke had left for the diner and Lorelai was sitting at the kitchen table reading the newspaper. Rory’s bedroom door opened and she walked out in her pajamas. "Hey."
Lorelai smiled. "Hey you."
Rory slid into the seat across from Lorelai and rubbed her eyes. "So, you look better."
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I think it was just a twenty-four hour bug or something. Now the only pain is the – "
"The stomach muscles. . .yeah, I remember," Rory said, making a face.
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah, I told him that we’ve heard the story quite enough."
"Where is he? Did he go to work already?" Rory asked, glancing toward the living room.
"Yup. I’m gonna head to the diner for breakfast soon if you wanna come," Lorelai said.
"Oh, yeah, that sounds good," Rory said. "I just need to take a quick shower."
"Okay, hurry up," Lorelai urged. Rory walked into her bedroom and grabbed some clothes, then went to take a shower.
Half an hour later, they both walked out the front door. Babette was on her front porch watering her flowers, and she looked over when she heard a door slam. She set the watering can down and rushed off her porch, calling, "Lorelai! Hold on there, doll!"
Lorelai and Rory stopped in the middle of their yard as Babette hurried over to them. "How are ya, honey? Feeling better?"
"Oh, yeah, I’m much better, thanks," Lorelai replied.
Babette smiled and put her hand on Lorelai’s stomach. "Luke told me you had stomach pains and a nauseous feeling – you know what that means!"
Lorelai glanced down at Babette’s hand and narrowed her eyes. "Uh, no, what does that mean?"
"It means that someone’s got a bun in the oven!" Babette exclaimed. She clasped her hands together. "Oh God, this is so exciting! I knew this would happen one day!"
Rory’s eyes widened. "What?" She looked at Lorelai expectantly. "Mom?"
Lorelai gasped. "Babette! It doesn’t mean that!" She turned to Rory and rolled her eyes. "It doesn’t mean that, hon. I’m not pregnant. And people shouldn’t be spreading that rumor," she said loudly, jerking her head back to Babette. "Right?"
Babette frowned. "You mean there’s no. . ." She gestured to Lorelai’s stomach.
"There’s practically nothing in there but Sookie’s homemade soup, Babette," Lorelai said, rolling her eyes. "Bye."
With a disappointed look on her face, Babette muttered, "Bye" and walked toward her house.
Lorelai put her arm around Rory and led her toward the car. "Can you believe that? Geez." They climbed into the Jeep and drove to the diner. They parked across the street near the gazebo, and as they climbed out, they noticed Patty walking toward them, waving excitedly. "Lorelai, hello!"
Lorelai and Rory stood on the sidewalk as Patty walked over. "Hey Patty," Lorelai said. "What’s up?"
"Well, a little bird told me that maybe you’re getting a new addition to the house, and I’m not talking about construction work," Patty said with wide eyes. "Oh, I couldn’t believe it!"
Lorelai groaned. "And would the little bird happen to go by the name Babette?"
"Oh, dear, I never reveal my sources," Patty said slyly. She rubbed her hands together excitedly and said, "So, how far along are you?"
As Lorelai scoffed loudly, Rory rolled her eyes and said, "It’s not true, Patty." She grabbed Lorelai’s hand and pulled her toward the diner. Patty stared after them looking confused.
As they walked toward the diner, Kirk walked out and took a few steps toward them. "Oh, Lorelai, good. I wanted to know – "
Lorelai held up both of her hands. "Kirk, if you say something regarding the false rumor that I’m pregnant, I will have Luke out here in ten seconds to put you in a headlock!"
With wide-eyes, Kirk backed away from her. "I just wanted to know if you wanted me to bring anything to Sookie’s shower, but. . .I’ll check back with you later." He turned around and ran down the street.
Lorelai sighed and turned to Rory. "Oops."
Rory patted her on the back. "Forget about it. Let’s go in."
As they walked into the diner, several people looked at them and started whispering. They sat down at a table and Luke immediately walked over to them. "Okay, four people have come up and congratulated me this morning," Luke said. "You wanna tell me why the hell that is?"
Lorelai covered her face with her hands. "Oh God," she muttered.
"Somehow a rumor got started that. . . .Mom’s pregnant," Rory said.
"Which isn’t true," Lorelai added, staring up at Luke.
Luke narrowed his eyes. "How did it get started?"
Lorelai shrugged. "You mentioned to Babette that I had stomach problems, and she interpreted it differently than you had intended her to."
Luke sighed. "Great, this is what I get for talking to people."
"It doesn’t matter, we know it’s not true," Lorelai said. "If they don’t believe us now, when they realize, as the weeks go by, that I’m not getting any bigger, it’ll tip them off that it was just a rumor."
"Yeah, I guess," Luke said, glancing around at the other customers. "Though, right now it seems like everyone in here is staring at us and wondering what kind of baby presents to buy us."
"Yeah, well, we could go along with the rumor, get a bunch of presents, return them all, and then keep the money. What do you say?" Lorelai asked.
"I don’t think so," Luke replied.
"Okay, well, then just forget them and bring us two stacks of your fluffiest pancakes, please," Lorelai said.
"With bacon," Rory added.
"And coffee," Lorelai said. "As fast as humanly possible." She clapped her hands quickly and added, "Chop chop! Quick, hurry, come on, run! We’re hungry!"
Luke glared at her with a stern face. Lorelai frowned and sank back against her chair. "Sorry, take your time." Luke smirked and walked toward the kitchen.
Rory smiled at Lorelai. "What was that? You never succumb to his looks, it’s always the other way around."
"Yeah, well, let me explain a little something to you about relationships," Lorelai said.
"I’m listening intently," Rory replied.
"Well, an important part of any relationship is letting the other person think they have some control," Lorelai explained. "Now, by occasionally succumbing to his stern looks and letting him think that he has a little power in the relationship, it keeps him happy yet still enables me to maintain my own power."
"Ah," Rory said knowingly.
"Get it?"
"Got it. You’re very wise," Rory said.
Lorelai shrugged. "Yeah, well, you live and learn."
* * *
The next afternoon, Lorelai walked into the almost-empty diner, nodding hello toward the other two customers. She walked over and tapped her hands on the counter a few times as she called, "Luke, are you back there?"
A few seconds later, Luke walked out of the kitchen with a dishtowel draped over his shoulder. "Hey. What’s up?"
"I need the checkbook," Lorelai said. "I have to go to Weston’s and order some stuff for the shower."
"It’s outside in the glove box of the truck," he replied.
"Okay, thanks." Lorelai smiled and pointed to the specials’ board. "You can probably erase that now. I think the rumor’s officially dead."
Luke glanced up at the sign, which said, ‘No, she’s not pregnant’ in large block letters. "Yeah, well, just to make sure, I’ll leave it up for the rest of the day and take it down before I come
home."Lorelai smiled. "Okay. I’ll see you after Friday night dinner."
"Have fun," Luke teased.
Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Sure you don’t wanna come with us?"
"No thanks," he replied. He leaned across the counter and kissed her. "Bye."
"Bye." Lorelai turned around and walked out of the diner.
* * *
Later that night, at the Gilmore mansion, Lorelai and Rory sat in the living room sipping their drinks while Emily took Richard a drink in his study. When she returned, she poured herself a glass of wine and sat down across from the girls with a sigh.
"Uh, something wrong, Mom?" Lorelai asked.
Emily glanced toward the hallway. "Well, with your father starting up his own firm and everything, he’s just been so busy lately. I mean, I hardly see the man anymore. I call him for a meal, we eat, and then he goes right back into that study."
"Aw, Mom, he’s just busy getting everything together," Lorelai said. "I’m sure once the firm gets settled, he won’t be quite as busy. It’s just. . .the whole process of getting it started is probably a lot of work."
Emily nodded. "I know, you’re probably right. . . I just wish he’d realize that Friday nights are the only time we get to see you girls, and it would be more appropriate for him to put his work aside for one night and come out here and talk to you."
"We’ll talk at dinner, Mom, it’s no big deal," Lorelai said with a shrug.
"He won’t even be here next week," Emily said, rolling her eyes.
"Where will he be?" Rory asked.
"Oh, at some insurance seminar in Albany," Emily said. "It’s a weekend conference, he’s leaving on Friday morning." She took a sip of her wine and sighed. "I didn’t expect him to be so busy so quickly. I mean, he’s already starting his business trips, which means once again I’ll be here all alone for days at a time. You know, I was just starting to get used to having him around."
Lorelai and Rory frowned at each other, both of them feeling sorry for how despondent Emily sounded. Lorelai thought for a moment, then cleared her throat and said, "Uh, Mom, you know, next Saturday we’re having Sookie’s surprise wedding shower at our house."
"Oh really?" Emily asked.
"Yeah, it should be a lot of fun," Lorelai said. "Maybe you could stop by?"
Rory glanced at Lorelai and widened her eyes with surprise. She looked toward Emily and said, "Yeah, Grandma, it’ll be fun. That way you won’t have to spend Saturday night here all alone."
"Oh, no, I couldn’t," Emily replied. "That wouldn’t be appropriate."
"Why not? Sookie knows you," Lorelai said. "She’d love to see you there."
"I don’t think – " Emily started.
"And it’s not gonna be one of those formal showers where it’s just all women sitting around drinking tea and stuff," Lorelai explained. "It’ll just be like a regular party."
"A regular party?" Emily asked.
"It’ll be fun, Grandma," Rory said. "You should definitely come. Plus, you haven’t been to our house in awhile."
"No, I haven’t," Emily said. "And it’s a very rare occasion that I’m invited, so I might as well take advantage of every opportunity that I get."
Lorelai rolled her eyes toward Rory, then turned back to Emily. "So you’ll come?"
Emily thought it over for a moment, then smiled. "Why not?"
Lorelai smiled. "Good."
"Thank you for inviting me," Emily replied. She took a sip of wine, then asked, "When is the wedding anyway?"
"Oh, a few weeks," Lorelai replied.
"A few weeks?" Emily asked, surprised. "And you’re just throwing the shower now? Showers are supposed to be held several months before the wedding. That is the traditional – "
Lorelai held up her hands. "Mom, since when do I do things traditionally?"
Emily rolled her eyes. "Good point."
* * *
Later that night, Luke was sitting on the couch watching television when the front door opened.
"Ugh, why didn’t you slap me!" Lorelai exclaimed as she walked through the door. "Why didn’t you grab me by the shoulders and shake me and say, ‘Mom, don’t you realize what you just said? Stop now, woman! Stop before someone gets hurt!’ But no, you only added to the insanity and supported my suggestion!"
"I’m sorry, I thought you were being sincere," Rory said as she followed Lorelai into the living room.
"What’s going on?" Luke asked as he muted the television.
Lorelai sighed loudly. "Luke, I just did the worst possible thing in the entire world." She collapsed onto the couch next to him.
"You’re being a tad dramatic," Rory said.
"What happened?" Luke asked.
"She invited my Grandma to Sookie’s shower," Rory told him. She walked over to the armchair and sat down.
Lorelai groaned loudly. "No, don’t keep saying it! Maybe if we don’t talk about it, it’ll turn out that it never happened, that it was just a figment of our imaginations!" She covered her face with her hands and leaned against Luke’s shoulder.
Luke narrowed his eyes at Lorelai, then looked over at Rory. "So, uh, why’d she do this?"
"Because she felt bad that my Grandma was sad about my Grandpa working so much," Rory explained. "And then my Grandma mentioned that she would be home alone next weekend, so Mom – "
"I plead temporary insanity!" Lorelai interrupted.
" – invited her to the shower," Rory finished. "You did a nice thing, Mom."
"Yeah, I bet your mom appreciates it," Luke said, rubbing Lorelai’s back. "Don’t worry about it."
"How can I not worry about it? She’ll be here. . .in my house. . .criticizing everything I say and do," Lorelai said, making a face.
"Look, you’ll probably be so wrapped up in the whole ‘hosting the shower’ duties that you won’t even notice that she’s here," Luke said. "And if she gets too annoying, we’ll just sit her down with Patty and Babette. They’ll keep her busy for awhile."
Lorelai giggled softly. "Oh, I can just imagine the look on her face after listening to them talk for a few minutes." She leaned back and stared up at the ceiling. "Maybe she won’t stay too long."
"Right, maybe she’ll get here, see that it’s not her type of party, and then leave after a few minutes, in which case all this worrying would’ve been for nothing," Luke said.
Lorelai shrugged as she stood up. "Okay, maybe I’m overreacting."
"Yeah, and that’s totally unlike you," Rory said sarcastically.
Lorelai stuck her tongue out at her before she walked toward the kitchen. "Who wants a drink?"
"Soda, please," Rory called.
"Coming up. Luke?" Lorelai called from the kitchen.
"No, thanks," he called back. He nodded toward Rory. "Hey, check out what I rented tonight." He picked up a DVD from the coffee table and tossed it to her.
Rory caught it and read the cover. "Oh cool, can we watch it now?"
"Yup, I was waiting for you guys to get home," Luke replied.
"Mom, make some popcorn!" Rory called as she put the DVD in the player.
"Okay!" Lorelai called.
"I’m gonna go change first," Rory told Luke as she walked toward her bedroom. Lorelai was setting the bag of popcorn into the microwave as Rory walked into the kitchen. "Luke rented Ocean’s 11. We’re gonna watch it now."
Lorelai smiled. "Man, does he have good taste or what?"
"Yes, he does," Rory agreed. "I’m gonna go get changed."
"Okay. I’ll get your soda, can you grab the popcorn on your way back?" Lorelai asked. Rory nodded as she walked into her room and shut the door behind her. Lorelai grabbed two cans of soda from the fridge and brought them into the living room. She set them on the coffee table, then stood in front of Luke.
She stared at him for a few seconds before she straddled his lap and kissed him. He smiled through the kiss. "Hi."
Lorelai smiled. "Hey." She leaned forward and kissed him again. His hands moved up and down her sides as he kissed her back hungrily. She pulled back and stroked his sideburns. "I’m gonna go change into my pajamas."
"Okay." He kissed her one last time before she pushed herself off of him and walked toward the staircase. "Oh, hey?"
Lorelai turned around. "Yeah?"
Luke shifted slightly in his seat and said, "Uh, you remember Kathy?"
"Kathy. . .you mean ‘I’m the girl who stole your virginity’ Kathy?" Lorelai asked, smiling.
"That’s the one," Luke said.
"What about her?" Lorelai asked.
"Uh, she called the diner tonight and asked about us getting that cup of coffee soon," Luke said.
"She called the diner? What, she got tired of waiting for you to call her?" Lorelai asked.
Luke shrugged. "I guess. . .but we’re getting together on Sunday."
"Oh."
Luke stared at her for a moment. "You’re okay with that, right?"
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Absolutely. I mean, you weren’t planning on having an affair, right?"
"No," Luke replied. He shrugged and added, "Not with her, anyway."
Lorelai smirked. "Funny."
Luke smiled. "Kidding. So. . . you’re cool with it?"
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I’m fine."
"Good."
"Yeah." She lingered on the bottom step for a moment before she gestured upstairs. "Uh, I’m gonna go get changed." Luke nodded as Lorelai turned around and climbed the steps to their bedroom.
End Part 42
* * *
Part 43
That night, Lorelai was in the bathroom brushing her teeth when Luke walked in. As she finished up, he stood behind her and watched her in the mirror. She rinsed her mouth, then stared back at his reflection questioningly. "What’s up?"
"You didn’t say much during the movie," Luke commented.
Lorelai shrugged. "I was just concentrating on watching it."
"You weren’t being your normal commentator-ish self," he said as he put his hands on her shoulders. "What’s wrong?"
"Nothing’s wrong," she replied. "I’m fine."
"Lorelai," Luke said sternly.
"Luke," Lorelai said, mocking his tone. She turned around to face him. "Nothing’s wrong. . . I was just thinking about stuff."
"Stuff. . .what kind of stuff?" Luke asked.
Not wanting to tell him that she was thinking about his upcoming get together with Kathy, Lorelai glanced down at the ground. "Just. . . I don’t know. . .stuff."
Luke stared at her for a moment before he sighed. "Oh, I get it."
Lorelai looked up at him and narrowed her eyes. "You know what I’m thinking about?"
"Yes, and you have to stop worrying about it," Luke said. "It’s no big deal."
Lorelai grimaced as she walked out of the bathroom. "I just don’t know why I’m letting her get to me."
"I know," Luke replied, nodding understandably. He followed her into the bedroom. "But it’s too late to do anything about it now. Just forget it, it’ll be over before you know it."
Lorelai nodded. "I know."
"And who knows? Maybe she’ll end up having a good time and something will click between you two and then you guys can get together more often," Luke said hopefully.
Lorelai’s eyes widened. "What?"
"Yeah. I mean, wouldn’t it be nice to be able to invite her over for dinner or something?" Luke asked. "I think it’d be good if you guys got along better. . .you know, without you getting so nervous and antsy."
Lorelai shook her head slightly in disbelief. "What?"
Luke shrugged. "Yeah, I mean, I’d like for you guys to be able to be in the same room together without a fight. And it’d probably be a lot easier for Rory, too."
Confused, Lorelai narrowed her eyes. "What does Rory have to do with any of this?"
"Well, I just think that Rory should be able to be around her without feeling like you’re going to explode at any minute," Luke said. "I know she probably wants to spend more time with Rory than she already does."
Lorelai stared at him with a look of shock. "Luke, what the hell are you talking about?"
Luke took a step back from her. "Why. . .what do you think I’m talking about?"
"I think you’re talking about Kathy . . .and if you are, you’ve got a hell of a lot of explaining to do," Lorelai said loudly. "Like, uh, why she’s spending time with Rory!"
Luke rolled his eyes. "I was talking about your mother!"
Lorelai narrowed her eyes with confusion. "My mother?"
"Yes, your mother," Luke repeated loudly. "Isn’t that what was bothering you tonight? Her coming to the shower?"
Lorelai shook her head. "No, that’s not the stuff I was thinking about! I was thinking about. . ." Her voice trailed off.
"Kathy," Luke said with an annoyed sigh.
"Kathy," she muttered as she sat down on the edge of the bed.
Luke groaned. "I thought we were past this, Lorelai. You said that you were fine with me getting together with her. You said you were okay with it, you were cool, it’s no big deal."
"I know that’s what I said," Lorelai retorted. "You think I can’t remember what I said just a few hours ago?"
"Obviously not since you’re acting the complete opposite of how a person who said that would act!" he yelled.
Lorelai jumped up off the bed. "Don’t yell at me!" she yelled back. "It’s not my fault this bothers me! I can’t help it!"
"Yes, you can!"
Lorelai scoffed. "Oh really? How?"
"You can get it through your stubborn head that me having coffee with another woman is not a big freakin’ deal!" Luke said loudly.
"Well, it is to me!" she yelled.
"Why!"
"I don’t know!"
Luke threw his hands up in frustration. "If you don’t know, then how can we do anything to fix it?"
"I don’t know that either!" Lorelai yelled.
"Well, if you don’t have enough trust in me to feel comfortable when I talk to other women, then maybe we need to sit down and have a little chat!" Luke yelled. He shook his head slightly. "And where the hell did this sudden jealousy thing come from anyway? What, are you gonna flip out every time I talk to Sookie now? Or Patty or Babette or Margie the bank teller? Should I turn the diner into a ‘Male Customers Only’ diner, will that make you feel better?"
Lorelai groaned loudly. "Stop it!"
Luke’s face was reddening as he continued, "No, wait – maybe you can make me a list of the women I can and cannot talk to, and I can carry it around with me and check it every time a person of the opposite sex is walking my way!"
"UGH! Stop being a jerk about this!" Lorelai yelled. She let out an exasperated sigh before she sat down on the bed and buried her face in her hands. Luke walked over to the window and stared out into the yard. They were both silent for several minutes, both of them breathing heavily as they tried to control their emotions.
Finally, Luke turned around and looked at her. She was leaning forward with her hands still covering her face. Luke exhaled loudly and walked over to her.
As he sat down next to her, she removed her hands from her face and folded her arms across her chest. Luke swallowed hard before he cleared his throat and said, "Look, I’m sorry. . .for getting all worked up and yelling and everything."
Lorelai was silent for a few seconds before she said quietly, "Yeah, well, I’m sorry for acting like some psychotic girlfriend who’s trying to control who you talk to." She turned to him and shook her head. "That’s not me. . .I don’t know where that’s coming from."
Luke took a deep breath. "Look, just tell me what it is. Is it. . .that you don’t trust me? I mean, I don’t think I’ve given you a reason not to, but if that’s what it is, then we should talk about that."
Lorelai shook her head. "That’s not it."
Luke shrugged. "So, then, what is it? Is the fact that I moved into your house not enough of a clue that I love you and that I’m . . . committed to you?"
She shook her head again and sighed loudly. "I seriously don’t know what it is. Just. . .picturing you going out with this strange woman – a woman who you have a history with – it just makes me feel. . .uneasy."
"Uneasy," he repeated.
"Yes, uneasy." Lorelai stood up and paced back and forth in front of him. "And I don’t know why because . . . I trust you, I love you, I know you love me, I know you’d never do anything to hurt me. . .I know all of this, yet I still find myself feeling uneasy about you going out with her." She sighed loudly and started biting her thumbnail nervously. "I don’t know what this feeling is from."
Luke reached for her arm and pulled her toward him. As she stood directly in front of him, he put his hands on her waist and looked up at her. "Well, try to figure it out so we can deal with it."
Lorelai put her hands on his shoulders and closed her eyes for a moment. "I guess, maybe. . ." She opened her eyes and stared into his as she spoke quickly, "Maybe there’s a tiny part of me that’s realizing how important you are to me, and how I’m so in love with you and how, if I find you so incredible, then there are other people out there who might realize how great you are, too. . .and I just don’t want one of them to catch your eye and . . ." She paused and swallowed hard before she finished, ". . .you know, take you away from me. Sounds stupid and petty and jealous, I know, but – "
"I feel like that sometimes, too," he interrupted quietly.
She raised her eyebrows. "You do?"
"Sure." Luke reached up and pushed her hair behind her ears. "I mean, trust me, some guys out there would do anything to get someone like you. And as much as I trust you, sometimes I get a little nervous because I know what other guys are like."
"But I don’t want another guy. . .I only want you," Lorelai insisted.
"Ditto," he replied.
Lorelai smiled. "I’m glad to hear that you don’t want another guy. . .now I can narrow my worries down to just the female population."
Luke rolled his eyes. "You know what I mean."
Lorelai smiled and leaned down to kiss him. Luke pulled back and continued, "Which is why you have nothing to worry about with me hanging out with some other girl. I mean, you just said yourself that you know I’d never hurt you."
"I know."
"You said that you trust me," Luke reminded her.
"I do," Lorelai said firmly. "I absolutely do." She bit her bottom lip for a moment, then said, "I just. . .now that I’m thinking about it. . .I think the uneasy feeling isn’t so much a ‘me questioning my trust in you’ thing as it is a ‘me not having confidence in myself’ kind of thing. It’s like, part of me is all, ‘Wow, how did I get this great guy? There must be a mistake. He’ll come to his senses one day and realize that I’m not the perfect girl he thinks I am.’ You know what I mean? And that’s why you going out with some other girl. . .well, it scares me."
Luke closed his eyes and leaned his head against her stomach. "I can’t believe you just said that," he whispered too quietly for her to hear. He pulled back and stared up at her. "I’m gonna make this short and sweet – you are the absolute last person in this world who should feel like that. There’s no one out there better than you, do you hear me?"
As a smile slowly appeared on her lips, Lorelai nodded. "I hear you, Captain."
Luke smiled. "Good." He ran his hands up and down her arms. "There. . .uneasy feeling gone?"
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Completely. I think we scared it away."
"Good." Luke wrapped his arms around her waist and hugged her tightly. As she hugged him back, he leaned backwards and they fell onto the bed.
"Luke!" she exclaimed, giggling. She sat up and straddled his stomach, and they smiled at each other. "Luke, we’re due for some major makeup sex after a fight like that."
"Yes, we are," he agreed. He began unbuttoning her pajama top, but Lorelai put her hands on top of his and shook her head.
"Not tonight, though," Lorelai said. "Maybe tomorrow night."
Luke grimaced and pulled his hands back. "Right, I forgot." He sighed. "You know, it’s better when you do it right after the fight. We really have to schedule them better so they don’t coincide with your. . .uh, thing."
Lorelai smiled. "Actually, I’m thinking that my ‘uh, thing’. . .or rather, the crabbiness that accompanies it. . .will be a big factor of many future fights, so get used to them coinciding with it."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Great."
Lorelai giggled at his disappointed look. "Aw, look at you being all sad and pouty."
"I’m not being pouty," he said dryly. "I’m just. . .uh, tired."
Lorelai frowned. "Aw, and I was just gonna suggest that we alleviate some of our sexual tension by having some ‘makeup foreplay’. . .but I guess you’re too tired," she said sadly. Luke smiled and immediately brought his hands back up to unbutton her shirt. Lorelai laughed. "I thought you might go for that."
* * *
The next morning, Lorelai walked into the kitchen as Rory was pouring some coffee at the counter. "Morning," Lorelai said.
"Hey Mom." Rory handed her a cup of coffee and Lorelai sat down at the table. As Rory poured another cup, she asked, "Uh. . . was everything okay last night? I heard yelling."
Lorelai grimaced. "Ooh, sorry, did we wake you?"
"No, I wasn’t asleep yet," Rory replied. "Uh, but . . .is everything okay?"
"Yeah, we had a little argument, everything’s good now," Lorelai assured her.
Rory nodded. "Good, I was worried." She sat down across from Lorelai. "So, what’s on the agenda for today?"
"Food shopping," Lorelai said. "But first I wanna go to the mall and get some new clothes, maybe a new dress for the shower. Hm, let’s see. . .I’ve got a passenger seat in the car that’s begging to be used. . .any takers?"
Rory raised her hand in the air and waved it around. "Me, me, pick me!"
Lorelai smiled and pointed to her. "Okay, little girl, you win a free ride to the mall. . .and if you’re really good, I’ll give you a ride home, too."
"You’re too kind," Rory replied.
* * *
A few hours later, Lorelai and Rory rushed into the diner laughing. They shut the door behind them, then stared out the window through the blinds. "Did he go inside yet?" Lorelai asked.
"I don’t think so," Rory replied.
Luke walked up behind them. "Okay, what did you do?" he asked accusingly.
They both turned around, and Lorelai gasped. "What makes you think we did something?"
"Because you look like you’re hiding from the Mob in here, so why don’t you just tell me what you did so when the police arrive I’ll have an idea of why they’re here," Luke said.
Lorelai and Rory walked over to the counter and sat down. "We did nothing that would involve the police." Lorelai thought for a moment, then said, "At least I don’t think so. It all depends on how mad Taylor gets."
Luke rolled his eyes as he walked to the other side of the counter and stood across from them. "Spill it."
Rory smiled. "Well, we’re shopping at the market and all is nice and peaceful, but then Mom bumps into Taylor, and I don’t know exactly how it happened, but they began arguing about Oreo cookies."
"He actually told me that he likes the peanut butter and chocolate cream filled ones!" Lorelai exclaimed loudly. "Can you believe that?"
Luke shook his head slightly. "Uh oh, he was asking for trouble."
"I know!" Lorelai exclaimed, her eyes widening.
Luke smiled and glanced past her, then said, "Hang on." He grabbed the coffeepot and made a quick lap around the room to refill some cups, then walked back over to them. "Go on."
"So Mom was really peeved because . . .well, you know how she gets when people don’t agree with her," Rory said. "So we’re shopping and she’s just babbling on and on about how mad Taylor made her and how she feels like doing something evil. And, finally, we make our way to the checkout line and she sees that Taylor is out front organizing his produce, and she suddenly gets this. . .bright idea."
"Which was?" Luke asked hesitantly.
"To rearrange all of his shelves," Lorelai said proudly. She giggled and added, "So if you’re shopping later and you happen to find several boxes of tampons in the refrigerator with the dairy products, you’ll know why."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Oh geez. And you, the responsible one in the family, actually helped her?" he asked Rory.
"No way, I was just the lookout." Rory smiled. "Taylor’s gonna flip out when he sees that the jars of jelly are no longer by the jars of peanut butter. He spends hours making sure that every item in that store is strategically placed in accordance to the other products around it."
Lorelai laughed. "I know. He even has a little map drawn out of where everything should go, I’ve seen it before."
"Did no one else in that store notice what you were doing?" Luke asked.
"Probably, but because they know we’re crazy, they tend to just smile and ignore us," Lorelai said.
"It’s what I try to do," Luke muttered.
"Whew, all that hard work made me hungry," Lorelai said. "Coffee and a muffin, please."
"Same here," Rory added.
Luke poured some coffee and set the mugs in front of them, then turned around to get their muffins. While his back was turned, the door flew open and Taylor rushed into the diner. "Luke, have you seen – " he started. When he saw Lorelai at the counter, his eyes widened. "Aha, just who I’m looking for!"
Lorelai turned around and grinned. "Oh, hey Taylor."
"Don’t you ‘Oh, hey Taylor’ me, young lady." He walked toward her, wagging his finger wildly. "I have several witnesses who saw what you did, Lorelai."
As the other customers turned to see what the fuss was about, Lorelai jumped up from her stool, ran around the counter, and stood behind Luke. She wrapped her arms around his waist and said, "Protect me from the scary man in the cardigan."
Luke held up his hands. "Okay, hold on here, Taylor."
"Luke, do you have any idea what she did?" Taylor asked.
"Yes, I know what she did," Luke replied.
"There’s no reason for her to cause chaos in my store just because we don’t have the same taste in cookies!" Taylor exclaimed.
"Well, she’s very passionate about junk food, Taylor," Luke informed him.
"Now, listen here, young lady. . ." Taylor started as he walked around the counter toward Lorelai.
"Uh oh, Luke doesn’t like people behind there," Rory warned him.
"I’d listen to her, Taylor," Luke said, pursing his lips and folding his arms across his chest. Taylor paused a moment and stared at Luke’s menacing scowl, then took a few steps back. "Wise move. Now, what exactly do you want? You found her, you made your point clear that you’re unhappy with her. . now you can go back to your store and fix all of your shelves back to the way they were."
Taylor folded his arms across his chest and glared at Lorelai. "Yes, that’s where I’m going, but any more incidents like this, Missy, and you will be put on full surveillance for any and all future visits to the market."
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Taylor, you desperately need to take a chill pill."
"Excuse me?" Taylor replied.
Luke rolled his eyes. "Uh, forget it."
"Hmph, well . . ." Taylor frowned and turned around. All of the customers watched as he walked out of the diner, and when the door closed behind him, Lorelai and Rory started laughing.
"Oh my God," Rory laughed. "That was so the highlight of my week!"
Lorelai patted Luke on the back. "Good job with the ‘defending your woman’ act there."
Luke rolled his eyes. "I have a feeling I’m gonna have to do that a lot."
"You know, we never did buy our food, Mom," Rory said.
"Well, we don’t know where anything is now," Lorelai said. "We’ll go back later when he’s done fixing the shelves."
"Good plan."
* * *
Later that night, Luke arrived home from the diner and found no one on the bottom floor. He climbed the steps up to the master bedroom, and found Lorelai and Rory both sitting on the bed. "Hey," he said, walking into the room. Rory was painting Lorelai’s toenails and they both smiled as he walked in.
"Hey Luke," Rory said.
"Hey," Lorelai said as he leaned down and kissed her. "You’re home earlier than I thought you’d be."
"Yup." Luke glanced at the nail polish and made a face. "I’ve told you how much I hate that smell, haven’t I?"
"Yes, you have," Lorelai confirmed. "And the plan was to get this done and to have the room aired out before you got home, but like I mentioned just a few seconds ago, you’re home earlier than expected."
"Ah, so essentially the smelly room is my fault," Luke said as he walked over to his dresser.
"Right," Lorelai replied.
"How was work? Anything interesting happen?" Rory asked.
Luke shrugged. "Nah, not much. Dropped some fries."
"Bummer," Lorelai said.
"It happens," Luke replied. He placed his wallet and watch on his dresser, then slipped off his shoes and sat down on the bed next to Lorelai.
"Hey, you wanna just stick to painting the nail and not the entire toe, please?" Lorelai asked Rory, glancing down at her feet.
"Sorry," Rory muttered. "You keep moving."
"I checked in on Jess’ apartment tonight," Luke said.
"Oh yeah, how is it?" Lorelai asked.
"Pretty good," Luke replied. "It’s a little cluttered, but . . .ya know, he’s a kid – housecleaning probably isn’t his top priority."
"Right," Lorelai said. "I’m an adult and it ain’t my top priority either."
"We know," Rory muttered, and Lorelai made a face at her.
"He’s got food, though," Luke said. "Of course, it’s food I’d never touch with a ten foot pole, but it’s food nonetheless."
"Ooh, sounds like it’s yummy food, then," Lorelai said, raising her eyebrows. "Now we know where to go get junk food when Taylor bans me from the market."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Which will probably be very soon."
Lorelai waved him off. "Nah, Taylor wouldn’t do that. He makes a ton of money off of us." She glanced toward the closet, then turned back to Luke. "You wanna see the dress I bought for the shower?"
Luke shrugged.
Lorelai smiled. She deepened her voice and said, "Yeah, sure, Lorelai, I’d love to see it, where is it?" In her normal voice, she responded, "Oh, I’m so glad you asked, Luke, because it’s right there in the closet."
Luke rolled his eyes as he climbed off the bed and walked over to the closet. He stared at the clothes for a few seconds before he shrugged and said, "Okay, there are like eighty dresses in here. You want me to guess which one is new or you wanna give me a hint?"
"It’s the strapless brown one with the cream colored flowers on it," Rory informed him as she continued on Lorelai’s nails.
Luke searched through the dresses until he found the one Rory had described. He pulled it out and held it up.
"You like?" Lorelai asked.
"Yeah, it’s nice." Luke glanced at the tag hanging off the side of the dress. "Jesus, did you get the most expensive dress in the store?"
Lorelai scoffed. "A well-made dress is an investment, Luke. And that one was cheap compared to some of the other ones."
Luke hung the dress back up. "What, were the other ones made out of diamonds?"
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "You know nothing about dress-buying."
"Which is something I’m proud of," Luke replied. He noticed that the television was on. "What are you watching?"
Rory giggled. "Mom’s new guilty pleasure."
"Hey, you watch it too!" Lorelai exclaimed, smacking Rory on the arm. Rory’s hand jerked and painted a line of nail polish down Lorelai’s big toe. They both giggled and Lorelai said, "Oops."
"This is not my finest work," Rory declared, staring down at Lorelai’s toes. "We’re gonna be doing a lot of touch up work with the nail polish remover."
Luke was still watching the television. "So, what’s this called?"
"Sorority Life," Lorelai replied.
"Luke, Mom is obsessed with these girls," Rory said. "Really, I suggest you find her a new hobby because this one is already becoming unhealthy."
Luke walked over and sat down on the bed. "And why exactly are you obsessed with these girls?"
"I don’t know, I can’t figure it out," Lorelai replied with a shrug. "And trust me, I’m definitely not one to support reality TV in any way, shape, or form, but this show. . .I don’t know, it sucked me in." She hung her head and sighed. "I’m ashamed."
"You should be," Rory said.
"Shush, you," Lorelai said. "I think it might be because I never got to go away to college and do the whole sorority thing. . .not that I ever really wanted to, but it’s sort of a peek at what I missed."
Luke nodded. "Ah."
"Not that I mind missing it," Lorelai said. "Trust me, I’d much rather have Rory than a bunch of alcoholic sorority sisters."
"Glad to hear it," Rory replied.
"Speaking of alcoholics, Candace better get some help soon," Lorelai said, turning to the television.
Rory replaced the lid on the nail polish and announced, "Done."
Lorelai glanced down at her toes. "Good, now go get the nail polish remover and make it look somewhat presentable, please."
"Okay. I think it’s in my room," Rory said. She stood up and walked out of the bedroom.
Luke stood up and Lorelai asked, "Where are you going?"
"To open the window because when she comes back with that other crap, it’ll make the room smell even worse," he said. He opened the window, then walked toward the door. "I’m gonna go get something to eat. . ." He paused at the doorway and stared at her, biting his lip as if he wanted to ask something.
"Yes?" Lorelai prompted him.
He gestured toward the bed. "Uh, can we finally. . .are you. . .I mean, later. . . "
Lorelai smiled and patted the bed. "Yes – me, you, right here, later tonight. Want a preview?" She lifted her shirt and flashed him, then pulled it back down and asked, "Will that hold you until then?" She hugged her knees to her chest and smiled at him.
Luke smirked. "No, but it’ll have to. Uh, you want anything from downstairs?"
Lorelai shook her head. "I’m good, thanks."
Luke nodded and walked out of the room, and Rory walked back in a few seconds later with the nail polish remover and some cotton balls. "Okay, let’s clean this up."
* * *
On Sunday afternoon, Lorelai walked into the bedroom as Luke was changing. "What are you doing?" she asked.
"What’s it look like?" Luke replied.
"It looks like you’re changing," Lorelai replied.
"Very astute observation," Luke replied.
As he tucked in his T-shirt, Lorelai sat down on the bed. "So, where ya going?"
"That little café near Bootsy’s newsstand," Luke replied.
Lorelai nodded. "Oh, good coffee. . .but their muffins? They’re the tiniest things in the world. . .four of them would equal one from the diner, I’m not kidding."
"Well, then, good for me for having bigger muffins," Luke replied.
"Ha, you said ‘bigger muffins’." Lorelai giggled. "That sounded dirty."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Geez." He shoved his wallet into his back pocket, then walked over to the foot of the bed and stared at Lorelai. "I’m gonna get going now."
Lorelai crawled down to the foot of the bed, then kneeled directly in front of him. Luke put his hands on her shoulders as he leaned in and kissed her. Lorelai wrapped her arms around his neck and kissed him back passionately.
Several seconds later, Luke pulled back from the deep kiss, then gave her three quick kisses before he smiled and said, "Okay, I gotta go."
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Okay, have fun."
"I’m gonna stop in at work for a little afterwards so I won’t be back right away," Luke said. He rolled his eyes and added, "So if you wanna come bug me for details, that’s where I’ll be."
Lorelai smiled. "I can wait ‘til you get home. It’ll give me more time to prepare questions."
* * *
Several hours later, Luke walked through the front door while Lorelai was on the couch on the phone. Her eyes widened as he walked in, and she cut off Emily in mid-sentence. "Oh, look at that, Mom, Luke’s home. I gotta go because he’s a bit controlling and doesn’t like me to be on the phone when he’s around and if he sees me talking on it, he might beat me again." There was a brief pause, then Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Yes, Mom, that was a joke. . . no, you’re right, it wasn’t funny. . .yeah, we’ll talk tomorrow. . .bye." Lorelai groaned as she hung up the phone.
Luke sat down next to her. "Thanks for making her think I abuse you," he said, rolling his eyes.
"You’re welcome," she replied. She smiled and patted his leg. "Okay, give me the scoop – what does she look like, what’d she wear, what’s she do for a living, what’d you guys order, what’d you talk about, and did she try to seduce you? Answer in any order you see fit."
Luke smiled and took a deep breath. "Let’s see. . .about five foot five, blonde hair, green eyes. She was wearing a red shirt with a black skirt, and she – "
"Ooh, wait, wait – were her legs better than mine?" Lorelai interrupted.
Luke shrugged nonchalantly. "I don’t know, I didn’t look at ‘em."
Lorelai smiled and gave an impressed nod. "Wow, good answer."
Luke smirked. "And she’s a nurse, she ordered coffee and cheesecake, I ordered tea and a fruit cup, she didn’t try to seduce me, and we talked about. . .a lot of stuff."
"A lot of stuff?" Lorelai asked curiously. "Can you be more specific?"
Luke shrugged. "Just. . .what we’ve done since high school, what we’re doing now, what we plan to do in the future . . . you know, basic stuff."
"Huh, basic stuff," Lorelai repeated. "And did you happen to mention. . . "
"The beautiful woman that I live with?" Luke suggested, smiling. "Yes, I do believe your name came up a few times."
Lorelai smiled. "Yeah?"
"Of course," he replied, rolling his eyes. "Your name always comes up when I talk to people."
"Well, because the world *does* revolve around me," Lorelai said knowingly.
"That’s right," he agreed. He paused, then added, "And she talked about her. . . husband and kids."
Lorelai’s eyes widened. "What?"
"Yup, she’s happily married to a guy named Philip," Luke said. "And they have two daughters. She had like a million pictures of them in her wallet."
"Husband. . . .daughters?" Lorelai stared down at her lap. "Huh."
"Yes, husband and daughters," Luke replied. "Now, don’t you feel bad for assuming that this woman was out to lure me to a motel room when all she wanted to do was catch up with an old friend?"
Lorelai leaned back in her seat and bit her bottom lip. "A little."
"Good, you should," he replied.
Lorelai frowned at him. "Yeah, yeah, I’ve leaned a valuable life lesson, leave me alone."
"Okay, forget it, this incident is now behind us," Luke said. "So why were you talking to your mother?"
"Oh, she wanted to offer her maid’s cooking skills for the shower," Lorelai replied.
"Huh, that was nice. What’d you tell her?" Luke asked.
"Well, she was in the middle of listing all the specialties her new English maid could whip up when you came home," Lorelai explained. "She’s gonna call back tomorrow. . .so remind me not to answer the phone."
Luke shrugged. "Hey, if she can help lighten my cooking load, then great." He picked up a magazine from the coffee table and flipped through it.
Lorelai stared at the fireplace for a couple of minutes as she thought about things. Biting her lip pensively, she turned to Luke. "Luke, can I ask you something?"
"Yeah," he replied, not looking up from the magazine.
"Did you know she was married?"
He paused and looked up. "What are you talking about?"
"Kathy. . .you didn’t know before today that she was married, did you? I mean, she didn’t mention it when you saw her last week, right?" Lorelai asked.
Luke’s face reddened slightly and he put the magazine back on the coffee table. He shifted uncomfortably in his seat. "Uh, well. . .she might’ve . . .possibly mentioned it."
Lorelai gasped. "You knew his whole time that she was married and you didn’t tell me? Why didn’t you tell me?"
Luke shrugged. "I don’t know. . .because."
"Because?" Lorelai repeated with disbelief. "Because? You knew I was upset about something and you had information that could’ve made me less-upset and you didn’t share it with me, and the only thing you can say is ‘because’?"
Luke took a deep breath. "Okay, I didn’t tell you because. . . I saw that you were jealous and I . . .I didn’t want the fact that she was married to be the reason that you felt okay with me getting together with her. I wanted us to have a chance to talk everything out and for you to be okay with it because you trusted me, not because she wasn’t available. I mean, I wanted you to figure out why you were feeling the way you were feeling."
Lorelai sank back down against her cushion and was quiet for a few seconds. "Oh."
"Understand?"
"Yes, you withheld the information for the betterment of the relationship."
"Yes. . .and wasn’t the result positive?" Luke asked.
Lorelai smiled to herself as she stared at the mantle. "Yeah, it was." She turned to him and wrinkled her nose. "Man, I hate when you do things that are so smart ‘cause I always end up feeling like such a loser."
Luke shrugged. "Yeah, well. . .I’m just glad it didn’t backfire and that you figured out where the uneasy feeling was coming from." He kissed her. "So. . .you hungry for dinner?"
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, I’ll have an ‘I feel like an idiot’ meal."
"Chicken?" Luke asked.
"Yup."
Luke smiled and stood up, then pulled Lorelai up off the couch. They walked to the kitchen, and when they reached the entryway, Lorelai said, "Oh, did I mention that Rory’s not home?"
Luke turned around and raised his eyebrows. "Okay, taking a little detour . . ." He took Lorelai’s hand and led her back to the living room and up the staircase to their bedroom.