"Rufus, we need to talk." She waited patiently as he opened the door a crack.
"I get it, Lily. It worked."
"Rufus, can you please just let me come in?" she pleaded. "You know how much I hate begging." The door swung open.
"What do you possibly have to say to me? You have Bart Bass. I have no one," Rufus said miserably, balancing his head on his hands.
"I told Bart that I wanted nothing to do with him, and then I went after you last night, Rufus. You were already gone by the time I got my coat and got out of the elevator."
"You went looking for me?"
"How could I not, after what you said last night? No one has ever said something that romantic to me. No one that said anything that counted, anyway. I realized last night that I love you, Rufus. I always have, and always will. And now, we can finally have a chance to be together, if you'll have me," she sat across from him and looked him straight in the eyes.
"What about Dan and Serena?" he asked, standing up.
"We can date, Rufus. Harmless, sexy," she stood up too and advanced towards him, "exciting and not nauseas fun." He leaned forward, grabbed the back of her neck and kissed her like they had never kissed before. It was better than their first kiss, their sixteenth kiss and their last kiss all put together. After what seemed like hours, they finally broke apart, smiling.
"I love you too, Lil," he whispered in her ear. She giggled and he snuck in another kiss.
"You proved the other night that you are still an excellent cook," Lily began.
"Waffles?" Rufus suggested, his arm still around her waist as he sauntered into the kitchen.
"That sounds perfect," she smiled. She sat down at the breakfast bar as he took out the waffle iron and his usual ingredients, setting them all down on the counter. He leaned across the counter to plant a light kiss on her lips. Her lips curved up in a smile and she grabbed his hand, squeezed it, and placed it on the other side of the bar.
"Cook," she instructed firmly. "So where did you go after you left the party last night?"
"Honestly? I took the train down to Hudson, stood on Allison's doorstep for about ten minutes, then took a deep breath and walked away."
"Wow. I'm proud of you, making things official with yourself."
"Surprisingly, it didn't take as much courage as I thought it would. What I said to you last night was true," he explained, pouring the batter into the waffle iron.
"I'm glad you didn't just say it for my benefit," she smiled her elegant smile at him.
"I don't wanna lose you again, Lily. I told you it wasn't fun to lose you, but doing it again…I don't want to go through a more powerful version of the pain Bart is going through right now."
"I won't hurt you, Rufus. Not again. I promise," she told him, staring him straight in the eye. He closed the iron and hurried to her, kissing her passionately as she wrapped her arms around his neck. The kiss deepened, and neither of them noticed the timer going off on the iron. He lifted her into his arms and carried her to the couch, not breaking the kiss even to breathe the entire time. There was a banging and the door to the loft opened, and the sound of giggling got louder. Dan stumbled in, Serena in his arms, the two enthralled in a deep kiss of their own.
"Ew, what's burning?" Dan asked, breaking the kiss and putting Serena down on her feet.
"Mom? Rufus?" Serena asked, astonished.
"Dad? Lily? Really? My couch?" Dan exclaimed at the same time.
"Um, I can explain?" Lily said uncomfortably, scratching the back of her neck.