Summary: Luke tries his hand at playing matchmaker, and Rory realizes she's been lying to herself for months.

A/N: This is the continuation to my story Girls That I Like, and picks up shortly after the other one.

Disclaimer: Gilmore Girls is not mine. Not now, not ever.

Boys That I Like

"What're you doing here?" Luke asked, poking his head out around the curtain to find Lorelai and Rory sitting at the counter, yelling for service. Apart from them, the diner was almost empty.

"Eating," Lorelai said matter-of-factly.

Beside her Rory rolled her eyes. "Duh."

"Or we will be as soon as you get us food," Lorelai added, looking at him expectantly.

"Just thought I saw you heading to Al's," Luke pointed out.

"Well," Lorelai conceded. "We did go to Al's first."

"He's doing his salute to Jamaica again," Rory chimed in excitedly.

"Can't miss that," Lorelai beamed.

"Of course," Luke said drily.

"But he was playing kettle drums," Rory shuddered.

Luke rolled his eyes. "Naturally."

"So Rory distracted him and I snuck up and took his mallets," Lorelai grinned.

"Like any sane person would do," Luke agreed.

"But then he pulled out another pair of mallets," Rory said, eyes wide.

"Can you believe it?" Lorelai asked, shaking her head in disbelief.

"Strangely enough, I can," Luke sighed.

"He said he was prepared this time," Rory said with a sad sigh.

"And then he showed us a whole box full of mallets!" Lorelai shuddered.

"It was not a pleasant sight," Rory muttered.

"So we ended up just getting that first taste," Lorelai continued.

"Because there's no way I'm gonna listen to Al playing kettle drums all night," Rory added.

"I'd be worried about your sanity if you would," Luke agreed, shaking his head.

"So, we left Jamaica to its own pleasure, and came here," Lorelai said with a bright smile.

"You could've just brought Jamaica home," Luke shrugged.

Lorelai blinked at him. "Eat at home?"

"What is this strange concept of which you speak?" Rory asked, eyes wide.

Lorelai sniffled, eyes big, lower lip trembling slightly for effect. "Aren't you happy to see us?"

"Aww, geez!" Luke grumbled, heaving a sigh.

Rory was just about to chime in when there came a crash and a string of curses from the stairs. All three heads turned at the sound and then Jess emerged, looking annoyed.

"Luke, why the hell is there a box right below the stairs?"

"I was moving it upstairs, but was interrupted," Luke said, nodding his head towards the Gilmores.

Jess stopped for a second, just then noticing exactly who was seated at the counter. "Whatever," he muttered, looking away quickly, definitely not ready to face Rory right now, still processing the conversation he'd had with Luke not even ten minutes ago. "I'll do it."

Then he slipped back behind the curtain, not noticing the three people staring after him in mild shock.

"Wow," Lorelai mused. "What just happened?"

"Your guess is as good as mine," Luke muttered, even though he had a pretty good idea.

"I thought he was out with his girlfriend," Lorelai frowned then, turning to Rory for confirmation. "Didn't I see them just before I met up with you and Lane?"

"Yeah," Rory managed, still staring after Jess, not at all liking the way her throat choked up at the mentioning of Shane. It had done that a lot lately. Or the way he was obviously avoiding her. There'd been a lot of that lately as well, ever since she came back from Washington and their shout out in Doose's, and if she were honest with herself, she really missed him.

Luke on his part watched Rory carefully, wondering if he should leave it be, but at the forlorn look on the girl's face, he decided that a small push wouldn't hurt. He just hoped he was reading the signs right. "There is no girlfriend anymore," he said quietly, leaning closer, not wanting Jess to hear him on the off chance that he was already coming back down.

Rory blinked, her eyes snapping to Luke. "What?" she almost squeaked, before she caught herself. "I mean, that's…uh, sad."

"Uh, hu," Lorelai agreed, watching her daughter fidget with the hems of her sleeves. "Sad indeed."

"So, should we order?" Rory quickly blurted out, not at all comfortable with the current topic, or the way her heart sped up at Luke's revelation, or the searching questioning tone in her mother's voice. Truthfully she wasn't the least bit sad over the news. Quite the opposite actually, and she needed some time to come to terms with that, and all that it implied.

"Yes!" Lorelai agreed, watching her daughter suspiciously, but letting it go for the moment. "We want burgers."

"And fries," Rory added.

"Lots of fries," Lorelai agreed.

"And bacon."

"And coffee!"

"So, the usual?" Luke asked.

"If you want to do it the boring way," Lorelai sighed, rolling her eyes dramatically.

"Coming right up," Luke grumbled, shaking his head as he brought out two mugs, filling them with coffee.

"Did you ever know that you're my hero?" Lorelai sang, eagerly grabbing for her mug and sending a wicked grin to Luke, who just shook his head as he went out in the kitchen to help Caesar start up four burgers and a mountain of fries, deeming it safer.

"So…" Lorelai said lightly at the counter. "No more blondie."

"Yeah," Rory mumbled, taking her own mug and using it as an excuse to not talk, ignoring the scalding temperature of the drink.

"Any thoughts to share?" Lorelai prodded, not missing the way her daughter's eyes darted towards the curtain.

"Nope," Rory said shortly, only to launch into an awkward ramble. "I have no thoughts. I'm completely thoughtless at the moment. No thoughts here at all."

Lorelai watched her carefully. "Ok then."

"I mean," Rory continued, not able to stop herself. "Why should I have any thoughts? It's none of my business, right?"

"Right…" Lorelai said hesitantly, deciding to see where the girl took this. She was pretty certain she knew how Rory felt about the sarcastic troublemaker who had swept into town stirring up all kinds of problems. There had been plenty of clues for quite some time now, and even though Rory had somehow convinced herself that she still only wanted to be with Dean after the blowout at the end of summer festival, Lorelai had never been convinced. And now it seemed that Rory was finally catching up too.

"I'm just curious, you know," Rory muttered. "I want to know what happened."

"Yeah, well," Lorelai shrugged, not able to resist the invitation. "I'm good at a lot of things, very good at some of them, but I never really learned to see through walls and buildings, or hear things at long distances, though I often dream that I'm Superwoman, so maybe it's still coming? And I never got the hang of that whole mind reader thing either. Although that would come in handy more often than not. Except...how do you turn it off? I'm not sure I'd want to read Kirk's mind… Or Taylor's…" she added with a shudder.

"Mom, please, try to be serious."

"You do know who you're talking to, right?" Lorelai asked, baffled. "I can try, but I can't promise anything."

Rory just rolled her eyes at her mom's tirade, but her mind was still on the dark haired boy who had just made a quick escape. "I mean, you said it yourself. We just saw them, what, half an hour ago?"

"Something like that," Lorelai agreed. "Maybe a bit longer."

"Exactly!" Rory exclaimed. "So, what could've possibly happened in half an hour? And why did he run away when he saw us?"

"What I want to know is why this is such a big deal to you," Lorelai cut in, watching her daughter closely.

"Oh, well…it's not…really. I just…" Rory stuttered, then groaned and let her head drop down on the counter. "I don't know. It shouldn't be, but…"

"But it is?" Lorelai asked gently.

"Yeah," Rory admitted, the reply muffled by her arms.

"Aww, Honey," Lorelai soothed her. "It's ok."

"No, it's not," Rory groaned, feeling like her world had just been turned upside down. "I think I just realized I've been lying to myself for a really long time," she added.

"Sucks, huh?"

That wasn't really the word Rory would use to describe how she felt. Confused? Yes. Excited? Maybe. Scared out of her mind? Absolutely. "Well…"

"We can get our food to go, if you want," Lorelai offered, secretly hoping she'd take her up on it.

"What? No!" Rory immediately protested, almost surprising herself more than her mother, but also realizing she really didn't want to leave, despite all the conflicting emotions running through her. "I mean, there's no need, right? And besides, I'm hungry, so walking home before we eat doesn't make sense."

Just then the bell above the door chimed, interrupting whatever Lorelai was about to respond with, and both Gilmores turned around when the diner suddenly filled up with a large group of excited people talking very loudly. Lorelai and Rory both stared as they all tried to fit in at the tables, without much success, and Lorelai perked up, sending a wicked grin towards Rory and started counting down on her fingers.

As clockwork, when she reached zero, Luke appeared in the kitchen door. "What the hell?" he grumbled, stopping to stare at the chaos.

"I know!" Lorelai exclaimed excitedly. "Isn't it fun?"

"I can barely contain my laughter," Luke muttered, then quickly went over to the stairs. "Jess!" he called out on his way up, hoping the kid hadn't disappeared altogether.

"What?" Jess yelled from above, definitely having mixed feelings about the prospect of going back down already.

"I need you down here," Luke called back up. "Now," he added.

"Coming," Jess snapped, getting up from the couch and stuffed the book he hadn't really been reading back in his pocket

"Hurry up, will ya?"

"Geez, where's the fire?" Jess scowled as he appeared at the top of the stairs.

Luke ignored him, just turned around and hurried down the stairs. "Just get down here," he snapped right before he stepped back into the chaos.

Jess frowned, finally noticing the cacophony of voices rolling up from the diner, and for a brief moment contemplated bailing, but immediately thought better of it. He really did owe his uncle pretty big. Time to start paying up. So he took a deep breath before ambling down the stairs and then stepped into the diner. He was somewhat prepared for the scene that awaited him, but still stopped for a moment to take in the crowd.

"What the hell?" he muttered, unconsciously mirroring Luke, which did not go unnoticed by the two women at the counter, one of whom smiled in glee while the other waited with dread filled excitement for him to look her way.

With a sigh Jess picked up an order pad and reluctantly made his way over to the first group of chatting people. At least there was one good thing about the crowded room: he could do his best to ignore Rory without looking too obvious. Though it would not be easy, he had realized as soon as he entered the diner. The urge to look her way was almost irresistible, but he would put in his best effort to resist.

For her part, Rory sat at the counter and tried to not let the almost violent wave of disappointment that hit her when he didn't even turn her way show. With a groan she remembered that afternoon, as Lane had waxed lyrical over her and Dean, and how great it must feel to have that, and once more she felt like a big fraud, because when she pictured the feelings Lane had been talking about, it wasn't Dean she saw.

"Oh God, what am I gonna do now?" she mumbled, more to herself than anything, hoping that some kind of answer would present itself.

Beside her, despite the volume in the room, Lorelai heard. "Well," she said, "I've told you before. You gotta make a decision."

"I did," Rory muttered, almost defiantly, but then sighed. "At least I thought I did."

"Maybe…" Lorelai sighed, already regretting what she was about to say. "Maybe you didn't make the right decision."

Rory whipped her head up and stared at her mother in shock. "What?"

Lorelai grimaced, but then shook her head, determined to see this through. "Maybe you made the best decision under the circumstances as they were then," she suggested. "But with certain things having…changed quite dramatically, maybe there is another decision to be made now."

"Am I hearing…" Rory began, but stopped abruptly when Jess hurried past them behind the counter.

He handed over a stack of orders to Caesar and was just about to get back to it when two plates where thrust into his hands. He didn't have to ask who they were for, the enormous piles of food quite plainly giving it away. He was about to refuse, he really was, because he just wasn't ready to deal with Rory, or his feelings, yet, but Luke raised an expectant eyebrow and Jess sighed in resignation. "Great," he muttered to himself, and then took a deep breath before diving in.

A couple feet away Rory watched in fascination as Jess turned their way, two overloaded plates in his hands, and took the few steps over, setting them down on the counter.

"Two heart attacks, as ordered," Jess supplied, needing to say something, and then somehow finding himself unable to just walk away as he really should. And then he made the monumental mistake to look at Rory.

Their eyes met and Rory froze. She felt so utterly stupid, not even able to open her mouth and say a simple thing like thank you, and yet, something in his eyes pulled her in, as always. She couldn't explain it, but her whole body felt the urge to be closer, and a part of her cursed the counter between them.

On the other side of said counter Jess was waging his own inner battle. Admitting the actual depth of his feelings, especially in the way he had just done, as a basic and irrefutable truth, lent the simple act of just standing here in front of Rory a whole new level of agony. He was fairly certain that she at least felt part of what he did, and the knowledge that she chose to ignore it… Well, it pretty much sucked. And yet, he just couldn't help being drawn to her.

"Aww, how sweet, it's mini-Luke," Lorelai chimed in, effectively breaking the moment of, whatever it was that went on in that stare. "Eating at Luke's just wouldn't be the same without the lecture, so thank you."

"Sure, whatever," Jess said absently, his eyes snapping to Lorelai as he tried to clear his head, wondering just how long he'd been standing there. Then he remembered the invasion, grateful for the escape. "I gotta go," he muttered, unable to resist one last glance at Rory before slipping away into the crowd.

"Wow!" Lorelai breathed, turning to her daughter who was looking off in the distance.

"Huh?" Rory mumbled, still somewhat dazed, slowly turning to her mother.

"For a moment there I thought you were gonna launch right over the counter," Lorelai confessed, not quite comfortable with the level of intensity there'd been between her daughter and the guy she just couldn't make herself feel at ease around.

"What?" Rory balked, feeling suddenly self-conscious. "I would never do something like that."

"Oh, honey," Lorelai sighed. "I believe you already did once? Ok, so there was no counter involved, but the sentiment's still the same, right? And anyway, I wasn't just talking about you."

"Oh?" Rory breathed, her eyes instinctively finding Jess at the other end of the room, only to find him already looking at her. Her heartbeat instantly sped up, and she could feel her cheeks coloring before she quickly looked away, picking up a fry to act as distraction.

"Told you so," Lorelai whispered beside her, and Rory could feel her cheeks turning an even brighter shade of pink.

"And…" Rory hesitated, not sure how to bring it up to her mother. "Well, how do you…feel about…this?" she finally mumbled awkwardly, knowing full well that Jess was far from her mother's favorite person. "You seem…strangely calm."

"Well…I'm not exactly calm, but…" Lorelai said slowly, putting down the burger she'd just picked up. "I've had some time to get used to it."

"Right," Rory nodded, then frowned, not quite comfortable with how transparent she had apparently been.

"Look, I don't really think this is the place to be having this conversation."

"You're right," Rory agreed, but couldn't resist asking. "I just… Has it really been that obvious?"

Lorelai breathed out, and then nodded. "Yeah."

"Crap," Rory muttered, earning a raised eyebrow from her mom. "I need to fix this."

"Yes," Lorelai agreed. "But first we eat."

"Good idea," Rory nodded. "I'm starving."

Lorelai didn't even bother to answer, she just dove into her first burger. She needed to process this conversation, and try to sort out how she felt about the prospect of her daughter dating the town hoodlum. If it had been up to her, she would never let it happen, but it wasn't. Rory was almost an adult, and she should be able to make her own choices, even if they turned out to be mistakes. And, Lorelai was pretty sure, this would turn out to be one of those. And she supposed she had to trust her daughter. She was apparently convinced there was more to Jess than what met the eye, and she just had to hold out her hope for that being the case.

Rory soon followed her mother's example, gobbling down half her plate of fries in record time. She knew what she had to do now. It wouldn't be pleasant, but she supposed she didn't really deserve pleasant anyway. But despite that, the fact that she had finally figured out what she really wanted made her feel lighter than she had in a long time. She had never realized how exhausting it had been to deny her own feelings, or to project feelings she didn't really have. And now, after admitting to herself that she liked Jess, really liked him, she could feel that weight lifting.

Across the room Jess was taking orders, getting increasingly fed up with the jabbering imbeciles who had invaded every conceivable surface of the diner. He had now heard at least twenty adjectives too many to describe the town, the diner, the state, and their bus trip, and was fast approaching his limit for staring blankly without adding snide remarks.

He looked up, taking a deep breath to try and keep his temper in check, and unconsciously his eyes found Rory, like they had too many times already. But this time she was looking back at him, and then she smiled. And not just any smile, but one of those brilliant smiles that lit up her whole face and made him want to smile back. He could even feel the corners of his mouth twitch. Then she looked down, almost shyly, and turned back to her food. And Jess slowly shook his head, turning back to the eight overly excited people who had somehow forced themselves in at a table for four. He let their descriptions of the town (quaint, cute, wonderful, picturesque, scenic, sweet…) wash over him as he tried to figure out what that smile could possibly mean, and when they finally ordered, he was too distracted to even snap at them for muddling up the order.

Rory and Lorelai finished their food, the bus trip that filled the diner offering excellent entertainment. All the while Rory kept sneaking glances at Jess, and once she even caught him smiling back at her. Granted, it was very small, but definitely a smile. She knew she needed to talk to him, and she would. But she really should talk to Dean first. No need to add even more dirt on the pile she'd shoveled onto him during the past months. But that didn't stop her from smiling at Jess, or blushing when he raised a questioning eyebrow.

Eventually though, it became time to leave. She really couldn't eat any more, and there was no real reason to stay. And besides, she really needed to have that conversation with her mother. Even though she had already made up her mind, she wanted to talk to her best friend, and she wanted, needed, her mother to understand, and to be ok with her decision. She could accept now that she had let her mother's fear and prejudice influence her decision before, and she was determined to not let that happen again. Not that she would never listen to her mother again, but she really needed to also dare think for herself.

So, they left the diner. But before they did, Rory, as confidently as she could muster, walked over to Jess and gave him a shy smile. "Bye Jess," she said, not able to suppress her blush, and then she quickly walked through the door.

"Bye Rory," Jess mumbled back, staring after her for a moment, until one of the tourists caught his attention by yelling for more coffee.

He really didn't know what had happened tonight. It all seemed almost like a strange dream. First that weird, and all too revealing, talk with Luke, and now Rory acting almost like she was flirting with him. And not the unconscious kind from before the summer, but quite deliberate. It was almost as if… But no, that train of thought was dangerous. It only led to him getting his hopes up, and in his experience, that never lead to anything good. Especially concerning a certain blue eyed brunette.

And still, he couldn't quite wipe the faint smile off his face, because that parting line had almost sounded like a promise. At least that was true until he almost ran into Luke, who stopped and watched him as if he'd sprouted horns from his forehead, of grown fangs. Then he spent the rest of the night scowling, something that came quite naturally when the tourists simply appeared to refuse to leave.

And while Jess struggled to try and figure out the enigma that was Rory Gilmore, while trying not to bite anyone's head off, Rory herself settled in with her mother to have a serious talk about the boys that she liked. Though she soon had to amend that, because there really only was one boy she dreamed of at night.