A/N: Special thanks to Lee, my unapologetically biased cheerleader. Without your encouragement, this story would still be floundering unfinished in the depths of my computer.
No turning Back
She looked through the window, and watched as Luke made his way around the diner. Every motion seemed to be so easy, so fluid, like he had been born with a coffee-pot in his hands. She giggled internally at the thought that if anyone was born with a coffee-pot, it would have been Rory. There was no way that she had been going to give up her coffee while she was pregnant, so Rory's tendency towards caffeine was firmly ingrained well before she was actually allowed to drink it.
Although he was well covered, she could tell that Luke had a great body underneath all those clothes. You could see it by the way his shirt sat on his arms, and strained over his pecs.
She turned to her daughter. "Hey, what do you think of Luke?"
Rory's face crinkled in confusion. "What do you mean?" She had turned to face her mother.
Lorelai thought how to put this delicately, not wanting to say the exact words that were currently swimming around her head. "I mean, do you think he's cute?" She wasn't sure what answer she wanted to hear from her 15-year-old daughter. It would have been slightly disturbing to find out Rory had the hots for someone 20 years older. The answer that came, however, wasn't exactly what she had expected.
"Oh, no. No way," Rory told her emphatically.
Lorelai bit back her confusion. What? Rory thought that Luke was repulsive? "No way, what?" she ventured, not sure where this was going.
Rory looked directly into Lorelai's eyes. "You cannot date Luke." She was so serious.
Lorelai tried to throw her off-track by scoffing. "I said nothing about dating Luke."
Rory persisted, however. "If you date him, you'll break up, and then we'll never be able to eat there again."
Lorelai frowned, affronted that her daughter thought so little of her ability to keep a man. "I repeat," she directed at her daughter, "I said nothing about dating Luke."
Rory started to wander away and changed the subject. "Date Al from Pancake World," she threw out, "his food stinks."
Lorelai tried to play along, and started to follow her. "Al's food doesn't stink. Al stinks." She knew it was juvenile, but she couldn't come up with any better comebacks.
Lorelai stopped suddenly in the middle of the road. "Uh, sweets? Where you going?"
Rory looked back at her. "Oh. I was just going to run to Doose's. You need anything?"
"Nope. Meet me back here?"
"Sure."
Lorelai turned around to see Luke putting the 'Closed' sign up. She ran over to where he was standing in the doorway, and gave him her sweetest look. "Please, Luke. Please stay open so I can have some coffee." She glanced up at his face with her best puppy-dog impression in her eyes.
He thought for a moment about sending her away, just to annoy her, but decided against it. "Fine. Come in."
A huge grin spread across her face. "You, my friend, are my knight in shining armor." She followed him inside, and noticed that he kept the closed sign up.
"Yeah, I'm a regular Lancelot," he muttered, reaching for the half-empty pot and pouring her a cup.
"One for Rory, too," she prompted.
Lorelai watched as Luke went around the tables, wiping them down, and stacking the chairs. She pouted slightly at the thought of Rory being so adamantly against her dating Luke – not that she wanted to, mind you. It just would be nice to have that option. It hurt that Rory had so little faith in her when it came to men. She had been so careful with the few men she had dated that Rory not know about them – so her tendency to freak out after a couple of months couldn't have been noticed by her daughter.
Luke had finished the tables, and came back to the counter, leaning against it directly in front of Lorelai. He emptied the rest of the pot of coffee into her cup, and laid it back down on the counter. Lorelai studied his face more closely than she normally did. For the first time, she noticed just how amazing his eyes were – the shade of blue that you don't notice until you're right up close, but then, pow! They bowl you over. She felt like she could stare at them for hours, but realized that that probably wasn't a smart thing to do. She let her eyes travel slightly southwards.
"That's some great skin you've got hidden under all that stubble," she commented.
"What?"
"Uh…." She hadn't realized that she had said it out loud. "Nothing. Just noticed you have skin some people would kill for…"
"Hmmm…." Luke started to move, obviously uncomfortable.
"You know," she tried to lighten the mood, "maybe that was the Unabomber's beef."
He visibly relaxed a bit, settling back at his previous position in front of her. "Maybe it was. Yours isn't bad, either." He was looking at her face intensely.
Lorelai gave him a shy grin, when there was a knock at the door. Realizing how close they were, they jumped apart, and Luke went to open the door for Rory.
Rory looked at her mother suspiciously as she entered. "What's going on here?" she asked, trying to sound nonchalant.
"Ju… ju… just coffee," Lorelai stuttered out, still slightly taken aback by the looks she and Luke had given each other. She would almost venture to say that they had had a 'moment'. "Here, kid, we saved you some."
Rory slid into the stool next to Lorelai. "Your generosity astounds me," she remarked as she peered into the half-filled cup.
"So, Rory? Chilton's good?" Luke managed to stutter out.
Rory took a deep gulp. "Yeah, it seems like a really good school, but incredibly hard," she told him.
He nodded sagely.
"Yeah. Mom, we should go. I have so much catching up to do, my notes make War and Peace look like a short story."
"Yeah, sure honey." Lorelai picked up her purse in preparation for leaving. The girls walked to the door, and Lorelai let Rory walk out first. She paused before leaving herself, and looked back at Luke. She smiled at him, and when he smiled back, she felt butterflies in her stomach. The feeling unnerved her no end, and she quickly exited to join Rory.
They walked in silence for a minute before Rory spoke. "Uh, so what was going on there?" she asked.
Lorelai thought for a moment about the butterflies which had been going crazy when he smiled at her, and the empty feeling that she felt now that they were no longer in each others' presence. She sighed. "I wish I knew, sweets."
She leant into Rory, putting her arm around her shoulders. "Mom, do I need to be worried?"
"Oh baby, you don't have to worry about me. I won't do anything stupid."
"Okay." Rory didn't sound convinced.
"So, who would you rather have as a step-father? Kirk or Taylor?"
Rory giggled. "Definitely Kirk. Taylor would stop us from doing anything fun. And Kirk would keep us highly entertained."
"Yeah, he would," Lorelai laughed.
Lorelai walked nervously into the diner. Since when was she nervous about Luke? It was ridiculous. It was just Luke – her friend Luke. She sat at the counter.
"Java me up, Luke," she called as he walked past her to deliver some plates.
He eagerly returned to pour her a cup, and lingered near her. "Danish?" he asked.
"Is Britney going to go off the rails in a couple of years like every other child star?"
He looked at her blankly.
She giggled at him. "Yes, she will. Now gimme that danish."
He plated the pastry, and passed it to her. As she took it from him, their hands brushed each other gently, sending a warm feeling up her arm. She looked up at him in shock, and they locked eyes. It took all the control Lorelai possessed to look away. She smiled and lowered her eyes.
As Lorelai sipped at her coffee, and Luke left to take orders, she felt that her heart was trying to beat itself right out of her chest. 'Breathe' she told herself.
"What's wrong with it?" Luke was suddenly at her shoulder.
"Huh?"
"Your Danish," Luke indicated towards her plate. "You haven't touched it. And it's a cold day in Tijuana when you aren't interested in food."
She smiled up at him. "Yeah sorry. Was daydreaming…. About… Keanu Reeves."
He looked sideways at her. "Uh… okay….sure." Was it just her, or did Luke seem just as flustered as she did? Surely it was just her imagination. He lingered at her side just a second longer than he would with any other customer.
Without turning around, Lorelai could feel that Kirk and Miss Patty were very close to her back, arguing about the order of performances for Patty's next recital – or something to that effect. So close, in fact, that when Luke tried to get past them to clear plates from the table by the door, he had to brush up against Lorelai. She could feel his torso against her back, and his breath on her neck, if only for a second, but it was enough for a jolt of electricity to jump between them. She swallowed hard, and closed her eyes to savor the moment. When she opened them, he was already in the kitchen, and she felt a small wave of disappointment that she couldn't see him anymore.
She concentrated on eating her Danish, savoring every bite, when he appeared in front of her again. "Don't you have somewhere you're supposed to be?" he asked.
She grabbed her cellphone out of her purse, and checked the time. "Holy crap! I was supposed to be at work 10 minutes ago! Why didn't you remind me earlier?" She slapped him on the arm.
"Hey! No hitting!" he objected, grabbing her vicious hand to stop her from assaulting him further.
They both looked at how he was holding her hand before he quickly dropped it.
Luke cleared his throat nervously. "Now, go!"
Lorelai took one last look at him, before grabbing her Danish and running out the door.
It was late by the time Lorelai made it back to the diner for dinner. Rory had come and gone, as had most of the regulars. As soon as Luke had seen her approaching, he had poured a cup of coffee and set it next to a seat at the counter. She smiled gratefully when she saw it sitting there, and took a large gulp before looking at him. In her incredibly busy day, she had almost forgotten about the scary feelings that she had been having whenever she was around Luke – almost. But now, as she gazed at his face, standing there patiently waiting for her order, they all came flooding back with a vengeance.
"You look stressed," he ventured, not averting his corresponding gaze.
She scoffed. "Thanks very much. So you're saying I look like crap?"
Luke kept his eyes focused on hers. "No. Not like that. You look as amazing as always."
She smiled, and felt her face flush at the compliment. She quickly ordered a burger, and Luke disappeared in the back to fix it. Lorelai breathed a sigh of relief when he was gone. As much as she liked the excitement of being around him, the feelings were scaring her shitless. The thought occurred to her that she was falling for him - and falling hard, and she tried with all her might to extinguish that thought.
The door jingled, signaling the exit of the last patron. Luke placed her food on the counter in front of her, and inadvertently sighed in relief.
"That bad, was it?"
He simply shrugged. "You know. People are annoying."
Lorelai giggled. "You are SO in the wrong business if you don't like customers."
He looked at her. "It's only some people. There are certain customers who are welcome any time - day or night."
Lorelai looked at him sideways trying to ascertain if there was something behind that comment, or it was just off-hand, like she presumed most of the stuff he said was.
"Really?" she grinned. "And am I one of the select few who are welcome in your presence?" She raised her eyebrows, trying to keep it casual.
Luke leaned close to her, his arms almost landing in her food. "If I'm honest," he whispered, "you're the only one."
They locked eyes for a minute, before Lorelai became acutely aware of how close he was to her. She could feel his breath on her cheek. Then she nervously looked back down at her food.
Luke pulled back, standing tall again, and began to shuffle nervously. "Uh... Caesar's opening tomorrow, so I don't need to go to bed quite yet." He glanced up to see her curious expression. "We could both probably use some de-stressing. You wanna watch a movie or something?"
Lorelai took a deep breath. "Sure. That'd be great. I'll just have to call Rory and let her know."
Luke's face lit up. "Okay. You stay put. Finish your burger. Call Rory. I'll go get us a movie."
Lorelai giggled at his enthusiasm. "Sure." She watched him leave with a grin on her face.
"Hello? Stars Hollow morgue. You kill 'em, we chill 'em."
"Do you have a little business that I don't know about?" Lorelai giggled.
Rory giggled too. "Yip. You keep this on the down-low, and I'll give you 5 of the profits."
"Deal."
"You still at the inn? That manager over there is a slave driver, isn't she?"
"Nope. Left the inn. But won't be home for a couple of hours."
Rory looked at her watch. "Where will you be at midnight on a Wednesday? This is Stars Hollow. Nothing is open."
"I'm at Luke's. We're going to watch a movie or something. No biggie."
Rory scoffed. "Luke watching a movie? Voluntarily? With you? This I gotta see."
"I will donate all my morgue profits to your college fund if you don't come over here to 'see'. You might cramp my style."
"Mom?" Rory asked warily, "What's going on? I thought you said there was nothing happening between you two."
Lorelai sighed, and turned to look out the window, ensuring that Luke wasn't about to walk in the door. "Babe, there's a slight possibility that I might like him. Slight. I'm so sorry. Say the word, and I'll ditch this movie and come home."
"Oh, Mom..." Rory thought for a minute. "Just do me one favor?"
"Anything, sweets."
"Before you do anything - be absolutely sure that it's what you want. Once you're with Luke, you're WITH Luke. There's no turning back."
Lorelai swallowed hard. "I promise." Her voice was wavering. "I'm so sorry sweets. I know that it was only 24 hours ago that you were forbidding me to date him."
Rory paused. "Mom? Do you think that this is just a passing crush? Or something more?"
Lorelal smiled, remembering the scary but amazing feelings she got every time he so much as touched her. "I've never felt this way before. It's scaring the crap out of me."
"Okay. You have my blessing. Just remember - no turning back. And be home by 12, please."
Lorelai giggled. "Yes, mother."
"I'll see you in the morning," Rory told her.
"Night, hon."
Luke walked back into the diner just as Lorelai closed her phone.
He grinned at her. "You're gonna love this," he promised. He kept the video behind his back as he locked the door, then took her now empty plate and put it in the kitchen.
"What did you get? Tell me!"
"Nope. You'll have to wait and see."
"It's not some stupid action movie, is it?"
"No clues," Luke told her, as she lunged at him, eager to pry the tape from his hands. He held it above his head, and she crashed into his chest. They both froze at the sudden contact, but Luke managed to shake himself out of it first. He ripped himself away, and ran up the stairs.
"Sit," he commanded when she joined him in his apartment, gesturing towards the couch.
"But..." she protested.
"Sit," he repeated.
"Woof, woof," she deadpanned, but did as she was instructed.
After inserting the tape, Luke joined her on the couch, and starting fast-forwarding through the previews. He stopped when the black and white opening titles came on the screen.
Lorelai gasped. "Oh my God. You rented 'Dirty Dancing'. Thank you!" Without thinking, she wrapped her arms around his neck. The action caused a warm feeling to travel throughout her body. "How did you know?" she asked as she pulled out of their hug.
He chuckled. "I asked Kirk for suggestions. He said this was in your top three."
Lorelai grinned, folded her legs underneath her, and staring intently at the screen. "Big. Girls. Don't. Cry." She started singing along with the TV as the credits ended and a girl in a car came onscreen.
Luke watched her rapt expression and rested his arm along the back of the couch. Ten minutes in, Lorelai unfolded her legs, and relaxed back into the couch. One tiny movement from Luke, and his arm was around her shoulder. Lorelai didn't feel his movement straight away, but she definately felt that electricity. It took her breath away.
'Wow,' she thought. 'If it feels that good just to be touched by him, imagine how it would feel to kiss him.' She quickly forced that thought out of her mind. 'You are just friends,' she started chanting over and over in her head.
Once she turned to look at him, that mantra was forgotten. Her lips slowly curled up into a small smile, in the hope that he would be encouraged to get closer. At her smile, Luke's face lit up. He ever so slowly tightened his grip around her shoulders, sliding her inch by inch closer to him. Eyes on the movie, but mind definitely somewhere else, Lorelai snuggled into his embrace, reveling in the comfort and warmth emanating from him.
It hadn't been long - onscreen two girls were dancing together in high-cut leotards - when Lorelai felt Luke start to softly stroke her hair. She closed her eyes for just a second, bathing in the delicious feelings which were coursing through her body. She tried to remind herself of Rory's warnings. She pictured the scene from the previous night when Rory had emphatically forbid her from dating their favorite food provider. When she pulled herself out of that reminisce, she saw that her own hand was stroking Luke's jean-clad thigh ever so gently. Shocked, she pulled her hand away with a start.
Luke's stroking of her hair abruptly stopped. "You okay?" he asked her, concern evident in his soft voice.
She took a deep breath before turning her head towards him. "Yeah I'm fine," she whispered. Her eyes roamed his face, rarely having been this close before. At this distance, she could make out a sprinkling of sun-faded freckles, mostly hidden by his stubble. They gave him somewhat of a child-like presence, and his gruff exterior melted away in her eyes. Like last night, her attention was drawn now to his beautiful eyes, which seemed to sparkle more in this dimmer light. She couldn't seem to tear away from the sight.
His free hand was raised, and began to hesitantly run a finger down the side of her cheek. Lorelai's eyes widened slightly, and her heart started to thump moreso than previously. She was frozen to the spot - neither pulling away, nor giving any encouragement. She continued to stare into his eyes, attempting to decipher her feelings.
"Before you do anything - be absolutely sure that it's what you want. Once you're with Luke, you're WITH Luke. There's no turning back." Rory's words echoed in her head, and made everything suddenly seem incredibly clear.
"I'm sure," she whispered, not realizing that it was out loud and not simply an answer in her head.
Luke dropped his hand from her cheek.
"Huh?" he questioned.
Ever so slowly, a smile grew over Lorelai's face, and she shook her head. "Nothing," she replied softly. She reached back down to where his hand now hung limply in his lap, and returned it to its previous position.
This was all the encouragement Luke needed, as he gripped her head with both hands, and leaned those last two inches towards her. He brushed his lips over hers ever so gently. Lorelai's hand went to the back of his head, holding him in place, and most importantly, his lips against hers. She smiled into their whisper of a kiss, and felt the lightning bolts which started where they were joined at her mouth, and spread through her body with amazing intensity. They both pulled away ever so slowly, and smiled shyly at each other.
Lorelai whimpered softly at the loss of connection, wanting desperately to regain the feeling he gave her. She leaned back in to kiss him again, and this time, there was no hesitation on either side. It was mere seconds before tongues were intertwined, and only seconds more before their hands started to wander from their previously super-glued position on each other's head. Lorelai's hands found their way to Luke's chiseled chest, marveling at how he could hide all that muscle under flannel shirts for so long. It was truly a waste - all woman-kind should be entitled to share in the wonder that she was now feeling. Luke's hands continued to wander, travelling down her arms, around her hips, and back up her back, before one hand took up residence in her hair, and the other hesitantly inched it's way over her shoulder, and down her front. His mouth left her lips, much to Lorelai's dismay, and positioned itself on her neck, making her groan with happiness.
Luke looked at her, a smug smile on his lips, one eyebrow raised. "That good, huh?"
Lorelai rested her forehead on his. "Better," she replied, pecking his lips.
"This isn't what I had intended when I invited you up here. You know that, right?"
Lorelai smiled. "Wouldn't have minded if you had. I'm pretty happy with this plan."
Luke chuckled, and looked deeply into her eyes. "Is this what you really want? Because I'm not sure I could go back to being just friends again if this went any further."
Lorelai mock gasped. "Mr Danes, what are you insinuating? A lady would never consider doing anything more than kissing with a gentleman caller."
He scoffed. "Lady?" Before feeling a not-so-subtle whack on his arm.
Lorelai became serious again. "Luke, I can't ignore that this here is something pretty intense. I want this - everything. The whole package. I just hope that you feel the same."
"Since the day I met you." And he brought her in for another electrifying kiss.
The scene on the television had progressed rapidly, and Lorelai saw a naked Patrick Swayze out of the corner of her eye. She couldn't help but divert her attention to the screen. Luke noticed this instantly. "Humph. So I've been replaced already, have I?"
Lorelai frowned. "But... he's naked. I would never expect you to compete with that." She giggled.
Luke leaned towards her ear. "All in good time," he whispered.
"Oh. In that case, Swayze's out. You win hands down." She turned her full attention back towards the fully clothed man next to her, trailing her hand up his leg as she kissed him. She pondered on what this man would look like naked. "What time do you have?" she asked breathlessly between kisses.
"Most likely the same time you have."
She looked down at her bare wrist. "I have a hair past a freckle," she pointed out.
Luke squinted to see the time on the VCR. "Uh... 11:45."
Lorelai sighed. "I told Rory I'd be home at midnight. Don't want to turn into a pumpkin." She gave him another long kiss. "So don't want to leave you though."
"Don't want you to leave either." He pulled away with great effort. "Come on Cinderella, I'll walk you home." He stood up, and extended a hand to help her up.
There were no townsfolk on the darkened streets of Stars Hollow, and the pair walked in comfortable silence, Luke's arm around her shoulders the entire way. They stopped when they reached the door of the Crap Shack.
Luke kissed her tenderly on the lips. "Can I see you again tomorrow?" he asked nervously.
"Well, you are the gatekeeper to the coffee."
"And in the evening? Can we have dinner or something?"
Lorelai's face fell. "Business class. Friday is dinner with Mr and Mrs Mussolini. But I can be all yours on Saturday."
"I was kinda hoping that you'd be mine forever."
Lorelai looked at him in shock. "Wow!"
Luke blushed. "Sorry. That was too much, wasn't it?"
"No. I was hoping the same thing."
Hope flickered across his face. "Are you sure about this?"
She smiled, again hearing Rory's earlier words. "I'm sure. No turning back." She pulled him into another kiss, not caring when she saw the movement of Babette's drapes out of the corner of her eye.