AN: It just so happened that DSLeo and I were wondering why we never got to see a pie-eating contest on the show, and neither of us recalled having read a fic about it either. First we listed all the things that would have to happen, then I said I couldn't write townies well. I still wrote it, Leo encouraged me, and assisted me in every way possible. Not only that, she also volunteered to be my beta for this one. It was a "You break it, you buy it" kinda situation. So there you have it: The Annual Stars Hollow Pie-Eating Contest. All my thanks goes to DSLeo for the help she offered and the expertise she shared with me. If there are any procedural mistakes in this story, I'm sorry. Neither Leo nor I have ever participated in a pie-eating contest. I have watched one in my home town, which is not in the US. The rest is internet research or imagination. Read, enjoy!
The Annual Stars Hollow Pie-Eating Contest
In a place like Stars Hollow, Connecticut, traditions were embraced and never let go as if they were the long-lost sister you have been looking for half your life. A tradition once founded was a tradition kept forever. It was never explicitly said or agreed upon. Even the town elders who only stepped in when a situation was too much to handle for town selectman Taylor Doose not once had to interfere or push for one tradition or the other. It was second nature to the Stars Hollowians, and traditions were as important as the daily coffee with a side of gossip at the local diner. Stars Hollow had nothing on Anatevka.
It was during a traditional town meeting in Miss Patty's dance studio that one Lorelai Gilmore, currently starving, not that that was an unusual occurance in any way, was already in the mindset of her after town meeting ritual: coffee and pie at Luke's. Boysenberry was her favorite pie, but she felt she couldn't neglect the other flavors. That would just be disrespectful and plain stupid. Her mind wandered to places it usually shouldn't go when she knew she couldn't do anything about it: The pie counter. As much as she appreciated the gooey texture of the boysenberry, she felt in the mood for cherry tonight. But there's always apple pie. A classic. It inspired people to do crazy things, like make a really stupid movie about it. Her stomach definitely didn't like the way her brain worked. It made a loud growl to tell her and everyone else in the surrounding chairs that this was a bad idea and that it needed food now, or possibly five minutes ago. But pie was a hard food to consume during a town meeting, hence the after meeting pie. Unfortuately, Lorelai's stomach didn't let her brain know what it was about to have her mouth say.
"Why does this town never have a pie-eating contest?"
Everyone turned to face her, including her daughter next to her. "Yeah? Why not?" Rory asked.
The crowd groaned in unison. Taylor decided to take the word. He was, after all, Taylor. Uncrowned king of all things unnecessary in many people's eyes.
"Because, young lady, a pie-eating contest is too aggressive for our town," Taylor said and made a "there you go" hand gesture.
"Aggressive?" Lorelai wondered. "Have you seen us when toilet paper is on sale?"
Taylor released a breath through his nose and closed his eyes at her naiveté. "Lorelai, this is something you can't temper with. There are too many questions to answer where we can only hurt people. There used to be a pie-eating contest many years ago, but we had to stop it eventually. All pies were made by Weston's bakery, but one year right around the time we usually held it Fran's mother died, and the bakery was closed for a week. In the next year Luke's diner was already open, and we felt we couldn't decide on who to order the pies from. It all basically got worse as soon as Sookie came back from the Culinary Institute to Stars Hollow."
Lorelai blinked once, twice, her forehead in a frown so deep Clinique would have to come up with a new formula for an anti-wrinkle cream. "We can't have the contest because we have not one, but three excellent people who make the best pies in the world?"
Taylor nodded.
"And why can't we split the order among those three?" Rory interjected.
"Yeah, have everyone make what they're best at. Sookie's best pie is chocolate, Fran's is custard, and Luke's is boysenberry," Lorelai said. The others at the meeting mumbled their agreement. "If everyone makes their best pies, they won't be mad."
"That is not the least of our concerns, Lorelai," Taylor retorted. "There are other factors. Some towns tie people's hands behind their backs. That seems just cruel. We can't have it inside, it will be a mess to clean up, and outside we'll only attract ants or rats."
"Taylor, if we had it inside, couldn't we make Coop's kids clean it up? That way Miss Patty's floor will still be good for a brisé. And the kids will be taught a lesson."
Stars Hollow's cop always preferred unusual methods to keep the streets clean and the dangerous kids harmless. Actually, using all his powers of law enforcement was some kind of last resort for the policeman who barely carried his gun.
Taylor touched his beard in thought for a moment. "Well, I never thought about that, that's a good idea, Lorelai," he said meekly.
"And why can't we make a pie tasting part of the entire contest?" Gypsy offered.
Miss Bell, the elementary school teacher, came up with another idea. "We could also have a little baking station where we teach kids how to make pies. You eat healthier when you have a connection to your food and see how hard it is to prepare."
It was a rare occasion that Luke had something to say during a town meeting that wasn't an insult or a rant. Today was different. "What about the ropes? You still gonna tie people to their chairs?"
"Kinky", said Lorelai with a challenging smile.
"If we found enough volunteers, couldn't they just hold the contestants' hands?" Patty proposed.
"What do you mean, like behind their backs?" Kirk wanted to know.
"No. They could sit across from the contestants who lay their hands flat on the table and the volunteers put their hands on top," Patty explained.
"Good idea," Taylor nodded.
"That would definitely be too much to host here at Miss Patty's," Andrew objected.
Bootsy had a solution for that. "Why not have it at the gym?"
Kirk cleared his throat and raised his hand, just to make sure he was heard and seen. "Has anyone given the pie choices any more thought? Custard, cherry and boysenberry seem to be more on the traditional side of the spectrum. I've been thinking about going into business. A bakery that makes only special pie flavors. This pie-eating contest could be a great opportunity for a test run."
"Special pie flavors? Like deviled ham and banana?" Gypsy asked him, annoyed.
Kirk took his note pad to immediately scribble down the car mechanic's brilliant idea. "I've been more thinking about vinegar pie or green tomato. But I'm open to all suggestions."
"That is the grossest thing I've ever heard," Lorelai remarked and made a face.
"If you were to participate, you would have to prepare your own pies, Kirk," Taylor offered.
"And what if someone else wanted to try them? I made a wicked lemon-potato pie the other day. It was so good mother kept most of it in the fridge because she wanted to savor it," Kirk told proudly.
"Make a batch or two to be safe then," Taylor decided because he wanted to move on. "Anything else?"
"Maybe we could vote for it? Make it official?" Babette suggested.
The town selectman cleared his throat. "I want to bring forward a motion to reinstate the Annual Stars Hollow Pie-Eating Contest that will be held at the Stars Hollow High gymnasium. Everyone in favor of the motion say aye."
The townsfolk eagerly agreed.
"Motion passed. We'll talk about the particulars next week, as soon as we've come up with a strategy to attract more tourists from the southwest. Meeting adjourned."
A couple weeks later, Luke's was in mid-morning rush, when the worst thing that could happen happened: Taylor came in. And not only that, Luke had come up with a pretty good acceptance mode when Taylor ordered his usual turkey on rye with lettuce, tomato and cucumber, but on this particular day Taylor entered the diner with a clip board tucked under his arm. That meant business, and that meant high blood pressure and the possibility of more annoying things. The diner owner clad in the ever-present plaid shirt released a calming breath through his nose, jammed the now filled coffee filter back into place and turned around to face the bearded villain.
"May I have your attention, please?" Taylor asked and did a 360 in order to make eye contact with everyone who bothered to stop eating.
When he reached his goal, he continued. "For the upcoming pie-eating contest we've come a long way and decided on most of the things that needed deciding upon. Late last night I've had an idea for the decorations committee. Lorelai?"
"Here, Taylor," she said and raised her hand.
"Have you already bought the streamers?"
"No, um, Gabby from the party supply store is still sick, so I couldn't."
"Very well. I think it best to buy streamers in the colors of the pies. We decided on chocolate, custard and boysenberry, so they should be brown, white or beige and deep purple."
"I prefer Black Sabbath or Led Zeppelin," Lorelai remarked, but all she got was a frowning Taylor. He was more of a Pat Boone kinda guy.
He cleared his throat. "Does anyone else have to say anything other to this matter?"
When no one replied, he nodded, satisfied. "Lorelai, I hereby give you the order to buy the streamers in said colors. I'm calling Gabby to open this afternoon just for you."
And with that, he was out the door, his clip board still under his arm. Luke now went to stand opposite Lorelai's usual stool at the counter.
"That guy has some nerve," Luke muttered.
She nodded as she continued to eat her pancakes with bacon and sausage. "He's Taylor. He always gets what he wants. I shall worship him, grow my hair long, stop bathing and eventually be him."
Luke eyed her chin suspiciously. "Well, you're definitely gonna look good with a beard."
"Haha. This beard is growing because I'm waiting for more coffee," she said as she held her cup upside down.
"Coming up," he said and refilled her cup.
That was weird. No fight? Maybe he got lucky last night, she thought.
"Are you gonna bake me a special Lorelai pie for the contest?"
"What's a Lorelai pie?"
"I don't know. Maybe boysenberry, and instead of the typical lattice-style top crust, I'll get little hearts and stars?"
He rolled his eyes, ignored her request and delivered a few more plates before he returned to his spot.
"Hey, um, Luke?" she asked him quietly.
"Hmmm?"
"Did I tell you what Rory and Lane are gonna do?"
"Nothing illegal, I hope."
"Not this time. They're gonna hold hands," Lorelai told him, then took a sip of the heavenly brew.
"Huh?" Luke grunted.
"Make it a little more stone-age-y next time. That's what the ladies are really going for," she remarked with a hint of sarcasm.
"Lorelai... Taylor came in just now on town business, I'm really busy, don't wear my patience thinner than it already is."
"They're gonna be each other's hand holders during the contest. You know, the requirement for the contest? Holding someone's hands? Why are you looking at me like that?" she asked, suddenly insecure.
He pointed to the corner of her mouth. "You have a little syrup, um there."
She grabbed a napkin and cleaned herself up. "Better?" she asked.
He nodded.
"As I was saying. Lane and Rory are off the market. And since Rory is competing in the same category as me, I can't use her or Lane's services. And with Sookie busy teaching the kids to bake, there goes another possibility. And since there aren't many people I can imagine holding hands with, and you have a certificate of health and all, would you maybe like to help me out?" she asked nicely, in a soothing voice and fluttered her lashes a couple times for good measure.
No reaction.
"Oh, come on, Luke! Would you rather someone disgusting is appointed to me and I have all their germs on my hands? I have to focus on the pie eating, and can't be worried with methods of sanitation to get their booger residue and whatnot off of me at the same time," she pleaded.
Lorelai wanted him to hold her hands? Because she ran out of options, he was sure. In fact she just gave him a list of people she would have preferred over him. On the other hand, it could also mean that she trusted him to calm her down. When was the last time Luke held someone's hands in public? He recalled one time in his senior year in high school when Crazy Carrie just grabbed it and tried to pull him under the bleachers. Luke knew that he very much wanted to hold Lorelai's hands, and that he didn't need all that much convincing. It didn't mean she could ask anything of him. Why was he so conflicted about this? He knew she didn't let anyone help her. Her relationship to her parents was proof of that.
"OK. I'll do it," he said nonchalantly.
"For real?" she asked with a very hopeful expression written across her face.
"Yeah, why not," he shrugged. "Who doesn't want a first row seat to see Lorelai Gilmore's pretty face covered in pie?" Luke said with a gentle smile, then he realized what he had just let slip.
Her cheeks reddened a little, which she tried to cover with her huge coffee mug. Did he just compliment her? Luke was very relieved when Kirk suddenly needed to change his order, and when he returned to the counter, he found ten dollars by her plate. He turned around to see her climb into her jeep right in front of the diner. She noticed him, gave him her best smile, a wave of her hand and drove off to the inn.
Lorelai stepped back and admired the decorations in the gym. It had taken her and the other volunteers the better part of the morning to get it all done in time for the contest. The good thing was that she had worked up quite the appetite. The plan was to be hungry, but not starving for the contest. That way the first speed round would fill her stomach, but not overload it. Rory had taken a different approach by not having eaten dinner the night before and deciding on a light breakfast of whole wheat toast and jam. Lorelai was hoping she could at least win in one category, though she knew that the second round would be tough. Stars Hollow was not keen on attracting any eating contest tourists. They wanted to have a contest amongst their own, and not semi-professional contestants who would undoubtedly win and never be able to cash in their prize. Not that there would actually be cash to win. But Taylor wouldn't be Taylor if he hadn't come up with something very nice and respectable for the top three in second category.
After finishing at the gym, Lorelai crossed the street and went to Luke's for a small lunch.
"What are you doing here?" he asked her as soon as she had opened the diner door.
"Have you forgotten your pills again? You cook, people come here to eat what you cook. Your name is Luke, but you actually prefer if people call you Lucas, or just stud, depending on your mood," she deadpanned, sat down at a table, and grabbed a menu.
"You're not gonna eat anything, are you?" Luke said.
"Sure I'm gonna eat a little something," she shrugged.
"Why?" came the question from a suddenly very scary looking Luke.
"Well, the obvious answer being that I'm hungry. And I don't wanna get heartburn from all the sugar I will consume later today, so something savory would be great right now. But other than that, don't you know what it feels like to be really hungry for a long time, and your eyes want you to eat an entire all you can eat buffet, but the effects of the hunger made your stomach shrink, and you end up eating much less than you had wanted? And I don't wanna compete with my stomach shriveled up to the size of a raisin. Because then I'm gonna be full really soon, and if you want that, then you can as well just tell me not to compete at all, and you'll be relieved from your hand holding duty," she rattled, and finished her monolog with a much needed deep breath.
Luke also took a breath. If there was something he didn't want, it was not holding her hands later that day. "OK, what'll you have?"
"Grilled cheese with bacon and ham and a side of fries," Lorelai said unashamedly.
"I'm giving you just the grilled cheese with a side salad," Luke offered.
"Then at least make it with bacon."
"Fine. But you're eating your salad."
"What if you'll just put a few tomatoes in with the bacon instead?"
"And the rest of the salad on the side?"
"Maybe just the onions. And cover them in batter and deep-fry them," she added and shooed him away. She swore she could see the steam coming out of his ears and nose in that moment. Lorelai had to smile at that image. It was so easy to get a rise out of him. If only admitting to herself why she loved to do it were half as easy...
Hours after the grilled cheese had served as a hearty counterbalance to the sugar surge that was in front of her and all the other contestants, she again found herself in the gym of the Stars Hollow High. She saw the sports teams had done their job and arranged long rows of tables and benches, as well as a baking area where Sookie was already teaching elementary school kids how to make a crust. Near that, the contests for the children were underway. Lorelai smiled at the kindergarten kids who all tried to eat pies about half the size of the normal ones, wearing mittens and using knife and fork, which they couldn't get a good grasp on. It was exactly the point of this category, and Lorelai filed the idea away for Rory's next birthday. By the side entrance she saw Miss Patty at the clean-up station. It hadn't been too surprising to Lorelai when the dance teacher offered to run the station. They had talked her down from her original idea to just hose everyone down. It had been obvious that Patty just wanted to see shirts cling to men's bodies. She waved at her and gave her a smile.
Lorelai then went to look for Rory, who had wanted to come with Lane. She found the girls talking to Dean.
"Hey, guys. Everything OK?" she asked them.
"You ready to lose?" Rory asked her mother with fake competitiveness in her voice.
"I'd gladly lose to you, sweet child of mine. As long as a Gilmore is up there, I'm fine with it," Lorelai announced.
"As if...," Rory scoffed.
"I swear!" Lorelai exclaimed and raised a hand to stress her honesty.
"OK, let's check when exactly it's our turn," Rory suggested. Lane and Dean followed her.
She had considered Dean to be her hand holder, but their relationship was too new and she didn't want him to see her covered in pie. He had to promise her to sit on the bleachers behind her. In the meantime, Lorelai quickly went to Sookie for a chat, but when she saw Luke enter the gym, she walked over to him.
"Ready, partner?" she asked him and winked awkwardly.
"Don't call me that," he demanded.
"OK, how am I supposed to call you?" she challenged him.
"Luke. Because that's my name."
"Huh, and here I thought it's Johnny."
"I look like a Johnny to you?"
"Depends on the wardrobe. Lose the hat, add a cigarette in the corner of your mouth, and I can definitely picture it."
"Stop. When have I ever called you anything other than Lorelai?"
"That one time you called me Mookie-Pookie Bear comes to mind..."
"I did not."
"Did too."
"When did I call you that?"
"That one time."
"Which one time?"
"The one time you did."
Luke exhaled, annoyed. "Lorelai, I don't need to do this."
She almost jumped up and down to appease him. "I was just kidding, Luke. Stay, please?"
He gave her that look that told her he was gonna stay, but that she certainly would have to stop with the teasing. She again thought about why she loved to tease him so much.
"Did it ever occur to you that I only tease you because it's the easiest thing in the world you get you to react?" she asked Luke. Maybe he had an answer.
"Did it ever occur to you that I just want to live in peace?"
"Then you shouldn't have become a cook, but a mediator for the UN," she shot back.
"Can't be worse than dealing with this crowd of nutjobs," he murmured.
"If this is all such a burden for you, why did you come here?" she asked him seriously, maybe the most serious thing she's ever asked him.
He looked her in the eyes to see if she was expecting an honest reply. Of course she was. He felt he might have offended her. That was the last thing he wanted to do.
"Because you asked me," he said sincerely.
"So? I also asked you to make me a Lorelai pie and the world's most unhealthy grilled cheese for lunch. Why is it you chose to agree to this and to none of the other things I asked of you?"
He blinked once, twice. "I don't want to support you any more in the unhealthy crap you eat than I already do."
She opened her mouth to reply, but was interrupted by Taylor, who began speaking into a microphone.
"People of Stars Hollow, welcome to the Annual Pie-Eating Contest that after a long break has returned to this wonderful town. As many of you know, the contests won't be the only attraction today. We're gonna start with a pie tasting, it will commence in 15 minutes. The blind-folded contestants will have to taste the pie flavors. The pies were made by Kirk, and I don't wanna promise too much, but you will be surprised by the combinations he has come up with. About 30 minutes after that our first round of the contest will begin. One pie, no hands, and a ticking clock. After an appropriate break for the contestants to clean up and let the contents of their stomachs settle, we'll start with the main event. The contestants will have 20 minutes to eat as many pies as they can, same rules: No hands. For all the spectators there are plenty of refreshments as well as all flavors of pie that are part of the contest and many more. The pies were made by Sookie St. James, Fran Weston, Luke Danes and Kirk Gleason. And now, let the contest begin," he finished and got a round of applause.
Lorelai ended up watching the pie tasting with Luke, and she later wondered if that had been a mistake because her stomach turned from the idea of the mentioned flavors mixed together alone. She felt pretty good about the contest, and was definitely looking forward to it. Time flew by as she mocked Kirk's pies with Luke, and before she knew it, she sat opposite Luke and a boysenberry pie was placed in front of her. Taylor again explained the rules, and she laid her arms on the table. Luke gave her an encouraging look. She turned to her left where Rory and Lane were sitting.
"May the best Gilmore win," Lorelai declared.
The hand holders put their hands on top of the contestants' hands, Lorelai took a deep breath, but felt overall calmed by feeling Luke's warmth. When she heard the starting signal, she immediately lowered her head and sank her teeth into the pie. Her arms moved due to her new bowed position, but Luke readjusted quickly. Lorelai tried her best to ignore the flavor of the pie, it was her favorite kind, made by the person who did it best in her opinion, but she knew that sadly none of this mattered in this moment. She was surprised how fast she could eat the pie she normally savored every bit of. Luke upped the pressure of his hands a little, and she silently cursed herself for not having come up with a code. Did it mean she had to hurry, or was he trying to say she had lost already? As hard as she was trying, she couldn't hear anything. Just in case his code stood for encouragement, she didn't dare to steal a glance by raising her head or even her eyes. She was vaguely aware of one of the helpers that watched out for rule violations walking by every now and then.
Lorelai was now almost done with her pie, so she dared to glance over to Rory, and saw from the corner of her eye that she was also still bowed down. She wolfed down the rest of what was left in the tin, her upper body snapped up mechanically, and she saw Luke look at her with his eyes wider than Lake Erie. What she didn't know was that he was trying his hardest not to follow that droplet of boysenberry goo as it made its way from her chin down her throat and was now the food equivalent of a big neon arrow you're not supposed to follow. Behind him Lorelai saw Bootsy raise his red flag, and then the first thing she could hear since she started this contest was a horn. The same horn Taylor used for the Dance Marathon. It all got blurry from there. She was so fixated on Luke's face, that it felt odd when she was pulled away by someone to stand on a podium with her smeared face and got a medal hung around her neck by Taylor.
The blur didn't stop when she walked to Miss Patty's clean-up station to wash her face. She still felt like she was in a dream when she drank some much needed water afterwards. She used the time before the next category for a bathroom break. Before she knew it, she was sitting across from Luke again.
"Hey, maybe we need to come up with a code this time," she told him.
"Code for what? If you feel sick, there's a spit bucket right next to you. It's the one with the brown, white and purple ribbon around it," he deadpanned.
"I mean a code to let me know how I'm doing. You pressed my hand earlier, and I didn't know what it meant."
"It meant that you were leading."
"Why didn't you just tell me that?"
"Are we allowed to talk?"
"How should I know? I can't talk while I'm eating. Do you only talk as a response to people?"
"I didn't come here to be your cheerleader, only your hand holder."
She sighed. This man was a riddle wrapped up in an enigma. He seemed so distant, dismissive even. But why was he here? Was he desperate to see her throw up? With the compliment he paid her earlier and his mood now, what was she supposed to think? He was running hot and cold on her, and she had no idea what was going on.
"Just... let me know where I'm standing, OK?" she said, almost resigned.
After that, Taylor went through the regulations again, explained the pie rotation system, pointed to the spit buckets, and finally blew the horn that marked the beginning. The contest started with chocolate, then custard and would end on boysenberry. Taylor had done some research to find out how many pies would be needed based on other contests, and then decided to release them in groups of three. So before she got her beloved boysenberry again, Lorelai would have to eat three chocolate and three custard pies.
She was in the middle of her second custard, she felt so full she was about to burst, when she felt Luke's hand twitch.
Lorelai heard him whisper, "Come on, you can do it."
On her first boysenberry he hooked his fingers through hers, and was now openly encouraging her. She clasped her fingers around his, and even dared to look up very briefly while she was swallowing the pie. She was about halfway done with the second boysenberry, when she heard the horn. No! That couldn't be! The twenty minutes were up already?
Now came the time where Taylor with the precision of a Swiss watch put each and every pie that was the second boysenberry on a scale and scribbled down the difference between original weight and what was left. There were an impressive six contestants who made it to the second boysenberry, the eighth pie in total. Taylor then announced the official results: Kirk, then one of Mrs. Lanahan's nephews and Lorelai. She came in third. And again, no one was allowed to wash up. Andrew shot a picture of the trio for the Stars Hollow Gazette, and he wanted to capture them with pie smeared all over their faces.
As Lorelai was ready to leave the podium, she scanned the room for Luke. She had already quickly talked to Rory and Sookie waved at her, but Luke seemed to have vanished. In one corner she noticed Miss Patty gape at the men who were cleaning themselves, but she hid her looks behind a giant fan. Lorelai had to give it to her, at least she was always predictable.
Just when she wanted to go and give herself a proper clean-up as well, she heard Taylor's voice through the microphone.
"Not so fast there, young lady. I forgot to tell the lucky winners what their prizes were," he started.
Lorelai's ears perked up. "The winner gets to have one piece of pie of choice every day for an entire year at Weston's bakery."
The crowd applauded. Not bad, Lorelai thought.
"The second place gets to have one piece of pie per week for an entire year at Luke's diner."
Lorelai could now guess where this was going.
Taylor continued. "And the third place will get ten hours of personal training by Bonnie from the Stars Hollow Fitness Club."
Lorelai's face fell. Great, not only was her stomach about to explode, but she had to train the pie weight off? Again she felt remote-controlled when she made her way over to Patty's station of lust. She felt awful. Even the victory in the one pie-eating categories couldn't help to make her feel better. Never had she felt this cranky when she was full. She saw Rory standing by the front exit with Lane and Dean, so she went there to say she was tired and going home. She took the side exit though, and just when she wanted to take a deep breath of air that didn't smell like pie or pie barf, Luke appeared in front of her.
"Luke!" she shrieked.
"Hey. Sorry, I had to check on the diner for a minute. Are you feeling OK?" he asked worriedly.
"Yeah, I'm all right," she replied, and felt better by the second. The fresh air was definitely helping.
"Are you feeling sick?" came the next question.
"Not at all. It's that Gilmore stomach I suppose. I'm full, but I think my digestive system will remain a one way street for th-," she said before she was interrupted by Luke's lips on hers.
He actually just kissed her. Pressed her against the wall and kissed her. Carefully at first, but when he didn't hear or feel her protest, he was encouraged to be more courageous. She then softly pushed him away and he knew he shouldn't have done it.
"Sorry," he mumbled and turned sideways to avoid her eyes.
"No, no. It's OK. My stomach is just full. You can't lean in in that particular area here," she said and circularly motioned to her stomach.
Luke looked relieved. He smiled then, and she realized how brave his act was just now.
"So just to clear the partial fog in my brain. I didn't think you were particularly psyched to be with me in there, and now you all but bait me to come outside to kiss me. Care to clarify what's going on between your left and right ear?"
For a moment he didn't say a thing. Then he took her hand. He let his fingers run over her knuckles, and for a minute she thought he was gonna kiss her hand. But instead he placed it over his heart and left his hand on top of hers. Their skin contact felt so new and familar at the same time.
"It's not so much what's going on between my ears. My brain sometimes needs to catch up with my heart."
"And what happened in there?" she asked and motioned back to the gym.
"That was just me not wanting the entire town to see how I would normally have looked at you," Luke confessed.
"It was just a red herring?"
He nodded. "Yeah. I'm not big on PDA."
"I see."
In spite of his last comment he then kissed her again, more careful not to come too close to her belly this time. As soon as she granted access to her mouth, he could taste the pie on her tongue. He imagined that was how she always tasted. They had to separate for air at some point.
"Wanna have dinner with me?" he asked her.
"Not today, but some time in the not too distant future, I'd love to have dinner with you."
"Hey, you never told me what your prize was."
"Ten hours of personal training," she smiled, knowing he'd have a field day with this.
His smile wasn't as bright as it could have been, though. He was too distracted by the close look of her face he had. Her lips just seemed too enticing, and he gave in to his craving.
Lorelai craves pie, Luke craves her lips, and I crave reviews. Thanks!