Sequence

by Oh-no-she-di'ent

In this story, Lorelai takes a little walk down memory lane; discover a past that wasn't shown on TV. Mainly because I made it up. Luke/ Lorelai. Complete.

**Okay, working on four stories at the same time is so much easier than just one. If I get stuck on one, I just hop on over to the next. Very appealing. Can't say I'll ever do it again, though. It's been too long. Decided on a hot night in July to start making up for it. Hope you all like this one & feel free to check out the other three. They're all complete. All of them are AU. You'll see that I took creative liberties with relationships and things, but what's new about that? :) Disclaimer: I love the characters; I don't own 'em.**

I tried this in 1st person. I could tell you all what the story is about, but I'd rather let Lorelai do the honors. Rated T. I hope you enjoy the read!

Sequence

X-X

Life is a crazy little thing.

It's something that we all learn eventually. Different things happen to teach that lesson. You have the small things, which come about quietly and for that reason, more frequently…and then there are the ones that come in on industrial forklifts. They spin you around, knock you down, and then offer a swift half nelson if you even dare try to stand.

That's what I'm here to talk about. The half nelsons of this unpredictable, sadistic, zany little life. Well, actually…one in particular. Impact took years. The little booger snuck in under the radar and left me—wait. Damn it, I promised I wouldn't get ahead of myself here. Let's back, back, baaack it up to the beginning.

It all started with a man named Ralphie.

Wait again! Sorry! I think I forgot to introduce myself. Get it together, Lorelai, jeez. Lorelai Gilmore's the name. At least I think it is. I'm still in the process of figuring that out. To all the comedians, no I'm not crazy or amnesiac. I'm just going through some things that are quite frankly none of your concern. At least not at this moment. You still don't even know who Ralphie is, for crying out loud, so just give me some time to catch you up. 'Kay? Now, where was I?

Oh, yes! It all started with a man named Ralphie.

-Ralphie-

I walked into the diner on a summer day, craving coffee. The counter was lined with customers, and even though two empty stools sat directly in my line of sight, I went to stand near the cash register.

Duke was there.

I gave him seconds to notice me. Seconds to look up and just maybe give an indication that I was the attractive young woman I was constantly made to feel like.

I wanted to see him break. For no other reason than to just break.

As usual, when he did take notice, his regard only showed displeasure.

"What are you doing?" he asked while taking notice of my proximity to the off-limits part of the diner.

"Waiting to be served, Burger Boy."

He pointed to one of the empty seats. "Wait around there."

"Am I in the restricted area?" I asked leadingly.

"You're close enough to it," was his retort.

"But am I in it?"

"Let's not do this song and dance today, okay? You knew that standing here would annoy me; you've succeeded in doing that, so just move around there, take a seat, and let's get on with part II of your daily harassment."

I smiled.

It wasn't a façade with him. He genuinely believed me to be his worst nightmare. Seven weeks I'd known him. Seven weeks and nothing. I wasn't a narcissist. Had faults that I sometimes believed were just hidden from the rest of the world. If men knew of the baggage I came with, they wouldn't touch me with a ten-foot pole. But flaws hidden, guys flocked.

But Duke…this Duke that worked in Luke's diner was different. I was just drawn to him, intrigued by him. He was a great looking guy. Dangerously close to being hot, even. A man's man. I had no experience at all with men's men, and if he was a representation of them, I never even wanted to experiment. Who in their right mind would want to deal with a guy that serious and cold? Not me, that's for sure.

Initially, I believed I hated him. I wanted to at least. He was just so callous and unbending. He gave me nothing at all to work with. He spoke to me with contempt, like he hated even the sound of my voice.

So my daily mission centered on trying to piss him off. Calling him Duke got under his skin. I could tell. Other than bugging him relentlessly, it's the only card I had to play. So, I played it well. A month of his charm had me less set on revenge and more accepting of his behavior. It occurred to me that he treated everyone the same way if they bugged him too much. I wasn't excluded.

Honestly, I was just happy to be fitting in.

Without further objection, I moved to the nearest stool and took a seat. Satisfied at my acquiescence, he gave me his full attention. "What are you having today?"

I rattled off my order, and he called it back to his cook.

"Coffee?" he asked.

"Yes, please."

He poured, and when done, I sipped happily. I lowered my mug and watched him work.

"Hey, Duke?"

"I've told you that's not my name."

"Consider it a sentiment."

"I consider it annoying. The name is Luke, and that's what I want to be called," he stated obstinately.

"Are we going to have this conversation every day I come in here?"

"Depends."

"On what?"

He looked at me. "On whether you insist on calling me that every day you come in here."

I shrugged. "Guess you and I officially have a routine established, then."

He blew me off. Moved down the counter and gave another woman his attention. I found myself leaning forward to see her full make-up. She was average. Hair in a ponytail, glasses, pretty smile, decent body. Average. Luke smiled at her, and it was then that I realized I'd never seen him do that. I'd seen him look gruff, not-so gruff, overly gruff, and unbothered on occasion. Had never seen the smile.

The smile was nice.

I watched him until it disappeared, and he looked in my direction like he could feel my eyes on him. I smiled. He rolled his eyes away.

I thought about making this the official moment to start taking his slights personal. Damn Duke.

I took another drink from my cup and was in the middle of Heaven when somebody claimed the open seat next to me.

"Good morning."

I lowered my cup and tried to savor the liquid while briefly ignoring the interruption. Then, I looked over and smiled at the attractive man with perfect teeth. "Good morning back," I replied.

He pointed to my mug. "You make that look really good."

While quite amused at his obvious and uninspired flirt, I nodded. "Coffee and I have a history. Lots of practice has gone into these attention-grabbing sips."

"I can tell," he said while eyeing me.

Again, I nodded. There was a long silence. He used the time to stare at every inch of my face. I wanted to dismiss him and turn back to my delicious cup of joe. I fought the urge to tell him to either take a crap or get up off the pot.

"My name is Ralph. People call me Ralphie."

I brought my hand to his, and he held and caressed it, rather than shook it. "Thought the I E's dropped off around puberty," I joked.

He laughed. "Guess I got lucky."

I nodded. "Lorelai."

"Beautiful name."

"I make do."

"Here's your food," Duke interrupted in his usually charming manner. He slid the plate in front of me, and I thanked him and finally thought to get my hand away from the beautiful man whose name made me think of BB guns.

Ralphie declined Luke's offer to order and then continued conversation with me even as I gave full attention to my breakfast.

I answered his questions, fired a few of my own, and eventually stopped subjecting him to my wit after painfully watching his continued attempt to fake comprehension.

Thirty minutes of conversation later, Ralphie left, and I had his number. I didn't give out mine. Not in the 'Ralphie' stage of my life.

Luke neared me. I looked up from my purse and saw that he watched me with uncertainty as I pulled money out.

"What's up, Duke?" I asked lightly. "Work a little slow right now?"

He sighed and seemed uncomfortable. "I, uh, saw you talking to that guy."

I stopped what I was doing and eyed him. "Yeah. So?" I asked curiously.

He drummed his knuckles onto the counter. He went for casual but pulled off awkward. My eyes fell to his hands and I nearly laughed. Wondered what the hell was with him.

"What's the problem?" I asked at his silence.

He took a breath, braced himself. "You may want to…you know, steer clear of him."

If I wasn't interested before, I certainly was after he said that. I leaned in. "Do you know him?"

He shook his head but avoided eye contact. "Just know of him…sorta."

"Okay?" I urged.

"Look…" He rolled his eyes and then finally met mine. "The guy's a jerk. Came in here the other day with some lady. Another lady came in, saw them, and it turned into this big thing. Had to kick them all out of here. He didn't even seem to care; he thought it was funny…" Luke looked downward. "Whatever. It's your business, ya know? I don't..." He shrugged and started scanning the diner again. "I just kinda thought you'd like to…ya know, maybe you'd like to know that."

His words hung in the air for a short time.

I looked away from him. "I can't…believe this. This is just…oh my god."

He gestured awkwardly toward me. "Hey, y-you, uh, gonna be okay?" he asked with compassion. I covered my eyes. Shook my head. "Oh boy," I heard him whisper. "It's just a guy. Some dumb jerk."

I shook my head harder and lowered my hands from my eyes. "No, no, you don't understand." My voice quivered as I met his eyes. "Two weeks. The wedding is in two weeks." I watched the entire progression of his confused regard. "What on earth am I supposed to tell my parents?" His eyes went narrower and narrower. "His parents?" I continued. "The caterers and the mariachi band?"

Silence passed between us as we stared at one another. Luke's confusion slowly turned to a glare as my phony expression of grievance gave way to a grin.

His glare was seconds upon seconds of extended eye contact that I'd never had from him until then.

He made me laugh from that look. "I'm sorry," I managed to say.

He rolled his eyes at my laughter and looked away. Replied lightly, "Guess I should just be happy you didn't really cry."

I took a deep breath. "Would've broken your heart?"

"No. Crying makes me uncomfortable."

I finished retrieving my money. "Everything seems to make you uncomfortable." I gestured at him. "Especially that information you just gave me." I smiled.

He turned red. "Well."

"Thanks for telling me that, by the way," I added warmly. "You really didn't have to."

"Just thought it was the right thing to do," he said with a nervous shrug.

"Not in his eyes, I'm sure." I picked up the paper with Ralphie's name and number, tore it in half twice, and then slid it next to the money. "Can you throw that away for me?"

He smiled. The tiniest of smiles passed his lips. "Sure."

I stood. "Thanks again." He nodded and gave me that tiny smile once more. "See you later, Duke."

The smile disappeared, and the glare returned.

I winked at him and left the diner.

X-X

Ah, Ralphie.

Ralphie, Ralphie, Ralphie.

He missed out on something good, that's for sure.

After learning what he was truly about, I was done. Just like that. I certainly wasn't going to stick around and become a part of some guy's drama just because he had a Colgate smile. I ripped that piece of paper to shreds and didn't give him a second thought. Until now, of course.

The reason why Ralphie made it to the long-term part of my memory is only because of Luke. Well…Duke as he was better known back then. It was the first time that he talked to me. Really talked to me. Not yelled or barked or seethed. Oh, god, he loved to seethe! But he talked to me on a level that he totally didn't have to. Like he cared almost. Weeeird for Duke.

That day marked the first time that he treated me like someone that was actually on his radar. It was the very first time, but it certainly wasn't the last.

Which leads me to Blake.

-Blake-

I helped Rory pack her backpack with clothes.

She was spending the night with the Kims. Lane, she loved like a sister, but she and I both always had to mentally prepare for her nights with Mrs. Kim, the warden.

"Do you want me to bag you up some Oreos or will it be Mallomars this time?" I asked her. I held the backpack steady as she stuffed Georgette Heyer's Frederica inside. She tried to fit another more contemporary and lighter work in with it for when she got really sleepy and wasn't able to focus as much. When it wouldn't fit, she gave up with a sigh.

"Better go with the Mallomars," she replied. "And pack enough for Lane, too, pleeease."

"I'm on it. Wouldn't dare leave out the second cutest kid in junior high."

I went into the kitchen to prepare the only food that Rory would actually want to eat that night.

"Mom, have you seen my book light?"

"Um, have you checked on the desk?"

"Yeah, it's not there."

"The living room?"

"I didn't use it in there!"

"Things grow legs, Sweetheart. Gotta cover all bases."

"No, things that already have legs pick it up and move it to strange locations, you mean."

"That too." I heard her move into the living room and rummage around some as I fixed her snack. "See it?"

"No. Where else could it be?" she asked panicked. "You know lights go out at nine sharp in the Kim household, Mom. How am I supposed to see my book without a book light?"

"Guess you'll have to turn into Catwoman."

She came back into the kitchen. "I just had it last night. Where'd it go that fast?"

"Last night?"

"Yeah. I tried to sleep but ended up wanting to read a little more of Nine Stories so I used it for a few minutes."

I took a bite of one of the Mallomars. "You have a sickness, Kid."

"Mom, that's not helping!"

I placed the cookie between my teeth and used both hands to firmly seal the first sandwich bag. "Have you checked your bed?" I asked, attempting to talk around the cookie.

"It's not there; I would've seen it."

"Under the covers, I mean." I removed it from my mouth. "Bet you anything it's hiding there trying to get one night's peace."

She hurried in her room and seconds later I heard her call out happily, "Found it!"

"See. Poor thing's probably shivering, isn't it?"

"Thanks, Mom!"

"You're welcome, Angel."

She bounced out to the kitchen once more, looking far less stressed. "Okay, think I'm all set."

I tossed both bags of cookies a few inches into the air and caught them. "Good. Let's hide these somewhere sneaky and get you on the road."

"Coat pockets?"

"Great idea. Grab it from your closet for me."

She skipped over. "So, will tonight be a date night now that the kid's out of the way?"

I smiled. "You're never in the way, Rory. I'd much rather hang with you. It's you who's abandoning me, remember?"

"Well, Mom, Lane's my best friend, next to you. Sleepovers are part of the deal."

"Yeah, I know," I pouted.

"And you knew what to expect when you signed off on the 'Every other sleepover at the Kim house' law."

"Just rub it in deeper."

She laughed. "So, when's guy-with-a-limp coming to pick you up?"

I rolled my eyes. "I told you he hurt his leg playing basketball. That limp isn't going to last forever. Pick another name."

"No, I like it. Has a nice ring. Besides, by the time the limp is gone…" She picked up her bag. "…he probably will be too."

I gasped. "Ouch!"

She looked at me. "Come on, Mom. He's only the second guy I've seen you with. And just like the man with the earring, you introduced him like a passing ship, so that's what I'm assuming he is. Am I wrong?"

"I d-didn't introduce him like a-" I scoffed. "He was in a rush…and you were talking to Sookie, so-"

"He was trying to hold a conversation with me and you pushed him out the door saying you guys' reservation was going to run out."

"Well! It was true!"

"You went to an all-you-can-eat taco bar that night, Mom."

I sighed, closed in on her, and grasped both sides of her face gently. "Look, Miss Busybody, you just grab your things and get in the car so this night can hurry up and be over with." I kissed her forehead. "I miss you already." I turned her loose and took her bag from her. "Now, let's go," I ended while ushering her through the door.

She did as asked. "Are you going out tonight or aren't you?" she grilled over her shoulder.

I grabbed the keys and my purse. "None of your Mommy-Abandoning business, Short Stuff."

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

That night marked date number four with Blake.

He limped from the driver's side to the passenger's and opened my door like a gentleman.

I stepped out. "Maybe I should be the one opening your door, Sir Limps a Lot."

He laughed. "Wouldn't dream of it," he said as he hobbled backwards to give me room. "I have to do something to impress you, and if you take this away from me, then what do I have left?"

"Faster recovery time, maybe?"

"I'll risk it," he followed smoothly.

With a smile, I told him, "Well, don't break yourself further on my account."

He closed the door behind me, and I immediately looked through the diner's glass. It wasn't my idea to stop by Luke's. Well, it was. But not really as part of a date. My cravings for Luke's coffee got stronger every day. I needed it in the morning. I wanted it in the afternoon. And every night I convinced myself that one more cup couldn't hurt.

Blake was fun. He was sweet and kind, and time spent with him really did not suck. But even while with him, I thought of coffee. I joked about him dropping me off at the diner instead of home, and all that led to was a genuine offer to swing by together and allow it to be our nightcap.

I didn't mind too much. Seemed slightly awkward to bring a guy to Luke's, but it was a public place, and I was sure it was nothing that Duke hadn't seen before. He'd scowl and stomp around with us there, the same as he'd do with us not there. Not too huge a deal.

Before making it inside, I stopped and told Blake to go on in without me. In my purse was the Krokus album that I was sure Rory hadn't meant to leave. I planned on running it over to Mrs. Kim's and sneaking it in through the window to her. I knew I'd find myself near the Kim household at some point that night, given its proximity to the best coffee in town, so I'd made room for the CD in my date bag.

Blake acceded to my solo trek across the dark town after my gab gift proved itself superior yet again. He went inside to give his injured leg some rest.

Within a few short minutes, I turned into the yard for Kim's Antiques, both the residence and workplace of the Kim clan. An approaching figure caught my eye and nearly made me jump from my skin. I froze and stared.

"Duke?" I asked, hand to heart.

He paused in surprise and finally looked up from the large object he carried. "Lorelai?"

Relieved, I started moving closer toward him. "Oh, my god. Thought I was a goner. Thought you were a masked murderer, minus the mask."

"Must've been terrifying," he stated banally.

"My heart can keep up with Flight of the Bumblebee over here."

He hiked up what was in his hands. "What are you doing out here?"

"Me? What are you doing coming from Mrs. Kim's house so late? Something you wanna tell me?"

He didn't leave time for my humor to expand. He gestured down with his head. "I came here for this." He hiked it up again. "And it's heavy, so we're gonna have to save the chit chat for another time." He moved around me. "See ya."

I studied the heavy, brass thing in his hands as he walked past. "Is that a cash register?"

He sighed impatiently and turned.

"Luke!" We both turned to the house when a door opened and Luke's name was called. Mrs. Kim flew down the stairs. "You forgot your receipt," she said succinctly. She rushed to the gate where he stood, and took notice of me as she passed it to him.

"Thanks, Mrs. Kim," Luke said with respect.

"Be more careful next time," she advised. "You need proof of purchase. Never leave business without receipt. Understood?"

He nodded while readjusting what I could now clearly see was an antique cash register. "Understood," he followed casually.

Done with Luke, her head snapped to me. "Lorelai," she identified.

"Yes," I followed quickly. She stared at me. "…um ma'am," I added ineptly.

"What are you doing here?" she asked with suspicion. "Rory is sleeping. Did you want to see Rory? Are you worried about her?" she fired at me without pause.

I pushed my purse further around my shoulder as if the CD would suddenly start playing on its own and give me away. "No. I, uh…know Rory's in great hands here," I said, meaning that part very much. Rory was definitely in great hands. Strict…but great hands. "I'm here to um…" I glanced at Luke. "…to give Luke a hand." I smiled. "Yeah, I was just walking by on my way to the uh…the uh, church…" I heard Luke mutter under his breath but I ignored him. "…And I saw him coming out so I was gonna help him out a little."

Mrs. Kim appeared skeptical for a few seconds before boldly gesturing at Luke. "He doesn't need any help," she declared. "He's a man. He's capable of carrying that, no problem at all." She looked at him. "Tell her, Luke. Tell her you're a man."

I almost laughed as I watched him struggling to hold it in place. He smiled tightly at her. "Yeah, piece of cake. Don't worry about it," he assured.

Mrs. Kim looked to me instantly again, and my amusement vanished. "The street is no place for a young woman at night, Lorelai. It's not safe." She pointed from me to Luke. "Walk with Luke to the diner, then he can make sure you get home okay from there."

Luke and I both knew enough not to argue.

"I'll make sure she gets home okay," he said while still trying to hold onto the machine. "Thanks for bringing my receipt. And thanks again for letting me come by after hours to get this."

She nodded at him. Shook her head at me. Then, turned swiftly and headed back inside her house/store. We watched her disappear inside before speaking.

"Let's just give a moment of silence to what just went down here."

Luke rolled his eyes. "I'm takin' off. If you're coming, then come on."

"Wait!" I hurried along to the house and stopped under Lane's second floor bedroom. "Pssst! Pssssst!" I summoned through my teeth.

"What are you doing?" Luke whispered loudly with agitation.

"Shh!" I responded to him. I turned back. "Psssssssst!"

The window cracked open, and Lane's head poked out. She looked down curiously then waved when she saw it was me. She told me to hold on and seconds later, Rory's head leaned out.

"Hey, Kid."

"Mom? Hey! What are you, trying to Romeo and Juliet me here?"

I held up the CD. "Forgot something?"

She gasped. "Yes!" She turned back and told Lane what she now had in her possession. Another gleeful response came down to my ears, and then I proceeded to get my aim right before tossing it up to her. Through a miracle, she caught it.

I blew her a kiss. "Okay, night, Sweetie. See you tomorrow."

"Love you, Mom." She looked up to the distance, then back at me. "And tell Luke hey for me. Tell him the next time he knocks over a store, leave the cash register. Less conspicuous that way."

I laughed softly. "I'll tell him."

Luke glared at me as I walked back up to him on the sidewalk.

"What?" I asked innocently.

"If I have a hernia tomorrow, just know that it's your fault," he complained.

"Noted."

He sighed. "What was that about anyway?"

"Oh, now Mr. Upset Guy wants to merge into my affairs?"

"Wouldn't hurt to know why I had to stand here and endure three more minutes of back pain."

I smiled. "She forgot the CD she wanted to lend to Lane."

He didn't get it. Didn't see the logic. I could tell. He frowned at hearing that, and then as his thoughts started to settle, out came an expression of mild understanding. Some level of awe. "So, you came all the way out here to bring her a CD?"

I shook my head. "No, came all the way over here to bring her a CD."

"Over from where?"

I pointed to the diner in the distance. He looked and ended up rolling his eyes. "Don't you think you've had enough late night coffee to last you a lifetime? This can't be good for you."

"Oh, come on, Duke. It's business. What do you care as long as you see the almighty dollar?"

"What have I told you about calling me that?"

"Um…do it?"

"No."

"Do it often?"

"No."

"Do it with jazz hands?"

"Why am I talking to you? Why?"

"You secretly love me. Consider yourself busted."

He scoffed. "You would think that, wouldn't you? I put up with you because you won't go away. No matter what I do, you keep showing up. Like a cat that I made the mistake of feeding."

"Don't play the gruff role with me, Buddy. I know that underneath all that…flannel and chest hair, it's a whole lot of…" I looked at him. He looked at me. I shook my head away hopelessly. "Yeah, it's probably just more of the same," I gave in.

"Pretty much," he added with satisfaction. He looked ahead of us. Ended up scanning the area. "Did you walk here?" he asked with concern. "No matter how safe you think this town is, that's not too smart."

"Why do you care? If something bad happens, that means I go away. Isn't that what you want, for me to meet up with an Alex Delarge type of crazy?"

"Jeez. You're really twisted."

I smiled. "I didn't walk here."

"I don't see the jeep," he pointed out.

"I came with someone."

"Who?"

"Why?"

He lost interest just like that. "Well, at least you won't be walking alone out here."

I looked away from him. "Nope. My suitor will see to it that I get home safely, with all fingers, toes, and hair strands safely in place."

He still sounded quite disinterested. "So, you're on a date, then." He said it more than asked.

"Something like that."

"Ever heard of the crazy concept that involves not ditching a date in order to make a delivery?"

"Hm. Uh, no I can't say that I have. Is it along the same lines of not cutting out during business hours to collect an old dusty register when you have one that works fine?"

"It doesn't work fine," he snapped. "The drawer keeps getting stuck and the other day a button popped off. That's what I get for going for new and flashy. Shoddy craftsmanship at the price of appeal." He looked down at the one he carried. "This is sixty years old, and I guarantee it's the last one this place ever needs."

I looked at it. "Guess it has a certain charm. It'll definitely take focus off the décor of the hardware store slash diner. I mean, seriously, it's like eating in aisle 5 of Home Depot. What's the deal with that anyway?"

"None of your business," he answered guardedly.

"I can't be the first person to ask that question," I said in defense to his tone.

"Nope. And you got the same answer everybody else got."

"Should I feel special now?"

"Doesn't matter if you do or don't. That's not really my concern. Just like what you asked isn't any of yours."

"Okay, jeez. Don't bite my head off, Duke."

"How mature," he deadpanned.

I'd known Duke for eight months. Eight months, and sometimes it seemed we hadn't come very far at all. "It's such a wonder why I never see you on any dates. Such a wonder. What, with your flattering personality and all of your wonderful people skills, it downright baffles the mind."

"Whatever."

"We all have our days, but yours are just so consistently close together."

"You done?"

"I mean, it's not like dating is the bee's knees or anything, but we should all at least try to be appealing. You don't even try. At least not from what I can see. It's like you have the spirit of a ninety year old trapped in your body."

"You're really getting on my nerves right now."

"Good!"

"For Heaven's sake," he mumbled. "You know, it's not like you have it all figured out. Don't try to come giving me advice on how to be."

"No one has it all figured out. But like I said, at least I try."

"Dating random guys who you find cute but don't want to let anywhere near your kid isn't trying. If anything, it's a waste of time and energy. It's draining, is what it is."

He looked over at me when I didn't respond right away. Found me looking caught off guard. He didn't ease up. "Yeah, that's right. I hear things. I pick up on things." He stopped walking when I did. "Rory calls him that guy. Wobbly leg guy. Guy with a limp. Guy with the green eyes. Everything but his name and you don't seem to mind one bit. Probably how you prefer it."

Still, I said nothing.

Both his expression and voice softened. "You'd give up dating altogether and spend every second with her if you could. That's obvious. But just a word of advice from the last person you'd want it from: if the guy isn't worth a decent introduction to Rory, then maybe the guy isn't worth it."

He stayed looking at me for seconds with his grave eyes. Then he turned and started walking again, anxious to cover the last few yards to the diner so he could get rid of the weight in his arms. He stopped and looked back almost immediately.

"You coming or what?"

I took a breath and caught up to him. He looked at my lowered head as we walked together. "Can't leave you out here at the mercy of that Alex guy. Wouldn't sit well on my conscience," he said in a farcical tone of voice.

"Noble," I followed quietly.

"What?"

"Very noble of you," I said with a little more volume. My mind still circled around what he'd said.

"Doesn't sound like the Lorelai Gilmore that I know and tolerate. Where's the always present tower of confidence that you carry around so proudly?"

I smiled a little. Never thought he was capable of such an air. "I dunno."

"You don't know?"

I looked at him. "Yeah, I don't know. Maybe it's waiting for me at the convent you're trying to banish me to," I teased snippily.

He laughed. Actually laughed. "That how you see it?"

"That's exactly how I see it," I answered more normally. "What is it, did you enlist yourself into the convent and now you're looking for followers?"

He still smiled. "It's…monastery. I'd be in a monastery…not a convent," he corrected jokingly.

"Oh, well, excuse me, Father Superior."

"It's a lot between what I said and joining a convent." He shrugged. "Besides, what do I know? I'm just the guy in the diner with the dateless personality."

I gasped. "Who told you that?"

He shook his head as I chuckled. "Some annoying brunette who won't go away."

"Oh. Well, she was probably just upset. I'm sure she didn't mean it." I moved ahead of him to get the door for him. "Just like I'm sure you didn't mean it when you called her irritating." I held the door open and smiled as he passed by.

"Oh, I meant what I said," he assured.

"Well…I change my mind, then. I meant mine, too!" I backtracked.

He walked behind the counter. "Yeah, yeah," he called out without care.

"Darn you," I muttered. I spotted Blake at a table and went to join him.

X-X

Oh, man, it's been a while since I thought about Blake. He really was a nice guy.

Unfortunately, we didn't get to date number five.

Luke's words stuck. Can you believe that? I didn't want a future with Blake. I didn't want a future with anyone at that point in my life, and the thought of letting a man into Rory's life scared me right into celibacy. For a while anyway. Stupid Duke and his stupid words of advice that I was stupid enough to let mess with my head.

For the sake of my pride, I wish I could say that Luke had been wrong. Maybe jealous. Impractical. But he was right. To this day, I don't know if he knows how right his words were for me. How much of an effect they had on my choices.

One year after Blake, I met Cason.

Cason sticks in my head like no man before him. And he has no one to thank for that but the diner man, himself.

-Cason-

"If I tell you one more time to get off that cell phone…" Luke threatened with his most menacing look.

I winked at him. Finished my conversation in five words and then disconnected the call. "Oh, will you relax, please?"

"Why is it so hard for you to follow one little simple rule?"

"Cutting off my connection to the outside world is not little or simple, okay? It's horrible and mean."

"Well, be that as it may-"

"Tell it to me straight, Duke."

"It's still a rule, and it's meant to be followed."

I waved both hands with a flourish. "Well, you have plenty of other patrons to keep in your tiny flannel pocket, so one less isn't going to hurt much."

"I'm sick of having this conversation, Lorelai," he said sternly. "Just stay off the phone!"

"I'm off."

"Keep it that way."

"You have some serious control issues, Duke. Not cool."

"And apparently, you have some listening issues."

I smiled. Picked up my coffee and drank. "Guess who that was," I said.

"You mean on the phone being spoken to illegally?"

"Right."

He rolled his eyes. "Not too hard to figure out," he said flatly.

I wiggled and danced. "It was Cason."

"Like I said. Not too hard to figure out."

"He's inviting me to dinner tonight. I think tonight is the night, Duke. What do you think?"

"I think I'm sick of hearing about this guy."

"Why would you say that? You set us up!"

He grimaced at me. "Telling you that my sister dated the guy in high school and dumped him for the deadbeat hotdog king when she discovered he wasn't a complete loser like all the other lowlifes she'd been with does not qualify as setting you up."

"But you signed off on him being a good guy. Handsomeness and non-loseryness made him a major qualifier."

"Whatever. Doesn't mean I care about every facet of your obsession with him."

"I resent that."

"Tough. Start showing me a more appealing truth and I'll stop hurting you with the one I got."

I decided to ignore him, and instead, let my happiness shine through. "Tonight at dinner, I'm pretty sure he's gonna ask me to go steady."

"And then give you his varsity jacket to wear? Maybe a class ring to go around your neck?" He appeared disgusted. "Give me a break."

"Stop it, Duke. I'm being serious," I attempted in gravity.

"Calling me Duke isn't being serious."

"I like this guy." I nodded in a moment of self-admiration. "I'm growing. Kind of."

"Yeah, I guess," he said unimpressively.

"You're not proud of me?"

He moved around and attended to other menial tasks. "If I cared enough to be proud, I suppose this would be as good a place as any."

"Too cool to care, huh?"

He dropped some paper cups. Leaned down to pick them up with irritated words. Sighed. "So, two months seeing this guy and it hasn't gotten serious?"

"Are you interested?" I teased. "In something to do with me? Are you sick, feverish?"

"Just making conversation. You're the one who insists on talking about it during every pause."

"Well, you're such a good listener."

"And obviously not as intimidating as I thought. Though it seems to work on everybody else," he complained.

"See what happens when you're cut from a different mold?"

He looked elsewhere. "When you gonna let Rory meet him?" he asked casually.

His interest surprised me. Delayed the answer. "Well, I'm taking it easier with this one. He's nice. Stable. And I'm trying something a little new, a little scary…"

"And what's that?"

"The R word. Maybe." I smiled. Felt nervous finally admitting it aloud. To Duke, no less. But I'd found that he really was a great soundboard. He was fun to talk to because he didn't blow smoke. And once I managed to break through his guard and get him to actually talk back, I found him to be a very adequate advisor because again, he didn't blow smoke.

"What the hell is the R word?"

"Roughneck," I answered immediately. "I figured I'd let my inner Ike come out to see if he's really as devoted as he claims to be."

He shook his head, pretended for a moment to go along with what I'd said. "Kinda disturbing. But far be it for me to intrude on a real live experimental study."

I chuckled. "R is for relationship," I answered more accurately.

"Wow. Relationship, huh?"

"Maybe."

"Still thinking it over?"

"I think so?"

"Must like him."

"Yeah, he's really okay. For the most part, I think."

He shook his head. "Well, at least you seem to have everything figured out."

I smiled. "I like him," I said simply. "And I think he's really starting to like me too, hence the talk about going steady. I'll be doing the official introduction with Rory soon enough. Probably."

"Jeez, do you know anything for sure?"

"Sure. I know there's a good chance that your face will get stuck like that if you keep scrunching it up every five seconds at me. And I also know that…" I glanced at the clock, "…Cason will be coming here in about five minutes. So, get ready."

"For what? He's your date, not mine."

"Get him some coffee or something."

Luke dismissed me, which he had become so great at doing. Turned away while stating, "When he orders it, I'll get it."

"Fine, fine. Duke the Difficult." I slid off the stool. "Gonna run to the little girl's room. If Cason comes in, can you let him know I'll be right out?"

"Sure."

I pointed at him. "I'm counting on you."

"I bet."

"Don't let me down, Diner Man."

He gave me a look of exhaustion. "Don't you have to pee?"

I laughed. "Back in a jiffy."

I'd guess it was only seconds after I disappeared that Cason came in. I really wasn't gone that long, so the situation didn't have very long to play itself out. Cason had enough time to order his coffee and settle himself in. By the time I came out, the scene I saw made me jump back behind the wall before I was spotted. I don't know why I did that. Guess it was curiosity. Wanted to see what was going on before stepping in to mediate.

I peeked around the corner. Saw Luke with my cell phone in his hand, clutching it protectively.

"What's your problem, Luke?" Cason asked defensively.

Luke looked down at it like it was something he didn't fully trust. "I don't know what kind of information can be kept in this thing," he began. He looked back to Cason. "But I'm pretty sure Lorelai didn't give you permission to be going through hers."

"Jesus," Cason said in a low agitated voice. He was trying to keep his voice down and rush the conversation. That was obvious. "You didn't have to snatch the phone out of my hand! I was just checking out ringtones. That sort of thing." He tapped the counter. "Just put it back down."

"What's that?" Luke asked.

"What's what?"

"Ringtones. What's that, and why is that of any interest to you?" he asked like an interrogator.

Cason looked at Luke like he had to be kidding. "It's songs and melodies and stuff. What you hear when the phone rings instead of an actual-" He stopped and sighed impatiently. "Look, it's not anything bad. Just…" I saw him start to look in the direction of the restroom, and my head flew back behind the wall. I closed my eyes. Thought he'd saw me, but he continued on, which meant he hadn't. "Just put the phone back down and let's forget about this whole thing. Which is being blown totally out of proportion, by the way."

Luke looked at the phone again. Back at Cason. "Why didn't you just ask her what was on here when she came out?"

Cason was sweating bullets thinking that I'd come out before Luke was satisfied enough to do as he asked. "I will. I'll do it when she comes out. I just didn't think before. Now, please put her phone back where she had it."

For a moment, Luke said nothing, and then, "Nah, I think I'll just give it to her myself. Wouldn't want it to fall into the wrong hands or anything." He rolled his eyes and spoke more to himself. "Though that's what she gets for having it out in here when I told her not to."

"Luke, Man, would you just-" He grew ever more nervous. "Jeez, what are you going to tell her?"

"Is there something I should tell her?"

"No! That's why I'm asking you to just put it back down before this turns into something way bigger than it needs to."

"Why are you so damn jittery if you weren't doing anything?"

"Because it's not gonna look that way when she comes out here and you're holding her phone like I can't be trusted!"

"Can you?"

"Come on, Man."

Luke shook his head. "I thought you were a decent guy, Cason. That's what I told her." He shrugged. "Kind of, anyway," he added.

"What does this have to do with—I am a good guy! I should have asked her to look at her ringtones and stuff, okay? I'll admit that. Now, for the love of god, put the phone down!"

Luke cocked his eyebrow. "How do I know you're not some kinda control freak?"

"I'm not!"

"Well, okay," he replied sarcastically. "Totally convinced now."

Cason dropped his head. "You're killing me here, Luke."

Luke sighed. From where I stood, I saw him lean in and speak more seriously. I could still hear. "She's a good person, okay? And she has a kid…who's great. And I doubt she has any time to put up with stupidity and childish games and all that other crap. Especially when she actually likes the guy. If you're thinkin' of bringing any kind of craziness into her life…just don't."

Cason met his eyes. "I'm not planning to. I promise."

Luke looked unconvinced, but he seemed to finally realize that time was really closing in, and I'd return in no time at all. Seemed to be willing to give Cason the benefit of the doubt. "Well, alright, I'll put it back-" He brought the phone up to glance at it and ended up looking harder. "I don't know how a ringtone screen looks, but I'm sure it doesn't look like her address bo—hey!"

Cason reached over and pinched the phone from his hand. He pressed a button, which I assumed got the phone back on the main screen and laid it down where I had left it.

Luke looked pissed.

I stepped from behind the wall. "Uh hey, Cason. You're here." He smiled uneasily and stood up to hug and kiss me. My eyes went to Luke after Cason had stepped back again. "Look, Luke. Cason is here," I said.

He glared at Cason. Looked like a bull ready to charge at a capote.

"Luke!" He looked at me. I pointed to the man in front of me. "I said Cason is here. Do you see him?"

Cason chuckled. "What are you doing?"

"Uh, nothing. Just making sure that Luke sees that you're here. And knows that we're about to go out. Me and you. On a date that I was looking forward to. Because the R word is desperately trying to become a part of my vocabulary and everything. So, if there was something that he wanted to say to us…to me…then now would be a great time to get it off his chest."

Cason glanced at him. "I think he's okay. Let's go."

I looked at Luke. "Is that true? You feeling content?"

I was thinking comedy. I was thinking satire. Though Cason was much closer to the pain-causing part of my emotions than the first guy Luke had busted for me, he still was just a guy. A guy easy to let go. Though my brain was thinking comedy, I'm sure my tone sounded way more vulnerable and sincere considering the look Luke gave me. Whatever male code of silence he may or may not have considered respecting went out the window in an instant.

"I hope you don't have too much personal stuff stored in that phone. Cason here seemed to have a grand old time nosing around it in it while you were in the bathroom, didn't you?" he asked without apology.

I looked at Cason. He shook his head as if it was a lie not even worth getting upset over. "That's not true."

"Luke says it is."

"Well, it's not."

His easy lie bothered me more than anything else. I sighed. "You know, Case…I think we should probably cool it for a while. Or forever. Ooh yeah, let's go with that one."

He looked shocked, and I could completely understand why since he didn't know about my eavesdropping. "Lorelai."

"It's not you, it's me…." I droned. "I'm just at a point in my life right nowww….I need some space….I just wanna concentrate on insert most believable excuse here…." I looked at him gravely, sadly. The first guy that ever got the R word consideration. "Just pick one, come to terms with it, turn around, and walk away."

He did. He started to say something but didn't. He wanted to try changing my mind but decided not to go with those odds, considering how they looked. He left the diner and didn't look back.

I turned to the counter and dropped onto a stool.

"Great. Single again."

Luke looked at me for a moment before asking hesitantly, "So…I'm guessing you heard some of-"

"All of," I corrected.

"Oh."

"Or most of. Enough of."

"I'm sorry, Lorelai."

I looked at him with my lip out. "Did I do the right thing?"

He shrugged a little. Gave me his sympathetic stare, which came with the bluest set of eyes. "I don't know," he answered softly.

I thought for a moment. "It seemed right."

"Then it probably was."

I picked up my phone and brushed my fingers over it. "Thanks for having my back. All the things you said…thanks."

"No problem."

I smiled while staring at him. "Softy," I teased quietly.

"Jeez."

"Luke is such a softyyyy," I followed without changing tone.

He surprised me when he smiled. Surprised me very much. I wondered if he was smitten….if I had flattered him, which I didn't really think was possible. But that wasn't the case at all.

"I'm Luke now?" he asked.

I chuckled at his hidden delight. His smiles were something else. Made me feel warm. "Consider your name changed. Two years of Duke is plenty."

"Thank god."

"Well, you've earned it."

He turned away, and for the first time ever, proceeded to give me coffee without being asked.

X-X

This is so a colon, parenthesis moment.

I really think the Cason trial marked the moment when things really changed for Luke and me. Because if you haven't figured it out by now, that's what this whole thing is about. Luke Danes and myself.

Our friendship was like no other. Didn't really have a start date. Just kinda turned around one day, and there it was in all its glory. Incomparable in so many ways.

There were one or two others after Cason, and yes, Luke played his role. The relationships died out on their own. The man who rapidly became my shoulder to lean on didn't have much to do with those not working out. But he was there for me.

I guess now would be a pretty good time to take a behind-the-scenes look at one of my more well-known liaisons.

Max the Great.

-Max-

Luke's head rested on my kitchen table.

He wasn't feeling well. I'd already told him to close the diner down and take a day off, but he didn't even consider it. Out of the question was the answer he gave to me, actually.

I told him Fine, go ahead and drop dead, then. What I said didn't bother him, but it made me feel bad enough to spend twenty minutes telling him how much I didn't mean it. He couldn't drop dead. Who'd serve me? Who'd put up with me and put me in my place like only he knew how?

The apology bugged him way more than the actual disregard for his life.

Anyway, he left the diner and came to my house for Theraflu. Doose's had some but they would have just sold it to him in a stupid little box, forcing him to make it himself. Coming to my house insured that I'd get to make it and be there to make sure he drank it all.

Half the concoction sat on the table in front of him as he sat there pitifully with his head on my table.

"Why the hell are you trying to date Rory's teacher anyway? Isn't it illegal for him to date parents?"

I rolled my eyes. "It's not illegal. It's just not ideal. And people are going to talk more than likely. But I shouldn't care about that."

He didn't say anything.

"Right?" I asked desperately.

"Whatever, Lorelai. I have a headache."

"Well, it's your own fault since you refuse to take it easy." I pointed at his cup even though his face remained on the table. "Drink the rest of that. You have to drink it within ten or fifteen minutes if you want it to work."

"It's not working," he complained.

"It's not instant rice, Luke. You have to give it time to do its thing." I took a sip from my own mug, which contained coffee. "Wanna go lay down? I spilled milk on my couch this morning and I don't think it's dry yet, but you can stretch out on my bed if you want."

"No."

I briefly mocked him under my breath. "I hate when you're sick. You're so grumpy."

He groaned and sat up. Drank a few sips from the cup and put it back down. "What's this guy's name?" he asked moodily.

I smiled. "Max Medina."

"Well, this is the first time that you're willing to put Rory in the middle just to get a guy, so maybe it's something worth leaping into."

"Just ignore that he's Rory's teacher? It's just such a huge mountain to get over. I mean, how will that look? Me sleeping with Rory's teacher?"

"Then, don't do it."

"But I really like him."

"Fine, then do it."

"You're usually way better at giving advice than this." He shrugged. He drank the rest of his liquid and I took a healthy sip from my cup. "I think I'm gonna talk to Sookie a little. See what she thinks." I waved away his look of offense. "Only because this bug is throwing you off your game, and I need the best advice I can get on this."

"Great. Talk to Sookie. Listen to her say whatever it is that she'll say and then go on and date the guy anyway. Waste her time and yours. You're looking for validation but the problem is, whether you get it or not, Lorelai's gonna do whatever it is that Lorelai wants to do."

"Well, it is Lorelai's life!" I defended.

"I know. It is your life. And at the end of the day, you're the one who has to live it. You have a kid to consider and you do that better than anybody I've ever known. But it's your life. Hell, we all have to die, but nobody says we have to die with regrets. Do whatever you want to do; whatever makes you happy."

I sat on that for a few long seconds. "I think I'm gonna call him."

"Wonderful."

"With enthusiasm?" I requested playfully.

He stood up and carried his mug to the sink. "The only thing I'm about to do with enthusiasm is get out of here and head back to the diner."

"What about my offer to give you my bed?"

"I'm only working two more hours and then I'll make use of my own bed."

"Two more hours? Who's covering the other three?"

"Caesar."

"Oh, that's great!" I said genuinely. Way less stress for both Luke and me. "You want me to drop by to keep you company for a while when you're done?"

"I sure don't."

He was walking to the door and I still sat at the table. I shook my head, yelled to him, "What are you going to do when you get off?"

"Sleep," he answered dully.

"That early?"

"Yes," he answered in the same tone. "So, don't call me because I won't answer."

"But you'll call me if you need something, right?"

"Sure."

Responding to his lack of gratitude, I yelled, "You're welcome!"

He opened the door. "So are you! Every time I'm around you I become Dear Abby. If only I had a nickel!"

"Well, hey, it's a part of friendship."

"Exactly. So, why are you fishing for praise?" he asked, putting me on the spot.

"Um…call it even?"

"Always have. See you tomorrow, Lorelai."

"Later, Ab."

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

Max ended up being one of the few men that I really let in. When I started to see just how much I liked him, I freaked out. Pushed him away, and by the time I realized the error of my ways, he was gone.

He'd broken up with me.

Curled up on my bed with tears in my eyes, the first person I thought of was Luke.

I called him late, and he answered. He knew it was me even without Caller ID. I never really knew how he did that.

"Are you crying?" he asked worriedly.

I sniffed. "I made a mistake, I think."

"What happened?" he asked after taking a settling breath.

"Max. He dumped me because I freaked and dumped him. And now, we're broken up."

"Well…with so much dumping going on, I'd think that sounds about right," he mumbled. "Why'd you freak?"

I began to cry softly. "I don't know, Luke."

"Well, although you really seemed to like the guy, maybe it wasn't right. Better to come to terms with that now instead of waiting 'til you're five seconds from marrying him. Even as neurotic as you are, queen of the freak out, I'm sure there were some valid reasons for wanting to break up with him."

I sat quietly on the line, staring at the wall.

"Either that," he began again, "or you made a big mistake and are gonna spend the rest of your life regretting it."

"Jeez, Luke, I called you to feel better, not to get fuel for a bigger, greater depression."

"Just trying to lay it all out on the table."

"Good job doing that."

"So, what's been on your mind since the break-up? You thinkin' about a future you're gonna miss out on? Thinkin' about your blue-eyed, curly haired kids that are vanishing into thin air? Or are you thinkin' about not having a dinner date for tomorrow? About how bummed you are that you're gonna have to blow the dust off of those things you keep hidden in the back of your closet?"

I smiled a little. "I told you those are just table figurines."

"Didn't look like any table figurines I'd ever seen," he muttered.

I smiled wider. "Next time I tell you to drop by and pick up heels in a navy box, please remember that navy does not mean black."

"Oh, believe me, I plan to be all kinds of detail-oriented next time. Who knows what I'll stumble across next."

I shook my head at his words, pulled back on my smile as I answered his question truthfully. "I'm thinking about how great a guy he is, and how he's the kind of guy I needed."

"Needed."

I paused. "Yeah. And…wanted, I think," I said quietly.

"Can you see your life without him?" he asked.

I was quiet for a few seconds. "It's only been two months, Luke. It's impossible to tell that kind of thing so early."

"Not impossible. You may not be able to see fifty years into the future that early, but you should see something."

I sighed. "He's a good guy."

"I'm sure he is."

"And I miss him. That has to count for something."

"Well…" He took a heavy breath. "If it's meant to be, he'll be back."

I rolled my eyes affectionately. "Why is everything always so simple to you?"

He chuckled. "Nothing is simple. Believe me, I know that. I just try to do my best to get it there."

I nodded. Listened to him breathe.

"What are you doing?" I asked eventually.

"Just waiting to fall asleep."

I drew lazy circles on my comforter. "Can you sit on the phone with me for a while? Until Rory comes home?" I requested pitifully.

"Yeah. I can do that."

"Thanks, Luke."

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

"Hello."

"Hey, Luke. Did I wake you?"

"Um, no, I'm about to hop in the shower." He paused. "Why is it so loud? Where are you?"

I moved to a quieter area and leaned on the wall in the club. "I'm at my bachelorette party," I said.

"Oh, yeah," he recalled. "Are you having a good time?" He spoke louder to counteract the music booming through to him.

"Yeah, I am. My mom is here. And Rory and Patty and Sookie. Even Michel." I looked back into the main area. "It's a really cool scene. A bunch of celebs came out tonight. You should be here."

"Well, I think bachelorette parties are traditionally for women," he relayed. "What do you mean that celebrities are there?"

"Oh, there are all kinds of famous faces in the crowd! Some have, uh…" I laughed, "…been working out quite a lot and have a little something extra that might get the tabloids a-talking, but they're out. And proud."

He didn't question it further. "Well, as long as you're having fun, that's all that matters."

I covered my ear to hear better. "I wish you were here!"

He chuckled. "Are you drunk?"

"Very!"

Laughter. "Yeah, I can tell. Tonight's the night for it, though. Drink some water and eat, so you're not completely useless tomorrow. Who's driving?"

"Probably the underage girl who's not allowed to partake."

"Oh, okay. Good."

I leaned my head on the wall. "I wanted to call and hear your voice."

"Well, that's nice," he said with a slight chuckle. "What is everyone else doing while you're on the phone?"

I gestured toward the party area. "They're on the phone, too. Talking to their significant others. Bunch of sissy la-las."

"Calling boyfriends and husbands at the bachelorette party. I see you girls know how to do it up right."

I laughed. "Tell me about it."

"Why didn't you call Max? I'm sure he'd think it was sweet. He's a poetry-in-the-afternoon, flowers-for-no-reason romantic kind of guy, isn't he?"

"He is at that," I confirmed firmly.

"Did you call him?"

"I called you."

"Oh. Are you…okay?"

"I'm great," I told him with confidence. "Just thinking about my Luke."

He fell silent. Came back with a quiet tone. "Make sure you eat. Drink lots of water, okay?"

"Okay." I chuckled. "I feel so drunk."

"I'll call you tomorrow to check on you."

"I know you will." I stood up from the wall. "Okay, I gotta go. I'm going to call Max. Just so I can say I did."

"Alright. 'Night."

"Bye bye."

X-X

Memory all alone in the moonlight! I can dream of the old days…

Well, that was a great night. Remembered every bit of it the next day, too. Can we say humiliation! Well…not really. I mean, we can say it, of course, but it doesn't necessarily apply. It didn't turn out to be that big a deal. I hadn't said anything too critical and as for what I did say, let's just say I had plenty of alcohol to blame it on.

Max didn't last. Sad face.

I called off the wedding. Ran, hid, took Rory on a tour of Harvard, and came back with revived dreams.

Luke was there. He talked to me. Sat with me. Many nights after that, he sat with me and made me feel like a little less of a loser.

Another much-needed dry spell happened after that, and eventually came a man named Alex. You remember Alex, right? Well, maybe not like this…

-Alex-

"You did the best you could. It was just I who failed."

"Oh, I know. It definitely wasn't my fault."

I gave Luke my most disapproving look. "I was trying to be nice, mister. But if I wanted to be cutthroat I'd remind you that there's no such thing as bad students, just sucky teachers."

We sat in the diner. Both at a table. Luke sat on his chair backwards with his arms resting on the table. I sat on the opposite side eating pie.

"Yeah, okay," he began, "It's my fault you ended up snagging the guy in the neck with your hook. It's my fault you knocked over a bucket and freed a ten-pound catch. That's all stuff I taught you, huh?" he concluded condescendingly.

I took a bite of my pie. "We're going out again. I think he caught on to me not being a real fisherwoman so he's probably going to steer clear of anymore fishing dates."

"Yeah, you almost ripping an incision line in his throat was probably a good indication that you're a fraud."

I smiled. "I like him. He's not my usual kind of guy, but I like him."

"Fantastic."

"Nothing else to say? I need your take."

"What's there to say? He's nice; you like him; same scenario, different guy."

I gasped. "Did you just insult me?"

He rolled his eyes. "No. I was just saying that everything's on track. I'm glad you're happy."

I narrowed my eyes. "Same scenario, different guy," I mimicked. "What's that supposed to mean?"

"Ah, jeez." His tone spoke to the defensive look I wore. "I didn't mean anything by it, Lorelai. It just came out. I was just pointing out the obvious."

"You made it sound like I have a different guy every other week."

"That's ridiculous."

I allowed the lingering sting to dissipate before I spoke again. "I wish you could meet him. You guys would probably get along pretty well since both of you are all man."

He smiled. "I think I'm good. Thanks."

"Why? He's nice."

"You said."

"And he fishes."

"Remember something to that effect, too."

I shrugged. "Fine. You don't have to meet him now. But you're going to have to meet and get to know the guy that I get serious with. You're going to have to get real familiar with him, and him with you. That's just the way it has to be."

He scoffed. "Bet he'll love that."

"He won't have a choice."

"And I'll love it even more," he added sarcastically.

"See previous comment."

"So, you're going to force me to get to know somebody?"

I shrugged. "Well, I can't see my life without you. And I don't plan to die a spinster, so we're all just going to have to make it work. It's called teamwork."

He laughed. "You're crazy."

"I'm realistic."

"Oh, no you're not," he laughingly disputed.

I gulped some coffee down, then waved his words away. "Okay, let's put off talk of that until necessary."

He shook his head at me like I was a naïve fool.

"Tonight, I'm going to a movie with Alex, and I was wondering if you could pack me a Lorelai snack bag."

Luke rolled his eyes. I had a special movie order of a bacon cheeseburger, large order of fries, large order of onion rings, and a bowl of pickles. If it was for a date, I added a burger and left off the onion rings and pickles.

"I'm not working tonight," he told me. "I have a date with Nicole Leahy."

I paused in eating. Looked at him. "You didn't tell me you met someone."

"I told you about Nicole."

"You told me about Taylor's lawyer. You didn't tell me that you and her were interested in each other."

He shrugged. "I'm telling you now."

I looked down and cut into my pie thoughtfully. Looked at him again. "And this is the first date?"

"Mmhm."

Pause. "Well…congratulations." He looked at me strangely. "I'm happy for you, I guess."

"You guess? What the hell does that mean? I wouldn't hear the end of it if I said that about someone you were seeing."

"Well, it's just a little—I mean, I guess I'm…" I looked up in thought. "I don't know how I feel," I said like it was a math problem. I met his eyes again, still with an unsure squint. "I think I'm okay? I-I'm…I'm happy. I'm okay. Yeah." I shrugged. "Probably."

He looked at me like I was unstable. Didn't blink for fear of missing a sudden and possibly dangerous movement. "Are you jealous?" he asked without shame.

I laughed. Looked down and started cutting my small chunk of pie into a gazillion pieces. "Of course not, Silly. That's…silly."

He rolled his eyes in a big way. "Oh, jeez. Crazy woman," he muttered. I was sure he meant for me to hear that. He pushed away from the table.

"Hey, I'll be by about six-thirty tonight to get my snack bag. Can you let Caesar know?"

"Sure."

I stuffed my mouth with pie and held a napkin to my lips. "Have a good date night." He nodded and tossed up his hand to me as he proceeded to get back to work. "Don't wear flannel!" I yelled after him.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

That night, I walked into the diner close to six.

Luke was cleaning a table in the corner. I approached him.

"Hey."

He looked up at me in surprise. "Hey. You're early. Caesar hasn't even started on your order."

I nodded. Waved at the lady who power-walked past my house everyday at nine. She was with her husband and kid.

"I know," I said. "I called Alex and canceled. Not really in the mood for the movies or a date night." I looked up into his concerned eyes. "Can we do something? Go somewhere? Please?"

He looked at his watch. "I have to start getting ready in fifteen minutes. What are we gonna do?"

"I don't know," I answered quickly as I closed my eyes in impatience. "Anything. Let's just get out of here. Maybe we could drive to Hartford and check out that new drive-in movie thing."

"You just said you didn't want to go to the movies," he pointed out.

"Luke!"

"What's with you? I have to meet Nicole in an hour!"

"Well, call her and cancel," I pleaded. He looked at me like I'd flipped my lid. "I mean, reschedule," I corrected like that'd make things better. "I'm not telling you to lose her number or anything. Just cancel for tonight. Tell her you have to work…or you have a friend who is-"

"Going crazy!" he filled in assuredly.

"That'll work," I agreed anyway. "Just get out of it. Please? I n-need to—I just want to be with you tonight."

"Lorelai, I have a date!"

"I know you have a date!" I exclaimed. "I'm asking you not to go!"

"Why?"

"Because I'm having a bad night, and I want to spend it with you, Luke! Can you please just…not go?" He dropped his head exhaustedly. I calmed down. "I'll make it up to you, okay? Just do this for me."

He tossed his hand up. "Fine."

I took a breath. Smiled a little. "Thank you," I whispered. I stepped back. "Can we leave now or…?"

He moved away from the table, shaking his head and rubbing his neck. "Let me go up and call Nicole," he said resignedly.

"Okay," I said quietly with a nod of understanding.

He disappeared behind the curtain, and I sat down at the nearest table. I closed my eyes gratefully.

X-X

I know what you all are thinking.

Unfortunately, I can't disagree with it much. I was selfish that night. The thought of Luke going out on a date made me crazy. It's embarrassing to think about. That's why I don't think about it much. But hey, a girl had to do what a girl had to do.

That night, we drove to Hartford. We got lost looking for the drive-in. Luke ran across some teenage kid on the road with a flat and no spare. He gave him his and then helped him to change the tire. We turned back the way we'd come since the kid told us we were headed in the wrong direction. Whatever that kid hit that gave him a flat got a good laugh that night because it gave us one too. And then we were stuck.

Took close to two hours before help came. We just talked, Luke and me. I admitted my erratic behavior and Luke didn't turn it into something major. He actually made me laugh. Made me feel less guilty, less neurotic. We were sitting on the bed of the truck kicking our feet when help arrived.

It was a good night. And I was glad we didn't make it to the drive-in.

Anyway, just wanted to jump in quickly to let you all know that there was no love lost. Luke didn't hate me for what I pulled in the diner. That whole episode was just a display of my charm. Or it was forgivable. Let's be honest and just go with it was forgivable. Thank god.

Okay, back to the regularly scheduled program.

-Alex-

Rory came into the house, kissed my cheek, and told me goodnight.

She was tired and had good reason to be. Not only had my little genius been chosen to give a speech for a live television program, but she'd spent a large portion of the night comforting Paris after she had had a breakdown on said television program.

I was relieved that I wouldn't have to talk about the night just yet. Relieved because I'd made the mistake of kissing Max Medina in the coatroom closet. Alex wasn't a serious beau, but he was still the man in my life. Kissing an ex probably wasn't ideal.

When Rory went to her room, I went upstairs to mine. Decided to push my dilemma aside until daylight.

-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-

"I've already talked to Sookie about it."

"I come second now?" Luke asked as he spread his legs comfortably. He sat on my sofa, leaned sleepily to the side as he rested his elbow on the arm of the couch. He always reminded me of Al Bundy when he sat on my sofa. Just immediate comfort. Only thing missing was his hand in his pants.

I sat next to him, a few inches away, flipping through the channels on the TV.

"Whichever of you guys I see first, that's who gets the scoop first. Besides, you were MIA this morning. You and Nicole were splitsville ages ago, so is there someone else I should know about?"

"Not at the moment."

"Would you tell me if there were?"

"Well, after you handled it so wonderfully last time, why wouldn't I?"

I smiled. "So, what's the verdict? You think I'm a bad person or what?"

He shifted more. Appeared to be stretched all the way out in a sitting position. "For kissing your ex?"

"For kissing my ex while I'm still dating Alex."

He scoffed. "You consider what you're doing with Alex dating? You guys barely talk."

"We're still together, though. We're just…more casual these days. But my relationship status isn't the problem. I'm technically still seeing the guy, and I kissed someone else. What are your thoughts on that?"

"I dunno. Did you learn your lesson?"

I looked at him. "That's all you have to say?"

He shrugged. "What do you want me to say? Tsk tsk?"

"Do you think I'm a slut? I mean, I cheated. I don't cheat. That's not me."

"Oh brother," he intoned. "You did not cheat. Kissing isn't cheating."

"Excuse me?"

He cleaned it up. "I mean, it's cheating under different circumstances, of course. But considering your relationship with Alex right now, where you guys just meet up every once in a while when you don't have anything else in the world to do, then kissing isn't cheating. Hell, not much else would be considered cheating either. It's not even a question of exclusivity. You're single, Lorelai. Kiss whoever the hell you want."

I rolled my eyes. "That is such a guy answer."

He shrugged. "Well. You asked."

I started flipping the channels again. "Well, I'm still conflicted. I mean, is this the fates telling me that I should get back together with Max or-"

"Definitely not."

I looked at him. "It would be stupid, right? Crazy?"

"You know I'm all for letting you figure things out on your own without butting in too much with my own opinion."

I nodded.

"Well, this is one case where you're gonna get it whether you want it or not. Getting back with Max should not be an option at all. If I have to watch you go through something like that again, I'm liable to hunt the guy down and get rid of him, myself. And he's not even the problem!"

I laughed. "So, I'm the problem?"

He turned his head to me. "You really want me to answer that?"

"Jeez, Luke, someone really needs to introduce you to the list of patented friend responses. I'd really like it if you puckered up a little more often."

"I don't pucker."

"Years and years of gut punches have made that more than obvious."

He smiled. "I care too much to sugarcoat."

I reared back in amusement. "Would it be too much to ask you to care a little less?"

"Way too much," he responded.

I turned my eyes on him. Looked at him for a long time but he didn't turn to face me. I twisted my arm and grasped his chin. Made him look at me. He locked eyes with me.

"Look at me when you say stuff like that," I playfully admonished.

He smiled. My thumb brushed over his day old scruff for seconds before he gently pushed my hand away. I leaned over without thinking. Lightly pressed my lips to his cheek and pulled away.

He looked at me again.

I met his eyes. "I was just curious," I explained with a shrug.

I didn't know what his reaction would be. When he smiled, licked his lips, and erected himself a little more, I relaxed. He wasn't in a serious place.

"You're on a roll, huh? First Max, now me…"

I smiled, remained looking at him. "Well, Max's kiss was just a little different."

"I bet." He turned to the TV with that playful remark.

I just kept looking at him. "Doesn't seem like that big a deal right now. Maybe it wasn't so grandiose, after all." I allowed my words to settle and found problems with his attention being elsewhere. I touched my fingers to his chin again and redirected his focus. "What, do you have A.D.D? Look at me."

He gave me another smile. More lazy and sweet. "Kinda bossy, aren't you?"

"No. Just like to get my way."

He moved his hand to mine, which still had a light hold on his face. "You can be dangerous when you want to be, you know that?" he asked quietly as he lowered it again. He leaned his head back and kept his eyes on me without coercion.

"Is that a bad thing?" I crossed my leg toward him and leaned my body into it. He'd lowered my hand to the seat right beside his thigh, and his hand still rested over it. I placed my other hand over his as I stared in his eyes.

"Just not a fan of feeling so helpless," he whispered.

"I'm sorry," I whispered back. And meant it. I lifted a hand to his face and softly touched him. "What can I do?"

He smiled. Made me smile.

"Not that," he answered.

I moved closer, closer. Couldn't help it. Kissed his cheek, this time with him facing me. His hand went to my cheek, grazed my ear, and grasped gently behind my neck. He turned, captured my lips with little effort.

And then we were kissing.

Deep.

I pulled his hat from his head and grasped both sides of his face. We kissed to the point of exhaustion and breathlessness before his hands went to my back, my waist, and he put his mouth on my neck and made me moan graciously from the stimulation.

My eyes shut tight, I saw him. Like flashing pictures. His face so clear in my mind. My hands touched him, caressed him, and it still wasn't enough. I wanted to meld myself to him. Establish a bond that would never break.

Damn.

Was this love?

He pulled me up, and I was walking. Floating. Moving, nonetheless. We were kissing again. Groping like nobody's business. I felt too many clothes. Too many obstructions. Had to get them gone, and I did. We did.

His hands were on my skin. On my braless back. On my naked thighs. My sides. My nails were deep inside of his flesh. My body curved upward. His weight anchored me, held me, kept me perfectly sane as he slid inside of me and turned the ordinary glorious. Turned a song into a symphony. My mind to goo as the flashing pictures stayed with me. His face so clear in my mind.

Seriously.

Was this love?

Convulsions, tremors passed through my body. Brought peace to the innermost me. My pictures multiplied. Danced throughout my head to a rhythm not unlike my raucous heartbeat. I felt his breath. Luxuriated in his kisses as sweet as sugar cane.

Oh, lovely Luke.

This had to be love.

He came to a slow stop, and I wanted more. Contentment filled me to the top of my heart and beyond. Satisfaction squeezed me tight like a proud mother holding her child. My cup spilled over. No place to put another drop but I just couldn't say enough. I wanted more.

Feelings so new.

This had to be love.

We remained together. Breathed each other's breath. Allowed the afterthoughts to do its thing. Gave them the chance to turn pleasant feelings unpleasant and happiness to regret. Euphoria only spread.

He rubbed my face. Stared into my eyes. Kissed my lips like someone who had it bad. I could not, would not let him go.

Sweet god in heaven.

This was love.

-Luke-

"Oh, not this again."

I smiled. Wagged my fingers toward my mom. "Five minutes. I won't be long at all."

Emily dug inside of her purse. "For Heaven's sake."

"Come on, Grandma, it's sweet!" encouraged Rory as she dialed a number on her phone.

"Yeah, Suga! The woman's in love. What are ya gonna do?" crowed Babette as she briefly held her own phone away from her ear.

Sookie leaned low to the table covering one ear as she spoke on her cell phone as well.

Emily finally located hers and passed it to me. "Make it quick, if you don't mind. I might try Richard to see if he's finally found a signal in that cornfield crammed state he traveled to."

I pushed my chair away from the table in the overcrowded club. "Feeling a little left out there, Mom?"

"Oh, please. I was in love way before any of you even knew what it was. Just hurry up with the phone, Lorelai," she said ushering me away impatiently as she watched the other girls talking and swooning.

I walked to a back area in the upscale dance spot. Dialed a number and put it to my ear.

"Hello?"

I smiled. "Hey Chris. It's me."

"Hey, Lorelai. Just a second, okay? He's right here." A couple seconds passed.

"Hello."

I grinned. "Hey, Babe."

I could hear the smile and surprise in Luke's voice. "Hey!"

"You're finally letting Christina answer phones again, huh?"

He sighed. "Yeah. Now, she only forgets to answer with the business name a fourth of the time. I figure she'll have it down by fall. Baby steps."

"You're such a good boss."

"Yeah, yeah. So, what's up? Are you still out at your bachelorette shindig?"

"Of course. Night's barely begun."

He chuckled. "And yet, you sound wasted already."

"Do I really?"

"Yeah."

"Hm. And here I was doing my best sober impression."

"Well, if it's any consolation, if I didn't know you that well, you'd have me fooled."

I smiled with satisfaction. "So, what are you doing?"

"Oh, you know. Stuffing dollar bills down a stripper's g-string, drinking beer in massive quantities, getting in wild fights with guys named Ivan because he looked at me funny. Having a blast basically."

I laughed as I heard Caesar yell an order for chilly fries. "My Bad Boy. I just hope I succeed in taming you after we tie the knot. Good luck to me, huh?"

"Well, we may have to compromise on the Harley and the chick that comes with it, but other than that…you might do alright."

I smiled. "I miss you."

He laughed quietly. "No, you don't. You're not thinking about me. It's all about fun, friends, booze, and your last dirty thoughts about other men. Just admit it."

"Nah, sorry to disappoint, Babe. I just have one man that I wanna think dirty thoughts about."

"Iggy Pop?"

"The one and only."

"Mm," he acknowledged amusedly. "I miss you, too. Very, very much."

"Ah, Honey. My refuse-to-have-a-bachelor-party, would-rather-work Sweetheart. I love it when you get mushy with me. Add that to the alcohol, and you may have me ditching my friends in this place."

"Don't tease."

"You know I don't tease," I said seductively.

He chuckled. "It's gotta be some kind of health code violation to be thinking the thoughts I'm thinking with two plates of burgers in my hands. I better go."

I pouted. "It's just as well, I guess. My mom's gonna come barreling around the corner any moment demanding her phone back."

"Oh yeah! You left your phone here!" he reminded.

"Thanks, Honey! Oh, and when you get a chance, be sure to call up Bethany Hamilton and give her a light warning to watch out for sharks. I'm sure her and her one surviving arm will appreciate that."

He ignored me like I knew he would. "Get home safe tonight."

"I will. Love you, Stud."

"I love you, too."

X-X

In the words of Shug Avery from 1985's The Color Purple: I's Married Now!

Yes, Luke and I did it. We tied the knot. Can you believe it?

No regrets. No uncertainty.

Well, except for one thing…

I'm still trying to figure out how I want to work in his last name. I always thought I'd keep my name if I got married, but that, of course, was before I found a man whose name I wanted to carry.

Lorelai Gilmore-Danes vs. Lorelai Danes.

Dilemma, right? It's driving me crazy. And of course, Luke isn't any help. He's all 'Well, it's your name; you're the one that has to walk around with it; what do I care?'

So much for choosing a man who puts his foot down. Jeez Louise.

Anyway, hope you enjoyed the inside peek to my strange little Hollow romances. Peace and love from the Danes clan! Lorelai.

-The End-

Let me know what you think. :)