Disclaimer: These characters aren't mine.
Cappuccino-Chuppah Challenge
There was someone new sitting at the counter in Luke's. This immediately struck Lorelai as strange. She knew everyone in Stars Hollow. Who was this stranger? Was she lost? She was too dressed up to be a new resident. No one in Stars Hollow wore cashmere dress coats and Armani suits. No one in Stars Hollow looked like they had just stepped out of a courtroom in New York City.
"Lorelai, either take a seat or go back out the door. Make up your mind, you're holding up traffic." Luke exclaimed in his usual charming manner.
Lorelai realized that she'd been staring at the stranger for quite some time, and a line had formed behind her. Kurt had been tapping her shoulder, a fact she just now registered. She moved quickly to a table by the window and resumed her musings on this new person. When Luke came over to pour her coffee she finally asked him. "Say Luke, what's with Ms. GQ at the counter? Friend of yours?" She questioned the surly diner owner sarcastically.
"She's some attorney from the city. Says her car broke down. Gypsy's taking a look at it. She salivated over the thing like it would pay for her vacation to Atlantic City." Luke replied distractedly before moving on to serve other customers.
Lorelai pondered this interesting piece of information briefly before deciding that she should use the guise of hospitality to introduce herself. She sauntered up to the counter, stuck out her hand in the general direction of the stranger and said "I'm Lorelai Gilmore and I run the Dragonfly Inn. I hear that you're visiting our fine town quite accidentally, and thought a stay at the Dragonfly may help to improve the situation for you." Lorelai smiled charmingly as the woman shook the offered hand.
"I'm Abbie Carmichael." The stranger replied. "Apparently your town mechanic will be holding my car for ransom until she can get the parts needed to replace the damn transmission. Teach me to buy foreign cars. Why, my daddy would beat me for buying a German car when a good old Ford would suffice." Lorelai was entranced by Abbie's husky voice and southern accent. "Anyway, word spreads fast around here if you already knew about my situation. I've had several people recommend your inn, and think I may just follow their advice."
"I'm heading there myself as soon as Luke hurries along with my coffee fix. I can give you a ride if you'd like. Especially since we don't have a car rental office around here and I don't think you'll be walking too far in those shoes." Lorelai stated as she motioned to Luke with her coffee cup.
"Sure, if you don't mind stopping by Gypsy's to pick up my overnight bag and briefcase. And if you could tell me where I could by a change of clothes or two, I'd love you forever." Abbie smiled at Lorelai, feeling immediately at ease, and even a little flirty, with this woman. Stars Hollow may turn out to be an interesting adventure after all, she thought.
"What size are you? Because I'll bet I could find something in my closet to loan you, if you don't have a problem sharing clothes with a stranger." Lorelai's heart skipped a beat as she pictured Abbie wearing her "the only Bush I trust" underwear and nothing else. Her face flushed hot, and she started digging into her purse to pay for the coffee.
Abbie saw the flush and felt her own face grow hot. It had been a long time since she'd felt such an immediate attraction to someone, but Lorelai was fascinating. She was looking forward to her stay at the Dragonfly, with it's easy access to this new woman. She got up, put a few dollars on the counter before she responded. "I'd say we won't be strangers for long. This could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship."
Lorelai tripped over the stool before regaining her composure and walking gracefully out the door, followed by Abbie, who's grin grew wider as she saw the effect she was having on Lorelai.
After picking up Abbie's bags from the mechanic, they rode to Lorelai's to pick out some clothes. Their conversation came easily, talking about everything under the sun, and they discovered that they had more in common than one would first imagine. A love of coffee, the same middle name, and a strange obsession with Wayne Newton, just to name a few. After all, who would believe that it was a man singing "Danke Schoen"?
Up in Lorelai's room, Abbie looked through her closet and exclaimed "Lord! I haven't seen such a variety of clothes anywhere in my life. My closet is a sad shadow of this one, full of starched shirts and dry-clean-only suits. Look at this!" She laughed as she held up a hot pink sequined tank top with the word "Baby" spelled out in white sequins. "Where on earth would you wear this?"
"To my mother's house for Friday night dinners." Lorelai responded cheekily with a smirk. "It's either that or my "Porn Star" t-shirt. Speaking of which, since the streets in Stars Hollow roll up at seven on the dot every Friday night, you aren't likely to find much to entertain you in town. My daughter, Rory, is out of town, so would you like to be my buffer tonight at the family dinner?" Lorelai did her best "poor me" pout and batted her eyelashes at Abbie, hoping that she would be unable to resist.
Abbie, in return, gave Lorelai a dazzling smile and said "Only if I can wear this." In her hand she held Lorelai's favorite Happy Bunny shirt, reading "Your Anger Makes Me Happy" and a pair of low rise Dickies. Lorelai decided that she'd finally met her evil soul mate. Tonight was going to be fun!
After grabbing a few more items of clothes, the pair drove out to the Dragonfly and got Abbie all settled in. She and Lorelai had hatched a plot that would finally push Lorelai's parents right over the edge, and Abbie was worn out from the activities of the day, so she took a quick nap before getting ready for the evening. As she lay on her bed, she pondered this new and intriguing situation. She had enjoyed the flirtatious banter with Lorelai, and felt an immediate connection to the innkeeper, but wasn't sure whether or not Lorelai would be offended if Abbie pushed the envelope a little. She had time, however, since Gypsy had called this morning to say that the parts she had ordered would not arrive until Monday. Luckily Abbie didn't have to be in court until Wednesday, so she called Jack McCoy and apprised him of the situation, updated him on her work, and taken time off. That gave her five days to work her magic on Lorelai, and Abbie loved a challenge.
An hour later, Lorelai knocked hesitantly on Abbie's door. Was she crazy to have invited this woman with her to dinner with the Gilmores? What had she been thinking? Why on earth would she put anyone through the horror that could be an evening with her parents? But she had been torn, wanting to spend more time with this woman, and, deep down, she evilly wanted to see her parents' faces when she walked in the door with this beautiful creature. "Abbie? Are you awake?" She spoke softly to the door, just as Abbie opened it, eyes slightly puffy, hair tousled, with a comforter crease on her cheek. Lorelai's mouth went dry. How can a woman be so stunning right after she's woken up? The universe was truly unfair. Still, from Lorelai's vantage point, she could think of nothing she'd rather see every morning than Abbie.
"I'm up... I didn't mean to fall asleep, I mean I was thinking of work and all of a sudden..." Abbie fumbled a bit as she realized that Lorelai was staring at her.
"It's the air here. We pipe nitrous oxide into the rooms so the guests sleep through their meals. It saves us money." Lorelai stammered, trying valiantly to recover and look like she hadn't been staring, open mouthed, at Abbie. "Anyway, I was just checking to make sure that you hadn't changed your mind about dinner. I mean, I totally understand if you did. I don't want to go, and they're MY parents, so if you want to nap some more or check out the night life in town..." Lorelai suddenly smiled brightly, realizing that she was rambling. "Anyway, I'm going to get dressed and will be heading out in about half an hour. See you downstairs?" And with that final statement, she turned and ran straight into the hall table. Blushing, she headed to her room to change.
Abbie closed the door, leaning back against it for a moment while she tried to calm her nerves. Taking a deep breath, she went to the closet and pulled out the outfit that they had chosen for the big dinner. Abbie was having second thoughts about it. This was the first time she was meeting these people, and first impressions are everything. She wasn't sure that the school girl outfit would fly. Sure, she and Lorelai thought it was hilarious at the time, but it could so totally backfire in the cold light of dinner. Too late now, it was either that or the Happy Bunny shirt. The lesser of two evils apparently, she thought as she pulled on the short pleated skirt.
When Abbie walked downstairs half an hour later, she was glad she'd stuck with the outfit. The look on Lorelai's face was priceless. Abbie had looked in the mirror before heading downstairs and had been pleased with what she'd seen. The pleated skirt was black and white plaid, worn with a tight white button down blouse, and tall black boots. It was perfect!
Oh my god! Lorelai thought as she watched Abbie walk down the stairs. What a complete change from that suit she'd been wearing earlier. Amazing! Lorelai glanced down at her own outfit and suddenly felt a bit wall-flowerish. The low rise, burgundy pants and tight black shirt looked great, but awfully plain next to Abbie's glowing good looks. As Abbie reached the bottom of the staircase, they both stood and stared at each other for a moment, amazed at the transformation from business to pleasure. When Abbie finished giving Lorelai the once over, she glanced up and their eyes locked briefly, but the electric attraction was instantaneous.
"We should get going." Lorelai finally whispered. She hated to leave, would rather just stand and stare all night. She wasn't hungry, couldn't even fake it. Her parents would know something was up. Too late to call them and beg off now, best to bite the bullet and just enjoy an evening with this stranger who was rapidly becoming someone that Lorelai wanted to keep around for a long while.
"You did promise me some fun and excitement this evening. I'm holding you to it. I was promised a fainting spell, some eyebrow raising, and quite possibly the silent treatment. I will be sorely disappointed if this outfit fails to elicit even one of those reactions." Abbie replied, smiling at Lorelai and breaking the spell. "Let's get this party started!"
The ride to the Gilmores' was much livelier than their foyer conversation. It seemed that they had reclaimed that easy banter, and were enjoy their time together so much that the ride seemed to take mere seconds. They giggled again at thoughts of the reaction their appearance would provoke, and despite some slight misgivings on Abbie's part, they proceeded as planned.
Lorelai pulled the Jeep smoothly into the driveway, hardly taking time to shut the engine off before hopping out and running to Abbie's side to open the door. Abbie stepped out, and took Lorelai's hand. The feeling of holding another woman's hand was not one that was completely foreign to Abbie, but it was something that hadn't happened for quite a while. Lorelai's hand was thin and strong, her fingers immediately entwined with Abbie's and clasped hers tightly. Lorelai looked down at their hands and then up to Abbie's waiting grin. This was all new to her. She'd never held a woman's hand before and wasn't sure exactly what she was feeling while holding this one, but decided to ride out the feeling and see where it took her.
"Alright baby, let's do this!" Lorelai exclaimed as she led Abbie to the door. Ringing the doorbell, she stepped back slightly, still holding Abbie's hand tightly in her own. She could get used to this feeling, most definitely. And then her mother opened the door.
"Lorelai, it's about time you..." Emily Gilmore stopped speaking, mouth agape, and stared at the woman holding her daughter's hand. Abbie quickly dropped Lorelai's hand and offered her's to Emily. "Hi, I'm Abbie Carmichael. It's so nice of you to have me over for dinner tonight. I hope that it wasn't too much of an imposition." She drawled sweetly, her smile dazzling.
"Uh... No, we're delighted that you could come. Please, come in and sit down." Emily recovered quickly, and stepped back to let the women in. As Abbie and Lorelai walked into the living room, Emily's eyes followed this new person, taking in the outfit, the beautiful, long hair, and the hand that was, once again, holding her daughter's. Good Lord, what was Lorelai up to this time.
"Your father is out of town on business again, so it's just the girls tonight Lorelai. Abbie? What would you like to drink?" Emily made every effort to be pleasant, but she was feeling waves of heat and cold as she thought through the implications of Lorelai's behavior. A lesbian? As if it wasn't enough that Lorelai had gotten pregnant at sixteen, but now she's dating a woman? What happened to Jason? Or was it Luke? She went through men like water, true, but Emily had thought it was simply because Lorelai hadn't found the right one yet. Now she was beginning to think that no man was the right one.
"Mother? Mom? Are you alright? You look a little pale?" Lorelai looked slightly amused. The plan was working, her mother may actually faint. The only thing that she and Abbie hadn't discussed was when to reveal the ruse. We'll play it by ear, Lorelai thought.
"You know, Lorelai, I'm actually not feeling that well. If you and your... friend? If you and your friend wouldn't be too put out, would you mind if I took a raincheck on dinner? I think I need to lie down. You can show yourselves out. I apologize Abbie. It was certainly nice to meet you." Emily stated, less convincingly the longer she spoke.
Abbie and Lorelai exchanged glances. "Mom, would you like me to help you to bed?" Lorelai offered, winking at Abbie.
"No, I'll be fine. I'll see you next Friday. Abbie, will you be coming next Friday as well?"
"No ma'am. I have to head back to New York on Tuesday to work on a trial. I'm sure I'll have the opportunity some other time, however. Lorelai and I have really enjoyed getting to know each other." Abbie replied in her honeyed drawl. "Again, it was nice to meet you Mrs. Gilmore. I hope to see you again soon."
"Yes, well... Goodnight girls." Emily closed the door quickly behind them.
Giggling, Lorelai and Abbie ran to the Jeep. It was perfect. Lorelai opened the door for Abbie, dropping her hand when she realized that she was still holding it. They didn't have to act anymore, she supposed, as she walked to the driver's side and climbed in.
"Well, are you hungry? Because I know a fun little place here in Hartford where we could grab a bite before heading home." Lorelai ventured, hoping that Abbie wasn't too tired to say yes.
"Yeah, sounds good to me. I mean, we both look great, we should go flaunt it for a while before turning in." Abbie replied, glancing at Lorelai to gauge her reaction. Lorelai smiled in response and eased the Jeep onto the road.
The restaurant was closed, however, so instead they stopped by a git-n-go and stocked up on junk food, fried burritos, corndogs, Slurpees, and of course, alcohol, before heading back to the Dragonfly. They had an improvised picnic in Abbie's room, talking about everything that came to mind, one of those conversations where you want to know everything about the other person, and you want to know it right now.
By ten they had finished off the corndogs and Pringles in various flavors, and were working on the bottle of Watermelon Pucker, giggling and laying on the bed while telling each other their deepest secrets. There was a certain freedom in this, talking to someone you may never see again, someone who completely fascinated you. Then Lorelai suggested a game of strip poker. It began innocently enough, when Abbie made the bold statement "Texans are the best poker players in the world, no question!" Lorelai couldn't take a challenge lying down, so to speak, and immediately challenged Abbie to a hand. Since they had both spent all of their money at the git-n-go, it was agreed that clothes were a fair wager.
Finishing the bottle of Pucker halfway through the game, Lorelai wandered downstairs into the kitchen to find another bottle, wearing only a t-shirt and her infamous "the only Bush I trust" underwear. They were her good-luck panties, but somehow their magic wasn't working tonight. She had to win at least one hand in this lousy game, or eventually the underwear would be laying on the floor with her other clothes. Grabbing a bottle of scotch and a box of Twinkies, Lorelai ran back upstairs, weaving only slightly.
Another round, and Lorelai had discarded the t-shirt and was sitting in a rather uncomfortable position on the bed while Abbie smiled at her, fully clothed. "I warned you!" Abbie stated, laughingly. "Texans are known for card playing. Hello. Haven't you heard of Texas Hold'em? Why don't we stop now, while you still have a shred of clothing? Although I must say, your choice of panties is amusing." Abbie teased Lorelai.
"Fine, then why don't we play something that well-bred society girls are good at... Truth or Dare!" Lorelai chirped victoriously. "I will soooo kick your butt now!"
"Alright, who goes first?" Abbie replied, curious to see what Lorelai had in mind.
"I do. Truth or dare, Abbie?" Lorelai smirked. Now we'll see who's the man here, she thought.
"Truth."
"Who was the first person that you had sex with?"
"You sure don't beat around the bush do you, no pun intended." Abbie replied, staring pointedly at Lorelai's infamous panties. "Okay, Jeb Carter, the highschool quarterback football star. A little cliche I know, but still... When your sixteen, you don't think things through, huh."
"Tell me about it. I was sixteen when I got pregnant with Rory. Okay, now it's your turn."
"Okay, truth or dare, Lorelai?"
"Hmmm... Truth... No, dare... No, truth... No... Dare." Lorelai finally decided.
"Kiss me." Abbie requested, stunned that she'd actually said it out loud.
"What? I... uh... I've never done this before." Lorelai replied, hesitant.
"Why Lorelai Victoria Gilmore, are you chickening out on me?" Abbie teased gently.
"Hey, I'm not the one still wearing clothes." Lorelai stated as she ran her eyes up and down, taking in the school girl outfit again. God, she was hot. Lorelai was starting to get that funny feeling in her stomach, and further down, and hoped that Abbie would either acquiesce and remove her clothes, or forgive Lorelai for being forward, blaming it on the alcohol.
"Good point Gilmore. Would you feel more comfortable if I took this off?" Abbie questioned as she slowly unbuttoned her blouse. She slid the shirt off, tossing it on the chair. "How about this?" She continued removing her clothes, unzipping the skirt and stepping out of it, leaving it on the floor as she moved towards the bed. "And these?" Suddenly Abbie Carmichael was standing in front of Lorelai completely naked except for a wide grin and a gleam in her eyes.
"Abbie..." Lorelai whispered. She hadn't imagined... She was fantastic, beautiful, exceptional. Abbie moved closer, taking Lorelai's hand in hers. "It's okay. Come here. I'll show you..." Abbie leaned her head in, barely touching Lorelai's lips with her own. Lorelai's mouth opened, surprised at the feelings that this woman stirred in her, and Abbie kissed her again, pulling her closer. Lorelai moved her hand down Abbie's back, marveling at the smoothness of her skin. Together they fell onto the bed, tangled together, touching here and there, with the wonder of new lovers. It was more than Lorelai had imagined, it was what had been lacking in previous relationships, this softness, and Lorelai gave herself over to the sensation without any regrets.
