"Where are we going to go?" Rory asked after she climbed out of Lane's window and giving her friend a final wave.

Jess only smirked. "You'll see."

"I'm in my pajamas," she objected.

"You should have changed then," he teased her and took her hand in his.

Rory smiled at his touch and gave him a smirk to rival his own. "If I took more time, I might have said no."

Jess turned to look at her mid-walk. "You know what? Pajamas are good. You look adorable!"

She blushed but hit him on the arm with her free hand. "I do not."

"You know you look good in anything," Jess told her. Rory didn't even get a chance to respond before he spoke again, pulling her along with him. "Come on."

She recognized the path they were walking. "We're going to the bridge, aren't we?"

"Maybe."

"Jess."

"Yeah, we're going to the bridge," he admitted.

Rory laughed. "I should have guessed."

He smirked but she didn't see. "You say it like I'm predictable."

"You can be," she nodded as she saw the trees showing her the bridge was near. "Sometimes."

He laughed now and slowed down his pace. Jess' hand still held Rory's in his and they walked as if it was a normal thing, to go around at night and hold hands while Rory was in her pajamas. She smiled at how natural it felt.

The bridge appeared in front of them and she saw something was sitting there on the wood. Once they got closer, she noticed a blanket and a picnic basket. Her smile grew bigger. "Jess."

He shrugged, as if it was nothing. "I thought it'd be nice considering our other...picnic."

"You mean a date while I have a boyfriend wasn't your idea of a good time?" She teased.

"No," he shook his head. "Not really."

Rory just laughed at him. She loved when Jess was like this. Not the usual sarcastic boy with an attitude but someone sweet and fun who makes a picnic outside at eleven at night. They sat down on the wood and she was eager to look at what was inside.

"Besides..." Jess started as he leaned closer to his girlfriend. "On that charitable date of ours, I couldn't do this."

He closed the gap between them and kissed Rory sweetly on the lips. He pulled away much too soon to her liking and Jess smirked again when he saw her eyes were still closed as he pulled away. She finally opened them and smiled. "Well, you could have. But I'm not responsible for what Dean or anyone else in the town who objects to you might have done."

He made a face. "Dean I could handle...maybe not so much Taylor and his sweaters."

Rory held her hand over her mouth to hold in her laugh. "That, I'd like to see."

"Like he would really fight me," he laughed.

"Probably not," she giggled picturing it. Rory turned her attention back to the basket in front of her. "So do I get to know what's in here or is it just for decoration?"

"Go ahead," he pushed it toward her with a smile.

Rory gasped once she peaked inside. "Coffee!"

Jess watched as she pulled out two to-go cups from Luke's and then gasped again as she pulled out a whole cherry pie. "Good screams?"

"Very good," she nodded and bit her lip then looking up at her boyfriend. "Jess."

"Yes?"

She was speechless for the first time since...before she could speak. "I don't know what to say."

There was words waging in her head, wanting to be said however. Rory bit her lip to hold them in. She didn't think Jess was anywhere near those three words and she wasn't even sure if she was fully there yet. Instead, she shushed the voice in the back of her head.

"You don't have to say anything," he told her. "Just have some pie, drink some coffee. I figured you'd like that more than actual picnic food."

"You figured right," Rory nodded with a huge smile still on her face.

"Here," he said as he took the pie from her and took out a knife from the basket. "Let me cut it."

"My hero," she gushed.

Jess half-blushed and handed her a big slice of the cherry pie. "Eat your pie."

"Yes, sir," she said and broke off a piece with the fork he handed her with the plate. Her eyes closed and a smile came on her face. "That's so good."

Jess just watched her, amazed just food could make her look so content. He hoped that he made Rory even a fraction happy of what food did.

Rory noticed Jess staring at quickly checked her face for cherries. "What?"

He let out a small laugh. "Nothing."

"No, really," she asked. "What?"

"You're just beautiful," he stated. Rory shook her head and looked down, blushing again.

"You'd say anything right now," she mused. "You have a girl out past town hours."

"So you're saying I'd say this to any girl who was out past eleven in this town?" He asked.

"Maybe," she kept teasing.

Jess leaned forward and whispered. "Maybe I'm out with the only girl I want to be out with right now."

Rory shivered and even the burning hot coffee that was now in her hands didn't stop it. She drank some of it and stood up. "I have an idea."

"What?" He asked from down on the ground still.

"I want to do something," she told him. The just sitting here while he said things like only wanting her and calling her beautiful...it made her want to say those three words more than ever.

Jess looked around at the night. "Like what? Its eleven at night in Stars Hollow."

"We could sit on a bench and stare at our shoes," she answered in a sarcastic tone.

He laughed. "Still remember that?"

"Of course," she told him then fought out of that memory to the present. "So you up for it?"

"Up for what?" Jess wondered. "You still didn't tell me what exactly it is you want to do."

Rory bit her lip and had an idea. "Swimming."

"Swimming," he repeated.

"Yeah, swimming," she said more confidently. "I want to take a swim."

"Where?" He questioned. Rory flicked her head towards the lake that once upon a time, Luke had pushed him in. "Here?"

"We're right by water," she said. "Why would we go anywhere else?"

Jess stared at Rory on the moonlight, searching her face. "You're serious."

She nodded. "Very."

He finally stood up and was right in front of her, close enough to touch. Rory took that moment to distract him from his objections and kissed him. Her arms came around his neck and she felt Jess slide his arms to her waist. The kiss deepened and they were soon pulling apart and in need of air.

"Wow," he said to her. Rory smiled to herself. She felt proud she could make Jess Mariano breathless.

She breathed out too. "I know."

Jess unattached his arms and hands from her body only to pull his shirt over his head. "Okay. Let's swim."

She was suddenly aware of what she had suggested as he stood there shirtless in front of her and about to undo his jeans. "Turn around."

"What?" He smirked.

"So I can get in," she simply replied. "Just do it."

"Okay," the smirk was still playing at the edges of his lips as it faded and Jess turned around.

Rory screamed inside her head how she didn't exactly think this plan through. Jess had stopped undressing for the moment as he waited for her. She told herself to stop being a baby and slid down her pajama pants first. She kicked them off to the side and pulled her shirt over her head and put it beside the pants.

Taking a breath, Rory went into the water. It felt ice cold and refreshing. She closed her eyes and let herself feel it. Jess' voice broke her out of her daze. "Can I turn around now?"

"Yeah," she yelled from the water. Jess faced her and saw Rory floating in the water, her pajamas in a pile besides the picnic basket. He swallowed hard and thought about how she actually meant this, she was in the water and her clothes were not. He told himself to stop being a pussy and undid his jeans.

He jumped into the water seconds later, swimming right to her. "What made you want to take a nighttime swim?"

She shrugged. "We were here. No one's around."

"So you wanted to because no one will see?" Jess asked. "I don't know if I should feel flattered this is just for me or upset you're ashamed to be seen with me."

"The first one," Rory nodded. He gave her a look and she could tell the smirk was fighting to make an appearance. "If I was ashamed to be seen with you, I wouldnt be. Like with Taylor the other day."

Jess laughed. "I thought he was going to have a heart attack!"

"It's not everyday he walks into Miss Patty's studio to see it's not empty," she laughed.

"You pulled me in there!" Jess yelled. "I was minding my own business."

"Sure," she was skeptical. "You were an innocent bystander."

The smirk definitely came out now. "Of course I was. Like tonight."

"You asked me out, mister!" She exclaimed with a look of shock on her face.

"So?" He countered. "Who suggested the stripping down part of the evening?"

Rory blushed furiously. "I didn't...maybe I did. But that was not the intention."

"Sure," Jess agreed.

"It wasn't!" She yelled. Jess laughed when Rory couldn't hide the blush off her cheeks. She felt the heat rise. "I wasn't thinking of that when I suggested it."

Jess nodded. "Uh-huh."

"Honest!"

"You still got me out of my pants," he teased.

"Shut up," Rory muttered with a smile.

"Make me," he shrugged.

Rory moved closed to him as she would kiss him but instead splashed him. Jess looked at her in shock.

"Not cool!"

"Come and get me," she yelled as she swam away from him. Jess quickly was following behind her.

He swam as fast as he could but somehow she was faster. Jess never knew she was such a good swimmer. Rory laughed but then she noticed he was nowhere to be found. Her laughter stopped and she stilled. "Jess?"

It was quiet and she looked around. Panic was starting to rise in her just as she felt arms come around her from behind. A palm was flat on her bare stomach and she shivered again. Hot breath came on her skin as a voice whispered in her ear. "Got you."

Rory's eyes closed as she leaned back against him. Jess let out a groan but his hand stayed in place, holding her body to his. "Jess?"

He turned his face so his cheek was right beside hers. "Yeah?"

"Maybe we should get out of the water," she told him.

Jess blinked. That was not what he was expecting. "Yeah, probably."

His hands came off of her skin and she missed them. Instead of swimming back to the bridge, Rory turned around and kissed Jess. He kissed her back right away and it got even deeper than the previous one before they got into the water. They stayed like that for what seemed like hours. Neither of then wanted to let go.

For the first time since Jess took his shirt off, Rory wasn't afraid of him seeing her like that. Not that she was exactly afraid before but she wasn't sure how she felt about stripping down in front of him. But now, in this moment, in this kiss, she felt like the most beautiful person in Jess' world and she was okay with that.

They broke off the kiss, panting. Jess looked even more breathless than before and she smirked. Score two for Rory Gilmore. "You're right, we should go."

"Right," she tried to agree. Her body didn't agree since it was still holding his. But also, so was his.

Finally, they swam back and got out of the water. Rory reached down to grab her pajamas when she caught Jess watching her. Then she remembered she was standing there in only her bra and underwear. Rory blushed a deep scarlett and he smirked at the sight of the red.

Jess was slow to dress himself so after Rory had her own clothes back on, she watched him pull his jeans on. She wasn't that much of a prude she wouldn't admit she liked what she saw. He pulled his shirt over his head and she looked away so he wouldnt know she was watching.

He walked over to the basket and wrapped everything up. "Your coffee is ice now."

"That's okay," she told him.

Jess was stunned for the hundredth time tonight. "Excuse me. Did I hear right? I thought a Gilmore just told me it's okay her coffee isn't hot."

"You heard right," she defended. "I don't care about the coffee right now. I'll get more tomorrow."

He nodded, understanding. He wouldn't trade this night for the world. "Okay."

She smiled at him. "Take me back to Lane's?"

"Of course," he agreed as he carried the basket, the blanket securely inside and put his arm around Rory, walking her to her home for the night.

A/N: Thoughts? I hope you liked it! And now I'll get back to writing Nine Years Gone updates XD