Disclaimer: If I owned them, Luke and Lorelai would have been happily married by season six.
A/N: Nothing happened between Lorelai and Chris at Sookie's wedding. Rory and Jess never got in a car accident. LL are on friendly terms during the summer before S3.


Chapter One: Can Men and Women Be Friends?

It was a relatively normal day at Luke's. Kirk had changed his mind six times before placing his final order, Caesar had managed to fry his hand along with the chicken fingers, and Miss Patty had made many crude remarks regarding the fact that Luke was wearing his grey t-shirt, minus the flannel. To state the obvious, a t-shirt was not Luke's normal attire while at work, but the sudden heat wave that was smoldering all of Star's Hollow scratched flannel off the list of practical things to wear.

Luke sighed and adjusted his baseball cap. There was no denying he was stressed out, partly because of the exhaustion from working in the heat, and partly because of Miss Patty's seductive glances. He rolled his eyes at the sound of a whistle and was about to scold Patty, but then he caught a glimpse of the blue-eyed brunette standing before him.

He returned his gaze to his pad of paper and spoke nonchalantly, "Keep your clothes on."

Lorelai retorted, "What makes you think I had any intention of taking them off? Besides, my cat-call was meant for Kirk's ears."

Luke raised an eyebrow, "Let us hope that's not the case."

She let out a soft chuckle and took a seat at the counter, "Coffee, please."

He gave her a strange look, "It's a hundred degrees outside."

"Hence the reason for iced-coffee."

"We don't sell iced-coffee."

"Well, then you should start."

He rolled his eyes, and after a slight hesitation, he disappeared into the storage room, reappearing moments later with a cup full of ice. He poured her a cup of coffee, poured the ice into the mug, and placed it in front of her, "The things I do for you..."

"You deserve a medal." She smirked as she brought the mug to her lips and took a sip of the refreshing liquid. She shined a smile of satisfaction and placed the mug back down, returning her gaze to his outfit, "Luke, I don't know if I'm okay with the new uniform. It's very unprofessional." she said, looking him up and down.

He completely ignored her words, "Will you be having anything else?"

"Nah, I already ate at the inn. Fruit salad. You should be proud."

Luke nodded his head, "Healthy choice."

She continued, "Delicately sprinkled with an inch-thick coating of sugar..." He rolled his eyes, she smiled at the way her eating habits repulsed him. Her thoughts then became focused on the fact that the breeze from the nearest fan was reaching nowhere near her. She thought she would give Luke the honor of not complaining in his face for another ten minutes, but the thought quickly passed, "You really need air-conditioning in here, or at least another fan". He stared at her blankly for a few seconds and then replied, "I have three."

"You need more."

Luke released a deep breath and momentarily stopped wiping the counter, "Do you have anything better to do?"

"Than to sit here nagging you?" she wrinkled her forehead, pretending to be lost in thought, "Nope."

"Go home. I'm sure you'll find something remotely interesting to do there."

"Luke, you don't understand. With Rory in Washington and all this time to myself, I'm starting to realize just how little of a life I have. I mean, I make friends with the shadows on my wall. I talk to myself in public, I talk in my sleep, it's bad."

"Is your name Rob Thomas, and are you the principle lead singer and songwriter of the band Matchbox Twenty?"

She slammed her hands on the diner counter, "I'm thinking I should be medicated."

He leaned closer towards her and spoke in an unconvinced tone, "You're just now realizing this?"

She narrowed her eyes in his direction and then continued with her nagging, "Entertain me."

"Do I look like a clown?"

She responded with the most serious of faces, "Yes."

He shook his head, "I walked right into that one, didn't I?"

She smiled, "Mhm."

Luke shook his head as he tried to hold back the smile. He then adjusted his baseball cap again, letting out a relaxed sigh when a customer entered the diner - the open door allowing a cool breeze to pass through the room, licking the glistening beads of sweat from his forehead.

While sitting only a few feet away from him, Lorelai found herself taking multiple secretive glances in Luke's direction. His tight-fitted shirt was definitely working for him, and for her as well. She mentally cursed him for depriving the ladies of Star's Hollow of such a nice treat - what was he thinking covering up in all that damn flannel? Lorelai then caught herself exploring for too long. She quickly darted her eyes to the counter, praying to God that he hadn't noticed her staring. She lamely announced, "It's really hot."

"Sure is."

She looked around the diner, her eyes searching for a new topic of discussion, before she spoke again, "I passed Taylor on my way here. Man, you should've seen him..."

"Did the snowcone machine break again?"

"You bet. I wouldn't be surprised if he called in the National Guard."

"Seems like something Taylor would do."

"Undeniably." A few moments of silence filled their area again. Lorelai propped her right elbow on the counter and rested her chin in her hand as she pouted, "I really wish I had a pool."

"You do know there's a lake five minutes away from your house, don't you?"

"Yeah, but I don't like lakes. They're too.. Lake-y."

"Lake-y? Making up words again?"

She ignored his statement, "I'd rather go to the beach, you know? That way I can be one-hundred percent sure that I won't be dragged under the water by some swamp creature."

He waved his hand in the air, "Then go to the beach."

"Did I not mention the finger puppets?" Luke just continued to count his tips. Lorelai then widened her eyes, "Harvey's Beach, that's where I used to go."

Luke lifted his head, "Wow, I used to spend all summer there. Last time I was at Harvey's Beach, I was like eighteen."

Lorelai smiled at the remembrance, "When I was a kid I used to go with my friend Trish and her family. They had that, uh, snack stand where the cute boy worked? Remember? He looked like Emilio Estevez."

"Oh, I remember the snack stand, not Emilio."

Her lips broke into a wider smile, "We used to do cartwheels to get his attention."

"I remember my sister picking up someone's cigarette butt behind that stand and smoking it."

"Um, ew?"

"Yeah. You know, we could have been there at the same time on the same day, isn't that weird?"

She smiled at the thought, "Yeah, Extremely."

He smiled in her direction, but then abruptly tore his eyes away when he felt more than enough time had passed. He cleared his throat and adverted his gaze to the diner counter. He then looked back up at her, "You know, maybe we could..."

"What?"

He shook his head, dismissing the thought, "Ah, never mind."

A smile began to play at her lips, "What, Luke? Say it."

"No, it's stupid. Forget it."

She nodded and smiled before lifting her head back up to face him, "Maybe we could go to the beach tomorrow."

He lifted his head, "We?"

"Yes, we. You up for it?"

Of course he was up for it, but he didn't want to sound too eager, "It's not a good idea..."

"Luke, one day without working won't kill you."

"You'd be surprised."

Lorelai pouted her lips, "Pleaaase. C'mon, Luke."

He waited a few moments before finally shrugging his shoulders, only appearing to be aggravated, "Alright, just as long as Caesar can cover for me." Lorelai squealed with delight and quickly stood up, "Now I have some motivation to raid my closet for a bathing suit."

He narrowed his eyes, "I didn't give you an answer yet."

"Sure you did. Caesar can cover, no problem."

He called after her as she headed for the door, "Lorelai-"

"See you tomorrow -- 9am sharp!"

-x-

Nothing could have prepared Luke for the hour-long time span it took for him to decide what to wear. Most guys preparing for a day at the beach would throw on a pair of swimming trunks, an old pair of thongs, and a comfortable t-shirt. The only difference was, they didn't have to impress Lorelai Gilmore.

Luke assumed there was a Lorelai out there for everybody, though. That sweet, independent, powering lass, that inadvertently ruled every man's life, unaware of all that could come from a simple smile, innocent wink, or glance. Lorelai was unaware of just how much she affected Luke.

As he tore his closets and drawers apart, he found the same questions running through his head; What will she think of this? Or this? Or that over there? Nothing seemed to be right. He finally settled on a pair of black board shorts and an appropriate-fitting white t-shirt. Of course, no matter how many times he told himself that he looked fine, most of his thoughts while driving to the beach, with Lorelai in the passenger seat of his truck, revolved around how self-conscious he was.

After a thirty-minute ride, they finally reached their destination. As they pulled into the parking-lot, Luke couldn't help but feel a headache coming on at the sight of mini-vans surrounding him. The last thing he wanted was to be in the midst of little kids running around pulling crabs out of their diapers.

Lorelai helped him unload the truck, and they began on their quest to find a quiet spot to settle.

She defensively pointed at him, "Hey, you're the one who said I could choose the songs we listened to on the way here."

Luke retorted, "Yes, and you grossly exploited that privilege."

"It's a privilege to control the radio in your truck?"

"Yes, and a very rare privilege at that."

"My... Don't we think highly of ourselves..."

Luke ignored this and stopped in his tracks, "Is this a good spot?"

Lorelai took a look around, noticing they were just a few feet away from the water, and rather secluded from the rest of the beach. It was quiet, serene, it was nice. "It's perfect."

Luke let out a sigh of relief as he dropped Lorelai's 100 lb. beach bag from his arms, "What the hell do you have in here?"

"All the essentials, Luke. Donuts and cookies and chips and-"

"Lorelai, I said I would take care of the food."

She chuckled, "Hah, like I would trust you with that."

"I wasn't thinking vegetables and tofu, I was thinking hot dogs and fries from the snack stand."

"Oh." Lorelai then stood on the tips of her toes to see over Luke's shoulder, getting a not-so-clear view of the snack stand, "Geez, Emilio has changed a bit since I last saw him." she squinted her eyes, "Actually, I'm not so sure that's Emilio..."

Luke was too occupied in laying out the towels to pay attention to what she was saying, "Right." He then sighed as he collapsed on the towel, placed his cap over his eyes for shade, and spread his arms out.

Lorelai had other plans, "Um, hello, what do you think you're doing?"

He hesitated before answering, "Resting."

"Oh, no, I don't think so, Buddy."

"I just lugged your bag of crap all the way over here. Just give me a second to regulate my breath, will ya?"

"Okay, okay, you're right. That's totally understandable."

"Thanks for agreeing."

She took a seat beside him, "How long are you gonna be?"

He let out a sigh, "Lorelai, it's 9:30, the sun isn't even that warm yet. You have the whole day to enjoy the beach. Just relax."

She nodded, "Relax. I can do that."

Surprising herself, Lorelai found it rather easy to relax. With the company of Luke beside her, and the sound of the waves crashing against the shore, it took no effort at all to shut her eyes for a while. All of the stress from working at the inn quickly slipped from her mind, and she found herself worrying less about Rory in Washington. Right now her main concern was whether or not Luke could hear her stomach growling, it seemed like it was on stereo-mode. She hoped he couldn't hear. That would be rather embarrassing considering the fact that he stopped on his way here to get her a McDonald's Breakfast Meal.

As her mind drifted from thought to thought, Lorelai found herself drifting farther and farther from reality. It was the sound of a woman's giggle and a man's husky laugh that caused her to awake. She peered through slitted eyes in the direction of the water, where she spotted a young couple. She couldn't help but notice the similarities between the woman and, well, somebody who was once very close to Luke.

Lorelai slightly turned her head to the side, expecting to see Luke sleeping. He wasn't though, he too was looking in the direction of the couple. She watched Luke as he watched them, calmly, no doubt thinking about the woman who up and left him, again.

Lorelai turned her head back to them, and then broke the silence, "... Luke is that-"

He answered before she could finish, "No, looks like her though, doesn't it?"

Lorelai nodded, "Exactly like her."

Luke shrugged his shoulders and then continued, "Rachel's hair isn't as blonde, and she's not as tall."

Lorelai couldn't ignore the sudden pang of jealousy that hit her when Luke described Rachel. She figured it was only normal that he remembed those things about her, though. They had been together for such a long time before it ultimately ended a year ago.

Lorelai furrowed her eyebrows as she thought about Rachel leaving Luke for the second time. She silently questioned why she fought so hard for Luke in the first place. Maybe she just wanted him to forgive her? Lorelai then found herself asking the question outloud, "Luke, why did the two of you-"

"I really don't... wanna talk about it."

"Oh. Oh, okay." They remained silent for a few moments, before Lorelai asked, "What are you thinking about?"

Luke hesitantly sat up, resting on his arms, "Thinking? I don't know. Regretting, mostly."

She smiled weakly, with sympathy, "You know, Luke, Rachel's not the only woman in the world for you."

"Yeah, I know."

"You'll meet someone, I know you will."

"I guess." He quickly turned to face her, almost startling her, "It got a lot warmer out, huh?"

Lorelai turned her head away from him again, immediately embarrassed for having over-stepped. She nodded her head, still reacting to the sudden change in conversation, "Uhh, yeah. Yeah, it did."

Her eyes followed Luke as he quickly stood up, pulling his shirt over his head. She didn't know why, but seeing his bare chest was making her smile uncontrollably. They were at the beach, obviously that consisted of limited clothing. Still, Lorelai felt her face reddening, and tried to hide the embarrassed smile playing at her lips as she turned her head away from him.

She then pulled herself together, standing up, and discarding her own shirt, revealing a baby blue string bikini top. She hesitated before unzipping her shorts, "Are we going in the water?"

Luke laughed, "No one's forcing you."

"No, I know, I just -" What was with her? Okay, she was finding Luke mildly more attractive than yesterday, but did she have to make it so obvious? Lorelai mentally kicked herself for being so awkward, and then caught up with Luke as he reached the water.

Goose bumps immediately took over her body as she entered the water knee-deep. Luke was already in at his waist, and walking in further. She called out to him, and winced and squealed as she entered deeper, "Ahhh... Oh, God, this is cold. Luke! Luke, come back here!" She shivered as she continued, "Okay, this confirms it. If I were Rose, I would have stayed on that safety boat with my mother. No, 'you jump, I jump' nonsense."

"How very romantic of you" he shouted back.

"Jack had already warned her of the freezing water. Giving her full evidence to think back on. You more than anyone should think she was making a stupid decision... Am I right? Luke?" She lifted her head and her stomach dropped when he was nowhere in sight. She shielded her eyes from the sun, looking in every direction, but there was no sign of him. Needless to say, she was entirely unprepared for the immediate grasp on her waist, and reacted in a blood-curdling scream.

Luke's head surfaced seconds later, a huge grin plastered on his face. She splashed him countless times, cursing and yelling, but couldn't stop from smiling. She ended with a very effective, "You're evil!"

He shrugged his shoulders, "You make it too easy."

"You better watch your back."

He spoke in a sarcastic tone, "Man, that was a powerful threat right there..."

Her mouth widened in awe at the reaction of his continuos flirting, "You've been warned, pal. I'll hit you with so many lefts, you'll be begging for a right."

He moved closer towards her, "Oh, really?"

"Really." The teasing smirk remained on her face as the waves pushed him closer towards her, giving her a better view of the water droplets trailing down the ripples of his chest. She lifted her eyes and smiled at the way his hair slicked back, and the way his blue eyes stood out so vibrantly. He smiled too, and his eyes burned through her own. Her confidence began sweeping away at the realization of their closeness, though. She thought her heart was going to burst out of her chest as he moved closer and closer, until his face was a mere five inches away from hers. Her gaze immediately dropped to his lips, but tore away just as quickly when she saw him sheepishly advert his gaze to the water.

They wavered there for a few moments, Luke wading in on the awkwardness. His eyes aimlessly wandered around them, taking no particular interest in anything. Lorelai smiled, and in attempt to ease the awkward moment, she swept her hands back and then forward, playfully splashing him. His eyes immediately darted towards her, he was about to retaliate, but she was too quick to duck underwater.

Not a second passed before she re-surfaced, her teeth chattering, and her dark curls dangling in her face. She laughed as she pushed her hair back and wiped the salty water from her eyes, "Thanks a lot..."

He shot her a look, "You're the one who went under, I had no part of it."

"Correction... the I'm-about-to-splash-you look that you had on your face forced me to go under."

"That makes no sense."

Lorelai shook her head and adverted her gaze to the shore. She turned back to face him, "I'll race you back?"

"You don't stand a chance."

"On your mark - get se-" and then she was off, heading towards the sandy beach, only to be caught up with within seconds.

She laughed hysterically as she tumbled forward, collapsing beside Luke on the towel. She rolled onto her back, her chest rising and falling noticeably as she tried to catch her breath. She turned her head to face him, revealing a look of defeat. Luke spoke breathlessly, "That's what happens when you cheat." Lorelai frowned as he continued, "I mean, you still would have lost if you played fairly, and if you were racing against an eighty-year-old man, but at least your conscience would be clear."

She nudged his arm, trying to hold back a smile, "Shut up."

"It's the truth..."

She nudged him again, "Luke! Stop lowering my self-esteem!"

He nodded his head, "I apologize, that was out of line."

"Your cruelty is really kicking in today... and besides... I lost on purpose, you know, to spare your feelings."

"Oh, well, that was very thoughtful of you. Thanks."

"You're welcome." She looked over at him, confessing and laughing, "I'm so out of breath."

He nodded and returned a smile, "I know, me too."

She rolled onto her stomach, just as Luke was, and rested her head on her arm as she glanced back up at him. A smile tugged at the corners of his lips, "What are you looking at?" There was no denying the obvious sexual tension between the two of them at this moment, yet Lorelai was quick to make light of the situation. She smiled back, "The man in the red speedo heading our way."

Luke immediately sealed his eyes shut, "Ah, jeez.. the nerve of people these days..."

Lorelai laughed, "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. I'm obviously looking at you."

He peeked an eye open, and then the second one, "Well, stop, you're creeping me out."

She furrowed her eyebrows, "Okay, fine, I'll stop."

"Good." He rolled onto his back and closed his eyes, still feeling her gaze on him.

"You should take it as a compliment, though. My thanks for you parading that nice bod around."

"Okay, this conversation is ending now."

"I'm sure all of your lady friends in highschool longed to study you for anatomy class."

"Yeah, the teachers too." He turned his head to face her at the sound of her giggles, revealing a straight expression. She stared at him, still laughing, waiting for a smile to break through at any moment, but his face remained the same. Her jaw dropped in awe, "What?!" He then shined a full-fledged smile, laughing at how gullible she was.

"I knew you were kidding!"

"Not judging by the look on your face!"

-x-

An hour had passed before Lorelai could no longer hide the fact that she was starving. Luckily and unsurprisingly, Luke took no hesitation in buying her a burger and fries from the snack stand, and a sandwhich for himself.

As she waited for him to return, Lorelai took the time alone to think about the few hours that had passed. She couldn't count on her fingers the amount of times she felt butterflies in her stomach, all erupting from a single glance from Luke. She figured it was all because of a change in setting. She never found herself interested in Luke at home, not seriously at least. Maybe because every other day was so planned out, nothing different from the daily norm. Being away from everyone, together, was revealing feelings that she never thought she had for Luke.

She smiled as he returned with two plates in his hands.

Luke raised an eyebrow at the sound she made when she finally took her first bite of the burger. She noticed his expression and asked, "Luke, have you ever even tried a hamburger before?"

"No, and I do not plan on doing so anytime in the near future."

She shook her head matter-of-factly, "You haven't lived."

"Apparently, you haven't read "The Jungle", by Upton Sinclair."

She showed little interest in this remark, "Nope."

Luke just shook his head with a smirk on his face.

They ate in silence for a while. Each of them enjoying the fact that they did so without feeling uncomfortable. It was one of the things they enjoyed most about being around each other. Nothing between them was ever forced.

A lot was on Luke's mind while sitting there, However. He figured it was because they were talking about Rachel earlier, that he felt himself wondering about Lorelai's current 'love life'. It took him a while to find the courage to ask her, but he soon did, "So, who are you dating these days?"

"Who am I dating? ... No one at the moment. Besides, I don't think any normal man would be happy with me being here with you, if I were dating them."

"Why? We're just friends."

"Luke, there is no such thing as a male friend when you are dating another male."

"Ah, just like there's no such thing as a female friend when you're dating another female."

Lorelai smiled, "Exactly. I've taught you well..." She sat there chewing the rest of her fry for a moment, before she continued, "But, I don't always agree with those stereotypical sayings."

He took a sip of his water and then asked, "What do you mean?"

"Well, for example, Billy Crystal claims in When Harry Met Sally, that men and women cannot be friends because the sex part always gets in the way. You and I are friends and we've never had sex."

Luke instantly lifted his head, and looked at her in disbelief, "Oh."

She replied just as stunned, "Wow, that sounded a lot less awkward when it was in my head."

"Oh - Uh - It's okay. You brought up a valid point."

She looked at him questioningly, "I did?"

"Uh... sure. You learn nothing from movies. Unless they're a biography or on the history channel or... something." She watched as he stuttered and squirmed, and couldn't help but notice how adorable it was.

Lorelai's lips soon broke out into a smile, "That was very unconvincing."

Luke laughed, "Yeah it was, wasn't it?"


TBC

Hey, everyone. It's only been six months since I've last been on this website... jeesh. I can't even believe how much time has gone by. Once the show ended I totally drifted from everything related to Gilmore Girls, and it wasn't until I saw the commerials for the season seven DVDs that I started to regain interest again.

I logged onto my e-mail the other day and I was so excited over all of the notifications I received, and then I felt like crap when I realized I was annoying so many people by not updating my stories. :/ Sorry? Haha

I'm not going to make any promises I cannot keep by saying that I'll update every day this week. But I can promise you that I will definitely TRY to update SOON. Hopefully too many fans haven't lost interest, but it's understandable if you have. So, I hope you guys enjoyed this. Please review!

Disclaimer: If I owned them, Luke and Lorelai would have been happily married by season six.
A/N: Nothing happened between Lorelai and Chris at Sookie's wedding. Rory and Jess never got in a car accident. LL are on friendly terms during the summer before S3.