Disclaimer: You know the drill…ASP is a genius…I am not
"So where are we heading?" Tristan asked as he turned on the ignition.
"Just take this right here." Rory pointed out the exit. Tristan turned to look at her. "I'm in the apartment building on the left." He pulled into the building and parked. "What are you doing?" she asked him.
"Ror, do you believe in fate?" He asked with wide eyes and a smile on his face.
"Yeah. I guess so, why?" She turned to face him in her seat.
"What floor do you live on?" He was starting to scare her now.
"The second. Why?"
"I just moved in, fourth floor." He said, bursting out with a deep laughter that Rory was convinced would have killed her if she hadn't been in shock.
"You lie." He just shook his head. Inside, he was thanking every deity in the world that his luck had changed with her. He could have never predicted he would run into her again, but now that he had, he was seriously considering what this meant. He had never believed in fate, but he was starting to.
"I can't believe this."
"And here I was going to ask you if you wanted to come in for some coffee." She said with a smile. They got out of the car and walked into the building. The elevator was empty and Rory turned and looked at Tristan. She had a sly smile on her face. She was wondering whether or not he was going to kiss her or not. She knew he probably wouldn't, but she secretly wanted him to.
"What are you looking at?" she bit her lip and didn't say anything. Tristan felt light-headed at the sight. She has no idea what she's doing to me, he thought. The doors opened and she walked to her door.
"This is me." She said as she opened the door. Her apartment completely mirrored her personality. It was simple but elegant and filled with books. "Do you mind if I change? I'm not really much of a formal person."
"Go ahead." She walked into her bedroom. "This place is nice." He said as he began looking around around.
"Thanks. I like it." He tried not to think of her practically naked in the next room. He noticed all of her photos on the walls were of her and her family, and another guy. "Who's the guy in the photos? Do you have a brother?" He had just finished admiring a shelf of her books when she appeared in a pair of blue terry cloth shorts and a white tank top. Her hair was in a messy bun. "That's Jess. He was a rebel without a clue back in High school, but now he actually wrote a short novel and owns a bookstore in Philly. Sound familiar?
"So you live here by yourself?" he quickly changed the subject. She laughed and humored him by continuing.
"Yeah. My grandparents contribution to my life. They like having me so close, but it also means I get roped into a lot of gatherings like the one tonight." He followed her into the kitchen and she began to make a pot of coffee.
"Trust me, I understand." He said almost wearily. "It's the same reason I'm supposed to be coming to Yale. But enough about society. I want to learn more about you. Tell me something I don't know."
"Like what?"
"I don't know, anything. What's your favorite color?" She grinned at his attempt to learn more about her. Whatever color your eyes are, she thought.
"Blue, and yours?"
"Blue as well. We have something in common." He wouldn't tell her that it was because it was the color of her eyes.
"Favorite meal?"
"I don't think you can ever beat a good steak and bake potato." She rolled her eyes. "You?"
"Double bacon cheeseburger and fries from Luke's."
"Luke's…Is this like Hector's?"
"Luke is my mom's boyfriend. He owns the diner in Stars Hollow. Instead of going grocery shopping, we go to Luke's. I grew up on his food. He's also Jess's uncle. Your turn to ask the question."
"Favorite book."
"Impossible, I need a time period, a genre, something to narrow the question."
"Absolutely not! You have to have a favorite book."
"Do you have a favorite book?" She asked him in disbelief.
"How about the book I've read the most?" Her interest was peaked. She couldn't see Tristan reading at all, let alone having a favorite book.
"That works. What is it?"
"Goodnight Moon." She started laughing.
"I knew you couldn't have a serious answer to that question. I've never seen you read a day in my life."
"For your information, it's Izzy's favorite book. And my nanny used to read it to us all the time when I was little."
"I'm going to have to meet this little girl that has such a hold on you."
"I'm sure that can be arranged." She got up to pour the coffee and Tristan couldn't help but take in the image of her legs. They were perfect. Those legs would haunt his dreams for the rest of his life.
"Here you go." She said turning around. "Let's go sit in the living room." They both sat down on the ends of the couch. Rory tucked her legs underneath her and turned so she was facing him.
"So the last time I saw you, you were trying to kiss me in front of my boyfriend. Did you mean what you said when you left Chilton that night?" her question came out of nowhere and took him off guard. "Or were you just being your typical high school self. Because normally I would have believed the latter, but you were different in that last moment. You looked like you did on the piano bench." She was rambling so she stopped talking and let him talk.
"Rory, I know you think that I was just messing with your head and all that, but I really liked you back then. I had never met anyone like you before. You didn't fall at my feet; you weren't impressed by anything that I could offer you. You even thought I was repulsive. So the first day of school when I saw you, I knew I had to have you. A conquest to beat all conquests. But as I got to know you, I wanted to know more of what made you tick. You were different and it intrigued me."
"You called me odd." He laughed and nodded his head.
"The more I saw, the more I became interested in you, not just as a conquest, but as something more than that. And then, the piano bench incident."
"I still feel bad about that."
"I can honestly say that was a once in a lifetime experience."
"The kiss or the crying?"
"Both." He replied. There was a brief silence as they both let the memories of that night be refreshed in their minds. "So although I made you cry, it was a good kiss?" She paused. She didn't know how much to tell him. Did she want to tell him it was the most phenomenal kiss she's ever had? That she thought about that kiss for days afterward?
"Yeah. It was a good kiss." She bit her lip again and he inwardly groaned. She started fiddling with her cup on the coffee table. Rory was sending a thousand telepathic messages straight to him. She wanted to feel like she felt in that moment.
"What are you thinking about?" His voice was practically a whisper. When she looked up, she saw in his eyes something different. She didn't know what the change was, but she wanted to find out. His eyes were darker, not stormy, just deeper. A deeper blue than she thought was possible.
"I just…" Her cell phone interrupted her. She pulled it out and answered it.
"Hello?"
"Hey you. How was the party?" Lorelei knew how to ruin a good moment. Rory secretly was grateful for the interruption.
"I'll tell you all about it in the morning but right now I'm kind of busy. Can I call you later?"
"Busy! Doing who?"
"Bye Mom." Rory turned her cell phone off and looked back at Tristan. His eyes were full of mocking laughter but he didn't crack a smile.
"Sorry about that."
"No…No…Don't worry about it. It's getting pretty late though. I should… head upstairs." He said as he pointed to the ceiling.
"Ok." She got up off the couch and took his coffee cup into the kitchen.
"Thanks for everything tonight. I had a lot of fun."
"Yeah me too. It was the last thing I expected to do tonight, but I'm glad we ran into each other."
"Yeah." She opened the door for him and he walked out into the hallway. "I'll talk to you soon."
"Ok, goodnight."
"Goodnight." Rory waited for him to turn around before shutting the door. I can't believe he didn't do it, she thought. She knew what she had to do. She opened the door.
"Tristan." He turned around and she met him in the hall. Before he could question her, she kissed him. It was supposed to be a short simple kiss. Supposed to being the keyword. As soon as her lips touched his, she knew there was no going back. After adjusting to the shock, Tristan deepened the kiss, taking control of the situation. His hands came up to weave through her hair and she wrapped her arms around his neck. Just as quickly as she started it, she broke the kiss.
"Goodnight." She said with a quick peck on the lips again. She walked back into her apartment and shut the door. Tristan was left standing in the middle of the hallway, lipstick smeared across his lips looking like an idiot. He looked towards her door again as if half expecting something else to happen. He wiped his lips with the edge of his finger and examined the color before heading up the stairs, two at a time.