A/N: Thanks to everyone who read chapter one and thanks for the people that reviewed! It means a lot!

Chapter Two

Rory woke up the next morning and needed to take a few minutes to remember where she was. Once she recognized that she was in Jess' loft, the events of last night replayed in her head. She was in New York with Jess…she was actually with him. A smile spread across her face as she rolled over only to find that Jess was no longer there.

"Jess?" she asked, stretching her arms above her head. No answer. She sat up and looked around the loft only to find it empty. Standing up she quickly walked over towards the bathroom and pressed her ear to the door. She didn't hear any running water or movement at all. Her heartbeat quickened.

Suddenly, the front door opened and Jess walked in holding a newspaper and two cups of coffee.

"Oh, you're up," he said, shutting the door behind him. He looked at her face and arched an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing…I just…I didn't know where you were."

He placed the coffee cups on top of his bookshelf and sighed. "Rory, I'm not going to leave you…not again."

She nodded. "I know,"

He walked closer to her. "I meant what I said back at Yale…you can count on me now."

"I know I can…"

He looked a little unsure but he nodded. "Okay, good."

"So," said Rory, smiling and walking towards the coffee that was waiting for her. "I was thinking…instead of finding a hotel to stay in, why don't we just stay here until we find a place near Yale? That way we can save money."

"You're sure about that?" asked Jess.

Rory nodded. "We'll never find a decent priced hotel in Manhattan and who knows how long we'd have to stay there."

"Good point,"

Rory opened her mouth to make another point but her cell phone started ringing, interrupting her. Grabbing it out of her purse, Rory froze at the number. It was her mom.

"Are you going to answer it?" asked Jess, looking at her oddly.

"It's mom,"

Jess sighed. "Oh. I'll leave if you want…"

"No, no…stay." Rory let out a deep breath and answered her phone. "Hello?"

"I can't decide if we should watch Grease 2, Teen Wolf 2, or the always amazing Saturday Night Fever sequel 'Staying Alive'." said Lorelai's voice, sounding frantic.

"Mom…."

"If we conquer all three movies tonight I might have to send out reinforcements. I'm thinking Chinese with a side of Luke's fries and Al's mystery bags for color."

Rory let out a sigh and glanced at Jess who was trying to look busy by throwing his sheet over the mattress. She couldn't help but grin at him.

"So where are you?" asked Lorelai. "Almost here, I hope."

"Actually…I'm not going to be home tonight."

"What? Why?" She sounded disappointed and it made Rory feel guilty.

"Um…" Rory chewed on her lower lip. "I'm staying with Paris for a few days…"

Jess looked up and arched an eyebrow.

"Paris?" asked Lorelai. "I thought she was going to Oxford with J. Howard Marshall?"

"She and Professor Flemming had an argument and she wants me to stay with her until she fixes things," Rory lied, glancing at Jess who was smirking slightly in her direction. "Is that okay?"

"I guess so sweetie. I was really looking forward to you coming home tonight."

"So was I but…um, well I'll see you in a few days for the inn opening."

Lorelai sighed. "Yeah...alright. Talk to you later hun,"

"Bye mom." Hanging up, Rory turned her attention towards Jess and let out a breath. "I know,"

"You didn't tell her,"

"I couldn't! She would be so furious with me and she has the inn opening in just a few days…I don't want anything to take away from that. She needs to remain focused on The Dragon Fly and not what I'm doing."

"The longer you wait to tell her the worse it's going to be," said Jess.

"I know and I hate lying to her…but I know this is right. Once the test run of the inn is finished, I'll tell her. I promise."

Jess nodded. "Good."

"So, what's on the agenda for today?"

Jess opened the paper and sat down on his mattress. Rory joined him and saw that he was opened to the real estate section. "Anything?" she asked.

"There are a few apartments for rent about twenty minutes away from Yale. Is that too far?"

Rory shook her head. "No, it's perfect. How much are they?"

"Most of them average at eight-hundred a month."

"Yikes."

Jess nodded. "Yeah, yikes,"

"Well, we'll just have to get jobs. I'm hoping to get an internship next year at some point but I can always…"

"No," said Jess. "I don't want you to change any of your plans. Do your internship. I'll find a job. Plus…" he paused and looked down.

"Plus what?"asked Rory. He was blushing. Rory looked on, puzzled. "What Jess?"

"I've been working on a novel…" he muttered.

"You have?"

"Yeah, a short one. It's probably horrible but you never know. How do half the novels out there get published?"

"Can I read it?"

Jess nodded and opened up a trunk at the foot of his mattress. He pulled out a pile of papers. Rory was surprised at the length.

"You don't have to read it all," he said.

"The Subsect," Rory read.

"Don't read it aloud, please."

Rory grinned and leaned back on the pillows. Her eyes scanned the words before her, a grin tugging at her lips. She was completely captivated by the story that Jess penned before her. While Jess made calls with the real estate agent, Rory read. She read the full sixty pages and when she was done, she looked at Jess, amazed.

"Well?" he asked.

"It's absolutely amazing…I can't believe you wrote this…"

"It still has a long way to go before it's complete," said Jess, smiling slightly.

"It's wonderful,"

"I'm going to have to make a lot of changes to those beginning chapters once I'm finished."

"Jess," He looked over at her and smiled at the look on her face. "It's great."

He nodded. "Thanks,"

Jess' roommates returned later that afternoon, both looking worse for the wear. They had eyed Rory a bit curiously when they first arrived but they didn't question her appearance. Rory politely introduced herself to them both, but they just muttered their names. Todd and Patrick.

"Don't except to get too chummy with them," whispered Jess into her ear.

Rory glanced back at the two boys, now lying on their respective mattresses. She turned back towards Jess and sighed. "Want to take a drive and see those apartments?"

"You moving Mariano?" asked Patrick.

"Yeah," said Jess. Rory wasn't sure if he was talking to her or Patrick but he grabbed his coat and Rory quickly followed him out of the loft.

"These apartments are perfect for a young couple starting out," commented to real estate agent as she walked through the hallway of a small apartment complex. The fourth apartment complex Rory and Jess had been to. Rory stared at the numbered doors as they walked by and couldn't help but wonder if they were taking things too fast. She told Jess that she wanted to do this, live with him, find a place together and be together, but she didn't expect that to be so soon. She had never lived with a man before. It had always been her mother and after that, three girls. And this just wasn't any man. This was Jess. Her Jess….

"Here we are,"

Both Rory and Jess stopped short and stared at the door before them. Sandy, the agent, turned the key in the lock and pushed open the door. All three of them walked into the apartment. The room they stood in was a living room/kitchen. The room was large, which surprised Rory. A decent sized couch was placed against the wall where two windows were. A small table with four chairs was in the corner and a kitchen with a stove, fridge and sink rested on the other side.

"Nice, right?" asked Sandy.

"It's lovely," said Rory, smirking at Jess. He simply nodded. "Where's the bedroom?"

"Right through that door," said Sandy, pointing to the door that was across from them. Both Rory and Jess entered the bedroom and remained frozen in the doorway.

This could potentially be their bedroom. The bedroom the two of them would share-together. Where they would…do things.

Rory felt the heat rising to her cheeks. She glanced at Jess and saw that he was staring at the bed with slightly widened eyes.

"Forgot what an actual bed looks like?" teased Rory.

Jess looked over at her and smirked. "Something like that,"

"There is plenty of closet space," called Sandy from the other room.

"Enough space to lock her in?" mumbled Jess.

"Shh!"

"Well?" asked Jess, turning to face her. "What do you think?"

Rory looked at the bedroom for another moment before looking at Jess. "I love it,"

"You do?"

"Yes, I think it's perfect. It's so much better then the other places we've seen today."

Jess smirked at her and stuffed his hands in his pockets. "So…we'll take it?"

Rory smiled widely and kissed him. "Yes, we'll take it."

"When can you move in?" asked Sandy, poking her head in the room.

Rory and Jess returned to Manhattan and packed their boxes in their cars. The following morning they woke up early and drove back to New Haven where they moved into their new apartment. Rory was nervous but also really excited. Everything was happening so quickly that she could barely see straight.

"I hate that I won't be sleeping here tonight," said Rory as she dropped her last box on the floor.

"When do you have to leave for Stars Hallow?"

Rory glanced at her watch and sighed. "Now,"

Jess smirked. "I'll see you tomorrow?"

"You know you can stop by the inn. I'm sure Luke would love to see you."

"I just saw Luke," said Jess. "Besides, I want to unpack our things."

Rory sighed. "Alright, fine. I'll see you tomorrow."

Jess touched her cheek and gently kissed her lips. Rory wrapped her arms around his neck and opened her mouth, allowing his tongue to slide in against hers. They pulled apart a few moments later, both out of breath.

"Uh…bye," said Rory, a little dizzy.

Jess grinned and watched her pick up a small bag with a change of clothes in them. "Bye Rory,"

She waved at him and left, her head still spinning from the kiss they just shared.

A/N: I realize that they found an apartment pretty quickly. For most people, finding an apartment that suits their needs takes days if not weeks but sometimes you can get lucky. I found my apartment the first day I went out looking.

Also, I realize that eight-hundred a month between two people probably sounds like nothing to some people, but to two unemployed nineteen year olds...yeah, you can imagine.

Thanks for reading! I hope you're enjoying this story. Look for my next chapter sometime around Tuesday/Wednesday. That's what I'm shooting for. What this chapter was lacking in drama will be made up in chapter three.

And don't forget to review!