While Rory didn't have much stuff to unpack (and not much space to unpack into), she spent a good amount of time up in her new apartment after Jess had let her be. The first thing she did was go through the notes she had brought with her, all of which ended up safely tucked into a box with a lock on it. She had hesitated to bring it, but was thankful on her final decision, especially since she was going to be living under the same roof as Jess.

Then Rory put the clothes she had in her duffle bag into the dresser that was in the room and sat herself on the couch. She sighed and checked her watch. 11:37. Jess said they'd discuss everything later, which Rory figured meant after Truncheon had closed for the night. A sigh escaped her lips; she contemplated calling her mom, but instead decided to head downstairs.

As Rory walked from the apartment into the book store she could see that Jess was down there, but he wasn't along like before. Two other men stood with him, their backs to her and their conversation at a normal volume.

"What do you mean you hired someone?" the one with the darker skin asked, his back to Rory and his hands on his hips. Jess sighed, rubbing his forehead.

"I don't know man, she came in here begging for a job and I gave it to her," Jess said as if it were the simplest answer in the world. The third man sighed. "We just let Maggie go because we couldn't afford to pay another person, and you just hired this girl off the street?" he said.

Rory had been listening keenly, her body leaning on the wall that shielded her from being seen to hear as best she could, but as she leaned closer to get a better listen her foot got caught and she ended up stumbling, catching herself before she fell but pulling attention towards her.

The two strangers turned to face her quickly and Jess mentally face palmed, his eyes closing for a second and a huff escaping his lips. Rory brushed off her jeans and looked up at the three with a tentative smile. "Uh, hi."

"Guys, this is Rory," Jess said as he walked around them and to her, turning to his friends. "Rory this is Matt and Chris. They own this place with me."

Rory then realized that she was holding in a breath, no intention of letting it out anytime soon. It was quiet in the room before the darker one stepped forward, extending his hand. "It's nice to meet you Rory. I'm Chris. Welcome to the team," he said, and after a second Rory shook his hand. She let out the breath she was holding and offered him a smile. "Nice to meet you too."

Then eyes fell on Matt and the room was once again silent, this time awkwardly. Jess gave him a look, almost begging him to be nice to her, and Rory felt uncomfortable under his judgmental gaze. When Matt finally spoke, however, his attention wasn't directed at Rory.

"Jess, can I talk to you in the office?" his voice was stern, less of a request and more of a demand as the other let out a sigh and followed him into the back office, leaving Rory and Chris to themselves.

"That doesn't sound good," Rory said more to herself than anything, shuffling her feel slightly before hearing a slight chuckle coming from Chris; she looked up at him, a small smile on her face.

Before Chris could talk, however, Jess was almost storming out of the back office with his jacket in hand. "Let's get out of here," he said directly to Rory and she froze, looking at him before looking back to Matt- who didn't look too happy- and then back to Jess.

"Uh yeah," she nodded. "Let me just grab my coat."

Rory ran upstairs and grabbed her jacket before following Jess out into the streets of Manhattan. Her eyes wandered as she witnessed the city in a way she hadn't in years. Jess looked over at her, amused.

"How well do you know Manhattan?" he decided to ask, his hands shoved in his pockets and eyes on her. Rory's head turned quickly and she blushed, which he noticed, and smiled a little.

"I've been here a few times. I saw the Beatles here with my mom," she said and Jess laughed. "What, do you not like the Beatles?" she asked and Jess shook his head. "They're okay," he said simply, and once again they fell into silence.

"A few years ago my Mom borrowed my grandfather's car and drove us in to shop. She couldn't find a good parking place and all the parking lots were a total rip-off, so she kept making U-turns and cutting off taxis and we were being screamed at in so many different languages that we just turned around and drove home," Rory rambled on.

Jess continued to look at her with a look of amusement, unsure what to make of the girl that stood before him. All he knew about her was that she had graduated from Yale, and for some reason came to his publishing house begging for a job. He didn't know where she came from, what her story was, but he was interested in finding out.

"How very adventurous," he said in an almost sarcastic tone and she looked at him. "I'm just saying, I'm not stranger to the Big Apple."

Jess couldn't help the laugh that escaped his lips, and in turn Rory laughed as well. She knew the words that left her lips sounded ridiculous but part of her didn't care. She liked hearing Jess's laugh; it made her laugh and made her stomach flip a little bit, something Logan's hadn't done to her in a long time.

When their laughs subsided Rory licked her lips and looked straight ahead. "So where are we going?" she asked, sticking her own hands in her pockets and again looking at Jess. Her head was tilted slightly and he looked at her. "My friend owns a bar just a block up, foods decent and prices are low. Thought you might like it."

Rory's stomach once again flipped and she just smiled at Jess (who returned it with a lopsided smirk) and looked ahead again. The rest of the walk was silent but not uncomfortable, the pair walking side by side and occasionally brushing arms and hands.

When they reached the bar Jess opened the door for Rory and she thanked him, heading inside. It was midday so the place was fairly empty except for a few patrons and a handful of workers. Jess guided Rory over to one of the high tables and they sat, Jess waving over to someone before looking at Rory.

"So Jess has friends. Who knew?" the man spoke, throwing a towel over his shoulder and pulling out his notepad. Jess rolled his eyes and Rory giggled slightly. "Oh put a can in it, won't you Max?" he said and Max smirked. "Sorry, didn't mean to embarrass you in front of the lovely lady," he said.

"Max Gilbert," he offered his hand and Rory blushed, shaking it. "Rory Hayden," she said before Jess butted in. "Rory's going to be living in the other apartment above Truncheon," he said and Max turned to Jess.

"So you'll let her stay there but you won't let me?" Max said, faking offense. "Rory is going to be paying rent, and working downstairs. There's a difference between that and you wanting to stay there for free."

Again Rory laughed and the two men looked at her; Rory looked back from behind her bangs, licking her lips as she smiled brightly. Max decided to drop the topic, shaking his head. "Whatever man. What can I get you guys?" he said.

"Two burgers and an order of fries," Jess ordered for them. "Make it two fries," Rory added. "Do you have coffee?" Max chuckled, writing down their order. "Two burgers, two fries and a coffee." "And I'll have a beer," Jess added and Max nodded.

Rory watched Max walk to the back before she turned to Jess, noticing he had been looking at her the entire time. Once again the blushed, thankful for the dim lighting in the bar as she tucked a strand of hair behind her ear.

"What?" Rory asked when Jess didn't take his eyes off of her and he smirked. "Nothing," he said simply before continuing. "So I was thinking about the rent situation, and here's what I'm proposing. $125 a month should be easy enough. We'll pay you minimum wage at Truncheon to make up for the lowered rent, but you should be fine."

"Have I thinked you for that job yet?" Rory asked, not too concerned about paying rent. Logan had set up an account for her for anything she needed, so she knew she would be able to pay whatever he wanted. Jess chuckled. "I think that was evident when you hugged me before."

Rory blushed. "Sorry about that," she said and he shook his head. "Don't. I like your enthusiasm," Jess said as Max brought them their drinks. Rory took a sip of her coffee and watched Jess drink his beer.

"So I've gotta ask," Jess said, leaning back in his chair. "What's a Yale graduate doing begging for a job at my press? I mean, there are so many better publishing companies in this city. Why Truncheon?"

Rory froze for a second; with the quickness of their meeting, Rory hadn't really thought up a back story. She felt panicked, but then she remembered what she had told herself: tell as much truth as possible. It would be easier to keep up the rouse if she didn't have too many lies.

"After I graduated from college I started working for my boyfriends dad," Rory started, licking her lips. "But honestly? I hated it. So I broke up with my boyfriend, quit my job and got on the first train to New York."

"You didn't answer my question though," Jess said. "Why Truncheon?"

Rory sighed. "Truncheon published my one of favorite books," she said, looking up from the table right into his eyes. "When I got to New York I had no idea where to go, but I this book on me, and the address for the publishing house was on the back cover. So I got a taxi and came."

Jess just nodded. Part of him wondered what book he was talking about, considering none of the books Truncheon published were best sellers- except for his. But Jess didn't want to make things weird and assume anything so he just nodded.

Max brought over their food and the two fell into another comfortable silence, eating their food and stealing glances every few seconds. Rory was finished with her burger and fries in a matter of minutes and wiped her mouth before looking at Jess. "You gonna eat all your fries?" she asked and Jess looked at her in awe.

"How?" he asked and Rory giggled, taking a fry. "You should see my mom. I get my iron stomach from her."

Jess once again looked at her in utter amazement, taking a bit of his burger before he was distracted; the sound of a metal cup hitting the floor towards the back door of the bar caught his attention and he looked past Rory, seeing the girl that had dropped it signal at him before heading in the back.

"Rory I'll be right back," he said before pushing his plate of fries towards her and heading to the back. Her eyes followed him and watched as he headed into the back of the bar. She felt confused but turned back around, taking a fry and sticking it in her mouth.

She used this time to think, taking mental notes of how Jess acted, his mannerisms and his quirks, hoping to get a better understand of him as a person soon enough. She also thought of Logan, which she hadn't done properly since she left Hartford, and sighed. The last two years with Logan felt nothing like the last half hour with Jess and she hated it. She was supposed to love Logan, but what if she didn't?

Rory knew she had to call him at some point, let him know she was alive and had a place to stay. But she knew he'd ask questions- questions she wouldn't want to or couldn't answer- and she liked the little bubble she was in right now.

Before her thoughts could really run amuck Jess returned to the table, letting out a laugh. "You finished my fries?" he asked and Rory looked down at the plate, not even realizing that she had eaten them all. She was finally broken from her thought and let out a small laugh, shaking her head.

Jess finished his burger, and when he was done he threw down a few bucks and the two headed out. A question burned in the back of Rory's head, and when they were out in the light she decided to ask.

"So, where'd you head off to back there?" she asked, looking at Jess. His facial expression gave nothing away and he shrugged. "Max needed to talk to me about something," he said. Rory knew that was a lie but decided not to push it.

"He wanted permission to ask you out," Jess continued and Rory looked at him, her eyes wide and cheeks red. "I told him you were way too smart for him and to not even try, which discouraged the whole thing. You're welcome."

Rory's cheeks turned even redder and she pressed her lips together, half embarrassed and half curious. Was he telling the truth?

"You're cute when you blush," Jess said and Rory looked at him, the color of her cheeks never changing color. She almost wished they were still at that bar so he couldn't see it. "You know, people that can't blush are worthless."

"Quoting Hemingway are we?" Rory asked, shaking her head. "And here I thought you were better than that, Mariano." Jess looked over at her with a serious expression and she looked at him, curious. "Ernest only has lovely things to say about you."

Rory smiled at him before shoving her hands into her pockets. They walked the rest of the way back to the publishing house in a comfortable silence, Rory's head spinning. She had never felt like this before, not even with Logan, and she wasn't sure how to react.

They reached Truncheon and Jess stopped them, standing face to face with Rory, his hands in his pockets. "I've got to go meet an author, so Chris is going to show you around the store and give you the usual introduction. Matthew should be out doing his thing so you shouldn't have to worry about him. I should be back around four."

Rory nodded and Jess offered her a smile before heading the other way down the street. Her heart skipped a beat and she let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding, running her fingers through her hair before heading into Truncheon.

Hello friends!

First, I want to apologize for disappearing. I had all intentions of updating last week as promised but my grandma died, so obviously I had family to tend to and what not. I'll try not to make the whole not updating randomly thing a usual thing, because I hate that. But I am sorry.

Anyway, that's chapter 2. Sorry it's a bit boring, it was kind of a filler? I had to establish things and whatnot, so the next few chapters should pick up. I have so much fun stuff planned; we're going to dive into Rory and Jess's pasts because there are some significant differences there. So it should be fun!

Shoutout to Missy for always begging me to update, Sabrina for helping me work out the kinks in the plot, Ari for loving the story and Chantal because I promised her I'd dedicate the chapter to her. You guys are the best.

That's it for now! I'm going to try and post chapter 3 sooner than later as a make up for going awol, but we'll see :)

Xoxo
Paige