Lorelai breezed through the first round of the Twister Tournament easily, defeating Andrew in less than five minutes. As Andrew fell to the ground, Lorelai simply held her right foot on yellow and her left foot on blue, waiting for the official referee to ensure that she was still standing. When she was declared the winner of the match, she pumped her fist and jogged over to her fan area, giving everyone in it a high five.
"Nice work, Mom!" Rory said, standing up to give Lorelai a hug.
Lorelai smiled. "Why thank you. One down, four to go."
"Boy, Andrew stinks at Twister," Sookie interjected, watching Andrew mope as he waited to find his partner for the consolation game.
Lorelai grinned. "The trophy is mine, I tell you. Mine."
"Someone's possessive," Lane teased, directing the comment to Rory.
Rory shrugged. "It's her dream. It's her version of 'Battle of the Bands'."
Lane nodded. "Got it."
Lorelai walked up and down the bleachers, greeting everyone who showed up in support of her cause, and someone in the corner caught her eye. "Luke?" she asked, confused.
"Hey. Easy match, huh?" he asked, adjusting his baseball cap.
"You came down? Out of your Bat-cave?"
"Nope. This is the hologram. Pretty realistic, huh?" Luke muttered.
Lorelai grinned. "It means a lot to me. It really does. Thanks."
"Sure. The diner was slow anyway, and since you got through the last one so easily, I'm guessing you'd want me to stay here, for fear of screwing with your luck."
Lorelai shrugged. "If you have to go, go. It's okay."
"Well, to be honest, I'm curious to see how power mad Taylor gets," Luke replied.
"Mom! Kirk just beat Boosty!" Rory called.
Lorelai snapped her fingers in mock sadness. It wouldn't have been the same if Kirk had lost, anyway. She turned her attention back to Luke, who was holding a coffee refill. "You are my coffee god, you know that?"
"Just don't make me wear a wreath around my head, and I'll be okay with that title," Luke responded with a slight smile.
Lorelai sat down next to Luke. "So, really, let's be honest. Luke at a town event is a rare sight. What brings you here, really?"
Luke sighed. "Does it matter? I'm here, aren't I?"
Lorelai nodded. "You are here, but why?"
"Next match, Lorelai versus Gypsy!" Taylor called through his megaphone.
Lorelai shot up and jogged down to the mats on the floor. As she reached her left hand out to touch the nearest green circle, she contemplated why Luke showed up. Why was he there? He was a citizen, but not in the sense of the word that Taylor would consider appropriate. He was never fascinated by any town function until now.
She sensed that Rory had begged him to come. Putting it all together, her left foot touching the closest blue spot, she was glad Rory begged Luke to come. She was happy Luke decided to give in to Rory's puppy dog eyes. Giving herself an internal confident smile, she told herself that Rory learned from the best. As Lorelai and Gypsy battled it out for the next spot in the tournament, she couldn't help but realize that Luke was there.
It wasn't making her nervous, it was just making her work harder. He'd dragged himself out of his man cave for a reason, and she was going to give it all she had to make sure it was worth his while. Luke's emergence from the Bat-cave was going to be rewarded, and she was sure of it.
As Gypsy tumbled to the ground, cursing and screaming, Lorelai glanced up into the bleachers, looking for Luke.
