"Hey hey hey. I can't stand to see you crying. Come here. Come here," Jess says, pulling her towards him.
She doesn't say anything. But she lets him hug her.
They are quiet for some time.
We don't have to talk about this now.
I don't want to talk about this.
I'm just glad she's here.
I'm just glad I'm here.
Rory excuses herself to the bathroom so she can wash her face.
If you've been crying, it always feels better if you go and wash your face.
This time she sees a couple of bobby pins she didn't notice before, a pale pink washcloth.
Her face is hot.
Can I be Officially Drunk after only one glass of wine? It usually takes two. One makes me chatty. Two makes me sleepy. Three? Well.
She searches for a washcloth that isn't pink.
There's a clean black one folded in the bathroom closet. That's the one she uses.
His bathroom smells like the rain.
I love that.
Jess is in the fridge, grabbing his second beer.
Shit. He mumbles to no one.
He uses the bottle opener on his keyring. His keys are still clipped to his belt loop.
Why? He clips them off and sets them on the counter with a click.
He glances at his cellphone.
Three missed calls.
He doesn't have to look to know it's Tessa.
Shit. He says again. Louder this time, but still...quietly.
He turns off The Clash.
Turns on Muddy Waters.
What was that? Lightning?
A snap of thunder and then the deep growling across the sky.
As if God was answering, Yes.
Rory emerges from the bathroom.
"So, I see Tessa's stuff in there. But like, she doesn't live here, right?" she says.
Bravado? Yes. Thank you, One Glass of Red Wine.
"No. She has her own place," he says.
Wait.
"What about you and Logan? Did you two live together?" he asks.
They are both standing.
They are both looking out of the window.
They are both watching the rain.
"We did, actually," she says. She nods without looking over at him.
"I can't picture you living with him," Jess says.
"I can't now, either," she says, laughing out just a little bit.
"That dude's an asshole," he spits out. He takes a drink of his beer.
That dude's a fucking asshole. I should've kicked his ass. I wanna fight that dude.
"He really wasn't all of the time," Rory says, without defending him too-too much.
Jess shrugs and smiles.
I don't want to talk about that.
"What about Dean? You still talk to Dean?" he asks. The name sounds gross in his mouth. Dark green and bitter.
"No. I haven't in awhile," she says.
"I'm writing another novel. Did I tell you that?" he says.
"No. Tell me about it," she says.
"I will. Later," he says.
"Is Tessa a writer?" she asks.
"I don't want to talk about her right now. Is that okay?" he says plainly.
"That's excellent," Rory smiles.
Jess smiles over at her.
"Want another glass of wine?" he asks gently.
"Yes," she says, folding her arms across her chest.
Is it cold in here?
Is it just me?
"Are you cold?" Jess asks as he hands Rory her glass of wine, refilled.
"A little," she confesses.
"Let me turn the A/C down," he says, disappearing down the hallway for a moment.
She takes her spot on the couch again and closes her eyes.
He returns with a fuzzy brown blanket. It still has the tags on it.
"My mom got this for me when I moved in here," he says, tugging on the tags until they come off.
He hands her the blanket and she tucks her feet underneath it.
"Thank you," she says.
"You're welcome," he says.
Muddy Waters sings out I want you to love me, baby. 'Til I drop dead in front of your door.
"I had sex with Dean," Rory says.
Drunk, I am. She thinks.
"Wait, what?" Jess says, scratching at his head.
"I did, I did. I didn't think it was stupid when it was happening. And then later, I thought it was really stupid," she confesses.
"Wait, when?" he says.
Is my face red? Does my face look hot? My face feels hot.
"It was like, right after you came to school and asked me to run off with you," she says.
"Shit," he says.
Jess allows himself a split second of picturing them together and his stomach turns. So, he stops.
Never again.
"He was married," Jess says.
"I don't know what to say. I don't have anything to say. All I can do is shrug," Rory says.
She shrugs.
Jess shrugs too.
He downs his second beer and he's nowhere near drunk, but it doesn't mean he doesn't have confessions.
And now, it's his turn.