Jess was worried about Tristan, more than he cared to admit. He knew that Rory had seen Tristan, and talked to him. He knew her well enough to read the expression in her blue eyes when he had asked about school. He also knew how much time Rory spent at school. He wasn't worried enough to let it ruin anything though. Until there was evidence that Tristan still like her or was trying to insinuate himself in their relationship he was going to play it cool. Still a deep, cold anger burned in him. He had lost too much already in his life to now lose Rory too.
Lane hadn't been sure if Rory and Tristan were friends too, and Jess didn't want to dictate her friends. 'He better keep his hands off her though' Jess thought darkly. He loved Rory and wanted to protect her too. And the last thing she needed now was some rich playboy to come and mess with their lives.
Jess swiped at the counter he was cleaning, fighting the urge to call Rory and ask for details. He was sure she would have told him if it was any big deal. Wouldn't she?
Lane had probably told her that they had talked, so maybe she would explain everything the next time they saw each other. Although Rory's busy schedule was making it increasingly more difficult to spend any time together. Jess didn't want to be a crazy jealous guy though, so he put Tristan out of his mind as he worked.
His thoughts were interrupted by an annoyed voice.
"Jess, what are you doing?" Luke asked, watching Jess wipe the counter over and over. "I think it's clean, unless you are expecting the health inspector, in which case I think you should start with the bathroom upstairs."
Jess tried to come up with a smart ass answer. He failed.
"I don't know how you can stand this boring job." he finally answered. He put down the cloth and headed upstairs. Turning the music on he pulled out a book and read until he fell asleep.
He only woke up a couple hours later when the phone rang. Turning down the music just barely he answered. "Hello?"
"Hi, it's me!" a familiar voice said.
"Hi Rory. What time is it?"
"Fall asleep again?" she teased. "It's 7:30. I finished my work and I was wondering if you want to get together for a while. If you aren't busy that is."
"Nope. Want to meet here?"
"Sure, I'll see you in a few minutes."
Jess put down the phone and got out of bed, throwing on a jacket. He walked downstairs and called to Luke "I'm going out with Rory. I'll be back later."
Luke nodded at him. "Don't keep her out all night."
Rory appeared at the door, somewhat breathless. She smiled at Jess. "It's cold out, so I walked really fast." she explained, going straight to the counter for coffee. "Coffee to go please Luke."
Luke poured the coffee with a disapproving look, then turned back to the register where he was sorting receipts.
Jess took Rory's elbow and steered her out the door, wanting to avoid any of Luke's normal advice. "So, what do you want to do?" he asked when they were safely down the street.
"This." Rory said, putting a hand to his face and kissing him. Jess didn't argue as he wrapped his arms around her.
They kissed for several minutes, but Rory broke the kiss when she realized that her coffee was now cool enough to drink. She sipped at it as they discussed books, tvs and movies.
"The movies out right now really demonstrate the sad affair of American culture." Rory commented, looking over a newspaper clip of what was currently playing.
"Yeah, and you want to see them." Jess said. "I do, but only because I can appreciate them on all the different levels of sub intelligence they represent." Rory countered.
Suddenly Jess grabbed her and kissed her again. Rory felt dizzy and warm as she kissed him back. He made her knees melt. She had realized long before that unfortunately, with Jess, all the old clichés about love were true. She felt his hot breath on her neck and responded with a passionate kiss.
They broke away from each other, looking at each other and panting slightly.
"That was a wildly inappropriate place for that." She commented, realizing how close they were to Doose's Market and Miss Patty's. "I don't want to become front page news for the Stars Hollow Gazette."
"Local hoodlum seduces town Princess?" Jess suggested. "I was thinking more like "Those Crazy Kids: An Expose on Teens and Sex in a Small Town." "That sounds promising." Jess responded, with a slight smile. He had temporarily forgotten all about Tristan.
They contented themselves with just holding hands until they could get to a darker spot. Suddenly they heard a voice calling for Rory from across the street. "Oh, it's Babette. I should see what she wants."
"Rory!" called Babette, out for a walk with Morey. "Your mom said that if we saw you out we should tell you to go home."
"Is something going on?" Rory asked with some worry. "Oh no, I don't think so. I'm not sure."
"Oh well thanks Babette." Rory turned to Jess. "I guess I should be getting home."
Jess looked at her with disappointment. "I guess." he said. He gave her a quick kiss goodbye and then watched her turn around to head home. That seemed to be their whole relationship lately.