Chapter 8 - The Evaluation
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Lorelai sat at a table in the diner finishing up the last few French fries on her plate. "Time?" she called over to Luke at the counter.
Luke checked his watch. "6:50."
Lorelai gasped. "Ooh, we gotta go." She shoved the last fry into her mouth and brushed the crumbs from her hands. "You ready?"
Luke walked over to her table. "What's the rush? It doesn't take ten minutes to get there."
"I wanna get a good seat," she replied. "Aren't you curious about what's going on?"
Luke shrugged. "I'm sure it's something stupid."
"All town business owners should make every effort to attend the town meeting tonight," Lorelai said, making air quotes with her fingers. "Those were Taylor's exact words."
"I know."
"So, what exactly is happening to the town businesses that he needs all the owners there tonight?" Lorelai asked anxiously.
"I don't know."
"Is it a good thing or a bad thing?" Lorelai asked, throwing up her hands in confusion. "It could go either way!"
Luke nodded in agreement. "It could."
Lorelai frowned at his surprisingly Zen attitude. "Why am I the nervous one here? When did we switch personalities?" She glanced down at her empty coffee cup. "Did you slip me something?"
"Slip you something to make you even more excitable than you usually are?" Luke rolled his eyes. "Uh, no."
Lorelai squeezed his forearm. "Well, come on, freak out with me."
"There's no use worrying about it until we find out what's going on," Luke told her. "I'm sure it's not a big deal, but if it is, then I'll react accordingly."
Lorelai's eyes widened excitedly. "And you'll unleash a classic, angry Luke Danes rant on Taylor?"
"If the situation calls for it."
Lorelai grinned and clapped her hands. "Yay!" She glanced over at the door, then back to him. "Can we go over now?" she asked with a hopeful look.
Luke nodded as he rubbed her shoulder. "Yeah, we'll head over… give me a minute." He gestured toward the counter. "You want some coffee to go?"
Lorelai smiled up at him. "Yes, please."
Luke gathered her empty dishes and grabbed a few others from tables along the way as he headed into the kitchen. Lorelai walked over to the counter, selected a donut from the display, wrapped it carefully in a napkin, and tucked it into her purse.
Luke returned from the kitchen, poured some coffee in a to-go cup for her, and they left for Miss Patty's.
As they headed across the street, Luke reached for her hand and laced his fingers through hers. "Did you get a movie for later?" he asked her.
Lorelai looked over at him with a smile. "Not yet, but I was thinking we should get a classic thriller like Silence of the Lambs or Misery or something like that." She nudged his side and teasingly added, "That is, if you can handle it. You won't get freaked out and hide under the blankets, will you?"
"I think I'll be okay," he assured her, then leaned in to kiss her. "But you'll be ready to comfort me if I'm not, right?"
Lorelai smiled. "Yes, I've got an arsenal of comforting maneuvers all ready to go." She raised an eyebrow before adding, "FYI, most of them include nudity."
Luke smirked and nodded. "I'm good with that."
They entered through the side door of Miss Patty's and took a seat in the second row behind Gypsy, who quickly turned around to face them. "Any idea what the whole business owner thing is about?" she asked.
Lorelai shook her head. "No, do you have any idea?"
Gypsy leaned closer and lowered her voice. "Someone said maybe he's gonna make all of the business owners wear matching outfits so tourists know exactly who runs the businesses."
Luke groaned. "Are you kidding me? That's insane. He can't mandate that we wear uniforms. This is a town, not a prison or a Catholic school." He shook his head firmly. "No way, it's not happening."
Gypsy shrugged. "Hey, don't shoot the messenger." She turned back around to face the front.
Lorelai comfortingly patted Luke on the leg. "Hey, maybe you're already ahead of the trend and the uniform will be plaid." She fingered the fabric of his flannel. "That actually wouldn't be so bad because I look pretty good in these shirts. I could throw a belt around it, turn it into a little plaid dress, it would be so cute."
Luke rolled his eyes. "He can't make us wear uniforms, and even if we lived in some bizarre reality where he could, he'd pick cardigans, not plaid shirts."
Lorelai nodded in agreement. "Oh, yeah, you're right." She set her coffee on the floor, then reached into her purse and pulled out her donut.
Luke narrowed his eyes as he watched her unwrap the napkin. "Where'd you get that?"
Lorelai glanced over at him with a smile and wrinkled her nose. "Uh, the magical donut store in my purse?"
"Okay, the better question is, when did you get that?"
"Right before we left." Lorelai broke off a piece and popped it into her mouth, then offered the donut toward him. "You want some?"
Luke shook his head. "I'm good."
Lorelai broke off another piece for herself, then glanced at the front of the room where Taylor was about to speak. "Oh, here we go," she said softly.
"All right, townspeople, let's get started." Taylor banged his gavel on the podium, and the murmur of the crowd quieted down.
"Okay, let's get to the first order of business," Taylor said. "We are starting the preparations for the end of summer flea market and are looking for volunteers." He held a clipboard in the air. "Anyone who signs up tonight will receive a coupon for fifty cents off a can of creamed corn from Doose's Market. However, in order to prevent people from signing up solely for the reward, you will not receive the coupon until after the flea market has completed and you have successfully fulfilled your volunteer duties."
Lorelai glanced over at Luke and they exchanged amused smirks and playful eyerolls.
"Okay, moving on," Taylor continued. "There will be a pet adoption in the town square on Sunday."
Lorelai gasped and turned to Luke, whispering, "Ooh, Paul Anka needs a - "
"He does not need a friend," Luke quietly interrupted, shaking his head. "Everyone's already shocked that he's still alive, you really wanna press your luck with another pet?"
Lorelai frowned at him. "Ouch. Low blow."
Luke shrugged. "Well, it's true."
Lorelai leaned close to his ear to whisper, "Yeah, well, maybe you shouldn't be mean to the person who promised to give you naked comfort time later."
He smirked as he patted her leg and squeezed her knee. "I apologize."
Lorelai playfully poked him on the chest. "You now owe me naked apology time."
Luke raised an eyebrow and nodded in agreement. "You got it." He draped his arm around her and she leaned against him as they turned their attention back to the front.
After Taylor had run through a few more announcements, Andrew called out, "Taylor, why did you want business owners here?"
"Yeah, just get to that topic already," Gypsy added.
There was a murmur of agreement from the crowd, and Taylor sighed. "Fine, I should've known you people wouldn't wait patiently for me to go through the agenda." He took a deep breath. "It's come to my attention that the Connecticut Small Town Council is going to start sending out mystery patrons to select towns in the area next month, Stars Hollow being one of them."
Luke narrowed his eyes in confusion. "What the hell does that mean, Taylor?"
"Exactly what it sounds like," Taylor replied. "A representative from the CSTC will be visiting local businesses and pretending to be customers while secretly evaluating the business in several categories. The businesses will then be ranked on a list that will be published in the next quarterly newsletter."
"So, how does this affect us?" asked Miss Patty.
"Well, everyone needs to make sure that your business is consistently meeting the highest level of standards when it comes to things like courtesy, customer service, cleanliness…"
"Craftiness, cartwheels, Communism," Lorelai called out. "All the majors C's."
As Luke snorted a laugh beside her, Taylor shot her an admonishing look. "This is not a joke, Lorelai."
"Of course not, sorry, go on." Lorelai pretended to zip her lips shut as Luke protectively tightened his arm around her.
"Now, to help prepare for the official CSTC evaluations, I'm going to set up practice evaluations for all of the local businesses." Taylor picked up a piece of paper from the podium and held it up. "I've created these practice evaluation forms and I will arrange for anonymous volunteers to visit each of the businesses and perform a general evaluation of the establishment. I will personally review all of the forms and provide my suggestions on how you can improve service before the real evaluation period begins."
"Ugh, geez," Luke groaned.
"Now, I know that some of you," Taylor started, glancing accusingly at Luke. "… will not take this matter seriously, and will not make the proper adjustments to help ensure we get ranked high on the list." He sternly waved a finger at the townies. "Just remember, you're not hurting me, you're hurting Stars Hollow." He banged his gavel on the podium. "Meeting adjourned."
As people stood up to leave, Lorelai turned to Luke. "Bets on whether Michel passes the evaluation?"
"Bets on whether I pass the evaluation?" he countered.
Lorelai smiled. "As long as Taylor doesn't do it himself, I think you'll be fine."
Luke shrugged it off. "Well, it doesn't matter, I couldn't care less about it." He glanced down at his watch to check the time. "I'm closing up at nine, then I'll be over. You gonna head home?"
"Yeah, after I pick up the movies and snacks. You gonna bring some pie?" she asked hopefully.
"Cherry or blueberry?" Luke asked her. Lorelai smiled and cocked her head to the side, to which Luke answered his own question with, "Both, got it."
Lorelai's smile widened and she leaned in to kiss him. "Thank you." She glanced over at the podium where people were passing around a clipboard. "Oh, that's for the flea market… I'm gonna sign up to be a volunteer."
Luke groaned and made a face. "Why?"
"Because, Luke, town events make me happy," she replied pointedly. "And when I'm happy, I do things to make you happy, remember?"
Luke smirked and gestured toward the podium. "Go ahead, sign up, be happy."
"You can head back, you don't have to wait," she told him, patting him on the knee. "I'll see you in a little while."
"Okay." Luke kissed her goodbye, then headed out of the dance studio as Lorelai walked over to the crowd at the front of the room.
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Just after nine that night, Lorelai parked her Jeep in front of the diner. As she headed toward the door, she glanced inside the front window. The customers were gone and the chairs were already placed upside down on the tables as Luke swept the floor.
The Closed sign was on the door, and after trying the locked doorknob, she tapped lightly on the glass to get Luke's attention. He glanced over and was visibly surprised to see her.
Luke walked to the door and pulled it open. "What are you doing here?" he greeted her. "I was gonna head over in a few minutes."
"Well, something happened after you left the town meeting," Lorelai said as she stepped into the diner.
It wasn't until he had closed the door and turned to face her that her outfit caught his eye. She was no longer in the jeans and t-shirt she'd worn to the town meeting. She had changed into more of a work outfit - a buttoned blazer with a matching skirt, high heels, and her hair pulled back into a ponytail.
He was curious about the outfit, but didn't say anything about it. "What happened at the meeting?" he asked.
Lorelai was holding a clipboard in one hand, and she tapped her finger on the piece of paper secured to it. "Well, Luke, what we have here is an exclusive copy of the super secret Stars Hollow Local Business Evaluation Form."
Luke narrowed his eyes. "How'd you get that?"
"I asked Taylor to give me a copy."
"And he did?" he asked incredulously.
Lorelai shook her head. "No. But then I got Gypsy to go over and distract him while I stole a copy from the folder on the podium."
Luke smiled and held out his hand. "Can I see it?"
Lorelai protectively hugged the clipboard to her chest and shook her head. "Nope. Tonight, we're gonna do a mock evaluation and see if your lovely establishment here passes."
Luke cocked his head to the side. "You're kidding."
Lorelai shook her head. "No, this is very important for the town's tourism income, and you need to take it seriously. Tonight, I'm not your wildly vibrant, witty, attractive girlfriend, Lorelai Gilmore."
"No? Who are you?"
"I'm Lorelai Gilmore, the wildly vibrant, witty, attractive business evaluator."
Luke nodded. "Ah, I see. Similar attributes."
"Yup." Lorelai raised an eyebrow. "So, you think you might be up for a little practice scenario tonight?"
Luke stepped closer and put his hands on his hips. "And when you say scenario, you mean… scenario?"
Lorelai shrugged. "Maybe."
"Where I'm Luke, the diner owner, and you're Lorelai, evaluating the diner?" Luke continued.
"Yes."
Luke pondered a moment. "So, would it still be called role playing if we're actually just being ourselves?"
"Yeah, we're still taking on roles. Well, I am, at least." Lorelai rested her hand on his arm, staring at her fingers as they pressed into the solid muscle through his shirt. When she lifted her gaze to meet his, she raised an eyebrow. "Anyway… does it matter what we call it as long as it ends with two very satisfied participants?"
Luke smirked and shook his head in response. "I guess not. I was just wondering."
Lorelai's gaze drifted back down to his bicep as she squeezed it. Luke flexed his arm so it firmed up even more beneath her fingers, and Lorelai smiled at him. "Be careful, Mr. Danes. I'd hate to interpret this as an attempt to influence the evaluator."
"Luke, I'm done back here," a voice announced.
Startled, Lorelai gasped and quickly turned toward the counter. Caesar was standing in the kitchen doorway, and he nodded toward her. "Hi, Lorelai."
"Caesar, hey, hello, hi there, howdy," Lorelai stammered as she embarrassingly took a step back from Luke.
Caesar narrowed his eyes confusedly at her reaction. "You okay?"
Lorelai quickly nodded. "Yeah, you just surprised me, that's all. I didn't know you were still here."
"Oh, sorry, I was just cleaning up the kitchen," Caesar replied, then asked Luke, "Anything else you need me to do, Boss?"
"No, you can head home," Luke told him. "Thanks, Caesar."
Caesar started to untie his apron and headed into the kitchen to hang it up.
Lorelai quickly turned back to Luke with a scoff. "Seriously?"
Luke had an amused smirk on his face as he shrugged, feigning confusion. "What?"
"You failed to mention we weren't alone," she quietly hissed through a forced smile.
His smile widened a bit as he nodded. "Yeah, it was more fun this way."
"Mean." Lorelai stuck her tongue out at him and walked over to sit on a stool. Once Caesar had left, Luke locked the door and walked behind the counter.
Lorelai glanced cautiously around the diner, then at Luke. "Are we alone now?"
"Yup."
"You promise?" she asked.
Luke nodded toward the glass window looking into the soda shop. "Unless you count those people over there, then yes, we're alone."
Lorelai glanced over and saw a few customers next door. "They can't hear us, right?" she asked warily.
"Only if we're yelling," Luke replied.
Lorelai exhaled in relief. "Okay, good, let's get started here." She unclipped the pen that was attached to the top of the clipboard, and glanced down at the form. "First, there's some basic information to fill out. Business name, owner's name, years in operation, et cetera, et cetera. But let's get to the important stuff… you ready?"
"I'm ready," he confirmed.
Lorelai ran her finger down the paper until she reached the middle of the page. "Aha, yes, right here… let's start off with this one." Lorelai cleared her throat before reading the question aloud. "Would you say your current sexual partner is by far the sexiest and most exciting lover you've ever had?" She clicked the pen to release the ball point and then poised it at the paper to write before she met his gaze with a smile. "Your response?"
Luke was smiling amusedly as he folded his arms across his chest. "That's helpful information to have when you're evaluating the diner?"
Lorelai nodded firmly. "Very."
"Well, then, let me think about that." Luke paused a moment and glanced off to the side, as if he was running through the list of his previous lovers in his head. Finally, he brought his gaze back to her and slowly nodded, "Yeah... I think I'd say so."
Lorelai scoffed and then frowned at him. "Really? You had to think about it for that long? Come on."
Luke snorted a laugh. "It was purely for that reaction."
"Hmph." Lorelai looked down at the form and recited her words aloud as she wrote them. "Diner owner seems to be a sadist." She glanced up at him with a smile. "Okay, next important question… about how many minutes per day do you spend thinking of said lover in inappropriate ways?"
Luke snickered in response. "And how exactly is that relevant to how I run my business?"
"How can you not see its relevance?" Lorelai replied. "It shows me whether you're focused on your customers or if your mind is preoccupied in other ways."
"Taylor sure does have some interesting questions on there," Luke commented. "You know, I'm starting to think this maybe isn't the official form."
Lorelai smiled and shrugged. "I may have altered it a little," she admitted, then tapped her finger on the clipboard to bring his attention back to the question. "So, how many minutes a day?"
"I have no idea," Luke replied with a shrug.
Lorelai leaned forward on the counter and smiled knowingly at him. "But it's a lot, right?"
Luke didn't respond, he just smiled to himself as he grabbed a dish rag and started wiping down the counter in front of her.
"Would you say it's more than twenty minutes a day?" Lorelai asked.
Luke met her gaze and raised an eyebrow. "Uh, yeah."
Lorelai smirked. "Okay, let's estimate the range somewhere between twenty minutes and…" She paused a moment before suggesting, "What… an hour? Two hours?"
Luke shrugged. "I don't know, I haven't clocked it."
"All right, I'm just gonna say it's somewhere between 20 minutes and 24 hours a day." Lorelai scribbled something down on the paper, then looked at him. "If your mind's not focused on the business, it could have a negative effect on the customers."
Luke leaned a little closer to her. "So, you think I should spend less time thinking about pleasing my girl and more time thinking about ways to improve the business?"
Lorelai slowly shook her head. "Nope."
"Thought so."
Lorelai placed her pen on the counter and pushed the clipboard aside. "Okay, now, let's discuss the service here. I've been here for like 10 minutes and you've yet to take my order. Customers don't wanna sit here all day waiting to be served, they want prompt service."
"Well, then, customers shouldn't come in after I've closed for the night," Luke retorted.
Lorelai frowned at him. "Come on, just pretend you're open and I'll pretend to order, okay? You can even give me pretend food if you want."
Luke sighed. "Okay, fine… what can I get you?"
Lorelai shrugged nonchalantly. "Um, I'm not sure, it might be nice if this establishment offered menus to the customers."
Luke rolled his eyes slightly as he reached for a menu from under the counter. "Here," he said as he handed it to her.
"Thank you." Lorelai opened up the menu and perused it, then closed it with a decided look on her face. "Coffee, please."
Luke cocked his head to the side. "That's it?"
"Yes."
"You needed a menu for that?" Luke asked in disbelief. "You needed me to get you a menu so you could order a fake cup of coffee?"
Lorelai reached out and poked him on the chest. "You're not supposed to be harassing the customers. Just get my fake coffee, please."
Luke mimicked pouring invisible coffee into a real mug and placed it in front of her. She made a production of gently bringing the mug close to her face and inhaling the scent of it. "Smells good," she cheerfully commented, then pretended to take a sip. "Mm, tastes good, too."
"Glad you like it," he replied dryly, but he couldn't hide his amusement. It was difficult not to be charmed by everything she did.
As Lorelai set the mug down, she nodded toward his hands resting on the counter. "Looks like some nice strong hands there," she commented.
Luke held up his hands and wiggled his fingers. "I guess."
"I bet those long fingers come in handy when you're delivering plates of food," she continued. "Helps you get a good grip on them."
"Yup," he agreed.
"Do you ever find that sometimes they're too long?" Lorelai asked. "Like, maybe you forget just how long they are and then, oops, a finger accidentally slips into someone's…" She paused a moment before she finished with a sly smile. "…you know… bowl of soup?"
Luke easily picked up on her suggestiveness, and he slowly rubbed his hands together. "Accidentally? Nah. They've never been anywhere they're not completely welcome."
Lorelai smirked. "You have customers who welcome them into their bowls of soup?"
Luke rested his elbows on the counter so he was eye-level with her. "I can think of one in particular who loves fingers in her soup," he rasped huskily. "Sometimes she even begs for it."
His words ignited desire and arousal inside of her, and Lorelai hummed softly in response to the sensation that rushed through her body. "Well, she sounds crazy," she declared with a smile.
"Oh, she is," Luke confirmed with a nod. They were both still for a moment, their gazes locked until he took a step back and leaned against the kitchen doorframe.
Lorelai stood up from the stool and wandered over to the front window, surveying the glass. "Windows look nice and clean, no smudges." She gripped the edge of a table and rocked it slightly. "Tables are pretty sturdy."
"You're supposed to check the sturdiness of the tables?" he asked her skeptically.
Lorelai shrugged. "I don't know, I'm just checking everything, I'm being thorough." She walked across the diner over to the other set of windows, reaching up to ring the bell by the door as she passed under it.
She stood at the window and stared out into the town square for a few moments, her eyes mesmerized by the twinkle lights covering the gazebo. Luke watched her from across the diner, his eyes mesmerized by the curves of her body.
When she finally turned around and saw him staring at her, a small smile formed on her lips. "What?"
Luke shrugged, smiling as he shoved his hands into his pockets. "Nothing."
Lorelai curiously cocked her head to the side. "Are you thinking bad thoughts about me? Because that's not appropriate to do to your evaluator."
"Then, nope, no bad thoughts here," he replied, shaking his head. "Definitely wasn't looking at any parts of your body that I wasn't supposed to be looking at."
Lorelai giggled. "Good, I'd hate to have to dock you some points," she said as she walked toward him.
She walked past the counter and started to head into the kitchen, and Luke held out his arm to block the doorway. "Whoa, what are you doing?" he asked.
"I'm surveying the food preparation area to make sure everything is sanitary," she replied.
"You know you can't go back there," he reminded her. "How many times have we had this discussion?"
"Like 78, but I figured this was a special occasion," she said hopefully.
"It's not," he replied firmly. "The kitchen is for employees only."
Lorelai held up her hands in surrender and backed away from him. "Okay, fine. How about a special tour of the back?" she asked, gesturing toward the hall to the storage room.
While he had no real objection to taking her to a more secluded private area, he feigned some hesitance just for the hell of it. "Why do you need to see back there?" he asked her.
"Well, it's just as important to see how you run things behind the scenes as you do up front," Lorelai explained. "Is it clean? Are your shelves organized? Does it look like you're prepared for a massive sudden uptake in condiments? I think these are all important things the public deserves to know, don't you?"
Luke had started walking toward the back before she'd even finished her last sentence, waving her after him. "Come on."
Lorelai followed him down the back hallway to the storage room. Luke flipped on the light and gestured inside. "Is this what you needed to see?"
"Mmhmm." Lorelai walked into the room, and Luke watched her from the doorway as she surveyed the shelves of food.
Finally, she put her hands on her hips and turned to face him. "You want my professional observation?" she asked him.
Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "Uh, as a professional what?"
"As a professional consumer of food," she replied, then she gestured to the shelves. "This system you have seems a little disorganized. Why don't you store things together that, you know, go together?"
"Like what?"
Lorelai grabbed a jar of pickles from the shelf. "Well, for instance, why isn't this jar of dill pickles over here with the bread and butter pickles?" she asked as she moved the jar to another shelf.
Luke shrugged. "I usually just shove things wherever they fit." As she started to giggle, he immediately exhaled a sigh. "Yes, dirty, I know."
"Very." Lorelai strutted over to him, and his eyes were drawn down to her legs, looking longer than usual in the short skirt she was wearing. "Let's talk more about that."
Luke slowly brought his gaze up from her legs to her face. "About what?"
Lorelai gestured to the shelves behind her. "Your storage system. Let's say you're putting a jar of pickles away, and you slide it about halfway onto the shelf, but…" Lorelai suddenly let out a dramatic gasp. "Oh, no! There's not enough room for it to fit. What do you do?"
Again, her suggestiveness did not escape him, and he wasted no time playing into it. He took a step closer to her, keeping his gaze locked with hers as he adjusted his baseball cap on his head. "I'd push that jar of pickles onto the shelf a little harder to try to make it fit."
Lorelai's lips slowly curved into a smile. "And… if it doesn't fit that time either?"
"Then I'd push even harder," he replied, his blue eyes still staring deeply into hers. "I always get it to fit… even if it's a little tight."
Lorelai swallowed hard as tingles rushed down her spine. "Well, that sounds like quite a talent you have."
"Some would say," he agreed, then offered, "You want me to show you?"
Lorelai distractedly fingered a button on his flannel shirt as she looked up at him with a mischievous smile. "Show me what?" she prompted him, her voice flirty and seductive.
Luke put his hands on her waist and backed her up a few steps until she was pressed against the wall. "How talented I am at making something fit in a tight space." He leaned in closer to her, and she felt his breath against her lips as he rasped, "I have a specific space in mind I want to try out."
Lorelai groaned softly as another wave of arousal coursed through her. "I don't think we're supposed to be co-mingling during the evaluation."
Luke brushed his lips lightly against hers. "I won't tell if you won't."
Lorelai rested her hands against his chest. "Okay, good, because that space you wanna try out is ready for you," she whispered, and Luke groaned in response before pressing his lips hard against hers.
As they kissed passionately, he unbuttoned her blazer and pushed it off of her. He slipped his hands beneath her shirt and caressed her stomach as Lorelai removed his hat and ran her fingers through his hair.
When their lips separated, Lorelai was smiling as she panted for breath. "You know, you're gonna get high marks for your customer service."
Luke smirked. "Oh, you haven't seen anything yet."
Lorelai hummed approvingly and twirled her finger in the curls at the nape of his neck. "Do you wanna go upstairs?" she asked softly, nodding to their surroundings. "I know you don't like to mix business and pleasure."
It would only take a minute to go up to his apartment, but it was a minute he didn't want to waste. He wanted her now, and he leaned in to kiss her again. "I've made exceptions in here before," he muttered against her lips. "You remember the rule?"
"Mmhmm," Lorelai murmured through the kiss. "No sex on or near the food."
She quickly unbuttoned and removed his flannel, and her hands roamed up under his t-shirt as they kissed hungrily. She caressed his abs and chest before she began dragging her nails up and down his muscular back. His hands moved up her shirt to squeeze her breasts, his fingers slipping beneath the lacy fabric of her bra to brush over her nipples.
Luke's hands eventually made their way downward and grabbed the hem of her skirt. He hiked it up around her waist and let his hand lightly graze her inner thigh. Lorelai's body began to shudder with anticipation as her arousal was thrown into overdrive.
As he moved his hand upward and reached the barricade of her thong, Lorelai leaned back against the wall with a groan. His fingers began moving in gentle circles against the fabric, and when he noticed its dampness, a pleased smirk fell on his lips. "Already wet…"
"I told you the space was ready for you," she muttered, leaning in to kiss him again.
As they kissed, he felt her squirming against his hand, looking for more friction, and he increased the pressure and speed of his fingers. Lorelai reacted with an appreciative groan against his lips, murmuring, "Mm, who knew you were so hospitable to your customers?"
"I do it for the tips," he muttered.
"You're not supposed to get tips, Mr. Proprietor," she reminded him between kisses.
Luke smiled against her lips. "I can give you a tip, though, right?"
Lorelai grinned. "I want more than just a tip."
"So greedy," Luke teased before he lowered his head down to suck on her neck. He zeroed in on the spot below her ear that drove her crazy as his fingers continued their ministrations below. Lorelai was soon purring with pleasure, her body throbbing with arousal, her sex desperately aching for more.
"Hon," Lorelai groaned as she patted his back to get his attention, and he lifted his head from her neck. "You need to push the jar of pickles onto the shelf," she muttered breathlessly. "Please."
"You think it'll fit on the shelf?" Luke teasingly asked before kissing her softly.
Lorelai returned the kiss before moving her lips to his ear. "Just push hard and make it fit," she whispered sexily before nipping at his earlobe with her teeth.
The jolt of arousal that rushed through him forced a low growl out of his mouth, and he frantically began to undo his belt. He pushed his jeans and boxers down to his ankles, then he hooked his fingers in her underwear and yanked them down her legs.
He grabbed her thigh and lifted her leg up, and she wrapped it around him. He positioned himself at her entrance and gently rubbed his tip against her folds, coating it in her wetness before he started pressing it into her.
"Mmm, God, yes," Lorelai moaned softly, and a satisfied look washed over her face as he filled her. She closed her eyes and tilted her head back for a moment as she savored the feeling, then met his gaze with a content sigh.
"It fits on the shelf," he declared.
Lorelai's lips curved into a sexy smirk, and she pulled him into a kiss. "I still want you to push hard," she muttered against his lips.
Luke withdrew his length from her and thrust it back in, and Lorelai groaned with pleasure. "Like that?" he asked her.
Lorelai hummed approvingly as she grabbed onto his arms for balance, but still urged, "Harder."
Luke slipped his hand behind her head, cushioning it from the wall behind her. His other hand cradled her ass, and he began rhythmically stroking into her with hard, deep thrusts.
"Oh, my God, Luke…" she groaned before pressing her lips to his.
They shared long, heated kisses that were only briefly interrupted for breath or for Lorelai's muttered demands for him to go harder and faster. He obliged, giving her everything he had for as long as he could until he slowed his pace down to stave off his climax.
He pulled out of her and swiftly turned her body around. She pressed her palms against the wall in front of her and arched her ass out toward him. He immediately guided himself back into her wetness and began thrusting into her from behind.
Lorelai was moaning and panting as he worked up to a faster pace, her eyes closed as he slammed into her. Luke pulled out her ponytail holder and combed his fingers through her wavy hair that was now splayed across her back. He leaned closer to kiss her neck as his hand moved to the front of her and began gently rubbing her clit.
Lorelai's eyes fluttered open with a groan of approval, and she breathlessly encouraged, "Keep going… I'm close… please don't stop…"
His fingers moved faster against her clit as he continued thrusting into her. It wasn't long before her body began to quiver and her legs weakened beneath her, and she announced her climax with a whimpering moan as it rippled through her.
She leaned her head against the wall in front of her, taking a moment to regain her composure, and Luke stilled himself behind her, pausing his thrusts until she was ready for more. When she was, she glanced back at him over her shoulder with a sly smile. She reached for her skirt, which had slipped downward a little, and promptly hiked it back up for him. As the soft curves of her ass came into view again, he reached down to tenderly caress her cheeks.
Lorelai turned back to face the wall and braced her hands against it as he gripped her waist. His thrusting resumed, and quickly grew faster and harder as she moaned with pleasure and breathlessly panted his name.
He continued until he spilled inside of her, and then he wrapped his arms around her from behind. "Oh, my God," he groaned into her ear. He kissed her cheek, then nuzzled his face against her neck as he held her tightly in his strong arms.
After a moment, he stepped back and smoothed her skirt down for her. He pulled up his pants and zipped them up as Lorelai turned around to face him, a satisfied grin on her lips.
Luke smiled and rested his hands on her waist. "Someone looks happy."
"Mmhmm." Lorelai nodded as she wrapped her arms around his neck. "You, too?"
"Very." They kissed deeply, and when they pulled apart, he asked, "So… we're gonna leave that whole 'sex in the storage room' thing off the evaluation form, right?"
Lorelai gasped. "You want me to lie on the question that asks, 'Did the business owner do the evaluator up against the wall during the evaluation?'"
Luke smiled. "A little white lie never hurt anyone."
Lorelai pressed a soft kiss to his lips. "I'll think about whether I want to compromise my morals by being dishonest."
Luke brushed a few strands of her hair away from her face. "You know, that was fun… maybe I should come evaluate you at the inn."
Lorelai hummed approvingly. "Good idea. We can do an extremely thorough check of one of the empty guest rooms." She raised an eyebrow. "Gotta make sure those beds are sturdy."
Luke nodded in agreement. "Yeah, I should probably help you test one out."
Lorelai smiled and pulled him into another kiss. "Okay, let's go have a movie night, during which I may or may not need to comfort you if you get scared."
"I feel like I might get scared," he declared.
Lorelai giggled. "Oh, yeah? You can already tell?"
"Yeah, it's just a gut feeling," he confirmed, and then smiled at her. "So, you know… be prepared to be very comforting."
Lorelai smirked and gave him a reassuring nod. "Oh, I'll be ready, don't worry."
. . . . .
. . . . .
To be continued…
. . . . .
Author's Note: Thanks for reading! I will potentially continue to add to this story in the new year if there's still interest, so if you're still following along, please let me know! I will also probably try my hand at a revival-related story or one-shot at some point after the holidays. :)
