A/N: Everybody ready for the first Rory/Jess date of this go around? I hope you are! :)

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 10

"So, did you want to go out?" asked Rory, looking sideways at Jess.

"I don't know," he admitted, shrugging his shoulders.

"Well, we could stay in."

"If you want to."

"Jess!"

"What?"

"You're being infuriating," she told him, though she was smiling just the same. "You must know what you want to do on our date."

She turned on the couch to look at him head on and found that the smirk on his face spoke volumes. Rory blushed at the implication. Not that she minded the idea of making out with Jess, she really didn't, but it seemed wrong somehow for what was essentially a first date.

"Look, I don't know what I like to do or where I like to go," Jess reminded her then. "All I'm really sure of right now is that I like spending time with you."

"That's nice," said Rory, marvelling yet again at the way he would just tell her freely what he thought or felt at a moment's notice.

It had seemed jarringly strange at first. Jess didn't share, no matter how much a person poked and prodded. Rory knew so little about him in any real terms, even when they were dating. Anything she had heard from him about his childhood or his real feelings was usually mentioned completely randomly, often when they weren't looking directly at each other, and was almost always followed by a swift subject change. Since he lost his memory, it was as if Jess forgot that he was supposed to hide everything inside. He wanted to share and Rory kind of loved that.

"Geez, did I do it again?" he asked, bringing her out of a daze.

"Did you...?"

"Say something that I said before or whatever? The last couple of times I've seen that look on your face, that was why."

"Oh, no, you didn't," Rory assured him, shaking her head. "I was just thinking... um, how about we go out to eat? I can re-introduce you to the wonder that is Al's Pancake World?"

"Okay," Jess agreed easily. "I've actually had pancakes since the accident, so at least I know I like them."

"Which is great, except Al's sells everything but pancakes," explained Rory, unable to keep from smiling at the confused expression that brought on from Jess. "It's a long story. I'll explain on the way."

She did just that as she led the way into town and down the street to Al's. Jess' hand slid into hers as they walked along and Rory didn't mind at all. It was actually really comfortable and easy to be with him like this. It was how it used to be in the beginning, but without all the guilt and such that she had felt back then thanks to the way things ended with Dean. Now she really couldn't care less about her ex. He was married to Lindsey and really no longer a part of her life, despite their attempting to be friends for a while. After what he said to her earlier about Jess, Rory would be quite happily never to talk to Dean ever again.

"You okay?" she checked with Jess as they went into Al's and surveyed tonight's menu.

"Sure," he told her, nodding his head. "Just trying to feel okay with ordering Chinese food at a pancake house."

"Ex pancake house," Rory reminded him, "and we really don't mention the P word when we're in the store," she added in a whisper.

"Got it," Jess agreed, deliberating still over what food to order and getting nowhere fast. "You wanna tell me what I like out of all of this stuff?" he asked in the same whispered tone that Rory had used.

"Oh, right. Well, let's simple this up. Al?" she called to him over the counter. "Can we have one portion of everything on the menu please?"

"No problem," he assured her, starting to prepare her order immediately.

"He's used to it," Rory assured Jess as his eyes widened. "Me and Mom order way more than we can eat all the time. Most of it ends up in the fridge and feeds us for a week thanks to the microwave."

Jess didn't argue. He was quickly learning that the Gilmore girls really, really liked to eat, especially junk food and take out. It was just too cute that Rory seemed to want to give him the chance to try so many dishes just so he could figure out for himself what he liked. That was pretty cool.

Eventually, with three large bags of food lined up on the counter that all belonged to the two of them, Rory and Jess both went for their wallets. There was a brief back-and-forth that was less an argument and more the cutest bout of bickering ever before they agreed to split the bill in half. Jess did insist on carrying two bags and only allowing Rory one as they left the store at last.

Jess had assumed they would be going back to Rory's house to eat, but half way there she seemed to take a detour.

"You trust me, don't you?" she said, looking back over her shoulder at him.

"Naturally," replied Jess without a moment's pause, following her wherever she wanted to lead him.

It was a surprise to find they seemed to be heading for the lake. They seemed to be crossing it via the bridge too, at least that was what Jess thought until Rory stopped very abruptly in the middle and sat down, lotus-style.

"Huh," said Jess, shaking his head before sitting down beside her. "Dinner on the bridge."

"You may be surprised to hear that it is not the first time we did this," Rory explained, laying out all the food between them. "It kind of became a tradition for us to meet here, sometimes to eat, to talk, to read. I guess you could call it our spot."

She looked at Jess, watching him for a moment as he took in his surroundings, the view, the atmosphere. Rory was glad to see him smile as his eyes returned to her.

"It's a cool spot," he told her.

"I think so," she agreed, grinning back at him. "Now, let's eat," she said then, spreading her arms wide in an attempt to present the huge array of food to him.

It took a while for them to work their way through the whole menu. Jess rediscovered his love for many a Chinese dish and Rory wasn't overly surprised to find his taste really hadn't changed much. He may not remember what he liked but he knew all the same.

"It's official," said Jess, around a mouthful of egg roll. "I like Chinese food."

"Yes, you do," Rory agreed. "Al does a good job with this stuff, but he's a little sub-par on the cuisine of some other countries. You'll want to steer clear of the place when he's having a Japanese night."

"Duly noted." Jess nodded.

"So, how goes the reading? Last I heard you were mostly rediscovering Hemingway."

"I branched out a little these past couple of weeks. Which reminds me, did you buy me a book called The Fountainhead?" he asked, frowning some. "I started that thing four times and I cannot make it past the first few pages."

Rory heaved a huge sigh. "I kind of hoped the memory loss would make you a little more open to Ayn Rand, but I guess not."

"Not," Jess confirmed. "So, you did buy it for me."

"Actually, I just recommended it to you," she corrected him. "As far as I know, you bought it yourself."

"Right." Jess nodded. "Did you buy any of my books?"

"I did," said Rory, smiling widely. "You'll find a handwritten dedication in the front of a special edition copy of The Catcher in the Rye, as well as a copy of The Holy Barbarians. Both gifts from me," she confirmed happily.

"Okay, and thanks, I guess."

"You did thank me at the time, but you're still welcome."

"Yeah, but something tells me I didn't do grateful so well before the whole memory loss thing. At least, that's what Luke says."

"I guess he has a point," Rory considered, barely looking at him. "You just weren't very good at expressing yourself in words all of the time. Of course, you and I were... well, we usually found ways that worked better than words."

As if Jess couldn't have figured it out from the way she said it, the deep red shade of Rory's cheeks certainly proved her point. It seemed like the most natural thing in the world to reach for her, turn her face towards him and lean in for a kiss.

Rory may have been embarrassed to talk about it but she had no hesitation is demonstrating what it was that she and Jess were always so good at before. Some things didn't change, thankfully.

"Well, I'm glad you didn't forget how to do that," she told him as they parted.

"Still kind of weird not remembering all the other times though," said Jess, pushing her hair back behind her ear.

"I'm all for making new memories," said Rory, leaning in for another kiss.

So lost in each other, they didn't even notice the clear sky filling with clouds, that the world was growing darker and the wind was rising. The first they knew of the impending storm was a crash of thunder overhead that made them spring apart.

"Wow. Did we do that?" Rory joked.

"Maybe," Jess agreed, smirking yet. "Either way we should probably get inside. Pretty sure it's about to get crazy out here."

They gathered up the leftover food into the bags and started walking briskly towards the Gilmore girls' home, as the thunder continued to boom, accompanied by lightning that streaked across the sky.

As they turned into the right street, Rory and Jess ran hand-in-hand towards the house, the rain beginning to pelt down. Up the porch steps, Rory fumbled with getting her key into the lock, and then they both fell into the house, breathless from the sudden extertion and from laughter borne out of nothing more than childish fun. Of course, as they both leaned on the back of the door together, breathing hard, there was nothing childish about the way they looked at each other.

"Where were we?" said Jess, meeting her eyes.

"Someplace good," Rory reminded him, pulling him closer. "As first dates go, this one has been pretty amazing."

"Agreed." Jess nodded.

They were back to full make-out within seconds. The storm raged outside, but in the house, everything was warm and good and safe. Yes, this had been a very good first date.

To Be Continued...