Jess sat in the diner with the lights off. Luke came down stairs and sat next to him.
"I slugged that little creep." Luke laughed.
"Huh?"
"He was mouthing off this and that. I just snapped."
"I hear that."
"Looks like its over for him and Rory."
"Seems so."
"Any plans?" Luke asked.
"I'm playing it by ear." Jess smirked.
Rory walked up to her house to find Logan sitting on the swing outside. She quietly sat down next to him.
"So..."
"Jess and I are complicated." She sighed.
"You love him?" Logan asked knowing the answer.
"Yes." She whispered.
"So when did this happen?" he asked turning towards her.
"I was 17." She faintly smiled.
"Seriously Rory. I thought we were going good."
"He came to visit." she smiled. "He reminded me of who I was, where I wanted to be."
"I told you to go back to Yale." He sighed.
"It was different. He knows me."
"You knew I was going to ask you to marry you?" he said sinking into the swing.
"Yeah. It was sort of obvious."
"You wouldn't have liked me to ask you in front of everyone huh?"
"Not really."
"How come he knew that and I didn't?"
"I don't know." she smiled. "The same reason he knew to come running after me on the bridge."
"He knows you." Logan laughed. "What a long crazy journey."
"I'm getting my own place. I was thinking about it the other day."
"I guess I could have someone else move in to watch it, since the rent is already paid."
"Sorry."
"So it all started when he came to visit?"
"Not exactly." She paused and closed her eyes. "It really started when I visited him in Philly."
"I see."
"We kissed. I thought I was just trying to get back at you though, for cheating on me."
"The bridesmaids fiasco." He sighed. "I'm sorry about that."
"Yeah."
"He took me to New York yesterday." She smiled. "We ate Indian food. He read to me in the park. It was the perfect day."
"I would have never thought of that."
"I wouldn't have either." She smiled. "He just knows me."
"I guess I can't just take back what I said about the movie huh?" he laughed, "I guess holding up a boom box in a girls driveway is romantic."
"It wasn't what you said."
"I know."
The limo drove up and Logan stood up. Grabbing his suitcase, he started walking towards the limo his drive got out and grabbed his suitcase. Leaving him to turn towards Rory who wasn't very far behind.
"This is it." Logan sighed. "Glad I don't have to deal with Emily."
"Yeah that's going to be rough."
"Long distance relationships never work anyway. I mean London is a long way from New Haven." He smiled leaning his head against hers. "I have never loved a girl."
"Many guys, but no girls?" she giggled.
"You know what I mean." He kissed her forehead. "You were special Ace."
As Logan stepped away Rory's eyes filled with tears she watched the limo drive away and started crying. She wasn't sure why she felt so sad, this was after all what she had wanted.
"You okay?" Lorelai said as she handed her daughter coffee.
"Yeah."
"After Jess left Luke got into it with him." Lorelai laughed, "I figured I would tell you before the rest of the town does."
"Good to know." she smiled. "Why?"
"I don't know," she laughed.
They sat on the swing and looked out at the lightening bugs.
"So what about Jess?"
"I don't know." Rory said sipping her coffee.
"You love him."
"Yep."
"He loves you."
"That's the rumor."
"It'll all fall into place." Lorelai said as she put her arm around her daughter. "Everything works out in the end."
Rory walked into her room and found a notebook on her bed. She recognized it from Jess's car. She opened it and smiled as she read the opening words.
Every morning I walk out to the beach and throw a bottle into it, the message inside the bottle, 'I love you.' It's not as if I think she will get it, that would be absurd. No the reason I write it and throw way the bottles is to get rid of it. If you right something down enough times and throw it away, maybe you can get rid of it.
One morning I sat out on the beach pen in hand thinking of Lorelai Leigh Gilmore and you know what happened? A bottle floated up, 'I love you.' Was written on the paper inside. Now I know it was my own bottle that floated back to me, but it was as if she was saying it back.
Rory stood up and walked to her CD player putting in the CD he had made. Then she sat back down to read the rest. As she flipped the personal pages of Jess's notebook she couldn't help, but feel at ease. When she finally reached the end of the notebook she felt as if she was going to melt as she read the last bit.
If you are reading this, I finally admitted that I couldn't just get rid of this love. No it followed me from Stars Hollow to New York and back. To California and Stars Hollow and back to New York and on to Philadelphia where I set writing this. You were here, just minutes ago. We kissed. It hurt. I can't say I didn't deserve it, karma just came back to slap me in the face. I ran out on you. If you read this whole thing, you would know what a foolish mistake I know I made. So yeah, this is the end. You love another man and you made it very clear we are through. Or did you? We may never know. But if you are reading this, I guess maybe we do know. Huh.
Rory jumped up as she heard a gentle tap at her window. She stood up and raised the window staring into Jess's chocolate eyes. They awkwardly leaned towards each other till finally they were kissing. When they broke away Jess smiled.
"I'm leaving tomorrow." He sighed.
"Oh."
"They need me at the store."
"When tomorrow?"
"Morning." He waved and walked away, "You know my number?"
Rory nodded and put the window down. That night she fell asleep with the CD playing and the notebook in her hand. She awoke to the sound of her mother screaming in the kitchen. She got up and walked towards the kitchen seeing her mother standing on a chair.
"What are you doing?" she yawned.
"Spider."
"Oh brother." Rory said picking it up and putting it outside.
"My brave, brave daughter."
Rory walked over and grabbed a beer bottle off the counter. Removing the label and going back to her room, she scribbled I love you too on a piece of paper and shoved it inside. Her mother watched from the doorway in confusion.
"You'll explain all of this to mommy one day right?"
"Every bit of it." Rory smiled.
Rory walked up to Jess's car and placed the bottle in the seat, through the open window. She smiled as she turned her back and waked back home.
Jess stood at his car looking in at the beer bottle in confusion. When he picked it up he saw the paper inside. He shook it till it fell out and smiled as he read her words scrawled across it.