Jess had been so caught up at the party it wasn't until after everyone left he remembered Rory had told him she'd ring him tonight. He checked his pockets for his phone then remembered he'd left it upstairs in the kitchen that morning and hadn't actually checked it all day. He'd been such a jerk to her because she hadn't called him last night and now here he was ignoring his phone all day. He needed to fix this, he needed to apologise before this got out of hand.
Jess took the stairs two at a time and found his phone on the kitchen table. He thought it was odd as he was certain he'd left it on the counter. He checked the screen but found no message or missed call alerts there but when he unlocked the phone and the call log came up he could see Rory's name was at the top of it. She had called his phone and she'd spoken to someone for 7 minutes. Shit. Who did she talk to? Oh hell, she knew. She knew about the party. She knew he'd lied to her. Shit. He had to explain. He checked the time and, as much as it pained him to, he decided it was too late to call her now, this would have to wait until tomorrow. He slumped down onto the dining chair and rested his forehead against the cool wood of the table. He'd broken the one unwritten rule and he wasn't sure how he was going to make it up to her but he was determined he would.
Resigned to the fact there was nothing he could do about it tonight he went back downstairs to help Matt and Chris clean up. It had been a successful evening and everyone seemed to have enjoyed themselves. Chris was moving an armchair back to its usual place when he spotted Jess coming down the stairs.
"Hey man, thought you'd left us for the night," Chris greeted him.
"Just had to check something. Hey, you didn't happen to answer my phone earlier this evening?" Jess asked him, paying close attention to Chris's face as he waited for him to respond. Chris had one of those faces that read like an open book, a large print one. It made him easy to beat at poker and impossible to miss a lie.
"She told me not to tell you." He admitted apologetically.
"Did you tell her about the party?" Jess needed to know.
"I'm sorry man, I thought she already knew," Chris confirmed his fear.
"Not your fault. Maybe next time just let it ring out okay?"
"Sure man," Chris agreed. "Explain to me one thing though, why didn't you tell her? I don't get it. She would've dropped everything to be here for you, why didn't you give her the chance?"
"You answered your own question. I didn't ask her because it was too much to ask of her. She would've dropped everything for me and I couldn't have her doing that. Her schedule is crazy at the moment and she had no time spare to be flying back to Philly to spend a token few hours with me while I was busy talking my book up to a bunch of strangers." Jess tried to explain his reasoning.
"I think you need to tell that to her. Soon." Chris looked at him seriously. "I know it's none of my business but I don't want to see you ruin this for yourself Jess. Don't forget I got to witness first hand the aftermath of your last launch party, specifically Rory's guest appearance and swift departure. I was wary when the postcards and fruit baskets started to arrive but then you had that week together and you were a changed man, for the better. This last week I've watched you slipping back and it doesn't suit you man."
"I'm going to call her in the morning. I will fix this." Jess spoke more to convince himself than for Chris's benefit. Chris just nodded in understanding.
"Anyone that can inspire this," Chris held up a copy of The Light and The Dark, "is worth fighting for."
Jess started collecting empty cups in a trash bag, an idea forming in his mind as he went. First things first though, he'd call her tomorrow, admit the error of his ways and hope she'd forgive them. He'd keep Plan B up his sleeve for now.
Jess couldn't tell how much sleep he'd had. He'd tossed and turned all night, finally dozing off properly before dawn. When he eventually woke he discovered he'd missed Rory's wakeup call. Damn it! Great start Mariano. He got up and showered and grabbed jeans and a shirt from the wardrobe and hastily dressed before heading down for his morning shift in the store. He'd at least remembered to pocket his phone this time before leaving the apartment and during the first lull of the morning he tried Rory's number. He didn't really expect her to answer and he hung up without leaving a message. He tried her again twice when she should've been on lunch. 3 more times around dinner and one last time before giving up and going to bed. He'd left 3 voicemails, each more desperate than the last and he wished he could go back in time and erase them.
He'd really blown it this time. He couldn't make her answer his calls but he couldn't make things right with her without her giving him the chance to explain. Plan B quickly became the only option and, as long as Matt and Chris agreed, he'd put it into action tomorrow. Right now, he needed sleep so he gave into it knowing he had a plan. He would make this right tomorrow. Failure wasn't an option here.
When Jess explained his predicament to Chris and Matt the next morning they made a decent attempt to cover their surprise at Jess making such a big gesture, but offered their support all the same. Jess knew from the copy of the schedule Rory had sent him that she'd be arriving in Houston in a few hours. Jess had managed to get a seat on a flight that would get him there that evening. Chris drove him to the airport, wishing him luck as Jess hoisted his bag onto his back about to shut the car door behind him.
"Thanks Chris," Jess told his friend. "I'll be back in a couple of days, I owe you."
"Just do what you gotta do Jess," Chris gave a quick wave through the window as Jess shut the door and walked across the road into the airport.
The flight was delayed but Jess didn't care, as long as it got him there, to Houston, to Rory, he didn't care what time he arrived. As it worked out he found himself knocking on her door at a quarter to midnight, silently praying she'd answer.
He knocked a second time and held his breath as he heard her on the other side of the door. He couldn't help but smile when he heard her curse after bumping into something in the dark. He was still smiling when she opened the door and he forgot about everything else except how much he loved her and how much he'd missed her as he pulled her into his arms and kissed her passionately.
