First of all, wow, I still can't believe that GG is over. And right when it started to get good again. Damn it. I'm still sad about it and therefor it was kind of difficult for me to finally finish this chapter. I got over my depression now though. Well, kind of. Or maybe I still haven't realised it yet. Don't know.
Well, I'm truly sorry that you had to wait that long for another chapter. So so sorry. And I'm not even sure if that chapter is any good. Don't expect anything else but pure L/L fluff. ;)

Chapter 36

Lorelai didn't really remember who's idea it was to set the alarm for 9am in the morning but she was all but very little amused by the fact that the ringing pulled her out of her tight sleep. It took them quite some hours the night before, until they had everything packed and ready for their vacation. First, they had to take Luke's stuff from his apartment and then they headed over to Lorelai's house to do the same. She had already started packing in the afternoon but with the work and the wedding reception, she couldn't get everything done in time. And so they had to do it in the middle of the night. Slightly drunk, how Luke told her. However, she preferred the term tipsy.

Lorelai rolled over and noticed Luke already sitting up in bed, stretching his arms above his head. Rubbing her tired eyes, she mumbled a short "Hey."

"Morning." He gave her a small smile before he leaned down to give her a kiss. Then he eased back and studied her for a moment. "You okay?"

"Yeah. Why wouldn't I?" Lorelai asked, innocently, although she knew exactly to what Luke was referring to.

"Well, I thought you might have a little hangover because of yesterday."

"I'm fine. I really wasn't that drunk, Luke. I told you that." Lorelai let her head fall back down on the pillow. "I'm just tired, that's all."

Luke reached over to brush a strand of hair out of her face. "You can sleep in the car." He slipped out of bed and reached for his shirt. "I'll go make you coffee."

"Coffee. God. Yes. The elixir of life." Lorelai rolled to her side, closing her eyes again.

Chuckling, Luke shook his head, slipped into his jeans and walked downstairs into the kitchen.

After they had breakfast, Luke brought their bags outside to his truck. And seeing that Lorelai had five bags, made him wonder why women always needed that much luggage when they were traveling? It's not like they'd actually need all that in a week. That's not even possible. And when he had asked her, she simply shrugged and told him she'd like to be prepared for every situation possible. So, what possibilities are there? Cold, hot, rain? Well, he was definitely sure there wouldn't be any snow in June. But she was probably prepared for that also.

When Rory came outside, she suddenly stopped when she saw Luke's truck. "Is there something you aren't telling me? It looks like your moving away."

"Yeah." Luke laughed. "I was told it's a vacation though, but you'll never know." When his eyes fell on the basket in Rory's hand, he added. "What's this?"

"Oh, I thought you might get hungry on your way. There's biscuits, cookies, chocolate, candies..." When she heard Luke groan, Rory continued. "And there's a plastic bag full of carrots. Some fruits. Sandwiches. Oh, and a can of coffee for mom and tea for you. Peppermint tea. Hope that's okay?"

"Yes, that's more than okay. Rory, you didn't have to do all this."

"I know. I wasn't sure if you're going to stop by the Diner before you leave, so I fixed you a small travel basket. Mom gets cranky when she's without food but you know that, right?" Rory handed him the basket, smiling.

"Yeah, I heard about that. Thank you." Luke grinned. He took the basket and put it into the car. "Where's your mother anyway? We wanted to leave half an hour ago."

"I don't know. Maybe getting another bag?" Rory smirked and Luke rolled his eyes. "So, are you excited?"

"Yeah, I am. Although, we're not really sure where we're going exactly. Guess we'll see where the road will lead us."

"Sounds good and adventurous." Rory offered him a smile.

"With your mom. Always." Glancing at the house, Luke cleared his throat. "Hey uhm… I wanna show you something." He slipped his hand into his pockets and pulled out the small jewelry box. He flipped it open and showed Rory the ring that once belonged to his mother. "I wanna give this to your mom."

"Oh, wow." Rory looked at it with wide eyes. "It looks beautiful." After a moment, her head shot up and she met Luke's eyes. "Wait a minute. Is this an engagement ring? Are you going to propose to her?"

"Yes."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah." Luke let the word out slowly, his eyes still fixed on her. "Is this... a bad idea?"

"No. No it's not. I'm just surprised, that's all." Rory's eyes fell back on the ring, grinning. "It looks beautiful."

"It was my mother's and now I thought that... you know, it would be perfect if... I uh, you know." Luke let out a deep breath. "I just thought your mom might like it."

"Awww, yes. She'll love it. Definitely."

"So, you'd be okay with this? I mean, I could totally understand if you think it's too soon because then I could wait. Or if you think that your mom might not like the idea because it makes her freak out or bolt, then I won't say anything because I don't wanna ruin our vacation. I was just thinking that it might be, you know, a good opportunity when we're away because it's romantic and I uh... well, most of all I wanna make sure you'd be okay with this."

"I am." Rory looked up at Luke and gave him an honest and assuring smile.

"Really?"

"Yes. Really. And I'm pretty sure she's not going to bolt."

"What about Max?"

"That was different. You're not Max."

"No." Luke paused, thinking.

"Don't worry, Luke. Everything's going to be okay. Believe me."

"Well, then." Luke blew out a breath, a small smile forming on his lips.

"Just promise me to not get married in a rush. Like, you know, Las Vegas or something. I really wanna be there when it happens."

"I promise." Luke laughed.

When Rory saw the front door open, she immediately whispered. "Put it away, she's coming."

Luke flipped the box closed and shoved it back into his pockets. Turning around, he saw Lorelai walking towards them. "Finally. Where have you been?"

"I was looking for the camera." She grinned as she walked toward them. "But now I'm here and ready to go."

"Good."

"Rory, mommy's going to miss you." Lorelai pulled her daughter into a big hug. "I'm sorry I have to leave you like this. Be a good girl while we're gone, okay?"

"Mom, I can't breathe." Rory mumbled, rolling her eyes.

"Sorry." Lorelai pulled apart, looking at her daughter. "If there's an emergency, call Sookie, Babette or your grandparents. I left you some money on the kitchen table. And if you need anything, call me. I have my cell phone with me."

"Mom, I'm not a baby anymore."

"I know you're not." Lorelai took a deep breath. "Are you planning on throwing a party?"

"No."

"Why not?"

"Mom." Rory sighed.

"What? I'm just asking. Some would think that this would be a perfect opportunity."

"Right."

"Guess you're not some people."

"Yeah, guess not."

"Anyway. Bye sweetie." She kissed her daughter on the cheek and opened the passenger seat of the truck to get inside.

Luke waited until Lorelai was inside the car. "So, have fun while we're gone. And I promise I'll bring her back safe."

"I know that, Luke." Rory gave him a small hug and whispered into his ear. "And good luck with... you know."

"Yeah, thanks. Bye." He gave her a small smile before he climbed into the car where Lorelai was already waiting. They waved Rory good bye before he pulled out of the driveway and onto the street.

Later that night

Lorelai fell asleep during the ride. Her head rested on the door of the car, her neck somehow craned in a weird position. It was a miracle that she was able to sleep at all like this. When she suddenly heard someone tapping on her window, she jumped and opened her eyes. Only then she noticed that they weren't on the road anymore. The car was parked and it was already dark outside. When she turned to look at the driver seat, she found it empty and she immediately sat up straight, looking around.

Where was Luke?

Then she heard a tapping again, and she turned to look outside her passenger window where Luke gave her a small wave and motioned her to get out of the car.

Rolling her eyes, she opened the car door and climbed out. "Gee Luke, you scared me."

"Sorry." He reached for her hand and pulled her up.

"Where are we?" She yawned and ran her hand through her tousled hair.

"I thought you wanna stay the night at a motel." Luke tangled a key in front of her face. "Figured you wouldn't be too excited to spend the night in the car."

Lorelai's face lit up. Then she moved closer to give him a small kiss. "You definitely figured that one right. I'm in a desperate need of a shower and a bed."

"Over there's a Diner. You up for a burger?"

"Always." Grinning, she slipped her hand into Luke's as they made their way over to the Diner that was located right next to the Motel.

Inside, they looked for a quiet table at a corner and waited for the waitress to take their order. It was an older lady, around her fifties, with red hair. Her name tag said 'Karen'.

"Hey, what can I get you?"

"A large cup of coffee, please." She noticed Luke's glare but ignored him. Instead, she reached for the menu and flipped through it. "Hmmm. Cheeseburger with double cheese. Chili Fries and onion rings."

Karen just nodded and turned to Luke. "And you?"

"I'll take a water and..." He roamed the menu. "...a turkey burger."

"With fries?"

"No. Make it a small salad, please."

Karen nodded again and walked away.

"What?" Luke asked when he noticed how Lorelai was looking at him.

"I was just thinking about today." She chuckled and leaned a little forward. "I can't wait to wear what you picked out for me in the lingerie store."

Luke smiled, signs of desire flickered in his eyes. "And I can't wait to see you in it."

"I hope so, Mister." She leaned forward a little more and motioned Luke to come closer, like if she wanted to tell him something. Then she slowly cupped his face and brushed her lips tentatively over his, while her fingers ran over the stubble on his cheeks. She felt Luke pull away slightly as if he wanted to say something, probably telling her they couldn't do this in here. But she teased him by running her lips over his bottom lip, slowly seeking entrance to his mouth, and a moment later, Lorelai felt Luke kissing her back. It always worked, she thought grinning against his mouth.

Then someone was clearing his throat and Luke immediately pulled back, his eyes fixed on the table as he waited for his heartbeat to slow down.

The waitress stood at their table, looking down at them with a grin on her face. And when she set down Luke's water and Lorelai's coffee, she leaned down and whispered to Lorelai, "I can't really blame ya, dear." Then she gave Luke a small wink before she added. "Burgers will be ready in a few minutes."

After Karen left their table, Lorelai giggled when she saw Luke's flushed face. But she knew better to let it go and changed the subject. "Soo, how far did we get today?"

"Not that far, actually." Luke replied and took a sip of his water.

"Awww, really?"

"We could have been at the beach by now if you wouldn't have wanted to take a stop all the time."

"I thought shopping would be fun." Lorelai gave him an innocent smile. "And it's not like we're in a hurry or something. Right?"

Nodding, Luke mumbled in a low voice. "Right."

"And if we're at the beach by tomorrow, that's fine too." She mused for a moment, then her forehead creased. "What's this place called anyway?"

A few people turned their heads to look at her and she immediately knew that she should have kept her voice down.

Small towns. All the same.

"You're in Creston, my dear." Karen told her when she came to their table to bring them their food. "You're heading to the beach? That's about 3 or 4 more hours. Tops."

"Thanks." She grabbed her mug and sipped at her coffee but immediately stopped. "Oh my god."

"Is there something wrong?" Karen asked, obviously concerned.

Setting the mug back on the table, Lorelai shook her head. "No, it's just…hot. Burnt my tongue."

"Be careful and enjoy your meal." And with that, the waitress left their table to walk back behind the counter.

"Gawd, this coffee is awful." Lorelai whispered to Luke. "Can I?" Without waiting for his answer, she grabbed his glass of water and took a big sip.

"Yes, Rory. We're okay." Lorelai told her daughter on the phone when they where back in their motel room. Her gaze followed Luke who had just come out of the bathroom and slipped out of his shirt.

"Good, where are you right now?"

"Uhm…" She watched Luke grabbing the map before he let himself fall on the bed. "We're not in Connecticut anymore. Luke…what's this town called again?"

"Creston."

"Creston. A really small town. And we've just had lunch at a Diner."

"Oh, you found a Luke's?"

"Not really. They had the worst coffee ever."

"Uagh. That sucks."

"Yeah, and the burgers weren't that great either." She frowned slightly as she slipped out of her shoes. "And, what have you been up to today?"

"Nothing. I had to finish a paper for my literature class. It's due tomorrow. I ordered some food from Al's. That's about it."

"Whatever happened to my idea of a party?"

"Mom."

"Okay okay. I get it. Well then, have fun with your paper."

"Yeah, thanks. "

"I call you tomorrow. Bye." She flipped her cell phone closed and crawled on the bed to Luke. He was lying on his stomach, studying the map.

"What'ya doing?"

"I'm trying to find where we are. We took this road." His eyes followed his finger. "Then the highway south. We stopped somewhere around here because you wanted to see the lake."

"Mh-hm."

"I still don't know where we are right now. That town's not on the map."

"It's probably too small. Hey Luke."

"Yeah." He said absentmindedly, rotating the map in his hands.

"I'm going to take a shower now."

"Yeah." Luke nodded, his eyes still fixed on the map.

Shifting a little closer, Lorelai's mouth found Luke's earlobe. Ever so softly, she started to nibble on it as a single finger ran down Luke's forearm. She grinned when she heard Luke suck in a breath and turned to her.

"Didn't you wanna take a shower?"

Nodding, Lorelai bit her lower lip. "Yeah, I thought, maybe you wanna join?"

Rolling his eyes, Luke let out a soft laugh. "Then why didn't you say so?"

Next day – almost midnight

It actually took them a little longer than expected to reach the beach. Or in other words, it took them a while until they found a nice place to stay. It was spring time after all, so lots of people had the idea of spending some time off from work.

Luke slowed down in front of a bigger hotel than at which they'd been looking before. But it was late and both of them didn't want anything more than a bed and something to eat.

"Okay, do you wanna wait in the car while I go and ask if they have vacant rooms?"

"You wanna stay here?"

"Yeah, why?"

"That hotel looks quite... expensive."

"So?"

"I'm just saying." Lorelai eyed it more closely before she turned back to Luke, grinning. "I bet they have a pool. But seriously, we don't have to stay here. I've seen a sign for a hotel not far from here. 2 stars. Not 4 stars like this one."

"And who guarantees you that this other hotel will have vacant rooms? Look, I'm going inside now. You coming or not?"

"Okay."

They got out of the car and walked through the magnificent entrance into the foyer of the hotel. Lorelai looked around, taking in the quite expensive furniture and decoration. When they approached the front desk, the man greeted them with a small smile.

"Hello." Luke started.

"Good evening."

"We'd like to have a room, please."

"And don't tell us you don't have any rooms. We've been driving around for hours. Seems like every hotel is completely occupied." Lorelai threw in, sounding slightly desperate.

"That's probably because of the festival. You should have made reservations."

"Festival?"

"Yes. The music festival. Different bands from all over the country perform here. For two weeks." He typed something in his computer. "How long do you plan to stay?"

"A week." Luke replied.

"Didn't we agree on ten days?"

"We've been driving around for a few days now. Plus a week, makes it ten days."

"That doesn't count."

"Oh really? Why not?"

"Because."

"Lorelai..."

"Come on, Luke."

"I didn't tell Pete I'd be gone for 2 weeks. I said 10 days. Tops."

"But I told him that we might stay a little longer."

Sighing, Luke shook his head. "Fine. Okay."

"So, 10 days?" The man carefully asked, looking at the couple in front of him.

"Yeah."

"Okay. I need you to fill out this form? And I need to see some ID, please."

Luke pulled out his wallet and put his driver's license on the counter, while Lorelai grabbed a pen and filled out the form.

"We offer breakfast, lunch and dinner. There's also a wellness area and an in- and outdoor swimming pool. If you prefer going to the beach, you only have to go through that door over there. It leads directly on our private beach. The bar is open till midnight. If you need anything else, just let me know."

"Is there a place where I should park my car?"

"Yes. We do offer parking spaces as well. Billy will show you and help you with your luggage." He took the form Lorelai handed him back. He smiled before he added. "Thanks. Have a nice stay."

After the bell boy led them to their room, Luke closed the door behind them and turned to Lorelai who was looking around in delight. The room was way bigger than the ones of the Independence Inn. The walls were painted in a soft terracotta and gave the room a nice atmosphere. On the opposite side was a huge glass door which led outside to the balcony.

"Gosh, I love this room."

"It's not bad."

"Not bad? It's amazing. I can't believe we're staying here. Oh, and look at the bed. It's huge and… comfy." When she turned back to Luke, he was looking at her, a small smile playing on his lips. "Don't you like it?"

"I do." He answered in a low voice, looking around himself. "Better than the one we stayed last night."

"Oh yeah, definitely." Lorelai chuckled. "I think I'm going to check out the bathroom now."

"Okay." Luke watched as she closed the door behind her. Then he turned to take in the room himself. Lorelai had been right. The room was nice. And probably very expensive. But he didn't care about the money. Not on their first vacation because he intended to make it special and memorable for her.

Walking over to the balcony, he opened the glass door and stepped outside. Propping his hands on the railing, he stared into the darkness, listening to the waves rolling in.

A few seconds later, he felt Lorelai's arms slipping around him from behind as she pressed herself against his back. "You won't believe what's in the bathroom."

"What?"

"A Jacuzzi."

"Wow."

"Yes. double-wow. We definitely gotta try it out some time soon." She waited a moment before she continued. "Is everything okay?"

Slowly, Luke turned around. "Yeah. Sure. Why wouldn't it?"

"I don't know. You tell me."

"Everything's fine. Really."

She looked at him suspiciously and ran her finger along his forehead. "You're thinking about something."

"No."

"Yes. Tell me."

"I…" Luke took in a deep breath. Well, he couldn't tell her what was really on his mind, so he thought about the next plausible thing. "Look, it's nothing. Just work, that's all."

"Work?"

"Yeah."

"But you talked to Pete this morning. You said everything's okay at the Diner."

"Yes, everything's good."

"See, stop worrying."

"I'm not…" Luke paused and looked down on his feet. "Fine, I will."

"Good." Grinning, Lorelai slipped her arms around Luke's neck. "Because, you know, the thing about vacation is, that you have to stop thinking about work. I'm not thinking about the Inn. And you stop thinking about the Diner. Deal?"

"Deal."

"Alright then." Smiling, Lorelai moved closer and slowly pressed her lips against Luke's, giving him a small kiss. "I think I have an idea."

"What idea?"

"Let's go swimming."

Blinking twice, Luke gave her an incredulous look. "You're kidding, right? You do know what time it is."

"So?" Lorelai leaned forward to look down to the swimming pool.

"We can't go swimming now."

"Why not? Look at it. It's down there and waiting for us."

"It will still be there tomorrow. Then you can spend the whole day in the pool."

"I wanna go there now. When it's dark. With just the pool lights and without other annoying people."

"I'm sure we're not allowed to use the pool in the middle of the night."

"Did he say something about 'Pool Opening Hours'?"

Luke frowned and shook his head. "No but…"

"See, and we're going to be quiet. Come on. Don't be such a baby. It's going to be fun."

"I'm not a baby."

"Then go get your shorts." Grinning, Lorelai dragged him back into the hotel room and Luke followed her, grumbling.

"I still think this idea is ridiculous." Luke stated as they stopped at the huge swimming pool on the backside of the hotel. He looked around, a little paranoid, but they've been pretty silent when they've sneaked out of their room and down to the pool. Everyone was supposed to be sleeping anyway at this time of day. Or night.

Giggling, Lorelai slipped out of her clothes and indicated Luke to do the same but he just stood there, watching her. "Come on."

Rolling his eyes, Luke dropped the towels on one of the beds. Then he pulled his shirt over his head and slipped out of his pants, muttering. "I can't believe I'm doing this."

Lorelai walked to the steps that led into the pool, sticking her toe into the water. When she felt that it wasn't as cold as she expected, she slowly walked further into the water and started swimming. "Oh, this is so nice."

Luke just sat down by the side of the pool, his feet dangling into the water. He watched her and couldn't help himself but chuckle.

When Lorelai noticed that Luke was still sitting there, she swam over to him. "Don't you wanna come in?"

"The view is pretty good from where I'm sitting."

"Uh-huh." Grinning, Lorelai trailed a single finger up his calve. "I promise it's going to be even better when you're in here." But when Luke did nothing but look at her, she grabbed the side of the pool to push herself out of the water, just long enough to gave Luke a kiss. Then she pulled back, gave him a seductive smile and repeated. "Please?"

Luke's eyes glided down her body, the small drops of water were glistening on her skin.

When she started to freeze, she let herself back into the water again but her eyes never left Luke's. "Please."

He sighed, half heartedly, and slid into the pool himself. He had to admit, it did feel nice. Smiling, he swam to her but before Luke could grab her waist, Lorelai pushed him down by his shoulders and dunked him.

"Hey..." But before Luke could say anything else, Lorelai pushed him under the water again. When he surfaced, he coughed and wiped the water out of his eyes. "What was that for?"

"Well, just because." Lorelai giggled but when she saw Luke's look, she went silent. "Sorry."

"I bet you are."

"I... I really am." When she noticed that Luke slowly approached her, she moved backwards. "Luke..."

"Yeah."

"I told you I'm sorry." Lorelai laughed nervously as she was trying to get away from him.

"Easy to say now."

"Well..." Suddenly, she felt her back hitting the pool wall and she knew she was trapped. Biting her lower lip, she grinned at him. "So, what is going to happen now? Revenge?"

"Maybe." Their eyes locked for a moment, then Luke's mouth formed a smile as he gripped the edge of the pool beside her head. "Maybe not."

"I'd be for the latter."

Luke's eyes, lashes thick with water, were serious. He slowly leaned in, stopping with his mouth an inch from hers. "You are such a tease."

"Don't tell me you only noticed that just now." Lorelai said, innocently. Then she grabbed Luke's head to close the distance between them and kissed him. What started slowly at first, changed after a few seconds. Luke opened his mouth to her, slipping his tongue between her teeth to match her own exploration while Lorelai's fingers slid through Luke's wet hair.

Luke's hands slowly dipped into the water, with feather light touches his fingers trailing down the side of her body. When Lorelai wrapped her legs around him, Luke groaned. "Lorelai."

"Mh-hm."

"Let's go back upstairs. Please."

"Yeah." Lorelai pushed back a little and opened her eyes. "We should."

"If you wanna continue what we've started, that is." Luke whispered before he took a deep breath, trying to slow down his heart beat again. His eyes never leaving hers.

"Well, I'd continue it right here and right now but that's probably not such a good idea."

"You know we can't do that. Well, we can. But we shouldn't. Because it's wrong and..." Luke shook his head when he noticed he was babbling. He then grabbed Lorelai's hand and pulled her to the other side of the pool. Both got out of the water and grabbed the towels they brought with them.

"Happy now that you got your midnight swim?"

"I'll be even more happy when we're finally back in our rooms."

Luke snorted out a laugh. "Yeah, right."

"Don't laugh. You'll be as happy. Admit it." Lorelai grinned back at him as she continued drying herself off.

"Right."

Once they've been upstairs in their room again, Lorelai couldn't stop herself from giggleing. "Okay, you gotta admit, that was fun. And refreshing. And nobody caught us." She turned back to Luke. "Well, anyhow. Topic change. Where were we?" Lorelai dropped her towel on the floor and gave him an innocent look.

Luke let out a huge sigh but let his eyes travel down her body. And it were moments like this where he just couldn't believe that she was his. And only his. How did he get so damn lucky to have her in his life? He'll never understand but he certainly won't complain either.

"Luke?"

He looked at her for a moment, then his lips twitched into a smile and he slipped his arms around her. "As if you wouldn't remember."

"Just wanted to make sure if you would." Lorelai grinned before she pulled Luke towards the huge bed...

To be continued...

I would totally understand if you stopped reading this story. But if you didn't it would be nice to leave a review. Thanks. :)
ETA: If everything goes like I planned, there's only going to be one more chapter. :)