Waves
Luke opened his eyes at five thirty. He turned his head to check on Lorelai and smiled when he got a face full of dark curls for his efforts. He closed his eyes again, trying to will himself back to sleep, but his parched throat and strained bladder demanded relief. He slipped from the bed without disturbing her, just as he did every morning. Once his pesky bodily functions had been seen to, and a tall glass of water procured, he shuffled back into the bedroom scratching the skin that seemed to be permanently imprinted with the elastic from his boxers. He stood in the middle of the room eying the drawers that held his shorts and socks, and then looked down at the running shoes neatly lined up beside the dresser. One more glance at the bed gave him all of the answer that he needed. He placed his glass on the nightstand and crawled back into bed, draping one arm around over her hip as he tucked the other under his pillow and buried his nose in those soft, fragrant curls.
Almost three hours later, his eyes popped open and he stared at the ceiling, momentarily panicked as he blinked at the bright sunlight streaming into the room. He exhaled slowly, recalling where they were, and remembering that this was exactly what he was supposed to be doing. Lorelai stirred, stretching languidly beneath the thin sheet before rolling over and reaching for him blindly. When her hand met his warm stomach instead of the customary cool sheet, she opened her eyes and stared at his profile.
"No run?" she asked in a sleep raspy voice.
Luke turned to look at her as he shook his head mutely.
"Lazy day?"
He nodded as he rolled onto his side to face her, his nose centimeters from hers as he snuggled into his pillow.
"You okay?" she whispered.
In lieu of and answer, Luke raised his hand to her neck, his long fingers cradling the base of her skull as the tip of his thumb traced her jaw. "Warm, beautiful wife in bed," he whispered. And then he kissed her slow, sexy and sweet, his lips sandwiching her bottom lip and drawing on it lightly before he pulled away and looked into her eyes once more.
"Early morning seduction?" she asked softly as he pulled away.
"Working?" he asked, his breath tickling her moist lips.
"Yes." Her blood warmed when she saw the caution in his eyes give way to a slightly predatory gleam. "Oh, yes," she breathed as he lowered his lips to hers once more.
His kiss was hot and smoky, heavy with promises; laced with the confidence that he would be able to deliver on every one of those promises and more. Lorelai moaned as she wound her arms around his neck and rolled onto her back, allowing him to cover her body with the bulk of his own, surrendering to the sweet insistence of the tip of his tongue teasing her lips. As his fingertips traced her skin, inching the t-shirt she had swiped from him the night before higher and higher, she melted into the plush mattress. She knew his touch almost as well as she knew her own. He knew every inch of her skin better than she ever would. She told herself that she should be immune to him by now. He told himself that she shouldn't be able to make his body surge simply by making that same little noise she always made when he caressed her breasts. Oh, but she wasn't immune to him, not by a long shot. And, he knew that there would probably never be a day when that tiny whimper wouldn't drive him completely insane.
It should have been routine; the removal of what little clothing stood between them, the feel of each other's lips on heated flesh, the taste of one another's skin on their tongues. They'd done this a thousand times before.
It should have been a little boring. There was no threat of discovery, no warm tropical sun beating down on their bodies, no cool buoyant water holding them afloat.
It was simply a man and a woman, a husband and a wife, long-time lovers, and even longer friends; making love as if this was their bed. As if, the alarm could go off at any moment and wake the household, as if they had nothing to prove, no almost occasion of sin to atone for, and no missed steps.
She knew just how to make his breath hitch, he knew just where touch her to make her moan his name. His mouth traveled a well loved path down her body; her hands sculpted the muscles in his back as if he were her own creation. There was no need to whisper, 'Oh yes, there,' or 'Just like that' or even a breathy 'Don't stop.' There was no fumbling or faltering, no hesitance in each caress, and no questions asked with a blink of an eye.
And when they lay completely entwined; his body pulsing inside of hers, her legs draped lazily over his, his elbows bracketing her head and his palms smoothing her hair back from her brow, he said simply, "Good."
"So good," she agreed.
Their bodies moved in unison. He didn't hurry, she didn't rush him. Each gasp of breath served as a marker for how far they had come and just how far they had yet to go. And when they lay replete, there was no need for whispered words of love and devotion. It seemed that every word that could possibly be a reasonable facsimile of what they felt that morning fell just short of the mark. Instead, his heart beat against hers, her breath was his when he couldn't seem to get enough, and they told each other everything they needed to know with one lingering kiss.
"My beautiful boy," she whispered in a husky voice.
"Not beautiful, not a boy," he grumbled.
"There's empirical evidence that you are not a girl. I can feel it." Lorelai chuckled softly at her own joke as Luke pressed tender kisses to the smooth skin just below her ear.
"I'm a man," he growled, but failed to suppress the smile in his tone.
"My man," she purred as she ran her hands up his back. "You look like a boy when you sleep," she murmured. "Our boys. Sometimes they look so much like you."
"Your own mini-mes aren't too far off the mark." Luke reared back and raised one eyebrow at her, daring her to challenge his statement.
"When we're old, will you chew up my food and spit it into my mouth like a baby bird?"
"No." he said as she shook his head in disgust. "I will put it in a blender though. Besides, your teeth at better, so you'll probably be pureeing food for me."
"I'd do that," Lorelai said quickly. When Luke moved to roll off of her, she tightened her hold on him. "Where are you going?"
"I just need to lie down," he said as he nodded to the bed next to her.
Lorelai reluctantly let him go, rolling onto her side to face him as he flung one arm up over his head and the other lay draped over his stomach. She studied him carefully for a moment. "When we're eighty will you still think I'm hot?"
"Of course."
"Can we do things to each other where we run the risk of broken bones?"
"Hell, we do that now," he answered easily.
Lorelai covered his hand with hers, tracing the length of his fingers teasingly with her fingertips. "Will you still hold my hand?"
"Yes," he confirmed promptly.
Lorelai smiled. "I always wanted to be one of those old couples who still held hands."
"Like Chester and Betty."
"Yeah, like them."
Luke turned to peer at her and said, "We don't hold hands much now. At least, not in public."
"We should. We need the practice for when we're old."
"Okay."
"Except we're usually holding the kids' hands," she said with a frown.
"I think we can make more of an effort with each other sometimes."
"Yeah." Lorelai pressed her cheek to his chest and rubbed her foot against his, smiling as he automatically encircled her with his arm and pulled her closer. "I miss them," she whispered.
Luke smiled, knowing exactly where her mind had jumped to. "I do too."
"You ready?"
"In a minute." Luke ran his thumb over the silky skin of her arm and hummed deep in his throat as she snuggled in closer. "So, we call the kids, have a little breakfast and then get back to castle construction?"
"Sounds good."
"You want to shop today?"
"Nah."
"No?" he asked, his eyebrows shooting up.
"Tomorrow. Today I just want to be lazy."
"Good," Luke said with a nod.
Lorelai's lips curved into a smile. "Yes, it was good."
"And we're good," he said firmly.
"We're great," she corrected him.
"And, you're the beautiful one," he murmured as he pressed his lips to the top of her head.
"Smooth talker."
"I'm better at letting my actions speak."
Lorelai tipped her face up to look at him. "You're better with the words than you give yourself credit for."
"Grab the phone," he said gruffly.
Lorelai rolled over and plucked the cordless phone from the bedside table. "You want me to go get on the extension?"
"Nope. I want you right here," Luke answered as he pulled her back down.
"Okay, but if we're calling the kids, we at least need a sheet. Just in case my mother answers."
"Definitely," he agreed as she pulled the sheet back up over them. "Everything covered?" he asked as he tucked it tightly around their naked bodies.
"I think we're good," she murmured as she began dialing with her thumb.
"Yeah, we're good." Luke smiled over at her as she held the phone between their ears so that we could both hear. When the maid picked up, she smirked at Luke and whispered, "Your line."
Luke rolled his eyes and said, "Yeah, uh, Richard or Emily, please. This is Luke Danes," forcing Lorelai to dissolve into giggles. "Why is that funny?" he hissed at her once the maid had placed them on hold.
"I don't know, but it is," she said, her eyes dancing with pleasure.
Luke rolled his and then blinked at her slowly. "I'm glad that I amuse you."
"I'm glad you do too."
"I godda pony!" Carly squealed as she came on the line.
"Oh God," Luke groaned and rolled onto his back as he covered his eyes.
****
"Make the ramp thingy wide enough for the horses," Lorelai instructed as she pulled a plastic cup from a cone of packed sand that was now a turret.
"Ha ha," Luke grumbled.
"Aw, come on Babe, you have to admit it's pretty funny."
"It is not at all beyond your mother to buy her a real horse," Luke insisted.
"True, but she probably would mention it to us first," Lorelai said with a shrug.
"Like she mentioned the car things?"
"A horse is a bit different from a battery operated car. They require oats and you can't just park them in the yard," she pointed out.
"As it is, we only have to figure out where to put a stuffed pony as big as Carly and clear out a spot for two more large toys in the garage."
"You do excellent moat work," Lorelai said as she sat back on her heels and surveyed their work.
"Thanks. Good to have a fallback career," he muttered as he patted the banks of the moat firmly into place.
"I think we're good to go." Lorelai pulled a camera from the beach bag and turned it on. "Do you want to pose with it?"
"No," Luke said as he moved back out of the frame. "Shouldn't we fill the moat?"
"Oh. Yeah." Lorelai said as she lowered the camera.
"Hang on." Luke picked up a bucket and walked toward the water.
Lorelai sat back once more and watched as he filled the bucket and carried it back to their carefully constructed creation. He poured water into moat and quickly stepped back, motioning for her to begin snapping photos. Once they were done, Lorelai carefully zipped the camera back into its case and dropped it back into the bag.
"Now what?" she asked as she peered up at him, shielding her eyes with her hand.
"Wanna go for a walk? I'm getting stiff," he said as he gestured to her kneeling in the sand.
"So many dirty things," she murmured as she placed her hand in his and let him pull her to her feet.
"Not now." Luke released her hand and watched as she bent to brush the sand from her legs.
"Later?" she asked with a smug smile as she shook out a pair of shorts and pulled them on over her bikini bottoms.
"It's a definite possibility." Luke watched as she pulled the hair band from her messy ponytail and ran her fingers through her hair. "More than likely," he amended with a wry smile.
"You are so easy," she teased.
"You like me that way," he asserted as he took her hand once more.
Lorelai smiled as he laced his fingers through hers. They walked slowly through the fine sand down to the water's edge, and then let the waves lap over their toes as they walked slowly along the shore.
"I can't believe they start school in a little over a month," she said quietly.
Luke nodded as he peered into the distance. "Well, they have been in school, kind of."
"Not really. This is real school," Lorelai said sadly.
"Are we still thinking about taking them to the mother ship over Christmas?" he asked.
Lorelai nodded and said, "I cannot wait to see you wearing mouse ears and spinning in a tea cup."
"Not gonna happen."
"You like tea."
"Yes, that's motivation," he said dryly.
"I can't wait to see their faces. We're not telling them, right?"
"Could be good blackmail."
"Santa is enough of a motivator," Lorelai said with a shrug. "Ooh," she said as she stopped and dug a pale pink shell from the hard-packed sand. As she stood up, she turned and held it up for his inspection. "Pretty."
Luke glanced at the shell and then captured her lips in a soft kiss. A loud whistle rent the thick afternoon air, and they turned to see Chester waving to them from the bench on the bluff above. "Ah geez," he groaned as he pulled away.
"I know, and you were doing some of your best work," Lorelai cooed as she cupped his scruffy cheek. She tucked the shell into his pocket and then turned and waved, spotting Betty nestled under Chester's protective arm. Tugging on Luke's hand, she pulled him across the hot sand to the base of the stone steps.
"How are you doing?" Lorelai called.
"Not as well as he is," Chester called back to them. He murmured something to Betty who smiled and whispered something back to him. "She says I'm supposed to leave you two alone."
"Smart lady," Luke muttered under his breath.
"Yes, you're interrupting Luke's moves," Lorelai said with a laugh as she started up the steps, pulling him behind her.
"Hi," she greeted them as they topped the steps.
"Hello, dear," Betty said with an indulgent smile in their general direction.
Lorelai ducked under the striped awning with a wide smile. "He's shirtless too."
"Lorelai," Luke hissed as he tried to extricate his hand from her grip.
Lorelai held firm. "We're practicing holding hands," she told them with an impish grin.
Luke groaned as Chester chuckled. "The boy went right for first base?" the old man asked, incredulous.
"We're not really big on the public displays of affection," Lorelai explained solemnly.
"It's the private ones that count," Betty said with a tinkling laugh. "Ignore the old coot. He should talk. He likes to lure me out here so that he can work on his moves."
"You like to listen to the waves," Chester said indignantly.
"I do." Betty turned her face up to them and smiled. "Go enjoy your walk. See if the boy has any Burt Lancaster in him."
"Oh, he does, but it's more like off-screen Burt than on-screen Burt," Lorelai said with a shrug.
When Betty chuckled, Luke frowned and asked, "What's that supposed to mean?"
"That means you're crabby and more likely to complain about me than to be seducing me in the sand as the waves crash over us."
Luke grunted and turned to Chester. "Anyone snag anything good this morning?"
"Not that I saw. Definitely more of a fishing day than a catching day," Chester answered.
Luke smirked and said, "Picked a good day to sleep in, then."
"We had a lovely time last night, thank you again for having us," Betty said warmly.
"Oh, it was our pleasure," Lorelai answered as she gave Luke's hand a warm squeeze. "Okay, we had better let our guys get back to work on those moves." She leaned down and kissed both of their cheeks. "In case we don't see you before we go, thank you."
"For what, dear?" Betty asked in a puzzled tone.
Lorelai turned to glance at Luke and smiled. "For coming to dinner," she said with a slight shrug.
"Oh, well, anytime," Chester said with a breathy laugh.
Luke extended his hand to the older man and said, "We had a nice time."
"Thank you for the fishing and for dinner. It was a treat."
"When do you leave?" Betty asked.
"Day after tomorrow," Lorelai answered.
"Safe travel," Betty wished them.
Luke looked down at the tightly laced, time-ravaged hands resting on Chester's thin leg. He leaned down and brushed a kiss to Betty's papery cheek. The older woman lifted her thin hand to his cheek. "Thank you," he said gruffly, knowing that he could never explain what meeting the older couple had done for them.
"Any chance I can steal you away?" she asked sotto voice.
Luke smiled and said, "If anyone could it might be you, but I don't think so."
Betty patted his cheek and said, "I like my men clean shaven, anyway." She lowered her hand and then pressed it to his chest with a naughty smile. "Too bad about this, though."
"Okay, she's getting a little handsy now," Lorelai said as she gave Luke's hand a tug. "Take care," she said as she stepped back.
"Bye," Luke said with a smug smile as he followed her.
As they turned to the steps, they heard Chester complain, "I shaved today."
"I know you did, you handsome devil," Betty said as she turned toward him instinctively.
****
"Hey," Lorelai said as Rory answered the phone.
"Oh, hi Mom. How's everything going?"
"Everything is going great. Luke got felt up by an old woman today, so he's happy," Lorelai answered as she watched Luke spoon pasta salad onto her plate. "How are things there?"
"Oh, you know, busy," Rory said distractedly.
"Is this bad time?"
"Oh, uh, well, kinda. I have a deadline," Rory said with a grimace.
"Okay, well, we just wanted to check in. You're still married to that one guy?"
"The first one, yes," Rory answered with a nod.
"And he's treating you right? I don't have to send my henchmen to Philly?"
"He's okay, but we wouldn't mind seeing you and your henchmen," Rory answered.
"We'll get down there as soon as we can. What about you? What are the odds you'll be making an appearance in the Hollow?"
"Well, considering that I'm low man on the totem pole and that I just took a week off to get married and have a honeymoon, I'd say pretty slim at the moment."
"I was afraid of that. Well, I will talk to Henchman Number One and we will make arrangements to visit you for some motherly love in the city of brotherly love."
"Sounds good. Don't forget to bring me presents," Rory said with a nod.
"Oh, you want presents too? I thought all that ended when you get married, go off on a honeymoon and forget to bring the mommy so much as a lousy t-shirt," Lorelai said breezily.
"Nope. I still get presents. You don't want to have to deal with sibling rivalry from the oldest one, do you?"
"I get enough from the short ones."
"Well, if you know what's good for ya…"
"I need to check with Jess to see how many sand dollars you've earned."
"Oh, all of them. I've been very good."
"And suddenly this is straying into 'Mommydoesntwanttoknow' territory," Lorelai said as she plucked a noodle from her plate and popped it into her mouth. "I'll call when we get home," she promised.
"Tell Luke 'hi' for me."
"You tell Jess 'hi' for us," Lorelai countered. "I miss you, kid."
"I miss you too, Mom," Rory said quietly.
Lorelai listened for the soft click on the other end of the line before turning the phone off. "I hate deadlines," she pouted.
Luke nodded and said, "Well, she's always gonna have one."
"Thanks," she grumbled.
Luke shrugged helplessly. "I'm just saying that reporters always have deadlines." When she opened her mouth to retort, he held up one hand and said, "I didn't give it to her."
"You let her marry your nephew and move to another state," Lorelai said petulantly.
"If I remember correctly, I was the one that put up the resistance," Luke said as he handed her a fork.
"Well, resist harder next time," she said as she carried the small plate holding the salad and half of a sandwich to the terrace.
As they settled at the table with their snack, Lorelai smiled and said, "I'll never look at a sandwich the same way again."
"It's turkey, you're safe," Luke replied as he speared a forkful of pasta salad. "We still have hot dogs, you want another fire on the beach?"
"Ooh, yes."
"I want to catch a nap first."
Lorelai's lips curved into a smile. "You're right, we've been clothed most of the day."
Luke chuckled. "I meant a nap, nap."
"And we can't do that naked?"
"Sure, if you want."
"I want," she said with a knowing smile.
Luke shook his head as he picked up his sandwich and pointed one finger at her. "Hold that thought. I have a plan."
"And I love a man with a plan."
****
"Is this the plan?" Lorelai asked hours later as she sat nestled between his legs toasting a marshmallow.
"Part of it," Luke answered as he nuzzled the nape of her neck.
"Good plan," she complimented as she pulled the toasted morsel from the flames and fumbled for the graham cracker and Hershey bar she had carefully laid out. She sandwiched the marshmallow with another square of cracker and chocolate and pressed down until it oozed from the edges. Lorelai took a large bite of the gooey concoction and then held it up for him.
Luke grimaced and took a dutiful bite, licking the sticky sugar from his lips as they chewed in companionable silence. He toyed with the string that tied in the center of her red bikini top and then let his hand drift oh-so-casually across her breast.
Lorelai smiled. "I take it you're done with dessert?"
"I haven't started."
"I meant the s'mores."
"Oh yeah, done with those," he answered as he pressed his open mouth to the curve of her neck.
"Are you going to finally be Burt to my Deborah?"
"Nope," he answered as he nipped his way up the side of her neck. "Sand is bad."
Lorelai took another bite of her s'more and arched her back slightly as he bit her ear lobe. "What are you going to do with me?" she asked in a breathy voice.
"Don't worry, you'll like it," he growled into her ear, smiling as she shivered in the warm breeze. "It'll be good, clean fun."
****
"Oh, you have to get this one," Lorelai said as she held up a t-shirt for Luke to see.
He rolled his eyes as he scanned the shirt which read, 'In Hawaii you get lei'd, in the USVI, you get laid.' He shook his head and asked, "What are we doing in here?" as he looked around the cheesy souvenir shop, and thinking of the hundreds of dollars in more high-end gifts sitting in the car.
"I need sand dollars," Lorelai said with a shrug. "A dozen should cover them." She placed the shirt back on the rack with the other cleverly worded garments and wove her way through the displays. "Plus, I need something really cheesy for Rory."
"You are a vengeful woman," he muttered as he followed her to the counter.
Lorelai pointed to a bin holding snowy white sand dollars. "Pick out some good ones," she said as she turned to inspect a turning rack of puka shell necklaces. She lifted one made of pink shells with a large purple starfish pendant in the middle. "Perfection," she said with a satisfied smile.
"She's not twelve," Luke said as he sorted through the sand dollars.
"Well, she demanded a present. I never said it would be a nice one."
Luke rolled his eyes, knowing that there was a pretty pair of handmade sterling silver earrings in the bags in the car. "Those good?" he asked as he gestured to the small pile of sand dollars on the counter.
"You do great work," Lorelai said as she added the necklace to the pile and smiled at the man behind the counter.
As their purchase was rung up, Luke asked, "Do you want to go out to dinner tonight?" Lorelai pursed her lips as she considered his question. "There was dancing," he added when she didn't answer right away.
"We could if you want to," she began slowly.
"I just thought you would want to."
Lorelai shook her head and said, "I think we should stay in. We have an early flight tomorrow."
Luke smiled as he took the bag holding the last of their purchases for the day. He pressed his hand into the small of her back as they walked through the store, and then leaned in close before opening the door for her. "I can't wait to go home either," he admitted in a low voice.
Lorelai's eyes widened fractionally and then she smiled sheepishly. "It's not that I haven't had a great time," she assured him.
"I know," he said as he ushered her out of the shop.
****
It could have been any other night. His hand found it's way under the hem of her shirt, tracing gentle circles on her stomach as she stared at the television screen. He stretched behind her, holding her close as he propped his head up on his elbow, one leg draped over both of hers. As usual, he couldn't have told anyone what the movie was about. As usual, she could recite half of it verbatim.
Her hair smelled like melon. His bare foot was soft on top and rough on the bottom as it caressed hers. His chest was strong and solid behind her, bare and warm from the sun he had soaked up during the week. Her legs were long and smooth under his.
As the credits rolled on the screen, they lay contented on the couch. Lorelai covered his hand with hers, stilling it against her skin. "Should we go to bed?" she asked softly.
"Yeah."
Lorelai shifted onto her back, catching sight of their packed suitcases parked near the door. "We should take these clothes off so we can pack them," she whispered.
"Probably a good idea," he agreed.
"When we get home…" Lorelai began apprehensively.
"It's going to be even better," Luke promised her.