AN: I asked, and you answered. Thank you so much to everyone who reviewed, favorited, followed, and voted for this story. Even if you just gave me a smiley, I appreciate every single one. It lets me know people are reading and enjoying this story. I apologize for the long time in getting this chapter out. I'm a PhD student working on a portfolio in preparation to begin my dissertation. I also teach. What little free time I have I try to write. Over the winter break I'm hoping to get ahead by a couple chapters so, hopefully, there won't be such a delay going forward. I hope you all enjoy this chapter. Please, review, like, favorite, etc.
Chapter 11 – Walk the Plank
Sunday morning, unlike Saturday, sees Finn waking up before Rory. Not because he suddenly became a morning person, but rather because he was responsible for making sure Rory was ready on time for the stunt. He expected to have a hard time waking Rory up, however, when he pulls her into him more securely, she quickly opens her eyes.
"Morning," she whispers groggily, snuggling further into Finn's side.
"We need to get up, Kitten," Finn whispers back, kissing the top of her head.
"Still sleepy," Rory grumbles into Finn's chest. "I thought the LDB didn't do anything before two in the afternoon?"
"Well, usually that's the case," Finn began, "however, our stunt today will take quite a bit of time, so we need to get a move on."
"Fine, if you're going to make me get up," Rory groused one more time before rolling to the other side of the bed and standing.
"How are you not stumbling around after last night?" Finn asks, watching Rory pull a sweatshirt over her head. "I mean, you had way more to drink than you usually do."
"I blame it on genetics," Rory says with a shrug. "My mom is the same way. Once she drank three cups of Miss Patty's Founders Day punch, and barely stumbled on the walk home. It may be tied to our food consumption."
After a moment of contemplation Rory adds, "Though, I do have a slight headache. Do we have time for breakfast and a shower before the stunt?"
"Food, yes," Finn says. "Shower, not necessary. You'll have the opportunity to take a shower after the stunt. Beforehand would be pointless."
"What the hell does that mean?" Rory asks, a bit concerned with what was coming up.
"I promise nothing too out there," Finn evades. "This is one time you'll just have to suck it up and be surprised."
"Fine, but there better be coffee and pancakes." Rory follows Finn out of the room, marveling at his lack of modesty. At least he was wearing sweats.
"Good-day," Finn calls as he and Rory move into the dining area where the table is laden down with food. He laughs as he watches Rory move to the coffee pot first.
"Oh, this is good," she says with a deep moan. Finn quickly turns his attention to the food on the table, willing himself not to react to the sound. He ignores the knowing looks he receives from those around the table.
"Bite me," he whispers as he settles in at the end of the table. Rory sits to his right, piling her plate with eggs, bacon, sausage, and of course a couple danish.
"No tacos?" She asks as she begins eating.
"Is that your particular hang over food?" Logan asks. He's sitting on Finn's left, watching with fascination as Rory eats. It still amazes him that she's not the typical girl who only nibbles on things, never eating a full meal.
"Yeah, my mom swears by it," she acknowledges. "Not that I've needed hangover food often," Rory says as she adds another scoop of eggs and more bacon to her plate.
"Well, next time there will tacos," Finn says. The group tried to have everyone's favorites in order to avoid cranky members.
"You seem fairly perky for someone who drank like a fish last night," Stephanie grumbles from her end of the table. Steph was nursing a major hangover.
"Genetics," Rory mumbles. "We can eat our weight in junk food without gaining a pound, and we can drink like fishes."
"Lucky you," Colin says, nursing his own hangover.
"Well, eat up ladies and gentlemen, we have one hour to prepare ourselves for the event of the year!" Robert adds in, excited to get to the stunt.
"Still no hints," Rory says. "Thanks," she murmurs to Finn as he refills her coffee mug.
"Not this time, Reporter Girl," Robert says. "Your costume is in your closet. Don't worry about fixing your hair."
"Now I'm scared," Rory says, wondering, not for the first time, what the hell she's gotten herself into.
"Don't worry, Ace," Logan tries to reassure her. "It's something fun, maybe a little daring. It'll help you get out of your shell a bit."
"Are you saying I'm a wimp or something, Blondie," Rory shoots back.
"Just a little sheltered," Logan replies. "Everyone done?" He says, turning his attention to his friends. "Good, let's get dressed and get this party started."
"More costumes," Rory whispered to herself.
"Integrity of the event," everyone shouted as she and Finn make their way back to their room.
"Don't worry so much, Kitten," Finn begins. "Your costume this morning isn't complicated. Just make sure to wear your swimsuit underneath."
"Finn, you're scaring me here," Rory says. "I'm beginning to feel as if I'm the sacrificial virgin."
"None of the coordinators of this event know that about you, so there's no worry there." Finn pulls Rory into his chest, giving her a big hug before turning her toward the bathroom. "Now, go put on that costume. We don't want to be late."
Rory reluctantly goes to the closet, removing the dress bag that says 'Sunday Morning' on it. She quickly grabs the one-piece suit she managed to get by Stephanie and co on their shopping trip and moved to the bathroom.
She quickly strips off her pjs before slipping into her swimsuit. Not knowing what was coming up, she wanted to be as covered as possible. She suspected she and the ocean would become one at some point today. After taking a deep breath, Rory unzipped the dress bag, a look of confusion coming over her face at what greeted her.
Rory pulls out the flowing gown, Taking in the burnt orange tunic style dress, she briefly wonders if she'll look like she's wearing a sack. Pulling the dress over her head, Rory quickly pushes her arms into the sleeves, laughing at the fact they swallowed her hands, she watches as the rest of the dress flows over the rest of her body.
Sighing because she did look like the dress swallowed her whole, Rory rummages through the bag to see if there's some sort of sash she could use to at least give herself a waist. Finding a gold ribbon at the bottom of the bag, Rory breathes a sigh of relief as she wraps the ribbon around her waist, tying it into a neat bow in the front.
Putting on the faux leather boots, she gives herself a quick look in the mirror. "Just call me Buttercup," she says to her reflection. With a deep sigh, she moves to the door, reentering the bedroom.
When she spies Finn sitting on the end of the bed putting on similar faux leather boots, Rory lets out a loud laugh. "Well, hello there, Dread Pirate Roberts."
"At your service, M'lady," Finn replies as he moves towards Rory, taking her hand and twirling her to get the full effect of her dress. "You do make a beatific Buttercup."
"Why thank you, kind sir!" Rory says. "Shall we go join the rest of our merry band of misfits?"
"As you wish," Finn replies, taking Rory's hand in his and kissing it with a little bow.
Out in the main area Colin, Stephanie, Robert, and Logan were all dressed and waiting for Finn and Rory. Stephanie was in a similar dress as Rory, with the exception that hers was red.
"Wow, nothing by half measures for this crew, huh?" Rory asks, already knowing the answer.
"Go big, or go home," Robert replies.
"That's what she said," Colin mutters.
"Really, we're going there so early in the day?" Stephanie says with a grumble. They may be old enough to vote, drink themselves silly and many other things, but the guys were still little boys at heart.
"Time's wasting," Logan says as he ushers everyone to the door. "Steph, you know where to go right?"
"Yes, I know where I'm headed. I'll see you all after," she says as she moves away from the group once they made it to the main deck.
"Why is she going somewhere else?" Rory asks, nervous that she wouldn't have any female support for whatever the guys were subjecting her to.
Colin looks at Rory before answering, "She's not allowed to participate in the stunts. At least not for a few more months."
"O-kay," Rory responds hesitantly. "You know this isn't helping me feel comfortable about this."
"Don't worry, RG, we won't let you drown," Robert replies as they get to where a large group is gathered.
"Damn it, Robert," Logan says. "Let's get her to the front of the line since the cat is partially out of the bag."
The gathered group parted down the middle, allowing Logan, Robert, Finn, and Rory to move to the front. Seeing what looked like a diving board hanging over the side of the ship, Rory begins backing up.
"Oh, hell, no," she says as she realizes what the stunt really is. "There's no way in hell that you're getting me up there and off the side of this boat!"
"Ship," many voices respond yelling.
"Boat, yacht, ship, I don't give a damn what this floating contraption is, I'm not walking some damn plank like a pirate who's just mutinied."
"Oh, come on, Ace," Logan begins, "live a little. Do something fun, something dangerous. Get out of that shell of yours."
Before Rory could respond to Logan's taunts, Finn pulls her to the side and lifts her chin so she's looking directly at him. "Come on, Kitten. If you want, I'll jump with you. I was planning to anyway, but I'll hold your hand the entire way down."
Rory took a moment to look over the side of the ship. "That's high," she finally whispers.
"I've been higher," Finn casually replies.
"From the water, Finn," Rory grumbles.
"Yeah, that too," he says with a shrug. "Look," he adds pointing toward the side of the ship, "We may be crazy, but we're not suicidal. We have professional divers in the water to help out in case something happens. Come on. Jump with me?"
Something in Finn's eyes got to Rory and she feels herself nodding. "You jump, I jump, Jack!"
"Now, Kitten, I thought we decided I was the Dread Pirate Roberts? If you like, I'll even be the Dread Pirate Wesley to your Princess Buttercup, but I draw the line at being compared to Johnny Depp." Finn strikes an outrageous pose, "He wishes he were this fabulous."
"You are outrageous," Rory says clasping Finn's hand and moving to the front of the line that was forming at the side of the ship. "Let's do this," Rory says as she and Finn step onto the board. "In Omnia Paratus!" She yells as she and Finn quickly walk to the end bouncing once before free-falling to the ocean below.
Rory feels the cold water as she hits the surface. She's momentarily paralyzed, but she feels Finn tugging on her hand and quickly kicks her feet to push herself to air. When they break the surface, she notices the umbrellas they'd been given by Logan right before jumping floating nearby.
Once she's able to breath properly she looks at Finn, "Oh my god, Finn! That was a once in a lifetime experience."
"Only if you want it to be, Kitten," Finn replies before putting his hands-on Rory's cheeks, pulling her in for a quick kiss. Or what was supposed to be a celebratory peck. When Rory put her arms around Finn's neck and started kissing him back, they quickly lost control and all thoughts of the others watching or the fact they were treading water in the ocean were forgotten.
It was Logan and Colin's yell "to get a room," that brought the two out of their passionate kiss. Both fighting to catch their breaths, Rory and Finn finally begin the short swim to one of several boats anchored nearby.
"Well, look at you two," Stephanie says, smiling at the duo once they were safely in the boat. "That was some celebration out there."
"Mmm," Finn mumbled, hoping the kiss meant what he thought it did. "Give me one of those blankets, yeah?" Finn asks, taking the offered blanket and wrapping it around Rory's shoulders. "You okay, Kitten?" He asks worriedly. He hopes she wasn't upset about the kiss. Finn would risk drowning any day if he was able to kiss Rory like that on a regular basis.
"Hmmm?" Rory says distractedly. She has her hand on her mouth, puzzling out what had just happened.
"Oh, look," Stephanie interrupts. "The boys are about to go," she points toward the deck of the ship where Logan, Colin, and Robert were beginning to walk the plank.
Finn and Rory had both been so wrapped up in their own thoughts neither realized that several other LDB members had jumped. They turn their attention to the board and watch as Robert jumps to the left of the board, Colin jumps to the right, leaving Logan to jump straight out. They laugh and smile at each other as the cheer, "In Omnia Paratus" rings out.
The boys quickly make their way to the boat, getting help from the boat driver and his co-worker. Once they were on the boat they quickly move to their friends, Rosemary, Juliet, and Seth having already jumped and boarded the boat.
"That was some congratulations there, Finn," Logan says smirking at the still stunned face of one of his best friends.
"Huh? Yeah, I guess," Finn finally responds.
"Great comeback," Logan continues teasing his friend.
"Reporter Girl, you okay over there?" Colin asks. He sits between Stephanie and Rory, moving his hand up and down in front of Rory's face.
"Huh?" Rory asks, coming out of the trance she'd been in since Finn kissed her.
"Wow, I heard Finn's got skills, but I didn't think he could render someone speechless with just a kiss," Juliet says. The entire group are trying really hard not to laugh outright at their friends.
"Huh?" Rory says again, not fully comprehending what those around her were saying.
The group gets interrupted by the captain. "Sir," he begins addressing Logan, "we're ready to head to shore. Everyone is on one of the three boats. Including the divers."
"Sounds good," Logan says, and he and Robert take a seat opposite Finn, Rory, Steph, and Colin. "You're letting us off at the dock for the hotel correct?"
"Yes, sir."
Rory hears the chatter of her friends surrounding her, but she's not able to get out of her head thinking about that kiss. And the fact she kissed him back and deepened it. What the hell did I do that for? She questions herself. She looks toward Finn to find him just as disengaged with his surroundings. I hope I didn't mess up our friendship, Rory continues to think to herself.
In a matter of minutes, the boat pulls up to a large dock beside a small, boutique like, hotel. "Wow, this place is magnificent," Rory says looking at the Spanish styled hotel.
"Thanks, Kitten," Finn says, helping her out of the boat. "It's one of ours."
"Your family owns this?" Rory asks in shock.
"Yeppers," Finn replies. "I think we bought this particular hotel about five years ago and had it completely remodeled on the inside."
"Nice," Rory says as she follows everyone into the lobby of the hotel. "Oh, I bet the cleaning staff will be upset that we're getting water all over their floors," Rory adds as she hears the squeaking of everyone's shoes.
"They're getting a huge bonus for dealing with the LDB this weekend," Finn responds as he moves to the front desk.
"Good day, Mr. Morgan," the concierge says with a slight bow. Rory, standing behind Finn, laughs a bit, but tries to cover it with a cough.
"Hello, George," Finn responds to the man. "Can I get the keys for the family suite please?"
"Of course, sir," George responds. "The luggage from the ship has already been placed in the rightful rooms."
"Excellent," Finn replies, remembering that while the jump was taking place, all the luggage for everyone had been offloaded and taken to the hotel. "Are there any issues with the rooms I should be aware of?"
"No, sir," George begins. "Everything has been set up and, as you can see," he gestures to his right, "the staff is already checking in everyone else. You have the run of the hotel this weekend."
"Good job," Finn replies with a smile as he takes the envelope George hands him.
"Please, don't hesitate to let me know if you need anything else," George says with another slight bow as Finn and his friends move off to the side.
Finn begins distributing the keys to everyone. "Okay, we're in the family suite for tonight, so here's the key to the elevator to get you onto the floor. Our luggage is already up there." Once all the keys are handed out, Finn leads the group to the two elevators that would take them to the room.
"Wow, this is—" Rory begins as she steps into the main area. "I think this front room is bigger than my mom's whole house."
"It's only—thirteen hundred square feet I think," Finn responds as he watches his friends pick up their luggage that was left in the front room and begin divvying up the bedrooms.
"Okay, so maybe only the first floor of my mom's house, but still..." Rory trails off, twirling around trying to take everything in.
"Kitten," Finn begins as he stops her movements, looking deeply into her eyes. "Not to scare you or make you run, but—I think we should talk about what happened in the water."
Rory tries to look away, but Finn holds her chin gently, forcing her to continue looking at him. With a sigh she finally says, "Yeah, I guess we should. But, can I take a shower first? I'm a little chilly."
"Sure thing," he says, moving off to grab her luggage before leading her to the bedroom on the far right. "I'll show you your room."
"Are we not sharing this time?" Rory asks hesitantly when she notices his luggage still in the living room.
"We don't have to, but—" Finn trails off seeing the uncertainty in Rory's gaze.
"I mean, we've done so, so far, why brake tradition now?" She says with a shy smile.
"As you wish, Kitten," Finn smiles as he places her luggage on and next to the bench at the end of the bed. "How about you take a shower in here, I'll use the spare room, then maybe we can take a walk on the beach. Maybe get some food?"
"That sounds fabulous," Rory says with a grin. "As long as coffee is involved," she adds with an impish grin.
"Always," Finn replies, leaving her to shower and dress.
Fifteen minutes later the duo meets in the main room. "Ready, Kitten?" Finn asks before taking her hand and leading her out of the room and into the elevator. He pushes the button for the main floor then turns to Rory.
"So," Rory begins, but then she closes her mouth and turns toward the doors of the elevator.
"Yeah, so," Finn repeats, running his hand through his hair.
"That was some stunt," Rory finally says as they get to the first floor. She follows Finn as he moves to the rear of the hotel, going through the French doors that lead to the beach.
"One of our best," Finn agrees. "And the biggest, I think. We've never had so many people jump at one of these events. Usually we're too drunk by the time the stunt comes around."
"That I can believe," Rory responds with a laugh.
The pair walk along in silence for several minutes, just taking in the surroundings. Finally, they come to a small cafe right on the beach.
"Does this look okay?" Finn asks even as he leads Rory to an outdoor table.
"This looks lovely," Rory replies. She takes a moment to take in her surroundings before adding, "This is fabulous. You can sit here and enjoy a nice coffee and people watch or watch the waves come in. I could get used to this."
"Well, just let me know when you want to come back and I'll make it happen," Finn says, reaching across the table to take Rory's hand. He rubs his thumb over the back in small circles.
Rory opens her mouth to speak right as a waitress comes up to take their order. "Could I get a large, iced caramel latte and a blueberry scone? Please?"
Finn quickly glances at the waitress, "Large black, and a cranberry orange scone."
After the waitress leaves, Rory looks around, unsure what to say. The silence begins to feel awkward, so she says, "Finn—"
"Rory—" Finn begins at the same time. "You first," he adds, pointing toward her.
"I'm sorry," Rory manages to say, looking anywhere but at her friend.
"For what?" Finn asks dumbfounded.
"I shouldn't have kissed you like that," Rory replies after a moment. "I know there was some attraction when we first met, but you've been very clear that—"
"Kitten, stop," Finn says, trying to stop Rory before she starts to ramble. "If I remember correctly, I kissed you first."
"Well, yeah, but that was just a quick peck. I'm the one who took it to X rated level." Rory puts her head in her hands. "And I embarrassed you in the process. All your, our, friends were cat-calling and everything."
"Kitten. Rory, look at me please," Finn nearly begs. "I've said and heard much worse from that lot. And the only thing about that kiss that I want to say is I'm sad it didn't happen much sooner." Finn smiles at Rory before continuing, "You're a damn good kisser, Rory Gilmore."
Rory looks down blushing ever so slightly. When the waitress drops off their order she busies herself with buttering her scone and taking a big bite. She takes a drink of her coffee to help wash down the slightly dry scone before she's able to look back up at Finn. "So, what now?"
"Well, now we should talk about the next steps," Finn says before reaching across the table and linking his fingers with hers.
"I'm at a loss here, Finn. You'll have to help me out," Rory says after a moment. "Last I knew, you didn't do relationships, and I'm still definitely a commitment girl."
"Let me start by telling you a story," Finn says after a moment. He removes his hand from hers and runs his fingers through his hair. "There once was this hot, sexy bloke who found himself in Florida."
"Well, hot and sexy definitely is one description," Rory says with a laugh.
"Okay, so, anyway, this bloke met this beautiful Sheila who took his breath away." Finn sips his coffee before continuing, "Anyway, this bloke and Sheila became friends, but the bloke knew that he felt something different for this beauty. Something he wasn't familiar with." Finn pauses for a moment to take another sip of his coffee. Instead of eating the scone, he picks off pieces before crumbling it on the plate.
"Rory, when we talked in May and I flew to Hartford to help you with what was going on I realized something." Finn takes a moment to look out at the ocean. "I was stunned when I up and left Vegas. And the guys were more than floored. But, helping you made me realize that I had feelings for you that went deeper than anything I've ever felt."
"Why didn't you say anything?" Rory asks. Having already eaten her scone, she plays with her napkin, shredding it with nervous energy.
"Why don't we grab refills, maybe a couple of bottles of water, and go sit on the beach?" Finn asks as he notices the cafe beginning to fill up.
"Sure," Rory says, wadding up the napkin she's been shredding.