Odette left Jess' apartment that morning to go to her pilates class feeling like she'd done something wrong. Despite his words, which were trying to make it seem like nothing was seriously wrong, she could sense that he wasn't quite there. He'd seemed colder, more distant.
She tried to ignore it and went along with her day. She didn't know everything about him. Maybe it was just work or something else in his mind? She hoped it was nothing. When she hadn't heard from him by the evening, she considered texting him something playful, like they often did. But she also knew he had a deadline the next day, so he was probably still working and she'd just distract him. So she held off, giving him some space, and went to bed with an uneasy feeling in her stomach.
By the following afternoon, which was Friday, Odette still hadn't heard back from him. And now she was worried.
She tried to recall Jess' schedule for the day, having some memory that he had an important meeting on Friday, but she wasn't sure what time he finished, hence she resorted in sending a simple text:
"Are you up for dinner tonight? Call me when you get a chance."
It was two very long hours until she received a reply in return.
"Sorry, I have a ton of work to get through tonight. I'll see you tomorrow at the party," he replied.
"Come on!" she muttered to herself pleadingly, standing in the middle of her living room, feeling frustrated - at him, and at herself.
"Who needs to work on a Friday evening?" she huffed. It hadn't been a week since Rory and Logan moved out and already she was talking to herself. Clearly Jess' words had been a lie, or at least a fib, and she was ready to eat her hat… or something, if it wasn't. She poured herself a scotch and took a large sip, letting the liquid burn on her tongue, trying to wrap her brain around it.
She couldn't figure out why men just didn't speak their mind, express their wishes explicitly. She wasn't set on a single course of direction but she needed a discussion, preferably with valid and logical arguments to support it, to develop a valid stand. Right now she was somewhere in between, just enjoying herself and had not expected him getting offended by something like that. Most men she'd met in her lifetime liked things casual.
So what if she hadn't spilled the news to Rory about who'd been making her smile so much her cheeks hurt? So what if she'd had him meet her out on the street instead of inviting him in when Rory was at home? So what if she had planned on attending the party without announcing them as 'something', putting a label on them, at Rory's and Logan's party and stealing their limelight?
"Merde!" she uttered out loud to her empty house. She could see it now. He had introduced her to his friends, while not specifically labelling them, which she had been grateful for at the time, but still, not hiding her either. And now here she was just keeping him all to herself. She'd made the same mistake before in one of her former relationships, though for family reasons. Maybe she just didn't know how to do it any other way? God, how did she not see it before?
She took a deep breath, knowing that she needed to do damage control.
"Jess, I'm sorry. Can we talk?" Odette typed.
"Please," she added a minute later.
He replied five minutes later. "We'll talk tomorrow. After the party, okay?"
"Ugh," she exhaled, taking another sip.
This was torture. She briefly thought about taking a car over to his apartment and giving him a piece of her mind - argue that he should've expressed himself better. If he wanted something, he should've made himself clear. As a second through she reconsidered that going in pleadingly would've been a better option. Lastly, thankfully, she reassessed the entire situation. She didn't want to be the crazy woman who shows up when he explicitly said they'd talk tomorrow. It wasn't like he owed her anything, especially without having defined their relationship.
Maybe he really did have to work?
Maybe he had other plans?
"Fuck!" she huffed, at the thought that without defining them he really could be out there enjoying his Friday with someone else.
Odette paced around the lobby of Rory's and Logan's apartment building, wearing a dark blue vintage mini dress with lace godet panels along with a pair of 4.5 inch Casadei sandals, staring at her phone and occasionally casting a friendly smile towards the concierge who was noting her nervousness. She'd already seen a few people go up to the penthouse, but stayed behind, pretending to make a call. She was already running a few minutes late, but since she hadn't seen Jess arrive yet, she was hoping that perhaps Jess was too.
"Celeste, hi! How have you been?" Colin greeted her, as he stepped through the front door with Robert. She'd met Robert at the wedding, but hadn't really talked to him much before.
She greeted Colin and Robert friendly, a half-hug and cheek-kisses. "I've been great," she replied, continuing the friendly small-talk as on auto-pilot.
Robert pushed the elevator button and the three waited, as he continued talking to Colin about something to do with his latest business venture, they'd been discussing before.
It was just seconds before the elevator doors opened, she notes Jess walking in. She felt a lump in her throat and she didn't know what to do. She wanted to greet him, to fall back into their usual dynamic, but in the midst of stepping into the elevator and the company, she felt too hesitant to do that - managing only a quiet "hi" to fall from her lips. He didn't say anything, just replied with a quick nod, and avoided eye contact.
Odette's stomach turned, as they stood in the back of the elevator. The entire ride up Odette felt like she was having a one-sided wordless conversation with Jess, while he kept staring at the dial. She felt panic. She almost felt like begging.
"Hi," the four greeted almost in concert, as they stepped into the already chatty room catching Logan near the entrance. The terrace doors were opened wide to let in the exceptionally warm 70 degree sunny weather for end of April hinting at the approaching summer.
The guys fell into their familiar banter instantly, still managing to surprise Rory how little the essence of the four really had changed over the years.
Jess continued towards the kitchen hearing Luke's voice, bickering over the definitions of good quality beer having been served one of the craft beers, an imperial stout, that Finn had brought over earlier.
"They didn't put you behind the stove, did they?" Jess asked Luke instead of a greeting, jokingly.
"Hi," Lorelai greeted him.
"Nah, we're just plating stuff," Luke added, glancing at Lorelai. Rory had told them about the pregnancy last night, and now he couldn't just outright say that he was following Logan's lead on doing all the heavy work for Rory. Not that plating appetizers was it, but the trays they had come in were.
"So you're all moved into the new apartment?" Lorelais asked Jess casually.
"Yeah," he replied, adding, "It's tiny compared to the place in Philly and pretty anonymous, but it'll do for now." He hadn't been too crazy about the move when Logan had first suggested it, but he'd warmed to it much more easily knowing that Odette was also in New York. But now, as things were uncertain, he was beginning to get doubts, perhaps he'd rushed into it.
Lorelai took the smaller tray over to the living room, continuing to talk to Emily and Rory as she got there. Luke offered Jess a beer, which he opened with a twist and took a sip, glazing over across the room towards the terrace where some blonde woman, whom he assumed was Logan's sister by some similarities in their features, was talking to Odette. She looked gorgeous as ever - damn, those heels - and the way she mingled, it just came so naturally to her. In this context he could really see how well she fit into this world, and it made him think maybe that was where the crucial difference between them laid - they were from different worlds and in a way he felt he was always going to be chasing her in a way if this continued.
"Quite a place, eh?" Luke commented, noticing that Jess seemed distracted.
"Yeah," he exhaled and took another sip. Rory had told him that the place was a bit over the top, but he hadn't expected much less from Logan really.
Jess made a gesture that he was going to go mingle, actually noticing Paris, whom he hadn't seen in ages. The woman was whacky, but at least she could carry an interesting conversation that involved something other than the weather to keep his mind occupied.
Odette discussed the interior design of the penthouse with Honor, hearing Rory talk to some older women about her behind her back about who she was. She wasn't really surprised - to someone who didn't know her or the details of the whole arrangement with Logan, might still have felt a sour taste in their mouth's, as if Rory had invited Logan's ex to their housewarming party. But she knew better than to be insulted by that, continuing the conversation she could have in her sleep instead.
Soon everyone had arrived, including Christopher with GiGi and Mitchum. People continued to mingle, eat and drink. Odette kept eyeing at Jess the entire time, and she noticed he didn't ignore her either. She could sense his eyes speaking volumes, saying - What do you want?
It was better than avoidance, surely, but she still felt awful.
It was just when Rory was doing a tour of the house and was now leading people towards the outside, when Odette pulled Jess by his arm into the service corridor just off the foyer.
"What the..?" he began.
"Jess, I'm sorry," Odette began quietly. They stood close to each other, and they could sense the tension in the air, so thick it could be cut with a knife.
"Sorry, is this not what you wanted?" he huffed quietly, cocking his head defensively.
"No, it's not what I wanted," she argued, keeping her voice down.
Jess rolled his eyes. He'd observed her too. She'd become like a whole other person in that room - mingling like he wasn't even a person of interest in that room. Of course he'd seen her glances, but what use were they if she was really just ashamed of whatever they had? Or had had?
"Then prove it," he challenged her.
"Jess, this is not the time. It's their day. Can you just trust me on this," she pleaded, taking his hand and looking him straight in the eye.
Her touch soothed him. He almost hated that she had that power over him. He wanted to be upset, hurt and show it. It was perhaps juvenile, but he didn't care. But there was something in her eyes that spoke louder than words, making him take a deep breath anyways and put his trust in her.
"I'm the idiot here, I get it," she confirmed. "Please don't be mad, I don't want to lose you. I promise I'll make it up to you," she added in a slightly shaky voice, feeling like none of those expressions really were enough.
"Fine, we'll talk later," he exhaled through his nose, flaring his nostrils.
She felt better than before, there being a glimmer of hope, but still, she could sense him putting up a shield.
Another hour into the mingling, champagne drinking and appetizers, Logan let the sound of a spoon clinking against his glass resonate across the room. Odette leaned herself against the wall at the back and Jess joined her, leaving some neutral distance in between. He appreciated the words she'd spoken, and feeling like he might have overreacted, made him want to tone down his response a little. But it was not like he could undo what he'd done already. Odette noted him, hoping this was a good thing.
"Welcome everyone. Thank you all for coming!" Logan began, his hand placed around Rory. "As you all know this year has already been quite a year for us - we got married, we moved to our first home together and for all of this we couldn't be happier. We are extremely grateful to have such great friends and family as you guys, who have supported us throughout this journey. But we have one more announcement," he added.
"My god, she's pregnant isn't she?" Emily presumed, having lost her filter.
"Mom!" Lorelai huffed at her. Jess almost laughed out loud at the Gilmore dynamic, leaving a smug grin on his face. He was happy for them of course and now Rory's plans for tuning down on work hours, were beginning to make more sense to him as well.
"Well, Emily, you guessed it," Logan replied, proudly.
"We're expecting a baby boy in October," Rory added, smilingly.
"That's wonderful news!" Emily and Mitchum said almost simultaneously, glancing at each other because of the strange unison.
"That is really great news, you guys!," Christopher added, followed by a round of congratulations from the others.
It was when Mitchum began to make a speech of some sort, both Jess' and Odette's mind occupied by other things, when Jess reached his fingers towards her hand, stroking it gently, like as a peace offering. It was an almost unnoticeable gesture, a gentle bruch, almost ticklish. But it felt like her heart skipped a beat with the impulse that it created. As the crowd clapped, they did too, parting their delicate dance, inching slightly closer to each other as they leaned back against the wall again. Someone else spoke then and now Odette's fingers reached out towards Jess' hand, tenderly touching the inside of his palm.