Here is my newest Rory/Finn story. If you don't like lots of drama, if you don't like Dean bashing. If you're a Marty fan, don't read it. You'll be very unhappy. However if you like these things, this may be the story for you.All my thanks go to Kelly and before her Kim. Any mistakes made were because I faffed around after it had been beta'd.Enjoy!
First Date Last Date
Rory sat at a sticky table on her own in the middle of what she would normally think was a nice enough bar. They had games tables, twinkly lights, a juke box. It was full and lively. But Rory was miserable. She had made an effort, doing her makeup, styling her hair, picking out a nice outfit from her already packed clothes. For this?
Her date for the evening, Graham, stood at the bar talking with his friends about sports and completely ignoring her. It hurt her ego a bit.
The longer she sat alone, the worse she felt. She had thought she looked good, she hadn't talked about urine mints, she had been polite to his friends. Rory wanted nothing more than to be home back in Stars Hollow with her mom, who tomorrow had a date -or not- with Luke, for his sister's wedding.
Rory could be sitting at home with her mom, dissecting every conversation her mom and Luke had ever had, but no, she was in a bar alone, hungry and annoyed.
"You're not drinking," Graham dragged himself away from his friends to speak with her eventually.
"No," Rory said bluntly, not in the mood for chit chat with this guy.
"You only drink when you're alone?" Graham asked.
"Huh?" Rory said. She didn't really drink, there was the occasional one and Spring Break but that was it.
"The lemonade?" Graham said, referring to the Funky Monkey she'd been drinking earlier.
"Oh, that was just a roommate thing," Rory said, it figures the one time she had been drinking she'd get called out on it. "Why don't you get back to your friends?"
"Not if it's going to get interesting over here," Graham asked with a smile.
"Not likely," Rory said bluntly again. No way on earth. Not if he were the last guy on the planet. Right now, in this second, she would pick Kirk before this guy. And now she had to bleach her brain.
"Okay, well we're going to the next bar," Graham said, gesturing to his friends. The guy pulling his car keys out of his pants, the one they'd got a ride with, had, had at least five pints of beer. There was no way she was dying in a car crash with these people.
"It's fine, I'm going to get home." She forced a smile and crossed her arms.
"No, I said I'd make sure you got home alright. I insist, we'll drop you off," Graham said.
"No, I'll get a cab," Rory said sitting back further in her chair.
"I can't let you do that, what kind of man would I be?" Graham said his voice a little louder.
"No. Thank you," Rory said firmly.
"I-" Graham was cut off by a man Rory had never met before in her life.
"Love! You're here! It's so good to see you again!" A man with a heavily accented voice she thought might be Australian, tall and dark haired said loudly coming round the table to her and wrapping her in a hug. "Names Finn love," he whispered in her ear.
"Finn!" Rory said excitedly, wrapping her arms around him and returning the hug. He smelt nice, like aftershave and sawdust, a strange combination that tickled her nose pleasantly.
"You know Rory?" Graham asked unimpressed.
"Oh yeah. Rory and I go way back! You still owe me for last time love, your treat for food, right?" Finn asked, sitting himself down at her table casually, a glass of something clear in his hand.
"I do yes," Rory nodded, "sorry Graham. Guess I'm okay here."
"Alright, bye then," Graham shrugged and walked away.
Rory sighed as she watched him and his group of drunken louts leave the bar and turned to her saviour.
Rory noticed he was very handsome with bright green eyes and long dark, curly hair. He had an easy smirk on his chiselled face.
"Thank you for that," Rory smiled, willing away her blush unsuccessfully.
"No worries love, you didn't look like you were having fun and he looked like a tosser with a problem accepting the word no." Finn shrugged, still smirking.
"Yeah, not the first date I was expecting," Rory grimaced.
"That was a first date? Ouch." Finn gave a fake wince. "I mean, I've had some bad first dates but... yeah, ouch."
"Gee, thanks," Rory said with her own smirk.
"Finn!" Someone yelled across the bar making Finn look up, he waved his hand at a guy.
"We're heading out for some food. Do you want to come?" Finn asked. "There's a few of us and I am the designated driver, I could use the company of someone not drunk to keep me sane."
Rory thought about it. She didn't do this. Meet a random guy at a bar and go somewhere with him. This was not who she was. But she was hungry. Really hungry, and he was obviously a good guy. And good looking.
"Erm... sure, okay," Rory agreed. "I'm going to need to find an ATM though, I don't really know the area, especially as its apparently my turn to buy the food." Rory added with a giggle.
"Don't worry about it, seeing as I never actually brought you food in the first place it's my shout," Finn grinned.
"Your shout? What are you shouting at?" Rory asked confused, this was taking a turn for the strange.
"Nah, it means I'll buy, I'll get it," Finn laughed, a rich deep laugh. "Come meet my mates hey Rory?" He standing from the table and holding out a hand to her.
Rory took his hand smiling as he helped her up, it was such a gentlemanly thing to do. As Rory followed Finn, she wished she could call her mom. Her mom would have advice on what to do in this completely alien situation.
"Looks like Finn's already found his latest conquest, fast work even for you man." A brunette man, about Rory's height, decked out in a sweater vest said as they approached a table with a few guys and a couple of girls.
Rory's heart sank a little as she felt her cheeks heat up. She wasn't doing this. She wasn't someone's notch on a bedpost, she didn't just hook up with someone she had just met. She thought Finn had been a good guy. Obviously, she was a bit off the mark. Her instincts today were way off base. She blamed lack of caffeine.
"Shut up Colin," Finn said as a girl smacked Colin round the back of the head. "This is Rory, she just had the worst first date ever and I rescued her, as any gentleman would do."
"Rescued?" The girl who smacked Colin asked.
"Yes, the bloke she was with wasn't taking no for an answer," Finn explained, Rory noticed he was more animated and flamboyant around his friends.
"What!?" Colin asked looking more serious, his eyes darting round the bar.
"Nothing like that Colin, don't worry mate. But here I am, Rory's Knight in shining armour, hoping that despite my uncouth brethren that she shall join us for food," Finn declared, making Rory smile.
"Hi," the girl who smacked Colin said to Rory. She had long blonde, curly hair and a happy smile on her face. "I'm Stephanie, this imbecile is Colin."
"Hi," Rory smiled awkwardly.
"That's Logan, Robert, Rosemary, Juliet and Seth," Finn introduced her to the rest of his group.
"So Mings Garden?" Logan asked the group. She thought that one was Logan anyway. She felt really out of place.
"Chinese alright Rory?" Finn asked next to her.
"Yeah. Chinese is a major food group," Rory smiled.
"Alrighty then, let's go people, time is a ticking," Finn said leading the way from the bar to the parking lot next door.
Finn's ride turned out to be a bright yellow Hummer. It was the biggest car Rory had ever seen, and the flashiest. Rory felt even further out of her comfort zone and was wondering if maybe she should fake a sickness or something when Finn opened the passenger side door for her with a bow and a smirk.
"My lady," he said.
"Why thank you my knight in tarnished armour," Rory chuckled.
"Shouldn't that be shining armour?" Stephanie asked climbing in behind Rory.
"Ah, a Knight in shining armour did nothing for nobody. He never fought. A Knight in dented, scraped armour, that's what you want," Finn said with a laugh climbing into the driver's side.
Rory smiled at Finn. He kept up. She liked that.
When everyone was in Finn turned on the car and Rory's eardrums almost popped. The music was a tad on the loud side.
Finn turned it down happily so that conversation could be had over it.
"Skindred?" Rory asked impressed but surprised with his choice of music.
"You know Skindred?" Finn asked, apparently equally surprised, his eyebrows lifting and that smirk reappearing.
"I thought you'd be more... hipster, hip hop," Rory said with her own smirk, her head nodding along to the music.
"And I thought you'd be more princess pop," Finn retorted.
"Ha, my mum would have disowned me," Rory scoffed.
"Alright then... Blink 182, yay or nay?" Finn asked her his eyes on the road.
"Alright, some songs are pretty good," Rory shrugged. Trying to think of a band that wasn't mainstream but still widely known that she enjoyed. "Reel Big Fish?"
"Impressive, yeah, I like them. I particularly enjoy Beer," Finn smirked glancing at her.
"Shocking," Rory laughed.
"Rancid?" Finn asked.
"Of course," Rory replied. "Smiths?"
"Too depressing," Finn replied. "Ramones?"
"Yes. Okay here's a really important one," Rory asked her heart fluttering a little at the easy banter, knowing a lot rested on this particular question. "Offspring or Metallica?"
"How is that even a question? I'm a little insulted love. Metallica all the way," Finn responded, correctly in her mind.
"Are you two going to geek out the whole way there?" Rosemary asked from the back row of seats.
"Leave them alone. It's cute," Stephanie giggled and Rory could feel her face flushing again.
"They know nothing," Colin declared.
"Leave off it Colin," Finn rolled his eyes. "Colin is the biggest audiophile you'll ever meet."
"I highly doubt it," Rory chuckled thinking of Lane back in Stars Hollow.
"Seriously, you don't want to test him," Finn said.
"Oh no, not me. My best friend Lane, she collects everything. She has Korean bootlegs of everything," Rory said with a small smile.
"So Rory, you go to Yale?" Logan asked.
"Yes," Rory answered.
"You done with finals?" Robert asked.
"Erm yeah, I had my last one this morning," Rory said.
"Okay, let me guess... Pre-Law?" Rosemary asked.
"No," Rory smiled.
"Pre-med?"
"Nope," Rory said.
"Drama?" Rosemary said.
"Don't be ridiculous Rose," Colin frowned.
"English," Rory supplied.
"And before we carry on the inquisition, we are here," Finn said stopping the car outside a nice-looking restaurant that Rory hadn't visited before. "Leave the thumbscrews people, but you can bring the chains. Kinky's fun."
Rory climbed out of the car, the drop to the floor a long way down so she ended up hopping ungracefully.
The meal was fun, the group had a good rhythm, lots of banter and laughter. Rory enjoyed it a lot. Much better than her disastrous date.
"How can you eat that much?" Juliet asked with wide eyes half-way through the meal.
Rory looked up to see that the girl was talking to her.
"Oh, erm, I like food," Rory felt herself blush again. They probably all thought she was a pig. But what was the point of coming to a nice place like this and not eating? The food was delicious.
"Yeah, but how can you eat like that, and look like that?" Juliet asked.
"Jealousy is a very ugly thing, Dorothy," Finn said with a smirk, Rory almost choked on her drink. "There's nothing wrong with a healthy appetite."
When the meal was over everyone was talking about where to move onto next.
"We should go to a club," Rosemary said.
"We should go to my place and play drinking games," Robert said.
"We should play drinking games and then go to a club," Logan said.
"Fantastic idea, as long as we get a cab to the club. I'm not sitting around watching you lot play drinking games while I sit sober," Finn said, his hand resting on the back of Rory's chair. "What about you love, up for some games?"
Rory looked around the group. She was driving in the morning but she didn't actually have anytime to be home as her mom would be out. Should she?
"Yeah, why not?" Rory smiled hesitantly.
Robert's place happened to be a dorm room not too far from Rory's. The other guys and girls had apparently just taken the year out to sail around the world. Which had come to a halt when the yacht had crashed two weeks ago. Rory didn't know what to think of that. The others told her about the crash and sinking of the yacht, Finn however was silent on the subject which was a shock as he was the most verbose out of the group.
"Never have I ever," Juliet declared as Robert poured shots and set them out on a coffee table. Rory sat on the floor next to Finn.
"Have you played before Rory?" Rosemary asked.
"No, but I know the rules," Rory said, she was maybe slightly repressed but she didn't live under a rock.
"Alright, ladies first," Logan said, with a grin while looking at Stephanie.
"Never have I ever... got a tattoo," the happy blonde said. Logan, Juliet and Rosemary took a drink.
Rosemary went next. "Never have I ever stood someone up on a date."
Everyone but Rory drank. She had a feeling she wouldn't be doing a great deal of drinking.
"Never have I ever ghosted someone's texts," Juliet said.
Rory took her first shot. It was awful but she felt better now.
"Never have I ever... had sex outside," Logan asked, again everyone but Rory drank.
"Never have I ever given a fake name," Colin said. Rory grabbed another shot, she thought of her mom's Squeegee Beckenhime with a smile.
"Never have I ever had a one-night stand," Finn said, again everyone but Rory drank. "You're starting to look like a girl scout here love," he chuckled.
"Never have I ever stolen anything," Rory said grabbing her shot and smiling at Finn.
"Alright, maybe a girl guide," he smirked.
Rory spent most of the game not drinking as they kept bringing up sex and she was still a virgin. Though she'd had enough shots to worry about a hangover the next day.
Finn had been watching her intently through the game and although he had drank more than his fair share he didn't seem to be as drunk as the others.
"Never have I ever had sex," he said watching her as he took his shot.
Rory blushed brightly as she didn't take the drink.
"What!?" Stephanie and Juliet gasped together.
"We have got ourselves a Mary, boys!" Colin said loudly and with a big smile.
"Oh God, not that again," Rory groaned. "You don't know someone called Tristan by any chance?"
"Oh my god, you're Tristan's Mary!" Colin said excitedly.
"I'm not Bible Boy's anything," Rory said crossing her arms.
"Okay, alright. Maybe we should go to the club?" Logan said with a smirk.
"I think, I need to go home. I've got to drive back in the morning," Rory said. She was thoroughly embarrassed now.
"We'll drop you off on the way Mary," Colin said.
"Please, please drop the Mary," Rory groaned again. "I can walk from here, it's like three buildings, that way, or maybe that way."
"Yeah, I'm walking you love. I'll meet you guys at the club," Finn said getting to his feet and holding out a hand to her. She took it enjoying the slight electricity that travelled up her arm at the contact.
"It was nice meeting you all. See you around next year," Rory said to the others, trying not to slur her words, she wasn't Spring Break drunk but she was a little more drunk than her grandparents would approve of.
It was a little chilly in the night air as Rory stepped out, her head spinning a little more. Still not really drunk though.
"Which way then Rory?" Finn asked.
"Erm..." Rory tried to get her bearings, turning in a circle till she recognised a place where normally a coffee cart stood. "That way."
"So, you know Tristan then?" Finn asked as they started walking.
"Oh yeah. Unfortunately, he tortured me for like a year in high school. How do you know him?" Rory asked, interested. As far as she knew Tristan was at Princeton and she only knew that because Paris had told her so.
"It was his yacht we were on. He's Colin's cousin," Finn said. "Of course, if I knew he was into torture I might have taken a pass on the trip."
Rory chuckled coming to a stop at her building and opening the door.
"This is me," Rory said pointing at her door. "Thanks for rescuing me tonight, I had a really good time in the end."
"Yeah, it was fun. Maybe we can-" Finn started saying, his green eyes locked on her blue when the front door of her building opened heavily.
"Dean?" Rory asked confused.
"Rory, hey," Dean said eyeing Finn.
"Dean, why are you here?" Rory asked stepping a little closer to Finn without realising it.
"Oh, uh, I was talking to your mom and she mentioned you were coming home and uh," Dean started rambling.
"Rory!" Rory's head whipped around to see Jess coming through the doors now.
"Oh my god. What is going on? Is Joseph Campanella hiding round here somewhere?" Rory said, this was crazy.
"Huh?" Finn asked.
"Rory Gilmore this is your life," Rory explained her eyes darting to him quickly.
"Got it. I know Mike Munro. He was the Aussie host," Finn said, seemingly amused by the spectacle which was currently her life.
"Who are you?" Jess frowned at Finn.
"A Knight?" Finn asked Rory with raised eyebrows. Rory realised he was asking whether he should stay or not. It was really sweet.
"It's fine, you can polish the armour," Rory smiled, loving the way his green eyes sparkled.
"Well then, farewell fair lady, perhaps I shall call on you when we return to school," Finn smiled back.
"I'd like that. Thanks," Rory said. She watched him walk away, regretfully, he was potentially a very good friend, if nothing else. She had got the feeling that evening that he didn't get serious with girls, but she would still like to call him friend. He was funny, had good taste in music, could quip with the best of them, was intelligent and a gentleman.
"Rory?" Dean asked.
"What are you doing here?" Rory asked again, confused.
"I came to help, your mom said you were moving home, so I thought I could... help," he said somewhat lamely Rory thought.
"Rory," Jess said interrupting. "I need to talk with you. Now."
"Rory?" Dean asked with his puppy dog eyes.
"Go home Dean," Rory said hating the way he became instantly furious.
/\\\/\\\
Lorelai was waiting that day till she was sure that her parents would be at some function or other before hopping in her car and driving to their house where she had left her garland that she had shown Rory for the wedding tomorrow. Rory who was now on a date with some guy her mom had set her up with. Poor kid. Lorelai absently wondered how it was going as she drove.
Lorelai drove up to the familiar old building that held so many bad memories and parked up, on the street, maybe she could make a clean get-away without being seen by anyone. She took a fortifying deep breath, just in case Raymond and Martha were in.
Lorelai rang the bell and waited, soon enough the door was answered by the same maid they'd had last night. Wonders would never cease, the same maid two nights in a row. Her mom's standards were obviously slipping.
"Hello?" The maid asked nervously. Lorelai felt for the woman.
"Hi, I was here last night. I left my garland, and normally that wouldn't be a problem, but I need it for tomorrow because it took me hours to make and I really don't want to have to make another one. Because that would mean getting up early and going to the craft shop, again. So can I just get it?" Lorelai asked.
"Erm... hang on," the maid said scuttling away from the door which she had left wide open. Lorelai tried to remember her name. Lucy? No that wasn't right. Lauren? Nope. Did it even start with L? It might not have, that might have been the maid from the week before. What did they eat the week before? She thought it was beef.
"Here you are," the maid, whose name still escaped, her thrust the garland into her hands.
"Thank you," Lorelai smiled as the maid shut the door in her face. "Always a pleasure here."
Lorelai placed the garland on her head with a smile and walked from the driveway to her car out on the mean streets of Hartford. Or that's what her parents would have people think sometimes with the way they acted about walking alone outside, not on their driveway where the open gate could protect you.
"Lorelai?" A voice broke through her inner musings which was probably a good thing. She'd had five cups of coffee before setting out. Lorelai turned to see who was calling her, in this neighbourhood it would never be someone she was happy to see.
"Josh?" Lorelai gasped; she'd been wrong.
"Lor!" Josh said a bright smile on his face as he came over to her.
"Oh my god, Joshua Morgan! It's been what... twenty years! And you look fantastic, tell me you've had work done or something!" Lorelai said happily.
Joshua Morgan had been Christopher's best friend in High School, and Lorelai's first ever love. Until his father had moved him and his older brother back to Australia, Josh had been a bad boy one too many times at school. Christopher and Lorelai had comforted each other over the loss of their friend and... well... Rory had happened.
"You haven't changed a bit," Josh said with a smile his accent broader than it had been back in school. "Thank god."
"What are you doing here?" Lorelai asked.
"Charming, twenty years apart and you want to know when you can get rid of me already," Josh smirked.
"Well of course, you'll cramp my style. Really are you back? Here in Hartford?" Lorelai asked.
"Probably. I'm looking at some houses. One next door actually but it seemed too... weird. I'm looking at some more on Monday, one here, one in Litchfield and one in another little town nearby," Josh said.
"So you're back here in Connecticut?" Lorelai said.
"Yup," Josh smiled. "Are you busy? We could go get a drink and catch up?"
"Yeah, sure I'd like that," Lorelai smiled. "Oh, actually, I need to be at home."
"Some other time maybe then?" Josh smiled and Lorelai was struck anew by just how handsome he was. He had matured like fine wine. He was tall, dark, muscled, with a tiny bit of stubble making him look edgy and his smile could sail boats.
"Why don't you come over to my house, I have coffee and beer?" Lorelai found herself saying.
"A proposition already Lorelai? My, how forward of you," Josh grinned.
"Now, now mister. None of that." Lorelai rolled her eyes but she felt her heart jump. Her traitorous heart. Bad, bad heart.
"Alright, lead the way then I guess," Josh grinned at her.
"It's about a thirty-minute drive," Lorelai said, giving him an out just in case he wanted it.
"I'm good, I haven't got anything better to do now," Josh replied heading for a big SUV parked outside the house next to her parents.
"How charming," Lorelai said flicking her hair with a smile before climbing into her car and starting it. The lights from behind her coming on and following her the whole way home.
The entire thirty minutes it took Lorelai to drive home was spent jumping from one emotion to another. Excitement at reconnecting with Josh, panic that her house was a wreck, her heart lurching, the rat feeling that she was being a rat to Luke. Calling herself stupid out loud, Josh was probably married with kids now, this was just two friends saying hey, and the date with Luke tomorrow probably wasn't even a date.
Finally, annoyed with herself she turned on her music, putting in a CD and turning it right up.
She pulled up to her house singing along to Motley Crue while turning it down so as not to disturb Babette and Morey. She sighed remembering she still hadn't changed the porch light and wouldn't anytime soon, so she left the lights on her car on so Josh and her could see the way to the house that she had given a cursory tidy last week.
She had managed to open the front door and turn on the inside lights before Josh had come to a stop and got out. Lorelai glanced around quickly. Her coffee cup from earlier was still on the coffee table, there were books that she'd tried to read spread around the living room and her junk mail on the chair. It wasn't a disaster but it wasn't great either.
"You know one of the houses I'm looking at is near here neighbour," Josh said climbing out of his car. "Just on the outskirts actually."
"You're kidding? Small world," Lorelai smiled, having Josh here would be... strange and good and Oh god did she need a drink. Caffeine or alcohol, either would do.
"This is nice," Josh said stepping onto the porch. "Though you know you've left your lights on right?"
"Yeah, well the porch lights out," Lorelai smiled over her shoulder and let him step inside the house she was proud of, despite her slovenly ways.
"So, change it?" Josh said with a laugh looking around curiously.
"No way, there's moths and spiders and yuck," Lorelai laughed; she was waiting for Rory to bring another boy home to change it again for her. Though at this rate she might be waiting a while with Rory's dry spell and everything.
"Do you have the bulb?" Josh asked with a raised eyebrow.
"No," Lorelai replied honestly. She'd been meaning to get it, but she kept forgetting.
"Get one, I'll change it for you," Josh said. "This is nice," he said, taking in the kitchen.
"Thanks, it's a crap hole, but it's all mine so I love it," Lorelai said. "I have beer, vodka, coffee and water, oh and some club sodas."
"I'll take a coffee. Thanks," Josh said, leaning against the counter top as she turned the machine on.
"When did you get back, to America I mean?" Lorelai asked, getting her two largest mugs.
"Two weeks ago, and I've been searching for a house ever since. Pickings are slim," Josh said. "I thought for a minute when I saw you tonight that it was twenty years ago and you were sneaking out to go party."
"Sneaking out yes. To party unfortunately not," Lorelai smiled handing the coffee over to Josh avoiding touching him and leading him into the living room.
"You've got a kid?" Josh said pointing to a picture of Rory and Lorelai when Rory was about five on the fireplace. "Or you cloned yourself?"
"You didn't keep in touch with Chris at all did you?" Lorelai asked taking a seat, this was about to get awkward.
"I didn't keep in touch with anyone. I was forbidden, and when I did actually call Chris he told me you and he were a thing and then I didn't really want to call anymore," Josh said a little sadly.
"Yes, that's Rory and the reason we are back here, she's on a date, so she'll call when it's over, which hopefully will be soon otherwise she can rethink coming home," Lorelai joked.
"A date? How old is she?" Josh asked with a frown looking at small Rory in the picture again.
"She's going to be twenty in October," Lorelai said trying to remember how to breathe properly, her heart seemed to be blocking her airwaves.
"Twenty! So you would have been..." Josh trailed off, his hands clutched hard around his cup.
"Yes, sixteen. I had Rory about eleven months after you left," Lorelai said quietly.
"Wow. That's. Wow," Josh said a hand going to his hair to brush it from his face.
"Yeah. That's just how my parents felt," Lorelai laughed.
"I bet, so you and Chris got married and had Rory?" Josh asked with a smile.
"No. Chris went and did his things, I ran away and brought Rory up on my own," Lorelai said proudly. She had done that. She had provided for her kid and herself. Without any help from anyone. "What about you, married with two point four kids now?"
"No. No wife or kids. Well, there's Finley," Josh said.
"Finley? Phineas' little baby?" Lorelai asked, remembering meeting a tiny baby when she had barely been thirteen, Josh had loved the kid even though it had been really uncool, but that was Josh, he did what he wanted, not what other people wanted him to do, he lived life for now. That was one of the things that had attracted her to him. His carefree happy demeanour, his disdain for the future his parents had wanted for him.
"Not so little anymore, he'll be twenty-three in the fall," Josh chuckled. "Yeah, erm, Phineas and Jan, they were in an accident, hit by a drunk driver a few years ago. So, I take care of Finn now."
Lorelai felt her heart sink. Phineas had been amazing, and Josh had doted on him. Phineas was the fun older brother who always stuck his neck out for Josh, was always there and had stuck his neck out enough times for Lorelai too even though she was just his little brothers' girlfriend.
"I'm so sorry Josh," Lorelai said sincerely.
"It was years ago now. It's not okay, but it gets a bit easier. Or parts of it do anyway," Josh chuckled. "Actually, that's why I'm moving back, to be closer to Finley. He's at Yale and... let's just say he can't be trusted in a country alone. He makes me and Chris look like saints."
"Really?" Lorelai asked interested.
"Oh yeah. He just took a year out, without telling me. I had no idea he wasn't at Yale. I only found out when he called me from a hospital in Fiji because he'd crashed a yacht," Josh sighed looking tired.
"No!" Lorelai gasped. She could see Josh and Chris doing something like that when they'd been younger though.
"Yup. I don't know. I'm hoping the crash has shook some sense into him. He's been drunk less in the two weeks since at least," Josh said. "Sorry I'm here moaning about Finn, tell me more about your daughter and your life and just everything. I missed you Lor," Josh smiled and her heart skipped a beat. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid.
The phone rang saving Lorelai a little.
"Hey hon, how was the date?" Lorelai asked, answering without checking who was calling, her eyes still on Josh her heart beating hard. Stupid. Stupid.
"It was terrible, he was drunk and all his friends were drunk and driving," Rory said down the line sounding a little... odd.
"It's a bit late to be calling after a terrible date. Please please don't tell me you got in the car with them if they'd been drinking," Lorelai said pressing her hand to her heart that had now stopped beating.
"No, he was pretty insistent but this guy at the bar rescued me," Rory said and Lorelai could hear her smile.
"Tell me everything," Lorelai insisted with her own smile. "I'm guessing the rescuer is why you're calling so late."
"Yes and no. I'm going to tell you everything tomorrow but I'll give you something for tonight... okay... so this guy, he was nice and he had great taste in music, good looking, funny, he quoted Golden Girls. We went to get some food with his friends. It was really good. Then he walked me home and it was like someone was punking me. Dean turned up. Then Jess turned up while he was there. It was... I could kill them both," Rory ranted.
"You're going to give me the full story of that tomorrow, right?" Lorelai asked shocked. "I mean, Jess, Dean, your rescuer, the failed date. How many guys did you see tonight? Do I need to call a convent?"
"Very funny. No. Yes, I will give you the full story tomorrow. For now, I'm going to sleep," Rory said. "Night."
"Night hon," Lorelai smiled gently before hanging up the phone.
"That sounded... eventful?" Josh asked as Lorelai sat on the sofa next to him.
"Oh yeah. She was on this date that my mom set her up on, which was terrible. The guy was drinking and driving, he wouldn't take no for answer about her leaving with him when she was saved by some guy at the bar who then took her for a meal. Then he walked her home and her two ex-boyfriends both turned up at the same time. That's the cliff notes version, I get the juicy details tomorrow," Lorelai said.
"Wow, poor guy," Josh winced.
"Yeah. Poor Rory too, she sounded like she liked him," Lorelai giggled.
"So she goes on lots of dates?" Josh asked.
"Rory? No, despite how she actually sounds, Rory is an angel and I have no idea how I got her. She's had two boyfriends, that's it, she's sweet and she studies and doesn't party. I honestly don't know where she gets it from, definitely not me or Chris," Lorelai said fondly.
"Well, yeah I'm not sure either. You and Chris were both pretty terrible," Josh sniggered.
"You weren't any better! In fact, you were the ringleader Barnum!" Lorelai laughed.
"I never heard any complaints," Josh smirked.
"You didn't. Did you?" Lorelai smiled softly, it was surreal to her how twenty years had passed and yet it felt like no time at all. It was like they'd spoke just yesterday.
"I better get going but maybe I can come by Monday after I've gone house hunting? I can fix your porch light for you?" Josh asked and Lorelai felt herself blushing like she was thirteen again.
"Yeah. I'd like that," Lorelai said softly, they exchanged numbers before they got up and she walked him to the door.
They shared a hug that set Lorelai on fire before he walked to his car with that damn smirk. Lorelai tried; she really did but she watched his butt as he walked away. That had got better with age too.
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