:: Admitting ::
10 Things I Hate About You
05 : Admitting
by inmyeyes


(Later that night. Outside the Gilmore house)

"Thanks for tonight."

Rory smiled. It had been nice having Tristan there. It had been more than nice, it was a lot more fun that she anticipated. Tristan had certainly let his guard down and the moments when he reverted back to Evil Tristan, she knew that he was merely teasing. It was certainly an entertaining evening, especially when... "Thanks for not freaking out when my mom pulled you up and made you dance with her just like Patrick Swayze," she laughed.

In the dim moonlight, she saw Tristan redden slightly, a look that made him seem more like a little boy than the confident teenager he was.

Tristan shrugged. "What was I supposed to do? I don't think she would have taken no for an answer," he pointed out.

"True."

"I'm glad you were here," Rory shyly admitted, wringing her hands nervously.

"So am I."

Rory looked up and saw him genuinely smiling at her.

Silence lapsed as the two teens racked their brains to think of something to say to fill the void.

Tristan was the first to break the silence. "So... I guess I'll see you tomorrow in school." He didn't want to go. He wanted to stay as long as he could before he had to return to his own drab life. He wanted to stay and see her smile at him in that sweet way she had. He wanted to reach out and touch her and hold her to her and hear her laugh. He wanted to-

"Yeah, I'll see you tomorrow."

They shared another smile.

*****

(Inside the house)

Lorelai was waiting to pounce on her the moment Rory closed the front door behind her after saying good-bye to Tristan.

"So did anything happen?" Lorelai grinned slyly and rubbed her hands in glee.

"Huh?"

Lorelai sighed and dragged Rory over to the couch. "Tristan. Did anything happen with him? Is Will gonna have to kick some ass?"

"Will?"

She groaned at the game of playing dumb that Rory was adopting. "Yes, Will... the guy you're involved with."

The light bulb clicked in Rory's head. "Oh, Shakespeare. Why would he need to kick anyone's ass?"

Lorelai buried her head with a cushion with frustration. "That's what I wanna know. Did anything happen?"

"Why would anything happen?"

Lorelai tapped her daughter's head. "Hello? Anyone in there? Tristan is hot. Brutally hot. If I were 16 years younger..." She sighed but she started to poke Rory with her finger. "Why didn't you tell me he was hot?"

"It was not necessary information."

Lorelai dramatically put on a look of woe. "Oh, how I have failed! My daughter think good looks is not necessary information!"

Rory rolled her eyes at her mother's dramatics. "It's just that his good looks was secondary to his evil nature," she explained.

"A-ha!" Lorelai jumped up and pointed an accusing finger at Rory. "So you don't deny he's hot!"

"I never said he wasn't," Rory pointed out and Lorelai sat herself down with a defeated "Oh..."

"So did anything happen?" Lorelai bounced on the couch.

"Noth-"

"Oooh... I bet something did happen. He reached out and ran his fingers through your hair and-"

Rory rolled her eyes again. "Nothing happened."

"He pulled you close and kissed you softly," she sighed, holding a cushion to her chest. "How romantic that first kiss would be...."

"It wouldn't be our first kiss," Rory mumbled without thinking. When she realized what she had inadvertently revealed, she held her breath and hoped that her mother hadn't heard her. But Lorelai had sharp ears.

"You've kissed him before?" she screeched. "You've kissed Tristan!" Lorelai jumped up and down in excitement before something hit her. "Why didn't you tell me? Where? When? How? Why did not you not me?" she demanded.

Rory sighed in defeat. "At a piano. Madeline's party. It was an accident. I forgot."

"It was an accident? You forgot?" Lorelai repeated incredulously. "You, of all people, don't kiss people accidentally. Especially one you supposedly hate." She folded her arms cross her chest. "I don't buy your lies, dear daughter of mine."

Rory gave her the cliff notes version. "He broke up with his girlfriend. I broke up with my boyfriend. We were sad. We bonded... kinda. He apologized for being a jerk. I accepted the apology. We kissed. It was an accident. End of story."

Lorelai didn't look convinced at all. "There are loopholes in your little tale. You're leaving out some important details. Tell. Me. All."

"What are the chances of you leaving me alone?" Rory asked exasperatedly.

She pretended to think the matter over. "Ummm... slim to none."

Rory gave in and gave her anxious mother a blow-by-blow account of the kiss.

"So how was the kiss? Did you like it?" Lorelai prodded.

"It was... nice." was the vague answer that didn't satisfy Lorelai at all. She made a face.

"Nice? That's such a tepid word. Nice. It's something my mother would say. Come on, Rory... tell me," she whined.

The truth of the matter was that Rory couldn't find the words to describe the kiss, even though every moment of it was etched permanently in her mind.

She remembered sitting next to him on that piano bench and looking at him, and into his cerulean eyes. She remembered seeing something akin to longing in those very same eyes that wouldn't let go of hers. She remembered the moment she knew that he was going to kiss her and the split-second after that when she knew that she would let him, knew that she wanted him to.

She could remember the shock of feeling his firm yet soft lips on her and the way he coaxed her to respond. She remembered the feeling of a thousand butterflies fluttering wildly, as she pressed her lips harder against his. She remembered wanting to lift her hand and run her fingers through his hair to see if it felt as soft as it looked.

She remembered thinking that Dean never made her feel that way Tristan was making her feel. It was nothing else existed in those short moments, her world had been turned upside down, her heart was beating twice as fast, and she couldn't think coherently at all.

She also remembered pulling away, tears involuntarily streaming down her face. She remembered the hurt yet concerned look that crossed Tristan's face.

She remembered following her head which told her to get out of there, which told her that she had made a mistake; disregarding her heart that told her to stay and kiss him senseless.

"It was that good, huh?" Lorelai said softly, as she watched the emotions play across her daughter's face. Her suspicions were confirmed. There was a lot more going on between Tristan and Rory beneath the surface.

Rory nestled herself in her mother's open arms and nodded mutely.