AN: Ok, so not as hot as I wanted it to be, but still, I think I did an ok job. I'm still trying to work my way up to the really hot stuff. I can see it in my head, but writing in just doesn't come naturally.

I am soo sorry that this took so long to get out. I've been working on another fic One that I am so proud of. It's called, "Code Of Silence" It's my best yet. It is under my co-author's name, Taylor. I beg you all to go read it. I guarentee that you will like it. And give it a shot. You'll be superised what's in store. Please read it. Thanks

Big thanks to d_beaux for beta reading.

Enjoy!

Spoilers: "The Ins and Outs of Inns" Other then that, I think were good

There was no one in the diner except for him. Luke had gone to the town meeting, as did every other member of Stars Hollow. Taylor wanted to start putting parking meters on the streets, so chances were that they weren't going to be coming back for a while.

Jess sat at the counter. He was supposed to be wiping it, but all he could think about was Rory. He hadn't seen her all day, and he had waited for her. He had stayed in the diner watching the door, waiting for her to come in. He had no idea what he would say to her, but he wanted the chance to find out at least. He threw down the rag he held in his hand with disgust. He had to do something. He couldn't sit around and wait. It was killing him. He grabbed his jacket, as well as a thermos of coffee, and walked out of the diner.

He walked to the Gilmore house and stopped in front of Rory's window. The lights were off. Rory never missed a town meeting, so he knew she wouldn't be home. The window was closed and he was all set to jimmie it open when he realized that it wasn't locked. He took note of this as he slid the window open and climbed in. He set the thermos on the table along with a copy of "The Fountainhead." As he turned to leave, the light came on.

**Shit, shit, shit, shit, shit** were the only thoughts running through Jess's head.

"What are you doing here?" Rory demanded.

"What are you doing here?" Jess asked.

"It's my room, my house!" Rory exclaimed.

"What about the town meeting?" Jess asked.

"I left, what are you doing here?" Rory asked again.

"I noticed you didn't come into the diner today, and I thought I'd bring you a peace offering," Jess said.

Rory noticed the thermos on the table and immediately went for it.

"Ohh, coffee. What's this?" she asked picking up the book. "The Fountainhead," I have this already."

"Yeah, but check the inside cover," Jess said smiling.

She did and squealed. Reaching out, she hugged Jess.

"A first edition? Jess, wow!"

"Yeah, I got it for your birthday, but I thought I'd give it to you now. Figured I could use the brownie points," Jess said raising his eyebrows and looking slightly ashamed.

"About that…." Rory began.

"I'm sorry. I really am. I never meant to embarrass you or anything," Jess said.

"I know," Rory said, tucking an invisible strand of hair behind her ear. "Can we just forget about it?" she asked nervously.

"Well, if that's what you want, I can try," Jess said, knowing that there was no way he would ever want to get that picture out of his head.

"Try?" Rory asked, starting to walk around a bit.

"Well, seeing you like that…honestly, not an easy thing to forget," Jess said grinning. Noticing how nervous Rory looked he added, "But like I said, I'll do my best."

"Thanks."

They stood in an uncomfortable silence for a few minutes before Jess broke the stillness.

"So, why aren't you at the town meeting?"

"Oh, yeah," Rory said, grateful for the change in subject. "They started talking about that parking meter, and when Luke tried to walk out, Bootsy locked the door."

"No," Jess said laughing.

"Yeah. Luke was maaad," Rory said joining his laughter. "Mom snuck me out the window. She decided to stick around to watch the fireworks. Besides, she wanted pie, and she wasn't gonna get any if Luke ended up in jail for mass murder."

"Hey, I still have some of that police tape. I am out of chalk though," Jess said thoughtfully.

Rory started laughing. "I've been meaning to ask you, where did you get that anyway?"

"The tape? Actually it was a going away present from my friends. Part of a small town survival package."

"Small town survival package? Do I wanna know?" Rory asked laughing.

"Hey, it's not all bad stuff. Let's see. Umm, well there's the police tape, fake ID's, fireworks, cigarettes, tequila, condoms, bus fare home, and Betsy. I think that's it."

"Betsy?" Rory asked

Jess started laughing. "Betsy is a, well, how can I put it? An inflatable companion."

Rory burst out laughing. "A blow up doll! You have a blow up doll?!"

"Hey," Jess said in mock seriousness, "These Stars Hollow nights can get cold and lonely. What is a guy to do? I would go and corrupt some farmer's daughter, but this isn't really a farming town."

"Well, I'm glad that you're practicing safe sex at least," Rory said laughing.

"Huh? Oh, that. Yeah well..." Jess wasn't exactly sure how to continue. "Safety first, right?"

"Right," Rory retorted, becoming uncomfortable, but not stopping. "I mean, if you're putting yourself in a situation where safety becomes an issue, then yeah. Not that you are putting yourself...or aren't. Not that I would know anything about that. I mean I know about it, duh, but not as far as you're concerned. I mean I have some idea...not that I think about it, about you, like that. What I mean is..."

"Rory!" Jess interrupted.

"Yes?" she meekly replied.

"Are you trying to ask me something?" Jess said, trying not to show his amusement at her flustered face. "Because you can if you want."

"No. I'm good." Rory said unconvincingly.

"Ok. Sure," Jess continued. "I should probably get going." Jess started to get up and walk toward the window.

"You don't have to," Rory said. "I mean, you could if you wanted, but it's not like my mom's gonna be home anytime soon. Ms. Patty has the key, so I think it'll be a while until anyone gets out. We could read or something. That is, if you want."

"Ok, cool," Jess sat down against the wall and took out his book.

"Whatcha reading?" Rory asked, making herself comfortable on the bed.

"Ender's Game" Jess replied. "I've never really been into science fiction before, but lately, I've been in the mood for it. I don't know why."

"Probably Luke's influence," Rory said laughing.

"Huh?"

"Well, apparently Luke was a bit of a trekkie in his day," Rory revealed.

"No."

"Yeah."

"Oh, I am going to have so much fun with that," Jess said with mischief in his eyes.

Rory rolled her eyes and laughed. They started reading, but Rory was having a hard time concentrating. Her thoughts kept drifting to the boy a few feet away.

For some reason, having Jess there was both comforting and nerve wracking for Rory. She knew that if her mom came home and saw him here, she would get mad. If Dean ever found out that Jess was in her room, he would go crazy. God, if Dean ever found out that Jess had seen her naked, he would kill him. Jess had seen her naked. She was still trying to wrap her head around that one. She was sure that she wasn't the first girl that Jess had seen like that. Part of her had wanted to ask him about it, part of her still did. But she wasn't sure how, or if it was any of her business. And what he had said before about not being able to forget. What did he mean by that? She kept looking up at him, as if the answers to her questions were written on his face; which was ridiculous because Jess was nothing if not unreadable.

Jess had been sitting there trying to read, but he kept feeling Rory's eyes on him and couldn't focus on the words in front of him. He was about to say something when Rory beat him to it.

"Am I pretty?" he heard Rory ask.

"Excuse me?"

"Do you think I'm pretty?" she repeated.

"Is there any way I can answer this question without getting slapped?" Jess asked.

"Forget it," Rory said as she stood up and started to walk to her desk.

"No, wait," Jess said, putting down his book and walking over to the chair where Rory had been sitting. "What's gong on?"

"Nothing," Rory said, embarrassed.

"Nothing?" Jess said, raising his eyebrows. "Did something happen with Dean?"

"No, that's just it," Rory said, feeling defeated.

"What are you talking about?" Jess asked.

"We were making out, and he stopped. Dean and I were making out on my couch, and I started to unbutton my top, and he stopped me," Rory said.

"Idiot," Jess muttered under his breath.

"And it's not just this time either," Rory continued gathering more courage. "Every time things start to get heated, he pulls away. And I've tried to talk to him about it, but well, what if he tells me he doesn't want me? I mean, it's not like I wanna have sex with him right now; but I'm ready to move forward, just a bit. I don't wanna be a "Mary" forever. I just…I'm ready to know what its like to feel that. And I know that I'm being stupid and that he's just being a nice guy, but I just feel so cheap. That's why I was looking at myself the other day. I just wanted to see what he saw."

"Why were you crying?" Jess asked softly.

Rory looked up in surprise. She had almost forgotten that Jess was there. "I didn't want to see myself anymore," she answered truthfully. "I felt ugly."

Jess was blown away. Rory Gilmore felt ugly?

"Yes," Jess finally said.

"Excuse me?" Rory replied.

"You asked me if I thought you were pretty. The answer is yes, I do," Jess said. "Come here."

Jess took her hand and led her to the mirror that she was standing at the night before. He stood behind her.

"Look at yourself," Jess told her.

She tried to turn away, but Jess held her shoulders firmly towards the mirror. Jess took his hands off her shoulders when he was sure she wasn't going to run away and took the clip out of her hair. Running his fingers through her soft brown locks, he almost forgot what he was doing. He moved his body close behind hers as he caressed her face with the back of his fingers. As his fingers reached her neck and found the silky skin there, he fought the urge to kiss the shell of her ear. He leaned in close, inhaling her scent. She smelled so good, like peaches and honey.

"I wish you could see what I see," Jess whispered, never taking his eyes off of her reflection.

He allowed his hand to run down the length of her body. As his thumb grazed the side of her breast, Rory inhaled sharply and arched slightly toward his touch. Jess noticed the movement and continued his path, never moving his body away from hers.

"You're not wrong for wanting to see what your body is capable of. He doesn't deserve you if he makes to feel this bad about yourself. You're beautiful, and he's an idiot if he can't see that."

Jess was doing everything he could to refrain from being a complete bastard and taking her right there. When his gaze reached hers in the reflected image, he saw something there that mirrored his in his own. He saw desire.

He wanted to touch her. He wanted to show her how beautiful she was and how much pleasure her body could have. He wanted to make every secret desire, every unfulfilled wish that she ever had, come true. This wasn't good. He knew that he had to get out of there before something happened.

In the meantime, Rory was dying from the overload. When Jess started touching her, she felt like she couldn't breath. She saw herself through his eyes. And through his eyes, she was beautiful. Her body never felt more alive. Suddenly, she heard him whisper in her ear.

"Goodnight, Rory."

And he was gone. She stood there alone for a few minutes. Two things she now knew for certain. The first was that she had never felt more beautiful than when she was being touched by Jess Danes. And second was that this was the start of something very, very dangerous.