Title: It All Starts With A Kiss
Chapter 3: Secrets, Surprises, and Promises
Disclaimer: Ha! Me, own Gilmore Girls! HA! Careful, this'll make me giggle. (hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe!!!!!!!) Okay, shutting up now. (hehehehehehehehe. No, seriously.)
~~~~
"Gotta get dressed, gotta get dressed!" Lorelai, barely dressed in a bra and silk slip, was standing in her closet, throwing clothes over her shoulder. When she had exhausted her closet of all its contents, she wandered out. She almost tripped over the gargantuan pile on the floor as she started downstairs, kicking shirts out of her way.
"No clothes in my room, gotta get dressed, gotta get dressed!" Lorelai ran to Rory's room, tying her flyaway robe tighter around her, and began going through Rory's closet.
"No...no...no ...no...no..." Lorelai slid the clothes from left to right as she rejected them. "No...no... no...no...ooh! That's pretty!"
Lorelai pulled the royal blue dress with rhinestones down and slipped the hanger over her head and stepped out of her robe. She tried to look at the way the dress fell on her in Rory's mirror, but it was too short and she decided to look in her full-length mirror upstairs.
Lorelai's foot hit the first step and as she was falling off of the plastic rolling kitty the doorbell rang.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no! Stupid early men!" Lorelai limped to the window and peeked through the curtain. Instead of who she was expecting, Rory stood at the door with a duffel bag on her shoulder. Lorelai limped to the door and pulled it open.
"Sur-oh." Rory's smile turned into a look of confusion as she took in her mother's haphazard appearance.
"What are you doing here?"
"Well, I was gonna surprise you, but you've turned the tables on that one." Rory waved a hand at her mother's outfit. "Is there a reason you're giving the neighborhood a free peep show? I thought you were gonna stop walking around in your underwear after you found Kirk living in the bushes."
"Ooh." Lorelai pulled Rory into the house and shut the door. "Hey, did he ever pay us back for the pizzas he ordered?"
"No, cause we ate them and you broke his binoculaurs."
"Oh. The curtains are closed, though. That's good, right?"
Rory shook her head. "See-through." She lifted a curtain to show her point.
"Okay, that's good!" Lorelai ducked beside the couch. "You've proven your point. I'll try to stop walking around in my underwear."
"Good."
"Okay." Lorelai stood up and played with the rhinestones on Rory's dress.
"Why do you have my graduation dress over your head?"
"Oh, is this yours?"
"Yeah, you bought it for me specifically for graduation."
"But I thought you were that whole cap and gown deal."
"Yes, and this dress at the party you threw."
"I threw you a party?"
"Mom."
"Okay, fine. You win the dress." Lorelai threw up her hands in submission. There was a short pause.
"So, why are you wearing my dress?"
"Oh, yeah. Found it."
"Oh, really? Where?"
Lorelai shrugged. "Here, there, my room, your closet, somewhere."
Rory pushed past Lorelai and headed to her room. Lorelai followed.
"Mom, you even left your robe on the floor. That was sloppy."
"I know. I was gonna pick it up later. I wasn't expecting you till tomorrow. It is Monday, right?"
"Yeah. I'm skipping classes tomorrow."
"How horribly irresponsible of you!" Lorelai mock-gasped.
"Paris is gonna take notes for me."
"There's my repulsively responsible little girl!" Lorelai hugged Rory. She pulled the dress off the hanger and actually put it on. Rory looked at Lorelai arranging the skirt and obsessively fixing her hair.
"Mom?"
"Hmm?" Lorelai didn't look up from the mirror.
"Why exactly were you dressing up?"
"Oh." Lorelai turned around but didn't look at Rory. "Well..." Lorelai blushed. "I've got a date."
"Oh, my god! With Luke?"
"Yeah. He didn't ask me out, though. That man couldn't ask a supermodel out for money."
"So where are you going?"
"I don't know. He's picking the place, but he told me to dress up."
"Okay. Need help?"
"God, yes! I didn't think you'd ever offer!"
~~~~~~~
Luke (in real pants! Not jeans, actual pants!) showed up half an hour late, exactly when Lorelai finished getting ready. They were both kind of nervous, and as Rory sent her mother out with her boyfriend's uncle, she felt like a proud mother watching her daughter head off on her first date. Speaking of dates...
"Hey."
"Hi. I thought you'd be coming." Rory looked away from the spot where Luke's truck had disappeared to find Jess standing in front of her, clutching a plastic bag. She smiled. "Is that for me?"
"What?"
Rory gestured to the bag.
"Oh, yeah. It's, um, movies. Bye Bye, Love, The First Wives' Club, and Kramer Vs. Kramer ."
"Interesting choices. You wanna come in and watch them?"
"Do you see a connection?"
"What?"
"Do you see a connection between the movies?"
"No, not really."
"Think about it."
"Jess, you're acting weird."
"Just do it. Tell me the basic plot of the three movies."
"Okay." Rory closed her eyes and thought. "Bye Bye, Love. Three divorced guys and what they do over a weekend."
"Good, now The First Wives' Club."
Rory's eyes popped open. "I don't see why I have to do this."
"You'll figure it out. If you're as smart as I think you are, you'll get it."
Rory sighed and closed her eyes again. "The First Wives' Club. Diane Keaton, Bette Midler, and Goldie Hawn take revenge over their ex-husbands and their ex-husbands' new wives, one of which is Sarah Jessica Parker, pre-Sex and The City and very pre-baby." Rory opened her eyes. "I really don't see the point of this, Jess. Don't you wanna come inside and watch the movies instead of talking about them?"
"Look, I'm trying to get a point across. Just try the last one."
"Fine. Uh, Kramer Vs. Kramer. Uh, couple gets divorced, fights for custody over child."
"Now do you see a connection?"
"No. Look, why don't you come on inside. It's cold out here, and besides, if the neighbors see us standing around for too long, it could get back to Lorelai that we're going out. I haven't told her about us yet. Sorry."
"See, this is what I'm talking about!"
"What?"
"You haven't told Lorelai about us yet! You're all freaked out that she's going to find out! It's like you're ashamed of me!"
"That's ridiculous and you know it."
"Is it ridiculous, Rory? We've been going out for almost a year and your mother still doesn't know! You tell her everything. Why haven't you told her about us?"
"I just...haven't gotten around to it."
"This isn't something you 'get around to'! This is something you make time for! Look, I...I don't think I can do this anymore. This whole sneaking around thing. If you don't love me like I love you, enough to tell your mother, then obviously this isn't the relationship I thought it was. I...I'm really sorry."
Jess leaned over and planted a quick kiss on Rory's lips. She caught him before he pulled away and pulled him into a deeper kiss. Swept up in the passion, he backed her up until she was leaning against the front door. She twisted the door knob and they fell inside the house. Still kissing, Rory slammed the door and walked backwards while pulling Jess to the couch. She fell on the couch and tried to pull Jess on top of her, but he broke the kiss.
"Wait, I can't do this."
"Yes, you can." Rory pulled at the lapels of Jess's jacket.
"No, Rory, I can't do this. And neither can you. You don't want to. You just want me to stay."
Rory nodded. "Stay."
"I have to go."
"No, stay."
"What about your mother?"
Rory bit her lip in thought.
"That's what I thought." Jess started towards the door. "Goodbye, Rory."
"Goodbye," she whispered as the door softly closed.
~~~~~
"I had a very good time tonight, Lorelai."
"Well, it was largely due to you, Luke." The couple stopped at the Gilmores' front door and faced each other.
"Did you really have fun?"
"Yeah. The dancing was the best part."
"Oh, and how long are you gonna rub that in?"
"Oh, maybe not for long. It all depends."
"Oh, yeah? On what?"
"On whether or not you kiss me."
Luke smiled and took a step closer to Lorelai. He leaned down to kiss her.
"You know, when you smile, you look like George Clooney." Lorelai muttered when their lips were an inch apart. Luke chuckled. "Oh, now you sound like him, too."
"Shut up and let me kiss you."
"Ooh, a man who takes charge. I like tha--" Lorelai was cut off as Luke wrapped his arms around her body and his lips covered her own. She kissed him back and was leaning against the front door and twisting the door knob when she remembered Rory. She broke away and caught her breath before saying, "Wow. That was great. Hey, I gotta go."
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait." Luke grabbed Lorelai's arm. "After a kiss that great, that made both of us lose our breath, you have to go? Are you sure you don't want some coffee, a doughnut, maybe a night together?"
"Ooh, Lukey, you're getting smooth!"
"Yeah, really smooth, I know."
"Yeah, that's great and I would love"--Lorelai kissed Luke, a short kiss that she had to struggle to end--"to spend the night with you, but Rory's here."
"Doesn't she have school tomorrow?"
"She's skipping it."
"Rory's skipping school?"
"Paris is taking notes."
"Oh."
"Anyway, we're going on a road trip, and she wanted to start early, and I already had to skip out on her for the date--although, I loved the date, it was one of the best I've had, but I'd just feel bad if I spent the night with you instead of my daughter."
"I understand."
"And maybe I'll send the night with you next week."
"Promises, promises." Luke smiled and kissed Lorelai before waving and heading home. Lorelai watched him walk away before heading inside.
"I have had the best day ever." Lorelai took off her coat and purse and dropped them in the general vicinity of the coat rack. "Luke is totally the hottest guy I've ever seen." Lorelai turned the corner to see Rory huddled on the couch with a pint of ice cream, crying. "Oh, sweetie, what happened?"
"He broke up with me."
"What? Who broke up with you? Were you going out with someone?"
Rory nodded. "Jess. He said he loved me, and then he said he couldn't do this anymore."
"Oh, honey, I'm sorry." Lorelai hugged Rory as she cried, thinking all the time that Rory was keeping secrets from her again, and it really wasn't good.
Chapter 3: Secrets, Surprises, and Promises
Disclaimer: Ha! Me, own Gilmore Girls! HA! Careful, this'll make me giggle. (hehehehehehehehehehehehehehehehe!!!!!!!) Okay, shutting up now. (hehehehehehehehe. No, seriously.)
~~~~
"Gotta get dressed, gotta get dressed!" Lorelai, barely dressed in a bra and silk slip, was standing in her closet, throwing clothes over her shoulder. When she had exhausted her closet of all its contents, she wandered out. She almost tripped over the gargantuan pile on the floor as she started downstairs, kicking shirts out of her way.
"No clothes in my room, gotta get dressed, gotta get dressed!" Lorelai ran to Rory's room, tying her flyaway robe tighter around her, and began going through Rory's closet.
"No...no...no ...no...no..." Lorelai slid the clothes from left to right as she rejected them. "No...no... no...no...ooh! That's pretty!"
Lorelai pulled the royal blue dress with rhinestones down and slipped the hanger over her head and stepped out of her robe. She tried to look at the way the dress fell on her in Rory's mirror, but it was too short and she decided to look in her full-length mirror upstairs.
Lorelai's foot hit the first step and as she was falling off of the plastic rolling kitty the doorbell rang.
"Oh no, oh no, oh no, oh no! Stupid early men!" Lorelai limped to the window and peeked through the curtain. Instead of who she was expecting, Rory stood at the door with a duffel bag on her shoulder. Lorelai limped to the door and pulled it open.
"Sur-oh." Rory's smile turned into a look of confusion as she took in her mother's haphazard appearance.
"What are you doing here?"
"Well, I was gonna surprise you, but you've turned the tables on that one." Rory waved a hand at her mother's outfit. "Is there a reason you're giving the neighborhood a free peep show? I thought you were gonna stop walking around in your underwear after you found Kirk living in the bushes."
"Ooh." Lorelai pulled Rory into the house and shut the door. "Hey, did he ever pay us back for the pizzas he ordered?"
"No, cause we ate them and you broke his binoculaurs."
"Oh. The curtains are closed, though. That's good, right?"
Rory shook her head. "See-through." She lifted a curtain to show her point.
"Okay, that's good!" Lorelai ducked beside the couch. "You've proven your point. I'll try to stop walking around in my underwear."
"Good."
"Okay." Lorelai stood up and played with the rhinestones on Rory's dress.
"Why do you have my graduation dress over your head?"
"Oh, is this yours?"
"Yeah, you bought it for me specifically for graduation."
"But I thought you were that whole cap and gown deal."
"Yes, and this dress at the party you threw."
"I threw you a party?"
"Mom."
"Okay, fine. You win the dress." Lorelai threw up her hands in submission. There was a short pause.
"So, why are you wearing my dress?"
"Oh, yeah. Found it."
"Oh, really? Where?"
Lorelai shrugged. "Here, there, my room, your closet, somewhere."
Rory pushed past Lorelai and headed to her room. Lorelai followed.
"Mom, you even left your robe on the floor. That was sloppy."
"I know. I was gonna pick it up later. I wasn't expecting you till tomorrow. It is Monday, right?"
"Yeah. I'm skipping classes tomorrow."
"How horribly irresponsible of you!" Lorelai mock-gasped.
"Paris is gonna take notes for me."
"There's my repulsively responsible little girl!" Lorelai hugged Rory. She pulled the dress off the hanger and actually put it on. Rory looked at Lorelai arranging the skirt and obsessively fixing her hair.
"Mom?"
"Hmm?" Lorelai didn't look up from the mirror.
"Why exactly were you dressing up?"
"Oh." Lorelai turned around but didn't look at Rory. "Well..." Lorelai blushed. "I've got a date."
"Oh, my god! With Luke?"
"Yeah. He didn't ask me out, though. That man couldn't ask a supermodel out for money."
"So where are you going?"
"I don't know. He's picking the place, but he told me to dress up."
"Okay. Need help?"
"God, yes! I didn't think you'd ever offer!"
~~~~~~~
Luke (in real pants! Not jeans, actual pants!) showed up half an hour late, exactly when Lorelai finished getting ready. They were both kind of nervous, and as Rory sent her mother out with her boyfriend's uncle, she felt like a proud mother watching her daughter head off on her first date. Speaking of dates...
"Hey."
"Hi. I thought you'd be coming." Rory looked away from the spot where Luke's truck had disappeared to find Jess standing in front of her, clutching a plastic bag. She smiled. "Is that for me?"
"What?"
Rory gestured to the bag.
"Oh, yeah. It's, um, movies. Bye Bye, Love, The First Wives' Club, and Kramer Vs. Kramer ."
"Interesting choices. You wanna come in and watch them?"
"Do you see a connection?"
"What?"
"Do you see a connection between the movies?"
"No, not really."
"Think about it."
"Jess, you're acting weird."
"Just do it. Tell me the basic plot of the three movies."
"Okay." Rory closed her eyes and thought. "Bye Bye, Love. Three divorced guys and what they do over a weekend."
"Good, now The First Wives' Club."
Rory's eyes popped open. "I don't see why I have to do this."
"You'll figure it out. If you're as smart as I think you are, you'll get it."
Rory sighed and closed her eyes again. "The First Wives' Club. Diane Keaton, Bette Midler, and Goldie Hawn take revenge over their ex-husbands and their ex-husbands' new wives, one of which is Sarah Jessica Parker, pre-Sex and The City and very pre-baby." Rory opened her eyes. "I really don't see the point of this, Jess. Don't you wanna come inside and watch the movies instead of talking about them?"
"Look, I'm trying to get a point across. Just try the last one."
"Fine. Uh, Kramer Vs. Kramer. Uh, couple gets divorced, fights for custody over child."
"Now do you see a connection?"
"No. Look, why don't you come on inside. It's cold out here, and besides, if the neighbors see us standing around for too long, it could get back to Lorelai that we're going out. I haven't told her about us yet. Sorry."
"See, this is what I'm talking about!"
"What?"
"You haven't told Lorelai about us yet! You're all freaked out that she's going to find out! It's like you're ashamed of me!"
"That's ridiculous and you know it."
"Is it ridiculous, Rory? We've been going out for almost a year and your mother still doesn't know! You tell her everything. Why haven't you told her about us?"
"I just...haven't gotten around to it."
"This isn't something you 'get around to'! This is something you make time for! Look, I...I don't think I can do this anymore. This whole sneaking around thing. If you don't love me like I love you, enough to tell your mother, then obviously this isn't the relationship I thought it was. I...I'm really sorry."
Jess leaned over and planted a quick kiss on Rory's lips. She caught him before he pulled away and pulled him into a deeper kiss. Swept up in the passion, he backed her up until she was leaning against the front door. She twisted the door knob and they fell inside the house. Still kissing, Rory slammed the door and walked backwards while pulling Jess to the couch. She fell on the couch and tried to pull Jess on top of her, but he broke the kiss.
"Wait, I can't do this."
"Yes, you can." Rory pulled at the lapels of Jess's jacket.
"No, Rory, I can't do this. And neither can you. You don't want to. You just want me to stay."
Rory nodded. "Stay."
"I have to go."
"No, stay."
"What about your mother?"
Rory bit her lip in thought.
"That's what I thought." Jess started towards the door. "Goodbye, Rory."
"Goodbye," she whispered as the door softly closed.
~~~~~
"I had a very good time tonight, Lorelai."
"Well, it was largely due to you, Luke." The couple stopped at the Gilmores' front door and faced each other.
"Did you really have fun?"
"Yeah. The dancing was the best part."
"Oh, and how long are you gonna rub that in?"
"Oh, maybe not for long. It all depends."
"Oh, yeah? On what?"
"On whether or not you kiss me."
Luke smiled and took a step closer to Lorelai. He leaned down to kiss her.
"You know, when you smile, you look like George Clooney." Lorelai muttered when their lips were an inch apart. Luke chuckled. "Oh, now you sound like him, too."
"Shut up and let me kiss you."
"Ooh, a man who takes charge. I like tha--" Lorelai was cut off as Luke wrapped his arms around her body and his lips covered her own. She kissed him back and was leaning against the front door and twisting the door knob when she remembered Rory. She broke away and caught her breath before saying, "Wow. That was great. Hey, I gotta go."
"Wait, wait, wait, wait, wait." Luke grabbed Lorelai's arm. "After a kiss that great, that made both of us lose our breath, you have to go? Are you sure you don't want some coffee, a doughnut, maybe a night together?"
"Ooh, Lukey, you're getting smooth!"
"Yeah, really smooth, I know."
"Yeah, that's great and I would love"--Lorelai kissed Luke, a short kiss that she had to struggle to end--"to spend the night with you, but Rory's here."
"Doesn't she have school tomorrow?"
"She's skipping it."
"Rory's skipping school?"
"Paris is taking notes."
"Oh."
"Anyway, we're going on a road trip, and she wanted to start early, and I already had to skip out on her for the date--although, I loved the date, it was one of the best I've had, but I'd just feel bad if I spent the night with you instead of my daughter."
"I understand."
"And maybe I'll send the night with you next week."
"Promises, promises." Luke smiled and kissed Lorelai before waving and heading home. Lorelai watched him walk away before heading inside.
"I have had the best day ever." Lorelai took off her coat and purse and dropped them in the general vicinity of the coat rack. "Luke is totally the hottest guy I've ever seen." Lorelai turned the corner to see Rory huddled on the couch with a pint of ice cream, crying. "Oh, sweetie, what happened?"
"He broke up with me."
"What? Who broke up with you? Were you going out with someone?"
Rory nodded. "Jess. He said he loved me, and then he said he couldn't do this anymore."
"Oh, honey, I'm sorry." Lorelai hugged Rory as she cried, thinking all the time that Rory was keeping secrets from her again, and it really wasn't good.