Chapter 6
Rory studied her reflection in the mirror with a thoughtful look on her face. Rory hoped she wasn't being conceited, but she had to admit that she looked pretty good. She had borrowed one of her mother's dresses. It was a bright, snow white, form fitting dress with spaghetti straps that ended just above her knees. The dress had a sparkling sheer layer that added a nice elegant touch. Rory had piled her hair into a mass of curls on top of her head, leaving just a few strands out to frame her face. She was wearing the earrings Jess had given her, and between those bright blue jewels, and the pure color of the dress, Rory's eyes looked like they were on fire.
"Hey babe, where are you?" Rory heard her mother call.
"I'm right here, mom," Rory said stepping out of her room, into the living room.
"Oh Rory, you look beautiful, just like a princess!"
"Are we talking fairy tale princess or real princess?," Rory asked, lightly joking while she tried to get her nerves under control.
"Oh fairy tale definitely, I'm thinking Sleeping Beauty." Rory wrinkled her nose. "Okay what about Cinderella?"
"Better," Rory said with a small smile.
"How are you feeling?" Lorelai asked, referring to the fact that Rory had been complaining about coming down with something for the past couple of days.
"I feel fine," Rory said. She was actually feeling a little lightheaded, but she decided against telling her mother that.
"Good . . . you really do look nice sweetie."
"Thanks Mom," Rory said, unable to keep the nervous tremor out of her voice.
"Listen, Rory, are you sure you really want to do this? I mean I'm sure you and Jess could have just as good a time hanging out here, you know, reading, watching a movie, sucking each other's faces off . . ."
"Mom!" Rory said, feeling her cheeks turn crimson.
"Hey, I was just trying to get some color in those pale cheeks, and look! It worked!"
Rory rolled her eyes at this statement. "No, I think this is something I really need to do."
"But why, babe? Don't you think it's just gonna dredge up painful memories?"
"Yeah maybe, but I still think I need to do this . . . just to, you know, show Jess that I'm really over Dean. . ."
"And?" Lorelai asked, sensing there was more her daughter needed to tell her.
"And well maybe I need to prove to myself that I'm over Dean," Rory whispered.
"But, sweetie, what if you aren't?" Lorelai asked softly, "I mean you dated him for so long, and it's only been a month . . . Not being over him doesn't mean you still want to be with him, or that you don't want to be with Jess, It just means that your human. Maybe you should give it some more time before you do something like this."
Rory was saved from having to respond to her Mother's statement when she heard Jess pulling up in their driveway. "There's Jess," Rory announced, giving her Mom a hug before heading to the door, "And Don't worry Mom, I'm sure I can handle this," Rory said with as much confidence as she could muster.
"Alright, Cinderella - home before midnight or you know what will happen!" Lorelai called as Rory headed out the door.
Jess was just coming up the steps when Rory rushed down to meet him. Without thinking she threw herself into his arms and kissed him so hard she almost knocked him off his feet. She guessed her nerves had made her more bold than usual, and when she pulled back she was pleased with the surprised look on Jess's face.
"What was that for," he asked.
"Oh, nothing . . . you just looked especially kissable tonight," Rory told him with a sly smile.
"Is that so?"
"Mmm hmm . . ."
"Well you know you look rather kissable yourself, Rory Gilmore," Jess said huskily as her lowered his head back down to Rory's. He could barely control himself when he felt her soft, pliable lips beneath his own rough ones. She opened her mouth for him before he even prompted her to and he quickly took advantage, tasting her sweetness and gently caressing her tongue with his own. Just when Jess thought the kiss couldn't grow any deeper, more arousing, he heard Rory moan and make this sexy little sound in the back of her throat, and he roughly hauled her soft body up against him own, molding her to him. He wrapped his arms around her waist and starting caressing her back as she moved her hands above his head and into his hair. Just when Jess was starting to believe that the ridiculous idea of throwing her onto the ground and making love to her in the front lawn didn't actually sound so bad, Rory came to her senses and pulled back.
The dark and passionate look in Jess's eyes made Rory want to forget about playing the role of the good, innocent girl, and slam her mouth back over his. She resisted though, and trying to lighten the mood, said the first thing that came to her mind, "Jess now look what you've done, you've ruined my hair and my face."
Jess decided not to remark on her ridiculous comment about "ruining her face", and instead slowly whispered, "I like how you look . . ."
"And how do I look?" Rory whispered, even as she told herself she shouldn't ask.
"Like I've just kissed you deeply and passionately and made you hot and crazy like you wanted to-"
"Jess!" Rory whispered, flustered, slapping her hand over his mouth.
Jess kissed the palm of her hand, and smiled at her, pleased with her always innocent and refreshing reaction. "C'mon let's get this over with."
"You know this won't be so bad," Rory said, once they were both seated in the car and on their way to Hartford. They had agreed to meet Dean and Mandi at the restaurant around 7:30.
"Like hell, Rory I still don't understand why you want to go out to dinner with Dean and that flippy girl."
"Flippy?" Rory asked with a smile.
"Well how would you describe her?"
Rory could think of several ways, but deciding none of them were polite, she turned on the radio instead. The thick twang of a country song filled the car and Rory bit back a laugh, "Garth Brooks, huh? Nice."
"Yeah, well" Jess said with a sheepish grin.
"You just never struck me as a country sort of guy."
"Yes well, I'm a very complex guy," Jess said, only half-joking.
"This I know."
"So how are you feeling, You said you had a headache yesterday?"
"Err, I feel okay, I might still be coming down with a little cold."
"I hope it's nothing to contagious," Jess said with a hot glance that made Rory's pulse quicken.
"No, I wouldn't think so."
"Good."
The two sat in companionable silence, listening to Garth sing about a thunder storm or something, for several minutes until Jess broke the silence, "You look really pretty tonight, Rory," he said softly.
Rory glanced over at him, and noticed that the compliment had embarrassed him. That made her appreciate it all the more, "Thank you," she said smiling at him. She reached over and took his hand, squeezing it softly. He returned the affectionate gesture, and the two stayed that way the rest of the way to Hartford.
***
When Jess and Rory arrived at Amici's, the Italian restaurant, Dean and Mandi were already there. Jess joined Rory, casually draping her arm around her shoulder, and the two joined Dean and Mandi by the steps. Jess felt like punching Dean when he saw his eyes freely roam over Rory's body, taking in everything with an appreciative expression. Jess knew this had been a bad idea, he still didn't know how Rory had talked him into it. Well actually he did. He was smart enough to admit, at least to himself, that he would give Rory anything she wanted. God, she had made him soft. Soft enough to agree to spend an evening with idiotic Dean, anyway.
"Oh Rory! You look so beautiful!" Mandi cried.
"You do too," Rory returned, fighting the jealous twitch that had suddenly appeared when she had seen how stunning Mandi looked. Mandi was wearing a long, low cut black dress that didn't leave much to imagination. She had left her hair down, but obviously curled it, because it was it in a wild array on her slender shoulders. She was wearing makeup tonight, and she looked so amazing Rory suddenly felt like a mouse standing next to her.
"You don't look so bad yourself, Jess," Dean said with a smirk, "You cleaned up surprisingly well."
"Same to you, Dean. I barely recognize you without the apron and a can of peas in you hand."
Mandi, obviously oblivious to the downright hostility between the two boys gave them a confused smile, "You both look just wonderful, now let's go inside and get our table."
Rory frowned. Was it just her imagination or had Mandi been staring awfully hard at Jess when she made her "just wonderful" comment. She dismissed the idea quickly from her mind, and allowed Jess to gently guide her inside.
***
"Well I guess they really want you to get the full Italian experience," Dean said with a frown, referring to the fact the menu was entirely in Italian.
"Oh, that's okay," Mandi said with a grin, "I can speak Italian."
"Really?" Dean asked.
"Mmm hmm, I learned when I was about ten."
"Good, you can help me figure out what to order." Dean said with a boyish grin.
Rory looked at Mandi in astonishment. The girl may act like a moron, but she was apparently really smart. Rory swallowed her pride though, and allowed Mandi to help her out with the menu, as well. The waiter came and took their orders, and the four of them found themselves sitting at the table in an uncomfortable silence.
"Well this restaurant is really amazing, everything is so beautiful." Mandi said with a sigh.
"Yeah, everything is beautiful," Dean agreed with a meaningful look in Rory's direction. His gaze made Rory blush, a fact not missed by Jess. Mandi apparently didn't care though, she kept right on chattering about how authentic and homey the restaurant was, and how charming the little dance floor looked.
"So, Rory, anything new? It's been a while since we'll really talked," Dean said., completely ignoring everyone else at the table. Rory glanced over at Mandi, who to Rory's astonishment was smiling coyly and batting her eyelashes furiously at Jess. What the hell is going on here? Rory thought, thoroughly frustrated.
"Um, not much," Rory stammered, shooting a nasty look at Mandi, who was still goggling at Jess. "Just the, ya know, usual, school, coffee, Luke's, Mom . . .Jess," she said firmly, proud of herself.
Dean just shrugged.
Jess looked up when he heard Rory say his name. He didn't have a clue as to what she said though, he had been too busy trying to figure out what the hell this Mandi girl's problem was. She acted like their was something in her eye.
"Mandi, are you okay?" Jess asked.
"What, oh I'm fine," Mandi said giggling hysterically.
Rory shot a disgruntled look in Jess's direction and Jess wondered what he had done wrong. "What?"
"Nothing," she snapped.
"Oh, I love this song!" Mandi cried, "I want to dance, Oh! Jess, will you dance with me?"
Rory's mouth fell open. Who in the hell did Mandi think she was, anyway? And why wasn't Dean upset that his new girlfriend couldn't keep her eyes off of Jess?!
"Umm, I don't think that's a good idea, Mandi," Jess said with an uncomfortable glance at Rory.
"What? Oh Rory, doesn't mind, do you?" Mandi asked smiling at Rory.
For once in her life Rory decided to be rude, because this was just too much. "Actually I do," she snapped, causing everyone at the table to look at her in surprise.
Mandi stared at Rory blankly, and Rory felt herself get embarrassed over her outburst. "Well it's just that I, uh, this is my favorite song, too, and I wanted to dance with Jess. Why don't you dance with Dean?" Rory said, trying to recover herself.
Mandi gave Dean a look Rory didn't understand, and the two of them went off to the dance floor.
"So, uh, you wanted to dance?" Jess said looking at Rory.
"Um, yeah" Rory said, standing and following Jess out onto the terrace where the music was playing.
"Funny, I never knew that an Italian song was one of you favorites." Jess said with an amused smirk.
Rory just sighed, trying not to stare at Mandi in Dean's arms. Mandi was still looking at Jess like a cat would look at a mouse. This evening really wasn't going like Rory had planned. . . and Rory was feeling sicker and sicker as the evening went on.
Jess tried not to glare at Dean as he slowly danced with Rory. The bastard had done nothing but stare at Rory since they had gotten there. Jess's earlier assumption had obviously been correct. Somehow, someway, this was all just a ploy to get Rory back.
When the four of them were seated back at the table, the uncomfortable silence returned while they waited for their food. Mandi, thinking to break the silence asked, "So, Rory, you like The Faustini's?"
"Huh?" Rory said.
"You know The Faustini's, the one's who sung the song?" Mandi said, a confused expression on her pretty face.
"Oh yeah, their great. Really, uh, talented." Rory stammered, shooting an annoyed glance at Jess who gave her a knowing wink.
"Before today, Mandi was the only one I knew who could stand that kind of music." Dean said with an loving grin at Mandi, causing Rory to be yet again, hit by a confusing burst of jealousy. The jealousy wasn't the only thing confusing her, though, this whole night was making her head hurt. If Dean and Mandi liked each other so much, why was Mandi all over Jess? And even more so, why didn't Dean care? Rory knew only too well how controlling and possessive he could be.
"Yeah," Mandi said, breaking into Rory's thoughts, "I was going to see them in concert at the Hartford Theater last spring, but something came up and my Mom couldn't take me. Gosh, I can't wait until I'm old enough to drive!" Mandi giggled.
Since no one said anything, Jess politely inquired, "When do you get you licence?"
"Oh, not for a while . . . I just turned fourteen."
Rory choked on the roll she was eating. Even Jess couldn't hide his shock.
Mandi, thinking to explain said, "Oh I know, everyone tells me I look older than I really am. But truth is I skipped first grade, so I'm actually a year younger than everyone in my class!"
This was too much, Rory couldn't take anymore, without thinking she blurted out, "Your dating someone who just turned fourteen!?"
It was now Dean and Mandi's turn to choke. Dean coughed in surprise and Mandi spit out the water that was in her mouth . . . all over Jess.
"Hey watch the sprinker works, I already had a shower tonight," Jess said disgustedly, wiping himself off.
"Oh and trust me, Jess would never take two showers in one night," Dean spat venomously at Jess.
"Listen asshole . . ."
"Jess, people are staring," Rory pleaded, starting to get incredibly upset. Jess nodded, agreeing to Rory's indirectly stated request to control himself.
"Rory, Mandi is my younger cousin," Dean explained with a tender look at Rory.
"Your dating you cousin?!" Rory cried, too distraught to think clearly.
Jess laughed, "You must be more desperate than I thought, Dean, and trust me, that's quite an accomplishment."
Dean shot a nasty look at Jess but didn't comment.
"Rory, Mandi and I aren't dating. I can't believe you thought I would drag in my new girlfriend just to rub in your face. I'm not that low," he paused when he heard another disbelieving snort from Jess's direction but then continued, "I introduced you to my cousin because I knew you could help her . . . I . . . Rory what's the point in dating someone new when your still in love with someone else?"
Dean had looked straight into Rory's eyes when he said this, and Rory had little doubt as to just who Dean was still in love with. Rory suddenly felt like she was suffocating. This wasn't supposed to be like this . . . Dean shouldn't still love her . . . Mandi shouldn't be drooling all over Jess . . . God her head hurt . . . Why the hell were all these people staring at her?! Rory stood up, knowing she had to get out of there fast. Unfortunately she fainted before she made it to the door.
***Special thanks to the person who pointed out my stupid mistake concerning the whole Latin/Italian thing . . . I must have been brain-dead when I wrote this haha . . . anyway if I made any more ditzy errors please don't hesitate to let me know! : )***
Thanks to everyone who wrote reviews . . . This is my first attempt at any fic ever -so I really appreciate any feedback! wink, wink, nudge, nudge! Haha lol