A/N: I sent the next chapter of The Substitute to my beta reader about a week ago, and I'm waiting on her to send it back. So it's like, her fault. ;)
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Chapter Eleven
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She had fallen asleep after talking with Luke, and it was slightly past ten when she woke up. After remembering their last conversation, she was in a nervous frenzy. What if he thought it had been some sort of booty call? Did she think it had been an unintentional booty call? She went to the bathroom to wash her face and caught her reflection in the mirror.
She was wearing her sweat pants and 'hot mama' glitter t-shirt, which wasn't the most flattering of outfits. Maybe she should change. On the other hand, why should she get all dressed up for Luke to come over and watch Kirk's movie? He'd be suspicious. Or expectatious. Did she want him to be expectatious? He knew the lap dance thing was only a joke, right? Had she been joking? Was expectatious even a word?
Lorelai finally settled on keeping the 'hot mama' t-shirt. It had been one of those trendy shirts she bought at a store for adolescent girls, so it was a little small, but she figured since the phrase applied to her literally, it was okay to wear it. She considered jeans, but that looked like she was dressed up. Finally she pulled on a pair of cut-off shorts that she'd had for so long, the ends had unraveled until they'd become inches too short to wear in public, and the waistband had lost the button so she'd cut that off as well. Still, they were better than the ratty sweatpants.
What underwear was she wearing? Not that Luke would need to see her underwear. Right? Well, it wasn't right to go around wearing old, ugly underwear; that was some kind of rule. She checked to make sure and found she was wearing dark blue cotton bikinis. Good choice; not ugly, but not presumptuous.
While looking down at her underwear, she caught sight of her toenails. She tried to think of the last time she'd painted them and couldn't even remember. She found a darker color and put it on over the heavily chipped lighter color, then kicked her feet in the air to dry them.
Hair down or hair up? First things first, she should brush it. It frizzed, thanks to the humidity of summer, settling the question with 'up.'
She looked at herself in the mirror with her t-shirt and cut-offs and lack of makeup and high ponytail. She looked twelve years old! Why not just blast some N'Sync on the stereo?
Unfortunately, she had no more time to change her mind because the doorbell rang.
"Hey," she greeted, opening the door all the way and letting him through.
"How's the arm?" he automatically asked, and handed her Lane's letter.
"Not really hurting anymore; though you probably should take the remaining pills away from me, because they're pretty fun."
Luke thought of just how 'fun' Lorelai was with them and agreed. As they walked over to the couch, Lorelai saw that the message light was blinking. She'd taken a handful of naps throughout the day, so she must have missed a few calls. "There's beer in the fridge if you want any." She hit the play button as he walked away.
"Lorelai, this is your mother. You change one ridiculous greeting for an even more ridiculous greeting. Honestly, I don't know why I even bother…" Lorelai grimaced and skipped to the next message.
"It is Michel. I was just sitting here, at the desk, all alone, wondering when you would be coming in so that I don't have to deal with every single brain dead idiot who calls or comes up to my desk. You can call back, but I will not answer the phone, as I most likely would have taken my own life by then." Lorelai grimaced again. Was a message from someone she actually liked too much to ask for?
"Hey, Mom, it's me. It's like, eight something." Lorelai grinned, her mood much better. She'd called Rory a few times, just in case she was back at the dorm early, but hadn't gotten through to her. "We had our presentation today, which is why I didn't get a chance to return your calls earlier. Paris was scary, but I think we did a great job. I was just calling to see how you were, and to see if anything was new with you and Lu…"
Lorelai smacked the stop button with record speed. She turned and saw Luke walking up behind her with a beer. Good, he probably hadn't heard any of it.
"That Rory?"
"Yeah. She says her presentation went well." Lorelai inwardly groaned. Why was she telling him this? He didn't even know Rory had a presentation; excessive elaboration was a sure clue that someone was lying or covering stuff up.
"Good for her. Maybe I'll send her some coffee."
Lorelai went over to the T.V. "I was actually thinking of driving down there if I can get a weekend without some sort of function going on at the inn."
"Are any of the other kids' parents visiting?" Luke asked, already knowing the answer.
"From what I can gather, no. But I'm not like other parents."
"I know."
"I'm sure Rory would love it."
"I'm sure she would."
"I don't want to let go," Lorelai admitted.
"I know. But you're not, she's coming back in a month."
"She's leaving me for good in a year." No, no, she was not going to cry. It was weak and silly and it would freak Luke out.
Or maybe it wouldn't, she thought as she felt him hug her. He held her for a few minutes while she got a hold of herself; thankfully no actual tears had fallen, and she'd managed to avoid hysterical sobbing. "I'm okay," she told him, and wiped her watery eyes on his flannel before pulling away. "Didn't that freak you out?"
"It did. I like it better when you yell." He looked down at her and saw that his flannel had been used as a Kleenex. "You know what would make you feel better?"
Lorelai smiled. "Kirk's video?"
"From what I hear." He took off his flannel and put it over a chair back.
"You hear quite correctly," Lorelai said, and put the video in the machine. They sat down on the couch, Lorelai curling up on one armrest, her feet a few inches away from Luke, who was doing the manly sprawl at the other end. As the black and white credits came on, she watched Luke for his reaction. She'd already seen the thing thirty times or so.
She watched the 'I cannot believe that I'm actually seeing what I'm seeing and I'm not on drugs, which might explain it' expression, the 'no, he wouldn't, oh wow, he did' expression, and the 'if I don't pee my pants by the end of this I will be amazed' expression cross his face as the movie played.
She couldn't take her eyes off him, only glancing at the screen occasionally for the best parts. Every time he brought the beer bottle up to his lips she had a jealous twinge aimed at inanimate green glass. His arms, no longer hidden from the flannel, were particularly fascinating, and she spent a while contemplating them, since he so rarely showed them.
Why he hid them, she couldn't figure out. His arms were so big, she could probably wrap both her hands around them and her fingers wouldn't even come close to touching; she fought the urge to reach over and test her theory.
The movie ended and Lorelai quickly looked at the screen so Luke would think she'd been watching the whole time. When he didn't say anything, she turned back to him.
He was still staring at the screen, which had gone blank.
"Um, I know that Kirk's movie had a powerful impact on us all, but I think you're the first case of catatonia."
Luke shook his head in disbelief. "Wow. Just….wow."
"Ah, speechlessness. That was a common reaction; second only to near-asphyxiation from intense, prolonged laughing." Lorelai got up and ejected the tape. "So, shall I give you a copy?"
"You would have my undying gratitude."
Lorelai handed him the tape with a flourish. "Then I bequeath this copy to you."
"Thanks." He took it.
"You're welcome." She cleared her throat, and tapped her foot expectantly. Luke gave her a blank look. Lorelai rolled her eyes. "I believe you were supposed to bequeath me some danishes."
"I believe you were supposed to bequeath me a lap dance."
"I think we have should officially retire the word 'bequeath.'"
Luke nodded to the kitchen. "I put them in the oven to warm them up. Don't worry, I took out the shoes."
"I'll go make some coffee."
"There's a pot brewing already."
"You are so the man." Lorelai went into the kitchen, and pulled the now-warm danishes out of the oven, then poured herself some coffee.
When she came back into the living room, Luke asked, "Does he have a name yet?"
"Who?"
"The coffee machine."
"Harry Jr."
"I should have figured."
"She sat on the couch, a little closer to him than before. "Want some danish?" she asked with her mouth full, holding out a piece.
"Very attractive."
"Fine, no danish for you." She finished the cheese danish and licked her fingers clean. Luke almost offered to do that for her.
"So, do you uh, want to watch a movie?" he asked, trying not to sound too hopeful. "Or I can leave, if you'd rather be alone."
"Who am I, Garbo? Put in a movie."
Luke headed over to the pile of videos. "You and Rory could start your own video store."
"Yeah, and then instead of a Rory curtain, there can be a Lorelai curtain where the really naughty videos are."
Luke tried not to think about that comment and looked through the videos. "I never saw 'When Harry Met Sally.' Any good, or is it all just hype?"
Lorelai was shocked. "It's great, we can watch it now…wait, what am I thinking, that movie sucks, forget it." There was no way she was watching that movie with Luke at this particular moment in time. That would be hitting way to close to home.
She got up and joined him in the movie quest. "Willy Wonka?" she suggested.
"No," Luke rejected.
"Why not?"
"Because the Oompa Loompas scare me, okay?" he gruffly admitted.
Lorelai laughed, then saw he was serious. She laughed harder. "What? How? They're the best part!"
"They just do. They're all orange, and singing, and…" he was getting worked up.
Lorelai patted his arm. "It'll be okay," she comforted. "Since you brought me danishes, I'll be nice and let you pick any movie you want. That way you can make sure to get something that won't scare you." She sat back on the couch. "Although, I'd recommend staying away from 'Labyrinth.'"
"Are there Oompa Loompas?"
"No, but David Bowie's wearing really tight pants."
Luke nodded. "Thanks for the warning." He continued his perusal of her collection, and she prayed he wouldn't pick something like 'Body Heat.' After a while, he joined her on the couch.
"So, what's your final answer?"
"Nothing. I couldn't pick."
"Out of the hundred movies we have, you couldn't pick one?"
"Well, most of them are really good, so I got overwhelmed and couldn't pick just one. You go pick one."
"Oh, no, I can't." It was too stressful trying to remember which movies had sex scenes in them, and which movies were too girly for Luke. "We can watch T.V. then."
Luke shrugged. "Sounds fine." Lorelai could suggest they watch grass grow, and he'd agree if it meant she'd sit next to him.
She reached over him, fumbling for the switch on the lamp to turn it off. It wasn't intentional, but her chest was eye level with Luke. He wondered if Lorelai was doing some sort of experiment to see how long it would take for her to torture him to death.
She flicked the switch and the room was bathed in nothing but the light from the television. Lorelai regretted the move; dim lighting and close proximity never led to anything chaste. Luke reached for the remote on the coffee table and began flipping through the channels.
"Can I?" he asked, putting his feet up on the coffee table.
"Do you even know me at all?"
"Right. Stupid question."
She put her feet over the arm rest and threw a pillow next to Luke's thigh. "As long as we're all getting comfortable," she explained, and lied back.
She watched as he flipped through the channels. "Ooh, Law and Order."
He stopped. "You want to watch?"
She shook her head. "No. I get frustrated at the end; either the criminal is a horrible person and you want them to rot in jail, but they avoid serious jail time on some stupid legal thing, or the criminal is sympathetic and it makes you feel bad when they lock them up."
He continued with the channel surfing; when he stopped Lorelai grunted.
"No baseball?" he asked.
"No baseball," Lorelai confirmed.
He continued surfing until Lorelai told him to stop. "What's this?" he asked.
"Oh, you'll like it. And it just started. Yay."
"What is it?"
"'10 Things I Hate About You.' It's modernized Shakespeare."
"So no tights?"
"None."
"Good. What play?"
"'The Taming of the Shrew,'" Lorelai told him. "It's full of Heath Ledger goodness."
"He's too young for you," Luke said, then smirked. "Oh wait, I forgot you like them young. How is Billy doing? Did he pass his drivers license test?"
"Oh, aren't you funny. Besides, he dated Heather Graham and she's my age."
"You know way too much about famous people."
"I know, it's a sickness. Now shut up and watch the movie."
"You were the one talking."
"Shush." She reached up and smacked his arm. Wow, his muscle was hard. Without even realizing it, she let her fingers trail down his bicep, her hand coming to rest on his forearm.
He shivered a little at the touch and looked over at her, but she was engrossed in the movie. She was lying on her back, with her cast arm resting on her stomach and the arm whose hand was touching him extended over her head. The short t-shirt she was wearing had ridden up a little, and there was substantial skin showing between the hem and the top of her frayed shorts. He could see the top of her panties peeking out past the waistband. And god, those shorts, Luke thought. They barely covered more than a pair of underwear would; her legs were dangling over the armrest, and he watched the play of her muscles as she idly swung them.
She laughed at a part of the movie, and he chuckled too, even though he hadn't seen it, just so she wouldn't know he'd been staring at her. She tilted her head back so she could see him. "See, I knew you'd like it."
He tried to hide the fact that he hadn't been looking at the screen by taking a deep swig of his beer. "Yeah, it's great." Maybe he should actually watch it, he thought. He turned his attention to the movie, and the next few times he laughed with Lorelai, they were sincere. The movie was kind of witty- though totally not something he'd be watching on his own.
Halfway through, Lorelai felt her eyelids beginning to droop and she rolled over, curling into a ball. Her arm was no longer comfortable in its position, so she moved it in front of her chest and slid her hand under the pillow for support.
Luke's leg happened to be under the pillow, and he tried not to jerk when her fingers grazed his thigh. With her hand no longer on his arm, he finally wasn't afraid to move it, and he extended it to get the feeling back.
"Mmm," Lorelai murmured, and it was then he realized he'd moved his hand to her head, where he was stroking her hair. Since she wasn't complaining, he figured it wouldn't be a bad thing to keep doing it.
They sat that way for a few minutes, Lorelai practically purring with contentment and Luke trying not to think of all the other places he wanted to touch her. He wasn't sure if she was even awake, until she murmured, "Best part."
On the screen, Heath Ledger was singing 'Can't Take my Eyes Off You' in a public forum. Luke felt a twinge of sympathy for the guy.
Lorelai was asleep before the song was finished. Luke, having worked for fifteen hours, soon followed.
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-end ch. 11-
Okay, so I couldn't find a movie for them to watch and 10 Things I Hate About You was on t.v. while I was writing this. It was either that or "She's All That"…USA had a teen movie fest, also showing "Can't Hardly Wait" and I actually watched all 3 movies in a row (10 Things I Hate About You was aired twice in the same day), so I picked the best one from there. Heath goodness.