A/N: Once again, for anyone who bothers to read these notes, this is NOT, I repeat NOT, based on the Britney song it is named after! The name just fit and you'll see why... one day!
** Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters of Gilmore Girls. If I were that all powerful then Jess would be staying put! So, in summation... Please don't sue me!**
Jess pushed the shopping cart down the
supermarket aisle. His arms were folded across it, it was almost as if it was
propping him up.
"And I was all like… 'Hey you! This is my cab!' And he was like..
'Come and get it then!' So I did. I pushed him out of the way and got in
it!" Rory grinned, throwing some boxes of microwave popcorn into the cart.
"But only in your head, right?" He smiled knowingly at her.
"Yeah." She sighed. "But… I almost said it out loud."
"I'm sure you did." He nodded, grabbing a bag of potato chips and adding
them to the cart.
They carried on walking down the aisle in silence.
"Oooh, cookies!" Squealed Rory, grabbing some and putting them in the cart.
"You say that as if cookies are the answer to world peace." He chuckled.
"You never know." She shrugged. "I doubt anyone's tried it."
"True."
She laughed softly and he looked at her, wondering what she was thinking.
"Remember the time I got a craving for Milano cookies." She smiled at him.
"Yeah, and Taylor refused to sell them because he thought they had something
to do with Alyssa Milano." Laughed Jess.
"Yeah, and he didn't want to be associated with bare cleavage."
"So I had to drive you out here in the middle of the night to buy some." He
nodded.
"And by the time we got here, I was all hyped up on jelly beans." She
giggled. "And I couldn't stop laughing..."
"…So much so that you couldn't stand up properly." He smiled,
remembering
"So you had to carry me around the store on your back."
"Yes. And you insisted on quoting Austin Powers." He said, shaking his head.
"I did?" She blushed.
"Yes. The whole store was treated to your impersonation of Fat Bastard singing
'I Want My Baby Back Ribs'."
"You're kidding!" She laughed, covering her face.
"I can't believe you don't remember that! We were in the frozen foods
aisle. And you'd just finished telling me how much carrots disliked being
frozen. Especially when they had to sit across the aisle from the Lean
Cuisines." He smiled.
"Oh my god… and I made the hot pockets insult the toaster strudels." She
cringed.
"Yes! See… it's all coming back now." He laughed, finding her
embarrassment funny.
"It's like a bad hang over." She groaned. "Remembering all the hideous
things you did the night before."
"Not everything was hideous." He said. She looked at him and shook her head
slightly.
"No. Not everything."
They finished grocery shopping in silence and made their way to the front of the
store to pay.
"How is it you remember all that." She sighed, looking at him as he pushed
the cart over to the checkout.
Jess shrugged and started placing food on the conveyor belt. She smiled at him
slightly and decided to let it go.
"What else do you remember?" She asked softly as they drove home.
He looked over at her and then looked back at the road.
"Uh…" He sighed. "I remember the time you had your name written on a
grain of rice." He smiled.
"And I dropped it." She giggled.
"Yes." He nodded and smiled more. "I remember… when we went to the beach
together after you graduated from Chilton. And you were too shy to come out from
under your towel."
"It was the first time you'd seen me with so few clothes on." She said
defensively.
"It was cute." He laughed. "How about you? What do you remember?"
"I remember when we went camping." She said thoughtfully. "And you made us
late, so we had to put the tent up in the dark." She said, rolling her eyes.
"And you forgot the foot pump so we spent an hour trying to blow up the air
bed by mouth." He said accusingly.
"It was funny!" She laughed.
"I admit, it was kinda' amusing." He nodded.
"Ah, you're playing it down. You thought it was hysterical." She said,
hitting him on the arm playfully.
"You were useless. It was like… on the count of three, instead of blowing up
the mattress you would just collapse in fits of laughter!" He said.
"It was funny." She repeated and he nodded.
They passed the sign welcoming them to Stars Hollow and they both fell silent.
Rory pulled the jeep over at Luke's and looked at Jess.
"So… thanks for keeping me company today." She smiled.
"Thanks for keeping me boredom free today." He replied, turning to face her.
"It was nice. Catching up and everything."
"Yeah." He agreed.
"I guess… I'll see you around?" She asked.
"Hopefully." He nodded, opening his door and getting out.
"Goodnight, Jess." She smiled slightly.
"Night Rory."
She pulled away from the sidewalk and he watched her drive away.
He looked down at the floor and sighed. He wondered what would have happened
between them if he'd stayed in Stars Hollow. He wondered if he would have been
to one she was about to marry. Mostly, he wondered if she was thinking the same
thing.
Rory pulled into the Gilmore's makeshift drive way and shut off the engine.
She folded her arms across the steering wheel and rested her chin on them.
She had been thinking the same things as Jess. But she refused to let herself
contemplate what might have been. She and Jess had their time together. They had
been happy.
But he'd left her.
He was back now, and there were still unresolved feelings between them. Still
butterflies in her stomach when he smiled at her. He'd always had that affect
on her. It didn't mean anything.
He was too late.
She got out of the car and gathered up the bags of groceries.
He'd missed his chance. They'd missed their chance.
