Is There More?
Author: Knowhere
Chapter 3: Content
Rating: Pg-13
AN: For the sake of sounding like a broken record, I thank those again who took time to read and then review. It means a lot to me and it totally keeps me going. Thanks.
Summary: AU. College life is a journey of ups and downs; are Rory and Jess ready to take on what life is about to throw at them including a prospect of a new relationship, or will they choose the path of friendship like they did years ago? Literati.
I gently slip in my key trying not to make too much noise, since it is one o'clock in the morning. I know, it really is unlike me to be sneaking back in at such a late hour, but my date with Tyler just ran a little later than I thought. It's been about a month since our first date, and things are still going great. I can't describe it; it's pretty amazing when I'm with him.
Walking the short distance to my room, I stop and turn around and head towards Jess's room instead. Tonight was just so wonderful that I just can't wait a single minute longer to tell anyone. Tentatively opening the door, I see that he's lying on his side facing away from the door. I remove my shoes and slide under the covers and curl up behind him. I can tell that he's somewhat awake and is almost getting back into his conscious side. Turning around he smiles and asks with concern in his voice, "Hey there. Is everything okay?"
Giggling I reply, "Jess, tonight was amazing. You won't believe where he took me; it was this little café that had the best coffee that it rivaled Luke's. I mean, it's so great, I think I'll take Mom there next time she comes up to visit. And that's not it, he had these flowers for me and after dinner he bought me ice cream and we just walked around the city. Seriously Jess, I can't thank you enough for setting me up with Tyler."
Breathing in he smiles softly and remarks, "I'm glad you're so happy Ror. You deserve it."
"Thanks Jess." I slide down even more as he wraps his arm around me. Tightening his grasp on me, I think about how I just have it all right now: a great boyfriend and an even greater best friend.
"Rory, are you staying here? 'Cause if you are, turn off the light." Yawning, Jess points to the silver lamp that sits on his night stand.
Shifting slightly so that I can reach the power button, I turn it off and snuggle closer to him feeling utterly content with my life.
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Struggling to open my eyes, I find that I'm still in Jess's bedroom; not that it really bothered me, occasionally when I was really happy or upset I would just climb in bed with him, in a strictly friendly manner of course. Glancing around, I see that there's a cup of coffee on his night stand and as I reach over to get it, I feel that it's still warm; he must have just left the house to go to school. Smiling at his thoughtfulness I wonder how anyone can anyone think that Jess is emotionally cut-off. I guess he's just always been this nice and polite around me; I like being the only one that gets to see his soft side, and once in a while I make sure that I tease him that he really does have a softer, gentler side to his James Dean exterior.
The phone rings, jolting me out of my day dream; reaching over to grab the portable next to the clock, I ask, "Hello?"
"Hey there." I smile, knowing who it is just by the sound of his voice. I melt into the covers thinking about the amazing night that we just shared a couple of hours ago.
"Tyler. How are you?"
"I'm good. Did I wake you up?"
Grinning at his thoughtfulness, I whisper, "If I wasn't awake, I wouldn't mind waking up to your voice."
Chuckling he replies, "Okay, I just wanted to say 'hi' before I head off to the library to do some research. You wanna come? You can work on your English paper while I research."
"Sure; I've been meaning to get it out of the way anyways, and with your beautiful face there, it might make it less painful." I can't really believe I just so openly flirted with him like that; I'm not usually like that but I guess with him, he brings out a different side of me; and to top it off, I like it.
"Stop, you're making me blush. I'll meet you there in an hour; is that enough time for you?"
"Yeah, plenty. See you."
"Later, Rory."
Quickly chugging the rest of Jess's terrific coffee, I hop off his bed and rush into my room to get dressed and to grab my books and stuff. After jotting down a quick note to let Jess know where I am, I slam the door after me and head towards the library.
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"Jess!? Are you home?"
I peer around the corner looking for him; I'm really excited about my proposition and I can't wait to tell him about it. He's walking out of his room and I can hear him shout, "Yeah? What is it?"
As he faces me I can tell that he's been napping; he's wearing nothing but his Grinch boxers that I bought for him years ago. Snapping out of it, I remind myself that I shouldn't be staring at Jess like that; he's practically my brother; but still, even though summer was a while ago, somehow he's pretty tan for a guy that doesn't like to just randomly sit out in the sun for the sake of a tan. I can't help but stare, and for the first time I really notice that he's pretty built.
"Hey, Rory…are you just going to stare at me, 'cause I'm starting to feel like a piece of meat on display here." Smirking he knows that he has caught me in mid-stare.
Blushing wildly I advert my eyes and try to glance at everything but him; but he knows that he has hit a sore spot. He walks over casually to my side and stands right in front of me with his arms crossed with a grin on his face, waiting for me to say something. Regaining some composure, I manage to squeak out, "Uh…would you be interested to go on a double date with me and Tyler. There's a new up-scale restaurant opening and he managed to get a table for four and he suggested that we all hang out together for a night, since we don't really do that often, but of course you're not obligated to go, I could always just ask someone else or maybe one of his friends would like to go with us instead…"
Bracing his arms on my shoulders he looks at me and stops me in mid-ramble with, "Yeah that would be good. I've got a date coming up with this girl and I don't think she'd be extremely excited with the diner across the street or the Chinese place on 6th. Thanks Ror, you saved me a lot of planning hassle." Seeing as how my cheeks are still tinted red, he walks to his room to put on a Metallica shirt. Shaking his head at me for being embarrassed so easily he tries to ease the tension that's radiating off of me by saying, "I made pasta; want some?"
He knows that I have a major soft spot for his appetizing pasta that I forget everything that has happened within the last five minutes and I rush into the kitchen with him and begin to spoon the pasta onto my plate. While I grab a couple of glasses for us, I contemplate about our future double date; we have never actually done that before, we just always kinda kept our dating life aside. I mean, we're always there for each other when we went through heartbreak or breakups, but we never mingled those two aspects of our lives together…I think that this new venture will be quite interesting.
AN: Hope you enjoyed it. For all you hard-core Lits out there and keep asking me if this will become a Jess/Rory fic…well, you'll just have to keep on reading; but I will say one thing: I love them together. Keep checking back, and be patient with the couple pairing.