Readers:

As I write this, I have no idea where the story is going, and no idea what it is about. With any luck, I will deem it good enough for the general public to read, and in that case, you will be reading something that I hope you will enjoy. I have never before written a story that was not a satire or somewhat humorous, and never again intend to do so. This is my first attempt...hopefully it will not totally suck.

With all due respect,

authors-anonymous

---

"Lane...Lane..." a voice said, outside the window.

Inside the sterile bedroom, Lane Kim woke up, a smile on her face. She wasn't a deep sleeper; she never had been. It was implanted in her subconscious: sleep heavy - Mama finds CD player. Or candy bar. Or wallet- sized cut out of Leonardo DiCaprio from some teenage magazine. It was a necessary skill, waking up on command. And recently it seemed to have come in handy. Silently, Lane made sure that her hair wasn't sticking up at an odd angle and got out of bed, pulling the blankets with her.

Lane listened carefully to her Mother's heavy breathing in the room next door and opened the window. "Hi," she whispered, climbing out onto the ledge.

"Hi," Dave said, and kissed her. "I missed you."

"I missed you too," Lane said, settling the blanket over herself and her boyfriend. Lane snuggled up to Dave, lacing her warm fingers through his calloused ones.

It had been like this for weeks now. Dave climbed the tree outside her window, woke her up, and they sat together, watching the sunrise, talking quietly. Lane couldn't believe how lucky she was. Here was this amazing guy, who actually liked her. Her! She still hadn't gotten over it. Just thinking about him made her heart skip a beat and her hands shake. It was utterly cliqued, and Lane knew it, but if it meant being one of 'those girls', she would take the punishment gladly.

Dave nudged Lane slightly, making her look up. He kissed her again, sucking her lower lip into his mouth.

"Hi."

"Haven't we done this already?" Dave whispered into her ear, breathing on her neck.

"Dave, take me away," Lane said suddenly, pulling away to look Dave in the face. "Take me away now."

"Where do you want to go?" Dave asked sincerely.

"Anywhere...just take me away."

"What about school?"

"We don't need it."

"And money?"

"I have a bit saved up. We can take odd jobs around the town."

"What town?"

"Any town, wherever we're living."

"And Rory?" Dave asked, pulling her close again.

"I'd send her postcards whenever we went somewhere new. She could put them up on her fridge like a map."

"Like in that commercial."

"Like in that commercial..."Lane agreed.

"What about your Mother?"

Lane was silent. She couldn't go away, she wasn't brave enough. That wasn't true, and she knew it. She wasn't stupid enough. She had always sworn that she would get out, get away as soon as she was old enough. But then she had always planned that she would go away with Rory.

Rory had never known this. Lane was glad now that she had never shared her dream with her; if she had, Rory would have felt bad about going away with Lorelai or Jess or whoever she was going to go away with rather than Lane. Rory was like that- loyal.

"What about us?" Lane whispered, not looking at Dave. "What about us?"

Without seeing his expression, Lane knew that Dave was asking the same thing. He had proven himself to be 'the perfect secret boyfriend' and he deserved to be promoted.

"Maybe-" she started, but stopped and whipped her head around. "Quick, hide!" she hissed, grabbing the blanket off Dave and closing the window on him. She threw the blanket over the bed hastily and had barely climbed in when her mother opened the door. Lane willed her breathing to be quiet. After a moment when Lane was sure she would be caught, her mother closed the door quietly and continued on her way (Lane could only assume) to the bathroom at the end of the hall.

Lane wasn't close to her mother. She never loved her as a child, and the feeling hadn't suddenly materialized as she got older. There was respect. Lane respected her mother; She had always had clothes to wear, food to eat, a home- though stifled, she was welcomed. When Lane's father had died, Mama Kim mourned and moved on. As a child, Lane hadn't understood how her mother had made such a seamless transition from wife to widow. She still didn't.

Lane waited. After what she deemed a long enough time to pretend to be asleep while her boyfriend was perched outside her window, Lane crept out of bed and opened the window.

"I think you'd better go..." Lane said, even as her entire being was protesting.

"Yeah," Dave said, and Lane was so caught up in her own acute misery she nearly missed the look that passed over his face.

"Dave," Lane said, catching onto his arm. "I don't want you to go."

"I know." Dave took Lane's hand in his, and without waiting for her to ready herself, kissed her, pulled back, lightly traced her lips with his index finger. "See you tomorrow," he said, and was gone.

"Dave..." Lane mumbled, and put her cold hands to her warm lips, the contrast giving her goosebumps. "Oh Dave..."

---

"So, have you made any progress on the Dave front?" Rory was asking, as the two of them walked through the town.

"None what-so-ever," Lane replied.

"Have you considered just telling her?" Rory asked, as she gestured to Luke's absently. "I mean, I know she's Mama Kim, but when you're eighteen..."

Lane sighed. It wasn't Rory's fault; she had never had a Korean Militant Mother before. "Somehow I don't think that that's the best idea."

Rory's attention had wandered though. Jess looked up when he heard the door open, and walked over to them. "Table?" he asked, pulling Rory in for a kiss.

"Let's sit at the counter," Lane said, and even though Rory hadn't yet responded, walked around Jess and sat down heavily.

Rory wasn't completely useless though. "Fries," she told Jess, "and ice cream and-"

"Coffee," Jess added before Rory finished. "Coming right up."

Lane didn't say anything as Rory took off her coat and sat down wearing a t- shirt that Lane wouldn't be allowed to wear inside the house, never mind out. Lane was sure that it had been a dare or a lost bet to Lorelai.

"So?" Rory asked, once the coffee had arrived. "What are you going to do?"

"About...?" asked Lane, suddenly wishing that she hadn't brought up the topic of Dave.

"Lane. You can't ignore the problem. What are you going to do when..." Rory stopped, embarrassed.

"When we want to 'do stuff, you mean?" Lane finished for her. "I don't know. I don't even know how far we're going to go. If anywhere."

"Look, I didn't mean it like that," Rory said, understanding without being told that she had prodded an open wound. "I just meant...well, I'm not sure exactly."

Lane smiled at Rory. "Don't worry about it. Even if I was allowed to date Dave, I don't think Mama Kim would be too pleased if I started reproducing in my bedroom." Lane bit into a fry. "I mean, even you and Jess aren't..." Lane stopped at the look on Rory's face. "Oh my god, you didn't."

"Well..." Rory said, blushing bright red.

"Rory!" Lane admonished, her own troubles momentarily forgotten.

"Shhh!" Rory hissed, surveying the diner to make sure that Patty wasn't around. "We didn't go all the way," Rory said quietly, "but..."

"Oh."

"Don't tell anyone. I mean," Rory blurted out quickly, "Mom knows and everything, but not everything...do you know what I mean?"

Lane nodded. "I know."

---

Lane and Rory were walking back to the Gilmore's when Rory suddenly stopped. "Oh my god! I've got it!" Rory exclaimed, turning excitedly to her best friend.

"Oh my god! What?" Lane asked, and grinned when Rory scowled at her. "Seriously, what?"

"I don't think I'm going to tell you now," Rory huffed, but the curl at the edge of her mouth gave her away.

"Come on, I'm sorry."

"Okay, I'm thinking...movie night."

"Uh, okay..." Lane said, feeling out of the loop. "Cool. Can we get M&M's?"

"No, I mean with Dave." Rory said smiling like an idiot. "And Jess," she added as an after thought.

"Like a double-date?" Lane asked, doubtfully. Seeing as how the dates she and Dave had had would have been defined as 'band practice' by any major dictionary, she wasn't sure if double-dating is exactly what she had in mind.

"Well, not exactly. Just hanging out." Rory was practically bouncing. "It'll be dark and we'll rent a bunch of good movies and have pizza and you and Jess and Dave can argue about music..."

Rory's infectious behavior was catching. "Oh, it would be fun..." Lane said, debating with herself. "When?"

"What's wrong with tonight?" asked Rory, pulling Lane into Doose's behind her.

"What if he's busy? He is a pretty busy guy."

"Stop inventing excuses!" Rory admonished, piling bags of sugary substances into the basket.

"I guess..." Lane said, twisting her hands together. "Okay. I'll call him."

"Good. Does Dave like licorish?"

---

It was nearly seven. It hadn't been hard convincing Mama Kim to let Lane stay later than usual at the Gilmore's. Well, perhaps only because on Thursday evenings the church held a debate that usually lasted until-

"Ten thirty," Lane told Rory, as she stood in front of her mirror, comparing hair styles. "And it will take Mama at least ten minutes to get her turn to talk to the Reverend, and another seven to get home."

"Lane, I'm trying to brush-"

Lane ignored Rory, "now seeing as it takes three and a half minutes to run from your house to mine, and approximately another three to brush my teeth and say my prayers,"

"Lane!" Rory yelled in a vain attempt to get her attention.

"I should leave at six to eleven. Can I set an alarm or something?"

"If you stop jumping around, you can get it tattooed on your forehead for all I care."

"Sorry," Lane said meekly, and tried to stop fidgeting while undergoing Rory's ministrations. "Rory?"

"Yes Lane?"

"I think...that I might be...well, you know."

"What?" Rory asked, nearly dropping the brush.

"I think I might be...ready."

"Ohh." Rory sat on the edge of her bed. "Huh."

"What do you think?" Lane asked, sitting on the other edge.

"What?" Rory repeated.

"What-"

"I don't know!" Rory exploded and began to pace the room. "Are you sure?"

"No."

"Are you planning to do it tonight?"

"No!"

"So?"

"I don't know..." Lane looked at her hands. "I just..."

Rory sat down again, this time next to Lane.

"Are you mad?" Lane asked, weaving her fingers into Rory's quilt.

"What? No Lane, just...shocked. I didn't think that you had had much time to do...well...that much."

"We haven't," Lane said quickly, and seeing Rory's disbelieving expression, added, "just kissing."

Rory was quiet for a few minutes. Lane watched her nervously, sneaking furtive glances through the corner of her eyes. Lane was shaking, now that she'd said it, wishing she could take it back. Shouldn't she have told Dave first? Should she even be feeling...ready? Lane glanced at Rory again, who was biting her bottom lip delicately. Rory was beautiful when she worried. Actually, she was beautiful when she did anything. Lane had long stopped being envious of Rory, because she knew that it was no contest.

When they were thirteen, Lane had wondered if Rory knew she was beautiful. Up till then, there had been no solid evidence that she knew or even cared. But then there wasn't any evidence that she didn't spend hours every night holed up in her bedroom, brushing her hair and filing her nails. It was puzzling.

"I don't know..." Rory said tentatively, looking at her hands.

"What about you and Jess?" Lane asked, relieved to have finally said it.

Rory was quiet again. "I...I think it's different. I mean, I don't know-" she added hastily, fearing to offend the other girl, "but...when we do things...I always want to do more. When we first started going out, I enjoyed the kissing. Then we started..."

"Undressing each other?" Lane offered helpfully.

Rory blushed. "Yeah. It was never weird. I always wanted him to go a bit farther. For a while we stayed with shirts, but then...I guess we were both comfortable enough for more. I never knew what was going to happen, and I didn't plan out how far we would go or anything...I wasn't uncomfortable though. Everything that has happened...has been perfect."

Lane looked into Rory's face and found nothing but utter sincerity. Lane doubted that she had even told Lorelai this part of her relationship.

"I can't tell you what to do," Rory said, looking up at Lane for the first time since they had begun this thread of conversation, "but...I think when you and Dave delve into the unknown, you'll know."

Now it was Lane's turn to be quiet. "Maybe I'm not ready."

Rory held Lane's hand, examining her smooth nails and curvaceous cuticles. "Maybe you're not. But maybe you are. You'll know."

Lane smiled at Rory, and felt closer to her than she had in years.

---

"Please Lane, calm down." Rory semi-glared at the pacing Korean girl in her living room.

"I can't. This is out first date in Stars Hollow."

"What about those mornings?" Rory asked, having only recently been told about them.

Lane didn't regret confiding in her best friend. She hadn't been lately; different schools and different men pushed them apart. Although she had not realized it at the time, Dean had driven a wedge between the two during the years he had been dating Rory. Her secret rendezvous' with Dave had been special, and Lane had wrongly thought that special meant secret. It had proven true with her mother, and she had no reason to believe otherwise with her best friend.

"Lane, the floors aren't that strong anymore."

"Since when?" Lane asked, before remembering the terminates that had lived in the house.

The living room had been meticulously arranged. The coffee table was littered with bags of candy, bowls of chips (barbeque and salted, Lane hadn't known Dave's favorite kind), tins of chilled soda and a tower of precariously piled movies. The lights were off, and there were blankets and cushions on both the couch and floor. Lane had wanted Belle and Sebastian in the background, but Rory begged off, insisting that Jess would leave.

The pizza had been ordered. Now all there was to do was wait.

Fortunately, Jess arrived before Lane had lost too much hair. Normally, Lane wouldn't have bothered to get up when he arrived, but today she did. Normally, she barely spoke to him, wouldn't have asked if he wanted ice for his drink. If Jess noticed her odd behavior, he didn't mention it.

Rory shot Lane a sympathetic glance half an hour past seven. She was one step away from clawing her eyes out. Jess had put a thorough end to any dialogue a few minutes after he arrived by kissing Rory's neck when the two girls had virtually ignored his attempts at beginning decent conversation.

The pizza arrived, and stayed in its box, stewing in its own juices as Lane stewed in hers. When the doorbell rang, she jumped up, ran to the door, and ran back to the couch, sitting down stubbornly.

"Lane?"

"Yes Rory?" Lane asked, biting into a piece of chocolate.

"That's probably Dave."

"Oh, you think so?"

"Lane." Rory began sternly, breaking away from Jess to look the pining girl directly in her face. "Get the door."

Lane jumped up without a word and reached the door before Dave rang the bell again.

"Lane," Dave said, pulling her to him and kissing her protesting mouth viciously. "Traffic."

"Oh..."Lane replied, as nonchalantly as she could. It was impossible to remain angry with him.

---

Dave was holding Lane, using one hand to eat, the other to keep her pressed close. Not that Lane minded. She was perfectly contented to lean into his chest, to inhale his scent. His Dave scent. She had only eaten one piece of pizza, because the now third near-empty box was too far for her to reach without disentangling herself from her boyfriend. From her magnificent, amazing, beautiful boyfriend. Jess and Rory were on the floor, half on a blanket, half under one. Jess was whispering something funny into Rory's ear, and she laughed without taking her eyes off the screen. It seemed that Dave wasn't the only one who was watching the second movie of the night. Lane and Jess had more in common than she had realized. She felt like an idiot, assuming she knew Jess, when really she had only assumed.

Lane tried to draw her attention back to the movie, tried to stem the flow of thoughts through her over-active head.

"Lane..."Dave whispered, taking her soda out of her hand. "Come on."

Once on the porch, Dave pressed Lane against the fence and opened her mouth urgently with his tongue, sending chills down her spine. He only stopped when he had run out of air. "Lane..." he said, pressing his forehead against hers. "I've been wanting to do that all evening."

Lane replied, smiling coyly, "So have I."

Dave took Lane's hand again and led her down the front steps and around the house.

"What are we...?" Lane asked, when he let go and pulled his keys out of his pockets.

"You'll see..."

Lane watched as his perfect, calloused hands found the key, turned the lock, opened the door, ushered her inside. Dave pulled the fabric that kept Lane's presence secret off the lone window; The light from a lamp post pooled on an empty guitar rack. He didn't turn on the lights, but pulled Lane down next to him onto one of the large costume cases that lined one wall.

"Hi."

Lane looked down at their hands that molded so perfectly together. Would she and Dave be a perfect fit also?

"Penny for your thoughts," Dave said.

Rather than replying, Lane turned and kissed him steadily, somehow managed to trap herself between a case and a boy.

"Hi..." Dave said again, and kissed her neck.

"Dave..." Lane started, half breathy sigh, half tone.

Dave sat up, much to Lane's surprise. "I'm sorry."

"What?" Lane asked bewildered, sitting up also. Did he want this?

"I shouldn't have done that, I'm sorry." Dave was saying, in his best 'Mama- Kim-Please-Like-Me-Voice' as Lane's head swam. He didn't want her. He didn't want her. She had thrown herself at him, and here he was, saying that he didn't want her.

"Yeah, you shouldn't have," Lane responded angrily.

"Lane...I," Dave started, his voice cracking with unshed emotion. "I...I didn't mean to get carried away like that. I just...I just really-"

Lane understood. He didn't want to stop. Lane could have cheered. Dave was utterly perfect.

"Close the door," she said, and when he had complied and sat next to her again, she pulled off her shirt, letting it drop onto the floor. She felt, rather than heard, Dave's intake of breathe, and smiled to herself. Lane tugged Dave's cardigan over his head and unbuttoned his shirt quickly.

Tentatively, Dave ran his hands over Lane's naked shoulders, down her arms. He leaned forward, kissed her face, her chin, down her neck, over her collarbones. Nervously, Lane ran her fingers over Dave's chest.

"Dave..." she whispered, even though they were alone.

"Yeah?"

"I don't really know what to do," Lane admitted, glad the lack of light hid most of her embarrassment.

"Neither..." Dave said, kissing her again. He wasn't sure of himself now that clothes were off. "Lane, I've never done this before."

"Me neither," Lane replied.

"Really?" Dave joked, "I had no idea."

Lane lightly smacked his arm, and moaned when his lips descended onto her skin again.

"Is this okay?" Dave asked.

Lane nodded, and smiled into her his shoulder as he tried to remove her bra. "Have you done this before?" she asked.

"What, you can't tell?" Dave said, still fumbling with the clasp. "I thought I was so suave."

"Dave, it's a serious question."

Dave finally succeeded. "No, I never have. You're my first girlfriend."

Lane sat up. "What? Are you sure?"

"Yes, I'm sure you're my first girlfriend...?" Dave replied, not sure whether to be relieved when Lane kissed him, or not. "Is that so surprising?"

"Very." Lane was elated. Hesitantly, she kissed his chest, ran her tongue over one nipple. Dave groaned deep in his throat. Bolder, she did it again, nibbled, kissed. Dave uncertainly touched her breast, ran his fingers down her body. So this is why Rory did it. It was certainly worth the fuss.

---

Every three weeks, Lane and her mother took the bus out to Hartford, on a special trip to a Chinese warehouse. Inside were so many gadgets and trinkets in a huge maze of bins and shelves, that if you put down something and forgot to pick it up, a shopping list perhaps, you would never see it again. Lane had been eight when such an event had occurred. It was a week until Rory's birthday, and Lane had managed to escape the constant watch of her mother. Later, she would explain that she had gotten lost while trying to keep up. It took a while for her to find what she was looking for. It was a hand bound notebook with pressed flowers in the cover. It only cost a few dollars, and Lane had been saving up. She clutched it to her chest, went to the checkout, and once she had bought it, stuck it under her shirt so that her mother wouldn't notice. 'Where were you Lane?' Mama Kim had asked when Lane returned to her side. 'We must go. Bus leaves in ten minutes.' Lane's mother took her hand and dragged her along, stopping only to take half a dozen bars of the only soap that had always been, and always would be, the soap of the Kim household. That was when the book slipped noiselessly from under Lane's shirt. Her mother didn't notice, and Lane hadn't had time to pick it up before being dragged off again. Lane couldn't bare to leave it, and slipped off again, but couldn't find the aisle where she had dropped it. The soap had forever afterward symbolized the hold her mother had over her. She couldn't even tell her she was buying her best friend a notebook. It was the smell of oppression. Lane never forgot.

---

"You smell nice," Dave breathed into her ear, nibbling it.

Lane had forgotten how to speak. Both she and Dave were surer of themselves. Inside the house, Rory and Jess were probably doing the same thing as she and Dave were. Lane understood what Rory had meant. She was comfortable being with Dave, and she knew that soon she would want to do more- but for now, this was enough.

Dave held her hand as they walked up to the house. Lane was beaming, her whole world fitting into place. They sat on the steps, so close that their hips were touching.

"Hey, I've been meaning to give these to you," he said, pulling an envelope out of his back pocket. "Here."

Lane peered inside. "Did you take these?" she asked, pulling out a stack of photographs. "Dave..." she said, flipping though. "What...?"

"It's my room. You said you wanted to know what it looked like."

Lane didn't reply, so intent on her studying of the small pieces of paper. Dave kissed her neck, her ears, her face. Lane wouldn't be distracted.

"Dave..." she whispered, turning to him for the first time since she had gotten the packet. "This is amazing."

"Yeah, well..." Dave replied, embarrassed. "You know what a nut Brian is for photography. I bought a few rolls of film for him in exchange for an hour of his valuable time. He insisted on the black and white ones."

"I can't believe you did this for me..."Lane said, looking again at the stack of pictures.

"Well, I didn't think that Mama Kim would let you come over to see my room anytime soon, so..."

"I mean it," Lane said, turning to face Dave, "I love them. I-"

"Lane, I love you," Dave said.

The world stopped. Stopped. Stopped.

"What?" Lane asked, sure she had misunderstood. Positive.

"I love you."

"Oh."

Dave didn't bother hiding the hurt look on his face. "What happened in there, was special. Really special. I- I thought that maybe you might have, liked me too, or something, I-" Dave stood up, walked a few steps away from a gaping Lane. "I didn't think that-"

"Dave," Lane said, standing up also, the photographs forgotten on the steps. Dave stopped talking, stopped looking at Lane. Carefully, she took his hands in hers, let him feel the shaking. "Dave, I wouldn't have let you do that unless I cared about you. A lot."

"I know," Dave replied, not letting go.

"I wasn't expecting that, I'll admit."

"What happened back there, or what I said?" Dave asked, still not looking at her.

"Both."

"And do you regret either?" he whispered.

Lane smiled. "No."

Dave looked up at Lane, pulling her into his arms.

"I love you Dave." Dave's answer was to press himself against her, and kiss her like there was no tomorrow.

---

Which there was, unfortunate for any party who had naively wished the night to last forever. Lane was sitting on her bed, flipping through the photographs for the umpteenth time. She had memorized the posters on his walls, where his guitar stand stood, what his bed looked like. After a several lost attempts to concentrate, Lane began imagining scenarios with Dave. Band practices. Concerts. Dates. Having him do what he did to her in the garage, more.

They hadn't had any opportunity to repeat what had happened. The windowsill wasn't exactly an ideal location. She envied Rory more and more. Even though Lorelai probably wasn't ecstatic at having her only daughter reproduce with the town hoodlum, at least she was supportive.

Lane tried to imagine asking her mother to take her to the gynecologist to get a subscription for the pill. It was laughable. She would be shipped to Korea for sure. Luckily, there was still time yet before any such preventions would be necessary.

Lane glanced at her watch, glad to be able to finally leave. "Mama?" she called, from the stairs.

"Lane?"

"On the stairs!" Lane waited for her mother to find her.

"Yes, what is it? I've very busy."

"Can I go out for a while? I think I need a walk."

Lane's mother thought about it. "Yes, I suppose so. Exercise is necessary. Do not talk to anyone."

"Yes Mama."

"Take a sweater."

"I've already got one," Lane said, holding up a cardigan.

"Put it on. I need you to make the salad tonight. Chu's are coming over tonight. Do not be late."

"Okay Mama. Bye."

---

Lane took off the sweater the moment she was out of sight. She looked at her watch again. She would just be on time. Lane arrived practically skipping to her secret rendezvous spot with Dave. He was already sitting at the picnic table, looking at some sheet music.

"Hi," Lane said, sitting down next to him.

"Hi, I didn't see you there," Dave replied, abandoning the music immediately.

"What have you got-" Lane started to ask, but was cut off by a particularly long kiss.

"I've been wanting to do that-"Dave started.

"Since Thursday..." Lane finished for him. "Me too. Where can we go?"

"What's wrong with here?" Dave asked, standing up when Lane did.

Lane just looked at her seemingly-naive boyfriend.

"Ahh." Dave picked up his papers and put them in his pocket. "How about the woods?"

"Do we have any choice?" Lane asked, tugging him along behind her. Dave chuckled, and Lane shot him a glare. "This is you're fault you know," Lane said, once they reached a spot she deemed private enough.

"And how is that?" Dave asked, while pulling off Lane's shirt.

"You're the one who makes me want to do this." Lane pulled Dave down and leaned over him.

That was the end to any conversation. This time was less hesitant. Lane had been right before. They were a perfect fit.

---

"So, was that good for you?" Dave asked jokingly, curling his arm possessively around Lane. The two were lying on the ground, still panting slightly.

"I wish we didn't have to stop," Lane said, sitting up to put on her shirt again.

"I wish you didn't have to do that."

Lane smiled at Dave and lay down again, her head on his arm. "I do too. But I still have a while before I have to go home..." she said suggestively, tracing a pattern down his naked chest. Dave groaned. "Look what I did..." Lane said, touching the marks she had given him tenderly.

"I like them."

"And I have some too," she said, pulling up her shirt to show him. "Thanks for the strategic placement, by the way."

"No problem," Dave replied, pulling her closer to him. Lane continued her tracing abstractly.

"You're really beautiful."

"Yeah, I'm a regular Brad Pitt."

"I'm serious...you're so...you."

Dave kissed her forehead. "That's a good thing, right?"

"Definitely."

"So you don't care that I don't have a six pack?"

"Not at all," Lane replied and smiled into his chest.

"Because I could start body-building if you want me to," Dave said, trying to keep a straight face but failing.

"Have you ever considered getting a tattoo?" Lane asked.

"Yeah. A big heart that says Lane in the middle."

"Good."

"How much time do we have left?" Dave asked.

"Just enough..."Lane said, swinging her leg over his body, "...for this."

Dave immediately forgot the twigs and stones biting into his bare back when Lane straddled him. He forgot that he should have been talking to her about an idea he had for the band when she began kissing down his chest, stopping to tease his nipples with her tongue. He forgot were they were when she continued her way down, stopping only at the waistline of his jeans.

Lane slid a bit farther down his legs, and hastily unbuttoned his pants.

This brought Dave back. He sat up immediately. "Lane! What are you doing?"

Lane blinked, "I thought that was obvious."

"No. You can't." Dave said immediately, doing up the buttons again and immediately regretting his tone. "I mean, not here, not now."

"But I want to!" Lane practically whined.

Dave kissed her lightly, and began picking twigs out of her hair. "I want you to, but..."

"Not here, not now. I don't know what came over me..."

Dave nodded. "Exactly." Somehow he stood up. "Come on, I'll walk you home."

Lane merely nodded.

---

It was much later that evening. As a dutiful daughter, Lane had prepared the salad, conversed with the guests, washed the dishes. Now she had no distractions. She didn't want to phone Rory, couldn't risk Mama Kim overhearing. There was only one person who knew what events had transpired, and he was the one Lane decided to call.

Stealthily, Lane took the phone from the receiver, crept into her bedroom. Quietly, she closed the door, dialed the number.

"Hello?" Dave answered, the Hollies blaring in the background.

"It's me," Lane whispered. "I didn't know that the Hollies could be so..."

"Over-powering?" Dave supplied, and the volume went down. "It certainly needs a ten."

Lane laughed. "So, about today..."

"About today."

"Yeah...that was nice."

Dave paused. "Is your mother there?"

"Am I allowed on the phone after nine?"

"Good point. Well, just in case she's listening in..." Lane shivered. "I'm kind of sorry that I, uh, stopped you."

Lane grinned. "Me too. Maybe next time."

"Definitely," Dave replied, smiling on the other end.

"Dave?"

"Yes?"

"I love you."

"It hurts, doesn't it."

"Yes," Lane conceded, cradling the phone against her shoulder while she hunted through her hidden cd's.

"I know. I want to be there, with you."

"I want you too be here too," Lane replied, pulling out a case. "Try Chicago. It helps."

She could hear Dave shuffling through piles of cd's. Suddenly, the Hollies stopped, only to be replaced with her former suggestion.

"Yeah," Dave said, after a few quiet moments. "It does help. I've been using Lou Reed."

"Post Velvet Underground?" she asked, settling down on her bed again.

"Not entirely."

Lane closed her eyes, picturing their afternoon together. "Good night, Dave."

"Good night Lane," Dave said, and held the phone to his ear long after the click and dial tone.

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