AN: Don't fall asleep during this chapter, ok? And don't start reading it if you have somewhere important to be in the next five minutes. It's looooong, but not easily divisible by two.
Oneiromancy
Part Five
"Looking forward to tonight?" Lorelai asked Luke as she entered the diner for a quick coffee break. The engagement party was only a few hours away and preparations were in full swing.
"Not particularly," Luke replied.
"Party pooper," Lorelai accused lightly.
"I got an interesting phone call this morning," Luke said as he handed Lorelai her coffee.
"Oh yeah?"
"You invited Rachel."
"Yes, I did," Lorelai said unashamedly.
"Why would you do that?" Luke asked her.
"Because you should have," she answered pointedly. "Because I called Christopher from my bachelorette party and you should share this with someone who knows you really well. You and Rachel have a history, Luke." Lorelai reached across the counter and poked his chest. "You didn't even tell her you were engaged. It was embarrassing."
"What was embarrassing?" asked Luke.
"Never mind," she said quickly. When Lorelai had invited Rachel to the engagement party, Rachel had congratulated her said it was about time. Lorelai then had to rush out an awkward denial and explanation about Nicole. "Anyway, I think it's great that Rachel can make it. Speaking of which, I forgot to check if Nicole's parents were coming?"
"Nope, I think after my performance at our first meeting they weren't particularly eager to meet a whole town of people who Nicole assures them have a much looser grasp on reality than I do. They're throwing us another engagement party in a couple of weeks at some fancy restaurant." Luke didn't exactly sound thrilled at the prospect.
"Oh, that's nice," Lorelai commented.
"Do you want to come?" Luke asked.
"I thought they wanted to meet people who were saner than you."
Luke smiled at Lorelai. "Where's the challenge when you set yourself up like that?"
"Don't worry, it won't happen again. Consider it your engagement present."
"So do you want to come to the party? They said I could invite friends, and I won't really know anyone else there."
"You don't think it'd be kind of weird?" asked Lorelai.
Luke shrugged. "It's up to you."
"I'll think about it." Lorelai gulped down the rest of her coffee. "I have to get going, there's still heaps to do. I'll see you tonight."
"Couldn't miss it for the world."
"It's wouldn't miss it," Lorelai corrected.
"Not in this case," Luke assured her.
"I'll be back in an hour to take over the diner," Lorelai reminded Luke.
"Can't hardly wait."
* * * *
Three hours later, Lorelai and Rory stood in the middle of the town square, surveying their work proudly. The celebrations were planned to extend from a bar, finger food and dance floor in Miss Patty's, across the decorated town square, to Luke's for a sit-down dinner; where Lorelai had followed through on her promise of candles and white tablecloths and Sookie had commandeered the kitchen.
"The place looks great," Rory said.
Lorelai agreed. "If there's one thing we
Stars Hollow-ites know how to do it's hold a celebration."
"Hey," Luke crossed the road from the diner to join them, dressed for the party in good black pants and a blue shirt.
"Hi, Luke, what do you think?" Lorelai asked.
"It looks nice," he admitted grudgingly.
"Where's Nicole?" Rory asked.
"Still getting ready."
"Well you look good," Lorelai told him.
"Thanks, you look…" Luke took in her faded jeans and tight top with a monkey named Julius on the front. "Not ready."
"We're just about to head home and change, we'll be back real soon," Lorelai promised.
"Bye Luke," Rory added.
Luke watched Lorelai sling her arm around Rory's shoulder and talk animatedly as the two headed off down the street. He then turned back to look around the Town Square. It did look nice, if you liked that sort of thing.
People soon began arriving and Nicole joined Luke mingling with the guests. Luke had never been very good at social situations like this. He just didn't see the need for small talk and was soon sick of hearing the congratulations on the engagement over and over again. Luckily for him, Nicole handled everything graciously.
Half an hour later, the party was really starting to warm up, but there was still no sign of Lorelai and Rory. Half-listening to Miss Patty yammer on about something, Luke's gaze was wandering around the room when he spotted a familiar figure arriving. He quickly excused himself and made his way across the room.
She noticed him coming and gave a warm smile. "Luke!"
"Rachel." Luke reached her in several long strides and was greeted with a warm hug.
"I can't believe you didn't tell me!" Rachel prodded him in the chest. "Hopeless! Good thing you have Lorelai to take care of you."
"I'm glad you came," Luke said sincerely.
"I was in New York on assignment this week, so the timing was perfect. How are you?" Rachel asked, pulling back to look him over.
"Engaged."
"Where is she?"
"Over there, the one being harangued by Miss Patty."
Rachel looked over curiously and was about to comment when Sookie rushed up to them. "Luke, where do you keep your crepe maker?" she demanded. "Hi Rachel."
"Hi Sookie."
"I don't have a crepe maker," Luke said.
"But I need a crepe maker. Find me a crepe maker!"
Luke gave Rachel and apologetic look. "Sorry, it's perilous to disobey Sookie when she's in mad cooking mode."
"Go," Rachel waved him off. "I'll introduce myself to your fiancée."
"We'll talk later," Luke promised.
* *
After Luke left the conversation, Miss Patty looked at Nicole with a gleam in her eye. "I wonder where Luke ran off to? Probably spotted Lorelai arrive. It's two bad those kids never got together. No offence to you of course, dear," she added quickly.
"They never dated?" Nicole asked.
"No, after all those years of sexual tension, it's a such a shame, I almost feel cheated. But maybe after this week they'll have gotten it out of their systems."
"What are you talking about?" Nicole was fairly certain Patty was going to tell her whether she asked or not.
"Well dear, surely you've noticed a little something between those two. Even when Luke's with another girl, part of his heart's always with Lorelai. And after this week we have some very interesting evidence placing them together… Kirk, just the man." Miss Patty grabbed his arm. "Tell Nicole about Wednesday morning."
Kirk pulled out a notepad and flipped back several pages. "I was doing my paper run on Wednesday morning and at approximately 5:27 a.m. Luke and Lorelai were seen walking down Peach Street together."
"At 5:32 I was preparing for my yoga
class when they entered the diner together." Miss Patty paused and glanced at
Nicole for a reaction. The look on her face said so? Patty continued.
"The entire town can attest that Lorelai does not get out of bed that early in
the morning without a very good reason." The implication was blatantly
obvious, but that didn't deter Patty from spelling it out. "And what better
reason is there than the hot lovin' of a fine man?"
Oh boy, thought Nicole. Was she supposed to reply to that? Nicole wasn't exactly thrilled by Lorelai's friendship with her fiancé, but she didn't believe that Luke would cheat on her. More unbelievable still was the way Miss Patty was openly telling her all this. Thankfully, Nicole was spared the necessity of coming up with a response by Rachel's arrival.
"Hello Patty, good to see you again." Rachel turned to Nicole. "Hi, you must be Nicole, I'm Rachel."
Luke's ex, Nicole thought. Fabulous. They better be serving alcohol at this party. Nicole forced a smile. "Hi Rachel, it's nice to meet you."
"Same here. Congratulations on the engagement."
"You two must have a lot to talk about," Miss Patty moved away to speak to Babette, but took care to remain within earshot of the two women.
Nicole and Rachel looked at each other somewhat awkwardly.
"So, Nicole, what do you do?" Rachel asked.
"I'm a lawyer. You?"
"Photographer."
"Oh." They both nodded slightly.
"I didn't realize Luke invited you," Nicole said. "I didn't realize he invited anyone, actually, he seemed pretty disinterested in the whole thing."
"That's Luke," Rachel said with a smile. "Lorelai invited me, actually."
"Ah."
"I always expected Lorelai would one day invite me to Luke's engagement party, I just figured she'd be the one he was marrying."
"You're not alone. In fact, that's pretty much all I've been hearing all night," Nicole said. "'Congratulations, Luke, but I always thought it would be Lorelai.' These people aren't big on tact are they?"
"Are you having a hard time with the town?" Rachel asked sympathetically.
Nicole nodded. "Luke keeps saying they're nuts, but well meaning."
"I got the same thing. They have this thing about Luke and Lorelai getting together. It's like the collective town pastime and we get in the way."
Nicole was relieved to find someone who understood. "When Luke and I started dating I didn't realize I was stepping in on anything; although I probably should have after the first date."
"He talks about her constantly then denies they're more than friends?" Rachel asked. "Been there."
"What did you do?"
"I left," Rachel said. "But it was my decision. Lorelai was nothing but nice to me. She seemed genuinely oblivious."
"I don't know what to think," Nicole admitted. "I just thought she was an ex. I wasn't really comfortable with the fact that they were still friends, but I figured I could deal. Everyone has some baggage, right? But I'm beginning to think it's bigger than that."
"Luke is a great guy though," Rachel offered.
"I know. Hey do you want to go get a drink?"
"Sounds great." Rachel followed Nicole to the bar.
* *
After tracking down a crepe maker for Sookie, Luke returned to Miss Patty's and looked around for Nicole or Rachel. He didn't spot them, but noticed Lorelai immediately. It was hard not to, given her outfit. She wore tight tops and jeans all the time, and short skirts to work; but even dressed up for dates, Luke had never seen Lorelai in anything quite so revealing as tonight. The knee-length black skirt was fairly standard, as were the black heels, although they were high enough to place her on eye level with him. It was her top that caught Luke's attention, along with that of every other guy in the room. It consisted of a thin strap tied around her neck and another one tied across her otherwise bare back. The only fabric, a satiny, deep blue material, hung loosely down her front. Luke wondered how it stayed in place. Then he wondered why she'd chosen tonight to debut it.
Lorelai caught his eye and sauntered over with a smile on her face. "You're staring."
"I was wondering what happened to your top."
"You don't like it?" she asked flirtatiously.
"I'm just worried you'll give people ideas. You better watch it; someone could grab the stringy thing like this-" Luke tugged on the strap on the back.
"Hey!" Lorelai was suddenly worried about flashing the whole party. "You wanna tie a double knot for me?" she asked.
Luke did so with pleasure. Lorelai tossed her hair slightly and the loose curls brushed against his cheek. Luke stepped back quickly.
"Thank you," Lorelai turned back around to face him with a smile.
Luke was considering pinching himself to determine whether this was another dream, but Nicole's arrival dispelled that theory.
"There you are," Nicole said. She made a show of wrapping an arm around Luke's waist and resting the other on his chest. "Hi Lorelai."
"Hi Nicole. You look great." Lorelai said sweetly.
"Thanks, so do you." Nicole enthused. "Armani?"
Yeah, very cute. Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Prada, actually. But I think mixing it with the Gucci heels was a mistake. I should have worn the Manolos."
The fake-sincerity girly thing ended with Lorelai's imaginary new wardrobe and Nicole explained, primarily to Luke, how she'd just been getting to know Rachel.
Luke was looking slightly uncomfortable at the thought when Michel tapped him on the shoulder. "I have been asked to inform you that your stove is broken."
"It was working fine this morning," Luke protested.
"Well it is apparently not working now. You must fix it because Sookie is about to have a coronary and I refuse to scrape the body off the floor."
"I'm coming," Luke grouched and gave an acknowledging glance to Lorelai and Nicole before following Michel.
Lorelai looked at Nicole. "Ah, I should go say hi to Rachel."
"I'll come with you," Nicole volunteered.
"Hi Rachel, how have you been?" Lorelai asked as she and Nicole joined Rachel by the bar.
"Lorelai, hi," Rachel replied. "I'm good, you?"
"Peachy."
"Want a drink?" Rachel offered, avoiding the need for conversation. "Nicole and I have already started."
"Sure, what are we drinking?" Lorelai wasn't sure why the situation felt so weird but wondered if the other women felt as uncomfortable as she did.
"I think this is a tequila moment," said Nicole. "Lick, sip and suck."
Lorelai raised an eyebrow. "Sounds serious." She banged on the bar top, "Hey Kirk, three tequilas and three martinis to follow." Lorelai looked to Rachel and Nicole who nodded their approval.
"Uh, Lorelai could you remind me what making a martini involves again please?" Kirk asked as Lorelai held out her left hand for salt and lemon.
"Kirk, maybe you should consider only signing up for jobs you're actually qualified for," Lorelai suggested.
"Never mind I'll consult the book."
Lorelai picked up her shot glass with her right hand and held it up. "Cheers, girls," she said wryly. After taking the shot, Lorelai pulled a face and quickly dropped the remains of her lemon slice into her empty shot glass then exchanged it for a martini, eager to rid her mouth of the bitter taste. "Kirk, this is not a martini!"
"Everyone's a critic!" Kirk sulked off to the other side of the bar.
"What do you think it is?" Rachel asked, doubtfully swirling the liquid in her glass.
Nicole took another sip. "Tastes almost like a vodka martini. Crossed with a manhattan."
"I think we have ourselves an expert," said Rachel.
"Lots of after work cocktails," Nicole explained.
Lorelai finished the rest of her drink in one gulp. "So have you two been swapping Luke stories?" she asked the other women curiously.
"You could say that. Do you have anything to add?" Rachel asked Lorelai. "Did you and he ever… you know?"
"No. I mean, he's Luke." Lorelai noticed the Rachel and Nicole exchange looks. "I mean, I'm sure he's great in bed – not that I ever think of him in bed," she added hurriedly. "That's the point, I don't think of him in that way, which is why – Oh, how do I talk myself into these corners?" Lorelai gave up.
Luckily, both Rachel and Nicole laughed, and the ice was officially broken.
Luke, having fixed Sookie's stove problem, returned to the hall in time to witness the moment. He stopped short at the door. It was every man's worst nightmare. Ex-girlfriend, current girlfriend and potential girlfriend, all the same room. Talking to each other. Worse still, they were laughing. Paranoid, Luke quickly turned back outside, but not before Lorelai, Rachel and Nicole noticed. They laughed even more.
"Poor Luke," Rachel commented. "Too many of his women in one room."
"Hey, I was never his woman," Lorelai said.
"I still find that hard to believe. The last time I left I pretty much told him to ask you out," Rachel told Lorelai.
"Really?" Lorelai seemed surprised. "He never really said why you left. I guess I was a little distracted, that was around the time I got engaged to Max."
"You were engaged?" Nicole asked.
"Briefly. Boring story," Lorelai glazed over it "Go back to discussing Luke."
"Someone's curious," Nicole noted.
Warning lights flashed in Lorelai's head and she quickly changed the subject. "Hey, look at the time, dinner must be almost ready." She gestured to Lane to cut the music to gain the attention of the other guests. "Hey, excuse me just a minute, quick announcement." Lorelai said loudly and waited for the murmuring around the room to cease. "Okay. Hi everyone, thanks for coming; if you'd all like to make your way over to the diner, it's time to eat."
"Are we all sitting at the same table?" Rachel asked Lorelai as they joined the mass movement towards the diner.
"Yeah, I think we are," Lorelai answered.
"Good. Anyone up for a little game?" Rachel asked Lorelai and Nicole with a mischievous look on her face.
* *
At dinner, Luke found himself seated between Nicole and Rachel. Rory and Lorelai made up the rest of the table, but they were currently distributing champagne bottles around the room.
"I never knew this place could look so nice," Rachel commented, looking around at the tablecloths and soft lighting.
"I know, isn't it great?" said Nicole, leaning in front of Luke to address Rachel.
"Don't get attached," Luke warned. "Tomorrow morning it's going back the way it was."
"Champagne delivery." Lorelai placed a bottle in the middle of the table.
Luke looked at it with a small frown. "Does it matter that I don't have a liquor license?" he asked.
"You don't need one, it's a private function," Nicole said confidently.
"Is that true?" Lorelai asked Nicole in a hushed tone.
"I have no idea," Nicole whispered back. "Grab an extra bottle for our table?" she asked.
"No problem."
Lorelai and Rory soon took their seats at the table and Luke popped open a bottle of champagne.
When all glasses were filled, Lorelai stood up and tapped on hers in a vain attempt to gain the attention of the room.
Nicole stuck her fingers in her mouth and let out a shrill whistle. Conversation ceased and all eyes were drawn to their table.
Lorelai gave Nicole a surprised look. "Thanks." She then held up her champagne glass. "Okay everyone, a toast to Luke and Nicole."
"To Luke and Nicole."
Lorelai appealed to Luke for a speech, but Luke shook his head firmly.
"Later," Lorelai warned him. "Have some more champagne."
Miss Patty leant over from the next table. "Luke, you lucky, lucky man. To be sitting at a table full of beautiful women. And you look so fine, there's bound to be injuries as they fight for your attention."
"It's his engagement party," Lorelai pointed out. "I think we all know who has his attention."
"And I hope I'm not included in that assessment," Rory said to Miss Patty.
"But he looks so handsome, doll. If you're young and cute, why wouldn't you want a piece of that?"
Lorelai reached over to cover Rory's ears. "Are you trying to give her an Electra complex?" she asked Patty.
"Who's Electra?" Babette, who was of course seated next to Patty, asked.
"Freud's invention, the female Oedipus," Rory explained. "Shouldn't have said anything," she whispered to Lorelai through clenched teeth.
"That's it, I'm confiscating whatever you get this psychoanalytic crap from," Luke told Lorelai.
"Marie Claire?"
"You're worried she'll fall in love with her father and try to kill her mother?" Miss Patty asked.
"Yes, I sleep with my bedroom door locked because I'm terrified Rory will try to kill me in my sleep." Lorelai rolled her eyes.
"Maybe it runs in the family," Babette pondered.
"What, homicidal tendencies?" Nicole asked, quickly losing track of a typical town conversation.
"Wait a minute, did someone say Luke is Rory's father?" Rune spoke up. He and Jackson were also seated at Miss Patty's table.
"Who invited him?" Luke demanded.
"Sorry, he wasn't supposed to speak to anyone." Jackson gave his cousin a harsh look.
"I meant Luke's like a father," Lorelai said, eager to avoid starting any bizarre rumors. "And that's 'like' as in old-enough-to-be."
"We got it," Luke said.
"Hey, it's the first course," Rory said gratefully.
"Thank you Sookie," Lorelai muttered.
"First course. Let the games begin." Rachel shared a look with Lorelai and Nicole.
* *
Twenty minutes later, Luke decided something very strange was going on. Rory aside, the women at his table had been acting awfully giggly and even flirty throughout the meal. Nicole was always leaning in close to whisper in his ear; Rachel touched his arm as she spoke; and Lorelai was giving him long gazes and flipping her hair a lot. Luke tried to brush it off as his imagination. Maybe someone had just nudged his leg by accident, he thought. Hmm. Nope, that foot running up and down his calf was definitely not accidental. Nicole had never tried to play footsies with him under the table before, although she was being very affectionate tonight. But that was definitely Nicole's hand on his knee. So who the hell was sliding their foot over his ankle? It was a small table, so it could easily be anyone. But Rachel and Lorelai seemed rapt in their conversation about the Dragonfly Inn, and Nicole was asking Rory about her college plans. No clues there. Luke resisted the temptation to duck his head under the table and check.
"How do you like the second course, Luke?" Lorelai asked him suddenly. "I just love Sookie's chicken. It's so warm, and juicy, and tender." The words rolled off her tongue.
Rachel took a bite and did her best soap star impression. "Mmmm, it's reeealllly good."
Nicole's hand was inching its way up his thigh and the foot had worked its way under his pant leg. Nicole, Rachel and Lorelai were all still flashing him 1000-watt smiles in between seductive bites of their chicken. Luke decided he was definitely losing his mind.
"Excuse me. I just, uh, need to use the bathroom." He stood up looking flustered and made a hasty exit.
"Yes! I win!" Lorelai cheered.
"That was fun," added Nicole.
"What's going on?" Rory asked.
"We're playing torture the diner man," Lorelai explained. "I guessed he wouldn't make it through the second course. These two gave him more credit."
"Maybe we didn't give you enough credit," Nicole suggested.
"What's the prize?" Rory wondered.
Lorelai, Rachel and Nicole looked at each other blankly. "We didn't get that far."
"The look on Luke's face was prize enough." Lorelai grinned.
Miss Patty leaned over. "I saw the whole thing." Miss Patty saw everything. "And I love it! You girls are bad."
Rachel shrugged. "We're bonding."
* *
After dinner Nicole dragged Luke outside for some privacy. "I need to talk to you," she insisted.
"Is anything wrong?" Luke asked.
"Kind of, but you can fix it. Will you do one thing for me before we get married?"
"I can try. What is it?"
"Have sex with Lorelai."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"I think you should have sex with Lorelai," Nicole repeated.
"Why?" Was all Luke could think to ask.
"Why would you say something like that?"
"Because I thought it was in the past
for the two of you, but it's not and I'd rather it was out of your system
before we get married. It's logical, I got the idea off Patty."
"Patty, oh, well that makes perfect sense!"
"Luke, I'm serious! You have to sleep with Lorelai before we get married!"
Someone gasped audibly behind them and Luke and Nicole spun around.
"Hi Rory," Luke croaked.
"You didn't hear that." Nicole willed it to be true.
"Sorry," Rory squeaked and hurried away.
Luke exhaled deeply. "You're crazy," he pointed at Nicole.
"I think the idea has merit."
"I'm not sleeping with Lorelai, that's insane!"
"Why is it insane?" Nicole challenged.
"Because I'm engaged to you!" Luke yelled.
"But I want you to do it!" Nicole cried.
"What if I don't want to?" Luke demanded.
"I don't care!" Nicole yelled.
"Well then you have officially lost it! Welcome to Stars Hollow!" Luke shouted.
Nicole suddenly stopped the argument by placing a gently hand on Luke's arm. "I can't believe we're having our first real fight at our engagement party," she said softly.
Luke took a deep breath. "It's been a weird night." Convinced that Nicole had had way too much to drink, he took her hand and led her across to the diner. "Come on, I think you need sleep."
* *
"Mom," Rory hissed, beckoning Lorelai over.
Lorelai excused herself from a conversation with Sookie and Jackson and joined Rory in the corner of the room. "What's up, Hon? Having a good time?"
Rory held on to her mother's arm and looked around warily before she spoke. "I just overheard something that I probably shouldn't repeat but I really, really, really want to tell you."
"Ooh, what was it? Did Miss Patty get incredibly drunk and proposition Taylor again?" Lorelai asked, lowering her voice to a conspiratorial whisper.
Rory scrunched up her face. "Bad mental image. No, not that I heard, thank goodness. But it does have something to do with a proposition."
"Spill!" Lorelai demanded.
Rory glanced over at the dessert table. "Okay, there's this caramel torte and she – it – is in love with the fruit salad."
Lorelai grinned. "I love a good food metaphor!"
"So the fruit salad and the caramel torte are together," Rory continued, "but the torte told the fruit salad to, uh, give some of its banana to the cake."
"Does this cake want the banana in it?" Lorelai asked.
"I don't know. See, the cake and the fruit salad are good friends, but cake and fruit salad don't always go together. You can sit them next to each other but you wouldn't eat them together."
"But as far as dessert goes, what really goes that well with fruit salad?" Lorelai asked.
"I think caramel torte and fruit salad together might be okay for a while but then go bad," said Rory.
"If I were a torte who loved fruit
salad, I wouldn't want to share it with anyone," Lorelai pondered.
"I think the torte wants the fruit salad to taste test the cake before it commits to the torte."
"We are talking about sex right?" Lorelai checked.
"Oh, this is getting too complicated. Nicole told Luke to sleep with you," Rory blurted out.
Lorelai blinked an unnatural number of
times in succession and looked around for a chair. Failing to find one within
easy reach, she sank to the floor. "What did he say?"
"That's kind of when they noticed me," Rory admitted, joining her mother on the floor.
"You couldn't have ducked behind a tree or a table or a Kirk or something?" Lorelai asked.
"It was sudden, I was surprised."
"Why would she say something like that?" Lorelai appealed to the universe.
"Did you miss the whole taste testing
bit?" asked Rory. "Should I not have told you?"
"No, I that is something I would definitely have wanted to know. Only now I know, I really wish I didn't."
"Right," Rory said slowly.
"Nicole was obviously drunk," Lorelai decided. "And if I drink enough I won't remember any of this in the morning."
"Glad to hear you have a plan. Even if it does involve alcohol poisoning."
Lorelai reached up and grabbed a discarded glass from the dessert table. It was half-filled with champagne and she swallowed it in one go. "This is some party."
* *
Having walked Nicole back to the diner, Luke was now sitting alone on a bench in the town square.
"Hey," a soft voice called.
"Hey yourself," Luke said as Rachel sat down beside him.
"Nice night," Rachel commented.
"Strange night." Luke looked at the sky. "Full moon. Think that explains anything?"
"Sorry about before," Rachel said. "You got the game right?"
"I'm glad I kept you all amused." Luke said dryly, but without seeming annoyed.
"It was my idea," Rachel confessed. "Juvenile, I know. I'm sobering up now."
"I think Nicole's still gone. She's sleeping back at the apartment."
"So what are you doing out here all alone?" Rachel asked.
"You know me," said Luke, recalling Lorelai's reason for inviting Rachel.
"That's right, I do. And in that capacity, how are you really feeling about getting married? You don't have to say happy and excited," Rachel assured him.
"Good, because uncertain and terrified are more the words that spring to mind," Luke replied.
"Let me photograph your wedding," Rachel said suddenly.
"You don't have to do that," Luke said.
"I insist. It's my gift to you."
"Okay then, thank you."
Rachel gave a bittersweet smile. "I just want you to be happy."
"That's what Lorelai said," Luke told her. "She thinks I'm having a commitment freak out about getting married."
"Are you?" Rachel asked.
"Probably." Luke looked over at the woman beside him, whom he's known for so many years. She probably knew him better than anyone, and in some ways better than he knew himself. "I don't know what I'm feeling anymore," he admitted.
"It must be kind of hard to distinguish
general cold feet from wanting someone else."
"What are you talking about?" Luke played dumb.
Rachel gave him a stern look. "Don't try that on me, Luke Danes. What happened with you and Lorelai? When I left I told you not to wait too long."
"I guess I was never very good at taking advice."
"Did you even try?"
Not exactly.
"Is she your excuse not to get close to anyone else?" Rachel continued. "You pretended otherwise, or maybe you'd genuinely deluded yourself, but it was so obvious she was what you wanted. Then you didn't even try to get her."
"It's not that simple."
"It is," Rachel insisted. "Luke you can't hold out for something that's never going to happen. If you and Lorelai are just going to play the friends card, then go ahead and marry Nicole. You can't sit on the fence any longer." She smirked. "You'll get splinters in your butt." Rachel patted his knee before standing up to go back inside. "Think about it."
Luke remained on the bench and did just that. Had he been looking for an excuse? Holding on to the dream of Lorelai as a reason not to become seriously involved in a relationship? Luke couldn't deny that he'd thought about he and Lorelai together, but it wasn't as though he was doing anything to win her. Luke was just waiting. Waiting patiently for what sometimes seemed inevitable and sometimes seemed unattainable. And while he was waiting, Nicole had appeared. Maybe it was time to move on.
* * * *
TBC
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