"It's Still There – part 3"

. . . . .

Lorelai slept the rest of the night in Rory's bed, and was awakened just after six the next morning by a familiar smell. "Mm, bacon," she muttered, inhaling deeply. She glanced at Rory, still asleep next to her, then quietly climbed out of the bed. She rubbed her eyes as she walked to the kitchen, and found Luke at the stove cooking breakfast.

"Morning," Lorelai greeted him groggily.

"Hey." He quickly glanced over at her, then turned back to watch the pancakes.

She yawned as she took a seat at the table. "You miss me last night?"

"Are you kidding? I'd forgotten how nice it is to have a whole bed to myself."

Lorelai frowned. "Hmph. Keep talking like that, you'll be getting the whole couch to yourself."

He transferred the pancakes to two separate plates on the counter, then focused on the sizzling pan of bacon. "Is Rory up? This is almost done."

"Ah, I'm sure the smells will hit her soon," Lorelai replied.

"You guys are going out for her birthday tonight, right?" Luke asked.

"Yeah, just dinner and a movie," Lorelai replied. "Oh, and possibly a quick stop at an adult video store since she's now legally allowed to enter them."

"Now there's a nice mother-daughter bonding activity," Luke commented. He turned off the stove burners, then tossed some bacon and eggs onto each of the plates. He brought them to the table. "Here. Coffee's done, too. I gotta go."

Lorelai stretched an arm toward the coffee maker and groaned, "Eh. . .eh. . .too far."

Luke rolled his eyes. "Get it yourself." He leaned down and kissed her on the cheek. "Bye"

"Bye."

As Luke walked toward the front door, Rory walked out of her bedroom. "Mm, something smells good."

Hearing her voice, Luke leaned his head out from the front entryway. "Happy birthday, breakfast's on the table, I gotta go." He walked out the front door.

"Uh, thanks." Rory smiled and shrugged at Lorelai. "Guess he's in a hurry."

"Guess so." Lorelai eyed Rory's plate, then her own. "Hey, he gave you more bacon than me."

"Well, it's my birthday."

Lorelai took a piece from Rory's plate. "There, now it's even."

"Hey!" Rory frowned as she sat at the table. "I'm telling Luke when I see him later."

"I'm telling Luke?" Lorelai snickered. "Since when did you become such a step-daddy's girl?"

"Since I've discovered that he usually takes my side over yours." Rory smiled and bit into a piece of bacon.

. . . . .

The next night, Lorelai arrived home after work, and when she walked through the front door, she was hit by the aroma of . . .something. She dropped her purse on the bench by the door, then sniffed a few times as she walked to the kitchen. "What is that? It smells Italian-y." Luke was standing at the counter slicing a loaf of garlic bread, and Lorelai walked over to him. "Hey, whatcha cooking?"

"Lasagna," he replied. He craned his neck back to kiss her hello, then returned to slicing the bread. "It's almost done. Smell good?"

"Mm, smells very good," Lorelai replied. "You've been in a home-cooking kind of mood lately – breakfast yesterday, dinner today." She ran her hands over his back. "There's nothing sexier than a man who knows his way around a kitchen." She paused, then added, "Well, except for a man with a tattoo of a kitten on his left butt cheek. How 'bout it?"

Luke shook his head. "Sorry. You'll have to be happy with the puppy on the right."

"Ah, well, I tried." Lorelai walked over and peeked into Rory's bedroom. Rory was typing away at the computer and Lorelai knocked lightly on the doorframe. "Hey sweets."

Rory turned around and smiled. "Hey. How was work?"

"Good. I beat Michel five times in a row at tic tac toe."

"So, busy day, huh?"

"Yup. How was school? Teachers still acting like slave drivers?" Lorelai asked.

"Yeah, but I'm used to it."

"Well, that's good, then. The chef says that dinner's almost ready."

"Okay. Be right out," Rory replied, turning back to the computer.

Lorelai walked over to the kitchen table. "Hon, did you get the mail?"

Luke looked over from the counter to see who she was talking to. "Uh, no, it hadn't come yet when I checked."

"Mmkay, I'll go check," Lorelai said. She walked out the back door, and returned a minute later with a stack of mail. "Mail call." She went through the envelopes one by one, dropping them on the table. "Credit card bill, water bill, junk, junk. .ooh, what's this? It's for you." She held up the blue envelope addressed to Luke, and he glanced over at it and shrugged. She smiled and said, "Ooh, I bet it's a birthday card."

Luke rolled his eyes and walked over to her. "My birthday's not 'til next week."

Lorelai scoffed. "Well, damn the sender to hell for trying to be thoughtful and get it to you ahead of time. I swear, people nowadays are so rude."

Luke opened up the card and read it. "It's from my aunt and uncle."

"Aw, that's nice," Lorelai said. "You should call and thank them."

He slid the card back into the envelope, muttering, "I hate birthdays."

"Aw, I know you do, but you're apart of this family now and we looooove birthdays, so you have to get used to loving them, too," Lorelai explained.

Luke walked over and opened the oven door. "I already told you, I don't want you to make a big deal out of it. If I wake up and find the bedroom filled with balloons, I'll. . ."

Lorelai smirked and folded her arms across her chest. "You'll what?"

He turned off the oven, slipped on a pot holder, and removed the lasagna. As he set the pan on the stove to cool, he turned to her and replied, "I'll be pretty damn grumpy."

"And how will that be different from any other day?" Lorelai teased. Rory walked out of her bedroom and Lorelai put her arm around her shoulder. "Hon, help me figure out what's wrong with this picture – Luke doesn't want us to recognize his birthday. At all. No party, no decorations, no gifts - "

"No cake," Luke added.

Rory gasped. "No cake?" She turned to Lorelai. "He's insane!"

"I know!" Lorelai exclaimed. "I just cannot fathom how, on the one occasion where eating cake all day long is acceptable, someone wouldn't want to do it."

Luke rolled his eyes and pulled some plates out of the cabinet. "Dinner's ready."

"I'm gonna go change first," Lorelai said. She grabbed Rory's arm. "Come with."

Lorelai and Rory walked upstairs to the bedroom, and Lorelai shut the door. They both sat down on the bed, and Lorelai said, "So, I went out today and got him some gifts."

"Cool. But you do realize that when you give them to him, he'll probably go into a huge rant about how he didn't want them?"

Lorelai smiled. "I know, we should buy a video camera and try to get it on tape."

"Okay, so, what'd you buy?"

"Not much. Just some little things. . .some DVD's, a new wallet, this funny pair of boxer shorts that says. . ." Lorelai giggled, then waved her off. "Uh, well, never mind what it says."

"Thank you for shielding me."

"You're welcome. I figured we can just put both our names on everything," Lorelai said.

"Well, uh, maybe the underwear could just be from you," Rory suggested.

"Good idea."

"Did you get some of the DVD's I suggested?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yup. I went with the manly motif."

"Good. Where are they?"

"Everything's out in the car," Lorelai said. "I was thinking that when he goes upstairs later, you can run out and get them, then hide 'em in your closet."

"Okay."

"And there's wrapping paper in one of the bags, so maybe one day this week when he's not home, you can wrap them?" Lorelai suggested.

Rory nodded. "Sure."

"Great, thanks."

"Uh, I'd rather not wrap the boxers, though."

Lorelai smiled. "I'll do that one myself." She walked over to her dresser and pulled out a T-shirt and sweatpants. "So, you think for his birthday dinner, I should take him to one of those places where all the waiters and waitresses come out with a cake singing Happy Birthday?"

"Oh, yeah, he'll love that," Rory said with a laugh. "I think that might result in him killing you."

"Yeah, and death probably wouldn't be the most festive way to end the night," Lorelai said.

"Probably not," Rory agreed. "Unless he shoots off some fireworks while he's doing it."

Lorelai slipped off her work skirt and pulled on the sweat pants. "Seriously, though, I don't know where we should go to eat. Any suggestions?"

Rory shrugged. "Al's?"

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Uh, someplace slightly fancier, please." She took off her silk shirt and tossed it on the chair, then pulled on her T-shirt and flopped onto the bed next to Rory.

"Hmm. . .Chez Fleur?" Rory suggested.

Lorelai shook her head. "Too fancy. He'll never go for it."

"Hm." Rory glanced toward the ceiling as she thought for a moment. Finally, she said, "Oh, hey, why don't you go to the inn?"

"What inn? My inn?"

"Yeah, that'll be perfect. It's nice but not too fancy, and you know the food'll be great," Rory said.

Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Hm, not a bad idea."

"Plus, you can get Sookie to make a little birthday cake for him or something." She shook her head slightly. "Even though he doesn't want birthday cake, which is a perplexity I'm still trying to figure out."

Lorelai smiled. "I've learned that it's best not to waste too much brain power trying to decipher the mysteries of Luke's mind. I just try to accept the weirdness and move on."

Rory smiled. "Funny, I think he says the same thing about you."

Lorelai playfully slapped her on the leg and climbed off the bed. "Let's go eat."

They walked down to the kitchen. Luke had already started eating, and had set their plates of lasagna at their seats. They each grabbed a can of soda from the fridge and sat down to eat.

Luke took a bite of his garlic bread. "So what's going on for Friday? You guys work that out yet?"

"Mm." Lorelai swallowed down her food and nodded toward Rory. "Right, I forgot to ask you, any trouble getting out early?"

Rory shook her head. "Nope. I already talked to the headmaster and my afternoon teachers. Grandpa's gonna pick me up at Chilton at one, then we're going straight to Yale for the tour. He'll bring me back to his house when it's over, and I'll go home with you after dinner."

"And you're sure it's okay that it's just the two of you?" Lorelai asked.

"Oh, yeah, it's totally fine," Rory said, waving her off. "Go to your meeting, don't worry about it."

"Emily's not going?" Luke asked.

"Nah, once she found out that I couldn't make it, she thought it'd be nice for my dad to take Rory himself," Lorelai explained.

"Grandfather/granddaughter bonding," Rory added.

"Ah. Nice," Luke commented.

Lorelai tapped Luke's plate with her fork. "Are you coming to dinner on Friday? You said you'd come once in awhile."

Luke shrugged. "I don't know. I have to check the diner schedule."

"This would be a good time for you to go because Mom'll have to drive out there all by herself," Rory said.

"Yeah, and I hate driving out there by myself," Lorelai whined. "It's so lonely and scary, and I might break down on the highway and it'd be awhile before anyone could come help me because, you know, it's not near anything, and so then I'd be even lonelier and scaredier because I'd just be sitting out there all by myself in the dark."

"Scaredier?" Luke asked, slightly amused.

Lorelai frowned and grabbed his hand. "Please come and keep me company. . .pretty please?"

"I just told you, I have to check the schedule."

"I know, but I thought if I added some whining, I'd get some pity and it'd help push you toward rearranging the schedule so you could definitely come with me."

"No, the whining makes me start to question the idea of spending 45 minutes in a car with you," Luke informed her. "So you're better off nixing the whining."

Lorelai scoffed and shrugged toward Rory. "Now he tells me. I just wasted perfectly good whining for no reason."

"I'm pretty sure you can't run out of whine," Rory said. "So it's okay to waste a little now and then."

"Don't tell her that," Luke said. "Let her think she has a limited supply. Then maybe she'll try to conserve it to the point where she eventually gives it up completely."

"Impossible," Rory said, shaking her head. "She's been doing it for so long, it's just a part of who she is. It's one of her natural-born tendencies."

Luke sighed. "There isn't even a way we can reduce it a little?"

Rory tilted her head doubtfully. "I don't know. We can - "

Lorelai waved her hand in the air. "Hi, quick question – why do you two always talk about me like I'm not here? I don't think you realize how often you do it. You'd think that as the wife and mother of the household, I'd get a little more respect, but no. . .you two just yap and yap about me like I'm invisible, and I gotta tell ya, sometimes it gets a little annoying." Lorelai pouted and scooped a large forkful of lasagna into her mouth.

Rory watched her chew for a moment, then glanced at Luke. "I think that reducing it's probably out of the question at this point." Luke nodded in agreement.

. . . . .

On the following Tuesday morning, the alarm went off at 6:30. After a few seconds of trying to ignore the annoying beeping, Lorelai finally reached over and turned it off. She started to fall back asleep when she remembered what day it was. She smiled to herself, then rolled over and nudged Luke's back with her elbow. "Luuuuke. . .it's time to get up."

"I heard," he muttered groggily.

Lorelai nudged him again. "And it's your birthday. . ."

Luke groaned. "Don't remind me."

"Hurry, the guests for your surprise party are probably already waiting downstairs," Lorelai said. "You don't even have to get dressed. It's a pajama party."

Luke rolled over to look at her. "That's not funny."

Lorelai smiled. "It's a little funny." She rolled onto her side, propping herself up on her elbow, and ran her hand over his chest. "So. . .you're the big three-eight. Forty's just around the corner. You're gonna need dentures and a walking cane soon. Oh, and maybe one of those adjustable beds like they have in hospitals."

"People don't exactly become decrepit at age forty, you know," Luke informed her.

She shrugged. "But maybe we should get one of those beds anyway. They look like fun."

"Uh huh, we'll see." Luke rubbed his eyes with the heels of his palms. "I gotta take a shower."

"Want some company?" Lorelai asked. "Or should I go downstairs and try to make you a special birthday breakfast?"

As Luke climbed out of bed, he said, "Well, in order to prevent a fire, I'll take the offer for company."

Lorelai smiled. "Okay, I'll be right there." As Luke walked out of the bedroom, Lorelai sat up in the bed. "Four, three, two, one. . ."

"Lorelai!" Luke exclaimed from the hallway.

Lorelai giggled and walked out into the hallway. Luke was standing in front of the bathroom door, glaring at her. She had filled the bathroom with balloons, and a few had trickled out into the hallway when he opened the bathroom door. She grinned and shrugged innocently. "What? You said that the bedroom couldn't be filled with balloons, not the bathroom."

Luke sighed and shook his head. "You know, one of these days. . ." He glanced into the bathroom and his eyes widened. "No, you didn't." He picked up one of the balloons. "You blew up condoms?"

Lorelai giggled. "I ran out of balloons, and the bathroom wasn't quite filled yet." She tapped herself on the head. "Creative, huh?"

"Ugh, that's so . . ." He made a face and dropped it on the floor, shaking his head in disbelief. "Please tell me that Rory didn't help you with this."

"No, I did it all by myself," Lorelai said proudly.

Luke walked into the bathroom and started kicking the balloons out into the hallway. "Jesus, Lorelai. . .look at this mess. . ."

Lorelai walked over to the bathroom doorway. "It's latex and air, Luke. It's not exactly messy."

"It will be once I pop all of them and then there are bits and pieces of latex all over the floor," Luke pointed out. He pulled back the shower curtain and found the tub filled with balloons, too. "Oh, my God."

Lorelai giggled. "Fun way to start off your birthday, huh?"

Luke rolled his eyes. "Not really."

Lorelai walked over to him. "Well, then I guess we'll just have to think of a fun way to end your birthday."

"I guess we will," he agreed, resting his hands on her waist.

She draped her arms over his shoulders. "Got any suggestions?"

Luke pulled her body up against his. "I'm sure we'll think of something." He glanced down at the balloons surrounding them. He kicked his foot, sending a few of them into the air, then sighed. "I guess I should be happy you picked the smallest room in the house to do something stupid to. It could've been worse."

Lorelai smirked and patted him on the chest. "You haven't seen the diner yet."

. . . . .

After they had showered and dressed, Luke and Lorelai both walked downstairs. Rory, dressed in her school uniform, was in the kitchen rummaging through a cabinet.

"Morning hon," Lorelai said.

Rory glanced over her shoulder. "Morning. Happy birthday, Luke."

"Thanks." Luke grabbed an apple from the fruit bowl and sat down at the table.

Rory rummaged through the cabinet for a few more seconds, then turned around. "Are there no more Pop Tarts?"

Lorelai grimaced. "Oh, um, I think someone ate the last one." She casually nodded her head toward Luke.

Rory rolled her eyes. "Right, I'm sure Luke's the culprit." She walked past Lorelai and into her bedroom.

Lorelai walked to the doorway. "Forget Pop Tarts, come to the diner with me. Don't you wanna see the look on Luke's face when he sees all the birthday decorations?"

"Okay, you can knock it off with that now," Luke said from the table. "The bathroom's one thing, but you're not stupid enough to do something to the diner."

Lorelai turned around with a devious smirk. "Oh, yeah?"

Luke leaned back in his chair. "Yeah." He bit into his apple and chewed it slowly.

"Oh, yeah?" They stared at each other for a few seconds before Lorelai wrinkled her nose. "Okay, so I didn't do anything to the diner," she admitted. She wagged a finger at him. "But only because I didn't have time, not because I was worried about your reaction. We both know that you can't get mad at me."

"Not true. I've gotten mad at you before."

She walked over to him and ran her fingers through his hair. "Let me rephrase – you know you can't get mad at me and stay mad for longer than it takes me to slip on something low-cut, tight, or lacy." She placed her hand under his chin and tilted his head up. "Or for me to do this." She leaned down and kissed him deeply, softly stroking his tongue with hers.

As she slowly pulled back from him, she smiled. "My womanly wiles are too strong for you to resist. Admit it."

"Never," he muttered, pulling her back down for another kiss.

Rory walked out of her bedroom. "Hey, Mom, do you . . ." She stopped abruptly when she saw them kissing. "Oh, whoa, sorry. Never mind."

Lorelai quickly pulled back and Luke glanced down at the table, embarrassed. Lorelai cleared her throat. "Uh, no, it's okay. What's up?"

Rory fidgeted with the button on her school blazer. "Um, did you want to. . .the things that I . . . in the bag. . .you know, for. . ." She nodded toward Luke.

It took her a second to catch on, but then Lorelai's eyes widened. "Oh, yeah, bring 'em out." As Rory walked back into her room, Lorelai patted Luke on the shoulder. "Let's see if this gets you mad."

"If what gets me mad?"

Rory walked out of the bedroom with Luke's birthday presents. "Presents," Rory announced, dumping them on the table in front of him.

Luke rolled his eyes. "No."

Lorelai grinned. "Yes."

Luke sighed. "Come on, I told you that – "

Lorelai cupped her hand over his mouth. "I know what you told me, but I ignored you, so just forget the stupid whining and open them. There aren't that many anyway." She pulled her hand away and handed him a present. "Here."

Luke stared down at the presents and shook his head. "Why'd you do this?"

"Because we love you," Lorelai replied. "Now hurry up – the faster you open them, the faster we can go to the diner and eat."

Rory pouted and clutched her stomach. "Please hurry."

Luke exhaled slowly and began unwrapping the presents. He opened the wallet first, and he examined it quietly for a few seconds before Lorelai said, "It's a new wallet."

Luke nodded. "I see that. It's nice."

"Your old one's kind of. . .well, old," Lorelai said. "So I thought it might be time for a new one."

"Good thought." He set it aside and picked up another present. He unwrapped it and found some DVDs. He flipped through them. "Gladiator. . .Predator. . .Braveheart."

"Yeah, we tried to find some manly movies for ya," Lorelai said.

"How'd we do?" Rory asked.

Luke nodded approvingly. "They're pretty manly. Thanks."

He reached for the last present, but Lorelai grabbed it first and hid it behind her back. "Oh, you can save that one for later."

"How come?"

"Because you'll be embarrassed to open it in front of me," Rory said.

He glanced warily at Lorelai. "What'd you buy?"

"You'll see."

"Wait – but you already know what it is?" Luke asked Rory.

"I know what it is, but I don't know what it looks like," she explained.

Luke narrowed his eyes with confusion. "Um. . .all right."

Lorelai smiled and patted him on the shoulder. "You'll like it. It's cute."

"Uh huh." Luke crumbled up the wrapping paper and walked it over to the garbage can. "You guys ready to go?"

"Yeah, let me get my things," Rory said. She walked into her bedroom.

Lorelai set the gift on the table, then walked over to him. "Remember, we're eating at the inn tonight for your birthday dinner."

"I told you, we really don't have to celebrate it by going out," Luke said with a shrug. "I don't care."

"You'll care once you see the new slinky red dress I bought specifically for this occasion," Lorelai assured him.

"Oh yeah?"

"Yeah. And I'm going out in said dress tonight whether you come with me or not," Lorelai said. "But I gotta warn you – this is a sexy dress. A powerful dress. The kind of dress a single woman wears out when her sole purpose is to have a one-night stand. So, you know, if I go out alone, the guys might not see the wedding ring and mistake me for a single woman and start hitting on me, and the temptation might be too strong for me to resist."

Luke shoved his hands into his pockets. "Must be some dress."

Lorelai nodded. "Oh, it is, trust me. I may need the assistance of double sided tape."

"Maybe I should go tonight after all," he decided.

"Good plan." Lorelai smiled and pressed her lips against his.

Rory walked out of her bedroom with her backpack. "Okay, I'm. . .whoa." She grimaced, then rolled her eyes. "God, do you guys do that every time I leave the room?"

They quickly pulled apart, and Lorelai smiled at her. "Yes, so if, in the future, you could try to stay away for longer periods of time, that'd be great. Thanks."

Luke rolled his eyes and walked past them toward the front door. "Let's go."

. . . . .

That night, Luke and Lorelai ate dinner in the Independence Inn dining room. When they had finished their main courses, a waiter took away their plates, and moments later, a second waiter set down two slices of cake on the table. "From the chef," he announced, then walked away.

Lorelai smiled. "Aw, that's nice." She watched him glance down at it hesitantly. "Now, don't tell me you're not going to eat a piece of birthday cake that Sookie made specifically for you."

Luke sighed. "I guess it'd be rude not to at least try it."

"Yes, it would," she said, digging into her piece.

Luke sighed and cut off a small piece of cake with his fork. He leaned back in his chair as he chewed it slowly. As Lorelai took a sip of her water, she stared across the table at him. When she saw his gaze drift downward, she smiled. "Three minutes."

"What's three minutes?"

"That's how long it's been since the last time you not-so-subtly admired my lovely plunging neckline. And then it was three minutes before that, and then another three minutes before that. It's a nice little pattern you've worked out." Lorelai smiled. "What do you have to say for yourself?"

Luke smirked. "I'm your husband. I'm allowed to admire it guilt-free as often as I like. It's one of my rights."

Lorelai adjusted the thin straps of the dress. "So I guess there are some perks to this marriage stuff after all, huh?"

"Yup." He ate another forkful of cake. "This is pretty good."

"Everything Sookie makes is good," Lorelai said. "So. . .tell me. . .besides the horrible traditions of presents and cake that were imposed on you – how's your birthday been so far?"

Luke nodded affirmatively. "Not bad." He gave a quick downward glance at her dress before he brought his gaze back to his cake.

Lorelai smiled. "One minute – wow. Having trouble maintaining the regular pattern?"

Luke gave her a sheepish smile. "What can I say – the dress looks good."

Lorelai leaned forward and raised an eyebrow. "It'll look better later tonight when it's crumpled up on the floor next to the bed."

Luke smiled, then glanced around for a waiter. "Uh. . .check, please."

Lorelai smiled and nodded toward his plate. "Unh uh. No dessert until you finish your cake."

. . . . .

When they had finished eating, they walked out onto the back porch of the inn. The cool night air made Lorelai shiver, and she tightened the belt of her jacket. She laced her fingers through Luke's as they walked along the pathway toward the bridge. They stopped in the middle of it and both leaned over the railing to look down at the water.

Lorelai glanced over at Luke, who was staring down at his wedding ring. Lorelai watched him for a few more seconds, then finally said, "Got something you wanna share with the rest of the class?"

Luke turned to her. "Huh?"

"What're you thinking about? Something wrong with your ring?" she asked, gesturing toward it.

"Uh, no, it's fine." He glanced back down at it for a few more seconds. "I was just thinking about how. . ." He shrugged and looked at her. "I don't know. . .about how I like it."

"Oh." Lorelai glanced down at her identical ring. "It is pretty, isn't it?"

Luke waved her off. "No, not the ring. . .I mean. . .ya know, being married and stuff."

"Oh." Lorelai smiled. "It's not as bad as you used to think it was, huh?"

"Nah." Luke shook his head softly, then smiled. "It's actually pretty nice."

"Because you have a wife who can pull off a dress like this?" Lorelai asked, gesturing to her outfit.

Luke smirked. "That's only part of it."

Lorelai gasped. "You mean to tell me that our marriage is not based on the sole fact that I'm a babe?"

"Nope." Luke reached for her hand. "Believe it or not, there are other things about you that I like."

"Wow. Intriguing." She smiled and kissed him. "I like being married, too."

"Glad to hear it."

"And I like having a guy to buy things for," she said. She pulled back from him, reached into her purse and pulled out the leftover present from that morning. "Here."

"You brought that with you?"

"Wow, your observation skills never cease to amaze me," she said, rolling her eyes. "Open it."

Luke sighed as he slowly unwrapped the gift. He stuffed the wrapping paper into his pocket, then opened the small box and looked inside. "You got me. . .underwear?"

Lorelai giggled. "Take 'em out." Luke pulled the folded up boxer shorts out of the box. "Read 'em," she urged.

Luke unfolded them and found the writing on the front. "Objects inside are larger than they appear." He rolled his eyes and shook his head. "Oh, geez."

Lorelai giggled. "Cute, huh? And thoughtful me pre-washed them so you can wear them tonight."

"No way. I'm not wearing these."

Lorelai frowned. "Aw, why not – who's gonna see 'em besides me?"

He patted himself on the chest. "Me. I'll see 'em."

Lorelai pouted. "Aw, come on, please? Pretty please, for your sexy babe of a wife?"

"No."

Lorelai stepped closer to him and brought her face close to his. "Come on – if you wear them to bed, I promise I'll pull them off with just my teeth."

"No, I – "

She interrupted by clicking her teeth together a couple of times. "An offer like this only comes around once in a blue moon." Luke sighed and glanced out toward the lake. Lorelai could tell he was actually considering it now, and she quickly turned his face back toward her. In a singsong voice, she said, "Come on. . .you know you want to. . .all the other husbands are doing it."

Luke smirked, then leaned forward and kissed her. "I'll think about it."

Lorelai grinned. "Thank you." They started walking across the bridge back toward the inn. "So. . .you like me for more than my looks, huh?"

"Yup."

"Good to know." She stopped walking and turned to him. "Though, I have to admit, I mainly love you because you're such a beefcake."

Luke smiled. "Oh yeah?"

Lorelai nodded. "Yup. Your personality and all that, I can pretty much take it or leave it." She ran her hands over his chest. "But man, when you find a guy with pecs like these, you snatch him right up."

"So, I'm essentially just a piece of meat to you," Luke deduced.

"Pretty much."

Luke nodded understandably. "I'm good with that."

Lorelai smiled and kissed him. "Good." She laced her fingers through his and they continued walking back toward the inn.

. . . . .

To be continued. . .