"It's Still There – part 4"
. . . . .
The next night, Lorelai and Luke were sitting among the crowd at a town meeting with Taylor up at the podium. Taylor flipped through some papers on his clipboard, then glanced out at the crowd "Okay, just one minute, folks. I need to discuss something with Miss Patty." Taylor covered the microphone with his hand as Miss Patty walked over to the podium.
Luke sighed and put his arm around Lorelai's shoulder. Lorelai leaned against him and propped her feet up on the empty chair in front of her. "How long have we been here?"
Luke checked his watch. "Half an hour. And have we accomplished anything? No."
"Do we ever, gorgeous?" Babette asked from behind them.
Luke shook his head. "No. So why do we keep coming?"
"Because one day they will discuss something important, and we wanna be here when it happens to witness it," Lorelai said.
"Come on, Taylor," Andrew called. "We don't have all night."
The crowd murmured in agreement, and Taylor gestured for Miss Patty to sit down. He uncovered the microphone. "All right, townsfolk – for the last order of business, we want to let everyone know that we'll be taking up a collection for a retirement present for Gabby of Gabby's Flower Shop, who, as you all know, will be closing her shop on Saturday. Anyone who'd like to contribute – which should be everyone, seeing as how Gabby's shop has been a part of this community for almost two decades – can see me after the meeting or can leave a donation in the can that will be set up in the front of the market."
"God, does he ever come up with ideas that don't involve us donating money?" Luke muttered. "Anybody ever see him actually donate for anything?"
"I haven't," Lorelai replied. "But then again, I don't normally spend my free time watching Taylor to see what he does. And if I ever do, please have me committed."
"Will do."
"Thank you."
Luke stood up and called, "Are we done here?"
"Just a second." Taylor flipped through his clipboard, then said, "Okay, I think we covered everything on the agenda. I'd like to close the meeting with the announcement that the annual dance marathon will take place a week from Saturday, so start digging out those dancing shoes." Taylor pounded the gavel on the podium. "Dismissed."
Lorelai gasped as she stood up to leave. "Oh, the dance marathon!" She patted Luke excitedly on the shoulder. "We're totally gonna win this year. I can feel it. Kirk is going down – that trophy is ours."
Luke narrowed his eyes at her. "Who's we?"
Lorelai pulled on her jacket. "Me and you."
Luke let out a surprised laugh. "Right. Me and you. . .that's a good one."
"What?"
"I'm not dancing in that marathon," Luke informed her as they walked out of the dance studio and headed toward the diner.
Lorelai scoffed loudly. "And why not?"
"What do you mean, why not? You ask me to be your partner every year, and every year I say no. This year ain't any different."
"You're my husband, Luke," Lorelai reminded him, waving her ring in front of his face. "That means that you are obligated to dance with me in the marathon."
"I don't remember that being in the wedding vows."
"Luuuuke," Lorelai whined. She latched onto his arm. "Come on. You don't even have to move that much. You can just stand there shaking your butt like George Michael in the Faith video."
Luke shook his head. "Forget it. Look, I know you have this big obsession with winning this stupid thing, so don't let me stand in your way. If you wanna enter it with someone else, go ahead. I don't care."
"But I wanna enter it with you."
Luke shook his head. "Not gonna happen."
"Please? Pretty please?" she begged.
"No," he said sternly. "Look, I'll bring you coffee. I'll bring you food. Hell, I'll even sit on the bleachers and watch for a little while if you want, but I am not entering that contest with you."
Lorelai sighed loudly and frowned up at him.
Luke rolled his eyes. "And don't even try that pouty face 'cause it won't change my mind."
"Tsk, you're such a party pooper," she muttered.
"It's not a party, it's a stupid dance marathon."
"Then you're a dance marathon pooper," she said. "One way or another, you're a pooper."
"I'm content with that. Put it on my tombstone."
"I will, right under the phrase, 'Hated to make his wife happy.'"
Luke glanced over at her. "Oh, you're telling me I don't make you happy?" He stopped walking and turned to face her. "If memory serves me correct, I made you pretty damn happy last night." He held up two fingers and added, "Twice."
Lorelai smiled and pressed her palms against his. "Told you we'd find a fun way to end your birthday." As their fingers laced together, she wrinkled her nose and admitted, "Okay, fine, you always do things to make me happy." She kissed him. "But this would make me even happier." She kissed him again. "I love you."
"Back at ya." Luke kissed her, then pulled back and shook his head. "But I ain't dancing."
Lorelai sighed. "Fine, fine – I guess I'll just have to go out and find some other guy to touch for twenty-four hours straight. Is that what you want?"
"As long as there's no touching below the waist. . .go for it."
"So touching above the waist is allowed? He can just hang onto my breasts the whole time if he wants?"
"Sure. Then after the marathon's over, say goodbye to him and have 'em meet me in the alley behind the diner."
Lorelai smiled. "Ooh, I love tough Luke."
He gestured to the diner. "You coming in?"
Lorelai glanced through the diner window. "Hm. . .is there any pie? Maybe I'll bring some home for Rory. She's gonna need some after all the studying she's been doing."
"There might be some left," he said. They walked into the diner and Lorelai waited at the counter while Luke walked into the kitchen. He returned a minute later and handed her a Styrofoam container. "Here."
"Thanks. Did you – "
"Yes, I put in a piece for you, too," he interrupted.
Lorelai smiled. "Thank you." She leaned across the counter and kissed him. "See you in a little while."
. . . . .
On Sunday afternoon, Luke sat down at the kitchen table with a stack of envelopes. He flipped through them a few times, then glanced impatiently toward the living room and called, "What's taking so long?"
"I can't find the checkbook," Lorelai called back.
"I told you, it's on the desk."
"Well, I'm standing here looking at the desk and I'm not seeing a checkbook, so unless you accidentally hid it under the invisibility cloak, it's not over here," she replied.
"Jesus," Luke muttered. He walked to the living room, where Lorelai was standing in front of the desk with her hands on her hips. "Did you move anything, or did you just stand there looking at the desk and expect the checkbook to jump into your hands?"
"Hello, did you tell me to move something?" she asked. "You said it would be on the desk – I'm looking at the desk, I don't see it."
He rummaged through some papers. "Hm."
Lorelai pointed an accusatory finger at him. "Ha! You can't find it either."
Luke picked up the telephone book and found the checkbook underneath it. "Right there where I said it was – on the desk." He dropped the phone book on the desk chair, grabbed the checkbook, and walked back toward the kitchen.
Lorelai followed behind him, muttering "I don't think the phrase 'under the phone book' was in your description of where it was." Luke sat down at the table, and Lorelai sat across from him with a sigh. "Paying bills is boring."
"Yeah, it's also a necessity, so suck it up," he replied, tossing the checkbook in front of her.
Lorelai grinned. "Come on, let's make it fun. Let's play Strip Pay-the-bills. Every time we write a check, one of us takes off a piece of clothing."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Let's not." He pulled a credit card bill out of an envelope and read it over. "Jeez . . .it's still pretty high from all the wedding stuff." He handed the bill to her. "Pay off three hundred."
Lorelai wrote out the check, ripped it out, and set it on top of the bill's envelope. Then she unbuttoned her shirt, pulled it off, and dropped it on the floor. "Okay, next."
Luke stared at her with wide eyes. "What the hell are you doing?"
Lorelai adjusted her bra strap. "Playing Strip Pay-the-bills by myself."
Luke sighed. "Jeez. Come on."
"Look, I can sit here and whine the whole time about how this is a boring way to spend a Sunday afternoon, or I can sit here and slowly remove my clothing piece by piece. It's up to you. Frankly, I don't see what your problem is. I didn't even force you to participate – all you have to do is sit there and watch. It's like getting a free strip show."
Luke glanced nervously at the back door. "My problem is that Rory's gonna walk in at any minute and see her mother half-naked at the kitchen table."
Lorelai glanced at the clock on the microwave. "Rory won't be home for at least an hour and a half. The movie just started. Chill. Relax. Enjoy the show." She leaned toward him and smiled. "And if you're a good boy, later you can stuff your bill into my envelope."
Luke rolled his eyes, but a small smirk appeared on his lips as he glanced down at the table. "You're something, you know that?"
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "I know. Next bill, please."
Luke pulled out another bill and read it over. "God, it's ridiculous what they charge for cable in this town."
"It's all those dirty movies you order on Pay Per View," Lorelai said, grabbing the bill from him.
"Yeah, that must be it."
He watched her write out the check, then rip it out and set it on top of the bill. She pushed it aside, then turned to him to wait for the next one. She saw him staring at her, and she shrugged. "What?"
Luke blinked a few times and shook his head. "Oh, nothing." He picked up another envelope. "Uh. . .this is - "
Lorelai smiled and wagged her finger at him. "You were waiting for me to take something off."
"I was not," he muttered, opening the bill.
"Oh man, for someone who protested Strip Pay-the-bills, you certainly got into the game pretty fast."
"So, this is for the mortgage," Luke continued.
"Well, I was gonna do every other bill, but since you're antsy. . ." She reached behind her back and unclasped her bra. She pulled it off, rolled it up in a ball, and tossed it at him. "How's that?"
Luke pulled the bra off of his shoulder and dropped it on the table. "As I was saying, this is for the mortgage." Luke handed it to her. "Same amount as last – " The doorbell interrupted him.
Lorelai gasped and crossed her arms over her bare chest. "Oh my God! Who in their right mind would be interrupting Strip Pay-the-bills?"
Luke's eyes widened and he stood up. "I don't know, but hurry up and put your clothes on."
There was a knock, and they heard the front door being pushed open. "Hello, anyone home?" Emily's voice called.
"Mom!" Lorelai exclaimed. "Uh, hold on a sec!" She gathered up her clothes and rushed into Rory's bedroom to get dressed.
Luke walked to the front door and saw Emily and Richard standing in the doorway. "Uh, hey."
"Luke," Emily greeted him with a smile.
"Hello Luke," Richard said. "How goes it?"
"Uh, pretty good, thanks. How. . uh, how goes it with you?" he asked, nervously shoving his hands into his pockets.
"Very well."
"Uh, what brings you around this neck of the woods?" Luke asked.
"We were just on our way home from visiting friends in Woodmont and thought we'd drop by," Emily explained.
"Oh, that's nice," Lorelai said as she walked down the hall and joined them in the entryway.
"Hello Lorelai," Emily said. She glanced down at Lorelai's shirt and narrowed her eyes. "Uh, your buttons are a little. . ." She gestured to them.
Lorelai glanced down. "What?" She realized that she'd missed the top button, leaving the whole shirt askew. "Oops." She shrugged and let out an embarrassed laugh. "I missed a button. It's funny that we didn't notice it before now because it's probably been like that since this morning when I got dressed. But, you know, sometimes you don't notice things right away, and then you get used to how it feels and looks, so you don't realize that it doesn't feel right. . .or look right. And sometimes – " Luke cleared his throat and she abruptly stopped talking. "Right, fixing the shirt now." As she turned around and adjusted the buttons, Luke rolled his eyes and glanced down at the floor.
There was a moment of uncomfortable silence as Emily glanced back and forth between Luke and Lorelai. "Are we interrupting something?"
"No, not at all," Luke quickly replied.
Lorelai turned back around, her shirt now buttoned properly, and replied, "No. Come in, sit down. We were just paying some bills."
"Oh, is that what the kids are calling it nowadays?" Emily asked with a smirk. She walked into the living room, and Richard followed behind her.
Lorelai let out a quiet gasp and whispered, "Did my mom just make a sex joke?"
"Uh, yeah. . .I think she did."
"She must've been drinking at her friends' house," she whispered. They walked to the living room, where Emily and Richard were now sitting on the couch. Luke sat down in the armchair near the fireplace, and Lorelai perched herself on the arm of the chair. "So. . ."
"So, is Rory home?" Emily asked.
"Uh, no, actually, she went to the movies," Lorelai replied. "She won't be home for a while."
"Aw, it's a shame we won't get to see her," Emily said.
"You just saw her two days ago, Mom," Lorelai reminded her.
"Yes, well, it would've been nice to see her more than once this week."
Lorelai smiled. "Well, you get to see me more than once, so I bet you're just thrilled to pieces about that."
"Of course we are," Emily replied. "As I'm sure you are with getting to see us twice this week."
"Oh, absolutely." She smiled, then glanced past them. "Oh, you know what, you guys haven't seen the pictures in our wedding album." She jumped up and walked over to retrieve it from the desk, then walked back and handed it to Emily. "There. Take a look."
"Oh, lovely, thank you," Emily replied. She rested the book on the coffee table and turned to the first page.
Lorelai turned to Luke. "Uh, can I see you in the other room for a sec?" She started walking down the hallway and beckoned for him to follow.
He stood up and followed her into the kitchen. "What?"
Lorelai picked up the checkbook from the table. "Let's give them the first pay-back check while they're here."
"What? Now?"
"Yeah. We keep putting it off for God knows what reason, so let's just do it already," Lorelai said. She leaned over the table and started writing out a check.
"Wait, what are you doing? We never talked about how much we're gonna pay a month," Luke said, grabbing the pen from her.
She grabbed it back. "I'm making it out for a hundred."
"But – "
"That's a good starting amount," she interrupted. "If it gets to be too much to handle each month, we'll adjust it." She finished writing out the check and ripped it out of the checkbook. "Come on." She grabbed his hand and led him back to the living room.
Lorelai cleared her throat. "Uh, Mom, Dad. . ." They both looked up from the photo album, and Lorelai held out the check. "Here."
Richard took the check from her, and he and Emily both read it over. "What is this for?" Emily asked.
"Um, well, when I first borrowed money from you for Chilton, I told you that I would pay you back, and now. . .this is me starting to pay you back," Lorelai explained. "I mean, it's obviously gonna take awhile, but. . .it's a start. We'll pay you back a little each month."
Richard held the check out toward her. "Lorelai, this isn't necessary."
Lorelai nodded. "Yes, it is."
"We don't want your money, Lorelai," Emily added. "We don't mind helping you out with Rory's education."
"It's your money," Lorelai replied. "It's money that I owe you. It was a loan, not a gift, and if it takes me ten years to pay it all back to you, then. . .so be it. I fully intended from the beginning to pay you that money back, and that's what I'm gonna do."
"Lorelai, this is ridiculous. You don't have to do this," Emily said.
"Yes, I do," she insisted. "Take it."
"So I guess this means you're able to pay for Chilton yourselves now?" Richard asked.
Lorelai blinked a few times. "What?" She shook her head. "No." She glanced at Luke, who was uncomfortably standing next to her. "We still need you to pay for the tuition."
"You still need us to pay?" Richard asked.
"Wait - so you're starting to pay us back for money that you're still borrowing?" Emily asked.
Lorelai nodded. "Yeah, pretty much."
"Then why don't you just wait until she's out of Chilton," Emily suggested. "It'll be easier."
"Easier than what, Mom?" Lorelai sighed and walked over to sit in the armchair. "There is nothing difficult to grasp about this situation – we give you money, you take the money. Simple. You're still paying for Chilton, we'll still be at Friday night dinners. . .everything's basically the same as it was, except now I give you a little piece of paper with some numbers and letters on it."
Emily and Richard were both quiet for a few seconds. "You're sure about this?" Richard asked.
"Positive," Lorelai replied.
"Well, then. . .fine." He folded the check and slipped it into his pocket.
"Good." Lorelai stood up. "So, how 'bout I go make some coffee while you finish looking at those pictures?"
Emily nodded. "Coffee would be nice."
Lorelai turned around and patted Luke on the shoulder. "Can you move, or are you frozen solid?" She started walking down the hallway.
Luke followed her to the kitchen. "What's that supposed to mean?"
Lorelai started making the coffee. "Nothing. I just found it slightly amusing how you just. . .stood there. It's like you were surrounded by snakes and were afraid to move or make any noise."
Luke shrugged. "I didn't have anything to say."
"I noticed." She rummaged through a cabinet under the counter and pulled out a serving tray. "I'm gonna get the coffee ready. Go back in there and keep 'em company."
"By myself?"
"Yes, by yourself."
"I don't know what to say to 'em," he said, glancing toward the living room.
"You don't have to say anything. They're looking at pictures."
"What if they finish that?"
"Well, then, talk to them about the diner. My dad loves hearing about people working. Ooh, or if you're at a real loss for conversation, ask them if they like the cloud background on our checks, then offer to show them the underwear that inspired it."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Oh, nice, thank you."
Lorelai smiled and pushed him toward the living room.
. . . . .
The next day, Lorelai and Sookie walked into the diner for lunch. They sat down at a table, and it was only a few seconds before Luke walked over. "Hey."
"Hi Luke," Sookie said.
Lorelai smiled up at him. "Hey." She glanced at the back of his hand and gasped. "Aw, no, it's gone."
"What's gone?" Sookie asked.
Lorelai giggled. "I drew a butterfly on his hand last night in marker."
"Permanent marker," Luke clarified, rolling his eyes.
"Which is obviously false advertising since it's gone now," Lorelai pointed out.
Luke examined his hand. "You can still see it a little bit."
"What'd you use to take it off?" Lorelai asked.
"I had some heavy duty cleanser in the back," Luke said, gesturing over his shoulder.
"It wouldn't come off at home," Lorelai told Sookie.
"What'd you try, just regular soap?" Sookie asked.
"Yeah, I tried to get it off for like twenty minutes last night and nothing happened," Luke said.
Miss Patty had just walked into the diner, and as she passed by and heard him, she patted Luke on the shoulder. "Oh, honey, you should see a doctor about that. There are all kinds of pills they can prescribe nowadays."
Lorelai and Sookie both giggled, and Luke's face reddened. "That's not what we were talking about, Patty."
"Aw, it's nothing to be ashamed of, dear," Miss Patty said comfortingly.
Luke pursed his lips. "We were not – "
"Really, it happens to lots of men your age." Patty smiled sympathetically, then walked away and sat down with a woman at the corner table.
Luke sighed and turned to the girls, who were still giggling. "It's not funny," he said sternly.
They both stopped, and Lorelai shook her head. "No, not at all, not funny. Now, before your meeting with the sex therapist, grab us a couple of burgers and some sodas."
As Luke huffed and walked away, Sookie started to giggle again. "Oh, man, that'll be around town by the end of the hour."
"Who would have thought that me drawing a little butterfly on his hand would eventually lead to the town thinking he's suffering from erectile dysfunction?"
"Not me," Sookie confirmed. "Why'd you draw on him anyway?"
Lorelai smiled. "Because I felt like it and he can't say no to me. "
"Oh, he can't? So it wasn't Luke you were talking about when you said, 'My own husband won't dance with me in the dance marathon'?" Sookie teased.
Lorelai frowned. "Ugh, don't remind me. This sucks. I thought this year would be different. This year I'm married, I have a built-in guy for whenever I feel like doing something that requires a guy, and here's something that requires one – and my guy won't do it."
"Did you really expect him to?" Sookie asked. "You know he hates dancing. I'm surprised you even got him to dance at your wedding."
Lorelai shrugged. "Yeah, I know, it's totally not his thing. I shouldn't expect him to do a complete turnaround and suddenly become Fred Astaire just because we're married." She sighed. "But I only have a few more days left to find a partner. Who am I gonna dance with, Sookie? Give me some suggestions."
"Um. . ." Sookie tapped her fingers on the table while she thought. "I don't know. . .Michel?"
Lorelai let out a surprised laugh. "Oh, God – me and Michel? Can you even picture that scenario?"
Sookie giggled and shook her head. "No, not at all."
Luke walked back to the table with two sodas. As he set them down, he sighed and asked, "Are you still laughing about. . ." He gestured toward Miss Patty's table.
Lorelai shook her head. "No, we're trying to think of potential dance partners for me since my husband refuses to participate."
Luke rolled his eyes. "Don't start. We went over this."
"I know, I know, you're not dancing. But the least you could do is help me find another partner," Lorelai said.
"I'll try to think of someone," Luke promised. He glanced out the window, and his eyes landed on Taylor and some men standing in front of the empty flower shop next door. "What's going on out there?"
Lorelai and Sookie both glanced out the window. "I don't know," Lorelai said.
"Be right back," Luke muttered. He walked out of the diner, and Lorelai glanced at Sookie. "Be right back." She jumped up out of her chair and followed Luke out onto the sidewalk and over to Taylor.
"Taylor, what's going on here?" Luke demanded.
Taylor looked up from the blueprint he'd been looking at. "Oh, nothing," Taylor replied. "Just scoping out the site for my new business venture."
"Business venture? What the hell are you talking about?"
Taylor handed the blueprint to one of the men next to him. "Well, if you must know, upon her retirement, Gabby sold me this property. . ."
Luke's eyes widen. "What!"
"And I've decided to turn it into an old fashioned ice cream soda shop," he finished. "I think it'll be a nice addition to the town. Doesn't that sound wonderful?"
Lorelai's eyes widened. "Mm! That sounds yummy." Luke shot her a look, and she shrugged. "What? It does."
Luke exhaled loudly and turned back to Taylor. "This town does not need an old fashioned ice cream soda shop, and it sure as hell doesn't need one right next to my diner!"
"On the contrary – I think it's a perfect combination. After your customers enjoy a nice meal at the diner, they can stop by my soda shop for a nice ice cream soda for dessert," Taylor explained. "It's the perfect location for everyone. I think we'll make a good team."
Luke grimaced at the thought, and he stared at the front of the building. A sign had been placed in the window promoting it as the future home of the soda shop. "How long have you've been planning this?"
"Oh, a few weeks or so," Taylor replied. "But I decided not to tell anyone until the place was officially ready to be remodeled."
"Remodeled?" Luke pursed his lips. "You're gonna be doing construction right next door? Do you know how inconvenient that'll be for me?"
"Well, I have to do it, Luke," Taylor said. "The property is not properly set up for a dining establishment."
"This is ridiculous. You can't just. . .why can't you. . .we don't need a. . ." Luke groaned and clenched his fists at his sides. "Dammit, Taylor!" He turned and stormed back toward the diner.
Lorelai glanced after him, then turned back to Taylor. "Uh, he wishes you luck on your new business." She turned and walked back to the diner.
Lorelai sat back down with Sookie, who immediately asked, "What's going on? Luke didn't seem too happy."
"Taylor bought the flower shop from Gabby and he's turning into some kind of soda shop place," Lorelai explained. She glanced toward the counter looking for Luke. "And someone's not too happy about his new neighbor."
"Ah, got it." Sookie glanced out the window. "But a soda shop sounds cool."
Lorelai smiled. "I know, I'm kind of excited."
"You gonna go try to calm Mr. Grumps down?" Sookie asked.
Lorelai shook her head. "Nah, he'll get over it."
Luke walked out of the kitchen and over to their table. He set their plates down, shot an evil look outside toward Taylor, then turned around and walked back to the kitchen.
Lorelai glanced at Sookie and shrugged. "Eventually."
. . . . .
Two nights later, Lorelai and Rory sat on either ends of the couch, facing each other as they both read. Lorelai reached her hand into the bag of M&M's on her lap and pulled out a handful. She popped them into her mouth and mumbled, "Oh, hey, guess what."
Rory lowered her book. "Okay, that chocolate flavored spit that's rolling down your chin? Very attractive."
Lorelai wiped her mouth and chewed the rest of the candy. "I just took this quiz, 'What rock star are you?' and I got Madonna. I'm a material girl."
"Very nice. But are you Madonna before or after Swept Away?" Rory asked.
Lorelai made a face. "Ugh, before, I hope."
"I wouldn't be bragging about it if it was after," Rory said.
The front door opened, and Luke walked into the house. He walked into the living room and stood behind the couch. "Hey."
Lorelai smiled up at him. "Hi."
"Hey Luke," Rory said.
"What are you guys talking about?" he asked.
"Oh, we were just talking about how any independent contractors working on the uncompleted Death Star were innocent victims when the Rebels destroyed it," Lorelai replied.
"Aw, we haven't seen that movie in awhile," Rory said. "We should rent the whole trilogy one night and have a little marathon."
"Good plan," Lorelai agreed. "And speaking of marathons. . ." She glanced up at Luke and smiled. "Ask me."
"Ask you what?"
Lorelai rubbed her palms together excitedly. "Ask me who my dance partner is."
"You found a dance partner?" Luke asked, surprised. "Why didn't you tell me?"
"I'm telling you now," Lorelai said. "It just happened like an hour ago. Guess who it is."
Luke shrugged. "No idea. Andrew?"
Lorelai shook her head. "Nope. Try again."
"Eddie?"
"The mailman? Nope."
"One of the Pete's?"
"Nope."
Luke sighed and glanced at Rory. "A little help, please."
"Dad," Rory said.
Luke's eyes widened. "Dad? Uh. . .as in, your dad?" he asked Rory. He brought his gaze to Lorelai. "Christopher?"
Lorelai smiled and nodded. "Yup."
Rory stood up and picked up her empty glass from the coffee table. "I'm gonna get more soda. I'll be right back." She walked to the kitchen.
Luke shoved his hands into his pockets and glanced down at the floor. "So. . .Christopher. . .is your dance partner. That's . . .uh, a surprise."
"Yeah, I know. He called to talk to Rory, and then we were talking for a little while, and I mentioned how I was looking for a dance partner, and I guess I sounded pretty desperate or something, because he offered. He said it sounded like fun and that he didn't have any plans this weekend anyway."
Luke slowly nodded as he took in the information. "Huh."
"Yeah. So, now you won't have to hear me whine about finding a partner 'cause I finally have one," Lorelai said, patting him on the arm. "Isn't that great?"
"Oh. . .yeah. . .sure." He cleared his throat and nodded a few times. "Yeah, that's. . .that works out good."
Lorelai nodded and glanced down at the open magazine on her lap. "Oh, hey, do you wanna know what rock star you are? There's this cool quiz in here." She smiled up at him. "I'm Madonna."
He shook his head and gestured toward the steps. "Uh, no, I think I'm gonna head to bed."
Lorelai frowned. "Aw, already? It's still early."
"Yeah, I know, but I'm pretty tired. Long day."
Lorelai nodded. "Okay. 'Night, hon."
"Night."
He started to walk away, but she reached out and grabbed his shirt sleeve. "Whoa, wait, no goodnight kiss?" Lorelai asked. He leaned over and chastely pecked her on the lips. Lorelai pulled back and stared up at him questioningly. "Okay, that was like kissing my brother. Well, I don't have a brother, so I don't know for sure. Not that if I did have a brother, I would know, because I probably wouldn't be kissing him, but I'm just saying that it wasn't the most passionate kiss."
Luke let out a sigh, then leaned down and kissed her again. "Happy?"
Lorelai narrowed her eyes at him. "What's wrong with you?"
"I just told you, I'm tired. I'm ready for bed. I don't feel like standing here talking about whether or not I kiss like your imaginary brother."
Lorelai held up both hands in mock surrender. "Okay, I'm sorry, forget it. Go to bed. 'Night."
"'Night," he muttered as he headed for the steps. Lorelai watched him with a confused look as he disappeared up the staircase.
To be continued. . . .
. . . . .
Okay, as you can see, I'm trying to work some season 3 stuff into the story, but I have to tweak it a little bit to make it fit in. Hopefully, it's working out okay so far. Thanks for all the feedback. It's very much appreciated, and it's keeping me motivated, so please review. :)
