a/n: two chapters in one day. Don't you feel special??? Ah, and thanks for all the reviews. You guys are the best! I really like your opinions. Tell me what you guys want to happen, I'll keep it in mind as I write the story. Just be nice please! If you really hate my story, please don't review and tell me so, that just makes me feel bad! But I do like comments and suggestions, so keep them coming!
Disclaimer: I still don't own Gilmore girls
***Chapter 7: Playing Dress Up***
"Rory we're late," Tristan called up there stairs, checking the clock nervously.
"Coming, coming!" she yelled down the stairs.
He paced the small room anxiously. They were attending a large business function that included dinner, dancing, and formal wear. Rory had been up in their room for over an hour getting ready, and Tristan was growing impatient. They were already more than fifteen minutes late, and he knew his father would be furious.
He turned when he heard the rustle of Rory's dress and the soft click of her shoes on the hard wood floor. She descended the stairs slowly but gracefully, holding on to the banister carefully.
"I'm terrified I'm going to trip on this train," she said blushing a bit when she noticed Tristan was staring at her.
"That wouldn't be so hard to do," he answered, looking at her with wonder. She was wearing a beautiful silk floor length dress with a train that was almost four feet long. It was strapless with intricate beadwork on the bodice and around the hem. The color was a deep, rich pink, the color of dark pink roses. Her hair was curled and arranged in a beautiful yet sophisticated bun with several small pink roses tucked in around the base.
"You look beautiful," he whispered, in complete awe.
"Thank you," she answered. "You don't look so bad yourself."
"I'm just wearing a tux," he said.
"All the same, you clean up nicely."
"Not as well as you," he argued playfully.
"Well how about you try on the dress and we can decide who the true beauty is."
"I would if we had time, but we're running late. Anyway, you would be so intimidated by my beauty that you would never want to leave the house with me again."
Rory laughed. They walked out the door and got in to the limo that was waiting outside. Because they were going to a fancy dinner, Tristan had given up on the 'simple life' and hired one, knowing that arriving in anything else would cause problems.
"About our talk last night," Rory said, referring to their talk in the gazebo. "I called my mom today, and I decided to go back home."
"You're leaving?" Tristan asked.
Rory nodded. "I'm leaving in a week. That will give me enough time to quit my job and pack up all my stuff."
"You're quitting?"
"Yah. I'm going to try to find another journalist position at the Times, or maybe somewhere else. Definitely not anything that involves me being on a different continent though."
"Wow," he said. "I don't know what to say."
"I know. And I'm sorry I had to tell you now. But I couldn't just go through tonight pretending nothing was going on. I figured now was about as good a time as any."
"I understand," he said. "Well, we'll just have to live it up tonight. We can really get down with my homies!"
"Yeah!" Rory said enthusiastically "But you do know we'll probably be the only one's under fifty there."
"It will be like that old cell phone commercial, the one where all the old people were freaking. But we might have to spike the punch."
"Ooh! Drunk old people, won't that be fun?"
"Unfortunately these hags haven't partied a day in their lives. I bet most of these people have never had a beer in their lives."
"Depressing," Rory answered.
"Welcome to my world," Tristan said sarcastically. They pulled up to a large mansion where the dinner was being held. The driver got out of the car and opened the door for them. Tristan helped Rory out of the car, carefully avoiding the deadly train.
"This place is huge!" she said once she was safely on the ground.
Tristan looked at the house. "Definitely one of the biggest places I have ever seen," he agreed. The house was four stories tall and seemingly stretched forever on both sides.
"Mr. Dugrey," the man at the door said, greeting Tristan.
"Hello Mr. Lavring. This is Rory Gilmore."
"Nice to meet you," she said politely, taking his hand.
"What a lovely young lady you have there Dugrey," he replied.
"Thank you Sir."
"Well, just go on in to the ballroom. Everyone is gathered in there. I hope you will enjoy your evening."
Rory and Tristan followed several other guests through the house until they reached a large ballroom. It was easily filled with several hundred people, most of which were seated at tables placed at one end of the room. A live orchestra was playing at another end, and in the middle was a spacious dance floor where about a dozen couples were waltzing. The far wall opposite the door contained several sets of French doors that opened up to an outside balcony and flower garden.
"Wow," Rory said, breathless at the surrounding.
"Yah," Tristan agreed, all words lost to him. "Well, we have three options. One, find our table, two, dance, or three, keep standing here like idiots."
Rory smiled. "Let's check out our table. I'm hungry! I hope they are close to serving dinner!"
"Me too. We're late enough anyway." Rory hit his arm playfully, but pulled herself together when she heard an older couple snicker behind them. Tristan rolled his eyes.
The found their seats at a table located in the middle of the large dining section. The other six seats at the table were already filled, all business associates of Dugrey Industries, all over the age of fifty as Rory had predicted.
"An amazing thing happened. I lost my appetite," Rory whispered when they eyed their dinner companions.
"Sitting with them all night would be a death sentence," he whispered back.
"Are you up for dancing?"
"Right this way my lady," Tristan answered, taking Rory's arm. They walked out onto the dance floor, which had grown a little more crowded since they had arrived.
Rory and Tristan danced every dance the orchestra played. Both proved to be horrible waltzers, and they shared many laughs as they stepped on each other's toes. All evening they talked and laughed, picking out the ugliest outfits, the ugliest people, and the ugliest couples.
"I'm really going to miss you when you're gone," Tristan said, suddenly breaking the lighthearted mood.
Rory stopped laughing and sighed. "I'm going to miss you too."
Tristan pulled her close to him, and she leaned her head on his chest. "You were the only reason holding me back."
"I don't want to hold you back from your dreams Mare," he answered. "I want you to be happy. But I'm going to miss you all the same."
"Well, maybe my leaving will be a good thing. You're supposed to be finding a girlfriend anyway. Someone who you can marry for real."
Tristan sighed, remembering. He had completely forgot that he was supposed to be finding a real girlfriend. He had been too busy wanting Rory.
"I don't want a real girlfriend," he whispered.
"What?" she asked, her blue eyes rising to meet his.
"I want you."
He lowered his head and kissed her softly on the lips. Immediately they were lost in the moment, delighted in the sensation of the kiss, oblivious to the world around them.
Until Richard Dugrey came up behind them.
"Tristan!" he said, slapping his son on the back. "So glad to see you."
Tristan shot around, startled. "Dad," he said cordially.
"So glad to see you're enjoying your evening," he replied. "How's my future daughter in-law?"
"I'm fine, thank you. And yourself?"
"Good, good. Now Tristan, I really need you over here. Andrew Cooke and William Wilson are over there and they are about to make a huge deal with DI. But we need you to come seal it. Terribly sorry Rory, but us men have business to discuss!" Richard walked off, dragging Tristan with him.
"Sorry Mare!" Tristan called back helplessly.
Rory just nodded her head, still too shocked by the kiss to be angry. She called for the limo to come around front to pick her up and left a note for Tristan with the butler that she had gone home. She felt like she was floating on a cloud the rest of the night.
