A/N: Thank you so much for the great reviews. For those of you who've said
they like this version of Luke better than what he's like in some other
fics I want to thank you for reading that much into it. The idea of Luke
actually approaching anyone under 30 is probably so far out of character it
isn't funny, so I've tried to make Lane more aggressive than Luke and I'm
glad so many of you can see that. Please, keep the reviews coming.
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Out of Nowhere Chapter 3 – Turnabout
Lane settled into the couch wondering where to start. The argument she'd had with her mother still weighed heavily on her mind. She hadn't yet been able to decide who was right her or her mother.
"Would you give me your honest opinion on something?"
Luke had gone back to sitting in the armchair waiting for her to speak. "Yeah, sure."
"Am I a bad daughter?" Lane looked down at her hands. She couldn't face him, what if he said she was? His opinion was important to her more so than most of the people she knew. Not just because he was her boss but also because she respected him. He lived his life the way he wanted to. He never made excuses or kept quiet when he thought he should speak. She wanted to be like that and wondered if she could be that strong.
"Nothing about you is bad. You're smart, reliable, a hard-worker, and I have to tell you if your customer service skills get any better I'm going to have to fire you." Luke hoped she would leave it at that. His experiences with Jess had made him unsure about his judgment skills.
"Thanks, but that's not what I asked." She really wanted to know if that was how people saw her.
Luke rubbed the back of his neck. "I think you did what you needed to. Sometimes there aren't any rights or wrongs just what you know you need to do." Maybe he should start listening to his own advice. His relationship with Nicole was over and he had been a coward when it came to the relationship he wanted with Lorelai. He knew what he needed to do when it came to her. It was just a matter of getting a little backbone.
Lane wasn't sure she wanted to talk about this anymore. It was a painful subject; her mother had been her life. Everything she did revolved around whether it was something she could tell her or not. One day she hoped she could explain all of it to her mother. Luke was right; sometimes it was what you needed to do that mattered. And right now what she needed to do was start making her own decisions ones that really mattered.
She had been spent her teenage years wanting a relationship with someone and meeting Dave had been wonderful. He had fulfilled her expectations, his willingness to please her and his dedication to hiding their relationship from her mother. But now he was gone. They had only had small moments of time together and her biggest regret between them was that he would not be the one to be her first. She had loved and wanted Dave. She wasn't sure she'd find another like him anytime soon and she no longer wanted to wait for someone to come to her. The only other person she trusted as much as Dave was Luke. Now Dave was out of her reach. And one day soon she hoped Luke would be in a committed relationship with the woman he wanted.
It was time to ask for what she needed. Just this once. Right or wrong.
Giving herself a pep talk, she studied Luke who had stretched out his legs in front of his chair. 'Everything will be fine you just need to approach him slowly. Let him get used to the idea. Him! What about me? I haven't gotten used to the idea. How am I supposed to seduce a guy who's twenty years older than me? With my sparkling wit?! Calm down! You are a drummer in a rock band and you share a one-bedroom apartment with two guys, you are no longer mousy straight-laced mother-would-have-her-be-a-nun Lane Kim. You can do this.' Lane rubbed her hands against her knees. 'But what if he says no? How could I ever look him in the eye much less work for him again?' She straightened a little and focused her attention on Luke's face. 'You'll just have to be convincing. How hard could it be? Isn't it every middle-aged guys fantasy to be lusted after by eighteen-year-old girls? I mean, come on. The guy just found out his wife's having an affair. Talk about blow to the ego. I shouldn't be willing to take advantage of his vulnerability but...what the hell. This is what I need and if he truly doesn't want it then I can live with that. Mortified for the rest of my life. But I can live with it.'
Now to talk him into it.
"Thanks for letting me to talk to you. I'm sorry for interrupting your night though. It's just...I've been feeling a little down lately." Luke looked over at her noticing that her hands were twisting together nervously. "No problem, you're always welcome here. I hope you know that." Maybe she was trying to ease her way into leaving, he thought surprisingly disappointed. It had been nice to just sit and talk with someone. "If you need anything you can always come to me."
Lane smiled at him, she certainly hoped that offer was still going to be open in a few minutes. "I appreciate that but I don't want to make you uncomfortable." She looked down and then wrapped her arms around her middle.
He was starting to get concerned; she had withdrawn in the last few minutes. He hoped she hadn't noticed the way he'd been looking at her the last little while. They had never spent this much time alone together and it was getting harder and harder for him to keep his mind from straying. She was a lovely young woman, he thought it was safe to admit that. As long as he didn't do anything about it. She was too young for him and...what the hell was he talking about. There wasn't a chance in hell she'd be interested in him anyway. The first move he made in her direction and not only would she probably call the cops but then she'd have her mother come and stone him. On the other hand it would give her a good reason to talk to Mrs. Kim.
He moved over and sat down on the couch next to her, their knees almost touching. "You're not going to make me uncomfortable, if there's something you need all you have to do is ask."
Lane tried to keep the smile off of her face. The lost and sad look had worked perfectly. She felt a little twinge of guilt for manipulating him like this but there was also a little thrill from knowing she could. 'Well, now that he's here next to me it's time to feel him up – out! I meant out. Save the up for later.' She started to giggle and quickly put her hand over her mouth. Luke mistook her movement and thought she was going to cry. 'How many woman are going to cry on my shoulder this month?' He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her towards him. "Are you alright?"
'Luke's arm is around me! Okay, okay, calm down. He thinks something's wrong. I can use that.' She leaned in further towards him and put one arm around him as if to cling to him. "Lane? Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" Luke felt her shake her head a little. "You'll think it's dumb." Lane waited for him to respond. "I promise no matter what it is, I won't think it's dumb." Perfect! "Well, I, uh, I've been kinda thinking about this guy and I want something from him but I don't know how to ask for it."
"Well, what is it you want from him?" He really hoped it was something innocent, he really didn't want to give relationship advice. In fact, he was probably the last person on Earth who should give relationship advice.
"I don't know how to say it." Luke hugged her closer to him. "Well, don't worry if you don't want to tell me I'll understand." Please don't tell me!
"Um, this is a little embarrassing. But I'm, sort of, uh, attracted to this guy but I don't know how to tell him." Lane was glad her face was hidden she was sure it was glowing bright red. She couldn't believe she'd gotten this far. Maybe she was stronger than she had thought.
Luke was feeling very uncomfortable about this conversation. He wanted to help her, which was what he usually did for everyone, help them and fix things. But this, this was out of his league. Aside from her being a her which pretty much left him in the dark to begin with he was feeling rather distracted by the feel of her pressed up next to him. And if that hand she'd left on his side, which had slipped a little low, went any further she was going to discover something that would definitely embarrass them both.
"If you really want to get this guy's attention then you should just tell him upfront. Guys respond to that much better than anything else." There he'd gotten that out without stumbling or stuttering once, maybe she'd be satisfied with that and would move away from him.
"Well if that's what you think would work then here goes nothing." Lane took a deep breath; she didn't think she'd ever been this nervous in her life. She made herself look him in the eye. "Luke, I want you to sleep with me."
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Out of Nowhere Chapter 3 – Turnabout
Lane settled into the couch wondering where to start. The argument she'd had with her mother still weighed heavily on her mind. She hadn't yet been able to decide who was right her or her mother.
"Would you give me your honest opinion on something?"
Luke had gone back to sitting in the armchair waiting for her to speak. "Yeah, sure."
"Am I a bad daughter?" Lane looked down at her hands. She couldn't face him, what if he said she was? His opinion was important to her more so than most of the people she knew. Not just because he was her boss but also because she respected him. He lived his life the way he wanted to. He never made excuses or kept quiet when he thought he should speak. She wanted to be like that and wondered if she could be that strong.
"Nothing about you is bad. You're smart, reliable, a hard-worker, and I have to tell you if your customer service skills get any better I'm going to have to fire you." Luke hoped she would leave it at that. His experiences with Jess had made him unsure about his judgment skills.
"Thanks, but that's not what I asked." She really wanted to know if that was how people saw her.
Luke rubbed the back of his neck. "I think you did what you needed to. Sometimes there aren't any rights or wrongs just what you know you need to do." Maybe he should start listening to his own advice. His relationship with Nicole was over and he had been a coward when it came to the relationship he wanted with Lorelai. He knew what he needed to do when it came to her. It was just a matter of getting a little backbone.
Lane wasn't sure she wanted to talk about this anymore. It was a painful subject; her mother had been her life. Everything she did revolved around whether it was something she could tell her or not. One day she hoped she could explain all of it to her mother. Luke was right; sometimes it was what you needed to do that mattered. And right now what she needed to do was start making her own decisions ones that really mattered.
She had been spent her teenage years wanting a relationship with someone and meeting Dave had been wonderful. He had fulfilled her expectations, his willingness to please her and his dedication to hiding their relationship from her mother. But now he was gone. They had only had small moments of time together and her biggest regret between them was that he would not be the one to be her first. She had loved and wanted Dave. She wasn't sure she'd find another like him anytime soon and she no longer wanted to wait for someone to come to her. The only other person she trusted as much as Dave was Luke. Now Dave was out of her reach. And one day soon she hoped Luke would be in a committed relationship with the woman he wanted.
It was time to ask for what she needed. Just this once. Right or wrong.
Giving herself a pep talk, she studied Luke who had stretched out his legs in front of his chair. 'Everything will be fine you just need to approach him slowly. Let him get used to the idea. Him! What about me? I haven't gotten used to the idea. How am I supposed to seduce a guy who's twenty years older than me? With my sparkling wit?! Calm down! You are a drummer in a rock band and you share a one-bedroom apartment with two guys, you are no longer mousy straight-laced mother-would-have-her-be-a-nun Lane Kim. You can do this.' Lane rubbed her hands against her knees. 'But what if he says no? How could I ever look him in the eye much less work for him again?' She straightened a little and focused her attention on Luke's face. 'You'll just have to be convincing. How hard could it be? Isn't it every middle-aged guys fantasy to be lusted after by eighteen-year-old girls? I mean, come on. The guy just found out his wife's having an affair. Talk about blow to the ego. I shouldn't be willing to take advantage of his vulnerability but...what the hell. This is what I need and if he truly doesn't want it then I can live with that. Mortified for the rest of my life. But I can live with it.'
Now to talk him into it.
"Thanks for letting me to talk to you. I'm sorry for interrupting your night though. It's just...I've been feeling a little down lately." Luke looked over at her noticing that her hands were twisting together nervously. "No problem, you're always welcome here. I hope you know that." Maybe she was trying to ease her way into leaving, he thought surprisingly disappointed. It had been nice to just sit and talk with someone. "If you need anything you can always come to me."
Lane smiled at him, she certainly hoped that offer was still going to be open in a few minutes. "I appreciate that but I don't want to make you uncomfortable." She looked down and then wrapped her arms around her middle.
He was starting to get concerned; she had withdrawn in the last few minutes. He hoped she hadn't noticed the way he'd been looking at her the last little while. They had never spent this much time alone together and it was getting harder and harder for him to keep his mind from straying. She was a lovely young woman, he thought it was safe to admit that. As long as he didn't do anything about it. She was too young for him and...what the hell was he talking about. There wasn't a chance in hell she'd be interested in him anyway. The first move he made in her direction and not only would she probably call the cops but then she'd have her mother come and stone him. On the other hand it would give her a good reason to talk to Mrs. Kim.
He moved over and sat down on the couch next to her, their knees almost touching. "You're not going to make me uncomfortable, if there's something you need all you have to do is ask."
Lane tried to keep the smile off of her face. The lost and sad look had worked perfectly. She felt a little twinge of guilt for manipulating him like this but there was also a little thrill from knowing she could. 'Well, now that he's here next to me it's time to feel him up – out! I meant out. Save the up for later.' She started to giggle and quickly put her hand over her mouth. Luke mistook her movement and thought she was going to cry. 'How many woman are going to cry on my shoulder this month?' He put his arm around her shoulder and pulled her towards him. "Are you alright?"
'Luke's arm is around me! Okay, okay, calm down. He thinks something's wrong. I can use that.' She leaned in further towards him and put one arm around him as if to cling to him. "Lane? Do you want to tell me what's wrong?" Luke felt her shake her head a little. "You'll think it's dumb." Lane waited for him to respond. "I promise no matter what it is, I won't think it's dumb." Perfect! "Well, I, uh, I've been kinda thinking about this guy and I want something from him but I don't know how to ask for it."
"Well, what is it you want from him?" He really hoped it was something innocent, he really didn't want to give relationship advice. In fact, he was probably the last person on Earth who should give relationship advice.
"I don't know how to say it." Luke hugged her closer to him. "Well, don't worry if you don't want to tell me I'll understand." Please don't tell me!
"Um, this is a little embarrassing. But I'm, sort of, uh, attracted to this guy but I don't know how to tell him." Lane was glad her face was hidden she was sure it was glowing bright red. She couldn't believe she'd gotten this far. Maybe she was stronger than she had thought.
Luke was feeling very uncomfortable about this conversation. He wanted to help her, which was what he usually did for everyone, help them and fix things. But this, this was out of his league. Aside from her being a her which pretty much left him in the dark to begin with he was feeling rather distracted by the feel of her pressed up next to him. And if that hand she'd left on his side, which had slipped a little low, went any further she was going to discover something that would definitely embarrass them both.
"If you really want to get this guy's attention then you should just tell him upfront. Guys respond to that much better than anything else." There he'd gotten that out without stumbling or stuttering once, maybe she'd be satisfied with that and would move away from him.
"Well if that's what you think would work then here goes nothing." Lane took a deep breath; she didn't think she'd ever been this nervous in her life. She made herself look him in the eye. "Luke, I want you to sleep with me."
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