A/N: This chapter contains a little fluff. You have been warned so please don't complain.

Ch. 13

The hot piece of pizza in his hand fell to his lap and his mouth was now gaping open. Did she just say what I think she said? He didn't get to ask her right away, though, because he felt a burning sensation on his leg. He looked down.

"Aw, shit." He pick up the piece of pizza and threw it onto his plate. "Damn, that was hot. I think my leg's gonna have a welt now. Hang on, I'll be back. I gotta go change my pants."

He got up and walked out of the door. Rory sat there, pleading with herself to not cry. Rejected, she thought. And he couldn't even look at me so he had to leave the room. God, I'm such an idiot. We finally had a good relationship going and then I listen to my heart instead of my brain and ruin it. A tear began to roll down her cheek. She got up, walked to her bedroom, and fell on the bed, letting the tears flow freely.

Jess ran down the stairs, not wanting to wait for the elevator. He got to his door and unlocked it. He ran inside and started undoing his pants as he ran to get another pair of jeans. As he finally got them off, his brain began to function again. Oh my God!! Shit! I just ran out of the apartment after Rory said she loved me. Damn it, I'm such a freaking idiot! She must hate me.

At this thought, he ran out of the room, clean pair of jeans still in hand. Once again, he didn't want to wait for the slow elevator so he ran back up the stairs without stopping. By the time he got to Rory's floor, the tenth, from his floor, the third, he was quite exhausted. It had been a little easier going down. After stopping for about half a second, he ran into Rory's apartment and looked around. She wasn't in the kitchen anymore. He thought about going to look in her room, but he was too tired. He collapsed onto the floor.

Rory, hearing a noise, got up, wiped her eyes, and peeked out the door. She saw Jess lying there on the floor. Her first instinct was to leave him there or go over and kick him for what he had just done to her. She then thought about it and realized that would just be too mean. I mean, she thought, what if he's unconscious or something? Besides, if he came back, maybe he has something to say to me. She went to him and knelt beside him. His eyes were closed but he was breathing heavily so she knew he wasn't dead or anything.

"Jess, are you ok?"

Jess opened his eyes and saw Rory's face looking down at him. He immediately noticed the redness of her eyes. They were the kind of red that comes from crying.

"Oh, Rory. I'm so sorry." He made himself sit up so that he could talk to her better. "I'm so so sorry. I'm such a dumb ass. I ran out of here like that... It wasn't because of you. My pants were burning my leg and I don't know, I just wanted the burning to stop."

"Ok. Whatever." She didn't want to seem like she cared so she said it as nonchalantly as possible. She knew he could still tell by her voice that she was on the verge of tears.

"Rory, I'm serious. I was just shocked because I didn't think I heard you right. I thought you were going to say you didn't want to hand out with me anymore because you still hated me or something. The I dropped the hot pizza and, you know. I just, can you please repeat what you said because I want to make sure I wasn't dreaming or something."

"Why, so I get humiliated again? I don't think so, Jess." She got up and started to walk away. He heaved himself up and grabbed her arm before she could go anywhere.

"Rory, please."

"No, Jess. Let me go."

"No, not until you say it again."

"Fine, Jess. I love you, okay? I love you, I love you, I love you. Did you hear me this time? Are you happy now?"

Jess grabbed her and kissed her, trying to show her just how happy he was. It took her a second, but she finally responded and kissed him back. His stomach started doing more flips than an Olympic gymnast. Hers was doing about the same. They'd both waited for this for so long. After a few minutes, he reluctantly broke the lip lock. He wished he could kiss her forever but unfortunately his lungs felt differently.

He leaned his forehead against hers, both trying to catch their breath. When they finally did, Jess tilted Rory's head so that she was looking into his eyes and said the word's he'd been trying to say to her for so long.

"Rory, I love you, too."

He watched as a smile spread across her beautiful face. Oh thank God, he thought. She doesn't hate me.

"Uh, Jess?"

"Yeah? Something wrong?"

"Not really. I'm just kind of wondering why you're in you boxers and your jeans are folded up on the floor."

Jess looked down at his bottom half. Sure enough, he was standing there in his boxers. "Uh, I guess I look kind of stupid, don't I?"

Rory giggled. "Did you think that would persuade me or something?"

"No, I just ran out of my apartment without putting them on because I thought you hated me and I kind of forgot I was pants-less." He paused for a moment. "Why, did that have an effect on you?"

"Yes, you standing here in your smiley face boxers effected me so much."

"Hey, what can I say. I'm a smiley kind of guy."

"Yeah, you sure are today."

"Hey, how can I not smile when the most gorgeous girl in the world said she loves me."

Rory laughed. "Oh my God, Jess. That was so corny."

"Oh," he looked down. "Sorry."

Rory saw that he was blushing a little and she smiled. She'd never seen him blush before. "It was sweet, though."

Jess looked up at her and smiled. "I know you're just saying that for my ego but thanks, it worked."

Rory kissed Jess lightly on the lips. She then walked over, grabbed his jeans up off of their spot on the floor, and handed them to him. "Here you go, Smiley."

Jess sighed as he put his pants on. "Will I ever stop hearing about this one?"

"Let me think..... Um, no."

"Come here."

Jess wrapped his arms around Rory's waist and brought her closer to him. He moved his hand to her shoulder and slowly ran it down her arm, sending shivers through her whole body. She reached up and put her hands on the pack of his neck, playing with his hair. He lowered his head and kissed her behind her ear, slowly moving down her jaw. Rory sighed and pulled herself closer to him. He finally reached her lips and kissed the bottom one, teasing her a little. She grabbed his lips with hers and poured all of her heart and soul into the kiss she gave him. He kissed her back, trying to show her how much he loved her. Rory reluctantly pulled away a few minutes later, needing air.

"Okay, I need to sit."

Jess smirked. "I'm that great of a kisser, huh?"

Rory laughed as she plopped down on the couch, pulling Jess with her. "Sure."

"Ouch."

"I'm kidding. You're alright."

"Alright? Thanks a lot, Ror."

"Okay, okay. You're wonderful. Happy?"

"Yep." He leaned in and kissed her gently. "I've missed this so much."

"Not as much as me."

"Okay, whatever."

"Hey Jess?"

"What's up?"

"We need to have a talk."

"Oh, no. The six dreaded words."

"Come on, it'll be quick, I promise."

"Alright, what are we talking about?"

"Well, are we... us now?"

"Yeah. Well, I really hope we are."

"Me too."

"Ok, well, if we both feel that way then I think that we're together."

"Good. So then I need to ask you something."

"Go ahead, babe. Anything."

Rory looked down at her hands, nervous. "Will you promise me something?"

Jess was concerned. "What's wrong, Ror? Please tell me so I can stop worrying."

"I need you to promise me that you'll never leave me again the way you did before. You know, just up and leaving without telling me. Please, Jess, promise me that."

Jess held her hand and spoke, "I promise, Rory. I'm smarter now. I know that once I'm lucky enough to have someone as great as you, I'd have to be a complete and utter dumb ass to let you go."

Rory laughed. "Oh man, not again with the corniness."

A/N: Don't worry, it's not over yet. I have an idea of how I want to end it but I need your help. Should I end it next chapter or should I keep it going for a while? Do you want it to end or keep going for a little while? Please let me know if you have an opinion. Also, I know I'm gonna get reviews about this so I'll just address it now. I know the whole pizza thing seems a little unrealistic but not really. If you've ever burnt yourself with hot pizza before, you know how bad it hurts. Then add to the fact that he's a guy and we all know guys can usually only think about one thing at a time. And I couldn't have it just be all perfect. So anyways, don't be too harsh. Okay, review please and let me know what you thought!