Author's Note: The saga continues. Thanks so much for the reviews! I look
forward to each and every one. It seems I have been very productive lately
so enjoy two chapters in one day! Since I haven't stated this in a while I
don't any of the characters or the premise this is only what I'd like to
see happen next. Gilmore Girls is the property of Amy Sherman-Palladino
and the WB. Watch the Frog.
*** Lorelai was out the front door of the Dragonfly in just enough time to see Luke's truck kick up dust as he peeled out of the drive. She quickly pulled the keys to her Jeep out of her pocket and raced to follow him. She wiped the tears from her eyes once again as she drove to catch up with Luke. From the looks of it he was going back to the diner. She couldn't believe how horribly wrong the day gone. Today was supposed to be the opening of the Dragonfly, one of the best days of Lorelai's life. Instead she had practically made her mother cry, she had to let Jason down again, but most of all, she had hurt Luke. She had done the one thing she had worried about doing since the minute she had accepted his date invitation.
Lorelai pulled into the town square and saw Luke's truck parked outside the diner. She knew he was in there. She knew he was furious. Most of all she knew she had to see him. She got out of the Jeep and walked into the diner. Luke was behind the counter with his back to her. He turned around when he heard the bell over the door.
"Get out," he said. "I don't want to talk to you right now." The venom in his tone and look in his eyes alarmed Lorelai. Kirk was the only other person in the diner and he was taking in the scene with a look of confusion.
"Luke," Lorelai half whispered, "Please, we need to talk."
"No, Lorelai, we don't. I saw everything I needed to see," he said loudly as he slammed a plate of fries in front of Kirk. "Do you need anything else Kirk?" he asked turning his back on Lorelai.
Lorelai tentatively moved closer to Luke. "Please Luke," she begged with tears in her eyes. "Please talk to me."
He sighed and turned toward her. "You don't get to do this to me Lorelai. I told you I didn't want to talk, now get out." He turned his back and walked behind the counter where he did pretended to busy himself with mundane housekeeping chores. She followed him and stood on the other side of the counter. In reality it was just a few pieces of Formica and metal separating them, but inwardly they were galaxies apart.
"Luke, I know what you saw was bad," she started. Luke gave a tiny snort of recognition to her statement.
"But, it's not what you think."
Luke turned around to face her and saw the tears in her eyes. They weren't tears of anger, but of sadness and frustration. "Get out Kirk," Luke said.
"Me? Why me? I thought wanted her to get out," Kirk said pointing at Lorelai.
"Kirk, get out or I'll help you out," Luke replied emphatically. Kirk saw the seriousness on Luke's face and he quickly fled the diner. Luke followed him and locked the deadbolt. Flipping the open sign to closed he turned to Lorelai.
"Luke, I swear to you that hurting you is the last thing I ever wanted to do," Lorelai started. "My mother came to the inn this morning and I was horrible to her and she told me she wasn't sure if she was going to stay with my Dad. She was talking about divorcing my Dad and the whole thing really freaked me out. Then Jason came over and he was apologizing about suing my Dad and he said he loved me and he kissed me and I was so out of it I didn't even realize it, until I did, and I knew it wasn't right," Lorelai spilled out.
"Jason, so he has a name. It's good to know he wasn't just a carpenter you decided to pick up," Luke replied angrily. "Who the hell is Jason Lorelai?"
Lorelai looked at him with confusion until she realized that she had never told Luke about Jason. She tugged a piece of hair and forced it behind her ear. "Jason was my boyfriend. He was my father's business partner but I broke up with him because he was suing my Dad over the business. I guess I never told you about him. I'm sorry," she explained.
Luke took this in and crossed his arms across his chest as he let out a sigh. "Your boyfriend?" Luke questioned. "That's interesting because I don't ever remember saying you had a boyfriend Lorelai. I remember you telling me my marriage was a mistake. I remember you completely disapproving of Nicole. I remember you not wanting me to move to Litchfield, but I don't remember telling me about your boyfriend."
"What does your marriage have to do with Jason?" Lorelai asked.
"Everything Lorelai!" Luke shouted. "Don't you understand it has everything to do with it. I shared everything with you about my relationship with Nicole. I told you things even though I knew you didn't approve because you were constantly questioning me about it. You judged everything I did with her, but you didn't even have the decency to tell me about your boyfriend Jason," he leaned forward as he spat out words. "But that isn't the half of it. You knew Nicole cheated on me. You knew I couldn't handle that. Hell, you were the one who bailed me out of jail. And yet, the second I turn my back, after our first date, you're making out with another guy!" Luke was pacing in front of the diner door now.
"Luke I didn't cheat on you!" Lorelai yelled back. She had reached her breaking point and it appeared Luke, much like her mother, was going to be the one to bear the brunt of her frustrations. "We shared one dance, one meal, one awkward kiss. That does not make me beholden to you Luke."
Luke stopped pacing the floor. He paused and turned to stare at her in utter disbelief. "You really have no clue. After all this time you still have no idea," Luke shouted. "This wasn't a casual thing to me Lorelai. It's what I was trying to tell you this morning. It's what I was going back to the inn to tell you. I have wanted you for years and every time I get close to telling you something happens. First Max comes along and then Christopher and then you're dating a high schooler or a fisherman and now I find out there's a Jason, who you dated for God knows how long! It's like will it never end? Will she date anyone with a pulse but me?"
"So I finally decided I couldn't wait for you forever and I moved on. I got married and I tried to make it work with Nicole but part of me wasn't in it and she cheated and I failed at marriage. It took me failing to realize I didn't want to fail in love again." He looked her directly in the eyes as he continued. Lorelai took in his stare and felt like he was looking straight through her, straight into her soul.
"You're it for me Lorelai. If you and I don't make sense then I don't know what does. So I finally got enough nerve to ask you to my sister's wedding and then out on an actual date after that and I wanted to tell you how I felt then, but I couldn't. So I tried again today, but people interrupted so I left for 20 minutes and I come back to find you kissing this ex- boyfriend who I didn't even know existed!" He let it all out and when he was done he held on to the back of a chair and leaned in, exhausted.
Lorelai stood there in shock. He said more to her about his feelings in three minutes than he had ever said aloud in one breath. He had really let her have it. She should have been mad, but he had a point. She dated Jason for months and never told him and all she did was give him grief about his hasty marriage to Nicole.
"You're right," she said approaching him. "You're right Luke. I dated Jason without telling you and also without telling my parents. I gave you a hard time about Nicole and that was wrong. But deep down inside she was taking you away from me. I felt threatened okay? Somewhere in the back of my mind you were my security blanket Luke," she said.
She was standing right in front of him. His arms still folded across his chest. She looked down at her shoes and shuffled her feet like a kindergartner. "I was afraid of hurting you," she continued. "I have screwed up so many things, so many relationships and I didn't want to screw this up too. You think I didn't notice your feelings for me, but I did. I just ignored it until you said you were moving and then I realized how much you mean to me and it scared the hell out of me. So I did what Gilmores do best and I ignored it. I ignored it until you pushed me to look at it. I ignored it until I looked into your eyes at the wedding. And then, even when I saw it right in front of me, I got scared."
"You don't think this is scary for me? I put myself on the line and then I find you making out with some guy I didn't even know existed," Luke said quietly, but still upset.
"I know, I'm sorry," Lorelai apologized again. "I don't know why I let him kiss me. I thought I broke up with Jason because of the thing with my Dad, but then he kissed me today and I realized it wasn't there. It was never there. I was kissing him but it wasn't the same feeling I have when I'm with you. I so desperately wanted to be kissing you."
Luke just stared at her his resolve to stay angry with her was slowly fading.
"Luke, I'm still dealing with my parent's marriage possibly being over. My parents, dysfunctional as they may be, were perfect for each other. They're both crazy, but they understand each other. If they can't stay together it scares me to think about who can. Jason came over and I just needed someone, but I know now that the someone I needed was you."
Lorelai approached him and uncrossed his arms from his chest and circled them around her waist and wrapped her arms around his neck. She tucked her head into the space between Luke's chin and shoulder. They stood there for a moment just holding each other. Their breath seemed to fall into a rhythmic pattern and they were one. Lorelai looked up at him and he looked down at her and their eyes met. His eyes darted from her eyes down to her lips and back up again almost as if he was looking for an answer to an unspoken question. She unhooked her arms from around his neck and placed her hands on his face. Gently she pulled his face down to hers and placed her lips on his. The kiss was soft and lingering. He pulled away and looked her in the eyes one more time before he moved forward again and their lips met without hesitation. She felt the stubble on his chin tickle the side of her cheek and his hands move up her back to pull her closer to him as the kiss deepened. They hungrily explored each other as if they had been deprived of passion for years. He parted his lips slightly and Lorelai took advantage of the movement by lightly rolling her tongue across his lower lip. He reciprocated in kind and they were lost in each other for a moment before they finally broke for air. They looked at each and smiled.
Luke kept one arm around her waist and smoothed out the top of Lorelai's hair with his other hand. He then lowered his face and planted a small kiss on Lorelai's forehead.
"That was much better than the first one," she joked quietly.
"I know," he replied with a morose smile. "That's why this is really hard for me, but I can't be with you right now," he said as he unwrapped her arms from around his neck and placed them at her sides. He turned to flip the closed sign to open and unlocked the deadbolt. He left Lorelai standing there bewildered as he crossed behind her to go back behind the counter.
*** TBC
A/N: Please stick with me on this one. I do have a master plan-- eventually! I'll try not to leave you hanging for too long. (
*** Lorelai was out the front door of the Dragonfly in just enough time to see Luke's truck kick up dust as he peeled out of the drive. She quickly pulled the keys to her Jeep out of her pocket and raced to follow him. She wiped the tears from her eyes once again as she drove to catch up with Luke. From the looks of it he was going back to the diner. She couldn't believe how horribly wrong the day gone. Today was supposed to be the opening of the Dragonfly, one of the best days of Lorelai's life. Instead she had practically made her mother cry, she had to let Jason down again, but most of all, she had hurt Luke. She had done the one thing she had worried about doing since the minute she had accepted his date invitation.
Lorelai pulled into the town square and saw Luke's truck parked outside the diner. She knew he was in there. She knew he was furious. Most of all she knew she had to see him. She got out of the Jeep and walked into the diner. Luke was behind the counter with his back to her. He turned around when he heard the bell over the door.
"Get out," he said. "I don't want to talk to you right now." The venom in his tone and look in his eyes alarmed Lorelai. Kirk was the only other person in the diner and he was taking in the scene with a look of confusion.
"Luke," Lorelai half whispered, "Please, we need to talk."
"No, Lorelai, we don't. I saw everything I needed to see," he said loudly as he slammed a plate of fries in front of Kirk. "Do you need anything else Kirk?" he asked turning his back on Lorelai.
Lorelai tentatively moved closer to Luke. "Please Luke," she begged with tears in her eyes. "Please talk to me."
He sighed and turned toward her. "You don't get to do this to me Lorelai. I told you I didn't want to talk, now get out." He turned his back and walked behind the counter where he did pretended to busy himself with mundane housekeeping chores. She followed him and stood on the other side of the counter. In reality it was just a few pieces of Formica and metal separating them, but inwardly they were galaxies apart.
"Luke, I know what you saw was bad," she started. Luke gave a tiny snort of recognition to her statement.
"But, it's not what you think."
Luke turned around to face her and saw the tears in her eyes. They weren't tears of anger, but of sadness and frustration. "Get out Kirk," Luke said.
"Me? Why me? I thought wanted her to get out," Kirk said pointing at Lorelai.
"Kirk, get out or I'll help you out," Luke replied emphatically. Kirk saw the seriousness on Luke's face and he quickly fled the diner. Luke followed him and locked the deadbolt. Flipping the open sign to closed he turned to Lorelai.
"Luke, I swear to you that hurting you is the last thing I ever wanted to do," Lorelai started. "My mother came to the inn this morning and I was horrible to her and she told me she wasn't sure if she was going to stay with my Dad. She was talking about divorcing my Dad and the whole thing really freaked me out. Then Jason came over and he was apologizing about suing my Dad and he said he loved me and he kissed me and I was so out of it I didn't even realize it, until I did, and I knew it wasn't right," Lorelai spilled out.
"Jason, so he has a name. It's good to know he wasn't just a carpenter you decided to pick up," Luke replied angrily. "Who the hell is Jason Lorelai?"
Lorelai looked at him with confusion until she realized that she had never told Luke about Jason. She tugged a piece of hair and forced it behind her ear. "Jason was my boyfriend. He was my father's business partner but I broke up with him because he was suing my Dad over the business. I guess I never told you about him. I'm sorry," she explained.
Luke took this in and crossed his arms across his chest as he let out a sigh. "Your boyfriend?" Luke questioned. "That's interesting because I don't ever remember saying you had a boyfriend Lorelai. I remember you telling me my marriage was a mistake. I remember you completely disapproving of Nicole. I remember you not wanting me to move to Litchfield, but I don't remember telling me about your boyfriend."
"What does your marriage have to do with Jason?" Lorelai asked.
"Everything Lorelai!" Luke shouted. "Don't you understand it has everything to do with it. I shared everything with you about my relationship with Nicole. I told you things even though I knew you didn't approve because you were constantly questioning me about it. You judged everything I did with her, but you didn't even have the decency to tell me about your boyfriend Jason," he leaned forward as he spat out words. "But that isn't the half of it. You knew Nicole cheated on me. You knew I couldn't handle that. Hell, you were the one who bailed me out of jail. And yet, the second I turn my back, after our first date, you're making out with another guy!" Luke was pacing in front of the diner door now.
"Luke I didn't cheat on you!" Lorelai yelled back. She had reached her breaking point and it appeared Luke, much like her mother, was going to be the one to bear the brunt of her frustrations. "We shared one dance, one meal, one awkward kiss. That does not make me beholden to you Luke."
Luke stopped pacing the floor. He paused and turned to stare at her in utter disbelief. "You really have no clue. After all this time you still have no idea," Luke shouted. "This wasn't a casual thing to me Lorelai. It's what I was trying to tell you this morning. It's what I was going back to the inn to tell you. I have wanted you for years and every time I get close to telling you something happens. First Max comes along and then Christopher and then you're dating a high schooler or a fisherman and now I find out there's a Jason, who you dated for God knows how long! It's like will it never end? Will she date anyone with a pulse but me?"
"So I finally decided I couldn't wait for you forever and I moved on. I got married and I tried to make it work with Nicole but part of me wasn't in it and she cheated and I failed at marriage. It took me failing to realize I didn't want to fail in love again." He looked her directly in the eyes as he continued. Lorelai took in his stare and felt like he was looking straight through her, straight into her soul.
"You're it for me Lorelai. If you and I don't make sense then I don't know what does. So I finally got enough nerve to ask you to my sister's wedding and then out on an actual date after that and I wanted to tell you how I felt then, but I couldn't. So I tried again today, but people interrupted so I left for 20 minutes and I come back to find you kissing this ex- boyfriend who I didn't even know existed!" He let it all out and when he was done he held on to the back of a chair and leaned in, exhausted.
Lorelai stood there in shock. He said more to her about his feelings in three minutes than he had ever said aloud in one breath. He had really let her have it. She should have been mad, but he had a point. She dated Jason for months and never told him and all she did was give him grief about his hasty marriage to Nicole.
"You're right," she said approaching him. "You're right Luke. I dated Jason without telling you and also without telling my parents. I gave you a hard time about Nicole and that was wrong. But deep down inside she was taking you away from me. I felt threatened okay? Somewhere in the back of my mind you were my security blanket Luke," she said.
She was standing right in front of him. His arms still folded across his chest. She looked down at her shoes and shuffled her feet like a kindergartner. "I was afraid of hurting you," she continued. "I have screwed up so many things, so many relationships and I didn't want to screw this up too. You think I didn't notice your feelings for me, but I did. I just ignored it until you said you were moving and then I realized how much you mean to me and it scared the hell out of me. So I did what Gilmores do best and I ignored it. I ignored it until you pushed me to look at it. I ignored it until I looked into your eyes at the wedding. And then, even when I saw it right in front of me, I got scared."
"You don't think this is scary for me? I put myself on the line and then I find you making out with some guy I didn't even know existed," Luke said quietly, but still upset.
"I know, I'm sorry," Lorelai apologized again. "I don't know why I let him kiss me. I thought I broke up with Jason because of the thing with my Dad, but then he kissed me today and I realized it wasn't there. It was never there. I was kissing him but it wasn't the same feeling I have when I'm with you. I so desperately wanted to be kissing you."
Luke just stared at her his resolve to stay angry with her was slowly fading.
"Luke, I'm still dealing with my parent's marriage possibly being over. My parents, dysfunctional as they may be, were perfect for each other. They're both crazy, but they understand each other. If they can't stay together it scares me to think about who can. Jason came over and I just needed someone, but I know now that the someone I needed was you."
Lorelai approached him and uncrossed his arms from his chest and circled them around her waist and wrapped her arms around his neck. She tucked her head into the space between Luke's chin and shoulder. They stood there for a moment just holding each other. Their breath seemed to fall into a rhythmic pattern and they were one. Lorelai looked up at him and he looked down at her and their eyes met. His eyes darted from her eyes down to her lips and back up again almost as if he was looking for an answer to an unspoken question. She unhooked her arms from around his neck and placed her hands on his face. Gently she pulled his face down to hers and placed her lips on his. The kiss was soft and lingering. He pulled away and looked her in the eyes one more time before he moved forward again and their lips met without hesitation. She felt the stubble on his chin tickle the side of her cheek and his hands move up her back to pull her closer to him as the kiss deepened. They hungrily explored each other as if they had been deprived of passion for years. He parted his lips slightly and Lorelai took advantage of the movement by lightly rolling her tongue across his lower lip. He reciprocated in kind and they were lost in each other for a moment before they finally broke for air. They looked at each and smiled.
Luke kept one arm around her waist and smoothed out the top of Lorelai's hair with his other hand. He then lowered his face and planted a small kiss on Lorelai's forehead.
"That was much better than the first one," she joked quietly.
"I know," he replied with a morose smile. "That's why this is really hard for me, but I can't be with you right now," he said as he unwrapped her arms from around his neck and placed them at her sides. He turned to flip the closed sign to open and unlocked the deadbolt. He left Lorelai standing there bewildered as he crossed behind her to go back behind the counter.
*** TBC
A/N: Please stick with me on this one. I do have a master plan-- eventually! I'll try not to leave you hanging for too long. (