Author's Note: See Disclaimer and Title in Chapter One. Hey all, hope you forgive me for the lack of updates for a few days. Hopefully this chapter will make up for it. Let me know what you think. I don't want to make it too fluffy and OOC but I tried to get a good amount. Please let me know. I am suffering review withdrawal. A few little personal things here. I am a vegetarian and to anyone who likes tofu, more power to you, but I hate it. :P Also I don't know how Lorelai of movies the ones that I picked are but I like them so, yeah. Also, somebody start writing fics about this week's episode because the end with L/L was so sweet I almost died. Anyway, enough rambling.
On with the story . . .
Chapter 18: Movie Night
Saturday night, just before eight, Lorelai stopped rushing around the house to look in the mirror. She didn't know why she was so anxious. Luke had been to her house lots of times. He saw her every day. She had promised herself that she would take Sookie's advice. She wouldn't analyze everything. She would just have fun and go with what she felt. But right now, she felt nervous. She looked around the living room once more. She hadn't been cleaning as often now that Rory was gone, but this afternoon she had spent an hour hiding every indication of her usual sloppiness. She had spent another hour deciding what to wear. She wanted to look good, but casual. She wasn't sure why she felt the need to impress Luke, but she knew that she definitely wanted to catch his attention. There was a knock at the door and Lorelai looked in the mirror once more before answering it.
There was Luke, right on time. He looked good, Lorelai thought. He wore his usual jeans and T-shirt, but without the flannel and baseball cap. Lorelai noticed how his muscles showed in the shirt. They were well defined, but not too large. She thought they fit Luke perfectly. Strong, but not showy. She was also glad that he didn't wear a baseball cap. He had great hair and she liked it when he showed it off.
As Luke stood at the door waiting for Lorelai to answer, he ran his fingers through his hair. Something seemed different between him and Lorelai the last few weeks. Tonight seemed special, though he didn't know why. He had decided to stray from his usual uniform, but kept enough that he didn't feel completely out of place. When Lorelai opened the door, he was glad he had put some thought into how he looked. Lorelai looked great. He always thought she looked good, but tonight she seemed to glow. She wore tight, low-cut jeans and a curve-hugging T-shirt with a logo on it. He didn't read the logo because he knew he wouldn't be able to only glance at that region. Her hair was wavy tonight. It was naturally curly, but she had been growing it out and he thought it looked nice on her. She had a strange smile on her face. One he wasn't familiar with. He would say it almost looked nervous, but he had never known Lorelai to be nervous in a situation like this.
After a moment of checking each other out, they both remembered that they didn't usually do that and nervously looked around.
"Come on in. Is that for me?" Lorelai asked, eyeing the bag in his hands.
"It's for us" he corrected. "I brought some stuff from the diner."
"Great. Set it on the coffee table with the rest." She smiled and walked into the kitchen.
"Jesus, Lorelai" Luke said when he saw the table filled with boxes and bags of food. "I said I would bring food." Lorelai walked back out and handed him a beer. She gave him a look as if he was nuts.
"Honey, what you bring wouldn't last ten minutes into the movie." He looked at her for a second then nodded accepting it. Lorelai looked over the full table and snatched a bowl off of it. "Look Luke. I got you Tofu Garlic Dip for your chips. Aren't I thoughtful?" she said proudly.
"I am not eating that," Luke said, making a face. Lorelai looked hurt, but Luke continued. "I eat healthily but even I have standards. Tofu is not meant for human consumption." He made another face and Lorelai giggled. She turned her head and rolled her eyes at her own giddiness while Luke rummaged through the bag he brought. He set a take-out container next to him on the couch while Lorelai went to get the movies.
"You ready?" she asked walking back into the living room.
"What did you get?" Luke asked warily. He knew when it came to Lorelai's decisions, he was never safe. She gave another proud smile.
"Well I figured since we both just broke up with people, that would be our theme for the night." At the mention of the break up, Luke flinched a little. The last thing he wanted to think about was either of their exes. He was ready to move on. Lorelai pretended not to notice. She thought maybe she had hit a nerve with Luke. She ignored the pang she felt at the thought that Luke might not be as over Nicole as he said he was. She looked at him questioningly.
"Again I repeat, what did you get?" Lorelai looked down at the movies in her hands and decided to push through anyway. One small bump in the evening was all right.
"Um, Someone Like You, Love and Sex, and The Way We Were" she said gesturing to Luke to begin the rant she was sure was coming. Luke hadn't really heard of the first two and he was sure that if Lorelai picked them, they were sure to embarrass him, but he knew there was no use arguing.
"You got three movies?" he asked. Lorelai looked surprised for a moment but ignored his unusual agreeability.
"Well, I figured you wouldn't watch The Way We Were so I planned on continuing the party by myself later." Luke raised his eyebrows at her, but the look was lost on her because she had turned her back to stick the tape in. Luke took the opportunity to be a typical man and check her out from behind. He jumped when she turned around and stood up. Lorelai had caught the look of concentration on his face but decided he couldn't have been doing what she thought he was doing. She walked over to the couch and sat down on Luke's left. He was in the middle of the couch and Lorelai sat facing him. She laid her legs over him so her calves were resting on his lap. She quickly grabbed the remote to start the movie and avoid looking at him. She hoped he wouldn't make a big deal out of it. They had been a lot closer lately anyway.
Luke frowned at her for a split second when she took her position, but decided not to question it and just enjoy it. He handed her the container from the diner with her burger in it and looked around the room. He noticed a stack of boxes in one corner.
"What's all that?" he asked gesturing. Lorelai stopped fast forwarding and let the previews play.
"What? Oh, that's Lane's. She staying with Rory but her stuff is staying here." Luke looked at it for a moment longer.
"Oh. Any idea when she's coming back?" he asked. Lorelai was confused until she remembered that Lane had worked for Luke. She looked at Luke apologetically.
"Missing her at the diner?"
"It's okay." Luke shook his head. "We survived before her. It was just nice to have someone helping out. Less stressful is all." They were quiet for a minute watching the previews.
"Hire me" Lorelai said out of nowhere.
"What?" Luke asked her suspiciously.
"Hire me. I helped out before. I did okay." She sounded excited. That was always a warning sign for Luke.
"You want to work at the diner?" he asked skeptically.
"Sure. It'll be fun. Besides, I can use the money." Luke wasn't sure about the fun part, but he knew she could probably use the money with all the stuff going on at the inn. Luke considered it for a minute. He wasn't sure if it would be a dream or a nightmare, but he couldn't say no to the look on her face.
"I suppose. If you promise to be good." Lorelai ignored the last comments and gave him a huge smile. After that they both settled in to watch the movie.
Lorelai had put Love and Sex in the VCR first. He wasn't sure it was the sort of movie he pictured her liking but he was enjoying it at least. It was funny and not too mushy. At least this time Lorelai didn't seem to be watching his reaction the entire time so he was able to watch it comfortably.
Lorelai was enjoying the movie too. She had seen it many times before but a quarter of the way through Luke had begun running his fingers over her calves. She snuck a glance at him and he was enraptured in the movie so she didn't think he realized he was doing it. She was enjoying it all the same. His touch was light and it tickled, but his fingertips were warm and she enjoyed the comfortable contact. She didn't dare look at him, for fear that if he stopped paying attention to the movie he would realize what he was doing. She didn't even move, in case the shift would catch his attention.
Halfway into the movie, Luke did realize what he was doing, but since Lorelai didn't seem to mind, he didn't stop. The awareness of her legs on his lap, in his hands was with him the whole movie. At one point, as he reached to place his beer bottle back on the table, his arm brushed her toes. They were cold, so he grabbed the blanket from the back of the couch and spread it over her legs and his lap. He tucked it in around her feet and rubbed her legs a little harder as if he were trying to warm them up. Lorelai looked over at him, but just smiled and went back to the movie, praying he wouldn't stop. Luke smiled to himself too. He liked how comfortable he felt, here, touching her. She seemed fine with it too.
Both groaned inwardly when the movie ended. Luke carried some empty snack containers to the trash while Lorelai switched the movies. Luke settled back into the same spot hoping Lorelai would too. Her previous position against the arm rest had hurt her back however, so she sat next to him facing the tv. She slouched down and put her feet up on the table. Luke did too, shifting in his seat. He shifted casually toward her until they were as close as they had been at the town meeting. He noticed her grin out of the corner of his eye and smiled to himself. After the movie started, Lorelai grabbed the blanket and spread it over the two of them. Both were careful to stare at the movie the whole time, not acknowledging what was going on. Luke laid his arm across the back of the couch. Twenty minutes later, Lorelai went to lay her head against the back of the couch and instead landed on Luke's arm. She hadn't intended to do that, but he didn't jump or make any movement really, so she left it there. A little while later she leaned further against him and her head ended up in the crook of his shoulder. After a few minutes Luke let him arm slip down onto her shoulder. After that, both stayed as motionless as possible.
Luke couldn't believe the situation he was in. Lorelai's warm body was leaning fully against him. He could feel the goose bumps on her upper arm just below her sleeve. His nostrils were again filled with the scent of her hair. Her right elbow rested lightly on his thigh and he prayed that she didn't move it any further into his lap. He was a guy after all. The effect of the movies and present company was not lost on him. He realized that as nervous as he was at the situation, he was just as comfortable with the affection of it all. He could do this every night for the rest of his life.
Lorelai was pretty comfortable herself. She felt like she fit perfectly against Luke. His arm felt nice and warm on her shoulders and his fingers were remarkably soft against her arm. The sensation gave her goose bumps. Her head was leaned against the side of his chest and not only could she feel the hard muscles there, but she could hear his heartbeat and her head rose with his breathing. He smelled like soap and shaving cream and she found the smell intoxicating. She never wanted to move again. Soon, however the comfort overcame the two and they drifted off to sleep.
Luke woke the next morning under a blanket that smelled like Lorelai. He realized he was on her couch. He must have fallen asleep during the second movie. He vaguely remembered nice dreams. Kissing was in there somewhere, but the details were fading fast. He wondered where Lorelai was, but a look at his watch told him he was already late to open the diner. He left Lorelai a thank you note and ran out.
Lorelai's awakening was much less peaceful. She had gone to bed late, after she and Luke had fallen asleep and now her telephone was ringing loudly on her bedside table. She looked at her clock and grumbled at being called before her alarm had gone off.
"Hello" she said groggily.
"Lorelai!" came a deep growl.
"God?" she asked jokingly.
"What did you do?" Luke asked angrily.
"What are you talking about?" Lorelai feigned innocence.
"I suppose it wasn't you who put the lipstick prints all over my face after I fell asleep." Lorelai giggled at the memory. She had woken up after the second movie finished and decided to teach Luke a lesson for falling asleep during their movie nights. It had taken her an hour to cover his face with prints, because her kisses had to be light so as not to wake him.
"I will never trust you again," he growled. He was actually more angry at himself that she has kissed him no less than 15 times and he had slept through all of it.
"That's your fault, for trusting me in the first place" she scolded. Luke sighed loudly and hung up. Lorelai laughed again and climbed out of bed to get ready.