Title: Kiss Me Like This

Author: Sirius

Pairing: R/J and L/L

Summary: Rory comes back for Luke and Lorelai's wedding, but finds someone she once lost.

Background Info: Rory went to SHH instead of Chilton. She and Jess were good friends and Dean doesn't exist. Sorry for Dean Fans, but I think he is boring, stupid, repulsive, overprotective, and has bad hair. But let me tell you how I really feel . . . J/K. Jess and Rory dated each other in their junior and senior year, got pretty serious, but ended on good terms when they both went to college. Rory went to Yale and Jess stayed back and went to a community college in Hartford. Now, Rory and Jess are both out of college and it's Luke and Lorelai's wedding . ... Here goes nothing!


"Mom! I'm home!" Rory kicked the door closed with her foot and dropped all of her bags at once, just about collapsing along with them. The trip hadn't been that long, but she was exhausted.

"Yay! My baby's home!" Lorelai came bounding down the stairs two at a time and the girls embraced.

"How was the trip?"

"Tiring. I need caffeine."

"To Luke's!" Lorelai raised her hand in a way that showed she was on a mission.

Together, they marched through the streets of Stars Hollow to their favorite diner. The bell tinkled above their heads as they made their way to the counter.

"Coffee!" They bellowed at the same time. Luke came out from the kitchen and shook his head solemnly.

"Won't you two ever learn?"

"Nope." Lorelai smiled giddily as she was handed a cup of coffee.

"So Luke," Rory asked after a sip of her own mug.

"You getting nervous about the big day? Your bachelor years are about up, are you sure you're ready to give up that freedom?"

"I'm still evaluating the situation. I've got some time to back out yet."

"Hey, watch it mister." Lorelai warned with a pointed finger.

"I can use that against you in a court of law."

"You wouldn't."

"Eh . . ." She replied agreeing.

Luke smiled and returned back to the kitchens. Rory and Lorelai hung around the counter for a bit until Lorelai announced that she had to be at the Inn.

"I'll see you tonight though, right?"

"Yeah, be back at the house by eight for a movie night. Willy Wonka?"

"Definitely."

"Alright then, love you babe."

Alone, Rory wandered the streets trying to kill time. She could go back to the house and unpack her bags that were still piled in the entryway, but she didn't feel like it. She took a side road and walked onto the bridge.

"Fancy seeing you here." She addressed her company.

"If you come here once, you'll come forever." Jess replied.

"Seems that way."

"Luke told me you were coming back for the wedding, but I didn't think you'd be here this soon."

"Yeah, well, there's still come things to do and I wanted to help out while I could. Plus, after graduation, it's good to get out of that place. I have to go back next week to get the rest of my stuff."

"It's good to have you back." He said quietly as he continued to stare out over the river.

She smiled. "It's good to be back."

"So what are you helping out with?"

"Well, Sookie's got the food covered; Mom's done most of the planning with flowers and what not, so really, I guess I'm just here for the jitters."

"Your mom isn't going to be jittery. It's Luke for crissakes."

"Yeah, I still can't believe they finally got together," Rory mused. "It's weird, back when we were in high school, it seemed like they never would get a clue. Now they won't be able to shamelessly flirt without admitting it."

"It was weird at first, but now it just seems like it's always been that way."

"I wish I could have been there to see it all happen."

"There wasn't much to see."

"Spoken like a guy who's never been in love."

Taken aback, Jess replied sarcastically. "Oh yeah, and what do you know about falling in love?"

"Not much I suppose," she whispered. They were quiet for a while. Neither knew what to say after that.

"So, uh, you're the bridesmaid right?"

"Yeah, Sookie's the Maid of Honor, and I'm the bridesmaid. Mom didn't want the wedding to be too big, so I'm the only one. You're Luke's best man, right?"

"Yeah, surprisingly. Well, actually, it's not that surprising. It was either me or Kirk."

"That could be traumatizing."

"Agreed."

They sat in companionable silence for a couple of minutes. Rory was trying to come up with a new topic to bring up when Jess cut her off.

"Anyway, I probably ought to be getting back. I'll see you around, okay?"

"Yeah, see you around Jess." He walked back to the diner and left Rory sitting on the bridge by herself.


The ceremony had been beautiful. Lorelai didn't trip on her way down the aisle as she had dreaded for her entire life. Luke didn't fumble the words as he stood before his friends and family and vowed to be hers until death do they part. Jess didn't forget the rings, as he had threatened he would if Luke wouldn't stop pacing and fixing his hair in the mirror prior to the start of the event. No one objected when asked to "speak now or forever hold their peace" because it was obvious, and had been obvious for years that Luke and Lorelai would last forever.

The couple happily walked down the aisle and out to the limousine that would take them to the reception. Slowly, the church emptied as people made their way to the Inn. The food was great, compliments of Sookie. The crowd grew quiet as Luke and Lorelai had their first dance as a married couple. Everyone sat and stared as the two glided across the floor, never taking their eyes off one another. The song ended slowly and everybody clapped.

Rory watched from a table not far off as her mom hugged Luke. The smile on her face had to have been the most genuine one Rory had ever seen Lorelai give. It was goofy happy, the kind that came without warning and threatened to never leave. Ear to ear.

Rory was startled out of her trance when a hand slowly came into her line of vision. She looked up the arm and into the eyes of someone very familiar.

"May I have this dance?" Jess asked politely.

Rory smiled and Jess stuck her hand into the crook of his arm, before leading her out into the middle of the dance floor. The next song had already started; "You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This" by Toby Keith. Jess pulled Rory close and they were cheek to cheek. He spun her slowly around the floor and she rested her head onto his shoulder. He smelled the scent of her hair and was enveloped by vanilla.

Rory's eyes slowly started to close and she relaxed into the feel of him again. It was so good to see him. She hadn't really noticed how much she missed Jess. He had been her best friend while they were dating and even before. They'd kept in touch while they both were in college, but they were often too busy to meet up for lunch.

She lifted her head from his shoulder and looked up into his face. He glanced down at her and a slow smile spread across his face. He held her small hand close to his chest as he continued to spin them, carefully not stepping on her feet.

As the beat of the song crescendoed to meet the chorus, he looked down into her face again. His hand on her back gets her to look up at him. Slowly, he bent down and placed a soft kiss on her forehead. Her hair had been made up off her face for the ceremony and she hadn't changed it for the reception. She closed her eyes and he kissed her lips.

He felt different than she remembered him. Maybe it was because it had been so long since she'd been this close with him. His lips slowly moved across hers in a loving, softly demanding way. His hand that was gripping hers slowly detangled itself from her fingers and he put it to the side of her face, cupping her cheek. It gradually slid down to her shoulder, while the hand that was at her lower back pushed her progressively closer to him. As their bodies melded together, the kiss slowed and so did their dancing. They stopped spinning and stood holding one another.

Rory cautiously opened her eyes and saw that Jess still had his closed. His mouth was slightly parted and his breathing was slow, but labored. He looked as if he was trying to hang on to the feeling of kissing her for as long as possible. When his eyes finally opened, he looked directly back into hers. Now it was her turn to slowly smile. His eyes sparked at her expression and he tilted his head back to look at her. Her cheeks were a little flushed and she looked almost embarrassed.

The song ended seconds later and Jess lead her away from the dance floor. They walked in peaceful silence until they reached the pond where they first kissed.

"So, that was new," Rory ventured to be the first one to talk.

"Yeah," Jess replied.

Rory folded her dress underneath her and perched on the bench nearby. Jess sat down next to her, giving her enough room to be comfortable, but not enough to make her feel like he thought the kiss had been a mistake.

"Are you analyzing it in your head?" He asked.

"I was thinking about it."

"And?"

"I don't think it's worth analyzing just yet."

Jess smiled and Rory scooted over until she was sitting next to him.

She leaned back against the bench and he slipped his arm around her, pulling her in.

"I've missed you," she said.

"I've missed you too," he replied, smiling.


"You Shouldn't Kiss Me Like This"

Toby Keith

I got a funny feeling

The moment that your lips touched mine

Something shot right through me

My heart skipped a beat in time

There's a different feel about you tonight

It's got me thinking lots of crazy things

I even thought I saw a flash of light

It felt like electricity

You shouldn't kiss me like this

Unless you mean it like that

Cause I'll just close my eyes

And I won't know where I'm at

And we'll get lost on this dance floor

Spinning around and around

And around and around

They're all watching us now

They think we're falling in love

They'd never believe we're just friends

When you kiss me like this

I think you mean it like that

If you do, baby kiss me again

Everybody swears we make the perfect pair

But dancing is as far as it goes

Girl you've never moved me

Quite the way you moved me tonight

I just wanted you to know

I just wanted you to know

You shouldn't kiss me like this

Unless you mean it like that

Cause I'll just close my eyes

And I won't know where I'm at

We'll get lost on this dance floor

Spinning around and around

And around and around

They're all watching us now

They think we're falling in love

They'd never believe we're just friends

When you kiss me like this

I think you mean it like that

If you do baby kiss me again

Kiss me again