Chapter Sixteen

A heavy cloud of heat and humidity hung over the little town of Stars Hollow. It was one of those days when all you wanted to do was sit in a chair with a glass of lemonade and let the world fade away. Luke was finishing cleaning up after the lunch crowd. Everyone had done nothing but moan and grown about the heat. He looked out the window over to the park where some kids were playing. They were squirting each other with water and laughing and Luke envied them their freedom.

Luke walked into the kitchen to talk to Caesar and then ran upstairs to throw some clothes in a bag. He filled an ice chest with some things from the diner freezer, grabbed some drinks and headed to his truck.

Lorelai and Sookie were sitting in the kitchen finishing a late lunch. It was too hot to think about anything else right now. Even though they were in air conditioned comfort, just talking about the never ending heat was oppressive.

Luke burst in and announced, "Lorelai, I'm kidnapping you!"

Lorelai looked at Sookie and said, "It's the heat. Makes people crazy."

"I'm not crazy and it's not the heat. Well, it is the heat and the need to get away from it."

"So you're taking me to Alaska?"

Luke winced and Lorelai remembered the ill fated cruise.

"Next best thing."

"Ok, Luke. What's really up?"

"We are taking a little get away trip. Couple days, a little place I know."

"Um, Luke, business here, remember? I just can't get up and leave."

Sookie piped up. "Sure you can. You just spent the morning with the accountant. I'm here, Michel is here. Take a couple days. We will survive I promise. You need a little break."

"Yeah, it would be nice but...."

"No buts. Go, have fun."

"You're sure? I'm not needed?"

"Positive. You're wanted and needed but not indispensable."

Lorelai looked at Luke and knew that she'd lost the battle. It would be nice for both of them to get away for a night or two.

"Ok, since I'm not indispensable. But the phone stays on just in case, agreed?" She looked at Luke.

"I guess, but only between the hours of nine and five."

"Luke the inn is a twenty four hour business."

"Between nine and five, no negotiations."

Lorelai put on a fake pouty face, "Ok." She was looking forward to the time away already.

Sookie shoed them out the door. Luke waited in the truck while Lorelai ran into her house to change and grab some things. She was back in ten minutes.

"Hope I didn't forget anything."

"Toothbrush?"

"Check."

"Sunscreen?"

"Check."

Luke smiled, "You're set."

"Oh, I see. Dental hygiene and sunburn are your only concerns?"

"Yep, you don't need anything else."

Lorelai laughed, "Reeallly? So where are you taking me?"

"Don't be so nosey, you'll see in time."

"Not fair, at least tell me how long I'm going to be stuck in this truck?"

"Just a couple of hours."

"Two hours, I'll need coffee for a drive that long."

"Lorelai, its a hundred degrees in the shade. How could you possibly want coffee?" Luke asked but as she started to answer he reached behind her seat and grabbed a thermos.

"Ah, nice man."

They both settled in for the drive. Lorelai turned on some music and they drove north. She noticed that with every mile they drove she actually felt cooler.

When Luke finally stopped the truck, she didn't see any thing except the lake a few feet away.

"Ok, so where do we pitch the tent."

Luke laughed. "No tent. You think I'm crazy?"

"Well, it had crossed my mind."

"Over there, see the path."

She looked where he pointed and did see a small stone path.

"Grab your stuff and I'll show you."

Lorelai grabbed her small bag and another bag that Luke had brought. He got the ice chest from the truck cab and they headed up the path.

After a short walk, she saw the front porch of a small cabin. The porch was screened in and had a couple of rocking chairs, a small table with two chairs, and an old fashioned porch swing. The cabin itself was made of wood and stone and had a huge stone chimney running up the side.

Luke unlocked the door and she walked in. It was small but cozy and very masculine looking.

"Am I the first woman who has ever been in here? I feel like I'm breaking into a private male club."

"I've never brought a woman here, can't speak for the others."

"The others, what others?"

"Some friends and I bought this place several years ago. We used to rent it from this nice old local guy. When he wanted to get rid of it, we all chipped in and bought it. It was pretty run down and he practically gave it to us."

"So this is the fishing cabin you escape to every so often?"

"Yep, this is it."

"Some cabin."

"Well, a couple of the guys are builders and they kind of got carried away last year. They had a lot of stuff left over from jobs so they put it all in here. There's even one of those little portable hot tubs out in back."

"And all this time I thought you were roughing it..."

"I was. No air conditioning and no TV."

"You don't need air up here. The trees give you natural air conditioning. But no TV? That's just un-American."

"Whatever." Luke put the cold stuff into the small refrigerator and took the bags up the open stairway to one of the bedrooms. Lorelai followed him up the stairs and was surprised by what she found. The room had hard wood floors with a deep blue area rug. The bed was made of old logs and it sat high off the ground and had a big, thick mattress. It was covered with a burgundy comforter, much too hot for a warm summer night. There was a night stand with a lamp, a clock and Playboy magazine.

Lorelai picked up the magazine, "Nice reading material."

"Hey, when you're here alone you need a little something."

"A little something for what?"

"Something to while away the time, in case it rains or the fish aren't biting."

"Or...."

"Don't say it Lorelai. So how do you like my room?"

"It's great Luke. And you have really never brought anyone else up here?"

"Nope, just you."

Lorelai smiled.

They headed downstairs and Lorelai looked around some more. The first floor was two big rooms that ran together. The fireplace took up the whole wall and there were a huge overstuffed sofa and several chairs set all around it. The kitchen was simple but efficient and she noticed the table and chairs could seat at least eight.

"Lots of seating space."

"Well, we play cards and have friends over. And when we're all here, it's big enough."

"So we're all alone?"

"Yes, the others don't use it much anymore. They all have families and obligations. We try to meet at least once a year - usually in the fall."

Luke led her to the back door. "The lake is down this way, just a few steps. The hot tub is over there behind that stone wall. The guys fancied it up so they could run around well, you know."

"Got it.' Lorelai walked behind him down the small path that led to the lake.

"Gosh, Luke it's beautiful here. No wonder you sneak off to come here. I could live here."

"No way, there isn't a store or TV for miles."

They stood looking over the lake. He led her down to an area where the lake met the shore. The men had a row boat tied there and had created a small sitting area by the shore. They sat down on the bench and watched the sun slipping down toward the horizon.

"Hey, how about a quick swim before the sun sets?"

"I'd like that. The water looks cool and refreshing. Let's go get our suits."

While she was talking, Luke had stripped off his shirt and jeans and lastly his boxers.

"Or maybe we'll skip that step." She giggled.

"Come on. Never skinny dipped before?"

"Not since I was fourteen. And never with a boy."

"Well, I say there's always a first time for everything. And by the way, I'm no boy."

She laughed as she quickly pulled off her clothes. "Yeah, I picked up on that real fast."

She stuck her toe in the water and squealed. "Too cold."

"Never. Come on, just jump. The shock wears off fast."

She closed her eyes and squealed again when her body hit the water But she was soon met by his waiting arms and she immediately started to warm up. He wrapped his arms around her and their bodies met in wonderful places. It was so sensual being in the water like that. They kissed and he pulled her closer to him. He could feel her erect nipples against his chest. She could feel his hardness against her stomach. Both knew it was initially from the cold water but mostly from the feelings they had for each other. She pushed away from his embrace and swam away.

"Thanks for kidnapping me. This is very nice, just want I needed."

He swam to her. "Yeah, I know. I was watching some kids play in the park earlier. I wanted to feel that way again, just for a little while."

"That's it. I feel exactly like a kid again. Free, no responsibilities, no cares, just you and me...."

He pulled her in again and kissed her. She smiled as he tucked her wet hair away from her face.

"The sun is starting to set." She sighed at its beauty.

"Guess we should go in. I'm getting hungry. And if I'm getting hungry, you must be starving."

She laughed as he helped her out of the water. They gathered their clothes and wandered back up to the cabin. There was a primitive shower by the back door and Luke turned on the water. She got in the shower while he ducked into the kitchen for towels. Then he joined her and they played around a little with soapy hands before they dried each other off. Lorelai didn't care at that moment if she ever had dinner.

She ran upstairs to get dressed. She found one of his tee shirts and pulled it on over her naked body. She eyed the big old bed and smiled. She heard Luke calling for her to come down and help him get dinner together and all of a sudden she was starving.

Luke had pulled on jean shorts and a tee shirt. His feet were bare and he looked right at home in this kitchen. While Lorelai opened a couple of beers and tossed the salad, Luke lit the grill and threw on a couple turkey burgers. When they sat down to eat, she was impressed.

"The burgers at the diner are great. But these, gosh Luke, they're wonderful."

"Everything is better out here."

Lorelai teased, "Everthing?"

"Well, I can only guess. But I'd say everything is definitely better out here."

They laughed and quickly cleaned up their simple kitchen mess. They took the short walk back down to the lake. They held each other close and just enjoyed the peace and quiet they found there. He led her back into the cabin and started to build a fire.

"You know it must be ninety degrees back in Stars Hollow. But here, we're building a fire because it's chilly."

"The magic of the country."

Fire built, they settled on the overstuffed sofa. It was soft and cushy and they were quickly lost in each other. Luke pulled off her tee shirt and ran his hands over every naked inch of her. Deeply aroused, she pulled off his shirt and quickly dispensed with the shorts. They snuggled close, arms resting for a moment around each other.

Luke whispered in her ear, "Let's get married."

"Luke, you already asked. Ring remember?" Lorelai held up her hand.

"I mean let's pick a date. Let's really do this."

"We can pick a date. Maybe spring?"

"I was thinking more like September."

Lorelai looked surprised. "Uh, Luke that's like two months away. We can't possibly plan..."

"Sure we can. You own an inn, you have a chef."

"The inn is booked until Thanksgiving. And there's the dress, the flowers and the invitations."

"We'll keep it simple, just family and a few friends. The dress, you're a champion shopper."

"You don't have any idea what it takes to get a wedding together."

"Lorelai, I don't want to drag this thing out. You know how I feel about planning ahead. It just doesn't work, for me at least."

"Luke, what is it?"

"Nothing specific, I just don't want to wait."

"Luke? You don't have doubts?"

"Hell no! Do you?"

"Nope, not a one. But I can' help but think about...."

"Don't say it. That was different, me and Nicole, completely different."

"How do you know?"

"Because I've known you forever. I know you, you know me. There's always been this thing with us – this under the surface thing. I've always felt it. I was just too stupid or scared to act on it."

"Luke, what really happened with Nicole?"

"I already told you. We went on that damn cruise. We were surrounded by all these couples who were in love and we just got caught up in it. Problem was we were just not in that same place. But we were both lonely and we both wanted to be in that place. So we just did it."

"And..."

"And we figured out real quick that it was a big mistake. We knew neither of us would give up our separate lives to join together. You saw what happened when we tried. You were the one person who saw it all. You saw our feeble attempt and how it all fell apart. You called me on it, even more than she did."

"I thought maybe that you just needed more time."

"I should have stuck with the original plan, get it over quick. But then she came to me that night. I was lonely and she did look appealing. The sex was always decent."

"Decent?"

"Well, good enough. I really did like her. I just never loved her. Not the way a man should love a wife. Not anything like I feel for you."

"So September then?" Lorelai asked.

"Sounds good to me." Luke answered pulling her on top of him.

They kissed until they were breathless. Luke's hands were all over her and she met every touch with one of her own. Lorelai pulled away, "Hey, the fire's almost out."

"I didn't notice, seems pretty warm in here to me."

"Yeah, well, I'm thinking that it's safe to leave the fire.....and there is that great big cushy bed upstairs.....the one that's never been tested. How do we know if it works for us if we don't go up and try it?"

"Excellent idea." Luke gently rolled her off him and pulled her up the stairway. He started kissing her as soon as they hit the doorway and backed her up to the bed. Luke once again pulled her on top of him and whispered, "Now where were we?"

Lorelai giggled, "I think I was about to thank you for kidnapping me and taking me away from the real world."

Lorelai slowly ran her hands down his jaw line, down his throat and chest. She gently played with the hair on his chest but quickly moved lower. She ran her hand down his thigh and back up again, resting it between his legs. She gently caressed what she found there and slowly moved upward, grasping him and slowly lowering herself onto him. Their eyes meet as she started to move and he wrapped his arms tightly around her as she did all the work. They both finally closed their eyes as they came closer to the ultimate high. Their pace quickened and soon they were harmoniously and totally engrossed in the age old dance.

And so the night went, short naps and lots of dancing in between.

XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Pure sex for the romantics. And just because we needed it!!