TITLE: Familiar Feeling
AUTHOR: Annabel
PAIRING: R/J
SPOILERS: Shouldn't be any
DISCLAIMERS: I own nothing (except the characters I've made up for this story)
RATING: PG-13 for now.
A/N: Again, thanks so much for the reviews. I'm writing this story slowly, due to an overwhelming amount of exams and essays that I have to write, hopefully around Christmas I'll get more stuff done and I'll be able to concentrate better. Oh, and about the rating, it says 'PG-13 for now', but that doesn't mean that this story is gonna be about sex or anything like that. If the rating goes up at some point, it will be much later on, so the 'for now' is just a precaution to keep my options open.
But now, here's chapter four
Familiar Feeling
Chapter Four
"Ror? Are you awake?"
"Huh?" Rory responded to Lane's voice by mumbling drowsily and rolling on her back.
"Are you awake?" Lane asked again and this time Rory opened her eyes to peak a look at her friend.
"Why are you awake at this hour?" Rory asked, when Lane crawled back to bed and slipped under the covers.
"It's one in the afternoon and I've been throwing up for the last two hours" Lane sighed and fell on her back.
Rory reached for her alarm clock and after seeing how late it really was, she laid down beside Lane.
"Throwing up, huh?"
"Yeah, the worst hangover of my life" Lane said and tugged herself better under the blankets. "But I feel better now"
"Good" Rory yawned and the rolled on her side so that she could look at Lane. "So, you had fun last night?"
Lane nodded, and then turned to look at Rory properly. With her eyebrows knit together, she looked somewhat worried.
"I didn't do anything really embarrassing, did I?"
"Depends on what you define as 'really embarrassing'" Rory replied, but when Lane lifted her eyebrow, Rory shook her head and said that she'd behaved well. "Although, you did practically fall on Jess's arms and you told him how cute he was"
"But that's it?"
"Pretty much so"
Rory closed her eyes again and enjoyed the warm feeling she had under the covers. She wouldn't have minded falling asleep again, but with Lane awake that was hardly gonna happen. Rory's thought drifted to the previous night and everything that had happened. It had been an unforgettable evening, really… strange. It was such an incredible coincidence that she'd bumped into that guy again, or Jess. So, his name was Jess. Yeah, he looked like a Jess, definitely. And he looked nice, really nice. And he'd smelled nice, too. And he worked at a bookstore, which was another weird coincidence. But it had been fun, after she'd gotten past the shock of seeing him again. He'd been nice, although nice wasn't probably the right word. And his friend had thought that he'd had a thing with her, how weird was that. Especially when he'd had a thing with her roommate. A thing? No, it wasn't a thing. He'd slept with Alicia, had sex with Alicia, he'd… Rory felt like frowning when she got a vision in her head about Jess and Alicia.
Rory was about to slap herself for even thinking about it, when Lane's voice brought her back to reality again.
"So, you and Jess, huh?"
Rory opened her eyes instantly and looked at Lane with a questioning look on her face.
"What?"
"You and Jess. I haven't forgotten everything about last night. I mean, you were talking at the bar… You've met him before…"
"There is no me and Jess" Rory said and after the words had escaped her mouth, she realised that they'd perhaps sounded a bit too forceful.
"Okay" Lane looked at her suspiciously and after a minute's silence, she slapped her hand over her mouth. "Oh my God! You've slept with him, haven't you?"
Rory's eyes widened when she heard Lane's words and she sat up on the bed while shaking her head.
"No, I haven't!"
"Yes, you have" Lane said and sat up, too. "That's why you were so surprised to see him and that thing about the bookstore… Hah, I knew there was something wrong with this picture, you two were so awkward… My God…" Lane stared at Rory in awe.
"Gosh Lane, I swear to you, I have never slept with him" Rory said sternly, but Lane missed the stress on the word I.
"So, you met him at a bookstore?" Lane said in disbelief, but now Rory shook her head. "Then where?"
"In my kitchen" Rory sighed and fell on her back again, pulling the blankets to cover her head.
--------------------------------------------------
"Maybe you should go home tonight instead of going to Angie's" Jess said as he sat down on a barstool next to Tom who was yawning with his eyes closed.
"Angie's staying with me tonight" Tom said and smirked at Jess. "Besides, it's not her fault that I'm tired, at least not completely. I've been working overtime for the past week and then you're dragging me out every night"
"I asked you for one beer" Jess said defensively, and then scowled. "Believe me, I really need it. I ate dinner at Mike and Kathy's and the only thing we talked about was the wedding"
"You're the bestman, right?" Tom asked and after Jess had nodded, Tom looked at him sympathetically. "Can't say I envy you"
Jess shook his head slightly and then grabbed the beer from the counter. He took a big gulp and enjoyed the feeling of the cold liquid running down his throat.
"So, what about Saturday?"
"Huh?"
"You, the girl… got lucky?"
Jess looked at Tom and his questioning face, and then turned his gaze to the beer bottle again.
"It wasn't like that. I thought I told you that I'd slept with her roommate"
"And why would that stop you from sleeping with her? If I remember right it hasn't stopped you before"
Tom did remember right. It was one of the cool things of the past, how Jess had managed to date and sleep with two girls who were roommates without the girls ever finding out about the fact that they were with the same guy. But that had been ages ago, well, at least a few years ago.
"Maybe I've grown up" Jess suggested with a shrug and caused for Tom to nearly choke to his beer. "Besides, she wasn't that kind of a girl" he said determinedly.
"Well, all I can say is that she was hot. If I didn't have Angie, I'd be going after her in a second"
"Yeah, I know you would" Jess smirked and brought the beer to his lips again.
Jess knew that Tom was looking at him observantly and considering that state that Tom was in right now, meaning very much in love, Jess knew what to expect from him.
"Maybe you and she could… I mean, if you're interested in her you should ask her out or something"
Jess had never asked anyone out, at least not on a real date. And most certainly not without the intention of getting something in return. He didn't know how to date, or what to do on a date.
"She's way out of my league" he said nonchalantly and focused on his beer again.
"You could have any girl you want, Jess. Why not her?"
"I can get them to bed, but I can't get much further than that"
"Have you ever tried?" Tom asked and Jess felt that their discussion was becoming a bit too deep and personal for him.
"Hey, leave it man" he said while shaking his head and looking at his beer intensely. "I have nothing in common with her anyway, so there's no point thinking about it"
"So, you talked with her?"
Jess said he'd talked with her later that night, when Tom had already went home. He'd talked with her and found out that she was from a completely different world than him. And she was still living in a completely different world than he was.
"What do you mean?" Tom asked curiously.
"A good girl from a good family. Ivy league, New York Times… You know, really not my type"
"Angie's been to college and she has a normal family, we're still good together"
"The exception proves the rule" Jess said and smirked at his friend. "Anyway, I'm finished with this beer so let's get out of here"
"Yeah, Angie's probably waiting for me anyway" Tom said when he threw a bill on the counter and followed Jess out to the street.
--------------------------------------------------------------------
Rory got out of the office building and the bright sun made her squint her eyes when she started strolling along the sidewalk. She usually hated Wednesdays; it was the day of the week when you had a load of work behind you and the same amount ahead of you. But this Wednesday was good, it was just noon and she was already off work. Well, it was due to all the overtime she'd put in lately and her boss had said he'd rather give her some time off than pay it in her salary. But Rory didn't mind it at all, in fact she was grateful for being able to escape work for a while. She really needed a break right now.
She reached her regular lunch place, but instead of entering it, she took her cell phone from her back and dialled the number she called practically every day.
"Hello" the voice on the other end said, sounding very official.
"Hey, Lane, it's me"
"Hey" her friend's voice changed back to it's cheery usually self.
"I was wondering, do you have time for lunch?" Rory asked when she continued walking toward the nearest subways station.
There was a short silence, then Rory heard some giggling from the other end of the phone line.
"Yeah, I do actually" Lane squealed and sounded disturbingly happy. "Can you come here or…"
"Yeah, I'm off work so I have time. I'll be outside the building in ten minutes"
"See you then"
Rory make the way to Lane's office in just five minutes and she was surprised to see her friend already waiting for her outside her office. Lane grabbed her hand and started pulling her anxiously along the sidewalk.
"Are you in a hurry or what?" Rory asked laughing when seeing Lane so excited.
"Nah, not really. Just starving" she replied and then hooked hands with Rory and slowed their pace. "So, how come you're off work?"
"You know, just did so much overtime last week and all. You know, I really need this, I mean the time off. I've been really exhausted lately"
"Maybe that's why you've been feeling so anxious" Lane said pensively. "Just try to relax. Don't think about work"
"Yeah…"
Lane stopped abruptly and then opened the door to a smallish coffeeshop. Rory looked at her questioningly and after Lane had nodded, they entered the place and took seats in a vacant table by the window.
"You eat here often?" Rory asked while taking off her coat.
"Just once before" Lane said with a tiny smile and then looked around the place. "A waiter should come by soon" she said, her eyes still directed off Rory.
"You know, I'm just used to grabbing a burger for lunch" Rory said with a grin and then adjusted herself better on her chair. "But this looks like a nice place, though. Cosy, it has some character"
"Yeah, I think so, too" Lane said with a wide smile and then turned to look at Rory. "So, about work, you really need to find a way to relax?"
"I just think…" Rory started, not finding the words right away. "I don't really…"
"Well, hello ladies"
Both Rory and Lane turned simultaneously to look at the guy standing next to their table and looking at them with a smile. Rory stared at him with wide eyes and after getting over the initial shock, she glanced at Lane only to see her friend beaming.
"Hey Tom" Lane said casually. "You know, the sandwich I had here the other day was so good that I had to come back"
"Oh, you just keep telling yourself that Lane, but we both know that my irresistible charm is behind these reoccurring visits" Tom chuckled and his words made Rory smile a bit, although she was still trying to get over the surprise. "So, what will you girls have?"
"Um, I'll have the ham sandwich and a coke"
"Sure" Tom scribbled it down in his pad and then looked at Rory with a smile on his face. "And you Rory?"
He even remembered her name. How weird was this? And how did Lane happen to eat here, where this guy worked? And why had she brought Rory here? The questions were just flooding in her head, until she realised that Tom was still waiting for her order.
"Oh, I'll have… A sandwich, too and coffee. Put it in the biggest cup you've got"
"Okay, I'll be back soon" he said and hurried off leaving the girls alone.
Rory's eyes followed him and then turned to see Lane who was sitting on her chair casually and looking at Rory with a knowing look on her face. With her eyebrows knit together, Rory looked at her friend, understanding dawning slowly.
"You knew Tom worked here?"
"Yeah"
"You just happened to bump into him here?" Rory asked suspiciously, and slightly fearing the answer Lane might give her.
"Nope. Dave told me he worked here"
"Oh" Rory said and looked toward the counter again, only to see Tom talking with an older man behind the counter. "Oh"
"Yeah" Lane nodded again and seemed to be enjoying the situation.
"So, why did we come here now?"
"Cause I got to rethink all that I said on Sunday" Lane spoke slowly, observing Rory's face while she spoke. "About Jess"
Now it really hit Rory, actually it felt like she'd just been punched, and hard. She realised where she was, only a block away from the bookstore where Jess worked, at a coffeeshop where his best friend worked. And Lane had brought her here, because… Because she'd changed her mind about what she'd said on Sunday.
"Remember? We talked in bed, about Jess, him sleeping with Al" Lane glanced around her and lowered her voice. "I said that you shouldn't even think about him again, I said it could never work out since he's had sex with a friend of yours"
"I do remember" Rory hissed. "And I told you I wasn't interested in him anyway"
"Exactly, except that I knew you were so I…"
"Hey" Rory cried out and interrupted her. "I am not interested in him, okay" she whispered again.
"Yeah, yeah. Well, anyway, after talking about it with Dave, I changed my mind" Lane nodded back in her chair again and seemed pleased with herself.
"You talked to Dave? You told Dave about all of this" Rory cried out and nearly bounced off her chair. "How could you do that?"
"Hey, I just thought that a male perspective would be good" Lane said defensively and tapped Rory's hand trying to calm her down. "Besides I always tell him everything about your love life"
"No, you don't" Rory said disbelievingly, but Lane just nodded and smiled slightly.
"Well, of course I tell him. Who else would I talk about it with?"
"Well, how about no one?" Rory snapped and crossed her arms before her chest.
"Come on, Rory. He said it wasn't that bad. I mean, things like this happen, it's not like Jess and Alicia were really involved, it was just sex… And now I have a vision in my head…" Lane frowned and made Rory smile involuntarily.
"Yeah, I've had it, too" she said quietly, but then shook her head. "Anyway, it doesn't matter. I don't really… I mean, I'm not…"
"You're not?"
"No, I'm not" Rory said with a determined voice. "I don't even know anything about him, how could I…"
"Ror, listen to me. You know loads of stuff about him. You know this guy is good-looking, or should I say, extremely good-looking. He's fun, he likes books which is a huge bonus. He works in a bookstore, meaning discounts for you and that's an even bigger bonus" Lane's words made Rory look at her amusedly, but she wasn't finished yet. "I saw the way you looked at him, so he made you feel something and from I know, that doesn't happen too often. You're 24-years-old Rory, I mean, there's a guy who might be perfect for you, so why waste the time in denial. And you already know that he's good in bed, so what else do you need? The guy is made for you!"
"I usually prefer guys who haven't been tested out my by friends" Rory said and stopped talking when she saw Tim heading their way.
"Back again" he said happily as he put their orders down on the table. "You know, you guys missed Jess by the minute. He left just before you came in"
"Well, maybe we'll stop by at the bookstore he works at, I mean it's close by, right?"
"Yeah, just a block away"
"Rory loves books so she'll probably want to stop by. I'll have to see if I have the time before I have to get back to work" Lane's words made Rory glance at her warningly, but Lane just smiled at Tom. "And you know, how Rory and Jess met, at the bookstore?"
Rory saw Lane winking at Tom and the moment he turned his slightly amused and hesitant gaze to Rory, her face was getting redder by the second.
"Right" he said quietly and noticing Rory's embarrassment he took a step back. "Well, I've got to head back to work. I'll see you… later"
"Yeah" Rory said to him with a rather forced smile and as soon as he'd turned his back on the two girls, Rory turned to Lane.
"Look who's blushing" Lane smiled devilishly and giggled.
"I hate you, you know that?" Rory said when she took a bite of her sandwich and shook her head still in disbelief by Lane's behaviour.
"I've always known" Lane sighed pretending to be miserable, but then her lips curved into a smile. "But you're so going to that bookstore, Ror"
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
"Jess, will you go to the counter if I go for lunch?" Mike peaked into the storage and saw Jess browsing through a book that he was holding.
"Yeah, sure. Molly's somewhere?"
"Yeah, she's around. I'll be back in thirty"
Jess followed Mike to the store and while Mike was pulling on his coat he said that Kathy would probably stop by to pick up some books on wedding planning.
"We have books on wedding planning?" Jess looked shocked and made Mike laugh out loud.
"Believe it, or not, we do. They're in the backroom for her"
Jess leaned on the counter after Mike had left and shook his head slightly. This wedding was starting to get on his nerves, it was the only thing Mike talked about these days. And he still hadn't made than appointment to the tailor's, and he really didn't want to make it. If he'd known that being a bestman would be so much work and he'd have to be this involved in all the planning that took place, he would have gratefully declined. He was so not the type to like weddings, let alone planning them.
Jess sighed slightly and scouted the bookstore to see that things were relatively quiet. Molly was standing by the children's books with an older man and a little girl, talking with a wide smile on her face. Molly, a college student who helped at the store almost every day, was a real customer service miracle. She was always on a good mood and she liked customers, unlike Jess who would have rather spent his days alone and far away from customers. But Jess knew that what Mike appreciated about him wasn't his charming personality, but his knowledge about literature and his passion for it. Jess didn't really know what he would rather do in the world than be involved with books.
Jess's gaze moved to a couple standing a bit further away, cuddling and smiling to each other in a way that made Jess grimace. He hated people who were in love, they honestly didn't know how stupid they looked. He was about to turn to the computer, when his eyes met two distinctively blue eyes, which were surrounded by dark brown hair and rosy cheeks. He didn't even know it, but his lips started to curve into a smile when he looked at the few strands of hair that had escaped her ponytail and were now framing her face.
"Hey"
She had been leaning against a shelf and now she took a few steps toward him, ending up just a few feet away, on the other side of the counter.
"Hey" he said in response and nodded slightly.
They were both silent for a while, Jess looked at her, trying to take in all that he saw. The expression of her face was… mixed, to say the least. In a way, she was looking at him so effortlessly and openly, but at the same time Jess thought she seemed nervous and perhaps a bit shy.
"Shouldn't you be at work, or something?" Jess finally asked her after realising that it was only one in the afternoon.
"I have the rest of the day off. I've worked overtime so…"
Jess nodded and then found himself observing her again. The way her head was slightly tilted and the way her scarf was carelessly thrown over her coat. And the way she was holding her mittens in her other hand.
"So… I'm gonna go and see the poetry section upstairs. I didn't have time to check it out on Saturday…"
"It's good" Jess nodded seriously. "And if you can't find something right away, we have more stuff in the back"
"Okay" she smiled at him and then turned to leave. "You wouldn't happen to remember if you have something by Leonard Cohen…" she looked at him somewhat cautiously, but her words made him smirk.
"Well, this is your lucky day. I was just browsing through some of his stuff in the back. I can…" he silenced for a minute and then glanced at the other direction. "Hey, Molly! I'm gonna go to the back and get something, okay?"
After getting a positive response from Molly, Jess told Rory to follow him.
"I can come to the back with you?" she asked quietly, but he smiled reassuringly saying that it was okay. "I think we have only one book of Cohen in the shelf, but we have more stuff here"
They came to the storeroom and when Jess went to get of box filled with books, he noticed that Rory was standing by the door of the room and looking around her in awe.
"This is incredible" she said when she came further into the room and swirled around to catch a glimpse of the whole room. "I could spend hour rummaging through this place… And it's really organised"
Jess chuckled saying that he'd spent a week organising it and putting thing back to their rightful places.
"I'm not really organized unless it comes to books"
"I know what you mean" Rory said quietly and then turned to Jess who had put the box he'd been holding down on a table. "This is all Cohen?" she asked him and after getting a nod as a reply she eagerly started going through the books.
"So, you like Cohen, too?"
"Well…" she started talking somewhat hesitantly. "I haven't, but the other day I saw one of his poems in this magazine and it just… You how, felt that I should give him another chance"
"You should"
Jess looked at her, how she opened the books one by one and looked at them with such concentration, which intrigued him. She seemed completely lost in her own world and just when he was about to say that he should get back to the store, she took one book from the box and said that she'd take it.
"Selected poems, 1956-1968" Jess looked at the book and then saw her nod in confirmation. "You want anything else?"
"No, this is good for now" Rory said as she watched him put the box back on the shelf and then followed him to the store.
Molly was still with customers when Jess and Rory got to the counter.
"How much is the book?" she asked when he tapped something on the computer.
"It's 10,50" he said and then put the book in a bag for her.
"It can't be that cheap" she said and eyed him suspiciously. "You didn't give me a discount?"
"Just a small one, a friendly favour" his words made her laugh and he absorbed the sound while it made him smile.
"Well, you really don't have to"
"It's really not that much" he insisted.
"It's too much"
Jess looked at her and knew that she wouldn't accept the discount. But then he got an idea.
"Okay then. But if you won't take the discount now, you'll have to by next Sunday, we're having an autumn sale. I can help you find some great stuff"
Her eyes lit up and she nodded excitedly. Jess had to stop himself at the last minute so he wouldn't laugh out loud.
"Next Sunday?" she said and after he'd nodded, her smile grew wider. "Okay, then. Will you be working?"
"Probably" Jess said and sighed slightly, trying to look depressed while she paid the proper price for book and he put it in a bag for her.
"So, no partying for you on Saturday night?"
"Guess not, though I'm pretty sure it's only a good thing"
Rory nodded and then took a step back.
"I'll see you on Sunday then" she said once again and made him want to beam uncontrollably.
"Yeah. Enjoy your day off"
"I have every intention of doing just that. Well, it was nice to see you again, Jess" she replied and hearing her say his name made him smile.
"Yeah, you too, Rory. And I wanna hear your opinion on Cohen next Sunday"
"Don't worry, you will" she smiled and left the store, leaving Jess to stand and stare at the now closed door in haze.
He was still leaning on the counter a while later, staring down at the pair of mittens she'd forgotten to take with her. And he was feeling… Well, probably more shaken than ever before in his life.
"You know that you've been staring at the counter for the past five minutes?"
Jess didn't look up, instead he kept looking at the pair of mittens he was now holding.
"Jess?"
"Yeah?" he looked up and saw Molly watching him curiously.
"So, who was the girl?"
"What girl?" came another female voice from behind him.
Jess turned around and saw Kathy looking at him with a curious smile.
"What girl?" she asked again and then looked past Jess at Molly. "Jess has a girl? I wanna know everything about this"
"I don't know what you're talking about" Jess sighed and turned to look at the computer.
"Come on. These mittens right here" Molly picked them up from the desk and made Jess look up at her.
"A customer forgot them here" he said and snatched them from Molly's hand. "I'll put them under the counter in case she comes back for them"
Kathy gave Molly a knowing look and then nodded slowly. Jess glanced at them and then shook his head. He didn't need these two getting excited about this, it would lead to no good, he was sure of that. And if the girl, Rory, would come back on Sunday and these two would see her, he knew that they'd be everything but tact and they'd embarrass him for sure.
"Well, you knew the girl from somewhere. I haven't seen you smiling like that in front of anyone before" Molly said determinedly.
"Smiling?" Kathy asked. "Ah, then she couldn't have been any of Jess's old conquests. Although we know he has his share of those" her voice was playfully judgmental. "No, if she'd been his old flame he would have been squirming, not smiling"
"She wasn't anything like that" Jess eventually sighed. "She's no one, really. You guys are wasting your energy on this"
"Really?" Kathy said and lifted her eyebrow curiously.
"Okay, I'm going to the back and I'll stay there until you've both calmed down" he told Molly and as he walked past Kathy he heard the two giggling behind his back.
A/N: Make my day and review…:)