CHAPTER 2

Lorelai was preoccupied when she entered the foyer of the Dragonfly Inn. She did not notice that Jason's car was gone or that Luke was consciously staring at her like she was about to enter a ring ready to face Mike Tyson.

"Don't worry about Kirk. He's been corralled," Luke said with a smirk. His expression changed drastically when he noticed Lorelai's paled look. He knew something was amiss.

"What's wrong?" He asked.

"Everything," Lorelai muttered absentmindedly.

"Everything? What kind of answer is that?" Luke asked slightly irritated. "If you want me to go, I will go. Is it about the kiss?"

Lorelai snapped from her muddled thoughts and tried focusing on Luke.

"No, no. It's not you," Lorelai clarified. "It's just… something came up."

"Is it Jason? Do you want me to go beat him up? Kirk? I can go beat him up, too," Luke offered.

"No," she muttered like a five year old. Lorelai reached out and caressed his five o'clock shadowed jaw. Her doe eyes shifted quickly from Luke's eyes to her shoes when she saw his confused expression. Lorelai did not know how she was supposed to feel at this point. How can she ask Luke to be patient with her without letting him know what had just transpired at home?

"Wanna talk about it?" Luke prodded.

Lorelai's gaze shifted everywhere but his way. He knew she was hiding something and it drove him crazy that she was not telling him about it.

"Rory's not feeling well and I'm kinda worried," she fibbed.

"Do you want me to check up on her?" Luke volunteered quickly.

"No, it's okay. She'll be fine for now," Lorelai said absentmindedly.

It seemed like an eternity that Luke and Lorelai stood under the light in the foyer. Luke did not know how to comfort the woman that stood in front of him. However, he knew that she needed some space. With determined steps, he closed the gap them. He laid a light kiss on her forehead and then he walked away.

Rory panicked as soon as she got into her car. Impulse told her to drive to Lane's only to remember that she's probably halfway through a gig in New York that weekend. Then she thought of her grandparents' place. That idea was shot since they are at the inn. Paris came to mind until she remembered that she was traipsing the English countryside with Asher Flemming.

'This is horrible! How could an acrid Paris be in a relationship and I come up bolo?' Rory asked herself. Tanna's painful reminder that she has been "dry" in the couples' department made her realize that maybe, just maybe, she was holding out for Dean all this time. She thought she was in love with Jess. His impulsive visit to her Yale dorm room and asking her to run away with him was refreshing but she realized that romanticizing running away does not make things any better. Ironically, she was taking off for destinations unknown. Before she knew it, Rory found herself driving down the almost familiar path she and her mother took after Lorelai's non-wedding to Mr. Medina.

Rory found it ridiculous that she can lose herself in a book to escape from reality. But not this time. She felt like the biggest dunce that ever walked the face of the earth.

The black night cloaked her and her car as she sped away. She may be physically fixated on the white lines dotting the road but her mind was on snap shots and scents of Dean touching her, kissing her and undressing her. She blushed as she remembered the urgency of the nibbles, the clumsiness while they unbuttoned shirts and tugged on zippers. Fresh tears tried to cool the flushed cheeks.

Her mother always said that sex is a wonderful experience when you are with someone you love. She just left out the part that it hurts when the person you love is not yours anymore.

The tiny rivulets that ran down her face turned into a full fledge waterfall. Damn Dean and damn me for being weak! Not being able to see the road through her tears, Rory pulled over to the side of the road and did something her mother told her to do when she broke up with Dean: wallow.

Tristin DuGrey was not one who dwells on the past but he was quite amused when he caught up with the wild antics of Madeline and Louise. A smile crept on his face as he remembered their encounter during Spring break. Bumping into them at Myrtle Beach was a surprise.

"Hey soldier, whatcha doing here?" Madeline called out in surprise.

"Yeah, and can you show us a grand time while you're at it?" Louise coyly added while licking her lollipop.

"Madeline, Louise! What are you guys doing here?" he asked as he gave each girl a quick hug and peck on the cheek.

"I see that you haven't lost your touch," Madeline hinted.

"Hmm, and if you're not careful, I might cash in the chips I never used at Chilton on you," Louise suggested.

Tristin's gaze went from ditzy Louise to the more levelheaded Madeline to fill him in with information.

"We're doing a survey on which colleges have the best spring break parties," Madeline said with a wide grin.

"And we're polling which parties have the cutest guys and the easiest bars to get in," Louise added.

"I should've known," Tristin said grinning. "So, where are you guys staying?"

"Hmm, is that an invite?" Louise asked raising an eyebrow.

"Well, a couple of my buddies jetted a little early so I have the bungalow we rented all to myself for one more night. You guys can crash if you want," he suggested.

Madeline and Louise knew this was an offer they cannot refuse. Like Chang and Eng, they mimicked each other's action of draping themselves on either side of Tristin. On chorus, they said, "Let's go!"

The night was filled with pizza and bottles of beer, French champagne Madeline scrounged up and cans of every soda possible. Tristin's side hurt from laughing so hard from the anecdotes Madeline and Louise regurgitated. From Paris' breakdown in Chilton to Rory's break up with Dean, the couple talked about everything he missed when he left Chilton and then some, like the couple's pseudo-lesbian scheme to get into night clubs.

"Don't laugh. It does work!" Madeline said excitedly.

"I didn't know you guys were auditioning for 'Girls Gone Wild'. You guys are a trip," Tristin bantered as he took a swig of his beer.

"I don't know about that, but I know that Paris and Rory would've been a mover and shaker if they ever made the video," Louise smirked mischievously.

Tristin almost choked on his beer. "Paris and Rory?" he inquired.

"Oh yeah. I forgot about that!" Madeline exclaimed. "Paris and Rory are roommates. Can you believe that?"

"And they haven't killed each other yet?" Tristin asked.

"I think Rory gave up trying when Paris used her as an excuse to break up with Jaime," Madeline said in between sips of champagne from the bottle.

"And Paris found Janet, their suitemate, to be the recipient of her vindictive nature," Louise chimed in.

"Anyways," Madeline continued, "Paris decided to play tonsil hockey with poor Rory in this night club to get attention."

"Damn, Paris was desperate," Louise lamented.

"Well, you gave her the idea," Madeline accused.

"Jealous?" Louise challenged.

"Amused," Madeline retorted.

Tristin did not know whether or not he was turned on by the thought of Rory kissing another girl or upset that Rory preferred kissing a girl to him. He still cannot recall for the life of him why Rory always got under his skin. He despised her ability to affect him so greatly when he knew she never thought of him similarly.

"Alright Statler and Waldorf," Tristin broke in. "So you mean to say that…"

"Mary is now Magdalene," Louise implied in a singsong voice.

"Never thought Rory would be the Angelina Jolie kind," Tristin said as he knitted his brows.

"Hmm, I don't think she is but Paris sure is experimenting!" Madeline suggested.

"And even if Rory was pulling an Angelina, at least she's not gone DeGeneres," Louise said in giggles.

Downing the last of her Pina Colada, Louise got her tipsy body off the floor. "Hey, you wanna join me and Maddy on the shore?"

"Hmm, I think I'll cramp your style of picking up guys tonight if I tagged along," Tristin told Louise.

"Well you can act as our pimp!" Madeline suggested.

"Or gay," Louise added drunkenly.

"As lovely as you ladies are, I think I'll pass," Tristin added with a half grin. "However," he continued while giving each girl a kiss on the forehead, "you guys better be careful. I'll be leaving the door unlocked for you."

"Party pooper," Louise said pouting.

"Bye," Madeline called out as she stumbled out the door.

"Hey, if it's any consolation," Louise added before snatching her purse from the unused pull out couch, "I'd pick you for my toy boy any day of the week!"

"Be good!" Tristin said chuckling as he walked to the door to see the girls off.

"You know you can't resist me," Louise said loudly as she walked closer to Tristin.

"Au contraire, ma chérie. I still have a picture of you in your birthday suit on my fifth birthday party, strutting away like it was yours," Tristin interjected.

"Yeah, Louise. How do you top that? C'mon before everyone calls it a night at the shore!" Madeline called out after her friend.

Closing the door behind them, Tristin wondered whether or not he had an error in judgment leaving Chilton and missing all the "what could've been".

The thought pulled Tristin back to reality as he crept onto his second hour of driving straight from Princeton. He hated the fact that he had to take a final on a Saturday but it gave him enough time not to see his father before he left for a business meeting. Shifting on the driver's seat, he deliberated whether he should pull over to the side of the road or continue driving the remainder of his journey to his father's house. Seeing the Incubus jewel case that rattled among the assorted CDs he set aside for the voyage, he decided to toss the disc into the player. Not a second after he took his gaze from the road to the CD, he caught himself almost swerving on to a car parked on the shoulder.

"What the -," he cursed as he tried to avoid the unlit car.