CHAPTER 21

It was six thirty A.M. on a Wednesday morning. Like clockwork, the alarm went off. Seconds later, Paris marched up into her room and jumped on her bed.

"Rory, breakfast time!" she called out.

"Get away from me, Satan," Rory responded in a singsong voice.

This was a routine Rory kept up with and was glad stayed normal. Rory never told Paris of her little secret and part of her is sad about that. She had no one to confide to and the counselor she saw the day before was not as comfortable to open up to like a friend.

Rory got out of her bed and wiggled into a pair of jeans. She was up. She might as well join her roommate in raiding the dining hall. Heck, if she were feeling industrious, maybe she would actually start working out.

A loud rapping vibrated from her door.

"Come in!" she called out, pulling her hair away from her face.

The door creaked in protest.

"I'm hoping I'm not intruding?" a male voice filled the room.

Rory smiled. She missed that voice. She turned around and met him with a hug. "Graham, you're back!"

"I've been back since yesterday," he admitted, handing her a cup of hazelnut mocha.

Awkward silence echoed through the room.

"I'm sorry about your loss," he said quietly.

Pain flashed quickly in Rory's eyes. "It was for the better, I guess."

Again, silence.

"So, about that proposal," Rory reminded him.

"I'm glad you didn't take it. I didn't know what I was thinking at that time," he responded hurriedly.

"Okay," Rory said slowly. "I hope you understand why I let you down."

"I knew. But I had to try," he said sadly. "I can't bear the thought of you going through this alone."

"Well, there's nothing to go through now," Rory chuckled nervously.

"I guess not," he chuckled, too. "I was still hoping we could be friends."

"And nothing more?" Rory asked, a little disappointed that his crush on her had died.

"Well, if you could tell me something about Madeline..." he hinted.

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The Friday afternoon sun left Rory warm and toasty after she read from her book. She had not sat under her tree in a few days and she felt it was being neglected. Friday dinner was once again cancelled and her mother had a hot date with Luke. She decided to stay in the dorm for the weekend to catch up with some schoolwork she let slip for the few days she grieved. She packed up her books into her little backpack and headed back to Branford Hall.

Her heart skipped. From the distance, she saw a mirage. It was something she dreamt of ever since she left New Jersey but never thought would ever attain. The blonde haired boy looked up from the book he was reading and broke into a smile.

"Rory?" he yelled out loud enough to have the campus walkers look his way.

"Tristin!" Rory called out. She dropped her book bag and took a running start towards Tristin. She jumped on him and wrapped her legs around his midsection, her arms around his neck. Tristin peppered her lips and face with kisses. Rory returned the favor back.

"I never thought I'd see you again!" she whispered breathlessly.

"I won't let go of you that easily," he muttered back, tucking her hair behind her ear as he slowly put her down.

"You didn't come say goodbye," she said, hurt flashing in her eyes. "We went to your dorm and you weren't there."

He kissed her eyelids shut. "I can't bear to see you go."

"And now?" she asked. "You have to return to Princeton eventually."

"Ah, but we'll have a game plan," he told her, nibbling her ear. Rory couldn't think. He was doing things to her that made her short circuit.

They walked hand in hand to retrieve her almost forgotten backpack. "And what do you suggest?"

"How about meeting in Hartford?" he asked.

"Dean," she reminded him sadly.

"Dean," he said seriously. "Now how come you didn't tell me he was the father?"

"Because I thought you knew," she responded lamely as she opened the dorm room door.

"You know, I was going to pummel Graham for pawing you," he warned her. Rory grinned. She thought he was joking when he made the comment.

"Tris, if it weren't for Graham, I would have been in all kinds of serious trouble right now. I owe him much that day," she confessed.

"What do you mean?" he asked quizzically.

"If we went further that morning, you could have been the father of that baby," she said almost too quietly. "Graham... he told me to forget Dean and focus on you no matter how much you didn't want me."

"Not want you?" Tristin said in frustration. "Woman, you've been the bane of my existence since I rolled up on you that night on the side of the road. I can't sleep, I can't eat..." he got up next to her and started nibbling on her neck.

"Oh you're one to talk!" she said, mocking his words. His hands somehow found her waist exposed, stroking it until goose bumps formed on her arms.

"If you were carrying my baby, you know I would never leave you right?' he asked as he concentrated on her earlobe again.

"Yeah," she said breathlessly.

"Rory, if you don't stop doing that, you might end up pregnant again," he growled. Rory was rubbing her hands against his chest, playing with his nipples that have turned as hard as eraser heads.

"You won't dare!" she threatened.

"Do I ever lie?" he asked. She could feel him smile behind her hair.

"Whatever commotion is going on out there, it is really getting annoying. They were all talking about a blondie like..." Paris chattered away until she saw the couple ignoring her.

"Oh you two," she said in frustration, "get a room!"

"The smartest thing you've suggested in a long time, Geller," Tristin muttered without taking his eyes off Rory.

Silence transpired between him and Rory. He took Rory's hand and guided her to her room.

"We still haven't decided how this long distance thing would work," Rory pointed out between kisses.

"We have till Sunday," he answered back.

He started kissing each piece of her skin that was revealed to him as he unbuttoned her blouse.

"Before anything else," Rory hesitated. "What's with you and this flower thing with my mom?"

Tristin threw his head back in laughter. "That's a story for another time," he told her. "Right now, shut up and kiss me."

And that she did.