Tales of a Lonely Girl

Authors Note: Thanks for the kind reviews you guys! You're all so sweet! :o) I tried to keep this chapter in character, but there are a few times where it seems a little iffy! You let me know what you think...please review! Enjoy..

Disclaimer: Gilmore girls aren't mine. Watch the frog!

Chapter 6- So You're Not a Mirage

"I don't want to go." Lorelai pleaded in front of the Jeep early the next morning.

"I know, me too. But I'll be home soon." Luke reassured her.

"How soon?"

"Soon."

"Soon as in...2 days or soon as in...2 weeks?"

"Soon as in...1 week. I already talked to Liz about it. She just has a few doctors appointments she needs to go to this week, and hopefully they'll be able to get around by themselves after that."

Lorelai smiled and grabbed Luke's hands, lightly shaking them up and down. "I had an amazing weekend." She said, smiling at him.

"I'm glad. So did I."

She leaned up and gave him a kiss goodbye. "Call me?"

"Yeah, I'll call."

"Good. It's going to be a long, boring ride, you know. Maybe you should join me!"

"You know I would if I could."

"Yeah, yeah. It's okay, I've got to get back to the Inn."

She hopped in the car and rolled down the window. Luke leaned in the window and continued talking to her while she put the keys in the engine.

"Oh yeah. Good luck. Although you don't need it."

She leaned through the window and planted another kiss, yet this time more passionate. "That's to hold me over for the next week." She said smiling playfully.

He returned the smile. "Bye, Lorelai."

"Bye Luke."

She pulled out of the driveway, gave him a quick wave, and rode the streets of Maine back to Stars Hollow. It was going to be a long night for her. And to top it off, it was going to be a long, boring ride home.

Well into her drive, her cell phone rang. She smiled and figured it was Luke, calling again to tell her that she forgot something so she'd have to come back and see him. He could be so cute sometimes. Okay, fine, always. She picked up her phone, smiling to herself.

"Hello?"

All she heard was static from the other line. She heard somebody say something quietly, but couldn't make out what they were saying.

"Hello?"

She still couldn't hear anybody. "Fine, don't talk. Whatever."

She hung up her phone and turned the radio on a little louder. A few minutes later, her cell phone rang again.

"Hello?" She answered, sort of yelling, hoping it wasn't the same person.

"Hi." Rory said quietly on the other end.

It had been a while since she last talked to her. Before she went away to Maine, that's for sure. Come to think of it, Lorelai never exactly explained what was happening with her and Luke. And quite frankly, she didn't want to tell her about it. She'd probably only be a pain, and make matters worse. Talking about how if she broke up, they'd never be able to go to the diner again. Who ever said there would be a breakup? And who ever said it would be her to break up with him. Lorelai couldn't think of the last time that she was this happy.

"Hello Rory." She said sternly, trying to take on stable voice.

"How are you?"

"I'm good. Just driving, ya know. How are you? Haven't talked to you in quite some time."

"Uh, I'm okay. We're coming home soon."

"Oh that's right. When are you coming home again?" Lorelai new very well when they were coming home, she just didn't want to act like she'd been thinking about it.

"Next Monday."

"Oh, that's right. Bummer. I'm sure you'd want to stay in that lovely country with your lovely Grandma, right hun?" Lorelai asked sarcastically.

"Mom, I'm sorry." She heard Rory sniffling on the other end as if she was crying. It was so hard to be mad at Rory. The one thing she hated was when Rory would cry when they'd fight. She never wanted to make her daughter cry. And to think that she was crying because of a stupid fight with her mom only made matters worse. She had lots going on in her life. She had Dean to deal with, and Lindsay, and herself. She didn't need Lorelai on her bad side, too.

"I know, kid."

"I didn't mean to yell at you the other night."

"I know. I'm sorry too. I shouldn't have acted like I was 4."

"Well, you normally do." Rory said, trying to lighten up the mood a bit.

"Aint that the truth."

"Grandma and I are about to leave though. I just wanted to call and say that I'm sorry and that–I miss you."

"I miss you too, babe."

"I'll call you soon mom."

"Bye Rory."

Lorelai hung up and smiled to herself. It was good to know that her and Rory were at least on the same page now, not at each others throats because neither of them could deal with that right now. They both had too much going on in their lives and they didn't need the extra weight on their shoulders. So maybe things would be good after all. Just maybe.

"Ew, he won't stop looking at me."

"Well, go into the next lane."

"No, Luke. Right lane equals death. Right lane equals you. You equal slow."

"Not everybody drives slowly in the right lane."

"Still."

"It's the only way he'll stop looking at you."

"Maybe I should throw something at his car. That would be funny!" She said, giggling into her cell phone which at this point was probably just about to run out of minutes. She lost count how many times she actually called Luke while driving.

"So, how soon will you be home?"

"About 30 minutes. I'm going straight to the Inn though."

"Well, call me on your next break."

"Of course." It was all becoming so natural.

"See ya."

"Bye."

She hung up and turned her cell phone off. The only way she'd get home quicker is without the distractions, and the distractions were slowing her down plenty.

"Where are all the knives?" Sookie asked, rummaging through the kitchen cabinets.

"Finally giving in, huh? Actually going to cut my head off. Alright come on, lets make it quick." Lorelai said, walking over to Sookie.

"No, be serious. Where are they? Michel!" Sookie screamed, "get in here!"

A few moments later, Michel walked in looking innocent as ever.

"I told you don't mess with my kitchen appliances!"

"I did not touch your kitchen appliances."

"Well, as much as I'd love to sit here, I have another parade to rain on. I'm going to go finish the pillows." Lorelai interrupted.

"Lorelai, I thought you said you'd give those up!"

"But, they have so much potential!" She said, playfully frowning. "Visit me soon!"

She walked into the lobby where the pillows were carefully thrown on the couch. Her head was pounding and stomach was aching. She hadn't eaten anything since her last stop for food on the road, and that was hours ago. Now, it was coming close to 10:00 and the night still had a ways to go. When she finally sat down on the couch, situated with her large cup of coffee in hand, her cell phone rang. "Perfect timing." She mumbled out loud.

"Hello?"

"Go outside." Luke said casually.

"Why?"

"Well, I'm standing outside and the stars look amazing tonight."

"Excuse me, Luke Danes talking about stars? How romantic!" She embellished a tad.

"I figured you're still at the Inn, so I thought I'd give you a call. It really is a nice night out."

"Yeah, well I guess I could use some fresh air. Anyways, what's up?"

She walked to the front door, not bothering to put her shoes on and stepped outside. It was pitch black outside, but she stars were really something. "Oh the stars really are amazing." She said with her head up in the air.

Lorelai looked straight ahead and saw somebody rounding the corner. It was too dark to make out their figure. The next thing she noticed was that Luke was no longer on the other line. It was a simple dial tone.

"Yeah, they are." Luke said walking up to Lorelai.

"Luke!!" Lorelai squealed out in excitement. She ran down the few stairs and greeted him with a huge hug. "What are you doing here!"

"I could leave if you wanted me too..."

"Of course not! I'm just surprised to see you! I thought you were coming back next week."

"Well, I was going too..." He started.

"You missed me!" Lorelai insisted. She leaned in and kissed him gently.

"Yeah, I did." He said quietly. Really, it was that after spending a weekend like that with her, he couldn't exactly...what's the word...wait, another week. "Come on, let's go for a walk."

Lorelai made a face. "Uh, no shoes. Unless you want to give me a piggy back ride, I'm going to have to go get my 6 inch stilettos that if I go walking around here, I could very possibly break an ankle."

He rolled his eyes. "Hop on."

She jumped on his back and secured her hands over his shoulders. He began walking towards the back. It was pretty dark and hard to see, but he knew where he was going.

"Am I heavy?" She asked.

"Nope."

"Look at you, trying to be all macho about it. You can throw me down if I'm too heavy."

"You're not too heavy."

"If you say so."

He carried her in silence for a few moments until Lorelai asked, "so what's the real reason you're home?"

He was somewhat relieved that he wasn't looking at his face. He was afraid she'd be biting her lip, trying to hold back the laughter. "I just wanted to come back home, and..." His voice got a little quieter, "be with you."

She leaned her head down towards his cheek and kissed him. "Good answer. So, where are we headed?"

"I don't know. Just walking around. I figured you'd want to step out for a little bit."

"You're right."

"You guys okay in there?"

"Sorta. We're all getting really restless and ready to go home. I swear, I might as well sleep here, I've gotta be back here at the crack of dawn anyways."

"Do you guys have guests booked already?"

"Lucas, do we!"

"Don't call me Lucas."

"Luke, do we!" She corrected herself.

"Booked solid?"

"Not quite. We've got about 4 families coming in tomorrow. But the day after that another 3 are coming."

"Sounds good."

"Yeah, I'm just afraid I won't have a break for a few days."

"Oh." He knew she meant that she wouldn't have a lot of time to see him. How could he expect that from her though? This was just about the biggest thing happening in her life right now. He wasn't going to stand in the way, either.

"But I wish I had one because...here, put me down." She said kicking her feet around so he'd let her down. He put her down on the ground and she held his hands outwards, while she leaned in closer to him. "Because...this...you and I...makes me really happy." She leaned up and gave him a small kiss. "I just wanted to let you know that."

"I'm glad."

"Now then, turn back around."

He didn't even say anything. He turned around and let her hop back on his back as he continued walking through the back of the Dragonfly.

She leaned in closer to his ear. "You're really special. Ya know that?" She whispered.

"Thanks."

She smiled to herself, holding back a laugh. "That's what Liz thinks too."

Luke thought for a moment. "What does Liz have to do with this?" He noticed her laughing.

"Ya know, you guys sure do love that baseball crap."

"And you like that coffee crap."

"Anyways, my point is that while you guys were so intrigued by the baseball game, Liz and I had a little chat."

"Oh gosh." He mumbled. "About what?"

"She just...reassured me that you had a...thing for me over the years."

"God, what did she tell you?"

"Just stuff." She said, giggling a little.

"What kind of stuff."

"Now, now Lukey. I don't think that would be nice if I told you. I pinky swore I wouldn't tell." She said in a high pitched voice as if she was a little girl.

He set her off his back and turned to her. She was laughing at this point. He picked her up and threw her over his shoulder. She instantly started screaming at him.

"Luke!! Let me down!!!" She begged.

"Tell me what she said first..."

"Whoa, I'm tired." Lorelai said, still breathless.

"Maybe you should have told me earlier."

"Now what fun would that have been!" She laughed as she grabbed his hand while they laid down on the grass in the back of the Inn. "Who would have thought you'd be that...spontaneous!"

"I just picked you up."

"Yeah, but...you're aggressive. It's sexy."

"I wasn't aggressive."

"Okay, you weren't aggressive."

"So, what else do you have to do before you can leave?"

"Well, I've got to finish the pillows, I've got to fix all of the curtains because Michel's...children got in the way of that..."

"His children? Michel doesn't have children."

"His dogs. But last time I called them his dogs he threatened to call his relatives."

"Which means..."

"Heavy French accent. Very annoying. Major headache."

"Got it."

"Then, I've got to help Sookie set up the dining room and make a run through all the rooms, and then I can leave."

"That's a lot of stuff."

"I know."

"How long do you think it'll take you?"

"Hopefully I'll get out of here within the next few hours. 12 maybe, I don't know."

"Well," Luke said beginning to sit up. "I'm going to let you go then. I'm going to head back to the diner, but...maybe I'll stop by again in a few hours. I'm sure you'd want some coffee."

"You know me too well." She sat up next to him.

He stood up and hoovered over her while she begged for him to help her up. He grabbed her hands and walked her back to the front. She gave him a kiss goodbye, and watched him leave. She went back inside as soon as his car disappeared. Luckily, she only had a 2 more pillows to finish. She did those as quick as possible, and ran into the kitchen.

"Let's get that dining room set up!" Lorelai said bouncing into the kitchen.

Sookie laughed a little. "Whoa, honey. You seem a little energetic. I didn't know that pillows had that effect on you."

"Oh, they don't."

"Okay then..."

"Luke was just here." She said smiling largely.

"I should have guessed..." Sookie looked at Lorelai who at this point, looked like she was daydreaming about him. "Hey, wait! Wasn't he supposed to be in Maine for the next week?"

"Uh huh."

"Well what happened to that?"

"He came back early."

"How come?"

"He missed me?" She raised the comment to a question. She tried not to make it sound like that's the only reason when in reality, he probably needed to get back to the diner. But after all, that is what he told me. "Or at least that's what he said to me."

"Ah, that's too cute, sweetie! He's really got it for you..."

"Yeah, well this isn't a one-road situation, ya know. I missed him too."

"I bet you did! Did you realize how many times you mentioned him earlier?"

"No."

"A lot. An unhealthy amount. And normally, I would be scared and recommend some help, but not this time."

She smiled because all of a sudden, that's all she could do. It was like she in middle school again with a crush who made her nervous. "I don't know, something's different this time."

"I know what you mean."

"I'm just...I dunno, in awe. He's a completely different person when we're together. I kind of feel silly saying that, but it's true."

"Lorelai he l--"

"I know." She said quickly cutting Sookie off.

"And do you l– "

"I'm pretty sure I do, Sookie." She said, cutting her off again. She smiled and walked out of the kitchen, this time leaving Sookie in awe.

It was close to 12. Lorelai was almost finished going through the rooms, when she pulled out her cell phone.

"Hello?" Luke answered.

"Hey you."

"Oh hey, what's up?"

"Just checking to see if you were still up."

"Yeah, I'm still up. I'm just about done down here, and I realized there's half a pot of coffee here."

"Bring it on, baby!"

"I'll see you soon."

"Mmmkay."

She walked back down stairs and waited for Luke outside. When he finally came, bearing two cups of coffee, she led him upstairs to check out the last few rooms with her. They walked into the first room and both sat on the unmade bed. Lorelai put her coffee down and turned to him, smiling.

"I'm glad you came back."

"Me too. Are you almost done here?"

"Just about."

She leaned over and kissed him unexpectedly. She lowered him down onto the bed while she laid partially on top of him, still kissing him. They stayed that way for a matter of minutes until Lorelai rolled away and lied on her back.

"I've always been good at procrastination." She said, smiling. She stood up and adjusted her hair. "Come on, let's go finish these last few rooms so we can both get out of here."

It was close to 12:30 when they were actually about to get into their cars. It took them a little longer to finish up but the work was eventually completed.

"Hey, I have a few of your things in my bags on accident. If you want you can come by and pick them up."

"Alright, I'll meet you at your house."

They both got into their separate cars and Lorelai followed Luke back to her house. But after a few minutes of trailing behind him, going close to 10 mph, Lorelai sped up in front of him and managed to beat him back to the house. She waited on the porch sipping the last of her coffee when he finally pulled up.

"I almost thought I lost you." She said as he walked out of his car.

"Not everybody speeds like you, ya know."

"I don't speed. I just go the speed limit, unlike you."

They walked into her house and settled into the living room. Luke sat down as she fumbled through her bags and pulled out his flannel shirt she wore to bed the night before she left, and a tee-shirt of his that she accidentally, you could say, threw in her bag. He got up and they headed to the porch.

"Thanks again, really." She said.

"No problem."

She leaned up and kissed him, pulling away moments later. She kept her face close to his, smiling.

"Stay." She whispered.

"What?"

"Stay here, with me tonight."

The words made his stomach turn but he never turned down an offer from Lorelai Gilmore.

"You sure?"

"I'm sure."

"Alright then."

She grabbed his hand and led him up to her bedroom. She changed into one of her many slinky nightgowns and waited for him while he washed up in the bathroom. He came out and laid next to her while she comfortably adjusted herself in the crook of his arm.

"Goodnight." She whispered.

"Goodnight."

She didn't go to sleep just then though. She spent a good half an hour thinking things over. She wondered if she was moving too fast and if it would later result in them breaking up, or getting sick of eachother, but whenever she came up with one of those crazy thoughts, she looked at his face which seemed to be smiling, although he was sleeping, and disregarded any of the negative thoughts. This was a new experience for her, something she'll admit she wasn't quite ready for about a year ago, but now, things are right, and things are good. Sure it had only been about a month of talking to eachother, and only a few days of actually seeing eachother but nothing ever felt this comfortable for her. She let her guard down when she was with him. After all, she did invite him inside, didn't she? And this time, she didn't offer him the couch. She offered him a spot right next to her.

lorelaivictoriadanes- you hit the nail on the head! I planned him coming home for the opening day from the start, but you encouraged me to do so even more! thanks again for all the reviews!

A/N 2: This seems like a perfect spot to end the story, but I'm not going to just yet. I've realized that I sort of lost touch in the whole phone conversation plot of the story, but it took an unexpected turn, and this is where we are now! I'm going to try and maintain a few more phone convos, to keep the story in tact, and then I think I'll be done with this! I just have 2 conversations I really want to write, so look for those soon! Thanks for tha support guys!