Chapter Nine

Luke walked back to his truck, unlocked the door and got in. He reached to turn the ignition on but instead gripped the steering wheel. What had he just walked in on…two people with a past, dancing and laughing. One of them he loved and the other he thought was the biggest fool in the world. But they were just dancing…not even closely. There were no whispered words, no flirty looks, just two good looking friends dancing. Luke thought about Lorelai's words…not to worry. He had to trust in her if he wanted to continue this relationship. Christopher would always be a part of their lives no matter what. Luke got out of the truck and headed back to the inn. This time he walked up to the front door hoping to avoid running into anyone else.

Towards the end of the dance, Lorelai looked up and saw Christina watching them. Lorelai whispered something to Chris but by the time he looked in her direction, Christina had run back up to their room. Christopher thanked Lorelai for the dance and ran up the stairs after her. Lorelai could hear him pounding on the door. Poor Chris…

Lorelai then wandered into the kitchen and was surprised to see Sookie sitting there.

"Hey, I thought you were going to head home ages ago."

"Yeah, well, I'm supervising the clean up and it feels pretty good just to sit here."

"Did you get your dance with Luke?"

"Not yet, I'm still waiting for him to show up."

"He's here. I sent him in your direction a little while ago."

"You're kidding. I didn't see him. I think you're starting to imagine things with this pregnancy. This place isn'tso big that he couldn't find me.'

"Well, he's here somewhere. Maybe he ran into someone he knows and they're off talking."

"Not likely but I'll go…"

Chris ran in. "Lor, can you help? Christina locked herself in our room and won't let me in."

"Real mature that girl."

"Or maybe just a little intimidated by finally meeting you. I guess I have talked about you and Rory a lot since this wedding thing came up. And then she seestogether looking like we were looking.... I don't know. Who knows what she's thinking."

"So now this is my fault?"

"No of course not, but you could help me out by opening the door."

"Sure Chris. I'll get the master key. But once it's open, you are on your own."

"I just have to talk to her, explain."

"Explain why you were dancing with an old friend at a wedding reception?"

"The old friend who just happens to be the mother of my first child."

"Okay, I guess it is an unusual situation." Lorelai thought about how Luke still had misgivings sometimes.

"Sookie, you go home right now. I'm here to check on things. You look tired and tomorrow is another working day around here."

Sookie saluted, "Yes sir…um, mam. On my way right now."

Lorelai and Chris laughed and headed to the desk to get the key. They started up the stairway together and Chris rested his hand lightly on Lorelai's waist and leaned in to get some whispered female advice.

Luke had to wait to get in the front door because a small group of people were coming out. He heard them comment about how wonderful the Dragonfly is and how beautiful and happy Lorelai seemed to be. He smiled and made a note to tell Lorelai. When he finally made it through the door, he saw Lorelai and Christopher walking up the stairs.

This time it didn't look so innocent. They were whispering and Chris had his hand on her back. Luke turned around and walked out. This time there was no stopping. He got in his truck and headed to the diner, breaking the speed limit and slamming to a noisy stop behind the building.

Luke slammed the truck door as he got out. He unlocked the diner and sat down at one of the tables by the window and vacantly looked out. He tried to remember the pep talk he had given himself earlier but this time the circumstances were different. He had fallen upon a very different scene. This time he could not let it go so easily.

Lorelai made her way back down to the front desk. She dropped off the key and started to look for Luke. He was no where to be found nor was his truck, when she finally thought to look outside. She had to hang around a bit longer to do a final check on things so she headed back into the kitchen for coffee. She tried Luke's cell but got no answer. He didn't use it much now that they were together. It had served its purpose all summer…now it was easy just to pop in on each other. Lorelai couldn't figure out why if he actually was here why he didn't stick around. As she sat in the kitchen she thought about the evening, and then it struck her. Luke was a jealous man and he tried to keep it under wraps. And she truly never gave him anything to be jealous about…she loved him for heavens sake. But she hadn't gotten the nerve up to tell him that yet. And if he had seen here dancing with Chris, well, he might not have taken it well. He had asked if Chris was going to be there….oh, God, what if he had seen her going upstairs with Chris. She had been whispering some strategy for him to use with Christina and his hand was on her back….

Lorelai ran from the inn and jumped in her car. She had to get to him…she had to talk to him. She and Chris were finally in a good place and they had both messed things up with their new mates. How could she have been so stupid….

Lorelai parked as close as she could to the diner. She could see Luke sitting in the dark with one hand wrapped around a beer and the other holding a pen. There was a pad of paper in front of him and he was staring into space and absently pounding the pen up and down on the counter. She approached the diner trying to figure out a way to handle this, not knowing what had actually happened but thinking the worst. She thought the door was probably locked but when she pulled on it, it opened noisily. Damn bell, she muttered to herself.

Luke turned from his counter seat, ready to bark at whoever it was until he saw her.

"Hey."

Luke quietly answered, "Hey yourself."

"You look great. Isn't that the same shirt you wore on our first date?"

"Yep, same shirt, same guy, same girl." Lorelai thought it was sort of a strange reaction. "You look beautiful, as always. Pretty sexy for an inn function."

"Well, I told you earlier why."

"Yes you did, didn't you. For the old friends…to prove something…"

Lorelai looked down at the pad of paper and saw that he had writen her name at the top.

"Hey, let's go upstairs. Kick back and talk. I can tell you about my night and you can tell me about yours." Lorelai was beginning to think this wasn't his first beer. She pulled him up off the bar stool and led him upstairs. She pulled the door closed behind them and wrapped her arms around his neck.

"Let's try this again. Hey." She looked lovingly into those beautiful eyes she knew so well.

Luke returned the look but didn't answer.

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