Disclaimer: If you recognize it, I don't own it. The plot and any original characters (specifically Claire) belong to me, but everything else is stuff I only wish I could take credit for.
A/N: Again, much love to all those taking the time to review this story. Keep your thoughts, opinions, and praises coming! Also, I apologize for the wait. My computer crashed and I had to send it out to California. But, much like Jess did, it came back to me.
Chapter 8: Just Older
Jess opened the door to the apartment and saw Claire, holding the phone between her ear and her shoulder. She was inspecting the soft measuring tape from her sewing kit, and trying to adjust her black tank top at the same time.
"Look, I measured the doorframe three times already. I'm absolutely positive I got it right…Yes, I know how to read a measuring tape! I've been sewing and making my own clothes since I was twelve…No, that's ten years. You know I'm older than Jess. Why are we fighting about this?...I know you want to help, but you don't have to doubt my measuring capabilities….Look, Luke, this is delightful but your nephew is here and I'm sure you'd rather talk to him…Oh. Really? Huh…I'm fine. How was your day?"
Jess rolled his eyes, certain Luke had just said he'd rather speak to her than to his own nephew. He wasn't offended, just amused.
"…Really? That's nice. What's your girlfriend's name? Oh wait, I know this. Lorelai, right?...Hmm? Oh, I know because Rory told me." Claire said.
Jess dove at Claire and grabbed the phone from her. "Hey." He said, pushing his roommate aside and glaring daggers at her.
"How does Claire know Rory?" Luke demanded.
"Giving Claire tips on how to fix the door?"
"How does Claire know Rory?" Luke repeated stoically.
"We'll be able to figure it out. It shouldn't be too hard."
"Jess!" Luke snapped. "Knock off the oblivious routine, OK? Answer the question like a man!"
Jess raked a hand through his hair and rolled his eyes. "What question was that?"
"How does Claire know Rory?" Luke repeated. Jess thought he could actually hear Luke grinding his teeth.
"Who's Rory?" Jess asked.
"Jess!" Luke barked.
"Who's Claire?" Jess asked innocently.
"Jess Francis Mariano!" Luke exclaimed.
Jess's mouth fell open. "You just full named me, Luke."
There was silence on the other end of the phone as Luke waited for an answer.
Jess sighed and contemplated what to say. "OK, let's say hypothetically there's this guy, right? This wicked cool, ruggedly handsome guy who lives in New York."
"Ok…" Luke said, sounding confused.
"And let's say that hypothetically this guy had a kindhearted roommate who, though wonderful, had the tragic flaw of always opening her big mouth."
Claire was sitting on the couch and her head shot up from the magazine she was reading. She whispered, "I didn't know."
Jess waved his hand to dismiss her and said into the phone, "Hypothetically, let's say this bleeding heart roommate ran into a very upset, hypothetical young woman who goes to Yale downstairs in the bookstore."
Luke sighed. "Jess, this is getting extremely complicated."
"Well, it's a good thing it's only a hypothetical situation." Jess responded smoothly. "Anyway, the hypothetical roommate invited the hypothetical Yale girl up to the hypothetical apartment, not knowing the history between the hypothetical girl and the hypothetical guy. And the hypothetical guy was there and after a few hypothetical fights they ended up finding out that they both still had feelings for each other." Jess blurted quickly.
"Hypothetically, of course." Luke said dryly.
"Well, of course." Jess said.
"OK, so translated from that ridiculous fiasco of an explanation, I'm to understand that by pure coincidence Claire and Rory met, and after you and her fought a couple of times, admitted you still have feelings for each other?" Luke asked, exasperated.
"Of course not. This was strictly hypothetical." Jess said. He walked over to the sofa and sank down next to Claire.
Claire shook her head. "You really are a dumbass." She muttered under her breath.
"Jess…" Luke said with warning in his tone.
"Yeah. It's all true." Jess said hesitantly.
"So, you and Rory are…together?" Luke asked, surprised.
Jess shrugged.
"I can't see you shrugging, Jess." Luke snapped.
"Yeah. I guess we're together again." Jess mumbled quietly.
"Wow. That's…wow." Luke said.
"Yeah." Jess agreed.
"Are you sure that's a good idea?" Luke demanded.
"Absolutely not." Jess blurted out.
"You know about Dean?" Luke questioned.
"I know about Dean." Jess replied through clenched teeth, prompting Claire to put a hand on his shoulder. Jess shrugged it off, annoyed. Claire smacked him upside the head with her magazine.
"What was that noise?"
"Claire hit me with a magazine." Jess responded.
"I always liked her." Luke retorted.
"Shut up." Jess said.
"I take it Lorelai has no idea." Luke said. "Because I'm sure I would've heard about it."
"How's it going with you two?" Jess asked, not only for a subject change but also because he was curious.
"Very, very well." Luke said honestly. "I think that I…" He trailed off.
"Good luck, man. It isn't fun being in love with a Gilmore." Jess said, good-naturedly.
"Well, maybe if you do it right it isn't so bad." Luke said.
"Hopefully I'll find out soon." Jess responded, smiling a little at Claire who was making kissing faces at him. He nudged her with his shoulder and she went back to reading her magazine with a smile on her face.
"You really think it'll work out this time?" Luke asked. "I'm not trying to make waves. I honestly want to know."
Jess sighed and contemplated the question for a long time. "I don't know." He said honestly. "But I love her. I've always loved her. And I want it to work."
"I believe you." Luke said simply.
Jess smiled at the comment. "Thanks Luke." After a moment he asked, "Are you going to tell Lorelai?"
"If I told her that, I'd have to tell her we were talking. I'm not ready to tell her either. You're still a sore spot for her." Luke said.
"Probably always will be." Jess responded.
"Probably. Rory will tell her though, I'd think." Luke speculated.
"I'd guess so. That should go well." Jess replied sarcastically.
"I hope it works out. You and Rory together…it was always a good idea in my book." Luke said honestly.
"Thanks, man. Look, I think I'm gonna go." Jess said.
"Yeah, me too. Take care of yourself. And it's your turn to call now." Luke commanded.
"I know. Next week sometime." Jess promised. "Bye, Luke."
"Bye Jess." Luke said.
Jess hung up the phone and tossed it onto the table. He propped his feet up on the same table and dropped his head onto Claire's shoulder.
"So going after her went well, I take it." Claire said, putting her magazine aside. She stroked Jess's hair as she asked the question, running her long nails along his scalp.
Jess closed his eyes contently. "Yeah. We kissed. We had Chinese. We kissed again."
"On a scale of 1-10, how awkward was it?" Claire asked, knowing her friend too well.
"Ten being the most awkward a situation can be?" Jess asked. He felt Claire nod and continued, "I'd rate it about a 13.7."
"Does she know that?" Claire questioned.
Jess shook his head. "Probably not. But it was so strained, and there were so many topics that we had to avoid. And she slept with Dean. God! She slept with Dean!" He exclaimed.
"You've slept with other people since her." Claire said.
"Just two, and I was drunk both times. Besides," Jess muttered angrily, "You never met Dean. He's tall and annoying and obnoxious and dumb as a post. I want him to disappear. I want to make him disappear. Even if there wasn't a Rory, I'd hate him."
"I'm sure the fact that there is a Rory just makes it that much worse." Claire said.
"It does." Jess agreed. "And she slept with him. And he's married. And she slept with him. And he's such a dumb jerk. And she slept with him!"
"OK, subtext rapidly becoming the text." Claire said softly, kissing Jess on top of the head.
"I know. I'm dwelling. But I love her, and I wanted…I don't know what I wanted." Jess finished lamely.
"You wanted her to wait for you." Claire said for him, knowing that he'd never say it himself.
"It was dumb." Jess mumbled.
"A little." Claire agreed, "but it's sweet too. Jess Mariano in love. Who'd have thought it?"
"Shut up." Jess commanded quietly. "Just because your love life sucks."
Claire got uncharacteristically quiet and Jess realized he'd hit a nerve.
"I'm sorry." He said. "I didn't mean to hurt you right then."
"You never do." Claire said. She kissed Jess's head again and removed him from his position on her. She stood up and said, "I'd like to go to bed now."
Jess looked up at her. "Claire…"
"I'm not mad." Claire said softly. "What could a rich girl playing bohemian with a horrible love life possibly have to be mad about?"
"Claire…"
"Stop saying my name." Claire commanded. "Just be careful, kid. You can't get rid of me by saying the wrong thing but this lady love of yours might be different."
Jess stood and enveloped his friend in a hug. "I love you, Claire."
"Damn straight you do." Claire said haughtily. "I love you too. Let me go to bed."
Jess nodded and kissed Claire's cheek. "OK. Goodnight." He left the room without another word.
Claire pushed the table to the side and removed the cushions from the sofa. She pulled out her bed and retrieved her pillow. She placed it on her bed before kneeling down and clasping her hands in front of her.
"Bless me, Holy Father. Thank you for the blessings you've given to me today and always. Please watch over and take care of my parents and brothers in Connecticut. I know you're taking care of Michael, and I hope he knows how much I care for him. Please watch over Jess. Let this be love for him. Let this work for him. Watch over him and love him as I love him. Thank you. Amen."
"You're so ignorant!" Rory exclaimed, throwing a soy sauce packet at Jess. The two were sitting Indian-style on the floor of the townhouse's living room with half-eaten cartons of Chinese food in between them.
Jess rolled his eyes and tossed the packet back at her. "It is not ignorant to hate Victorian literature! It's wordy and boring and frustrating."
Rory shook her head and threw the soy sauce at him again, this time hitting him right on the nose with it. "It's beautiful. Are you honestly going to tell me that you weren't moved by Wuthering Heights?"
"Ugh, the Bronte sisters are in a league all their own." Jess said disdainfully. "And trust me, that is not a compliment."
Rory sighed. "You are so frustrating. What about George Eliot? You had to have liked Adam Bede. It was a great story, and you love accurate portrayals of human nature."
Jess hesitated and didn't answer Rory, instead adverting his eyes.
Rory grinned widely. "You did! You liked it! You like George Eliot!"
"I said no such thing." Jess said, smirking at Rory.
Rory let out a noise resembling a growl and dove over the takeout cartons, pinning Jess to the floor. Her hands went directly for the curve of his hips, where she knew he was ticklish.
Jess tried to smother his laughter but was unsuccessful. Through small bursts of laughing he cried, "Fine, I confess! I'm a George Eliot fan. Even though I preferred Middlemarch to Adam Bede."
Rory laughed at him and smiled widely from her position above him. Suddenly her big blue eyes turned serious and she bent over to kiss him. Their lips met furiously in an almost violent passion. Rory flattened against him so she was lying on top of him and Jess's hands immediately went to the small of her back. He quickly switched their positions so he was lying on top of her. Rory was so lost in the kiss that she didn't even notice.
Rory and Jess pulled apart and Jess was shocked by the look in her eyes. It was a look of lust and passion and need, and it was one that he wasn't used to seeing in Rory. This was no longer the sweet, innocent girl he'd dated in high school. She'd grown up. Jess snapped out of his thoughts to the realization that Rory was tugging his shirt over his head. He complied with her wishes, though not exactly sure that he wanted this to be happening. His shirt was tossed aside, and Rory's small hands quickly made their way down to his belt. Jess caught them there.
"Rory." He said softly, rolling off from on top of her. "No."
"What?" Rory asked, looking both confused and offended. "Why not?"
Jess was saved from answering by the ringing of Rory's cell phone. He grabbed his shirt and said, "You'd better answer that."
Rory looked at him baffled, but reached for her phone anyway. She looked at the number and flipped it open to answer it. "Hey Mom." She said, trying to sound cool.
"Hey babe. What are you up to?" Lorelai asked brightly.
"Oh, not much." Rory lied. "Just doing some reading, eating some Chinese from Madame Chang's."
"Ooh." Lorelai said appreciatively. "Madame Chang's?"
"The best egg rolls in New York. Wait till you try them." Rory said, fiddling with the hem of her shirt.
"I can't wait. I'm trying to block out a couple of days to come up. How are things going?"
"Not bad. A little dull, but the renovations are good. The house looks amazing. And I have my friend Claire." Rory said, thankful that her mother couldn't see the guilty look in her eyes.
"Great. Sounds like you're living the good life. I'm sorry I rushed off the phone the other day. What did you want to talk about?" Lorelai questioned.
"Oh, it doesn't matter. It was just me feeling a little homesick but I'm OK now." She went to make eye contact with Jess, but he was focusing intently at a spot on the hardwood floor.
"Good, I'm glad." Lorelai said.
"Me too. But I've gotta go now, mom. The egg rolls are getting cold." Rory said.
"Ick. Nothing worse than cold egg rolls. Call me later in the week?"
"You know I will. Love ya, mom." Rory said.
"Love you too." Both Lorelai and Rory hung up at the same time.
Rory immediately turned the ringer off on her phone before placing it on the table they weren't utilizing for the Chinese food.
"Lying to your mother. Making sexual advances. You sure have grown up, Rory." Jess said, not without sarcasm.
Rory frowned at his words. "I'm not seventeen anymore, Jess. Neither are you."
"So why the need to lie to your mom? Why not just tell her?" Jess demanded, not sure why he was so offended.
"You know my mom, and you know how she feels about you. Why are you pretending you don't?"
"Do you love me?" Jess asked, leaning back on his hands and looking up at her.
Rory nodded.
"Do you plan on changing your mind about that any time soon?" Jess demanded, hoping he knew the answer already.
"No. I plan to love you for a while." Rory said honestly, knowing where he was going.
"So if you plan on hiding this from the most important person in your life, what's the point? Ashamed, Rory?"
"No! I'm not…" Rory said, trailing off. "Not of you, anyway." She muttered.
"Then of what?" He demanded.
"Me. The choices I've made lately. I don't want my mom to think that you're just another dumb decision." Rory said, sitting down next to him.
"Am I?"
"No." Rory said quietly.
"Am I?" Jess demanded again.
"No." Rory said insistently. "Well, maybe. But you're my favorite bad decision. Besides," Rory continued, annoyed, "I don't see you rushing to tell your mom or Luke about us."
"First of all, I don't tell my mom anything. She doesn't even know where I live. Second of all, he knows." Jess snapped back.
"Luke knows? How long has he known?" Rory demanded, standing back up and looking at him in shock.
"Since the day we got back together or whatever. He called. I told him." Jess said, not mentioning that it had been an accident that he found out.
"Oh." Rory said. "Will he?"
Jess cut her off. "He won't tell your mom. He thinks you'll do it. I thought you would too."
"I will." Rory said, again sitting back down. She leaned against him and let him wrap an arm around her. "I will. I promise."
The two sat in a comfortable silence for a while, wrapped up in each other and enjoying the mellow moment. It didn't last long though, before Rory shoved at Jess's shoulder and said, "Nice try!"
"What?" Jess demanded innocently.
"You don't want to sleep with me!" She exclaimed with tears in her eyes. "You pushed me away."
"God, Rory. I do too want to sleep with you. A lot. For a very long time. So much that I probably couldn't stand up if I wanted to right now. But, it's…just not right yet." Jess said, looking uncomfortable.
"Is this because I slept with Dean?" Rory demanded, annoyed.
Jess's face took on a look of disgust. "Must you speak of it?" He groaned, falling backwards and staring at the ceiling.
"It is because I slept with Dean. It's not something I can take back, Jess." Rory said softly, biting on her lip.
"Would you?" Jess asked, propping himself up on his elbows and staring intently at her.
"Would I what?"
"If you could take it back, would you?" Jess demanded.
"No." Rory said honestly. As Jess's face fell a little, she added, "If I could take anything back, I'd take back not going with you when you asked."
"When did you become such a smooth talker?" Jess demanded, sliding over to Rory and taking her face in his hands.
"I told you." Rory said, "I'm not seventeen anymore."
Jess gave her a quick kiss and said, "I should really go."
Rory frowned, but nodded. "Alright." They kissed again, longer this time. Again, it was Jess who pulled away.
"Call me tomorrow?" Rory asked, walking him over to the door.
"I will." Jess promised. He kissed her once more, before opening the door, leaving, and closing it behind him.
Rory looked at the closed door and shook her head, with a very odd feeling in her stomach. "What's happening?" She asked herself. "What am I doing?"
