A/N: I have never finished a multi part GG fic in my life, but this one IS getting finished…even if it is at a slightly slower pace. ;) There will most likely be one final chapter after this one, unless my muse goes crazy (as it sometimes does) in which case there may be two. Thanks to those of you who read and review, even though it's been a while. It always makes my day :D
Chapter 6: Distractions
Sunlight glowed behind Lorelai's closed lids, causing her to stir slightly. A heavy arm was draped across her stomach, fingers splayed across the strip of bare skin peeking out from under her shirt. She made to move it when realization hit that it wasn't attached; it wasn't her arm. What? She thought groggily as she cracked her eyes open slightly, taking in the vision before her. She realized where she was after catching sight of a familiar blue baseball cap hanging from the chair by the desk on the other side of the room, but now she had to figure out exactly which body parts were hers in the tangled mess that was the bed she had been sleeping in. She had deduced that the large hand wrapped around her tightly was indeed Luke's, and she could feel more than two legs occupying the area beneath her waist. How the heck did they end up in this position? She wasn't sure that she minded it so much though…
A quick flick of her eyes to the clock on the nightstand revealed it to be only seven o'clock in the morning, much too early for Lorelai's taste. So she let her eyes slip shut and her head rest back on her pillow, snuggling into Luke's embrace. Now this wasn't bad at all.
As she settled herself again, Luke's hand tightened around her, pulling her much closer to his body, and causing his fingers to slip up the front of Lorelai's shirt a little bit higher. Sighing to herself with a tiny grin on her face, Lorelai fell back into a peaceful slumber with thoughts of Luke's hands running around in her head.
Luke and Lorelai both woke abruptly some small amount of time later when Luke's bedroom door was flung open loudly. "Luke you're going to be late!" Liz's voice boomed into the semi-dark room. She flicked on the light switch and stopped dead in her tracks at what she saw in front of her—Luke and Lorelai thoroughly tangled in each other's embraces, both with groggy, guilty looks on their faces. Liz backed toward the door with a grin turning up her lips. "I didn't realize you were here Lorelai," she said quietly, trying not to laugh. She looked to Luke, "But you're still going to be late to open the booth if you don't get up!" She hobbled her way out the door then, leaving it open a crack, and Luke and Lorelai red in the face with embarrassment.
Luke was the first one to move, or at least he was the first one to try. It was quite a bit more difficult than he had anticipated, and he soon found himself rolling off the side of the bed, smacking hard onto the wood floor. Lorelai's head peeked over the edge of the mattress a moment later, a suppressed grin gracing her features. "You alright there cowboy?"
Luke quickly stood up, his face even redder than before. Did she just call him cowboy? "Yes, I'm fine." He brushed his clothes off, doing anything so he didn't have to look her in the eyes, even though she was clearly staring.
"If you say so…"
"I'm just going to…uh…" Luke pointed toward the bathroom.
"Shower?" Lorelai finished for him.
Luke nodded dumbly, still pointing in the direction of the bathroom. Lorelai admired him from behind as he shut the door, remembering the feeling of his arms wrapped around her tightly.
What the hell is wrong with me? Luke thought angrily to himself as he leaned back against the bathroom door. Waking up next to Lorelai with her hair in his face, her legs tangled up in his, and her skin bared so innocently for him to see had sure taken a toll on him so early in the morning. He had turned into some kind of stuttering teenager. Shaking his head to get a grip on himself, he turned the water in the shower all the way to hot, then thought better of it and switched it to cold. This is going to be a long day.
A few hours later Luke and Lorelai stood behind Liz's booth at the fair, rearranging and straightening jewelry, sneaking peeks at each other every couple of minutes. They were both a little shy after waking up as they did, but Lorelai was feeling exceptionally flirty and her attitude was starting to rub off on Luke. "Hey Luke, can you pass me that earring stand over there?" Lorelai asked as she tried not to drop the pile of earrings she was holding in one hand.
"Sure," he grabbed it up carefully and passed it to her, making sure their fingers touched briefly. Lorelai shivered at the contact, and set the pile of earrings down next to the stand for fear that she would drop them.
"Um Luke," she started, but was interrupted by a loud cheery voice yelling in their direction.
"Hey guys!" Liz yelled over a crowd of tourists.
"Liz, what are you doing here?" Luke asked as he walked toward her, grabbing for her arm as she limped slightly.
Liz's smile faded for a second, and then she laughed. "I couldn't stay in that house one more second; I think I would have socked TJ right in the nose!"
"And I'm sure he would have deserved it," Luke mumbled under his breath as he helped Liz to one of the two chairs they had set up in the back.
"Thanks for all the help, Luke. Isn't he a great guy Lorelai? Always taking care of everyone." Liz's eyes sparkled up at Luke, her admiration for her big brother clearly evident on her face.
"He's the greatest," Lorelai said sincerely as she and Luke locked eyes for a second. Luke was blushing.
"Okay well enough of that," he quickly changed the subject.
Liz caught the look they shared, and smiled to herself. It's about time. "Hey, why don't you guys go grab some lunch? I can hold down the fort for a little while."
Lorelai jumped on that opportunity, "Yeah Luke I'm starving, let's go grab some food."
"How are you always starving? You're like a bottomless pit."
"It's a talent I guess, kind of like tying the stem of a cherry into a knot with your tongue."
"What? You can tie the stem of a cherry into a knot with your tongue?"
She nodded, "Impressed?"
"What else can you do with your tongue?" Luke stopped short after the words had come out of his mouth. That was SO dirty.
"Wouldn't you like to know," she said flippantly as she grabbed his hand and led him in the direction of the food stands.
They both got one of the giant turkey legs to munch on, and a soda to share as they found a shady spot under a tree that was hidden from the crowds. They leaned back against the trunk comfortably, shoulder to shoulder as they ate. "So how much longer do you think Liz and TJ are going to need you here?" Lorelai asked, putting her trash in a little pile off to her right in the grass.
Luke did the same. "Hopefully they'll be okay to run the booth by themselves soon enough. Liz seems to be getting better quicker than TJ, but TJ's healing abilities don't give me much hope that he'll ever recover to a 'normal' state. Although 'return' implies that he once was at a normal state, which I'm still not sure about."
Lorelai laughed as she turned a little so her back was now leaning against Luke's shoulder instead of the tree trunk. He moved his arm to a more comfortable position, around Lorelai's side, as she settled herself in the crook between his arm and his chest. Her hand grabbed for his lightly as she entwined their fingers together. She really liked the way that looked. Luke dropped a kiss on the top of her head, and Lorelai was grinning like mad. "Hey Luke?" she said softly, turning her face up toward his.
"Yeah?" he whispered back, leaning in until their lips were a breath apart.
"Kiss me?" That was all he needed to hear. Their lips brushed lightly sending mini shockwaves all the way to the tips of Lorelai's toes. He was being so gentle, it was driving her mad; she couldn't get enough. Just as Luke's tongue slipped out to taste her lips, Lorelai heard a loud ringing noise from somewhere off to her right.
Luke pulled back, "Lorelai, isn't that your cell phone?"
Lorelai's eyes opened slowly, they had become slightly glazed over. "Damn cell phones," she mumbled hoarsely as she gave Luke one last lingering kiss and started rummaging through her purse. Finally finding the little phone all the way at the bottom, she sighed and flipped it open. "Hello?"
"Hey mom!" came Rory's voice from the receiver.
"Hey hon! How're you doing?" Lorelai leaned back against Luke's chest again, and he kissed her cheek softly as he wrapped his arm around her side again.
"I'm having a tiny dilemma actually, that's why I called."
"Is everything okay?"
"Yeah, everything's fine, I just wanted your advice on what to wear to Friday night dinner tonight: the blue dress with sparkly neckline or the flowery pink and cream colored one?"
"Oh my God," Lorelai suddenly blurted out as she stood up quickly, almost causing Luke to topple over.
"Mom are you okay?" Rory asked as Luke gave Lorelai a strange look.
Lorelai's hand went to her forehead and she started pacing back and forth, "Yeah Rory I'm fine, it's nothing. I would go with the blue dress for tonight thought."
"Okay that's what I was leaning toward too. Are you sure you're okay?"
"Yes, yes I'm fine. In fact, I'm super! But I do have to go, so I'll see you at dinner tonight okay?"
"Okay, bye mom."
Lorelai snapped her phone shut and threw it at her purse. "What's the matter?" Luke asked as he stood up next to her, placing his hand on the small of her back comfortingly.
"It's Friday Luke!" she practically yelled as she stooped down to pick up her purse and her trash. He just stared at her blankly, obviously not realizing the significance of Fridays in the Gilmore world. "Friday night dinner…"
"Oh!"
"And it's already two o'clock! I'm so going to be late, and 'late' is not a word Emily Gilmore likes to hear. I think it's right up there with 'pregnant', although I haven't got confirmation on that one."
"Lorelai calm down, you'll get there on time. Let's just hurry and get out to the truck and I'll drive you to get your stuff."
Lorelai nodded, giving Luke an apologetic smile. "Okay, thanks."
Ten minutes later, Luke was carrying Lorelai's duffle bag out to the Jeep with her trailing worriedly behind him. He opened the driver side door, throwing the bag in the back seat, and moving to the side so she could hop in. "Please do not drive like a maniac to try and get there on time. I don't want to have to come looking for you when you don't show up to dinner because you crashed your car."
"I'll be careful, I swear." She shoved the key into the ignition, and Luke slammed the door shut for her, giving her a look. "What, you don't believe me?"
"Nah, I believe you."
"Good." Lorelai poked her head out the window, "Kiss for the road?"
"Absolutely," Luke leaned in, giving her a quick peck.
"How about one to last me through dinner?" Luke leaned in again, slipping his hand behind her head as he kissed her deeply. "I think you may have to just climb on in here to give me enough to last me through dinner."
Luke kissed her one last time, "Don't tempt me." He stepped back away from her Jeep as she gave him a little wave and pulled quickly out of the driveway. He stood watching her until the road swallowed her up and he had to go back to the fair.
Several hours later Lorelai had her foot pressed as far down on the gas pedal as it would go, trying in vain to make it to the Gilmore house before 6:30. She was quickly loosing hope, as it was already 6:25 and she had at least a half hour to go. "Gah!" she yelled frustratingly as she smacked the steering wheel. Her mother was going to be furious, and she didn't even have a good excuse. She could just picture the scene now. Hey mom, I was just hanging out with Luke in Maine, having the best time when I remembered about my ball and chain aka Friday night dinner. So that's why I'm late, there wasn't a dire emergency or anything…I was just hanging with Luke, kissing Luke… Lorelai's mind started wandering at the memory of kissing Luke under that tree. She knew the only way she was going to avoid a whole lecture about how irresponsible she was, and how she was wasting her time with 'that diner man' was if she lied. It's not like I haven't done it before. So now all she had to do was come up with something plausible. Think Lorelai think! She frantically looked around her for anything to spark a little lie in her mind, but all she saw was cars. Tons and tons of cars. That's it! Traffic! Ha, I am brilliant.
So Lorelai pulled up into her mother's driveway (still dressed in the clothes she had put on that morning), keeping her little lie in the front of her brain. She rang the bell like she always did, and stood impatiently on the front stoop until an unfamiliar maid ushered her inside.
"Mom, is that you?" Rory yelled from the dining room. Oh fantastic, they've already started dinner.
Lorelai could hear a chair being moved, and then Emily whispering loudly "Do not get up young lady. She'll find her way in here on her own, although it may take her a while judging from past experience."
Taking a deep breath, Lorelai walked into the dining room and took her normal seat at the table. "Sorry I'm late mom, bad traffic tonight."
"Bad traffic, really? Funny Rory didn't hit any traffic."
"Uh well, I guess she just missed it. Good thing too or we both would have been late, leaving you and dad to do…whatever it is you do when you're alone." Lorelai shook her head slightly at the mental picture she had just conjured as the maid set down a plate full of food in front of her. "Thank you."
"Rory, didn't you say that you got here abnormally fast tonight because the roads were deserted?"
Rory looked uncomfortable. "Um yeah grandma, but there were still a lot of other cars, and mom had a little further to drive than I did."
"Wow Lorelai, you've got her lying for you when she doesn't even know what the truth is."
"Mom, she's not lying for me. There was traffic okay? Not a big deal, let's just eat our dinner."
"And I suppose you chose that wonderful outfit weeks in advance."
Lorelai just glared and popped a potato in her mouth, pretending not to answer because her mouth was full. The rest of the meal was eaten in silence, which Lorelai really didn't mind. It was so much better than getting lectured the entire time, of that she was sure.
At around 8:15 Rory and Lorelai were finally released from dinner hell, although with cold goodbyes. "So why were you really late?" Rory asked after the door was shut and Emily was out of earshot.
Lorelai walked over to Rory's car, leaning against a sparkly blue door. "I was with Luke," she said grinning.
Rory's mouth made a surprised 'o' as she took in the complete transformation of her mother's expression from annoyance to excitement. "But Luke's still in Maine right?" Lorelai nodded with a huge smile on her face. "You were late because you were driving here from Maine?"
"That I was."
"Anything else you'd like to add to that story?"
"Tons, but it's not a driveway kind of story." Lorelai paused to think for a second, "Hey, you have anywhere else to be tonight?"
"Nope, nowhere I can think of. Why?"
"Do you want to come home and blab about boys with your mommy?" Lorelai batted her eyelashes in Rory's direction.
"Sounds like a plan! Meet you there?"
"Race ya! No wait, scratch that. Luke says I shouldn't drive like a maniac."
"Oh he did, did he? Since when do you do everything that Luke says?"
"I don't do everything that Luke says; I just don't want to crash and leave him in this world all lonely without me. It's only the nice thing to do."
"Well okay, as long as you have a good reason."
Lorelai opened the door to the Jeep and slid inside. "Let's get out of here before grandma decides to start yelling at me!"
Rory laughed, "Okay! See you at home mom."
They both drove off down the driveway headed in the direction of Stars Hollow wearing matching smiles.