"Flirt with Disaster" by Romantique
Chapter Two – Double Blind
"Would you just stand still?" Lorelai found Luke stepping toward her, closer, closer...and she shut her eyes as his lips met hers.
Wow. This was Luke. And he was kissing her. And it didn't feel weird or wrong. Far from it. It felt different and exciting and absolutely perfect all at once. Wait...this is Luke...Luke who makes my coffee and food...and I'm kissing him, and the universe as I know it is not unraveling...this is...wait...
Lorelai pulled away to look at Luke. He was silent as he looked at her as if he was expecting her to say something, but she had no words. All she could think to do was kiss him again...
As she leaned in toward him, Luke stepped back in surprise. "What are you doing?"
Lorelai smiled. "Would you just stand still?" If you're going to take my line, I'll take yours...Lorelai took Luke's face in her hands and they kissed again. Oh my God, there it is...this is real... Lorelai couldn't believe what was happening and how she was feeling...the second kiss was even better than the first.
Whoa, hold on a second...Lorelai pulled back slightly as she cursed herself silently for feeling so shy and awkward, unable to meet his gaze or just plain say anything. This is Luke...what is my problem? She slowly raised her eyes to meet his, and saw that they were filled with so much longing and desire. Okay, I don't have a problem with this... As they leaned in to kiss again, she stared at his lips. She hadn't ever really looked at them in this way before. They were so soft and full and...
"Aaaaaaaahhhhhh! Aaaaaahhhh!"
All of a sudden, Kirk in his birthday suit with a pillow thankfully covering his nether regions scampered down the stairs. Lorelai staggered back toward the doorframe, and was surprised to see that Luke didn't look quite as astonished as she felt. The hell?
"I'll be right back. I'll explain later..."
Lorelai clutched the doorframe, as she realized that her legs could barely keep her upright. She opened her mouth to say something, but had no words, and it was too late anyway. She watched Luke run after Kirk past the barn toward the duck pond and laughed.
Hmm, should I be insulted that at the sight of naked Kirk, Luke drops me and runs after him? Or did I imagine a naked Kirk, and Luke was actually just running scared from me? Should I be concerned? Well, he did say he'd explain later...that's a good sign. Lorelai wished there was someone there she could share her thoughts with, but at the same time, she was glad to be alone for once. All day long she had been surrounded by employees and guests.
Lorelai felt her cheeks and they were still flushed. She buried her face in her hands, shaking her head in disbelief as she replayed the kisses in her head again and again and...
"Lorelai?" Michel almost collided into her on the porch. "Where is the first aid kit? I am injured!"
"Michel? What is it?" Lorelai was shaken from her reverie as she turned around.
"I have a cut on my hand," said Michel as he held up said hand and pouted not unlike a two-year-old.
Lorelai tried not to roll her eyes as she took the hand and examined it. "What happened?"
"I found a broken wine bottle on the floor, and as I tried to pick up all the pieces, this idiot came up behind me. He scared me and I cut my hand."
"Lorelai, I'm sorry, it's my fault. But I didn't mean to scare him," said Jason, as he came up behind Michel.
Lorelai was less than thrilled to see him still at the Dragonfly. What, my evil death stare didn't scare him away? I must be losing my touch.
"I also shouldn't have left that wine bottle there," he added.
Nah. He's just a jackass. Lorelai walked past him without a word, as she dragged Michel to the kitchen. "I think there's a first aid kit somewhere here."
Jason followed them into the kitchen. "Can I help?"
"No," said Lorelai and Michel together. They looked at each other and smiled.
Lorelai opened a drawer. "Here it is." She opened the plastic box. "Oh no, it's out of band-aids. But wait, there's one antiseptic wipe left. Sookie must have used up the whole kit already."
"What am I going to do? Do you think I will need stitches?" Michel was beginning to sound hysterical.
"Simmer down, Michel," said Lorelai, as she took a closer look at his wound. "I think you'll live, but let me grab some band-aids at home. But wait, have you seen Rory?"
"No." He sounded a little resentful at the subject being changed from him to Rory.
"Hmm, maybe she's still at the house getting CDs...but no, that was ages ago. Anyway, I need to find my camera...can't believe I forgot that."
"Why do you need a camera? Are you going to take a picture of my wound?"
Lorelai laughed. "Uh, no, Michel. I don't think workers' comp is going to be necessary. Let's just say there've been some Kodak moments that I wish I could've captured. Who knows what else will happen tonight? Just sit tight, okay, and I'll be right back. Clean that up and I'll get you all bandaged up when I get back." She handed him the wipe.
Jason cleared his throat. "Lorelai, I can go to the drugstore and –"
"No, Jason," interrupted Lorelai. "The best thing you can do right now is leave. Haven't you caused enough drama tonight?"
"All I want is a chance to talk to you." Jason took her hand, but Lorelai snatched it right out.
Lorelai rolled her eyes and exhaled in disgust. "Have you not heard what I've been telling you? What do I have to do to make you understand? There is no 'cooling off period.'" Lorelai used very aggressive air quotes. "It's over between us. Finished. What more is there to say?"
"I happen to have a lot to say. I've been thinking..."
"No, no, no. That was a rhetorical question, and not only do I have no time to chat right now, I have no desire to do so right now. Go home, Jason, please." Lorelai turned around to leave, and to her relief, it didn't look like Jason was following her.
After she grabbed her purse and keys from the office, she walked out the front entrance and found Jason there.
"Un-fucking-believable."
"Lorelai, let me come with you and we can talk on the way to your house."
Lorelai threw her purse down on the ground in anger. "That's it. I've tried to be nice and civil to you, Jason, and yet, you are still acting like a complete asshole."
"Lorelai..."
She glared at him, her hands in fists. "Did you really think you could just come here and pretend that nothing's changed between us, that we could just pick up where we left off? That's not the way this works. We broke up, okay? This is over – God, how many times do I have to say that to you? If you can't accept that, that's your problem."
"My problem? I am here because I cannot believe that you leaving me in that coffee shop was the way you wanted to end our relationship."
"Oh, I see...you didn't approve of the venue I chose," replied Lorelai, crossing her arms. "Would you have preferred a candlelit dinner or maybe at the top of a Ferris wheel? Oh wait, what about the zoo? In front of the monkey house? Oh, yes, that would have been much more appropriate."
Jason shook his head. "You're missing my point."
"You had one?"
"Well, if you'd let me speak – Lorelai, just tell me one thing, okay? Did you break up with me because you think I broke up your parents?"
"Oh, you wish it could have been that simple–"
"I know it wasn't that simple. That's why I'm here. Tell me what is really going on here," said Jason.
Lorelai stared at him. Something specific was obviously on his mind. "What are you trying to say, Jason?"
"You know who I'm talking about."
"Who?"
"I'm not blind...I saw the way you were looking at him."
"What are you talking about?"
"The diner guy. Luke."
"Luke?!" Lorelai didn't see this coming at all. Oh God...was he watching us earlier?
"A-ha! I knew there was someone else."
"What?" Lorelai hated herself for blushing at the thought of Luke and Jason talking and she remembered Luke had mentioned this as well. My ears should have been burning...what the hell did they talk about?
"I'm surprised he didn't challenge me to a duel or something."
"What did you say to him?"
"I told him we were still dating."
"So you lied."
"I just wanted to see his reaction, and let me tell you, he almost convinced me that he didn't care about us dating. But when he stopped making eye contact with me, I knew."
"Knew what?"
"I knew you had got under his skin, just like you got under mine." Jason drew closer to Lorelai. "So, how long have you been cheating on me?"
Lorelai looked at him, disgusted. "I never cheated on you."
"Don't lie to me. It's obvious that you've been carrying on with him for some time."
Lorelai hardly knew what to say as she felt the anger reddening her cheeks. "This is unbelievable. Luke and I have been friends for a long time..."
"Friends, huh? Friends with benefits?"
Lorelai slapped him hard. "Fuck you, Jason. You know nothing about Luke, and you obviously know nothing about me."
Jason looked at her in shock, rubbing his cheek. "That hurt!"
"Good." Lorelai picked up her purse. "You know what? I honestly don't care what you think. What did you want to hear, that Luke and I have been sleeping together for months behind your back?! Is that going to make you feel better, knowing that it's my fault that we broke up? That it's not because you are a complete and utter moron? Believe what you want, Jason. Goodbye."
"Lorelai..."
Lorelai strode past him and ran to her Jeep. As she drove off, she bit her lip and despite refusing to cry over Jason, she wiped a few stray tears from her cheek. God, I hate this.
Lorelai couldn't believe that Jason would bring Luke into all this. Luke had nothing to do with their breakup. Everything else in her life seemed to be spinning out of control except for him.
I wish I could have seen this coming...why didn't I? Lorelai couldn't help but smile a little at the thought of slapping Jason. It felt good, and after all, he had provoked her.
As Lorelai approached the town square, she saw Luke still chasing after Kirk, who had apparently abandoned his pillow. She averted her eyes at the sight.
"Hey, Luke!" Lorelai slowed down and honked her horn.
"Aww...why'd you do that? I think....he's running...even faster now." Luke stopped, hands on hips, to catch his breath.
"Okay, you have to explain now what is going on with Kirk," said Lorelai as she, along with Luke, stared into the distance where they saw Kirk run into Miss Patty's studio. "Why are you chasing him all around town? Wait a second...am I getting punk'd? Where are the cameras?"
"Why...would you...get punk'd? You're not...a celebrity."
Lorelai stared at him in amazement, totally expecting him not to get what she was talking about. "Luke, you watch MTV?"
"No," replied Luke. "But Lane does, and she talks about it sometimes."
"Okay. If I'm not getting punk'd, maybe it's you."
"I'm not a celebrity either."
"Oh yeah." Lorelai grinned. "Okay, I'm sorry...what were we talking about? Oh, yeah. Naked Kirk?"
"He has these, uh, night terrors. He asked me to make sure he didn't hurt Lulu – or I guess anyone else for that matter."
"'Night terrors'? Is it like sleepwalking?"
"I don't know. I guess it's similar, but with a whole lot more panic and paranoia." Luke sighed and looked over at Miss Patty's. He then looked back at Lorelai in her Jeep, and for a moment their gazes connected.
Lorelai saw him smile slightly and she knew exactly what he was thinking of, because she was thinking of the same thing. Less than an hour ago, we – Lorelai Gilmore and Luke Danes – were sucking face in front of the Dragonfly... She smiled back at him.
Luke broke the silence by clearing his throat. "Hey, you headed home?"
"Oh, yeah. I needed to get some band-aids...and a camera of course. No one is ever going to believe our stories of tonight if we don't have any proof."
"Band-aids? Did someone get hurt?"
"Michel. But no worries, he just got a cut. Our first aid kit was just completely out of supplies, and I happen to have plenty of band-aids at home. Hey, do you need some help with Kirk?"
Suddenly, they heard a scream and a crash come from the dance studio.
"Oh, shit. No, you go ahead and get those band-aids. I'd better get Kirk out of there before he destroys any other property. Who knows, he might need some of those band-aids later."
"You're lucky he didn't wander into your diner."
"He's lucky I keep it locked." Luke gave her an exasperated smile that was even more endearing than the slight smile from moments ago, and Lorelai could feel butterflies in her stomach. Hmm...that's different. "I'll see you later."
"Yeah, see you later, Luke. Call me if you need help – " Lorelai watched him run over to the dance studio before she drove away to her house.
As she pulled into the driveway, Lorelai saw that the light in Rory's window was on. Her heart was now light as all thoughts of that last encounter with Jason were replaced with memories of kissing Luke. She couldn't wait to tell about everything that was going on. She couldn't believe she was missing out on all the drama. Surely she couldn't have been at the house all this time?
Lorelai thought of just going to Rory's room to fill her in on the news, but didn't want to forget the items she was bringing back to the Dragonfly. "Rory! Oh my God, you're missing everything." She ran up the stairs, still continuing to speak in a loud and giddy way. "Oh, things are happening...big things, wow things. I have so much to tell you." As she grabbed a box of band-aids, she was a little puzzled that Rory hadn't said a word in response yet. She went downstairs.
Maybe I'm just talking to myself and she left the light in her room on. "Let me just open with this little tidbit: Kirk running naked through the square. Of course, with all my careful planning and preparation, I forgot to bring band-aids and a camera. I have got to learn that always without fail, Kirk equals camera." Okay, is Rory even here? Lorelai then looked toward the kitchen and saw Rory standing there, looking stunned.
"Hey what's going on?" asked Lorelai with a smile. Was she ignoring me? What...
When Lorelai saw Dean walk into the kitchen behind Rory, it seemed like all the blood in her body rushed into her head, making her momentarily slightly deaf, as if she were submerged into a tank of water. Her smile quickly faded. It looks like you have something to tell me too...
As she looked at Rory, Lorelai knew immediately just what had happened. She tried to take a deep breath and found she had trouble breathing properly. She put down the band-aids and camera, and barely heard Dean take his leave as he dashed out of the kitchen. Rory spoke about Dean coming over to borrow something. You cannot seriously believe that I'm buying this.
Lorelai walked into the kitchen and glanced at the state of her room, noticing the unkempt bed. Did they not even try to make the bed? I guess I should be thankful I went upstairs first. They must have appreciated my loud entrance...
Lorelai inhaled deeply and sighed, determined not to lose her temper, and looked straight into Rory's eyes. "So...what'd he borrow?"