Happy Birthday Shout out to Poetic Angelica

Rory threw her foot onto the break one last time before smiling sheeplishly at Tristan. Hereturned it withan amused glare. "If you weren't so hot Miss Rory Gilmore, I would have thrown you into the water trap after me."

"Don't be mad Tris." She affected the sweetest voice she had, "I only did it so we could see you strip the shirt."

Tristan looked down ruefully at his soggy shirt. "I knew there had to be a master plan."

Rory threw off her facade and smirked to herself. She had done a quick hairpin turn, throwing Tristan into the water trap. She had sat there, surprised at herself for a) the plan working and b) she'd had the nerve the pull it off. She had watched him flounder in the shallow water of the pool and stare at her in amazement.

"You did that on purpose!" He had cried. It was half accusation and half sheer admiration.

"I did not." She had lied. "You just weren't holding on."

Rory smiled to herself.

Diane hurried out of her car over to their's. "Goodness Tristan, we certainly had an adventure with that spill." She bubbled.

"I like living on the edge, Diane." He winked and walked towards the country club.

"Wow." Diane looked wide-eyed at Rory. "You're a goner for that move."

Rory opened her mouth to express the fact she didn't care, and that being eliminated was her plan...but cut herself off.

She realized with a start that she didn't want to go.

Quickly she glanced at the camera hovering over them and wiped the puddle where Tristan had been sitting off the seat next to her. "I guess we'll have to see."

Rory jogged up the cobblestone path towards the mansion of a country club. Tristan had done golf first. How he'd spend a few hours at the spa woth group 2, and then the pool with group 3.

"Miss Gilmore, you're to change into your suit and go to the lower pool to wait for Tristan to finish." A man with an earpiece instructed.

Rory nodded slightly and moved to change into the two piece blue halter top that ABC had provided. They had refused to let her have a one piece. We know what keeps men watching this show.

Rory's POV

I swam into the warmed over water of the pool. It wasn't like an almost slimy public pool warmed over, it was expensive. Everything about this place screamed the elite nature of Rory's past at Chilton or seeing Hartford. There was a bar at one end of the pool, a swim in bar. Wow, that's rich. Rory swam in and sat on the stools that were secured in the water.

It was a nice comfortable feeling, being half in the water, and leaning over the marble counter of a bar, being baked in the sun. Even the sun felt nicer here.

"What can I get you? You're with ABC right? It's on the house for you." The bartender was cleaning a tall glass.

"I just threw the lead guy into a water trap." I smiled a little.

"Does that mean you want liquor?" He grinned a little.

"Um, what can you make?"

"This is a country club, miss, I can make anything."

"Root beer float?"

"That'd be perfect." He reached into a small steel cooler for a tub of vanilla ice cream and put a generous amount into a tall expensive, fancy looking glass.

Iglanced over where the other girls had finally finished changing and were shimmying their way into the glassy water. Their revealing bikinis suddenly made me feel prudish instead of naked.

I'm not even right for Tristan. I "accidently" threw him in thewater trapfor my own personal revenge, yet now I want to stay

Tristan glanced uncertainly at the girls who were also getting massages. The golf, the pool, those were things guys and girls could do. But a spa group? Please.

"Do you do this a lot?" Kristen, supported her face in her hands.

"I'm filthy rich. I got nothin' better to do." He replied simply.

"I ride horses, are you any good at that?" Janette asked.

"I'm good at just about anything expensive." Tristan shook some hair back.

"Polo?" Hannah asked suddenly.

"Yeah, I only watch that. Place bets." Tristan looked at the woman massaging his back. "Little lower please?"

"So what made you want to be on this show?" Kristen asked.

"Actually my mom signed me up." Rory admitted to Frenchie, who'd just asked her why she wanted to be on the show.

"Really?" Frenchie's huge blue eyes widened. "What do you think of Tristan."

"Oh-he's all right."

Rory lifted herself out of the hottub to get another drink from the bar.

Short chappy