Part 9

"Good morning, babe." Lorelai announced as Rory shuffled out of her room the next morning.

Rory froze mid-yawn, her eyes widening. "You're perky."

"You look surprised. Why?"

"You're not a morning person," Rory shrugged.

"No, I mean, you looked surprised that I was sitting here. Did you hope that I would have gotten eaten by a pack of wolves on my way home last night or something?" She pressed.

"I don't know. You went out with Luke last night, I wasn't sure you'd be here or not."

Lorelai put on her pouty face. "Ouch. That hurt. And to think I was disappointed because you were asleep when I got back last night. Guess you won't get to hear about my evening."

Rory sank down at the table, her mouth agape. "No, no, please tell me. I'm sorry about before, that was rude."

Lorelai squeezed her hand. "Forgiven. Let me just say that I don't know why it took me so long to figure out that Luke is the best guy ever."

Rory smiled, but then grew serious. "Remember no gory details."

Lorelai rolled her eyes. "We just kissed."

"Mom!" Rory covered her face with her hands.

"What? I can't tell you when I kiss a guy now?"

"No, but it's…Luke. I see him everyday."

"Oh geez, hon. I didn't even—does it really bother you?" She bit her lip.

"No, I'm sorry," Rory breathed. "I'm just glad you're happy. And I'm glad it's with Luke. It'll just take some getting used to, I guess."

"Well, you had to get used to Max too."

"Yeah." Rory looked like she wanted to say something else, but Lorelai started talking about her date again, so she just nodded along.

Things were going sort of backwards for her and Luke, Lorelai thought idly as she puttered around the inn: sorting mail, fielding phone calls and making reservations. Not in a bad way, but they had started off so intimate—probably because of the years' worth of pent up attraction—and then had almost started over: going out on a "first date" and seeing each other for a movie and dinner since then. She guessed it didn't matter because Lord knows she had never done anything traditionally, but Lorelai made a mental note to schedule some quality time with Luke in the storage room that evening.

On Saturday, Lorelai glanced at the clock and practically flew out of the inn. She should have been home ten minutes ago. Sure enough, when she pulled into her driveway, Luke was sitting on the steps.

"Sorry!" She called as she got out of the car. "I lost track of time."

"It's fine," he brushed it off, giving her a hug as she reached the edge of the porch.

"God, I'm exhausted." Lorelai whined as she walked up the steps.

"Long day at the inn?" He asked as she pushed open the door and let him inside.

"It was endless," she moaned, taking off her coat and sinking down on the couch next to Luke, tucking her feet under his legs. "I had forgotten there were two best friends coming in to make plans for their double wedding," she rolled her eyes. "And that meant dealing with two mothers, who fretted over every little thing and asked a million questions. Slap me if I'm that way when Rory gets married."

"What makes you so sure I'll be around then?" Luke quirked up an eyebrow. Lorelai gave him a look that read not to mess with her, but she didn't have her usual immediate comeback ready. "Uh huh," he nodded, smirking.

"Smartass," she said bitterly, but she was smiling. "Want something to drink? I'll go get it. I bought beer."

"No, I'll get it. You stay." Luke walked into the kitchen. "Hey, you want a beer too, right?" He yelled.

"Bring me the whole case." She joked, slipping off her shoes and letting her hair down from the clip on top of her head. "I'm so sorry I told you to come over. I'm afraid I'm not going to be much fun," she sighed as he sat back down.

"It's okay, Lorelai, you don't have to apologize." He smiled slightly at her, his hand finding her knee.

"Why are you so sweet to me?" She murmured, kissing him gently.

Luke didn't respond, he just kissed her again, pulling back to study her face, his fingers tracing the curve of her cheek. "I'm just glad I get to spend time with you," he said finally. She smiled up at him, resting her neck on the back of the couch. He squeezed her knee and stood, walking over to the TV. "What movie should we watch?"

She arched an eyebrow at him. "Wow, are you sure you didn't do something bad? Normally this is suck-up-so-Lorelai-doesn't-get-mad behavior."

"No, I haven't done anything," he rolled his eyes. "I just figured a movie would be nice."

"Okay." Lorelai admired the view as he bent over, looking at the various collection of tapes and DVDs.

"Geez, would it kill you to organize this? Say Something is over by An American in Paris and Pulp Fiction is mixed in with a bunch of chick flicks."

Lorelai laughed at that. "Well I'll put it on my to-do list for you, since you're so concerned about genre-mixing."

"What do you feel like? What's Woman of the Year?" Luke held it out to Lorelai, who waved it away.

"Just put it in. It's good, you'll like it, I promise." Lorelai curled up on Luke's lap when he returned to the couch and as the opening credits rolled, she was already dozing off as Luke ran his fingers through her hair.

Rory returned home from her date with Dean around ten thirty, surprised to see lights on downstairs. She noticed Luke's truck parked in the driveway and was amazed that her mother had let him stay over that late, when she knew Rory would be coming home. Maybe her mother just hadn't felt the need to reinstate all the guy rules she'd had before Max. Rory was almost 18 and the rules had all been broken with Max anyway. Rory tried to convince herself that it wouldn't be weird to come in and see her mom and Luke on the couch, but she crept in anyways, trying not to be too noisy. She shot a glance towards the living room and was surprised to see both Luke and Lorelai asleep, Luke buried in between the couch cushions and her mother's body, which was sprawled out across him, their arms and legs tangled. Rory almost laughed, but muffled the sound with her scarf. She wasn't sure whether to wake them or find a blanket and tuck them in. She went back to her room, turning on her computer to see if Lane was online so she could tell her, and snuck out to the kitchen to get a glass of water. As she was shutting the refrigerator, she heard a low voice from the other room and a sort of scuffling sound. She peeked around the corner carefully and laughed outloud when she saw Luke trying to get out from behind her mother on the couch. He noticed her in the doorway to the entryway and motioned for her to come help.

"Just wake her up," she whispered. Luke shook his head, but Rory was already gently shaking her mom's shoulder.

"Rory," she murmured. "Rory!" She jumped up, elbowing Luke in the gut in the process.

"Umph," he groaned.

"Sorry," she apologized, grimacing. He waved her off and she escorted Rory back into the kitchen. "Is this okay? I'm sorry, I would have told him to go, but we both…"

"Fell asleep, I saw. It's fine, mom." Lorelai looked unsure. "Really. You're both adults, I'm the teenager, it's not my place to dictate what you and Luke should or shouldn't be doing." She shook her head. "Forget I said that. But you were so cute, all curled up together, I wasn't going to bother you."

Rory thought she saw a tint of blush rise in her mom's cheeks, but Lorelai glanced down then, stepping towards the fridge. "Thank you for being so great," she half hugged Rory as she headed back to the living room with two bottles of water. Rory walked back into her room, forgetting about Lane and the computer, simply listening to the sounds of her mom and Luke out in the living room, before dozing off herself.

Things had been going beautifully. She and Luke stole evenings away when they could, and they'd even all started having dessert together when the girls came back from Friday night dinners in Hartford (well, Lorelai and Rory had dessert, Luke just sat at their table and listened to them talk.) Lorelai should have known that all these things were signs that something was going to blow up in her face. But it never happened like she expected it to.

One Saturday evening, Rory and Dean were out, so Luke had agreed to come over and make dinner. She and Luke were laughing in the kitchen about something when she heard a knock on the door. She expected to see Rory, upset about a fight with Dean, or Babette being nosy, but not…"Oh my God, Max."

"I think we need to talk."

Lorelai glanced down the hall nervously. "Now? Now is not the best time. I--"

"Lorelai?" Luke called from the kitchen. "Is someone here-" He stopped dead in his tracks as Luke saw Max at the doorway. It made Lorelai's stomach clench as she watched his face drop. "Oh. I should have known."

"Luke, please, just wait. I--" She put a hand on his arm and was stung when he pulled away, making his way out the door.

He paused on the porch, his fists clenched at his sides. "No, I really don't want to hear any more explanations or excuses if you don't mind. I'll just—I'll see you in the morning."

"Luke!" Lorelai shot a dirty look at Max before turning back into the house.

"Lorelai, we really need to talk," he said again, almost too calmly.

Lorelai shook her head, trying to clear it so she can handle this, but really, all she wanted to do was run after Luke. "What's there to talk about? We're getting a divorce."

"No, we're not. At least, not yet."

"What the hell are you talking about? I signed those papers months ago. If you tell me you've been holding them up, I will--"

"I didn't sign them."

"Max," Lorelai groaned. "Why not? You're the one who suggested all this in the first place!"

"I thought maybe if I was here, we could work things out. I realized I just want to be here with you, anyways."

Lorelai couldn't help it, she was losing her edge. "That's sweet, Max, but--" And then he stepped forward and he kissed her. And it made her heart soar and ache and break all over again. She realized that what she remembered about him, the way he kissed and the way he felt against her, was exactly the same. She hadn't been imagining things. There was this indescribable heat between them. But then she thought of Luke, pictured the hurt on his face when he had seen Max at the door and she let go. "No," she breathed, her hands shaking. "We can't."

"Lorelai, don't. I love you." He looked so sincere, but it was too easy.

"Agh, no." Lorelai ran a hand across her mouth, disgusted with herself.

"Yes, I do."

"I mean no, you can't do this. You can't just say I love you and expect me to forgive you. This isn't working." Lorelai insisted.

"So you won't even try? Or maybe there's another reason?"

"Besides the fact that things haven't changed, uh, no." Lorelai replied sarcastically, wanting to just sink down on the couch and call Luke.

Max frowned, pointing to the kitchen. "So Luke being here, earlier, was all just a coincidence?"

"Fine," Lorelai sighed, giving in. "Things have happened over the last couple months. There might be something more there, but believe me when I say it has nothing to do with us, with the divorce."

"Oh really? Even though you were fucking him the whole time we were married?" Lorelai knew Max could be vicious, but that hit her hard.

"What?" Lorelai hissed. "How dare you talk to me that way! Luke has nothing to do with us. Please, just get out of my house." She was close to tears.

"Our house," Max corrected.

Something broke in Lorelai then and she had to curb her urge to throw something heavy at Max's head. "Get. Out. Now." She declared through gritted teeth. Surprisingly, he did as he was told. Lorelai took a deep breath, as she sunk back against the door. She spotted her coat on the couch, so she threw it on and trudged toward the diner. It was getting dark and tears slipped down her face as she walked. She could imagine how furious Luke would be; she just hoped it was at Max and not at her.