Chapter Nine: Kittens & Rekindled Love
Jess was standing on the corner of the street scuffing his feet along the warm cement when he saw Rory's car pull up to the diner. He opened the door and got in and they drove away in the direction of Hartford. "Where to?"
"I don't know, I figured that we should just drive and talk. I'm not sure if I should get my stuff from my grandparent's house or not. I'm sure that once I tell my mother that I realized how stupid leaving college would be, she'll let me move back home. I just really hope that I haven't damaged our relationship too much."
"I'm sure that she'll understand." Jess said, trying to sound comforting. What he was really thinking about, though, is if this was the right time to tell Rory that he was going to move back in with Luke, and go to college in Connecticut. He knew that she would be happy that he finally got the means to recieve higher education and that he was actually going through with it, but he didn't know if it were the right thing to say. He didn't want her to think that he was moving back just to be around her. Sure, being able to see the woman of his dreams a lot more often would be a bonus, but it truely wasn't the basis of his decision.
"Whatcha thinking about?" Rory asked, noticing that Jess seemed to be drifting off into his own thoughts. Jess thought this was as good a time as any, he just needed to find the right words.
Rory stopped short, making them both jump. There was a kitten in the middle of the road that wouldn't move out of the way. Jess watched as Rory got out of the car and walked over to it. She picked it up, petting its head. Rory walked over to the sidewalk, seeing that there weren't any cars behind them, and placed the small, gray kitten on the ground. She started to walk away but stopped at the sight of the kitten following her. She looked at Jess and he started to shake his head, signaling for her not to bring the cat with them. But Rory gave into the kitten's sweet face and picked it up again. She walked back to the car and got in, handing the kitten to Jess.
"What are you doing?" he asked.
"I can't hold an animal and drive at the same time," Rory said, laughing.
"No, I mean, why are you bringing this thing with us."
"It's not a thing, it's a helpless kitten, how could you not love it?"
"I never thought that you were a cat lady, but I guess I was wrong."
"Shut up!" Rory said, gently smacking Jess's shoulder.
Jess looked down at the small creature and gave a disgusted look. It smelled bad and was terribly dirty. Suddenly, the kitten bit his finger and jumped up onto his shoulder, playfully clawing at his eye. "OW!" he shouted, pulling the cat off his face.
"He's just playing," Rory said, "Put him in the back seat if you don't want to hold him."
"We should name him Swan."
"Swan? What kind of name is that for a cat?"
"Nothing," Jess said, laughing to himself about how he'd never told Rory that it wasn't a football that had given him that black eye that time, it was a vicious swan.
"I think that we should call him," Rory paused and wrinkled her nose to imitate intense thought, "Jasper."
"Jasper?"
"Yeah, I think it's fitting."
I actually don't hate that. It's not too cutesy."
"Well, what can I say? I have talent."
The two drove around in silence for what seemed like forever. But it wasn't a tense silence like it had been the night before. It content, refreshing, and Jess knew that Rory felt it too. Jess snuck peeks at Rory when she was completely concentrated on the road. Tell her, he thought, There aren't anymore distractions, so go ahead and tell her the good news. She'll be happy. I hope.
He opened his mouth to speak and then was interrupted by Rory's sudden need to strike up a conversation.
"So, I think that me going back to Yale is good, right?"
"Right."
"Okay, because I don't want to do something stupid. But I guess even wanting to drop out was stupid. It's good that I didn't tell the people at Yale that I wouldn't be coming back yet. Yes, it only happened yesterday, but still, I could have been in a rush. It was good that I wasn't." Rory's tone was rushed, she was rambling on and Jess decided later would be a more appropriate time.
"So, what about you? Where do you think you want to go to college? Once you get the money saved up I mean."
Or, maybe now. "Well, actually. I talked to Luke and he said that if I lived with him for the next couple of years, he'd pay for me to go through college."
"What? Why didn't you tell me that?"
"Well, I was going to but then, I don't know, we both got distracted."
"Jess, this is great!"
"Yeah I guess."
"No! It is. It really is." Rory paused, "So?"
"So... what?"
"What school are you going to go to?"
"Oh, I don't know. We're going to send in some applications as soon as we can get them done. Luke said he'd help me with that. Then, if not, there's always community college."
"Wow, this is.. this is so great. I'm really proud of you."
Jess blushed, relieved that Rory didn't take it the wrong way. What was he thinking anyway? He should have known that Rory would be supportive, she always was.
"Plus," Rory started, "We'll get to see more of each other." Jess looked up at her, surprised that she'd even said that. "I mean, I know that yesterday morning you were the last person I thought I would be hanging around with, and the last person to help me get through things, but, now that you're back, I've realized that I really did miss you."
"Really?"
"Yeah. I mean, I'm sorry if this is too sappy but,"
"No, not at all. I missed you too."
"Good. I'm glad I'm not alone here." Rory looked over at him and flashed him a smile. "So anyway,"
Jess looked around and realized that he'd forgotten to take the key to the apartment that Luke had put out for him earlier. "Oh crap."
"What's the matter?"
"I don't have my key to the apartment."
"So? Luke will be there to open the door for you later."
"No, he told me that he was closing the diner up early tonight so that him and your mom could go out and celebrate their engagement. He said he was going to leave at around four." Jess glanced at the car's digital clock. Ten minutes to three.
"Okay, Rory said, looking at the clock as well. We'll go back and we can go get your key, then leave."
"Alright, sounds good."
"Why don't you come in with me? I'll probably take a couple of minutes, and I could use the help finding the key because the place is a wreck."
"Uhm, okay. Luke won't mind?"
"Nah, I told him about last night and everything, so he knows that we were hanging out today."
"Alright."
"Leave Jasper here."
The two got out of the car and walked up to the diner. They went in and Rory shyly smiled at Luke. He returned her grin and then the two climbed the stairs to the apartment.
Jess swung the door open and was immediately embarrassed that Rory was forced to see this mess. He walked in a stepped over the cardboard box that was right at the foot of the door. Rory wasn't so fortunate to see the box. She walked in with her eyes fixated at the disaster that was Jess's new home and tripped right over the box. She fell, hitting the floor with a loud smack. "Ow!"
"Jesus! Are you okay?" Jess said loudly, bending down immediately to help her off the floor.
"Yeah, I'm fine. I think I twisted my ankle though. I need to sit for a couple of minutes, then I'll be fine."
Jess helped Rory over to the leather couch in the corner. Jess set her down carefully, trying to make her comfortable. His face was only inches from hers. Rory looked up at him and he could feel her warm breath on his face. "I need to find that key." he said, his voice cracking mid-sentence.
"Yeah."
Jess moved away from Rory and looked around the apartment. That was close, he thought, close. Yes, he wanted Rory back, but she needed to make the first move, so that he knew that she wanted the same thing. If he let his mind get ahead of him, he could think she wanted him back too, and would go ahead, make a move, find out she wanted nothing of the sort, and screw everything up. So, it was up to Rory.
He continued to search the apartment for his key. He lifted every paper, moved every loose object, but he found nothing. "Where the hell could it be? I've looked everywhere."
"Maybe you should go downstairs and ask Luke where he put it."
Jess felt like a moron. "Why didn't I think of that." He started to turn to go downstairs when she noticed the key on the table next to Rory. "Oh wait, there it is."
Rory looked over at table, spotting the key. Jess went for it but stopped when his hand bumped Rory's. She turned her head to look up at him and without warning, kissed him. It was a long, passionate kiss. One that both of them were waiting for. Jess kissed her back for a while until he came to his senses and broke it. He pulled back and gave her a curious look.
"Wow," she said, "Wow. I'm so, so sorry. I don't know what I'm doing." Jess just stared at her, trying to make sure that had actually just happened. "I guess I thought, I thought that I felt a vibe coming from you but, I was wrong. Wow. Please forget this. I was being stu-" Rory was cut off by Jess's lips. He returned her kiss with another long, hard one. He slipped his hands on her waist and pulled her closer to him. He felt the warmth of her body against his chest and broke their kiss again. His eyes still closed, he whispered to her, "I love you."
She continued to kiss him long after his confession. He started to panic, thinking he'd gone too far. He was worried that she didn't want to hear that, she was just vulnerable and she needed someone to hold her and make everything better.
His fears were conqured when he felt her warm breath against his ear, "I love you too."
Jess let everything go and let himself get lost in Rory's kiss. This was what he needed. He needed her and now he had her. He would never mess it up again. Never.
Before he knew it, Rory was lying on top of him, unbuttoning his shirt, never breaking their kiss. He pulled her closer and closer to him, until there was nowhere else for her to go. Neither of them heard the sound of the front door being unlocked. Neither of them heard the door creak open.
"Lukeeeee! Are you in here?" The two jumped at the sound of Lorelai's voice.
