Who Lies Beneath?
Disclaimer: After all this time, I still own zilch.
Summary: LL. "There's only one thing that can stop me." She told her best friend... She's made many mistakes before, but which one's the mistake this time? The wedding, or the night before?
Authors Note: Finally, back in action! Huge sorry's for the tremendously long wait! I couldn't get started with the chapter and then school was being a big pain in the arse but luckily, we're proud to hand you chapter 5. Thank you, thank you, thank you for all the wonderful feedback! You guys are all super sweet and every review means something! ;)
Special thanks to Annick for never shutting up ;) JK you know you rock. And to Heather for all the encouragement (and the little boost for the one scene!) and everyone at FF who's been asking lately. Sorry for making you all wait so long!
The two or three italic lines in the beginning are from the song Hide and Seek by Imogen Heap.
And to little miss...hebrew over there, I can't wait for your story. cough-cough. xoxo.
Ah, note the rating has been changed just in case.
Enjoy and review:)
Where We Left Off-
"Hello? Oh hey, how are you?" She swatted Luke one more time but he kept kissing her neck. "It's going great, thanks…no I'm actually going to bed soon…yeah…I know…you too…soon enough though…" she sat up in bed and leaned against the backboard. "I know...sure of course…thanks for calling…you too…bye."
She hung up the phone and looked down at Luke who was smiling like a fool. She has a seldom sort of look on her face, very serious and poised.
"That was Max."
Oops.
The clearness of Luke's blue eyes dimmed below her face. Mere minutes ago, they were happily together, not a care in the world.
Possibly, one of the things that worked about this was that: When they were together, they didn't think about their problem. They didn't have switches going on and off in their heads, brainstorming for the best solution out there.
It wasn't as if they didn't care. Because they certainly did. But the fact that they felt so at ease and comfortable with each other is probably a good portion of the reason why they kept doing what they had been doing.
Where are we, what the hell is going on.
But as she looked down into his now saddened eyes, she bit her bottom lip, looking aimlessly above her to the ceiling.
To the ceiling where she thought her answer was floating. Aimlessly around somewhere she couldn't quite grasp. As close as the answer to all their problems was, it was too high.
And simply, she was too short.
She looked down to him and watched him roll off of her and adjust himself on the other side of the bed. He tried getting away from her, his mind now turning on. Subsiding in his mind was the ticking of the clock, letting him know that he was running out of time.
The dust has only just began to fall, crop circles in the carpet.
Yes, it had been ticking since the day he first made love to her. But now it was getting louder and more sudden. He knew they couldn't play these games.
He knew what he wanted. And he had a pretty good idea as to what she wanted. But it wasn't his choice to make.
It seemed like enough before.
Anything was enough with Lorelai. Being best friends was a pure privilege. Their friendship was something only a handful of lucky people shared. But suddenly, it dawned on him that there is potential he could have more than enough. For now, he was just settling for mediocre.
He had her right now, not Max. Sure she was legally married to Max. But up until now, that didn't mean Max and Lorelai shared something more important. He always thought he had her. But suddenly, he slowly started realizing: he didn't have her and he didn't have enough. He needed all of her, or absolutely nothing from her.
And he thought it was time he let her know that.
Just then, Lorelai lowered herself flat onto the bed. She closed her eyes and sighed deeply into the air. Eyes still closed, she rolled over to Luke, tangling her legs within his. She wrapped one arm around his waist and turned on her stomach, partially lying on top of him. She kept her face tucked into his neck, kissing him softly ever so often.
The feeling of her body over his was completely intoxicating.
He would let her know how he felt sooner or later.
For now, he just had to think.
She breathed in his pungent scent, smiling into his neck because she knew that was Luke. She could tell he was hurt when she told him Max called and she honestly could not blame him. She wasn't going to try even, which is why she kept her mouth shut and positioned herself as close as possible to him.
She felt protected in his arms. Safe. She knew that for this moment, she had Luke to be with her. He was her prize from all these hectic, crazy games they were playing. And she was going to hang on to him as long as she could before driving herself nuts with feeling sorry for Luke. And Max for that matter. Cause neither of them deserved this.
He listened to her breathing, noticing when exactly it was that she was asleep. He stayed still beneath her, one hand against the small of her back supporting her, the other tangled in her hair on the back of her head. Her lips were pressed against his neck and he felt her steady breathing hit his skin, each time more arousing than the next.
Mixed feelings ran through his head.
Wake her up, look at her, touch her, explore her, make love to her, tell her you want to stay.
Tell her you'll be there.
Keep her there, quiet and peaceful. Move her, whisper to her you want out.
Tell her you can't play these games any longer.
Games they are not, though. They are way more important than games. Games are fun and whimsical. This isn't fun and this certainly isn't whimsical. This is serious, and passionate, and every button in his body wants to be pushed right now. He wants this calling to never end. He wants to be with her forever.
He wants to let her go.
A whirlwind of thoughts clogged his mind. He thought of a time this had happened before. Sure he had never been in this exact situation before, but there was a similar time he was equally as confused, just not with as much importance.
There was one particular time he thought growing up without his father instead of his mother would come in handy cause clearly, his father lacked to inform him never to mess with two best friends.
His mom would have told him what to do. But his mom wasn't there.
"I don't want to hurt either of their feelings." Luke said sitting on the chair beside his father.
"You'll figure it out. You just have to think about it. It'll take some time, Lucas." He said not even looking up from the newspaper.
"This happened with you before…what did you decide?"
"I decided to go for a walk. I tried going fishing but ended up in the lake because they say water relaxes your mind."
"So why didn't you take a shower?"
"I had fishing on the mind, Luke." His father said flatly.
Luke got up from his seat, hands in his jean pockets, looking up at his father.
"Where are you going?" His father asked.
"To the lake."
"To fish?" He asked, looking up from his paper this time.
"To swim."
And with that, Luke walked out the door and went straight to the Lake. He swam for nearly 2 hours before going back to his house for dinner that night.
He got home and failed to mention to his father that it worked. And he had figured out all of his girl dramas within the two-hour capacity.
Lorelai squirmed against his body, loosening her grip and letting her legs fall out of his. He took the advantage of her loose estate and quietly—but very still—slipped the rest of her warm body off of his and crept out of the bed ever so quietly. He changed into his boxers, jeans, grey tee shirt and green coat because this time around, it was actually cold outside.
He walked out of his apartment, closing the door but still leaving a crack, and walked down the stairs and out the door.
It only took him a matter of minutes to get to his destination. He appreciated that about Stars Hollow. Everything is 2 minutes away from everything else. Annoying sometimes? Yes. But helpful other times? Definitely.
xx.
It didn't take long before Lorelai realized she was sleeping alone. Her body hadn't adjusted to the cold air flooding in under the blankets. She pulled them up to her neck and opened her eyes slowly, looking around the apartment.
The light in the hallway streamed through the crack of the door. That wasn't on before, she realized. She averted her eyes to the bathroom, assuming Luke had to use it for a moment. But the door was wide open, lights all shut off.
She stayed in bed a good 10 minutes before getting really curious. Maybe he was downstairs? Yes, he was downstairs and would be back any minute to fall back asleep with me wrapped in his arms, she convinced herself.
But after 10 more minutes of waiting and still no Luke, she started to worry. She slowly got up from the bed, walking over to Luke's drawers and grabbing a pair of his sweat pants and a long sleeve thermal shirt. She walked to the hook and grabbed her coat, putting it on before
walking out the door.
She walked into the diner and called his name out loud. "Luke?" She peeked in the kitchen and storeroom before realizing he wasn't there. She went to the door and opened it, noting that she didn't have to unlock it.
He was definitely out there somewhere, she thought. The only question now was: where? It was late. He couldn't be just anywhere.
She walked around the block to the back where his truck was parked. Wherever he went, it was walking distance from here. She walked across the street to the gazebo but he certainly wasn't there. She walked past Miss Patty's dance studio, past all the local stores, wandering aimlessly like an idiot.
She stopped in the middle of the sidewalk trying to think really hard where he could be. There was one place she thought of. Fishing.
Besides the fact that it was just about freezing out, there was still a possibility he was fishing because after all, it hadn't snowed yet and the lake hadn't frozen over. She walked a few blocks till she got to the fishing lake.
As she walked closer and closer to the water, she heard noises coming from the area. She looked around and saw no one on the edge fishing. She saw no poles, no bait, no kits, nothing. All she saw was a shirt, pair of pants, and shoes but she didn't see anybody.
It only took a minute or so before he appeared in her sight and gave her nearly a heart attack.
"Luke!" She said, screaming louder than intended. "You scared me half to death."
He fixed his hair now in his face and walked closer to the edge of the water. "Sorry." He said quietly.
She crouched down low, dipping her hand in the water. "It's freezing. Why are you swimming at…" she looked at his pile of clothes and saw his watch resting on top of it, "almost 2 am? Not to mention in what's soon to be called winter."
He took a few minutes, gathering his general thoughts before speaking again. "I needed to get out of there; I had some things on my mind." He said casually.
"Yes but at 2 am? It couldn't wait until tomorrow?"
"Probably. But it was on my mind now." He said, acting as if she was supposed to understand everything he was saying so far.
"So…you think you're coming back anytime soon?" She asked with a hint of hope in her voice because she knew this was unlike him.
He turned around and looked up at the starry sky. "It's a nice night." He said completely ignoring her previous question.
"I'm sure you're freezing. And you don't even have a towel."
He wrapped his arms around himself, showing her that he was cold yet still denying it. "It's nice."
"Is it really?" She asked, taking off her shoes.
"Yeah."
"Good."
She took off her coat and threw it some place near his clothes. She placed her hands at the bottom of her shirt and lifted it over her head quickly.
"What are you doing?" He asked nervously.
She took her sweat pants off and threw them near her shirt and coat.
"I'm getting in with you." She stated simply.
"Lorelai don't. You could get sick." He said, trying to get her to back out. After all, it wasn't exactly warm. Far from it, to be honest.
"Great then we'll get sick together." She said running into the water, jumping in and making a small splash.
She raised herself up from underneath the water with a small shriek. "Luke its freezing!"
He couldn't help but smile as she walked her way over to him. He was in the deeper end of the lake so she trailed after him.
"What on earth inspired you to go swimming in this freezing cold water at 2 am?" Her teeth were chattering as she wrapped her arms tightly around herself, still following after him.
Luke kept going deeper and deeper into the water, leaving Lorelai left to follow him.
"You're insane, you know that?" She questioned.
"Hey, nobody forced you in here."
She rolled her eyes and finally caught up to Luke who was treading water in the deep area. She grabbed a hold of his hands and tried steadying her balance on him. He could still stand but she was having a little more trouble.
She took his hands and made him wrap them around her waist. She kept her hands on top of his, around her back and pushed her body into his.
"Aren't you cold?" She asked quietly, pressing her forehead against his.
He tried looking somewhere else besides her electrifying blue eyes, which still stood out in the dark. He took one hand off from around her waist and grazed her cheek softly.
"Not really. I got used to it."
She took her hands off of his and wrapped them around his neck, dangling in his arms.
They stayed quiet for a moment, both enjoying the quietness. Lorelai closed her eyes while she continued resting her head against his.
She kept her eyes closed, moving her lips towards his ear.
"What's the matter Luke?" She whispered into his ear.
Luckily her positioning was making it easier for him. He couldn't look into her eyes at this very moment.
"Talk to me." She pleaded.
But he didn't know what to say right now. He thought perhaps it would be easier to have this conversation somewhere dry. Somewhere a little more heated. And somewhere where Lorelai's body wasn't pressed hard against his.
He pulled away from her, slowly allowing her to grasp the water on her own. He turned around, facing away from her.
"I don't think this is the best place to talk about it." He said flatly.
"Then we can go somewhere else." She insisted.
"I don't know." He mumbled.
She stayed away from him a good few minutes before getting frustrated.
They talked about things. They figured out things easily, and right now he was being nothing but complicated.
"Luke." She said softly. She swam over to him and turned his body around to face her. She wrapped one leg tightly around his waist and wrapped her arms around his upper chest.
He held her, but still could not look into her eyes.
"Look at me." She insisted.
But he kept his eyes balanced where they were, right by her neck. He knew he was going to make a mistake in a matter of seconds.
"Luke?"
"We can't do this anymore." He said quickly.
Her eyes tried not to open too wide. Taken back, she swallowed hard and made Luke look at her.
"Oh?" She chocked out.
This was the last thing she expected to happen here, now. Sure, sometime she knew that they were going to have to end but she didn't expect it to be now, at 2 am, in a freezing cold lake with no explanations.
"Why?" She questioned quickly. She took back saying that moments after realizing how stupid that sounded. "Nevermind, don't answer that."
"Lorelai." He said softly, grazing her arm which she jerked away slightly.
Quickly, a small tear rolled down her cheek but she was careful not to show him. He took her chin in his hand and now forced her to look at him.
"I understand." She said, biting her lip.
"This is so hard to do, Lorelai."
"I understand." She repeated.
She was quiet for a few minutes, trying to understand that they were coming to an end. They, as a couple, were ending. Yes she considered them together, happily together for that matter. But they were together under the total wrong circumstances.
"What are you thinking about?" He asked.
"I'm thinking about wanting to tell you to stay with me."
He sighed quietly, looking down into the water as well.
"But I'm also thinking about how selfish that would be."
He looked up at her, grabbing her attention with his eyes. "I don't want to stop being with you, Lorelai. But…it's beginning to be too hard. It's not as easy as I thought it would be, it's way more than what I thought we'd have. I can't…I can't be with you knowing you aren't mine."
"But I am yours." She pleaded, almost begging.
He gave her a look that secretly screamed the word Max.
"What now?" She asked.
"I don't know. I guess we'll have to figure something out but…I just really don't think we can continue this. Not under these circumstances at least."
She nodded her head and stuck her whole body into the mind numbing cold water, swimming back to the bridge.
Luke followed after her, saddened that things were going to end this way. He wanted to tell her that he wants her to choose: him or Max. But he couldn't put her through something like that, at least not now. He knew he was forward and down to the point but that's the way he had to do it. In the long run, he knew it wouldn't hurt him or her as much.
"We should get back though. We're both soaked." He said as she got out of the lake and grabbed her clothes from the ground. She put her flip-flops on and two seconds into their walk, the water on the shoe caused her to slip and break the thong of her shoe.
"Shit." She mumbled. Luke stopped walking and examined her shoe. She picked up and showed him. "Don't have any glue on you, do ya?" She asked hopefully.
Luke patted his boxers, the only thing that he was wearing because his shirt was soaked as well. "Sorry."
She started walking, hoping the gravel wouldn't hurt her foot too much but every time she stepped with her left foot a quiet curse word came flying out of her mouth.
Luke slowed down and bent down, motioning for her to jump on his back. With zero objections, and zero words said, she climbed on his back and he walked them towards the center of town.
She tried not to press her body against his, if that was possible. She hung her arms loosely around his neck and kept her upper half a safe distance from his back.
"You know," she said quietly, "if somebody saw us right now--they'd think we're insane."
He lifted her up a little bit more and nodded his head. "Probably."
The walk was only a matter of minutes. Luke carried her all the way up the door of his apartment and set her down as he opened the door. They both walked in, not bothering to turn the light on.
"Come here." He led her into the bathroom and turned the hot water on. "Take a shower; it'll help warm you up."
She looked over and touched his hand softly, smiling sadly. "Thanks." He walked away from the bathroom and closed the door while she took her clothes off and jumped in to the shower.
She got in and rinsed her hair under the water.
"I don't have lots of time before I have to get home." She giggled, walking into the bathroom pulling him by his shirt.
"And I don't have a lot of time before I've got to open the diner."
She massaged her head which was now pounding.
"We can eliminate the process of two showers and take…" she turned on the water and removed her shirt quickly, "…one."
She thought about what had happened. What he had said. She thought about telling him she doesn't think she can imagine life without him.
"Lorelai--"
"Just get in." She walked into the steaming hot water, waiting for him to join her.
She could tell him but that would be selfish, wouldn't it?
He deserved so much more than what she was giving him. But she was too stubborn to imagine him as somebody else's, doing the things they did, saying the things he said. She wouldn't be able to take it.
"Remember, diner opens in twenty minutes."
"Shut up and hand me the shampoo, will you?"
She wouldn't be able to take him being with somebody else and here she was, with somebody other than him. How could he take this much from her?
She grabbed the shampoo and washed her hair in a slow, careful matter.
He squeezed shampoo into his hands and motioned for her to turn around. He rubbed it together in his hands and slowly tangled his hands in her wet tresses careful not to miss a piece of hair. A soft moan escaped her mouth, loving the way he was making her feel.
She massaged her scalp in slow motions, trying not to irritate it anymore than it already was. She probably shouldn't be in there too long if Luke wanted any warm water.
He turned her around, her eyes tightly closed, and made her step back into the water casting through her hair, rinsing out the shampoo.
She'd figure something out. She'd have to. It would just take a little time, that's all.
He applied soap on the sponge while she put conditioner in her hair, the specific kind she brought to his apartment because she knows he loves the smell of it. She opened her eyes, blushing slightly as he gazed at her. He stepped closer to her, rubbing the sponge along her back, her neck, turning her around and working his way from her stomach, to her chest, to her arms. Slowly working his way down her legs, in between her legs, her feet, and all the way back up to the hollow of her neck.
She was lonely with Max. They weren't the married couple she figured them to be. That was probably her fault though. She didn't give him a chance. She quickly applied soap on a sponge, completing the process of her shower as she washed her body slowly.
She opened her eyes and smiled with her eyes. She loved seeing him in this current estate. His long eyelashes blinking slowly, his wet hair covering his eyes partially, his smile that could make her melt.
She turned the water off, reaching for a towel and stepping out into the foggy bathroom. She rubbed the fogged up mirror, through her hair in a loose ponytail and dried herself off. She tucked the towel around her and walked out of the bathroom.
He was sitting on the couch in the dark, waiting for her to get out of the bathroom.
She walked over to him as he got up and pointed to the bed. "I left you some clothes on the bed."
"Thanks." She said quietly, walking towards the bed.
"Do you want to change in the bathroom?"
"No it's okay, go ahead. I'll just change out here."
"Okay, I'll just be a few minutes."
He walked into the bathroom, shutting the door behind him and leaning against the wall. He screwed up, didn't he? He took off his clothes in one sweep and got into the water she left running for him. She always did that when they didn't shower together. He liked it though.
He reached over for the shampoo and squeezed a little out.
"I don't need as much as you, you know." He told her when she grabbed the bottle of shampoo and squeezed a handful out.
"Sure ya do. Now turn around."
He tilted his hair back, getting it wet a bit before rubbing the shampoo in.
She washed his hair, running her fingers through his hair slowly, enjoying every second of it. Luke's body relaxed as he enjoyed the feeling even more so. She titled his head back into the water, running her hand through his hair so she could get all the shampoo out. He helped her out with this part as she squeezed the conditioner into her hands, soon repeating the same process.
He rinsed his hair, rubbing his eyes from the shampoo now stinging his eyes slightly. He did the same process with the conditioner, slowly and surely.
She lathered up the sponge for him this time, slowly rubbing his arms in small circles, down to his hands, back up his arms to his neck and down his long torso. She continued between his legs, down his legs and feet. A strangled moan escaped his mouth as she worked her way back up to his face, kissing his lips softly.
He finished up in the shower, getting out and yanking the towel hanging from the door. He dried himself off and put on his shorts and tee-shirt, hanging up the towel before he left the bathroom.
He walked out and saw her sitting on the edge of his bed, smiling softly at him. He walked over to bed, not even wanting to arrange separate sleeping arrangements. They could sleep in the same bed without anything happening. It wasn't that tough. He climbed into the beds and motioned for her to get underneath as well. She arranged herself neatly under the covers, closing her eyes and breathing out loudly.
She almost forgot to breathe when he tapped the spot next to her.
She was being silly and she knew it. But she couldn't control it.
She pulled herself away from him but it only took a quick look in his eyes before her lips crashed down onto his. She moaned into his mouth at the feeling of his tongue running across her bottom lip. She shivered against the water and pushed him towards the back of the shower.
Her hands started roaming, through his hair, down around his neck, to his arms, his sides. He gripped her waist, pushing her body tightly against his, causing her to feel his body hard against hers.
She moved away from him, long enough for him to enter her in one quick stroke. A muffled moan escaped her lips as they stood there adjusting to the feeling of him inside of her.
Slowly thrusting into her, she lifted a leg and wrapped it around his waist in attempt to make things easier. She leaned her head into his neck, nibbling softly trying to withhold her screams.
He placed a hand on her neck and brought her lips to his, kissing her passionately as he supported his other hand on the back of the thigh which was still around his waist.
She tore her lips away from his, tossing her head back into the water now falling on her face. She mumbled his name, voice becoming horse as she neared her climax. He knew she was close to being pushed over the edge so did what it took to make her reach the point of no return.
A hushed gasp exited her lips as she pushed him against the back of the shower, leaning her body into his, both of them breathing quickly. She kissed the top of his chest, working her way up to his neck, and finally to his mouth all while there bodies were still connected.
She looked up, enjoying their last minutes together before she had to go. She smiled and wiped away the water dripping from his face. She kissed right below his eyes, keeping her lips pressed against his upper cheek as she tried catching her breath.
He lifted his mouth and kissed the top of her head as she lowered her head down on his chest.
It was almost 4:30 when Lorelai woke up to the feeling of somebody on top of her. She opened her eyes and turned her head around, looking at Luke who wrapped his body around her.
One of his arms placed under the pillow, the other around her waist. She looked down and noticed his legs tangled within hers, soon noting his lips pressed against the back of her shoulder.
She sighed softly and closed her eyes, peacefully drifting off into sleep. "It's always been you." She mumbled before leaning back into his arms even more so.
xx
It was near seven when they woke up still tangled in each others arms. Luke was the first to notice the position but quickly pulled himself away from her. She turned around to see if he was awake and sure enough, he was.
"Morning." She said smiling shyly.
"Good morning."
"Sleep well?" She asked.
"Yeah, did you?"
"Mmm hmm." She nodded her head before sitting up in bed, glancing at the clock. "You've got to open soon."
"Yeah, in about thirty minutes."
She got up and looked around for her clothes, hoping they'd be dry. She didn't have to worry about Max seeing her because she didn't wear these clothes two nights ago when she left.
"I should get going."
"Yeah, uh, listen Lorelai," he ran his hands through his hair, contemplating what to say next, "can you sit down for a second?"
She walked over to the edge of the bed and sat beside him.
"About last night, I didn't, uh, I didn't mean what I said. About…ending things." He said slowly.
Lorelai's eyes widened, suddenly looking confused. "You didn't?"
"Lorelai, I just don't know what you want."
"I want you." She confessed quietly.
"You do?" He questioned.
"Of course I do, Luke. Why else do you think I'm here? Why else do you think I've been with you ever since the first time we made love before my wedding?"
"I don't know." He admitted.
Cause after all, he really didn't.
"If that's the case though…why are…" He started, not wanting to finish the sentence.
"I'm going to tell Max. And soon. I want to Luke. I really do."
He breathed in deeply. "Are you sure?"
"Positive."
"Ok then."
"I mean, that is if you want me still." Lorelai said quickly. "If you want to be with me, I mean."
He looked up at her and smiled. "Of course I do, Lorelai."
"Okay, good." She glanced at the clock. "I should get going."
"Alright, well…"
"I'll talk to you soon."
She got up from the bed and walked into the bathroom to change into her clothes from the previous night.
xx
"I can't believe your mom is making us take every single thing made out of wood out the house." Rory complained while pulling a chair out of the antique store.
"You can't? I can. This is my mom we're talking about here, Rory."
Rory looked up from her chair and nodded. "Good point."
They finished taking everything out to the sidewalk and sat down on two chairs in the front.
"I'm so tired and look--it's only 7:30."
"I know it's going to be a long day."
"That's for sure."
Just then, a familiar jeep drove by and both Rory and Lane's heads shot up.
"Was that my--" Rory started.
"Your mom?" Lane finished.
"What is she doing in Stars Hollow at 7:30? She's supposed to be at some business class seminar in Litchfield.
"Maybe she's passing through on her way back?"
"Litchfield is on the whole other side of Hartford."
"Maybe she was just checking up on the Inn."
Rory arched an eyebrow and nodded her head. "Yeah, maybe." She said unconvinced.
xx
"Is anyone home?" Lorelai called when she walked into the house with her small overnight bag.
Max walked into the front hall, greeting her with a huge smile as he walked in the hall to meet her.
"Hey, you're home!" He said rushing up to her and giving her a kiss.
"Yeah, got out early this morning." She said, trying to hide her nerves.
"Did you have a good time?" He asked, truly interested. "Here, let me grab your bag."
He took her bag and led her up the stairs to their room.
"Yeah, it was a lot of fun. I learned a lot of new stuff that might help in the future. You know, once I figure out what's going to happen with the Inn and everything." She lied.
He smiled and sat on the bed next to her. "I'm glad you had fun." He leaned over and gave her a soft kiss. "I missed you while you were gone."
She blushed and looked down, playing with her fingers. "I missed you too."
She looked up and studied his happy face.
"Max," she said quietly, "can I…talk to you?"
"Of course."
Only half a second later he was up from the bed and headed towards the closet.
"Wait before you tell me, I want to show you something."
He opened the closet and showed her the new shelves he built for her, hanging up on the wall. She had been complaining about wanting them ever since they moved in.
"I had some extra time on my hands this weekend and figured it would be nice to set up the shelves."
"Aw Max!" She got up from the bed and walked over to observe her very own new shelves. "Thanks!" She said before hugging him tightly.
"It was the least I could do. You've only been asking for them since we moved in here." He said laughing.
"Took ya long enough." She said sarcastically.
"Yeah, so anyways what did you have to talk to me about?"
She bit her lip and swung her head back up to him. "You know what? Never mind, it was nothing."
"You sure?"
"Yeah, positive."
xx
Later that night, they were till Rory-less. She had been at Lane's all day helping move out all the furniture from the Kim's house for the remodeling. They expected her to be back later tonight so after dinner, Max and Lorelai were curled up on the couch watching a movie.
They were both lying down on the couch, Max keeping Lorelai from falling off. He held on around her waist while watching the movie, kissing the top of her head at one point.
"I really missed you while you were gone."
Lorelai closed her eyes and sighed quietly. "I know I missed you too."
"It's nice to have you around. I was starting to get the feeling Rory was getting sick of me."
Something in his voice made Lorelai's heart ache for him. She turned around to face him and kissed him quickly on the lips.
"I don't think she's getting sick of you."
"You don't?"
"No I don't."
She stared into his eyes, hoping to find an answer to all her problems.
She wanted to tell Max, she really did. She knew in her heart, she wanted to be with Luke. As much as she cared for Max, it really wasn't there and she knew with Luke, everything was there.
But there was an easy way out of this. There just wasn't a way to make everybody happy. She closed her eyes and turned around in his arms as she slowly drifted off into her own world. It was too hard to break things off with Max. It was too hard and she didn't know how to do it.
She was going to have to tell Luke that, but she didn't know how to do that either.
xx
Early the next morning with both Max and Rory at school, Lorelai got up and got dressed to go to the diner. She was going to tell Luke things had to end between them.
Officially end.
It was the easy way out and she was in too deep to think of another solution.
She got in her car and headed over to the diner. The whole drive there, she tried not to think about what she was going to say. She didn't want something planned, just something that would work.
She decided to park in front of her old house. She didn't want things to look to obvious so she figured it would be okay to park there, except for the chance that Babette or Morey might spot her car. She walked down the street, the most secretive path hoping she wouldn't see anyone she knew. She got to the diner a few minutes later but there were only a handful of people scattered around the place. She walked in and sat down at the counter, waiting for Luke to come out.
After a few minutes of waiting, Lorelai walked towards the back and saw only Caesar in the kitchen.
She poked her head through the door. "Hey Caesar, do you know where Luke is?"
"He's upstairs still."
"Thanks."
She avoided seeing anybody she knew and ran up the stairs to his apartment, knocking on the door when she reached it.
"Luke?" She called out.
"Hey, it's open."
She walked in to see Luke buttoning the jeans of his pants, not yet wearing a shirt. He must have not been down to the diner yet, she realized.
"Hi." She said suddenly becoming shy.
He smiled and walked over towards her.
"Hi."
"I'm not interrupting anything am I?" She said motioning to his half naked estate.
"No, just getting ready to go downstairs, that's all."
"Oh okay, well you think I could steal you away from it for a minute? I want to talk to you about something."
"Yeah no problem. You want something to drink?" He said walking to the fridge and pulling out a water bottle for himself.
"No, I'm fine, thanks."
He sat down on the couch beside her and looked at her curiously.
"What's up?" He asked.
She looked up at him and watched him take a sip of water, licking his lips before putting the cap back on.
She stared at his lips, down to his bare stomach and long hands gripping his water bottle. He leaned against the back of the couch and continued staring at her.
"Luke I…" she started nervously.
"Yeah?"
"I…"
It only took a second before her lips crashed down onto his. She quickly moved her body so she was straddling his lap, wasting absolutely no time.
He pulled away a second later and looked her in the eyes.
"Lorelai you had something to say."
"I told Max." She said.
"You did? Already?"
She swallowed guiltily, needing to be with him so much at the moment that she couldn't help but lie. "Yeah, and we still have to talk about a few things but he knows."
"He knows." Luke said quietly.
"Right."
She leaned down and kissed him slowly before he could get another word out. She couldn't believe she just lied about that. She felt so guilty kissing him but purely couldn't get enough.
It took him a minute before he relaxed into the process and wrapped his hands around her waist, moving her with him as he lied on the couch, lowering her on top of him.
He tangled his hand in her hair, moving his other hand slowly underneath her shirt, sweeping it over her head in one quick motion.
xx
"I wonder where your mom is." Max said pulling in to the driveway, not spotting Lorelai's jeep. He glanced at the clock, it was 2:30.
"You know, funniest thing. The other day, I saw her in Stars Hollow. Before she came back from her seminar meeting."
"Why was she in Stars Hollow? Her meeting was in Litchfield."
"I know. I forgot to ask her when I saw her. Kind of weird though, don't you think?"
"Yeah that is a little weird." He said skeptically. "Hey why don't you go inside, I think I'm going to go take a drive, I got an errand to run." He said suspiciously.
"Sure no problem. You'll be home soon?" She asked.
"Yeah about an hour or so."
"Alright, I'll tell mom to call you if she comes home."
"Yes, please do."
"Alright, see ya." She said closing the door.
xx
It was almost 3 when she woke up. They had made love two times before he left her asleep to go down to the diner. She had been sleeping for a few hours now and totally lost track of time.
She shot up in his bed, noticing right away that she was alone.
She needed to get him up there somehow but couldn't risk seeing somebody. She walked over to her purse, grabbed her cell and dialed the number to the diner.
"Luke's." He answered.
"Luke it's me, I need you to come upstairs."
"Who is this?"
"Lorelai, who else?"
"Oh I'll be up in a second." He said before hanging up the phone and walking up the stairs.
She tossed her clothes on while he walked up to the apartment. He opened the door just as she put her shirt on.
"I've got go. I need to be home when Max and Rory get home, which evidentially, is too late." She said.
"Oh so…you're leaving?"
"Yeah but I'll call you when I know what's going on."
He frowned to himself, wishing she didn't have to leave. He knew they still had to talk about things though, her and Max, and he accepted that.
"Alright, come here." He motioned.
She walked up to him and kissed him softly on the lips.
"Wait is the diner busy? Should I sneak out the back?"
Luke thought for a moment before asking her, "where did you park?"
"In front of my old house."
"Well yeah, I'd say sneak through the back."
With one final kiss, she was out the door.
xx.
It was about to be three when Max pulled onto the exit ramp for Stars Hollow. He glanced both ways before getting off the highway and heading down the street.
crosses fingers I swear it won't take another month for the next chapter! I think there's only one or two chapters left, yeah?
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