Moments
Authors Note: Sorry it took me so long to update. I went on a vacation to Las Vegas and well let's just say it took me awhile to even remember my own name let alone to write this thing…But its here now, woo hoo! Thanks so much for all the reviews, I love them. They make me happy. Keep on doing what you're doing.
Premise: A lovely little Luke and Lorelai story that starts right after Dean Interrupts the pair eating in the gazebo in A Tisket A Tasket and goes from there….
Chapter 3 "Attack of the Killer Bookshelf"
It was Saturday night and Lorelai Gilmore had an exciting night planned of doing absolutely nothing. To start this occasion off right, it was six o' clock and Lorelai already had her pajamas on. She was spread out on her couch with a blanket covering her mid section and a little pillow pressed against her cheek. She was completely zoned out. She stared at the television in front of her intently. Sure, she has seen Space Camp a million times, it was after all a true eighties classic. However, that didn't stop her from still being in awe of Kelly Preston's eye make up. The sheer amount alone was something to be marveled at. It wasn't until she heard a scream coming from the other room that she took her attention off of the screen.
"MOM! Help! I am being attacked by my own books!" Rory yelped.
Lorelai immediately leaped up from the couch and ran into Rory's room.
"You're being attacked by your what?" Lorelai said as she made her way inside the room. She looked at the sight before her and couldn't help but start laughing. There were books all around Rory and she was feebly trying to hold up the side of her bookshelf that had fallen down. It wasn't working and books were still hurling toward her on the book slide that the lopsided shelf created.
"Oh, you really are being attacked by your books." Lorelai giggled.
"It's not funny, Mom." Rory said seriously. "I need help."
Still laughing, Lorelai went over to the other end of the shelf coming to Rory's aid. She grabbed the books that remained on the shelf and placed them on Rory's bed.
"There you go. Your precious books are safe. You can let go of that shelf now."
"Thank god." Rory exclaimed. She dropped the broken side of the shelf and let it hang off her wall. "My books are precious you know. They are like my children. I wouldn't laugh at you if you were trying to hold something up so I wouldn't fall onto the ground and possibly be damaged."
"We need to get you drunk or pierced or tattooed or something. That little speech makes me feel as though you are a few tiny steps away from playing Dungeons and Dragons." Lorelai joked.
Rory shot her mother a dirty look and Lorelai relented. "Okay, you are right. Your books are precious and if they ever attack you again I promise not to laugh."
"Good, glad that's settled." Rory replied. Rory then began to carefully take the books that had fallen on the floor and stack them on her bed.
"Okay, we are clearly going to need to get this fixed. Who exactly do you call when a book shelf falls down?" Lorelai wondered. "And do not say Ghostbusters!"
"I wouldn't dream of it. That is a good question, though. It would be nice if it could be fixed sooner rather than later. I mean I am spending the night at Lane's tonight but tomorrow I will be occupying the place my poor homeless books are sleeping." Rory responded.
"Maybe the yellow pages, maybe there is a we fix your broken book shelves company." Lorelai idly wondered.
"I wouldn't bet on that. Oh I know, we can call Luke. I am sure he knows how to fix something like this. He can bring Bert over tonight and by the time I am home tomorrow my books will have a place to live." Rory said triumphantly.
"I don't want to call, Luke." Lorelai immediately responded.
Luke and Lorelai's little encounter at the diner a few days ago had sufficiently freaked Lorelai out. When she allowed herself to ponder what almost happened, usually when she was trying to sleep, her mind was all over the place. She would go from thinking that the almost kissing was all in head, to praying that it was. She would try and convince herself that it was a fluke and that it would never be repeated. But by far the scariest thought that was floating around her mind was the small hope that it wasn't in her head, and at some point might happen again, this time with no interruption. She felt like avoiding him and especially avoiding being alone with him was for the best. Rory's idea went against both of the fundamental ground rules Lorelai had set for herself.
"Why? He always helps with stuff around here. I am sure he'd be willing to help us out." Rory reasoned.
"Yeah, I just wouldn't want to bother him." Lorelai responded.
"You never minded bothering him before."
"I have too." Lorelai indignantly replied.
"Um have not. Plus you wouldn't be bothering him." Rory added hoping her mom wouldn't ask her to elaborate.
"How do you know that?" Lorelai wondered.
"I just know."
"And you just know how?" Lorelai questioned.
"Oh come on mom. Don't make me say it and then you get all defensive…" Rory began.
"Say what?" Lorelai asked exasperated.
"Okay, lets just say that I doubt Luke would mind fixing the book shelves if it meant he got to see you." Rory tried her best at diplomacy.
"Oh god not this again, for the last time Luke does not have a thing for me!" Lorelai said automatically. She wasn't as sure about that as she had been in the past but she really didn't need Rory to know that.
"Did you two fight? Is that why you don't want him over here?" Rory asked. "Was it about Jess, again?"
"We did not fight." Lorelai answered.
"Fine, then there is no good reason not to at least call him and ask."
"Yes there is."
"Fine then what is it?" Rory questioned.
"I already told you!" Lorelai yelled her face red with frustration.
"If you don't call him and ask I will." Rory calmly stated. Something was going on with her mom and Luke. The writing had been on the wall for days. Her mom kept making up excuses to not go to Luke's and when they did stop by Lorelai was always in some imaginary hurry. Rory was tired of it. If her mom wasn't going to fix whatever it was she was just going to have to give her a little push in the right direction.
"Rory!" Lorelai exclaimed. "You wouldn't."
Rory picked up the cordless phone and began to dial.
"Fredo!" Lorelai exclaimed. "Traitor, that's it I am selling you to the next circus that comes to town."
Rory ignored Lorelai's comments as Luke came on to the line. The second Rory began to speak Lorelai had her full attention on listening to Rory's side of the conversation.
"Hey Luke, it's Rory…. Yeah, I am fine… My mom's fine too... Are you busy? No, not at all… Oh okay cool…. Well yeah, it's just my book shelf broke…. Yeah it pretty much attacked me… I was just wondering if you know you had time later maybe you could come by and look at it. Bring Bert… Bert is your took box... I helped my mom name it… You will. Thank you so much… I appreciate it. 8 o' clock sounds great."
Lorelai vigorously shook her head NOOO but Rory ignored her. Lorelai was feeling more and more nauseous by the second.
"Okay my mom will see you then. Bye Luke." Rory said as she hung up the phone.
"You can't go to Lane's tonight!" Lorelai cried out as her daughter hung up the phone.
"Um yeah I can. You will be fine mom. Whatever didn't happen with Luke. It will be fine. I am going now." Rory said picking up her back pack.
"No you aren't. I am the mom and I say you need to stay here with me and finish watching Space Camp. It's a very suspense filled movie. Will they make it back to NASA? You just don't know."
"Okay see you tomorrow. Tell Luke I said thanks again when you see him." Rory said as she left her room.
Lorelai quickly followed her daughter out of her room and to the front door.
"Don't go." Lorelai pleaded.
"Just make up with him." Rory said. She just knew they were fighting! It was the only explanation for her mother's weird behavior.
"For the last time we are not fighting!" Lorelai reiterated.
"Whatever. I love you. See you tomorrow." Rory said as she kissed her mom on the cheek and walked out the door.
The sound of the door closing reverberated in Lorelai's ears.
"Luke is coming over in 2 hours." She said softy to her now empty house.
She quickly looked in the mirror in her hall. She took in the site before her. No make up, hair in pigtails, bewitched pajamas.
"Son of a B word, I need to change!" Lorelai exclaimed before making a mad dash upstairs.
Two hours and seven different 'I look messy cute because I am not trying too hard' outfits later Luke arrived at Lorelai's house.
"So yeah the books just kept falling on her head. I tried really hard not to laugh. I really did. But come on it was funny." Lorelai rambled as she sat on the only corner of Rory's bed not occupied by books. Her current plan was to never stop talking. She figured if she didn't leave an opening he could never bring up what had happened in the diner and a new and equally frightening moment could not occur either. So far she had been talking for about twenty minutes.
"Lorelai," Luke said gruffly.
"Yeah," Lorelai said meekly. Here it is she thought. He is going to bring it up and I have no place to run because we are in my house. This is so bad.
"Maybe you want to finish the movie you have paused out there. I can finish this on my own." Luke suggested, "In silence."
"Did you just whisper in silence? Are you saying I am talking too much? I am hurt, Luke. HURT!" Lorelai said mock outraged. Well, this worked too. Nothing awkward could happen if they were in separate rooms.
"Go watch your movie." Luke said dryly.
"Fine… Fine, but there will come a day when you will need my verbal skills. And I will say no you can not have my verbal skills, because you insinuated that I talk too much. And you will cry on that day, Luke Danes. You will cry like a little girl with a skinned knee." Lorelai promised as she walked out the door.
"Right, I am sure if I understood a word of what you just said I would be very contrite right now." Luke replied.
"You would be, Mister. …" Lorelai called from the other room before sitting back down on to the couch and unpausing Space Camp.
"Okay all fixed. I was going to put her books back on the shelf but I had a feeling that she has a special order and I didn't want mess anything up." Luke said some time later as he walked in to the now darkened living room.
Lorelai looked up at Luke from the couch as the credits of her movie rolled on the television screen. "Thanks Luke. I appreciate it and so does Rory."
"No problem." Luke quickly returned.
An awkward silence overtook the room as Luke and Lorelai just stared at each other in the relative darkness. Luke wanted to ask her why she hadn't been in the restaurant much the last few days. Actually, he had a pretty good idea why. What he really wanted to ask is if they had almost kissed or if he had been dreaming the whole thing. Well to be honest, he thought he knew that answer to that as well. The real truth was he had missed her the last couple of days and just wasn't ready to leave.
Lorelai wanted to ask him to stay and at the same time was praying he would go home. Luke was so confusing. No wait scratch that, he was one of the most uncomplicated men she had ever met. Lately it was her that was confused whenever he walked into the room. She saw him and suddenly she was wound so tight she was afraid at any moment she would unravel. One look, one touch, and she would come undone, do something impulsive, and screw up a wonderful friendship. Hell, it had all but happened that day with her basket.
Suddenly Lorelai couldn't stand the quiet anymore and she blurted out the first thing that came to her head. "Luke, would you maybe want to stay and watch the next movie."
"Uh, sure okay," Luke said stumbling over every word. Why did this woman make him so nervous?
"Only if you want, I mean if you need to get back to the diner I understand." Lorelai was already trying to backtrack.
"No, I could stay. I mean if you want me to. It was dead when I left the diner, and Caesar has it covered."
"I wouldn't have asked, if I didn't want you to." Lorelai sincerely replied. She wanted him to stay all right that was the problem.
"Come on, sit down. I won't bite." Lorelai said as she patted the couch next to her. She could do this. She could have a totally platonic friendly movie night with Luke. She could shake all the confusing feelings out of her head and just focus on the movie. She could also slide down a rainbow and find a pot of gold and leprechaun on the other side of it. Sufficed to say Lorelai knew she was in trouble.
"So what are we going to watch?" Luke asked as he sat.
"Well, I am having a Sigourney Weaver marathon. You just missed Space Camp and let me tell you, you really missed out. I still have Working Girl and Alien left for tonight. You wouldn't think it but Sigourney really has a large body of work. I mean this turned into an all weekend long marathon. Rory made me promise we would watch Galaxy Quest and Ghostbusters together. So anyway as I was saying we have Alien and Working Girl left for tonight. I am thinking you probably want to watch Alien. Unless you are secretly a chick flick lover, or have some kind of top secret crush on Melanie Griffith, oh or maybe Harrison Ford…"
"Lorelai put on the Alien movie." Luke said in a warning tone.
"Yes, sir," Lorelai said as she got up to put the movie in. She even gave Luke a little salute on her way back to the couch.
"Now normally there is an extensive list of movie night rules. However, this movie scares the crap out of me so the rules are really a moot point. I won't be following any of them and I don't expect anything from my soldiers that I don't expect from myself." Lorelai said seriously.
"Okay." Luke said slightly bewildered. "If this movie scares you, why watch it?"
It wasn't until Lorelai stopped talking that she took notice of the fact that when she had sat back down she had sat extremely close to Luke. She was so close that when Luke made the slightest movement with his leg his thigh brushed against Lorelai's. She couldn't help the tingly feeling that rushed through her body at the contact.
"Cause sometimes scary can be good." Lorelai whispered giving Luke a meaningful glance before shyly looking away.
"I guess you are right about that." Luke said quietly. He gently put his hand on top of Lorelai's knee giving it a tiny squeeze before resting his hands in his own lap.
Luke didn't know what has possessed him to do that, but he honestly couldn't say he was sorry about it. It had felt good to touch Lorelai even for a second and he supposed that the gesture could be perceived as purely platonic. Lorelai on the other hand tried to concentrate on the television screen while she silently thanked god she was wearing jeans so Luke couldn't see the goose bumps he had just caused with his light touch.
Lorelai had a feeling that this was going to be the longest movie night of her life.