Disclaimer. Still not mine.
A/N. Thank you to NicoleMack for her enthusiasm for this story and for her excellent beta-ing throughout. My thanks also to everyone who has reviewed this story. It has been great to read your comments.
Previously:
"I didn't go on the cruise. I ended things with Nicole the day you went to Europe."
Part Four
The full implication of Luke's words washed over Lorelai and she found herself almost unable to breathe as she told herself she couldn't possibly have heard what she thought she'd heard. She repeated Luke's words back to him. "You ended things with Nicole."
Luke nodded, his gaze fixed on her face and she said in confusion, "But Sookie said you'd gone. The diner was closed for weeks, and you weren't here."
"I'd already given Caesar the time off so I closed the diner and went to the cabin. I spent the time fishing and hiking."
"Alone," she confirmed eagerly.
"Yes," was his immediate reply. Lorelai met Luke's eyes briefly, noticing the open and hopeful expression on his face and she suddenly felt weak with relief.
"Okay, I think I need to sit down now," she said unsteadily and moved the few steps to the sofa, sinking down onto the soft cushions. After a moment of hesitation, Luke crossed to sit beside her, and they both remained silent, letting the weight of their conversation settle over them.
He wasn't with Nicole and maybe she hadn't lost her chance after all. Lorelai drew in a deep breath, her mind starting to play catch up with her heart, which had already decided it was party time, the weeks of unhappiness swept away in an instant. She felt overwhelmed by the revelation and so she focused on the least important detail of their argument. Her gaze fell on the bell still sitting on the table and she reached forward to pick it up.
"So I guess I was wasting my money when I bought you an engagement present then," Lorelai said when she could finally find the words.
Luke looked at the bell then, sitting in silence for a moment before he followed her lead and replied, "Engagement present huh? I still don't get why it's a bell."
She drew in a deep breath, feeling the heat of his gaze on her. She kept looking at the bell however, unable to meet his eyes now. "Okay, this is going to sound really stupid. In fact, it's so cheesy I can't believe I got conned into it. But I swear there was this 120 year old Irish woman who was so tiny she probably had leprechaun genes and let me tell you she was very persuasive. I knew that Nicole's last name was Irish, so I asked this lady about Irish wedding gifts. Apparently it's a tradition to give a bell, it's supposed to be good luck. Oh and if two lovers fight, then you're supposed to ring the bell and it breaks the spirit of discontent." She rang the bell gently as she spoke the last words before setting it down on the table. She could still feel Luke watching her, but he didn't respond to her rambling story.
When she cast a quick glance in his direction, she felt her heart start to beat faster when she realized he was staring at her as though she were not only a Porterhouse steak, but a whole five course banquet. The look in his eyes made her stomach flutter with nervous excitement but the implications of that look were suddenly too much to deal with. She stood up to put some distance between them again.
"I need a beer. Do you want a beer?" she asked quickly, exiting to the kitchen before Luke could respond.
When she opened the refrigerator, she stared into it for a perplexed moment, unable to remember why she had come out here. She drew in a deep steadying breath and remembered the beer. After grabbing two bottles, she shut the door and then hovered indecisively. The feeling of nervous excitement seemed to have rendered her incapable of movement.
Suddenly she heard a sound behind her and turned to see that Luke had followed her into the kitchen. He was still staring at her with that silent, hungry gaze. Setting the beers on the table, Lorelai finally asked what she'd been longing to ask for the last five minutes. "Luke, why did you and Nicole break up?"
The intent expression on Luke's face was replaced by one of caution and discomfort. He reached forward for a beer, and picked it up, but then quickly replaced it on the table again. He shoved his hands in his pockets and stared down at the table. "I think it's pretty obvious."
"I need you to tell me Luke," she said softly, barely letting herself believe that everything could be working out now, after the heartache of the last three weeks.
He looked up at her then and it seemed like an eternity before he finally spoke again. "Because of you. And what happened that night." He met her gaze fully now. "Because I had feelings for you."
"Had?" Lorelai asked reflexively.
"Have," Luke replied immediately, the sincerity evident in his voice.
She stared at him for one final moment and then both mind and heart were in agreement that this was indeed party time. She crossed the few feet between them rapidly and wrapped her arms around Luke tightly, burying her face in the crook of his neck as she clutched at the soft material of his flannel. She felt him wrap his arms around her without hesitation, his large hands spread flat across her back as she was pulled ever closer into his embrace. She took in a deep breath, imprinting the moment in her mind: the strength of his arms around her, the rapid beating of his heart, the way his hand tangled in her hair as he tightened his embrace. The wave of joy that was spreading through her was overwhelming in its intensity and although the strength of the emotion scared her, for once in her life it didn't make her want to run. After savoring the moment a little longer, Lorelai lifted her head from Luke's shoulder and spoke throatily into his ear. "In case you were wondering Luke, those feelings are entirely reciprocated."
Luke tightened his embrace for a long moment and almost lifted her off her feet as he hugged her. But then he loosened his arms slightly, and she pulled back to look into his eyes as he grinned widely at her. For a moment they both stood there smiling foolishly at each other, and then slowly Lorelai slid a hand up Luke's chest to grasp his flannel and pulled him towards her. When they kissed, the feeling was at once achingly familiar and yet far better than she remembered. The frantic desperation of six weeks ago was eclipsed by a slow, heated exchange that seemed filled with promise for the future. When they finally parted, Luke settled his hands gently at her waist and she smiled up at his dazed expression, feeling the laughter and joy bubbling within her. Suddenly life seemed filled with possibility.
"So I guess this means we're going steady," she said brightly, feeling her smile widen even further when she saw a slightly irate expression cross his face. "And that makes me your girlfriend?" she continued. "Your significant other? Your main squeeze? Your bit of stuff? Your…"
Her next words were cut off when Luke planted his lips on hers and kissed her decisively. She smiled into the kiss, wrapping her arms around his neck, responding enthusiastically. When Luke broke away breathing heavily, he ran his hands down to settle at the small of her back and said smugly, "Glad to see that works."
"What works?" she asked absently, distracted by the feel of his hands caressing her back.
"I've finally found a way to shut you up," Luke replied, smiling when she frowned at him in mock annoyance. Then some of his previous uncertainty seemed to return. "Just to be certain, you are saying you want us to date…" Luke paused, stumbling over his wording, before adding "…be together?"
"Yes," Lorelai replied immediately, hoping that Luke could hear how certain she was about wanting this. If the events of the last six weeks had shown her anything, it was that even if it was a risk to be taking this next step with Luke, she never again wanted to confront the grim reality of never having had that chance with him at all.
A slow smile crossed Luke's face once more and then he suddenly looked down, as if embarrassed by his expression, gruffly saying, "Good. That's good. Me too."
Then looking once more at her with that same intent expression, he leaned forward to plant a lingering kiss on her lips. Who would have thought that they would be so great at this already, Lorelai thought giddily as the kiss continued and she reached up to knock Luke's baseball cap to the floor. Obviously Luke was a man of many hidden talents and she was looking forward to cataloging those talents in some detail. She threaded her hands through his hair, opening her mouth to deepen the kiss. In response, she could feel his hands drift down to her hips and pull her tight against him.
As the kiss escalated rapidly, in a matter of moments they were stumbling back until Lorelai came up against the kitchen counter. Lorelai felt Luke's hands at her waist lifting her up until she was sitting on the counter. She parted her legs to allow him to step between them and then locked her legs at his hips in an effort to draw him still closer. His hands found their way under her shirt and began to trace urgently over the bare skin of her back and she shuddered in response and deepened the kiss even further.
When they parted for breath some moments later, Lorelai buried her face in the juncture of Luke's neck, grinning when she heard him groan and his hands clutched convulsively at her back. She began to eagerly taste his neck, trailing quick kisses from his neck to his collarbone. She reached between them and fought to undo the top few buttons of his flannel as rapidly as their close proximity would allow. Once the material fell apart slightly, Lorelai eagerly began to trace the well defined muscles she felt through the thin cotton of his T-shirt. Someone's been holding out on me, she thought giddily as she traced her hands across his chest. As her exploration continued, she slid her hand down between them to caress him through his jeans. Luke froze for a moment, his hands stilling on her back, and groaned softly as she sucked at the skin at his collarbone again.
But she only had the chance to continue for a few moments when Luke reached between them, and clasped her hand, pulling it up to his chest. She whimpered in protest but relaxed when he tangled a hand in her hair and pulled her head to his once more, kissing her briefly before he turned his attention to her neck. Apparently it was her turn now. Luke trailed kisses down her neck and she murmured in approval, savoring the friction of the stubble on his face as it brushed against her sensitive skin. She moved her head to the side to allow him easier access as her legs tightened around his hips once more to urge him ever closer. Then she felt his hand trace gently up along her side and brush for an instant against her breast. She gasped out his name, arching into his touch. His hand moved up to play gently with the strap of her tank top for a moment before he pushed it from her shoulder completely.
If Luke continued this, she wasn't going to last much longer, Lorelai distractedly decided as she clutched at his flannel and his mouth began to trace a heated path across the newly exposed skin of her shoulder. She needed to make relocation plans to her bedroom very soon or she'd damn it all and just let him have his way with her here in the kitchen. She almost succumbed as his lips began to trail ever lower, but finally she gathered up enough resolution to pull away and call a halt to his progress. She spoke breathlessly into his ear, "Luke, wait."
He froze in a matter of moments, and before she knew it, the strap of her shirt was back on her shoulder. Luke dropped his hands to rest on the counter either side of her and he rested his forehead on her shoulder as he breathed in heavily.
Then he lifted his head. "Sorry, sorry, you're right," Luke ground out breathlessly as he tried to move away. "We shouldn't rush this."
Lorelai prevented Luke's escape by tightening her grip on his shirt. "Seven years plus the last six weeks is rushing it?" she queried, leaning forward again to plant a trail of kisses down his neck. "I was just going to suggest we move this to a more comfortable location upstairs." She pulled back uncertainly. "Do you want to wait?"
Luke's hands had found their way back to her and were now stroking up and down her arms gently as his eyes drifted closed. "No, not really," he ground out. "But we haven't even been on a… date yet. And there's you and Rory. She's going to college soon and it'll be your last month together."
At the mention of Rory leaving, a little of Lorelai's joy faded. She considered her daughter for a moment and then added, "Rory and I will definitely spend as much time as we possibly can together, and I don't even want to think about the day she leaves." She frowned for a moment, trying to push away those feelings of dread of when that day arrived. But then she looked up and saw the wild, desperate look in Luke's eyes and she smiled again, her joy returning in full force. She leaned forward to speak into his ear, "But she's away all weekend. And even after that she's still going to want to spend time with Lane, and her father and her grandparents. And I want to spend time with... you. We'll have plenty of time to go on a date. But this," she leaned forward to plant a quick kiss on his lips to demonstrate, "I don't want to wait for any longer."
Luke smiled at her words, but she could still see the restraint and caution in his expression. So she locked her arms around Luke's neck and pulled him close to her, kissing him fervently until he responded. When the kiss ended, he pulled away to look into her face once more. He was silent for a long moment and then spoke the words quickly, and a little desperately. "Just don't change your mind about us, okay?"
There were many things she wanted to say in that moment. That she was afraid of taking this step, because however much they both wanted it, there was no guarantee it was going to work out. But that she was more than willing to take that risk because she knew the alternative of never having tried this at all was not one she ever wanted to think about again. That she'd already been blind to this for too many years and she didn't want to wait anymore. She knew they would have those discussions soon, but at the moment, more than anything else she just wanted and needed him. So in the end, she just shook her head and said gently, "Never going to happen."
The expression on his face cleared then and as she slid off the counter, he pulled her into a tight hug. When they parted, Lorelai grinned happily up at Luke again and led him out of the kitchen. By the time they reached the bottom of the stairs, it was obvious he was most definitely coming around to her way of thinking. He pulled her back against him, slipping his arms around her waist and placed a trail of kisses along her neck. Then he propelled her forward and they moved up the stairs rapidly. When they were standing in her room, Luke pulled her close to him once more, his hands slipping under her shirt again to stroke her bare back.
"You're sure?" he asked one last time.
"I'm sure," she replied firmly.
He stumbled slightly over the words as he said uncertainly, "Umm, protection…condom, I have…"
She shook her head her face flushing a little with embarrassment, "I'm all covered."
He smiled at her and then he was pulling her closer and kissing her again, this time with infinite gentleness. When his hands moved under her shirt again, she lifted her arms willingly to let him remove it. They stood closely together, slowly undressing each other. Then they were in each others arms once more, stumbling towards the bed before they fell down onto it.
They took their time in their exploration of each other and each time Lorelai met Luke's gaze, she was overcome by the tenderness she saw there. She responded eagerly to his touch when he traced gentle hands along her body, his lips trailing down her neck. When Luke moved his attention to her breast and took her nipple into his mouth, she arched up under him, her hands clutching at his head to hold him there. He lavished attention on one breast and then the other, as one hand traced lower along her body, caressing her stomach and then lower. Her legs parted and she gasped incoherently when he began to stroke her there. She choked out his name, overcome with desire for him. She couldn't wait anymore. She pulled Luke's head up for another kiss and reached between them to stroke him, reveling in the strangled moan he let out when she touched him.
She broke the kiss to gasp, "Now," into Luke's ear and he pulled back to look at her with desperate blue eyes.
"Yeah?" he muttered and she nodded urgently as he settled between her legs and she guided him to her. Then, excruciatingly slowly, he slid inside her, both of them gasping at the sensation. When they were fully joined, she met his frantic gaze with what she knew to be a frantic one of her own. Then she murmured encouragingly and he began to move inside her, slowly at first, but then picking up pace as she writhed beneath him. Luke caught her mouth in a passionate kiss and Lorelai responded eagerly, threading one hand in his hair. Lost in a sea of sensation, she clutched her other hand at his back as she rapidly approached her peak. Luke dropped his forehead to her shoulder now and he seemed to lose control completely. She could feel herself getting very close, her quiet moans growing louder. Then she tensed, choking out Luke's name as she was pushed over the edge and the waves of pleasure washed over her. He followed her moments later, and she heard him groan her name into her shoulder before he collapsed. Lorelai kept her arms wrapped around Luke as her breathing began to slow, not wanting this moment to end.
When coherence returned, Lorelai rolled over on her side to face Luke, smiling at the satiated expression on his face. She captured his hand between hers and pulled it to her face, kissing it quickly. "And apparently, we are very good at that," she said with smug satisfaction, seeing Luke grin at her in return. "Should have done that years ago," she continued softly as a faint feeling of regret for those lost years rose within her.
An indecipherable expression crossed Luke's face, but then it cleared and he smiled back at her. "We're here now."
She smiled in return and replied, "Yeah, we are."
Later, they lay closely together in her bed. Lorelai rested her head on Luke's chest with one leg thrown over the both of his, and his arms were wrapped around her tightly. As she drifted towards sleep, Lorelai felt a wave of contentment wash over her. It felt like the completion of what had been a very long journey. In the recesses of her mind, she secretly hoped that it was also the beginning of another journey that would take a lifetime to complete.
"Lorelai?" Luke muttered her name softly as he played with her hair.
"Mmm?" she murmured sleepily, opening her eyes for a moment and lifting her head to look up into his face, before resting her head on his chest again.
She felt Luke place a soft kiss on her forehead and smiled when she heard him murmur, "Welcome home."
This time, the eternal question of whether it was 'to be or not to be' finally yielded the correct answer. For Luke and Lorelai, it seemed they were 'to be' and the fork in the road led to something better than friendship. And, because of a proposal that never was, an engagement ring that never was and a cruise that never was, the story of Luke and Lorelai finally had the 'When Harry Met Sally' (sex inclusive) ending.
As a result, for Lorelai, Jason Stiles would always remain merely the annoying 'Digger' from summer camp and her father's business partner. Nicole would still have her sockman, but she would not have to commit adultery to get him. Luke and Lorelai would still break the church bells. But the only fight they would have about Luke moving would be the one eight months later about whether Luke's singing fish would be joining the two of them (and Rory during the holidays) in the Crap Shack. Although the renovations for the Dragonfly would still be messy, complicated and expensive, there would, at least, be no meltdown in the park. Luke would already be there to give Lorelai coffee in the morning and would be there to sign for the sink to prevent it being sent back to Canada. And when Luke stayed in lucky room number seven during the test run, this time he would, in fact, get lucky (and in a 'on a table, like in Bull Durham' way too).
The road would not be without potholes, of course, and it would not be a fairytale life. There would be plenty of other opportunities for meltdowns. There would always be Christopher and Richard and Emily and Liz and TJ and Jess to cause unwanted complications. There would still be arguments, misunderstandings and insecurities. There would also be the inevitable conflicts that would take place when two independent, headstrong individuals tried to merge their lives. But the good times would far outweigh the bad.
There would be a marriage. There would be a whole package. And there would be waltzing.
Fin