A/N: Well, ladies and gents, I'm back. Paper is turned in, and I can finally focus more attention on my story. This chapter is dedicated to Curt, a boy I don't know, but, thanks to the story from orangesherbert7 , has become my procrastinating hero. Also, I dedicate this to gilmoregirlsfanatic just because I loved your review, babe!

Chapter 6: Bubbles are Band-Aids for Bad Days

Lorelai discovered a hidden talent as she managed to open her front door with her elbows, hands full of books, papers, magazines, and Al's. It was Friday evening, around 6:30, and she had the most horrible day. It started off with her alarm not going off when it was supposed to. She was nearly late to work and had no time to stop by Luke's to get some coffee. Once at the inn, Michel being more of an ass than normal, complaining about one thing or another, and then being rude to the guests. Sookie's temporary chef screwed up the menu and had a panic attack in the kitchen. After having him breathe into a paper sack, Lorelai made the freaked chef go home and had to make do with the rest of the kitchen crew. Nobody had thought to make coffee, and Lorelai had more crap to deal with than time to make a cup. To top it off, she was planning a wedding for Bridezilla, with Momenstein cheering her on, both thorns in her coffee deprived side. Any idea that Lorelai came up with was never good enough. Michel and the two women would have made quite a combo that day. She had brought several wedding books and magazines home with her to give her inspiration, but had a sinking feeling that this wedding would be the death of her. Christopher had called at the inn a total of three times, causing Michel to hurl a number of profanities as he handed her messages and nagged about personal calls at work. Finally, she was home and all she could think about was taking a long soak in the tub, followed by a pot of coffee and a night of mindless television. Maybe even a quick call to Rory…

Meanwhile, at the diner, Luke was pulling together a few things for his movie night with Lorelai. He wasn't going to lie to himself; he was a little excited about spending the evening with her. Everyday, he felt himself growing closer and closer to Lorelai as they bantered and chatted. He never had this kind of relationship with a woman, not even with any of his old girlfriends. Not even with Rachel. Hell, he never had this kind of friendship with another man. With Lorelai, things were different. Luke felt like he could tell her anything and she would not think any less of him. Something had definitely changed that drunken night, almost a week ago now. He was starting to remember more and more, but wasn't sure if he should say anything to Lorelai yet.

After placing the food in the sack, he made sure that Caesar and Jess had everything under control and began to walk away. Before coming to the door, he remembered that Lorelai hadn't been into the diner that morning and had missed her coffee. Just in case, he filled a to-go cup and left the diner to the capable hands of his two employees.

Ignoring the blinking light of the answering machine and dumping all her junk on the desk, Lorelai took her dinner into the kitchen to see what sort of surprise Al had in store for her today. It was Grab Bag Night, a festive event filled with questionable smells and textures. Opening up her take-out container, her nostrils were overwhelmed with a powerful stench. Indian food…gross. If Rory had been there, she would have traded with her Indian-food loving daughter. But, she was constantly reminded of her daughter's absence and tossed the container into the trash. After making a quick sweep of the kitchen, she discovered nothing edible. Maybe I could go to Luke's after my bath. I didn't get my coffee/sarcastic diner mans fix today. Maybe we could have another card game.

Lorelai made her mind up about going to Luke's and wandered upstairs, taking off her shoes and stockings as she went. She started up the bathtub, dumping an enormous glob of Mr. Bubble into her water. Today definitely warrants an extra dose of bubbles. After stripping out of the rest of her clothes, she slid into the warm water and sighed. Leaning her head back and closing her eyes, she allowed her toes to play with the running water, and put them to good use when it was time to turn off the facet. Lorelai was surrounded by a wonderland a bubbles, which usually carried every bad thought away until her mind was a complete blank. Today, however, was different. Instead on focusing on all the little things that went wrong, her mind just went to one crazy thought; Luke. Every time she had a free moment, she reluctantly went back to him. What happened that night? Why can I only remember traces of things? Was that dream real or fake? Did I almost kiss Luke when I was drunk? Did I want to kiss Luke? How else could I explain the burn on my hand? Gah, so many inconsistencies! Where is the line drawn?

Opening her eyes, Lorelai once again examined the burn scar on her left hand. It was starting to fade now. Strange. Without warning, she felt as if she was transported to her "dream."

Luke went back behind the curtain to grab more beers. After she made sure he was gone, Lorelai paced the diner, hand close to her chest. She had come to the diner for a cup of coffee and they ended up bitching about their failed relationships. What the hell almost happened? Would she have kissed him? Did he want to kiss her? She wasn't so sure. Way too many drinks tonight. She needed something cool on her head. Still not thinking straight, she laid down on the floor.

Luke returned with the beers and sat down next her. The kajillion thoughts running around in her head made her heart pound. Luke was like a stone, his face emotionless as he handed her a beer. She had to know what he was thinking. Then, when she knew what was in his mind, she could gauge her own thoughts accordingly.

"Truth or Dare?" She asked. He looked confused, but answered. "Truth."

"Did you just try to kiss me?"

"Yes." Oh God! Heart was beating faster. It was so loud in her ears that she could've sworn Luke heard it too. "Truth or Dare?"

"Dare." Lorelai wasn't sure why she responded with a dare. She was still trying to digest what Luke just said.

"I dare you to kiss me."

Lorelai jolted up to a sitting position in the tub, heart ramming in her ribcage. Was that another dream? She attempted to breathe normally, but it came out in gasps. All week, she had tried to convince herself that the dream from the other night was, in fact, a dream. Did this, whatever it was, prove otherwise? I'm so confused…She brought her hands up to her temples and rubbed. Her breath caught in her throat when she heard her front door slam shut.

Now her heart was beating again, only now because of fear. It's not Rory, because, duh, she's in Washington. Sookie, back early maybe?

"Sook?" she called. Silence. Could be Babette, she's been checking up on me all week?

"Babette?" She heard shuffling downstairs and a voice. A man's voice. Definitely not Babette's. "Lorelai?" the voice called back to her.

"Luke? Is that you?"

"Lorelai? Where are you?"

"In my room. What are you doing here?"

"I thought we were watching Casablanca tonight. I brought the food."

Lorelai's hand smacked her forehead. Oh my God! I can't believe I forgot! I was really looking forward to this last night…"Oh my God, Luke, I'm so sorry. I completely forgot. I'll be downstairs in a sec. Make yourself comfy. Whatever you do, don't come up here."

Lorelai jumped as carefully and gracefully as she could out of the now bubble-less tub. She wrapped herself in a towel, mentally cursing herself for forgetting about their movie night. We just talked about it yesterday. How could I forget? I can't believe I forgot! I feel terrible. She walked to her bedroom door that she hadn't bothered to shut earlier, quietly closed it, and dug out panties and a bra from the open dresser drawer.. Lorelai found the first comfortable looking clothes on the floor and slid into jeans and a black t-shirt. She snorted when she looked down. She was wearing a Bon Jovi concert shirt. That's funny! 'Livin' on a Prayer' has been stuck in my head all week.

Once dressed, Lorelai practically ran down the stairs and nearly collided with Luke, still standing near the entrance to her living room. He reacted fast and reached for her elbow to balance her.

"Luke, Gah! I almost killed myself!"

"You okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. I am sooooo sorry about tonight. I can't believe I forgot about our movie night. I had a hellish day at work, and I know that's not a great excuse, but it completely slipped my mind."

"If you want, we could just do this later. I don't want to interrupt your plans." Luke was frowning, still clutching the bag of food. Does it mean something when she says she forgot? I have always been terrible at getting into a woman's head. Now, Lorelai's head, that's not a place where I would like to spend a lot of time…

"Nonsense, Luke, you just interrupted my pity bath. Please, please, please stay. I was really looking forward to introducing you to classic Bogy." She looked down at the bag in his hand, "And you brought food. Aw, you do remember some things about me." She took the bag out of his hand and made her way to the kitchen, not checking to see if Luke followed. Did I just make myself sound incredibly desperate back there? I could really use his company tonight, but I mean, come on! Get a grip, Lorelai.

As a way of accepting Lorelai's seemingly genuine request to stay, he grabbed the small bag he had hidden in the hall and followed her into the kitchen She was furiously opening cupboards, looking for God only knows what, Luke's bag abandoned on the table.

"I'm sorry; I forgot to buy food on the way home. So, the only edible thing in my kitchen is your food."

"No problem, I probably wouldn't touch the junk you bought anyway."

"Who said you would be allowed to eat any of it," Lorelai said, showing him her best scowl. Obviously not waiting for a reaction or comment from him, she anxiously dug her hands into the plastic bag, producing four Styrofoam containers. Not quite satisfied with its contents, she gave Luke a pouty expression.

"No coffee?"

"No, it'll kill you someday."

"You always say that, you need to come up with something different." Lorelai then noticed the bag in Luke's hand and raised an eyebrow, "What's that?"

"Salad dressing," he said quickly, putting the bag behind his back.

"I don't believe you."

"See for yourself," he told her, handing over the bag. Luke didn't lie; there was salad dressing. Next to it, however, was a steaming to-go cup."

"Luke," she said with the most serious expression she could muster, "You have never looked more beautiful to me then you do right now." Luke rolled his eyes and grabbed the containers from the table, taking them into the living room. Lorelai smiled and grabbed a beer from the fridge for Luke. He had set the food down on the coffee table, and reviewed the selection of movies she had placed on the DVD player.

"There's more than just Casablanca here."

"Well, this is post-Casablanca flicks for your viewing pleasure. All starring Humphrey Bogart." She sat down on the couch and Luke placed Casablanca in the DVD player. Lorelai was slightly surprised that he knew how to work it, but then she remembered that she made him hook it up long ago. She opened all the containers and Luke took a seat on the end of the couch, remote in hand.

"What's To Have and Have Not? That sounds familiar."

"Oh," Lorelai said, nearly choking on her coffee, "Only my favorite Bogy/Bacall movie. You know how to whistle, don't you, Luke?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Never mind. What's that green stuff?"

"Salad. It's mine."

"Clearly." Lorelai handed him the beer, and took an enormous bite out of her burger.

"I got you a nice, cold beer," she said with her mouth full.

"Appreciate it and that's disgusting." Lorelai smiled, showing off some of her food, and Luke turned his body away. She swallowed and began to get serious about movie night.

"Okay. You are one click away from Casablanca."

"Okay, I'll start it up."

"No, whoa, whoa, whoa." She said rather loudly, snatching the remote from his hands. It was time to explain the rules. "We need to get situated. Are you all situated?"

"I'm situated."

"You need to, like, squish around a little?"

"I don't need to," he said gruffly, wondering what was going through her head, even though he really didn't want to know.

"Come on, squish around a little bit."

"I'm fine how I am."

"Okay, but, uh, you can't squish during the movie because it's distracting. That's rule number one."

Jeez, here it comes… "There's rules?"

"Oh, yeah, especially for a true classic like Casablanca. It's not like we're watching a there's-nothing-else-on movie or a guilty pleasure like Hardbodies. Oh, my God. Have you seen Hardbodies?"

"I don't think so."

"Three middle-aged guys rent a beach house and they hire this young local stud to introduce them to cute girls, a.k.a. Hardbodies" she exclaimed excitedly.

"Let's see that" he stated nonchalantly, munching on his salad.

"No, Luke," she rolled her eyes; "We're seeing Casablanca."

"Then let's see that."

"Okay, the rest of the rules - no talking during the movie. No exceptions during a true classic. And minimize distraction. You know, no shifting around a lot, no phone calls, nothing. No going to the bathroom. If you go, you miss the movie 'cause we're not pausing the movie. That's the only way to get the flow of the thing, okay?"

"Fair enough," he agreed, knowing he would probably get kicked out if he argued.

"Okay. Here we go. Play it, Sam" Lorelai said, handing him the remote. When she just received a stare in return, she just pressed play herself. The movie began, and Lorelai wished that the DVD player would let her fast forward through the FBI warning.

"What's that?" Luke asked, against his better judgment. Lorelai sneered at him and pressed the pause button.

"Okay, um. . .A, um, no talking during the movie, and B, don't tell me you've never seen the FBI warning before."

"It's new to me."

"Oh, my God. You're beyond monk. You're uber-monk."

"Just start it up. I won't talk again."

"Okay, just one more warning - when they showed the first motion picture over a hundred years ago, it featured a train rushing toward the camera, and, um, people were so sure the train was going to burst off the screen and crush them that they ran away in terror. Now, Luke," she said in a patronizing tone, to add dramatic emphasis:the train is not going to leave the screen…" She waved her arms, remote in hand, as she emphasized each point. Luke had enough.

"Hit the button."

"Okay."

An hour and fifteen broken rules later, Luke was starting on his second beer and Lorelai was glaring at him for slightly moving. Apparently, Lorelai could break the rules, but he couldn't. A few minutes after the opening credits rolled, Lorelai pushed pause, ignoring Luke's grunts of protest, and meandered into the kitchen for a beer. Fifteen minutes later, the phone rang and Lorelai talked to Rory for ten minutes. He was content just keeping to himself during the conversation, but Lorelai insisted that he be an active part of chat. Twenty minutes after she hung up, Lorelai pushed pause again to go to the bathroom. That's Lorelai for you…

Now, as he nursed his beer, Luke couldn't help but notice Lorelai staring and smiling at him with his peripheral vision. He was starting to get irritated because Lorelai would turn to look at him right before something important happened.

"Stop doing that." Luke finally commanded, fed up.

"Shh, no talking."

"Then stop doing that."

"Doing what?"

"Looking at me."

"Vain party, table for one."

"You know what I mean. You're watching me watch the movie. It's creepy."

"I enjoy watching people watch certain parts of certain movies."

"But you look over just before something big happens, so I always know something's coming."

"Oh, I do?"

"You did it just before Humphrey Bogart saw Ingrid Bergman for the first time."

"Well, she's the costar. You knew something was coming."

With that, Lorelai rewound the tape and fought the urge to watch Luke enjoy the movie. At least, I think he's enjoying the movie. He would be complaining if he didn't. She liked sharing this with Luke and she could tell that behind his irritated expression, he was enjoying it too.

"Bogy certainly has a lot of appeal," She said randomly.

"You're talking"

"Oh come on, rules were made to be broken."

"You are breaking your own rules. What's the point of even having them?"

"Well, you can't have a great institute without rules. Otherwise, there's mass chaos."

"You make absolutely no sense." They were silent again, and Luke felt bad for breaking up the conversation. "Yeah, I guess he does have some appeal. Has a good hold on that Ingrid Bergman."

Lorelai smiled, glad that he was going to break the rules to talk, "I think he's a great mystery. You never know what he's going to do next. One minute you think you know everything bout him, and the next, he takes you by surprise. One great mystery."

"I've always been too 'by the book' to be mysterious." Lorelai, who had just took a sip of her beer, began to cough wildly. Luke patted her back and her breath came in gasps.

"You okay?"

"Yeah cough I'm good. Cough cough You cough hilarious!"

"What?"

Lorelai's breath calmed and she giggled, "You just said you were 'by the book.' I couldn't begin to figure you out if I tried."

"You can't be serious."

"Oh, but I am. You seem like an average Joe, but deep down, you are mysterious Mister."

"You are one to talk."

"Me?" Lorelai said innocently, with a laugh, "Well, I guess you're right."

They both took a drink of their beer and tried to watch the rest of the movie. Luke, however, couldn't concentrate. He was curious. He always just assumed that he was average, generic. It was strange to him that anyone would think different.

"What is it," he finally asked, trying not to sound anxious, "That makes me mysterious?" Lorelai got an evil grin on her face.

"This is really bothering you, isn't it?"

She's got me. Damn! "I was just wondering. It's not like it's a life or death situation." Lorelai was still smiling at him and it was unnerving. He hated that she had that effect on him sometimes.

"You really want to know?"

"If you are willing to disclose, why not?"

It was starting to become a game to Lorelai, and she was competitive. She could tell that Luke really wanted to know why she considered him to be mysterious. The truth was, Lorelai wasn't sure if she could sum up her thoughts and form words. It could come out in a jumbled mess, leaving Luke more confused than when she suggested the original idea. Perhaps she could distract Luke long enough that he would get frustrated with her and let her have her way. Like she thought before, it was all a game.

"You sure?"

"Lorelai," he groaned. He knew she was trying to make this into a game, and he was too curious to be playful.

"Okay, okay, fine, I'll tell you. But, keep in mind that this has never been said out loud so I may have trouble getting the words out."

"Shoot."

"Okay. Like you said, you are a 'by the book guy.' You live by a particular routine. You get up every morning and go to bed every night around the same time. You open and close the diner everyday."

"I don't see how that makes me a mystery."

"Hmmm, so I established that you live by a particular routine. You are a hermit and anti-social."

"I'm waiting for this to become a compliment." He said, slightly annoyed.

"I'm getting there. Stop interrupting."

"Fine, please continue."

"Thank you. As I was saying, you are run by your routine, which makes it seem like we know everything about you. We've been friends for, what, five or six years, right?"

"Something like that."

"So, I have been your friend for awhile now, and you would think I would know everything about you. I know your routines and I know you live by yourself." Lorelai felt like she was getting no where, trying to dig out a point from deep within her brain. She kept repeating the same stuff over and over again.

"I believe you established that."

"Right. So…uh…Because I know those things about you, you would think that you would be very predictable to me. Like, every morning I would come into the diner and know exactly what you are going to say and how you are going to react."

"But…" This is becoming interesting.

"But, you aren't. You are anything but predictable. You think fast. You can keep up with my comments and you manage to surprise me at times."

"Really?" He asked, his expression softening.

"Yeah. And then, one might see you as this gruff, grumpy dude, but then you go off and surprise me again. I mean, you brought ice to my daughter's birthday party and built her bookshelves. You made me a Santa burger and drove me to the hospital when my dad was there. You played cards with me when I had a bad date and talked to me about marriage when I wasn't ready to think about it. You, annoyed diner man, built me a chuppah when I was getting married. You took your nephew and cared for him as your own, even when everyone, me included, thought you couldn't do it. Then, when I am horrible to you and practically damn you to hell, you find it in your heart to forgive. I walked into your diner, a holy wreck, and you poured me a cup of coffee and you forgave me." Lorelai took a big breath when she was finished, not knowing how she managed to get all that out in one setting. WOW. I started a lot of sentences with 'you.'

It was nearly overwhelming to Luke to hear all those things come out of her mouth. All he could manage to say was, "Wow. I never-wow."

"Yeah, I wasn't really expecting for the conversation to go this way." She paused, leaning her side against the couch with her head resting on the cushion, facing Luke. Luke did the same, turning to look at her.

"I dare you to kiss me." Luke said simply. He didn't know what possessed him. The sound of those words coming out of his mouth shocked him. When he realized the extent of what he just proposed, he took off his cap and ran his fingers through his hair, clearly uncomfortable.

Lorelai's eyes widened. Did he just say what she thought she heard? Did Luke Danes, master of the monosyllable, avoider of the awkward, just ask her to kiss him. Oh my God.

Luke couldn't think straight. The alcohol was finally getting to him. Say something Danes, anything!

"What did I just say?" He asked, glad that he wasn't looking at her.

"I think you just dared me to kiss you."

"Okay, that's what I thought I heard come out of my mouth. Sorry, I take it back."

"You can't take back a dare. That's against the rules."

"Since when are there rules? You said the 'sky's the limit' earlier."

"Luke, these are basic Truth or Dare rules. When someone dares you to do something, you have to do it. You can't take it back." Lorelai was starting to fidget uncomfortably. Was she really suggesting that she go through with it? What is going on?

Luke turned to her finally, "Lorelai, I don't know what come over me earlier, by the sink, and I don't know why I said what I said, but you don't have to do it, any of it."

Lorelai was confused, her mind running a mile a minute. One minute she was wondering what it would be like to kiss Luke and the next she was freaking out over it. One minute she thought Luke wanted to kiss her, but now she wasn't so sure. One minute she was ready to take him up on his dare and then she wanted chicken out. She sat up, not sure of what she was doing, nerves causing her hands to shake slightly. Luke saw her rise, eyebrows raised in a question, wondering if she was doing what he thought she was doing. Wondering why he was suddenly moving closer to her.

They were closer now, both becoming more nervous by the second. Both minds running rampant. Both hearts beating furiously. Luke cautiously lifted his hand, tucking her loose hair behind her ear. He hair was soft, unnerving Luke. She closed her eyes for a bit, opening them again to look straight into his eyes. She was breathing hard, he had a strange effect on her.

"What are we doing here?" Luke asked, allowing his hand to come up and touch her face again, thumb slightly rubbing her cheek.

"I, um, I don't know." She couldn't concentrate. All she could think about was Luke's hand on her face, making her come unglued. She wanted to kiss him. Now there was no question.

Luke's hand slowly made its way to her lips. He was too damn nervous to go any faster. He leaned in closer to her face, thumb now rubbing under her lip. He brushed her nose gently with his own nose, causing chills to go up her spine. It seemed like he was going to do it. Luke was really going to kiss her.

His lips had nearly touched Lorelai's, when a voice broke the silence, causing the couple to break a part again.

"I'm going out again. I'll be back in an hour." Luke broke his intense gaze with Lorelai as Jess made his way across the diner. He grabbed his abandoned beer and took a long swig. Lorelai couldn't will herself to move.

"Jeez, get a room you two," Jess stated sarcastically, walking out the door. Lorelai grabbed her beer and finished it off. They weren't going to talk about what just happened, or almost happened. They had lost their nerve. They were just going to get really drunk, maybe forget that it ever happened...

"I guess what I am trying to say is that one minute, I think I know you like a friend should. But, then you go and do something totally unexpected and incredibly sweet. And, I am just mystified. You are a mystery to me, Luke Danes."

"Huh," Luke said, and then scolded himself for sounding like Jess. "Okay, that makes sense then." I never knew she thought so highly of me.

"Okay," Lorelai said with a smile.

They talked more, for more than an hour. The movie was long forgotten. They talked about Rory and Jess, then the inn and the diner. Thy brought up favorite Stars Hollow moments and discussed the oddities of certain Stars Holloweeans. Particularly, Kirk. She would laugh, and he would smirk. This is nice, she couldn't help thinking. Why don't we do this more often?

The TV screen was blue and there was a lull in the conversation. They were still in the same position, facing each other, but not looking in each other's eyes right then. I haven't talked to her about the other night in awhile. Should I ask?

"How are you?" He asked, hoping she would catch the deeper context of the statement. She turned her blue eyes back to him upon hearing his voice.

"In general?"

"More specific actually."

"You can just say that you are asking about the whole Christopher, we got drunk together, thingy."

Luke shrugged. "Something like that."

She took a breath, "I'm doing good. I can honestly say that. That night helped a lot, talking to you and just being with you. Then talking to Rory helped as well. I'm still not taking his calls. I'm trying to see how long it takes him to take a hint." She added with a laugh. Luke seemed satisfied with that answer. He kept going back to that night, the infamous night that he called "that night" in his head. He knew that before then, she might've lied to him about how she was truly feeling. Things changed that night and he could be certain that she wasn't trying to hide from him anymore. The tough exterior was gone and the Wonder Woman mask was off. Lorelai wasn't afraid to be Lorelai in front of him now.

"Can I ask you something?" she asked, interrupting his thoughts. He returned eye contact, faces slightly closer than before.

"Shoot."

"Are you starting to remember things from the other night?" Lorelai felt nervous asking him. She had been given glimpses into their night in the form of her dream and her flashback in the bath tub. What if Luke remembered more? What if he didn't remember anything.

"A little. Bits and pieces." Should I tell her what I remember? Should I tell her about my dream and how I don't think it was a dream anymore?

"Call me crazy," she confessed, voice conveying all seriousness, "I think my burn was from that night."

"I remember that now."

"Is that why you asked me about it when we were playing cards?"

"Pretty much, I wasn't sure if it was real or if I had just dreamed it. After I saw the scar, I pretty much knew."

Lorelai's breath was ragged, there was more she wanted to say, more things that she remembered in the bath tub. She wasn't sure if she should.

"We played Truth or Dare." She said, playing it safe.

"You sang a very drunk rendition of 'Livin' on a Prayer. Nice shirt by the way." Lorelai laughed.

"Thanks, and those drunk songs are never planned."

Luke kept vacillating between whether he should bring up the 'almost kiss' or not. It was clear to him now, no longer surrounded by a drunken haze. It had happened twice; that is, almost happened twice. We were drunk. It didn't mean anything. I don't want to screw this up.

Lorelai rose up on her elbow, neck resting on her hand. She needed to be Wonder Woman. She just needed to suck it up and say what happened.

"We were pretty drunk. Ii was strange because I always remember stuff."

"Yeah, we were."

"Luke," she said, letting out air sharply. She needed to say it quickly, before she lost her nerve. Her mask of bravado. "I thinkwealmoskissd."

"What?"

"I said, I think we almost kissed."

He paused, slightly glad she had brought it up first. "I think you are right."

"You remember too?"

"Starting to."

"What do we do, now that we remember?"

"Lorelai," he said, rising to her level, "We are friends. We were drunk. I don't want this to get in the way of this."

"Me neither," she said with a sigh of relief. Luke smiled at her and she grinned back. It felt good to talk about it with him, even though some things were still unresolved. Lorelai was also frustrated. She could remember some things, core things, but no little details. She had wanted to kiss him that night, she knew that now. But, the details were still fuzzy. What does that mean?

A strand of hair came loose and fell into Lorelai's eyes. Before Luke knew what he was doing, his hand moved to fix it. It was such a familiar feeling. It was such an overwhelming feeling. Her eyes softened as Luke's hand lingered longer. He knew he should move and stop, but he couldn't bring himself to do it. Most of all, Lorelai didn't try to stop him. He wasn't thinking, his thumb absently rubbed her face.

"What are we doing?" Lorelai asked, saying a phrase that was strangely familiar to her.

"Hell if I know." And Luke leaned in close, brushing her nose, giving her chills.

RING. The shrill beep of the phone caused Lorelai to move back and look at Luke. Oh my God, oh my God! What are we doing? What did I just want to do?

Luke got up quick, gathering the trash from the coffee table. Lorelai sat on the couch, not able to move, not even able to breathe. Luke had to keep himself busy in order to think. What did I almost do? Didn't I just say I didn't want to ruin our friendship? Didn't we just agree not to let what we did while we were drunk get in the way of our relationship? Dammit Danes, you need to think about this!

The phone continued to ring; no one made an effort to get it. The answering machine picked up, Lorelai's voice saying something cute and funny. Then Christopher's voice filled the room:

"Look, Lore. I can't stop thinking about what happened. I'm sorry. I really screwed you over this time. I can't sleep at night. I just need to talk to you and make this righ-"

BEEP, message deleted. Luke approached her, not sure what to what to do or say.

"It's late, I should probably go."

"Okay," she said quietly. This was too much. First she tried to screw things up with Luke, and the Christopher called. Her head started to hurt. Very bad day.

"Thanks for the movie," he said politely, "I'll see you later?"

He posed this as a question, not sure what would happen next. She nodded hesitantly and walked him to the door. Luke kept inwardly cursing himself for what happened, for what he almost did. I keep saying I don't want to screw this up. What the hell am I doing?

They said their goodnights, and Lorelai leaned her back against the door until she heard Luke's truck pull out of the driveway. She didn't know what to do. She didn't even know what to think. Everything was so muddled, and she hated that she had wanted Luke to kiss her. Grabbing the phone, she made her way up the stairs to her bedroom. She needed to talk to her daughter, the one friendship she couldn't screw up. Then again, she was tired all of as sudden. Tuning off the lights and taking off her jeans, she decided to call Rory tomorrow, when she had slept on it. After all, tomorrow is another day.

A/N: WOW, I made this chapter uber long (got my roommate saying uber now, hehehehe). Sorry about that. I guess this makes up for not having enough time to write earlier this week. I like to include little moments from the show when they are so perfect that I could never write anything to rival them. Thus, I included Luke and Lorelai's movie night from Season 4. I hope you guys enjoyed it. I don't think I say this enough, but I love reviewers! Truly, truly, truly I do.

I am waiting for a great inspiration on where I should take the next chapters. If you have any ideas, please let me know. I'm also trying not to make this too corny, but I love a good fluff story. Let me know when the romance stuff gets sickening and I'll tone it down. I value all your opinions, the good, the bad, and the ugly (who am I kidding? You guys are all good).

I'll briefly bring up Tuesday's episode. Glad the Lorelai/Rory banter is back. Luke better tell Lorelai soon, but the spoilers aren't looking promising. Anyone else think that there's something else wrong with Zack other than the whole jealousy thing? Can't wait til January!