"So what are you doing today?" Jess asked as they walked as slowly as possible back into town.
"I dunno," Rory replied. "I was planning on having lunch with my mom and then maybe catching a movie with Lane, but then Dean wanted to talk and all that happened, so I'm pretty sure Mom is done with lunch. And Lane is probably still working on her ad, so that puts me alone for a while."
"Ad?" he asked, slightly confused.
"She's looking for a band," she explained. "She's gotten really good at the drums over the last month, so now all she needs is a band to play with."
"Makes sense," he smiled at her logic. Only she would find it normal for a drummer to put an ad in the paper for a band and not the other way around. Quirky little town.
"So what are you doing today?" she asked him.
"I thought I'd hang out with my girlfriend," he replied casually. "Do you think she'd be up for it?"
"I'm pretty sure she'd love to," Rory smiled. "How about Luke's for now? I'm starving."
"Luke's it is," he replied as they ambled toward the diner.
All around them, Jess saw people glancing at them, whispering amongst themselves. He could feel their eyes on his back as his arm hung casually around Rory's waist. He could tell that they were all talking about him, and for some reason, that didn't sit well in his stomach.
"What's wrong?" Rory asked as he tightened his grip on her.
"Why is everyone staring at me like I'm Kevin Bacon in 'Footloose'?" he asked.
Rory looked around and noticed the spectators. "Oh," she replied, not at all surprised or worried, "it's just the fact that you're new in town and that you're with me. This town has no secrets."
"Meaning?" he asked raising an eyebrow.
"Meaning that you'll be scrutinized to no end by everyone here," she replied apologetically. "The fact that you have your arm around me right now will probably be in the newspaper tomorrow morning."
"Small towns sure are friendly," he said dryly.
"I'm sorry," she said. "I didn't mean for my status as town princess to get you in trouble."
"Princess, huh?" he smirked, remembering how he'd called her that with his friends. "Well, if I'm Kevin Bacon, doesn't that make you the reverend's daughter?"
"With a lot less rebellion," she replied, "and I seriously doubt anyone would attend a church where my mother was reverend."
"I could only imagine," he chuckled.
"But yeah," she said a little embarrassed, "I've always kind of been a child of the town. Since my mom was so young when she had me and we moved here, we both kind of grew up here. And since everyone was there to see me grow up, they all look after me, like a really big extended family. They all watch to make sure I'm safe and okay, and no one comes near me without everyone knowing about it."
"Good to know," he said, holding the door open for her as they entered the diner.
"So he found you," Lorelai stated, a tiny smile on her face. Rory had the feeling she would have gotten up to hug her daughter, but she looked tired, worn. The treatments from a few weeks earlier were still taking their toll, and she was just about to start up again. So she just stayed sitting on her stool at the counter, showing her happiness from afar.
"He found me," Rory replied smiling back, trying to hide her concern as she leaned against him and he held her tighter.
Just then, Luke came out if the kitchen, almost dropping the coffee pot when he saw the two wrapped around each other.
"Okay, now I want to know what's going on," he said putting the pot down on the counter, not even noticing when Lorelai took the liberty of pouring herself another cup. "First Jess and Lorelai are talking in tongues, apparently having already met. Now you two walk in with your arms around each other like you're a couple."
"We are a couple," Rory chuckled.
"A couple of people?" Luke asked, trying very hard to stay oblivious.
"No, Luke," Jess said slowly, as if talking to a small child, "we're a couple. As in dating, going out, going steady, courting, or whatever the hell people in this town call it." Rory elbowed him softly in the ribs, smiling at the look on Luke's face.
"When did this happen?" he asked. "You've been here less than two hours."
"Jess and I met in New York while Mom was in London," Rory replied. "I had no idea you two were related."
"Quite a coincidence," Lorelai chimed in.
"And you guys got together in New York?" he asked, still trying to let it all sink in.
"You are getting really slow in your old age," Lorelai said completely straight-faced.
"This is just really strange," he said. "I mean, how the hell did you two end up together?"
"Gee thanks, Uncle Luke," Jess said dryly.
"He's friends with my cousin," Rory explained. "We met at a party and became friends. It all just kind of developed from there."
"So you're together," Luke said.
"We're together," Rory smiled.
"Okay," Lorelai said, "now that we've all agreed on that, can we get some food here for my darling daughter and your dreamy nephew?"
"Did she just call me dreamy?" Jess whispered.
"She did indeed," Rory chuckled.
"Aw geez," he moaned under his breath.
"So what do you guys want?" Luke asked.
"Burger and a soda," she replied sitting on the stool next to her mother. "You want anything," she asked Jess.
"Same," he replied. "I need to get something from upstairs. Call me if I'm not back before the food's done," Jess said, kissing Rory on the cheek before heading up to the apartment.
As Luke went to make their order and Jess disappeared behind the curtain, Lorelai turned to her daughter. "So," she said in a lowered voice, "how'd it go with Dean?"
"Dean is Dean," she sighed with slight discontent. "He didn't really look too happy when he left."
"Because of . . ." Lorelai tilted her head towards the stairs where Jess had been moments ago.
"Yep," Rory replied. "Jess kind of walked in on me telling Dean to stop trying to fix a relationship that doesn't exist anymore. I, being stunned off my feet at seeing him standing there, ran to him and threw my arms around him. And then we kissed, and then Dean got really, really angry-faced and red."
"I see," Lorelai said taking a sip of her coffee to avoid saying anything else.
"I just wish we could be friends without him trying to make it something more," Rory sighed unhappily, taking a sip of her soda as well.
"Rory, honey," Lorelai said sympathetically, "I know that you are the second most irresistible female in this town, but you really have to ease up on that love potion you're putting on. Pretty soon you'll have Rune knocking on our door, and nobody wants that." Then after a moment, in a slightly more serious tone, "Look, if he can't handle being your friend without pressuring you, all I can say is it's his loss. You can't change how he feels."
"I know," she said nodding her head to herself. "I just have to keep telling myself that."
"And hey," Lorelai said with a little more enthusiasm, "you're happy, right?"
"Yes I am," Rory smiled, watching as Jess reappeared from behind the curtain. "I definitely am."
"Then that's all that matters," Lorelai smiled, brushing the hair out of her daughter's face. She could almost feel herself tearing up. Her baby daughter was growing up, and – God willing – she would be there to see it happen.
"Are you okay, Mom?" Rory asked, concern in her eyes. "You look tired."
"I'm okay, baby," she said glancing over her daughter's shoulder at the boy sitting there. "I just have to get back to work." She didn't want to make Rory worry when she had better things to think about right then.
"Are you sure?" Rory said. "I'm sure they wouldn't mind if you took the afternoon off."
"I'll be fine," she said, standing. "Here's a twenty for lunch, and another for whatever. Have fun and stay out of trouble. Be home before I call the cops." She handed her daughter the money, kissed her on the forehead, and headed out the door.
"So," Jess said, sitting beside Rory as Luke set their food in front of them, "I didn't come back too soon, did I? You guys had sufficient girl-talk time for now?"
"We managed," she chuckled, watching her mother disappear before taking a bite of her burger. "So I was thinking," she said between bites, "since there's really not much going on around town right now, you could come over to my house and we could watch movies."
"Sounds good," he replied nodding.
"What kind of movies do you feel like?" she asked. "The video store down the street has a pretty good selection, though some titles you won't find since Taylor went through and took out what he deemed to be too offensive for a nice town like this."
"Why does he get to decide?" Jess asked, looking at her like she was crazy.
"He runs a lot of committees," she replied. "And he owns a lot of the small businesses around here. I really think he's trying to buy up the entire town and turn it into Taylorville, where all the women wear hoopskirts and all the houses are the same shape, size, and color."
"Creepy," Jess grimaced, then a smirk flickered over is features, "though I would pay to see you in a hoopskirt."
Rory almost choked on her cheeseburger, laughing at the statement. "I could show you pictures," she laughed, and his head whipped around to look at her.
"You're not serious," he said, almost daring her to tell him different.
"Wouldn't you like to know," she chuckled, refusing to look at him.
"Aw, come on," he protested, his voice teasing. "You can't leave me hanging like that. I want to see Rory in her Donna Reed phase."
Rory stifled another fit of giggles and he eyed her curiously.
"What'd I say now?"
"So," Rory said as they browsed the aisles of the video store, "what kind of mood are you in tonight? Comedy, action, horror, romance? I'm always up for chickflicks because they're so fun to mock, but some of them actually have storylines too."
"Name one," Jess said from the next aisle over. "I don't think I've ever found a chickflick with actual entertainment value."
"'Moulin Rouge.'"
"That was a romantic musical if anything," Jess objected. "And the assortment of music represented in it clearly discounts it as chickflick material. That one crappy song was not enough to ruin the movie by qualifying it as a chickflick."
"'The Princess Bride,'" she shot back.
"Romantic comedy," he pointed out. "Anything with Billy Crystal and Mel Brooks could not be considered chickflick."
"Fine," she said. "'Tuck Everlasting.'"
"It was made from a book," he said. "Those are completely different."
"So was 'A Walk to Remember,'" she reminded him.
"But they cut out most of the good parks of that book," he argued. "Nicholas Sparks wrote it so much better than the incompetent screenplay writers could adapt. Therefore, a good book turns into a crappy sap-filled movie."
"Fine," she said holding her hands up in defeat as she met him at the end of the aisles. "You win. All chickflicks are crap."
"Glad you see things my way," he smiled.
"So what kind of movie do you want?" she asked again.
"I think I'm in a comedic kind of mood today," he replied. "I was thinking 'High Fidelity' in honor of nostalgia."
"The record store," she smiled. "Good choice. Oh, and while we're at it, let's do an entire John Cusack marathon."
"Including . . ."
"'High Fidelity,' 'Grosse Point Blank,' and 'Serendipity,'" she replied.
"Sounds like a plan," he said, and they headed off to get their movies.
When they got back to her house, he just stood in the doorway for a few moments while she went to put the popcorn in the microwave.
"Is something wrong?" she asked, coming back into the room a few minutes later.
"No," he replied, finally stepping over the threshold. "I was just looking around at your house. It's great."
"My mom and I would tend to agree with you," Rory blushed a little, motioning him into the living room.
"I mean, you saw my place in New York," he said sitting down on the couch as she went about gathering more junk food than he'd ever seen outside 'Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory.' "Comparatively, this is heaven."
"Otherwise known as the Crap Shack," she smirked as she picked up the phone to call for pizza. He gave her a questioning look and she giggled a little as she ordered a large with everything.
After she hung up the phone, he had to ask, "The Crap Shack?"
"We wanted to name the house when we moved in," she explained chuckling, "but all we could come up with was The Crap Shack."
"You are a very strange person, Rory Gilmore. You know that?" he smiled as she sat next to him.
"Yes I do," she smiled back, kissing him lightly before grabbing the remote and starting the first movie.
***Three hours later in the middle of 'Serendipity'***
Rory and Jess sat on the couch, his arm around her as she leaned her head on his shoulder. There were several empty bowls in front of them which had previous held chips, different kinds of chocolate, popcorn, and rocky road ice cream. A pizza box was lying open, but there was nothing left in it.
Rory shifted under Jess's arm and he looked down at her. Her gaze was fixed on the television, wrapped up in the storybook romance. He smiled, stroking her hair as he turned his attention back to the movie.
"Do you believe in fate?" she asked out of nowhere, surprising him a little.
"What?" he asked, turning to meet her eyes.
"Fate, destiny," she repeated. "Do you believe in any of that stuff?"
He paused to contemplate the question, thinking about the role fate played in the movie. "I don't know," he said honestly. "I mean, our little situation here should be some kind of proof that some things are far too weird to be coincidence, but I've always been a pretty cynical person. Fate is a hard thing for me to grasp."
"I've never believed in it either," she said, looking back to the TV. "I've always just thought of it as a nice concept, but you never know."
"You never know," he echoed, and they both turned back to John Cusack and Kate Beckinsale as fate brought them together again and again.
"Honey, I'm home!" Jess heard Lorelai's voice at the front door.
"Hey Lorelai," he said quietly, trying to stay still so as not to wake the Rory sleeping on his shoulder.
"Well," she said coming in and seeing the two on the couch, "you aren't the honey I was talking about, but you'll do." She smiled at the sight of her daughter sleeping so peacefully. "How long has she been out?" she asked him.
"About twenty minutes," he replied. "The movie just ended, but I didn't want to wake her up by moving."
"I'll take her," Lorelai said, moving Rory gently off of Jess's shoulder and letting her down so that she was lying across the couch.
"Mommy?" Rory said, squinting through her slitted eyes as she stirred in her sleep.
"It's okay," Lorelai whispered, brushing the hair out of her face as she covered her with an afghan. "Go back to sleep."
"Where's Jess?" Rory asked groggily.
"I'm here," Jess stepped forward, smiling at how small and young she sounded. "Goodnight Rory."
"'Night Jess," she replied, snuggling under the blanket as he kissed her on the forehead. "See you tomorrow."
"Tomorrow," he said, watching her drift back to sleep before moving.
"Jess," Lorelai said in a whisper, "come here."
Jess followed her into the kitchen where she began filling the coffeemaker. She motioned for him to sit at the kitchen table, and she joined him a few seconds later.
"Hi," she said smiling.
"Hi," he responded a little uncomfortably. He wasn't sure, but this seemed an awful lot like the beginning of one of those 'you hurt my daughter, I'll kill you' talks.
"How was your first day in Stars Hollow?" she asked, her voice still soft and light.
"Good," he replied. "I spent most of it here with Rory, so good about covers it."
"Watching movies?" Lorelai's voice was starting to get a little eerie, and he knew what was coming.
"Yeah," he said. "Movie marathon actually."
"Good," Lorelai nodded her head, getting up to pour herself a cup of freshly-made coffee. "And that was all you did, correct?"
"I'm not going to do anything to hurt your daughter," he sighed. "Especially nothing she's uncomfortable with. We've only just gotten together and I'm not going to do anything to screw it up."
"Just checking," she sighed as well, though more from relief. "You know I like you, Jess, but you being home alone with my daughter after not seeing her for so long doesn't really sit well with my mother's intuition."
"Understood and noted," he said.
"You want some coffee?" she asked, taking a sip of hers. "It's not Luke's, but it's not as bad as my cooking."
"Sure," he chuckled. "Coffee would be nice." He needed something to do with his hands anyway. He wasn't a fidgety person. She set a mug in front of him, and he took a grateful sip.
"So you ready to go over the rules?" she asked sitting across from him.
"I knew this was coming," he sighed.
"Just a few," she assured him. "My daughter is very serious about her schoolwork, so when she starts back in a couple weeks, you will not get in the way of that. Her curfew is eleven during the summer. Any later, I want a call. During the school year, she's home at nine. If I hear about you drinking or doing any of that kinda crap around her, I swear I'll track you down, and if you ever hurt her or do anything to make her cry, you will have every neurotic person in this town after you with torches and pitchforks. Are we clear?"
"Crystal," he said, not seeming to take ay offense to her comments.
"Good," she said, a hint of a mutual respect in her tone. "So what did you say to your mom to get you sent here?"
"It's not important," he said averting his eyes as he took another sip.
"It must have been pretty bad to get you sent out of state," she pushed.
He could see that she wasn't going to drop it, so took a deep breath and started talking. "I don't know if Rory's told you anything about Liz, but she's not really what you'd call a mother. She's drunk most of the time and she goes through guys like Rory goes through red vines. So yesterday she was talking at me about how worthless and pathetic I am, so I told her exactly what I thought about her lifestyle. She got pissed and threw me out."
"Wow," was all Lorelai said, her eyes sympathetic.
"It's okay," he assured her. "I mean, I'm not going to cry over Liz's lack of parenting skills. I grew up with her so it's not like I'm not used to her crap. And moving here isn't as bad as I thought it would be . . . for obvious reasons."
"Well, I'm glad you're with a guy like Luke," she said. "I mean, he's a great guy. He may seem strange at first, but you'll get used to it."
"Are you two . . ." he trailed off, his voice almost teasing.
"Me and Luke?" she asked getting his point. "Oh no, we're just friends."
"Mhm," he said, a small smile on his face. "Well, I should be getting back there pretty soon," he stood up.
"One more thing," she said as he started to leave. When he turned back, she continued, "I'm glad you're here for her."
"I'm glad she's here for me," he replied smiling. "Goodnight Lorelai."
"'Night Jess," she said, taking another sip of her coffee as he let himself out.
"How completely out of it was I last night?" Rory asked as she sat and ate her pancakes across from where Jess was busying himself at the counter. "I don't even remember you leaving."
"You fell asleep before the movie was over," he replied, smiling a little at the memory of her sleeping on his shoulder, "so I cut out as soon as your mom was home."
"Did she say anything?" she asked cringing a little.
"Not much," he replied, a secretive smirk on his face, and she wondered what she'd missed. "So you wanna go for a walk in a little while?" he asked, avoiding her questioning look. "I have a break in ten."
"Sounds good," she said. "You haven't really seen the town yet so I can show you around. Ooh, and you have to meet Lane."
"This was the crazy Korean girl who is secretly putting an ad in the paper to find a band," he said checking his memory for the name.
"That's the one," she replied. "And she's one of my best friends, so she knows all about you already."
"Is that a good thing?" he smirked again.
"She'll love you," she chuckled. "Everyone will if you just act like yourself."
"Who says I'm myself around you?" he asked. "I could just be shielding you from what I'm really like."
"That is you," she said, taking his face and kissing him softly. "I know it is. I don't really understand why you're someone else around other people."
"Meaning?" he asked.
"I've seen you, Jess," she said quietly, her voice solemn. "There were times in New York when you were talking to people and you were just different. You were cold and sarcastic. I mean, you're always sarcastic, but I've seen you put up walls like Alcatraz. And I don't really understand it, but I know you have your reasons. I just hope you never get that way with me."
"Never," he assured her, his features serious. "Just don't expect me to be perfect either. I've never been Prince Charming."
"What fun would that be?" she smiled, kissing him again.
"Good answer," he smiled back, returning the kiss quickly before going to take someone's order.
"Good morning, Luke," she said as he brought out an order for the corner table.
"Good morning," he replied. "Where's your mom?"
"She had to go to the inn early this morning," she replied between bites of pancake.
"She's been working a lot lately," he looked a little concerned. "Should she be exerting herself so much with her condition?"
"She's trying to put in as many hours at the inn as possible this week before she starts treatment again," she explained. "She wants to make sure everything will run smoothly without her for a little while."
"Just make sure she doesn't overwork herself, okay?" he said, and she could see the genuine caring in his eyes. "And let me know if I can do anything."
"I will," she assured him. "You're the first person I'll call."
"I appreciate that," he said, nodding to her before going to get another order.
"So," Jess said, coming up behind her as she finished her breakfast, "you ready for that walk."
"Yep," she replied setting a few bills on the counter before letting him lead her out the door. "So you wanna see the town?" she asked as they walked in the warm, summer air.
"Sure," he replied dryly. "It's not like I know anything else to do around here."
"Very true," she smiled.
They walked around for a while and she pointed out the market, bookstore, Sophie's Music Shop, the town's only thrift shop, and several other key sites in town. She was just pointing out Miss Patty's when the woman herself came out of her studio.
"Rory, sweetie," the boisterous woman said, "who is this delicious young man you're with?"
"First I'm dreamy, and now I'm delicious?" Jess asked Rory in a whisper.
"That's just Patty," she explained smiling.
"I have got to start spreading bad rumors about myself," he said sarcastically. "Maybe then these people can stop talking about me like I'm Greg Brady."
"This is Jess," Rory told Patty, ignoring Jess's comment. "He's Luke's nephew and he just moved here from New York."
"New York?" Patty raised her eyebrows. "I lived in New York once. I performed on Broadway."
"Peachy," he said blankly.
"Well," Patty said, still eyeing him in such a way that could get her sued for sexual harassment, "it was very nice to meet you Jess."
"You too," he said before the woman went back to her lessons and they continued on with the tour.
Eventually, they ended up back at the bridge. They weren't sure what had led them there, but it just seemed right.
"I like this place," he said, lying back on the warm wood. "It's seems quieter here. Less in the way of everything."
"It doesn't really get much traffic," she agreed, staying in a sitting position as she watched the water disappear under her feet. She saw small fish swimming with the current, journeying on towards a destination they probably didn't even know. And yet they knew that it was the right way to go.
"It's so much different from New York," he pointed out. "I mean, I'm not going to say that I always liked living there, especially after what happened to the guys and then to you, but I know I'm going to miss it."
"It's not that far away," she told him. "We can visit. I'd like to see John every once in a while, anyway."
"Yeah," he said a little sadly. "I didn't even get a chance to see anyone before I left. I just called them yesterday morning to say goodbye."
"Don't worry," she said lying back next to him. "We'll take a field trip out there one of these days."
"Thanks," he said quietly, closing his eyes as she lay her head down on his stomach.
They just lay there a while, soaking up the morning sun and listening to water flowing beneath them. It was almost mesmerizing, the peace they seemed to be wrapped in.
"How long before your break ends?" Rory asked, afraid that she might fall asleep if they stayed there too much longer.
"According to me or according to Luke?" he asked in the same voice, heavy with sleep, as her.
"According to Luke," she said pointedly.
"About ten minutes," he replied.
"Then we have to get up," she said, but didn't make any movement to stand.
"Of course we do," he said. "See, this is me getting up.
For a long moment, neither of them did a thing. He just rested there with her, running his fingers through her hair as she listened to the air enter and exit his chest. Now this was peace.
"Okay, up," she said dragging herself off the comfort of the bridge. "We have to go."
"Spoil sport," he said dryly as she hauled him to his feet. "I don't think a few minutes would have hurt."
"You don't know Luke," she told him. "He's a stickler for anything having to do with that diner."
"Fine," he relented. "Geez, you never let me have any fun."
"Well if that's how you feel about it," she said with mock hurt. She turned on her heel and began to walk away, keeping her pace steady as she waited. Three . . . two . . . one . . .
"Now wait a minute," he said running up in front of her, blocking her path. "That's not fair."
"What's not fair?" she asked, a smile dancing in her eyes.
"You walking away like that," he smiled a little. "It doesn't give me a chance to finish."
"And what were you going to say?" she asked, nibbling on her bottom lip.
"Just this," he replied before taking her face in his hands and kissing her sweetly. After a moment, he pulled away, his breathing a little erratic. "See, now I can revoke my previous statement," he smiled.
"Good," she said breathily. "Very good. Revoking is definitely on my good list."
"Along with apologies?" he teased her. "I liked apologies too."
"Apologies were definitely up there," she agreed, chuckling.
"I really think I owe you a couple of those too," he said, nodding his head as they played their little back-and-forth game. "You know, I really think I hurt your feelings back there with that 'no fun' comment."
"You think so," she said playing along. "I think so too." She looked innocently up at him with big blue eyes, just daring him to make his move.
"I am very . . ." he kissed her right temple, ". . . truly . . . " he kissed her left temple, ". . . completely . . ." he kissed her forehead, then let his lips hover just above her mouth, his eyes locked on hers, ". . . sorry," he said it in a husky whisper, his warm breath washing over her lips as he covered them with his.
Rory was almost in awe of how completely Jess could affect her. So close to him, she couldn't move, barely even breathe. She didn't know which way was up, losing all rational thought as he moved his hands through her hair, his fingers skimming her scalp and sending shivers up and down her spine. It seemed like days before she was able to clear her head enough to remember why she'd been leaving in the first place.
"We really have to stop," she said against his lips, her hands flattened against his chest.
"Why?" he asked, smiling as he brushed his thumb across the apple of her cheek.
"You have to get back to work," she reminded him again. He had almost made her forget.
"Fine," he sighed, "but you and I are continuing this . . . um, discussion . . . later."
"Wouldn't miss it," she chuckled. She went to check her watch, but it wasn't on her wrist. She looked around for a second, but didn't see anything.
"What's wrong?" he asked her, his features concerned.
"I think I dropped my watch on the bridge," she replied looking back to where they had come.
"You want me to help you look for it?" he offered.
"No," she said kissing him lightly on the lips, "you get to the diner before Luke puts you in the stocks. I want to go meet my mom at the inn anyway. I'll see you later."
"Okay," he said, letting go of her waist and walking back toward the diner.
She watched him go, letting her eyes follow him until he disappeared behind a blanket of foliage. She took a deep breath, making an effort to slow her heartbeat, before heading back to the bridge.
Her watch wasn't hard to find, sparkling silver against wood in the late morning sun. She ambled to the center of the bridge, her eyes resting on the place where she and Jess had been lying only five minutes before. Nibbling her bottom lip, she picked up her watch and fastened it tightly around her wrist. She really didn't want to lose her second watch this summer just because of a loose clasp.
Turning around, her breath caught in her chest and she stepped back sharply. "Geez, Dean! You scared the life out of me!"
"Sorry," he muttered, brushing past her to get to the other end of the bridge. "Didn't know I was so scary."
"You know I didn't mean it that way," she told him, her voice almost antagonistic. She really didn't want his guilt trips.
"Whatever," he said not looking at her. He was just about around the corner when he stopped abruptly. "Rory," he said, his voice blank and his back to her.
"Yeah," she said with the same aloof tone.
"How come you never told me you were that kind of girl?" his voice was smooth and cold as ice, his words cutting into her.
"What kind of girl is that?" She was more shocked than hurt by the comment.
"The kind that goes that fast with a guy she's known a few weeks," he still wouldn't face her.
"What do you mean fast?" she demanded. "We were kissing. And where the hell do you get off spying on me?"
"I know his type, Rory," he said, ignoring her question. "He'll take what he wants and leave you when he's done. I just never thought you'd make it so easy for him."
She couldn't stand there, listening to this. She felt like she would scream or cry or try to throw him in the river. As angry as she was, she almost thought she could. But instead, she just walked away, heading toward the inn and the one person she knew she could talk to about anything.