"So, are you and Jess alright now?" Lane asked Rory over the phone.
"I think so. God, I hope so. Lane, I can't lose him again. I'll go crazy, I'll go insane, I will turn into some person that I'd never want to be, I'd never stop wallowing... NEVER! I think we're OK though, I hope," Rory rambled on a few days after the discussion in Jess' bedroom. They had gone back to normal, sort of. What is normal? They had never had a normal relationship, they had the perfect example of an abnormal relationship. "So, how's married life? How do you like Hawaii?" She asked Lane, now changing the subject.
"It's amazing, Rory. It's the perfect vacation spot. And being married is phenomenal, I cannot wait until you experience this kind of feeling."
"Yeah, me either," Rory told her. "Lane, I've got to go, I just got to work and I've been a little negligible of the office. I'm afraid that the New York Times will fire me before I find a new job, that'd be bad."
"OK, have fun at work and I'll call you when I get home in a couple of days," Lane told her.
"Bye. Oh, one last thing," Rory said before she got into the hectic office she worked in. "How's the sex? Was it worth the wait?" She asked in a small whisper.
"You have no idea. Details some other time. Bye." Rory smiled and hung up her phone before walking to her cubicle. She didn't waste anytime finishing a piece that was almost done anyways.
Paris walked over to Rory's cubicle and sat on her desk while Rory gave her a questioning look. "So, I've thought about this thing with you and Jess," Paris started and Rory shook her head in disbelief, but Paris ignored it. "I think that you should go back to Stars Hollow whenever you want. Don't let men control your mind. You did that with Farmer Boy and the blond dick at Yale, do this for yourself not James Dean."
"Paris, I'm doing this for both me and James Dean- I mean Jess. I honestly love him Paris and I don't want to lose him again, and there's a chance that if I leave early I could. I'm doing this for myself as much, if not more, than I am doing it for him. And Farmer Boy's name was Dean, and yes I did way too much for him and not for myself, but he left me because of Jess. And the blond dick at Yale's name was Logan, and I was never myself with him, I left him before he could break my heart again. Jess did hurt me a long time ago, but he's different now and I love him so much, and I know that he loves me. That is why, Paris, I'm staying in New York for five more months, because I love him and because I don't want to lose him, OK?"
"Fine, I believe you. Just don't be stupid when it comes to him. I can tell that you love him and I know that if you get too vulnerable you will let yourself get hurt. Well, don't- don't let yourself get hurt and don't let yourself become too vulnerable," Paris told her before standing up and rubbing a small wrinkle out of her pants.
"Thank you Paris," Rory told her and Paris just smiled, a genuine smile, and left for her own cubicle.
When Rory left work that evening, around five-thirty, she found herself walking towards the Coffee Bean. She hadn't had much coffee that day, one in the morning from the Coffee Bean and one in the afternoon of the crappy office coffee. She was surprised to find Sarah sitting at a table alone, so she sat down with her. "Hey Sarah. What you up to?"
"Nothing, I'm bored and I'm leaving for California tonight. I'm a little nervous, to say the least. I'm happy, though, just nervous."
"Mixed emotions can be tricky," Rory told her. "As long as you're happy, it should be OK. Are the things that you're nervous about doubt? Because maybe if you doubt anything, you should second guess it."
"No, it's not doubt at all. Just nerves," Sarah insisted.
"Good. I'm going to go get some coffee and then I can help you finish getting ready if you want."
"That would be amazing. Go get your coffee, I'll be here." Rory got up and ordered a medium coffee. She and Sarah left together and walked up to their apartment so that Sarah could finish packing and sorting out her feelings, Rory along for the help.
"I will be here when you get back, don't worry about it," Rory said as she and Sarah left their apartment two hours later. Rory was driving her to Dave's and Jess' so that Sarah didn't have to walk and Dave didn't have to go out of his way. Not too mention, the opportunity to see Jess.
"I'm not worried. I just don't want to deal with Paris alone when I get back. I think that she'll be mad that I never got to say goodbye before I leave, but I called her and I can't find her. I did leave her a message though, so hopefully that will suffice," Sarah said as they got into Rory's car.
"Like I said, I'll be here just in case. I'll fend her off, distract her with a glue gun or something. You have nothing to worry about. And, honestly, I think that she'll be OK with just a message. Paris isn't one for heartfelt goodbyes anyways. You'll be gone for what? Two weeks?"
"Yep, two whole weeks. I didn't tell my parents that I was going either, so if they call looking for me could you possibly cover for me?"
"Yeah, always. Where are they anyways? Paris, Rome?"
"I have no idea. I try not to get caught up in there escapades. I don't really like traveling, but I think I will this time. No stuffy hotels, no annoying parents, no foreign countries. Just Dave, beach, American food, and a subtle place to stay," Sarah told Rory, excitement growing in her voice.
"That sounds like something my mother would have said when she was sixteen," Rory commented. Sarah came from money, just like Lorelai. And just like Lorelai, she ran away from it all, hence her living on a couch in a two bedroom apartment. She didn't want her parent's money.
"Yeah, well, me and your mom seem to be on the same wavelength with that sort of thing," Sarah noted aloud. Rory only nodded in agreement as she pulled up outside of Dave's and Jess' apartment building.
They got out of Rory's car and climbed the stairs until they reached the all too familiar door that belonged to their boyfriends. Sarah didn't knock, she just walked right in and Rory followed suit. They walked in to see Dave and Jess carelessly sprawled out on the couch as if Dave didn't have to leave for California in ten minutes. "Hey guys," Rory said as they looked away from the television and at them.
"Hey Rory, hey Sarah," Dave said, never moving an inch. Jess nodded his head towards Sarah and smiled at Rory. "What's up?"
"Dave," Sarah started. "We have to leave soon, you know, to catch a flight to California. It's that big state on the other side of the country, three thousand miles away." Dave's face fell. He looked at the watch on his wrist and Jess stared at him like he was an idiot.
"Dude, when is your flight?" Jess asked from his seat on the couch. He looked at Rory in disbelief and she nodded in agreement.
"Man, in like an hour. At least I'm packed. We need to leave, like now," he answered getting up off of the couch and walking into his bedroom. He came back a few minutes later with two suitcases, a backpack, and his guitar case. He was out of breath and trying to find something.
Sarah walked over to him and put her hand on his cheek to try and calm him. It worked, Rory and Jess saw him physically calm down by the small gesture. "Dave, what are you looking for?" Sarah asked gently.
"My keys," he answered. "Oh, there they are." he got his keys off of a nearby table and walked back over to Sarah and kissed her gently on the lips and when he pulled away he whispered a soft 'thank you'. Sarah nodded.
"OK, well we have to go," Sarah said to Rory and Jess.
"Well, I left the doors in my car unlocked so that you can get your stuff, just lock it when you're done and I'll see you in a couple of weeks," she said to Sarah before pulling her into a hug. "I'm going to miss you. Call me when you get there on my cell, just in case I'm not home and then call Paris. Have fun."
"Thanks Rory. Bye Jess," Sarah called and Jess stood up and gave her a small hug and did some weird handshake thing with Dave. Rory gave Dave a small hug and told them again to have fun and they were off.
Jess and Rory met each other in front of the couch and Rory said the first thing either he or she said to each other all day. "Hey," it wasn't much, but it got him to smirk.
"Hey," he replied and planted a kiss on her forehead that she leaned into. "I've missed you."
"Well, aren't we a softy?" Rory asked jokingly and Jess shook his head, which was now rested against Rory's, forehead to forehead. They both smiled at each other. "Oh yes you are. You saw me last night, that's a pretty short amount of time to miss me. Although, I did miss you too. But, that's understandable. I'm a girl, who isn't afraid to show emotion, well most of the time, but you-" her rambling was cut off by his lips on hers in a matter of seconds. She was caught off guard, so it took her a second to respond but when she did, he deepened it immediately. She found her hands tangled in his hair at the base of his neck, and his hands were roaming her back, pulling her closer, if that were even possible at this point.
She smiled against his lips and he felt it, making him smile also. He reluctantly pulled away, they both needed to breathe. "So," he said, their foreheads against one another's again. "Hungry? I'm hungry, are you hungry?"
"Jess, you're babbling. You're babbling about being hungry after one of our most amazing kisses ever. You smiled, you almost never smile, but you did and you did it when we were kissing. That's got to say something about the intensity of that kiss."
"You're babbling now. And what are you talking about one of the most amazing kisses ever? That was by far our best kiss ever."
"No, Jess, it wasn't. Not to me anyways. I'd say we have a tie for best kiss. The one after you came to dinner at my grandparents' house, that kiss was perfect and utterly amazing. But, that kiss when we got back together, not that first one, although that was good. But the one after-the one that you started. Those were our best kisses in my mind. But that one a few minutes ago, runs a close second, no doubt," Rory told him, watching his eyes the entire time.
He smiled at the memories and kissed her again, not intense, but loving. "OK, those were all great kisses. Every single kiss has been amazing. I really like the one at Sookie's wedding, but that's probably only for the fact that it screwed Dean over real nice, although it was good," he told her and she smiled at him. "I really am hungry though. I've been waiting for you so that we could eat together, but if you're not-"
"Jess, do you really doubt that I, Lorelai Leigh Gilmore, am not hungry. I'm sorry, but are you new?"
"Right, I should have known," he smiled at her before sitting on the couch and pulling her onto his lap. "Want to order pizza or something?"
"Actually, I was hoping that we could order it from my apartment," Rory looked at him pleadingly.
"Rory, my roommate just left for California for two weeks. We have this place all to ourselves. Why, why I ask, would you want to go to your apartment?"
"Paris is alone. Paris hates to be alone in the city and I hate leaving her alone. If you come with me, we can order some food there and she wouldn't have to sit alone in the apartment, eating all alone. Did you get the part about her being alone? I wasn't sure if I got that across to you. You've never really spent the night at my apartment, so I think tonight we should," Rory ranted.
"You are extremely lucky that I love you as much as I do," Jess told her and she smiled brightly. "Because if we were just casually dating and you asked me that kind of thing, I probably would have broken up with you. Not because I'm an insensitive person, but because I'm not that caring of many people. You have the Gilmore eyes that nobody can resist, I will agree to this, but you have to make it up to me."
"Oh, completely. Jess, you're spending the night there, what did you think we were going to do? Sleep? You have some imagination if you thought we were just going to sleep," Rory told him. His face was priceless, just what she was going for. Before he could say anything back, she leaned her entire body into his and kissed him intensely on the lips and one nip on the bottom lip. She got off of him and walked to the door. "You coming?"