A/N: Wow. Your response was so overwhelming. I have never been as happy as I was when I opened my email to find that I had 40 reviews from all of my stories. It is just unbelievably flattering and I want to thank you all so much. I also need to thank some particular people. misslove852: Thanks for reviewing a bunch of my stories and being so sweet, it was your reviews that made me get back to writing. Satelliteblues21: Your review made me crack up. It was priceless. purplemoon07: That's awesome that you're from Indiana too. And yeah, I'm surrounded by cornfields. EVERYBODY ELSE: Every review means something to me and brings me a little joy. Thank you all so much. You should get candy. Unfortunately, I have none for you.
Warning: You know how I get with the sexual stuff. This is nothing you wouldn't see on a PG-13 movie, but just be warned. It's not graphic though.
Chapter Four: Just Friends
Rory hadn't seen Finn since the weekend before, when they'd made plans to get together. She didn't have his number, and she sure as hell wasn't going to ask Logan for it.
The only time she'd seen the Australian brunette in the last seven days; he was standing by the coffee kiosk, a redhead by his side. She didn't like the jolt of jealousy she felt when the girl rested her hand on Finn's bicep and laughed.
All week she'd been hoping to get a call from him, or even a visit. But she'd waited too long and he'd obviously moved on.
The pain was sudden and swift. Rory had never been so confused; she hadn't even thought about Finn as more than a friend until his party. She blamed his closeness for intoxicating her. Not to mention nearly a full bottle of vodka.
It was Thursday night, and all she wanted to do was go home and see her mom. Just as she opened her cell to dial home there was a knock on the door.
"It's unlocked!"
Rory walked from her room into the common room. Paris had been expecting Doyle, so when she spotted Finn looking uncomfortable in the threshold, she was startled.
"Oh, Finn. Sorry, I thought it was Doyle."
He laughed awkwardly. She glanced toward Paris's room but apparently she and Doyle had left already, because she didn't make an appearance. Rory finally turned her gaze to Finn.
She couldn't help thinking he looked amazing in his dark blue sweater. His hair was arranged in it's usual disarray. She always thought of that particular hairstyle as "sex-hair." She wondered if she was right.
Maybe he'd just left some other girl.
"So you wouldn't have let me in if you'd known it was me?"
He was joking, but Rory just shrugged.
"Ouch."
He was scratching the back of his neck nervously and shifting from one foot to the other. He'd never been this awkward around a woman before. He couldn't seem to stand still, and he couldn't look away from her face.
"Why am I getting the impression you're a bit pissed, love?"
When Rory's eyes met his, they were on fire.
"I'm not mad. In fact I'm just peachy. Thanks for asking. Is that all you wanted?"
Finn took a few steps forward, his eyes filled with concern. Rory backed away. He reached out to hold her arms, but she turned from his grasp.
"Darling, what's wrong? What did I do?"
Rory sighed and turned to meet his eyes again.
"Nothing Finn."
She ran her hand through her hair tiredly.
"You didn't do anything. Don't worry about it."
Finn looked skeptical, but before he could ask another question, Rory changed the subject.
"So, I haven't seen you in a while. Why the sudden visit?"
He decided to drop it for now; she didn't seem angry anymore. Her shoulders were just a bit tense. He reached out to massage them.
"Well, I missed you. And I wanted to plan our date."
Rory nodded but shrugged off Finn's hands.
"Well, I'm busy this weekend."
He blinked. He hadn't heard her use that particular tone before.
"Oh... well what about sometime this week?"
"I'm busy all week too, and next weekend."
Finn was starting to get irritated. He just wanted to know what he'd done wrong.
"Alright, what the hell did I do? You're not busy all week, Rory. I know you aren't. Why don't you want to have dinner with me?"
Now Rory was angry. He could see the fire in her eyes.
"Oh, you know I'm not busy all week? Well, maybe I have a date every night, did you ever think of that? It's not like I sat around the past seven days and kept my schedule open just waiting for you to call! Other guys ask me out. Guys that actually talk to me."
Truthfully, Rory had been asked out that week. On Tuesday, a guy in one of her classes had asked her to have coffee, but she'd said no. She wasn't sure what was going on with Finn.
During her speech, Finn had moved closer. It took her a moment to notice, so she didn't have time to step back before he took her hands and pulled her forward. His eyes were as soft as his voice.
"Hey... I'm sorry. I didn't mean it like that."
Rory was embarrassed at her outburst. She hadn't meant to get so angry. It wasn't Finn's fault she was naive enough to believe he'd waste his time on her when he could get what he really wanted elsewhere.
She hung her head and cast her eyes downwards.
"Do you want to just get dinner now?"
He couldn't have been more surprised. She actually sounded like she felt guilty.
"Oh... Okay, yeah."
Rory got her coat and followed him to his car to endure the most awkward five minutes of her life.
"Do you have any CD's?"
Finn shook his head.
"I don't drive much. I usually need a designated driver."
She'd never heard Finn so blunt about his drinking habits.
When they arrived at the restaurant, Rory was glad to see that it wasn't fancy. Her jeans and sweater weren't at all out of place.
Somehow she knew that this date was going to go horribly.
The decoration in the restaurant was tacky. The "italian" theme was more like a pizza place than a nice restaurant, but neither commented.
"Have you been here before?"
Rory shook her head.
"You're still angry at me, love. Can't you tell me why?"
She shrugged and stared at the table, rolling the paper wrapper from her straw between her fingers.
"I thought you'd call or something. I didn't really feel like being a backup when someone cancelled on you."
He was surprised once again at her assumptions.
"My family was in town this week. I hadn't seen my sisters in a few months, so I showed them around."
"Oh, so the redhead was your sister?"
Finn's eyes raised to Rory's, and he was surprised at the intensity of her gaze.
"What- there was a redhead? When?"
Rory just shrugged.
"I don't know. You were getting coffee or something. I don't really remember."
Realization came over Finn's face. He sighed.
"I don't always treat girls right, Rory. You know that. She's one of those girls. I don't know why she even talked to me, I half expected her to slap me. But there was nothing going on, if that's what you're worried about."
She shook her head and shrugged her shoulders, but Finn could tell she was relieved.
"I'm sorry if I gave you the wrong impression, Finn, but... I really think we should just be friends. I'm not that type of girl. I can't be one of many. Besides, we don't really click. Right?"
Finn just looked at the table.
"Whatever you say, love."
By the time they reached Rory's dorm, the discomfort had reached levels that neither had ever experienced before.
They had barely spoken since Rory had announced that she was only after friendship.
She had convinced herself that Finn only wanted sex, so it didn't matter that she'd lied.
He was only angry because she wouldn't sleep with him.
At least that's what she kept telling herself.
"Well, I guess this is goodnight, then."
They were in front of Rory's room, and his words were strained. He sounded angry and frustrated.
He was.
"Yeah. I had fun. We should hang out again."
Finn laughed bitterly.
"Bullshit. This was the worst date I've ever been on, darling, and I can almost guarantee you felt the same. You don't want to hang out. You don't even want to breathe the same air. You're too good for me. You've made that quite clear."
Rory had a sneaking suspicion that Finn was more hurt than she'd thought possible.
Was she wrong?
"Finn-"
He just shook his head.
"I thought we had fun the other night. I guess you have to be drunk to stand me. I'll see you around, Rory."
He turned to walk away, but glanced back.
"But for what it's worth, I could've had a one-night stand every night this week, but I didn't. I waited until I'd have time to take you on a real date. Being the bloody idiot that I am, I thought you actually liked me since you did agree to go on a date with me."
He laughed again; the same bitter tone.
"I was looking forward to this all week."
When he turned again to walk away, something snapped inside of Rory. She was tired of being afraid to fall.
He seemed sincere enough.
And she wanted him.
Her hand went to his shoulder, and she spun him around.
She pulled him into the empty common room of her dorm and watched his eyes widen.
As she linked their hands together, she started to pull him towards herself.
Looking at each other, they both knew what was about to happen. Rory's entire body was buzzing from just the slight contact they'd had.
As they slowly moved towards one another, neither knew how earth-shattering it would be when they finally came together.
When Rory buried her hand in Finn's dark hair, he got chills. His arm went to her waist and pulled her against him, both of her hands now lost in his nearly black locks. Their lips were just inches from each other.
She swallowed hard as he glanced from her eyes to her lips, and then back to her eyes. She felt his warm breath on her cheek, caressing her skin and making everything down to her toes tingle.
They stared at each other for a moment, intense blue on blurred green.
Rory licked her lips, diverting his full attention back to one thought: kissing Rory Gilmore.
Suddenly, he was moving.
His lips were on hers, soft and harsh.
They staggered backwards until Rory's back hit something hard.
His hands went to her hips to pull her as close as humanly possible.
He wanted to drown within her taste.
Her arms reached up to lock around his neck, minimizing the space between them.
She couldn't think straight. That boy could kiss.
"Oh, shit."
At her moan Finn became more agressive. He decided to take advantage of the fact that she was practically on her tiptoes and lifted her legs, wrapping her thighs around his waist.
He could feel the heat radiating off of her. He gasped as her nails slid down his back and back up to his hair, digging deeply into the tender skin of his shoulders and down his spine.
His lips still hadn't left hers.
As her back hit the wall again, she let out a small erotic gasp.
Seconds later she was sliding her tongue over his bottom lip and catching it roughly between her teeth.
Pulling back quickly and biting down hard, Rory forced a quiet moan out of him.
When he pulled back a few millimeters to take a breath, he was on her lips again in seconds, teeth scraping and clashing. His hands slid from her thighs upward, over her butt, up her back, and into her hair.
Rory couldn't help herself. She'd somehow let herself forget to be in control.
When her hips bucked against his, Finn grinned against her lips and ground into her.
He was now in control. It was his favorite way to be.
When Rory placed her small hand on his jawline, soft against the harsh stubble, he wondered if he'd been wrong all along. It wasn't about control, it wasn't entirely about pleasure.
It was now about the fact that he was falling for this girl. Hard.
There was a sudden gust of heat and sincerity deep within his stomach, and he let himself sink.
He was gasping for breath when the kiss began to slow.The mood had shifted. Rory suddenly felt as if she was melting into Finn as his kisses became more earnest, deeper, more sincere. The sweet motion of his lips against hers was enough to make her heart thud painfully.
She had never been kissed like that in her life. She never would be again.
Before Rory knew what was happening, her back was against the couch, and she felt the full weight of the situation.
Finn latched on to her neck and began slow, methodical strokes of his tongue. He bit her collarbone gently, sending a tidal wave of sensations through her.
He peeled Rory's sweater off, throwing it to the ground while she removed his shirt almost silmultaneously, running her hands slowly down his chest. When they rested delicately on his belt buckle she stopped.
From where he was situated, covering Rory's near-bare chest with kisses, Finn noticed her hesitation.
He didn't want to stop. He wasn't sure he could.
He had to make her crazy before she realized what she was doing; who it was she was letting touch her.
He stretched his tongue to caress her earlobe.
She half sighed- half moaned his name.
"Finn. Wait..."
He shook his head, pressing his lips to hers again. He didn't want to stop. He didn't want her to put up those oh-so-familiar walls and never let him back in.
"Please Finn... I don't want to-"
He interrupted her with his lips and tongue. He dug his nails into her hips, nipping her chin and neck.
He was overwhelmed with the urge to cry.
She gasped for breath, pushing his chest.
"Not here, Finn. Please, not here."
He looked up into her eyes and his fears vanished.
When he stood up and held out his hand, Rory took it.
And when he followed her into the bedroom, the door was very diliberately locked behind them.