AN: Smut in the first part of this, feel free to skip if not for you.


Chapter 13

October 3rd, 2021

What started out as a slow and delicate kiss, had taken a rapid course for something much more urgent. Tongues entwined, probing each-other's mouths, tasting the lingering scotch. His hand squeezed her breast through the thin sweater she was wearing, making her want to shed that layer as quickly as she could. The feverish kiss hardly parted, both mouthes reddened, while she did that.

That deeply seductive, almost cocky smile, that decorated his face as he took in her eagerness, haunted her still.

Rory's fingers clumsily fidgeted with the buttons of his dress shirt, finally exposing his chest. He had the chest Rory was not really used to just being able to touch like that - it was the kind of chest one saw in magazines - lean muscles and a nice firm sixpack - and all hers to indulge in. She was just beginning to feel comfortable doing this with him, it was her second, fine - technically third, time with him. But with each time they were more both confident, demanding - knowing what they wanted from the other, and able to ask it.

His hand ventured up, undoing her bra, which couldn't have happened soon enough, as she ached for his touch.

Next, with their lips locked, Rory's body was pinned between the wall, a blue The New Pornographers poster to be exact, and his need, his bulge pressing against her core. She'd never felt such force before. It was allconsuming. Rory gyrated her hips against him, telling him in her wordless way how much she wanted him - it would be a while until she was actually express what she wanted with actual words. But already now she couldn't get enough of him.

His hands brushed strongly against her skin, grabbing her in a way that was a little controlling yet at the same time somehow gentle, causing her to moan.

Hastily he stepped out of his pants and shoes, not caring if he ruined the fine Italian leather in the process. Rory's vision was hazed, being high on him, lips still remaining in contact, while he did that. Rory was wearing a skirt, thank god, and as per some miracle her brand knew thigh-highs, which she had decided to spend her last laundry money on at the last minute, having learned he had thing for lingerie.

But he still seemed too far, and her knee went up to his hip, craving more of him. She had no idea if she could hold that position, but she wanted to feel more of him. She was rewarded by his bulge pressing right against her clit, almost making her go crazy with need. Thankfully, she didn't need to hold that position longer than that, the strong grip going around her thighs and lifting her up.

On instinct Rory wrapped her legs around his hips, her calves now locking as the passionate kiss intensified, their hips humping together.

His forcefulness made her grunt as he entered, having just pushed aside her stretchy thong, leavingher breathless at the intensity of the move. He held her up, like no guy had ever held before, as if she was as light as a feather, while he pistoned in and out of her wetness. The slapping sounds still echoed in her mind, its pace picking up. He felt so good.

Suddenly the feeling of fullness disappeared, and something, someone, turned her around, pressing her with her chest against the wall roughly. The hands that fondled her breast from behind her felt differente, they were different. Cupping her breast he squeezed her nipples between his fingers. Rory definitely knew that squeeze, she also knew who knew how much she liked it. She moaned, forehead and palms against the wall, red brick wall this time, and she bent herself a little and raised her lower body onto her tiptoes, aiding him for better access. An unprotected sheath entered her, she could tell - and filled her with his warmth to the brim.

His thrusts were slower, more deliberate, but without a doubt dominant. Then a low murmur whispered to her ear, "I'm going to fuck you so hard," the voice warned. "I'm going to fuck you so hard that I'll knock you up again," the voice echoed.

While the thought of baby making had a certain turn-on for her, at that point Rory recalled only feeling panic. With that feeling Rory woke, still panting and her heart pounding. It hadn't been his finest moment, rather his desparate measure to change her mind about them during one of their quarrels.

These had been real occurrences, not just the figment of her imagination, being able to match each of those encounters to a specific man even without looking at their faces. Once again she was left flustered, sweaty and left without her release. This was happening too often. It was frustrating, and annoying.

It was still dark. She was bed alone, the time showing only just past 2 AM. She recalled she was also all alone in the house, hence she didn't think twice about opening her bedside drawer and finding the only thing that could help. Her beloved Soraya 2 felt smooth against her hand, and knowing it's efficiency rate, Rory sighed deeply as she slipped it down her already moist slit, having wiggled her underwear down to her thighs. The only trouble was that it was cold - god, she would've liked to feel real throbbing flesh between her legs right now.

She teased herself just a little with just the vibrator, before turning her favourite pattern and intensity. Little by little the feelings from her dream, the positive ones, returned, playing in her mind like a movie. Her well turned-on body was soon driven over its edge, even allowing herself to be quite audible about it. After all, she was all alone.

As she came down from her high, feeling pleasantly warm and soaked between her legs by now, she realized this couldn't go on like this. There was only so much a mechanical instrument and her dreams sufficed to. And if she did nothing about it - it was just a matter of time she'd end up scraping at Jess' doorstep again. That couldn't happen again. The bad thing was that the real life bar was set pretty damn high if one went by this particular dream, making her smile a little, as she slipped back to sleep, her vibrator, while no longer buzzing, still within her grasp.

When Rory woke the next morning, she'd slept longer than she'd planned - the time already approaching noon. It happened sometimes when she'd been sleep deprived through the week, but it was fine - it was not like she had any plans for the morning. Besides, her nighttime treat had certainly relaxed her to feel more invigorated than she had in weeks.

As she got ready to face the day, showering and moisturizing her body - taking time she normally didn't have while having to get Em ready for the day, she recalled her strange, abrupt decision to go stalk Mitchum Huntzberger's funeral the day before.

She felt stupid for doing it, to be honest. What had she really expected to see? It was not like she would've been able to go talk to him if he had been there, and the fact that he hadn't only really had made her unnecessarily curious. It wasn't her business, it shouldn't affect her like that. Most likely it was just a cancelled flight or there was really a major feud between father and son. Either way - none of her business, and nothing she could do about any of it. She refused to allow herself to go down that path, she refused to google him - they were nothing - rockets or no rockets.

Instead, as she looked through her freshly stocked fridge, still in her robe, there being several types of cereal, even poptarts and eggs, she suddenly felt very sick of eating at home and alone. She needed to kick her borderline insane thoughts about her most likely still married ex-boyfriend out of her head, including her fantasies, preferably along with the memories of her own ex. She needed to make new ones.

"Any chance you'd exchange that offer for coffee for brunch at Danny's on Franklin," Rory texted Seth.

The response was surprisingly rapid.

"Thank god, you'd be saving me from lunch at the Club," Seth replied.

His reluctance towards the Club was a good sign in Rory's world view.

With a few parting messages back and forth, agreeing on the time, Rory headed upstairs to get ready. She had a real date - a real date with a live, unattached and interested man. It was not a bad way to start the day, feeling empowered already.

"Now, you need to promise me not to judge me by my appetite. On my defence I can only say two things - I was raised up with somewhat unhealthy eating habits for one, and two - I haven't eaten since last night," Rory began as she held up the menu in front of her, her mouth already watering at the look at that menu. She'd worn a simple wrap dress, showing off her collarbones and some clevage, while remaining fairly natural - her hair loose, wearing just a touch of make up.

Every now and again she looked at the man sitting across from her as well, running her eyes over him as if carrying out an assessment of sorts, feeling like she hadn't really gotten a very good look the last time. She tried to do it so he wouldn't notice, she wasn't sure though if she was really succeeding at that.

Either way, she found the man quite pleasant looking. He was wearing a dark blue fine knit sweater over a pair of casual chinos. His evening stubble seemed to be a permanent one - forming a short beard along with a slight moustache, which definitely worked on him. His hair was cut a little shorter on the sides than on the top, but it suited him. He was fairly fit, no beer belly, but not especially ripped either. As they'd met up in front of the bistro, he'd greeted her with a friendly hug, and he certainly hadn't smelled bad - black currant and sandalwood, or something similar coming to mind.

"I kind of picked up on that," Seth replied. "Besides, it certainly beats this one girl I went out with who brought a food scale," he added. They'd met up perhaps five minutes later than they'd agreed, both feeling a little worried if the other would be offended by it. But they weren't, instead getting a welcome ice-breaking laugh at their own expense.

Rory smiled, continuing to decide between an omelet and waffles or a club sandwich and pancakes with ice cream.

Seth had explained how he'd indulge his father in a game of gold that morning, but since he wasn't that great at the game, it always ended up being embarrassing rather than enjoyable. His relationship with his father seemed to be a lot healthier than Rory knew many had - he'd actually agreed on spending time with him quite willingly, sensing the man being a little lonely since he'd retired a few months ago.

"So, I recall you have a kid, right?" Seth inquired, after the waitress had taken their orders. Seth's fairly healthy order of walnut pear flatbread with gorgonzola hadn't really shaken Rory - she was used to other people making probably more aware decisions about their diet than she was. Thankfully, so far, her own cholesterol was fine.

"I do. She's 4. Her name is Emily, after my grandmother who passed away just before she was born," Rory shared, deciding firmly to stay clear of the topic of exes on a first date.

"I'm sorry," he said.

"It was a while back, I guess we're all sort of getting to that age where everybody has lost a few loved ones," Rory sighed.

"I guess so," Seth replied, looking down, making Rory wonder who it was for him, feeling like she'd touched a nerve. But she couldn't be sure.

"What about you?" she asked, and took an appreciative sip of her coffee that had by now been brought to the table.

"No kids. But I do confess I have been married," Seth admitted.

"Recently?" Rory asked, unable to stop herself. Being a rebound was not really something she wanted to be.

"About a year and a half ago. And technically I am not a divorcee but a widower," Seth replied, explaining his earlier reaction.

"I'm sorry," Rory reflected, that certainly being a lot more serious the loss of a grandparent. She didn't want to pry - if it went further he'd surely tell her at his own time what had happened.

"I'm just going to even the playing field," Seth said suddenly, deciding to rip the bandaid off. "Is the father of your child still in the picture?" he asked.

"Not in my picture, but he's definitely a part of Em's life. She's with him during the weekends usually. Like now," Rory replied, fibbing perhaps just a little.

"I guess that's a good thing," Seth replied, understandingly.

"So how did you end up teaching?" Rory inquired, realizing that while she had told him at Yale the general overview of her career, he hadn't said all that much about the details of his.

They talked about careers, families and some hobbies, finding a common interest in movies. But then again - who didn't like movies? He had some more interest in some outdoor activities, which didn't quite scream 'perfect match' to Rory but it was not like he was an ultra hiker or fished regularly. He just seemed to appreciate nature, maybe even having hidden a suggestion of going for a road trip together to Vermont for some nature walking together at some point, thinking of the fall foliage. He wasn't a stranger to books, though seemed to prefer crime novels to the broad selection Rory devoured on a daily basis. They talked about travelling, which Rory hadn't done that much in the past few years, not counting a trip to Disney World. But Rory still had plenty of stories to share to match.

Rory was just about finishing her pancakes, Seth having finished his meal way sooner, when her phone rang. Annoyed by its ringing she checked the ID. It was Lorelai and figuring she just wanted to chat like she often did, she dismissed the call. After all, she didn't know she was out with someone.

"Sorry..," Rory apologized, placing the phone on the table.

"So, and this summer I went to Lisbon with a friend of mine," Seth began, but was interrupted by yet another call from Lorelai. This time she'd texted too.

"Paul Anka died," the text said.

"Oh, I'm sorry… I need to take this," Rory said, not waiting for his response, and moved a few steps away to take her mother's call. It was the death of a family member, resulting in the two finishing their meal on a less than positive and hurried note, promising to keep in touch while Rory's mind was already elsewhere, knowing she needed to drive over to Stars Hollow.

Not only did she need to console her mother, she also needed to figure out how to break the news to Em.


AN: If you want a visual for the present day Seth, I think the real actor works fairly well for that - Artie O'Daly is his name. He's pretty good at both a little goofy characters but also the charming ones. Don't worry. I'm not tossing Logan aside at all, he's closer than ever - just Rory needed to see that she has options.