Author's Note: Thanks to those of you who left feedback on the last chapter. It made me all happy. And another shout out to my amazing beta xphilehb. This story would be nothing without her help.
Previously in "A New Beginning": Rory's with her father, so Lorelai and Luke went to a movie together which almost resulted in a kiss.
"So what are you plans for tonight?" Sookie asked Lorelai as she stirred her sauce for the Inn's dinner.
"I'm probably going to pick up some dinner at Luke's and then watch some movies or something," Lorelai informed Sookie. "Just a quiet evening at home. Why?"
Sookie clapped her hands together, almost knocking over her sauce. "Because I have a better idea."
Lorelai took a bite out of one of the cookies Sookie had made for dessert. "These are good," she commented before responding to Sookie's statement, "Like what?"
"We're going to go out."
"Oh! Where?" Lorelai questioned.
"We're going to go to a singles bar!" Sookie exclaimed.
Lorelai nearly choked on her bite of the cookie. "A what?"
"A singles bar," Sookie repeated, nodding her head excitedly. "We need to get you back out on the scene."
"And what scene would that be?"
"The dating scene! C'mon, Lorelai, when was the last time you went out on a date?" Sookie asked. "Because I am drawing a blank on that one."
"Sookie, don't you think it's a little too soon for me to be looking for a relationship? It hasn't been that long since everything with Chris," Lorelai pointed out.
"I'm not talking about a relationship. I'm talking about the transition guy. The guy to get you back out there," Sookie explained. "I think it'll be good for you."
"I don't know, Sookie..."
"One night, Lorelai, one night. That's all I'm asking for. If it's a total bust, I'll never ask you to do it again."
Lorelai sighed. "Well, I don't know. Where is this bar? I'm pretty sure I've never seen a bar, let alone a singles bar in Stars Hollow."
"It's in Woodbury," Sookie replied. "A quick 15-minute drive."
Lorelai hesitated. "I probably shouldn't. Rory-" she began.
"What about Rory, Lorelai? She's sixteen years old. I'm sure she can take care of herself for one night. And isn't she with Christopher?"
"Well, yeah." She was out of excuses. "You swear it'll be just this one time?"
Sookie held out her pinkie. "I pinkie-swear."
Lorelai took Sookie's offered pinkie. "Fine."
"Yay!" Sookie squeaked. "Wear something hot!"
"You are so going to owe me," Lorelai told her friend. "I'm going to grab some dinner at Luke's beforehand. Meet me there at 8."
"You got it!"
"You're all dressed up," Luke observed as Lorelai entered the diner. She was wearing a little black dress that clung to her every curve. Luke had to stop himself from staring.
"Sookie's taking me out," she said as she took a seat at the counter.
He grabbed a mug and poured her some coffee. "Out where?"
"A singles bar in Woodbury. Apparently, you're not the only who thinks that I'm pathetic." She took a sip of her coffee. "What does a person even do at one of those places? Act all desperate and throw herself at a bunch of sleazy men?"
"I wouldn't know," he told her.
"I figured." She looked up at him only to find that he was smirking at her. "You think this is funny?"
"I never pictured you as someone who would want to go to a place like that."
"I'm not. Believe me, I don't want to go." She drummed her fingers on the counter, trying to come up with some excuse to give Sookie, when an idea came to her. "Hey, Luke? What are you doing tonight?"
"No," he answered shortly. "Don't even think about it."
"You don't even know what I was going to ask you."
"I am not going to the bar with you."
"Why not, Luke?" she asked. "We can mock it together. Please?" she begged. "I don't want to go there alone."
"You're not," he pointed out. "Sookie's going with you."
"Luke," she whined, drawing out his name. "You know I won't stop until I have my way."
Realizing he would not be able to get around it, he reluctantly agreed. "Fine. But you will not be giving me catcalls."
"That was one time! And it was pretty funny watching you turn thirteen shades of red. I want to go for fourteen," she teased. He gave her a pointed look.
"I'll behave.," she promised. "Now go change. Sookie will be here any minute."
"I have to change?" he questioned, beginning to regret his decision to go.
She nodded and gave him a small push. "Yes, you have to change. How else do you expect to pick up the ladies?" she joked, throwing in a wink for effect. "Now hurry up," she said as she watched him begin to walk up the steps to his apartment.
A few minutes after Luke went upstairs to change, Sookie walked into the diner.
"Hey, Sookie!" Lorelai greeted. "Guess what? I convinced Luke to go with us."
"Lorelai, you're not supposed to take a guy into a singles bar. You're supposed to leave with one," Sookie began.
"Who said I was going to leave with one?" Lorelai inquired. "Luke will just be there to fend off any of the majorly creepy guys."
Sookie looked skeptical. "Uh huh."
"Sookie!" The tone in Lorelai's voice was one of disbelief.
"It doesn't matter anyway. I just got a call from the Inn. Something went wrong with my lamb chops. I need to go back," Sookie informed her friend. "I'm so sorry!"
"This was your idea, Sookie." Lorelai was frustrated.
"I know. Rain check?" Sookie asked.
"Yeah, yeah," Lorelai assured her. "Go to the Inn."
"Hey, you can still go with Luke," Sookie pointed out, trying to make peace.
"Maybe..."
"Think about it," Sookie said as she walked out the diner.
"Was that Sookie?" Luke asked, coming up behind Lorelai as Sookie walked out of the diner and rounded the corner out of sight.
"Yeah. Something came up at the Inn," she responded, turning to face him. "Wow. You look good," she stated. Luke stood before her in jeans and a black sweater. She rarely saw him out of his flannel, and she had to admit that he had a gorgeous body hidden under there.
Luke's face reddened a bit when he saw her staring. "Thanks," he mumbled. "So does that mean we're not going?" he inquired.
"I don't know... we could still go... if you want..." she trailed off. "I mean, we're all dressed up."
"Do you still want to go?" he asked her, sensing from her last statement that she did.
She shrugged. "We could just go have a drink or two."
"I could go for that," Luke agreed.
The two spent most of their time at the bar enjoying each other's company. Lorelai was certain that she was having more fun sitting at the tiny table talking with Luke than (she would have had) if she had come with Sookie and spent the entire evening looking for a guy.
Luke finished up the last of his beer. "I'm going to go get another drink. Do you want one?" he asked, pointing to her empty martini glass.
"Sure," she said, watching as he walked up to the bar. She couldn't help but let her thoughts travel to how good Luke looked tonight. He was probably the best looking guy in the whole place.
"Hey," someone said, breaking her out of her thoughts.
She looked over to see a guy standing at Luke's abandoned chair. "Hi," she replied.
"Mind if I join you?" the man asked.
"Actually..." she paused for a moment. Hadn't she come here to find the 'transition guy'? She glanced back at the bar, back at Luke. She would much rather spend the rest of the evening with him. "That seat's taken," she finished.
"Oh. Sorry. Can I at least get your number?" the guy persisted.
She shook her head, noticing that Luke was making his way back to the table. "I don't think so." She pointed at Luke. "My boyfriend wouldn't like that very much. He's more of a hit first and ask questions later kind of guy, so you might want to leave," she said sweetly.
"Bye," he said, quickly turning to leave and almost running into Luke. "Sorry, man. I didn't realize she was taken," he apologized before bolting away.
Luke gave the retreating man an odd look. "Who was that guy?"
Lorelai shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Now, where were we?" she asked, taking her martini from him.
"I hope that I am never desperate enough to throw myself at a man like that!" Lorelai exclaimed as she and Luke walked up the steps to her house. They were discussing the random antics that they had witnessed at the bar. "I thought she was going to rip off her clothes right there in the bar," she said, laughing at the memory.
"She had a little too much to drink," Luke noted, chuckling.
Lorelai unlocked her door. "So are you coming in?" she asked Luke, looking up at him with hopeful eyes.
"Of course," he answered, holding the door open so they both could walk inside. He took both of their jackets and hung them up before following Lorelai into the living room.
Lorelai had plopped down on the couch so that her back was against the arm of the couch. When Luke entered the room, she held up her legs so that he could sit next to her before placing them down on his lap. "I am exhausted," she stated.
He removed her shoes from her feet. "I will never understand how you can walk in these," he told her, noting the high heels of the shoes. He tossed them on the floor. He leaned back against the couch. He felt as tired as Lorelai looked, but still, something was on his mind. "So..."
"Hmm..." she murmured with closed eyes, her head resting against the back of the couch.
"What did you expect from tonight? I mean, if you had gone with Sookie, were you expecting to umm... find someone?"
She opened her eyes to look at him. "I don't know. I didn't really want to go. Sookie thought that I needed to find a transition guy."
"A transition guy?"
"You know, someone before I find relationship guy." She gave a tiny shrug. "I don't really know. I was just going with Sookie on this way, I know nothing about the dating scene these days."
"Do you want a... umm..."
"Transition guy? I don't know. But I know eventually I will want a relationship guy."
"You do?" he asked.
"Yeah. I haven't given it too much thought, but it would be nice... having someone," she said quietly. She thought about how she had never really had Christopher, not all of him anyway.
"It would be nice," he agreed, resting his head against the back of the couch so that he was eye-to-eye with Lorelai. "Lorelai?"
"Yeah, Luke?" she yawned, trying to fight off sleep.
"You'll always have me," he whispered softly, running his fingers gently across her cheek.
She reached for his hand and entwined her fingers through his and gave him a smile. "I know," she replied.
Luke pressed a soft kiss against her hand that was joined with his. "Get some sleep," he told her.
"Sleep is good," she mumbled before letting her eyes drift close.
To be continued. Please review! Reviews make me smile :-) And I promise you, you all won't have to wait too much longer...
La prochaine fois: It's Lorelai's birthday!