Author's Note: Thanks for all the feedback! You all rock! I also want to give a huge thank you to xphilehb who helped me a lot with this chapter. I couldn't have done it without her. I'd still be staring at the end of the chapter, figuring out how to end it if it weren't for her.

Previously in "A New Beginning": Luke and Lorelai are in NYC, and they took in a Broadway show. Later, Lorelai fell asleep in Luke's bed, and he slept next to her.

As Luke awoke the next morning, he could feel Lorelai burrowed into his back, her soft breath against his neck. Remembering his thoughts from the night before, he quickly got out of the bed. He heard Lorelai groan at the loss of his warmth, but she simply rolled over and remained asleep. Luke quickly showered and dressed, and then he left the hotel room.

When he returned to the room, he was holding a large coffee for her and a bag of bagels for breakfast. He sat down cautiously next to her on the bed. "Lorelai," he tried. She didn't budge. "Lorelai," he said a bit louder, gently shaking her shoulder. "It's time to get up."

"Too early," Lorelai muttered, still refusing to open her eyes. She snuggled deeper into her pillow.

"You're the one who wanted to go shopping before the game," he reminded her.

"Shopping good..." she mumbled, but she still made no move to get up.

"I have coffee," he coaxed. If anything would get Lorelai up, it would be the promise of coffee.

That had her attention. She groggily sat up, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. "Coffee?" she requested, holding out her hand. He gave her the cup, and she immediately took a sip. "What time is it?"

"It's after nine. I can't believe I slept that late."

She gave him a pointed look. "Late? Nine is early. Late would be like eleven, maybe even noon."

"I'm used to getting up around five," he stated.

"Freak." She placed her coffee on the nightstand and attempted to run her fingers through her tangled curls. "How horrible do I look?"

"Well, you just woke up," he pointed out.

She shook her head. "Luke, you're supposed to say that I look absolutely stunning," she explained. "It's like rule number one in the book."

"What book?" he inquired, handing her one of the bagels he had bought before taking one for himself.

She ignored his question as she took a bite out of her bagel.

After she finished her bagel, Lorelai got herself ready for the day. She and Luke spent the rest of the morning shopping before they grabbed lunch and dropped Lorelai's shopping bags off at the hotel so they could go to the Yankees game.

On the way to the stadium, Luke tried to give Lorelai some pointers about what not to do during a baseball game. She had to promise him that she would not yell "Touchdown!" at any point during the game after he swore to her numerous times that it was not cute.

Less than an inning had passed when Lorelai stood to leave. "I'll be right back," she told Luke.

"Where are you going?" he asked.

"Bathroom," she assured him.

He waited patiently for Lorelai to return. She was gone a lot longer than a trip to the bathroom should take. When she finally came back, her arms were full of junk food and a bag from the gift shop. "What is all that?" he questioned.

"You didn't tell me that a baseball game is junk food heaven," she stated as she took her seat next to him. "I've got hotdogs, popcorn, nachos, crackerjacks, and one of those giant soft pretzels."

"We just ate lunch, and we're going to dinner after the game," he reminded her.

"I know. These are just little snacks to hold me over."

"How are you going to eat all of that?"

She looked at him in disbelief. "Are you really asking me that question? Besides, the pretzel is for you. It's the healthiest junk food they've got." She held out all the food to him. "Hold this for sec." He took the food from her and watched as she pulled a baseball cap from the gift shop bag. She placed it on her head. "Ta da! I'd wear it backwards so we could be twins, but the sun is in my eyes."

He stared at her. "You bought a Red Sox cap."

"Don't you like it?" she said, tilting her head back and forth to model it off for him.

"We're at a Yankees game."

"So? I thought that the Red Sox were your favorite team."

"They are," he affirmed. "But this is a Yankees game. You can't wear Red Sox gear to a Yankees game."

"Why not?" she asked.

Luke sighed. He'd never be able to explain the unspoken rules of the game to her. "Nevermind," he told her.

She placed her hand on his arm. "Relax, Luke. If anyone makes a big deal out of it, just say that your girlfriend thought the hat was pretty. Any guy who has ever dated a woman before will accept that, believe me."

His eyes had gone wide at her use of the word girlfriend, but he chose to ignore it, figuring that she meant nothing by it. "Make sure you hold on to that cap."

"For what?" she questioned, taking her junk food back from him.

"I thought we could go to a Red Sox game sometime."

"Really? I'd really like that." She grinned at him. "You mean you'd put up with me through an entire other game?" she teased, offering him the pretzel she had bought.

"Well, I guess it depends on how well you behave during this game," he stated, taking the pretzel from her.

"I'm being good," she declared as she turned her attention to the men on the field. She sat silently for a few minutes, concentrating on eating all the food on her lap. After swallowing a bite of her hotdog, she exclaimed, "Wow! Those pants really show off the players' butts."

"Lorelai!" Luke hissed at her, looking around to see if anyone heard her.

"That's why you like this game so much!" she laughed. "I finally get it. It's the junk food and the butts. I've been missing out all of these years."

"Lorelai!" he said forcefully, his face turning a deep shade of red. "Do you want to go to a Red Sox game with me or not?"

"Luke, come on. I'm just joking..." she tried. Luke did not look happy. "Fine. No more comments about the guys' butts." She leaned in close to him, whispering in his ear, "Am I allowed to tell you that your butt would look really good in a pair of those pants?"

Lorelai wasn't sure what possessed her to say it. She just really, really wanted to, so she had. She'd been feeling very flirty with Luke. There was something about this trip, about being away with Luke like a real 'couple,' that made her actually want to be more than just friends with him. It wasn't as though she hadn't thought about it before. It was just that now, she couldn't push the thoughts away. But they still scared her, so she decided to play it cool and act like her comment meant nothing.

Luke just gulped, unsure of how to answer. Lorelai smiled at him sweetly before turning her attention back to the game and the food. Not knowing Lorelai's own thoughts, he just stared at her, wondering if she had any idea the effect that she could have on him.

…………………………………………

Later after the game and dinner, the two returned to the hotel room, laughing over a joke Lorelai had made. They both collapsed on his bed, still laughing as Lorelai continued her bit. Both of them were thinking about how much they enjoyed the fun they always had together. They never failed to amuse one another.

Lorelai rolled onto her side to face Luke, her eyes sparkling at him. Suddenly aware of their position, Luke moved to get off the bed, but Lorelai stopped him. Her mind was flooded with remembrances of all the little moments they had shared, the way he was always there for her, the way her stomach would betray her and flutter when he smiled. She had always been a risk taker, but never with her heart. But as she looked at her best friend, she realized all that he meant to her. So she decided to take a chance.

Luke gave her a questioningly look and was about to say something when she brushed her lips against his.

The kiss ended as quickly as it began. Luke stared at her with wide eyes, completely stunned. She was watching him intently, waiting for his reaction. When his mind finally caught up with him, he gave her a smile which she immediately returned. He leaned back towards her, letting his lips meet hers once again. The kiss started slow as Luke tenderly moved his lips over hers. She eagerly responded to the feeling of his lips on hers, and the kiss heated up instantly.

Wanting to feel her body against his, he wrapped his arm around her waist and pulled her close. Luke came to his senses when he felt Lorelai trying to deepen the kiss. He pulled away and sat up.

"Luke?" Lorelai questioned, sitting up beside him.

"What are we doing, Lorelai?"

"I thought it was obvious," she stated, sounding a bit confused from his question.

He closed his eyes and breathed deeply. "What do you want from this?" he asked, opening his eyes but not looking at her. She sat there silently, contemplating her answer. He continued before she could respond, "I respect you, Lorelai. You're my best friend, and I couldn't take advantage of you." His eyes met hers. "I'm not sure I could stop if this starts. I'm not sure I could go back to being just friends. And I couldn't stand it if I lost you," he added in a whisper before he looked away.

"That's why I want this, Luke. I've never trusted someone so completely with my heart. You'd never take advantage of me." She reached for his hand and tightly grasped it in her own. "You asked me what I want from this..." With her free hand, she turned his chin towards her, urging Luke to look at her. She made sure that he was looking directly at her, before she continued, "I want to be able to kiss you. I want to fall asleep, wrapped in your arms every night. I want..." she trailed off, shrugging her shoulders. "I want everything, Luke. And you're it." She paused for a moment before asking, "What do you want?" She stumbled over the question, nervous of his response.

Luke knew that she had just laid everything out on the table. She had bared her soul to him, trusting him not to harm her. That meant more to him than anything else could. He drew his hand gently across her cheek. "I want you, Lorelai," he said before capturing her lips with his own.

He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into his lap. This time, when Lorelai tried to deepen the kiss, Luke didn't hesitate for even a second. He welcomed her in, their lips crashing together. His hands roamed over her body, wanting to feel every inch of her. He felt her hands struggling to undo the buttons of his shirt. Finally succeeding, Luke helped her pull the fabric off of his body before tackling the obstacle of her shirt and tossing it in the direction of his.

He slowly eased himself back down onto the bed with Lorelai joining him, pressing her body flesh against his, never letting their mouths break contact.

That night, they broke contact as little as possible. Hands roamed as they learned the feel of one another. It was new and awkward at moments, and at others, it felt familiar, like they had been doing this very thing forever. Which, in the end, made sense. It was the dance of two people crossing the line from friends to lovers.

To be continued. Please review! I hope you all liked this chapter. I know you've been waiting for it! The next and final chapter is with my beta, so I'll be posting it very soon.