(A/N)Sorry for the really long wait. I am truly sorry. I am also sorry for the people who think this story is moving along slow. Thanks for the reviews. I will try to make this chapter as long as the others but I don't promise anything. Characters may seem OOC. I own nothing.
Chapter Three
Rory got in the cab fifteen minutes later, telling the driver where to go. She sat silently, alone with her thoughts.
Jess was right. He was absolutely positively right. Logan's an ass. Why am I with him anyways? All we do is party, drink and have sex. What is wrong with me? This really isn't me. I don't drink. I don't party the way I have been. I don't have sex with a guy, who can't tell me he loves me, every single damn night we're together. That's probably the only reason I'm with Logan. I am such a slut! Tears slowly rolled down her cheeks as she stared at the passing scenery. Rory raised a hand to her face and touched the cheek where Logan had hit her. He had hit her hard, for it still stung and she knew it was still bright pink.
Why did I let Logan slap me? Why didn't I do something, like slap him? I should've. But then what would've Jess thought? Logan had, after all, been driving and Jess wouldn't have believed that he fell asleep against the seat belt. Then I would've had to tell Jess that Logan slapped me. Damn the web I weave.
I can't believe I even considered loving Logan. He's basically the reason I dropped out of Yale. If I hadn't ever dated him and gotten insulted by his mother at his house and gotten that internship at the Stamford Eagle Gazette I would still be at Yale, taking classes that I love, I wouldn't be living with my Bridge-playing grandmother, who has been on my case ever since she found out about me and Logan having sex!
Why didn't I go with Jess when I had the chance? Why didn't I tell him that I love him? I should've. Then, I would be with the guy I love for real. The guy I am in love with. I would be having sex with the guy I'm in love with. Maybe not sex, but making love. It may sound a little cheesy but Jess and I, we could never have meaningless sex. We would probably be sharing long, intimate, passionate nights that actually meant something to us. Damn! Here I am, dwelling in what could've been. I need to focus on what I'm going to do when I get there. Shit! I'm here! Rory looked through the cab's tinted window at the beautiful Inn her mother owned.
Tears were still rolling down her cheeks but she had gotten used to them tonight. She rummaged in her purse for the money Logan had left on the table and finally produced them, then handed them to the cab driver. She didn't even know why she was using Logan's money. Oh well, it saves me the money.
"Keep the change." She told the driver and smiled through her tears.
"Thank you. I hope it wasn't some boy you're crying about. Because if it is, the guy that made you cry doesn't deserve you." The cab driver told her sincerely.
"Thanks. And I know." With that she smiled and got out of the car. Once the cab drove out of sight, Rory looked up at the Dragonfly and a new a batch of tears streamed down her cheeks, joining the others in a battle. She sighed, walked up the steps and looked into the lobby, where she saw Michel snoozing at the desk. Quietly, she opened the door and stepped inside. Rory looked over at Michel, who hadn't stirred, and looked over at the sitting room, which was empty, before deciding that the coast was clear and she could continue. Quickly and discretely.
Rory made her way up the stairs and past a few rooms before getting to her destination. Room ten had been the room she had stayed in the night of the test run. Tears continued to fall, the why unknown to her now, and she let out a soft sob. Rory raised a trembling fist to the door and knocked lightly. After a grunt of "Coming," she some noises inside the room and she looked down at her feet as sobs shook her body, untamable. When she heard the creak of the door and a sharp intake of breath, Rory let out another nerve-wrecking sob and looked up at him.
"You were right. You were right." Jess's features softened and Rory swallowed past the knot in her throat. "You were right." She repeated quietly, still looking Jess in the eye. Jess raised a hand to her face and wiped a few tears away with the back of his hand. Rory, for probably the third time last night, felt butterflies in her stomach at his gentle touch. Throwing her arms around his neck, Jess reciprocated the movement and held her tight against him.
"Everything you said was true." She whispered into his neck tearfully.
"Come on. Let's go inside." They pulled away from each other and walked into the room, Jess shutting the door behind him.
"Everything you said about me not being me and not acting like I would was true. I'm not me. I'm not me at all." Rory was nervously wringing her hands and staring at the floor. Jess walked over to her and grabbed her hand, squeezing it tightly.
"I'm sorry."
"Sorry? You don't have anything to be sorry for, Jess. I finally went through with that overdue introspection. All I've been doing is following what my grandmother says and what Logan does. I haven't done anything I, in retrospect, would've wanted to do. I never thought things through this whole time. I've been drinking, partying, and having sex with a guy who can't even tell me that he loves me. I can't do that anymore. I need to do something about the way I'm handling things. I need to go back to Yale. I need to redo everything that happened since the test run of the Inn to get everything in my life back on track. I—I—I—" now she stammered nervously. Rory averted the gaze from his eyes to the floor and back to his eyes before continuing slowly and quietly.
"I need to be with someone who's in love with me and who I'm in love with." The tears had long-since stopped and her face was tear-stained and her cheek still stung. Jess stood amazed by her speech, but mostly he was marveling at the last statement. He didn't know what to do next. Jess took her face in his hands and softly stroked her cheek, which was now turning to a fading pink. He hadn't helped but noticed the slowly fading red mark at the pub, noting that it couldn't have been a seat belt mark.
"What really happened your face?" He whispered and Rory's lip twitched slightly.
"I told you. I fell asleep against the seat belt." Rory lied.
"A seat belt mark fades quick. I should know." Rory swallowed and shut her eyes tight for a few seconds, then opened them.
"He slapped me." She whispered.
"He what?" Jess said, taking his hands away from her face.
"He slapped me."
"No. He didn't. 'Cause he should know that if he did, I'd be after like a dog on a flea."
"Jess, it's not a big deal. He didn't punch me." Rory tried to calm him down, but to no avail.
"No, but he slapped you!"
"You don't even know what happened. Not that I deserved it. If anyone did, it was him."
"You'll have to tell me what he said eventually." Jess said, his anger slowly fading.
"I will. Just not now."
"Fine." Jess grabbed her face and kissed her deeply and slowly. At least ten minutes later, Rory and Jess pulled apart and leaned their foreheads against each other's.
"What was that?" Rory asked breathlessly.
"This." Jess took her face in his hands again and kissed her, this time more deeply and way more slowly.
"I need you." Rory whispered, putting emphasis on 'you'.
"I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere." A beat.
"I love you." Rory confessed, looking straight at him.
"I love you too."
"How could you still love me after I treated you the way I did?"
"You're not that easy to get over, Rory." Rory stepped slowly away from him before starting her rant.
"I'm not? Because I always thought I was. But that's beside the point. When I dated Dean for the first time, I never even remotely considered sleeping with Dean. I was just 16, but I never thought about it. But, I did when I was with you. I even told my mom that we might have. But we never did. And I ended up sleeping with my married ex-boyfriend on the night of the test run, getting into a horrible fight with my mom, and flying across the ocean to Europe to spend the summer with my grandmother. Then I dated Dean for a few months and he broke up with me, and I suddenly wanted Logan. And I got him; I even almost had sex with him at my grandmother and grandfather's vow renewal. I said I didn't want to be in a relationship, just no strings attached. And I hated it and eventually we were in a relationship for a couple of months, having sex, partying and drinking. And he bought me a damn Birkin bag and can't tell me he loves me and that's not what I want. I want to be with you Jess. I have to be with you." Rory whispered the last part and waited for Jess's reaction.
"You have me. You always have." At that Rory smiled and was the first to initiate the kiss. She threw her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss, while he put his hand on her hips. Rory slowly pulled her lips away from his and looked deep into his eyes.
"I want you." She whispered. A smirk appeared on his face. They closed the space between them and immediately deepened the kiss. Jess removed his hands from her hips and slid them up her body to her shoulders, where he thrust off her jacket. The next thing they knew, Jess was lying on top of Rory, all clothes removed, and he was looking into her eyes, where finally, instead of seeing sadness and confusion, he saw happiness pushing through. This was his Rory. The Rory he had grown to love.
(A/N) This is not the end! Trust me on that. I am so sorry it took me so long to update. I really am. Did you see the episode this week? It was so funny when she was talking to the shrink and she started to cry. You could tell it was so fake. Anyways, it probably will be a while before I get the next chapter up, since I still haven't finished my other story and I really have to get a move on that. Well, tell me what you think please!
