Chapter 8-Teenagers Out of Water
Lorelai Gilmore sighed as she walked pass the gazebo on her way to Luke's. They were at it again, and by they, she meant Rory and Jess. From her current position, she could see Jess on top of her daughter, making his way down her neck, both lying on one of the benches.
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Hey, Jess! Get off the daughter!"
He lifted himself up off Rory; frown fixed on his face and turned to Lorelai. Rory pouted, as well, but suddenly got a twinkle in her eyes. He raised an eyebrow.
She grinned, pushing him down so that she was now on top and returned his amused smirk. He pulled her down for a kiss, and they continued what they were doing before they were interrupted.
Lorelai sighed and through her hands up in defeat. She gave the couple one last look before deciding to go on to Luke's, all the while grumbling about "hormones" and "defiling."
As she opened the door to the diner, she put her hand dramatically to her forehead. "Luke! If I don't get a gigantic cup of really strong coffee right now, it won't be my fault if tomorrow you wake up and find yourself with one less sarcastic, annoying, nephew." She sat down at the counter with an expectant smile.
Luke shot Lorelai a disgruntled look as he brought over the pot of coffee. "What did he do now?"
Lorelai brought the now full mug to her lips and gulped down about half the cup before answering. "He's brainwashing my daughter into being all gross in the middle of the town."
"Oh, and how is he doing this?"
"With his satanic powers. He's the devil incarnate. The Anti-Christ. The-"
Luke cut her off. "Of course. Let's say Jess is somehow the most evil person on earth. Isn't Rory the least evil, making them cancel each other out?"
Lorelai seemed to contemplate this for a moment. "I guess," she said slowly. "But it's still yucky to see them playing tonsil hockey right there where everyone can see."
"I didn't disagree. But at least we know what they're doing and where they are. If we didn't, we might have to be a little more worried."
"It's Rory."
"It's Jess," Luke pointed out.
Lorelai finished off the last of her coffee before nodding to Luke. "You've definitely got a point. Maybe it's time Rory and I have a little talk…"
She trailed off, raising her eyes suggestively at Luke. He groaned, but otherwise said nothing.
"See ya tomorrow, Luke."
"Bye, Lorelai." He gave her a small smile as she headed out the door and past the gazebo. He watched her walk past Rory and Jess, before seemingly deciding on something and turning around. She walked up the steps to the benches on which they were lying and grabbed Rory, practically dragging her down the street to their house. Luke couldn't make out what anyone was saying, but noticed the annoyed expression on both Rory and Jess' faces and the satisfied and triumphant beam on Lorelai's. He chuckled quietly to himself, amused at her antics. 'Poor Rory,' he thought as she shot Jess an apologetic frown. 'Poor Jess.'
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"What was that for?"
Lorelai looked at her daughter, "We need to talk."
Rory frowned. "About what?"
"I'll give you a hint. It has something to do with the fact that you were virtually mauling Jess in the middle of town."
"So?" Rory folded her arms across her chesty, frustrated.
Lorelai rolled her eyes. "Sex," she said bluntly.
Rory faltered. "What?"
"S…E…X. Sex." Lorelai spelled it out.
"I heard what you said, but I still don't see what me kissing Jess has to do with…it."
Lorelai opened the door to the house and let Rory go inside. They both sat down on the sofa, and Lorelai turned to face Rory. "Kissing leads to sex, and by the way you were kissing; horizontally, roaming hands, slobbery mouths…need I go on?" At Rory's head shake she continued, "It looks like sex is in you guy's imminent future, as much as I hate to say it."
Rory sighed. "We haven't talked about it."
Lorelai cocked an eyebrow. "Well, I doubt Jess is going to want to start that particular conversation."
Rory shrugged and leaned back into the sofa cushions, not saying anything.
"Look, are you thinking about sex…with Jess?" Lorelai held back a grimace as she finished the question.
Rory bit her lip and again, shrugged.
"Rory."
"Mom," Rory mocked.
Lorelai sighed, frustrated. "Look, Rory. I'm serious here. Are you with me?"
Rory let her eyes rest on a dirt spot on the couch. "Sorry," she mumbled.
"So…" Lorelai prodded.
"I haven't really thought about it," Rory answered truthfully.
Lorelai exhaled, relieved. As she was about to say something, Rory continued.
"But, since you brought it up, I guess you're right. It could happen." A beat. "Soon, maybe."
Lorelai cringed, "How soon?"
Rory again, shrugged. "I don't know. I don't think I'm ready yet."
"I think you should wait. And I'm being a friend-slash-mom here. Unless you're one hundred percent, absolutely, no-doubt-about-it positive, you aren't ready to take that step," her mom said.
"Yeah."
Lorelai continued, "It's a really big deal. And there are risks and consequences and-"
Rory cut her off, "I know, Mom. I'm one of those consequences, aren't I?"
"No, Rory. I just mean that you have to be careful. Plastic bubble boy careful."
"I'm not even having sex yet."
"Key word, there: yet," Lorelai reminded.
Rory rolled her eyes. "Sure. When, and if I do have sex I'll be super careful. I swear."
Lorelai frowned as she looked down. "Will you also tell me?"
"What?" Rory asked, confused.
"Before. I want to know before anything happens, okay?"
Rory nodded. "Okay."
"Okay," Lorelai repeated. "Okay."
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Jess was scowling as he walked into the diner, door slamming behind him. He was having a perfectly good time with his girlfriend when her mother had to come and interrupt. It's not like they were doing anything bad, he thought. Just kissing. But Lorelai saw something else, and now he had to go back to work and bus tables instead of the less boring things he was doing before.
Luke threw a washcloth at him, and gestured to the dirty tables in the far corner. Jess sighed, but complied and started scrubbing the stained surface.
Luke watched him work with a frown on his face, thinking about the previous conversation he just had with Lorelai. He decided that maybe he and Jess could do with a little chat, too.
A few hours later, as they guys were closing up, Luke approached Jess fairly cautiously. "Jess…"
"Yeah." He didn't turn around, but kept refilling the ketchup bottle.
Luke fidgeted with the salt shaker in his hands. "Can we, maybe talk?"
Jess raised his eyebrows, back still facing Luke. "About?"
"Sex," he answered awkwardly.
Jess smirked. "Shouldn't you have already had this conversation, Uncle Luke? I don't think I'm the right person for you to be talking to this about. You'd probably be more comfortable with a father figure."
Luke swatted him across the back of his head. "C'mon, Jess." At the somber tone in his voice, Jess turned around.
"Are you serious?"
"Unfortunately," Luke grumbled. He raised his eyes off the ground. "See, I was talking to Lorelai today, and…"
Jess scowled. "So Lorelai wants you to talk to me about sex?"
Luke shook his head. "No."
"So, then?"
Luke sighed. "Look, I know you've had sex before, and I know you know that Rory hasn't. Don't do anything to you know, hurt her. Don't force her, or…"
Jess interrupted him. "Luke, I care about her. Yes, I've had sex, but that's all it was...sex." He continued after a moment, "Rory's…different."
Luke's expression softened. "I know. Just, be careful, okay? She's got a lot going for her." He paused. "You do too, you know. Just…be careful."
Jess nodded. "Okay."
"Okay." Luke repeated. "Okay."
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A few days later, Rory and Jess were planning on hanging out in the apartment. They headed up the stairs, and Jess held open the door so she could go on in.
He shut the door after she stepped inside, and threw his jacket on a chair, walking over to the fridge. Bending down, he asked, "Soda?"
"Sure." She casually draped her jacket over his and wondered over to a stack of new books by his bed. He handed her the coke and sat down on the edge, taking a sip of his own drink.
She picked up the book on top, "Have you read this yet?"
He shook his head. "Not yet. I heard it was good, though"
Nodding, Rory set the book back down and turned to look at him. "Yeah. Me, too."
He shrugged and finished off the soda. "What do you want to do?"
"What about that homework you promised me?" she asked playfully, grinning.
"I think I have something that would help over there," he said, pointing to the couch.
"Uh-hmm," she agreed. "Let's go look."
She stood up and made her way to the sofa, while he trailed behind her, throwing the can in the trash on the way. Right before reaching the end of the couch, she stopped and turned around. "Hmm…I don't see any textbooks."
He gave her a mock frown, "Huh. Me neither. I guess we'll just have to make do with what we got."
Smiling, Rory nodded. "Guess so."
He pulled her towards him, his hands resting on the small of her back, their bodies molded together comfortably.
Her face inches form his, she grinned, "Hi."
"Hi." With that, he slowly pulled her in for a heated kiss, starting off pretty passionate and progressing even more as the time went on.
She felt the back of her legs come in contact with the sofa, and fell back onto it, giggling when he fell on top of her. "Oomph," he grunted.
She brushed it off, and continued where they left off. He put is weight on his elbows; leaning over her while she ran her hands over his back and through his hair. He let himself relax a little more, and tangled her legs with his. His hands started wandering towards the hem of her shirt, and when he began lifting it, she pulled away, coming to her senses.
"Wait," she breathed, eyes wide and dark blue.
He raised himself up, leaning against the back of the couch, "Sorry."
She shook her head, "No, it's fine. But," she bit her lip. "I realized something. When I'm with you, kissing you, touching you, I lose almost all control. It's a scary feeling. It's like I'm a different person, one that normal Rory wouldn't trust with you."
He frowned. "What does that mean?"
"I guess it means that…" She wrinkled her brow, "…it means that I'm afraid that I'm going to do something I'm not ready for because I'm too caught up in the moment to stop it," she confessed, quietly.
"I'm not pressuring you to do anything, Rory. Tell me to stop, I'll stop," he told her.
"See, that's what I'm worried about. I don't know if I can tell you to stop."
"I'm still a little confused. What now? No more kissing?"
She rolled her eyes, "No. Definitely some kissing. Lots. I like it." She smiled, "But this is all new for me, you know? The physical thing."
"How far exactly…" Jess paused, trying to figure what he was going to say. "You and Dean- how far did you guys actually go?"
Rory blushed. "Probably not much more that a little making out," she admitted.
He raised his eyebrows disbelievingly, "You're kidding me. You went out with this guy for two years? Was it him or you?"
"That stopped things from progressing further? I guess both of us. He never tried anything, but even if he had, I don't know if I would have let him do anything."
Rory shrugged, staring at a loose thread on her jeans.
"Huh."
She looked up and saw him smirking. Pursing her lips, she shot him a playful glare. "Shut up."
He lifted his arms innocently, palms up. "I didn't say anything."
Her face suddenly grew serious. "Jess?"
"Yeah?"
"How many girls have you been with?"
He sighed before letting himself fall back onto the cushions. He blew out a breath, and looked Rory in the eye.
"We're gonna have this conversation now, then, huh?"
When she didn't say anything, he shook his head. "Four, I think. Possibly a few drunked one-night stands."
She nodded, "How old were you?"
"Fourteen," he answered, a bit of regret laced through his voice.
"Oh."
After a few moments of silence, he turned to look at Rory. He noticed she was crying, so he gently took her face in his hands and wiped away the tears with his thumbs. "Hey...what's wrong?"
"Why do you want to be with me? You could have any other girl; someone more experienced, someone who doesn't stop you when you're kissing. Why me?"
He sighed and put his hand on her chin, gently lifting her face so that she could meet his eyes. "You're different than all those girls. I barely remember their names, let alone cared about them. You are special, Rory."
She frowned. "Short bus special or…"
Rolling his eyes, he answered, "I really care about you Rory. I…" He nervously ran a hand through his hair. "…I think…I think I might love you."
Her eyes widened and he ducked his head, embarrassed.
She blinked away her tears and turned to face him.
"I know it's stupid, and you probably don't feel the same way, but I just wanted to tell you. I'm not used to this whole," he motioned between the two of them, "emotion thing."
"I guess we're in the same boat then, huh? Both totally confused at what's going on. Neither of us in our comfort zones? Like fish outta water?"
He smirked, "Apparently." Pausing, he raised his gaze to her tearstained face, "Now what?"
"I don't know," she admitted quietly. After a beat, "Jess?"
"Yeah?"
"I think I love you, too," she told him, smiling softly.
She saw the corners of his mouth upturn into a small grin, and her smile matched his. Everything was going to be all right.
A/N: I got 29 reviews. For one chapter. One! Amazing. You don't realize how ecstatic that made me. Majorly happy. Pshh...crazy! Any possible way I could get that much again? Maybe? See how fast I got this chapter out? I've started working on the next one...so maybe it won't be a month between updates. Sorry about that. Really sorry. :(
I actually had this chapter done and written before the previous one, so sorry if there are any descrepencies...but there shouldn't be.
I don't own it. PLEASE REVIEW. Thanks. :D
Eh, One more thing...
- Lexy-Lovin-Milo: You didn't leave an email or a way to get back to you... and I like to respond to some of the longer reviews. So, I just want to thank you for the review, and tell you that No, I don't get tired of your rambling; the longer the review the better! Thanks!