Luke was running around the diner, busy with serving. Lorelai and Rory hadn't visited in three days, but now it was Saturday and Luke dearly hoped she'd come alone today.
"What can I bring you?" he asked a man, kind of gruffily, as he missed Lorelai and her breathtaking smile. He had never thought he'd be addicted to a woman like that one day.
Even when he ha started dating Rachel, he had needed some space every second day.
"I heard your coffee is the best, I'll take one," the man replied and Luke nodded stiffly.
Great, now even customers ordering coffee reminded him of her.
"Anything to eat?"
"Still waiting for someone but once she arrives I'd like to," the man replied and Luke nodded again, turning around and leaving for the kitchen.
He told his newest employee, Caesar, the dishes that the customers were wishing for and then went to the coffee machine to prepare the hot beverage to several longing customers. While the brown liquid poured down, he couldn't get his mind off Lorelai.
And when he turned around, a familiar face started him.
It wasn't Lorelai - but almost.
Rory had come into the diner and sat down at the table of that man he was preparing coffee for.
Slowly Luke started to combine.
The man was young, not even thirty. If Rory was with him, that would make him ...
Christopher Hayden.
Sudden hate bubbled up in his chest and he wished he hadn't been nice to him.
He grabbed the cup that was for Christopher, ignored the other customers and went right to him and Rory, placing the cup down almost rudely. "Here. Hello, Rory."
Rory's face lightened up. "Hey, Luke! Do you know my dad already?"
"I don't," Luke said with a challenging look. Now that he was able to have a better look at him, he realised that he, plain, average Luke, was definitely not playing in Lorelai's league.
Christopher was a good looking, young man and - the worst - he seemed nice.
"You're Luke? Lorelai has told me about you," he now said, not sounding angry or jealous at all. He reached out his hand. "Chris Hayden, pleasure to meet you."
"Likewise," Luke replied dryly, accepting his hand shake with a weird feeling. But at the same time he felt honoured. Lorelai had talked about him? How much? About what?
"I'd like a cup of cocoa, Luke!" Rory brought him back from his thoughts. "And a burger! Can I, dad?"
"Of course, sweetheart," Christopher replied immediately and Luke frowned.
"And for you, Chris?"
"How does the chicken salad taste here?" Chris asked back and Luke shrugged.
"Didn't Lorelai tell you that? I guess it tastes like everywhere."
"I'll take it, then," Chris spoke and Luke turned around.
Weird.
Lorelai had talked about him and his coffee but not about his food. Also she ordered a salad everytime she was here and never fully ate it. She ate the meat, the cheese, the tomatoes and a few salad leaves, but never the whole thing.
If she didn't like the salads, why did she order them?
So she won't gain too much weight, an angry voice in the back of Luke's head said loudly. Chris is controlling her. And for Rory he plays the good father. It's a farce!
Luke couldn't believe how much he hated Chris. Lorelai was such a good woman, and a good wife for sure as well. Why did he do that to her?
He remembered how Lorelai defended him all the time. Maybe Luke was completely on the wrong track and Chris was a good guy after all.
But right now and to him it didn't seem so.
•
Luke brought their food and turned right to Rory. "I haven't seen your mom in a while, is she okay?" he asked.
"Yes," Christopher replied immediately, but Rory added something.
"She's sick."
"Oh no, what's wrong?" Luke asked, honestly concerned. She was sick and Christopher had simply replied that she was okay when she clearly wasn't.
"I don't know," Rory mumbled, suddenly not looking at Luke anymore, so he turned to her father.
"Is she alright?"
"I know you two are friends but it's none of your business," Chris said calmly. Once again he sounded whether unfriendly nor angry, on the contrary - he sounded quite polite!
"You're right," Luke said, getting that, if Lorelai was really sick, it indeed wasn't. But he worried about her mental wellbeing and if he thought that it was endangered, he knew he did have the right to know. "Would you at least give her a cup of coffee from me?" he asked and Chris laughed.
"Of course! She'll love that."
Luke nodded shortly, knowing that giving her coffee wasn't enough to heal her soul, but maybe it would be enough to make her at least smile.
•
Lorelai didn't visit him until Wednesday of the next week.
"Lorelai!" he called as she entered at quarter past four in the afternoon, when the diner was almost empty.
"Hi!" Lorelai returned just as cheerfully and let herself fall down on a bar stool. "Thanks for the coffee on Saturday," she said and dropped her purse on the bar. "Chris said you gave it to him for free. How much do I owe you?"
"Don't you get the meaning of free coffee?" Luke asked with a smile. "I don't want your money."
"Luuuke," Lorelai whined. "I feel bad about that."
"Don't feel bad. I wanted to do something for you, as I heard you were sick."
"Ugh. Yeah." Lorelai leaned across the counter. "Chris told me you asked about my health and that he said it was non of your business."
"He was right," Luke scoffed.
"Maybe, but I want to tell you anyway. You see ... every now and then I have PMS. And when I have that, I turn into this moody, mad person who hates everyone and everything, needs a lot of ice cream to calm down and cries all the time like a hysterical child. I was really unpleasant the last few days and I didn't want you to see me like that."
"I get that," Luke said and nodded at Lorelai. "You don't have to come everyday. I just got used to you already."
"Aww," Lorelai made and Luke could swear he saw her cheeks go darker.
For a while it was quiet, a few seconds Luke and Lorelai just stared in each other's eyes.
Then Lorelai moved.
"Oh, by the way!" she suddenly shouted and jumped off the stool. "I got great news!"
"Oh, do tell," Luke said, not sure what kind of great news they could share. Maybe something about Rory? But why would she him, he liked Rory, but they weren't exactly close.
Lorelai inhaled.
"I got accepted!" she then whispered at him and her blue eyes sparkled.
"Wait - at the Independence?"
"Yes!" Lorelai grinned at him. "Got a call days ago already, I'll be starting in December. Already quit at the Candlewood and I'll only be there for one more week, since I still have loads of vacation left. They hate me even more now." She chuckled. "But it's their own loss."
"Even more?" Luke asked with raised eyebrows. "You mean they hate you already?"
"Kind of. I'm not that nice at work, you know?" Lorelai shrugged.
"I can't imagine that," Luke spoke and shook his head. "No. I can't imagine you as the grumpy boss."
"Not grumpy!" Lorelai raised her finger. "Just strict. I am the funniest guy at Christmas parties, but during work they don't have a lot to laugh with me."
"I still can't imagine that. I think I need to see you in action."
"Oh, you can of course visit the Independence anytime, once I've started there," Lorelai said and leaned forth, looking at him with an almost flirty look. "To bring me coffee ..."
Now her voice sounded flirty as well and Luke swallowed hard.
She was so hot.
And he was an idiot for being after her. She was married, for fuck's sake.
"Yeah, sure. Of course I'll do that," Luke replied. "Or I could just come to the Candlewood."
"Uh, you better don't," Lorelai said and changed the topic as fast as she could. "Anyway, I got about four weeks off, then. You're from Stars Hollow, what could I do during four weeks of vacation?"
"Hm, I like to go fishing, for example," Luke replied.
"Ugh, no, thanks." Lorelai shook herself. "Is there a cinema close to here?"
"Next one's in Woodbridge," Luke chuckled. "You can't do anything interesting here besides going to Luke's diner, Lorelai."
"I'll find a hobby, then," Lorelai mumbled. "Like ... like gardening. Hiking. Swimming."
"Swimming? In the lake? It's October, Lorelai."
The brunette threw a cheerful look at him. "I have a pool behind the house."
"Oh," Luke made. Right. The Hayden family was rich.
"If you'd ever like to come over for a swim, you may," Lorelai went on and Luke's mouth dropped open.
"You sure? Don't you think Chris could mind?"
"No, why would he -?" Lorelai started but stopped in the middle of the sentence. Her face changed from amused to thoughtful. "Hm. He could, right. Maybe he would mind."
That was weird.
At first Lorelai had seemed indifferent about the thought that Christopher could mind a foreign man swimming in his pool, invited by his wife. And then, all of a sudden, it seemed as if she had remembered that she and Chris were married and that Luke was a stranger after all.
And a man.
Who fancied Christopher's wife (which of course no one besides Luke knew).
Weird. Very weird.
Lorelai now looked around the diner, probably looking for yet another new topic. "Are you going to celebrate Halloween?"
"Oh, good Lord, no," Luke replied almost immediately.
"Do you prefer Samhain?" Lorelai joked and Luke lifted his shoulders.
"I don't even know what to reply to this."
"Rory's a big fan of Halloween but we never really let her celebrate it. I think it's because of my parents, they never let me celebrate. I wasn't even allowed to wear a hat on this day, due to Halloween costume associations. Well, whatever."
"So let her do it now," Luke suggested and Lorelai sighed.
"I don't know. She befriended with that girl and I think they'd like to spend a night together and go trick-or-treating but ... I don't know. What if the girl's the wrong company for my little girl?"
"Which girl?" Luke asked. "Maybe I know her."
"Uhh - Lane Kim."
Luke had to grin. "Don't worry, she's a good girl. And Lane's mother won't let her go trick-or-treating."
"Are you sure?"
"Very sure. I know the family. I know Mrs Kim. Go to Kim's Antiques and see for yourself."
"Oh! I'll do that, thanks for the hint!" Lorelai replied happily and jumped up. "I need to go now, got the evening shift today."
"Sounds like fun," Luke replied dryly. "How long does your evening shift last?"
"Officially until ten, but I rarely leave before midnight. Job of a manager, you know?"
"I know." Luke grinned at her. "Have a nice day then, Mrs. Hayden."
"Thanks a lot, Mr. Danes," she said with a wink and grabbed her purse. "See ya."
"See you," Luke replied and watched her walk out of the door.
And as soon as she had jumped into her fancy, white car, he went into the kitchen.
"I got a delivery to make, would you take over for a while?"
"Sure, boss," Caesar replied and Luke left the diner only a minute after Lorelai, hoping she was driving right to her hotel.
•
Luke entered and his mouth dropped open.
The hotel looked beautiful. And expensive.
He swallowed and put off his cap, sensing that his casual look wasn't fitting with the style of the hotel.
He went to the reception, where a blonde girl greeted him. She was wearing a dark red uniform, shirt and skirt. "Are you checking in?"
"Actually, no. I just wanted to take a look at the place. I have never been at a nice place as this one."
The girl frowned. "Oh. Well, if you're causing trouble, I'll have to call the manager."
"And he'll do what?" Luke challenged the girl.
"She's gonna throw you out and sue you."
"I'd like to see that," Luke said and leaned against the counter. "Call your manager, please."
The girl's eyes never left him, while she pressed a button on the telephone and picked off the earpiece. "Lorelai?" she said. "There's a man here who refuses to leave. He hasn't got a room." Then she hung up and pointed at Luke. "Stay here!"
Luke didn't think of leaving. He waited for Lorelai patiently, and as she came, his mouth dropped.
Her uniform wasn't, unlike the blonde girl's, consisting of a shirt and a skirt. No, she was wearing a dark red, tight pantsuit, on which a name plate said L. Hayden, and high heels.
She looked ... everything that a woman could look.
Beautiful, sexy, gorgeous, curvy and slim at the same time. Tall, amazing and breathtaking. Simply every positive adjective that Luke could think of - that was how Lorelai looked to him.
Now she crossed her arms and looked at him strictly. Luke's heart started racing as Lorelai's blue eyes eyed him from head to toe.
"Are you stalking me?" she asked and Luke could hear the blonde girl inhaling sharply.
"You know him?"
Lorelai ignored her. "I told you not to follow me."
"I wanted to see the place where you made your career."
"Now you've seen it, drive back now."
"Sorry," Luke said. "I hope you're not mad at me for following you."
Lorelai laughed. "Not at all. I could never be mad at you." She uncrossed her arms again and smiled at him, her eyes sparkling. "I'm even honoured you followed me like a creep. And now go home, please, I'll see you tomorrow."
"Looking forward," Luke replied gently and turned to the blonde girl. "Sorry for scaring you. I'm Luke, a friend of Lorelai."
"Oh." The girl released her breath and Lorelai laughed again.
"He's harmless, Gerda."
"He looked a bit scary," Gerda mumbled before Luke left.
And the whole drive back home he couldn't forget Lorelai in that dark red suit, how much it had suited her and how much the colour suited her. How incredibly tall she was and how stunningly beautiful she had looked.
He cursed himself for following her - it had been creepy after all. And embarrassing and simply strange of him. What on earth had possessed him to follow her like a puppy?
He had to apologise to her soon and promise that he would never do it again.
Also he knew he should try to stay away from her completely. But somehow alone the thought of staying away from her caused a stinging pain inside his chest.
And by the time he reached Stars Hollow, Luke was sure he had madly fallen for Mrs. Hayden and that he couldn't do anything about it.