Chapter 70

Several weeks passed. Logan was balancing himself between Yale and the family business, traveling still at least once a week as a result. It was hard on him, Rory could tell - but Logan rarely complained about the workload, just his father's personal company, having already hinted to Rory that he'd considered revealing their secret a couple of times just out of spite at the worst possible moment to stop his nagging. But so far - he hadn't, knowing it wasn't just his secret to share.

Rory studied, being already halfway through with her reading for her Connecticut College class, being used to a much faster pace. Just the day before the campaign Rory had interned on had ended - so that too was opening up her schedule considerably. But that night Rory had stayed at the office late, preparing 'Thank You' notes for all those who'd contributed. There was the whole office to pack up within the next week, and she was happy to help, having enjoyed this experience despite its outcome, the candidate having come a close second.

Logan was in New Haven, working on a research apper, so she really saw no point hurrying home that evening, and it must've been closer to 10 PM when she locked the office door behind her.

As she turned, just for a second she was shocked as she saw a shadow move, someone having been leaning against a car across the street.

"Jess?" Rory asked, unsure if her eyes were betraying her. Her heart was pounding - in case it was someone else - someone maybe with intentions to mug her. It was generally a pretty safe street even if not in the best neighbourhood, its location aiming to be closer to the unreached demographics. But being all alone out on the street like this, her car thankfully just mere 20 feet from where she was standing, it was not the securest she'd perhaps felt.

"Hey!" Jess said as he stepped out of the shadows. His body language was more timid, more hesitant than she was used to seeing.

"Hey," Rory exhaled, in part from relief that it was him and not some creep.

They hadn't left it too well last spring, Jess having the last time seen her with Dean, demanded to talk to her and asked her to come away with her. All that had happened between the first time she'd met Logan at spring break and before she'd left for Europe with her grandmother only to meet Logan again in Rome. It had happened before she'd slept with Dean and realized that had been a mistake too.

But now seeing Jess, Rory remembered that she wasn't indifferent to him. He had been her friend first, and boyfriend second. She was genuinely glad to see him, and realized she'd been so wrapped up in her life she'd barely worried about his wellbeing since last summer.

Jess glanced casually down the street, checked for oncoming traffic and crossed the street. It gave Rory a moment to observe him - he looked so different, so much less punk - so much less angry, wearing a simple denim jacket and had a messenger bag across his chest.

"I…," Rory began, finding herself at a loss for words. "Sorry. That wasn't a sentence," she apologized.

"I got the gist," Jess said, gaining more courage.

"What are you doing here?" Rory asked.

"I got a job - professional sidewalk stalker," Jess said, trying to come off at least a little funny and break some of the awkwardness.

"Pay's good?" Rory asked, going along with it. Mostly Rory just couldn't figure out why he hadn't come to the door and had waited outside like this, watching. It was kind of creepy. But then again she'd been working in the back, out of sight.

"Yeah, but the hours suck," Jess replied.

"Jess…," Rory began, wanting an answer to her earlier question.

"I'm in town on a little business, all nice and aboveboard," Jess shared.

"How'd you know where to find me?" Rory asked, for the life of her knowing how he'd known where she was. It was a random location for him, certainly, he didn't even know what car she drove unless he'd somehow seen her the last time they'd seen each-other in Stars Hollow. She couldn't be sure.

"Luke mentioned you were working for this particular candidate, and I noticed your car out front," he explained, answering a few questions for her. Rory had indeed mentioned this to Luke that one time she'd been over to Stars Hollow in the summer.

"I shook it out of him. He wasn't sure if it was okay," Jess added.

"It's okay," Rory said tentatively. "You look good," she added, trying to focus on the positive. "The years don't seem to have hardened you," she added nervously.

"Yeah, you look good, too…," Jess exhaled, and Rory could just tell by the way that he said it that he meant it with more meaning than she had. He was definitely checking her out, even if he tried not to show it, she knew that look well.

"I know this is kind of weird, but there's actually something I wanted to tell you. Show you, actually," Jess explained.

"I know it's late - we could meet at another time, if that's better," Jess suggested.

"No, it's just… it's not maybe the best place to talk. Do you wanna come inside," Rory suggested, not wanting to keep talking out on the street. And somehow inviting him to her car felt even more intimate, which she wanted to avoid.

Rory unlocked the campaign office's door again, let Jess in and locked it behind them, and switched on part of the lights.

"So, here we are," Rory said, leaning against her desk.

"Very West Wing of you," Jess commented, seeing all the red-white-and-blue paraphenalia around.

"Just an internship. It was kind of fun actually, exciting," Rory shrugged. It was strange - she almost kind of felt like she should be explaining herself and why she worked at a place like this to him. But she shrugged it away, not wanting to start talking badly about something she'd genuinely found interesting.

"Isn't school in session?" Jess asked.

"Uh-huh," Rory hummed, hating the approaching question.

"You're a long way from home - aren't you living on campus?" Jess asked.

"Well, I do live in New Haven, just off campus. I've just been in Hartford a lot these past months," Rory explained.

"And how is school?" Jess asked, but perhaps a little too directly.

"Did Luke, or my mom, told you to ask that?" Rory asked abruptly, being sick and tired of explaining herself.

"Luke alluded to something," Jess replied, gesturing with his hand that something obscure had been mentioned.

"Mom and I…," Rory began, but didn't really want to go into it. "It's a long story," Rory sighed.

"So it's true, that you're not going?" Jess asked. "You graduate already, Doogie?" Jess teased.

"No, I'm just taking a little time off. I'll be back by January," Rory said. She didn't realize she was doing it, but she had her arms across her waist, hiding her engagement ring.

"Time off," Jess reflected and nodded, and it seemed he tried to now judge. Rory appreciated that, and figured that now that she actually had some deadline on her leave people would ease up on her.

"So, where are you living, Jess?" Rory inquired, wanting to steer them away from uncomfortable topics. "I want to know about you, mystery man," she added.

"I'm in Philly," Jess replied, and leaned against another desk opposite her.

"Really?" Rory asked, somehow being unable to picture it.

"Don't laugh," Jess said.

"No, I'm not," Rory said.

"Philadelphia's gotten cool. And New York's gotten expensive. Anyway, it's a pretty cool scene in Philly now. A lot of younger people there. Pretty big art scene," Jess described.

"I know. I read that in the New York Times. They had a picture of a bunch of young people standing on a roof, kind of eclectic and all. It looked fun," Rory shared. "I mean, it was clearly one of those pictures that wasn't candid. It was looking a little stiff, but they looked happy," Rory continued, unsure why she felt like blabbering.

"Are you nervous?" Jess then asked Rory.

She hated that she was, and honestly it kind of felt like she was doing something she wasn't supposed to.

"A little. It's been a long time," Rory confessed.

"I'm a little nervous too," Jess admitted.

"Good. I'm not alone," Rory sighed.

"So, I didn't just come here to chat," Jess then remembered why he was there. "I wanted to show you something," he said and reached for his messenger bag, and pulled out a book.

"Right. You said that," Rory said.

"And I didn't think you'd believe it if I didn't show it to you in person," Jess explained.

"Well, color me curious. A book," Rory reflected as she was handed the book in question. "The Subsect..," she read out, and it took her a moment to register it. "Written by Jess Mariano," she exhaled and looked straight at him for an explanation even if it was written right there.

"It's no misprint," Jess explained, trying to be humble about it.

"You wrote a book!?" Rory exclaimed.

"A short novel," Jess specified.

"You wrote a book!?" Rory repeated, not understanding why she found it so unbelievable. But now that it was true, she found it incredibly logical that he had. Of course, Jess had written a book!

"Through a fluke, I got it to these guys that have a small press and they read it. I don't know if they were high or something, but they decided to publish it," Jess explained.

"You wrote a book!" Rory said again, feeling genuinely happy for him. There was a small sour note - at the same time the only thing she'd accomplished was her marriage. Why didn't that feel as noteworthy as writing a book?

"There's no money in it. They only printed like 500 of them. Believe me, I'm not quitting my day job," Jess continued.

"But you wrote it. You wrote a book," Rory still couldn't get over that part, and pushed herself upright.

"Yeah, I know, it's hard to believe," Jess agreed.

"You sat down and wrote a novel," Rory reflected, moving around the room a little and opening the book up, and she could already recognize some typical phrases she'd heard Jess use a number of times.

"Author-distributed, too. That's what I'm doing here. I'm going around begging independent bookstores to put it in stock," Jess explained. "Got it in a few," he added, proudly.

"Cool! Where?" Rory asked.

"Around," Jess replied, humbly.

"I want to see it in the store," Rory exclaimed excitedly.

"I can give you the addresses," Jess offered.

"You know what I'm gonna do when I see it in the store?" Rory asked, beginning to relax more and more. It was now not meeting at the office, after hours, with her ex boyfriend, it was now about an old friend who'd done something incredible, and that enabled her to let her guard down.

"What?" Jess asked.

"You know that section towards the front - the staff recommendations?" Rory began to explain. "I'm gonna grab a copy of your book and put it in that section, and then I'm going to write my own little recommendation on a card and attach it so people can see it and buy it," she continued, and Jess was already looking like he was flattered.

"Read it first," Jess suggested. "That way you can discourage people from buying it," Jess added.

"No way! I know it's good," Rory said confidently. "Jess, you've got such a great brain. I knew that if you could just sit down and stop shaking it around, you could do something like this. I knew it. I knew it!" Rory exclaimed.

"I know you did," Jess agreed, sighing meaningfully. "I work at that press now. Five smelly guys in a cramped room on Locust street putting out about three books a month - but it's fun," Jess added.

"What about a sequel? Are you writing a sequel?" Rory asked.

"You should read it before you get too jazzed about it," Jess reminded her.

"I will read it, I promise," Rory assured and pressed the book against her chest, her ring now in full view.

"I gather congratulations are in order?" Jess said, raising his eyebrow.

It was only the Rory noticed that he'd noticed her ring.

"Oh," Rory reacted, streching out her fingers for a second.

"I caught a glimpse before, but I wasn't sure..," Jess said, hesitantly.

"I figured maybe Luke told you," Rory said.

"So yeah? You're what? Engaged or…?" Jess asked, causing Rory to bite her lip. She didn't want to lie to him, but he felt too close to Luke to be told the whole truth either.

"Uh-huh," Rory nodded.

"Wow! So, who's the lucky guy?" Jess asked. She wasn't sure, whether there was dissapoitment in his tone or not, he hid it well if there was.

"His name is Logan.. He goes to Yale with me, and we just… um…I guess we just fit," Rory struggled to explain it well on the spot.

"Congrats," Jess exhaled. "But hey - it's getting late. So, I just basically wanted to show you that, and uh… tell you… tell you that I couldn't have done it without you" he added, sending a jolt of emotion through Rory's heart. She hadn't expected that and she was truly moved.

"Hey, but if you're around… maybe we can talk again? Maybe in New Haven? I know a few bookstores there that you could ask…," Rory suddenly said, unsure why that had spilled over her lips so urgently. What was she doing? Why was she so desperate to see him again?

"Yeah. I'd like that. How about tomorrow night?" Jess asked smilingly.

"Yep," Rory nodded not having a lot on her agenda.

"Eight o'clock okay?" Jess asked.

Rory nodded in agreement again. "I'm in the Taft building on College street," she added.

"Sounds fancy," Jess commented, showing that crooked smile of his.

Rory shrugged lightly, not wanting that to become a topic.

"Want me to walk you to your car?" Jess offered.

Rory didn't reply, but let him do it anyway - having him around did improve her sense of security out on the street.

"I guess I'll see you then," Jess said just before she sat into her car, Rory having already said a quick and awkward - 'Bye'.

As Rory made it home, she found Logan on his laptop, finishing up that paper of his, sitting his back to the door.

"Hey," Rory chimed, kissing him on his cheek as she bent over his shoulder, jolting Logan out of his bubble the earphones in his ears had created for him.

"Hey! Finally!" Logan exclaimed, pulling his earphones out, the weak melody of one of Audioslave's songs audible to Rory.

"Sorry, I'm so late. Just wanted to finish up some things," Rory replied, ofr a moment considering whether she should say anything at all.

"Hey, it's fine - there's leftover Indian in the fridge," Logan suggested, gesturing towards the kitchen.

"Great, I'm famished," Rory exhaled, but before she headed to the kitchen, she felt she just needed to say something.

"Um, there's something else…," she added, turning around.

"Uh?" Logan asked, directing his gaze back to her from his computer screen.

"My old friend… Jess… I might've mentioned him sometime," Rory began, barely recalling saying much about him at all to Logan before this. "He showed up at the office today. And we agreed that tomorrow evening we'd go and catch up a bit, I don't know - grab some dinner or a drink maybe. I haven't seen him in almost a year and a half and he wrote this book.. And I'm kind of proud that he did that," Rory blabbered, coming off obviously a little nervous.

"Jess? Who is this guy?" Logan asked, frowning slightly.

"I guess.. He's an ex,a friend... and honestly I don't even know why I suggested catching up, maybe I shouldn't have - but I just felt so caught off guard and considering he dropped out of high school and really wasn't in a good place the last time I saw him, I just felt we should somehow celebrate his book," Rory explained, speaking rapidly, clearly coming off nervous.

"Well, does this Jess understand that you're taken?" Logan asked, raising his eyebrows a little.

"Yeah, he kind of put two and two together with the ring. Asked about you even..," Rory replied.

"Okay," Logan reflected, unsure what to think of it. If anything it was her nervousness that was creating some awkward tension.

"I guess I just haven't had any interactions with exes since we've been together officially, and it's just weird. It's like I didn't know how to be, what to do - like I wasn't equipped to handle this situation. And obviously I'm not thinking of going off with him or anything like that. But is it okay? Is it okay for me to read his book and feel proud of what he has achieved?" Rory discussed.

Logan chuckled, finding her adorable when she was nervous.

"Well that's good to know you're not planning on leaving me two weeks into our marriage," Logan chuckled.

"Logan," Rory chimed, not liking that he wasn't taking this seriously.

"What do you want me to say?" Logan exclaimed.

"I don't know," Rory shrugged, feeling utterly silly.

"Yes, you can read whatever you want. You are your own free person and I cannot and will not dictate how you feel about your friend's or ex-boyfriend's achievements," Logan spelled it out for her.

"But what about going out to catch up with him - was that crossing the line?" Rory asked, hesitantly.

"Well… how would you feel if I went to have dinner with my ex?" Logan shot back, feeling at least a little jealous.

"I guess if you told me about it, it wouldn't be so bad. And there was a good reason for doing it. And I did tell you... It felt natural to tell you," Rory explained. "Grandpa didn't tell my grandmother about having lunch with the woman he dated in college and that didn't turn out so great," she recalled.

"Yeah, that's true," Logan agreed.

"Is it okay that I asked - and that I'm going?" Rory hesitated.

"I mean I do trust you, I know you're not going off to have an affair with this guy," Logan explained.

"But..?" Rory could tell there was more to it.

"Would I feel better if I were allowed to tag along? - Probably," Logan suggested.

"Oh god, why did I even have to ask…," Rory groaned. "It's going to be so awkward," she added, realizing how this really had not been her brightest idea.

Logan chuckled. "If it's that bad I mean I don't have to, but…," Logan added.

"No, yes… I mean, I actually kind of want you to come. I just… I just hope he's not going to take this weird. And - oh, please - can you just be nice to him," Rory blabbered.

"I'm always nice," Logan replied, innocently, in part teasing her.

AN: you may think most of today's dialogue was the same, but I've made a few key changes in who says what. If you know the scene well you might've noticed it. Also how do you think Logan will behave himself?