**Part 2**
Rory loomed in the shadows of Chilton's entrance shivering. She had gotten there earlier and parked out of sight. She did not want to give Tristan the upper hand, any upper hand so she waited now to see how Mr. Dugray would make his entrance. A cold breeze blew and she shivered for the thousandth time since she had gotten there.
A thought that she should have gotten her sweater out of her car quickly crossed her mind.
"Waiting for someone?" A husky voice snuck up behind her just as two arms pulled her into an embrace.
"Jesus Christ Tristan!" Rory pulled away feeling her heart pounding in her chest, "I almost peed on myself!"
Tristan smothered a chuckle.
"You look great"
"Thank you" Rory muttered still annoyed. She was wearing a thin red tee over a plain white wife beater and navy corduroy low-rise pants. Not exactly clothes meant to impress. She had wanted her clothes to appear every day wear as if she had not bothered to dress up for him. She had wanted her clothes to say I don't care what you think… though she had picked out those particular pants because they made her butt look great, "You look good too."
Tristan looked down at his Brooks Brothers custom-tailored suit and shrugged,
"So… Hey…" The light from the wall sconce sparkled in his eyes.
"Mrs. Lorelai the Third?" She refused to fall for his charms.
Tristan answered by spreading his smile into a toothy grin. Rory's stomach did somersaults.
"I'm glad you came" His voice was smooth; it entered her ears and swirled in her brain making her dizzy.
"Well if I believed for a second that you could take NO for an answer and not show up at my house at some insane hour of the day I wouldn't be here."
Rory looked around, the sun was going down, the temperature was dropping with it, she rubbed her arms to warm them up, "So out with it Dugray…"
Tristan began to shrug his coat off but Rory held up her hand stopping him. His eyes locked with the fiery eyes of the brunette in front of him. She was an incredible turn on, "I've been thinking about you…"
"You don't say…" she quipped. Her questioning eyes telling Tristan that she did not believe him for a second. His eyes focused on hers, he loved a good challenge. Rory would not disappoint.
"I do say. I was thinking that you and I… What's the matter?" Tristan looked at Rory who looked distracted and preoccupied.
"Umm… You know how I said you almost made me pee?" Thank God it was getting dark, Rory thought, this was embarrassing, "Well now I really have to go."
Tristan looked around amused, "There's a bush over there…?"
"Oh shut up and come on!" Rory took off into the darkened hallway in long steps. Tristan followed careful to take notice how great her ass looked in those pants. He opened his mouth to say so but thought it best not to. He just enjoyed the view.
"You know," Tristan snidely commented, "this place really takes on a haunted castle vibe after hours"
Rory slowed down taking notice. With its foreboding stone walls and dim amber security lighting, Chilton did look like a haunted mansion. The shadows looked longer… the faces on the oil paintings of past patrons on the walls looked more menacing. There was even a suit of arms waiting to come to life further down the checkered-tiled hall.
"You know, this has all the makings of a scary movie" Tristan taunted, "The small town girl, the looming cavernous campus…"
"-and I suppose you are what; the debonair handsome hero with the winning smile?" Rory punched out and then regretted her words instantly. She'd made it too easy for him.
"Is that how you see me Rory? I'm flattered." He grinned leeringly. Rory stopped walking, "What?"
Rory stood outside the women's restroom door.
"Come in with me" Rory blurted out.
"What? I mean yeah, sure" Tristan shrugged his shoulders.
"Come in with me" Rory repeated.
"Yeah… Let's go" He walked past Rory pushing on the door, "I would think you'd be the squeamish type, but I'm game if you are—"
"No you ass. Now I can't stop thinking about scary movies. Stay by the door!" She pointed at him as she checked the last stall and disappeared behind it.
"So this is new for me" Tristan balanced himself on his heels.
"What is?" Rory called out, "being in a girl's bathroom? You don't really expect me to believe that do you? The stories still circulate to this day Tristan"
Tristan smiled smugly.
"That was a one time thing. It wasn't repeated. Nobody got hurt"
Classic Tristan, Rory thought. Repercussions did just not register in his way of thinking. As long as nobody lost a limb. Tristan seemed to live by a very simple mantra that guided his attitude, sticks and stones… He took little seriously, everything it seemed, was a game.
So why was she here?
"Rory… shouldn't there be something happening over there?"
Tristan bent over to take a look under the door from where he stood, "need a book?"
"I can't go with you listening in" Rory bashfully admitted.
"Do you want me to sing?" Tristan raised his eyebrow at Rory's blue Converse flats. The idea of Rory's pants puddled at her feet stirred his imagination.
"Just wait outside the door!" Rory said impatiently though she herself was trying hard not to laugh. Only he would get her in these types of situations.
"Okay. I'll promise to holler loudly if I get attacked, you know, to give you a head start? You can crawl out the window next to you"
"Just go!" Rory looked up to her right. There was a window there! She tried to remember the sordid details of the rumor; she wasn't sure if she pitied the girl or envied her. Rory wanted to laugh, but when Tristan turned off the lights as he left she shrieked, emptied her bladder in record time and bolted out the door forgetting to button her pants back up.
"Jerk!" She shoved him wide-eyed
"Tease…" Tristan answered back looking down her pants, his pulse quickened, "are you wearing red?"
Rory just glared at him challenging him to say something smart while she closed her pants. Tristan met her gaze unfazed, smirk ready.
"So out with it Dugray, to what do I owe the pleasure of your call?"
Tristan answered her with a knowing smile that sent shivers down her spine. His eyes were a lustful sapphire blue that went beyond undressing her. She swallowed the lump in her throat determined to stay true to her convictions.
"And what makes you think you're going to get that?"
"Well I know nothing's going to happen tonight. Your I-heart-small-town-boys wear makes that loud and clear."
Rory hatefully squinted her eyes at him but let him continue.
"There is a charity benefit function this Friday which I am obliged to go. I'd rather not go, but since I have to be there, I intend on having my favorite toy with me to keep me distracted."
"Why would I agree to go with you?"
"You came tonight didn't you?" Tristan flashed a confident smile.
"Well I can't" Rory met his eyes defiantly, "Dean would never go for it"
"I'm not asking him"
"He'd never let you pick me up at my house"
"I'm not picking you up," Tristan cleared up smoothly, "you are meeting me there."
"Ha! I'd love to see how you are planning on arranging that"
"Your grandparents will be there, as will mine. U2 will be playing at the benefit, so not really their crowd. Your grandmother will surely invite you. You'll just have to make sure you are in the right place at the right time." Tristan commented as if that was the easiest thing in the world to do.
"and if I say no?"
Tristan eyed her up and down. She was considering the possibilities; he could see that in her eyes.
"You won't say no" Tristan's confidence made her body tingle, "It's not in your best interest to say no"
"Cocky much?" Rory snidely asked then winced knowing she had set him up again.
"Would you like me to answer that, or would you prefer to find out for yourself? Again..?" Tristan chuckled silently.
Rory blushed and looked down the length of the hallway trying to come up with something to say. The checkered-tile floor seemed to go into infinity. From where she stood, it also made her think of a chess game… one where she was a lowly pawn waiting to be taken down by the knight just a few paces away. A knight with a dazzling smile and fiery eyes which made her feel things she had not felt in months.
"I'll see what I can do" Rory muttered not being able to come up with anything better.
"Wear red. It suits you well…"
"To a charity function Tristan?" Rory might not be one of those society girls with her finger on the fashion pulse, but even she knew that the dress code for those type of occasions was usually conservative.
"I wasn't thinking about your dress" Tristan smirked clearly looking through the material of her pants. Rory blushed, but did not justify his remark with an answer.
"I'll call you Thursday, to discuss any details left to be ironed out."
"Okay." Rory breathed out already planning a trip to the mall with Lane. She would need new underwear.
"Wait. Don't call the house," Rory looked up, "too dangerous, I have a cell"
"Welcome to the digital age," Tristan smirked, he reached into the inside chest pocket of his coat and pulled out his own, unlocked it and passed the phone over to Rory.
"Why can't I call your house?"
"My mother likes Dean," Rory added her contact information and passed the phone back to Tristan but not before noticing how many girls' numbers he had in there. There was significant amount of scrolling before she got to the R's. Rory bit back the jealousy she felt just then, "Do you want her to know of you calling?"
"Would you and I talking be such a big deal?" Tristan asked teasingly.
"Do you want Lorelai to invite herself over on Friday? She has a thing for The Edge."
Tristan smiled genuinely amused,
"Good point. Cell phone then, got it." Tristan then stepped into Rory's personal space. Her chest tightened in anticipation of his next words, "Rory…?"
"Yeah…"
"I'm going to kiss you now… If the mood hits you, know you are allowed to kiss back"
"Okay" Rory sighed. Tristan then did kiss her, he leaned in and pressed his lips to hers not at all surprised when she gasped softly and kissed him back. After a few exchanges Tristan hesitantly pulled back.
"Well… that was nice" Tristan breathed out. Rory wanted to say something but she couldn't come up with anything angsty or smart. She found herself trying to say something demure, lady-like even and "yups" didn't quite cut it. Tristan noticed Rory stuck for words and decided to put her out of her misery, "Thursday then"
"Okay" Rory barely got out. Tristan smiled and took off in the opposite direction in which they had come in disappearing into the checkered infinity. Rory sighed relieved that the confrontation was over. Tristan's lips had been a little chapped from the cold and had the satin-like texture of Chapstick. Still, her knees felt weak as the kiss registered itself into her memory for future reference. Surely she could also get Dean to kiss like that…
Dean
Crap. What had she just said okay to?
* . * . * . *
So I was thinking of going to see grandma tomorrow… Umm why?… I dunno… Just because? No that sucks… Hey I wonder what grandma is up to! Ugh… that is even worse.
"How am I going to do this?" Rory thought out loud as she entered Stars Hollow. She had driven in silence most of the way agonizing about how she was going to get away with a trip to her grandmother's without setting off alarms. She had been fairly confident that she could come up with a good reason to see her grandmother mid-week when she left the campus but as she got closer and closer home she felt the pressure building.
Curiously, she never considered the idea of just not seeing Tristan. She knew it was as plausible an option as any, just not one worth entertaining. That was the kind of effect Tristan had on her… as much as she hated it, it was hard to deny.
Rory parked the jeep with a heavy feeling on her chest. She couldn't say it was guilt per se, but she couldn't rule it out either. Mom? Have you seen my history book? (she'd have to hide it somewhere in the jeep first of course) I think I left it at grandma's…
"Rory?" Lorelai called out from upstairs as Rory entered feeling every bit the part of a daughter about to lie to her mother.
"Hey mom!" Rory's voice squeaked awkwardly.
"Ha! You so owe me one!" Lorelai bounded down the stairs taking two at a time, "That was your grandmother on the phone just now. She wanted to drag you to some stuffy, lame charity thing this Friday! I told her there was no way you were trading in dinner with two stuffy people for dinner with hundreds of stuffy people with names like Muffin, Buffy and Dot. If she was bailing on her Friday night dinner then we were cleared to do as we wished. So what do you say, Kevin Smith marathon? We can try to pinpoint the point when Ben Afleck lost his cool; I say it was after Dogma but before Jay and Silent Bob Strikes Back."
Crap.
"Honey you okay? You look like you're gonna be sick"
Rory looked at her mother feeling her stomach tighten,
"Umm… I'm okay."
**End of Part 2**
A/N - What did you think? I had to edit this a bit since the first time I started this story. This was only ever posted in my blog (now long gone) so I would be surprised to see if anyone read the original version of this.
Have already started the next part but I would love your input on where you think this should go.
Question - Does anyone care what year this story is taking place in? Do I need to be concerned that back when GG was on the "smartest" phones out there were the old Blackberry square deals with the black and white LCD screens and tiny keyboards? I can give them newer phones right? I don't know if I am going to use them in the story, but I might. I certainly slipped already with the scrolling line in there. Let me know in the comments. I can always change it if you'd rather I stay to canon.
