Dean had waited patiently all morning and was eager to see Rory at lunch. He saw her and Lane at their usual table and smiled. She looked so pretty today. Which Dean thought she looked pretty every day. He strolled over to the table and sat down.

"Hey." He greeted.

"Hey." Rory smiled.

"Hi, Dean." Lane felt the need to remind them she was at the table.

Dean looked over. "Hey, Lane. How's your day been?"

"Decent. I'm actually passing History now with a C plus."

"Congratulations." Dean laughed. "You've earned it."

"Darn right." Lane admitted narcissistically.

Dean's focus fell back to Rory. "So… Um…" He paused. "Since it's the weekend, I thought…well, unless your busy."

Rory giggled. "Unless, I'm busy…?"

Dean quickly realized he hadn't actually asked a question. He could feel his face getting hotter and hotter as each second passed. Rory noticed the boy's nervousness but decided that she wouldn't call attention to it.

"Well… If you're not busy… I thought maybe you and I could … go to a movie." Dean swallowed heavily. He had never felt so sick to his stomach as he did at that moment. He wasn't sure if Rory would accept his offer or not and the thought of rejection was beyond scary.

"Sure. I love movies." Rory replied gracefully.

"You do?" Dean asked as a wave of relief rushed over him.

"Yeah. I've always been a huge movie buff." Rory took a sip of her soda.

Dean cleared his throat "So… which night is good for you?"

Rory thought for a moment. "Well… this evening I'm going to the mall with my mom… but tomorrow evening I don't have any plans."

"Great!" Dean replied energetically. He could actually use the extra day to prepare himself and make sure everything was perfect.

"Awww!" Lane's loud noise made both Dean and Rory turn their heads and stare at her. "Well, come on, that's sweet!" She smiled. "You guys are going to have a great time."

Dean looked back at Rory. "I don't have my license yet."

"What freshman does?" Lane asked openly.

"But if you don't mind walking…"

"I don't mind." Rory assured.

"Then I can come by your house around 6:00?"

"6:00 is good." Rory agreed. "There's a theater just a few blocks from my house. It won't take long to walk there."

A burst of laughing suddenly caught Lane, Dean, and Rory's attention. A young boy came walking over to Rory's table.

"Hey, Rory... I hear your mom likes to strip for younger guys."

Rory nearly lost her breath.

"Hey!" Dean jumped up from the table.

"Take it easy…" The boy smiled. "You wouldn't want to make Rory spill anything on her clothes… or would you?" He snickered.

Dean moved closer to the boy. "Shut up!" Dean stepped into the boy's face. He wasn't sure what this was about, but that didn't matter. It was definitely inappropriate.

"Dean, stop." Rory replied a lower voice.

Dean looked down at Rory. "But…"

"Just stop. Please."

Dean slowly backed away from the boy. The boy's smile only increased. He leaned down to Rory's ear. "Tell your mom I'll be over for coffee later." he whispered and then walked back to his group of friends.

"What the hell is that about?" Dean asked looking at Rory.

Rory couldn't reply, she had no idea what had provoked such a vulgar action from the boy.

(The Inn)

Lorelai sighed heavily and headed into the kitchen for her sixth cup of coffee.

"I'll never know how you sleep at night." Sookie replied as she watched the woman pour another cup.

"We prefer to lay awake in our beds all night anyway…" Lorelai sharply answered. "Not talking… Just laying… Basking in silence."

"Huh?" Sookie asked, obviously not having any idea what Lorelai was talking about.

"It's nothing…" Lorelai shook her head. "I guess marriage life just isn't what I expected."

"Oh." Sookie replied blankly. She wanted desperately to ask more questions, but figured she'd be safer off not prying into their relationship. After all, Lorelai and were just starting to become friends again.

"I mean… he bursts into the bathroom, while I'm in the tub!" Lorelai's voice rose. "And starts asking me all these questions…"

"Questions?"

"Did Jess see you naked? Guess what happened to me today? How did Miss Patty hear something like that?"

"He heard about Jess and the robe thing…" Sookie concluded.

"Yeah, he heard. And you know what else, I think he blames me… In fact, I think he is angry with me over it."

"Angry? Because you didn't tell him?"

"No, not because I didn't tell him. See that would actually make some sense. He's just angry… angry because I slipped up in front of his nephew and Miss Patty heard about it." Lorelai's lip stiffened. "How dare he act like he's the one embarrassed here… I have any and all rights to embarrassment!"

"Well…"

"And then, he says. 'Are you done in there? The bathroom I mean?'" Lorelai snubbed. "I wasn't done… and what's it his business? I was enjoying a long hot bath until he showed up. I told him I was done though… and do you know what he did?"

"Uh…"

"He went in… he went in, shut the door, took a shower, came out, turned off the light and laid down in bed."

Sookie had never seen this side of Lorelai before. "He was tired?"

"Neither one of us fell asleep for hours…" Lorelai emphasized. "I swear at 2:00 am, I heard him get up and get something to eat. Which means I of course was up too at 2:00 am." Lorelai let out a long frustrating sigh. "Why couldn't we just talk about it?"

Sookie felt as if all pressure was put on her to come up with not only an answer but a logical and well explained one. She quickly searched her mind.

"Lorelai, you and I both know that Luke is a very… well… private person. I'm sure he's feeling a little embarrassed right now, mainly because Miss Patty knows and she's the one who told him… in his diner. He's probably wondering how many more people know and who told to begin with…"

Lorelai let out a small laugh. "Sookie, I can tell you exactly who told. It wasn't me, so that only leaves one person."

Sookie nodded her head. "Jess probably did tell…

"The only person I told was you." Lorelai butted in. "Did you tell Miss Patty?"

"No. Of course not."

"Then there you go. Elementary, my dear Watson. Brilliantly done."

"Sweetie, I'm sure if you'd just give Luke a little time…"

"A little time?" Lorelai's eyes rolled. "He's the one that said to jump without looking… he's the one who asked me to marry him and not think twice about it…" Lorelai lowered her voice to mimic Luke's "Just jump, Lorelai. Head first… Be more spontaneous."

Sookie was out of things to say. Nothing seemed to affect Lorelai's ranting anyway. She sighed and went back to her cooking.