A.N. I know any amount of apologies wouldn't make up for the long weeks you had to wait for this chapter, but I'm genuinely sorry. I went to Chicago to see Maddy for a week... and got big inspiration in the waiting room of the doctor's office while Maddy, my partner, peed on her hand, but then it was Christmas and New Year and work and school started Jan. 3rd for us... but here it is. The hardest chapter I've ever had to write. Fresh new stuff. Hot stuff. Be aware and read slowly because it took me forever to write... as you probably noticed. ;)
Disclaimer: I'm not supposed to be in the credits of the show. I'm not schizophrenic.
Sorry for the catfight over it, Maddy... Love you.
Chapter 9
Confusedness and Recipe
Lorelai had spent all day postponing her going to Luke's. Maybe she wanted to see if she was able to convince herself she didn't need to see him. And even though she knew deep down that it would never happen, she wanted to see if he'd call or show up with some kind of vague excuse... She felt stupider and stupider with every passing second. She had felt the urge to go to the diner since 6:04 a.m. when she had opened her eyes for good and stopped pretending she wasn't awake, but this time, the undeniable necessity didn't come from caffeine withdrawals or food cravings. In fact, she hadn't been able to eat normally –according to her normality, of course- for days. Admitting this reality was tough on her; confessing it to anyone else was impossible.
She had never been that confused before. She couldn't even put her confusedness into words; it was more of an overwhelming wave that started in her stomach and spread all over her, with a silent explosion. And every time she tried to understand this Tsunami, her mind blacked out. She couldn't explain, she couldn't understand, she couldn't talk about it. All she could do was suck it up and bear it. Exhausting.
It was 9 p.m. now. Lorelai had put her maid skills to use and her house was unusually clean. Thanks to Rory, she didn't even have any laundry to do to keep her busy. Sunday night T.V. programs all deeply sucked in November and she seemed to have lost her mocking abilities. Three times, she had put on her coat and headed to her car to drive to Luke's. Three times she had ended up going back inside her house. The more she waited, the angrier she got with herself. Luke's was going to close up if she didn't decide quickly.
She didn't need a pretext to see Luke before any of this craziness emerged from nowhere. All she had to do was to enter the diner and complain about something or beg for coffee and then they'd just chat and argue and fight... and flirt. No consequences. Why was today so different? What had caused this situation? Was there a situation? Was she the only one to feel the change? What had changed? Was she the one who had changed or was it him? Lorelai didn't recognize herself. She really had considered making a list of conversation topics to discuss with Luke. Lorelai Gilmore needed therapy.
She was in her Jeep for the fourth time today, but this time, the engine was on. As soon as she caught herself searching for a good and funny first thing to say to Luke when she'd get there, she turned on the radio and started to drive.
Luke saw Lorelai on the sidewalk before she pushed the door. Finally, he thought. He repressed the smile of excitement that wanted to play on the corner of his lips and focused on the cash register, trying to look casual, trying to look as if he hadn't noticed she was coming in. He couldn't let her see he had waited for her all day. The door opened, his heart started pounding. Why was he nervous?
The bell jingled as usual over her head as she pushed the door open. It's good to know some things never change. She saw Kirk, the only costumer, sitting at the counter, eating a sandwich and sat next to him, forcing herself not to look at Luke who was behind the counter.
"Hey, Kirk."
Luke pretended to wipe clean the cash drawer. Why wasn't she talking to him? Was she mad?
"You should try this, Lorelai," Kirk said, pointing at his plate.
"Oh. What is it?" she asked, not the least interested. She glanced at Luke for half of a split second. Why wasn't he looking at her?
"It's a mustard and cheese sandwich."
That caught her attention. She frowned.
"Mustard and cheese? Nothing else?"
"With plain white bread. It's my fourth one. I've been trying to get the recipe from Luke, but he won't tell."
"The recipe?" She tried not to laugh and turned to Luke. He locked eyes with her, smiled and shrugged his shoulders, raising an eyebrow.
Lorelai's Tsunami was back. She watched him pour a cup of coffee and waited for him to hand it to her before she continued, "Luke... why won't you give him the recipe for the cheese and mustard sandwich?"
Before Luke had a chance to reply, Kirk put the last piece of bread in his mouth and spoke at the same time.
"Could you ask Sookie for me?" he asked her, not even covering his mouth.
Slightly disturbed, Lorelai made a face.
"Call me tomorrow and I'll have the secret recipe all ready for you."
Kirk broadly smiled and a piece of chewed cheese flew off his mouth. On that note, he left.
This is it.
The bell sound faded. Lorelai chuckled because she didn't know what to say and felt threatened by the silence.
"How sad was this?" she said.
"Sad meaning usual?"
"Don't you ever feel sorry for him?"
"Lulu's the one I'm sorry for..."
"Luke!" she interjected.
"What? She's the one sleeping with him," he mumbled.
Why did he have to talk about sex?
"Well, that's something I don't wanna think about," Lorelai replied.
"Kirk having sex?"
"Would you stop saying that?"
"Stop saying Kirk or sex?"
"Luke!" she jerked her head towards him.
She smiled and lost herself in his laugh. After a few seconds of thick silence, Luke put his hands in his pockets.
"So... are you really gonna ask Sookie for that recipe?"
"Yeah," she joked, "I wouldn't want Kirk to end up with food poisoning on my behalf..."
Luke remained quiet for a while and then shook his head.
"Poor Lulu..." he said.
"That's it." She got up. "I've had enough images for tonight..." She opened the door.
"Sweet dreams..." he teased.
Lorelai looked at him once last time, squinting her eyes and pursing her lips. His laugh followed her outside. She could still hear it when she reached her bed. Sweet dreams, indeed.
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It was a slow Monday at the Inn and Lorelai had taken part of the afternoon off. As she arrived home, she pressed play on her answering machine.
"Lorelai. It's Kirk. I just wanted to make sure you didn't forget to ask Sookie for the recipe. I kind of need it soon. Mother's letting me cook dinner tonight and I was planning on it."
She rolled her eyes and went through the mail as the next message started.
"Lorelai? It's Kirk. I think I've called before but I'm not sure. I thought I had the right number but you haven't call me back. Call me back."
And the third one:
"Hey, Lorelai... it's Doug."
She almost dropped the envelope she was holding
" I just wanted to know how you were doing. Uhm... The job in New York's good! We have a break all week because of Thanksgiving and I thought I'd come back to Stars Hollow to see the last couple of rehearsals and maybe even the play and... yeah. So, uhm... I guess I'll see you soon! Take care."
She didn't need that. She really didn't need that.
She erased the messages quickly. As she sighed, there was a knock on the front door. Suddenly wishing she didn't take the afternoon off, she got to the door and opened it. Kirk didn't wait for Lorelai's greeting to enter the house, out of breath. He was clearly panicking.
"You're home!" he cried.
"...aaaand apparently, you are too. Come in," she mumbled under her breath, closing the door. As she turned back to Kirk, she saw he had disappeared. She looked for him and found him in the kitchen, pacing around, still panting heavily.
"Kirk, I was going to call you with the recipe, you didn't need to come over."
"I know..." He shook his head rapidly, tying to catch his breath.
"Then why..."
"It's been preponed."
Lorelai stared blankly.
"Huh?"
"It's. Been. Preponed."
"Preponed? What does that mean?"
"It's the antonym of postponed, brought to an earlier date."
She frowned even more. "Maybe you need to sit down, Kirk." Or maybe you need stronger medication.
"Thank you, but no. I don't have time to sit. I need to tell everyone else!"
"Tell everyone else what!" This was getting beyond annoying.
"That it's been preponed! To Wednesday! This Wednesday! The day before Thanksgiving!"
"Okay. Calm down and tell me slowly, and in English, what you're talking about."
"The play. Miss Patty thought about it and realized that a Premiere on a Sunday after Thanksgiving wasn't the best idea. So she changed her mind, made new tickets and now it's Wednesday!"
Lorelai, in shock, slowly pulled a chair and sat down.
"You mean... the play is... this Wednesday?"
Kirk solemnly nodded. "In two days," he confirmed.
Lorelai didn't even notice when Kirk left. She didn't know how long she sat there, staring in front of her, listening to her heartbeat. Still pounding, at least. That's a good sign, right?
When she emerged from her catatonic state, she got up and frantically dialled his number. Cesar answered.
"I need to talk to Luke."
"He's not here."
"Where is he!"
"He didn't say. He just said I had to cover for him. Maybe I can help you?"
"Doubt it. Uhm... So you have no idea when he's gonna come back?"
"Sorry."
She hung up the cordless phone and threw it on the couch before taking her Jeep. She drove around town searching for Luke's truck. About twenty minutes later, she decided he had to go home some time today so she went into the diner and nobody noticed when she went upstairs. The door was unlocked. Ha! Don't you ever lecture me again on the necessity of locking front doors when you're not home, Danes.
The door closed behind her and it hit her. She was in Luke's apartment. Alone. He was going to be so mad. That thought made her smile. Who knew Luke was a tidy person like this? No dishes in the sink or on the counter, no clothes thrown around. She thought about looking around for his hamper to see if she could find his lacy bra, but thanked God she didn't find one, because chances are it wouldn't have been his, but hers. Whoever she would be. And that would have been upsetting. Did Luke have a she? He could be seeing someone for all she knew, he was so secretive. The toothbrush holder only held one toothbrush, but she could very well carry it with her. Lorelai Gilmore, stop snooping around and sit tight until he returns. This is none of your business and it's only gonna upset you which will confuse you even more. She peeked at his bed and her mouth went dry. She hastily closed her eyes and turned around. She was about to sit on the couch when she heard voices and footsteps in the hallway. Voices. And one's a female. Feeling like a thief, she searched for a place to hide. This was a bad, bad, bad idea. She looked at the window and stupidly wondered if she could jump out, not really considering it. She froze when she clearly heard his voice behind the door.
"I can't believe I forgot them, knowing it was the reason I was going to your place..."
Is he talking about condoms! Oh God. No wonder he's always talking about sex. He's getting some. Who's the woman!
She got her answer when the woman spoke. A well-known-well-hated voice.
"Luke, we don't have all day," she said, in that dry and commanding tone of hers.
Nicole! He's... Nicole! What the...
"It'll take a second," he said as the door opened. "They're right in my bedside table."
Lorelai would have died right then, when he saw her standing there. He abruptly stopped walking and blinked a few times, speechless, his body blocking the entrance to Nicole. He gestured towards Lorelai.
"Wha..."
"Hey, you're back." That's all Lorelai could think of saying.
Nicole pushed Luke to the side so she could see what was going on. As soon as she saw Lorelai, she stiffened even more –as if it was possible.
"Lorelai..." she greeted.
God, I hate the way she says my name.
Lorelai politely and quickly smiled to her and looked back at Luke, who still had his mouth open.
"I haven't been here long," she explained. "The door was open, I..."
She nervously brushed an imaginary piece of hair off her forehead and looked at the floor, shifting on her feet.
Nicole put her hands on her hips. Luke saw how uncomfortable Lorelai seemed and he almost found the situation funny.
"I'll wait downstairs," they heard Nicole say. She closed the door behind her.
Lorelai found it easier to breathe now that she was gone. Still extremely uncomfortable, she couldn't remember why she was in his apartment. She watched him as he walked to his bedside table.
"What are you doing here?" he asked.
He opened the drawer.
What am I doing here?
"Uh... You were nowhere to be found and I... I thought I'd wait for you here because I thought you'd come back eventually... alone. I'm so sorry. I... didn't know. I'm gonna go."
She motioned towards the door.
"No, you can stay here. I just have to..."
"Luke, it's fine. I don't wanna interrupt your plans with... her." There was something about saying her name out loud that was just unbearable.
Luke snorted. "We didn't have plans."
Yeah, sure, because you forgot your condoms. He reached in the drawer. Oh, man! I don't wanna see them. I... Lorelai nearly winced as he pulled something out of the drawer, but frowned as she saw it was papers.
Confused and really curious, she bit on her bottom lip, refraining the myriad of questions that wanted desperately to be asked first.
"I'll be right back," he said. "Let me just get this over with."
He let her alone with herself for a moment. She was still in the exact same biting-her-lip position as before when he came back.
"So!" Luke took off his green coat and threw it on the couch. "If you wanted coffee, you could have asked Cesar."
"I didn't want coffee. Now, however, I do. Thanks for mentioning it."
"I don't keep the coffee upstairs."
"Then, I'll have something strongly alcoholic."
"Special occasion?" he asked.
All of a sudden, she remembered why she had barged in. The play.
"It's been preponed."
Lorelai recognized the look on Luke's face since it probably was the face she had on when Kirk told her.
"Opposite of postpone. It's been brought to an earlier date."
"What are you talking about?"
"You might need to sit down for this..." she warned. He didn't listen so she continued. "The play's on Wednesday."
"What?"
"Yup. In two days."
"But it was..."
"Not anymore," she interrupted.
"Whoa."
"Yup."
"... I need a drink, too."
He found too shot glasses and a Tequila bottle. That will do.
"I didn't know you drank Tequila!" Lorelai exclaimed, following him to the couch, setting his green coat on the coffee table and taking its place.
"It's gonna be a first." He twisted the cap open.
Lorelai repressed a laugh. "Uhm... you know it's the worst thing to get a first hangover with?"
"It's not going to be my first hangover."
"But you are aware that you'll have a major one?"
"Lorelai, I'm not 8."
"I.D. please?" she kidded.
He poured their first shot and handed her the glass. She took it. She didn't want their fingers to touch but his hands were so big and the glass, really small. A single, accidental touch and you're blushing? Lorelai, come on! You haven't had a drink yet!
"You are aware that it's 4 in the afternoon?"
"Lorelai..."
"I'm just saying, Tequila on an empty stomach is really not responsible..."
"When did we switch personalities?" he asked.
She burst into laughter and nearly splashed the Tequila everywhere.
"Here's to the play!"
"Cheers to Miss Patty..." he mumbled.
They drank, swallowed and heavily shivered. She felt the liquid burning down her throat and she felt when it arrived in her stomach. She shook her head and gasped.
"This is disgusting..." Luke let out.
"It gets better with the third one," she promised. "Don't you have any lemon? And salt?"
Luke got up. "You're not going to lick me, are you?"
Lorelai chuckled. "When we reach the tenth shot, you're gonna beg me to..."
"I don't get like that when I'm drunk, don't worry."
I'm not worried, Luke. I'm not worried.
"I see that you are a real Tequila virgin. Before the sun sets completely, you are so going to wanna sleep with me..."
When the sun sets, huh? Luke thought. The sun set years ago, then.
Four shots later, Lorelai had to know.
"Can I ask you something?"
She poured herself another glass.
"About?"
She discretely licked her hand, salted it and took a lemon piece between her fingers.
"About Nicole..."
Luke knew what she was going to ask and he hid a smile while drinking.
She stared at the grains of salt on her skin.
"You're not... back with her, are you?"
"What! No!"
"Because, honestly? It would be stupid."
"Uh... I know that."
"Really, superlatively stupid."
"Lorelai, stop. I would never get back with her."
She nodded. Just before Luke swallowed another non-lemony-non-salty shot, she asked: "Are you sleeping with her?"
He chocked and he thought his throat was going to explode.
"Are you trying to kill me?" he managed to say, still coughing.
"I'm sorry! I just... wanna know. Because it would be..."
"Stupid," he said for her.
"Yes."
"Why would you think I'm sleeping with her?"
She repositioned the lemon between her thumb and her middle finger.
"Well... you were at her place and... well, I thought you didn't have any contact with her, so I was just surprised to see her here."
"She's selling the townhouse and she needed the ownership papers. Hot stuff."
"Oh... So you're not... having sex," she summarized.
"Right this instant? No. You'd notice."
"No, not right now. I mean..."
"Not with her, no."
Not with her! What's that supposed to mean?
"Are you... with anyone else?" She held her breath.
"Wouldn't you like to know!"
"Never mind..."
Why did she have to ask that question? She mentally kicked herself and Luke amusedly watched her as she licked the salt off her hand, swallowed the Tequila and bit into the lemon. She dropped the lemon on the table and wiped her hands on her jeans.
She felt like it was Luke's turn to speak so she waited. But he remained deadly quiet and he kept staring at her with a smirk on his face. She locked eyes with him. She would not look down first.
"Are you ever gonna answer my question?" she insisted against her will.
"Why?"
She sighed. "Then stop staring at me!"
"I'm not staring. You are."
"Ha! Not."
They held their gaze. Lorelai's stomach started to make knots. Was he ever going to look down? She wouldn't be able to maintain eye contact much longer.
She didn't remember ever wanting to be kissed as much as she wanted to right now. She licked her lips with the tip of her tongue. Salty.
"What are you thinking about?" Luke asked.
How did he know!
"I'm not thinking. I've stopped thinking with the fifth shot. That was the whole point of drinking in the afternoon."
"Uh huh..."
And he kept staring. He wasn't even blinking. So she didn't change the subject.
"You know, if you're steadily sleeping with someone, you might wanna tell her that you're in a play and that you have to kiss another woman during the representation."
"I have to kiss someone?" he joked.
"Well, if you ever get the courage to do so, yes."
How long since that staring game had started? Lorelai could feel her heart in her throat. She could also feel every beat in her ears.
"I don't have to tell her anything," he started.
Ouch.
"Oh. So there's..."
"Cause she doesn't exist. Happy?"
Lorelai snorted. "I'm not happy. I was just concerned. I don't want you to get in trouble because of Miss Patty's scenes."
He just smiled. Lorelai thought she was invincible. If she had been mortal, she'd be dead by now. Those feelings were just too much for a normal woman to endure. Unable to take it any longer, she looked away and took a deep breath. Making sure her hands weren't too shaky, she filled their glasses.
"Two days... How can Miss Patty do that to us?" Lorelai whined.
"She thinks we're ready, obviously."
"Man. I'm not ready. Are you ready?"
"I don't think I'll ever be. I might need to get drunk right before the representation."
"I don't think it would help..."
He laughed. It wasn't really funny, but he was starting to feel light headed and heavy at the same time.
"I know."
"Yeah," Lorelai began, "I mean, if you can't kiss me, then you can't. Sober or drunk, you never will..."
She would have taken back those words the second they came out of her mouth. He was going to think she was obsessed, which she was... but he didn't need to know that.
What is she implying? Can't she be clear once and for all?
"Why do you keep doubting me like this?"
Was she supposed to answer? She chose to.
"Because you had plenty of opportunities to do so and you didn't."
"We were constantly interrupted," Luke pointed out.
"True, but... I would ask you to kiss me now and you wouldn't."
"Oh, I wouldn't?"
"No. I know you wouldn't."
"Why would you ask me to kiss you anyway?"
Because that's all I could think about for weeks?
"To prove my point," she answered.
"Okay, then, ask me," he challenged her. Truth of the matter was, he was challenging himself.
Lorelai was roughly taken aback. A marathon of thoughts started in her mind. Did he want her to ask? Was it only a challenge? What if she asked? Would he refuse only to be funny? If he was to say no, she would be really hurt. More than she wanted to admit. But what if he did kiss her? Could she put her pride aside long enough to ask? She started to tremble.
They had had plenty of awkward, stressful moments, but this was by far the biggest.
"See? You're not even willing to ask."
Her eyes wandered on his face, realizing it was Luke. Her Luke. Something had changed. Something had definitely changed. And it was her. Her gaze dropped to his chest.
She whispered, "You can."
He wasn't sure he heard right.
"I can... what?"
She knew it. She knew he was going to make her beg. HE was the one who was supposed to beg her. It was HIS first time with Tequila. She should have known better. She filled her lungs with oxygen and looked up at him.
"Kiss me..."
Her voice had sounded hoarse and not even above a whisper. It had come out almost as a plea, not at all what she had intended... but how can you sound casual when you ask someone to kiss you?
It took Luke a second to fully understand what was going on. He swallowed the lump in his throat, his heart sank into his stomach. He gathered all the strength he could and lightly put his fingers on top of her hands, which were on her thighs.
She slightly jumped, the air stuck somewhere inside of her. Her hands turned palms up and she felt one of her middle finger brushing his wrist, up and down. He grabbed her hands and slowly pulled her closer to him. His forehead leaned against hers and she closed her eyes. Is this really happening? She felt her whole body respond to his warm breath on her face. She parted her lips and tightened her grip on his hands.
The phone rang. They jumped far apart as if they just had been electrocuted. Lorelai bit her lips really hard to repress a scream of deep frustration.
"I would have kissed you," Luke murmured after the second ring.
She replied to herself, "Oh, I know." And she drank up her shot glass in one quick motion as he cleared his throat before answering the phone.. "I know," she repeated.
When Luke returned to the couch, Lorelai had moved the furthest she could from his seat. She had her arms around her. He sat down.
"Are you cold?"
"Yes, a little..." She was really freezing. And hot.
"Take my coat," he proposed. "I don't know where I put the blankets."
She put it on her shoulders, Luke's scent was all over her. Is this what safety feels like? She hugged herself.
She talked to fill the tension.
"Who was on the phone?"
"Kirk."
Of course, she thought. Who else.
"He wanted to tell me the play's been... preponed. He sounded really freaked out."
She smiled, still not able to look at him in the eye.
"Yeah, he's not over it yet. He doesn't know the power of Tequila."
She heard Luke snort.
"You know what would have been funny?" he asked.
She turned her head to him.
"Kirk as Kyle," he continued.
Lorelai tried to imagine it, but quickly shook her head to dismiss the idea.
"Slightly disturbing. Though, I'm not sure Patty would have edited the scenes the way she did."
"Maybe you'd be drinking with him tonight..." he suggested.
"Drinking hot cocoa..."
They laughed, more to lighten up the mood than anything else. They both knew all the small-talks in the world would not improve a thing. But they didn't know how to deal in any other way.
Lorelai started to feel tired. She stretched and sat up.
"Kirk as Kyle..." she repeated. "You know..." Are you really going to say this out loud? "...now that I think of it, I can't see anyone other than you playing Kyle."
She wasn't looking at him so he didn't have to hide the shadow of the smile that appeared on his lips.
"Not even Doug?" Way to kill a moment, dumb ass, Luke beat himself up. You're such an idiot.
Oy with the dogs already!
She didn't answer but she sighed. He understood he had gone too far. It was still a sensitive subject. Since it couldn't get any worse, Luke decided to ask his next question.
"Could you drink another shot, I have to ask you something and you're not gonna like it."
She raised an eyebrow, poured herself a glass and held it up to her mouth.
"Shoot," she said, emptying its content.
He waited for her to be done to prevent any chocking.
"Why did you sleep with him?"
Oh, Luke... She studied his features. He looked tired. He looked resigned. She felt bad.
She laid her head on the cushion and looked at the ceiling.
"Why do you sleep with someone, Luke?" she tried to explain.
He got it all wrong. He sighed.
"Because you want to. Right..."
Her head still lying on the cushion, she turned her eyes to him.
"Or because you're really drunk and confused." And mad at your 'brother', she recalled.
She closed her eyes for a moment. She was going to fall asleep if she didn't move.
She whined, "I'm so tired I feel depressed. We should have drunk wine, we would have been more chipper." She sighed and pulled Luke's coat closer onto her. "What time is it?" she asked.
Luke looked at his watch and waiting for his sight to become less blurry. "It's 8:something."
She massaged her temples. "Wow. It's only 8 and I feel like it's 3 a.m.. When did I turn 87?"
He took advantage of her closed eyes to watch her. He had never, in his entire life, met someone so beautiful. Just looking at her soothed him. He felt as if his heart was being squeezed and turned into juice, but it still soothed him. Her beauty physically hurt him. He forcefully tore his eyes away from her and looked at the floor.
Twenty minutes later, Lorelai woke up with a jump. Confused, she wondered where she was until she saw Luke on the other end of the couch. He was sitting up his chin on his chest. Her legs were laying on top of his lap, his arms over them, protectively. As she watched him breathe slowly and steadily, she felt her stomach contracting. Butterflies were filling it now. She had to leave. She tried her best not to disturb him but he was holding to her legs tighter than she had expected. He opened his eyes with a deep intake of breath and seemed out of it for a while. He turned his head towards her, then realized he was almost hugging her legs. He raised his arms so she could sit straight.
Lorelai had an embarrassed laugh. "I haven't fallen asleep at 8 since I'm... 4."
Luke stretched and yawned.
"I'm going to go..." she unwillingly stated.
"You can't drive, Lorelai." He warned her with a look.
"I know. I'm going to walk. Fresh air."
"You can't walk, Lorelai..."
She stood up. "Oh, shush. Of course I..." Feeling dizzy, she felt the floor swirling. "...can't."
She sat back down. "Why can't I walk?" she asked. Luke pointed to the three-quarter empty Tequila bottle.
"Oh." She tried not to yawn and covered her mouth.
"You can stay here," he proposed.
Ha. Ha. Not. I don't wanna wake up in the middle of the night screaming your name. Or even worse, I don't want you to wake up in the middle of the night because I'm sneaking into your bed.
"No, I really have to go."
"Because you let the stove on and your socks are in it?"
She rolled her eyes and it made her dizzier.
"I can't stay here, Luke."
"You've stayed over before," he said, reminding her that time when the Inn had caught fire.
"Luke..."
"Do whatever you want," he started, "but you're not driving and certainly not walking by yourself, and since I'm not in shape to walk you home... Your only option is to sleep here or do that thing with your nose to make some magic."
"Huh?"
"That witch thing with the nose..."
She smiled. "Bewitched. That would be cool. I can try..."
"Or you can stay."
"You don't even know where your extra blankets are."
He got up, almost imperceptibly trotted and found the blankets. He placed them on the couch and pointed her to the bed. "You can have the bed."
She pouted.
"What?" he asked.
"The bed's cold. The couch's already warmed up..."
He shrugged his shoulders and let her lay down on the newly placed blankets. She comfortably positioned her head on the arm of the couch and smiled up to him.
He held his breath and pulled the covers up to her chin.
Lorelai couldn't fight sleep anymore.
"'Night..." she whispered already half gone.
He hesitantly brushed her forehead. "'Night."
He spent almost an hour watching her sleep. When he dozed off, he could still see her face.
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She woke up around 7 and felt like hell. She rubbed her eyes and looked around. Luke wasn't there and she could hear the breakfast crowd downstairs. She shook her dishevelled hair with her hand and sat up. There was a towel and a blue flannel shirt folded on the coffee table. The Tequila and the glasses had disappeared. She saw a note on the shirt. "You can use the shower. The shirt's in case you're still cold. I'll be back soon. Hope you can walk. Luke." She read it three times, her smile growing larger every time. She folded the note, found her wallet and put it in. She headed to the bathroom where she saw herself in the mirror and thanked God Luke didn't see her like this.
Once under the hot water, she closed her eyes, leaned against the wall and heard herself sigh in delight. Then she remembered. His hands on hers, weighing on her thighs; her finger timidly caressing his wrist; his smell enveloping her, making her feel at the right place in the right moment; his warm forehead on hers; their noses barely touching; his breath on her lips; the urge to open herself to him... She switched the water to cold and calmed her heartbeats before getting out of the shower. She put on her jeans and considered the flannel shirt...
Luke entered his apartment. His arms full of food, he shut the door closed with his foot and set everything on the table. He heard the bathroom door squeak open and felt knives in his gut when she got out.
She was drying her hair with the towel, she stopped when she spotted him. A shy smile appeared on her lips. Luke thought he had never seen her more gorgeous than like this: hair still dripping wet, no makeup on and his flannel shirt sticking on her still wet skin.
She felt naked and as shy as a 'morning after'.
"Hey..." she let out. "How did you manage to work this morning?"
He gazed away and filled a cup of coffee.
"I honestly don't know. Did I snore?"
She put the towel on a chair and took the coffee. She smirked. "Not this time..."
He frowned. "Not this time?"
"When the Inn caught fire, you were as loud as a growling bear." She looked at the table and saw pancakes and strawberries and bacon.
She tilted her head to him.
"How did you know pancakes were my number one hangover food?"
He shrugged his shoulders.
"I've known you for eight years, I've fed you hangover food before..."
"Oh! So every time you brought me pancakes before I ordered, it was because you thought I looked hung over?"
"Yup."
She sat down took four pancakes. He cut some strawberries and dropped them on her plate. He accidentally grazed her shoulder. She looked up at him, unable to erase the grin off her face. There was an amazing level of intimacy that floated around, comfortable and sweet. And intimidating.
Someone knocked at the door.
"Must be Cesar who needs help. The stove is acting again..." he explained.
"Hire it for the play!" she said, licking her fingers full of syrup, watching Luke as he opened the door.
"Doug?" Luke's surprised tone reached Lorelai's ears. Her heart stopped. Man. What is he doing here?
Luke let him in.
"Hey Luke!" he hit him on the shoulder and his eyes subtly widened when he saw Lorelai... in a shirt that looked like Luke's, sitting at his kitchen table. "Lorelai..."
She sipped her coffee because she didn't really feel like saying good morning. She was still ticked about him telling Luke about that night.
"You look stunned to see me, Danes. Lorelai didn't tell you I was coming to town this week?"
Luke slowly looked at her. "You knew he was coming over?"
"No! I mean... He mentioned he was maybe going to come see the play but..."
Doug stayed near the door. "I'm not staying long, I was just dropping by to tell you I was here," he said to Luke. "I didn't wanna interrupt your breakfast." He winked at Luke.
And then Luke understood what Doug thought was going on. And he didn't rectify him. He only winked back.
Lorelai caught glimpse of that exchange and nearly laughed. Luke was a very awkward winker.
"Well, I'm gonna go now."
Good.
"Did you know Miss Patty offered me the role back?" he added.
Lorelai's smiled vanished instantly and her heart stopped. Luke stiffened. Their eyes widened and their head jerked toward Doug who bursted into laughter.
"Whoa! Relax guys. I was just kidding!"
Lorelai quickly shoved a strawberry in her mouth to give her maintenance and discretely looked at Luke. He locked eyes with her. She had no idea what he was thinking about.
Doug left, Lorelai finished her breakfast. Luke took her plate and she helped him clear the table. All of this in a complete silence. They reached for the milk at the same time and grabbed each other's hand. Lorelai uncontrollably let out a nervous laugh and jerked her hand away, hiding it in her jean pocket.
So, when did you see him? He wanted to ask.
"He called me and left a message on my answering machine yesterday. I forgot about it," she needed to clarify.
He was jealous. He was unhealthily and inexplicably jealous.
"I have to get back to the diner." He had to get out of here before pining her against the wall, letting her know how badly he wanted her to be his.
She realized he was angry and she didn't know how to fix it.
"Okay... Thanks for... everything. I'll clean up."
He nodded and headed towards the door. He opened it. He knew he was being stupid and childish and everything in between. He knew he was ruining a perfectly perfect morning. He knew it, but still didn't know how to shut this nagging feeling up.
"I'll see you tomorrow, Kyle..." she said. She smiled and it cooled him down. And the vision of her smiling, standing in his kitchen, coffee cup in hand, with his flannel shirt on stayed with him all day and all night.
I'll see you tomorrow...
TBC...
A.N.2. When I first started the chapter, it was supposed to be the last one... but since these 6000-something words were so long to write down, I've realized that I had at least 12 000 more to write and decided to post these before you all found my address and kill me. Please continue to tell me you're still tuned in! Next chapter is the play, I PROMISE YOU.
Thanks for your patience, readers!
Favorite quotes are greatly appreciated, any comments makes my day!
