A few days later Lorelai was clattering down the stairs at the Independence Inn when she saw the back of an incredibly handsome guy standing at the check-in counter. The sight of his broad shoulders and narrow hips nearly made her lose her balance. She grabbed at the railing to steady herself. And then a hot blush rose over her neck and face as she finally recognized the backside she was so openly ogling. It was Luke. She hadn't realized it immediately because the warm day had caused him to ditch the flannel for a more practical polo shirt. She frowned, feeling somewhat perturbed, as she realized that the hat was missing, too.

"Hey," she greeted him, rushing over. She beat down the weird fluttery feeling inside of her, as well as the totally inappropriate lust of a few moments before. "What'cha doin' here?"

He turned to her in obvious relief. "I didn't think Michel was ever going to find you."

She shook her head, confused. "Michel didn't find me."

Luke frowned. "But he went to get you at least five minutes ago."

Lorelai's face turned grim. "Oh, Michel," she sighed. "The things you bring down upon yourself." She spoke directly to Luke then. "He knew that I was upstairs, helping to restock the supply cabinet, Luke."

Luke's face darkened as he realized the snooty concierge had played him for a fool.

"Don't worry your pretty little head about it," Lorelai said brightly, patting Luke's arm. "I'll make him suffer. It'll be my pleasure," she added, evilly.

"That guy is a…a…" Luke sputtered, trying to find the exact epithet to describe Michel.

"Yes, he certainly is," Lorelai continued to appease him. "And after I convince Sookie to add lots of extra carbs into anything he gets from the kitchen for the next week or so, he'll turn into a chubby one. So see? It's all good."

Luke took a deep breath and apparently decided to let the feud with Michel go. He handed a small white box to Lorelai.

She smiled with extra delight. She recognized a Weston's box when she saw it. "What's this?"

He smiled, too. "It's to thank you for your help with Liz's present. She called me last night, and you were right about everything. She loved the necklace. She was…Well, she was really touched. We talked for a long time. It was…" He ducked his head, hiding his shy smile. "It was really nice to do that again."

Lorelai eagerly untied the dark purple ribbon and opened the box. She gasped with pleasure at the 6-inch square of brownie inside, covered in a vanilla buttercream icing and topped with chocolate shavings. She licked her lips in anticipation.

"If you have any more family members you need to find presents for, you just let me know," she offered, quickly popping one of the chocolate shavings into her mouth. "Yum!"

His eyes twinkled at her reaction, even though he shook his head at her in mock condemnation. "Liz wants me to come to New York soon to visit her and Jess. I was wondering…" His voice slowed down, and he glanced down at his shoes before continuing. "Would you go with me?"

Lorelai gulped the chocolate down her suddenly dry throat. "I think…I think you should go on your own, Luke. At least this time. I'd love to meet Liz, and your nephew, but I think this trip should be a strictly family visit." She studied the disappointment on his face. "How about this, though?" she added, to placate him. "Why don't you invite her to visit Stars Hollow, too, and when they come, they can stay here at the Inn. I'll make sure there's a room for them, whenever they want it."

His head shot up in surprise, and he looked straight at her. "That's really generous, Lorelai. Thanks," he said, his voice gruff.

It took a few more moments before she became aware that she was staring right into his incredible blue eyes. "You're welcome," she said, ashamed at how breathless she sounded.

To get them past the suddenly awkward spot they found themselves in, Luke cleared his throat and continued onto the other reason for his visit. "Let me take you out to eat tomorrow night," he urged her. "I owe you big time for this thing with Liz. There's a restaurant I've heard about in Bridgeport I've been wanting to try, and it'd be a lot more fun if you'd go with me. What d'ya say?"

Once again she found herself staring at him, smiling almost dreamily, as he gave her that lopsided grin that she'd discovered she could barely resist. She gave herself a mental shake and came back to the present.

"What sort of restaurant?" she asked, her voice tinged with suspicion in spite of her belief that she'd probably go anywhere with him that he wanted he to.

"It's brand new, some sort of stir-fry place. It sounds nice."

"Stir-fry?" Her nose wrinkled up. "Isn't that lots of vegetables and stuff?"

"Look," he sighed. "I cook for you every day, right?"

"Right," she agreed, still suspicious.

"And you like everything I make for you, right?"

"Yeah," she agreed, but still looked completely unconvinced.

"So I promise you that I'll find you something there that you'll love. And if you don't, I'll take you to an ice cream place afterwards and you can order the biggest sundae they've got. Deal?" he asked.

She thought about it before giving her head a brisk nod. "Deal," she agreed.

"I know today's Friday, so you won't be in for dinner," he remarked, as he prepared to walk out, "but when you come in for breakfast we'll talk about when to leave for Bridgeport."

"OK." Her head bobbed in agreement. "See you then. And thanks for the brownie!"

Almost on its own, her head tilted in appreciation as she watched him walk away. Gradually she became aware that someone was standing next to her, in the same exact pose.

"Was that Luke?" Sookie asked, studying the jeans walking out the door.

"Yes," Lorelai said, snapping her head upright abruptly.

"The man knows how to fill out a pair of jeans," Sookie commented approvingly. Then she spotted the Weston's box. "Lorelai!" she said, irritated. "What's that doing here?"

Lorelai snatched up the box and put it behind her. "Luke brought it for me, to thank me for helping pick out Liz's birthday present."

"He knows the rules," Sookie said firmly. "He knows better than to bring contraband baking goods into my domain!" She tried to grab at the box.

"It's just an innocent brownie," Lorelai begged, backing up further. "And you like, Fran, remember?"

Sookie sighed in exasperation, her hands on her hips. "I'll overlook it this time, since he was doing something nice, but he'd better not make a habit of it." She leaned her elbows against the counter, relaxing. "So the gift-buying trip was a success, huh?"

"Yeah, apparently she called and they had a really nice long talk," Lorelai commented, pulling up the next day's reservations on the computer screen. "He's going to take me to dinner tomorrow, so I'll probably hear more about it then."

Sookie's gaze swept over Lorelai and came to rest on her friend's face. "You guys really send a lot of time together now," she commented mildly.

"Well, you're always busy with Jackson, and Rory's always studying, so be thankful I've found another friend to take up the slack." Lorelai kept her eyes on the computer screen.

"Uh huh." Sookie folded her hands in front of her, as she stared across the lobby. "Nice necklace," she pointed out, pretending innocence.

Lorelai's hand shot up to cover the heart hanging around her neck. "I don't wear it that often," she insisted.

Sookie laughed. "Lorelai, that's the third time this week!"

Lorelai wanted very badly to dispute her, but she couldn't. "Well, Luke's right. It goes with everything," she grumbled.

"Yes, it does," Sookie agreed sweetly, the huge smile on her face making her dimples show.

"Don't start," Lorelai warned her, but she was having a hard time keeping a smile off of her own face. "We're friends, Sookie. Just friends. You need to accept that, along with everyone else. We've worked hard to get to this point."

"The brownie stays out of my kitchen," Sookie reminded her, pointing at it threateningly. "But the person who brought it is welcome anytime," she added with a wink. "As long as he wears those jeans."

"I'll let him know you appreciate the eye candy." Lorelai's focus was still on the computer. "I know that'll make his day," she said with a grin, imagining Luke's discomfort if she ever would tell him that.

The sun was just starting to set when Lorelai and Luke entered the restaurant the next evening. Loud music greeted their ears and the place was packed. They were shown to the last small table available.

"See? Lots of people like this place," Luke observed, leaning over the table some so she could hear him over the music. "It'll be good."

Lorelai twisted up her mouth into a semi-pout, letting him know she still didn't totally believe him. She looked around the place. She noticed the striking paper lampshade on the light hanging over their heads. It looked handcrafted, and she pointed it out to Luke. "Pretty," she said, approvingly.

He smiled and nodded, glad she'd found something positive to focus on.

When their waiter came over and discovered it was their first visit, he spent a lot of time explaining the setup of the restaurant. He showed them cards on the table that detailed a lot of possible flavor combinations, and pointed to small wooden sticks lying on their napkins.

"Just be sure to write your names on those, and put them in your bowls, so we know who to bring the food to," he told them, and Lorelai instantly grabbed one of the stubby pencils available and wrote on her stick. "Be sure to ask me or any of the other servers if you have any questions at all," he urged them. "Have fun!"

As he walked away, Luke leaned over and took her stick away from her. "You just sit here and enjoy your mojito," he told her, smiling. "I'll make dinner tonight. And you will love it," he pretended to threaten her.

She watched Luke as he went to the center of the large room and joined the other diners in front of the long line of possible dinner ingredients. He took two bowls from the end of the line and seemed to be carefully considering each item in front of him. She studied his profile, smiling fondly at his seriousness as he went about choosing her dinner. Sometimes his extreme Luke-ness just filled her with joy. Shaking her head at her own dorkiness, she sipped at her drink.

Soon he slipped back into the seat across from her. "Now we wait our turn for the chef to grill that up," he told her. He took a gulp from his beer. "How was Hartford last night?" he asked cautiously.

"Oh, Adolph and Eva were in rare form last night," she griped, rolling her eyes.

"Sorry," Luke winced.

"Oh, it's no big deal," Lorelai muttered, waving her hand. "Just the same old stuff. They can't understand why Rory's not signed up to do a hundred things this summer. They had all of these brochures for camps and summer courses to wave in my face. Rory's worked really hard this year," she said hotly, once again feeling her anger from the night before when her parents had insisted Rory not waste her summer. "Summer's our time to hang out together again. She deserves some time off. Right?" she demanded of him.

"Right," he agreed at once, knowing better than to dispute her.

"I mean…I know she would benefit a lot from some of the summer programs." Lorelai looked off to the side, frowning, and suddenly she didn't sound so confident. "And she would enjoy them. I mean, she's Rory, right? Studying is fun for her." Her fingers tapped nervously against her glass. "But it's summer," she added, more decisively. She looked back at Luke. "Her brain needs some downtime. It'll make her sharper in the fall." She looked down at her lap, slightly shaking her head. "And they all cost a small fortune," she muttered. Her eyes shot back up at him and she pointed her finger at him in warning. "And do not offer me money!"

"I wouldn't dream of it," he assured her.

She smiled and suddenly seemed calmer. "It'll be fine. We'll do this summer just like we normally do, and it'll be fine."

Luke grinned and shook his head slightly as he took another swallow of his drink. "I love the way you can have a complete conversation all on your own."

Lorelai shrugged her shoulders modestly. "It's a gift."

They continued chatting until their server appeared beside them with two steaming bowls balanced on his tray.

"Here we go!" He announced grandly, sweeping one of the bowls off of the tray. "Who's…?" His eyes read the cramped writing on the stick and he turned flustered. "Who's 'Here Under Protest?'" he asked, taken aback.

"Ooh! That's me," Lorelai exclaimed, waving her arm.

He glumly sat the bowl in front of her. "And…Luke?" he confirmed, setting the second bowl down in front of a resigned Luke.

"Thank you!" Lorelai told him, gaily.

He nodded and slunk away.

Lorelai could see green things and a lot of other items she couldn't identify in the bowl in front of her. As she leaned over to scowl at it, the enticing aroma hit her and her mouth started to water. She abandoned the chopsticks she was going to use to poke at it and grabbed her fork instead. Cautiously she brought a bite to her mouth.

"Oh, my god." She chewed a moment in ecstasy. "Luke, this is fantastic!" She quickly speared another bite and got it to her mouth. "I mean, really, really good." She bounced a little in her seat as she chewed. She half-covered her mouth with her hand so she could talk while she chewed and not totally gross him out. "I know there's stuff in here I wouldn't normally have anything to do with, but this is incredible!"

Luke smirked a little bit as he raised his own fork to his mouth. "Does that mean I'm off the hook for the ice cream?"

Lorelai was still busily shoving food into her mouth, but she nodded. "Well, I might still want ice cream," she added, muffled, "but not because the meal was bad."

After some more minutes devoted solely to eating, Lorelai asked, "So what's in here, exactly?"

"One of the choices was beef tenderloin, so I picked that for you," Luke told her. "I added some chopped tomatoes, and some noodles, and I put on some wild mushroom sauce and some sort of house blend that I thought would go with the beef. Then I just added some other things, you know, for flavor." No way was he going to tell her how many vegetables he'd thrown into her bowl.

"Great job," she said, smacking her lips. "Fantastic job. Here, you need to try this."

Over his protests she brought a forkful to his mouth. Rolling his eyes he tried it, and had to admit he'd done a good job.

Now with much more interest she pulled out the card displayed on the table and read over the suggested flavor combinations. She none-too-subtly looked around at the other customers close to them, trying to discern what ingredients were in their bowls.

Their table was small and it didn't take much leaning for her to be practically over his bowl.

"So, what do you have?" she asked, fascinated.

"You wouldn't like it," he warned her.

"Would I really not like it, or are you just being selfish?" she asked, looking at him narrowly.

He had to laugh. "You really wouldn't like it. I've got tilapia, which is really mild white fish, over rice, and since I don't like heavy sauces, mine's flavored with some lemon and ginger. And I have lots of vegetables."

She looked longingly at his bowl. "But it smells really good."

He sighed and looked off to the side, feigning annoyance. Finally he looked back at her. "Lorelai, would you like a bite?"

She grinned triumphantly. "I thought you'd never ask."

He really had no choice but to feed her off of his own fork, since she leaned over even further, with her mouth open.

"So what do you think?" he asked her, grabbing rather desperately for his beer.

She chewed thoughtfully. "It's different, but it's good. I like mine better, though." She swallowed and carefully ran her tongue over her teeth. "What's this green stuff?" she asked, pointing into his bowl.

"Cilantro," he told her. "It's usually used in salsas and Mexican stuff, but I like the flavor on lots of other things."

"Me, too," she decided.

Soon her fork was scraping the bottom of her bowl.

"Do you want me to fix you another one?" Luke asked, watching her licking her fork.

She stopped, her eyes shining like she'd just won the lottery. "Really? We can get more?"

"As much as you want," he told her. "These poor owners don't realize how much money they're going to loose on you."

"I think I want to put it together myself, this time," she stated. "Will you help me?"

"Of course," he smiled.

She grabbed her little name stick and the pencil. She crossed out 'Here Under Protest' and turned it over, quickly writing something else. When finished, she showed it to Luke.

'Very Happy' she'd written, with as many exclamation points as she could fit into the miniscule space.

"Me too," he told her. In fact, he was so happy it almost scared him.

"Never take me to another all-you-can-eat place again," Lorelai groaned, leaning on Luke's arm as they left the restaurant.

"Too much of a good thing, huh?" he commented.

"Really good," she sighed. "So, theoretically, if I had all of that stuff in my house, I could make something that tasted that good?"

"Theoretically," he agreed.

She thought that over seriously. "Would you consider coming over sometime and showing me how?"

He stopped walking abruptly and stared at her, confirming that she was truly sincere. "I'd love to," he told her, wondering if some part of hell had just frozen over.

She nodded happily.

"So, it's still pretty early," he pointed out. "Do you want to catch a movie? There are theaters just around the corner."

Now it was Lorelai's turn to wonder about hell's temperature. "Sure," she agreed in amazement. "Let's go see what's playing."

They sauntered around the block and stood in front of the marquee at the ticket counter, trying to decide what to see. Well, Lorelai was, anyway. Luke didn't care.

"Shrek just came out," Lorelai mused, "but Rory'll kill me if I see it without her. Do you think she'd know if we saw it tonight? I could pretend I hadn't seen it when I go with her."

Luke scoffed, but didn't comment.

"Yeah, you're right. She'd know," Lorelai mourned. "OK, let's go with The Mummy Returns."

"I haven't seen the first one," Luke revealed.

"It's OK," Lorelai reassured him. "I bet you'll be able to pick up the plot without any trouble at all."

Luke had their tickets purchased before Lorelai even thought to offer to pay her own way. Sometimes being with him felt so normal that she totally forgot they weren't a couple.

They stepped into the lobby and stood in line, waiting for their theater to empty. Lorelai pointed to a huge display poster of the big green ogre.

"I really can't wait to see that," she told him. "All of the reviews say it's great. Hey, why don't you come with me and Rory to see it?"

Luke snorted at that idea. "I don't think so."

"Why not? The animation is supposed to be like nothing you've ever seen before. And the story sounds so cute," she gushed. "He's this big, mean ogre, right? That's what he wants everyone to think, anyway. But then he goes to rescue this princess, and she brings out his sweet side, and of course, since it's a fairy tale, I'm sure they live happily ever after." She was suddenly sensible that she'd basically described the two of them, minus the 'happily ever after' part, and she felt momentarily flustered. "So, Mike Meyers! Cameron Diaz! What's not to like, huh?" she hurriedly added.

He pointed over to the Shrek line, where seemingly a thousand small children waited, all whining and clinging to their parents, soft drinks and popcorn spilling from a thousand cups.

"That's what's not to like," he growled, but softly, close to her ear, so as not to offend any of the parents standing there with their perfect, although sticky kids.

She wasn't sure how he'd gotten so close to her, and for a moment all she could do was to stand there perfectly still, waiting until her breath came back.

Finally they were able to enter the theater, and with some minor debate over the best place to sit, they claimed two seats in the center section (Lorelai's insistence) but on the aisle (Luke's preference.)

As they settled down into their seats, Luke became aware of everyone's popcorn containers around them. "Oh, hey, I didn't even think. Do you want something to eat?"

Lorelai laughed and rubbed her stomach. "No, I think I'm good for now. But maybe I'll twist your arm for that ice cream on the way home." She angled herself into her seat and without even realizing what she was doing, she leaned her body over against Luke's. At once she sprang away, sitting upright abruptly.

He laughed and pulled her back against him. "It's OK," he told her. "I may not be your boyfriend, but you can still use me as a backrest."

She tried to make herself relax. "You're very comfy," she observed, trying to sound unperturbed.

He suddenly frowned. "Are you going to be warm enough?" She looked gorgeous tonight, as usual. The warmer weather during the last few days had caused her to wear a sleeveless, sandy-colored tunic tonight, belted tightly around her trim waist, with ruffles spilling from the deep vee down her chest. Her curls rested on her shoulders, but her arms were bare.

In response, she grabbed his arm that had been lightly resting around her shoulder, and drew it up and down her arm. "I'll be fine, as long as you do your part," she instructed him.

"OK," he agreed, grinning.

She let herself relax further into him, trying to be the least bit interested in the ads being shown for nearby businesses on the large screen in front of them. She sensed that she was enjoying his warmth and his reassuring solidness beside her just a little too much.

Luke was struggling with the part of his brain that was trying to lecture him about holding Lorelai the way he was. He won the argument by simply shutting that part of his brain off. She was his friend and she was cold. End of argument. He wasn't going to enjoy her smooth skin under his hand. He wasn't going to let his chin rub against her dark curls nestled just underneath it. He certainly wasn't going to inhale the scent of her shampoo.

He'd gradually learned that she had four different shampoos and that she used them in rotation. Besides the one that smelled like candy apples ― which, by the way, had insured that he never again would be able to attend any of the dozens of festivals hosted by Stars Hollow and stand anywhere near the candied apple booth, ever ― she also used one that smelled like the sweetest cherries imaginable. It made her hair smell even sweeter than her lip gloss on those days. There was another that made him think of Mounds bars, since it made her smell like a combination of toasted cocoanut and chocolate. And the last one, his favorite one, the one she'd used today, made him think of freshly washed cotton sheets blowing in the breeze.

But he wasn't going to think about how she smelled. He was going to be a backrest and a source of warmth. He was going to be a pal. Nothing more.

Lorelai was so comfortable and so contented tucked up against Luke that she could have fallen asleep with very little effort. But something was nagging at her; had been, in fact, since almost the first day they'd started this friendship thing. And tonight, with his hand rubbing her arm and her head fitted perfectly against his shoulder, it seemed like the time to let it out.

"Hey, Luke," she began, softly, "can I ask you something?"

"Sure," he said, lazily.

She took her time, carefully considering her words. "When I first came to you and tried to talk you into the dating thing," she began, slowly, "I mentioned all of the times I thought we'd been aware that maybe there was something between us. But you said no, you hadn't noticed them." She paused, taking a deep breath, wondering if she was going to regret pushing him too far. "Was that…Is that…Was that the truth?"

She could feel him tense up beside her. She didn't rush him for an answer. She let him take his time.

"No," he finally admitted, gruffly. "There were times, when I wondered."

"Behind the counter that night, with the paint," she whispered, looking straight ahead.

She could feel him nod. He cleared his throat. "At your house," he affirmed. "Upstairs, in your room. Trying to get that damn drawer back in your dresser."

"Oh, yeah." She smiled, remembering. "So," she then sighed, confused, "why did you say you didn't?"

Luke took a long time answering. His hand so very lightly ran up and down her arm, making her shiver. "I thought you were probably just messing with me," he said, baring his soul to her more than he ever thought he would.

Lorelai felt a pang go through her chest at his belief that she'd toy with him like that. She tried to buy herself some time to think by doing what she did best in times of seriousness.

"I guess you don't mean 'messing with you' like that foyer thing, right?" she tried to joke.

"No," he said, the breath from his slight chuckle tickling her ear.

She turned as much as she could to look at him. "Luke, I'd never treat you so lightly. You know that, don't you?"

Again, he stared straight ahead and took his time finding the right answer. "I know that now," he told her. "But then?" He shook his head. "You've always loved to tease me, Lorelai."

"Tease you, sure. Making up cute little nicknames. Pointing out your shortcomings for your own good. But you really thought I could be that cruel?"

"There never seemed to be any limit on what you'd do for a good joke."

"You know, you've always responded to me the same way," she pointed out. "'Don't sit on any cold benches' ring any bells? And there was the time you asked me to marry you, just to shut me up."

His hand stopped rubbing her arm. "Yeah," he admitted.

"So, if you thought I was just messing with your head, what made you agree to the date?"

"I guess I thought…if there was any chance you were serious…I didn't want to miss it."

She sighed. "But it was a disaster."

"Well, I'm not…" He slowly shook his head as he tried to come up with the right words. "I'm not a good match for you."

"Why not?" she demanded, anger flaring at once.

His jaw tensed as he motioned at her with his free hand. "Look at you," he said. "You're beautiful, Lorelai. And you…You sparkle, you're so full of life. You're ambitious, and you want so much out of life for you and for Rory. You've got plans, and dreams, and I know you're gonna make 'em happen. But me? I'm just this dull guy runnin' a diner. We couldn't be farther apart."

She twisted in her seat to look at him then, totally shocked. "Luke! That's not true! For one thing, you're not just some guy running a diner! You own your own business! And you're the one that made that happen! You had the vision, and you're the one who made it a success. Stars Hollow would not be the community it is without Luke's Diner. You need to be proud of the place you hold there! And yes, I'd like to own my own inn someday, but right now, that's far into the future, so you are way ahead of me, buddy. And sure, I might be known for my rapier wit, but you're no slouch. You can keep up with me, which is no mean feat. Your humor is just quieter than mine." She drew a breath and leaned a little closer to him. "And as for the prettiness factor, you can more than hold your own. In fact, if that little redhead two rows over doesn't stop looking back here I'm going to go scratch her eyes out!"

Luke's eyes involuntarily searched for the redhead even as he scoffed at what Lorelai had said. "Guys aren't pretty."

"Ha!" she disputed. She pointed at her own eyes. "Lots of mascara, eyeliner, and tons of other products designed to make me look more alluring." She pointed at his own thick, dark lashes. "All natural, pretty boy. Draw your own conclusions."

He shook his head, stifling a grin, and pulled her back in her seat, so that she was facing forward again.

She once again leaned up against him, but the comfort now seemed just beyond her reach. She was silent for awhile, letting the piped-in music wash over her, staring at the still ads for car dealers and movie trivia questions that were beamed at the screen.

"Luke," she began again, carefully, "if you had a choice, between having a torrid, hot love affair that would probably flame out after a few months, or what we have together now…Which would you choose?"

His hand stopped rubbing her arm. She felt him stop breathing. It seemed to take him forever to decide what to say, and each long moment of waiting made her heart beat even faster.

"Well, it's been a long time since I've had anything hot or torrid," he said in that dry, light tone she now recognized as the one he used when he was saying something serious but wanted to pretend he wasn't, "so that might be tempting. But I can't imagine not having you as a friend, Lorelai. I wouldn't want a life that didn't have you in it. So I'd choose this."

"Me, too," she agreed, too quickly, but giving him a sad smile all the same.

The movie theater darkened and the sound system blared as the previews for upcoming movies started.

She leaned against him again, barely feeling his hand on her arm, or his shoulder under her cheek. He'd given her the right answer. He'd said exactly the right thing. So why had her heart dropped in disappointment? And why, oh why, was it taking all of her strength to keep the tears from spilling down her cheeks? As she stared at the screen, blinking hard, she doubted that the answers she was searching for would be found watching Brendan Fraser battle monsters in the sand.