Chapter 3: Dave Eggars and Bunny rabbits
The dinner arrived, the waiter looking slightly amused and scared at the same time at how much food they ordered. "We like variety" Rory stated, used to getting looks like that
Tristan rose an eyebrow at her "You seem oddly comfortable with people looking at us like we could end world hunger with the amount of food we ordered"
"I am oddly comfortable" She said confidently "You'll know once you meet my mother" she explained offhandedly making him smirk
"So I'm meeting your mother? I'd say it's a little soon but I'm up for it" He teased
Rory blushed right on cue "Shut up" She muttered now realizing what she had said, and took a bite of her food.
"Good?" She asked
He nodded eagerly "Really good. Wonder why I haven't been here sooner" he said surprised
"Wow Brazil is big?" she said squinting her eyes at a poster that was located behind Tristan
He raised an eyebrow in amusement "Well, yes Brazil is a rather large country" he said befuddled
Rory shook her head "No, I was looking at the poster behind you sorry" she said "God our president is an idiot" she said now seeing the poster she was looking at was a Bushisms poster.
"I happen to like him" Tristan said with a straight face
Rory sat back a little "oh well…that's okay" she said avoiding his eyes not wanting to think she was trying to offend him
He smirked inwardly at her reaction and decided to toy with her a bit "I mean what did he do wrong? Sure he's no Roosevelt, but he was a better candidate than Gore" he said harshly
Rory nodded "Uhm sure" She said not wanting to get into a political debate with someone she didn't know very well
"Sure? That's all you have to say for yourself? You called the leader of our country an idiot. What you think you could do a better job?" he went on narrowing his eyes at her
Rory gaped at him. She was civil…she didn't want to get into it at a restaurant on their first date. "Look I don't want to get into it" She said politely
"Well I do" He stated, trying in vain not to laugh hysterically at her confused and slightly disappointed expression "He's doing his best…no one's perfect"
"Tristan!" Rory exclaimed, glaring at him when he began laughing hysterically, un able to hold it in any longer "You're an idiot you know that!" she huffed annoyed
"I'm sorry" He got out through his rolls of laughter "But you should have seen your face. Like you actually offended me or something"
Rory fought the smile that came to her lips but ended up giving in the end. "Mean" She huffed
"It was funny…" he reasoned when his laughter died down
"I can't believe you actually paid" Tristan grumbled as he led them back to the car
Rory smirked triumphantly "I told you I would"
"Made me look ridiculous" he muttered under his breath
"Hey. It was your idea to let me take you out to dinner" She said with a smile as she got into the car
"Yeah yeah" he said annoyed "Where do you live?" he asked
"Well uh. New York" She said sheepishly
Tristan's eyes widened "New York?" he asked incredulously. "And you commute everyday?"
Rory nodded fighting back the urge to laugh "Yup"
"You're lying. You suck at this" he said after studying her eyes
Rory pouted "Fine. But I really do live in New York. I'm just staying in Stars Hollow right now"
"Ahh. Okay" he said turning the car on "So does your mom know you went out with a strange man that you've talked to maybe 6 or 7 times?" he asked
Rory shook her head "No but if she knew, she'd be proud" she laughed
Tristan furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and momentarily took his eyes off the road and turned to her "Explain"
"She's odd. Trust me, she's even weirder than I am" she said
"And explain why the nice men in white suits haven't come yet?" he teased
"I don't know" she shrugged looking out the window "How do you know where Stars Hollow is?" she asked
He shrugged "I just know the area well"
"So tell me something about yourself" she said
"Like what" he said amused
"Well you know so much about me…and I know nothing about you, except for your profession and your undying love for our president" She teased
"I hate the man" he stated with a laugh "And what else do you need to know? I give kick ass massages and I'm a loyal democrat" he smirked
"I want one!" She exclaimed
"Want one what?" he asked confused
"A massage" She stated "It's my favorite thing, next to coffee…and a few other things" she waived off
Tristan smirked "Well I'd be happy to give you one…just not now, we're here" he laughed
Rory grinned "turn left here and then just keep going straight" she said as the entered Stars hollow
"So thanks for looking at my neck" She said when he pulled up to her house
He nodded "No problem. Thanks for dinner" he grinned
"Well maybe next time, you can pay" she laughed
"I will pay next time" he stated
"Well, goodnight" she said
"I'll see you tomorrow" he smiled
"Mr. Gilmore" Tristan chided as he walked into his room and saw that the man had thrown a leg over the railing of the bed
Richard grunted "You again" he stated
Tristan smirked "Leg please" he said looking down at it
He mumbled something under his breath and lifted it off the railing and put it back down
Tristan looked pleased "You have a lot of movement in that leg…you've been holding out on me" he said with a smile
"I don't have much incentive" he growled
"Well…" Tristan trailed off "Once I give the okay, you are allowed to roll around these grounds…"
"And what would I want to do here?" Richard asked raising an eyebrow, even though the sound of getting out of that room sounded appealing
"We've got plenty to do. Lots of activities, you could eat dinner with everyone else…watch movies, we have a library" he listed off
"Okay lets go" he said slightly irritated
Just then Rory walked in holding a bag of chips "Oh hey" she said to Tristan with a small smile
He turned to her and smiled back "hey how are you?"
"Good, hungry but good" she laughed
"Why do you insist on forgetting lunch everyday?" he sighed
She shrugged "What would I bring for lunch…"
"uhh a salad?" he tried confused at her disgusted look
"That's rabbit food" she stated
"A sandwich?" he asked
"If I could make a sandwich without it literally tasting like sand, sure" she retorted
Tristan's jaw went slack "You can't make a sandwich?" he asked incredulously
Rory blushed "Shut up"
"Rory could you two stop verbally copulating so I could get a move on?" Richard snapped
Rory's eyes widened he wanted to go to rehab? "Okay what did you do to him?" she demanded
Tristan smirked "Just has some incentive now that's all" he said looking at Richard "you want to try walking today?" he asked
"Yes if we ever get out of this room" he said
"Meet you for lunch?" he asked Rory
"I'll come with…" she said
"No" he shook his head "He gets worked up when you're there. Just relax for a while and we'll be back in an hour" he said
She nodded, slightly disappointed "Alright" she agreed
Rory sighed as she sat back in the chair she had been sitting in all day. She tried immersing herself in a book but she couldn't stop thinking about him. 'God' she muttered to herself 'it's like a curse.' Groaning, she closed her book and stuck it back in her purse before tucking it safely away in a drawer and walking out the door, towards the rehab room. She would just stand at the door and watch…she wouldn't interrupt. She smiled when she saw Tristan roll him into the parallel bars and lock his wheelchair into place.
He seemed so focused, it was cute. She studied him for the first time, closely, happy that he was too distracted to notice her. His hair was the perfect shade of blonde, and it was mussed to perfection, looking like he had just gotten out of bed and rolled his fingers through it. She watched his muscles flex under the dark blue scrubs he was wearing and groaned to herself. The man was the definition of the word 'hot.' She thought back to last night where he had her blushing like a school girl…she hadn't been with anyone who had made her feel that way since…well ever. She was usually confident…he had a way of making her feel at ease and nervous all at once.
"He is a sight to look at isn't he?" A woman came up behind her and commented. Rory jumped in surprise not knowing anyone was watching her. She turned around to greet the intruder and smiled when she saw she was a therapist as well.
"He's great" Rory said "Does well with my grandpa"
"He's one of the best" the woman commented "Oh I'm Cathy by the way" she said with a smile and held out her hand
"Rory" She said, smiling and shaking the woman's hand. The woman was slightly older than she was, with dirty blonde hair and a mature face. "Nice to meet you"
"Your grandfathers doing well, a little under motivated but I can see Tristan fixed that" Cathy said
Rory laughed and nodded "Yeah" She said softly, watching her grandpa attempt to walk
"Well if you're going to stand there and watch, you might as well help" Tristan smirked from across the room
Rory froze, how the hell did he know she was there?! She asked herself. Sighing she smiled nervously and walked towards them, tripping on a misplaced exercise ball on the way. She landed on the hard floor with a thud and closed her eyes as pain shot through her shoulders and neck from her arms bracing her fall. Her cheeks burned in embarrassment as she saw the few people that were in the room turn her attention on her.
Immediately Tristan pulled the wheelchair under Richard and sat him down before making his way towards Rory. "You okay?" he asked concerned, helping her get up
Rory nodded, her right arm clutching the back of her neck "Fine" She muttered her cheeks cherry red.
"Don't you all have work to do?" he asked amused as everyone looked on. "Come on" he said, leading her over to a chair
"I'm fine" she insisted, massaging her neck some
"The floor is hard tile Rory." He sighed "You sure you're okay?" he asked again
"Fine" she stated again with a small smile and stood up, walking over to where her grandpa was patiently waiting "What do you want me to do?"
"Hold his left arm to the bar, and slide it with him as he walks…he's not moving that arm at all" Tristan instructed, getting in front of him again. Tristan was reasonably shorter than Richard, well most everyone was. Yet Rory watched in amazement as he supported most of his weight as he lifted him up off the wheelchair.
The rest of the day was slightly uncomfortable for Rory, the fall had irritated her already injured neck and back and she found it hard to concentrate on anything else. Sighing she tried bending her shoulder blades back together, trying to crack them in vain but nothing worked. Groaning, she took out a bottle of Advil and popped 2 in her mouth. It was only 4, she didn't know if she could wait.
"You coming back today?" Tristan asked a few hours later, leaning against the door frame of her grandfather's room where she sat staring out into space, every once in a while taking the marker that was next to her and trying to ease the pain in her neck. She roughly pushed against the back of her neck and moved it in circles, sighing in relief as it eased the pain some.
"Don't do that!" he exclaimed walking over and taking the marker from her "Come on" he muttered, pulling her up
"I want that back. It's the only thing that kept me surviving today. I feel like stabbing a pencil into the side of my neck!" She ranted "Or a steel rod, that would be better…it wouldn't break"
He looked at her like she was insane and dragged her out of the room, making sure Richard was sleeping and turning out the light on the way. Ignoring her protests he led her out to the parking lot. "You have you car today?" he asked
She shook her head "No, my mom comes to pick me up when he's asleep since my cars in New York" she explained
"Get in" he said
"Tristan…" she sighed
"In" He said again and opened the door for her shaking his head when she eventually got into the car
"You hurt yourself pretty badly?" he asked while they were driving towards his house
She nodded grimly "It's not terrible but ugh. Not even Advil took the edge off" she said annoyed
"Well you should have said something"
"When?" she asked incredulously "And what were you going to do?"
He shrugged "I could have tried something"
"Well it doesn't matter anymore" she said
"Right, lets go" he said parking the car "You want something to drink?"
She nodded, she was starving. They hadn't had lunch today because he had a staff meeting and all she had was that bag of chips "And food?" she asked weakly with a sheepish smile
Rolling his eyes in amusement he took a look inside his fridge and threw her a can of soda "what do you want to eat?"
"Uh…it doesn't matter. What do you have?" she asked
"Take a look" he said
"Sandwich!"
"Okay you're going to learn how to make one" he stated, still amused that she couldn't.
Rory nodded eagerly as he took everything out of his fridge. "I can make a sandwich" she started "They just don't taste very good"
"How do you mess up a sandwich? Anything tastes good on bread…hell people but bananas on bread and eat it!'
She shrugged and went to sit on his couch, picking up the remote and turning the TV on.
"I thought you were going to learn how to make a sandwich" he laughed
"It's taking too long" she said with a grin
"What are you watching?" he asked, handing the sandwich to her a few minutes later and sitting down next to her
She shrugged "Nothings on"
He stole the remote from her as she began eating and flipped through the stations, finally pausing on a football game. "They lose" She said with a full mouth
Tristan glared "The point of watching was to figure that out…"
"Yeah well I was bored at the rehab center" She said "And I watched the game…we lose badly"
Sighing he flipped through the channels again, turning it off when he found nothing. "Finished?" he asked when he saw her now empty plate. Nodding she stood up with him and placed the plate in the sink.
"So" she said leaning against the counter, sipping her soda
"So" he raised an eyebrow "You wanna take me up on that massage?" he grinned
Rory grinned as well and nodded "You're my new favorite person" she said sweetly as she followed him into the room they were in the day before.
"You realize you'll have to take all your clothes off" he said with a straight face
Rory's eyes widened and she opened her mouth to say something but nothing came out "uh..."
Tristan laughed at her expression "Don't worry, I'll give you a towel" he teased
"You're serious" she stated when he went to the closet and pulled out a large white robe and towel "And why do you have robes?!"
"Because I like them?" he said in contemplation "No, it must be because of my work…"
"You're really giving me a full on massage" She asked incredulously "Like for free?!" these things cost a lot of money…
"I can recede the offer" he said with a smirk
"You just want me to take my clothes off" she accused
He shrugged, smirk still in place "It's a plus'
"You're lucky I really like massages" She muttered and took the things from him, walking into the bathroom
Coming back out a few minutes later, she saw he had placed a few things on the table next to the massage table she would be lying on. It looked like an assortment of oils and an oil warmer. "You do this a lot" she raised an eyebrow, getting his attention
"Sometimes. It's relaxing" he said
Rory nodded and stood next to the table "Well aren't you going to leave so I can get comfortable" She stated
He pouted "Sad" he mumbled and walked out of the room, closing the door to give her some privacy. She undid her robe; the towel wrapped around her lower body and quickly laid down on the table, and draped the towel over her lower back, making sure everything was covered when she heard a knock on the door. "Come in" she said, sighing and laying her head to the side
He came in and smiled "Lets do this first, and then we can get to the good stuff" he said pointing to the machine they had used the day before
Rory nodded "Fine with me" she said
He repeated the same process they did the day before, smiling when he heard her sigh and relax into a soft lull. Quietly he put everything away and tied her hair up gently. He took some oil in his hands and rubbed it together, warming it and placing his hands on her upper back making her flinch at the unexpected contact. Slowly he started massaging his thumbs in small circles, feeling her relax more with every minute. She let out a moan of appreciation when he began kneading her shoulders back and forth. He frowned "Have you ever had an MRI done about these neck pains Rory?" he asked
She shook her head and he could feel her stiffen almost immediately "Relax" He drawled out, resuming the slight pressure on her shoulders "I think you should have one done just incase. Your shoulders are pretty tight"
"And that means…" She trailed off
"It could mean nothing, most of the time it doesn't mean anything. But sometimes it could be pretty serious" he said
"I was supposed to get an MRI done" she sighed
"And…"
"And I'm claustrophobic" she said seriously "I refused, as soon as I saw the machine"
"And they didn't sedate you with valium?" he asked
"They said they could but I didn't want them to" She said softly
"Ah" he understood "Its no big deal, I mean a lot of people hate MRI's" he said trying to make her feel more comfortable
"Thanks" She said softly and moaned in delight when his hand hit just the right spot
He laughed and took note of that, paying special attention to that spot. After covering her entire back in small kneading massages he ran his thumb directly along her spine, applying pressure and moved them all the way up, repeating the process several times.
"Oh my god you're amazing" She groaned sleepily making him grin. "I feel like I should be tipping you as you go along or something" She mumbled
Rory reveled in the feeling of his hands caressing her painful joints, he was perfect…god why didn't she meet him sooner? She was slightly apprehensive about this given that she was painfully attracted to him but once he got started, her body had no choice but to relax.
"Rory" he said, stopping his ministrations thinking she was asleep. She hadn't made a sound or stirred in over 5 minutes.
"Hmmm" She hummed happily
He chuckled and resumed what he was doing "I thought you fell asleep on me"
"I'm about to" She said with a sigh and shifted her body some "Where'd you learn to do this?"
"School" he said with a shrug
"Damn." She mumbled happily making him laugh
"Okay enough of that" He teased and stopped his moving hands
She groaned and opened her eyes, still glazed over in happiness to glare at him "Please?" she pouted
He sighed and moved down to her legs "You're lucky you're so hot" He muttered to himself
"Oh my god" She moaned "Who knew a leg massage could feel so good"
He rolled his eyes at her "You're getting way too comfortable"
"And you don't have a girlfriend tucked away somewhere?!" She asked teasingly
He shook his head "Nah"
"Idiots" She murmured
"You can go take a shower, I'll make something to eat?" he offered helping her up as she held the towel to her chest
She nodded still in a daze making him chuckle "Wake up!" he said loudly snapping his fingers in front of her face
"Huh" She snapped her head up to his "I'm awake"
'Yeah I can see that, shower." He stated
"So I hope you like Pasta…I got lazy" he stated when he saw her come walk into the kitchen
Rory smiled "Who doesn't like pasta?" standing behind him while he mixed some sort of sauce in. He looked behind him and pursed his lips, raising an eyebrow.
"Stand back" he stated
"Why?" She asked confused
"Because you can't make a sandwich, something tells me you don't have the best track record with stoves either" he said with a grin
Glaring she walked backwards and sat down at one of the kitchen stools "How'd you know" she huffed
He shrugged "It's not hard to know someone doesn't cook when they don't know how to make a sandwich"
"You're never letting that go are you" she rolled her eyes "And like I said, I can make a sandwich. Just not a fancy one. I mean who can't make peanut butter and jelly!"
"Fine" he contemplated "Come stir the sauce"
Rory's eyes widened and she shook her head "Sandwich doesn't require heat." She stated "And I'm actually hungry"
"I'll never understand you" he chuckled
"Well you think you can handle taking some plates out?" he asked
She nodded "yeah sure, where are they?"
"Top cupboard" he pointed
Once Rory finished setting the table she sat back down blushing as her stomach growled. Tristan smirked "Hungry?" he asked knowingly, bringing the pot off the stove and setting it down on the table
She nodded "Yeah, this looks great"
"Good" he smiled
"Oh that's my cell" Rory groaned as they sat and watched some TV after they finished dinner. She got up and grabbed her purse, digging around until she found it. "Hello" She answered quickly thinking she would miss the call
"Ah so you're still alive" Lorelai stated
"Sorry mom" Rory said sheepishly forgetting to tell her she'd be home late
"Eh I was just worried" She waived off "Where are you? With the cute therapist I assume"
Rory blushed crimson at her comment "Mom!" she chided; he was just in the other room
"Tell me I'm wrong" She challenged
"Fine. Yes."
"Yes what?" she asked evilly
"Mom he can hear me" Rory hissed
"Well you didn't call, had me worried sick. Yes what?"
"Yes mom, I'm with Tristan" she said dryly rolling her eyes at him when he looked in her direction, hearing his name
"Who's Tristan?" she went on relentlessly
"Grandpa's therapist" she answered shortly
"Oh the cute one?"
"Yes mom." She stated annoyed
Lorelai laughed at her irritation and gave up "Fine fine. Spoil sport, I need details when you get home…ifyou get home"
"I'll be home later" she stated and hung up, not waiting for a goodbye. Walking back into the living room she threw her phone on the table and leaned back into the couch with a sigh
"Your mom?" he asked knowingly
She nodded "She's a lot to handle sometimes" she laughed
"She alright?" he asked turning his attention back to the screen "I can drop you off if you need to go"
"No" she said quickly, realizing how desperate she sounded when he turned to her with an amused smirk planted on his lips
"I mean…like I said. I need some sanity" she saved herself, cursing under her breath
He raised his eyebrows and grinned, as if knowing her thoughts "Alright" he shrugged
"I have a question" Rory said seriously, avoiding his eyes
He turned to her, hearing the seriousness in her voice and furrowed his eyebrows, waiting for her to continue.
"About my grandpa…" She started taking a deep breath "Does he have a chance? I mean…will he ever walk again?"
Tristan sighed "Rory…" he said like he shouldn't be telling her this "It's different for everyone. There's no set recovery period. Sometimes it takes months, sometimes it takes years, it depends" he explained, trying to make her understand "For me to say that there's no hope or all the hope in the world would be a lie. Because it can change. If he stays motivated, then yeah, he has a pretty good chance. He's still somewhat young, and is pretty healthy…there's no reason why he shouldn't come out of this. But the problem with rehab centers, is that people get really lonely…they fall into depression, which is a hard thing to come out of; it's hard to work with"
Rory nodded and smiled softly "Thanks"
He groaned inwardly to himself, knowing he shouldn't be saying this. But he couldn't help it; he wanted to make her feel better…seeing her crestfallen expression at his explanation didn't help. "I have a feeling he's going to be fine though…" he said optimistically
Rory laughed quietly "I know you're just saying that to make me feel better"
He smiled despite himself "I'm that bad huh?"
"You're fibbing skills need work"
"Yeah I'll get right on that"
"Good, so let's do something fun…" she stated
"Like…" he trailed off seeing the wicked look in her eye
She shot up from the couch and sauntered over to the kitchen, leaving him confused as ever. He heard her rummaging through his cabinets and finally stood up to help her find whatever she was looking for.
"What are you looking for?" he asked amused when he saw her let out a frustrated groan
"Your alcohol" She stated "You have to have something"
He raised an eyebrow and walked over to a large cabinet above the fridge and opened it, revealing everything you would need to start your own bartending business. Rory squealed and ran over, inspecting the cabinet before pointing to what she wanted. "Please" She stated
He sighed and took down the large bottle of tequila, handing it to her before taking down a couple of shot glasses.
"Good lets go" she said, running back into the living room
"Wait hold on there" he stated as she opened the bottle
Pausing she looked up, he was standing in the doorway with a small smile playing on his lips "if we're drinking, call your mom and tell her you're crashing here tonight" he stated seriously
Rolling her eyes "Such a spoilsport" she muttered teasingly, dialing her mom's number
"Forgive me if I like to be responsible" he said sarcastically, sitting on the floor with her.
"Daughter speak" Lorelai stated
"Hey I'm crashing at Tristan's tonight" Rory said
"…." Silence
"Mom?" Rory asked confused
"Rory" She stated uneasily "Are…you don't know him"
Rory rolled her eyes "Mom, call Luke over. Come on, you can't honestly say you haven't missed him"
"Okay" she said still a little miffed "But if I find you hacked into small pieces…do you still want to be buried? Or cremated?"
"Cremated" Rory stated before hanging up
"You and your mother have morbid conversations" Tristan muttered staring at her intently
Rory laughed and shook her head "She's one of a kind. Now I tend to get a little…obsessed. So cut me off after like 5" she chuckled
He rose an eyebrow at her "You want me to stop you from doing something? No, lets clarify you want me to stop you from doing something while you're drunk? I can't get you to do anything when you're sober" he exclaimed in amusement
Rory glared and shoved a shot glass in his direction "Shut up" she stated and poured him one. "I deserve to get drunk…at least halfway there" she said "I mean seriously? My grandfathers in the hospital, or rehab center…whatever" she shook her head "My mothers pregnant, and is more of a nut job than usual, not that I don't love her" She added quickly "My boyfriend, or sorry...soon to be ex boyfriend is a complete and total ass. Yeah, I'd say I really want to get drunk" She ranted
"Well okay then" he said with wide eyes at her ramble and threw his glass back, swallowing the bitter liquid
"Okay no more for me" Rory said pushing her glass away after a few more "I want to stay sober"
He chuckled and nodded, standing up and putting the things on the kitchen counter before returning to Rory who had sprawled herself out on the couch like she owned the place.
"Comfortable?" he asked amused, going to sit in the small arm chair next to it
She lifted her head a little and nodded "Very" she sighed
"Come on, lets get you to bed" he sighed when she shook her head
"I'm fine" she insisted "Don't you have work tomorrow?" she asked confused
He nodded with a small smile "Yeah, don't you have to see your grandfather tomorrow?" he retorted mockingly
"Well so do you" she stated "And let me tell you, he's probably not going to be that nice"
"Give him time" Tristan said simply
"You're nice" Rory blubbered out without thinking
"Thank you" he chuckled
"No really." She insisted
"Well it's what I strive for" he said amused "You already feeling it?"
She nodded and closed her eyes in relief "Yes and its amazing. I love this feeling"
"I'm sure" he said stifling a laugh "We should really get some sleep though"
"Fine" She sighed and swung her legs over the couch "where's the guest room?"
He pointed down the hall "Right there, I'm guess you don't want to wear those to bed" he said
She shook her head in the negative and he laughed "Come on" he motioned for her to follow
He led her into his room and handed her a pair of shorts and a wife beater "you can wear these"
Rory looked around the large bedroom and smiled. It was him. It reminded her of him… "I like your room" she commented looking around
"Thanks" he answered
"I'm gonna take a shower" he said "But feel free to look around if you want…"
"Okay, thanks" Rory smiled, watching him retreat into his bathroom
She walked around the large room, it was very spacious. It was painted the perfect shade of green to give it a modern look, yet not over power it and the complementing colors were all black and white. She walked over to his dresser and smiled at the picture frames that rested atop it. She almost laughed out loud seeing a 6 or 7 year old Tristan holding up his pet rabbit, he looked so proud of it. Skimming the photos for a few minutes longer, she moved on to his bookshelf.
"Dave Eggars…" she said to herself, impressed by his taste. She obviously didn't realize how long she had stood there looking through his books because before she knew it, she heard the bathroom door click open and gaped openly as he walked out with just a towel around his waist.
"I thought you'd be in bed by now" he said surprised
"Uh…I" she stuttered
"Yes…" he smirked in amusement
"I was looking at your books" she said nervously, trying not to stare at his perfectly toned abs, and tried to keep her eyes from wandering lower as small beads of water disappeared under the towel. Was it her? Or was it getting really hot in that room. "Dave Eggars..Good taste" she said walking backwards towards the door
"You keep walking backwards and you'll hit my lamp" he stated stifling a laugh
Cocking her head to the side she saw he was right and changed her route "Well, I'm tired" she said trying to yawn for emphasis "Goodnight" sighing in relief as she quickly shut the door behind her
"Rory Gilmore" He chuckled shaking his head "You're something…"
"Rory! Come on wake up" Tristan shouted as he knocked on the guest room door
"I'm coming I'm coming!" Rory groaned, as she emerged from the bathroom
"Ro-"
"I'm here!" She snapped opening the door
"I thought you were still asleep" he sputtered obviously surprised she was awake and dressed
"Yeah I got that. What was next, alerting the National Guard?" She rolled her eyes while drying her hair "Do you have a hair dryer?" she asked
"Yes. Because my hair takes forever to dry" he pointed out sarcastically
"Just a question" she muttered "when do we leave?"
"Whenever you're ready" he said
"I'm ready; just let me grab my bag"
"You want something to eat?" he called out as she ran into her room to grab her things
"Coffee?" she requested
"We'll stop at starbucks on the way" he said, glancing at the time
"Aren't you their boss? You can be late" she teased as he practically pushed her out the door
"No I have conference in exactly 43 minutes" he stated
"It takes 20 to get there" She said incredulously as they got into his car
"You need coffee, and I need to review my notes before I go in there" he explained
"Right. Sorry then" she said
"It's fine."
"What's the best way to get rid of old mans butt?" Rory heard her grandfather's roommate ask Tristan a few days later
She looked up from the book she was reading and glanced at Tristan, who was struggling not to laugh hysterically "I'm sorry?" he asked amused, sneaking a glance at Rory
"My butt. I want it back" he old man repeated
"Well" he started, clearing his throat a little "The mini squats we've been doing are great for that" he said as seriously as possible
"What the hell?" he mouthed to Rory who merely grinned in response
"Richard" Tristan greeted when he was done with his other patient
"Hello" he replied before closing his eyes again
Tristan grinned "Don't even think about it" he stated when he saw Rory was about to reply to her grandfathers rudeness
She glared and sat down again, watching as Tristan lowered Richards's bed. "How are you?" he asked Rory
Rory shrugged "Tired, you?"
"Not too bad. What's with the wrist?" he asked, just now noticing the cast as her sleeve rolled up
"Car accident" She stated, making him stop what he was doing
"What!" he exclaimed "You alright?"
Rory smiled sadly "Fine. My ass of a boyfriend was driving" she said annoyed "Sorry, ex-boyfriend"
Tristan scowled, ever since that little show he put on the other day, he despised Dean "you sure you're alright?"
Rory nodded "My neck's really sore but it'll be fine" she said smiling at his concern for her
"I'll help you with that later" he said going back to what he was doing
"It's okay Tristan, really" she brushed off
"Its whiplash, and it could take a while to heal if you do nothing" he said "Humor me"
Rory nodded "Alright fine" she relented.
A/N: Okay so that took forever right? I'm sorry, I've been lagging…but I'm back! Lol, I don't know for how long until my crazy insane life pulls me in again. But heres the next chapter, review please :) maybe I'll have more incentive to write.
