Chapter Six- Having the Reasons Why

"Thank God?" Lorelai parroted back over her shoulder.

Luke immediately straightened his spine and began to back peddle. He hadn't meant that he was glad she felt so miserable or that the schmuck she'd almost married was miserable or that it had been a good idea to run out of her own wedding. After all, a lot of people had had their hopes riding on that ceremony going smoothly, possibly even Lorelai herself and definitely Rory, and there was going to be a lot of hurt feelings all around.

"Aw geez, I didn't mean… well it's not like… I just…"

Lorelai turned and watched her best friend flounder for the right words to express himself. The back and sides of his neck was starting to turn red and that flush was creeping up towards the tips of his ears which seemed to make them brighter against the blue of his baseball cap. She had to draw her bottom lip in between her teeth to keep the laughter that was bubbling up from her belly like the fizz from a shaken soda bottle. No matter how twisted and confused her heart was, she would always take some perverse pleasure in watching him get flustered with his own words. It was probably why he tended to stick to the single syllable words when dealing with her; she was a professional mocker by nature.

She finally decided to put an end to his misery by closing the small space between them and placing a hand to his chest, just over his heart. Startled, his string of nonsensical words halted abruptly, mid-vowel, and he swallowed thickly as he looked down to the face that still refused to meet his.

"You didn't like that I was getting married, right?" she whispered.

"Right," he confirmed, matching her volume.

"And you didn't like that I was getting married because you like me, right?"

"Wrong."

She removed her hand quickly, as if the soft flannel warmed by his body heat had suddenly turned to a cold, wet lump of algae from the lake. He immediately regretted his choice of wording when he saw her retreating into her shell, drawing in those emotions that she so rarely let out and locking them away in the deepest, darkest recesses of her being. Reaching out, desperate to form that connection again, he grasped her upper arms, holding them tightly between his hands and ducking his head to get her to look at him. When she continued to avoid his eye and resisted his advances by remaining completely impassive and tense in his hands, he tried to reach her vocally.

"Ask me why."

"What?"

"Ask me why that statement was wrong."

Her eyes narrowed as she tilted her chin up to allow her gaze to sweep his face, looking for the indications that he was trying to trick her into further making a fool of herself. She found nothing, which was no real surprise to her considering that he was the kind of man who would sooner hurt himself than purposely hurt her. Frowning, Lorelai decided to play along with whatever game he was trying to play.

"Why?"

"Because I don't like you," he said, watching her flinch slightly, "I love you."

Immediately the tension he'd felt defying his touch drained out of her muscles and her eyes opened wide from the narrow slits she'd closed them to as they turned that gas flame blue all over again. He watched her eyes dart back and forth as she studied his face with an intense expression and he held his breath, waiting for her pull her arms out of his grasp and run away from him just like she'd run away from Max. To him it felt like hours before she finally moved even a fraction of a centimeter, to her it was no longer than the beat of a heart.

"You love me?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"What?"

"Why do you love me? We've never been on a date, I've never kissed you. So then why do you love me?"

"Do I have to have a reason?"

"Yes."