Disclaimer: I don't own Gilmore Girls

"Thank you." She said with a sweet smile as they wrapped themselves up in the blanket. She moved so that she was laying on his chest, huddling for body heat.

"So where did we leave off?" He asked.

"I was just recalling the first Christmas party."

"Right, when you gave me your number for the booty call." He remembered. His payment was a swift hit to the arm that was laying across her stomach. "Ow!"

"It was not for a booty call!" She said, horrified by his memory.

"Do you remember the look you gave me when you walked away from that party? Because it is etched in my memory forever. I couldn't forget it if I tried."

"What look is that?"

"Your patented Rory Gilmore 'Come and Get me…If you dare' look."

"I do not have that look." She rolled her eyes. "Now you're just making stuff up." He laughed, knowing full well that she did have that look and used it quite frequently.

"Don't worry, I dared, I came," he whispered huskily in her ear, fully intending the double entendre "and I got." He recalled. "And it was the best night of my life."

"Really?" She said, surprised.

"Uh-huh." He said, completely serious, flashing back to their first night together.

OOOOO

"This is an amazing party." She said as he handed her her drink. She was a little tipsy from the champagne, but she was having the time of her life. "How do you know these people again?"

"My grandfather insured this hotel."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"So a close connection then?" She teased.

"Not at all. But they do throw a good party." He laughed.

"Tristan, I've been looking all over for you. Here is your key. Fifth floor." The drunken young man handed Tristan a room key before stumbling off to hand out more.

"The scary part of that scenario is that he owns this hotel now." Tristan laughed. Rory stared at the key.

"You didn't tell me that we would be staying here." She said. "I would have brought a bag."

"I didn't plan on staying here." He replied. "Everyone gets a key for the night, it eliminates drunk drivers and having to run into people having sex in bathrooms and around dark corners. It's just good business." He smiled. Rory took the key from him.

"Well if it's free, we should at least check it out." She said as she made her way towards the elevators. Tristan didn't say anything, just followed behind her trying to hide the nervous look on his face.

OOOOO

"Wow." She said as she opened the door. "I've been in a lot of hotel rooms, but this is the coolest one I've ever seen." She told him as she entered the room. Tristan smiled at the dirty thoughts that entered his mind. "I know what you're thinking and it's for work." She tried to clarify, only making herself sound worse. She closed her eyes as she acknowledged her slip-up. "I think I've had enough alcohol for the night." She said as she set her glass down.

"Are you not telling me something Mary?" He asked as he wrapped his arms around her. She turned around to face him.

"I don't know, what do you think?" She asked before leaning up to kiss him. He wasn't surprised that they were kissing, he had a feeling that the night would get there eventually, but he was surprised at how well they seemed to know each other. They hadn't kissed in five years, but they seemed to know exactly what they were doing. Hands went exactly where they were supposed to, lips met perfectly. It was like they had done this a hundred times. The kiss was amazing and Tristan didn't want it to end, but he had to pull away for oxygen.

"Wow." He said, resting his forehead against hers.

"Mmhm." She said as she started the kiss again. She had always had a problem with mixing alcohol and men, but usually she had this problem with Logan, who loved getting her drunk just so he could get laid that night. Tristan, on the other hand, saw Rory as the naïve girl that she used to be, which was not who Rory was anymore. Especially when she was drunk. She pulled away from him and walked over to the bed, giggling as she lay down on top of it.

"What are you doing?" He asked, knowing exactly what she was doing.

"Testing the mattress." She said with a smirk. "You wanna help?" He figured a make-out session wouldn't harm anyone, and she seemed to want him to join her, so he did, laying on top of her and taking things up a notch from their original kissing. Things were going fine until he felt her moan underneath him, causing him to rethink where this was going.

"Rory, wait." He said, surprising himself that he was the one who was uttering that phrase.

"What?" She asked.

"Are you sure you want to do this?" He asked. "You're a little drunk. We probably are never going to see each other again…" He insinuated.

"Marys don't have one night stands." She clarified his point.

"That's not what I…"

"No, it's okay. I get it." She said with a smile. "It's sweet that you still see me like that." She said as she climbed on top of him. "Wrong, but sweet." She captured his lips in another long kiss which this time, never ended. He ran his hand up her thigh, pushing her skirt up and allowed her to wrap her legs around him, bringing them closer.

"I never expected this." He clarified as she took off her shirt.

"Really?" She said as she helped him out of his clothes. "Not even a little?"

"You did?" He asked, surprised she would consider having sex with him when they hadn't even kissed yet.

"I considered the possibility." She said seriously. "I mean, you are Tristan DuGray, king of Chilton." She teased, knowing that he wasn't that guy anymore. He rolled his eyes as they both finished undressing. Tristan stopped to admire the woman in front of him. Seeing her in front of him was the only piece of information that Tristan needed to know.

"Get over here." He said as he pulled her down next to him.

OOOOO

"That was amazing." She told him. "I had heard stories back in high school, but damn." She let out a little giggle.

"You weren't so bad yourself." He muttered. Truth be told, he had never experienced sex that good with anyone, let alone on a first date. Only date, he corrected himself.

"It's too bad that nothing is going to come of this, because I could definitely get used to it." She said as she stretched out, her elongated body refusing to stay hidden beneath the sheets. "Maybe if we keep in touch, we might end up in the same city again." She suggested. Tristan did not want to be those people. The people who only hook up when they are in the same city, a series of one night stands that never really amounted to anything more.

"I think," he said as he shifted onto her body again "that we should have a lot of great sex now while we still can." He said as he kissed her pale shoulder. "You know, before we have to part ways?" He kissed her again. "And then we'll see what happens." She ran a hand through his hair and let out a contented sigh.

"Whatever you want." She said, more than willing to oblige him.

"That's a dangerous sentence." He said as he kissed her flat stomach.

"I mean it." She said with a smile. "Anything you want."

OOOOO

Rory had to go back to work tomorrow. It was the only thing she could think about as she lay in bed, the sun peaking through the hotel room window.

"Hey." Tristan said as he stretched awake.

"Hey." She said, happy he was awake, but slightly upset that they were one step closer to leaving the room.

"How did you sleep?" He asked her groggily.

"Like a rock." She smiled. "You?" He nodded.

"The same." He noticed the subtle look of sheer terror on her face and he assumed that she regretted her drunken decision the night before. Preparing for her freak out, he sat up. "What time is it?" He asked.

"10:54." She said. She watched as he swung his legs over the side of the bed. "Wait." She said, pulling him back towards her. "If you leave, this whole thing ends." She said, the sadness in her voice doing more damage to him than she had planned. He smiled, knowing that she wanted him to stay next to her for as long as possible was a good sign.

"I'll come right back. I promise."

"Pinky swear?" She asked as she held out her finger.

"Of course." He smiled as she reached out for his pinky. She took this as a serious contract and was set at ease. She knew they were going to have to talk about their situation, but she didn't know what she was going to say. She wanted to have a relationship with him, but she didn't know how they could make it work. He climbed back into bed with the phone and dialed room service, ordering them breakfast.

"Tris, what are you thinking?" She asked, destroying her perfectly manicured nail with an attack from her teeth.

"You're not freaking out about last night are you?" He asked.

"No!" She said. "Not at all, last night was…" She stopped herself from going into details. "But that's the problem. I leave tomorrow morning." She told him. He sighed.

"That's soon." He said, not realizing that this was going to be the last time he saw her, maybe ever.

"What are you thinking right now?" She asked him, wanting to talk through this situation with him.

"I'm trying not to." He said honestly.

"I've been racking my brain for hours trying to figure out a way that we could maybe make this work." Rory said. "I can't think of anything." Tristan thought about it for a minute and then looked up at her, defeat in his eyes.

"This isn't going to work, is it?" She asked for confirmation. He sighed.

"I don't think so." She nodded. "Will you call me if you're in town again?" He asked her, referring back to North Carolina. "And I'll let you know when I'm going to be up here." She nodded, knowing that she was never here anyway, so that wouldn't make much difference.

"We'll keep in touch." She said out loud, hoping that would satisfy her need for closure.

"Yeah, we'll keep in touch." He said.

OOOOO

The weeks flew by and Tristan still regretted not trying harder to have a relationship with Rory. He knew that it wouldn't have worked, but that didn't stop him from recalling the previous date together every second of every day. He knew that this had been their second chance, with both of them older and wiser than their childhood counterparts, and he felt like he had let it slip away again. Now he just had to wait and see if Fate would find a way to link the two together again, but he seriously doubted it.

OOOOO

"Rory, this guy is perfect for you. Will you please, just go out on one measly little date with him. If you hate it, you never have to go on a blind date ever again." Shawna begged her friend and coworker.

"He's a nice guy, definitely not stalker material?" She nodded furiously.

"I wouldn't set you up if I didn't think that you two wouldn't get along." Shawna pointed out. Rory sighed. She really should try and get over Tristan. The fact that there was something to get over at all was ridiculous. They had spent one night together and now she was acting like…well she was acting way more seriously than she should be with him. She didn't owe him any loyalty, they had agreed to go their separate ways.

Yet Rory couldn't help but wonder what might have happened if she had stayed in town. Or if he had been on the press tour with her. These little fantasies kept her mind from going crazy. She would wake up in the morning and imagine what it would feel like to have his arm around her, or wonder what they would do on dates, which movies he would pick out to take her to, what music they would dance to.

God! She really needed to get a grip. And if this was the first step towards moving on, she had to take it.

"I'll go on your pity date." Rory said, reluctantly giving in to her friend's request.

"Yay! I know you won't regret it." Shawna said.

"We'll just see about that." Rory muttered to herself as she loaded her stuff onto the bus.