Disclaimer: I own nothing and with the current stock market crash I now own even less.
It was the last week in August and everyone was getting their last bit of summer in before the fall officially started. Rory was sitting with Tristan at a café, enjoying the warm weather. Closing her eyes, she leaned back, completely relaxed.
"I wish I had a book right now." She said.
"Am I boring you?" He teased.
"No, it's just the perfect day to sit outside and read."
"It's the perfect day to go to the beach and surf."
"You surf often in Connecticut?" She said, opening one eye.
"No, but in North Carolina, I used to surf all the time."
"Really?"
"Yeah, I love it. I haven't done it since I graduated from UNC. We should go sometime. I could teach you." Laughing at the face he received, she sat up.
"You could teach me how to sit and watch while I read my book." She said honestly.
"Sounds good. What are you doing this weekend?" He asked.
"Um, I don't know." She said, thinking he was teasing her.
"I'm serious. Let's go."
"Don't you have to work?" He shook his head.
"I've got the weekend off. Do you have to work?" She shook her head. "Well then, why not?"
"Because we don't have plane tickets, or a hotel, or any other semblance of a plan other than, you miss surfing and I want to read a book."
"That's all we need baby." He said as he opened his arms. "Think about it. You lying on the beach, tanning, reading your book. I'm surfing. We spend the day outside and then grab some fantastic seafood. Afterwards we build a fire on the beach, wrap ourselves in blankets and watch the stars…Sounds good right?" He suggested.
"It sounds perfect, but that doesn't mean that we can just hop on a plane."
"Yeah, actually it does. Come on, it's the end of summer. If we don't do it now, come February we are going to kick ourselves. Plus, ever since we've met you've had a reason to be stressed out. You deserve a vacation." She watched his face. He sincerely wanted to do this. He looked like a little kid begging for a piece of candy at the grocery store.
"You really want to do this…" She said, slightly surprised.
"Do something spontaneous Gilmore. You know you want to." She didn't budge. "I'll let you plan the entire trip." He sang. Well, that was a start… She knew what she needed to seal the deal.
"Promise you won't make me surf." She said.
"Deal." He said with a huge smile.
OOOOO
Sometime in between landing in Wilmington, North Carolina and getting to the front door of the airport, Tristan heard this.
"DuGray?" Turning around to face the sound of his name, he was confronted with one of his former best friends.
"Adams?"
"Oh my God! How are you man? What are you doing back here?" He said with a hug.
"A weekend away with my girlfriend. Rory, this is Paul Adams. We went to college together."
"Nice to meet you." She said with a smile.
"The pleasure is all mine darlin'." He said kissing her hand. "Damn, DuGray." He said to his friend. "You've got quite the girl here."
"Oh, I'm aware." He said, clearly proud of the girl standing next to him.
"Paul, do you surf?" Rory asked.
"All the time."
"Tristan was planning on surfing the day away, you should join him."
"Yeah, I'll kick your ass. It would be like old times." Tristan said with a cocky smile.
"Sounds like fun. Where are you going to be?"
"Surf City." Rory said with a smile. "God, I love saying that. It's straight out of a sixties movie."
"I let her plan the trip. One look at the map and she was dead set on going there."
"Well, what better place to surf? It is obviously named Surf City for a reason." She told him.
"She has a point DuGray."
"Well, we will be on the beach, so come join us. I'm sure Tristan would love the company."
"You're not going to join him?" Paul asked Rory. Tristan shook his head.
"Part of the stipulations of the trip. Gilmores do not surf." He quoted her.
"Huh, well, maybe I will."
"Alright, I'll keep an eye out for you."
"Sounds good."
"It was nice running into you!" Rory said with a smile as they walked away.
"That's so weird." Tristan said.
"Who says you can't go home again?" Rory nudged him.
OOOOO
Rory figured it was just about time to turn, but she was so comfortable, she didn't move. She had given up on her book, wanting to instead just feel the warm rays on her skin. When a shadow suddenly appeared over her, she didn't have to open her eyes to know who it was.
"You're blocking my sun." She said.
"Tell me you aren't having the time of your life." Tristan said with a smile as he sat down next to her.
"I am. And from the look of it, so are you."
"Yeah, I've forgotten how much I love the ocean." She watched the droplets of water fall off of him and land on her skin.
"Where's Paul?"
"Poor sucker had to go back to work." He said with a tsk tsk. "Can you believe that?"
"It didn't look like you had any trouble remembering how to surf." She said, sitting up and handing him a towel. He shook his head before running the towel through his hair.
"It's like riding a bike."
"Good, now all I have to worry about is you getting eaten by a shark and/or stung by a jellyfish." He laughed at her.
"Glad to know someone's looking out for me." He said honestly. "Hey, have I kissed you yet?"
"Not yet, no." She said with a sly smile.
"Hmm." His eyebrows furrowed as he leaned in and kissed her slowly. She smiled and flipped over onto her stomach.
"Hey, lotion me will you?" She asked, pointing to the bottle of sunscreen at his side.
"My pleasure." She flinched and let out a small squeal as he squirted some lotion onto her back. "Sorry."
"It's okay. Mmm, it's so okay." Her neck fell forward as he worked his way up her shoulders. "How long are you going to keep surfing?" She asked.
"I was thinking about calling it quits for today; we don't want to miss our dinner reservations." He said.
"What time is it?" She asked.
"It's almost seven."
"No, it's not." Rory sat up and reached for her phone. That couldn't be possible. He nodded. "Oh my God! Where did the day go?" She asked.
"Away." He said. "Come on, let's go back to the hotel and take a shower, then we can go to dinner."
"You should have told me that before you put some more lotion on my back." She said. Tristan, knowing that he had been caught, just gave her one of his patented smirks.
"What can I say? Some things I choose to do for my own enjoyment." Picking up her bag, she turned to face him.
"Would you like to do me for your own enjoyment?" She asked. Her expression was impossible to read, but Tristan could swear that underneath her big sunglasses, her eyes were laughing. He didn't answer her, he just smiled and let his eyes do the talking for him.
OOOOO
As they walked back into their little bungalow, Rory set her beach stuff on the chair and gazed out the patio window towards the beach. The sun was starting to sink below the trees, casting an orange glow over the water. Tristan walked up behind her and kissed her neck. Smiling, she kept her sights on the ocean.
"I think I'm going to write about this place some day."
"In a column?" He asked, letting his hands roam up and down the smooth cover-up that lay around her hips.
"In a book." She turned to face him.
"I think that's a great idea." He said. She just smiled. She had never confessed her wish to write fiction before to anyone. She knew that it was a nearly impossible field to get into, but she hoped that with more experience, she would be able to find a story that she wanted to tell.
"Come on, let's shower before we miss dinner." She said, pulling at the strings of her bikini top.
"Well, if you insist." Tristan followed behind her to the bathroom.
OOOOO
"I can't believe you made us miss dinner." She said once again as they strolled through the small beach town.
"I didn't hear you complaining earlier." He said.
"Well, honestly, what was I supposed to do?" He smirked, remembering their escapades. A very hot make-out session in the shower that changed the way Tristan will forever think of foreplay. Once in the shower, with the water turned off because it had run cold. Then once more after finally reaching the bed. "Stop it." She said, without looking at him.
"What?" He chuckled.
"Don't 'what?' me, you know what." He shook his head. "You're gloating."
"I just got done having the best sex of my life, after surfing all day! There are so many endorphins shooting through my body right now that I'm surprised I'm still touching the ground." She smiled at his giddy reaction.
"You're really not going to say it, are you?"
"Say what?" He tilted his head confused.
"That you're in love." She stopped him dead in his tracks with the phrase. "Fine, then I'll do it." She wrapped her arms around him and looked him straight in the eye. "I love you." He couldn't contain the grin that exploded onto his face.
"I love you too." He said. "God, I've been wanting to say that for a long time."
"What have you been waiting for?"
"You, mostly." He said with a laugh as they kept walking.
"I've never said it first, to anyone." She said. He squeezed her hand to comfort her. "I've been waiting and waiting. I figured this would be the perfect time and nope, nothing. You're almost as stubborn as I am." She said.
"I've never said it and meant it." He said. "Until now."
"Well, now you can start saying it all the time." She said. "Because it sounds really good when you say it."
"Hey Mare," She stopped and looked up at him. "I love you." She smiled. "It feels pretty good too." He said thoughtfully before leaning down and kissing her.