Day 22 in Shutdown
The diner door opened, and Lorelai stepped inside. She'd seen thru the blinds that no one was in the diner, but she still did her normal sweep.
"Luke!" she called.
She figured he was in the kitchen, but she expected him out front. And center. Welcoming her with rose petals or something equally gorgeous and fragrant. Surely that wasn't asking too much.
"Back here," he called back. He was, in fact, in the kitchen.
"Try not to cut yourself on those thorns. Last thing I want is your blood staining the petals."
"What?"
She walked over to the stools and sat. The tight fitted off-white tank she wore made her girls look and feel gorgeous, but she could never bring herself to wear it on its own. She straightened the light-colored cardigan and faced forward. Army green ankle khakis and stilettos the color of mauve completed the fit.
The day's mask was pear green and purple with a mosaic theme.
As per usual, it had been removed upon entering.
"Thirty, Luke. Thirty reservations. Just today. Can you believe that? All emails, all people with a deadly case of cabin fever. They're willing to wait this thing out, don't get me wrong. But once this thing is over, I'm going to have more business than I know what to do with. You better appreciate all my free time while it lasts. When the mandate is over, I don't know when I'll see you again. You and I may become estranged!"
He came around the corner. "That'll never happen," he followed without worry.
That made her smile. "You wouldn't let it, you mean?"
"What I mean is..." He leaned down and retrieved the thermos he had especially for her, "Wherever this coffee is, you'll never be too far behind."
She took it from him when it was offered. "You make me sound like some kind of crack fiend."
"There are similarities, you gotta admit."
"Like what?"
He gave her a knowing look. "I've seen you blow dust bunnies off of pennies and dimes to pay your tab. God only knows where that money came from," he joked lightly.
"Nonsense. I've never performed sex acts for coffee. All my sex acts are completely free with no strings attached."
He smiled behind his mask. "My mistake."
A smile lit her face as well as she watched his eyes, the crinkles. She leaned on the counter. "So, you've heard the latest news?"
"Course."
"The extension."
"Two more weeks. Yup."
"Think it'll come to fruition?"
"Yeah. More than likely."
She nodded. They shared a look. Both an understanding and lamentation of what that meant. As long as the mandate was still in place, there would be no movie.
Powers to be thought it best to ease out of things. So, there was strong consideration of a deferment. Many had seen it coming, seen the possibility of it, so few were shocked.
Luke and Lorelai included.
Luke waved it away. "No big deal. One month, two months, two years... Some things are worth waiting for."
His gaze was penetrative and unfamiliar. It drew her in and had her feeling very vulnerable. Had her wanting to kick herself for taking off her mask. It'd be different if they were in it together. But it was just her. Unmasked and exposed.
"Like... not dying," he added softly. She was losing herself completely, and she imagined it was more than obvious in her uncovered face. So, he'd done the gallant thing and stepped in to rescue her. His words ended with a smile so full, his eyes turned to slits.
She rolled her eyes away good-naturedly. She tried to join him in playing off a moment she couldn't entirely get away with playing off. But she got her 'A' for effort, and Luke was kind enough to let her have that.
"Some things are definitely worth waiting for," she repeated with her head lowered. "One hundred percent." She let the following silence fill in the blanks she wasn't brave enough to fill. She looked up then. Gave him a soft beatific regard that she honestly couldn't help. Final moment of realness, of weakness. It'd been on its way out the door, hip-checked by gusto.
"But," she continued on with her more well-known energy, "while I get it and respect it, I'm kinda mad at it." Her lip went out. "I miss everyone."
"Everyone?"
"Every last one of them."
"Taylor?"
"Even Taylor," she followed with a short laugh. She took a moment to remind him that Taylor was just an infrequent nuisance to her, not the perpetual plague he was to him. He acknowledged the truth in that.
Luke had started bundling the recently made platters as he collected them from the order window. At hearing too many of his own thoughts go uninterrupted by Lorelai's voice, he looked up at her. She was staring through the diner window into the empty square. Thoughtful and way too quiet.
He sensed her true sadness. Wasn't exactly hard to miss.
"You want to play some music on my computer?" he asked considerately.
She gave him a kind and appreciative smile before her eyes over fell to it. She spent many seconds just staring at it, seeming to have found a new target for her overactive thoughts. Suddenly, a very slow smile spread over her lips, it reminiscent of the grinch that stole and then gave back Christmas.
"Why, yes!" she answered suddenly and scarily. At least it was scary to Luke. "I most certainly would like to play some music!"
"Uh oh, what's with the creepiness?"
"My happiness creeps you out?" she asked distractedly as she pulled her phone from her bag.
"When it comes with wide crazy eyes and I'm left too far in the dark, it does."
"Not to worry, your Descent-like fear won't last long." She got to her feet and held up her cell phone to him as she headed for the door. "No cell phones, I remember."
He stared at her, dumbfounded. "You've never remembered. Or cared. Not once. Now suddenly when the place is abandoned, you're a rule follower?"
She chuckled at his words. They were very true. She connected the call as she closed the door behind her.
"Hey, Patty! It's Lorelai."
-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-
With the dance studio unlocked, Patty stood off to the side, being sure to keep an appropriate amount of space between her and the next human, who happened to be Lorelai.
Lorelai slid the door open wide and tossed her hands out to her sides. "My, how I've missed this place!"
"You and me both, dear. Haven't had a reason to grab this set of keys in the better part of 2 months," she said. She looked inside from a distance as she took a long pull from her cigarette, her mask pulled low.
Before the actual government mandate, with things so scary and unknown, Taylor had made the decision to move town meetings to the open square so there was room to breathe and space out a bit more. That only lasted 2 weeks before he froze them altogether. The meetings had rapidly turned into communal fear-mongering. Kirk played a big role in keeping panic at its peak. Usually so easily ignored, his screeches and outbursts of facts, figures, and latest tolls soon had everyone on the edge of their seats.
The last town meeting had preceded the mandate by a week.
With Lorelai now inside and at the sound equipment, Luke finally climbed the stairs to follow her in. Patty had already given her unseemly assessment on his body. She'd missed seeing that body greatly. And he seemed to have gotten even more scrumptious since she'd last seen him.
But as he passed by her at a distance she was displeased with, she couldn't resist round two.
"Luke, have you been working out? You seem more...there."
"What?" he couldn't stop himself from asking.
"Well. Those jeans are fitting just a little more snug in the best way. Thighs and gluteal area. And it's causing other things to be more beautifully obvious. Just...beautifully. And well, your arms are close to ripping right thru that flannel." Her eyes traveled up his body as she scrutinized each area. "And we both know your jaw has always been a particularly overpowering weakness of mine, and there is so much more definition there." She could see that even thru his mask. "And I'm just wondering, dear... has your pandemic been longer than the rest of ours? I mean, it's clearly been so much better," she drawled lewdly as she stripped him with her eyes. "But correct me if I'm wrong, it's only been a month for you, too, yes?"
Luke had stopped at the door of the studio and was looking at her with a shocked blankness. He couldn't believe the words coming from her mouth. Too much for even for her.
"Luke!" Lorelai called over. "I didn't bring you here just to be eye candy. Come help me with this stuff!"
He continued staring Patty down. He felt the need to say something or chastise her, but he honestly couldn't think of a thing to say. What ended up coming out was lame and stuttered.
"S-smoke your cigarette. Quietly. Please."
She laughed. Laughed at his words. Laughed at his fluster. And laughed because it felt so damn good to laugh while being in the presence of people. People she truly adored, sexiness aside.
She hadn't entertained male company in 3 months. It'd been a bit of a dry spell before the pandemic and then the pandemic came along and made things near impossible. No town meetings. No diner meetups with friends. No housemates to bicker with. Her phone had been her lifeline for a month.
Luke with his grumpy words and beautiful eyes had been missed. Lorelai with her angelic spirit and her incredibly frustratingly wasted access to Luke had been missed. Such easy access to everything that kept Patty salivating, and she squandered it. And her old dusty dance studio had certainly been missed.
Luke made it inside of the studio and over to where Lorelai stood.
"I'm out there getting harassed, and all you care about are speakers," he complained.
"What was I supposed to do?" she asked if she worked cables loose.
"Same thing I'd do if some guy was disrespecting you."
She stopped, looked up at him. "What would you do?"
"I don't know. Something."
She smiled behind the mask she now wore. "I'll tackle her on the way out; how 'bout that?"
He rolled his eyes.
She shrugged. Briefly took him in. "She has a point, though. Gotta admit. Your body's insane."
He flushed, and she couldn't help but smile. She'd been honest but kept the flourish at bay to keep that reaction from happening, but of course it'd happened anyway. "Just be grateful she didn't see what I saw last night. Her head would've exploded."
He squinted at her. "This is such a double standard."
She stared into his eyes silently, saw how he truthfully didn't enjoy that kind of attention.
"You're right," she finally said, her tone quiet. "It is. And It's not okay. I'm sorry." His smile made her smile. She took hold of his flannel with her forefinger and thumb, unintentionally grazed the hardness of his stomach. She walked closer. "But she's totally right," she whispered. She waited to be sure he didn't take that to heart. His large and reluctant smile gave her the relief she needed.
It was honestly for the best that his lips were hidden.
She stepped back and pulled him with a firmer grip. "Now, put all those glistening muscles to use, please sir." He was pulled toward her but veered off on his own. He leaned down to the heaviest of the speakers.
"Where are we setting these up?"
She pointed to the exit. "Just walk until I tell you to stop." She playfully pushed him in that direction and to her surprise, he didn't seem bothered by it at all.
-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-
As Luke made his way across the street with the 2nd piece of equipment, he saw Lorelai finishing up connection of the 1st in front of his diner.
He saw Taylor emerge from the Doose's shop and found himself nodding hello to him. Then Taylor started speaking and made him regret it instantly.
"Hey there, Luke! What are you two doing?"
"Don't ask me," he replied. He was just there to move the heavy stuff.
He stood with his hands on his hips staring critically. Patty had copped a squat on the porch of her dance studio as she took time to enjoy the afternoon sun. She'd gotten Babette and Gypsy on the phone and had cajoled them both into venturing out to the square to hang for a bit.
They were on their way.
"Looking good, Taylor!" Patty called.
Lorelai's head swung around in question. Luke scoffed, and even Taylor looked confused at the compliment. Poor woman really was hard up.
Lorelai's eyes moved to Luke as he walked up. "You're an angel."
"Sure. Would be nice to know what it is you're doing, but here I remain on a need-to-know basis." He set the equipment down near her and stood by in case she required further assistance.
"You already know what I'm doing."
"Pretty sure I missed that conversation. Run it past me again?"
She grinned. "This was your idea, silly. Why would I need to fill you in?"
"Sure you weren't speaking to one of the voices in your head again?"
"Barrel of laughs, Luke. Barrel. Of. Laughs."
"Hey, what are you guys over here doing?" Bootsy asked, out for a solitary stroll. Luke looked back to find him too close. Didn't help that he was maskless.
"Give me twenty feet," he demanded with a point.
Taking notice of his proximity, he backed up a bit into the street. "Sorry. And it's six feet," he corrected scathingly.
"For you, it's twenty. In fact, make it thirty."
Bootsy shot Luke a menacing look and then went back to his curiosity. "What are you guys doing?" he asked again.
"None of your business," he told him easily.
Lorelai smiled. "Tell him what we're doing, Luke."
He quirked a smile too but his mask hid it. "None of your business, too," he said with a much kinder, almost intimate tone.
She met his eyes, and that moment lasted longer than it should've.
"Is it a concert?" Bootsy interrupted with burning curiosity.
He broke their focus. Lorelai looked back down to where she kneeled, making sure all connections were in place. "Something like that. I just think we could all use some happy. This was Luke's idea, ya know."
Bootsy frowned over at him. Wanted to reject whatever they had planned simply because the Danes' name was attached to it, but even he couldn't deny they needed something to shake things up a bit. Place was a bummer. As was the rest of the nation. But it felt different for Stars Hollow.
Lorelai finally stood up when everything was in place.
She looked at her phone to check for a text from Rory. There wasn't one. She got ready to dial her again, but no sooner than she had the phone at her ear did she hear the most beautiful voice in the world.
"What do you want, Lady?" Rory came sauntering up with a delicate playful frown and crossed arms. "I have homework to do. Which is just...work, I guess. Classwork, homework, dorm-work, library-work, grassy-knoll work, all wrapped up in my homework. Work, work, and more work. You interrupted a breakdown." She moved closer to the trio and stopped a respectable distance away. "What's this about?"
"You'll see," Lorelai replied happily. "Thanks for coming, babe. I'll have you back before you know it, and just so you know, you're a featured performer." She said the last part very quickly and then turned on her heel to Luke. "We're just gonna wait for Sookie and-"
"I'm a what?" Rory exclaimed.
Lorelai turned back, thoroughly amused. "It's gonna be awesome, I promise." She cocked her head. "You trust me?"
Rory narrowed her eyes. "Sure, but uh... let's just take this minute by minute."
"Works for me!"
A car pulled up and Babette and Morey stepped out. "Wow, what's goin' on?" Babette yelped with excitement as she spotted those near the diner and Taylor who'd strolled a bit closer.
"Lorelai's throwin' a shindig!" Patty contributed loudly from across the street.
Taylor's eyes widened and he pointed an overly eager finger of reprimand at the equipment that had been set up. "Is that what this is? Lorelai you know this sort of gathering is not authorized and hasn't been approved by the proper-"
"Give it a rest, Taylor!" Luke barked.
Lorelai's eyes shined bright as she looked to him with glee. "Tell me that didn't feel good..."
He closed his eyes in bliss, nodded languidly. "Felt amazing," he admitted. He continued to speak with his eyes closed. His voice dropped to a heavenly somewhat orgasmic whisper. "Do something else to piss him off. Litter, jaywalk, anything, please."
She laughed. She fought to stay in that goofy moment with him. Fought not to redirect that needy whispered voice to a raunchier place. There was already the perfect home for it, one created less than 24 hours ago. "Hey, grab your laptop for me?" she asked, her tone unintentionally beguiling as she rubbed a hand along his elbow.
All of his previous thoughts vanished as he snapped focus on her. And then he turned immediately to do as she'd asked. He wasn't at all prepared for that tone or touch. Lasso the moon right after? On it.
Lorelai watched his retreat for seconds before turning back. Her eyes fell to Rory, who was staring at her - who had been staring at her.
"Busted," Rory mouthed.
"Don't you have grassy-knoll work to do," she hissed sassily.
"As a matter of fact, I do! See ya!" She turned as if to leave.
"No, just kidding!" Lorelai recanted, her voice gaining true volume as panic rose. "Stay, stay, stay!"
Rory turned back with laughter. Her new power felt exhilarating.
Luke was only gone for a minute, but when he came back out, Gypsy had arrived and Sookie was parking her SUV. Gypsy took a moment to scope out the setup before tossing mildly pleasant greetings to some and caustic words to others. She then headed over toward the studio where Patty and Babette were cackling from a distance. They carried on like friends seeing each other for the first time after summer break.
Sookie pulled two boxes from the passenger side of her truck. She'd seen there was nowhere to place the boxes upon pulling up to the impromptu festivities, so she'd decided the hood of her truck was as good a place as any.
"Hey, Sookie!" Lorelai shouted over as she watched Sookie scurry to the front of her vehicle with the boxes. "What ya got there?" She figured it was food. She hadn't told her to bring vittles, but she wasn't at all surprised that she had. It'd been an hour since she'd gotten the ball rolling on the whole thing, and she figured Sookie had gotten to work right after.
"Cupcakes!" she answered just as loud.
"Oh yeah, that's what I'm talking about!" Gypsy enthused as she started over. Sookie happily flipped lid on both boxes and stepped away so spacing could be maintained.
"Grab me a couple!" Babette instructed.
"And do what, slingshot it to you? Right after I work my germs into the icing nice and good? Let me guess, this stupid virus is your doing, right?"
Babette realized the rationale there and prepared to get her own. Everyone there and others in the square took turns grabbing one as well, one at a time while they dutifully avoided forming an actual line.
Sookie had moved over near a still out-of-the-loop Luke and Rory. Lorelai left her in the same darkness.
"It'll be smoked brisket tonight. You eat that, right?" Sookie asked. She was focused on Lorelai who was working on the laptop.
Luke turned focus to her at her question. He looked from face to face wondering who she was talking to. When no one answered, he jabbed himself in the chest. "Me?"
"Who else?" she asked smartly.
"Why would you be talking to me? I didn't ask you to make me anything."
"Take it up with Lorelai," she contended.
His head whipped to Lorelai, confused.
"Yeah, take it up with Lorelai," Lorelai followed without looking up. "Good luck with that, by the way." She glanced toward Sookie then. "And yeah, he eats brisket."
Luke found that she didn't even care enough to look at him to catch his glare. So, he knew arguing with her about it would be a complete waste of time.
He shook his head. Brisket, it was.
Lorelai finished with the laptop connection and stood up proudly. "Everybody ready?!" she bellowed. There were cheers that followed, which truly showed the spirit of the quirky town since no one even knew what was going on. They followed Lorelai blindly. She could've been preparing to send out a piercing auditory death clang causing everyone to clutch their bleeding ears before collapsing to the ground. And they would've been there...cheering their way to their demise.
Usually, there would have been folks gathering around. But the sparse crowd of 16 stayed in their safely distanced places as they pumped fists and munched their cupcakes. Taylor was the exception. He eyed the proceedings reproachfully, remaining joyless and cupcakeless.
Lorelai took a deep breath and turned to her daughter. It'd been 3 weeks since she'd been within two arms' reaches of her. She'd been overly cautious to an extent that even she'd started to see foolishness in. She steadied herself and started walking over to her.
Rory broke out in a smile when she realized her mom's intention. "Is this the performance?" she asked once she'd broken the personal space bubble. She'd never considered herself a touchy-feely person. Her mom had always been the one to initiate all hugs and cuddles, and Rory had just been the one to accept them, to eventually melt into them. She was only human, after all, and her mom's love wasn't exactly comparable.
With Lorelai in front of her, she had to stop herself from grabbing her and making up for way too many weeks of that do-gooder ostracizing she'd put her thru. But she summoned patience and allowed her mom to fight the tiny flecks of paranoia that undoubtedly remained.
"No, Angel, this isn't the performance." She reached a shaky hand to her temple and smoothed her way down her soft hair. Teared up unexpectedly which only led to the same reaction with Rory. She pulled her kid in tightly with that. Both their grips were fierce.
They both smiled, then laughed at the sound of cheers and applause. "Guess this is kinda the performance," Lorelai retracted as the overwhelming emotion began to tranquilize.
They pulled apart, and Lorelai wiped her own tears and then Rory's. "Who knew we were such wimps, huh?" she quelled before kissing Rory's temple. "Love you, Kid."
"Love you, Mom."
She stood back, holding her by the shoulders. "Ready for your bow?"
"Curtesy, Mom," Rory corrected, aghast. "I'm a young lady."
"Pardon my French. On the count of 3."
Rory nodded her agreement, and the whispered countdown was shared between them. On 3, Lorelai winked at her, they turned and put on a show. The crowd went wild.
The Gilmore girls were truly loved.
They stepped back, hand-in-hand, smiling wildly as they waited for it all to die down. Lorelai looked from the thin crowd and over to Luke. As if seeking him out was reflexive. He'd been clapping too. If the crinkles were any indication, he'd contributed quite a bit to the wildness of the crowd.
With the crowd under control, Lorelai addressed them once again.
"Well, guys, it's a gorgeous day! The sun is shining! We have cupcakes," she emphasized with a grand gesture to her best friend. "And uh, I think It's time to DANCE!" she proclaimed.
She proceeded to play and then crank up a song that had the entire crowd laughing as nostalgia rolled thru them. The Brady Bunch's Sunshine Day radiated thru the square. Brought a far more needed light that day. Brought on instant movement. Instant memories. Instant 70's bop. Because back then, whether ya bopped in mockery or bopped in unmitigated fandom, ya still bopped.
Everyone who hadn't been on their feet, rose to their feet. Lorelai danced with a laughing Rory as she spun her and manipulated her limbs goofily. 'I just can't stay inside all day; I gotta get out, get me some of those rays! Everybody's smiling...' Sookie's joyful dancing came with word-for-word singing as if she was on stage at Grand Ole Opry.
Taylor's eyes bounced from person to person, and he looked far less displeased. He seemed to watch the crowd for a straying eye, didn't want any witnesses should he lose his internal battle and give into the bop.
'Everybody seems so happy today; it's a sunshine day...'
Lorelai backed away gracefully from Rory. She turned and set her sights on Luke. He was looking around, looking at her, appearing to enjoy the scene. But he wasn't dancing. No way. There was an exception to every rule, and when it came to the bop, Luke was it.
Lorelai didn't try to make him dance. Didn't seek to persuade or plead. She just wanted part of that beautiful communal moment to include him in some way. After all, there was no community without him.
She walked over and casually came to stand at his side, arm to arm. She stared ahead. He looked down at her curiously before turning focus back to the crowd also. Did that 3 or 4 times in the span of only seconds. And then she bumped her hip into his. When he looked down at her again, she was smiling but still facing ahead. He faced forward. Again, she bumped him.
He rolled his eyes. Held his hand out before her, palm up. She looked up at him and noticed him with his eyes still on the crowd. Her eyes dropped to his hand. She lifted her hand to his. Her fingers slid slowly and softly over his palm before she intertwined her fingers with his and looked back over to him with shallow breaths.
He still faced forward.
He moved his fingers up hers a bit. There was a caress and touches just as soft. But then he pulled her gently toward the crowd, propelled her forward. When she'd taken a step away from him, he winded his wrist and made her spin away. Their link broke then and she ended the spin several feet away facing him.
He crossed his arms in satisfaction and ended up laughing as she finally caught up to what had happened. She playfully glared before stepping away and back over to Rory.
-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-
Back in the diner, Luke made the call to Lane to resume order taking. She'd enjoyed the revels from her front porch, first music choice aside. It seemed to get better from there as they moved on to Starship and sung about how they'd built the city. Mrs. Kim would've never allowed her to join, so she'd been left to participate from afar. Social distancing required 6 feet, so her requirement for Lane was that if she could see the next person without binoculars, she was too close.
With Lane back on the clock, Luke, then, gave Caesar a half hours' notice that he'd soon be needed. He'd chosen to take that dance-party break at home napping.
After all equipment had been taken back inside of the dance studio, the crowd dispersed. 16 had turned to 20 and then 25 by song #4. That's when they thought it best to wrap things up. Everyone was spread out sufficiently, and things were going okay, but last thing Lorelai wanted was for things to get out of hand. Taylor would have been well within his rights to rain down on that parade.
In the diner, Lorelai finally removed her mask and settled on a stool with a full cup of coffee, happy as can be.
Luke stood next to the coffee machine. He saw the joy in her eyes and took great pleasure in it. It was a complete turn-around from the face that'd stared longingly into the square just a couple hours ago.
"I think I can get thru it now," she announced. "This last few weeks, I think I can make it now."
"Didn't realize you were that close to a cliff," he responded.
She chuckled. "Me either, honestly."
He nodded, smiled. She was a person who loved people, so he could understand why she'd needed to create that moment of fun and freedom. To just push limits a little while simultaneously respecting how they needed to stay intact.
First day's text came in from Audrey. It was later than normal, but with the drama she'd shared with him the night before, he wasn't surprised. She gave him an update on her intimate squabble, told him how maybe he'd been right about the age thing but she wasn't quite ready to throw in the towel just yet. He spared her the I told you so's.
At reading her next words, he gritted his teeth, looked up to Lorelai who was watching him as he texted. "She's asking if it's just coffee today."
She studied him and held off amusement at his very obvious frustration. It really was no fun being left unaware, she reasoned. She broke contact and thoughtfully circled the brim of her mug. "Um. Maybe some pie today," she finally responded, her tone strangely delicate.
He glared at her. And she laughingly wondered how close he was to chucking that phone through the air at her. "You said it was just drinks," he reminded with annoyance.
She only shrugged.
He clenched his jaw as he texted out her words. Audrey's reply didn't take long at all.
"What did she say?" Lorelai tried to remain casual.
He cut his eye at her and then proceeded to read from the screen. 'About damn time. It'll be worth it. Trust me.'
She fought it, but she still smiled. Laughed, actually. Not at what Audrey had said. Audrey's words honestly made her feel warm all over. Those words weren't funny at all. It was Luke that brought out the funny. He really was dangerously close to smashing that phone and saying to hell with her and Audrey, both.
He roughly typed out a 'Gotta go. Talk to you later.' and shoved his phone in his back pocket.
Lorelai took a breath, met his eyes, helped him restore his previous serenity. "Looks like you have a break. Want to play something?"
He looked around and determined she was right. Nothing to do. Though it wouldn't last long enough for games, he was sure. "Like what?" he asked anyway.
"Gentleman's choice."
He crossed arms with a sigh and stepped closer to the counter. "What ya got?"
Her eyes lit up. It'd been a week, and this was the first time he'd even mildly entertained her suggestion of games. She looked around for her bag and didn't see it. She hopped up and went to the other side of the counter to check there. Still didn't see it.
"Where's my bag of joy?"
"Your what?"
"Well," she started with realization, "not so much 'joy' as it is just wasted downtime entertainment. I've found that when there's a Danes around, it's unneeded. Neglected. Where's my neglected bag of downtime entertainment joy?!" she screeched, perturbed.
"Your what?" he asked again, still in the dark.
She rolled her eyes to him. "The peach tote I bring in here every day, Sherlock."
"Oh," came his delayed prehension.
She thought back. Realized she hadn't brought it in that day. Realized further than she hadn't taken it home the night before. "I think it's upstairs," she began unsure. "Did I even..."
"Yeah," Luke interrupted thoughtfully as he recalled seeing the bag near his coffee table. He nodded in the direction of his private quarters. "Go grab it."
"You sure?"
"Why wouldn't I be sure?"
"You don't have any hidden chippies up there, do you?"
"No, they cleared out this morning," he stated dryly.
She tossed him a smile and started up. Luke turned to his computer as an order came in. And by the time Lorelai came back down only a minute later, he had two more.
"Well, so much for the bag of entertainment," she said lightly as she set her bag to the floor in her special spot. "How many you got?" she asked him as she came to stand near him.
"Three so far." Another came in. "Four," he corrected.
She read from the screen and then watched him write the information, studied his very familiar and distinctive script. Her eyes were on the screen and his sheet, moving back and forth as he did. But her mind was traveling. She'd seen his weights when she'd gone up. They set awaiting another day, another round of use.
Seeing them there made her remember. But she definitely didn't need to see them to remember. She'd never need help remembering.
The previous night, after he'd created that embedded memory, they'd gotten lost in Lost. Lorelai came to see how invested Luke really was in the show. She supposed he loved the mystery of it, since that's what he complained about the most. All of the question marks kept him ranting. In last night's episode, individuals were fighting for a seat on the newly built raft, a chance, a hope of making it off of the island.
Lorelai watched the show, equally invested, but still thoughtful. Luke liked Star Trek. Wasn't exactly a proud fan but he was a fan, nonetheless. It had that in common with Lost, she supposed. Briefly wondered if there was anything other than sports that he openly revered. Based on those two shows, she put together a mental list of things to recommend to him. 4400 or Firefly, if he wanted another show to take up nights or maybe Fifth Element or Inception if he wanted Saturday night entertainment.
She was definitely in it for the long haul with Lost. And she knew she'd get into anything else that piqued his interests, just to share that with him.
When the show ended, they spent half an hour talking about it. Lorelai stood to leave after that. Looked down at him where he still sat and asked softly, "Same time next week?"
The smile that formed across his face was bigger and better than she could've hoped for. "Yeah, sure," he answered coolly.
He insisted on walking her down, walking her to the diner door, feet adorned only in socks. He owned the building; it was his home, but still walking along the diner floor in socks, no shoes, felt odd. He shared that and made her laugh. She proceeded to share with him how if she owned the place, there'd be socks-skating parties. In fact, she would be naked all over the building.
He had told her how it was a good thing that she didn't own the place.
She texted him when she made it home.
'Home now. Going to bed in a bit. You?'
'Yeah.'
With a smile, she set her phone down. But picked it right back up when the monosyllabic man dinged her phone again.
'Kind of early for you, isn't it?'
'It is. But Rory's turned in, so nothing to do. I'll watch tv until I fall asleep.'
'Sounds like a plan. I'll flip to the news in a bit, see what's new before tunring in.' She watched her phone, waited for his follow-up and laughed when it came. 'Sorry, meant turning.'
'I want to teach you the power of the asterisk, but I think I like your way better.'
'What are you talking about?'
'Nevermind. :) Goodnight, Luke. Sweet dreams.'
'You too.'
She and he both had learned of the likelihood of an extended mandate on last night's news. And that's what'd inspired the events of today.
Lorelai's thoughts remained with the exercise routine she'd witnessed in his apartment. With her preoccupation, Luke was able to get the, now, five orders in silence and move around her to get them started.
She glanced back at him as he moved away. When her eyes fell back to the countertop, she fidgeted with his notepad with a soft sigh. She asked herself if those impure thoughts were to be her life from now on. But she already knew the answer to that.
"You lifting again tonight?" she questioned him conversationally.
"Yeah," he replied.
She nodded in receptiveness. Continued to entertain her own thoughts.
He was quiet for a moment. "Will you be there?"
She breathed deep at that. Lifted her closed eyes to the expanse of the diner and nodded to that empty room. "Yeah," she answered. "I'll be there."
-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-
Lorelai stood in Luke's kitchen drinking a bottled water.
She'd come out of her cardigan and had the fitted tank showing off all assets. It wasn't purposeful. But it was warm in the apartment, so the light cardigan rested on one of the kitchen chairs.
Her heartbeat was in overdrive, and she wished like hell it'd knock it off.
Something was going to shift tonight. Something. In some way. That was clear. But she was a grown woman, and the Adderall-seeking boost to her nervous system seemed a tad bit over the top.
Two hours prior, she'd taken a meal for 2 back to the crapshack. She and Rory had dined together and talked, laughed, and shared the parts of their day the other wasn't yet privy to. Rory showed her appreciation for the pop-up dance party. It'd been deeply needed.
After eating, Lorelai kissed her on her forehead and told her she loved her as she prepared to step back out. Told her to call her cell if she had an emergency.
Rory gave agreement on that and watched her exit from the sofa. Emergency, she'd said. Rory had caught that. Usually, it was call me. Period. Anytime, anywhere, about anything was the implication and often the actual words. Today...tonight...it was emergency only.
That was new.
But hardly surprising.
Lorelai stood there in Luke's kitchen downing water like she was battling dehydration. She was a little parched, sure. But mainly, it was just something to do with her hands. And of course her mouth found itself somehow involved and having something shoved into it whenever she was antsy, unsure, or bored.
Nothing dirty. Not usually, anyway... She just liked to eat. And drink. And chew. All excellent diversions. She set the near-empty bottle to the table and called out to Luke as she started opening cabinets, "Do you have some cookies or crackers or cereal or something?"
Luke came from the bathroom wearing another sleeveless tank and a fresh pair of track pants. "You're hungry?" he asked, flummoxed. That was strange even for her. He'd packed her and Rory a pretty big dinner, complete with pie.
"No, not hungry," she answered distantly, "but something to eat would be nice."
He exhaled tiredly, shook his head as he sat on his bed to tie his sneakers. "I'm gonna have to ask you to exit my kitchen now. Stop foraging my cabinets like some malnourished raccoon."
She turned. "Seriously, do you have some cookies?"
"Nope, no cookies."
"Some cereal?"
He stood from his bed and instantly started stretching his limbs. He thought for a moment. "Got some bran flakes in the cabinet," he offered.
She moved out of the kitchen. "So, no cereal; gotcha."
He started getting into his arm stretches. "What's with you?" he asked calmly.
She went over and plopped onto the couch. Crossed one leg over the other and took a deep breath as she regarded him. "Nothing," she stated.
"If you say so. But you graze when you're uneasy," he recalled plainly.
"Don't purport to know me," she spouted farcically.
He ignored her as he shared his follow-up thought. "Which isn't easy to catch since you're always hungry and eating."
She smiled as she watched him bend to stretch his hamstring. "But you caught it..." she ended. He didn't answer. "You this tuned in to all your customers, Luke?"
He started doing walkouts. His voice was strained. "Just the ones who get butt pillows and after-hours upstairs invites." He kept going for seconds more and then stood. "So, yeah," he finished, out of breath. "All my customers." He smiled. She smiled. He jumped into body twists.
Lorelai watched various parts of his body and the way he worked those areas. She felt a little of her exercise-viewing enjoyment kick into gear. The previous evening's hypnotization didn't have much to do with exercise.
She pulled out her phone and started searching thru. "When I do this for you, you won't be able to go back, so prepare yourself."
"What are you doing?"
"Just wait." She scrolled her playlists as he dropped to the floor and did pushups. Then he flipped over and went into energetic hip thrusts. She saw those movements while scrolling her phone, and her eyes moved to him fast.
She was frozen and unblinking until he hopped up. And then she was scrolling again. She spoke as if the moment hadn't happened. "I introduce to you: the last workout routine you'll ever need." Her finger hovered over 'play' as she waited for him to begin the real workout. He was grabbing his weights in no time. As he made his way to the roomier area of his apartment, 'Welcome to the Jungle' blasted from Lorelai's phone speakers.
He showed no reaction to the song, but there was energy in his workout that suggested his body was definitely responding to it.
He started with dumbbell cleans and went into some uppercuts. By the time he made it to the deadlifts, AC-DC had him on a highway to hell. He went to shoulder presses and curls as he fought to stay alive with encouragement from The Bee Gees. As exhaustion weighed on him, U2 told him not to stop believing. He did some calf raises, squats, lunges, and swings. And Led Zeplin offered a boost of final motivation with his special brand of rock and roll as he did jack knives, tricep extensions and brought it all to an end with skull crushers.
Lorelai stopped the auto play as Luke lay on the floor exhausted and breathing hard.
Her breathing matched his, though she'd done nothing more than serve as spectator. Even through the music, she'd had the same experience as the previous evening. The music had only added a soundtrack to those grizzly sounds. Another memorable night for her mental scrap book.
She watched him sweating, bulging, and breathing. He was tired. And had thoroughly earned that rest. But she couldn't help but wonder if he was up for just one more round.
"Okay," he breathed out. "You're right. The music helps."
She smiled at his words, but only a fraction of her was there for that conversation. He got to his feet and pulled the top of tank top up to dry his face. That was the least sweaty part of him.
She looked away, down to her lap, brought her hand to cover her eyes as she waded through thoughts for clarity and conformity.
She thought of their date. That planned movie outing was a good idea. A great idea. It needed to happen. It was time. She nodded agreement on that calm and rational evaluation as if there was a council in her head awaiting 'yay's' and 'nay's'.
She thought on how this night should probably end, how things should probably play out. What was probably best. Then she thought of what would happen if she stayed there. What she knew would happen by coming. She couldn't see the right answer. Everything was too cloudy. It'd been cloudy for days. More like cloudier. There'd been an overcast for years.
Her hands moved to her temples.
Luke asked if she was okay, and she opened her eyes to him, moved past the internal chaos. He stood in the middle of the floor, on the other side of the coffee table, looking down at her in concern.
"I'm okay," she assured him. And in that moment, staring into his familiar blue eyes, it wasn't a lie.
He nodded his acceptance of that answer and pointed ahead of him. "Gonna go shower. Be back."
"Okay," she whispered. She sat there comfortably and collectedly, no immediate plans to disturb that station. But he took 2 steps to advance, and she was standing without forethought.
He looked over at her with alert, but she wasn't looking at him. Her eyes were on her destination, which appeared to be the bathroom. Luke hadn't stopped, but he'd slowed as he confusedly watched her outpace him to the door.
She made it there and came to stand in the doorway. She looked to the wall, nearest his bed, using that millisecond to prepare for the moment he'd catch up and be standing there before her at that same doorway. Both her hands rested on the door jambs, and she could feel them shaking.
He approached with hesitation and caution. With question. When he came to a stop, her eyes moved to his. She saw him look down and around, moving only his eyes, as if searching for a secret opening her bodily obstruction was meant to underline.
Any other time, she would have mocked him for that adorably thoughtless cogitation.
With their eyes locked once again, she cocked her head at him, beckoning and knowing. She asked him without a word if she really needed to say it, if she really needed to speak on this. They stared unblinking. And Lorelai was able to see the questions in his expression melt away and suddenly, all that was buried came spilling into the light.
Her breathing heightened, which caused heaving in her chest. He blinked attention to that, even took a second to note the trembling of her hands as her fingers clutched the inside of the door.
He swallowed. Felt he should say something, but he really didn't know what to say. Were there even words? He lifted a hand and touched the tips of his fingers to her neck. There was gradual commitment as his warm and soft touch began travel. First, it was her throat where he felt her speedy heartbeat. And then, it was the side of her neck where he grazed her ear with this forefinger and felt along her jaw with his thumb.
Her lips parted, and her breathing became audible. Her steady and heavy blinks told of how she was losing a battle to sensations. She covered his wrist with her hand. That one touch brought on certain urgency from Luke, and he completed his intention. His thumb moved caressingly across her cheek and came to rest against her lobe, his forefingers sliding into the hair near the nape of her neck.
He pulled her in then. By her waist. Made their bodies flush. And then he kissed her, sweetly and tenderly. Made her feel that even if her parachute failed to open on that poignant aeronautical journey he was gearing up to take them on, he'd be there to catch her.
She grasped his waist, and he came to hold the nape of her neck with two hands. She pulled her lips away, went back in with one kiss, two kisses, three kisses. All delicate and dizzying, and on kiss four, she touched her tongue to his lip. Licked him gently and then kissed again. Luke backed away an inch, brushed his nose over hers, his lips over hers, sent hot breaths across her mouth and cheek. She closed her mouth to swallow. She squeezed his sides, rubbed her way to his back.
Luke continued his face-to-face caress. He moved his lips past hers and kissed her cheek. He kissed up and down her face to her jaw and ended with his forehead at hers. She swallowed again. He came to rest his lips at hers and felt her shaky anticipatory breaths. The way she rubbed him had him close to a bodily reaction. She already felt him. Very much. She was pressed tightly to him and he didn't have to be at attention for her to become intimate with that area.
With his lips at hers, he sensually ran his tongue across. She was eager to meet it but only got a tiny taste before he retracted. He kissed her softly. And then simply allowed their lips to brush. Her yearning had her tongue meeting his lips next as she hoped he'd meet it. She wanted more. So much more.
She kissed around his mouth as he stood stoic. His breathing was telling but damn his stoicism.
She stopped and breathed a soft breath. She refused to call his name in plead. She refused. Every bone, every breath, every feeling in her body was calling his name. Had been calling his name.
The main organ that sustained her, called his name. There was zero need to call his name.
He moved in slowly, as if preparing for more sensual teasing, but he put an abrupt end to it when he kissed her deeply. Her surprise was apparent. Her eagerness was at its peak. She couldn't handle another tease or separation so the grip she had on him was lethal. But unneeded.
He wasn't going anywhere.
Lorelai moved into him, wanting closeness, more closeness than they had, more closeness than was even possible. He took one step and then two steps back as he was urged to do so, but then he found his footing and her forward march turned into a writhing standstill.
He didn't consciously react to her southern stimulation, but his body did.
Oh, his body definitely did.
He moved his hands from her face to her waist and her hands naturally moved up to hug his neck. He bent his legs, made her hop. Her legs hugged him as securely as her arms did. He hiked her up, more to his stomach, off his crotch. He needed that temptation gone.
With his head raised to meet her hungry kisses, he thought to lay her across his bed. But he didn't care to be so forward. Then her hands went from being looped around his neck to rubbing across him. She gripped his shoulder with fingers from one hand and used those octopi-like digits on the other to rub him everywhere, all over his torso.
He was still sweaty, still hot, his thin shirt soaked thru. And she wouldn't have wanted it any other way. She bunched the side of that shirt up in her palm, kept it lifted as she bunched the back, then the front. They hadn't stopped kissing. Hadn't stopped devouring one another.
But they stopped then. She moved her mouth away, kissed his shoulder, and then took that shirt off one arm at a time. She watched his biceps flex, one after the other, as each performed solo duty of keeping her in the air.
Luke swallowed deeply and then watched the shirt as it fell to the floor.
He stared down at it.
He wanted the shirt on. Wanted all his clothes on. He wondered if it'd be weird to reach down and- His thoughts were blissfully broken by her hands on his face and her tongue in his mouth. He turned and lay her on the bed, no more hesitation. It was no longer him being forward. It was him doing his best not to fall behind.
He laid her there and then lifted away as he stared down at her. She looked extraordinarily happy and willing, and he wondered how he'd gotten so lucky, wondered what made him worthy of this. Of her.
He wanted to touch her, please her, praise her, learn her body, learn her breaking points, learn her pleasure, and study every morsel of light around her afterglow.
Lorelai had been using her hands to roam his frame, but the fire in his eyes had proven to be a majestic distraction. His intensity froze her. With their eyes locked, she placed her hands on the mattress and rose to meet his lips. Their kiss was heated and deep. She pulled away, bit her lip. Her eyes flashed to his waistline before she met his eyes again. She began scooting up, presumably to reverse their positions.
Luke snapped out of his reverie. His lips crashed into hers and he kissed her until she'd returned to her back. Kissed her every second of that trip. He kissed until he was confident she'd gotten whatever she was thinking...out of her beautiful head.
He hopped from the bed to the floor. From his knees to his haunches. Staring down her body, past her breasts, and into her trusting eyes, he took hold of one stilleto-covered foot and removed the ridiculously expensive shoe from her body.
Life wasn't often a fairytale. Life brought hard punches, truths, and realities. Luke didn't live in fantasy world. Never had, never would. In fantasy world, men looked aghast at an unshaven leg, a makeup-less face, or a line of drool on a morning-after chin. In fantasy world, a man would remove a lady's shoe after a long day and expect the smell of lilacs to pinch his cheek.
Luke wasn't a fantasy man. He was well-versed in reality. He pushed for it and demanded it even when no one else would. Other men could keep their silly fantasies.
Only expectation Luke had was watching Lorelai's soul take flight in every possible way he could. He wished to make that happen in the real world. Nowhere else.
When he brought his warm mouth to her foot, he briefly wondered if she'd somehow foreseen how he'd have his tongue undulating against her big toe at nightfall. There was a distinctive smell of lemongrass, even hints of mint and... honey?
He got out of his head, moved past how the hell that could be. He'd been prepared for anything. Didn't matter. Whatever she wanted to bring, bring it. She was perfect in every way and nothing could change his mind on that. So yeah, he'd been prepared for anything.
But not lemongrass for god's sake.
From the look on her face, Luke realized this was a first for her. He didn't know how the hell that could be either. How could a man not want to praise every part of this body with his tongue? He sucked top to bottom of each foot and got reactions at certain points that surprised her more than him.
He kissed his way up her ankle, shin, and leg, kissing over the pants that covered her, knowing that'd soon be corrected. He was straddling her by then. Her hands were instantly moving thru his hair the moment he was close enough, and that only led to a detour for him. He took one of her hands and sucked her fingers. As she watched him and worked on taming her breaths, she continued doing with the other hand, what the first couldn't. She caressed his face and hair even more.
Luke didn't like her level of cognizance. He figured he was enjoying himself too much and she wasn't enjoying herself enough.
If only he knew.
But his travels continued. He kissed, licked, and sucked his way to her wrist, down her arm. He abandoned that midway and buried his face in her neck with an unexpected velocity. Her hands clamped his naked back instantly, and she moaned. Made an effort to move her legs to the outside of his. The desire to wrap his waist and really feel him felt primitive.
Luke reached a hand beneath himself to her pants clasp. He got them undone, got her fitted shirt untucked, all while continuing work on her neck. He rubbed his hand along her side, along her stomach. He moved his teeth and tongue to her ear lobe and heard a raspy version of his name whispered. The clutches on his back grew fiercer. His hand moved up her stomach, under her shirt. He sat up then. The fit grew tighter toward the top and he needed room to continue. He hovered over her on his knees. Lorelai's hands ran along his thighs as she looked down to the hard thick imprint in his pants.
She wanted to touch him. But he didn't seem to want that to happen. She stared longingly for seconds before she was brought back by the feel of his hand over her breast. Her hands slid from his thighs as she raised them for removal of her top. He was the one to lift it. His upper body came flush with hers as the shirt reached her wrists and hands. He was kissing her again. His tongue skillful and demanding. The tease was a thing of the past. He gave her everything and she invited it all.
She came to clutch his muscular back again.
Felt she could hold him forever. She reached beneath him as she rode waves of feelings and thoughtless instinct, but he gently moved her hand, slid it up the mattress and held it next to her chest.
The kiss ended with soft pecks from him and breaths of exertion between them both. Lorelai didn't open her eyes when he moved down; he suspected she couldn't. She was losing more awareness. This is what he'd wanted.
Luke smoothed one hand slowly over the lacy material of her bra. He was temporarily mesmerized over that image. He stared and touched. Her nipples were raised and visible thru the mesh. Carefully, unblinkingly, he undid the front clasp of her bra and watched it spill to the sides of her body leaving those beautiful pink areolas uncovered and begging for a wet hot tongue.
He obliged.
She'd relished all of his special attention thus far, but Luke came to see her partiality to nipple and breast play. He spent a long time there. Her hands thrusted into his hair and even her own as she worked to handle that thrill.
When he finally left her breasts, her own hands went there. He fought the desire to watch her. Fought the desire to stare and drool like a 70's kid holding his very first playboy. He fought it and instead used that moment to slide her pants and panties from her succulent backside, on down her long flawless legs.
He got her in a better position... so that he could get in a better position. He started on his knees, putting his lips to more use along her thigh. He was in no rush. He'd take all night. He wanted it to take all night. Sought to make his lips a featured attraction to her featured attraction. Wanted to thoroughly earn a standing o for her sprawled out o's.
She wriggled her body, whispered her desires, bit her lip, and tossed her head.
When his mouth met her vulva, he'd moved from knees to stomach. Took on a sniper position because it was about to get deadly.
He was a marksman with her clit. Some men searched and never found it. Some men never searched at all. Others ran into it by accident and didn't know how to get back. Luke went right to it. The second he made his way to her center, he circled it lightly with his middle finger. He acknowledged and paid respects to the queen bee. And then he took his hand away with a promise to return.
He turned attention to her labia with his teeth and lips. To her slit with his finger and tongue. He put fingers inside of her and manipulated the good-great-glorious spot lovingly nicknamed 'G'.
And then he was back to the clit.
He returned with a soft puff of air and a gentle lick. Another soft puff of air and a gentle lick. A firm tongue, a gentle lick. A grazing finger as if scrolling along the wheel of a mouse. Suctioned lips. A gentle lick. Air. Lick. Air. Lick. Lick. Lick. Scrolling finger.
He squeezed her thigh gently, ran his hand up near her hip and came to rest fingers on her pubic bone. He pressed that area while ceasing all other acts of service. And then he was searching out G again while still pressing that area.
Lorelai loved that. But she'd been loving the whole show. She'd been exploding every five minutes, like clockwork. When she had an orgasm that seemed to temporarily paralyze her, Luke thought it best to take a small break. He used that break to run a soft finger around her vulva, along her labia, along her thighs. He kissed all areas sweetly, being sure not to stimulate.
It took her minutes to come down, and when she finally did, she was giggling like a maniac and talking a mile a minute like she'd been to outer space on a field trip.
Luke took much joy in her joy. That would always be the case. But he was still in his zone, so he contributed minimal and waited for his courtesy countdown to expire.
When it did, her latest sentence was interrupted with an intense moan.
-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-
Lorelai hadn't gotten dressed.
She'd hopped up and followed her naked body behind Luke to the kitchen. There, he was turning on the oven to heat his brisket meal.
She stood to the side of the table, arms crossed as she watched him like he couldn't possibly be serious. She, more than anyone, understood and respected that food ranked high.
But one thing it didn't rank higher than was nights like this, with people like them, with chemistry they shared and... reciprocity.
Minutes ago, after finishing up a below surface excursion that far exceeded any she'd ever had both in quality and time spent, Luke had gone over and collected his shirt from the floor and slipped it on.
She was into that.
Figured he wanted her to take it back off and assist him the way he'd so thoroughly assisted her. So she climbed from the bed on jelly-like legs and approached. It'd take a while to recover from what had happened on his bed so far.
He welcomed that approach by pulling her in and hugging her. He even participated in the lustful kiss she initiated. But then he pulled back and pecked her chin, cheek, temple, forehead and told her how amazing that was. Told her how he was going to grab something to eat and he asked if she wanted anything. Asked if he wanted to make her something or if she wanted some from his plate. He had plenty. She told him she was good, her tone loaded, as she waited for him to make the joke clear.
He nodded, ran his hand down her naked side and then he was walking away, leaving her stupefied.
And now, she stood in the kitchen watching him load up a meal of squash, potato wedges, glazed carrots, garlic rolls, a medley of roasted vegetables, and three big hunks of brisket.
When done, he stood back against the counter with a sigh and waited for the oven to finish its preheat. He scanned her body with the biggest grin. "Hey," he said intimately.
She was affected by his smile and tone, but she didn't let it thwart her confusion.
"Um, Luke?" she began leadingly.
"Yeah?"
"We're not done," she answered with stress.
He was quick to agree. "Oh, I know."
She relaxed with relief. "Okay... I'm just checking because you're standing here preparing for dinner like... it's just a normal night... like you don't have the biggest..." She stopped there as her eyes dropped to his erection for emphasis. Big was an understatement. The man had a tank in there. She looked into his eyes again. "Just making sure you know we're not done."
"I'll be fine," he dismissed.
"I know," she followed easily. "I'll make sure of it." Her tone was soft and she smiled. And then she took a breath and truly relaxed with his reassurance, found herself with a hint of shyness. Shyness that had taken a backseat at his odd deflection to meal prep. But then she remembered she was standing there naked. Remembered they'd crossed a monstrous line. Remembered she finally knew what it was like to kiss Luke, to touch Luke, to be touched by Luke.
She finally knew.
And not even in her wildest dreams could she imagine a better experience.
Luke calmly clarified. "When I say I'll be fine... I mean, I'll be fine," he stressed. "When I say we're not done..." he went on as he lowered his eyes to her body. He ran a finger over his lips and it wasn't an entirely conscious action. "...I mean we're not done," he finished.
She blushed heavily but also took on a look of confusion. "Um..."
He stood up from his lean and grabbed his food to put in the oven. "You may wanna grab something to eat. It's gonna be a long night," he stated calmly.
She shook her head to clear away the naughty thoughts and the naughty feelings that sprung up the moment the pulse between her legs did.
"Are you... telling me that I'm not... able to touch you?"
"Course not." He moved over to her, leaned down and met her lips in a searing kiss. She stepped in more to feel his erection against her body. Truly couldn't help it. They kissed only a little more. He brought an end to it when she started pulling his shirt up. He stopped her but still answered, "course you can touch me."
She looked at him, totally lost, for a long moment as her breathing evened out. She laughed a little, looked and sounded defeated, "What are you doing?" she asked genuinely.
"Besides making my dreams come true?" he asked quietly as he moved hair from her face.
She shook her head in disbelief at him. It was official; he was trying to make her crazy.
"To hell with mine?" she questioned, her voice soft and sage.
He smiled. Moved in and kissed her lips softly. "You want something to eat?"
Her frustration was real. But his question was intriguing. She'd worked up quite the appetite. "This isn't over. But yes."
-OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-
Luke stood up from his chair, his arms and hands sliding along Lorelai's parted legs as he did so. She lay across the table. With his pelvis now level with hers, he watched his covered shaft vie for its turn in that heavenly cave.
She stared at the ceiling now. "I have never felt so..." She paused, breathed, collected thoughts that had been dormant as they awaited room to roam in a head that'd been held captive in rapture. "...frustrated with you," she ended to his surprise. At her words, she wrapped her feet around his thighs, pulled him in, and instantly felt his nature poking her bare sex. She sat up then. Looked down at where he was in full salute as she brought her hands to his sides and rubbed in a soft caress. She looked up into his eyes. "I need you to stop this. I don't like it." She seemed to mean that. He was receptive to it. Touched her body as an apology. Touched her body because he couldn't not. Touched her body because it was there in arm's reach.
"I get that. I do." He rubbed his way down her arms and sat back down in the chair that'd kept him comfortable while eating dinner and had kept him equally comfortable while enjoying dessert. He sat down and instantly spread his legs, needing all the room he could get as he drank in the visual before him. He placed his hands on her bare backside and encouraged her to move forward and she bit her lip as she did. Couldn't help but be drawn in by the look in his eyes. The memory of what that look had led to multiple times tonight, drew her in.
He got her down and situated on his lap. Realized how that wasn't the best idea when she immediately started grinding. She leaned in and captured his lips. Took away his voice, his inability to deny her. She wanted him to break. Needed him to break.
He brought her rolling hips to a halt with a simple grasp at her waist and gave her a hollow look of reprimand before redirecting his attention to her alert nipples.
He sucked very lightly on both, just showed a little appreciation for their existence and their welcoming demeanor. And then he stopped and hugged her waist. He didn't want her to think he hadn't heard her because he did.
Her gaze was penetrating and so pure.
He wondered, then, if he said what he felt, said what was in his heart, if she'd be able to say it back. The way that she looked at him made him feel that she could.
He moved past that.
"Just let me do this my way for a little while longer."
She continued staring at him as she allowed a moment of thought. "How much longer?"
"Just a little," he reassured in a whispered voice.
Her eyes went off to the side as she continued deliberating. "I don't... care about size. But..." She lowered her eyes to his well-endowed member that played at her thigh. "That's definitely not a problem here, so what is it?"
He smiled. "There's no problem."
"Is it bubbly and green? Because... I'll adapt," she passionately promised.
He laughed that time. "Lorelai, there's no problem."
She couldn't figure it out, but she desperately wanted to do so. That way, she could squash his fears and they could get down to business. "Is it stamina? Because that won't be an issue. Crazy as I am about you, I'll likely finish long before you and even if I don't, you... most definitely have other skills. We will be good, I promise."
He shook his head in exhaustion. "Lorelai..."
Her eyes went wide and she sat up in alert. "Wait. Did Nicole give you a gift that keeps on giving?" she asked worriedly. "Because even if she did, there are ways around that. We can totally find one of those ways."
"Lorelai," he called firmly with more volume.
She took a breath. "Yeah?" she returned, defeated.
He gripped her waist to maintain her focus. "I'm good. Stamina's good. No growths or discoloration. Health is good. Got tested right after that whole thing went down," he said in reference to Nicole's infidelity. "Again months later just to be sure. There's been no one since. Everything's good."
Her eyes wandered from his eyes to his lips, from his lips to his chest and arms, his body... which she wanted nothing more than to feel thrusting against her.
"So, what is it? Is it me? Do you not want to be with-"
"Are you serious right now?" He'd cut her off. And had gotten serious at that question. Very serious.
She closed her eyes in exhaustion. Realized the silliness of that, the strong unlikelihood of that. He'd been all over her. She had experienced a million tiny deaths with his tongue between her thighs. If he didn't like her, she hated to think of the bottomless mortality experience of someone he did.
"I just need some kinda explanation because I'm going crazy here. And I know some women would love this... but I don't. I really don't. Being forbidden to, ya know, reciprocate? Ugh, I hate it. You make me feel amazing, don't get me wrong. You make me feel sooo amazing, Luke. But.." She scoffed, "I'm not a pillow princess!" she screeched.
"A what?"
"A pillow princess!" she repeated. "The chick who just lays there like she's channeling Homer Simpson. That's not me. I do. I'm a doer. So, if this is the way you want to do this, okay. I'll wait. Not patiently. Definitely not patiently. But I'll wait because it's you. But just please give me some kind of explanation. And...a time...on a clock. Standard, not military because that confuses me."
Luke continued staring at her after she'd finally stopped talking, as if her words had a lag and he had to allow time for catch-up. In a way, he did. She talked and thought way too fast for him.
He removed his hands from her waist and leaned back in the chair, linked his hands on his head. Spoke with nonchalance and annoyance. "Why are you making this so hard?" He didn't mean it. That was clear. But he also didn't have massive levels of appreciation for her screwing up his plans.
She smirked. "Making things hard, huh?" Her eyes dropped to his...situation... and spoke the 'dirty' for her. "Hey, I'm trying to fix it!" she exclaimed audaciously.
He shook his head, closed his eyes in peace and nonresistance.
He didn't want to have this conversation. He didn't want to have the conversation back when he was being dragged into the conversation.
But much like Lorelai, Audrey always required a different set of rules.
They were 19, 20, maybe 21. He wasn't sure. It was after his mom had died but before his father had gotten sick. She'd been dating a new girl, and that girl was new to the team, as Audrey liked to put it. After months together, Audrey had heard a thorough compilation of what dating a man was like versus dating a woman. Initially, it'd only served in stroking her own ego. She didn't care. Not like she ever had to worry about that headache. Though, Friend-Luke was becoming strangely intriguing...
19, Luke recalled. They were 19, maybe 20. But definitely not 21. They were still sneaking beers out of his dad's cooler.
They sat on a crate in the back alley behind the diner. Or hardware store, as it was back then. Sipping brews and talking. One thing Luke loved about having a girl buddy was the talking. Girls always talked. Never stopped talking. He wasn't above being annoyed by it, but it felt comforting in some way. He found that his thoughts flowed better when there was a chatterbox around. Few made it through his mouth but it was nice to have the option to talk and be vulnerable if the mood struck.
The conversation turned to sex. She told him how she'd determined how clueless so many men were when it came to sex. When it came to that beautiful art of cunnilingus.
Cunnilingus.
That was the first time he'd heard that word. He was a jock. He hated the word jock. Hated the word and hated the label, hated any label, really. But he was heavy into sports, so jock he was. And in the jock-world, you heard every crude and crass term for sexual activity. He knew all the slang for going below the equator. But that was it.
Cunnilingus.
Audrey casually shared what she'd learned that men do wrong. And then she told him how it should be done. She followed each no-no with a yes-yes.
She'd started the conversation just to share her lover's frustrations. But as she took greater notice of her companion, her friend, a man who actually listened - really listened - even when it appeared he wasn't, she really brought class to session. Luke appeared in pain the whole time. He drunk his beer and her beer too. But he didn't get up to leave until she did.
That conversation followed Luke into relationships and bedrooms. And had really come to a head as he looked down at Lorelai Gilmore lying on his mattress.
He didn't care about himself, didn't care about his own pleasure. All that mattered was her and hers. While he'd always been generous, he'd never given of himself to such an extent. Had never even thought to put himself thru sexual deprivation while foolishly thinking a moment of pleasure spent on him would steal a moment from her.
As Lorelai shared her thoughts and feelings on his actions, he realized how shortsighted and foolish he'd been. He would never, could never, play the role of this...pillow princess... He'd rip his damn hair out. So, he had a hard time explaining to her how he felt someone else could do that.
Especially someone like her.
He held onto his moment of peace as his hands remained locked at his head. Lorelai awaited the coveted explanation, and he worked out a way of sharing without oversharing. She didn't need to know how many of those things he'd been doing wrong before Audrey's back-alley tutor session. She didn't need to know about the underage drinking. She'd probably tell Rory and Rory might get ideas.
And she probably wasn't ready to hear how much of his world she illuminated and how sacrificing himself to focus on her bliss, had come way too naturally.
He opened his eyes to her. Found her looking back at him more closely and more intimately than anyone had ever looked at anyone.
His hands left his head and went back to her waist. And he delivered his well-thought-out explanation. An explanation that would explain everything and fill in all gaps for her.
"I just wanna make you happy," he whispered.
She still stared but blinked a handful of times as her breathing noticeably picked up. "Okay," she finally said in a whispered voice of her own. She felt his reasoning was... reasonable. She looked around some, appearing to be chasing her thoughts, looking for at least one that was concrete. Remembering the second request she'd made, she presented it once more.
"And um...what's the timetable on this torturous one-sided game of yours?" she implored with distraction.
He watched her restless movements and sensed her blistering contemplation. He wanted nothing more than to ease her, hating that he'd unthinkingly put her in this state in the first place.
"Timer just went off, actually," he revealed. He lifted his hand, went to touch his thumb to her cheek. But she'd moved, backed away, fallen to her knees.
His eyes fell to hers on the floor, where she kneeled at his feet. Her hands were on either side of his pants and she breathed thru an open mouth. Without a word spoken, she sent a message telling him to lift his bottom. He got that message loud and clear and did it instantly, a little scared of what would happen if he didn't. He'd never seen such an intense look in her blue eyes.
She pulled his pants down more patiently than he expected. Her eyes only stayed on his for a second longer before her view of him was blocked. His friend clearly hadn't appreciated being kept in the dark, and it seemed pleased to meet her acquaintance. She got a blinding introduction to Luke's penis.
There was nothing green and bubbling. There were no lesions. No growths.. as least none abnormal. It stood tall and proud, ready for its assessment it knew it'd pass with flying colors. Like snowflakes, those things differed. Would never get 2 alike. Similar, maybe, but never just alike. And god knows, not all were pretty.
But this was a beautiful dick.
Almost seemed wrong to touch it. Like a museum artifact missing its velvet rope. She felt sudden and irrational anger knowing she hadn't been the first and only person to experience this artistry. But she hoped like hell that she'd be the last.
Lorelai plunged her mouth onto him and had him hitting the back of her throat. She made that the goalpost. Sought to make him score those 2 points each and every time.
Those noises she'd heard in the middle of his apartment floor while he'd sweated and pumped iron, were the same ones she was now being rewarded with. She took great joy at knowing that manly thunder would follow them into the bedroom.
She'd started fast. Her eagerness was overpowering. Tends to happen when denied. But she found her rhythm, her patience, and appreciated that his stamina allowed her the time to seek both out. She was soon using her tongue more, putting her tongue on display for him to see as she winded it around his tip, going from tip to base and base to tip. She winded her tongue like a dancer showing off practiced moves on a pole, and then she took it to the floor of that venue and beyond as she sucked his balls into her mouth and stroked him with one hand and then two. She rubbed her flat palms against him softly and then wrapped one hand securely like a performer grasping a microphone. Then she stroked. And took her free hand and rubbed a finger below his tip, all while continuing to caress his balls with her tongue.
When he was close, when he was pulsing, she went back to the field goals.
He shot 3 big squirts, pumping his hips wildly into her incredibly willing mouth. She took 3 big squirts down her throat as she handled his fervor.
She went back to licking at the base of his shaft. And then she licked her way to the tip and flicked her tongue repeatedly while cupping his balls. He took his shirt off roughly and threw it away, off to the side. She looked up to see him clenching his jaw, breathing hard through his nose. His eyes were closed.
He was going to a dark place.
God, yes. Bring. It.
She rolled her tongue below the head of his penis. Ended with a sensuous wet suction that had her lips covering his head and slowly sliding up until her mouth left him completely. She did it again. Rolled her tongue, flicked his head, slow teasing suck. Then, she went in hard. She pumped him and sucked his balls and then deep throated him for a full tireless minute.
He had never really gone soft, even after he came. She hadn't allowed time for it happen. But now, there was no chance of it.
She backed away a solid foot without warning and looked eagerly to the fire in his eyes.
He kicked his pants the rest of the way off and gestured her over. "Come here." His voice was gravelly, barely controlled. She stood and went to him. He stood too. He took her face in his hands and kissed her. It was passionate and wet. Less control than the others. But arousing, still.
He slowly turned her to where her ass was against him. Grasped her chin and gently brought her mouth to his. Allowed that kiss to resume from a different angle. He only broke it to urge her down to the table, leaving her backside raised. He knelt low and feasted on her from the back until she orgasmed.
He stood up, grasped her hips and ran his erection along her folds, past her clit, purposefully not entering her. But he held her hips and winded his ass as if he was deep inside. She breathed raggedly. It felt good. Really good. Didn't know whether to let him continue or reach back and put him inside. She spread her legs more and felt more stimulation on her clit. She decided to let him continue. It truly felt amazing. He kept going for longer. Not too much longer, but longer. And she was more than happy to let him. When he stopped, he didn't back away. He grasped her stomach, helped her rise and they both backed away, appearing to be one.
He sat in the chair, held her ass at his stomach as he got himself into position. With his tip at her opening, he concentrated on holding and caressing her body. He let her come down at her own pace.
She did.
She had every inch of him inside within the minute. And she rocked only slightly and breathed her shock. Couldn't believe he was inside of her. Couldn't believe this was happening.
She turned her head to him and they kissed deeply. When they broke away, he kissed all over her cheek and neck. Breathed in her ear and nibbled her lobe. He had her stomach wrapped tightly in one arm. He had the other hand around her thigh, slowly rocking her back and forth as he softly thrust his own hips. He asked her if that was what she wanted. If she liked the feel of his...
He got dirty. Nasty. Filthy. He whispered it all in her ear. Had her moving more passionately and taking him harder. She began riding him. Had him standing back up and thrusting into her. She held either side of his thigh. And then the edges of the table. He leaned back, bent his knees and slid in and out of her smoothly and so deep. Her moans were delicious. When he started pounding, she was there for it. Ready for it. Begging for it.
He pounded her flat to her stomach, got her to her side, her back. Found that she loved that angle. That angle made an orchestra play for her, so he reached for the greatest performance possible. He kept his drive for minutes and then he took that action to his bed.
On his knees at her six, her knees at her chest, he plowed into her. He'd picked up on her rhythm some time ago and he didn't dare lose that beat. When her knees lost their rigidity forcing Luke to maintain it for her, when her head went farther back, deeper into the pillow, when her voice got weaker and the sounds stronger, when 'god' made up every single word like she was starting a new language of Groot... He did. Not. Dare. Lose. The. Beat.
A tree could've crashed thru the window, breaking the glass, exposing them both to the world, and he would have dealt with that aftermath and embarrassment after he brought her to her O.
He was exhausted and it didn't show. He didn't slow. Didn't change a thing.
And then she came. She squirmed and writhed all over the place, her head so deep in the pillow, she looked on the verge of a headstand.
He slowed only when she clamped her knees and held a hand out to him.
His penetrations continued, so slow, so easy, as he found that unfortunately, he couldn't stop. He was leaned away from her due to her knee obstruction. He squeezed his eyes tight and clenched his jaw, working to not go as hard as he needed to right then.
He felt her knees spread again, her hands reaching for him. He opened his eyes just as she grasped him and pulled him to her. She pushed at his pelvis as she laid back down with him pressed to her body. She kissed him deeply while encouraging power drives. He obliged. Her moans were loud as she fought to keep her concentration in their kiss. He was struggling also. He ended up burying his face in her neck as he unconsciously hit her with long, deep, forcible thrusts.
He went so hard.
She clenched the covers on his bed with one hand and pressed her lips tightly to keep from screaming.
He came inside of her. Deep inside of her. It'd be a while before that load was found.
She breathed heavily and looked wide eyed at the ceiling.
Wow.
She came to hold him as he lay spent. He lay that way for over a minute and she only held him tighter. His movement came with kisses to her shoulder and neck. He licked sweat from her skin. Some was hers and some was his, but there was lots of sweat. The glow was real.
He weakly pulled himself up to see her face. For seconds, he said nothing. Only stared and worked to catch his breath. But then he spoke.
"I love you. And I know that's not-"
"I love you, too."
He blinked his surprise. He'd been prepared to explain how he had no expectations but couldn't keep it hidden. He'd been prepared to work thru her panic.
Lorelai stared into his confused questioning eyes and whispered it a second time. "I love you, Luke." She figured he needed that repeat, needed to be sure he hadn't imagined anything. And honestly, she needed it, too.
His eyes still so confused, he smiled. That just wasn't how he thought that would go. She continuously surprised him. He kissed softly upon her lips and then pulled up quickly to look at her again, like he was making sure she hadn't changed her mind, that she was still real, that this was still real.
Her smile told him to relax and get out of his gorgeous head. He seemed to pick up on that as he rolled his eyes good-naturedly. Was hard to be grumpy in a moment like that.
He pulled away, pulled out, broke a connection he hated to break as he came to rest beside her. He pulled her tightly to his chest as their glistening bodies lay uncovered. She clutched his side. Appreciated that closeness more than he'd ever know.
"Check your text when you get a sec," she mentioned to him.
"What?"
Lorelai had heard his phone ding on the coffee table as they moved from the kitchen table to the bed. She'd heard it... but didn't hear it. Didn't register until this very moment as she came down from their shared experience.
"Audrey. Check your text later."
"You have ESP?"
She smiled. "No, just regular old hearing, I'm afraid."
"When'd you hear a-"
"Just check your text, babe."
He shrugged that off.
Lorelai wasn't at all anxious to leave his arms, so later would have to suffice for the text. But she did want him to update Audrey. She'd chosen a lot more than coffee and even a lot more than the ambivalent slice of pie she'd foretold of earlier in the day.
Part of her wanted to share that with his close friend who rooted for them. And another part wanted Audrey to know she'd have to prepare for a lifelong hibernation period with her feelings for Luke. That tiny chance she thought may one day happen was now a total non-option. She suspected she'd be okay with that. It wouldn't be a problem. But she needed that squared away pronto.
Holding her tight, Luke went on to mention his eagerness in escorting her on the town. He mentioned the movie and tossed in dinner too. Said maybe they could take a trip somewhere.
"Hell of a first date," she responded with laughter. He only smiled.
Pandemic was weighing. She felt it. He felt it. Everyone did. The desire to get out and away and feel freedom they hadn't felt in many weeks was pressing. With 2 more weeks tacked on, there were only 3 to go.
And then...maybe not complete freedom but possibility. Reevaluation. Hope.
Along with the rest of the world, they held onto that. Life would return to normal, back to a world where a movie date wouldn't land you in the hospital or the morgue.
Eventually the gargoyles would cease the reign of terror.
Until that day came, they'd cherish the love of family, community. And of each other.
The End.
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