A/N: Sorry for the delayed updating. The weather reached crazy heat for England (30C and higher) so the laptop wasn't coping well, and I was suffering even more so! The chapter was written, but getting to post it was the bother. Now that it is here, I hope y'all find it was worth the wait :)

(For disclaimer, etc. - see chapter 1)

Chapter 15

Rory and Lorelai were almost done with their conversation about Spring Break when a beeping sound told them there was a call waiting on Rory's end.

"I gotta go anyway," her mother told her. "Busy, busy with the inn and all, but we'll catch up some more later, okay?"

"Sure. Love you, Mom."

"You too, kid."

The call was ended and Rory pushed the button to pick up the other one. She was only a little surprise when she realised it was Jess on the line.

"Hey, Girl Gone Wild!" he greeted her. "How's Florida treating you today?"

"Er, actually, it's not," said Rory awkwardly, her mind racing since she had no idea if Jess was calling from his cell or the landline, no clue if he had picked up her voicemail or would mention it at all. "We came home already. I don't think I'm really cut out for the whole Spring Break thing."

"Really?" asked Jess, with a smirk that Rory could just hear. "Well, this voicemail I got certainly sounded like a party was going on."

"Oh God!" Rory literally face-palmed, getting up from her desk and going over to her bed to be comfortable. "I don't remember exactly what I said, but I'm really sorry!"

"Rory, it's fine." Jess laughed. "Seriously, you really didn't say much, just that you were going to commit murder on two girls I never met, which by the way is not a good way to get away with a crime."

"Madeline and Louise," she confirmed the names of her supposed victims. "I didn't actually kill them, obviously, but they really were making me crazy. Madeline got a hold of my phone and then she found out you and I used to date so she dialled your number... We were all kind of drunk."

"Yeah, I figured that part out," Jess confirmed. "So, the part where you asked me to marry you, that was just the booze talking, right?"

"What?!" Rory squeaked, sitting up very fast and wishing she hadn't when her neck pulled like she had whiplash. "Jess, I didn't... What did...? I, er..."

"Ror, relax," he urged her then. "I'm kidding. You honestly didn't say anything embarrassing. Not a thing, I swear."

"Speaking of committing murder," said Rory, her hand to her chest as her heart beat a mile a minute. "You're walking a fine line, Mariano."

"My favourite mode of transportation," he noted, still wearing that smirk, she was damn sure on that. "So, Florida wasn't all it should've been, huh?"

"Not so much." Rory sighed, leaning back against her pillows once again. "You know me, not so much party girl. Not that we didn't cover all the bases while we were there. Paris and me, we went dancing, hung out at the beach, got drunk, as you know. It was kind of fun, I guess."

"You have company for any of your activities?" asked Jess.

He winced himself when he said it, knowing he was being about as subtle as a flying brick right now. It was so stupid. What he told Lorelai a couple of days ago that it would be none of his business if Rory got hooked up on her trip. He wasn't her boyfriend anymore, only a friend, he had no claim on her, no right to judge either. Still, it did not sit right with Jess to think some college dude had gotten close to Rory in Florida. He really needed to hear that it hadn't happened.

"Well, sure," said Rory, seemingly oblivious to his worries. "There was Paris, Madeline and Louise, a couple of other friends from Yale who we travelled down with, but Jenna and Glen really went and did their own thing for the most part."

"No new friends? People you met while you were there maybe?"

There was a long pause and Jess realised he was holding his breath until Rory finally spoke.

"Nope, no new friends," she told him easily, hearing Jess exhale loudly.

She smiled at the sound, she couldn't help it. It was clearly a relief to him that she hadn't met any guys that she might be interested in. Rory didn't mind knowing that at all, especially since she had been giving serious thought to her own feelings for Jess these past couple of days. He wasn't the reason she came home, since both Rory and Paris had quite decided on that before Rory's revelation about loving Jess. Still, it didn't hurt knowing she was within a short drive of the guy now instead of a couple of states away.

"So, you're back at Yale, but I'm guessing no classes right now?"

"Nope, no classes for a couple more days," Rory confirmed. "I have some work to do still, a piece for the Yale Daily News and a paper to finish up for class, but I was thinking about maybe coming home tonight, spend tomorrow in the Hollow."

"Sounds good," Jess agreed. "Your mom's been missing you."

"So she told me." Rory smiled. "I doubt anybody else even noticed I was gone."

She said in on purpose and they both knew it. Getting Jess to admit to missing her too, it was unlikely to happen. He really wasn't that guy for the most part. Coming out and saying what he felt, it didn't come easy for him, at least not when they were dating. Since his return to Stars Hollow, Jess had tried harder. He and Rory really talked things out when he first came back, and then there had been the 'I love you' moment at the Firelight Festival. Rory wasn't really sure what she expected him to say when she asked him about missing her, but the answer surprised her.

"Rory, you know how I feel about you," he told her in a low voice that made her shudder just like it always had before. "The second night I was here, I told you exactly. I don't think I could've made it any clearer."

She felt bad for teasing him. Rory knew it was unfair but they were at that friendly stage in their relationship now, like they had been before when they first met. At least it felt that way. She ought to have known it was different this time, because they had been through dating and out of the other side. He had told her be loved her just a few short months ago and though she hadn't said it back, it was sort of implied that something was building between them. Now, Rory was more certain than she had ever been that she wanted to pursue this thing with Jess, this relationship that had gone so wrong before and yet had been the best time of her life for a while there.

"Jess, I... I'm sorry," she forced out. "I didn't mean to... I don't know what I meant," she confessed at last. "Um, can we talk?"

"What have we been doing for the past twenty minutes?"

"Okay, smart ass, but you know what I mean. I kind of think we should be face to face if... Well, if we're going to talk about us."

There was a long pause and Rory let it last. She wasn't saying anything else until Jess had answered her. There really wasn't anything she could say until he did. His feelings for her seemed to be as strong as ever, so he ought to be willing for this talk. Rory just felt it was very necessary all of a sudden, but it wasn't something she wanted to do over the phone, it didn't seem right.

"You wanna talk about us, I'm there, Rory," he told her suddenly. "Pick a time and place, and I'm there."

"Okay," she said, pointlessly nodding her head since he obviously couldn't see her from here. "Um, if I'm coming home tonight, Mom is going to want to hang out, but tomorrow? Ten o'clock at the bridge? That sound okay?"

"Sounds great," said Jess.

In Rory's mind the smirk was gone, replaced by one of those rare and beautiful genuine smiles he sometimes wore. She smiled too, just thinking about it. Tomorrow she might see that look for real, not that Rory was a hundred percent of what she was going to say in this serious talk she and Jess were now bound to have, but she knew they needed it. She had reached a point where she was almost certain she knew what she wanted and Jess' feelings didn't seem to have changed any from when he first came back. Maybe this time they could build something that would last. She really hoped so.

"That's great, sweets. Can't wait to see you!" said Lorelai with a grin as she entered the diner, still with her cell phone at her ear.

Luke gestured pointedly at the sign then at Lorelai, telling her with a glare as much as the arm waving that she needed to hang up and now.

"Okay, babe. Gotta go or Luke is gonna bust a blood vessel. See you later."

Lorelai duly ended her call, shoving her cell into her purse and smiling wide at Luke. He sighed, reaching for a large cup and the coffee pot to pour her a drink. There was no fighting with Lorelai, and certainly no disliking her. What Jess had implied last night was true enough, even if Luke could do without having to deal with it right now. Luke's heart belonged to Lorelai Gilmore, whether she wanted it or not. Most of the time, he was pretty sure she had no idea about his feelings, and somehow he never got to a place where it seemed like a good time to tell her.

"What's up with you, Guy Not-So-Smiley?" she asked, picking up her coffee cup with both hands and taking a long drink. "Is it Taylor? It's usually Taylor when you look this grumpy."

"It's not Taylor." Luke confirmed, moving down the counter to pour coffee for other patrons. "I just... I didn't get a whole lot of sleep last night."

"Something on your mind?" asked Lorelai, frowning when Luke seemed to ignore her.

Just as soon as he came back her way, she put her hand on his arm and made sure she had his attention. He would barely meet her eyes and that bothered her all the more. Lorelai wasn't letting this go and they both knew it.

"Luke?"

"I'm fine," he assured her, pulling his arm from her grasp. "I... Me and Nicole are over, okay?" he told her in a low voice, leaning over the counter so she would be the only one to hear.

"Oh," said Lorelai. "Um, I'm sorry. I'd say I know how you feel, but.. Well, I guess I do a little, because me and Jason are no more, but that was my decision, so... Was this your decision?" she checked.

"Yes and no." Luke squirmed, adjusting his cap. "Er, the truth is, she's... she's not committed to this marriage, and if I'm honest, I'm not either. Dating each other was fun, we got along and everything, but it was crazy to ever get married, and crazier still to put the divorce on hold the way we did."

"Oh, Luke," Lorelai sighed, her hand back on his arm now and he didn't move it this time. "I'm sorry."

"Yeah, well," he told her with a lop-sided smile. "Sometimes things just aren't meant to be, I guess."

"I guess," she echoed. "That's what I realised with Jason. I just... I don't know, my heart wasn't in it, y'know? I mean when you meet the right person, when it's really right, you should feel more, right? It should be... There should be a real connection, shouldn't there?" she said, eyes coming up from the counter and meeting Luke's own.

It was a strangely intense moment as they remained in place, her hand on his arm and their gazes locked, close enough to make a kiss happen if either of them felt the need. It wasn't that it didn't occur to Luke, or even Lorelai, but now wasn't the time, it couldn't be. They were both just out of serious relationships, in fact, he wasn't even entirely out of his since it was a marriage and required paperwork to be officially over. It was just never the right time.

"Er, I should get back to work," said Luke, clearing his throat and moving away fast.

"Oh, yeah. Me too," said Lorelai, almost falling off the stool in her haste to leave. "Thanks for the coffee!" she called over her shoulder, practically running for the door.

Outside the diner, Lorelai took in a deep breath and let it out slow.

"What the hell was that?" she asked herself out loud.

The problem was, she knew very well what it was, and it scared her half to death to realise it.

To Be Continued...